Tim Couch Pulls Out Posted December 18, 2013 Report Share Posted December 18, 2013 @NFL_ATL: Browns are "one of several teams" who would be interested in RB Ben Tate, who is likely done in Houston, @RapSheet said on @nflnetwork Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickers Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 @NFL_ATL: Browns are "one of several teams" who would be interested in RB Ben Tate, who is likely done in Houston, @RapSheet said on @nflnetwork Thats old news.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osiris Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 Honestly with the short shelf life of RBs I'd rather they address this position in the draft, and look at free agency for OL, WR, and CB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Couch Pulls Out Posted December 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 Thats old news.. The speculation was, this is the confirmation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canton Mike Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 Honestly with the short shelf life of RBs I'd rather they address this position in the draft, and look at free agency for OL, WR, and CB. I agree with this. Good RBs tend to perform well from year 1, so why pay bigger bucks for a somewhat "shop worn" free agent? With the rookie pay scale, they can both save money & get a back with more tread left on the tires. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clevfan4life Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 However, given how insignificant the running game is to this regime, I'd be confused if it happened. With Trent gone and Lewis hurt, I don't blame them. Also we shouldn't be asking our o line to do much multi tasking, even though it's routine throughout the league. If we addressed the O line in the draft and/or FA, as well as an offseason acquisition of a RB either in the draft or FA...than I think they would make it more of a priority. Right now it's just kitchen sink we're throwing back there. That being said, if possible we should wait till after the draft before we make a FA decision. If we were to get Carlos Hyde, for example, we shouldn't spend money on Tate because we'll have Lewis and Hyde next year. Only if we can't get a decent RB in the draft should we concentrate on FA in that position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Couch Pulls Out Posted December 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 You sure about that Skippy? http://m.espn.go.com/nfl/story?storyId=9708082&src=desktop Oh. Well, I was wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 With Trent gone and Lewis hurt, I don't blame them. Also we shouldn't be asking our o line to do much multi tasking, even though it's routine throughout the league. If we addressed the O line in the draft and/or FA, as well as an offseason acquisition of a RB either in the draft or FA...than I think they would make it more of a priority. Right now it's just kitchen sink we're throwing back there. That being said, if possible we should wait till after the draft before we make a FA decision. If we were to get Carlos Hyde, for example, we shouldn't spend money on Tate because we'll have Lewis and Hyde next year. Only if we can't get a decent RB in the draft should we concentrate on FA in that position. You cannot wait until after the draft. The system doesn't work that way. They have now even pushed the draft back a couple of weeks into May, where the FA period starts like March 15 or something. So, no, you have to pick up your FAs....then fill the holes with the draft that you didn't fill in FA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osiris Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 You cannot wait until after the draft. The system doesn't work that way. They have now even pushed the draft back a couple of weeks into May, where the FA period starts like March 15 or something. So, no, you have to pick up your FAs....then fill the holes with the draft that you didn't fill in FA. That's exactly it. I think you then evaluate the talent pool in the draft, and let that inform your free agent pursuits. If the draft looks weak for a particular position that you need, then I think you have to be more aggressive in free agency to fill that need. I wouldn't mind the Ben Tate signing, I agree he probably has a lot of runs left in him, I just think they could get someone with fresher legs from the third round of the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utzie Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 Honestly, I wouldn't be too excited about picking up Tate unless it was really cheap. Yes, he runs hard and can make plays when he is on the field, but he's injured way too often. He was actually just shut down for the season today after having rib and other injury problems all year. Reminds me a little too much of the Hardesty situation. I think we can find better backs out there, whether it be in FA or in the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 Honestly, I wouldn't be too excited about picking up Tate unless it was really cheap. Yes, he runs hard and can make plays when he is on the field, but he's injured way too often. He was actually just shut down for the season today after having rib and other injury problems all year. Reminds me a little too much of the Hardesty situation. I think we can find better backs out there, whether it be in FA or in the draft. Yea, at best he would be a replacement for Willis McGahee. A third string back. Get a good rookie....they can be had. A Giovanni Bernard type.....if you can't get they Hyde's or the Williams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Couch Pulls Out Posted December 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 http://factoryofsadness.sportsblog.com/posts/232608/is_ben_tate_in_line.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clevfan4life Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 whehter we pick up Tate or not we still need two other positions in the backfield to address. A heavy lifter like Hyde and a "real" FB. I think the FB might be the most important of them all tbh. I want someone like Vickers back in Cleveland. Hyde running behind a diesel FB like Vickers was will be short yardage pain for any team. I get the issue that you have to make the move before the draft..but that sucks. If we get Hyde I see no reason for Tate because we have complimentary backs. Tate is that hybrid 220'ish workhorse back which we wouldn't need if we get Hyde. Hyde and Tate don't compliment each other as well as Hyde and some of the guys we actuall have on our roster right now. All predicated on that FB acquisition though. We don't get a real FB it doesn't matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenew23 Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 No reason we can't sign Tate and draft a good rookie. Are we really that stacked in the backfield??? Having Lewis (injured), Hyde (rookie), and Tate (veteran) in the backfield sounds pretty good to me. Plus, who cares about money? We're well enough under the cap to get some offense happening over the offseason... Ben Tate reminds me Michael Turner when he was in SD, he backed up a great running back his whole career until he finally got the chance in ATL and did great for a few years... I'd take it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowburn Posted December 20, 2013 Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 Rookies are hungrier than free agents. once these FA's get their money, some have a tendency to take off more plays than they have in the past. Factor in a FA player already wearing a championship ring and the number of plays they dog increases. i.e Kruger Reiteratively, Cleveland is not an attractive option for those FA's whose desire to win sooner than later no matter what the payoff is. Draft needs to be top priority for the Browns. Browns need to clean house of current RB's and rebuild from ground up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombo Posted December 20, 2013 Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 Rookies are hungrier than free agents. once these FA's get their money, some have a tendency to take off more plays than they have in the past. Factor in a FA player already wearing a championship ring and the number of plays they dog increases. i.e Kruger Reiteratively, Cleveland is not an attractive option for those FA's whose desire to win sooner than later no matter what the payoff is. Draft needs to be top priority for the Browns. Browns need to clean house of current RB's and rebuild from ground up. Can't disagree with anything you said. Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bringbackbrownie2 Posted December 20, 2013 Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 Rookies are hungrier than free agents. once these FA's get their money, some have a tendency to take off more plays than they have in the past. Factor in a FA player already wearing a championship ring and the number of plays they dog increases. i.e Kruger Reiteratively, Cleveland is not an attractive option for those FA's whose desire to win sooner than later no matter what the payoff is. Draft needs to be top priority for the Browns. Browns need to clean house of current RB's and rebuild from ground up. True. But one could argue that Ben Tate is just as hungry as any rookie we would draft. He has been a backup his whole career on a team with 1 playoff win. Hardly someone that has any reason take plays off. I would still draft a running back but am not opposed to signing Tate. I also see your point with Kruger, but still consider him a quality free agent acquisition considering Cleveland's annual 4-5 win seasons. All it takes is a couple good years and the free agents will gain some interest in the Browns. Truth of the matter is Kruger is better than what we had the last several years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Couch Pulls Out Posted December 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 Rookies are hungrier than free agents. once these FA's get their money, some have a tendency to take off more plays than they have in the past. Factor in a FA player already wearing a championship ring and the number of plays they dog increases. i.e Kruger Reiteratively, Cleveland is not an attractive option for those FA's whose desire to win sooner than later no matter what the payoff is. Draft needs to be top priority for the Browns. Browns need to clean house of current RB's and rebuild from ground up. That's all true. However, Tate has been a backup his entire career and is hungry to prove he's starting caliber. He's proven to be talented, only to get passed over again. I wouldn't mind signing him and adding a mid round bruiser back in the 4th. Once again, Turner has 15 seasons of 1,000 yard rushers. He gets the most out of his backs. He hasn't gotten much of anything from this crop, save a strong showing from Baker. I say clean the closet, dump McGahee and Obi, get Tate, a bruising back, and see what Lewis can do and our backfield will be in much better shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc3902 Posted December 20, 2013 Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 Why do people want to drop Obi? He is averaging 4.9 ypc. Most would consider that more than solid for a backup RB. I'm not sold on Tate as a high-price FA, and would rather address RB in the 2nd or 3rd round of the draft, but I think Obi is fine for what they are paying him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tour2ma Posted December 20, 2013 Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 Tate has plenty of tread left, he was mostly a secondary back his whole career. That said, if he can be had for a reasonable price I'd be fine with signing him. However, given how insignificant the running game is to this regime, I'd be confused if it happened. Yup... he's not exactly old. Only 25, but has a few miles due to Foster being injured two of Tate's three years in Houston. Only enhances his value, because he has shown he can carry a team's running load. Yes, he runs hard and can make plays when he is on the field, but he's injured way too often. He was actually just shut down for the season today after having rib and other injury problems all year. Reminds me a little too much of the Hardesty situation. I think we can find better backs out there, whether it be in FA or in the draft. Too often??? Compared to our collection of RBs he's Superman. 15 games his rookie year, 11 last year and 14 this year... and this year he broke 4 ribs in October and played every game between then and now... What a Pussy! (<--- sarcasm alert) He's a talented, hard runner. We'd be fortunate to sign him. No reason we can't sign Tate and draft a good rookie.... Ben Tate reminds me Michael Turner when he was in SD... Agree and a pretty good comparison there... Rookies are hungrier than free agents. once these FA's get their money, some have a tendency to take off more plays than they have in the past. LOL... like no rook has ever taken the money and ran... Appears I may be in the minority here, but I think there are far more players that disappoint by pressing to perform under the weight of a big contract than put it in cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombo Posted December 20, 2013 Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 Critical fumble marred Oby,s season, but if I could pick one back on our roster for one drive, it would be him. Not sure who would block for him though since he's the "fullback". Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Couch Pulls Out Posted December 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 I think the run game is insignificant because our backs are insignificant. When your only weapons are Gordon and Cameron and you have a questionable line and you're auditioning QB's, passing 40+ times a game may actually be your best bet. There's not a back on the active roster capable of being a starter. Obi can be serviceable as a backup. That's it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowburn Posted December 20, 2013 Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 LOL... like no rook has ever taken the money and ran... I'd say TR would fall into that category Appears I may be in the minority here, but I think there are far more players that disappoint by pressing to perform under the weight of a big contract than put it in cruise. Players who take on leadership roles are crucial in the development of the rookies. I am not convinced the current roster contains many players who have that capacity. Yet another sign of a young team struggling to find itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalabazooka Posted December 20, 2013 Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 Haslam has money to burn, so go for it! But they should draft a RB too, for depth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoorta Posted December 20, 2013 Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 I think the run game is insignificant because our backs are insignificant. When your only weapons are Gordon and Cameron and you have a questionable line and you're auditioning QB's, passing 40+ times a game may actually be your best bet. There's not a back on the active roster capable of being a starter. Obi can be serviceable as a backup. That's it. OK McGahee is totally washed up, Obi has fumbling problems, and who knows how Lewis is going to play in 20013. But really- other than Mack- interior line play this year stinks in general, and in the the run game in particular. They can't drive block anyone off the line, much less get to the second level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utzie Posted December 20, 2013 Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 OK McGahee is totally washed up, Obi has fumbling problems, and who knows how Lewis is going to play in 20013. But really- other than Mack- interior line play this year stinks in general, and in the the run game in particular. They can't drive block anyone off the line, much less get to the second level. I'd be impressed if any of us were able to see Lewis play in 20013. Seems like too long of a wait to find out how productive he can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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