Clarett not making friends in Denver so far
Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 3:42 am
thomas george
Is Clarett worth it?
By Thomas George
Denver Post Sports Columnist
Terrell Owens was welcomed (snicker) and embraced (ha!) back into Eagles camp Wednesday after creating more ruckus for that franchise than it ever absorbed from losing three straight NFC title games.
Remember, that was the reason the Eagles took risk/reward to a novel level in reaching for Owens last season. Without him they were thrice one game short of the Super Bowl. With him they made it, even though they lost it.
This has been a perplexing question in sports and particularly in the NFL over the past few years: Is star talent more valuable than team chemistry? Can a supreme player with a troubled past and present blend into a mix of players with strong character and successfully push a wedged team to lofty heights?
The talent level of the player dictates how far a team goes.
Which brings us to the Broncos.
To Maurice Clarett.
Denver's own version of a mini-T.O.
Clarett joined the Broncos with a clean slate. The Broncos said that. He said it. It is no longer pristine. It is full of coaches who question his drive and teammates who are viewing him sideways.
He suffered an injury to his right groin 15 days ago and has not practiced for the past 13 days.
There is a slew of Broncos coaches and players who believe he is dogging it. That he is unhappy with his contract. That he is insulted he is not a starter and would be asked to contribute on special teams. That he trusts none among them. That he has become more withdrawn among them. That he should not be on television chirping when he is not on the field practicing.
That he is an athlete who does not like conforming to rules.
Only Champ Bailey among the Broncos spoke for attribution about this after the morning practice Wednesday.
"The best thing for Maurice to do is be professional," Bailey said. "He has to make sure there are no hard feelings. It is all about performance. Can he help us win games? That's all I care about. And I don't know if he can. I haven't seen enough to know. He's got to get on the field and show it. There is a wide range of feelings about him around here. Some people think he's loafing.
"I'm not down on him. I think you have to let a guy judge his own injury; I don't know his body, just like he doesn't know mine."
After challenging Ohio State, challenging the NFL, traipsing through the combine and having a lackluster attitude at the NFL rookie symposium, Clarett had enough dark history behind him to want to please the Broncos at every turn. They took a chance. Gave him a chance. He agreed to a $230,000 minimum contract with incentives that over four years could pay him $7 million. A contract without a signing bonus, unusual for a third-round pick. No signing bonus means no guaranteed money.
He was asked if after talking to his teammates about his controversial contract if he thinks now he made a mistake and is trying to get cut to find another suitor, to correct it.
"That's the first I've heard of that," he said. "No, not at all.
I plan on being a Denver Bronco and helping this team any way I can. There is tradition here. This is where I want to be."
So, when will you practice again, he was asked.
"I don't know," he answered. "If I don't get a shot now I will get a shot later. I'll just be prepared to get in there when it comes."
But what if you get cut before that time comes?
"If I get cut, if I don't have a place here, it won't be my first setback," Clarett said. "I've had a lot of setbacks in the last two years. I wouldn't be the first player to get cut. There are 31 more teams, and I'd just go back to the drawing board."
Get it? He is sort of there, not there. In the fold, on the edges.
He is simply hurt, he says.
"Would Mike Tyson fight with a broken fist?" Clarett asks. "Would Carl Lewis run with a hamstring injury? I've got to be smart. I am preparing myself mentally so that when I'm physically well I can perform. This injury is out of my control. I've got to take care of my body."
The problem is the Broncos believe a groin injury of this type, based on their history in dealing with them, should be healed by now. Or should be sturdy enough to test it in practice. His teammates look around and see there is not a player among them who does not have bumps and bruises and pain. NFL players play through pain.
Is Clarett truly unable to go? Or refusing to go.
"There is no pressure that can be put on me more than the pressure I put on myself," Clarett said. "I've had a lot of support from teammates, even players seeking the same job. I feel like I have a good relationship with all of the coaches. I am not going to let the coaches, media or the game pressure me when I'm already giving it my all."
Clarett is playing with fire, some of his teammates say.
But what is new about that? He arrived here with a trail of smoke behind him. His chances of becoming an active, contributing part of the Broncos this season are alive but dwindling.
"I've got to take care of my body," Clarett said. "I've got to focus on me, focus on the mental things for now."
He wears a tattoo on his left forearm that reads "Lucky 13."
Thus far, there is little luck in this yarn
Heres the way I see it.
Dude signed a dirt cheap contract loaded with incentives and the pick we used to draft him was a compensation pick. If he pans out great, if not it costs us virtually nothing in terms of a cap hit.
However, he better realize that it just doesn't get any better for a RB than it is in Denver right now. I don't like some of the things he is saying but assuming he is legitimately hurt there is no need to rush him this season with all of our RB depth.
Give him time, let him get his football legs back and next year we will see what we have.
Is Clarett worth it?
By Thomas George
Denver Post Sports Columnist
Terrell Owens was welcomed (snicker) and embraced (ha!) back into Eagles camp Wednesday after creating more ruckus for that franchise than it ever absorbed from losing three straight NFC title games.
Remember, that was the reason the Eagles took risk/reward to a novel level in reaching for Owens last season. Without him they were thrice one game short of the Super Bowl. With him they made it, even though they lost it.
This has been a perplexing question in sports and particularly in the NFL over the past few years: Is star talent more valuable than team chemistry? Can a supreme player with a troubled past and present blend into a mix of players with strong character and successfully push a wedged team to lofty heights?
The talent level of the player dictates how far a team goes.
Which brings us to the Broncos.
To Maurice Clarett.
Denver's own version of a mini-T.O.
Clarett joined the Broncos with a clean slate. The Broncos said that. He said it. It is no longer pristine. It is full of coaches who question his drive and teammates who are viewing him sideways.
He suffered an injury to his right groin 15 days ago and has not practiced for the past 13 days.
There is a slew of Broncos coaches and players who believe he is dogging it. That he is unhappy with his contract. That he is insulted he is not a starter and would be asked to contribute on special teams. That he trusts none among them. That he has become more withdrawn among them. That he should not be on television chirping when he is not on the field practicing.
That he is an athlete who does not like conforming to rules.
Only Champ Bailey among the Broncos spoke for attribution about this after the morning practice Wednesday.
"The best thing for Maurice to do is be professional," Bailey said. "He has to make sure there are no hard feelings. It is all about performance. Can he help us win games? That's all I care about. And I don't know if he can. I haven't seen enough to know. He's got to get on the field and show it. There is a wide range of feelings about him around here. Some people think he's loafing.
"I'm not down on him. I think you have to let a guy judge his own injury; I don't know his body, just like he doesn't know mine."
After challenging Ohio State, challenging the NFL, traipsing through the combine and having a lackluster attitude at the NFL rookie symposium, Clarett had enough dark history behind him to want to please the Broncos at every turn. They took a chance. Gave him a chance. He agreed to a $230,000 minimum contract with incentives that over four years could pay him $7 million. A contract without a signing bonus, unusual for a third-round pick. No signing bonus means no guaranteed money.
He was asked if after talking to his teammates about his controversial contract if he thinks now he made a mistake and is trying to get cut to find another suitor, to correct it.
"That's the first I've heard of that," he said. "No, not at all.
I plan on being a Denver Bronco and helping this team any way I can. There is tradition here. This is where I want to be."
So, when will you practice again, he was asked.
"I don't know," he answered. "If I don't get a shot now I will get a shot later. I'll just be prepared to get in there when it comes."
But what if you get cut before that time comes?
"If I get cut, if I don't have a place here, it won't be my first setback," Clarett said. "I've had a lot of setbacks in the last two years. I wouldn't be the first player to get cut. There are 31 more teams, and I'd just go back to the drawing board."
Get it? He is sort of there, not there. In the fold, on the edges.
He is simply hurt, he says.
"Would Mike Tyson fight with a broken fist?" Clarett asks. "Would Carl Lewis run with a hamstring injury? I've got to be smart. I am preparing myself mentally so that when I'm physically well I can perform. This injury is out of my control. I've got to take care of my body."
The problem is the Broncos believe a groin injury of this type, based on their history in dealing with them, should be healed by now. Or should be sturdy enough to test it in practice. His teammates look around and see there is not a player among them who does not have bumps and bruises and pain. NFL players play through pain.
Is Clarett truly unable to go? Or refusing to go.
"There is no pressure that can be put on me more than the pressure I put on myself," Clarett said. "I've had a lot of support from teammates, even players seeking the same job. I feel like I have a good relationship with all of the coaches. I am not going to let the coaches, media or the game pressure me when I'm already giving it my all."
Clarett is playing with fire, some of his teammates say.
But what is new about that? He arrived here with a trail of smoke behind him. His chances of becoming an active, contributing part of the Broncos this season are alive but dwindling.
"I've got to take care of my body," Clarett said. "I've got to focus on me, focus on the mental things for now."
He wears a tattoo on his left forearm that reads "Lucky 13."
Thus far, there is little luck in this yarn
Heres the way I see it.
Dude signed a dirt cheap contract loaded with incentives and the pick we used to draft him was a compensation pick. If he pans out great, if not it costs us virtually nothing in terms of a cap hit.
However, he better realize that it just doesn't get any better for a RB than it is in Denver right now. I don't like some of the things he is saying but assuming he is legitimately hurt there is no need to rush him this season with all of our RB depth.
Give him time, let him get his football legs back and next year we will see what we have.
