Hubbard Promoted to Main Roster

by Chris Pokorny on Dec 17, 2008 12:17 PM EST in General News

The Cleveland Browns announced several moves today. Here they are, in summary...

TE Steve Heiden tore his ACL and was placed on the injured reserve. He is scheduled to undergo surgery on Thursday.
LB Beau Bell will undergo surgery on his right knee for tendinitis and swelling. He has also been placed on the injured reserve.
TE John Madsen was signed to the 53-man roster. Madsen has played for the Oakland Raiders the past three seasons, and was originally undrafted. He has 19 catches for 248 yards and 2 touchdowns in his career.
WR Paul Hubbard was promoted from the practice squad.
LB David Holloway was signed to the practice squad. Holloway has previously been a practice squad player for the Arizona Cardinals.

With Romeo Crennel still coaching this team, you can't get excited about any of these moves. Reports seem to indicate that Darnell Dinkins, not Martin Rucker, will be the team's No. 1 tight end the rest of the season. However, it is interesting to note that the team has still yet to place Kellen Winslow on the injured reserve, leaving the possibility open that he could play in Week 17 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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I would be excited if I thought that meant Hubbard would see the field

by Roger Dorn on Dec 17, 2008 4:41 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

Can anyone else name a team in the NFL that seems to be as scared to play rookies as we are?

We know what Dinkins is. A decent blocker with decent to poor hands who can help on special teams.

What really pisses me off is that we will have no idea what Rucker is after this year. What if Travis Beckham for Wisconsin, who was a first rounder before this injury filled year, is there on the draft board in the fourth round? It is possible. We will not have any idea of Ruckers worth. We will not have any knowledge of our own roster. That is Romeo’s fault.

Romeo is going to kill us this off-season. That is about as bad as a coach can get.

by Bernie19Kosar on Dec 17, 2008 5:42 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

I would guess that the coaches know what Rucker is. I know the fans want to see him play, but the coaches/GM/scouts, etc. have seen him play in college and in practice. They know what he can do.

by gahnki on Dec 17, 2008 5:46 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, but don’t we always hear that success at the college level doesn’t always translate to success in the pros?

by JustBob on Dec 17, 2008 6:17 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, but gahnki’s point is that Rucker’s strengths as a player are probably going to be the same in the NFL as in college. He will be good at catching the ball but not a great blocker. If any coaches are held over from this regime, they will know what he can do, and if Savage is held over, he will probably know too. Success doesn’t always translate, but strengths and weaknesses generally do.

Still…the kid should play. Especially with Heiden now out.

Hope Heiden makes a smooth recovery.

by rufio on Dec 17, 2008 8:04 PM EST up reply actions

You would think that, but then how do you explain Jerome Harrison this entire season? Sadly, I am not convinced the coaches know

by Roger Dorn on Dec 17, 2008 10:56 PM EST up reply actions

They know more than we do.

by gahnki on Dec 18, 2008 9:50 PM EST up reply actions

Yes, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t messing up some obvious things like Harrison

by Roger Dorn on Dec 19, 2008 1:37 PM EST up reply actions

Possibly. They see Harrison practice every day. They aren’t going to sit him if he will help them win. Not to mention that, from what I’ve seen, Harrison struggles greatly in pass protection. You can’t be an every down back if you can’t block.

by gahnki on Dec 19, 2008 4:43 PM EST up reply actions

I think its pretty straightforward. You average 9 yards/touch, you get the ball until you stop being that productive. I don’t care what he looks like in practice.

by Roger Dorn on Dec 22, 2008 6:52 PM EST up reply actions

If only it were that easy.

by gahnki on Dec 22, 2008 7:28 PM EST up reply actions

It pretty much is that easy. Just get him the ball.

Jason Wright was horrible in pass pro against the Eagles, why not throw a screen to someone who can be a playmaker?

Why not line him up as the 3rd WR ahead of Steptoe, or the 4th wide man instead of Dinkins. I have seen him catch the ball in games.

It doesn’t matter if he can pass protect, its the coaches job to put him in position to succeed. Do you think the Chargers have this same problem with Sproles? How about Houston with Steve Slaton? Harrison is no more diminutive than those two.

by rufio on Dec 26, 2008 11:36 PM EST up reply actions

say what you will about romeo’s abilities as a head coach, but he wants to win games. can we at least agree on that? to that end, i have to believe that he and the coaching staff are doing everything they can to field a winner, and if guys like rucker, bell, etc. would help us win games, they’d see more tick (this may fall apart w/ harrison, but i don’t think more than 6-10 touches a game is right for him, even though he rarely gets that much).

the fact that we traded 2 picks for rucker and he never plays makes me sick.

by DontCallMeJoey on Dec 18, 2008 3:29 PM EST reply actions

Not to mention trading a pick for a DB who has never seen the field. I don’t know if he’s even ever been activated.

by JustBob on Dec 18, 2008 8:51 PM EST up reply actions

Daniels started the game against Bufallo and played one series before McDonald came in. I don’t know why Cousin is playing over Daniels, although Cousin has looked a lot better recently.

Josh Cribbs for the Hall of Fame!

by kardiackids2007 on Dec 20, 2008 10:51 AM EST reply actions