William Green to Attempt Comeback to NFL

by Chris Pokorny on Mar 18, 2008 11:40 AM EDT in General News

Said one NFL scout who handles pro personnel: "He showed almost nothing as a player when he was in Cleveland. I mean, by the end, you couldn't tell the difference between him and a bunch of guys who weren't even drafted. Didn't run hard, didn't run fast, didn't do anything that ever made you say he was anything special."

The last time William Green was in the NFL was two years ago, when he was in a three-way competition for the starting running back job with Reuben Droughns and Lee Suggs in training camp. Green was cut before final rosters were released, partially due to him having an injured quadriceps, and then...he sort of disappeared. He disappeared the same way that Jake Plummer did after being traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- you never heard anyone talk about whether he would come back, because he never gave any indication that he would come back.

In a nice story by Yahoo Sports!' Jason Cole, Green will attempt a comeback to the NFL (sound familiar Tim Couch?). Green has been working out in Phoenix for the past five months, training to get back into football shape. In order to impress someone though, he'll have to be much better than he was during his stay with the Browns. We all remember painfully watching Green get the ball, stutter step and stop in the backfield, and then have no momentum forward before being plowed over by defenders. That's not the William Green that needs to show up today at Boston College in hopes of impressing scouts and team executives.

The William Green that needs to show up is the one that once had Jim Donovan screaming "Run William, Run!". You knew I had to fit that quote into this piece one way or another...

Green is looking for redemption:

"I feel fast, I feel quick, I feel strong. My body feels phenomenal. Most important, I'm confident again and my head is in a good place," Green said. "When I was with the Browns, I didn't know how to be focused on what I was supposed to do ... For so long when I was a kid and I was going through so many problems, I just kept thinking, 'I'll be in the NFL one day.'

"I thought being in the NFL would make me happy but it didn't. I got to the NFL and I didn't make better decisions. I didn't find the kind of life I really wanted. Instead, I was more focused on going out and partying, not on what I had to do to be successful."

A comeback didn't work for former Brown Tim Couch, but chances are that Green's fortunes will be a little brighter. If your shoulder looks bad as a quarterback, teams aren't going to sign a duck. Green never really suffered a setback that was the specific cause for his struggles with the Browns. If he's able to find a way to really correct his issues, whether it be through a trainer, dedication, or some other spiritual form, then we may see him on someone's final roster come September.

I'll say it now though...don't count on that being with the Cleveland Browns.

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