Mike Shanahan, you are certifiably NUTS!!

[theHandpuppet]

You wasted a third round pick on Maurice Clarett? Look, my blood runs scarlet and gray, but this kid is an arrogant, self-centered, self-destructive LOSER. He's got durability issues, is as mature as a three year old tossing a hissy fit, and has enough baggage to tote Paris Hilton around on an extended vacation. Good luck to ya, man, because you're gonna need it.

[joeybee12]

1. No argument here!

Some guys are just gonna self-destruct--you don't want to have them on your team.

[theHandpuppet]

2. And all it takes is one guy like Clarett...

... to disrupt and entire team. We'll see how well the Denver Day Care Team handles this big baby of a player.

[Champ]

6. But he hasn't reached that point where he can be

disruptive and STILL have a job. If he is even slightly disruptive he is gone. None of us know him personally so who knows how'll he'll approach this. I'm not worried about Denver here, they don't take alot of shit from players and have cut some potentially good ones in a heart beat. They have a very good talent in Tatum Bell who should break 1,000 this year, MA, Q-Griffin, Ron Dayne will all be good to mix things up. Clarett is in the best sitaution to succeed in the NFL so we'll see where this goes. I don't expect Clarett to be a long term fix in Denver, I like how Tatum Bell plays.

[Botany]

3. Clarett is a complex package ......

..... if he will not help Denver they will cut him in a heart beat.

His mom was 14 when he was born. He lived in about 15 different place by
the time he was 18. And yes he has problems.

But he did make the single toughest play I have ever seen in football ......
National Championship Game ...... QB throws an INT he chases the DB down
from behind and rips the ball from him ........

That is why Shanahan took a chance on him. But in the pros if you hurt the
team or can not play your are gone in a heartbeat ........ I hope it works out for him.

[Dave Sund]

4. Shanahan has earned immunity from criticism

As far as running backs go. Seriously, he's put together a system where Reuben Droughns can rush for over a thousand yards. Where Mike Anderson can set a rookie rushing record. Where Olandis Gary can actually be a good player. Every running back he's plugged into that system has been successful, so I think he's earned immunity from criticism as far as that goes.

Is he better than Ron Dayne, Quentin Griffin, Mike Anderson, or Tatum Bell? Who knows. But I have to say, I'm certainly intrigued by the pick. If Clarett actually applies himself, in the Denver system, he could be an All-Pro back.

[nickgutierrez]

7. I have to agree here.

If it was any other team using a 3rd rounder on Clarett, I'd question it. Denver has such a great track record with RBs, though, that I have to believe that it will work out.

[Dave Sund]

8. Not to mention

That Denver didn't have another pick until the sixth round, so if they were going to take Clarett, they had to take him there.

[DaveinMD]

10. you are better than Ron Dayne

take this from a Giants fan.

[democracyindanger]

12. Hey, easy on Droughns

;)

Totally agree that the Denver system could make, well, ME a 1,000 yard back. But Droughns is a battler. In a barnburner of a UO/UCLA game, he was playing on a broken ankle, and when he fumbled at a critical time (with the broken ankle), TV showed him on the sidelines ramming his head into a metal bench because he was so mad at himself.

Ya gotta love that.

[Champ]

5. They also have great talent in

Tatum Bell, Mike Anderson, etc. I'm not worried about this one, if he doesn't perform oh well Bell is fast as hell and will be Denver's feature back. I think Clarett will be a very good spell back.

[jakefrep]

9. If any team can make it work with Clarett, it's Denver

I would venture to say that the majority Clarett's problems were not related to events on the field. His biggest crime at OSU was basically admitting he didn't like the taste of the scarlet-and-gray Kool-Aid and the ridiculous strictures of amateurism imposed by the NCAA.

[UrbScotty]

11. Broncos reportedly sign Clarett

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-broncos-clarett&prov=ap&type=lgns

True to his word, Maurice Clarett will be on time for training camp, and once he reports to the Denver Broncos, he'll have a chance to make some big-time money.

According to a report on ESPN.com, the oft-embattled tailback, a third-round draft pick by the Broncos, signed a deal Thursday full of incentives that could earn him up to $7 million over the life of the four-year contract.

Clarett's representatives, Steven Feldman and David Kenner, did not immediately return messages left at their offices by The Associated Press. The Broncos do not release terms of contracts.

To get his chance at the bonus money, Clarett decided to forgo the signing bonus most players usually take when they sign a contract, ESPN.com reported. Clarett was a third-round draft pick who would have gotten around $400,000. That money was instead written into Clarett's contract as workout bonuses for 2006-08.

[Robeson]

13. Clarett's lack of speed is what makes this an iffy pick....

...especially that high of a draft pick. I could have seen him going on the second day, put to have picked him the first day, was a reach.