Delonte West Sits Out Cavaliers Victory
February 25, 2009BDL Finals: Get Out and Vote!
February 25, 2009
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After last season’s PR debacle with Kellen Winslow and his mystery injury that eventually led to rumor and speculation that K2 had an STD, subsequently got suspended for debunking that rumor with staph stories, then got unsuspended, I think we were all hoping for something different. Now, it appears that we might be getting more of the same. The drama has officially begun in Browns town. There is a different band on stage, but as they are now playing the opening bars, it is sounding eerily similar to the same tune that we just finished booing off the stage.
Adam Schefter and Cleveland.com are reporting that even before a practice, walkthrough or film session has occurred that Eric Mangini has some fences to mend with his inherited star defensive tackle, Shaun Rogers. According to these two sources, Rogers is peeved at Mangini for slighting him by not saying hello in the Browns’ training facility and also not sharing any pleasantries at the banquet for the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards.
First of all, Eric Mangini was supposed to have learned something from his first head coaching experience in the NFL.  While holding the hands of the players isn’t in the job description, if you wanted people to run through a wall for you on a Sunday, or partake in your stricter training camps, maybe, just maybe you should get to know the guys a little bit. I am sure Eric Mangini missed a couple of opportunities to make friends so far. He certainly must improve upon that.
As for Shaun Rogers, welcome to Romper Room, people. Shaun Rogers is upset that Eric Mangini didn’t see him in the Magic Mirror. The big bad mother of a defensive tackle wants out because he didn’t have the new guy say hello to him yet. Really? Is that what this is all about? Hey Shaun, Lighten Up Francis.
Don’t think I am absolving Eric Mangini for not doing his diligence in making inroads with his players. Given his reputation, I am certainly not going to doubt he has missed opportunities to reach out to his players. At the same time, I am not just going to jump on the bandwagon of Mangini criticism over this one because poor lil Shaun Rogers got his feelings hurt. Yes, we know he has a history of quitting on teams. Yes, we know he was willing to run through a wall for Romeo Crennel. Still, just because we know this about a guy doesn’t mean that we should be babying him all the time. If these two “slights” either perceived or real are what is driving him to want out of Cleveland then his agent needs to have a conversation with him.
Speaking of his agent, could that be Adam Schefter’s source for this tidbit of info?  Could this agent really be looking for any way to get Rogers out of his contract so that he can cash in on some of that Albert Haynesworth money? John Clayton is already reporting that the asking price for Haynesworth’s services could be $12 million per year. To put that in perspective, imagine having someone hand you $1000 in cash 12,000 times per year. That means every day, someone would hand you $1k in cash 33 times. That person would have to be camped out in your driveway and follow you around constantly so as not to miss a payment. Elementary, I know. But the point is that is a lot of money.
Rogers is on a 6-year deal that pays him $42 million ($20 mil guaranteed) that runs through 2013. After a dominant year like he had last year, who wouldn’t want a chance to renegotiate, especially in a year where the free agency pool is a bit smallish and you can play second fiddle to Albert Haynesworth who is looking to break into Fort Knox with his negotiations?
Anyway, I am most disappointed that the drama has already begun. I am hoping that this says more about Rogers looking for more money and less about Mangini dropping the ball on reaching out to his new personnel. Hopefully this is an early lesson in how NOT to transition into the job. Hopefully Mangini finds a way to mend this fence and get Rogers back motivated to play the way he did this past year for the Browns.Â
The only silver lining is this. If the Browns are unable to get this situation under control and it becomes clear that Rogers is going to force his way out, the Browns will at least have a player on their hands who they can trade for real value. Sure, their bargaining power might be reduced a bit if other teams know Rogers is unhappy, but the Browns will still be in the driver’s seat with that contract that runs through 2013.
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(Update: Cleveland Frowns thinks “Money, Money, Money“)
29 Comments
If we release him, we take a cap hit north of $9million. Couple that with paying DA’s $5 mill bonus – that will likely be traded – and the team can nary afford to grant the alleged wishes.
The Browns best player (one of five good players) wants out. CLASSIC!
More of the same with the Browns. Let’s focus on the Cavs and Tribe!
Since my comments and anything critical of the Browns seems to be censored all around, I’ll just say:
Viva la Mankok.
Way to go Mang…..dissing your best player TWICE with your pompous arrogance and suggesting “I never say him”.
Craig….”hope” isn’t gonna solve this thing. And……the best indicator of future success is past performance. (ie Eric Mangini was “supposed to learn something” from his previous job).
Randy – it was the placement of your comment. This isn’t a message board. It’s a blog. Comments are to be about the post in which they are submitted. Not about others’ comments. Not about another sport, player, or team. Unless it’s an open thread, we expect all commenters to adhere to these rules.
@4. They are fair with your comments. But I don’t like reading them on the Cavaliers blogs either. They should only be posted when it’s relevant, like this page.
@6. This is why I really like this site.
Nice post Craig…I agree, i think Rogers might be living up to the nickname of Big Baby…that said, he was our #1, A++ Player last year, and he needs to get along with the coach.
here’s to hoping they can go out and drink some beers together and patch things up!
losing Rogers, or even worse, having an unmotivated Rogers would be a disaster!
The sad thing is they are a disaster with a motiviated Rogers.
Not trying to add fuel to the fire, but are those rules you mentioned posted anywhere? I know they’re not mentioned under “Before You Comment”.
If not, maybe it would be a good idea to formalize them in order to eliminate any potential for confusion. I, for one, am unclear about what you mean by “(commenting on) others comments”. Surely that doesn’t include on-topic responses to other users…?
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Anyway, sorry for the off-topic post. 🙂
To be fair to Rogers, have his agent, or him, actually said anything publicly? This could all be B.S. for anyone knows.
Citing a source “close to Rogers” means absolutely nothing in my book.
Thanks for the speculation, Schefter.
I suggest changing “Leave a Reply” to something like “Let’s talk about THIS post, stupids”
However, that’s just my opinion.
Also, apparently the new execs aren’t sold on Brady.
http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/92472-source-new-browns-execs-not-sold-on-brady
Something Browns related!
I almost started complaining about Shapiro in this comment, but used my better judgement.
I’m not going to slam Mangini for this stuff already. Re the type of player leadership the Browns have, though, think it’s interesting that: 1) our best offensive player whines in the hospital that the coach, but not the GM, called him, and he has hired Der Rosenhaus to force a re-working of his “unfair” contract; 2) our best defensive player has already decided that, unlike, Romeo, Mangini “doesn’t understand the big man.” I was against Mangini’s hiring, but I must say this: the dude has his hands full before his first draft. What would the Great and Powerful Belichik do if one of his players was whining about him not saying “hi”? And Parcells? Give me a break … If Mangini changes the culture of entitlement surrounding these players, I’ll like the team a lot better. Can we clone Josh Cribbs?
Perhaps Pioli was spot on when he said that the Browns were a train wreck. Next thing we know, he’ll snag Curry right ahead of us in April.
I am with you Harv. Imagine if one of your buddies complained to you that their new boss didn’t say “hi” to him in the lunchroom and they were being paid like executive Vice Presidents at their company. Would you tell them to stop being such a whiner? I know I would. Even if the boss is a jerk, that doesn’t mean you get to act like a petulant child.
Instead of Mankok I shall use “The Gini-inis” (Gee-nee-ee-nees).
Since it rhymes with teenie-winnie it elects happy cute thoughts (as opposed to mank… oh wait don’t think about that).
There is still potential that you run this whole thought into “Teenie winnie gini-ini polka dot bikini” which could have tragic results. Tread carefully.
IRB.. i was about to bring the Quinn tihng up too. maybe its Kokinis and Mangini trying to get more out of DA for a potential trade too.
And I would agree with the original post by Craig. Everything I started to think he said right after, like it not being just Mangini (although he is a problem), but that Rogers needs to suck it up. Then, imagine the trade value for Rogers IF thats what it came to. Im sure Tennessee might want to look at a trade. It would be absolutely disastrous to have an unmotivated Rogers though, and that would plummet any trade… The total browns thing to do is hang on to him, not have this thing go away and have Rogers decrease his play over the next year or two, then try to get a trade done for some nobody, or low draft picks.
Since we don’t know all the facts, it is hard to sift out where the blame for this should be assigned. At the end of the day, it is just more dysfunctional energy emanating from Berea, and further damages the hope of the fan base.
Why can’t they just get it together?….
I just want to know what the real story behind all this is, and I hope there is one. I like Rogers and what he can do for this team, but if this really is why he would want out, then I have zero respect for that. This isn’t grade school: if you get your feelings hurt, suck it up, be a man, and deal with it. You still have a job to do, and you’re darn sure still getting paid for it. If Rogers can be thrown off his game be a simple slight, then I’m not sure I want to be relying on him to help this team succeed.
Part of me isn’t shocked. After all, the Browns can’t see to do *anything* right these days.
But, then part of me remembers things like, “Kevin Shaffer wants to be traded” right after we drafted Joe Thomas. It’s all posturing by their agents. I’m sure Rogers would rather play for his salary than be deactivated in each game, no?
And, Randy:
“Since my comments and anything critical of the Browns seems to be censored all around…”
Since I believe I was the first member of the WFNY writing team to say something to you in the comments about the negativity, I feel like part of that statement is directed my way, so I’ll chuck my $.02 into the ring.
No one is censoring you, and especially not “all around”. The point of my initial criticism wasn’t to get you to ‘shut up and get in line!’ or anything of that ilk; far from it. You’re certainly entitled to your opinion, and we love to have differing viewpoints. Originally, my gripe was that you basically said the same thing over… and over… and over… and it was getting tiresome. So, not “censorship” so much as “OK, we get it. Let’s move on.”
The only reason any Browns comments were removed from the Cavs thread was context; not censorship.
I would say this given the current story: does it reflect well on Mangini? Maybe not. But, what does it say about Rogers that a grown man being paid HANDSOMELY to play a freaking sport is so put out by his coach not saying “hi” to him? Seriously?
To me, unless someone can a) verify that Mangini purposefully went out of his way to slight Rogers in public, and b) verify that Rogers truly does want out (which, per Scott’s point about cap numbers, and the greater fact that he’s the best player on our team not named “Cribbs”, ISN’T GOING TO HAPPEN), I’m going to play the waiting game (“Awww, the waiting game sucks. Let’s play Hungry Hungry Hippos!”). Until then, it’s a non-issue for me. There are two months until the draft, and FA hasn’t started yet. It’s silly-season.
Big Baby is a tremendous talent and for Man-Kok to not do their homework on this guy from an emotional standpoint is arrogant and disgraceful. We know his history, they know his history, why not take him aside and tell him you need him Man-Kok? Arrogance does not mean excellence. Last I checked, the “Mangenius” was interviewing with just (1) team after being broomed by the Jets and Georgieboy was hired AFTER the coach. Get it together guys. But, in their defense, their boss won’t even show up at the presser– so why should they talk to their best player?
I like your Simpsons reference DP
I feel nothing but disaffect about the Browns right now. I guess I should maybe be alarmed in one way either about the regime or Rogers, but I feel nothing.
The Fans embraced Rogers and cheered for him all year, and for him to want out now because our coach didn’t say hi to him? Are you kidding me? I feel like that’s a slap in the face to me as a person who pays that mans salary. GET OVER YOURSELF SHAUN!!! I mean look I’m in college and am coming out 60K in debt roughly, he’s wanting out of a contract with $15 more million guaranteed? Athletes make me sick.
I know this is a late reply, but I’m not the least bit worried about this… it’ll be easily fixed by a shout-out at a team meeting or a one-on-one call from Mangini. Not a real issue.
What a wuss. Well, I guess we now know the one thing Romeo was good at as HC… massaging Rogers’ ego.
That said, I’m nearly at the point of complete apathy. The organization is such a joke from top to bottom… nearly everything out of Berea is an embarrassment anymore, be it player problems or their NSA-level secrecy (God forbid they reveal the secret strategy for finishing in last place every year) and arrogant/belligerent approach to their fans & customers. I’m just about ready to say I don’t care anymore.
[…] within the league, I assume he will be more than happy to take his $6 million bonus that he was reportedly willing to pass up if […]
[…] is an emotional player, but one that had tendencies to become a problem when not happy. Things started off poorlyright out of the gate as Rogers was demanding trades, voicing his displeasure and anything of that […]