Red Right 88

Time to take it easy, champ

Cleveland Browns legend Jim Brown, with the help of the local media, continued to grind his axe against Mike Holmgren on Thursday.

ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi gave Brown the opportunity to continue to talk down the team’s top pick, running back Trent Richardson.

“I haven’t heard anyone say anything special about (Richardson). Have you?” Brown said. “I think Richardson is a fine young man. I think he’s a good all-around football player. But from my standpoint, that’s ordinary. You talk about someone that’s going to move or light up the franchise or create a certain kind of thing, that’s what I’m talking about. I’m not trying to be mean. There are certain people you look at and there’s something special about them. I don’t see it.

“When you think of greatness and the great backs, they all had some individual traits that you can identify – quickness, balance, power, speed,” Brown said. “I think the kid is a good working back, and if you’ve got everything else around him he can play his role. But when it comes to outstanding, I don’t see anything outstanding about him. It’s not said in a cruel manner. He’s very efficient, and that’s what you want.”

Like everyone else, Brown is entitled to his opinion. While it’s not clear what the end game is to his comments, we have a pretty good idea about his motivation.

“So you tell all those people that want to look at me, look at what you’ve got. You’re sitting on a mess,” Brown said. “You’ve got a guy that doesn’t give interviews except in other cities. I ask all the people in Cleveland, do you get the impression that Mr. Holmgren wants to be there? If you do, then tell me.”

It seems clear Brown is frustrated that Holmgren asked Brown to leave his job as an executive advisor where he was paid $500,000 a year to do … something … it’s not really clear what.

A lot of people seem to think that Richardson is the real deal. For example, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said after the draft that, “They’re saying this kid is so special. … You play the Steelers, Ravens, Bengals — bad weather, sloppy fields. What does this kid do for you? He keeps you in the game, he shortens the game, and he gives you a chance to win in the fourth quarter.”