DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Jordan Norwood #2

I was watching the video of the practice footage and this guy stood out to me.

He probably ends up as a practice squad guy, but I noticed he looked very quick and fluid in his cuts as he ran through his drills. I can't believe this guy ran such a slow 40 time.

He might be this year's "Brandon Rideau" based on what little footage I've seen. Just someone to watch out for.

I've also got my eyes on some of the UDFA pass rushers (didn't see them in the drills though, I'm talking the previous videos I've watched of them...can't wait to see them in the preseason). Anyone else you're keeping an eye on?

Is there like an "All-Time UDFA Team" list?

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He might be this year's "Brandon Rideau"...

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Which doesn't excite me a whole lot.

I know... I was just remembering how some posters were excited about Rideau... I probably was, as well. But obviously he didn't pan out.

As I kept saying throughout the draft process....Norwood was the best PSU-WR in the draft...Williams got all the hype, Butler got the speed....Norwood had same stats with less opportunities..but he does not have hype and track speed....from all the UDFAs I liked him, Hunt, the Akron S/RB/Ret and the Bama G the most...if any UDFA makes the squad it´ll be 1 of those guys

Norwood won´t make it though because of number of WRs we already have....shortly after we picked him up I was joking with a friend and told him that he´ll outperform Massa "the bum" and stil get cut

the other 3 have better chances since there isn´t as much depth to battle at their resp. positions

our WR-core is pretty much set barring injuries/trades:

1.BE
2.Robo (can´t cut him)
3.winner of Patten/Steptoe/Hubbard/Leggette/Norwood...here´s his small chance but since we already have 2 rookies in Patten/Steptoe have a huge advantage
4.Massa (can´t cut him)
5.Cribbs (can´t cut him)

Don´t see us carrying 6 WRs...he´s a PS-lock though

hahaha, yep.
Grasping at straws, anything that might offer hope... we all do it from time to time.

I wonder what Ben Gay's doing ..

Another can't miss. 
He was a Legend for about 15 minutes.

I believe Rideau has a chance to start for the Bears this year. There has been several undrafted that have shown the talent to play in this league. The receiver we cut that plays a lot for the saints is another prime example. Then you have guys like Bodden and Holly.

Brandon Rideau is still in the NFL???

didn't know that.... good for him.

Yea he is stll hanging in up there most bears fans love the guy and he will be given a shot this year to make an impact. It shows hard work can pay off. Oo and guy i was thinking of with the saints is lance moore.

I didn't know we cut Lance Moore. He looked great last year.

One thing I remember about Rideau is thinking "my Lord, that guy catches everything thrown near him!" There just must have been other things that I wasn't picking up on.

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Which doesn't excite me a whole lot.

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actually, I remember going to camp the year he came in and I thought, who the hell is that. Big kid, good hands, fast has heck. I'm not sure why he never caught on.. maybe downfield blocking or bad route running.. dunno.. But he was impressive at camp..

Don't mean a thing unless you see it on the field I guess.

My question regarding an UDFA type WR would be this .....

How does he do on special teams? Does he stand out as outstanding on all of the units?

Frankly, that is the best route for an UDFA type to make it to the NFL. Excel on special teams while working to impress in practice at your "other" position, and make an impact when/if you get a chance.

I think Rideau was let go because of the following reasons:

1. Wasn't a special teams player (didn't have the strength/attitude for it)
2. He was tall, but not particularly strong. Had trouble getting around press coverage and was easily bumped off his routes
3. Was among the worst of the WRs in camp at blocking downfield.

Perhaps he's improved. We'll see if he makes any noise in Chicago.

Yup, that seems to be what I remember now that I think about it.

Didn't he play that one game where he scored two rushing TDs?

Hopefully this years Welker

JMHSuggestion

he only had 1 TD in his career...1 season career.

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our WR-core is pretty much set barring injuries/trades:

1.BE
2.Robo (can´t cut him)
3.winner of Patten/Steptoe/Hubbard/Leggette/Norwood...here´s his small chance but since we already have 2 rookies in Patten/Steptoe have a huge advantage
4.Massa (can´t cut him)
5.Cribbs (can´t cut him)

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Don't forget Furry

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=1230441&type=story

Tuesday, July 24, 2001
Updated: August 1, 6:11 PM ET
Browns give high school phenom fresh start
Associated Press

BEREA, Ohio -- Going through life named after a sports cream, Ben Gay has heard his fair share of jokes.

"Everyday," said Gay, the rookie running back trying to win a job with the Cleveland Browns. "Everywhere I go."'

Moving around, however, has been Gay's downfall.

And, pardon yet another punch line, but this Ben Gay has rubbed some people the wrong way.

A Texas high school football phenom, Gay has been on the run for the past three years. And he hasn't been tackled so much as he's tripped over his own feet.

"He's such a mystery," said Dwight Clark, Cleveland's director of football operations.

“ I can't really say I'm most like one person. I'm a mixture, Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen, Jim Brown. I just take a piece from everybody who already did it and add on. ”
— Rookie running back Ben Gay

Recruited by nearly every major football college the country, Gay had a short stay at Baylor before grade problems made him ineligible and he was dismissed for rules violations.

There was his 1998 stopover at Garden City Community College in Kansas where he rushed for 1,500 yards in nine games. Then it was on to the CFL. He lasted just two weeks.

Gay has been compared to Bo Jackson and Emmitt Smith. He's been called a man-child. A mystery.

At just 21, the engaging Gay has gone from a being a legend to a longshot.

Now, he's starting over -- again.

"I'm here. I made it to the show," Gay said. "I can't think of doing nothing else in my life right now. I'm looking at this as a beginning. I'm looking at this as my new life."

Browns coach Butch Davis, who tried to recruit Gay at Miami, called him last week and offered Gay a chance to play in the NFL.

"He said, 'I know you can play ball, Now come here and be a man'," Gay recalled. "I love coach Davis. He makes me want to work real hard. He has given me the chance of a lifetime."

The Browns signed Gay as a free agent last week on Davis' recommendation and after Clark watched film of him in dominating junior college defenders.

"He was bigger than the offensive lineman," Clark said. "He was a big man, ran over people, had excellent vision. He broke a lot of tackles on the one tape we saw."

Like Bo Jackson?

"I hope so," Clark said. "Without the bad hip. It seems like every year there's a story like this. But this to me is more intriguing than any I've been involved with, just because he was such a great high school player and then nobody knew what happened to him."

Gay has heard the comparison's to Jackson, too. He's got a few of his own.

"I can't really say I'm most like one person," said Gay, who is wearing No. 34 -- Jackson's number. "I'm a mixture, Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen, Jim Brown. I just take a piece from everybody who already did it and add on."

Davis has know about Gay since 1997 when the 6-foot-1, 225-pounder rushed for 2,217 yards in his senior season at Spring High School near Houston.

Like everyone else, Davis wanted Gay badly.

Gay said his household was overrun by letters from colleges from coast-to-coast.

"I had bags," Gay said. "We had to put another phone line in for recruiting calls. They called at four in the morning."

Gay chose Baylor, but said if he wanted to, he could have gone straight to the NFL. However, he was a Prop 48 casualty as a freshman and now admits he should have worked harder on his studies.

"Getting to class was easy," he said. "Staying there was the hard part. I just wanted to play football."

Gay said he left the Edmonton Eskimos after just one exhibition game because his daughter, Makayla, was about to be born. He doesn't regret leaving like some other things in his colorful past, and said he has now grown up.

He admits being selfish, and foolish.

"It's not all about me anymore," he said. "I've got a little girl. I've got people counting one me now. "

After Monday's practice, Davis called Gay an "80-to-1 long shot" to make the Browns.

Gay thinks his odds are a lot better than that.

"We'll see," he said. "But this isn't my last chance. It's a new beginning."

Don't remember jackson, but wasn't there speculation that Andre KIng was a "locker room spy" for Botch?
the good old days...