Dirk Diggler Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?id=1861301 By Len Pasquarelli ESPN.com BEREA, Ohio -- In his first comments since being baptized into the NFL during last Saturday's preseason loss, rookie Kellen Winslow essentially challenged his Cleveland Browns teammates to match his intensity level and defended his emotional outbursts as a function of his competitiveness. As an aside, the former Miami tight end also said that he's asked defensive coordinator Dave Campo to provide him some snaps as a pass rusher in training camp. And he said all of it with a straight face, following a morning practice in which Winslow demonstrated both his enormous playmaking skills and proved he can sometimes manage to keep his passions in check. "I only know one speed and I'm going to go 100 percent every play," said Winslow, the sixth player chosen overall in the draft. "I think the Browns need this. We all need [to do] this. We want [to make] a name for ourselves. We want to make our identity." The words might have seemed unusual coming from a callow rookie, even one with the special skills Winslow possesses, but Winslow did not back down. Basically, he seemed to be exhorting everyone on the roster to follow his lead, perhaps forgetting that he has been in camp only a week. Asked to clarify his admonition, Winslow said: "I wasn't here last year ... but they only won five games." Certainly the former Hurricane, who last Tuesday night signed a six-year contract that could net him up to $40 million and included $16.5 million in guaranteed bonuses, is no shrinking violet on or off the field. In the preseason opener, he tussled with Titans safety Lamont Thompson. And then in the Monday practice, he took on teammate Roosevelt Williams, knocking the corner on his back after catching a pass in the left flat. Williams charged that Winslow displayed "unprofessional" behavior on the play. The physical skills possessed by Winslow are undeniable. In the Tuesday practice, he demonstrated the ability to create natural separation from the safeties, particularly in the red zone. Just as obvious, however, is the fact that Winslow, the son of the Hall of Fame tight end of the same name, will need to mature quickly. He acknowledged that he expects to be baited by opponents because of his penchant for losing control of his emotions. Even during Tuesday's practice, it was clear some of his teammates are themselves attempting to get under Winslow's skin. He didn't deny that he can be prodded into mistakes. "I've just got to make better decisions," he said. To date, at least, Winslow seems to have meshed pretty well with his more experienced teammates. There may be some who believe it is incongruous for a rookie to have tried to take on a leadership role, but most understand Winslow is a unique talent and that he will only hasten the Browns' improvement. "I love the attitude he brings to the team," said defensive tackle Gerard Warren. "It's something extra he adds in a positive way." Speaking of something extra, Winslow allowed he wanted to do more to help the team, and said he approached Campo about allowing him to play some at defensive end. That isn't about to happen, of course, but Winslow likely won't let the request die easily. "He said we'll look at it," Winslow said of Campo's reaction. Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpgirth Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Winslow is a _ _ A$$ act. We made the right choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurent Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Wow what a jacka**. He's been in camp for a week and he's already calling out his teammates... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manichispanic Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 no one can deny that he plays with intensity, but we can call him a jackass in the process Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngbuck Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Originally posted by laurent Wow what a jacka**. He's been in camp for a week and he's already calling out his teammates... :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: here goes the Winslow hating again. You're going to criticize a guy who calls out his teammates to practice & play harder? Also a guy who's willing to play both ways to help his team? So what if he's a rookie, if he sees someone half assing it he should just forget about it? From his teammates stance they seem to love it. If this was anyone Taylor or anyone else you would be praising the guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cskin Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 I'll be suprised if the Brown vets don't invite him to a "sock party" and tell him there is no need to bring a sock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmchairRedskin Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Originally posted by youngbuck :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: here goes the Winslow hating again. You're going to criticize a guy who calls out his teammates to practice & play harder? Also a guy who's willing to play both ways to help his team? So what if he's a rookie, if he sees someone half assing it he should just forget about it? From his teammates stance they seem to love it. If this was anyone Taylor or anyone else you would be praising the guy. Winslow is a jackass. He's been in camp a week and played one preseason game in which he not only got his a$$ handed to him by Starks, but also got pulled out of the game for being a jackass and throwing a punch. How is he gonna start trying to be a leader before he ever proves himself on the field? He has to get over his childish mentality first. Intensity is one thing, being a jackass is another. Also, if you read the article, not all of his teammates like it. So far he's all mouth and poor attitude. What do you do? Troll all the boards of the teams Miami players end up on and defend them at every chance? That's sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butz65 Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Originally posted by youngbuck :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: here goes the Winslow hating again. You're going to criticize a guy who calls out his teammates to practice & play harder? Also a guy who's willing to play both ways to help his team? So what if he's a rookie, if he sees someone half assing it he should just forget about it? From his teammates stance they seem to love it. If this was anyone Taylor or anyone else you would be praising the guy. I agree - if we had signed Winslow the comments would be that he's got a lot of energy, brings a great attitude to the team, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinker Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 The NFL is not unlike the rest of life except it is perhaps a little exagerated version of regular life. As everywhere else people mostly have to earn the right to citicize their coworkers/teamates. The smart way, generally to do it is to "do the walk" first and then you can start to "do the talk." Obviously wineslow is free to do whatever he wants, but at his own peril. In the end all of Shockey's yapping put a lot of extra intense pressure and scrutiny on him. Last year when this was at its height, he played a game and dropped of ton of easy balls and mentally took himself out of the game. The opposite is a guy like Sapp who talks with the best of them but will answer any question straight up honestly and has backed up his talk with 7 probowls and a ring. When wineslow takes this approach before he's shown ANYTHING (oh he did get pancaked by Randy Starks in his first game) most people will end up just thinking he's an *ss -- however he ends up playing. Football is a team sport - you have to get along with your teamates. The dust bin of history is filled with guys who had great talent but in the end hurt their teams with their behavior (T.O. anyone?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmchairRedskin Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Originally posted by Butz65 I agree - if we had signed Winslow the comments would be that he's got a lot of energy, brings a great attitude to the team, etc. I honestly doubt that. There were a lot of "what's wrong with Taylor" threads and comments just because of the hiring and firing of agents. I'm sure Winslow would catch hell here after holding out, and then in his first preseason game getting punked like he did by Starks, and then throwing a punch at a safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Diggler Posted August 17, 2004 Author Share Posted August 17, 2004 What thinker said. Also. He's not the "ultimate teammate" by asking to play defensive end. He's the ultimate ass for disrespecting his defensive players by implying that he's better than them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallsux Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Originally posted by youngbuck :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: here goes the Winslow hating again. You're going to criticize a guy who calls out his teammates to practice & play harder? Also a guy who's willing to play both ways to help his team? So what if he's a rookie, if he sees someone half assing it he should just forget about it? From his teammates stance they seem to love it. If this was anyone Taylor or anyone else you would be praising the guy. The only problem with it is that he is trying to be a leader when he has clearly not earned it. No doubt that someone needs to step it up in ALL locker rooms & someone who calls out his teammates & tells them they need to step it up is probably in the right...but not necessarily at the right time. Winslow held out for a big contract deal & the Browns were on the verge of franchising his azz before he finally signed. That was a 2 weeks ago-not even. His attitude will cause him problems down the line because he obviously feels he's better than everyone else. I think that's the only point that is really being made here. Not that he shouldn't be pumping his team up, but that he hasn't earned their respect for them to actually listen to him yet. :brownsuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illone Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Winslow is just inexperienced and young. Once he fine tunes his attitude and skills, he will be a force not to be f'd with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallsux Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Originally posted by illone Winslow is just inexperienced and young. Once he fine tunes his attitude and skills, he will be a force not to be f'd with. As long as he does calm down, I agree. Some guys never seem to lose that attitude & it causes them locker room problems throughout their careers & they can never truly find a "home" with any team. David Boston has this problem. That's why Arizona dealt him away. That's why San Diego dealt him away. But, I agree. IF Winslow can cool off & lose some of that attitude & that "I'm better than you" thinking, he will run circles around Shockey. Maybe Heap, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilgamesh Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Sounds like this rookie is going to be a target for folks around the league... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdsknbill Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 You know.... His pop might've told him about DexterManley's rookie year. Now their was an incredibly BRASH young player. I have a friend that was in camp with him in his rookie year. He told me that Dexter, when asked to sing his alma mater fight song, stood up and told the Vets that they should sing to him . NObody aregued and it got quiet. BTW the guy's name is Bill Banks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blondie Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 I don't think he is willing to go both ways to "help his team." I believe he wants to go both ways so he can gain more attention. He was knocked on his butt in the game. Leg sprawled butt down. As was stated........walk the walk.......THEN TALK THE TALK. I am sure most of you are like I am......don't spout off how wonderful you are if you have not shown me you are wonderful. Sean looks better each and every day. Blondie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselPwr44 Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 Winslow is all mouth. At draft time, he felt snubbed because we didn't take him. Then made veiled comments about how he'd pay us back. Didn't he show up late or stand up Joe Gibbs for a pre-draft interview? As some have said earlier, we made the right choice.:2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QBkilla56 Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Originally posted by ArmchairRedskin Winslow is a jackass. He's been in camp a week and played one preseason game in which he not only got his a$$ handed to him by Starks, but also got pulled out of the game for being a jackass and throwing a punch. How is he gonna start trying to be a leader before he ever proves himself on the field? He has to get over his childish mentality first. Intensity is one thing, being a jackass is another. Also, if you read the article, not all of his teammates like it. So far he's all mouth and poor attitude. What do you do? Troll all the boards of the teams Miami players end up on and defend them at every chance? That's sad. The only thing this guy does is defend Miami players. He even defended K2 when he decked the safety in a "non" contact drill. Guess what he used the same response, it would bring intensity. The guy really needs to learn not all Miami players are class acts and some others are just jackasses (K2). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illone Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Again, to reiterate this is just inexperience rearing it's ugly head. Think back to when you guys were 20/21 years of age. I for one thought I knew everything, and wasn't afraid to tell everyone about it. With age comes experience and with experience comes wisdom. Once he gets a little older he won't have so much to prove. He's just trying to earn his stripes. When he got knocked on his a$$ the other day, he got right up and patted the guy on the helmet. Seemed like good sportsmanship to me. I'm not trying to stick up for the guy, only giving him the BOD here, as I think he has potential to do great things. I seriously doubt his dad would let him become the next David Boston. He wants Hall of Fame not shame. :2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert reynolds jr Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 I am a newbie on this website - but - I have no doubt in my mind after reading quite a few posts from many long time members of extremeskins that - If a player needs to be brought up on their behavior - it does not matter who it is or what team they play for - extremeskins members will do it fairly and consistently. Winslow is out of line with his remarks about playing on defense. He is belittling his teammates. His teammates are not even his peers in my opinion. Peers means equals - he is beneath them and sinking lower everytime he exhibits such ludicrous behavior. I say - he deserves to be brought up on his behavior and the extremeskins members are justified for doing so. This site does not discriminate - get it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QBkilla56 Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Originally posted by illone Again, to reiterate this is just inexperience rearing it's ugly head. Think back to when you guys were 20/21 years of age. I for one thought I knew everything, and wasn't afraid to tell everyone about it. With age comes experience and with experience comes wisdom. Once he gets a little older he won't have so much to prove. He's just trying to earn his stripes. When he got knocked on his a$$ the other day, he got right up and patted the guy on the helmet. Seemed like good sportsmanship to me. I'm not trying to stick up for the guy, only giving him the BOD here, as I think he has potential to do great things. I seriously doubt his dad would let him become the next David Boston. He wants Hall of Fame not shame. :2cents: Plays later he took a swing at a safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illone Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Originally posted by LaVarArringtons**** Plays later he took a swing at a safety. :laugh: What an idiot:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor 36 Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Originally posted by youngbuck :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: here goes the Winslow hating again. You're going to criticize a guy who calls out his teammates to practice & play harder? Also a guy who's willing to play both ways to help his team? So what if he's a rookie, if he sees someone half assing it he should just forget about it? From his teammates stance they seem to love it. If this was anyone Taylor or anyone else you would be praising the guy. My, it is not obvious at all that we have a Miami homer here. News Flash - even as a MH, Winslow was a jackass. The only difference now is that he's an over-payed jackass. I perdict before season's end Winslow will be the biggest cancer of the Browns. Gibbs made the right choice by far with Taylor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Winslow wants to go both ways? ...He's obviously been talking to Garcia. Sorry... couldn't resist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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