Mike Holmgren Isn’t That Into Jimmy Clausen
When the Cleveland Browns traded former Notre Dame star quarterback Brady Quinn last week, there was some speculation that the move meant the Browns were looking at drafting Jimmy Clausen as their new quarterback of the future. Comments from Cleveland president Mike Holmgren Sunday, suggest otherwise.
Holmgren told the Cleveland Plain-Dealer:
“I wish I liked him (Clausen) more,” he said. “You know how you have a type of player that you like? It’s not scientific. People like him a lot. He’ll go high. But it would be hard for me [to take him].”
Either Holmgren is playing games or he really isn’t interested in drafting Clausen. It’s not surprising that Holmgren would downplay his interest in a potential draft pick, it is surprising in the manner in which he made his comments though. He almost went out of his way to say he didn’t like Clausen.
Clausen meanwhile shouldn’t lose too much sleep over it – the Browns are in horrible shape right now and barely have a semblance of an offense for any quarterback to succeed, let alone excel in. They recently traded for Senneca Wallace and Jake Delhomme to hold down their quarterback situation – a sign that the new regime might be willing to build the team back up before investing in their next quarterback of the future.
Even if the Browns do indeed steer clear of Clausen, it’s doubtful that he will make it outside of the top 10. Both Washington at #4 and Buffalo at #9 have been linked to Clausen in various mock drafts. From a Notre Dame fan’s perspective, Washington would be the better of the two destinations with some solid, young weapons on the Redskin offense.
As a die-hard Eagles fan though, it would be very tough to cheer for the Redskins when they aren’t playing my beloved Birds.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
If the Browns didn’t keep Quinn there is no way they draft Clausen. Both QBs should be glad to have jobs elsewhere anyway…
Jimmy Clausen should thank God the Browns don’t like him : look what they did to Brady Quinn!!!
agreed. i am a browns fan. The o line is not bad, but there are NO players at the skill positions at all. Jamal Lewis was good….3 years ago. He’s old and slow now.
-Braylon had one good season and then started dropping the ball…literally lol.
-Kellen Winslow was very effective with brady quinn, but he was traded. Now who is the number 1 receiver? Mohammed Massaquoi? He’s a good number 3 on any other team.
I completely agree. You have to be a moron to go to the Browns. You see how ineffective they were in putting pieces together for their previous two quarterbacks.
Clausen should thank his lucky stars if Holmgren is telling the truth. Any QB that gets drafted there should go the route of Elway and Eli Manning, and refuse to play there. It’s where careers go to die…even Oakland is a better job.