OWEN MARECIC---FB

[Vegasdogg]

Originally Posted by Brown Warrior

I appreciate his indignation and all... but I've seen the guy try to catch a ball. It's not pretty.

I have a feeling that when BAL signs him they're not going to care if he can catch.LOL

[Brown Warrior]

Originally Posted by Vegasdogg

I have a feeling that when BAL signs him they're not going to care if he can catch.LOL

Yeah, but it matters in the WCO. He was saying he can catch... and I've seen some of those absolutely ugly attempts to prove it.

[Vegasdogg]

Originally Posted by Brown Warrior

Yeah, but it matters in the WCO. He was saying he can catch... and I've seen some of those absolutely ugly attempts to prove it.

We agree. I can only hope this FB blocks as well as Vickers. It matters that he is a good FB, but can he block and catch within the scheme? Who knows, Vickers may not have worked out. It is just really hard getting rid of arguably the top FB in the NFL. Plus he was well liked by us fans. Those guys don't grow on trees and it's hard to let go.

But, we sort of knew this was coming........

[Riffer X]

Vickers was gone when they made the decision to get rid of EM and go WCO with Shurmer. He costs money being up for FA at a position where you can get away paying damn near league minimum for a good player. He came into the league a pretty decent athlete and receiver, but he dropped too many balls over his career and appears more of a dump off guy than someone who can actually run routes.

I will also swear that DA and Queen really screwed this kid up. I think he lost confidence simply from dropping or juggling passes from those two and started thinking too much.
He is also at a position where the longevity factor comes into play. How much do you want to stick with a guy like that at a position normally without a very long career---and pay him?

Not only that, but I have always felt he may have been a bit of a character concern in the locker room. He was tight with Winslow and Edwards and they had a clique thing going, but he was also precariously close to dumbass penalties quite often. He may have been popular because of his style of play and all that, but I am not sure he was the best influence around.

Another point: The Browns have made it quite known that they are really looking forward to using Hardesty with Hillis when he gets back, so although Marecic will be the “starting” FB on paper, he will be mostly a part of a rotational trio with the 3. Marecic is going to bring a lot more to this team than just playing a part time FB role though; he will be on every special team and maybe even see some backup looks at LB.

[OzDawg]

I don't follow football at all except the NFL. Had no idea who this guy was, but, after reading a bit I like the pic.

excerpt from a SI article:
"In 30 years of being in college and pro football, I haven't seen a guy like him," says Harbaugh. "He does everything right, all the time, the first time. He has everything—strength, humility, intelligence. He's everything I envisioned being as a football player."
As the Cardinal's starting fullback and middle linebacker Marecic (pronounced mah-REE-sik) isn't just perfect, he's unique: He is the only player in I-A who is starting on both sides of the ball. In last Saturday's 68--24 blowout of Wake Forest he played 52 snaps in the first half—27 on defense, 25 on offense. (With the game's outcome secure he played sparingly in the second half.) A handful of players have started both ways in the last 20 years, most of them at wide receiver and cornerback, such as Georgia's Champ Bailey (1996--98) and Ohio State's Chris Gamble (2001--03). Unlike those two Marecic, a senior captain, is playing a brutally concussive combination that was the province of such football legends as Jim Thorpe, Bronko Nagurski and, more recently, Chuck Bednarik, the so-called Last 60-Minute Man who had menaced opponents as center and linebacker for Penn back in the 1940s before moving to the NFL. "On a team like ours middle linebacker is the identity of the defense, and fullback is the identity of the offense," says Harbaugh. "That's where real football players play. Vince Lombardi would be proud of Owen Marecic."

The whole article is long.
Stanford's Owen Marecic is the ultimate throwback

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by OzDawg

I don't follow football at all except the NFL. Had no idea who this guy was, but, after reading a bit I like the pic.

excerpt from a SI article:
"In 30 years of being in college and pro football, I haven't seen a guy like him," says Harbaugh. "He does everything right, all the time, the first time. He has everything—strength, humility, intelligence. He's everything I envisioned being as a football player."
As the Cardinal's starting fullback and middle linebacker Marecic (pronounced mah-REE-sik) isn't just perfect, he's unique: He is the only player in I-A who is starting on both sides of the ball. In last Saturday's 68--24 blowout of Wake Forest he played 52 snaps in the first half—27 on defense, 25 on offense. (With the game's outcome secure he played sparingly in the second half.) A handful of players have started both ways in the last 20 years, most of them at wide receiver and cornerback, such as Georgia's Champ Bailey (1996--98) and Ohio State's Chris Gamble (2001--03). Unlike those two Marecic, a senior captain, is playing a brutally concussive combination that was the province of such football legends as Jim Thorpe, Bronko Nagurski and, more recently, Chuck Bednarik, the so-called Last 60-Minute Man who had menaced opponents as center and linebacker for Penn back in the 1940s before moving to the NFL. "On a team like ours middle linebacker is the identity of the defense, and fullback is the identity of the offense," says Harbaugh. "That's where real football players play. Vince Lombardi would be proud of Owen Marecic."

The whole article is long.
Stanford's Owen Marecic is the ultimate throwback

Thanks for sharing that Oz! That's pretty high praise from Harbaugh. It'll be interesting to see where his skills and smarts fit best. I've been longing for a smart, instinctive LBer inside who has impact vrs the point of attack at the front end of plays. I'd rather see a kid like this inside and Jackson outside. That said, if anyone has ever seen the Lindy Infante passing game that Harbaugh took to Stanford (after playing QB for Infante in the pros) - the FB is vitally important as Harbaugh says above.