Cleveland Browns CB Joe Haden feels disrespected by talk of Alabama upsetting his team
As the Cleveland Browns flounder away at 0-12 this season, many have wondered what would happen if No. 1 Alabama, the top college program, squared off against the NFL squad.
However, CB Joe Haden, a former Florida Gator, is sick of that talk. He told Cleveland.com that it’s disrespectful to him and his teammates to compare an NFL team to a college team, no matter how good the Crimson Tide are:
“It’s a smack in the face. It makes you very upset,” he said. “That’s a slap in the face, it doesn’t make any sense. Alabama’s a great program, they’ve got amazing players, they’ve got players that are going to play in the NFL. We’ve got a team full of NFL guys. Comparing college team vs. NFL team is disrespectful.”
Haden is probably right, as it would be very difficult for Alabama to defeat a team of what are basically former college all-stars.
Still, the best way for Haden and his teammates to silence the critics would be to go out and, you know, actually beat a fellow NFL team.
Except, to the speculator’s defense, Cleveland isn’t really made up of former college all-stars. They’ve got Haden, Tank Carder, Josh Gordon, and -compared to college talent- Griffin III… and then who? The rest of their team is made up of players who are pretty much rejects from NFL teams. A lot of them weren’t even that great of college stars. Josh McCown? Raijon Neal? Crowell? Not exactly a murderer’s row even in college. I’m not saying Alabama would win, but it’s more comparable than Haden and the Cleveland Browns would like to admit. They just aren’t good.
Stick to college football, buddy. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Terrelle Pryor is considered one of the best athletes to come out of the state of Pennsylvania in the last 30 years. You conveniently didn’t mention him. They have a hall of fame tackle in joe Thomas. Rg3 won a heisman trophy in college. Sheldon rankins is a stud defensive tackle now and was in college. The players on the browns team is older, smarter, and more physically mature than the bama players. This is disrespectful and the game would be a bloodbath. Side note, Josh Gordon doesn’t play for the browns wich proves you don’t watch the NFL and you’re talking out of your ass.
Yes he does. He’s currently not active, but he’s definitely still on their roster. Pryor’s a play-maker for sure. And no, it’s really not. It’s just fun and games. What’s disrespectful is going 0-12 and staring at 0-16. If they don’t like the tongue in cheek comparisons, they should fix the problem and win. Until then, Bama kicks off as 6.5 point favorites. On the bright side, maybe they’ll pick up one of those players they’re being “disrespectfully” compared to in the draft.
Disrespectful ? How is conjecture disrespectful ? Hayden is being a pussy.
Cats I watch the NFL and have seen all these players you speak of. What I hadn’t seen is a WIN for the Browns this year.
The level of play and speed of the game is at another level in the NFL. Everybody on the browns roster is good enough to be on an NFL team. Not everyone on bamas roster can play in the NFL. Even the younger players who have a future in the NFL still need time to develope. Btw, I’m a bengals fan so I don’t like the browns. I would like to see them get beat by a college team. I just don’t think it could happen.
Also, as a Kentucky fan I’ve heard this same talk in regards to basketball and an NBA team. I can’t see it happening there either.
You would see a “WIN for the Browns this year” if they played the tide.
And going 0-12 isn’t disrespectful????
Win a damn game then and we wouldn’t have having to talk abt this
There is no way that Bama, or any other college team would beat the Browns. That being said, the Browns are singled out for these type discussions because they are winless. Try winning some games before you start feeling “disrespected” by talk of a college team beating you.Perhaps Hayden should spend more time worried about his team, and less time concerning himself with meaningless chatter.
There is no such thing as disrespect when you are 0-12. Win a game and everyone will shut up about this.
Would Alabama beat Cleveland? No. Would it be a blowout? I’m honestly not sure. MUCH of Cleveland’s roster is NFL talent in name only. A lot of them were middling college players, and low-round draft picks. Basically the only obvious advantage they have over ‘bama is size and maturity. Alabama’s quarterback situation, if at all worse, isn’t much worse, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if ‘bama could limit Cleveland to 28-35 points.
Cleveland would almost certainly win the game, but I wouldn’t be all that surprised if it was close for three quarters.
Lets see….Cleveland 0-12….Bama 12-0. Haden beat Bama once in 2008…. at FL.Wait that was Tebow…… Bama dominating FL…..Bama players over last few years killing it in NFL. Landon Collins, Julio, Kirkpatrick, Ingram, Fluker,Cooper,…..and yet Haden says it wont even be close. Sorry guys but it would be closer than you think. Especially if you put coaching staff to coaching staff……