Do you guys remember eight years ago when David Patten played here? I barely remember it, honestly. Yesterday the Browns inked a 34-year old wide receiving insurance policy. Patten spent the last two seasons in New Orleans, but in 2008 Patten only suited up five times for the Saints; he caught 11 passes last year before injuring his groin. By the time he was healthy, his spot was no longer available due to the play of Lance Moore.
I am not sure why the Browns signed David Patten. With all the other signings the Browns have made this off-season, I was able to come up with some semblance of a reason or strategy that the new front office might be trying to achieve. Not so much on this David Patten signing. While I am sure he has plenty to teach to other players, and I am sure he didn’t cost a lot of money, he really doesn’t upgrade the staff and presents an injury risk due to his advanced age.
So are they hoping Patten can teach Braylon Edwards to run crisp routes and find space in the defense? Are they hoping that he can teach Cribbs, Paul Hubbard and Syndric Steptoe how to be NFL receivers? Are they planning on lining Patten up as the third or (gasp) even the second wide receiver this season?
Again, as I said, I was able to at least guess with the other signings so far. I have no idea how Mangini and company expect to fold a 34 year-old receiver into the plan for next season. By no means with the upheaval in the receiving corps of the Browns do I think they have even close to what will be the starting lineup for next season. Before it is all said and done they might just need Michael Crabtree at #5.
As my brother said when I told him this morning about Patten, “Well, I guess signing David Patten is better than not signing him.”
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Other note, the Browns re-signed big bad Charles Ali yesterday. This move makes me happy. Not that I think Charles Ali is a huge significant part of the team or their gameplan, but I love watching the young 6’2″ 250+ pounder running around blowing people up. He and Vickers are a perfect complement to each other short of having a hall of famer type fullback like Mike Alstott. Anyway, this isn’t a huge deal, I guess.
