Daily Madden: Are The Browns Waving The White Flag?
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - In a stunning early-season move, the Cleveland Browns traded running back Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts, a year after picking him in the first round. In return, Cleveland gets a second first round pick in the next draft. Was this a 'white flag' trade? "They deny it, but it sure looks that way," John Madden told the KCBS Radio morning crew.
"They're probably thinking of positioning themselves for building their club again next year." How will fans react? "Those fans in Cleveland were upset before they traded Richardson," Madden said. "It's been a long time. They're great fans. They're kind of like Chicago Bear fans. You know, the team is bad, the team loses, but they're still there. They're passionate about it... To say that the fans are upset, I think you have to put a 'more' in front of it."
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs face the Eagles in Philadelphia Thursday night. "I think Kansas City has the better team because they have a better defense," Madden said. "You get caught up in these offenses and what (new Eagles' coach) Chip Kelly is doing... but the Eagle defense isn't very good. They play a fast-paced offense and score a lot of points, but you can score a lot of points against them too. So if Kansas City can then score a lot of points and has the better defense, I think that would have to give them an advantage."
Former heavyweight champion Ken Norton, who beat Muhammad Ali in their first match in 1973, died Wednesday night at age 70.
"I was really close to the boxing scene in those years, and Ken Norton was one of the good guys," Madden said. "He was always fun, always kind of smiling and laughing, always in good shape. I knew that his health wasn't good lately, but it's a shock when you lose these guys."
Daily Madden
Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM. And catch John's extra report at 9:15 am Mondays and Fridays on KCBS during the NFL season.
(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
