Here's betting on 'Mo'

I'm with Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan. I predict Maurice Clarett will be not only a valuable addition to Denver, but a top-shelf NFL back.
What the heck, it isn't costing me anything.
If I'm wrong, who's gonna remember?
If Shanahan is wrong, you can bet everyone's going to remember.
I'm not basing my prediction on anything as scientific as NFL combine times.
Are those timings anything more than a fat guy with a stopwatch? Too much has been made of those runs.
Is Clarett a couple tenths slow? Seems so. But does that really matter? Enough to warrant the NFL's obsession with 40-yard times at the running back position?
One critic said Clarett wasn't worth much because "NFL linebackers are faster than that." OK. But I bet if Clarett is mostly being caught from behind by linebackers on the plus side of the line of scrimmage, he won't have to buy his own drinks in Denver.
Running backs needmore than speed
It has to take more than the fastest 40 to make a great running back.
It's surprising that Jim Brown ran a 4.4 in the 40 because speed is not what we remember the Cleveland Brown for. We only remember how many times he could run 10 yards with three guys on top of him.
It's also surprising that Emmitt Smith ran it in 4.7, about the same time as Clarett, because we think of Smith as a great Dallas back.
On top of that, Clarett has not been in a full-time football program for more than two years. A little time on the couch has got to slow down the legs a little, no? So shouldn't the rigors of NFL training regain some of that speed back?
I think instinct, vision, power, the ability to cut, the first five yards of acceleration and determination are what make great running backs.
And something else, too. I think they need to be smart, at least to achieve and maintain greatness in today's pitfall-plagued league.
This is where I'm hoping Clarett has improved -- in his decision making.
Mixed feelingsabout Clarett
So far, I've had a love-hate relationship with Clarett.
Loved the national championship.
Loved the obvious talent.
Loved the smart play of a kid, who despite his age had enough football savvy to wait for blocks, find holes and even break up interceptions when needed.
Hated the stupid off-field decision to file a false theft report with police to make a couple extra bucks on insurance.
Hated the allegations leveled at OSU's savior of the century, Jim Tressel.
This wasn't because I dismissed the claims. I just thought they were stupidly made and at the wrong time. Hated even more the fact that they might be true.
This is where Clarett needs to show he's grown up at 21.
This kid has the ability to be a star or an inmate.
At his press conference after Denver drafted him, I saw a contrite kid who had been humbled by having his game taken away from him and wanted to work hard.
That's also what I wanted to see. But actions speak louder than words.
But it's his past faults that I think have me pulling for Clarett most of all.
I guess I'm just hoping that I'll see a guy enter the NFL and become a better person than he was two years before he went in. And no, I don't want to bet anything more than a little heart on it.
I'll let Shanahan take the real gamble.
XDan Shingler is a columnist for The Tribune in Albuquerque, N.M.