It’s always good to have options
In life, it’s always good to have options. And the same can be said for Cleveland’s sports teams.
With the NFL Draft a little more than a week away, the Browns have plenty of holes to fill and options as they currently hold the No. 6 selection in the first round.
If they want to fill a hole at wide receiver, A.J. Green or Julio Jones should be there.
If they want to continue working on the defense, a defensive lineman – Robert Quinn, Marcell Dareus, Da’Quan Bowers or Nick Fairley – should be available.
You want a linebacker? Maybe Von Miller falls if the teams ahead of the Browns go quarterback heavy.
If the Browns want another cornerback, Patrick Peterson or Prince Amukamara will be available.
Options.
Or if general manager Tom Heckert believes he can move down in the draft and still get someone the team wants, they may find trading partners with Houston (No. 11) as the Texans reportedly want a cornerback or Miami (No. 15) as the Dolphins may be looking at a quarterback – if one falls to No. 6.
As long as the Browns don’t take a quarterback with their first pick, we’re confident they will make the right call. Based on last year’s draft, we have faith in the front office until they give us reason to doubt them.
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The Cavs also have options as they prepare for this summer’s NBA Draft.
Holding two lottery picks (their own and the Clippers) means that, best-case scenario, the Cavs come home with the top two picks in the draft. Worse case, they take the 5th pick and the 11th.
No matter what happens at the draft lottery on May 17, general manager Chris Grant is ready.
“From our standpoint, we’re in a really good position: high picks, trade exception, flexible contracts,” Grant said in published reports. “Every year we know one thing: We know there’s 10-15, 12-15 good players. Our job is to figure out who those guys are. Those are the marching orders we give our scouts: Go figure out who those guys are.”
So while, according to draft “experts” this may be a bad year to be in the draft lottery – having Harrison Barnes, Jared Sullinger and Perry Jones available certainly would have helped – if the Cavs do their homework they should come out of this alright. And having two lottery picks certainly increases the chances of finding solid – if not necessarily spectacular – players.
And we like what we hear from Grant. He seems thoughtful and we get the feeling that the Cavs are in good hands with him calling the shots. The fact he turned Mo Williams and Jamario Moon into a lottery pick can’t be understated.
Coach Byron Scott did his part in getting the team through a tough season. Now it’s Grant’s turn to step up and give the team some much-needed reinforcements.
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Thankfully the Indians have options when it comes to their starting pitching, as Mitch Talbot is going to be out – possibly for a long time.
The Tribe called up Jeanmar Gomez to take Talbot’s spot in the rotation and Gomez is scheduled to start tonight’s game in Kansas City against the Royals.
Gomez made his major-league debut last year in July and returned to the Tribe on Aug. 1. He spent the rest of the season with the Tribe, compiling a 4-5 record and 4.68 earned-run average. In two starts this year at Triple A Columbus, Gomez posted a 2-0 record and 1.42 ERA.
Hopefully someone clued Gomez in to the fact that the starting pitching has been lights out so far.
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We get why ESPN hypes Jon Gruden. He works for the network and they have a brand to sell, and Gruden is nothing if not a brand at this point.
His Quarterback Camp segment on ESPN is completely unwatchable and the five minutes we caught this morning where he was gushing about Blaine Gabbert’s shoe size and ability to wear a baseball cap backwards makes us so, so glad the Browns didn’t hire him as coach. (We think it was Gabbert, it was difficult to tell because our ears were bleeding from Gruden’s rambling).
What’s harder to figure out is why any media outlet not affiliated with ESPN continues to sell the myth that Gruden is some kind of quarterback guru, hanging on every word he utters.
Seriously, what quarterback did Gruden ever develop?
Former Tampa quarterback Shaun King, who played two years under Gruden, agrees, telling JoeBucFan.com that he won’t watch the program:
“I won’t watch it,” King said. “I disagree with the premise of the show. The premise is that Gruden is some kind of quarterbacks guru and that having him as a destination for a rookie QB is the ideal situation for a rookie and that just hasn’t proven to the case.”
Thank you, Mike Holmgren, for being smart enough to not let Gruden get his hands on Colt McCoy.
Red Right 88 