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In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the category “NFL draft”

19 Apr 2011

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.

***

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.

***

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.

***

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.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, Jon Gruden, NFL draft | Leave a comment
06 Apr 2011

Better to be lucky than good

Sometimes in sports it’s better to be lucky than good. Too often, the Browns have been neither, both on the field and on draft day.

We were reminded of that when we read an article by Bob Labriola at steelers.com about how Pittsburgh – thanks to the Browns, of course – landed Hall of Fame cornerback Rod Woodson in the 1987 draft.

The Steelers owned the 10th overall pick in the draft because of their 6-10 record in 1986. The Browns had finished 12-4 and ended the season, of course, with the overtime loss to Denver in the the AFC Championship game.

On draft day, the Browns traded Chip Banks to the San Diego Chargers for the fifth pick of the first round. Since Banks was an outside linebacker, the Browns could have selected Penn State’s Shane Conlan, the highest-rated linebacker in the draft. But coach Marty Schottenheimer out-thought himself, and Cleveland used the fifth overall pick on Duke linebacker Mike Junkin.

Of course they did.

As the rest of the picks fell into place – the Cardinals whiffed by selecting quarterback Kelly Stouffer at No. 6 – Woodson fell to the Steelers.

So remember this story the next time you read that the Steelers win because the Rooneys do things “the right way.” Sometimes it just comes down to dumb luck. (h/t James Walker at ESPN)

***

We were understandably excited when we read that Liverpool plans to invest in some “top players” over the summer as the Reds continue on improving the club.

“There will be movement, that’s for sure,” Damien Comolli, the club’s director of football, told The Guardian. “We are very attractive for a lot of players because of what we did in January and a game like that [the 3-1 defeat of Manchester United] is fantastic publicity for us around the world. Since the day after I was getting phone calls from agents telling me that their player would love to come and that we are going to compete next year if we get it right. We are attractive to a lot of top players and we want to bring top players to this club.”

Despite the prospect of another season apart from the European elite, Comolli believes the club’s profile and the ambition of Fenway Sports Group will produce substantial investment this summer.

And then we saw this in The Wall Street Journal:

Basketball star LeBron James is joining forces with renowned hedge-fund manager John Henry and veteran Hollywood producer Tom Werner in a deal that brings together one of the biggest stars in sports and two of the world’s most renowned teams.

The deal between Mr. James and Fenway Sports Group will give Mr. James a minority interest in the soccer club Liverpool, which FSG owns. FSG, which also owns the Boston Red Sox, is partnering with Mr. James’s sports-marketing firm, LRMR Branding & Marketing to become the exclusive world-wide representative for Mr. James.

The deal marks the first time that a professional athlete at the top of his game has taken an ownership interest in a team with the size and reach of Liverpool, which is one of the most popular and powerful sports teams in the world.

Mr. James said he was “humbled” by the deal and looked forward to donning a red Liverpool jersey and visiting Anfield, the team’s legendary stadium.

According to Deloitte’s 2010 Football Money League report, Liverpool is the world’s eighth-biggest soccer team by revenue, with $320 million in revenue during the 2009-10 season. Liverpool and Manchester United have won 18 top division championships, the most among English teams, and both are wildly popular in Asia, where Liverpool will tour this summer.

“Eighteen championships,” Mr. James said. “I see myself trying to do the same things they have.”

Well that’s just great. We finally get over James leaving the Cavs and now he’s back in our sporting lives.

And forget about 18 championships – would it have killed James to give just one to Cleveland?

***

Just say no to Hate the Heat parties.

***

Dejan Stanković scored a sick goal for Inter Milan in its Champions League game against Schalke.

***

We obviously think Cleveland’s a great place, but sometimes we’re disappointed.

Posted in Cleveland, Cleveland Browns, LeBron James, Liverpool, NFL draft | Leave a comment
15 Mar 2011

Holmgren to fans: Keep Calm & Carry On

Browns President Mike Holmgren met the media on Monday and delivered a message to Browns fan that can be paraphrased as “keep calm and carry on.”

Holmgen said it’s “business as usual” for the team during the lockout.

“It is our feeling and hope that we will play football games [this season],” Holmgren told The Plain Dealer. “We’ve worked very, very hard to begin to establish a program that will win and we are proceeding along those lines.”

”I realize what I’m asking the Cleveland Browns fans to do because they’ve probably heard somebody say, ‘Hey, hang in there,’ for a little bit of time now. But in trying to be real straight with them, I am very, very encouraged about the direction of the football team,” Holmgren told The Beacon Journal. “This will get done, and we will play again. Stay rooting for your favorite team. It’s OK to get frustrated and ticked off on occasion, but the beauty of it is you’ll be there when the good times come.”

Good times? In Cleveland? Sign us up!

The problem is, no one knows when we will see football again. We’re still confident that, someway, there will be a season this fall, but no one really knows what impact the work stoppage will have on the Browns as they install new offensive and defensive systems.

Wisely, the Browns made sure quarterback Colt McCoy received a copy of the playbook before teams had to cut off contact with the players, which should pay off once teams can start practicing again.

“You can visualize yourself doing it and I think he can,” coach Pat Shurmur told The Plain Dealer. “When he gets more and more schooled in our approach, I think it’ll become more familiar and hopefully he’ll be happier and happier about it.

“I think he has the attributes that will make him a good quarterback in any system, especially our system. First and foremost is decision-making. If you have a guy that’s a bad decision-maker, he’ll always break your heart. But Colt’s a good decision-maker.”

We want to believe it’s just football and, since this is the NFL, the players will be able to pick up the new system somewhat easily. Shurmur sounds like he believes that to be the case.

“I guess I’m looking at it more as the glass as half-full than empty,” Shurmur said. “I feel as though the systems we’re teaching are proven. I’ve seen them be taught in a short amount of time. I’m not anxious about it.”

Well, that makes one of us, although it’s good to know the coaching staff isn’t in a panic.

***

Staying in Berea, Holmgren has some in a tizzy because he’s doing the proper thing by scouting and evaluating available college players – even quarterbacks.

“I think with our due diligence as an organization and a personnel department, it’s our obligation to evaluate the best players coming out of college football,” Holmgren said. “Cam Newton is one of those and so, yes, we are looking hard. It’s fun for me anyway; I’ve told you this before.”

This is a good thing; we’re not sure why some can’t see that.

***

Speaking of doing their due diligence, Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller will reportedly visit the Browns in April.

After his strong combine and pro day, Miller is earning a lot of interest among the teams at the top of the draft and is considered by many the top linebacker in the draft.

***

Finally, happy birthday to Liverpool FC!

The club was founded on this day in 1892 by John Houlding, owner of the Anfield stadium. Houlding needed a team for the grounds following a disagreement with Everton that saw the Toffees move to Goodison Park, so Houlding started Liverpool.

Eighteen league titles and five European Cups later, the club is still going strong.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, Keep calm, Liverpool, Mike Holmgren, NFL draft | Leave a comment
02 Mar 2011
3 Comments

Brandon Davies should have gone to OSU

On Tuesday, BYU dismissed starting forward Brandon Davies from the team for the rest of the season for a violation of the school’s honor code. Davies reportedly had sex with his girlfriend.

Davies, who started 26 of 29 games for the third-ranked Cougars, averaged 11.1 points and a team-leading 6.2 rebounds. The team felt his loss right away, losing Wednesday night to New Mexico.

The dismissal greatly reduces BYU’s chances of being this year’s Butler in the upcoming NCAA tournament, as Kurt Kragthorpe explains in The Salt Lake Tribune:

This team could not lose afford to lose anybody from the playing rotation, and Davies is one of BYU’s best athletes. The Cougars were not especially deep to begin with, basically using six players for extended minutes and piecing things together from there. … The Honor Code is part of what distinguishes BYU as a private, church-owned school. … There’s obviously no double standard in play for prominent athletes.

No double standard for prominent athletes? What’s that about?

Davies should have gone to Ohio State. Then he would have just been suspended for a game next season against IUPUI.

Clearly BYU needs to get its priorities straightened out.

The only thing we can’t figure out is how Jim McMahon made it through four years at BYU without violating the honor code?

***

Tribe general manager Chris Antonetti reportedly has doubts that center fielder Grady Sizemore will be ready to start the season on the opening day roster.

We’re cool with that. The Indians are not going to contend this season, so we’d rather see Sizemore get healthy and play in the last 140+ games of the season than rush to be ready for the opener and then miss a bigger chunk of the season if he’s not fully healthy.

***

Andy Carroll, the £35 million pound man, is reportedly set to make his Liverpool debut on Sunday against Manchester United.

Time to start earning your money, son.

***

Showing how great minds think alike, Terry Pluto echoes something we touched on briefly yesterday, that the NFL Combine is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to drafting players. Pluto writes that:

When it comes to the NFL draft, let’s hope the Browns do exactly what they did a year ago in the first round — they took the best pure football player, according to their ratings.

They didn’t lose focus with all the smoke from the NFL combine about how Joe Haden’s 40-yard times (about 4.5) showed he couldn’t be a big-time NFL cornerback. In fact, some scouts wondered if Haden could be better suited for safety.

Browns General Manager Tom Heckert did something very surprising for the NFL. He watched game tapes of Haden, over and over. He relied on reports from his scouts, who personally observed Haden in game conditions. They checked his character. They determined he was a guy who could really play, basing that judgment on how he played in games.

Until he shows us otherwise, we’re confident the Browns are in good hands with Heckert and team president Mike Holmgren running the draft board.

***

Staying on the NFL Draft, would the Browns consider selecting Oregon linebacker Casey Matthews?

That would be fine with us – as long as the Browns feel Matthews is a solid pick.

We’d hate for them to pick him, though, solely because they didn’t draft his brother, Clay III, in 2009. That wouldn’t make any sense, but we’re getting the feeling that people seem to be leaning toward that way of thinking.

Hopefully general manager Tom Heckert isn’t one of those people.

Posted in Brandon Davies, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Liverpool, misplaced priorities, NFL draft
26 Feb 2011

Now batting cleanup …

Browns president Mike Holmgren?

OK, not really, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

First off, general manager Tom Heckert and coach Pat Shurmur obviously got the message from Holmgren about Colt McCoy and what Holmgrem wants the team to do.

“I would say that based on what I know to this point, I’m extremely excited about working with Colt and him being our guy. I think that’s where we’re going,” Shurmur said in his first extensive interview since being introduced as Browns coach Jan. 13.

“I thoroughly evaluated Colt last year (as Rams offensive coordinator) when we went through the (draft) process with Sam (Bradford). He’s very talented, works extremely hard, football’s important to him, he’s an accurate passer, he understands timing, he’s a good decision-maker. I think he has all the things you’re looking for in a guy that can be your guy.”

Heckert echoed Shurmur’s comments.

“I think there are some teams saying we need to get a quarterback in free agency or the draft. We’re definitely not at that point,” Heckert said. “We have all the confidence in the world Colt’s going to be good.”

On the upcoming draft, it sure sounds like the Browns are leaning toward filling a hole on defense with their first round pick:

”I think we’ve got two really good (cornerbacks), and the third one, we’ll see,” Heckert said. ”We have a couple guys that we like on our team, but is that a position that we would look at? . . . I think corner is just as good a possibility as anything.”

The one positive to the Browns drafting so high – again – is that, with several holes to fill, they should be able to land someone who can help them (see Joe Haden from last year’s draft).

If defensive linemen Clemson’s Da’Quan Bowers, Auburns’ Nick Fairley or North Carolina’s Robert Quinn are off the board, they can select LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson to pair with Haden. Or Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller. Orthey can go with Georgia’s A.J. Green to fill the gaping hole at wide receiver.

Or, if one of the top quarterbacks is still on the board, they may be able to swing a deal with a team desperate to make a mistake on one-year wonder Cam Newton and bring in extra picks to restock the roster.

So, for now, things are looking good.

As for Holmgren, earlier in the week he said the team is looking to draft “a home-run hitter.”

While he may have mixed up his metaphors, Holmgren’s desire for an impact player signals the team is continuing to think touchdowns (i.e. home runs) instead of field goals (singles?) as they continue to rebuild the team.

And with everyone on the same page maybe, for once, the rebuild won’t end up looking like a condemned building.

***

After losing to the Bulls on Thursday night, the Heat are now a combined 0-5 on the season against Chicago and Boston, 0-2 against Dallas (second-best record in the West) and have yet to play San Antonio (best record in the NBA).

The Heat are also just 12-14 against teams with winning records.

Sounds like Miami should have built a better supporting cast for LeBron James.

***

Finally, David Hirshey at ESPN missed the mark with his criticism of David Beckham this week: Thanks for nothing, Becks.

Hirshey’s main complaint is that Beckham didn’t live up to Hirshey’s expectations after arriving in LA four years ago to play for the Galaxy, writing that:

Great news, everybody: David Beckham is back!

Remember when those words meant something? When the thought of Becks stepping onto an American soccer field made your heart soar because he was going to transform the Los Angeles Galaxy into the second coming of the Cosmos? When it was presumed he would spread the gospel of MLS around the world, just as Pelé did with the NASL back in the day?

Yeah, I remember those 20 minutes too.

So because Hirshey chose to buy into the hype thrown out by MLS and the Galaxy – hype that no one could ever life up to – Beckham is to blame.

We don’t know why anyone chose to believe Beckham alone would somehow transform a minor-league operation like the MLS into something bigger.

Beckham was used to playing on the some of the world’s biggest teams in some of the world’s biggest competitions. Somehow playing in front of 10,000 people in Kansas City isn’t the same.

So Hirshey got duped and now he wants to blame someone. That’s on him; not Beckham.

Hirshey did get one thing right: Grant Wahl’s book, The Beckham Experiment, is a terrific book.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, David Beckham, NFL draft | Leave a comment
24 Apr 2010

Brilliant!

Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert hit a home run in their first draft with the Browns. From filling major holes in the secondary with the picks of Joe Haden and T.J. Ward, to playing the waiting game perfectly and landing Colt McCoy at the exact right time, this has been one of the best draft days since the team returned in 1999.

It’s heartwarming for Browns fans everywhere to finally have credible, knowledgeable, NFL-caliber people in charge of the team. With their years of combined NFL experience working in harmony to rebuild the team, the Browns are finally on the road out of the NFL’s wasteland.

The team formulated a plan and stuck to it, rejecting the urge to over trade or overrate players and take them too high. Holmgren and Heckert also made a point to select players in the first two rounds who can step on the field in September and play – not in a couple of years but now – and who will not be inexplicably placed on the inactive list on a weekly basis.

In fact, Tony Grossi of the Plain Dealer reported that “all the Browns’ draft picks so far are considered by the team to be serious contenders for starting jobs as rookies.”

What a novel approach, not redshirting your draft picks but actually allowing them to play.

Finally, Holmgren and Heckert saw the late-season win streak of last year as the smoke-and-mirror show it was, so they wisely determined that the team can’t have any long-term success with the QB play it was receiving. So they waited patiently for McCoy – accepting the possibility that they would miss out on him – again showing that not only do they have a plan, but that they understand the reality of quarterback play in the today’s NFL.

“I wasn’t going to force-feed it that much,” Holmgren said of the waiting game for McCoy. “Sometimes it just kind of falls to you. If it was going to happen, that’s kind of the way I wanted it to happen.”

And they know that if you can give a rookie QB a few years to mature the odds increase dramatically that he will succeed. So there will be ridiculous quarterback competition this summer in Berea and no chance that McCoy will be named the starting QB this fall. Jake Delhomme and/or Seneca Wallace will handle the position this year and possibly even next. McCoy will be given the time to mature and the opportunity to succeed that is vital in the NFL today.

And Brett Ratcliff can start working on his resume.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, Joe Haden, NFL draft | Leave a comment
23 Apr 2010

A healthy appetite for debate

“I love argument, I love debate. I don’t expect anyone just to sit there and agree with me, that’s not their job.” – Margaret Thatcher

There has been some speculation – primarily from Sports Illustrated‘s Peter King and Yahoo Sports‘ Charles Robinson – that there was some debate within the Browns draft room over who to pick in the first round – Joe Haden or Kyle Wilson.

Browns fans everywhere should be thrilled that the team finally has a functional, knowledgeable front office in place that can rationally talk about the value of two players and reach a consensus.

We’ve been down the dictator road before with Butch Davis, who wanted his voice to be the only one in the room, which is how the Browns ended up with Gerrard Warren.

That doesn’t work.

Having Mike Holmgren working as, in his words “the tiebreaker,” is what this team needs. There is absolutely no downside if Eric Mangini wants one player, lays out his reasons why, and then Tom Heckert, who may want another player, does the same and then Holmgren makes the final decision.

Why would anyone not want the team to function this way?

As for the second-round pick, I have to admit I don’t really know anything about T.J. Ward. But the Browns need help at safety and he plays safety.

However, I also found that “Ward’s junior year, 2008, was his only full season as a starter. He was a backup as a freshman and sophomore, and his senior season was cut short by injury. In fact, Ward has a long history of knee and ankle injuries, which is why it’s a bit of a surprise that he went as high as he did.”

But according to Oregon Live: “Former Oregon safety T.J. Ward hits like a freight train and has enough speed and range to play either safety position in the NFL.

“The knock on him is his durability. Given how fearless he is, injuries are certain to come and they did during his career at Oregon.

“Ward’s stock has fluctuated during the draft process. One NFL scout said he saw Ward as a late-round pick. But Scout Inc. has Ward going in the third round to Dallas. NFLDraftScout.com has him rated as the No. 2 strong safety in the draft.”

Hmm, hits like a freight train sounds good – can we test that out on Hines Ward? Injuries are certain to come sounds bad. Let’s overlook that for now.

The only concern I have with the Browns passing on Colt McCoy or Jimmy Clausen in this spot is the overwhelming evidence that quarterbacks have a higher success rate if they can sit their first year or two in the league. With Delhomme set to start this season, getting a QB this year rather than next year and starting the learning process may have been a good idea.

We’ll see. There’s still the possibility the Browns can move up out of the third round to grab a QB.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, debate, functional, knowledgeable, NFL draft | Leave a comment
23 Apr 2010

The plan is coming together

It’s all starting to come together for the Browns during this weekend’s draft.

When was the last time we could say that?

Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert resisted the voices and did not trade up for Sam Bradford, despite the insanity of a rumor floated out by ESPN’s Michael Smith that the Browns were offering to give up most of their picks in this year’s draft and picks next year to St. Louis to move up.

It’s so comforting to finally have credible, clear-thinking people in charge of the Browns.

And when Eric Berry went off the board the Browns stuck to their plan to fix the defensive secondary and selected Joe Haden.

Things only got better from there as not only did no one bite on drafting Colt McCoy (not a total surprise), but Jimmy Clausen also fell into the second round. And unless a team trades up in front of the Browns, this sets the Browns up perfectly to grab the QB of the future in the second round if they want to. Or they can fill one of multiple holes elsewhere on the team because, let’s be real here, when you rank 31st on defense and 32nd on offense you have a lot of holes to fill.

The last time the Browns drafted someone named Joe in the first round, it worked out pretty well. Optimism remains high that this Joe will be just as solid of a pick.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Joe Haden, NFL draft, optimism | Leave a comment
21 Apr 2010

The draft secret they don’t want you to know

Mel Kiper. Big Board. Fluid hips. Todd McShay. Short arms. Combine. Trade up. Trade down. Pro Day. 40-time. Character issues. Upside. Game changer. Mock drafts. Mike Mayock. War room. Boomer. Sleepers. Busts.

Millions of words have been written and spoken over the past few months about the NFL Draft. Coaches and general managers have spent hours watching video, attending the NFL Combine and college campuses for Pro Days. Self-proclaimed “experts” – like Kiper, McShay and Mayock – have published multiple, often contradictory, mock drafts because they “know” what teams should do on draft day.

But here’s the secret that the NFL and the experts don’t want us to know:

They don’t know any better than we do.

OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. Coaches, scouts and GMs know more than the average hardcore fan, but that extra knowledge gives them only the slightest edge on draft day.

Think about it, if you pick a fan who really follows both the NFL and college football to represent each of the 32 teams in this year’s draft, would they really be at such a disadvantage? Maybe over the course of several drafts the experts would hit on a handful of players that the fan missed, but is that really such a big advantage? Plus that slight advantage would be offset by the GM or coach who tries to outsmart everyone and drafts a player too high (see the Browns second round from last year for an example).

Just look at some of the draft picks over the years; was it really that hard to believe Jamarcus Russell would be a bust? Or that Gerard Warren, who was a dog at Florida, would still be a dog once he cashed a paycheck? Or Ryan Leaf? Todd Marinovich?

The New York Times had a great anecdote in a story this week about the growth of the draft. In 1953, Giants owner Wellington Mara had run out of players on his draft list when his turn came up in the 27th round. He happened to find a copy of The Pittsburgh Courier’s list of the nation’s best African-American players and selected someone from the list: Roosevelt Brown.

Do you honestly think Mara knew Brown would end up in the Hall of Fame?

The NFL Draft is probably 40 percent preparation and 60 percent luck. You really don’t know if a player will get injured (Courtney Brown), just never improve (Kamerion Wimbley) or just not be good enough (Mike Junkin). Or if they will turn into a three-time Super Bowl champion (Tom Brady). Or that Kent State would have more Pro Bowl players last year than Ohio State.

So remember that when you turn on the draft this weekend and someone with a giant helmet of hair is screaming about something.

Now, for what I’m hoping for out of the Browns in the first two rounds:

Best-case scenario: Eric Berry in Round 1 and Colt McCoy, either early in Round 2 or move up to pick him late in Round 1.

Solid scenario: Eric Berry in Round 1 and whoever the Browns believe is the best offensive or defensive lineman in Round 2.

Worst-care scenario: Gutting the draft to trade up for Sam Bradford.

Nightmare scenario: Trading their first-round pick and additional picks for Ben Roethlisberger.

Stay thirsty my friends.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Mel Kiper, NFL draft, Todd McShay | Leave a comment
15 Apr 2010

Due Diligence (Updated)

Associated Press is reporting the following:

Cleveland Browns general manager Tom Heckert says the team has had talks with the St. Louis Rams about moving up in the NFL draft to take quarterback Sam Bradford with the No. 1 overall pick.

Heckert on Thursday said the Browns, who have the No. 7 pick, have been “‘playing a little phone tag” but said they have talked with the Rams, who are expected to select the Oklahoma quarterback.

Browns president Mike Holmgren warned that dealing for Bradford could be difficult, saying “you’d have to mortgage the ranch. In the real world, we’re probably going to go in a different direction.”

Currently owning 10 picks, Cleveland could put together an attractive package of picks to move up.

Bradford did not visit the Browns, but the team attended his pro day workout.

The Browns are just covering their bases, getting the lay of the land, doing their due diligence.

Please let it be that.

In Friday’s Beacon Journal, Holmgren had this to say:

”So the fans don’t get . . . I don’t want everyone to . . . then pull the rug out from everybody in our first draft,” Holmgren said Thursday. ”Look it, he’s a coveted young man. To be able to go up and change somebody’s mind ahead of us, you’d have to mortgage the ranch. You remember when coach Ditka did that with his picks and then he went and played golf.

”Absolutely, we love the player, as do a lot of people. But in the real world, we’re probably going to go in a different direction there.”

So that clears that up.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, due diligence, NFL draft, Sam Bradford | Leave a comment

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