Any Cowboy fans here? You guys might be getting a REALLY, REALLY good first round draft pick next year. Oh the pain of being a brownsfan. But, that's part of being a real fan, right? I'm here thru thick and thin. No bandwagon jumping here.
How decent is the Browns' O line? I know you traded for a couple of guys last year, then had a lot of injuries. Is Winslow Jr ok and can he play? The point is, if Brady could get reasonable protection, if your running game is decent and he has a tight end to bail him out, I'd say throw him in there now. If he will get killed, then probably best to let him learn for a while. A lot of high draft pick QB's were ruined by getting on the field too soon behind a crap line, but these days, you can't afford to let a guy sit too long. BTW, I still think the deal with the Cowboys to draft him was terrible. You ended up giving them a top three or four pick most likely for a guy no one wanted the first day. I still think for a crap team to advance to respectable, the last thing you want to do is blow a high pick on a QB. First you need a defense to keep you in games, then you try to get really good on special teams because a little money goes a long way there, then you try to put together a dominating offensive line because they make any decent QB and RB look good, finally you plug in skill players. Receiver and RB are two of the easiest positions to draft for, and every year there are adequate experienced QBs let go for salary cap or other reasons. Far better to sign an experienced backup who can play to a free agent deal than throw a huge amount of money at a guy who won't be ready for a year or two. For every Carson Palmer or Donovan McNabb there are five or six Heath Schulers or Tim Couch's.
Great questions! RE: OL - on paper, looks great: On the left we have Steinbach (FA signing), Joe Thomas (#3 pick). Fraley at Center (not bad, although LeCharles Bentley sure would look better here. Right side is weaker with Shaffer (was LT for us last year) and McKinney. So, on paper, it looks ok, esp the left side. The signing of Jamal Lewis was to help our RB position. Droughns did not have it last year and we needed some fresh legs. RE: WR/TE Again, look good on paper: K2 - potential to be a great TE. Edwards - more potential at WR. Jureviciuos - good position WR. RE: Defense Here's where it gets interesting... DL - mediocre at best. LB - good core here, esp Wimbley. CB/S - good talent here, but young. --------------- In summary, everything does look good on paper and it looks like Quinn could start now for the experience; however, the first game showed just the opposite. For now, Quinn needs to sit before he gets his brains based in, ala Tim Couch style.
As for the draft, the deal was simple - our owner, Lerner, wanted the hometown QB to come rescue his franchise. Plain and simple. He wanted him (at all costs) and we got him. That's it. When the boss says get the deal done, you get the deal done.
We have the same problem with Dan Snyder. Every year since he bought the team it seems like he falls in love with the idea of getting some big name free agent. Result is a lot of guys with huge cap numbers on the downside of their careers. They get hurt a lot and don't want to leave it on the field. Deion Sanders was the worst. A real POS who took the money, then played scared then retired, then jumped at the chance to come back with the Ravens. We had Bruce Smith, which set us back a few years as he struggled pathetically to get the sack record. We had Jeff George, who I actually liked but the coaches, Norv Turner and Marty Schottenheimer, hated. After getting burned repeatedly, Snyder seems to have learned his lesson. This year we waited patiently and filled a big hole with guard Pete Kendall after he forced the Jets to get rid of him. We just signed Reche Caldwell from the Pats, who is a big upgrade over another free agent loser, Brandon Lloyd. Tough call about Brady. One of his assets was supposed to be he had played in a pro-type system, so you would think he might be a little more ready than some others to step in. Jamal Lewis is a nice power back, but maybe not such a great fit for a team with a bad defense. Once you fall behind 10 points, he's not going to be a factor. He was great for the Ravens because they seldom were out of a game and forced to throw every down. Put Quinn in and he will face 8 and 9 guys in the box every down.
I forgot about all those guys the Redskins picked up... impressive list! We've picked up some 'interesting' guys as well - Ted Washington, McGinest, Baxter...
http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/nfl/index Look at that - Browns on the front page of ESPN NFL. What a game, I was there. That was just fun to watch. I couldn't believe my eyes. Full story - http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=270916005
Oh how I love Cleveland fans... if nothing else, we are passionate. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/photo?slug=getty-75557839gs003_cincinnati_be&prov=getty
What a day for the Browns. Jamal looked pretty fast on that long run. Couple more games like today and Marvin Lewis will be an ex-coach.
The offense was in synch, no doubt. Braylon, K2, Jamal, Anderson... wow, felt good to be a Browns fan today. Now our defense obviously had a few 'holes'.... Just less holes than the Bengals I guess.