Mike Holmgren was hired to be President of the Cleveland Browns in December of 2009. He was given full authority to hire whom he wanted for all football related positions and it was expected that within 2-3 years that this team would be competing for AFC North Championships. He won a title in Green Bay, got Seattle to a Super Bowl, and the thinking was it was just a matter of time before Cleveland was doing the same thing.
It hasn't worked out that way. The Detroit Lions under Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz finally got into the playoffs for the first time during the 2011 season. They look to be setup to compete for the next couple of seasons. The Oakland Raiders are still the same organization they have been for the last ten years, but with the addition of Carson Palmer, they might be able to overcome their inadequacies and compete in what might be the weakest division in football (Is Peyton really old Peyton?). Cleveland has not even come close since the arrival of Mike Holmgren. Some may even say that they were a better club under Eric Mangini and Romeo Crennel. Romeo did win 10 games in 2007; they just missed the playoffs due to a tiebreaker.
I have gotten in touch with a couple of Cleveland fans to see if they believe that their organization is on the right track since the hiring of Mike Holmgren. Two of the three believe that the upcoming season will be the year that determines Holmgren's fate. The other Browns fan thinks that his organization is cursed, since renaming the team after the old team that is now the current Baltimore Ravens. Very amusing, and perhaps partly true. The first Browns fan that I spoke with thinks that Holmgren has hit on his last two first round picks, and if he can do so again this year, that they might slowly start heading upward. He believes that the team should draft Morris Claiborne; his belief is that the division is heading toward successful passing attacks and its a major priority. Joe Haden is already a star, and potentially having two shut-down cornerbacks would be important. The second believes that they should trade similar to last year, and move down to accumulate more picks. Phil Taylor wasn't a bad selection, but like I told him, they really could have used Julio Jones. Trent Richardson and Justin Blackmon are available; it almost makes sense to select one of those players instead. The other Cleveland Browns fan believes they need to trade down and draft quantity over quality. He cited the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers as examples, and over the years those two teams have drafted well when moving down. He thinks that they could bring in 2 first round picks for the #4 spot, plus maybe a 3rd or 4th as well.
My own personal thoughts about the Cleveland Browns are this: they can't miss on the quarterback position. Part of the reason for Mike Holmgren's success was because he had Brett Favre in Green Bay, and Matt Hasselbeck in Seattle. He has yet to have that type of talent in Cleveland. Jake Delhomme was a complete bust of a signing, Seneca Wallace is barely serviceable, and Colt McCoy is just your average NFL starter. He's not horrible, and could be decent with better weapons, but so could half of the league's quarterbacks. There was a rumor that Hasselbeck would be a Browns player if Peyton had gone to Tennessee, but that was finished once Peyton chose Denver. This could've been the year to make a significant move; Mike sat on the 4th and 22nd picks in the first round instead of moving up 2 places to potentially draft Robert Griffin or Andrew Luck. If this team is to begin a trend upward over the next couple of seasons, either this year or next is the time to move. I believe that Colt McCoy is better than every available quarterback baring those top two. They can wait. The talent is still dismal on offense, but I agree that Morris Claiborne might be the right man to draft. His wonderlic score was terrible, but if he can pick-6 a few, it won't matter. Potentially trade the 22nd pick this year, to get some team's first round selection next year. Wait and see. I think that Matt Barkley ranks just under the talents of Andrew Luck and RG3, and could be the next Favre type for Holmgren to work with. They might just be bad enough next season to get him.
The Cleveland Browns certainly have a lot of work to do. They play in a division with two teams that don't lose for very long. They just found out that their state rival drafted a franchise QB and should be competitive for the next 5-6 seasons. Cleveland has had a couple of bright spots (Haden, Adams, J.Thomas). But two defensive backs and an offensive tackle have never been good enough to get to a Super Bowl in the past, and I don't believe things will change anytime soon.
Note: Check out these stats. Any true NFL buff can tell you that Joe Thomas is seriously legit.
NFL career statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Starts | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penalty | Yards Lost | False Start | Holding | Sack Allowed | Yards Lost | ||||
| 2007 | CLE | 16 | 16 | 7 | 40 | 5 | 1 | 4.25 | 23.25 |
| 2008 | CLE | 16 | 16 | 6 | 35 | 4 | 1 | 4.50 | 22.50 |
| 2009 | CLE | 16 | 16 | 6 | 40 | 4 | 2 | 6.00 | 40.00 |
| 2010 | CLE | 16 | 16 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 4.00 | 19.00 |
| 2011 | CLE | 16 | 16 | 7 | 40 | 6 | 1 | 3.50 | 25.50 |
| Career | 80 | 80 | 28 | 170 | 20 | 6 | 22.25 | 130.25 | |
Weapons, weapons, weapons!!! There is your answer. Colt McCoy needs to be given the things that Anderson and Quinn were never really given. The weapons they need to be successful. Yes, you're right, that rings true for any quaterback, but if that is the case why not get him some and see what he can do? Grabbing a go to WR, i.e. Blackmon, or a beast of a running back like Richardson could go a long way in the development of McCoy and the future of the Brown. Colt was a superb QB in college. And unlike some other QBs that dominated, the Brennan and Timmy Chang types, McCoy actually played against quality teams and was still able to move the ball. Seemingly at will usually. Something like that isn't a fluke. Give him the weapons and see what the kid can do. And if things don't pan out, go ahead and grab Barkley. Tho, USC QBs have kinda of proven to be a bust over the years so buyer beware. Plus, if you do go with a QB in the next year or 2, you'll already have some players there he can grow with.
ReplyDeleteIn reality, no matter what the Browns do, it is bound to help. Picking up a blue chipper weapon or a lockdown corner. Trading down and stockpiling some talent. Maybe grab a pass rusher or a big hog for the O-line to keep Colt clean and open some holes for the run game. There are plenty of valid linemen that are coming out of Stanford, Iowa, Wisconson... just to name a few. And any one of them would be helpful. Usually I'm a big believer in building a team from the line out, but in the case of the Brown, I say grab some weapons and ride that Colt until he bucks ya.
Yeah I agree. No matter what happens, I believe that they should give him this year. No quarterbacks failures or successes should be decided in 15 games. That's why people are starting to see how good Tony Romo really is. Flip those two. Give McCoy some weapons.
ReplyDeleteI'm just surprised that from the 3 teams, Cleveland was the last to trend upward. Not even sure if they are. Given is track record, I expected just a little bit more from Big Mike.