What the Browns should do next

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on February 16, 2012, 3:45 PM EST

The Browns haven’t played any better since Mike Holmgren joined the organization two years ago. They are no closer to finding a quarterback.

We’d argue that the team has made progress, however, because they have enjoyed two strong draft classes in a row. A third winning group, possibly including Robert Griffin III, could set up the franchise for a nice run.

So what should the Browns do? Glad you asked. (Okay, you didn’t really ask. But we need an excuse to use this video.)

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32 responses to “What the Browns should do next”

  3. I believe Holmgren has been paid $2.2 million per win for the “leadership” he has brought to the team…..just saying.

  4. i think they shouldnt move up, just stay where you are and if the skins get RG3, then keep McCoy and build around him with Blackmon and a pass rusher.

  5. ^ you know the golden rule though, if the Skins draft RG3 he will be a total bust, if pretty much anyone else does he will be a star…its the Snyder curse.

    Being a skins fan, im not at all hating but I also acknowledge that if the skins get Peyton, he will be retired within a year. If anyone else gets him it will be one of the greatest moves ever for that franchise.

    If the skins sign Matt Flynn he will be a joke and the skins will be the laughing stock for paying so much for unproven talent. If anyone else does he will go on to be legit and be a savvy move by that teams front office to put their faith in him.

    Cant win….

  9. I believe Holmgren has been paid $2.2 million per win for the “leadership” he has brought to the team…..just saying.

    ________________________________

    Actually, he has brought leadership. But Browns fans are impatient little crybabies who run everybody out of town before anything can be built. If they can’t have it RIGHT NOW, then get somebody else. And then they lecture everybody else about how great they are.

    You’ll never have a winner there because of this fan base. Holmgren jas more football knowledge than the combined sports/football IQ of the entire crybaby fan base.

    It never ends.

  10. The Rams will accept less from the Browns then they would from anybody else for the #2 pick. They still want a chance at Blackmon or Kalil at #4.

  12. Schlonkie – I know your thoughts on the Redskins, but let’s review a little recent Browns history. In addition to “the drive” and “the fumble” — a few memorable, more recent events include:

    – Duane Rudd throws his helmet on the last play of the game. After the personal foul, it became the 2nd last play of the game. Browns lose on field goal.
    – Center LeCharles Bentley blew out his knee in the 1st snap of the 1st practice in training camp. Never played again.
    – Gary Baxter (CB) blew out both knees on the same play!
    – Kellen Winslow wrecks his motorcycle… and knee.
    – Orlando Brown gets hit in the eye with a referee penalty flag. Doesn’t play again for the Browns.
    – Charlie Frye starts the season and is traded after the first game.
    – Phil Savage (GM) send an “F- you” email to a fan.
    – Randy Lerner is still paying 4-5 head coaches that have been “relieved of duties”
    – George Kokinis, new GM, is fired by Eric Mangini. Anyone know why?
    – Our best hope for a playoff run recenly was in 2007 and the leadership of … Derek Anderson (ughh)

    What should the Browns do next? Pray for divine intervention.

  14. The Browns didn’t have a strong 2010 draft. Let’s go through their picks:

    Round 1 (7th pick) – Joe Haden, Cornerback: Haden has the potential to be a very good cornerback. However, he is coming off of a lackluster 2011 season where he didn’t get any interceptions and had the tendency to trip and fall in critical situations.

    Round 2 (38th pick) – T.J. Ward, Safety: The jury is still out on Ward, who missed the second half of 2011 with an injury.

    Round 2 (59th pick) – Montario Hardesty, Running Back: The Browns moved up to pick the oft-injured Hardesty, who missed most of his first preseason before tearing his ACL in the last preseason game (on his 7th carry). Rather than prove the naysayers wrong in 2011, he struggled with injuries for half of the season. When he was healthy, he performed poorly, dropping pass after pass and averaging 3 yards per rush. By comparison, Chris Ogbonnaya, plucked from the Texans’ practice squad, averaged 4.5 yards per rush and proved to have much more reliable hands.

    Round 3 (85th pick) – Colt McCoy, Quarterback: The Browns seem ready to move on from McCoy, although it is tough to tell what they have in McCoy given their lack of a running game and no real playmakers for him to work with.

    Round 3 (92nd pick) – Shawn Lauvao, Guard: Lauvao started one game in his rookie season and every game in 2011. He has a tendency to get penalized more than any other Browns lineman.

    Round 5 (160th pick) – Larry Asante, Safety: Asante has played in 12 games in 2 years, all for Tampa Bay.

    Round 6 (177th pick) – Carlton Mitchell, Wide Receiver: Despite being active for a total of 16 games in his two seasons, Mitchell rarely sees the field. He’s caught 3 passes for 31 yards. Despite the front office talking him up, it says a lot that he hasn’t been able to distinguish himself from a weak receiving corps.

    Round 6 (186th pick) – Clifton Geathers, Defensive End: Viewed as a project, Geathers didn’t make the final roster. He has since been with Miami, Seattle and Dallas. He may stick with Dallas, having played 5 games in 2011 under former Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.

  15. stl45fan says:

    The Rams will accept less from the Browns then they would from anybody else for the #2 pick. They still want a chance at Blackmon or Kalil at #4.
    ———-
    Doesn’t matter, the Browns have too many other needs to give up even just a second draft pick (whether it’s the later 1st or the 2nd rounder) in order to move up. They need each of those early picks in order to fill those needs. To be honest, I think they need to trade down once or twice in the 1st and/or 2nd round to get a couple more picks.

    That being said, and I am sure there will be lots of thumbs down to this part in particular, I would rather see the Browns try to get Matt Flynn (and if they cannot sign him, sign a QB like Jason Campbell or Kevin Kolb if the Cardinals release him and have them compete with McCoy), trade the #4 pick to Jacksonville (Jaguars take Blackmon), then at #7, the Browns would have a choice of Trent Richardson, Quinton Coples, Kendall Wright, among others, as well as an extra pick from Jacksonville.

  16. the browns could always relocate to baltimore
    during the night….wait, thats been done. didn’t help.

  17. brownsfandrinkingmakersmark –

    I hear ya…nothing more disheartening than rooting for a franchise that cant seem to get anything right (and im talking both skins and browns). But hey, its the offseason…nows our time to shine! As long as no one is actually playing football I think the Browns and Skins are good to go.

    At least you dont have a rabid, purple clad, band of tards 50 miles away constantly telling you how awful you are and how great they are. Pass the Makers Mark…ill finish it off.

  19. @schlonkie2: You got that right, but hey, at least the Skins have some Lombardi trophies. Maybe they’re a little dusty, but the Browns have never even been to the Super Bowl, so you’ve got us beat. But then, who doesn’t?

    The most infuriating thing is that the Browns never even show any signs of progress. They were an expansion team in 1999, and if you compare the 1999 roster to the current one, the only place you’ll see a significant upgrade is at left tackle. Thirteen years of building, and all we’ve got to show for it is Joe Thomas. Unbelievable. And the losing just keeps going on year after year after year after year.

  20. “I live in NYC so the Browns aren’t on my radar but was Colt McCoy really so bad to draft another QB?”
    _______________

    Short answer – yes.

    Long answer – hell yes.

  21. “Cleveland is Quarterback kryptonite. I bet if the Browns let McCoy go, he’ll do much better for that team.”
    _______________

    As if we didn’t hear the same thing about Tim Couch, Charlie Frye, Brady Quinn, and Derek Anderson.

    The QB’s aren’t bad because they’re in Cleveland. They’re bad because they’re bad.

  22. I’m not sure why that guy in the video is qualified for this commentary…but neither are any of us…

    Sit at #4 and take the BPA.

    I hope it’s RG3.

    1. Luck – IND
    2. Blackmon – STL
    3. Kalil – MIN
    4. RG3 – CLE

  23. @lbcoach: Agreed. Everybody keeps saying we’ve got to trade up for RG3. My response to that is: (a) I’m not sure he’s worth it, and (b) why throw away the #22 pick when there’s a real chance we can just stay where we are and get him? (I’d rather have Matt Flynn anyway, but that’s a side issue.)

  24. agelardi says:
    Feb 16, 2012 4:04 PM
    I live in NYC so the Browns aren’t on my radar but was Colt McCoy really so bad to draft another QB?
    ===================================

    Football Outsiders ranked him #30.

  27. I would love for the browns to draft RGIII I’m a huge browns fan living in ct and hopefully 1 day ill see them in the SB !! If the can’t get RGIII they have to get J Blackmon because I can’t even remember the last time they had a big game changing WR I mean who was it Andre Rison lol ! This team has been a joke drafting players so hopefully this yr there’s no joking around !!!

  28. Give Colt, or any qb for that matter, some time to throw the ball. Give Colt a decent running game to make the defenses guess a little bit. Give Colt a couple decent receivers that can actually hang onto the ball and not lead the league in drops. Then you can really make a fair assessment of the kid.

    Colt beat some really good teams under Mangini two years ago. When Peyton was running like a beast and Watson, Hillis and Moore were effective receivers. He played well and this town was excited about him. He regressed last year under a new coach and a new offensive system that many “experts” claim takes several years to perfect. The kid had no formal off-season and shortened pre-season. Not to mention extremely odd game-day personnel, play-calling and clock management decisions.

    I don’t know if the kid is the answer – but he wasn’t the problem.

  29. ok, and now to fix the browns offense, or at least, make it competitive.
    1. Sign Matt Flynn. could be a hit, could be a miss, the point is the browns have far too many holes to trade up.
    2. Re-sign Peyton Hillis, another spot taken care of, tough running back, that hopefully has been humbled a touch.
    3. Draft best available OT with 4th pick, who cares if its a slight reach, with Steinbach coming back, Pinkston can slide to RG, and slotted next to a bookend RT this could be a DOMINANT offensive line with Thomas, Steinbach , Mack, Pinkston and 1st rounder.
    4. Draft best available WR, with 2nd 1st round pick. Doesnt matter what type of WR he is, additional threats will only help existing pieces.
    5. Rest of draft, focus on BEST available players regardless of position.

  30. harrisbd99 says:Feb 16, 2012 5:04 PM

    Cleveland is Quarterback kryptonite. I bet if the Browns let McCoy go, he’ll do much better for that team.
    ——————————————————-
    Really??? name one QB that came from Cleveland and flurished with another team, Quinn? … no, Anderson?… no, Frye? … no.
    Must be a Steelers fan to be that misinformed.

  31. “I don’t know if the kid is the answer – but he wasn’t the problem.”
    ________________

    He wasn’t THE problem. But he was A problem.

    A QB with Colt’s pedigree doesn’t drop to the end of the 3rd round unless the football people thought he had serious drawbacks, namely that he has a below-average arm and he’s small. His ceiling is lower than many other guys.

    These physical disadvantages mean that he has to play closer to 100% of his potential than other more physically gifted QB’s, which means he really needs to get the most out of his supposed attributes (poise, accuracy, mobility).

    But even when he had time, his accuracy was not good, his poise was non-existant (skittish as all get-out), and his mobility isn’t quite enough on the NFL level – he can move, but he isn’t necessarily elusive in the pocket.

    And his decision-making… holding onto the ball too long, throwing into double coverage, poor decisions, passes that NEVER should’ve been thrown.

    It’s hard to have a running game when the other team can stack the line of scrimmage with their Safeties because they have absolutely no fear of Colt throwing the ball deep.

    So we’re looking at a QB that has a long way to go to even get near his potential, which is already lower than a lot of other guys because of his physical limitations.

    I’ve seen this with too many other QB’s in Cleveland to throw my hand in with the “get a Pro Bowler at every other position and then let him grow and MAYBE he can be decent” crowd. I for one would finally like to see an elite prospect in here.

  32. I stand by my previous thoughts …… So I just copied and pasted.

    Dear Santa,
    Please have our leadership stick to the plan. Give Colt another year, use the first pick to get the top rated player on Heckert’s board regardless of position. Address receiver with the 21st pick and free agency, then continue to build a team with young depth. Let’s face it, there are too many holes all over this team, whether it’s Claiborne, Blackmon or Coples we need talent. To pick anyone but the highest ranked player on your boards with the 4th pick is more of the same. Now with the 21st pick, the talent becomes more even on your boards so you can be more position oriented. Yeah Colt has problems, but so does a lot of other players, give him back half the drops and his completion percentage goes to over 60% right next to Eli. Now what would a running game and receivers who catch and run sharp routes do for him?

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