Cleveland Browns (2013 Season)

[y0yoyoin]

Im not a huge fan of this draft...wont care if we trade down at this point....that might change during the combine...gun to head i like jones from UGA even with his health concerns

 

[jlb1705]

I would like to point out that the team that traded up for Julio Jones is will be watching the Super Bowl from home just like the Cleveland Browns and the rest of us.

The team that hired the right coach, runs the football and plays badass defense is going in their place.

Julio Jones is a fine player. There are other ways for the Browns to get to where they want to be that I'd prefer to see them try.

Also, to those that point out that the 49ers turnaround is a product of them having a better team in the first place, that wasn't always the case... Travel back in time to 2005. Both teams sucked donkey balls. San Francisco picked 1st, Cleveland picked 3rd. Now look at the draft history for each team from that point forward. Weep.

 

[billmac91]

I would like to point out that the team that traded up for Julio Jones is will be watching the Super Bowl from home just like the Cleveland Browns and the rest of us.

The team that hired the right coach, runs the football and plays badass defense is going in their place.

Julio Jones is a fine player. There are other ways for the Browns to get to where they want to be that I'd prefer to see them try.

Also, to those that point out that the 49ers turnaround is a product of them having a better team in the first place, that wasn't always the case... Travel back in time to 2005. Both teams sucked donkey balls. San Francisco picked 1st, Cleveland picked 3rd. Now look at the draft history for each team from that point forward. Weep.

Solid Free Agency acquisitions as well. The Donte Whitner, Carlos Rogers, Ahmad Brooks signings have been huge for them.

I've loved their draft strategy over the last 5-6 years though.

Navarro Bowman (3rd round pick) - LB - Penn State
Tarrell Brown (late round CB pick up) - Texas
Alex Boone - Undrafted FA - OL - Ohio State
Dashon Goldson - 4th round - Washington
LaMichael James - 2nd round - Oregon
Ricky Jean-Francois - 7th rounder - LSU
Ray McDonald - 3rd rounder - Florida
Anthony Dixon - 6th round - Miss St

San Francisco goes heavy on big name players who slip into mid/late rounds. A lot of these guys were the High School All-American types that slid for whatever reason through college. The thing I like most about the strategy, is you the talent is there. The trick is finding out what buttons to push to ge tthe most out of them.

Look at a guy like Alex Boone. He has graded out the best offensive lineman on San Fran this year, and top 10 in the NFL. Taken off the top of a scrap heap.

Anyways, I feel like a lot of people treat rounds 4-7 in the draft as irrelevant. Good scouting departments have solid hit rates though, and build the team with great picks.

 

[tsteele316]

I would like to point out that the team that traded up for Julio Jones is will be watching the Super Bowl from home just like the Cleveland Browns and the rest of us.

The team that hired the right coach, runs the football and plays badass defense is going in their place.

Julio Jones is a fine player. There are other ways for the Browns to get to where they want to be that I'd prefer to see them try.

Also, to those that point out that the 49ers turnaround is a product of them having a better team in the first place, that wasn't always the case... Travel back in time to 2005. Both teams sucked donkey balls. San Francisco picked 1st, Cleveland picked 3rd. Now look at the draft history for each team from that point forward. Weep.

make a list of the elite wr's in the nfl, and look at where their teams are this year.

look at the teams that made the playoffs. washington, no elite wr. seattle? no elite wr. atlanta, two of them, and they should have been one and done for the 2nd year in a row. san fran, no elite wr. balitmore and new england, no elite wrs. cinci has aj green, they were bounced right away. andre johnson is still elite and the texans got bounced.

as for comparing san fran to cleveland. the one thing san fran did was invest a lot of resources, both draft and FA along both lines, including OLBs.

as a point of reference by the by:

Falcons team points:

2010 - 414 (before julio jones)
2011 - 402
2012 - 419

 

[tsteele316]

Solid Free Agency acquisitions as well. The Donte Whitner, Carlos Rogers, Ahmad Brooks signings have been huge for them.

I've loved their draft strategy over the last 5-6 years though.

Navarro Bowman (3rd round pick) - LB - Penn State
Tarrell Brown (late round CB pick up) - Texas
Alex Boone - Undrafted FA - OL - Ohio State
Dashon Goldson - 4th round - Washington
LaMichael James - 2nd round - Oregon
Ricky Jean-Francois - 7th rounder - LSU
Ray McDonald - 3rd rounder - Florida
Anthony Dixon - 6th round - Miss St

San Francisco goes heavy on big name players who slip into mid/late rounds. A lot of these guys were the High School All-American types that slid for whatever reason through college. The thing I like most about the strategy, is you the talent is there. The trick is finding out what buttons to push to ge tthe most out of them.

Look at a guy like Alex Boone. He has graded out the best offensive lineman on San Fran this year, and top 10 in the NFL. Taken off the top of a scrap heap.

Anyways, I feel like a lot of people treat rounds 4-7 in the draft as irrelevant. Good scouting departments have solid hit rates though, and build the team with great picks.

whose the last guy cleveland drafted that falls into the category above? billy winn is the only one that comes to mind as he was projected as a 2nd to 3rd rounder. and that turned out well.

 

[exhawg]

Solid Free Agency acquisitions as well. The Donte Whitner, Carlos Rogers, Ahmad Brooks signings have been huge for them.

I've loved their draft strategy over the last 5-6 years though.

Navarro Bowman (3rd round pick) - LB - Penn State
Tarrell Brown (late round CB pick up) - Texas
Alex Boone - Undrafted FA - OL - Ohio State
Dashon Goldson - 4th round - Washington
LaMichael James - 2nd round - Oregon
Ricky Jean-Francois - 7th rounder - LSU
Ray McDonald - 3rd rounder - Florida
Anthony Dixon - 6th round - Miss St

San Francisco goes heavy on big name players who slip into mid/late rounds. A lot of these guys were the High School All-American types that slid for whatever reason through college. The thing I like most about the strategy, is you the talent is there. The trick is finding out what buttons to push to ge tthe most out of them.

Look at a guy like Alex Boone. He has graded out the best offensive lineman on San Fran this year, and top 10 in the NFL. Taken off the top of a scrap heap.

Anyways, I feel like a lot of people treat rounds 4-7 in the draft as irrelevant. Good scouting departments have solid hit rates though, and build the team with great picks.

Suck on that Purdue.

 

[Mike80]

whose the last guy cleveland drafted that falls into the category above? billy winn is the only one that comes to mind as he was projected as a 2nd to 3rd rounder. and that turned out well.

And part of that comes down to Harbaugh and to a certain extent Singletary before him - they are both great leaders, even if Singletary wasn't the greatest head coach in the world.

 

[billmac91]

And part of that comes down to Harbaugh and to a certain extent Singletary before him - they are both great leaders, even if Singletary wasn't the greatest head coach in the world.

Singletary certainly gets credit for being a driving force in the attitude changes of guys like Vernon Davis and Alex Boone.

I think the drafting comes directly from their scouting department and guys like Trent Baalke and Tom Gamble. Obviously those guys were able to identify talent.

I think the thing that separates a front office like San Fran and the Browns for the last decade is the approach to the draft. There are a lot of known commodities in mid to late rounds in the draft, but so many GM's go trying to unearth that rare diamond from East Louisiana Tech who has the right build, good combine scores, and it's all about "upside, upside, upside".

I'll take the kid who has played his last 3-4 years in Big Boy college football, has had access to the better coaching and training, and much more history to project off of. For every 10 Terrell Owens you take in rounds 3-7, I'll draft 10 Navarro Bowmans and let's see who comes out ahead over a 5 year period.

It's laughable to watch the draft every year and see the value good organizations get in mid-rounds whereas teams like the Browns are continually reaching on project players with good upside. I don't think the draft is that complex, and certainly not as "hit and miss" as a lot people say it is. It's about identifying "solid" players in mid to late rounds that prove it on tape.

 

[Buckeneye]

The draft isnt as complex as its made to be. The trick is when NFL exec's
Convince themselves that a player with questionable skillsets should be their
Big time picks.

Look at Jacksonville. Gabbert wasn't an NFL QB. But they tried so hard to
Convince themselves he was because it was a critical position of need. Now
They have a lame QB, passed on other talented players and have to invest
Highly in the position all over again, very soon.

Credit the Niners coaches for taking their players strengths and putting them
In positions and schemes that highlight their abilities. That was just as or more
Important than the young men they drafted.

 

[jlb1705]

I'll take the kid who has played his last 3-4 years in Big Boy college football, has had access to the better coaching and training, and much more history to project off of.

Except at QB.

Nowadays, it seems that all the good NFL QBs have been schooled at programs that had to scrap and claw for 8-9 wins every year, where the QB has to learn to overcome the flaws in their own team and how to beat opponents that are often equal to or slightly better than them.

QBs that come from blue-blood programs just aren't tested like those guys. They are almost always playing for the more talented team, can rely on players at other positions to carry them through when things get tough.

 

[Bucklion]

Singletary certainly gets credit for being a driving force in the attitude changes of guys like Vernon Davis and Alex Boone.

I think the drafting comes directly from their scouting department and guys like Trent Baalke and Tom Gamble. Obviously those guys were able to identify talent.

I think the thing that separates a front office like San Fran and the Browns for the last decade is the approach to the draft. There are a lot of known commodities in mid to late rounds in the draft, but so many GM's go trying to unearth that rare diamond from East Louisiana Tech who has the right build, good combine scores, and it's all about "upside, upside, upside".

I'll take the kid who has played his last 3-4 years in Big Boy college football, has had access to the better coaching and training, and much more history to project off of. For every 10 Terrell Owens you take in rounds 3-7, I'll draft 10 Navarro Bowmans and let's see who comes out ahead over a 5 year period.

It's laughable to watch the draft every year and see the value good organizations get in mid-rounds whereas teams like the Browns are continually reaching on project players with good upside. I don't think the draft is that complex, and certainly not as "hit and miss" as a lot people say it is. It's about identifying "solid" players in mid to late rounds that prove it on tape.

Except at QB.

Nowadays, it seems that all the good NFL QBs have been schooled at programs that had to scrap and claw for 8-9 wins every year, where the QB has to learn to overcome the flaws in their own team and how to beat opponents that are often equal to or slightly better than them.

QBs that come from blue-blood programs just aren't tested like those guys. They are almost always playing for the more talented team, can rely on players at other positions to carry them through when things get tough.

Top 15 NFL career receiving yards

Jerry Rice: Mississippi Valley State
Terrell Owens: Tennessee-Chattanooga
Randy Moss: Marshall
Isaac Bruce: Memphis
Tim Brown: Notre Dame
Marvin Harrison: Syracuse
Tony Gonzalez: Cal
James Lofton: Stanford
Cris Carter: OSU
Henry Ellard: Fresno State
Torrey Holt: NC State
Andre Reed: Kutztown
Steve Largent:Tulsa
Reggie Wayne: The U
Irving Fryar: Nebraska

Now there are a few big boys mixed in there, but that isn't exactly the who's who of big time college football. Talent is talent, and though there is something to be said for the pressure and competition level of "big time" college ball, there are plenty of guys who flame out as well. I'd rather see a team be open to all possibilities.

 

[bigdog3300]

Margus Hunt (believe that's his first name), the 6'7 beast DE out of SMU is a diamond in the rough. As far as upside, I don't think any player outside of a healthy Jarvis Jones has the same ceiling. That being said, I don't expect Jones' to have a clean bill of health given his condition and I could see him drop quickly in the draft. We usually see a guy like this every year; Bowers comes to my mind in 2011 with a less serious condition.

He is one intimidating guy and a phenomenal athlete; I'd expect to see his name rise quickly after the combine. His bowl game was one of the most dominating performances I've seen by a DL not named Clowney in years.

 

[Bucklion]

http://espncleveland.com/common/more.php?m=49&post_id=11141

Very interesting article (and a coy one) by Tony Grossi about Art Moddell and the upcoming debate about the HOF. My guess is that he won't be as fiery as he was before, and the fact that the Ravens made the SB will push him into the HOF...setting up a nightmare for organizers who will somehow have to try and keep the Hall's 50th Anniversary celebration from becoming a boo-versus-cheer divisive fest on Moddell in NE Ohio.

 

[NFBuck]

http://espncleveland.com/common/more.php?m=49&post_id=11141

Very interesting article (and a coy one) by Tony Grossi about Art Moddell and the upcoming debate about the HOF. My guess is that he won't be as fiery as he was before, and the fact that the Ravens made the SB will push him into the HOF...setting up a nightmare for organizers who will somehow have to try and keep the Hall's 50th Anniversary celebration from becoming a boo-versus-cheer divisive fest on Moddell in NE Ohio.

I'd like the opportunity to piss on his bronze bust if this goes down.

 

[LitlBuck]

http://espncleveland.com/common/more.php?m=49&post_id=11141

Very interesting article (and a coy one) by Tony Grossi about Art Moddell and the upcoming debate about the HOF. My guess is that he won't be as fiery as he was before, and the fact that the Ravens made the SB will push him into the HOF...setting up a nightmare for organizers who will somehow have to try and keep the Hall's 50th Anniversary celebration from becoming a boo-versus-cheer divisive fest on Moddell in NE Ohio.

I think Grossi will be overwhelmed by the number of e-mails and twitters that he will get to keep Modell out of the HOF and I think he will try to keep the SOB out but the younger generation of voters will probably get him in and all hell will break loose in Canton next August.