Now that the dust from the NFL draft has settled and the various gurus have handed out their fanciful grades, Cleveland Browns fans should be thankful about the big move their team didn't make.
Leading up to the draft there were reports the Browns had approached the St. Louis Rams about their first pick in an effort to land Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford. Luckily for the franchise, team president Mike Holmgren expected the Rams to want too much and he wasn't willing to mortgage the future for one player. This type of thinking is a sign of progress for the Browns.
Although the Browns might have paid too much in trading up for Tennessee running back Montario Hardesty, they seemed to stick with their game plan going into the draft for the most part, resisting the urge to draft quarterback Colt McCoy before addressing two areas of need with their selections of Oregon safety T.J. Ward and Hardesty.
The Browns need numerous players not a player. The team's deficiencies are numerous and will take time to correct. Landing a high-priced quarterback and then not having enough picks left to fill the team's other problem areas would have just kept the Browns stuck in neutral or worse.
Browns fans only have to remember how division rival Pittsburgh built its great teams in the past to see how it should be done. The Steelers' brain trust did it slowly and methodically by showing patience and stockpiling picks whenever possible. They also didn't need high picks -- the 1- through-10 variety -- to find superior talent. And not having to make high picks allowed them to spread their money out among more playsers and avoid big mistakes, something the Browns haven't been able to do since returning to the NFL as an expansion team in 1999 (ie: Tim Couch, Courtney Brown, William Green and Gerald Warren).
Besides measuring a team by its ability to reach the playoffs, one can also get a feel for how solid a team's foundation is by its ability to draft in the lower third of the first round year after year. The correlation makes perfect sense and demonstrates how good teams eventually escape the high-rent district in favor of the more-bang-for-your-buck low-rent draft position. This is something the Browns should strive for, it's where dynasties are formed and maintained. It's where the New England Patriots have been hanging out for some time.
Today, the Browns are in a better position than they were when Holmgren accepted the job as team president. Since his arrival, the team has added some nice pieces to the puzzle in addition to the draft in the form of cornerback Sheldon Brown, linebackers Scott Fujita and Chris Cocong, quarterbacks Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace, offensive linemen Eric Chiaciuc and Tony Pashos, tight end Ben Watson and running back Peyton Hillis.
Holmgren's desire to use 2010 to groom McCoy rather than rush him into a starting role is another positive sign. The Browns are probably two to three years away from making the playoffs and there's no reason to put McCoy in the firing line until more pieces of the puzzle are put into place to help him succeed. This is where looking at the big picture and sticking with the plan separates teams who always draft in the high-rent district from those who don't.
Success in the NFL doesn't work like the game of Monopoly. In the NFL, you don't want to live on Park Avenue, it's the sign of a longer-than-necessary rebuilding project and best avoided at all costs, even if fans want quicker fixes.
macan togel
1 year ago
