Colt McCoy.. something to get excited about

[Sez.EJ]

1. Willie Colon, OT, Steelers. Age: 30.
   Willie Colon missed the entire 2010 season with a torn Achilles, but his recovery apparently has gone pretty well. Colon is an outstanding, Pro Bowl-caliber right tackle, so Ben Roethlisberger would love to have him back.
2. Doug Free, OT, Cowboys. Age: 27.
   Doug Free played exceptionally well in his first year as Dallas' left tackle. He'll command a huge contract this offseason.
3. Jammal Brown, OT, Redskins. Age: 30.
   After a very sluggish start, Jammal Brown played well down the stretch once he got over his hip surgery.
4. Tyson Clabo, OT, Falcons. Age: 29.
   Tyson Clabo is a pretty decent right tackle, but a Pro Bowl appearance may inflate his market value.
5. Matt Light, OT, Patriots. Age: 33.
   Matt Light can still be a dependable left tackle, but he's past his prime. He struggled on a few occasions this season, surrendering seven sacks.
6. Marshal Yanda, OT/G, Ravens. Age: 26.
   Marshal Yanda had a pretty good season, surrendering only four sacks. He's capable of playing both right tackle and guard effectively, so that versatility should help him this offseason.
7. Sean Locklear, OT, Seahawks. Age: 30.
   Sean Locklear is pretty abysmal when it comes to opening up lanes for running backs, but he does a really good job in pass protection. He surrendered only five sacks in 2010 (including the playoffs).
8. Ryan Harris, OT, Broncos. Age: 26.
   A young, decent, zone-blocking right tackle, Ryan Harris struggled in Josh McDaniels' new offense. Harris will probably be heavily pursued this spring, though he's been injured a lot in the past two years.
9. Jared Gaither, OT, Ravens. Age: 25.
   Jared Gaither is a very talented offensive tackle, but he missed all 2010 with a serious back injury. Back problems don't go away very easily, so it's possible that Gaither may never be 100 percent again.
10. Barry Richardson, OT, Chiefs. Age: 25.
    Tendered by Chiefs
    
    Barry Richardson is a forceful run-blocker, but an absolute sieve in pass protection.
11. Langston Walker, OT, Raiders. Age: 31.
    Langston Walker tends to struggle in pass protection, but he's a very forceful run-blocker on the right side.
12. Damien Woody, OT, Jets. Age: 33.
    Damien Woody's age (34 in November) and injury (torn Achilles) are the reasons why he's only rated two stars. Woody is a tremendous run-blocker and is adequate in pass protection, but his health is an issue.
13. Ryan O'Callaghan, OT, Chiefs. Age: 28.
    Ryan O'Callaghan played well in 2009, but barely saw the field this past season because of various injuries.
14. James Lee (ERFA), OT, Buccaneers. Age: 26.
    James Lee supplanted Jeremy Trueblood at right tackle in the middle of the year and did an OK job. He can be upgraded though.
15. Jeremy Trueblood, OT, Buccaneers. Age: 28.
16. Jeromey Clary, OT, Chargers. Age: 27.
17. Mario Henderson (RFA), OT, Raiders. Age: 26.
18. Brandon Keith (RFA), OT, Cardinals. Age: 26.
19. Brandyn Dombrowski, OT, Chargers. Age: 26. -- Tendered by Chargers
20. Kevin Shaffer, OT, Bears. Age: 31.
21. Charlie Johnson, OT, Colts. Age: 27.
22. Jonathan Scott, OT, Steelers. Age: 28.
23. Jermon Bushrod, OT, Saints. Age: 27.
24. Tyler Polumbus, OT, Seahawks. Age: 26.
25. Ray Willis, OT, Seahawks. Age: 29.
26. John St. Clair, OT, Browns. Age: 34.
27. Jordan Black, OT, Jaguars. Age: 31.
28. Wayne Hunter, OT, Jets. Age: 30.
29. Barry Sims, OT, 49ers. Age: 36.
30. Ryan Cook, OT/G, Vikings. Age: 28.
31. Zach Strief, OT, Saints. Age: 27.
32. Jarriel King, OT, South Carolina. Age: 24.
33. Willie Smith, OT, East Carolina. Age: 24.
34. Dennis Roland, OT, Bengals. Age: 28.
35. Corey Hilliard, OT, Lions. Age: 26.
36. Stephon Heyer, OT, Redskins. Age: 27.
37. Oniel Cousins, OT, Ravens. Age: 27.
38. Khalif Barnes, OT, Raiders. Age: 29.
39. Rashad Butler, OT, Texans. Age: 28.
40. Quinn Ojinnaka, OT, Patriots. Age: 27.
41. Demar Dotson (ERFA), OT, Buccaneers. Age: 25.
42. Alex Barron, OT, Cowboys. Age: 28.
43. Lydon Murtha (RFA), OT, Dolphins. Age: 25.
44. Renardo Foster (RFA), OT, Rams. Age: 27. -- Tendered by Rams
45. Tony Hills (RFA), OT, Steelers. Age: 26. -- Tendered by Steelers
46. Kirk Chambers, OT, Bengals. Age: 32.
47. Mike Otto (RFA), OT, Titans. Age: 28.

[Alo]

It's too bad Phil & Romeo cut James Lee back in '08. A few camp observers were in love with the UDFA tackle, but he lost his spot when the team decided to keep a couple guys who could step in right away.

Pretty much a microcosm of the Savage/Crennel years: a personnel decision screwed up by the crazed urge to go big in '08. I bet the poor GM/HC relationship contributed to the f*ckup too.

[Brown Warrior]

How has Kevin Shaffer fared with the Bears? Felt like we got the raw end of that "deal."

[Riffer X]

Originally Posted by Alo

It's too bad Phil & Romeo cut James Lee back in '08. A few camp observers were in love with the UDFA tackle, but he lost his spot when the team decided to keep a couple guys who could step in right away.

Pretty much a microcosm of the Savage/Crennel years: a personnel decision screwed up by the crazed urge to go big in '08. I bet the poor GM/HC relationship contributed to the f*ckup too.

I liked him. What a colossal failure that regime was.

[Legacy Fan]

RT should be our #1 priority in FA. Then LB.

We can fill an entire 53 man roster with the # of WRs on the team. Since we avoided throwing to them last year, and Sherpa is leading us up Everest to believe we won't be using them again this year "shurmurs 2 TE sets" why IN THE FUCK should we go sling a ton of cash at a 28-30 year old has-been?

[Brown Warrior]

Originally Posted by Legacy Fan

RT should be our #1 priority in FA. Then LB.

We can fill an entire 53 man roster with the # of WRs on the team. Since we avoided throwing to them last year, and Sherpa is leading us up Everest to believe we won't be using them again this year "shurmurs 2 TE sets" why IN THE FUCK should we go sling a ton of cash at a 28-30 year old has-been?

I don't know (said the Sherpa). I'd say FS and LDE seem completely open while we have Pashos, Pinkson, and Womack for RT. Not saying we can't upgrade that... and probably will... but it's not as open as FS or LDE.

As far as WRs, stepping back and getting perspective, the national view is that we have virtually nothing. It most recently came up when SI was saying we should take Pryor and convert him. I'm not saying they're right and this board is wrong, but the broader perspective is that the Browns are either the weakest team in the league at WR or very close.

But even on the optimistic side, we're VERY young and almost laughably unaccomplished. Statistically, we did less at WR in 2010 than any other team in the NFL. Much worse than the Rams. Our catches for first downs among WR were absolutely anemic. And our rookie didn't play football last year.

So it's tough to imagine a WR corps that did less last season. Well... let's be real: No WR corps in the NFL did less last season. Tough to translate that to "not in the market for a WR," but maybe I'm too didactic.

I absolutely think the Browns would LOVE to add speed and playmaking ability for the offense, and for Colt McCoy in particular. It's just very, very hard to make the case that they shouldn't feel that way. Impossible, really.

[Legacy Fan]

Greg Little.
Carlton Mitchell.

Making plays are the only things those guys have on their resumes.

One is a rookie, and the other missed 3 FGs in opportunity drills last season so he never saw the field.

I think it's a chicken / egg thing with Dabs and our WRs in terms of what we saw on the stat-line. Add a QB carousel and you've got the "team with the WRs who did the least" or whatever their band name is this week.

Alo or Fluges posted another stat that gets casually overlooked: we threw the least number of slants last year. Another clue as to why Dabs shouldn't get to have a playbook. That's how you open up space with the pass when you're a run 1st team. Not "going deep". Get the Dfense's head on a swivel and you'll catch somebody looking the wrong way.

[Brown Warrior]

Leg, that's all true, including the Fluges stuff. But it doesn't predict next year's success... it only explains some portion of last year's failure. Nothing here suggests that Robiskie or Massoquoi will be really good. I'm pretty sure it was Sobo who did some film study and concluded that the WRs did NOT play well last year: Bad routes, trouble separating, etc.

I'm not saying we need to cut both guys. I think they deserve a shot in this offense. Robiskie showed some life late last year. Massoquoi showed some his rookie year.

BUT... it's very difficult to look at this team and say they're set at WR. Nobody who follows the NFL (not just the Browns) and isn't just being really, really optimistic would feel that way. I doubt the Browns would pass up a chance to add a serious playmaker to the league's worst passing offense over the past three years.

It wouldn't make much sense.

[Legacy Fan]

Adding a veteran playmaker doesn't predict this year's success anymore than my explanation of the past does.

What film did Sobo watch again? The previous seasons', where we had a stable of either A.) underutilized WRs or B.) misused WRs thanks to Dabs being afflicted with a severe case of the Coach Klein's.

So we added a playmaker in the draft. A monster who will go through the middle and make plays. And can go downfield. Unless I missed where we can play with more than 11 guys.....

I don't think anybody is saying not to ever look at acquiring another WR, I just think we have other priorities since we addressed/upgraded WR via the draft.

[Brown Warrior]

We went in with the weakest WR corps in the NFL (by most estimates) and added a mid to late 2nd round pick who didn't play last year. Now, you know I say that as someone who LOVED that pick and still do, but it's possible Greg Little isn't the Greg Little we hope he'll be until maybe 2012.

I'm not talking about adding three guys... just one veteran. We STILL don't really know if either Robiskie or Massoqoui are long-term keepers. They're kinda mystery guys. But with all our cash, I'd find it tough to pass on Sidney Rice if he's really available. A serious spread the field guy on a team lacking that.

However... Rice might not look at the Browns and see a lot of deep balls coming his way. Lance Moore and Santana Moss are both guys with short space quickness and slot ability. Moss most likely wants to play every down and should (hell, he has 8600 receiving yards, 1100 last year) and that's probably not the right idea for us, given that he's 32.

Lance Moore is my favorite target but, as Alo said, he's a Brees favorite and might not want to leave that offense if they pay him.

It's possible we roll with Mo, Robo, Little, and Mitchell. Incredibly young and unproven... the most of both in the entire league, I'd guess, and a bit of a risk for Colt's Big Year. I have a certain amount of hope for all four, mostly Little... but I'd sure like one proven vet.

If Colt's really good, there's a saying about WRs and opportunities: About half the guys in the league can be really good if you just throw them the ball. Maybe we find out we have a really nice set of young WRs already. Ever hopeful.

[Enigmatic Evil]

Its the age old argument for the Browns, we've got holes on both sides of the ball. Shep wants us to go offense because you need to score points to win football games. Some want us to toughen up the right side of our offensive line and some of us realize that our front 7 really needs some work/depth...

I don't know about you guys but I don't really like the idea of starting two rookies on the D-Line but it's probably going to happen and I don't really feel comfortable with our crop of LB's either. That being said, I agree that the team needs some work on both sides of the ball. Do we gamble with our WR's like we did last year and hope that Greg Little can grow into a role on this team similar to how Joe Haden did last year on our secondary or do we bring someone in with a bit of pedigree for Colt to mesh with?

I don't really know either way but if there is FA before the season starts, the browns have needs that will need to be addressed by Heckert and I am sure he knows who he wants to go after as well.

I like that we have a young crop of WR's and I still hold a blindly dim hope that maybe Johnathan Haggerty can be something more than a mini-camp/pre-season wonder and maybe become a starting wide out on this team but who knows. We're in this paradox kind of position as a team where veteran starters could hinder development of young players. However, we want to win and another 5-11 season will not be tolerated by management. They're going to do what they need to in order to put a winning team on the field.

[Brown Warrior]

I'm approaching this season like we could win 9 or 10 games, even if that's lollipops and rainbows up my backside. It's an easier schedule and we lost some games we should've won last season.

DL is the heart of a 4-3 and I seriously think we're a free agent LDE from fielding a strong, deep group with some diversity and flexibility. A line of Sheard, Taylor, Rubin, and Ray Edwards could be totally fantastic, with Benard, Mitchell, Shaefering, and Robaire off the bench.

On offense it's all about passing the ball... and my optimism comes from having the right quarterback in the right system with the right mentors. Not to mention a Pro Bowl tackle and a very nice set of pass-catching RBs and TEs.

I think two pieces would close the deal and basically make Colt McCoy a full-on X-factor: An upgrade at RT and one good veteran WR.

Teams jump from 5 to 10 wins every year and I never go into a Browns season looking forward to the NEXT season... until I have no choice. So with a fat war chest, I see no reason not to dot the i's and win some games.