Who are the core players we can build around?

[Sez.EJ]

Looking at our roster.. Who are the REAL guys ...who are, or will be studs, from what we know as of today, that we can build this team around going forward.

OFFENSE

Thomas.. Proven Stud with multiple pro bowls
Mack: Proven..working on Stud status
Hillis: Looked studly last year.. this year not so much... Will he be on the team?
Watson: Not so studley anymore but he's very consistent, but not here for long (age).
Cribbs: not exactly a stud WR..but he has turned out to be VERY consistent as a 3 guy..
Little: potential to be a #2 stud.. Flashes of good and bad..the good puts him on the list

That's only 6 of 11 spots on the offense.. All but 1 of the starters (Pashos) have potential to move up.. maybe not to stud status..but at least to being solid.. None of the rest are quite in the solid ranking yet.. Some will move up... some will be gone..

DEFENSE
Haden: He looks great... Stud in the making
Ward: Hard time putting him here due to injuries. but loads of stud potential here
D'QJ: Definately not a Stud..but he's solid enough we can still build around him
Sheard: Definately stud in the making
Ruben: This guy is already a stud..but without the recongition
Taylor: This kid is very Solid and stud potential... Had a lot to learn this year. like where he's heading


That's only 6 on the defense too. Some young guys in the secondary could become good players..but not studs.. Brown is on the way out at CB, As for the 3 otherLB's; we need upgrades needed across the board. Jayme Mitchell at DE.. Don't let the door hitcha..

Ok; so some of the guys who are not in the core 12... are STILL good players and will still here in the future. Some are going to bust and be replaced.. We can never get studs at every postion..but you have to have a core group to build around. I did this just to kind of show how far away we still are..

I think we have a very unique opportunity this spring with 6 draft picks in the first 4 rounds to get add some real playmakers. If we have a good draft and make GOOD free agent moves for 2-3 starters.. This team can start moving toward being a playoff type team. But right now.. our core is only 12 of 22 starters and that's a long way from knocking Baltimore off the top of the hill.

[JewDago]

to whit, by the time this team is decent, thomas will be on the downswing of his career. can't build on that. on offense, we can build around mack, and that's it. he's the only decent player we have who's still young enough that he'll be around once the rest of the team has been assembled. could little be good? maybe. however, i'm of the opinion that catching the ball either happens or doesn't, and if a guy doesn't do it naturally, he doesn't do it. i hope he proves me wrong, but until he does, no block.

on defense, i pretty much agree with sez, though i don't think that DQJ is a building block. he's a decent player, but he doesn't do anything special. i'm also not sold on taylor—while his 4 sacks are a good start, his paltry 3 TFL don't bode well. haden also didn't have as good a year overall as the end of his rookie year was, but i hope he'll bounce back as a third-year player and turn it up. ward's somewhat a wash after missing the year—he'll need a good third year, as well, to prove himself a building block.

sheard, however, far surpassed expectations. dude can play, as can rubin. those two are definite blocks.

in total, that's three. three core starters who are both young and definitively good. go browns.

[akronjoe]

as long as Shurmur is the HC we cannot attract nor will our free agents want to stay on this Jonas ship.
Cribbs may be gone as he said the Obvious "I'm tired of losing".
Letting Hillis walk with absolutely no talent behind him will demonstrate the Insanity of this front office.

[Sez.EJ]

Akron: your talking out of your butt right now..First..Hillis has not gone anywere yet, as free agency has not started, so you don't know they have let him walk. They can still sign him. Free agency is still over a month and a half away. As for not being able to sign free agents because of Shurmur..is also BS speculation.. It's one thing to say it MAY be a problem.. but your stating this as fact.. which is utter nonsense. again..free agency has not started.. and generally it's GM's talking to agents.. the free agent players almost never even talk to coaches.

So you don't like Shurmur..that's fine. I have not made up my mind..but he hasn't been very good so far.. .. but your blaming him for things that have not even happened.

[golfer704u]

Sez, I like you and I know you want to believe Hillis will be resigned. but IMO there is only one way that happens. and that's if Hillis goes to FA and finds out no one else wants to pay him either. And then he comes back and signs with the Browns. But I don't think that happens. SOMEONE will pay him and the Browns will let him go.

[Sez.EJ]

Golfer anythingn is possible.. I just disagee with: he's out the door..until it happens. If Hillis is a free agent..he's gone.. cuz i guarentee there are teams willing to pay him. Tampa comes to mind as does Detroit. Detroit seems to love Browns free agents.

[Enigmatic Evil]

This is the NFL, there's always a team that needs a HB and memories aren't as short as people like to believe. Teams out there know what Hillis can do, and if we DON'T re-sign him, another team IS going to take him at a bargain price. IMO, the fact we didn't seal the deal on an extension DURING the season was kind of a telling tale to me, Hillis didn't EARN it, and he will go elsewhere for that paycheck he is looking for.

There we go again, making more needs for ourselves.

[YtownBacker]

I don't know if Hillis is a player you want to build around. You will have to overpay him and he hasn't shown the ability to stay healthy. The way he runs his career most likely will be a short one. He does take a lot of punishment. Hillis and his agent aren't dummies, they want to get paid before he starts showing wear and tear. This could be his only chance at a big contract.

Since this is a league of RB by committee the position will always be undervalued. There will always be options in Fa and the draft. Guys like Polk or David Wilson in rounds two or three who would be great additions or a guy like Vick Ballard later in the draft.

That said, I'm not a fan of drafting a RB with the #4 pick. RBs don't have longevity and a #4 pick needs to be a core guy for many years.

[Sez.EJ]

Sorry Y- I think Hillis is worth giving that 1 big contract to. It's not our money and we have no one else at RB who can do what he does.. Yeah he may burn out fast..but that's ok.... Nothing wrong with that. Run the dogsnot out of him for the next 3-4 years and get the next one. If we don't then we need to burn a top end draft pick.. It's worth it to resign him in order to draft guys at positions with a longer shelf life at other holes we have. Why make another hole when we have a guy right there who can fill the bill. There is always the chance you burn a draft pick on a rb who's a bust...when you already have a guy who has proven he can play.. To me it's a no brainer.

[golfer704u]

Originally Posted by Sez.EJ

Golfer anythingn is possible.. I just disagee with: he's out the door..until it happens. If Hillis is a free agent..he's gone.. cuz i guarentee there are teams willing to pay him. Tampa comes to mind as does Detroit. Detroit seems to love Browns free agents.

The word I've heard is Hillis has told the Browns he wants to test the FA waters. And I haven't heard that the team doesn't want him to let him.

The only hope we really have is that he doesn't command the market he thinks he will and he comes back to the Browns and takes thier offer.

[Sez.EJ]

I am hoping the Browns just make him a good offer before free agency begins, and he does not even look elswhere. A team like Tampa might jump all over him. None of their RB's can catch the ball other than the 30 yr old 3rd down back and he's been hurt most of his career. A team like Detroit could jump on him too. He would be a perfect fit in that Detroit offense. I have him as a keeper in my fantasy.. I would hope he goes to Detroit for my fantasy team..but I want to keep him in Orange and Brown. Seattle is also a good possibility for Hillis.. 3 teams that seriously need a RB of Hillis style. OK 4.. We do too.

[jnuh]

Originally Posted by Sez.EJ

I am hoping the Browns just make him a good offer before free agency begins, and he does not even look elswhere. A team like Tampa might jump all over him. None of their RB's can catch the ball other than the 30 yr old 3rd down back and he's been hurt most of his career. A team like Detroit could jump on him too. He would be a perfect fit in that Detroit offense. I have him as a keeper in my fantasy.. I would hope he goes to Detroit for my fantasy team..but I want to keep him in Orange and Brown. Seattle is also a good possibility for Hillis.. 3 teams that seriously need a RB of Hillis style. OK 4.. We do too.

Tampa isn't going to want Hillis with Blount. It wouldn't make sense they are both north to south power backs. Blount is also younger and arguably better. If anything they would be in the market for a guy with game breaking speed which is what we should also be in the market for if we keep Hillis.

Seattle has Lynch who has played really well in Carrols system and can just resign him. Him and Hillis are on par with each other.

Detroit might be a good spot. It all depends on how Leshourse is coming along in his rehab.

I don't think there is going to be much demand for Hillis. And the teams that are interested probably won't give him the deal he had originally wanted. That might work in the Browns favor. We are going to have to wait and see really. If Hillis were to walk though I have no trouble with them going after Michael Bush to replace him.

In todays NFL running backs like Hillis are a dime a dozen. Even if we retain Hillis we still need another RB as Hardesty and the other crap we have at the position don't cut it.