@thenew23 said:

We need a lot of DB help, and we have to go after a CB and FS in FA IMHO.

We could also use help at WR, TE, G, ILB, and more OLB help.

I still see at least one more big FA to fill one of those spots.

As for the draft, I'm still thinking J.Jones, D.Jordan, or D.Milliner. I just can't see drafting a G at #6. However, we may be able to trade down 2 spots w/ BUF since they NEED to make sure they get their QB, after cutting Fitzpatrick. Then we could look at Patterson or Warmack at #8.

Too early for all the speculating, but this is starting to get exciting!!

So you won't pick Warmack at 6 but you will at 8?? With the rookie pay scale now they would make about the same. I'm not saying we should pick warmack(although I'm not against it) but I just don't understand that kind of logic

@miktoxic said:

i don't understand the talk about our D line. i think we're pretty solid there. if a DE fell in our lap to bookend sheard then great. but i don't see ourselves drafting that position before LB, CB or safety.

if we do, then i know banner and lombardi are shit and we'll suck for another 20 years.

Sheard is no longer a DE...

@miktoxic said:

DUMB.

TE is the least of our problems.

start a thread about depth at linebacker, cb or safety. then you'll get my attention.

until then zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

That's fine you don't need to waste your time. But I started a thread on TE because we may have the answer on our team. Everyone knows we need to pick up a cb and OLB from somewhere else. Those are gaping needs that we don't have servicible ppl on our roster to fill.

@tampadawgs said:

OK here is the list of QBs who could be our QB next year...

1. Ryan Mallet- Big arm, behinf Brady for 2 years. Pats want at least a 3rd rounder or better....Really Doubt he becomes a Brown

2. Matt Fylnn- After Seattle payed big bucks for him, he got beat by Wilson for the starting job. Seattle will not pay 8M for a back-up he will be traded or out right released. Fylnn is what the Browns want a strong armed QB who throws the ball downfield

I like Weeden, but would not be upset with Fylnn or Mallet. I really did like Mallet coming out of Ark. I really do think they Weeden can be a great QB.....

That's just not even accurate. Matt Flynn is known for NOT having a big arm,known as a west coast offense qb, and isnt good throwing the deep ball. He is very similar to McCoy actually.

Ive read numerous places about both Chud and Norv's love for the tight end position. That being said, Im interested with how they handle the position here. Ben Watson is solid, but is a free agent and was a Heckert guy. I hope we resign him because he shouldnt be expensive and I feel that he is a good veteran presence/leader in the locker room; he still should have a few years left in the tank. I really really like Jordan Cameron and hope that the new coaches develop him well, but will his blocking ever improve at this point? Alex Smith and Smelley...whatever.

Although I am not complaining at all about taking Josh Gordon with our 2013 2nd round pick, it really is going to limit us on draft day. There will obviously be a huge gap between our first and second pick (barring a trade), and we cant pick up a need player (like a CB, or OG, or FS or whatever the brass identifies) in the second round. This may affect us in drafting a quality tight end if the coaches really want one. Or do we resign Watson and ride that wave a bit longer? Free agents?

@the-gipper said:

Here is the list of Outside linebackers projected to possibly go as high as the third round, per CBS Sports. Their overall prospect rating is included:

#7 Jarvis Jones, Georgia

#23 Alec Ogletree, Georgia (really, Ga. had 2 best prospects?)

#56 Khaseem Green, Rutgers

#64 Arthur Brown, Kansas St. (The Crazy World of)

#65 Sean Porter, Texas A&M

#70 Chase Thoms, Stanford

#72 Brandon Jenkins, Florida St.

#79 John Simon, Ohio St.

#82 Jamie Collins, So. Miss.

#92 Jelanie Jenkins, Florida

#105 Travis Long, Wash. St.

#112 Trevardo Williams, UConn

Now, that seems like a pretty deep list of prospects. I know from watching OSU that John Simon has a hell of a motor. He is reminiscent of Mike Vrabel...which would be good. If he were picked up as a 3rd rounder, great.

Any thoughts on any of the others?

A guy who is probably listed as a DE (and not on that list) who I like is Damontre Moore from Texas A&M

http://espncleveland.com/common/more.php?m=49&action=blog&r=17&post_id=11381

Ray Horton has said we will run a 3-4 and mirror the Steelers D. The funny thing is he had no hesitation about this decision and it seems like he didn't really think at all about running a "hybrid defense", in fact he kind of poked fun at that idea (which came from Chud). My question is are Chud and Horton on the same page? Something about this doesn't sit we'll with me for some reason.

Also, thoughts about the 3-4 and our personnel for it? If we get a stud OLB, I actually don't think personnel wise the change will be as bad as in years past. Obviously it will still take time for the players to learn the new system though.

@kosar_for_president said:

A DL line coach is not going to dictate the defense, lol

I think it's very odd to bring in a 4-3 D-line coach to coach a 3-4 defense. The defensive line does totally different things in each of the systems...

http://www.ohio.com/blogs/cleveland-browns/cleveland-browns-1.270107/browns-notes-vikings-assistant-gm-george-paton-reportedly-out-of-running-in-cleveland-1.364930

(Second story)

So Browns want to interview Joe Cullen, the D-line coach for the Jags. But the Jags run the 4-3 as far as I know, and he coached a few seasons at Detroit before that and Im pretty sure they were a 4-3 as well... So are we keeping a 4-3? Do Chud/Banner/Haslam just think hes a really good coach and want to grab him like it seems like theyve been doing with the front office staff (minus GM)? Is he part of the "hybrid" plan? Am I missing something?

@harry-buffalo said:

We need to look OLB first and foremost. The only person on the roster who might be able to play OLB in a 3-4 is Sheard and that is a very solid maybe. He would have to lose a bit of weight. We would be set on NT and DE. You take the quicker of Rubin and Taylor and put them into a DE spot and then start Billy Winn at the other open spot. We got Jackson, JMJ, Gocong, and Miavia in the middle. Just no depth for OLB.

So who would you want for OLB? Obviously Jarvis Jones is a candidate, Mingo from LSU? Who else from the draft? Is it too early to talk about 2013 OLB free agents? I think Anthony Spencer for Dallas is a free agent, dont know much about him.

@fairhooker11 said:

I can see a hybrid system work, hell- we see versions of it everywhere now in the league

what I dont want to see is a Crennel style experiment like that of Kam Wimbley, a DE at Fla STate

drafted #1 and put in at OLB - it didnt work

just as long as we dont hang our hat on a 3-4 that is exclusive and wont utilize what could be a bull rush from

what we now have at 4 down linemen....

besides Dquell Jackson thrived in this system.....

But that's pretty much exactly what we'd be doing with Sheard.

As Im sure most of you have heard, there is a big possibility that our defense moves to a 3-4 or at least a "hybrid" 3-4/4-3 in the words of Chud. Personally, I am not thrilled about starting over a bit in a promising defensive season but I want to hear about what you all think about our personnel if we move to a 3-4.

RE: P. Taylor, J. Hughes

NT: A. Rubin, P. Taylor

LE: F. Rucker, B. Winn (or vice versa)

D-line looks pretty good in the 3-4 to me, we have a plethora of D-linemen with size and athleticism. Just the change in the system is the only thing I have a problem with.

OLB: Sheard, ???, J. Parker?

ILB: Dqwell, JMJ, Gocong

Again as we saw with Mangini and Crennel's 3-4, the LB corp is huge in the system. It is really unfortunate that this is the weakest part of our team IMO. Can Sheard make the transition? Is he (and Parker) quick/athletic enough to make the shift? Man, Jarvis Jones sounds pretty sweet at #6 now...

DBs: not really changed much in the 3-4 (at least not that I am aware of). We still need another CB. Maybe a FS.

What are your guy's thoughts on the possible change?

If we stay at 6 I'd like J. Jones, Damontre Moore, or Werner. If we trade down I like Warmack a lot, Milliner, or Te'o

@the-gipper said:

Also, this move may be a hint that they are truly serious about going after a CB with their first draft pick.

Thats a bit of a stretch. We dont even know where we are picking and who is even declaring for the draft. They are not planning this far in advance for that. Im sure they are aware that we will eventually need another starting CB to compete though. I obviously dont know what is going on behind the scenes, but if I had to guess this decision was made by Banner for financial purposes or he was a locker room cancer or a bit of both. This is likely a sign that Heckert wont be back next year or at least will have a diminished role. I think thats unfortunate. In my very amateur opinion, I like Heckert way more than Lombardi.

@dab7291993 said:

I don't like free agent QB's but I like it for every other position.

Browns should seriously consider to fill some of the holes they have in FA.

WR

G

CB

FS

LB

DE

FB

aren't all gonna be filled in the draft. We don't have to rush it and try to contend next season but I'm not waiting 2-3 years to see a team that I can bare watching.

It's got to be a mix of drafting and FA

We quietly sign a FA or two every year, they just arent the big name players who get overpaid and a lot of the time end up disappointing (example Ray Edwards the former Falcon). Frostee Rucker and J. Parker have been solid for us this year, not long term solutions but are doing a decent job for their price. Usama Young was another FA starter (although I realize he probably shouldnt be a starter). John Greco has been helpful with the depth at the Oline. Ben Watson is another guy who has been a significant FA signing by Heckert to fill a starting role. One of the problems with free agency is that after a player's rookie contract many of them are 26 years old, and the majority of prolific players in their rookie contracts are extended by their teams and dont really hit free agency until they are in their late 20's. And lets face it, in the NFL if you are in your late 20s you may very well have past your peak.

I like what Heckert has been doing, use free agency to fill positions of need without taking a huge financial risk and maintaining cap flexibility to extend young players that have proven (or at least hinted) that they can be successful in our system. I agree that we should try to go out and sign 3 FA starters this offseason and upgrade a few postitions, but anyone who thinks being a consistent big spender in free agency in the NFL is just ignorant of how the league works.

@utzie said:

On the NFL Draft homepage on ESPN, they released their first mock.

Http://www.ESPN.go.com/NFL/draft

They have the Browns taking OG Chance Warmack at the number 10 pick, with Manti Te'o and Jarvis Jones still on the board. Thoughts?

I would post all the picks, but I'm using my phone. If someone wants to watch the video and list them, that would be great.

Interesting, it has us taking Warmack at #10 with Te'o AND Jarvis Jones still on the board. Id be thrilled with either of these 3. I really believe that if Weeden can keep improving, and we get some chemistry and growth from our very young offense, then we are an OG away from being a VERY solid offense (obviously much of that depends on the QB position, so tough to say how good...)

@hunt-daddy said:

Alfred Morris is the product of a zone blocking scheme. The same reason undrafted Arian Foster is the stud of the league.

Why cant/dont we do this then if it is so successful?

@dab7291993 said:

We need to use a lot of players better.

Like, say Trent Richardson should have more screens/outside runs.

Amen. youd think our coaches were trying to wear this guy out in a losing season getting pounded up the middle for a yard or two...

@dab7291993 said:

It's not that it's all about BPA.

I want a pass rusher regardless of his position. I would love to have a front line like the Giants though.

BPA for sure at this point. Id love if that was at DB or LB but honestly BPA on defense is what Im hoping for. Id love some hard hitters/playmaking (preferably both) D players at any position really, a good D coordinator will be creative enough to get the best players on the field

I know Phil started practicing again this week, but I havent heard anything about when he is supposed to start playing. Has anyone heard anything? I would assume after the bye week but have been surprised about the quietness about last year's first round pick's return...