I myself don't think the talent level in the NFL is drastically different from team to team, except for maybe a few. I think of managing a team like playing a game of tetris to a certain extent. You have all these different pieces that can fit together perfectly or horribly depending on how you use them. I think Mangini could make the playoffs next year if he and his players understand how the pieces are going to fit together and what every individual role will be. Dick over in Steelerland has mastered how to do this. He seems to know how to maximize talent better than 95% of the coaches out there. Whenever they let a player go noone seems to get the same production out of them that they did and I'm even talking about the players that weren't high mileage guys. Anyways Mangini turned the Jets around in one year, so you know it can happen here because the Jets then were in no better shape than the Browns are now. I'm not saying its going to happen, but its certainly possible that this team is real competitve next year.

@neohionative said:

Please man, be reasonable. After a 4-12 season, even if we haven't dumped a bunch of people it's not unreasonable to consider this a rebuilding year. We have a starting quarterback that still has a lot to prove, we have only one established WR who has either lead or been in the running for most dropped passes in the league the past two years, we have a new center, we're missing winslow, joe j, and stallworth. Not to mention how pathetic and non-existent last years offense was at the end of the season. Let's all let the Cleveland shaped chips on our shoulders heal, ignore the skeptics, and root hard for our team. Getting indignant over misguided (but not entirely lacking merit) criticisms doesn't make the team win.

Sorry dude, I didn't think I was coming across as indignant and unreasonable. I know what they are trying to say when they say rebuilding, but its just not rebuilding IMO.

I here what some of you are saying about we never had anything to rebuild in the first place. Absolutely nothing untrue about that statement.....makes sense. I just think rebuilding is the complete wrong term for what the Browns are doing. Bringing some guys over from another system you were just in doesn't mean you are blowing up the roster. It just means you are trying to make a smoother transition. If you take away the guys we got from the Jets, we did nothing different than the Stoolers, the Pats, the Bolts, the Colts, or any other winning team. So for me, the term that makes most sense is 'transitioning' rather than 'rebuilding'. But we will find out soon enough what they are really doing.

@cambridgeho said:

We are rebuilding alittle bit. We have added like 6 or so Jets players and 8 or 9 draft picks. Most of the jets will start on this team, except Rattlif. 3 or 4 rookies will be starting this year. So yeah we did rebuild this year, but the great thing is, we have depth all over the field now. If someone goes down we wont be to screwed, well except if JT goes then we are screwed, but overall we look like a solid team. If the AFC north wasn't so tough we could make the playoffs. It is going to be a battle this year. Who ever wins 10 games will win the division.

It seems more like molding than rebuilding to me. We still have most of the old faces and obviously some new ones, but this isn't like the usual team of mostly new faces. Hell even the Stoolers are going to have newly drafted players.

But I'm with you that if healthy this team can win more games than expected, I just don't expect it.....more like hope!

This is not a rebuilding year! Who have we dumped off with any known value other than Winslow, Kevvy(maybe), and Jones? That happens on teams that aren't rebuilding at all. Who else? Dorsey!? Cousins!? Davis!? And DA might go, big deal. Trust me we can find more sucky players to replace sucky players if it comes to that. I think if Savage had stayed he might have made similar decisions. Do you think Savage would have kept Winslow after their lovefest gone wrong? I don't. Think there might be a reason that Savage didn't resign Jones before his contract expired? I do. This is all shit that would have happened no matter who walked through the door with half a brain. Do people not realize how different it was when Savage came to town opposed to Kok? The roster changed almost daily. That hasn't happened! Atleast not yet!

Obviously, Mangini is expecting something good from this team in the near future or we would have been sitting with a whole lot more draft picks than we were on draft day by dealing or cutting away all the crap he didn't want. I don't expect the playoffs and a superbowl this year, but I sure as hell don't expect last season all over again! We are used to seeing the new FO cut or trade players and then draft their replacement. In this case they may actually stay as backups or even still remain starters. Again, happens on winning teams all the time. That sounds nothing like rebuilding to me. This team needed a new direction more than raw talent and ability. Remember Mangini's first year in NY? Its not out of the question.

So everyone out there who thinks we are rebuilding can save it for Denver!!

How about: "We still think Derrick Anderson gives us the best chance to win on Sunday."

This could seriously end up like the Manny/Boston break up because of hurt feelings. It really has the potential to go there. I personally would rather deal with Boldin's baggage at this point.

Sorry if someone already asked this, but does anyone think Braylon is going absolutely apeshit that the Browns drafted a OSU wr that could eventually take his job? He is either gonna go into camp thinking 'I'm going to beat this kid at everything' or 'I would rather be anywhere else'. This isn't how normal people think, but for some reason BE can't let go of college yet.

So my next question then is if BE shows up ready to leave could we possibly make a Boldin/BE trade? This would leave both teams with the same talent and give the players a way out. At least, Boldin could finally be the No. 1 guy and BE would be close to LA so he can pursue his modeling career.

We really need a lb bad, not sure wr should rank above lb.

First off, hello to all my fellow BROWNS fans, nice to see a place like this. I just wanted to add my thoughts on the trade rumors. I for one totally think the rumors are real, to a certain extent. I just don't think Quinn will start next year, *sigh* I sure hope I'm wrong though. I think Savage basically unintentionally ensured this when he gave DA his contract because he obviously expected much more from DA than he delivered. Do you really think Lerner wants to pay both of these guys that kind of money knowing one will be sitting on the bench? If Quinn plays 3/4 of the snaps he gets a huge payday and DA has for the most part already been paid. Since no one will even give a half eaten sandwich for DA, someone has to go to help fill greater needs and thats probably Quinn. On the chance that both stay, there is no way a fair QB competition happens. It will be DA's team, which will cause huge problems amongst fans and Quinn with whoever the face of the organization is. They just can't spend that kind of money on the QB position when they have this many needs. This has nothing to do with performance because DA would have lost his job on any team he played for except this one. Savage outsmarted himself and left the Browns with complicated situations to deal with, which will force the Browns to do things that they don't necessarily want to.