McGinest was done when he arrived in Cleveland. I think it’s a reflection of how desperate this team is for help. But, to think that fans and media thought this was a playoff team, shows just how much Kool-Aid is swallowed every year by NFL homers. Even when Savage stocks the secondary, we won’t have the depth necessary to contend. Building a football team from zero is a slow process, yet the Browns need to sell tickets while doing it. And this 45 yrs and counting crap is myth. The franchise that won in 1964, won again as the Ravens. The clock starts over again for this expansion franchise, just so you understand the full weight of what the NFL owners did to this city.

I’ve been wondering all season why the Browns haven’t been mixing it up more with the RBs. And is it just me or does Lewis seem to hesitate more as he’s approaching the line? Not so much waiting for the blocks hesitate as just plain hesitate.

On the LB’s, since I consider this season over as far as a realistic shot at the playoffs is concerned, they ought to start playing Bell. Let’s find out before the next draft just how badly we are hurting at LB. I agree that it would be nice to see a Browns LB that could stop a runner rather than just slowing him down.

Might as well take a look at Rucker for TE as well because although Heiden is one of my favorite players, he’s not going to get any younger. If Rucker works out well as a receiver and can block, then maybe the Browns could trade Winslow for some high draft picks to build the LB corps. I don’t really like the idea of trading away talent, but right now all of our ballast is on one side of the cargo hold and we are listing heavily to starboard.

Acquiring a good DB would be a nice idea as well. We need a good corner and a safety who knows where he needs to be. Does anyone know why Abdullah hasn’t been activated? I can’t believe that he would be worse than Cousin. And I actually think the Browns’ secondary plays a bit better when Adams is in. No, I don’t have any numbers to back that up. It just seems that way to me.

Anyways, that’s my rambling input.

I also have trouble understanding why Harrison doesn’t get more touches. He carries four times for 44 yards in one drive in the first half then doesn’t get any more carries the rest of the game. How can this happen? There has to be something else going on with him. I just don’t see how any offensive coordinator can keep a guy that productive on the bench so much. Maybe if we gave him the ball a few times in the second half we would have scored another TD and stopped the big comeback by the Broncos

Anderson will not stay on as a backup if we are committing to Quinn next season. His salary was structured in such a way that we will make a decision on him this offseason. There is no reason to pay a backup 9 million dollars plus a roster bonus

We need to see what Rucker can do because Winslow should be history. This guy is a clown that thinks he is so tough but is actually a big puss!

Wow look at me! I can point to my biceps after I score but I can’t keep a puny defensive back from ripping the ball out of my hands. Your all mouth, sonny!

Your offensive pass interferance in this and other games shows you don’t even know the effing rules!

Lastly, dropping the ball at crunch was a tri-fecta! I am sure you are proud of that one. Take your candy-ass act somewhere else.

There is immense talent on this football team, unfortunately it is not coached well. How in the world do you give up 21 4th quarter points and 228 total yards. The defense looks ragged in the 4th quarter, are they out of shape, out of position, not making there assignments? Hard to believe.

QB- We are set for now. See what happens this offseason, but I don’t think we draft a guy.

RB-We could use someone, here, even if its just a guy we pick up late who is bigger/faster/more something than J. Wright and who compliments Harrison and Lewis well. We don’t need a bell cow, at least not yet. I wouldn’t mind picking one up if someone fell in our lap because Lewis isn’t getting younger and we will need a guy in a few years at worst.

WR-I would like to see at least 1 draft pick here. Maybe a FA, too, but probably 2 additions total. We haven’t drafted a lot of WRs, and you can never have too many young guys who are NFL caliber here. Also, even if Joe J comes back next year and Stallworth stays healthy, WR is typically a position where you need to develop guys for a few years. Sanders and Steptoe can be cut to make room.

TE- We are set.

OT- We could use a young guy, but it isn’t our top priority. I have no problem cutting one of the guys who never sees the field if a late round rookie can beat them out.

OG/C-Draft 1 young guy. Fraley is 31. Steinbach is 28. Hadnot is our youngest interior lineman at 26.

DE-R. Smith will have to come back from surgery at age 31 if he is to play again. Shaun Smith will be 28 next year and Williams 29. Another area like RB where I wouldn’t mind drafting a guy, especially if someone fell in our laps. We should be looking for guys who are 300lbs and “3 technique” DTs. Leonard and/or Santonio Thomas can be cut.

DT-Rogers is huge. He will also be 30 next year. I like Rubin as a backup. He might be able to develop in to a force because he flashes the ability to make plays, I just don’t know if he has it mentally.

OLB- Willie is retiring. Alex Hall has been a nice surprise, but we clearly need an impact guy here. Wimbley is playing far below his potential, but even if he were to rebound next year, you can NEVER have too many pass rushers. Spend a high pick here.

ILB- I like Andra Davis and think he is a great guy. Unfortunately, he is not playing good football right now and hasn’t for a couple of years (if he ever did). Jackson is playing the best out of our LBs but that isn’t saying much. I would like to see what Beau Bell is like before I say we need a high pick here, but we should probably spend a draft pick on this position. Where has Leon Williams been?

CB- Wright and McDonald are good. They are young and will have the occasional bad game. I would love to bring in a big, physical, freaky fast CB as our #1 and we could be awesome at that position, but it isn’t a high priority. We do need someone to be our 3rd CB, though. Guys like Orlando Scandrick last year always can be had in round 4 or 5. We could probably also get a decent guy in FA without breaking the bank.

S- Sorensen and Mike Adams are ok, but don’t have much if any upside. They play hard on Special Teams, but I would rather have a young guy who does that and has the potential to start. Not a high priority but I would not mind seeing a pick spent here at all.

Priority:
ILB/OLB
WR
DB
RB/OG/C

QB- Set. Quinn and Anderson should at least turn into one good quarterback. Hard to say what we have in Quinn yet. Anderson’s first full year look a lot like Peyton Manning’s but, obviously, his second year does not. He still has the potential to be a starter or at least a very serviceable backup.

RB- When will we see Jerome Harrison? He averages 9.1 yards per touch and plays about 8 downs a game. Not good. He seems like he could be a poor man’s Eric Metcalf out of the backfield. Jason Wright is a dime a dozen in the NFL. Jamal Lewis is a mystery to me. He is on pace to barely break 1,000 yards and he is averaging 3.6 ypc. This season seems to mirror his 2005 in Baltimore, and that is not encouraging. He struggled in 2006 as well but seemed to rebound last year. He certainly doesn’t seem to be the long term (3+ years) answer. I think this is a position of focus in the draft.

WR- Edwards is a #1, no question. I think Estonianzulu’s numbers really showed that. Stallworth can be a #2 when healthy, JJ is a good #2/3 when healthy. In short, we need some more talent here. Steptoe is no one’s idea of a serviceable wideout. A FA would fit in well with what we need now, and some mid-low round picks could be developed.

TE- Set for as long as Winslow wants to play. Rucker, Dinkins and Heiden are all just a security blanket.

OL- I’ll confess that this is not my area of expertise. I like Rufio’s ideas.

DL- Rogers is an absolute beast. Fantastic trade. Williams is playing hurt but is also starting to play better. The Smiths are average to above. We could grab some depth here, but our starters are not a place we need to spend money or picks.

LB- Not good. McGinest is a shell of the player he once was but still prances about as if he can play. Davis has lost a step or six over the last year. (I remember being excited about him a couple of years ago). Hall has shown flashes, Bell is an enigma, Wimbley runs straight ahead very well but seems to be content to just run past the quarterback on every play, Jackson is developing but is still only average. We need help here and it doesn’t matter how we get it.

DB- Jones and Pool are going to be the starters here. Sean seems to be recovering slowly from his injury, but the ability is there. Pool is set in his spot, he can play. Adams is nice depth to have but Sorenson is just filler. Eric Wright is one of our starting corners for as long as he would like to be. On the other side, Brandon McDonald is starting to look like he needs another year of work. He’s inconsistent at best and just downright bad at his worst. Nickle and dime really present a problem.

Overall- This is a team doing very little with a lot of talent. We somehow manage to score 17.7 points per game (returns excepted) despite having guys who should be some of the best in the NFL at their spots. It might be playcalling, it might be we overrate them it might be a lot of things. Someone needs to figure it. Our defense is not near where they need to be for us to be a playoff team. Teams still run on us almost at will, we give up huge amounts of yardage in the air and allow our opposition to convert 44% of third downs.

This season’s been pretty grim. But there have been flashes of light in the darkness, things to bring hope that the future will be alright. I really think its time for Romeo and his head coordinators to hit the bricks, though.

thanks for the bump Chris.

i’m interested to know to whom people in here think lewis was referring (and now cribbs is on the record, as well, ) when he said he was pissed about people quitting. the offense has put up 30 2 weeks in a row, so it’s hard to say they quit. the defense just sucks, i’m not sure they can be accused of quitting? although, brandon mcdonald will have a hard time claiming he gave maximum effort on this play

I don’t buy any of this crap about players quitting. It’s tough for some players to accept defeat without shooting their mouth. Perhaps it’s even more difficult to accept that certain teammates just aren’t up to the job, period. I guess it sounds better to say that guys aren’t putting in a full effort than to say they just suck. When you allow Cutler, with no running game, to put up career high numbers, you flat suck.

Romeo has the worst losing record of any current NFL coach who has coached more than 3 years. I can’t see him coming back next year unless he finishes .500 or better for the year.