Peter King on the State of the Cleveland Browns

"My take: The roster is absolutely not better because no player of the skill level of Edwards or Winslow has been added. But I would have done all three deals that ManKinis did, because Winslow and Edwards were never going to buy into any long-term rebuilding program, which this has to be. There comes a time when team and player have to divorce, and if player has great success after the trade (Roger Clemens when he left Boston), it doesn't mean he'd have had the same success in his original place."

King looks at the three major trades of the ManKinis front office. While I think he underrates some of our pieces (namely Mack and Wimbley and special teams), he gives a sobering and reasoned analysis of the state of our team. Also, the 2010 draft will be the make or break moment for a long time.

about 1 month ago Ryan Kelsey 12 comments 0 recs |

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I did think he underrated Mack, but it probably isn’t expected of him to hype up a rookie after only 5 games.

by Roger Dorn on Oct 13, 2009 5:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think his point was that a great RT or MLB is more important that a great center. Which may be true, but it remains to be seen if Oher or Laurinitis or Mauluaga turn out to be a great player.

by Buckeye Brad on Oct 13, 2009 9:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

With Ngata, Peko and Hampton in the division, I’d say that they were smart to take Mack over a Tackle or Linebacker.

by golanbatrac on Oct 14, 2009 12:55 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not that afraid of Peko. Certainly not as much as Hampton or Ngata.

by rufio on Oct 14, 2009 1:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agree with many of King’s assertions. Disagreed with the idea that we roll the dice on another qb when we need so many pieces. I think you build a team from the inside out. Once you have superior line play and solid defense, you have the luxury of rolling dice on marquee college names like Bradford or McCoy. Maybe, if we have a good draft, we can win 5 games in 2010. Then, we try to improve to 8-8 the year after. But, it’s a sustainable improvement toward a real franchise.

by elsandito on Oct 13, 2009 6:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree about getting a QB near the end of the building. Look at what the Jets did (with Mangini at the helm.) They built a team and tried to survive with Pennington and Clemens. Once they had a structure in place, they made a move to trade up and get Sanchize.

I doubt the Browns would target a QB in the 1st round next year without the rest of the foundation in place.

by Roger Dorn on Oct 13, 2009 6:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

agreed. doesn’t seem like mangini’s style to throw a rookie qb in the mix before things are pretty well in hand.

by DontCallMeJoey on Oct 13, 2009 6:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

a pretty fair look from king, who hasn’t always been kind to the browns. also interesting that mangini and kotnkus (sp) both make an effort to point out that there was a long way to go when they took over. nice CYA there…and king is spot on in that mangini has at least 3-4 years to get this right. we better get used to that.

by DontCallMeJoey on Oct 13, 2009 6:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Rather well-balanced and he was reasonable in his criticisms of the first pick – but for a team that has had a 100-yard rusher in two straight games its starting center must be doing better than “passably well”. The biggest conclusion he makes is that Mangini is secure and that Lerner is not going to stick his nose into the operations unless something horrendous occurs.

By the way, Lerner’s not going to cave after a year and sweep clean. He’s tired of the coaching and front-office chaos, and I’m not saying he’s going to give Mankinis three seasons like this one, but to think he’ll fire the building again this winter is just not happening.

As a fan, there is not much we can do but hope for the best and enjoy the ride.

"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge..." C. Darwin

by Spidey on Oct 13, 2009 9:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I like the approach so far. Build the O-line, special teams, and defense first with depth. Then add the star free agents, and go after a QB, stud RB, and WRs.

by Roger Dorn on Oct 13, 2009 11:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

agree.

by golanbatrac on Oct 14, 2009 12:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agree that moving Edwards and Winslow had to be done and that we are not a better team because of it.

If we aren’t going to be good any time soon, we had better get a stud NT, because Rogers isn’t getting any younger. Thankfully, Joe Thomas has plenty left in the tank.

by rufio on Oct 13, 2009 11:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs