Jeff Biletnikoff

We cheered Hachem and felt sorry for Quinn?

2007-08-07T22:35:00Z

I'm a poker player and a Browns fan so maybe only people like me that have the 2 interests in common made this connection but I think back to 2005 when Joe Hachem from Australia won, what was at the time, the biggest poker prize in history.

7.5 million was cashed by Hachem at the World Series of Poker and the poker world went crazy. In fact, so many people entered the next year, first prize was bumped to $12,000,000 (it's since gone down since the internet got shut down for poker for the most part). I remember EVERYONE I played with wanted to win 7.5 million-----hell...most of us said we'd be happy with a cool million.....$500,000.......even 100K--=====-7.5 million seemed like the impossible dream and fueled our card playing fantasies.

Fast forward to August 2007 and read this line from Lane Adkins article (I love the way Lane is covering training camp this year, by the way):

The Browns and Brady Quinn have reportedly agreed to a five-year contract for what is believed to be an estimated $20.2 million, and could reach a total value of $30 million with escalators. The contract contains $7.75 million in guaranteed money................etc. etc.

Read that again to me...................The contract contains $7.75 million in guaranteed money.

In one fell swoop, Quinn is richer than the guy that won the 2nd richest poker tournament in the history of poker and yet when the ESPN cameras panned him on draft day you would have thought his house was being foreclosed on, they just cut off his food stamps and someone stole his last coat on a 2 degree day.

Yes, I get the fact that he didn't exactly know where he was going in the draft when the cameras focused on his sad puppy dog face but let's be real. He had to have known he'd go somewhere in the 20's and it looks like being in the 20's pays pretty well.

So, I ask you...why did the world cheer Hachem and feel sorry for Quinn?

I guess it's because 7.75 million in the NFL isn't as rich as it gets while 7.5 million in poker is pretty damn close to the pinnacle.

Still, I wouldn't mind being 22 knowing I had 7.75 million no matter what I did the rest of my life.

Maybe we should think about that the next time we see a draft pick slide in a similar fashion to Quinn and not feel so bad when they get carted to the green room to avoid the "horrible" consequences of sliding to the lower part of the first round.

Either that, or take up poker and hope we have a Hachem type of run.

We will forgive Brady and Ryan..........if

2007-08-05T15:16:00Z

I'm amused by all the venom coming out regarding Brady Quinn and Ryan Tucker. The former more so than the latter but both are creating PR problems for themselves in the eyes of Browns fans.

Can they win the Browns fans over that are deserting them in droves???!!!! Will they ever repair their relationship with the coaching staff/front office???!!!

Stay tuned and we'll find out in another episode of "As The Browns turn"

It's laughable really.

Here's my prediction: August angst will turn to October optimism if both are on the field and part of a resurgent Browns offense.

If Quinn comes in and tosses boatloads of touchdowns, no one will remember the holdout. If the O. line clears the way for 150 yards of rushing per game and surrenders few sacks with Ryan Tucker manning the RT position folks will get amnesia about the season opening 4-game suspension.

In the age of podcasts, blogs, twitter, cable stations galore and all the other media options we have it's easy to focus too hard on certain players/stories.

As I've said all along it's all about performance. No one is going to remember or care about suspensions, holdouts or even $150 autographs if the players are doing their job at a high level when the games count.

Put another way, if Joe Thomas, who's done everything right in the eyes of the organization/Browns fans, comes in and pulls a Robert Gallery, the fan base will turn on him and ultimately forget he even exists once management sits him down and/or removes his name from the Browns roster.

In the immortal words of Al Davis "Just win baby." If Tucker and Quinn help the Browns do that, past deeds will be magically "forgiven."

If they don't........then it didn't matter anyway.

Thanks for the Bengals comparison, but............

2007-07-02T11:08:00Z

Doesn't it always seem when Eric Steinbach is interviewed, he invariably gets around to saying that the Browns remind him of the Bengals at a similar stage of development?

In fact, here's his latest quote:

"With what happened in Cincinnati, it's kind of similar to what I can see happening here in Cleveland," Steinbach said on Sirius NFL Radio last week. "When I got to the Bengals (in 2003), they were 2-14 the year before and then came Marvin and some new guys and we turned it around right away."

While I'm happy to have Mr. Steinbach and greatly anticipating improved play on the left side of the line, I would like to offer a simple piece of advice to our newest LG.

STOP WITH THE BENGALS COMPARISONS.

I for one don't look at the Bengals as a "model of success" in the NFL. Yes, they've become competitive (sort of), but what have they won? What have they done? One playoff appearance during the Lewis tenure, right?

I get the fact that he's trying to convey to Browns fans that there's hope for the franchise but comparing the Browns to another NFL team that has done NADA doesn't exactly inspire confidence in me.

They don't even make the playoffs every year. They're up and down more than a yo-yo in a tornado. At least find me a team that consistently makes the playoffs.

I can't get too excited over the Browns attaining Cincinnati's level of mediocrity.

Braylon Edwards as team spokesman?

2007-05-14T02:49:00Z

I keep seeing Braylon Edwards pop up at random in the offseason telling kids to fly straight or saying 10 wins or more is what the team is shooting for and even breaking down the Browns draft.

I get the fact that Braylon is an articulate guy that makes for a good interview subject, especially, it seems, at Sirius Radio. There are many media channels scrambling for content so it makes sense that some would latch on to a guy like him.

Can we, however, as Browns fans, take him seriously?

Outside of returning from a serious knee injury earlier than anyone expected what has the guy done in the NFL?

The kind of coverage Edwards has gotten in the offseason is usually reserved for elite players that have earned their chips.

Edwards hasn't even proven he can become a consistent receiver so he should calm down with the interviews in the offseason. I don't want to hear his opinion on how many games the Browns should win, what he thinks about the Cleveland draft, how Charlie Frye is going to respond or any other question thrown at him.

The only thing I want from Edwards is to be quiet and catch balls that help the Browns win ballgames. I'm not sure he has gone through this "growing up" phase the media seems to want to assign to him. When he can talk less about what he's going to do and instead just do it, I'll be willing to listen again.

Until then, it's all just talk......the same talk we've been getting since 2005.

I'm ready for some action from Mr. Edwards.

I Know They Have To Say It But..............

2007-05-05T12:14:00Z

All this public posturing over Kevin Shaffer. The NFL spin machine is rotating away once again. Did you see Crennel's statement today about the (ex) starting LT?

"I didn't talk to him about playing right tackle or whether he could play it or not, because right now he's the starting left tackle," Crennel said. "We'll let him compete and see what happens."

Cmon! He'll happen to "compete" and miraculously "lose" the job to Joe Thomas after a "hard fought" battle.

I'm pretty sure Crennel doesn't believe what he says. So much of today's generic NFL soundbites are USELESS. The bulk of a story was written about a subject we know is BULL.

Cleveland (duh) drafted Joe Thomas to play LT. Period. If Shaffer was any good at LT they would have spent the overall #3 somewhere else.

Here's how I'd break it down. "You're a valuable member of the Browns and we think you have a future at RT or RG. Unless Joe Thomas comes in and pulls a Gallery, your days at LT are over."

You know damn well that's probably how Crennel communicated it to Shaffer.

But you know what we get? Spun up pablum like everyone has a chance to "compete."

The Browns have hitched their long term stars to Thomas and also Brady Quinn. Somehow they'll get their chance to start at QB and LT no matter how many training camp "battles" are waged.

Turn off your spin machine Romeo, I'm not buying it.

Draft Time Is Near

2007-04-26T01:15:00Z

Don't ask me why but I'm SUPER EXCITED for the draft this year. Almost as excited as I would be for an actual Browns game or a poker tournament (my other favorite activity). Funny how I seem to get my head beat in with both endeavors. At least the Browns are free........for now.

Maybe my excitement is due to the uncertain nature of the draft. Maybe I ate copious quantities of lead as a child.

At any rate, as I look more and more at the team, I really want them to take Joe Thomas and go heavy on their lines the rest of the way. A "consolation-prize" of Adrian Peterson or trading down for more picks wouldn't be shabby either.

The Browns need ATHLETES this year. More than ever on the OL and DL. I just don't believe Brady Quinn or JaMarcus Russell are franchise QB types. There are WAY TOO MANY questions surrounding them. I remember a few years back when Michael Vick was an "athletic freak of nature." How about the pedigree of Heath Shuler or Rick Mirer in the 90's? I know we can point to Carson Palmer and Peyton Manning for the other side of the argument but my point is the #3 pick is way too important this year with the talent pool available to take a flyer on a QB that may or may not be your franchise guy.

I sure hope Savage & Co. haven't seen something different than me and they're hoping a Quinn or Russell falls to them. The team will be set back another 5 years if one of these guys is taken.

The only way to dig out of this mess known as the Browns is to get a cornerstone guy, especially on the OL and DL.

No matter what I'll always root for them but since I grew up with the team in the 80's, I can tell you it's a HELLUVA lot more fun to root for 12-4 as opposed to 4-12.

Don't Mean To Sound Like A Baby..........

2007-04-20T21:21:00Z

I've been a Browns fan since 1979 and I guess I was spoiled a bit because when I really started getting into them, the Kardiac Kids were just coming into their own. Then a few bad years but we got rewarded with the Bernie Kosar era. To a certain extent, even the Belichick era wasn't horrible (outside of the team leaving, of course).

Since 1999 though..........wow.

I find myself in dejavuville (is that a word....I guess it is now...lol) as we come up on another draft. I'M SO EXCITED as I always am around this time of year.

But is it mis-placed? Since the re-birth do we have a QB? No. Do we have a RB? No. Do we have a WR? No. LT? No. DE? No. CB? No. DT? No.

We've got TE, LB, S and some special teams guys. That's about it. There's potential in some of the positions like WR, CB, DT and DE but really.......we still aren't a team that's a couple guys away. A couple dozen maybe...but not a couple.

IT'S FRUSTRATING AS HELL to know that you can get a helluva athlete at #3 and #36 plus spend your butt off in free agency two years in a row and know that NO MATTER WHAT you can't fill all the holes.

I know, I know. What can you do about it? I should either shut up and support my team or find a different one (NOT AN OPTION........EVER!!!!)

So, I'll be quiet for now, get excited about April 28th and hope against hope that come the 2007 season there aren't as many holes as I know there are.

Passan Gets It

2007-04-18T22:23:00Z

I don't happen to agree with Rich Passan's pick this year. He wants Adrian Peterson. I prefer Joe Thomas (not that I'd shed tears over a Peterson pick--it's just that I feel it's finally time to take a T high and build the trenches).

Slight draft philosophies aside, his article on the front page today is RIGHT ON THE MONEY. He's absolutely right when he opines that this is indeed "silly season."

I especially enjoyed it when he said "At around 12:30 p.m. a week from Saturday, the only opinion that will count is Savage's. "

Don't get me wrong, I'd rather read NFL mock drafts than say, NBA playoff coverage but it does get a little overwhemingly ridiculous. No one really does know what's going to happen. Who could have predicted a few years back that Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers was going to free fall through the first round? Who predicted that Buffalo was going to go with John McCargo in the 1st round last year?

Even sitting at 3, it's tough for anyone to accurately guess what the Browns will do. Who do the Raiders and Lions take ahead of them? How many trade offers cross Savage's desk? What guy do they have rated on the top of their board?

We do know that Savage will have the opportunity to pick a helluva football player at #3.

Just like Braylon Edwards.

Er...................