Having essentially finished "Phase-One" of the free agency period, the time where organizations throw boatloads of money at the tier-one players, it's time to take stock of what we've done, and to evaluate where we might go from here.
Who we've added:
The Browns have inked Eric Steinbach, Kenny Wright, Antwan Peek, Jamal Lewis, and have traded for Tim Carter.
Steinbach was one of the "Big Three" guards available in free agency. While it can be argued that he isn't the best pure guard of the bunch (such a distinction most likely goes to Chris Dielman) I believe it's accurate to state that he's the best lineman that was available in free agency. Despite talk that suggested the Bucs were interested in him as a left tackle, that's probably his least productive position on the entire line. He's one of the best guards in the league from a purely technical standpoint, having very quick recognition skills, excellent leverage for a man his height, and is accurate when finding targets at the second level. His only true question mark is his power, but he's accounted well for himself having played his entire, albeit short career in the AFC North. He's familiar with the Casey Hampton's and Haloti Ngata's of the world. We know what he is and what he isn't, and when it comes to throwing big money at free agents, familiarity and understanding is the vast majority of the battle. It's my belief that he could be a pro-bowl center in this league, which is why I'll risk sounding like a Homer when I say we signed the best guard available. Make no mistake about it. The Browns still have questions at the center position as well as right guard. Keeping Hank Fraley was the right move to make, but he's a finesse center in a power division. He's smart and understands the position, but is limited athletically and has been pushed around by the various powerful defensive linemen in the AFC North. Bentley is a huge question mark, and nobody really knows if he can ever return to the league, let alone the form that made him the jewel of the 2005 free agency period. Down the road, having the option of moving Steinbach to center gives the Browns the ability to adapt not only to free agency, but the draft as well.
The signing of Kenny Wright really can't be graded just yet. Is he a starter? Is he a nickle? Only Phil Savage can answer that question, and I don't know that even he knows the exact answer. If Wright is depth, then the Browns have landed a very good corner who brings size, toughness, and a physical presence to the position. Wright has bounced around the league, having now landed with his fifth team. His days as a starter should be over, as he's reached that seemingly magical age of thirty (He turns in September) where corners and running backs lose their burst. Wright has always done his best work when taking on a man-to-man role as a corner, but has suffered the most when asked to be a zone-corner. His effectiveness is solely dependant on how much pass rush our linebackers can generate. If we can get something from anyone not named Wimbley, Wright will look like a great signing. If he's forced to cover longer because we can't get to the QB, he's going to look like the big, stiff corner that he is out in space.
Antwan Peek, like Kenny Wright, is excellent as a depth/role-player but very suspect as a starter. He has the pass rush ability that Matt Stewart doesn't have and has shown that he can play well in space, but he isn't physical enough when taking on blockers and is a little short on size as a full-time 3-4 OLB. If he comes in on pure passing downs, he can contribute, but as a full-time player he's going to be overmatched more times than not. With Wimbley being an every-down contributor, there's alot of depth with Stewart and Peek, but if either guy is forced into the starting lineup, the defensive side of the ball will have serious issues.
Jamal Lewis is an interesting acquisition. When right, Lewis is a legitimate back who can break tackles and carry the load. Of course the reason he was available at all is because at the ripe young age of 27, there isn't much left on his tires. Injuries and wear-and-tear have zapped him of the burst that made him a 2000-yard back in 2003, which seems like a lifetime ago. As a pure runner, there were few equals in the league. He runs with excellent balance and vision, is quicker than one would expect for a man his size, and always gains the extra yards after contact. However, he's been nothing special as a receiver and despite his imposing size, isn't an accomplished blocker. Still, the question will be whether or not there's enough left in the tank to make this a good signing. With only a one-year contract, the organization isn't locked into the guy should he prove to be a poor decision.
Tim Carter is going to have a chance to win the 3rd receiver spot. Talented but wildly unproductive, Carter has struggled with injuries and concentration during his time with the Giants. He has good size, excellent burst, speed, and athletic ability, but isn't a great route runner, has concentration issues when going after the ball, and doesn't always understand how to run routes in zone coverages. The Giants tried to give Carter one more chance prior to last season, having signed him for one more year, but his inability to take his game to the next level resulted in his availability. He can be a deep threat who'll stretch the field, but nobody really knows if he can become more than the huge dissapointment that he was in New York.
Who we've lost:
Dennis Northcutt, Brian Russell, Daylon McCutcheon, Terrelle Smith, traded Reuben Droughns.
Dennis Northcutt is an all-pro caliber punt returner. Too bad he could never translate that ability into his role as a receiver. Poor hands and zero ability to fight for the ball doomed his time here. Often pining for a starting role, he was given multiple opportunities to take the job but always failed. He's simply too small and weak to take the pounding as a starter and does his best work in the slot, where his lack of reliable hands further handicapped the Browns passing game. He'll be missed as a return man but not as a receiver and most certainly not as a personality, where he was often critical of the town and it's players.
Brian Russell played reliable, if unspectacular football for the Browns over the past two seasons. More of a true center-fielder, Russell understands the game and knows how to put himself in the right positions. As a tackler and cover man he lacks the quickness to be a force but as a cog in a well-oiled machine he can be a solid player. His signing was a good one by Savage, but his signing by the Seahawks is somewhat of a head scratcher, where he'll compete against Mike Green and Michael Boulware at Safety. The 'Hawks gave Deon Grant a large deal to man the other safety position, so it's possible that they may envision Russell as a nickle-back.
During his prime days as a player, McCutcheon was a very reliable and solid starter. Physical against the run and smart in zones, he was a pleasant surprise for the expansion Browns. However, age and injury zapped him of the step that he couldn't afford to lose.
Terrelle Smith is known as a very good lead blocker. That reputation has been well-earned having blocked for multiple thousand yard backs in Reuben Droughns, Deuce McCalister, and Ricky Williams. As a pure fullback who's job is to find his assignment and open a hole, Smith is about as good as there is in the league. Yet as good as he is in that role, he's equally ineffective outside of it. He moves poorly in space, moves poorly with the ball in his hands, and is an inadequate receiver. Look up the term "one-dimensional" in the dictionary and you may just find a picture of Terrelle Smith. With the tutoring of Vickers, a player known more for his versatility than his blocking, Smith's time was coming to an end.
After a stellar 2005 season where he became the first Browns back in more than two decades to rush for more than 1200 yards, Reuben Droughns took a major step backwards in 2006, where injuries and off the field incidents derailed what was going to be a good Browns career. A versatile back who can run and pass block as well as play special teams and catch, Droughns brings good value to most any NFL team. Not an elite runner, Droughns never-the-less dished out more punishment than he took, and while that endeared him to fans, it also created alot of fumbles when matched to his upright running style. Though he's not had a ton of wear and tear, having only been a full-time back for three seasons in the league, his age and his style have relegated him to a part-time ball carrier. The Browns wanted to go with a more gifted player in the short-term, where Droughns' contract and poor 2006 season made him expendable.
Savage has made some solid moves, but there's still a ton of work to be done. The organization shouldn't hope that Wright can man the starting position opposite Lee Bodden, as that would be a fatal mistake. Bodden is an excellent cover-corner who's no longer a secret around the league. Teams won't throw at him as long as someone like Wright is out there. Furthermore, as good as Bodden is, heathy and reliable are things he's not. Keeping Wright as a starter means very poor depth if Bodden goes down. There aren't any corners worthy of a top-5 pick in the 2007 draft, and teams don't get rookie corners who can start in the 2nd round. Savage needs to make a move to either bolster depth or solidify the other starting position.
On the offensive line, the team still needs help. Even before his bout with a still undisclosed mental illness, Ryan Tucker was an aging player who's begun to break down. A quality tackle in the league, injuries and age are taking their toll on him, and his contract isn't exactly a bargain. Shaffer is not a quality NFL left tackle. He has slow feet which contribute to poor technique. He's a mauler who can be beaten around the corner or by brute strength. I maintain that he was always signed to be the eventual replacement for Tucker, and is only at left tackle until we find a real player to take over. Like LJ Shelton, as long as players of Shaffer's caliber are out on the island, the Browns line will suffer. Then there's the right guard position. We need another starter either through the draft, or via the 2nd tier of free agent players. Sowells is a long-term project who's not even close to starting, and nobody else on the bench is ready to step up.
That's where Joe Thomas comes into play.
There is a very large sentiment towards taking Adrian Peterson, and from a need standpoint, it's hard to argue with the logic. Peterson is the elite running back prospect in this draft. He has the size and speed (6'2 220, 4.40 in the 40) to be a pro-bowler for years. The one knock is his durability which is a very legitimate concern. If it weren't for his injuries, he'd be right there with Calvin Johnson as a sure-fire "can't-miss" player in this draft. Because of that issue, taking Joe Thomas makes the most sense for this organization.
Drafting Peterson solves one problem for this team down the road, which is the half-back position. However, Joe Thomas, while not likely to contribute as much as Peterson in the first year, represents a solution to TWO problems instead of one. Taking Thomas moves Shaffer to a position where he belongs while simultaneously solving our left tackle position. In a worst-case scenario where Shaffer fails to lock down right tackle or even right guard, the Browns have at least solved left tackle which has been a bane of this franchise for decades.I would also argue that it's far easier finding a legitimate running back than it is finding a legitimate left tackle. There are examples every year of teams acquiring backs who are good enough to take a good team to the Super Bowl. Just this past offseason, the Jets landed Thomas Jones (You remember........of the Super Bowl bound Bears) for what was essentially an exchange of 2nd round draft positions. The year before, we landed Droughns, a 1200 yard back, for failed defensive players that didn't fit our system and didn't do anything for the Bronco's this season. I could go on and on, but there's no need. Running backs that are good enough can be found all over the place. The same can't be said for left tackles.
Now I could go on to break down what it would mean to take Jamarcus Russell or Brady Quinn, but haven't we learned enough lessons over the past decade in this league? Every year there are teams that lack big-name QB's who go far into the playoffs because their teams are solid. This year, Charlie Frye could have quarterbacked the Bears to the Super Bowl. We're not going to be a significantly better team by taking Quinn, who won't do anything more for this team than Frye would in his third year. The truth is that this organization won't win games on a consistent basis until the lines are shored up, and right now, we have holes all over those lines.
Speaking of QB's, Trent Green is sitting out there waiting to be had. Since we have hardly tapped into our $30 or so million in cap room, sending the Chiefs a 2nd day pick for a QB who has plenty left in the tank should be a no-brainer. Here's some things you may not know about Green:
Yes, he's 37. That seems old, right? Not in football years it isn't, at least not when you really look at the man and his career. Green didn't start an NFL game until he was 28 years old. Yes, you've read that correctly. His first start in this league, in fact his first action in this league, came in 1998 with the Redskins. Prior to that, he'd taken one snap the previous year and not one single snap since he'd come into the league back in 1993. He then missed the entire 1999 season with that blown knee. Now, starting in 2000 with the Chiefs he hadn't missed a start in five seasons, mustering QB ratings in the 90's in four-straight seasons from 2002-2005. No team is going to pay him his $7.2 million contract number this year, so trading for him and restructuring his deal makes a ton of sense for a team without an answer at QB. Maybe Frye can be a serviceable starter in this league and maybe he can't (I'm betting he can't, but the book is still open), yet there's no comparison between he and Green. Even at 37 (Green will turn that age in July) he has the NFL body of a 31 or 32 year old. Even if he mans the position for a year or two only, that's a year or two we have to determine if Frye is the man or not, and we have the cap space to make such a deal happen. The one arguement that invevitably comes up with Green is this: He couldn't put up those numbers behind THIS line. Well guess what folks........"this line" allready has a pro-bowl level guard, and will inevitably have another quality guard soon. With a decent center and two quality guards, someone like Green could easily muster a rating in the 80's, which is light years beyond what Frye can do right now. Getting Green would be the right thing to do.
Now, what about QB's in the draft?
One way or another, one of the big-two QB's or Joe Thomas will be there when we pick. If we don't select Thomas or Peterson, we should find a suitor for the QB's and make a trade. Taking someone who's not the "sexy" pick such as Branch would shore up part of the line while landing us quite possibly a future #1 pick or at least another #2 this year. That #2 should turn into a starter somewhere on this team, and this team needs more startering caliber players in order to get better.
Speaking of Branch, that brings us to a very poor defense. McKinley is still a long-shot but most likely gone and Roye is nearing the end. During his prime, Roye was a very good 3-4 DE but those days are over. Washington played better than most fans give him credit for last year, but he doesn't have much left in the tank. Yes the Browns have signed Bengals DT Shaun Smith to an offer sheet, but there's more work to be done. Word is (no freakin' Roger Brown references in my blog please, thanks *L*) we're very close to signing Robaire Smith, yet that would leave one more position to fill. Branch would fill that other hole and solidify several problems.
So what makes more sense in the draft? A QB or RB on offense, or a LT or DT/DE on defense? Obviously the latter are the right moves, and I can only hope that Savage is smart enough to understand it.
That's enough of a rant for now. You'll forgive my longwindedness (yes yes, War and Peace was shorter, that one never gets old) but it is what it is.
-Ribbit