Defensive

If you don't already read Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback column at Sports Illustrated, you should start.  He gets great inside information and offers very reasoned opinions on lots of NFL topics.  For some reason, lots of players, GM's, and league executives are willing to tell him things they won't say to anybody else. 

Back in the summer before coach Mangini's first season, Mr. King visited training camp in Berea and quickly predicted the Browns would go 2-14 that season due to a lack of talent and play makers.  I was shocked, angry, and thought, "this guy doesn't know what he's talking about - he probably doesn't pay attention to the Browns."  But, he was right on the money - until the December heroics of the defense and running game saved the season from Detroit-like dismay. 

Anyway, in today's Tuesday Morning Quarterback edition (an abbreviated version of the Monday column mostly made up of responding to reader emails), Mr. King offers the following thought on the Browns:

Mock Draft Round Up

Well, the NFL combine will take place later this month and soon after, mock drafts will start springing up.  Then once all the college's pro days are complete, a more detailed set of mock drafts will arrive.  Before the combine takes place, many web sites and draft gurus take a stab at the first round.

I've rounded up as many mock drafts as I can find to tide you over until the riveting coverage of the NFL combine takes place (actually, I enjoy watching it on NFL Network, but I know most people find it boring.)  After all, as Browns fans, all we really have to look forward to is the eternal hope and promise of another off season. 

The Superbowl Measuring Stick

So most of us witnessed the Packers beat our vaunted rivals, the Steelers, in last night's Superbowl.  In many ways, the Packers can serve as a measure of how far off the Browns are from competing at a championship level.  There are some similarities between the Packers and Browns in terms of how they remade their coaching staff and offense.  The easiest to analyze, and perhaps most important similarity, is the Packers use of the west coast offense and how it fared against the Steelers' defense, one of the best in the NFL.

Something To Be Said For Consistency:

As of today, coach Shurmur hired Mark Whipple to be quarterbacks coach, Mike Wilson to coach receivers, Bill Davis to coach linebackers, and Dwaine Board to coach the defensive line. The four have strong ties to either Shurmur, Browns President Mike Holmgren or General Manager Tom Heckert.  It appears that the Browns will not be hiring a true offensive coordinator. 

Since the return of the team in 1999, there have been many poor combinations of front office and team executives with coaching staffs.  These all eventually led to power struggles or a falling out which led to some one's ouster.  Let's review: