I really did feel like something of a dummy when the Redskins won the trade battle for the rights to draft Robert Griffin III. I bought into a player and knew that the Browns had the weapons to make the trade happen. When they failed to get it done, I was sad for myself even as I could see some positives for the Browns for not giving up as much as the Redskins did. I was almost more upset that I spent so much time talking about a guy who would never become a Cleveland Brown. That was back when the pre-draft hype was actually fun. Somewhere along the line this turned from being really fun to causing stress and consternation, if not being just downright annoying.
You can figure out exactly where it happened for me because I started reminding myself that this was supposed to be fun in the posts. I lied to you all and said I was still enjoying myself. It’s like when you go bowling once per year and you’re really excited for it. You rent your shoes get a pitcher of beer and play a few games. Then because you haven’t bowled a lot your shoulder starts to groan a bit. Those energetic skips down the lane turn into chores. You’re still bowling and that should be fun, but the beer is low in the pitcher and nearly room temperature. It’s just over. You’ll remember only the fun parts nine or ten months later when you decide that it would be really fun to go bowling again, but if you thought really hard about it you’d actually remember the sore shoulder, warm beer and the strange smell of chemical shoe spray.
I won’t sit here and pretend to be able to tell you exactly what the Browns need to do tonight to make me feel good. It’s like the Supreme Court definition for pornography. “I shall not today attempt further to define the draft picks I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description ["a good draft"]; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it…” Good drafts take many different looks.
Could it include Trent Richardson? I think so.
Could it include Justin Blackmon? Probably.
Could it include Ryan Tannehill? Yep. It’s possible.
Could it involve two or more players who I haven’t even had across the keys of my keyboard this draft hype season? Not likely, but sure.
The Browns have two picks in the first round right now and the surest way to find disappointment is to paint Tom Heckert into a corner. Having been through all the talk that we’ve been through over the preceding months, there are lots of ways to accomplish improvement tonight and over the next few days. Now that the day is finally here it is feeling fun again. Back to the bowling analogy. Now all the Browns have to do is end the day of bowling with three straight strikes.
And by the way, you really should come on out and watch the draft with us!
