Some people may be thinking it is easy to create mystery surrounding your draft strategy when your team has innumberable amounts of holes to fill. They might be right. Still, you have to wonder if Mangini and Kokinis are sitting back somewhere very satisfied with all the rumor and speculation surrounding their situation. As Scott pointed out yesterday, we have no idea if Mark Sanchez is really a target for the Browns or not. We know that the Browns have spent time talking to Pete Carroll thanks to Pete’s tweets. (Ha. That rhymes.) Then again, we don’t know if they were talking more about Sanchez or linebackers.
At the same time, we honestly don’t know yet whether the Browns will trade any more of their pieces. Braylon Edwards is a name that everyone is tired of reading about without any action. Brady Quinn was mentioned and if there was any heat out there at all for Derek Anderson, you have to think his name would have been mentioned too. On top of all this, there has been speculation that the Browns could go in any of the following directions with their draft this year. In no particular order;
Safety, Corner, Quarterback, Right Tackle, Running Back, Defensive Line, Linebacker, and Wide Receiver. About the only position that I don’t remember being floated was tight end. And honestly, other than running back, I think all those positions have at the least been mentioned as possibilities for the 5th pick in the draft. Oh yeah, and in addition to those possibilities, the possibility that most Browns fans seem to desire is to trade down altogether for more picks. That, too has been mentioned as a possibility.
Again, how do you think Mangini and Kokinis feel about the fact that NOBODY knows anything about what they are really going to do? Assuming they are comfortable with their own plans, you have to think they are relishing their bargaining power as the crazy person in the room that nobody can get a read on. In the great game of the NFL draft where you are playing poker with teams’ emotions for the players they covet, being an unknown quantity has to be viewed as a benefit.
Of course this is all assuming they aren’t just too stupid to figure out what the team needs next. I know there are at least a couple people out there who believe that. We will see this weekend. We will be covering it as it happens in some capacity, so make sure you stop by. We know one thing for sure. There will be bona fide Browns news this weekend.
Author: CraigLyndall
Craig Lyndall has been writing about all the Cleveland sports teams at WaitingForNextYear since September 2008. When he isn't, you can find him selling insurance or playing music. Follow WFNYCraig on Twitter.Craig Lyndall has written 338 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
I’ve been saying for a while know I love the fact that we don’t know! It’s going to make saturday FUN. (well definately more fun the last few games of the season were)
I also feel that the fact that no one knows what the Browns plan to do only helps our position in possibly trading the pick, because everyone has to worry we may take their guy.
yeah, we WILL get news this weekend…unless they can somehow persuade the Commish NOT to read the name of the guy they draft??
I picture some team that picks below us inviting us out to lunch. And while we’re on our way to the restaraunt, they’re in our offices stealing our rolodex and files to get an edge on what we’re doing.
Tall. Beets.
“With the fifth pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns select a football player.”
That’d be awesome.
I actually like the shroud of mystery, I don’t want our moves to be so obvious that everyone sees them coming a mile away. and fans really shouldn’t be given too much information, they just overreact to everything anyways
“With the fifth pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns select a football player.”
It’d be a start…
@ Scott
man that’s messed up. That’s like getting hit in the face with a pee filled water balloon.
@ Scott – it’s their worst sandwich.
@ Scott: does something smell fishy up in the ceiling tile?
I’m glad their shutting up. I’ve had it with the ovely chatty Butches and Policys. If you’re trying to smoke out those teams who have fallen in love with a player, I think they are doing a good job and keep it up as long as they can.
@ TampaBrett, Denny, Harv – Can we just call dibs on someone? They have to respect dibs, right?
I also like the complete uncertainty over the pick. The only way to trade down is to create a sense that we may take your guy.
There’s been little talk of the two prominent OL’s and the defensive tackle from BC, so I am going to assume if we get stuck with one of them, we’ll be taking one of them.
quick question… are people here suggesting we have mangenius?
@Scott-
ManKok hit a bear.
Will our card be written in green, which means “go ahead and shut up about it”?
Nothing will top the trick we played on the Ravens a few years ago. I bit they’re still sore about parting with that 5th rounder to get that All-Pro DT. Oh wait…
At DP:
I think Orange – “Orange ya glad I didn’t bring that up?”
It is our main color anyways
God I love The Office.
I’m so tired of everyone saying we need to move down, like it’s the easiest thing in the world to do.
Consider the following:
- No team wants to be in the top 10.
- It takes two teams to tango.
- There is so much pressure on the team moving up. They are usually giving up two picks for one unknown commodity, so they are immediately behind the eight-ball, which is why most teams won’t pull the trigger.
- It’s always initiated by the team moving up, not the other way around.
- It never happens before draft day.
So the only way this happens for the Browns if on draft day some team behind us is desperate to get a guy in our spot.
Otherwise, forgetaboutit.
@ Biff – you mean giving them a fully capable football team?
I can’t wait for the draft to be over. Way too hyped and pointless.
Know what? Whatever they do in this draft, Rahim Abdullah isn’t available, nor is Travis Prentice, Travis Wilson … The bar is set so low, even a grade “C+’ draft would be an improvement on most of the previous 10 years. I don’t need them to tell me Sunday how great the Day 1 picks were, don’t need quotes from “anonymous scouts” telling me what a complete steal they got in Round 4 that everyone else whiffed on, now I’m from Kansas. Don’t talk to me, before or after the draft. Just show me. On a Sunday. In the regular season.
“Whatever they do in this draft…”
I agree with most of this. My only really big issue will come if they draft Beanie Wells fifth overall.
@ Scott – can we please refer to him by his real Christian name?
His name is Beanard. Like Bernard, but better.
Would anyone be against getting ‘Beanard’ at 29 if we trade BE?
Depends on what we took at 5. If we go Defense at five, I think you have to take a WR at 29. If Crabtree/Maclin goes at five, Beanie would be acceptable. I would prefer LB/S there, but it’s at least better than at five.
Agreed. If we go D at 5, then I would like to get a Nicks or Robiskie. I think there will be a good LB that slides to us at 36 if we don’t get orakpo/curry.
Beanie Wells is going to miss a ton of time in the NFL due to injuries, the same way he missed lost of time in college due to injuries. I am not saying he’s soft, but c’mon. He’s an absolute injury risk.
He hurt his foot in the YSU game and he wasn’t even hit. Time for homers to stop glossing over this….