Why Everyone is Wrong About Johnny Manziel

  The whole world is crazy because of Johnny Manziel. Should the Browns cut him because he is a drug abuser? Should we fire General Manager Ray Farmer for drafting him in the first place?   Or should he be promoted to the starter's position in place of "boring" veteran Josh McCown? Is Manziel a superstar in the making?  

    I think all this is nonsense and Manziel is going to develop more or less like any other young quarterback.  People who expect instant results, good or bad, are wrong.  I think more than anything else he needs time to develop and trying to accelerate the process isn't going to work. 

   

    Manziel came out of college not one but two years early. He is actually a few months younger than Cardale Jones. Normal quarterback development results in starting by the second year after graduation, and sometimes during the rookie year.  If the Browns wanted instant results they should not have taken a guy who is so young.  Moving to the NFL did not necessarily accelerate his football development. He's still only 22 years old. The guy wound up in rehab, so apparently his personal development is not all that advanced either.  

     Based on his graduating class, 2016 should be his rookie season, and if didn't start his first year, 2017 might be his first year to put up numbers.  Anything that happens earlier than that is strictly a bonus.   The whole idea that his development is going to be accelerated because he came of college early is ridiculous, and I might add it's never been done before, because the NFL only recently allowed sophomores to be drafted. More than likely, he isn't going to develop any faster than Cardale Jones, and the expectation for instant success is completely fictitious.  That doesn't mean he is terrible.

   Most quarterbacks improve greatly from their first to second year, and don't emerge as a star until about age 23 or 24.  It would be great if Manziel would be a superstar right now, but that is not expected.  Normal development is for him to become a competent NFL starter in 2016 or 2017.   That's the track he should be on.   This business of needing to make a decision on starting him or cutting him immediately at age 22 is ABSURD and PATHOLOGICALLY STUPID.      

   Manziel did  some very stupid things in his rookie year.   It should have been his junior season at Texas A&M.  He's a kid, and not a very mature one at that.  Why would anyone expect a college junior to be a big and immediate success in the NFL?

   The Browns do not need to be in a hurry to "find out what they have."   This is just total fabrication by the sports media, because they would be the ones who would benefit.  First of all, football teams need to play to win every game, and if they play for next year they will not be able to attract players to their team. It's ridiculous to not field the best starting quarterback and to start the 2016 pre-season in 2015. If Manziel gives us the best chance to win, go for it.  But if not, let's hold off.

     Second, if we do rush him into action Manziel would probably struggle on a team with no running game and only one deep ball threat among wide receivers in Travis Benjamin.  Will that tell you how to set up your draft priorities in 2016?  I doubt it.  

    Even if he looks great, would we ever reach the point where we consider him to be irreplacable and quit looking for quarterbacks in the draft?  I doubt it.  And anyway Jerry Jones would outbid us in 2019 when Manziel becomes a free agent.  So just forget about making a ten year commitment to a young Peyton Manning.  That is just not going to happen.  The whole debate is insipid.

    Nothing really great happens by playing Manziel unless he is really the best option on a given Sunday.  
  
 Manziel is under contract through 2017 with an option year for 2018. Maybe Texas A&M would have been the ideal situation for him, and maybe the Browns should have taken him in a later round, but that's over the dam now.   He's here and practicing and getting better and also getting some game experience, though limited so far.  

    Equally ridculous are those who insist Manziel should be cut.  We should be sensitive to the fact that he is fighting a life threatening situation with drug addiction, and he simply can not play if he reverts back to active using.  There was a warning signal when he was apparently acting erratically last month.  However, nothing good would happen if Manziel is cut.  His bonus money would be taken out of the salary cap immediately. Why would the Browns want to do that  unless they are forced?  Meantime he is good enough to at least be a backup quarterback, as evidenced by his winning start against Tennessee in September.  

      Looking at the numbers, he is clearly improving after a disastrous 2014 rookie season.  He already has a win which is no small achievement for a backup quarterback.  How can anyone conclude that he is near his peak after two starts in 2015?  No, it is much more logical to believe that he will continue to improve in the next two or three years.  If he has a poor 2015, it doesn't mean he won't be better next year and the year after.

     The Browns are well stocked at quarterback with established starters Josh McCown and Austin Davis.  Neither are likely to be good enough to turn around a bad offense with no running game, but they would be okay if there were more help on offense.  Draft another wide receiver and a running back and let's see how it goes.  

      Cris Carter tells the parable of the muffins, and it goes something like this:  "Muffins come out of the oven when they are ready.  Sometimes it's ten minutes, sometimes fifteen.  If the muffin isn't ready after ten minutes, it doesn't mean it is a bad muffin.  Wait till its ready, then judge."  

What Should the Browns Do With Johnny Manziel?

   This is actually not so complicated. The Browns should keep Johnny Manziel on the roster as long as he is good enough to be at least the third string quarterback.  You don't cut him unless there really are three guys that are clearly better.  I doubt whether that will be the case in 2015.

    Many enraged Browns fans, some with questionable sanity, want to cut Manziel immediately, feeling that he has betrayed them by not being an immediate superstar and for having a problem with substance abuse.   

      Let's deal with that right away:   If the Browns cut Johnny Manziel, they will be penalized because of the rules about guaranteed contracts.  The Browns would not save money by cutting Manziel. Their salary cap would be reduced in 2015 and they might have to cut payroll to make their cap limit. That would be stupid.   

       Sportrac lists that Manziel's 2015 "dead money" at  $6.5 M.  This is the amount of guaranteed money over the life of his contract, that has to be accounted for immediately when he is cut or traded.  That money has to come out of the Browns 2015 payroll.  Conversely if they keep him on the roster, they will have $4.6 Million dollars more to work with in 2015.   

     What about the risk of Manziel failing a drug test?   Well, what risk is that?    Nothing really bad happens to the Browns if he fails a test, other than he is not allowed to play.  They do not have to pay him if he is suspended!

What if Manziel has a positive drug test?  In that case the Browns are not penalized.   You can argue about the logic of the rule, but it clearly favors the Browns in this situation. 

If Manziel is as good as Seneca Wallace (a short third string qb who made some contributions to the Browns), he is worth keeping on the roster for another year.  How good do you really have to be to be a third string quarterback?  

       Suppose Manziel is not a superstar, but is good enough to be third on the depth chart for the Browns; say, as good as Seneca Wallace.   Yeah, he would be overpaid, but again that should be noted on Mr. Farmer's report card.  It's not the player's fault if the team gave him too much money.  But to reiterate, nothing bad happens to the Browns if he is second or third on the depth chart.   There is no reason why the Browns have to give him away if he doesn't establish himself as the starter in 2015.  

       Many Browns fans love to hate the second and third string qbs of the Browns.  But I'm calling into account the "Superstar or Bust" mentality of many Browns fans.  Who says every quarterback has to be a superstar?   This is not Fantasy Football where you have three quarterbacks and they are all Pro Bowl candidates.  Every team in the NFL has a backup quarterback who they think is good enough to win a couple games, and about half the teams have a third string quarterback at close to the league minimum.   You cut a guy if he is fourth string and you only have room for three guys. You don't cut a guy just because you're disappointed after two games or because you thought he would make the Hall of Fame his first year.   Right now the Browns have Josh McCown, Thad Lewis and Connor Shaw, and remember Shaw is eligible for the Practice Squad if he can clear waivers, and my guess is he can.  

Is two games really enough to conclude that Manziel can not play in the NFL?  No.  We don't know what we've got yet.  

     It might be that the Browns drafted Manziel too early. They definitely expected way to much out of a kid entering the NFL after his sophomore year of college.  So blame that on the Browns brass, probably Jimmy Haslam who wanted him the most.  But that is not Manziel's fault. 

     The fact is that we don't know what he can do.  We know that he is one of the shortest qbs in the NFL (along with Russell Wilson of the Seahawks) and that he has a substance abuse problem.  We also know he failed to pick up the Browns' offense last year.   But he also has a first round caliber arm, and he has better than average speed and very good improvisational skills.    Let's see what he can do. Maybe he be a flop.  Maybe he'll be a star.  More likely he will be somewhere in between.  But we will never know if we don't keep him for another two years.  

    At the same time, we are not giving him the keys to the car automatically.  He is going to have to earn that by first proving that he can practice better than Josh McCown and the other challengers.   

    In previous years the Browns would create a number one quarterback by trading away the other candidates.  I think Farmer is going to bring some additional talent via the draft or trade. Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota may be out of reach, but if either slips to about nine or ten, I could see the Browns moving up.   Alternatively Bryce Petty, Sean Mannion or Brett Hundley are  also candidates.  I would be surprised if we don't select at least one of them in the draft.   

     I think the Browns will ultimately form their depth chart with McCown at the top (for now), with Manziel, and a draftee competing for two additonal spots.  Thad Lewis has a a small chance of dislodging Manziel if Manziel does something completely awful, but my guess is that Manziel will survive that challenge.   Connor Shaw is eligible for the Practice Squad one more year, and I think the Browns will be willing to expose him to waivers.   

     From here on out, Manziel will be treated like everyone else with a uniform number.  Hustle like hell if you want to earn a roster spot, my man.  I think it's very likely he will do so.  

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Does Haslam Want to Own the Titans? Too Good to be True!

Let's think about this for a minute.  Would it be good to have the Browns owned by local business interests, perhaps with someone like Bernie Kosar fronting the ownership group?  Or are the Browns better off with Jimmy Haslam III running th show?  
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     It's probably a crock, but Joseph LaCanfora of ESPN has reported that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam III is interested in exploring the possibility of becoming the new owner of the Tennessee Titans, which is on the market due to the death of its longtime owner Bud Adams.  

     This is too good to be true.  LaCanfora's scenario, in which Haslam would take over the Tennessee Titans and then sell the Browns to Tennessee investors, doesn't make sense.  Why would a Tennessee ownership group want to take over a Cleveland Team instead of the Tennessee team?     
       If Haslam is interested in the Titans, it would make sense for the Cleveland area business people to come together to form an ownership group that could take over the team from Haslam.   And it wouldn't hurt at all to have someone with Browns connections, someone like Bernie Kosar, at the forefront of an ownership group.  

     That would be infinitely better than trusting the team to Tennessee oilman Jimmy Haslam.  Oddly, however, Browns fans have for the most part reacted with anger to the suggestion that Haslam might sell the team. In only a few years, Haslam has become totally beloved by most Cleveland fans.  It's like he is Ghandi or something.  I have no idea why.  

    Haslam has done some good things for the Browns, including getting a new deal done with the City of Cleveland that will help keep the franchise viable in Cleveland.  And he fired Joe Banner, which I feel had to be done.  

The Cleveland fan base is basically convinced that Jimmy Haslam is fiercely loyal to the city of Cleveland, and would never try to make money at their expense.   

       But he has also done some terrible things.  From a football point of view, it's rumored that he squashed front office attempts to get rid of Josh Gordon, and he instigated for the signing of Johnny Football as the team's first round draft pick in 2014, overruling Ray Farmer.   It's an established fact that several coaching candidates turned down the opportunity to come to Cleveland, not being willing to deal with Haslam or former General Manager and all-around genius, Joe Banner.   

    Haslam has also allowed his company Pilot Flying J to become embroiled in a multimillion dollar scandal involving fraudulent discounts for diesel fuel.  This is not the kind of publicity that the team needs.  

  

     Meantime no one seemed to notice that Haslam originally promised that he was going to move to Cleveland and become a full time resident owner for the team and reneged on both promises.  Instead, he has become a PART time NON-resident owner, maintaining his residence in Tennessee after un-retiring as CEO of Pilot Flying J.  Few people seemed to realize that it happened, and fewer still cared.  Local ownership is far more likely to fight to keep the franchise in Cleveland.  

     Most fans remain cheerfully ignorant, believing that they are so loved by the NFL that they would never be abandoned by Commissioner Goodell and the other good-hearted NFL owners. Moreover, the Browns have a strong lease agreement!  Why, isn't it impossible to break such an agreement?  

     Yeah, sure, kids.   Jimmy Haslam is so honest, he would NEVER hire a lawyer to exploit the loopholes in the Browns current lease agreement.     THAT CAN'T HAPPEN.   What am I thinking? 

    My favorite argument is that Jimmy Haslam is so wealthy that he is no longer motivated by money, and the increase in value (something like 500 million dollars) that would be created by moving the Browns to London or Los Angeles would not interest him.   Right, kids.   

   

     Let's consider that seriously for a moment. 

      Hahahahahahaha!   No, let's not.   

     Although there is adequate precedent for owners changing teams (for example the Ram's Robert Irsay swapped his team for Carroll Rosenbloom's Baltimore Colts, with BOTH franchises ultimately moving), a botched attempt to swap teams would be a public relations nightmare.  For that reason, I seriously doubt whether Haslam would consider it unless he were sure that he could get the deal done in advance.  I don't think Haslam can take that kind of risk given his fragile position with Pilot Flying J, not to mention the Browns.     

How many wins is a high priced QB worth?

     Does getting a high priced quarterback correlate to extra wins in the NFL?   Yes, it does, sort of, but perhaps not as much as you might think.   I made a graph of the salary of the highest paid qb on the team in 2014 and compared that to the team win totals.  The results show that the teams with pricey quarterbacks usually do a little better than the teams with bargain basement quarterbacks, but still there are losing teams with very high priced qbs, and winning teams with low priced quarterbacks.  

       The main conclusion is that it depends on the team. You can't just spend money on a quarterback and create a winning team.  As the Chicago Bears about that one.  Or the New York Giants or Atlanta Falcons, both of whom weighed in with only six wins last year.     

   On the other hand some teams with low priced quarterbacks still excel.  Seattle is one such team that succeeded with Russell Wilson at quarterback.  The Eagles won 10 games with Nick Foles as their highest paid qb (and actually backup Mark Sanchez played a lot after Foles was injured). The Browns had a very low priced quarterback in Johnny Manziel (yes he was actually higher priced than Brian Hoyer), but the Browns were quasi-respectable with seven wins last year.   

       This year the Browns have moved up to the 27th highest paid quarterback in the person of Josh McCown, pending the probable addition of at least one other serious contender for starting quarterback position.  Many fans assume that that dooms the team to another season of mediocrity.  Maybe so, but there is more than one way to win a football game.  By not signing a high priced quarterback, there is more salary available, say for two Pro-Bowl calibre players at other positions.  Which is better to have?    A serious case can be made that it may not be worth spending eighteen million dollars for a single player, no matter how good he is.   

    Still the small data set for 2014 is consistent with the view that there is a payoff in having a top quarterback,and that he might be worth an extra win or two compared to a team with a below average quarterback.  

Why Hoyer Had to Leave the Browns

Many Browns fans are upset that Brian Hoyer, the winningest Browns quarterback since 1999, is headed to free agency.  

     Like many fans, I did not want to see Brian Hoyer leave the Cleveland Browns.   Many conspiracy theories have been aired in the press, charging that upper management hates him for whatever reason.  

    While not totally discounting the possibility that there may be bad feelings between Brian and the front office, I think that the situation is actually very simple.  Free agency provides the best chance for Brian Hoyer to continue to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.   

     The Browns offense looked great for the first month of the season, with the opposing defenses daring Hoyer to throw the deep ball by playing eight man fronts, and Hoyer responding and lighting it up.  

      However, as the season went on, other teams learned to use a more conservative approach.  Especially after All-Pro center Alex Mack went out with an injury, Hoyer lost his magic.  

      If you believe Bill Parcel's dictum, "You are what your record says you are,"  then Brian Hoyer is the 31st ranked quarterback in the NFL, with a paltry 12 TD passes and 13 INT's over 13 starts.  He wasn't the only reason, of course, but nevertheless it is very understandable if the Browns are unwilling to contractually commit to him as their first string quarterback.   But it is equally understandable if Brian Hoyer believe in himself and wants to be an NFL starting quarterback.   Hence, Hoyer must turn down offers from the Browns to be a second string quarterback, and enter free agency to see if anyone will offer him a first string job.   

      But even if he does not get an offer for a first string job, the Browns could not afford to wait to see if he might eventually consent to be a backup quarterback for the Browns.  The Browns had to sign a known quantity, especially since Manziel is in rehab and the team is losing confidence in his ability to be an NFL quarterback.  

        As mentioned in my previous blog I anticipate the Browns starting the season with McCown, with a high draft choice qb as the second string and Manziel as third string.  

      I tend to doubt whether Hoyer will get a contract with another team that is worthy of a starting quarterback. The teams looking for a first string quarterback include the Bills, who wanted McCown and eventually settled for Matt Cassel; the Jets (who have Geno Smith), Philadelphia (Nick Foles and Matt Barkley), Titans (Zach Mettenberger), Tampa (Mike Glennon, and the ability to draft Jameis Winston), Houston (even with Ryan Fitzpatrick ranked 9th in the NFL, and Ryan Mallett on the same team), Redskins (who blame RG3 for all their problems, with Kirk Cousins backing up).  I don't think it is likely that Hoyer can walk into any of these situations and be penciled in at the top of the depth chart, especially when there are other free agents available including Mark Sanchez, Mike Vick and Colt McCoy also ready to compete.   But Hoyer has to take that chance, no question.  

     

     So I tend to not buy into the conspiracies about not liking Hoyer.   It's really more simple than that.  With the NFL's free agency system, Hoyer has to try to sign with the team that gives him the best chance of realizing his dream of being a starting quarterback.  Even if that opportunity never materializes, he has to at least try.   I wish him nothing but good luck and great success--except against the Browns.

    

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Josh McCown is Not Overpaid!

Is Josh McCown way overpaid at $3.9 M in 2015?   Not really, once you realize that quarterbacks in the NFL make a lot of money.  

    Much of Browns Nation is up in arms over the signing of Josh McCown, a career backup who had a hot stretch of games two years ago at age 33, and now at age 35 he is being rewarded with a contact of about $3.9 million bucks per year.   How horrible!  

   But okay.  Let's step back from this a bit and ask what horrible things the Browns actually have done.   They made Josh McCown the 27th highest paid quarterback in the NFL, ahead of such guys as Ryan Fitzpatrick, Drew Stanton, Chad Henne, Matt Hasselbeck and Charlie Whitehurst. How crazy is that?  Well Fitzpatrick had a good year last year and probably deserves a pay raise, but the other guys are probably comparable in ability or maybe not as good.  

     How good should the 27th highest paid quarterback be? Well, if you believe in value, you would say he should be the 27th best quarterback, right?   That would place him with Nick Foles (27), Drew Stanton (28) and Geno Smith (29). These guys are all good but not great quarterbacks.  In case you are wondering, McCown and Brian Hoyer were both rated at about the same level, 32nd and 31st, respectively.   Down below, I've posted a list of the quarterback salaries in the NFL as of March 2015, along with their statistical ranking. The ones highlighted in red are still on their rookie contract, which basically amounts to a lower wage scale than the veterans.  

    If Browns fans think that we should have gotten someone like Jay Cutler, who might be available in a trade, okay, but understand he makes $16.5 Million, not the $3.9 Million bucks that McCown will make. 

    So basically, the crying is based the Browns making a guy who is he 32nd best quarterback into 27th highest paid quarterback.  This is a wash, as far as I'm concerned.  The guy is simply not being overpaid.  It's not a lot of money for a quarterback.  All quarterbacks with similar ability get that kind of money or much higher.  

   So perhaps the issue is not whether McCown was over-valued, but whether the Browns should have gotten someone else.  I believe that this will be the case and that they will be active in free agency and will go into the draft with the intention of either moving up for Marcus Mariota, or drafting someone like Brett Hundley, Garret Grayson or Bryce Petty, and developing them.  There is no urgency in starting the rookie from Day One with McCown in place, much like the duo of Hoyer and Manziel in 2014.   The Browns still have Manziel (and frankly are stuck with him).  Manziel's poor performances at the end of the season as well as pre-season inspire little confidence that he can actually play, but since they have guaranteed money tied up in him for three more years they are just going to have to play their entire hand. Remember that under the old system Manziel would be having his senior year at Texas A&M in 2015.  It may take until after the 2016 season before the Browns will be sure whether they have a player or. 

    As for Connor Shaw, he proved himself to be a competent field general and has good speed and toughness.  He is definitely undersized and has a weak arm (the only combine quarterback to not break 50 mph with his passes in 2014).  It might be possible to continue to keep him on the training squad for one more year, though there is some risk of him being claimed by another team.  Alternatively, there may be some other free agent quarterback who will challenge Shaw for the training squad slot.

    Many fans seem ready to hate McCown for being a "game manager" and "career backup,"  but I believe that the Browns will be well served if they complement him with another young quarterback with solid credentials.  He's not getting a lot of money, not for a quarterback.   

   So this year, I anticipate the Browns starting the season with McCown, with a high draft choice qb as the second string and Manziel as third string. Shaw will likely be on the training squad as the effective fourth string quarterback.  

		Player	Team	Cap Value     Ttl QBR
	1	Tony Romo	Cowboys	$27,773,000     1
	2	Drew Brees	Saints	$26,400,000     6
	3	Eli Manning	Giants	$19,750,000   15
	4	Matt Ryan	Falcons	$19,500,000   11
	5	Ben Roethlisberger	Steelers	$18,395,000     3
	6	Aaron Rodgers	Packers	$18,250,000     2
	7	Matt Stafford	Lions	$17,721,250   21
	8	Peyton Manning	Broncos	$17,500,000     4
	9	Philip Rivers	Chargers	$17,416,668   12
	10	Sam Bradford	Rams	$16,580,000   --
	11	Jay Cutler	Bears	$16,500,000   21
	12	Alex Smith	Chiefs	$15,600,000   23
	13	Colin Kaepernick	49ers	$15,265,753   17
	14	Cam Newton	Panthers	$14,666,000   16
	15	Joe Flacco	Ravens	$14,550,000   16
	16	Carson Palmer	Cardinals	$14,500,000     8
	17	Tom Brady	Patriots	$14,000,000     5
	18	Andy Dalton	Bengals	$9,600,000     25
	19	Kyle Orton	Bills	$7,500,000     19
	20	Andrew Luck	Colts	$7,034,363     11
	21	Robert Griffin III	Redskins	$6,719,713     19*
	22	Matt Schaub	Raiders	$5,500,000     --
	23	Chase Daniel	Chiefs	$4,800,000     --
	24	Matt Cassel	Vikings	$4,750,000     --
	25	Blake Bortles	Jaguars	$4,694,273     33
	26	Ryan Tannehill	Dolphins	$4,030,887     14
	27	Josh McCown	Browns	$3,916,666     32
	28	Ryan Fitzpatrick	Texans	$3,875,000       9
	29	Drew Stanton	Cardinals	$3,866,668     --
	30	Chad Henne	Jaguars	$3,500,000     --
	31	Matt Hasselbeck	Colts	$3,000,000     --
	32	Charlie Whitehurst	Titans	$2,750,000     --
	33	EJ Manuel	Bills	$2,423,264     --
	34	Johnny Manziel	Browns	$1,874,681     --
	35	Bruce Gradkowski	Steelers	$1,833,334     --
	36	Kellen Clemens	Chargers	$1,822,500     --
	37	Russell Wilson	Seahawks	$1,696,868    10
	38	Nick Foles	Eagles	$1,677,880    27
	39	Teddy Bridgewater	Vikings	$1,556,705    22

*Robert Griffin III didn't have enough games to be ranked, but his Quarterback Rating would have been about the same as Kyle Orton's.  Bryan Hoyer was ranked #31.  

How Many Draft Picks Do the Browns Burn on Quarterbacks?

The Cleveland Browns love to draft quarterbacks. 

When they resumed operations in 1999, they had the rights to the top pick overall.  However the New Orleans Saints were interested in Rickey Williams ultimately gave up their 1999 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7th picks, plus their 2000 number 1 and number 3.   Wowzers, what a haul.  No sane team, especially an expansion team, could turn down an 8-for-1 trade like this.  But we turned that down because Coach Chris Palmer was convinced that Tim Couch would be a Hall of Famer with Palmer's quarterback "guru" ability. 

Coach Chris Palmer figured 50 sacks per year was just the thing to inspire Tim Couch to be a great quarterback.  

In 2000 they took a flyer on Spergon Wynn Round 6.  

Spergon Wynn had zero success in the NFL.

From there, they used free agents to replace Couch, and were able to resist drafting another qb till 2004 when they took Luke McCown.  Then in 2005 they used a number 3 on Charlie Frye.  

Charlie Frye went 6-13 as a starter for the Browns.  That makes him one of the winningest qbs for the new Browns, behind Couch and Derek Anderson, and tied with Colt McCoy.  

So who scouted Brady Quinn?  He was a good competitor, but probably did not have the arm talent that the scouts thought.  

They traded a number 1 and a number 2 for Brady Quinn in 2007.  In 2010 they took Colt McCoy in the third round. In 2011, they traded a 7th round pick for Seneca Wallace.  In 2012 they took Brandon Weeden in the first round, and in 2014 they traded a number one and a number 3 for Johnny Manziel.  

 Was Johnny Football worth a Number 1 and a Number 3?

Ok, so it's been 16 years since the new Browns started drafting.   Over that period of time, here's the draft picks either used directly or traded for a quarterback, or turned down in the Tim Couch non-deal:  

First round:  5 picks
Second Round:  1 pick
Third Round: 5 picks
Fourth Round:  1 pick
Fifth Round:  1 pick
Sixth Round:  2  picks
Seventh Round:  2 picks

Total:  17 picks in 16 years.  

Whoa! 17 picks in 16 years??  That has to be some kind of record. Nine qbs actually wore the Browns uniform as a result of this madness.  Mostly they have not been very successful.   In my opinion, the best was probably Tim Couch who was a deserving NFL starter, and got the Browns into the playoffs in 2002.  Injuries, probably caused by a record number of sacks given up by the blocking-adverse offensive line, eventually took their toll, and Couch was not able to throw after that year.   

Has all this carnage caused the Browns to lose their appetite for quarterbacks?  Maybe not.  Word is that they are willing to bundle 2 or 3 first round picks for either Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota.  Stay tuned for future news....

Browns Get Beat Up by St Louis, 33-14

      The Browns disappointed the home crowd, losing to the Rams 33 to 14.  They were totally outclassed by the up-and-coming Rams on both sides of the ball. The Rams defense pushed the Browns around on the line of scrimmage and did whatever they pleased on offense.  

     Brian Hoyer had a touchdown, an interception and a fumble.   He was not very good, but significantly improved over his antichrist-like performances of the first two exhibition games.  Johnny Manziel likewise was much better in this game than the previous two,  rushing for another score.  

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Brian Hoyer was much better than in the first two games, but still underachieved.  

     The running game was pathetically weak, gaining a grand total of 32 yards for the game. That is awful.   Nobody looked good, and the offensive line forgot how to block.  In particular I was disappointed  by hotshot rookie Terrance West.  Instead of the one-cut style that the Shanahan offense is famous for, West likes to tiptoe up to the line, and then start shifting left and right, almost like he is waiting for someone to tackle him. That style doesn't seem to work.  Can Shanahan get him fixed in time for the September 7 opener?    Likewise Tate was terrible, as the entire team averaged 2.1 yards per carry.  Can we have Willis McGahee back?  He at least rushed for 2.7 yards per carry last year.   The presence of a fullback plus blocking tight end Jim Dray was supposed to help the running game, but it was not evidenced today.   If there is a positive note, it would be the play of rookie Joel Bitonio, who continues to be rock solid at left guard.  Hint:  let's run left this year.  

    The Browns defense was equally terrible, being unable to stop the Rams on third down, and giving up nearly 500 yards of total offense, even though star QB Sam Bradford had to leave with a knee injury early on.  

   Although the Browns were terrible on both sides of the ball, the Rams are one of the top teams in the league, and they may make a lot of teams look terrible.  The Rams did not draft Robert Griffin III in 2012, and instead traded for several draft picks, who are now on the team (hello lineman Greg Robinson, 2nd overall pick this year).  Also, a partial explanation for the Browns' miserable performance was a rash of injuries in the secondary.  The Browns were without cornerbacks Joe Haden, Buster Skrine, Marcus Trufant and Pierre Desir. That's four of their five top cornerbacks.  Leon McFadden, probably the sixth best qb on the team, was torched pretty well by St Louis. I'm not sure if he will make the final team.  If the Browns have fewer than four guys out of the lineup, the secondary may be a LOT better.

   Christian Kirksey had a good game at inside linebacker, and made a fantastic pick.  He does not look like a rookie.  Pass coverage was a problem area for the Browns linebacker corps last year, and Kirksey goes a long way to fixing that problem.  I think he will start and be an impact player.  

    I noted that Ray Agnew started at fullback. The running game did not exactly hum when he was in, but on the other hand MarQueis Gray contributed a costly and unnecessary holding penalty.  Gray has made some big plays so far, but also some bad plays.  But what the Browns really need is a guy who can block for the halfback.  

    In short, this was a terrible game, and the Browns looked uninspired on both sides of the ball.  They still have time to turn it around, but they need to get it together soon.