Thoughts on the Quarterback Quandary

By Brett Crow

1. This year in the NFL Draft, the St. Louis Rams have arguably the most enviable spot. With the franchise quarterback (Sam Bradford) already in hand, they have no use for Robert Griffin III, clearly the player who will go at number two in this year’s draft.

This allows the Rams to trade the second pick in this year’s draft and receive a treasure trove of picks. It’s highly rumored that the Redskins are looking to give up their first round pick this year (#6), their second and third round picks this year, and a first round next year. This has them slotted as the favorite to make the trade at this point.

2.  Rams are at least looking for a deal similar to the New York Giants and San Diego Chargers deal that happened for Phillip Rivers and Eli Manning. The Chargers got two first round picks, a third, and a fifth rounder for Eli.

The Giants have won two Super Bowls with the quarterback they traded for, and is considered an elite talent in the league, despite that talk being almost non-existent before his second Super Bowl championship.

The Cleveland Browns have the most to give to the Rams, but may not be the most willing. The Browns could easily eclipse an offer that the Washington Redskins make, simply with the fact that they have two first rounders this year that they could offer, as the known value of a pick is always greater than the perceived value of next year’s pick. However, the Browns may not be the most willing.

3.  Personally, I think drafting Robert Griffin is a win-win situation.

Once drafted, I think the Browns have secured a true franchise quarterback. Even if we have a bad season in the 2012 - 2013 campaign, the Browns will have a high value draft pick in next year’s draft, which is one of the more anticipated quarterback heavy drafts in recent years.

And can the value of a franchise quarterback really be figured out? The quarterback is the most important position in all sports for a reason.

4.  In regards to free agency quarterbacks, the best Browns could hope for is Matt Flynn, currently of the Green Bay Packers. There are some who believe that the Packers will use the franchise tag on him, and then trade him to the most willing suitor.

However, this isn’t likely to happen. The Packers have better use for the franchise tag then a back up quarterback, and tagging him would severely hurt their chances at trading him. The Browns have gone on the record of saying that there was a limit to what they would spend on Flynn, along with Packers GM Ted Thompson allegedly acknowledging the ‘bad business’ of tagging a quarterback they mean to trade away.


5.  The only thing that troubles me with Cleveland and it’s quarterbacks, is that the Browns have no clue how to treat them or evaluate them. And for an organization that features quarterback molders such as Pat Shurmur (Sam Bradford, Kevin Kolb), Mike Holmgren (Brett Favre, Matt Hasselbeck ), Tom Heckert (Kevin Kolb), and Mark Whipple (Ben Roethlisberger), that’s a frightening prospect.

The saying “too many cooks spoil the broth” comes to mind.

Now that we’re bringing the ‘Kick Ass Offense’ of Brad Childress, what should we expect now in the development in our quarterbacks?

6.  The staff wasn’t willing to pay to keep Jake Delhomme around, a presence to mentor a young quarterback and left Colt McCoy with Seneca Wallace. Seneca has gone on record of saying he isn’t willing to mentor, that it isn’t his job.

So knowing this, why would Holmgren bring Seneca into the organization in the first place? If I had to guess it was because he thought he was a good veteran quarterback who could start if need be. Or possibly even someone he could mold the way he did in Seattle with Matt Hasselbeck.
 

7.  So my bottom line for the ‘Quarterback Quandry?’ I prefer we draft Robert Griffin. However, I am scared for his development in Cleveland, and I’m not sure he will develop properly here in this system. I think he has all of the skills and intangibles, and has a bright future in the league. 


8.  Matt Flynn is what I secretly hope for, but am not seeing happen. Especially if you can get him at a fraction of the price that you would have to pay for Griffin. Flynn is very gifted and has been privileged to get to learn under Aaron Rodgers. The only risk is that he only has two starts throughout his career.

Getting Flynn also won’t cost us our whole draft. It leaves available to draft other needs. Which is why the Dolphins will be going hard for him aswell, if not the Redskins too. Joe Philbin is the current head coach for the Miami Dolphins and was the Packer’s offensive coordinator.

9.  Quarterback can not go unaddressed this year. Either we need a big free agent signing or to draft a quarterback. The fanbase of Cleveland has been less supportive year after year and that’s reflected in the falling attendance.

From being in 7th in average stadium attendance in 2006 and 2007 (72,334 and 73,000 respectively), the Browns have since fallen to 18th for this past year with an attendance of 65,859. And that’s at home. The Browns do even worse on the road with attendance, not being a marquee team that draws an audience to see them when they play opposing teams in their house.

NFL Draft 2012: The Top Five Picks

 By Brett Crow

In just over two months, fans across the country will be thumbing through NFL Draft magazines as their teams pick the future of the franchise. As Cleveland Browns fans, we can’t even begin to imagine what we’re going to do with our pick. So let’s explore those first few picks of the coming draft.

With the number one pick, the Indianapolis Colts will surely take Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. They have no reason not to take Luck. Luck not only addresses the need at QB that the Colts have, but he’s also the mostly highly valued player in the 2012 NFL draft. Even if they don’t want him (which is absurd to think), they could easily find a team willing to sell the farm for Luck as their franchise quarterback.

The number two pick is where things get really tricky and where most of the focus should be for Browns fans. The St. Louis Rams own this pick and are the wildcard in determining fates for the next few teams below them on the board.

Assuming the Rams don’t trade their pick, they will more than likely draft offensive tackle Matt Kalil out of USC. Kalil is the common sense pick for the Rams, as installing him on the left side of the line will instantly make life easier for current Rams quarterback Sam Bradford. Kalil has the pedigree aswell, with both brother (Ryan Kalil, Carolina Panthers) and father (Frank Kalil, Buffalo in USFL) having played on the offensive line.

However, it’s unlikely that the Rams will keep this pick. It’s highly speculated that the Rams will trade this pick to the Cleveland Browns so that they will draft Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III. The Browns have the most to offer the Rams with a first round pick not far from where the Rams initially are and the bonus of the Browns having a late 1st round and an early 2nd rounder. The Rams can get whatever price they want for RGIII.

That being said, the Rams can also use RGIII, and see what value they can get for Bradford. However, the value of Robert Griffin is much higher than Bradford, even though Bradford has proven he can be an effective starting quarterback in the league. The most likely move the Rams will take is to trade their pick or sign RGIII and trade him somewhere. They will easily find a suitor for him and get more than enough value for him. If they elect not to trade however, the easy pick is Kalil.

Third in the draft order is the Minnesota Vikings. Assuming Cleveland traded up and took Robert Griffin, Minnesota will not waste anytime in picking Matt Kalil. Or will they? Minnesota is also in dire need of help in the secondary. While Matt Kalil should be the common sense pick, they could easily pick up LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne. And when you have Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers on your schedule twice a year, along with Calvin Johnson on the Detroit Lions, a secondary is increasing important in the NFC North.

Now we come to the Cleveland Browns (or St. Louis Rams if we assume the trade happens). With the fourth pick in the first round, the Cleveland Browns could find a lot of use out of receiver prospect Justin Blackmon from Oklahoma State. There’s no doubt Blackmon is a standout wide receiver with exceptional playmaking ability. With the current weak wideout core that the Browns currently boast, Blackmon would be a great asset for the Browns and is certain to be available at pick number four. However, I would expect the Browns to trade up for Robert Griffin, as I feel that quarterback is the more pressing need for the Cleveland club.

Assuming they do trade and the pick ends up in St. Louis’ hands, it’s hard to imagine that St. Louis would pass on Blackmon. There’s also a chance that they could go with Iowa tackle Riley Reiff. As mentioned before, St. Louis needs a lot of help on the line.

At pick five, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are next in the draft. It’s hard to imagine that Tampa Bay will look anywhere aside from at Alabama running back Trent Richardson. NFL scouts across the country sing his praises and the move would enable the Bucs to either get rid of an oft-troubled LeGarrette Blount or present a formidable two-headed running back attack that has become the norm in the NFL.

Speculation aside, I think it’s pretty easy to see how the top five picks will go:

1.  Colts: Andrew Luck, QB from Stanford
2.  Browns (from Rams): Robert Griffin III, QB from Baylor
3.  Vikings: Morris Claiborne, CB from LSU
4.  Rams: Justin Blackmon, WR from Oklahoma State
5.  Buccaneers: Trent Richardson, RB from Alabama