CLEVELAND, Ohio — Few things went right, obviously, for the 2011 Cleveland Browns during their 4-12 season.

Two rookie defensive linemen, however, did provide some optimism for the team’s future.

First-round draft pick Phil Taylor showed promise, playing alongside solid veteran Ahtyba Rubin.

Defensive end Jabaal Sheard, a second-round pick, was even better, emerging as one of the Browns’ few playmakers on either side of the ball.

Mike Wilkening of ProFootballWeekly.com writes the Browns rookie report, including:

DE Jabaal Sheard — Sheard finished his first NFL season in fine form, recording another sack and six tackles. Sheard led the Browns this season with 8½ sacks, the second-most by a Cleveland rookie since sacks became an official statistics. Like fellow rookie Phil Taylor, Sheard started all 16 games on the Cleveland defensive line.

DT Phil Taylor — The Browns’ first-round pick recorded 59 tackles and four sacks in 2011, showing considerable potential. He made two tackles in Week 17.

Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Browns coverage includes Tony Grossi’s story on Browns coach Pat Shurmur beginning his search for an offensive coordinator; video, by David I. Andersen, of Tony Grossi and Mary Kay Cabot discussing the offseason ahead for the Browns; a Starting Blocks poll asking what the most important offseason move for the Browns would be; “Bud Shaw’s Sports Spin;” and much more.

Goal to goal

The Browns’ problems lie with their offense. By Dave Hackenberg of the Toledo Blade.

The top job for Pat Shurmur is to bring back some hope for the team, writes Chad Conant for the Marion Star.

The Browns should keep Colt McCoy as their starting quarterback, Tom Misson writes for newsnet5.com.

Game-by-game review of the Browns’ season. A Bleacher Report slideshow.

Why the Browns shouldn’t pursue Peyton Manning. By Steve DiMatteo for the blog “Dawg Pound Daily.”

There’s not much to expect from a Mike Holmgren/Tom Heckert press conference, wriites Craig Lyndall for the blog “Waiting For Next Year.”

Browns players are still optimistic about the future, despite the 2011 win-loss record, writes Fred Greetham for Scout.com’s Orange and Brown Report.

Whatever one thinks about Shurmur’s coaching in Cleveland, rest assure the new OC will just follow in the same channel as Shurmur, unless he has the freedom to call his own plays.

Cleveland needs an OC who is creative, dynamic, and able to scheme a fascinating offense with the players on the roster. In the WCO, there should never be a question about getting 3 yards on 3rd down, or going for it on 4th and one.

This is a QB-driven league, but you also need ground-pounders to keep defenses honest. It used to be that the run was used to set up the pass; it’s now reversed.

Cleveland Browns’ fans, we have all been here before. We start the season off wholly optimistic and as the season goes on we slap a smile on our faces and continue to cheer on our team, but have that sinking feeling in our stomachs as that “losses” column grows. The Browns ended the 2011 season 4-12. Nothing really good can be said about this. We are Browns’ fans and the most passionate and loyal in the league, but it is truly impossible to find something great to say about this season.

So, what can the Browns do to make 2012 a great season? Which playing position needs the most improvement? The three positions that really need work are quarterback, wide receiver and right offensive tackle.

For the time being, we can put the right offensive tackle to the side and talk about quarterbacks and wide receivers. The Browns’ two main quarterbacks are Colt McCoy who is still battling the symptoms of a concussion, and Seneca Wallace.

Colt McCoy was the starting quarterback throughout most of the season and Seneca Wallace finished out the last three games after McCoy was injured. Neither had a stellar season. Wallace has far more experience, but went 0-3. McCoy went 4-9. Honestly, it doesn’t seem like we need another quarterback, but to simplify things for the quarterbacks that we have. Personally, I would like to see Wallace start and give him a receiver that can handle the ball.

This brings us to wide receiver. We have our main receivers as Josh Cribbs, Greg Little, Jordan Norwood and Mohamed Massaquoi. All of these guys are talented in their own right, but all have also missed some monumental passes this year that they simply should not have missed. You can have the best quarterback in the game, but if the wide receiver is missing his passes, he is going to be ineffective. So, it seems like the Browns need to work on the wide receiver position. It would be nice if they would get their hands on Justin Blackmon from Oklahoma State. That would be a Browns’ fans’ dream. Even if they cannot, they need to work with their current players and get them into better shape for next season. These guys are in the NFL, so they obviously have talent, they just need to start showing it and bringing it to every game.

R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen is a lifelong Browns fan who grew up in a household of Browns’ fans. She was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and still lives there. Regardless of the trials and tribulations the Browns have been through, she remains loyal, albeit honest about her home team. Follow Rose on Twitter @Rose_Kitchen

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