CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns play the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Browns Stadium in a matchup of 2-3 teams.

The Browns might be without running back Peyton Hillis, who injured his left hamstring in the first quarter of Cleveland’s 24-17 loss to the Raiders in Oakland last Sunday.

Hillis’ career took a temporary turn when he tore his right hamstring three years ago, when he was a Denver Broncos rookie. He may well have been on his way to establishing himself as Denver’s long-term answer at tailback before the injury set in motion a set of circumstances that allowed the Browns to get him at moderate cost — trading quarterback Brady Quinn to Denver for Hillis and two late-round draft picks prior to the 2010 season.

(A recent cleveland.com story detailed Hillis’ career since his college days at Arkansas, and how he has had to prove himself time and again)

On Nov. 6, 2008 in Cleveland, Hillis got a chance to run with the football for Denver after four Broncos tailbacks had been injured. His numbers weren’tt spectacular– eight carries for 24 yards — but he picked up crucial first downs in short-yardage situations as the Broncos overcame a 23-10 Browns lead to win, 34-30.

Steve Doerschuk of the Canton Repository writes about Hillis’ current injury, and that his injury in 2008 changed things for the Broncos and Hillis. Prior to the game against the Browns, writes Doerschuk, Hillis….:

He had broken out as a receiver a week earlier, not getting a single carry, but catching seven passes for 116 yards against Miami.

He followed up the Cleveland game with a 10-carry, 44-yard game against Atlanta, then accelerated to 74 yards on 17 carries against Oakland.

Broncos fans were hooked when he hit Eric Mangini’s Jets for 129 yards on 22 carries one week later. He just kept getting better every week, even as opponents got more film to study.

He was on his way to another big game a week later, with 58 yards on his first eight carries against the Chiefs.

Late in the first half, he jumped to make a circus catch and was pounced on by defensive backs Jarrad Page and Brandon Carr. His right foot got stuck. His hamstring got mangled. He missed the last three games with the hamstring tear.

Then-Head Coach Mike Shanahan said at the time, “It’s always tough to lose a guy like that, but he will be good for the future. He’s proved that he can play tailback in the National Football League, and that one catch he made was probably as good a catch as you could make … unfortunately, he pulled his hamstring making that catch.”

The Broncos were 8-5 after the Chiefs game but lost their last three games without Hillis. Shanahan was fired. Under his replacement, Josh McDaniels, Hillis was healthy, but he carried just 13 times for 54 yards in the entire 2009 season.

Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Browns coverage includes Mary Kay Cabot’s story that Browns president Mike Holmgren says that contract talks with Peyton Hillis are at a standstill for now; Cabot’s update on the Browns’ injuries; the weekly video edition of the Browns Insider, with Cabot, Dennis Manoloff and Bud Shaw talking about the Browns; Plain Dealer Twitter updates from today when Mike Holmgren talked with the media; a Starting Blocks poll on the Browns-Seahawks game; Cabot’s Browns Insider; and, much more.

Goal to goal

Former Browns running back Jerome Harrison has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, though the long-term prognosis for his health and even his football career is good. By Adam Schefter, and according to sources, for ESPN.com.

Concern about injuries among the Browns’ defensive backs, and Browns notes, by Fred Greetham for Scout.com’s Orange and Brown Report.

Stop breaking down every word that Mike Holmgren says. By Criag Lyndall for Waiting For Next Year.

AFC North teams are setting the NFL standard for defensive play this season, Jamison Hensley writes for ESPN.com.

Browns notebook, highlighting running back Chris Ogbonnaya, by Steve Doerschuk of the Canton Repository.

Mike Holmgren tries to defuse any drama surrounding the Browns, Daniel Wolf writes for the National Football Authority.

Anthony Campomizzi, writing for Dawg Pound Daily, wonders if Browns quarterback Colt McCoy is regressing this season.

The AFC North quarterback watch — including the Browns’ Colt McCoy — by Jamison Hensley on ESPN.com.

Seattle Seahawks coverage on the Seattle Times.

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Sep 9, 2011 – First Peyton Hillis won the Madden 12 cover contest and appeared on millions of video game cases. Now he is in line for a new contract, according to Cleveland Browns President Mike Holmgren. On Friday, Holmgren confirmed that the club wants to sign Hillis to a long-term contract:

“We’re trying like crazy to wrap (Hillis)up for a long time,” Holmgren said on the Mike and Mike Show on ESPN2. “He’s something, isn’t he?”

Hillis was a revelation in 2010, arriving in Cleveland from the Denver Broncos after Brady Quinn was sent out west. After receiving limited playing time in Denver, Hillis assumed the starting running back role for the Browns and piled up 1,177 yards on the ground and 11 touchdowns. Hillis also turned into an effective pass-catcher, grabbing 61 balls for 477 yards.

Hillis is playing out the last year of his rookie contract, which pays him $555,000. His first test of the regular season comes on Sunday at home against the Cincinnati Bengals. He went for 102 yards and one touchdown against them at home in 2010.

For more on the Brows, visit Dawgs By Nature and SB Nation Cleveland.

Read More: Peyton Hillis (RB – CLE), Cleveland Browns

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BEREA(AP) — Colt McCoy wears No. 12. For the Cleveland Browns, he’s also No. 10.

It’s a number they’d like to stay stuck on.

On Sunday against Cincinnati, McCoy will become the 10th different quarterback to start a season opener for the Browns since 1999, an astonishing statistic and perhaps the single biggest reason the franchise has failed miserably during an expansion era of losses. McCoy follows Ty Detmer, Tim Couch, Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn and Jake Delhomme as quarterbacks to begin the year as Cleveland’s starter.

“I hope it stays like this for a while,” McCoy said Wednesday.

In the NFL, quarterback consistency is vital to success. With a revolving door at the game’s most important position, it’s no wonder the Browns have only made the playoffs once and lost at least 10 games nine times in 12 years. Cleveland has been searching for a leader to guide them from the dismal darkness and back to respectability.

McCoy, who showed grit and toughness in eight starts in 2010, just might be the one.

And this season, anyway, he’ll get the chance to succeed or fail.

McCoy’s rise from third-round draft pick to starter happened quickly.

Rewind to last season’s opener. The former Texas star was a raw, out-of-sight, out-of-mind rookie running Cleveland’s scout team in practice. While Delhomme and backup Seneca Wallace took all the snaps, McCoy stood to the side waiting and wondering if his time would ever come.

Buried on the depth chart, McCoy was inactive when the Browns traveled to Tampa Bay in Week 1. But things changed in a hurry. Delhomme severely sprained his ankle against the Buccaneers, Wallace went down with same injury in Week 5, and suddenly McCoy was thrust into a starting role few believed he was ready to handle.

“He was kind of thrown into the fire,” Browns first-year coach Pat Shurmur said.

His personal inferno began in Pittsburgh, where McCoy made his first career start against the Steelers and in front of their Terrible Towel-waving fans. The night before the game, McCoy stood up at a meeting and told his teammates not to worry, he was ready to handle the job.

Browns cornerback Sheldon Brown feared for McCoy.

“I thought, this poor kid,” Brown said. “I hope he’s praying.”

But McCoy proved he belonged, completing 23 of 33 passes for 281 yards despite being sacked five times and pressured numerous others. It was there, at the confluence of Pittsburgh’s three rivers that many of Cleveland’s players became convinced they had found their leader.

“He wasn’t scared,” Brown said. “That’s one of the toughest defenses in the National Football League and he went in there and he held his own.”

 Then we put him in there against New Orleans, New England. Go back to some of the games he played and you look at his aura on the field and his demeanor, you just know that if you surround him with the players that can make plays for him — he’s not going to turn the ball over, he’s going to make the correct reads and the better part is, if he makes those mistakes, he’ll work his tail off to fix it.

“That’s when you know you have a guy.”

Shurmur thinks so, too.

Cleveland’s fifth coach since ’99, Shurmur has been impressed with everything about McCoy. During the labor lockout, it was McCoy who organized practices in Austin, Texas. At those workouts, dubbed “Camp Colts” by his teammates, McCoy and the Browns took their first initial steps in learning Shurmur’s West Coast offense, a passer friendly system the team feels perfectly suits McCoy’s accurate — if not strong — right arm.

McCoy also took it upon himself to visit Brett Favre, hoping a few days in Mississippi picking the brain of the former league MVP would help him better understand the new offense. McCoy came to camp prepared and then played extremely well in Cleveland’s three exhibition games.

“He basically did what we wanted and now the next step is to do it for 60 minutes in a regular-season game,” Shurmur said. “He has been passing the tests as we’ve gone along, and Sunday will be the next test.”

McCoy has done his homework.

“Now is where it counts,” he said.

Composed whether he’s calling a play in the huddle, facing a blitz or surrounded by cameras at his locker, McCoy insists he’s not feeling any added pressure as he embarks on his second season as a pro. A coach’s son, this is what he’s been groomed to do since he was a kid.

Now is when the fun starts.

“I’ve come a long ways,” McCoy said. “But I’ve still got plenty of work to do, no question. This team is ready to start, ready for the regular season. This is where it starts counting. For us, we’ve put in a lot of hours, a lot of time. We’ve worked hard together, now I think we kind of know some of the things we’re good at, some of the things we’re not as good at. Those things we’ll keep working on. But I think we’re ready to put a plan together and go see what happens.”

Notes: The Browns have some offensive line issues to resolve in the next few days. Starting right tackle Tony Pashos didn’t practice and still has a walking boot on his left foot. Also, Shurmur hasn’t decided whether he’ll start rookie Jason Pinkston at left guard. … TE Ben Watson, LB Chris Gocong and S Usama Young returned to practice on a limited basis. … WR Greg Little was chosen winner of the Maurice Bassett Award, given annually by the media to the top first-year player in training camp. … On Sunday, McCoy will square off with Bengals rookie QB Andy Dalton. They played each other in college when McCoy was at Texas and Dalton at TCU. McCoy only remembered a few details of their previous meeting. “They came to us,” McCoy said, “and we beat ’em pretty bad.”

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BEREA, Ohio — Now that the Browns have secured left tackle Joe Thomas with a new contract for seven years, next up for a long-term deal could be running back Peyton Hillis.

A league source said the wheels have begun turning for talks about a new contract for Hillis. Browns GM Tom Heckert has said he intends to invest in “players we like and want to be here.” The club has more than $18 million in salary cap room, according to latest figures reported by NFL.com, eighth-most in the league.

Heckert declined to be interviewed for this story.

Hillis recently changed agents for the second time in five months. He is in the last year of his original rookie contract and is scheduled to earn the NFL four-year minimum of $555,000. By comparison, the Browns gave running back Brandon Jackson a two-year deal for $4.5 million in free agency. Jackson was earmarked to be a role player and currently is sidelined with a toe in a cast. His return is indefinite.

Hillis obliterated the parameters of his existing contract last year when he saved the team’s running back situation and burst out for 1,177 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground, and 61 catches for two TDs.

Hillis accounted for 71.5 percent of the team’s rushing yardage, 36 percent of the team’s total yards from scrimmage, and 50 percent of its offensive touchdowns. Along the way, Hillis’ fearless, downhill running style gave last year’s Browns a much-needed identity and endeared him to a blue-collar city starving for a football hero. Fans expressed their gratitude by helping Hillis become the cover boy of the ultra-popular Madden 12 video game in a nationwide vote.

Hillis was drafted in the seventh round by the Denver Broncos in 2008, and then was underused for three years by two coaches. He was practically an afterthought in the 2010 trade that sent quarterback Brady Quinn to the Broncos. Six weeks later, the Browns traded up in the second round to select running back Montario Hardesty.

Hillis came to his first Browns camp as a backup fullback. Now he is the undisputed centerpiece of the running game and one of the most popular athletes in Cleveland. Hillis said he believes he has finally found his professional home.

“Most definitely. I think this team, this city, even the colors, represent who I am. As an individual, as a person and as a player,” Hillis said Tuesday. “So I would love to be here as long the Browns want me here.”

The only question perhaps about a new deal — how big — depended on Hillis’ fit in the West Coast offense implemented by new coach Pat Shurmur. For four months while the owners locked out players in a labor dispute, all Shurmur had to go on was game video of Hillis blasting through — and sometimes leaping over — defenders.

“It doesn’t take many snaps to see that he’s a terrific runner,” Shurmur said. “He’s also a physical blocker just by his sheer physique. I think he does a good job of catching the ball. It didn’t take long. He’s one of the guys last year that got a lot of touches, so it was easy to see him perform.”

Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer

“Whenever’s my time, whenever the Browns feel like they want to take care of me, they will,” Hillis said Tuesday.

Hillis shrugged, “Just because he says that doesn’t mean anything to us. I know me and the O-line are really focusing on this running game. We always got to. We’re in the toughest division in the NFL.”

Hillis has carried the ball only eight times for 34 yards in three preseason games as Shurmur has devoted the games to polishing his timing-based passing attack. Although Hillis probably will not play in the practice game finale Thursday in Chicago, there is little doubt in his mind that the team will preserve its smash-mouth mentality in the running game.

“Especially with the guys that we have,” he said. “You can always try different things, but what you’re good at is what you’re good at. You eventually come back around to that. There’s no doubt we have to pass the ball. And we have the guys to do that. We’re working on that and getting slowly better at that.”

Hillis said he doesn’t intend to rest on his laurels and is not overly concerned about a new contract.

“Whenever’s my time, whenever the Browns feel like they want to take care of me, they will,” he said. “I’m going to do my best, try to prove myself to them. This is a business and you still have to produce every day, every year. That’s going to be my outlook from here on out.”

On Twitter: @TonyGrossi

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BEREA, Ohio — Browns star running back Peyton Hillis is not practicing because of an injury.

Hillis rode the exercise bike Tuesday as his teammates worked out in preparation of Thursday night’s exhibition in Philadelphia. Hillis did not play in Cleveland’s preseason game on Friday because of a hamstring injury. Browns coach Pat Shurmur is expected to provide an update on Hillis following practice.

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(Sports Network) – As usual, the Browns enter this year’s draft with several holes to fill. The team is switching to a 4-3 defense and currently has just one player — tackle Ahtyba Rubin — that’s viewed as starting material on the front line, so finding bodies for both the ends and the interior is essential. There’s also a glaring paucity of weapons for young quarterback Colt McCoy on the present roster, and Cleveland looks to be in good position to land either of the two premium wide receiver prospects (Georgia’s A.J. Green, Alabama’s Julio Jones) with the sixth overall selection if it chooses to go that route. The Browns appear pretty well set at running back, linebacker and cornerback, but could use the middle rounds to bolster other need areas such as safety and a right-side offensive tackle, as well as supply necessary depth across both lines. Cleveland does have an extra sixth-round pick as part of last year’s trade of disappointing quarterback Brady Quinn to the Broncos.

2010 Record: 5-11

Top Needs: DE, WR, DT, OT

First Three Picks: No. 6, No. 37, No. 70

Number of Selections: 8 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7)

RECENT FIRST ROUND HISTORY: 2010 – Joe Haden (CB, Florida); 2009 – Alex Mack (C, California); 2008 – none; 2007 – Joe Thomas (OT, Wisconsin), Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame); 2006 – Kamerion Wimbley (OLB, Florida State); 2005 – Braylon Edwards (WR, Michigan); 2004 – Kellen Winslow (TE, Miami-Florida); 2003 – Jeff Faine (C, Notre Dame); 2002 – William Green (RB, Boston College).

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CLEVELAND — Unless there is a shakeup in the NFL draft order by April 28, here are the overall selections the Browns hold:

 First round: No. 6.

 Second round: No. 37.

 Third round: No. 70.

 Fourth round: No. 102.

 Fifth round: No. 137.

 Sixth round: No. 168 (Denver’s pick, Brady Quinn trade).

       No. 170.

 Seventh round: No. 248 (compensatory).

 The first round is on Thursday, April 28, and begins at 8 p.m. The second and third rounds are on April 29 and begin at 6 p.m. Rounds 4 through 7 are on April 30 beginning at 12 noon.



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By Steve Doerschuk

For Sporting News

An analytical look at the Cleveland Browns heading into the 2011 NFL draft:

Team needs

1. Defensive lineman. Last year, the Browns barely had enough players to run a rotation for a three-man front. Now, additional bodies must be found to feed new coordinator Dick Jauron’s 4-3 scheme. Starters Shaun Rogers and Kenyon Coleman were released in February, further thinning the position. Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers seems an obvious option, if available, with the No. 6 overall pick. He has the classic build and physical tools of a top-shelf 4-3 end. Alabama’s Marcell Dareus, who could be a force at tackle, also is being considered.

2. Wide receiver. Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massaquoi, both 2009 second-round picks, have been disappointments so far. However, many feel they were miscast as No. 1 and No. 2 receivers, respectively, and could be effective if a true No. 1 wideout is found. Massaquoi’s former Georgia teammate, A.J. Green, is perfect for Cleveland if he’s available at No. 6. If the Browns wait until Round 2, Pitt’s 6-5 Jon Baldwin or Maryland’s Torrey Smith are options. Smith is more of a burner than Baldwin, and the Browns have a need for speed.

3. Right tackle. The Browns are in great shape on the offensive line with left tackle Joe Thomas, left guard Eric Steinbach and center Alex Mack, but there are problems at right tackle. New Browns coach Pat Shurmur says the trenches will be a priority. Wisconsin’s Gabe Carimi would be a good right tackle option if he’s available when the Browns pick early in the second round. Arkansas’ DeMarcus Love played left tackle in 2010 but has the size and strength to do well on the right side. He is an option in the middle rounds.

4. Cornerback. Eric Wright seemed to be approaching elite status in 2009 but lost his confidence and gave up some monster plays early last season. Eventually, he landed on injured reserve, and last year’s No. 7 overall pick, Joe Haden, shined in his role. After investing so much in Haden, the Browns may try to get lucky in the third or fourth rounds this year. Utah’s Brandon Burton, Ohio State’s Chimdi Chekwa and Michigan’s State’s Chris Rucker are on the radar.

5. Quarterback. One of the big questions this year is whether the Browns are sold on 2010 third-round pick Colt McCoy as their QB. Cleveland isn’t likely to spend a first- or second-round pick on a quarterback but might pick a QB to develop behind McCoy and Seneca Wallace, who was re-signed this month. Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick is athletic enough to groom in a West Coast offense.

6. Middle linebacker. Switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 scheme dictates chasing an inside linebacker. Scott Fujita is versatile enough to try the middle, but he’s coming off a knee injury and might be a better outside linebacker. Greg Jones was a prolific tackler at Michigan State and could be a nice fit for Cleveland. LSU’s Kelvin Sheppard has the feisty temperament Cleveland G.M. Tom Heckert likes and would be a decent option in the middle rounds.

7. Right guard. Last year’s third-round pick, Shawn Lauvao, struggled as a rookie due to injuries and personal issues. Lauvao will get another chance in 2011, but Cleveland needs depth at guard and center and could bring in a youngster to push Lauvao. Mid- to late-round candidates include Auburn’s Lee Ziemba, Lehigh’s Will Rackley and Connecticut’s Zach Hurd.

Five-year history

Top-of-the-draft mistakes keep plaguing the Browns, going back to preferring Kellen Winslow over Ben Roethlisberger in 2004. Haloti Ngata would also have been far superior to Kamerion Wimbley in ’06. Avoiding a trade that cost a future first-round pick for Brady Quinn in 2007 might have saved the Romeo Crennel regime.

A defensive superstar, Clay Matthews, would have been the ticket over merely a good center, Alex Mack, in 2009. Steals, such as 2008 sixth-rounder Ahtyba Rubin, have been too few and far between, while mistakes, such as spending two second-round picks in 2009 on pedestrian receivers, have been too frequent.

2006: C+

2007: C+

2008: C-

2009: D

2010: B+

Just one question

Q. Have you assured coordinator Dick Jauron you will address the shortage of defensive linemen?

Team president Mike Holmgren: “We absolutely talked about that before he even accepted the position. We know what we have to do to make life easier for him, and (G.M.) Tom Heckert certainly does. That’s a pretty easy one to call just from a numbers standpoint. We are switching our defense from a 3-4 to a four-man line. That would be an area (of need). Dick trusts us. If you have to shore it up, you shore it up.”

Gotta run!.



CLEVELAND — The Browns’ draft day war chest has increased by one.
 
 They were awarded a compensatory pick in the seventh round in the NFL’s ultra-complex compensatory draft system. The extra pick is No. 247.

 The Browns now have eight picks in the 2011 draft — their own in the first through sixth rounds, Denver’s pick in the sixth round (by way of the Brady Quinn trade) and now the compensatory pick in the seventh round.

 The Browns gave up their original pick in the seventh round to Seattle in the trade last year for quarterback Seneca Wallace.

This is only the second time the Browns have been awarded a compensatory pick, which is usually reserved for teams that suffer net losses in free agency the previous season.

 But only 21 picks were assigned on this basis this year. By rules of the former bargaining agreement, however, the total number of compensatory picks each year must equal 32. So 11 additional choices were awarded at the end of the seventh round based on the first-round selection order..

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Could a backfield of Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty be a secret weapon for the Cleveland Browns in 2011? Browns president Mike Holmgren is intrigued by the possibility.

“I could get real excited about that,” Holmgren said this week. “That’s a good combination for this reason: I think they both have excellent ball skills, catching the ball and running skills. So you don’t have to have one guy as the runner, one guy as the catcher, one guy as the blocker, you don’t have to do that.”

Peyton Hillis

#40 RB
Cleveland Browns

2010 STATS

• Rush270
• Yds1177
• TD11
• Rec61
• Yds477
• TD2

The Browns, who finished 5-11 last season, need all the help they can get to close the gap with the Baltimore Ravens (12-4) and Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) in the AFC North. Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert joined the Browns one year ago with a significant talent deficit. But the pair did a good job of bringing good, young players to Cleveland last season.

Two of those additions were Hillis and Hardesty. Hillis was acquired in a trade with the Denver Broncos for quarterback Brady Quinn, and Hardesty was Cleveland’s second-round draft pick.

Hillis had a breakout season in 2010, rushing for 1,177 yards and scoring 13 total touchdowns. Hardesty showed promise in camps but suffered a season-ending knee injury in the final game of the preseason.

Next season, both players will start the year healthy. With fullback and pending free agent Lawrence Vickers’ future with Cleveland in doubt, you could see a lot of Hillis and Hardesty sharing the same backfield.

“They both have to be willing to do all those things for each other,” Holmgren explained. “If those are the two in the game at the same time, they have to block for each other and they have to do everything. I think they are capable of doing that. I hope I get a chance to see that.”

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

Published: Friday, March 11, 2011, 4:09 PM     Updated: Friday, March 11, 2011, 5:00 PM

The NFL labor situation is that sword of Damocles dangling over every fan’s head. Yeah, fan’s head. Not management’s, not coaches’, not players’. Fans’.

Why?

Because the reality is that eventually, the two sides will decide life in the kindergarten sandbox is better when the shovel and the pail get along and work together. Keep in mind that they are fighting over how to divide $9 billion in revenues. That’s $9 billion in revenues … FROM FANS!

Your money. Ours. Not theirs. We keep slapping at our hindquarters because there are two sets of hands trying to pick our pockets. And actually, we turn around to let ‘em every year.

Now eventually, the players and the owners are going to realize they’re better off with SOME than NONE. Until then, it’s the fans who pay. Why? Because fans don’t have a fiscal stake in the Browns. Or the Cowboys. Or the Packers. Or even the blankety-blank Steelers. They have an EMOTIONAL stake.

Put it this way: Someone offers you a million bucks for your house. You take it, right? Like, it’s a no-brainer! Now, someone offers you a million bucks for your heart. No deal. A heart isn’t for sale.

Not even for $9 billion.

On to the draft
OK, we just had to get that rant out of our system. Let’s talk draft, since that’s happening regardless of whether the kids in the overgrown Oshkosh B’gosh suits settle their temporary row.

The debate is over what the Browns should do with that No. 6 pick. Plain Dealer beat writer Tony Grossi consistently has endorsed Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley. It’s tough to disagree with him. Cheap hose give up fewer runs than the Browns front seven did last year.

Yet there are those who insist — rightfully so — that the Browns have no real threat at receiver. Therefore, ya gotta go with Julio Jones of Alabama or A.J. Green of Georgia.

And still more doubt that Colt McCoy is the real thing as a quarterback in the NFL, especially in the unfriendly Midwest winter, so Blaine Gabbert of Missouri or Cam Newton of Auburn are the “obvious” choices.

Sorry. We’re sticking with McCoy. His savvy and accuracy are going to make him a perfect “North Coast Offense” quarterback. Yeah, there are doubts about arm strength, but so what? Other than the end of a half, or in a desperate time, how often do QB’s unleash 60-yard bombs? Hit a 20-yard out to Peyton Hillis or Ben Watson or — consider the miracle thought! — a wide receiver and let him get those YAC.

But we’re gonna give mockingthedraft.com’s Garrett Falk a chance to state his case for Cleveland spending that sixth overall pick on Green, mainly because half of his story is spent noting that McCoy will get even better under new coach Pat Shurmur and in an offense with a bit of imagination and guts. Oh, and because of a line in his piece in which he said the best thing Brady Quinn did for the Browns was give them a chance to trade for Hillis.

Cleveland has been lacking a true No. 1 receiver since the 2007 season when Braylon Edwards had 1,289 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. Tight end Ben Watson led the team in receiving last season with 68 catches and 783 yards. Chansi Stuckey, Mohamed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie are nice complement targets, but I’m sure Shurmur would love to see A.J. Green fall to them at the sixth overall pick. If Green is off the board at six, the Browns could turn to Julio Jones who is coming off a strong combine. Cleveland, who finished 31st in points per game in 2010, should definitely be looking to add another weapon for McCoy.

Oh, and we had one other reason for indulging Falk: Picking up Green was his No. 1 choice for the Browns’ use of that pick. Next came a defensive tackle and third was a pass rushing defensive end or linebacker. Since we agree that all three are critical needs, it must mean that Falk is a pretty sharp fellow indeed.

From The Plain Dealer
We told you about Tony Grossi’s mock draft already. He also had a bit in today’s paper about the Browns working out Cam Newton. Now don’t get all hot and bothered. They’re gonna work him out, just as are seven other teams, but don’t expect A) him to be around when Cleveland drafts, or B) for the Browns to pick him, Tony says. The team is committed right now to Colt McCoy. And Tony, in that aforementioned mock draft, has Newton going to the Bengals, who pick fourth overall.

 

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