ABOUT THE BROWNS . . .
1. Trying to figure out what the Browns might do on draft day, let’s look back to 2010, when they had the seventh overall pick. If former coach Eric Mangini had been running the draft last year, the Browns probably would have traded down. Like Bill Belichick and others from that NFL school of thought, they prefer to stay out of the top 10 — where rookies receive salaries that chew up the salary cap and sometimes cause problems with veterans in the locker room. They also want a lot of picks low in the first round, and in other rounds.
2. The Browns didn’t trade the pick. General Manager Tom Heckert was confident he’d find the right guy worth the money at No. 7.
3. A few months before the draft, many “experts” assumed the Browns would take defensive back Joe Haden. But Haden ran a relatively slow 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. That scared away some teams. It was rumored the Browns had backed off him, but Heckert never wavered. He thought Haden was a tremendous cover cornerback at Florida. He trusted his own eyes, the reports of the scouts, and production on the field over pure potential and what happens at the combine.
4. The drafting of Haden reveals that Heckert will probably stay at No. 6 this year. If he does trade down, it likely would be only a few picks. Also, there will be a rookie salary cap (finally!) in the new labor agreement — another reason to keep high draft picks.
5. So this would indicate Heckert will probably want a player from a major program who has been producing — probably not a one-year wonder. Yes, that does bring us back to Georgia’s A.J. Green at wide receiver, although Heckert has been mentioning Alabama wideout Julio Jones. I do know this: If Heckert believes Jones is a better player than Green, he will skip the Green hype and take Jones.
6. No doubt, there will be lots of people in the Browns’ draft room who will want a receiver. President Mike Holmgren loves offense. New coach Pat Shurmur told The Plain Dealer’s Tony Grossi this about Green, “It’s intoxicating to go after a playmaker.”
7. But I go back to the basics, the basics being the Browns are switching to the 4-3 defense with just one starting lineman (Ahtyba Rubin) and two healthy starting linebackers (Chris Gocong and Scott Fujita). I go back to the 2010 draft, where Heckert’s first two picks were defensive backs — Haden and safety T.J. Ward. Then I think about how this draft is supposed to be rich with defensive linemen.
8. And that brings me to Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers. Many experts had him in the top three, certainly no lower than No. 5 right after the season. Then it was revealed that Bowers had a torn meniscus in his knee. His pro day is Friday, and his agent said Bowers will show everyone he’s healthy.
9. Let’s think about Haden, a very good college player whose stock dropped after the season — when scouts began looking at things other than game tapes. But nothing had changed about Haden being a big-time defensive back. And nothing has changed about Bowers, assuming he shows this week that he is fully recovered from his knee surgery.
10. Bowers had a huge junior year at Clemson, leading the nation with 15.5 sacks. I like that he had sacks in 10 of his 13 games, meaning he was a factor each week. He also had 26 tackles for loss. At 6-4, 277 pounds, he is the ideal pass rusher for a 4-3 defense — and guess which team is switching to a 4-3 defense and has no defensive ends on the roster who can rush the passer?
11. Does this mean the Browns will take Bowers? Of course not. But for all the talk about receivers, don’t be surprised if Heckert takes what he considers a sure thing in Bowers and begins to build the defense.
12. Not much is said about the offensive line, but right tackle must be addressed at some point soon. The team can’t keep going with veterans such as John St. Clair, Floyd Womack and Tony Pashos. While they talk about Pashos for 2012, it’s hard to count on him. A middle-round pick on a right tackle might be wise.
ABOUT THE CAVS . . .
1. Some fans have wondered about Byron Scott’s weekly rants about the Cavs not playing hard enough, not caring, etc. Some have asked, “Isn’t it the coach’s job to get them to play hard?”
2. Part of the deal is Scott never imagined a season where he’d have the worst record in the NBA. He expected a lineup with Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, Anderson Varejao, Anthony Parker and Joey Graham, with J.J. Hickson and Daniel Gibson coming off the bench. Or Hickson starting, with Jamison as the sixth man. But injuries wiped out Jamison, Varejao and Williams (at least before the trade) for most of their time here. Gibson also had a hard time staying healthy.
3. All the injuries led to losses and frustration and that, sometimes, led to Scott letting off steam.
4. But another reason for his public challenges to his players is the current roster being so young. Samardo Samuels, Manny Harris, Luke Harangody, Semih Erden and Alonzo Gee have never been through a full 82-game season. All but Gee are rookies, and Gee has bounced back and forth between the Development League and the NBA, never playing in more than 11 NBA games until this season.
5. He also knows Ramon Sessions and Hickson are two players who need to be pushed. The 82-game season is unrelenting with all the travel, practices, injuries, etc. As Scott says, “It’s a man’s league.” He wants his players to mature. He also wants them to know that just because this season has become a quest for losses and lottery pingpong balls, he still expects them to play hard.
ABOUT THE NBA DRAFT . . .
1. Cavs GM Chris Grant watched the NCAA Tournament games from Anaheim, Calif., this weekend. He is there to check out Arizona star Derrick Williams and UConn guard Kemba Walker, along with several other players who might be available in the second round.
2. Obviously, the Cavs have been scouting Williams and Walker all year. Grant has seen them in person before. One concern every NBA team has about Williams is that he’s 6-8, 241 pounds. His best position is power forward, but the NBA wonders if he’s tall enough for that position. But the guy can play and score, and a team will figure out how to maximize his talent.
3. But the main reason so many scouts and general managers whose teams are in the lottery went to Anaheim was to see Duke’s Kyrie Irving. He received high marks for simply coming back for the last three games. He had been out for a few months with a toe injury. Despite playing only eight games at Duke to open the season, Irving was rated in the top three of most draft boards. Some teams had him at No. 1. He could have sat out, then worked out for a few select teams — and collected millions of dollars. Instead, he worked hard to return to try to help Duke defend its title.
4. Irving had 28 points and shot 9-of-15 in 31 minutes in Duke’s loss to Arizona on Thursday. So, in 11 games this season, the freshman averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 assists and shot 53 percent from the field, 43 percent on 3-pointers. He also is at 90 percent from the foul line, and he reminds some scouts of Chris Paul.
5. The Cavs will never say it, but there’s little doubt they would love to grab Irving. But they also need to have other point guards in mind. It’s definite they will use one of their lottery picks on a guard.
WHAT IS A REAL FAN?
T his came from Raanan Lefkovitz: “My dad (Earl Lefkovitz) made his living in the meat business, but his true passion was serving as a cantor for several local synagogues. His favorite place to be was either at the synagogue leading prayer or at an Indians game filling out a scorecard.
“He flew to spring training almost every year, and was on a first-name basis with several of the ushers at Municipal Stadium and Jacobs Field. His crowning jewel was the kosher hot dog stand at section 149 that he established at then-Jacobs field. The stand still operates today.
“My dad could interrelate sports and religion: He organized synagogue “behind the fence” fundraisers at Municipal Stadium and Jacobs field, he chanted prayers to the melody of ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame.’
“He passed away on March 3, just six weeks after [doctors] diagnosed him with stage 4 metastatic melanoma. . . . As his body began the process of shutting down, he was able to listen to one last Indians game on his transistor radio — the Feb. 27 spring training opener against the Reds.
“By the next day he was in the hospital. I sat by his side and read to him from the sports page. . . . As his breath became shorter and shorter, he stopped me and wrote down words of prayer in a notebook. I put down the newspaper and recited the prayer back to him until he died.”
ABOUT THE INDIANS . . .
1. The most impressive player in minor-league camp is pitcher Drew Pomeranz. I tend not to fall into the hype of a No. 1 pick who has yet to pitch his first regular-season pro game, but this 6-5 lefty throws in the middle 90s. His curve is big, but he needs to control it. He was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2010 draft, and it would not be a shock if he made it to the Tribe in September, or perhaps out of spring training in 2012. Manager Manny Acta raved about Pomeranz to me when we watched games in the minor-league camp.
2. The Tribe’s 2009 top pick — Alex White — had a 10.80 ERA in five innings of spring training with the Tribe. This is only his second pro season, and the Indians have been telling White he needs to use his breaking pitch and changeup more. Last season, White was 10-10 with a 2.45 ERA pitching between Class A and Class AA. He did it mostly with his fastball. He’ll be at Class AAA this year and will work on refining his other pitches.
3. The plan for Pomeranz will probably be what the Indians did with White last season — open at Class A Kinston with the hope of moving up to Class AA Akron at midseason.
4. In talking to some people in the minor-league camp, I heard that Lonnie Chisenhall had four throwing errors in B games and minor-league games this spring. They don’t show up in the spring stats. The Indians don’t think this is a big problem, and Travis Fryman – a former outstanding third baseman — will work with him at Class AAA Columbus.
5. Because Chisenhall is a gifted athlete who began as a shortstop, he sometimes doesn’t set his feet before throwing. That can lead to a sidearm delivery, with the ball sailing high and away from the first baseman. Chisenhall had 17 errors in 96 games at third for Akron in 2009; most of them came on throws.
6. Acta has been raving about shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. “He’s stronger than last year, driving the ball to the opposite field,” the manager said. “He came back early [from a broken arm] last year and played when he wasn’t 100 percent because he is a competitor. I know some people knock his range and use some metrics to prove it, but I use the eye test. He can make the plays that we need made. He is our guy.”
7. Cabrera’s defense does seem better than a year ago. It also has helped that he is playing next to veteran Orlando Cabrera at second. They have only one error combined all spring.
8. Along with Plain Dealer baseball writers Paul Hoynes and Dennis Manoloff, I will be doing a “Talking Tribe” breakfast at The Plain Dealer on Friday, which is Opening Day. The breakfast and talk is from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. A hot buffet breakfast is served, and cost is $25. Call 216-999-4028 for information.
What do you guys think about this.
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