Hopefully, Jimmy Clausen Goes Anywhere But Cleveland

As the NFL draft is less than two weeks away, Irish fans anxiously await to see what uniform Jimmy Clausen will be wearing next fall.

Will he be in red and blue in Buffalo? How about teel and black in Jacksonville? Is it possible that he could be sporting purple and gold in Minnesota if the Vikings trade up? As much as I would hate to see him in silver and black in Oakland, even that is better than seeing him in orange and Brown in Cleveland.

I know that there are other Notre Dame fans like Eric Murtaugh, Kenneth Kacala, Mike Muratore, and Bobby Hogan, who are also Cleveland Browns fans. Therefore, they wouldn't mind seeing him go there, but even they realize that it is a place where quarterbacks go to die since the Browns rejoined the league.

From Tim Couch to Notre Dame alum Brady Quinn, that organization just is clueless on what to do with a talented quarterback. It is true that there is a new sheriff in town in Mike Holmgren. Holmgren has a proven track record with quarterbacks. However, he has proven nothing as a team president. He will not be coaching.

The fact is that the same coaching staff that was there a year ago is still in place. Eric Mangini is not a good head coach and Brian Daboll is a joke as offensive coordinator.

Even if Holmgren is the change in management the Browns need, there is one thing that will never change and that is the fans. Although I am not a Derek Anderson fan at all, I totally agree with everything he said about the fans.

Those are the same fans that screamed for Quinn to come in the game constantly only to call for his benching as soon as he ran into any trouble. Many of these fans are calling him a bust although he has started only 12 games.

Going even further back, Tim Couch was beginning to develop into a decent quarterback and was able to lead them to the playoffs. However, he was hurt for the game and Kelly Holcomb stepped in and had a huge statistical game in a loss. Then all the fans wanted Holcomb to be the guy, and he was. That lasted about eight games.

As much as we would like to say that the fans don't influence the decisions, that is wrong. The NFL is a business and the fans are the consumers. Businesses have to listen to their consumers.

So, forgive me if I want Jimmy Clausen to have no part of that organization. I was hoping that he would fall to No. 11 to the Denver Broncos. However, now that they have acquired Quinn, I am not sure I want to see two Notre Dame guys competing for the same job. Besides, I think we can all agree that Quinn deserves a fairer chance than he got in Cleveland.

I am really hoping that the Vikings trade up, as there are rumors they might. Although that would likely mean Clausen would have to sit for a year and learn from Brett Favre, he would be a great situation, loaded with talent and a really good offensive line. I heard they have a pretty good running back too.

One thing is for sure, I will be supporting him no matter where he goes. I just pray it is not Cleveland. If they want to ruin another quarterback, fine. Just don't do it to another domer.

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