2009 Cleveland Browns: A Campaign Of Hope?

So is it time for the fans of Cleveland to start believing? We've barely started the offseason, yet we've already had some fairly exciting (positive and negative) events.

We have a new head coach and general manager, and they're beginning to make some moves that they hope will change the face of the franchise. So let's have a quick analysis of what's been going on so far.

The hirings of Eric Mangini and George Kokinis are very significant. Mangini is another protege of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and was moderately successful as head coach of the Jets. Kokinis was a pro personnel director for the Baltimore Ravens and is a close friend of Mangini.

Clearly, the Browns are hoping that this tandem of buddies will work together and will get things accomplished that the previous head coach and GM couldn't.

Mangini has had a bit of a rough start, though. Reportedly snubbing the (arguably) best defensive player on our team probably wasn't his intention, but it does seem like the relationship between Shuan Rogers and the Browns can go nowhere but south.

Then, we traded Kellen Winslow, who was one of the best players on our offense.

It might be kind of hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel with things looking how they do now. But it just takes some of that old "Cleveland touch" to reinvent the situation and make it a positive one. Just watch me work my magic.

Shaun Rogers being snubbed by Mangini might have actually been a good thing, because now Mangini and Kokinis can't ignore the big tackle. They now know they have to take care of him and treat him right, or they'll lose him.

Hopefully they'll also realize that this is true with many other players as well. I think the whole experience really sent Mangini a message of how this locker room works; it said that he has to bond with his players.

And trading the stellar tight end Kellen Winslow? That's actually a pretty good move. I won't deny we probably could have gotten a lot more for Winslow, but trading him to the Buccaneers is an ideal situation. We will probably never see him again, and we got some draft picks that we really needed: A second-round pick this year and a fifth-rounder next year is amazing for us.

Plus, we were already preparing to replace Winslow when we drafted Martin Rucker last year, and we got rid of a lot of locker room drama when we traded him. Bottom line: We couldn't wait for him to grow up, and there was no way we could put up with his agent either; Rosenhaus was bearing down on us with three years left on Winslow's contract.

Still, we don't have a large quantity of picks this year, and we really need help on defense. But we can work with what we've got.

I've got a plan all ready for the Browns: Pick up that beast of a defensive lineman, Bryan Orakpo, from Texas or inside linebacker Rey Maualuga of USC. Those guys would benefit our team right away. And with our next pick (in the second round), we address what we didn't in the first round (either a linebacker or defensive lineman).

The next significant pick would be our second second-round pick, with which I think we could pick up a defensive back (preferably a cornerback). D.J. Moore (Vanderbilt), Victor Harris (Virginia Tech), and Darius Butler (Conneticut) could all possibly be available in that range, and any of them would be a great addition to the Browns' locker room.

So can you guys see the light at the end of the tunnel? Or at least a glimmer of hope for the next season? Well, I do and I'm looking forward to draft day. How about you?