Time for the Cleveland Browns To Take the Notre Dame Approach

After Sunday one thing should be clear for the Cleveland Browns. This team just isn't very good. Of course, I have heard many calling for Brady Quinn to be benched. I hear we could have had Mark Sanchez. That is really pretty shortsighted. Sanchez would struggle on this team as would any quarterback.

The worst thing people can do is start making comparisons to other places. Yes Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, and Sanchez have done well. However, they all have really good defenses and a solid running game. Cleveland has neither.

Those teams also have solid offensive lines. I saw one article today suggesting that Quinn had plenty of time to throw yesterday. That is completely inaccurate. The Broncos defensive line dominated which is why Jamal Lewis only had 38 yards. The point is if you want your young quarterback to develop you have to build a team around him.

Look at Matthew Stafford and Jamarcus Russell. They both have had struggles because they are on bad teams. The Raiders stuck with Russell and now that team is showing some signs that they might be on the way back.

Looking at the situation in Cleveland, Eric Mangini really should look to an old friend of his. That is Charlie Weis. Two years ago after Quinn had left Notre Dame, Weis looked at the team he had. He still had a lot of average players left over from Tyrone Willingham. Most of his recruits were freshmen.

Weis was very wise in determining that his team just didn't have it that year. So he decided to play his freshman and let them take their lumps. His plan was to see who he could use for the future.

His young quarterback was Jimmy Clausen and Weis put him in behind a very poor offensive line and let him learn. Clausen struggled that year. However, positives did come out of it. Clausen learned how to take a hit and how to play under pressure.

Look at him now in his third year. The game honestly looks easy for him. He now has a better offensive line and a really good receiving corps. He is putting up monster numbers and could be a Heisman candidate. The Browns should take the same approach with Quinn.

Looking at the offense as a whole Weis took that approach with other players as well. He had a couple of young receivers in Golden Tate and Duvall Kamara. He played both of them to see who would develop. That was obviously Tate and the next year Michael Floyd was added.

Mangini has a couple of young receivers in Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massaquoi. Starting now they both should start and then he can see which if not both will develop into good NFL receivers.

Weis also had a couple of young runners in Armando Allen and Robert Hughes. He played both of them a lot to see who would emerge as the guy. That was Allen. The Browns have a couple of young runners in James Davis and Jerome Harrison. I would say it is time to give them the ball.

This approach does work. Look at Notre Dame now. While the defense still needs some work, there is now denying they have one of the most prolific offenses in college football right now. The key is though and this is a big thing. It does require a lot of patience.

This would leave guys like Braylon Edwards, Jamal Lewis, and Derek Anderson as the odd men out. The good thing is though I think contending teams will be willing to acquire them. Seattle might be an option for Anderson if Matt Hasselbeck is going to be out.