Cleveland Browns Football: Six Steps To Return To Relevancy

The Browns are six regular season games into the Eric Mangini era and one thing is clear—Mangini forgot to add formidable veterans to the mix.

This may be a little harsh, but it is true.  Mangini purged his old stomping grounds for Eric Barton, David Bowens, Kenyon Coleman, C.J. Mosley, Abram Elam, Brett Ratliff, Jason Trusnik, and eventually Chansi Stuckey. Out of that group, Barton is the only one to make any type of impact and Elam has been left surrounded by a cloud of dirt and grass as the receivers fly past him.

The tandem of Eric Mangini and George Kokinis also went out and drowned the 2009 Browns with the acquisitions of right-side of the line flame-outs such as John St. Clair and Floyd Womack.  These two have led an atrocious merry-go-round of right-side linemen who have allowed defenders to have permanent homes in the Browns backfield.

Watching the Browns this year may be painful for most fans, but just imagine how much worse off the team will be if they do not address these issues in the offseason.  Mangini and Kokinis stress that we have 11 draft picks to build around, but who is there to lead these young players in Cleveland?

Mangini is too busy chasing top players away with his boot camp treatment, dictator mentality, and ridiculous fines to realize that top free agents will not come here because of him.

Taking care of all of these organizational problems and Mangini ego issues will not happen in one offseason.  However the Browns can begin their path to success by following these simple six steps:

Step 1: Pick a Quarterback! Brady Quinn, Derek Anderson, or Brett Ratliff, it does not really matter at this point. Just pick one and find out what they can do. Caution: The team already knows what they are getting out of Anderson, a below-average leader with a big arm, and a guy who fades in the clutch. Suggestion: Quinn was worth two first round picks for a reason. The team is 1-5 with no signs of life. Give him the reigns to find out if he has what it takes for a full season. If not, then it is time to draft a quarterback and move on from this headache.

Step 2: Three words: FRANCHISE RIGHT TACKLE.  In 2007, we drafted Joe Thomas and paired him with Eric Steinbach. Our left-side of the line has been virtually impenetrable since. This year we drafted our franchise center in Alex Mack. It is time to take a page out of Phil Savage’s playbook and draft the right tackle for the next 10 years. I also suggest a REAL right guard signing, not these one year rent-a-players the Browns have come accustomed to.

Step 3: Clean up the dead weight. By dead weight I mean everyone that is not Shaun Rogers on our defensive line. They cannot penetrate, they cannot tackle, and they cannot start in the NFL. The late-round picks have not worked and the journeymen free-agents have all been busts. It is time to use the team’s wallet, or draft a big name player.

Step 4: If your name isn’t Eric Wright or Brodney Pool, you are not a starter in the secondary. My apologies go out to Brandon Mcdonald here. I know it’s only his third year in the league, but he is a nickel defensive back. He is a great tackler who cannot cover the elite wide receivers. Also, how much does letting Sean Jones walk hurt the team now? The hard-hitting safety would be perfect with Pool’s new found sense of ball-hawking. I suggest Taylor Mays out of USC or Eric Berry out of Tennessee if we do not draft an offensive lineman high in the draft.

Step 5: Jamal Lewis has to go. A young team needs progression at the running back position. Jerome Harrison has shown flashes of being that guy, but he is being held back by tip-toe Lewis. The team also needs to figure out if James Davis can be the man the front office thinks he can be. This situation can be temporarily fixed by assembling a monster offensive line and just letting the guys we have go to work.

Step 6: We need the rush end opposite Kamerion Wimbley. This need is glaring in the eyes of the front office week after week. David Bowens is not a starter; he is barely a special teams player. The Browns have a lot of young linebackers, but Alex Hall is the only one who has shown any promise of playing every day in the NFL.  If the Browns draft this player, I suggest Eric Norwood from South Carolina. The kid has a high-motor, quick instincts, and a nose for the quarterback.  If that isn’t an outside linebacker then I don’t know what is.

These six steps are just a foundation of what could lead the Browns back to relevancy in the NFL.