The Cleveland Cavaliers continue their up and down play of late.  After beating the Pacers Tuesday night on the road for a big win to start a five game trip, the wine and gold dropped one to the undermanned New York Knicks last night in the Big Apple.  It was exactly the kind of game the Cavs can’t afford to lose if they want to hold on to the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference.  Of course, LeBron James hopes that Isiah Thomas’ crew make the playoffs as a fan.  What???

 

With less than 10 games remaining on the slate, Coach Mike Brown continues to struggle with his playing rotation.  Besides Donyell Marshall, now we have to question the time rookie Daniel Gibson is getting.  Since Gibson has returned from his sprained toe, he has not played up to the level he was playing prior to getting hurt.  Both he and Marshall play because of their ability to stretch defenses with long range jumpers, but lately neither one is making anything. 

 

With home court advantage in the first round at stake, now is not the time to let Gibson get his legs back.  Clinch second place in the division and perhaps Brown will have two or three games at the end of the season to let the former Longhorn play 30 minutes a night to get his shot back. 

 

Since Brown has and always will emphasize defense, it seems the players forgot why they won eight games in a row earlier this month.  During the winning streak, the Cavaliers held their opponents to an average of 91 points per game.  In the six games since, the wine and gold are giving up 95 per night, and that includes the Knicks horrible 68 point output a week ago at the "Q".  They are playing a running game on offense without playing the D needed to get that running game going.

 

The team is also shooting the three point shot way too much again.  In two games of this six game stretch, the wine and gold shot 3 of 20 from behind the arc.  That’s unacceptable.  If the shot is not going down, someone on the floor has to realize it and work to get better looks.  This team has so many guys who can get to the basket (James, Hughes, Pavlovic) there is no excuse for settling for the long jumper.  They have to get the aggressiveness back, particularly Hughes, who apparently now thinks he is Mark Price.

 

Brown gets a lot of criticism, and he deserves it for his rotation.  However, I believe he stresses defense and doesn’t like his team jacking up 3’s.  Unfortunately for him, his team is not blessed with a lot of players who have a high basketball IQ.  They don’t remember why the team played so well a few weeks ago, and again have settled back into bad habits.  Giving more time to guys who contributed to the streak (Ira Newble and Shannon Brown) would be a start.  With less than three weeks left, there isn’t a lot of time to be patient.

 

JK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cleveland Indians placed right handed reliever Matt Miller on the 15 day disabled list yesterday with some tightness in his forearm.  Miller had been having an outstanding camp, striking out 16 batters in eight innings of work.  With Opening Day in Chicago less than a week away, have the relief woes of a year ago been resolved?  Yes and no. 

 

After the trade of Bob Wickman, the Tribe searched the rest of the year for a closer.  Tom Mastny wound up doing the best job, saving five games.  Wickman was never a lights out closer, and the team replaced him over the off season with Joe Borowski, who saved 36 games with Florida a year ago.  Borowski will at least be the equal of Wickman, although he does strike out more hitters than Wicky did.  Compared to the job done by Fausto Carmona, Jason Davis, etc. the rest of the season, this appears to be an upgrade.

 

The eighth inning will be handled by either Roberto Hernandez or Rafael Betancourt.  Betancourt has struggled this spring, but has arguably been the Tribe’s most reliable reliever the past three years.  His consistency is a plus, as well as the fact he is a strikeout pitcher.  Hernandez is 42, but still brings the heat.   If Betancourt’s spring is an aberration, the set up role appears to be in good hands.

 

Prior to that, your guess is as good as mine.  The situational lefty is Aaron Fultz, who has good numbers against left handed hitters.  If he can throw strikes, he should be able to handle the job.  The next two candidates to handle late inning duties still scare the heck out of me:  Fernando Cabrera and Jason Davis.  Cabrera still falls behind too many hitters and then comes in with fat pitches.  He must learn to get ahead in the count to be thought of as reliable.  Davis needs to show that he can pitch with runners on base.  His numbers allowing inherited runners to score last season was abysmal, and opposing hitters batted .302 (.383 with runners in scoring position) against him.

 

With Miller out to start the season, the last spot in the bullpen fell to either Mastny or lefty Juan Lara.  Lara had the advantage since he would allow Eric Wedge an extra southpaw out of the ‘pen.  Lara was very effective vs. left handed hitters in his limited appearances last season after being recalled on September 1st.  It would seem Lara would have been the better fit, because it would have allowed Mastny to close on a regular basis at Buffalo.  However, the brass went with Mastny’s experience as a closer last year and chose him instead. 

 

Unless Cabrera and Davis start pitching better, and neither guy is exactly a youngster anymore (Cabrera is 25 and Davis will be 27 in May), the starting pitcher is going to have to provide seven innings per start.  That’s a tough load to carry over the length of a baseball season.  So, even though GM Mark Shapiro brought in some new bodies to help the relief corps, it’s the holdovers who must step up.  If they don’t, it could be the weakness that holds back the 2007 Tribe.

 

MW

 

 

 

 

Greg Oden heard all of the criticism after the first two rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.  After being in foul trouble in the Buckeyes’ second round squeaker over Xavier in overtime, the nay-sayers were out in full force.  Oden isn’t ready for the NBA.  He should stay at Ohio State for another year.  Heck, I even heard one pundit say Oden wasn’t ready on the defensive end!  Saturday’s resounding win over Memphis should answer any questions as to whether or not Oden is ready for the pros.

 

Not only is he ready, he will be the first overall pick in the NBA draft.  Look, he’s an athletic 7 footer who can defend and block shots, and has a good drop step and a nice little jump hook.  He played most of this season with one hand, his off hand, and still excelled.  He also appears to be a player who wants to get better, who will put the hard work in to make himself a better player.  Did I mention he’s 7 feet tall?  You can count on one hand the number of really good centers in the NBA.  Not power forwards masquerading as centers (see O’Neal, Jermaine), but true centers.  Heck, Zydrunas Ilgauskas is limited from a foot speed standpoint, but he’s still a real weapon for the Cavs because most teams cannot match up to him defensively.

 

As good as Texas’ Kevin Durant is, there are many other NBA players with his skill set.  He’s projects to be a small forward in the pros, and at that spot you have guys like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.  Would you trade either of those players for Durant?  Oden has the potential to be a singularly great player.  For that reason alone, he must be the #1 overall pick. 

 

The professional game is also officiated differently.  It’s a more physical game, and many of the ticky tack fouls called in college, such as Oden’s fourth foul against Tennessee where his arms were up and someone ran into them, will not be called.  Therefore, the big man will be able to stay on the floor longer.  Not to mention an extra foul is permitted in the NBA.  There is no question Oden will start immediately in the Association, and will also be an impact player right away. 

 

Another OSU player thought not to be able to contribute at this level was David Lighty.  I heard people saying Lighty made a mistake going to Columbus because he won’t start there.  However, the former VASJ standout played tremendously in San Antonio.  He made big defensive plays, hit big shots, and is a big reason the Buckeyes will be in Atlanta for The Final Four.  He obviously is good enough to not only play, but to make an impact at the highest level of college basketball.  Whenever a big play was made, Lighty seemed to be in the middle of the action.

 

This week, the Buckeyes have the opportunity to avenge last year’s elimination from the tournament by beating Georgetown, and they also may have a chance to return the favor on one of their three defeats of this year by knocking off Florida.  A revengeful weekend for the Bucks could result in their second NCAA Basketball title, the first coming 47 years ago.  With Oden and his high school teammate Mike Conley Jr., and strong senior play from Ron Lewis, Ohio State just might be able to pull it off.

 

KM

 

 

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ eight game winning streak ended Tuesday night with a loss at Charlotte to the non-playoff Bobcats.  They followed that up the next night with another defeat, this won at home against the NBA’s best team, the Dallas Mavericks.  What is curious (again) is the playing rotation of Coach Mike Brown.  After winning eight in a row, why would he change the playing time of the guys who contributed to the streak?

 

Rookie Daniel Gibson returned from his sprained toe, and Brown immediately shoe horned him back into the rotation.  That’s fine, Gibson played well before he was injured, and he deserves the time.  However, his minutes came at the expense of fellow rookie Shannon Brown, who did a good job when finally given the chance.  Brown provides athleticism and an overall game.  Meanwhile, one dimensional Donyell Marshall’s minutes stayed consistent.  Why Marshall over Brown?  Because if you’re a veteran, you get the benefit of the doubt from the head coach.

 

But there was the former UConn standout missing two three point shots (the only ones he takes) badly in overtime at Charlotte, as the wine and gold did not take the ball to the basket in the extra session.  The squad settles for the long range jumper more when Marshall and fellow three point bomber, Damon Jones are in the game. 

 

In the Mavericks loss, Marshall did hit a three to cut the lead to six in the fourth quarter.  However, he then lost Erick Dampier underneath for an easy two, and then compounded the poor defensive play by following the Dallas center, so he could complete a three point play.  As Rick Barry used to say, "if you score on one end, and give it up on the other end, you’re not contributing".  Marshall’s lack of defense cannot be used in a game where you are trying to catch up, especially against a good team. 

 

What’s worse is Marshall and Ira Newble smiling and laughing on the bench near the end of the game against Dallas, with the team nearing defeat.

 

As an aside, Eric Snow played 31 minutes against Charlotte, but only 5 against Dallas.  Huh??

 

Meanwhile, in the last week Bud Shaw of The Plain Dealer and Charley Rosen of Fox Sports both commented on how well the Cavs’ offense functioned when they work inside out.  That is to say, get the ball into Zydrunas Ilgauskas, let the defense collapse on him, and let him find people for open shots.  Yet, Z was not on the floor late in the game against Dallas.  Again, you have to wonder why?

 

Apparently, Brown does not believe in the "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it" mantra.  His basketball team was playing like a team poised to make the NBA Finals.  I guess that wasn’t good enough.  Playing veterans had this team struggling.  Playing the younger guys got it going.  Please coach, don’t be stubborn.  Put Marshall in the same class as Damon Jones, that is, at the end of the bench.  Their specialized games should be brought out only for dire situations.  Get back to what brought you eight straight wins.

 

JK

 

 

The Cleveland Indians haven’t even played one game in the regular season in 2007, and already the critics are howling at their door.  The problem stems from the potential free agency of three of its big name players:  Jake Westbrook, Travis Hafner, and C.C. Sabathia.  However, only one is scheduled to hit the open market at the end of this season, and that would be Westbrook.  And once again, the debate centers on the so-called "cheapness" of the Dolan family. 

 

With Westbrook, I use the visual test.  Although I am a fan of sabermetrics, I am not totally beholden to the numbers.  Jake Westbrook to me does not look like a pitcher to whom I would pay over $10 million per year.  I realize the Royals paid Gil Meche $11 million per year, but if my neighbor burns his house down, that doesn’t mean I have to as well.  Meche is not worth that kind of cash, and neither is Westbrook.  The right hander from Georgia is a solid guy.  He makes 30-33 starts, he throws 200 innings per year, and these things are important to a pitching staff. 

 

But, it doesn’t make him worth being paid among the highest salaries in the game.  Westbrook’s win-loss record is 56-53 lifetime.  His career ERA is almost 4.50.  He gives up almost ten hits per nine innings and his strikeout ratio is less than five per nine innings.  Those are not the numbers of an above average pitcher, let alone an elite hurler.  Being serviceable and durable doesn’t mean the Indians should grossly overpay a player.  Let someone else do it.

 

Also, signing Westbrook to that type of money makes it more difficult to give Sabathia and Hafner, two elite players, the large salaries they will command and deserve.  Face it, unless your team is the Yankees, Red Sox, or Cubs, payroll is a factor in your decision making.  And paying an outrageous amount to a pitcher such as Westbrook when you have younger, cheaper, and perhaps BETTER options such as Adam Miller, Chuck Lofgren, and J.D. Martin coming is not the way to manage your spending.

 

Of course, when fans hear about this type of logic, the frugalness of the Dolan family comes into the discussion.  It’s not being cheap, it’s just good business.  One constant complaint is that the Indians don’t keep their great players.  This is due to guys like Albert Belle, Jim Thome, and Manny Ramirez leaving for free agency.  If Travis Hafner and C.C. Sabathia depart via this route, then the criticism is valid.  But Jake Westbrook is not a great player, nor is he among the Tribe’s best players.  Most would agree that besides the aforementionned players, Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez would rank ahead the the durable righty.  That would place him 5th, at best, in the pecking order.

 

All this worry could be ruining a season where the Indians are legitimate contenders.  Even prognosticators who have the Tribe 4th in the AL Central say they will be in the race all year long.  Others have them making the playoffs.  The obsessive need for Clevelanders to worry about something to cause them to miss a very nice summer for baseball fans.  Heck, Hafner and Sabathia will be on this team in 2008 as well.  Mark Shapiro knows the priority is to sign those two players.  They are the guys who deserve the huge cash on the open market.  That’s who the Indians need to sign.  Inking Westbrook and allowing Pronk and C.C. to leave would not help the Tribe in the future.

 

MW

 

 

The NFL Draft is a little over a month away and the best news regarding this is it will put an end to the constant speculation as to what the Browns should do with the #3 pick in this year’s Selection Meeting (yes, that is what it is technically called).  Columnists and talk show callers and hosts alike all have a theory as to what GM Phil Savage should do with the pick.  As someone once said, "Opinions are like _____, everybody has one". 

 

The first theory is that you don’t need a good quarterback to win the Super Bowl.  Mostly avowed by followers of the Ravens, these people say a great defense and a very good running game can have you holding the Lombardi Trophy.  Heck, the Ravens won with Trent Dilfer calling signals.  First of all, how many QB’s like Dilfer have won the big game?  The last five winners were led by Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisburger, Tom Brady (twice), and Brad Johnson.  All but Johnson were very good to Hall of Fame type players.  Looking over the history of football, you will find most winners were led by guys like Montana, Starr, Bradshaw, etc.  Great quarterbacks.  You need a guy who’s better than average to win.  This is not to say Charlie Frye or Derek Anderson are that type of player, but can anyone say with certainty that Brady Quinn or JaMarcus Russell is? 

 

The next theory is that you have to draft offensive linemen.  This is held popular by Steeler fans, because they have used this formula and it has worked for them.  However, the World Champion Colts have just one first round pick who starts, and he (Tarik Glenn) was drafted ten years ago.  The rest of their line is made up of an undrafted free agent, a player released by the Chiefs, and two mid-round picks (4th and 5th round).  Please notice that the Patriots aren’t using first round choices to build the offensive line either.  Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas is the pick du jour for these people, but does anyone remember Robert Gallery?  The one time next great offensive lineman has not developed as a great pro. 

 

Another theory is to trade down.  These people remember the success Jimmy Johnson had with the Cowboys in 90’s.  As with most trades, the fans will come up with deals such as trading the #3 pick for a current starter, that team’s first round pick (usually in the top 10), and three other mid round picks.  This theory depends on there being someone who is so desirable that other teams will want to give up a good bounty to get him.  This year, that guy is Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson.  Savage may indeed trade down from #3, but the best he can probably hope for is another 2nd round pick.  You have to weigh whether or not you want to give up the chance to get a superstar to get another good player.  Trading the next LaDainian Tomlinson (maybe Adrian Peterson is that) would not be a good move.

 

The best theory is to take the best player available.  To build your franchise by obtaining talent.  The corollary of this theory is that you must have someone who can evaluate talent correctly.  If you don’t have a person like that, you can have high picks forever and you will not develop a winner.   Don’t bother with workout wonders and guys who can run well while not in pads, pick football players.  If you have a good talent guru, you will also be able to capitalize on other team’s mistakes in misreading a player.  There are plenty of NFL All Pro players who have been cut by somebody else. 

 

Do the Cleveland Browns have such a man?  They think they do in Phil Savage, and his track record as a scout is pretty good.  However, there’s more than one way to build a winning football team.  Just because someone else did it that way doesn’t mean it works out for everybody.  That’s what the Browns have to guard against…being a copycat.

 

JD

 

 

 

The Dolan family yesterday signed an important free agent to be, GM Mark Shapiro to a five year contract.  Shapiro may be the most important person in the Tribe organization and he will now be with the Indians as their General Manager through the 2012 season.  Since Cleveland has not won a title since 1964, Shapiro has many critics, since he is just another guy who hasn’t won to the blood thirsty fans.  Outside of this area, he is seen as one of the better GM’s in all of baseball.  His continued employment with the Tribe should put a smile on the face of all Indians fans.

 

Yes, Shapiro has made mistakes.  All GM’s do.  The Roberto Alomar trade to the Mets didn’t provide the tremendous bounty Shapiro thought it would bring, but he learned not to sign players to long term deals (Matt Lawton) until he had a chance to take a good hard look at them.  However, he has built the farm system into one of the sports’ best.  Besides Jeremy Sowers, who arrived last year, the Tribe has Adam Miller, Tony Sipp, Trevor Crowe, and Brian Barton listed on many experts list of prospects ready to make an impact. 

 

He used a farm product, Kevin Kouzmanoff, in a trade to get a young second baseman in Josh Barfield.  He was not afraid to deal Bartolo Colon, and he acquired Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee in that deal.  He managed to get some serviceable pieces in trading some marginal players like Ben Broussard and Eduardo Perez last season.  Lest you forget, Shin-Soo Choo and slick gloved shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera came over from Seattle in those separate trades.  Where many GM’s would have tried to get the team to a .500 record, Shapiro looked to the future.  Ask people in Pittsburgh and Baltimore if their GM’s would have made that type of move.

 

All fans would like their team to have an unlimited payroll.  The reality is most teams are in the same boat as the Cleveland Indians.  Shapiro has done a great job of getting the most bang for the buck.  He understands who has long term value and he also knows which veterans are not worth big dollars.  While most were clamoring for the Tribe to resign 2B Ronnie Belliard, Shapiro saw a player who is in decline.  Belliard didn’t sign with anybody until just prior to spring training.  And for those still talking about Brandon Phillips, we will see what kind of year he has this year.  He is projected for about a .265 average with 15 HR’s.  That’s not the second coming of Joe Morgan.

 

Any Indian fan has to feel good today knowing that Mark Shapiro will be running the baseball operations here for the next five years.  The Tribe organization will be run professionally and with a very good player development system.  Mid to small market teams have to have that to compete.  Look at the Twins and the A’s.  With Shapiro, the Indians will join that list of small market squads that compete year in and year out.

 

MW

 

 

 

The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing winning basketball right now.  They extended their winning streak to six games with a 124-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings last night at the Q.  This latest win came without LeBron James, who sat out the contest with back spasms.  The team’s defense continues to be tough, and the offense has gained new life with the backcourt change of moving Larry Hughes to the point and starting Sasha Pavlovic at the #2 guard spot. 

 

Of course, it wasn’t until rookie Daniel Gibson was injured that the coach made the line up switch, but sometimes a good thing comes from an injury.  In all seriousness, the real change in the Cavaliers play came when the roles of Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall were de-emphasized.  Without significant playing time for the two veterans, the defense started to improve and with it the team’s fortunes.  They were replaced in the rotation by younger guys like Shannon Brown and Pavlovic, who are more athletic and can help the defense more.

 

It also allowed the offense to get out and run a bit more, which plays into the strength of its best players:  James and Hughes.  The good thing about the move is that the coach finally made the change.  The bad news is it took him 50 games to figure this out.  Hopefully, Mike Brown has learned his lesson and in the future if the vets are struggling, let the younger guys play.

 

Now, the wine and gold are even getting contributions from Ira Newble, another guy with a defensive reputation.  Drew Gooden has also starting playing better after a three week funk where he was not contributing.  Zydrunas Ilgauskas was more active offensively last night with James out, scoring 19 points, grabbing 10 boards, and even getting 7 assists.  With nine or ten guys getting action and making positive plays, it allows the team to run more and give LeBron more rest.

 

Suddenly, the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference is being solidified and the Pistons are only 2 games ahead of the Cavs.  It’s attainable to be the top seed in the East with home court advantage until The Finals if the wine and gold get that far.  Gibson’s injury hurt the momentum he had going, he was getting better and better as he played more.  However, his injury could be the thing that propels the Cavaliers to bigger and better things. 

 

Playing the young guys didn’t hurt anything, in fact, it helped.  We’ve been advocating making the change for months.

 

JK

 

 

 

 

Whether or not the Akron Zips men’s basketball team deserved to be in the NCAA Basketball Championships is debatable.  The Mid American Conference as usual is a one bid league and with the Zips loss to Miami (OH) on Saturday night, they probably knew they were not going to make the field of 65.  However, that they will not be playing another game this season is a crime.

 

Yes, yes, I know about Akron’s RPI rating in the 60’s, which is a critical number for the people who make up the field which will play for the college hoops title.  However, how much of that is the difficulty a good mid major program has in scheduling good teams.  It is a no win situation for the team from the Big 10, ACC, or any other power conference to play a team like Akron.  Therefore, it is tough to improve the RPI rating. 

 

That’s the deal with mid major conferences.  It is likely the Horizon League’s Butler would not have made the tournament had they not won the Preseason NIT in November.  Conferences like the Horizon or the MAC generally only get one team, its champion into the NCAA Tournament.  Could Akron beat teams like Stanford or Arkansas on a neutral floor?  Quite possibly.  But, fair or not, and I think it’s unfair, that’s the way the system plays out.

 

However, to be ignored by the NIT is a joke.  The Zips finished their season at 26-7.  They won 26 games.  I don’t care who you are playing, 26 wins is a lot of victories.  Toledo gets the automatic NIT bid since they were deemed to be the regular season MAC champ because they were 14-2 in the league as opposed to Akron’s 13-3.  The Rockets’ overall record was 19-12, and they were just 8-10 on the road, compared to the Zips’ 11-5 mark away from the JAR. 

 

That’s not to say Toledo doesn’t deserve to be in the NIT.  The Rockets did lose to Kansas, Drexel, and Vanderbilt and defeated Virginia Commonwealth, who made the tournament.  They did play a tougher slate than Akron.  But, the NIT committee did pick Utah State who finished 4th in the WAC with a 23-11 record and San Diego State, who wound up 4th in the Mountain West with a 21-10 mark.  Akron couldn’t have been selected ahead of these two teams? 

 

It’s a shame that the seniors at Akron do not get the opportunity to play at least one more game after the season they had.  Especially after they lost the MAC title game on a disputed buzzer beater.  They have more to complain about than the teams who finished 6th or 7th in a power conference and didn’t get picked for the NCAA’s.

 

KM 

 

 

 

A reflection on Cleveland sports coverage was evident Wednesday night when the Cavs won a huge game at Detroit against the Pistons to move within two games of the best record in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.  However, that wasn’t the top sports story according to the TV stations here because the Browns’ signed former All Pro running back Jamal Lewis to a one year deal.  In my mind, the Cavs’ win was the bigger story.  Here are our thoughts on both events…

 

The Cavs.  Wednesday’s win was one of the most exciting regular season professional games I’ve seen in a long, long time.  In spite of the Pistons advantage from the foul line, the wine and gold would not be denied.  LeBron James was simply phenominal, from his dunk which tied the game in regulation to his block of Rip Hamilton’s layup in overtime, James took control of the action.  All of his critics, which have recently come out of the woodwork can go back into hiding.  He showed why he is arguably the NBA’s best player.

 

LBJ had help, however.  Drew Gooden awoke from his post All Star slumber.  Zydrunas Ilgauskas made a big jumper from the wing in overtime and also hit a heave from in the key to beat the shot clock.  Larry Hughes continued his strong play since he moved to the point with the injury to Daniel Gibson.  Sasha Pavlovic had a key assist to Gooden in overtime.  LeBron was the man, but his teammates stepped up as well in a big game. 

 

With the next four games against struggling teams (Bucks, Pacers, Kings, and Grizzlies), the Cavs can use this win to springboard them into a real race for the top spot in the East.  They showed Wednesday that they are no longer willing to have sand kicked in their collective faces by the Pistons. 

 

The Browns.  The signing of Lewis is fine in that he is really replacing Reuben Droughns, who had a subpar year in 2006.  Make no mistake, Lewis is not the same back who ran for 2000 yards in 2003.  However, he has run for over 1000 yards in five of his six years in the NFL.  He’s a battering ram and is also a year younger than Droughns.  The Browns are shopping the former Bronco to pick up an extra draft pick or two.

 

Because Lewis is on a one year deal, I still think Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson should be Cleveland’s pick at #3 in next month’s draft.  Peterson and Lewis would provide a potent one-two punch in the running game, and I would also agree that Phil Savage should sign one more offensive lineman in free agency, perhaps Sean Mahan (Tampa Bay) or Mike Gandy (Buffalo).  I’m also hoping the visit to Brady Quinn’s workout is a smoke screen to get those teams interested in Quinn to trade up for the #3 pick. 

 

With the signings of Steinbach and perhaps another free agent offensive lineman, Savage can use a pick in the first three rounds for an offensive tackle, and then concentrate on the defensive line and cornerbacks.  Those spots should be the next target for improvement.  The D-line is a mess and moving Davin Holly to the nickel back spot by getting a guy who can start would help the defense greatly.

 

JD