GM Grant Needs to Add Shooter

The Cleveland Cavaliers are a struggling basketball team.

They’ve had four draft picks in the top four of the draft over the last three years. They’ve hired a new coach. They’ve taken some chance on the free agent market.

Yet, to date, the result is the same. They continue to struggle and right now they are sitting at 10-21 on the season, and are on pace to win 27 games, a mere three more than last season, a record that got their coach, Byron Scott, fired.

That would seem to put the onus squarely on the shoulders of GM Chris Grant.

Grant has brought in some talented players, with the prime example being Kyrie Irving, the first overall pick in 2011, won the NBA Rookie of the Year, and has made an all-star team.

Outside of this year’s first overall pick, Anthony Bennett, the other two players who were selected in the top four of the draft were power forward Tristan Thompson, a solid player in the league and Dion Waiters, who has shown ability since entering the league last year.

So, Grant hasn’t taken any stiffs, with the disclaimer that it is still way too early to make any judgment on Bennett, who’s only 31 games into his rookie season.

Still, it seems that the GM hasn’t put together a basketball “team”, meaning the mix of talent hasn’t been working.

While we have supported Grant’s talent evaluation in the past, we did so thinking he would convert the duplicate talent he has at certain positions and convert them where the team’s weaknesses are.

The wine and gold have a plethora of power forwards in Thompson, Anderson Varejao, Earl Clark, and Bennett and a bounty of point guard types in Irving, Waiters, and Jarrett Jack.

This forces Mike Brown to have to play two power forwards and two point guards for much of the game. That’s not a good mix offensively and defensively.

What the Cavaliers do not have are shooters. Sure, Irving won the three point shooting contest last season, but he’s more of a penetrating guard than a pure shooter.

The odd thing is, these types of guys should be fairly easy to obtain, a lot of them bounce around the league like Kyle Korver and J.J. Redick.

That’s what is lacking with the Cavs right now. They don’t have a lot of guys who can put the ball in the basket from outside.

So when Irving and Waiters get into the lane with dribble penetration, they don’t have options to kick it out to, which makes the defense protect the basket all the more, making it tougher for those guys to score.

The extra power forwards aren’t as critical because Brown can use them, along with Tyler Zeller at center to alleviate some of the logjam, but the imbalance in the backcourt and at the small forward spot isn’t providing a winning mix.

On New Year’s Eve, the Cavs played the Indiana Pacers even for three quarters, but simply couldn’t make shots in the fourth quarter, being held to eight points for most of the quarter.

When a guard did get into the paint, there was the overwhelming presence of Roy Hibbert, and when the ball got kicked outside, they don’t have a reliable shooter.

If anything is to be salvaged this season, Grant has to act quickly. As it stands, the wine and gold can still make the playoffs despite their mediocre record.

In basketball, pure talent isn’t the only determining factor. You have to have the right mix and the Cavaliers don’t.

It’s on Chris Grant to make the correct moves and balance out his roster. And he needs to do it sooner than later.

A Coach’s Life Isn’t Fair, Just Ask Chud the Scapegoat

It turns out that Rob Chudzinski received just one year to try to turn around the Cleveland Browns, getting fired last night after a 4-12 season.

Did Chudzinski do a great job coaching this season? No, but he deserved another season to see if he would do better with a quality draft and therefore a better roster. Instead, he became the sacrificial lamb for a front office sensing more anger in an already disgruntled fan base.

The former head coach did make mistakes, most notably in his judgment of QB Brandon Weeden. Although Weeden did play well in the first two exhibition contests, it was clear early on that the football team didn’t respond to him.

However, isn’t the bigger miscalculation by Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi, who didn’t get another quarterback after the season ending injury to Brian Hoyer with the Browns having a 3-2 record. When Weeden struggled in games against Detroit and Green Bay after being put back in the lineup, the coaching staff had no other alternative than Jason Campbell.

And after Campbell became the starter, it made Weeden the only alternative going forward. That’s not on the coach, that’s on the personnel department.

We have been critical of the Browns’ ignorance of the running game, but what choice did they have after Banner and Lombardi dealt Trent Richardson to the Colts for a first round pick in 2014. Yes, it was a good deal (Joe and Mike can pat themselves on the back), but it left the squad without a legitimate running threat.

It would seem to be another case of the personnel people letting the coaching staff down.

Another thing that let Chudzinski down was the defense. After the Browns’ lost to the Steelers in Cleveland to drop to 4-6 on the year, they lost three games in which they scored a total of 85 points. That’s an average of 28 points per game.

However, Ray Horton’s unit allowed 97 points in those games against Jacksonville, New England, and Chicago. And the first two of those games were fourth quarter collapses by the defense.

Had the Browns won two of those games, they would have ended the year at 6-10. Would Chudzinski have been fired then?

Yes, your record is what it says it is, but the former coach was offensive minded and somehow he pasted together a plan (with Norv Turner) to put up 28 points with no running game and a veteran journeyman quarterback.

But he loses his job because the owner and front office want better results?

Supposedly, the team made the decision after the Jets’ game, which came one week after the Browns scored 31 points against Chicago. That means yesterday’s game didn’t figure in the decision.

So, the coach has one bad game and the decision is made to jettison the coach.

Many in the media are complimenting Haslam on a “bold” move. But, it says here he comes off looking like Jerry Jones or Daniel Snyder, an impetuous owner who makes knee jerk reactions. The bold move would have been to see what Chudzinski could do with a year of head coaching experience under his belt.

Nobody wanted Haslam to be like the reclusive Randy Lerner, but with this move he comes off as a meddler.

Firing the coach puts the pressure squarely on the owner and his hand-picked people (Banner and Lombardi) to win and win now. That’s something that has been needed in Berea, but we’re not sure they had to relieve the head coach of his duties to establish it.

The Browns’ Continue to Be a Farce

Only the Cleveland Browns can overshadow another defeat in Pittsburgh on the last game of the season with the surprising rumor that they are firing their head coach after one year on the job.

But that’s what happened as the Browns finished the season with a six game losing streak finishing the campaign at 4-12 and securing the fourth overall pick in next May’s draft.

So, the team did improve in one area, they have a higher pick in the draft, going from sixth to fourth.

Today, the yardage was virtually the same (293 vs. 292), the turnovers were the same (two apiece), but still the Browns lost by 13 points, mostly because they decided to go for it three times in Steeler territory when they would’ve attempted field goals.

Still, that decision isn’t sufficient enough to fire a coach after one season when the front office basically punted the draft, trading picks this year for more next year, traded their starting running back after two games and then not replacing him, and played the first few games of the season without a pro level right guard.

There will be more discussion of that if and when the news becomes official.

As for today’s game, the Browns first offensive series summarized the philosophy for the season. Edwin Baker, who gained 69 yards on 18 carries, gained five yards on first down. They passed on the next two plays.

The Browns averaged four yards per carry again today, but ran it only 20 times on a rainy and windy day. Pittsburgh trusted the run game with 29 attempts.

They also went most of the first half ignoring Pro Bowl wide receiver Josh Gordon as well. We realized the Steelers were trying to stop Gordon, but it doesn’t seem to make other teams stop going to their best player.

Gordon did wind up grabbing seven passes for 82 yards.

The other bright spots were S Tashuan Gipson, who had an interception of Steelers’ QB Ben Roethlisberger, his fifth of the season, a team high.

Another Pro Bowler, TE Jordan Cameron, has a solid game with five catches for 69 yards, and ILB Craig Robertson, who has struggled in the second half of the year in pass coverage, also had an interception.

However, the discussion during most of the game locally, was the news about a possible change in the coaching staff.

We have said previously that the ownership and front office must stress to everyone that losing is not acceptable. They didn’t exactly send that message with the trade of Trent Richardson, no matter how well it worked out.

When the Browns won going into the bye week, sitting at 4-5 after a win over Baltimore. We implored the organization to improve the team by adding a running back and getting another quarterback in case Jason Campbell got hurt. They needed to get one because it was clear Brandon Weeden couldn’t do the job.

On the other hand, the Steelers started the year at 0-4, and rebounded to finish at 8-8, and a possible playoff spot. Why? Because they are used to winning. The organization wanted to win.

They didn’t sit at 0-4 and think, we could get a good draft pick. They worry about each season as it unfolds.

The Browns continue to be like the sign in the bar: We’ll be good next year!

Lack of Waiters Takes Away Huge Chunk of Cavs’ Offense

The Cleveland Cavaliers have hit a wall since Dion Waiters went down with a sprained wrist, losing four of their last five, following a skein where they won five of six.

That stretch made it appear that the team was turning a corner and at 9-13 following the winning streak, they looked poised to challenge the .500 mark, which in the Eastern Conference would certainly get you in the playoffs.

Casual fans throughout northern Ohio were also talking about how the offense had picked up with the wine and gold scoring over 100 points five games in a row. They were quick to point out that Mike Brown’s offense was working.

But Waiters injury has sent the Cavaliers into a tailspin. Why? Is he that important to this basketball team?

How can that be since he is supposedly a malcontent?

The reason can be explained by examining Brown’s offense.

In today’s Plain Dealer, Terry Pluto discusses how the Cavs’ shooting percentage and scoring are down from last year. This drop in offensive efficiency has offset the improvement made on the defensive end.

As we have discussed before, Cleveland’s attack is predicated on dribble penetration, and right now, the Cavs only have two players who can take defenders off the dribble consistently: Kyrie Irving and Waiters. This means the latter’s absence cuts the number of players who can perform the primary tenet of the offense down to one.

Watch tonight’s game. There is very little movement away from the basketball. And in close games, where defenses tighten up, it becomes increasingly more difficult for players to get to the basket. That’s why the wine and gold struggle in late game situations. They spend 3/4 of the shot clock trying to get to the basket, and have precious little time to set up a good shot.

Instead, why not pick away from the ball to free up an open and very makeable mid-range jump shot or even open up a driving lane for someone else to get to the basket?

The Cavaliers’ shooting percentage is down because they are forced to take bad shots with the shot clock winding down because there is no offensive plan.

C. J. Miles was hitting shots early in the year, scoring 86 points in his first six games (14.3 ppg), but since, he has scored in double figures just three times, scoring just 6.2 per night. The closest anyone has come to picking up the perimeter shooting has been Earl Clark.

They can be effective when the defense is playing well, and they are forcing missed shots and getting out to run the floor, because they aren’t in half court situations. We also see Irving trying to force tempo off of made shots to get the Cavs into situations where they can get a good look before the opposing defenses are set up.

So, what is the solution?

Well, there are two. First, they could get one or two more players who can get to the basket on a regular basis. Then, the Cavs can spread the floor and open up the court to create driving lanes.

Or, they could develop an offense that has some movement away from the ball to free players up for open mid-range jump shots. At this point in the season, that would certainly be more difficult.

Brown has tried to develop a low post presence with Andrew Bynum in the game, and that has helped. Bynum most definitely draws a double team down low, which leaves someone open. Starting Clark at small forward would provide two outside shooting threats (along with Miles) to go with the inside out game.

The points total is starting to climb, but the Cavalier offense isn’t really more effective. Getting Dion Waiters back in the lineup would be a start in making the attack a lot better.

Browns’ Defense Can’t Handle a Lead (Again!)

Another Sunday, another loss for the Cleveland Browns, who dropped their sixth straight game in the Meadowlands, 24-13 to the Jets.

Today’s defeat had a typical twist, with WR David Nelson, deemed not good enough to make the Browns in training camp, caught two touchdown passes (6 and 5 yards) to exact revenge on the guys who cut him.

Defensively, once again, Ray Horton’s crew couldn’t stand prosperity. The Browns took a 10-0 lead in the second quarter, and really, at that point in the game were dominating the Jets. The score would’ve been 17-0 because the offense couldn’t score after having a first down inside the NY five yard line.

As soon as Cleveland finally did get in the end zone on a 5-yard run by Edwin Baker, his second rushing touchdown in two weeks with 6:47 to go in the half, the defense allowed QB Geno Smith and the Jets to march right down the field for a touchdown in 13 plays, including four key third down conversions. There was 1:18 left in the second quarter.

The coaching staff decided to keep the ball in the air instead of running the clock and going into the locker room with a 10-7 advantage.

On the first play after the punt, the defense allowed RB Bilal Powell to run up the middle for 39 yards into Cleveland territory and gave Rex Ryan’s team a new lease on life. Three plays later, including an unnecessary roughness penalty on Tashaun Gibson, and the Jets’ Nick Folk kicked a chip shot field goal to tie the game at halftime.

The defense, who had been stout against the run all season long until last week, was gashed again and again, allowing 209 yards on the ground. Considering the plan should have been to make Smith throw the ball considering his 21 interceptions on the season, this was totally unacceptable.

This week when Horton gets his time with the media, he shouldn’t be spouting numbers showing how well his unit is really playing. The past two weeks, they have been battered. And once again, the defense didn’t sack Smith, which more often than not has been the case recently.

Offensively, there was the obligatory dropped passes, including one in the end zone by Greg Little, who should thank the coaching staff every week for their patience, because it’s hard to believe he would get this much of an opportunity with any other team in the NFL.

QB Jason Campbell didn’t have a good day either, but the drops didn’t help. He hit on just 18 of 39 throws for 178 yards and one interception. You would think because Campbell didn’t play well, Rob Chudzinski and Norv Turner might mix in the run more.

Well, you’d be wrong.

Baker carried just 17 times for 64 yards, almost four yards per shot, and in total, Cleveland averaged 5.5 yards per running play.

Even though it’s a passing league, you still have to run the ball in the NFL to win. The front office and coaching staff simply have ignored this part of the game.

WR Josh Cooper subbed for Davonne Bess and played like the organization expected the veteran to play, grabbing four catches for 26 yards.

This is another example of the different agenda the organization has had all year. They traded for Bess, and he was going to get every opportunity to show what he could do.

So, with one game left at Pittsburgh, the Browns are staring at seven straight loss to end the season in the face.

Until everything done in this organization is about winning and winning now, nothing is going to change in Berea. No matter who they take in the draft, Joe Banner has to turn around the attitude, one that he and his staff came into the year with.

Stop looking to next year!

Small Moves, Good Moves for Tribe

The baseball winter meetings came and went for the Cleveland Indians without any moves.

However, in the week after the get together, the Tribe started adding some pieces, mostly to upgrade the pitching staff, and in particular, the bullpen.

First, GM Chris Antonetti added reliever John Axford, presumably to be the leading candidate to be the closer.

The right-hander led the National League in saves in 2011 with 46 for the Brewers and had 35 more in ’12. That year, his home runs allowed started to rise and last year, his strikeouts dropped to just one per inning.

Keep in mind; he fanned 179 in 143 innings in ’11 and ’12 combined.

He pitched well for the Cardinals down the stretch and in the post-season after being traded to them last season.

We feel he is in the same position as Vinnie Pestano, a pitcher who has had a great deal of success for two or three years, and simply just had a bad season. It wouldn’t be a surprise if both hurlers didn’t bounce back in 2014.

He averaged 95 MPH on his fastball last year, so his troubles weren’t a result of losing his stuff.

A few days later, the Indians signed RHP Shaun Marcum to a minor league deal. Marcum has had success in the past in Toronto and Milwaukee but had some circulation troubles last year with the Mets. Those problems were taken care of with surgery, so he should be ready.

Marcum is typical of the low risk, high reward signings Antonetti specializes in. Certainly, the Tribe’s success in taking care of rehabbing pitchers probably draws pitchers who are coming off injuries.

If the right-hander is sound, he can be a middle of the rotation starter. He’s basically this year’s version of Scott Kazmir, and much like him, he’s not a guy Terry Francona can count on going into spring training, so the Indians still need rotation help.

Yesterday, Antonetti pulled off a deal, sending OF Drew Stubbs to Colorado for LHP Josh Outman, a LOOGY. Stubbs is a fourth outfielder type with good speed, a good glove, and a guy who strikes out a ton.

Outman will help in the bullpen, as he held left-handed hitters to a batting average under .200 for his career. He will take Rich Hill’s place in the ‘pen.

What the Stubbs deal really does is free up money. The outfielder would have received somewhere between $3-$4 million in arbitration had he went that route, so trading him frees up that money in the Cleveland budget.

(Of course, we’ll ask again…where did that national television contract cash go?)

That money should help in getting a legitimate starting pitcher to slot between Justin Masterson and Danny Salazar in the rotation. And if that’s the case, then the trade is really a no-brainer.

With the addition of David Murphy and the likelihood that he and Ryan Raburn will platoon in right field, Stubbs became superfluous.

And the Indians, in their mid-market situation, can’t afford to pay players who won’t get a lot of at bats, $3 million per year.

We still see a big acquisition this winter for the Tribe, probably a starter, and dealing Stubbs is a step in that direction. Picking up a guy who can be a useful relief pitcher is icing on the cake.

Remember that last year, fans scoffed at getting players like Kazmir, Jason Giambi, and Raburn. They worked out in these cases, but seriously, what’s the harm in taking a chance on guys like them.

Hopefully, one of the players who joined the organization this week can have the same effect on the 2014 Tribe.

Shapiro’s Comments On Spending Are Concerning

Over the weekend, Cleveland Indians team president Mark Shapiro had an interview with MLB radio in which he talked about the future of his team.

Among the things he said was that the Indians did their spending last season when they inked Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn.

This is troubling because if ever there were time to go the extra mile in spending, it would be this winter.

The Indians made the playoffs last season and won 92 games. With the Browns ending another terrible season and the Cavs still below .500, a solid winter would get fans excited about the 2014 baseball season.

Nothing like throwing a wet blanket on the fan base.

Look, we understand the Indians cannot have a $100 million payroll, but Baseball Reference.com estimates they will spend $81.1 million on players next season.

Why can’t they get closer to $90 million?

Last year, the organization said they were able to sign Swisher and later Bourn because of the sale of Sportstime Ohio to Fox. That’s great!

However, this year teams are reaping the benefits of the new national television contracts, which put an additional $25 million in each team’s pockets. Even though the Swisher and Bourn deals get heavier in this, their second year, ownership should be able to spend a little more because of this windfall.

The problem is management, mostly Shapiro, continue to talk about financial constraints. They think they are being honest and forthright, but to fans’ ears they sound like excuses.

We believe most Tribe fans get that the team can’t spend like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers. Still, supporters of the team would like them to be aggressive and build on the positive momentum created in September.

Not hear the team president talk about the financial constraints of major league baseball.

We haven’t been upset with the signings the Indians have made this off-season. We’ve talked about how we liked David Murphy, and inking John Axford to a one-year deal to be a contender to replace Chris Perez as closer makes a lot of sense.

But the Tribe still needs to find two starting pitchers to make up for the loss of Scott Kazmir and the likely loss of Ubaldo Jimenez. And now, getting Shaun Marcum doesn’t make up for one spot, although he’s another low risk, high reward deal for the Tribe.

Are the Indians willing to spend a significant chunk of money to get a proven major league starting pitcher? They should be, because they have to be thinking about getting back to the post-season, and this time as a division winner.

Most of the free agent signings in baseball this winter have been players to ridiculous contracts, and we are glad the Indians aren’t involved.

The beef here (and always has been) the constant bringing up the availability of money with the Cleveland organization. Other teams in small markets put out competitive teams every year, like Tampa Bay and Oakland.

Those organizations are bold and creative.

The Indians need to adopt those teams’ philosophies of maximizing the performance of their highly paid players. If you are paying big money to a player, he simply has to produce.

Really, it comes down to this. Stop talking, and just improve the ballclub. And maybe, just maybe, the Tribe will be the popular team in Cleveland once again.

Browns Can’t Close Again on Defense.

It is now official that the Cleveland Browns will lose 10 or more games again in 2013, losing their final home game to the Chicago Bears, 38-31 at First Energy Stadium.

It’s the sixth straight season with double-digit losses, and the tenth in 11 seasons. Since returning to the NFL in 1999, the Browns have lost ten or more contests 12 times.

It’s a losing culture and it won’t change until the entire organization, which includes the front office, coaching staff, and players make a commitment that losing is not tolerable, and end the “next year” mentality that permeates the whole building in Berea.

Teams turn around every year in the NFL. This year, it’s Kansas City that was gone from a 2-14 record a year ago to an 11-3 season to this point. Last year, it was Indianapolis.

Here’s who it has never been: The Cleveland Browns. They have a tradition of being a doormat for 15 years.

To be fair, perhaps the Browns can be the Chiefs next season. KC has several Pro Bowl players on their roster in 2012, more than a team that wins two games should have. Rob Chudzinski’s team could have three or four players going to Hawaii in January.

But based on the last 15 years, forgive us for not holding our breath.

Today’s loss represented another collapse by what many people thought was the strength of the team going into the year, the defense. In fact, there were a lot of people (us included) who felt defensive coordinator Ray Horton would be a prime candidate for a head coaching position this winter.

Now, it would be a long shot with the Browns’ defense allowing almost 26 points per game this season, a figure that ranks in the bottom part of the NFL. Horton likes to recite statistics, but the only real stat that counts is how points you allow.

What is more disturbing is that 128 of those points have been allowed in the fourth quarter, including 21 today. And while the Bears did score seven points on defense today, the three touchdowns if the final stanza came from Chicago carving up the Cleveland defense.

In the last five games, all defeats, the Browns have allowed 165 points, which averages 33 per game. 40% of those points have come in the fourth quarter, including 37 the past two weeks combined.

The defense isn’t exactly closing out games.

Horton’s crew has been effective against the run all season, but today the Bears ran it right down their collective throats gaining 179 yards on the ground. The dagger came as a result of Michael Bush’s 40 yard TD burst which gave the Bears a 38-24 lead.

The third down efficiency was terrible too, allowing the Bears to convert on 9 of 14 situations. And the Bears ran the same play three times, a fake reverse with a pitch out to Matt Forte, who gained 127 yards in 24 carries, for big yardage every time. There were no adjustments by the defense.

The only bright spot were the two touchdowns scored by the unit, Tashaun Gipson’s 44 yard interception return and T.J. Ward’s 51 yard run with a fumble recovery.

Offensively, someone (either the offensive coaches or the Bears’ defense) took Josh Gordon out of the game, leaving Jason Campbell to his dink and dunk game. Gordon did get in the end zone on a 43-yard pass play in the fourth quarter, but his 100-yard receiving streak ended with just 67 yards.

The bright spot for the offense was the newest member of the team, RB Edwin Baker who gained 38 yards in eight carries and caught four more passes for 46 yards.

The question is why wasn’t he brought in sooner?

After the optimism of last week’s near miss in New England, the reality set back in that this team can’t avoid losing, and the front office doesn’t seem to mind.

Until that ends, the losing cycle may never be escaped.

Lack of Depth in System Hurts Tribe’s Ability to Deal

The recent drafting history of the Cleveland Indians hasn’t been good. Several people have written about the fact that since 2000, the only star player picked on the first round by the Tribe has been C.C. Sabathia.

A look at the current roster shows Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall among the everyday players originally picked by the Tribe, and the only pitchers of note drafted or originally signed by Cleveland are Cody Allen and Danny Salazar.

That’s one reason the Indians find it difficult to make trades during the off-season.

The way to get established players is the ability to deal major league ready talent for them. And right now, the Indians have precious few of them.

Currently, the two prizes of the farm system are SS Francisco Lindor and OF Clint Frazier, coincidentally, the first round draft picks in 2011 and 2013 respectively.

They are both considered in the top 20 prospects in all of the minor leagues, and with the lack of quality in the system; there isn’t any way that GM Chris Antonetti can use either of them as trade chips.

The other factor working against the Tribe is that none of their top prospects, save for Trevor Bauer, have played a game at the AAA level.

That means any team dealing for a top prospect from the Indians would have to wait awhile before seeing the fruits of the trade.

That’s a tough sell for a team dealing a quality player.

Where the Indians do have some depth is in bullpen arms, which normally aren’t going to fetch a quality major league player. They also have some middle infield depth though, and other teams could be interested in that.

According to Baseball Prospectus, five of the Tribe’s top 10 prospects are middle infielders. Besides Lindor, Cleveland could afford to deal one of these players: #6 prospect 2B Jose Ramirez, #7 SS Ronny Rodriguez, #8 Dorssys Paulino (although he may be moved to the outfield because of defense), and #9 2B Joe Wendle.

This publication rates the Cleveland farm system as thin in top flight talent, but loves the two guys at the top of the organization’s system.

The only pitchers listed in the top ten are RHP Cody Anderson, who was at Akron in 2013, and RHP Dace Kime, who was just drafted last summer.

In order to get a high-caliber player, let’s say David Price, you have to be able to give up a big name prospect. Do the Indians have that player because they aren’t dealing Lindor and/or Frazier, nor should they?

It is doubtful that Tampa Bay would deal the former Cy Young Award winner for #3 prospect OF Tyler Naquin (’12 first round choice) and say Rodriguez, who could be dealt because he is blocked by Lindor.

That’s why it is a huge priority for the organization to stock the farm system, and with two first round picks this June, assuming Ubaldo Jimenez signs elsewhere, there is a solid opportunity to do just that.

This isn’t to say it is impossible for Antonetti to pull off major trade, but it does make it more difficult.

Part of having a good farm system is not only being able to add young talent to the big league roster, but it also enables a team to make trades.

When the younger talent in the Cleveland organization gets closer to the majors, they will be in a better position.

Are These Browns Any Different?

The Cleveland Browns appear to be headed to another 10 loss season, their sixth consecutive campaign losing in double figures.

Therefore, the question needs to be asked…what is different with the new regime, headed by Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner, and Michael Lombardi? The results are the same from the last group, headed by Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert.

These Browns have three possible Pro Bowl players, which would be their most in several years. OT Joe Thomas is perennial, making the all-star team every year he has been in the league. He could be bound for Canton someday.

CB Joe Haden has been outstanding all season long, highlighted by shutting down Cincinnati WR A. J. Green in both meetings between the teams, and he has started to intercept passes this year as well, with four on the season.

Those two have been the best players on the squad the past few years, but this year they are joined by WR Josh Gordon, who may be the NFL’s best wideout who isn’t named Calvin Johnson. He may be the Browns’ best wideout since Paul Warfield wore the orange and brown.

There are several other players who can be considered building blocks for a playoff team, such as C Alex Mack, TE Jordan Cameron, DT Phil Taylor, DEs Ahtyba Rubin and Billy Winn, OLBs Barkevious Mingo, Jabaal Sheard, and Paul Kruger, and ILB D’Qwell Jackson.

All of those players, save for Mingo, were brought in by the prior regimes.

So while Holmgren and Heckert take a lot of criticism for the first round of the 2012 draft (Richardson and Weeden) and deservedly so, they are responsible for putting together the foundation for the future.

Certainly, the prior president and GM also have to be faulted for the hiring of Pat Shurmur, who was a public relations disaster. Rob Chudzinski doesn’t really say anything in his press conferences either (call this the Belichick method), but fans and media can see he has a passion for the city and the game, and the players play like they respect him.

It would have been easy for the team to give a lackluster effort after the Jacksonville game, but the Browns went to New England and fought, and almost knocked off the Patriots.

Chudzinski and his staff do draw negatives with the handling of the quarterback situation, going with Brandon Weeden to start the season when it’s pretty clear he is the least effective of the trio that were on the Opening Day roster.

The front office should be lauded for the Trent Richardson trade, but at the same time should be questioned for not having another decent running back on the roster to replace him, nor did they get another passer after Brian Hoyer was injured.

That left the coaching staff without a running game, putting more pressure on Weeden, Hoyer, and Jason Campbell.

Think about how many more wins this team would have had Hoyer or Campbell started the year and the Browns had even an average running game.

Ultimately, the Banner/Lombardi group will be judged on this season’s draft, which they have spent time accumulating picks for. The fear is they will force a quarterback pick too high (see, Ponder and Gabbert) and will pass on players who can impact the team in 2014.

If they wait for the passer to come to them, perhaps with the Colts’ pick, and instead upgrade the football team at several spots, they will be remembered as the group that turned this franchise around.

Bill Parcells once said you are what your record says it is. And right now, Joe Banner and Michael Lombardi are just like everyone else who sat in their chairs.