QB Obsession For Browns By Media is Out of Control.

We’ve reached a new record with the Cleveland Browns in terms of the sports talk industry.

Yesterday, we heard hosts and fans discussing the 2016 NFL Draft in terms of what quarterbacks are available, even before one game of the 2015 NFL regular season has been played.

Craziness.

The media and some fans are simply obsessed with the position of quarterback, making it the end all, be all, regarding success of a pro football team.

Isn’t Atlanta’s Matt Ryan a very good NFL QB? The Falcons went 6-10 last season.

New Orleans’ Drew Brees once led the Saints to a Super Bowl title. Yet, his team went 7-9 a year ago.

On the other hand, Andy Dalton has led Cincinnati to the playoffs each of the last three years, and the Bengals went 10-5-1 in 2014.

The Houston Texans used Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mallett, and Case Keenum as quarterbacks last season, and that squad went 9-7.

Is having a good quarterback important for a football team? Of course. Does it guarantee success in the NFL? No. Does not having one doom your team to a 3-13 record? It does not.

We have even heard some talk show hosts suggest the Browns should tank the season so they can get their franchise passer in next spring in the draft. Here is a list of QBs taken in the top five picks in the draft over the last 10 years–

2014–Blake Bortles (#3 overall)
2012–Andrew Luck (#1 overall)
2012–Robert Griffin III (#2 overall)
2011–Cam Newton (#1 overall)
2010–Sam Bradford (#1 overall)
2009–Matthew Stafford (#1 overall)
2009–Mark Sanchez (#5 overall)
2008–Matt Ryan (#3 overall)
2007–JaMarcus Russell (#1 overall)
2006–Vince Young (#3 overall)
2005–Alex Smith (#1 overall)

Out of those 11 signal callers, how many would you call an elite player? Certainly, Luck qualifies, and Ryan would certainly be in our list of the top ten quarterbacks in the NFL.

And you can make an argument that Newton and Stafford should be in that group as well.

That means four out of 11, (36%) of passers drafted in the top five become very good players. Not exactly a reason to throw away a season.

Two of these guys (Russell and Young) can be considered out-and-out busts, while Smith and Sanchez would probably be placed in the “journeyman” category. Griffin and Bradford have been hampered by injuries throughout their career, and it is too early to evaluate Bortles.

What kills us is the Browns know they need to upgrade the position, but unfortunately, the NFL isn’t going to cancel the season until they do, nor does the team want put its fans through a 2-14 season either.

So, they are trying their best to minimize the amount of influence the quarterback has to the team’s success.

We have documented before that when the Browns get decent play from their QB, they can win football games. That was certainly on display last year, when Brian Hoyer led Cleveland to a 7-4 start, before he started turning the ball over on a regular basis.

We are also not claiming that Josh McCown is going to be the second coming of Johnny Unitas nor that Johnny Manziel will be the next Brees.

If the Browns get lucky, they will get average, decent play out of the position.

However, we aren’t going to obsess about not having Aaron Rodgers or Ben Roethlisburger either.

Slowly but surely, we think the Cleveland Browns are building a very good football team. Their roster is in far better shape than it was three or four years ago.

That should be the story going into this season. As Gene Hackman said in Hoosiers, “we hope you judge us on who we are, rather than who we are not”.

Browns Lose, But They Are Still 0-0

Last night’s Browns-Bills preseason contest should be exhibit A in any case where a football fan wants to sue NFL teams for charging full prices for these games.

It was that ugly.

Besides the numerous players on both teams that sat out the game with injuries (the Browns had 19 players listed as inactive for the contest), the play from both teams was sloppy and inconsistent.

That should be expected considering the number of guys who played that wouldn’t if the game really counted.

If you were upset early on with Browns’ CB Johnson Bademosi struggling in coverage, remember that if Mike Pettine has to have him covering the starting wide receivers from the opponent, it will indeed be a looooong season for the brown and orange.

And that wasn’t written to denigrate Bademosi, a very good special teams player. However, on the pecking order, he is behind Joe Haden, Tramon Williams, K’Waun Williams, Pierre Desir, and probably Justin Gilbert.

The game was entertaining only to the two head coaches, Pettine and Rex Ryan, who seemed to have a contest on who could dial-up a more exotic blitz package against the other.

Josh McCown looked like a journeyman, throwing two bad interceptions, but we thought the play calling was odd, not that it matters in the pre-season.

Against a team with a pass rush like Buffalo, you almost have to pass on first down to stay out of second or third down and long situations, but offensive coordinator John DeFillipo wanted to establish the run, and McCown had to face a hard rush because the running game wasn’t working.

The veteran did have a good drive before the half, and Isiah Crowell had a couple of good runs, and once Terrance West figured out to make one move and cut up field, he had more success than he did early in the game. McCown needed that, if only to restore confidence among the fan base.

Johnny Manziel led the Browns to their only touchdown drive, and although he is still is looking more and more like a pro QB, he had to run for his life for most of the half. Still, he did make plays.

It would be interesting to see Manziel with the first unit if only to see if he can make plays from the pocket. It is worth noting that GM Ray Farmer needs to find some offensive linemen when teams start cutting down, because outside of rookie Cam Irving, the second team line is a sieve.

TE Rob Housler looked good and probably put himself back in good graces, but undrafted free agent TE E.J. Bibbs continued to impress as well, meaning somebody with talent may not make the team if Cleveland decides to go with three tight ends.

WR Shane Wynn caught the Browns’ lone touchdown pass and had an electrifying punt return called back by penalty, but isn’t he the same player as Travis Benjamin and Taylor Gabriel? The brown and orange need a big target, and that is why Terrelle Pryor is so intriguing. He has size.

He also may have the ability to score from the Browns’ own 30 yard line. Name another player on this roster who has this capability. That’s why the former quarterback will be given every opportunity to make the final roster.

Next week is the “dress rehearsal” against Tampa Bay. Our guess is several of the players with minor injuries will play that game, and that game only.

That should give us a better idea about this team going into the regular season. Because right now, we can’t say we know anything.

There Are Some Positives Regarding Browns

For most football fans nationwide and even some in Cleveland, the persona of the Cleveland Browns is negative.

The owner is a “lite” version of the Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, the head coach and general manager don’t get along, and the recent drafting history of the team is abysmal.

That’s just recent history.

To be truthful, since the Browns returned to the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1999, there has been just one playoff appearance and two winning seasons, the last being in 2007, which is only eight years ago.

We get it. There isn’t any real reason for optimism, especially if you buy in to the premise that unless you have a great quarterback, any franchise is doomed to failure.

Of course, stories like Mark Sanchez leading the New York Jets to an AFC Championship game, and Colin Kaepernick taking the 49ers to the Super Bowl prove that theory wrong.

Let’s just say it is definitely tougher to achieve success without a stud signal caller.

However, there are a lot of good things going on with the Browns, but it seems like people just continue to focus on the quarterback, and on Josh McCown being a journeyman.

That isn’t going to change. Aaron Rodgers and/or Andrew Luck aren’t going to magically show up in Berea, nor is the NFL going to cancel seasons until the Browns get a “franchise” signal caller.

Until that happens, here are some good things going on with the city’s football team.

The offensive line should be one of the NFL’s best. They have two Pro Bowl players in Joe Thomas and Alex Mack, and another who is on the verge of that status in Joel Bitonio. John Greco, Mitchell Schwartz, and rookie first round pick Cameron Irving should be solid.

Having a very good line should help the running game and give the passer time to survey the defense and find open targets.

Even mediocre wide receivers will get open if the quarterback has enough time to throw.

The secondary is also a position of strength.

Joe Haden is one of football’s best cornerbacks, and both Donte Whitner and Tashaun Gibson made the Pro Bowl a year ago. Free agent signee Tramon Williams from Green Bay, made the squad in 2010.

There is also depth with second year players Pierre Desir, K’Waun Williams, and rookie Ibraheim Campbell. That’s why Justin Gilbert’s struggles are only an issue because he was a first round pick.

He’s not leaving a huge void on this team.

The defensive line is also deep with rookie NT Danny Shelton, and veterans Phil Taylor, John Hughes, Billy Winn, Desmond Bryant, and Armonty Bryant, and Randy Starks was added as a free agent. Xavier Cooper is another new addition via the draft.

This should allow defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil to keep these guys fresh, and hopefully that enables them to stop the run better, a huge weakness for the ’14 Browns.

So, there is a foundation for success with this front office. We can’t think of any Browns’ team with three areas of strength over the last 15 years.

And while the muscle pulls keeping players off the practice field is a problem, none of the injures have to do with knee injuries or broken bones that will keep players out for extended time.

For example, we are sure that Haden and Thomas would have played last week if it were a regular season game, and that is probably true with several other players.

So, you can focus on not having the QB, but there are several teams in the same boat around the NFL. On the other hand, we choose to look at the glass half full until proven otherwise.

Nothing Really Learned From Browns Last Night

When watching NFL pre-season games, this is the rule of thumb we use–

For the first game, only the first quarter matters. For the second game, the first half matters. In the third game, the “dress rehearsal” if you will, the first three quarters matter. And the last game is just to decide who makes the back-end of the roster.

So, what did we learn from last night’s game against the Redskins? Not much.

First, it is tough to judge anything considering the Browns’ two best players, Joe Thomas and Joe Haden, didn’t even play. Nor did Dwayne Bowe, Terrell Pryor, Duke Johnson, and several others who could be key members of Mike Pettine’s squad when the regular season starts on September 14th.

The morning newspaper was filled with praise for new starting QB Josh McCown, which we thought was jumping the gun a little bit.

McCown played just one series, made the throws he needed to make, benefited from a pass interference penalty, and otherwise dinked and dunked the Browns into the end zone.

This is not to say, we don’t think McCown will be better than Brian Hoyer, because we think he will, but we didn’t see anything special about the performance last night. We want to see more.

As for the backup quarterback, Johnny Manziel, he showed improvement from last year, mostly in that he looked like an NFL quarterback.

Gone was the “Johnny Package”, the read option non-sense that is being phased out by most NFL teams because defenses have caught up to it.

And although Manziel scored a touchdown on a run, it was the type of run he should have made. He dropped back, the defense parted like the Red Sea, and he took the opportunity to get his team in the end zone. But, there was a marked difference in the way he approached the offense this year.

Overall, the offense was pretty vanilla with mostly short, safe throws, and perhaps the reason for that was the absence of Bowe, Pryor, and Johnson, who we think will be a big part of the passing game.

It was a little disturbing to see last year’s first round pick, Justin Gilbert, get torched on the opening series of the game, losing Pierre Garcon wide open on a deep pass, which he dropped.

He also whiffed on his next chance, a sideline route. He did recover to defend two passes in the end zone, but he needs to be better in the next couple of contests if he is going to contribute.

The run defense, which was arguably more of a weakness than the quarterback play a year ago, didn’t shine, so that is a bit concerning as well. They still have a hard time keeping backs from getting outside. To be sure, that will be a point of emphasis this week in practice.

Next week, we will get to see the people who are going to play in the regular season a whole lot more, probably through the first half. At that point, we should see more things to start forming opinions.

It was good to see football again, but that’s about all we saw. Nothing to get excited about, nothing to be depressed about.

That’s probably the ideal circumstance if you are Mike Pettine.

How The Cleveland Media Covers Our Teams

We refuse to be political here, but everyone knows when it comes to news, the liberals watch MSNBC for their slant, while the conservatives favor Fox News.

That got us to thinking…what kind of bias do the people who cover Cleveland sports have? We will look at it team by team, in our humble opinion, of course.

Cavaliers. Right now, Dan Gilbert’s franchise is the favored child by the writers and broadcasters, because they present the best hope for a title on the North Coast, which would be a great story.

However, make no mistake, there is bias. Whenever there is any problem with the team, there is no question that David Blatt is probably the root of the issue, at least according to those who cover the team.

Blatt is a man full of confidence, which doesn’t sit well with the media. So, they will constantly pick on his problem with being called a rookie NBA coach, and because he can be condescending to them at times, they love to point out any errors he may make.

There is also a slant toward LeBron James, who is the best basketball player in the world, but he is a human too, and is not infallible. There are those who question James on how he relates to Blatt, but for the most part, James is right, and Blatt has no clue.

Browns. The most popular word to use to describe Cleveland’s professional football team is “dysfunction”. The GM and coach aren’t on the same page. The owner meddles. What will be the story if the Browns improve once again in 2015.

GM Ray Farmer is another guy who exudes confidence and that turns off some reporters as well. So, they like to point at his draft record, which isn’t sterling when it comes to first round choices.

However, it is kind of comical when 8th overall pick CB Justin Gilbert is passed over for first team reps in practice by last year’s 4th round selection Pierre Desir, Farmer takes a hit because Gilbert doesn’t get the nod.

Who do they think found Desir? Santa’s elves?

Mike Pettine is a serious man, and seems like he will be a solid NFL coach, but he is down to earth with the media, and in turn, you never hear a peep about him being at fault if the team goes 3-13.

And the scribes turned against owner Jimmy Haslam this week when he made some comments about reporters being accountable for their stories.

Guess some people should play along so the media will like them.

Indians. For a franchise that has produced just four winning seasons in 15 years, and just two playoff appearances, you don’t hear a lot of criticism being thrown toward the Dolan family, and the front office.

Our opinion is the guys at the top at Progressive Field are genuinely nice people, so they seem to get a free pass.

No one questions them about their horrible record at drafting in the 00’s, or why they seems to do nothing to put a team over the top when in contention.

The Indians are very media savvy, and seem to feed reporters with facts that make the organization look favorable, and they are reported without question.

But it is very quiet this summer despite being picked to win the AL Central Division for the first time since 2007.

We guess it pays to be nice.

Again, these are our perceptions about how the teams are portrayed locally. It would be nice if the personalities involved didn’t seem to have as much to do with how the coverage is slanted.

Sometimes “Conflict in Front Office” Is Good.

The other day, we wrote about how the Cleveland Browns get no credit for trying something different, when the Cleveland Indians are a stand pat organization, and they get criticized for not making any changes.

There is another way the two organizations are different as well, and it has to do with the relationship between the front office and the head coach/manager.

On the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, it’s a Kumbaya fest. Everyone seems to be on the same page and have the same opinion. In fact, it is difficult to tell who is doing the talking sometimes, be it president Mark Shapiro, GM Chris Antonetti, or Terry Francona.

They always seem to be in lock step, at least publicly.

On the other hand, the media loves to report about the discord between Browns’ GM Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine. It is further proof of the team’s “dysfunction”.

The reality is behind the scenes, there should be some disagreement between the coach and the person who picks the talent, because they should be coming at it from two different perspectives.

The coach or manager is trying to win, and win right now. That’s the way he gets to keep his job, and also, he is ultimately the person who the wins and losses are assigned to.

When the Browns have a 4-12 record, no one is saying that Ray Farmer’s squad has that record. It goes on Pettine’s record.

The general manager has to look at not only this year’s team, but also the future of the franchise, and if football’s case, salary cap implications.

Many coaches fall into the trap of favoring veterans with little upside because they are dependable, instead of going with a young player, who may have a bigger upside.

Think about the Indians in this situation. Terry Francona likes to have his bench filled with veterans like Ryan Raburn, Mike Aviles, etc., instead of keeping younger players like Tyler Holt or Jesus Aguilar.

In baseball, the GM has to weigh the positives of major league experience against not playing. For young players, they need to play. No one gets better by watching extensively. If that occurred, there would be a lot of fans who would be suddenly able to play professional sports.

When a team is in a situation like the Cavaliers are, it is easy for the coach and GM to be on the same page, because there, the goal is clearly stated. The Cavs are trying to win a title now, and everybody is “All In”.

However, in other situations, there is a different point of view for both the front office and the coaching staff, and that is healthy. It’s why you also don’t want to have a coach/GM in charge.

We remember Butch Davis proudly saying that all of his draft picks made the team. Of course, they did, because he was in charge of keeping them or letting them go.

Now, you don’t want the two people is total disagreement to the point where they cannot work together either. But, they should not be in lock step with each other.

To be sure, there have to be players that Farmer likes, that Pettine doesn’t, and vice-versa. It’s healthy and necessary in a winning organization.

The Indians seem to have a “group think” approach, and that’s not working well for them.

So, don’t be concerned that Ray Farmer and Mike Pettine don’t see eye to eye on everything. They have two different points of view.

Browns Get Criticized For Doing What We Wish Tribe Would Do

Yesterday, Browns’ owner Jimmy Haslam took some members of the media to task for some of the reports regarding the “dysfunction” of the team.

We believe that the sports journalists, both print and broadcast, criticize GM Ray Farmer because the Browns aren’t being built the conventional way.

That way would be to find a “franchise” quarterback and then construct the rest of the team around said QB. Because the Browns do not have that guy, and they weren’t willing to overdraft in last April’s draft, it means Cleveland once again doesn’t have a clue, at least in terms of the Cleveland sports media.

By the way, doesn’t it say something that Farmer didn’t repeat the mistake, if he indeed made one, of picking another quarterback in the first round after the struggles of Johnny Manziel in his rookie season?

Farmer has said this publicly and apparently the people reporting on the Browns do not listen. He said the reality of the situation is that very few NFL teams has an elite passer, so those teams have to figure out another way to win.

The Browns’ front office recognizes this, and one of the things you always hear about the Indians situation when they complain about their small market status, is that other teams in the same situation figure out how to win, so why can’t the Tribe?

Haslam, Farmer, and head coach Mike Pettine have decided to try a different way to win, and that is building through a strong defense and a solid running game. It may not be the sexy way to compile victories, but they know that Josh McCown and/or Manziel aren’t top-notch quarterbacks, but they don’t use it as an excuse for not winning.

Pettine says it all the time, it’s a pass/fail league. And they don’t use not having an Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Ben Roethlisberger as a reason to just punt the season.

Instead, they have decided to build the rest of their football team, and make each game about playing in the teens or low twenties, and putting up just enough points to claim a win.

And early last season, it worked. They dominated the Steelers at home, and the Bengals in Cincinnati. They lost to Pittsburgh on the road and the Ravens at home on last second field goals.

Yes, yes, we know those were losses, but losing on the last play is a bit different that leading going into the fourth quarter and getting hammered then.

Part of the problem the media has with Farmer is his attitude toward them. He’s not warm and fuzzy, and comes off at times like he’s smarter than the people who cover the team, which he is. If he wasn’t, their situations would be reversed.

The Indians front office acts like that all the time, yet no one challenges them, and if fact, because they are nice people, they seem to escape the criticism for their poor results.

If Farmer and Pettine turn this thing around, guess what. They will be even more detached from the media because they will have been correct.

Haslam set himself up yesterday by saying he like the direction of the team and there aren’t plans to make changes if the Browns have a bad season last year. However, at this point, he should be taken at his word, even though his track record says otherwise.

The reality is no matter what kind of schedule the Browns played a year ago, they did get better by three wins. The five straight losses is what makes everyone so down on the team.

Just think what the perception of the team would be is the season had been reversed, and the Browns lost their first five, and then rallied to a 7-9 season.

We both know that Farmer and Pettine would be hailed for putting the team in the right direction.

This is a key season because the slate is tougher in 2015. But give the Browns credit for not saying woe is us, we don’t have Tom Brady, so we are just going to finish 3-13. They have a plan, it’s just now one the media agrees with.

Browns Fill Needs, Nothing Wrong With That.

The Cleveland Browns seem to have had a very good draft. Just let that sink in for a minute.

It wasn’t sexy like some people in the media wanted, they didn’t draft a quarterback early, nor did they take a wide receiver. However, what they did do was address a major weakness.

For all the moaning and hand-wringing about the quarterback play in 2014, the Browns ranked 20th in the league in passing yards. Granted, that is in the lower half of the league, but it is not the worst, which is where their defense against the running game was in 2014.

So, in their first five choices in the first three rounds, they picked three defensive players, two of them specifically picked to help against the run.

Washington NT Danny Shelton was the pick at #12, and at 6’1″ and 343 pounds will play in the middle of the defensive line for Cleveland. He, along with a healthy Phil Taylor, will occupy blockers and make plays against the run.

In the third round, GM Ray Farmer traded back in to pick another interior defender, DT Xavier Cooper from Washington State who weighs 293 pounds. Cooper is said to need more strength, but is very fast for a tackle, which should help him rush the passer as well.

Farmer didn’t ignore the pass rush either, selecting OLB Nate Orchard in the second round. Orchard, from Utah had 17.5 sacks and 21 tackles for loss last season, and was said to give first round pick Andrus Peat from Stanford fits when they played the Cardinal in ’14.

The Browns needed play makers in the front seven and they may have added three in this year’s draft. You really can’t complain about that.

On the offensive side of the ball, perhaps no team in the NFL has a better threesome on the left side than Joe Thomas, Joel Bitonio and Alex Mack. However, as good as they are, the right side had problems. So, Farmer addressed that by taking Cameron Erving from Florida State, who can play any position on the line.

He will no doubt move in here at either right guard or right tackle.

And the offense also lacked a change of pace running back, which the Browns addressed in the third round by taking Duke Johnson from Miami. He can catch the ball out of the backfield, which is not a strength or Terence West or Isaiah Crowell. This gives the offense an added dimension.

It seems when the Browns draft skill position players, they are criticized for not addressing the offensive and defensive lines. And when they take care of the infrastructure and take care of the basic needs of the team, then they get heat for not making a splash.

We don’t know if the players they have taken so far will be Pro Bowl talents, but it does appear that both Shelton and Erving should start in Week 1, which first round picks should do.

That’s why you draft them there.

You have to give Ray Farmer credit for addressing the weaknesses of his football team. Are there still more to fill? Yes, we undoubtedly need a play making wide receiver. But, it’s not like he took a left tackle instead of one.

The Browns can’t be a contender until they can run the ball and stop the run. That’s basic football.

Last year, they showed big improvement in the running game, and this year they are taking strides to stop the opponents.

That seems like a plan, which they are usually mocked for not having one.

Browns Have Other Needs Than QB, Take Care of Them

Just think, a week from now, it will all be over.

You might think we are talking about the Cavs’ first round series against the Boston Celtics, which may be over later this afternoon.

No, we are talking about the NFL Draft and the northeastern Ohio football fan’s annual rite of passage, trying to figure out what quarterback the Browns should go after so they can start qualifying for the playoffs.

We get so absorbed into this and the perceived need for a QB, that people lose sight that you need a complete team to win the Lombardi Trophy.

What do these quarterbacks have in common: Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Eli Manning, Colin Kaepernick, and Alex Smith.

All would probably be considered in the top half of signal callers in the game, but none of them played in the playoff after last season.

This is not to say the Browns don’t need help at the QB spot, but first, they need to see what Johnny Manziel can do, because six quarters isn’t enough evaluation time, and second, they have other needs to fill.

That’s why it is ludicrous to us to consider trading both first round picks for another rookie quarterback.

You probably will wind up with a player who can’t start in the first game of the season, but you also lose the opportunity to add two players who could.

The conversation on sports talk shows regarding getting a passer border on desperation.

In the past week, we heard hosts excited by a scout saying the basement for Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota is Smith, the former first overall pick, who has turned into a serviceable player in Kansas City.

However, if that draft were held today, Smith wouldn’t be the first player chosen, because he’s not a great player.

There is also continued talk about dealing one of the Browns’ first round selections for Sam Bradford, a guy who has played seven games in the past two seasons. While we would be interested in Bradford, that kind of price is simply too high.

We realize it is the silly season.

Rumors about the Browns trading for a quarterback appear daily, because the national perception is that the franchise will do anything to get one.

And there is no question that Cleveland needs a great QB, a lot of teams do. Unfortunately, wanting Jameis Winston and Mariota to be one, doesn’t make them one.

We were asked earlier this week what we want the Browns to do this Thursday night. Our reply was to stay right where they are at #12 and #19, and pick two players who can start and help this football team in 2015.

That said, if you could move a first round pick for a proven top ten quarterback in Philip Rivers, we would consider that, because he’s proven to be quality player.

But we don’t think San Diego will move him, so it’s a moot point.

GM Ray Farmer needs to get help to defend the run, a huge weakness for the Browns in 2014, and they need a difference maker in the front seven. Someone the offense needs to account for.

And although Paul Kruger had a good season last year, Cleveland still needs a dominant pass rusher.

They also need offensive line help, a tight end, and wide receivers. Players who could help the Browns in those area will likely be there when Farmer picks on Thursday night.

Let’s hope the Browns’ front office understands this and doesn’t let their quarterback envy show.

Just be smart, not spectacular.

Forget the Uniform Frenzy, The Browns Are Improving Under the Radar

Tonight’s the night!

Unfortunately, a lot of attention will be given to the Cleveland Browns unveiling their new uniform scheme this evening.

We guess it will be interesting to see what the powers that be came up with, but in reality, they could wear Lady Gaga’s famous meat dress if they went to the Super Bowl.

We understand that a great deal of sports talk conversation on Wednesday will involve the analysis of clothing, not the Cavaliers’ impending playoff series or the Indians start to their season.

It’s Browns’ Town. We get it. However, if you want to talk about the Cleveland Browns, why not focus on the improvements the team has made this off-season. We understand this doesn’t fit in with the “Browns are dysfunctional” narrative that both the national and local media have portrayed, but there is no question here that GM Ray Farmer is addressing the team’s needs and remember, he has 11 draft picks coming from April 30th-May 2nd.

We’ve heard about the lack of quality wide receivers for more than a year, and since the season ended, Farmer signed veteran wide outs Dwayne Bowe and Brian Hartline. And we feel another young pass catcher will be added in the first few rounds in the draft.

There is no question the Mike Pettine’s team had a hard time stopping the run in 2014, and they lost veteran Ahtyba Rubin to free agency. Rubin was replaced by Randy Starks, a two-time Pro Bowl player. Yes, Starks is three years older than the man he replaced, but again, many draft experts have the Browns taking another defensive lineman in either the first or second round of the draft. So, they are upgrading for not only next year, but for the future.

They lost CB Buster Skrine in free agency, and replaced him in the short-term with former Green Bay starter Tramon Williams. Ultimately, one of last year’s draft choices, Justin Gilbert or Pierre Desir, will replace Skrine.

Their other major loss was TE Jordan Cameron, and Farmer addressed this by signing Rob Housler last week. Housler is five months older than the man he replaces, and actually has more seasons with more than 30 catches. Outside of Cameron’s Pro Bowl season in 2013 when he caught 80 passes, his next best year was 24 catches in 2014. Housler caught 45 passes in ’12 and 39 in 2013. And he doesn’t have the concussion issues that have plagued Cameron.

Of course, the one position everyone focuses on is quarterback, and that’s why any optimism is muted.

We have said this before, but when they Browns have just decent quarterback play, they can win.

A passer rating of 80 is below average in today’s NFL. In fact, it would rank 27th last season, so it is barely passable.

Last year, when the Browns QB had a rating of over 80, the team went 6-3. When it was below that mark, they were 1-6.

So, if the Browns get competent play at the position, they have a pretty good record.

While it would be nice to have Andrew Luck or even Joe Flacco, what the Browns really need is someone to not be terrible. That’s the low bar set for Josh McCown and/or Johnny Manziel.

And that’s how Farmer and Pettine have built this team, to find ways to win without having a great quarterback. That’s not to say they don’t want one, but you can’t just lose because you don’t have one.

Pettine’s offense centers around a strong running game and a QB that doesn’t make mistakes until he gets THE GUY.

Still, seeing what the Browns do in the draft is more important than the new uniforms. Unfortunately, that will be all the talk tomorrow.