Browns’ Final Roster Not Shocking

No one should be surprised that all 14 of the draft choices made by the Browns’ new front office made the initial 53 man roster yesterday.

How many of them are still there after Sashi Brown, Hue Jackson, and the personnel staff scour the waiver wire is a good question, but our guess is that most of the 14 will still be wearing orange and brown.

Let’s face it, it’s a new front office staff, and the team they inherited went 3-13 a year ago. The question should be why didn’t they just replace most of the players who were on the team a year ago.

After the 2015 season ended, the roster had too many players over 30 for a team that had the second overall pick in the draft.

Now, there are just seven, and only three (Joe Thomas, John Greco, and Gary Barnidge) are starters, and it would not be a shock if two more, Andrew Hawkins and Tramon Williams, are released after the organization reviews the players cut by other teams yesterday.

There are now only three players, Thomas, Williams, and back up QB Josh McCown who have been in the NFL for ten years or more.

Perhaps the biggest surprise yesterday was the trade of former 1st round selection Justin Gilbert to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a sixth round pick in 2018.

We understand Gilbert was a polarizing figure here in his two plus seasons, but we thought he was buried by the old coaching staff, and when he did play, he wasn’t burned consistently by wide receivers.

His reputation was that he didn’t take well to coaching, and we get that.

On the other hand, it is interesting that both Gilbert and another first rounder, Barkevious Mingo, were both acquired by teams with a history of winning football in Pittsburgh and New England.

If either become contributors with their new squads it will say volumes about the talent evaluation of the Cleveland organization, both past and present.

Our opinion of Mingo, in particular, is that he is an athletic freak. His interception of Peyton Manning against Denver last year may have been the most amazing play made by a Browns’ defender all season. Why any coordinator here couldn’t find a place or scheme in which to use him is a fail by Cleveland.

The current roster has 18 rookies or first year players, and 10 second year guys. That’s 28 of the current 53, which even a non-math expert knows is more than half.

That’s how you build a football team.

You also have to make a commitment to the coaching staff, so they don’t have to worry about accumulating wins while playing young players.

That was the weakness of previous regimes here. They wanted to get younger, but they also wanted the coach to win. That’s why the Randy Starks, Donte Whitners, and Karlos Dansbys of the NFL were brought in.

We trust that Brown and Jimmy Haslam have told Jackson not to be concerned with the Browns record in 2016.

How should we judge the coach this season? Focus on the progression of the team. If the Browns are a better, more competitive football team when they take the field on January 1st against the Steelers than they are next Sunday, then Jackson has done his job.

In the meantime, the next few days should be interesting to see who will dress a week from today, and who won’t be a part of phase one of the building process.

What Did You Expect From Browns?

It was shocking to read and listen to both fans and media alike being irritated by the Browns’ performance Friday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

What did these people expect? Did they believe Hue Jackson’s team was suddenly going to dominate another NFL team?

After Jackson was hired and Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta took over control of the franchise, the management has made no bones about the direction of the team. They were going to get younger and build through the draft, really the only tried and true method of building a winning football team.

If you have read this blog since the beginning of 2016, we have advocated and predicted that Brown and DePodesta were going to rid the roster of most of the over 30 years of age crew.

After all, the only thing worse than being a bad team is being a bad, old team.

The purge started with Donte Whitner and Karlos Dansby, Dwayne Bowe followed, and now Paul Kruger and even punter Andy Lee were moved off the squad.

And we believe that Tramon Williams, Andrew Hawkins won’t be here for week one, and we have a feeling that Josh McCown won’t be either.

The Browns are accumulating young players and draft picks, and when you play a lot of inexperienced players, losing usually follows. At least at the beginning.

The expectation is the team will build around the players taken last season that weren’t really given a chance to play, the 14 draft picks taken last April, and all of the picks the front office has accumulated in the 2017 and 2018 NFL Drafts.

That doesn’t mean the players and coaching staff will not try to win every week, of course they will, that’s imbedded in the DNA of competitive people.

However, they are usually going to be outmanned in each game, mostly because of a lack of experience.

What the front office is trying to decide is who can be a contributing player in 2018 or 2019, when this team is ready to make a legitimate playoff run. If it happens sooner, then great, all that means is the Browns will be winners and still have a boatload of draft picks.

Gone is the philosophy of bringing veterans to patch some holes and keep the team somewhat competitive, perhaps winning five or six games so the coaching staff can say the Browns are improving.

Instead, the organization is throwing a lot of stuff against the wall and hoping some of it sticks.

The rookies and second year players are going to get to play and prove themselves. If they get better as the season progresses, the coaches and front office will determine them to be keepers. If they can’t get it done, they will be replaced by younger players acquired in the next two drafts.

It’s not a mystery. Every signal given by the folks in Berea indicate just that.

So, don’t be surprised if this team loses in the early part of the season, and sometimes, the games will be flat out ugly.

And if the team doesn’t show some improvement as the season goes on, then you can be concerned, because that’s the plan.

In the meantime, get ready for more veterans to depart and more young players, particularly players cut after the final cut this weekend, to be brought in.

Frankly, we are puzzled as to why people were expecting anything different.

Good And Bad So Far From Browns

Thank goodness that half of the NFL’s preseason schedule is over for the Cleveland Browns.

After the first exhibition game against Green Bay, where the Packers stopped just short of bringing fans out of Lambeau Field to play against the Browns, last night we got to see the brown and orange play against legitimate players, at least for the first half.

Yes, Cleveland lost to Atlanta at First Energy Stadium last night, but at least now we can make some judgments on this football team, as they head into a week of practices against Tampa Bay next week, followed by the “dress rehearsal” a week from today in Florida.

Robert Griffin III has shown flashes of why he was the 2nd overall pick in the draft a few years ago. He has a big arm, has been accurate for the most part, and has learned how to slide when he runs with the football.

We said in the off-season that signing the former Heisman Trophy winner was the ultimate low risk, high reward gamble. After all, it’s not like Griffin is replacing Tom Brady, the alternative is veteran journeyman (and media favorite) Josh McCown.

The right move is finding out if Griffin can play, and so far, so good.

A year ago, Mike Pettine and his staff cut Terrelle Pryor right before the regular season started, then brought him back later in the season and virtually ignored him.

We realize that Pryor has greatly improved his wide receiver skills in the off-season, but you still have to wonder why the previous regime didn’t feel the need to work with him more. After all, the guy is a special athlete.

The running game looked good last night as well. Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson have been effective and Terrell Watson has looked good against second team defenders. We’d like to see him with the first unit next weekend. If the Browns are going move the ball effectively and try to shorten games, they must run the football.

And we would also like to see rookie Carl Nassib with the first team defense at times. You can’t help but notice the 6’7″ kid from Penn State, and not just because of his size. He’s all over the field when he’s in.

The problems on defense continue to be the inability to stop the running game and not being able to get off the field on third down. Those two issues have plagued this franchise since they returned to the NFL in 1999.

If you can’t run the ball and you can’t stop the run, you can’t win in the NFL despite it becoming a passing league. The Cleveland defense seems to be consistently in second and short situations, and if they do get to third down, it’s usually at a make able distance.

We would also like to see more of the young wide receivers. We still believe that Andrew Hawkins will not make the opening roster, but so far, we haven’t seen a lot of the rookie wide outs taken this spring. We know injuries play into that, but it’s still a problem.

We understand this is still pre-season and much of the game plans are very vanilla. However, it is easy to spot these trends.

On the other hand, we are halfway done in regards to the exhibition games. Based on the quality of these game, be very thankful for that.

Hue’s Decision At QB Was A Logical, Simple One

Imagine you are an NFL head coach and you are taking over a team that went 3-13 a year ago, and hasn’t had a winning season since 2007.

Your bosses have tried several way to build a successful franchise, and in the off-season, they traded away or cut several veterans, and let a few more leave via free agency.

So, there isn’t a lot of pressure on you to win immediately, but the owner, the front office, and the fan base would like to see some progress as the season goes on.

You have several candidates for the starting quarterback position–

One is the former second overall pick in the draft after winning the Heisman Trophy, and in his rookie year took his team to the NFL playoffs. He blew out his knee in that game, and hasn’t been the same since.

The second candidate is a 37-year-old journeyman with a career record as a starter of 18-39, and over the last two years, seasons in which he started 19 of 32 games, his record is 2-17.

He has started just 57 games in a 13 year career.

You also have on the roster a third year QB who started five games in his second year in the league and was pressed into service to start two more games with your team a season ago, both of which were losses.

And you have a rookie third round draft pick from one of the elite college programs in the country. He’s a guy you really like and you went out on a limb to take him where you did. Still, he’s a rookie and you don’t want to expose him to the NFL before he’s ready to play.

The team in question of course are the Cleveland Browns and the quarterbacks at Hue Jackson’s disposal are Robert Griffin III, Josh McCown, Austin Davis, and Cody Kessler.

Jackson picked Griffin, and really, didn’t have much of a decision. That’s the logical move.

The Browns’ players and coaching staff will no doubt try to win every game, but there is little expectation going into the regular season of the playoffs.

Let’s face it, the only QBs currently on the roster who have a chance to be a quality NFL signal caller are Griffin and Kessler, and once again, the latter is a rookie.

The organization knows what McCown is. He’s a terrific teammate, a hard worker, and a guy you can put into a game without your franchise being embarrassed.

They also know what he isn’t, and that’s a quality NFL starter, and a guy with a history of winning football games. McCown is good enough to give you a decent performance and he will keep you in a game, but likely you won’t win.

Heck, the guy who started two of the three victories by the Browns a year ago, isn’t even in the NFL right now.

We have no idea if Griffin can become a successful passer from the pocket, because his success in Washington was with a hybrid offense. But in a rebuilding season? Why not find out.

If Griffin can make the transformation, the Browns have caught lightning in a bottle. If he doesn’t, you still have Kessler and a likely a high draft pick in next year’s draft.

But this is a year to experiment. That’s why Jackson’s decision was just the logical move.

Right Now? No Complaints

The month of June was certainly a wonderful month for the city of Cleveland.

The Cleveland Cavaliers broke the 52 year drought for the city without a major league sports championship. The whole area partied like never before, and citizens still have a collective smile on their face that may not be wiped off for a long time.

Or at least until the Browns start playing.

And the Indians have gone 21-6 during the month, and currently are riding a 12 game winning streak, one game away from tying the franchise record.

They have stamped themselves as one of the best teams in the American League.

So, right now, there is nothing to complain about with the Cleveland sports scene, and if you can come up with something, you are probably nit-picking.

Sure, some people continue to bring up the Cavaliers possibly trading Kevin Love, but that seems to be more about those people not understanding that Love has sacrificed his scoring for the good of the team.

Also, if you are going to move Love, don’t you have to get somebody better than him? We understand the usual mentality here is a bunch of average players is greater than one all-star player, but for the most part, the players who are better than Kevin Love in the NBA, aren’t being traded by their teams.

There isn’t even any angst about LeBron James leaving the Cavs after opting out of his contract this week. James has publicly stated he is returning to defend the championship, and his agent told people a year ago that he would be opting out of his contracts in 2015 and 2016 to maximize his earning capabilities.

We feel confident also, that the front office will do everything it can do to keep JR Smith on the roster, and Matthew Dellavedova too, unless another team breaks the bank for him.

Do we have concerns about the Indians’ bullpen? Yes, but we’ve discussed this before and with the starting pitchers giving Terry Francona at least seven innings on most nights recently, it’s become less of a factor.

Dead roster spots for the Tribe? Outside of Tito’s obsession with having eight relievers, many of whom sit around in the bullpen eating sunflower seeds, getting paid to watch games, you really can’t complain about someone being on the roster who shouldn’t be.

The club’s 25th man, Michael Martinez, has proved very useful and has actually mixed in some key hits and supplied good defense at several positions. He’s a lifetime .200 hitter, but is hitting .290 with the Indians in limited at bats.

The Browns are a month away from opening training camp and OTA’s are over, so there isn’t anything to worry about there for the time being. Hue Jackson seems to be giving young players, who Mike Pettine seemed to ignore, a new life.

There actually seems like the new front office has a plan in place to get better using young guys, instead of mixing in fading veterans in an attempt to win a few games to stay relevant into November.

It’s good to be a Cleveland sports fan right now. Today.

We are sure something will irritate us soon. That’s the nature of sports.

Optimism On Browns Doesn’t Mean Winning

When you are doing something different, you leave your self open for criticism. That’s what the Cleveland Browns are experiencing this off-season.

Look, we have no idea if the “analytic” approach will work, or whether Sashi Brown, Paul DePodesta, Andrew Berry, and Hue Jackson will get the Browns back to the playoffs.

What we do know is that they can’t be worse than what came before them.

Cleveland has lost ten games or more in seven of the last eight seasons. They aren’t exactly a model of success.

So, we don’t listen to the national experts about how an NFL franchise is supposed to operate. We understand that the new front office staff is trying something different, and that is absolutely fine.

Veteran NFL executive Bill Polian made the comment, presumably because of DePodesta’s presence that the Browns were conducting the equivalent of a baseball fire sales.

Polian might have been trying to be snarky, but he is correct. That is exactly what the Browns are doing. They are basically gutting the roster and starting over. And we say why not?

All of the losing has poisoned the locker room. These guys simply don’t know how to win, and they have been exposed to coach after coach without an idea of how to win, or the enthusiasm to do so.

So, if Jackson comes off as cocky and self-confident, he is a virtual extrovert compared to Eric Mangini, Pat Shurmur, and Mike Pettine.

Think about it, when did any of those guys show one ounce of bounce and pep on the sideline.

Think about how the players, even the good ones, talked as the season went on and the losses piled up over the years. How many of them were genuinely angry or ticked off?

Exactly. That’s why one by one, the front office is purging those guys.

It is also funny to hear players offer statements questioning the weight program over the past few seasons. Apparently, Jackson and his staff looked at Cam Erving, for example, and told him he needed to get a lot stronger.

Why didn’t anyone tell him before now?

We have said it will be apparent this season how poorly this team was coached over the last two seasons. We will not be surprised at all if players like Danny Shelton, Erving, Nate Orchard, Christian Kirksey, and Ibrahim Campbell can be solid to good NFL players with the correct leadership.

We don’t know how these guys will draft and what their eye for talent is, but they shouldn’t be condemned by the mistakes of the people who came before them.

More veterans will be let go or traded before the beginning of training camp and we are okay with that. We believe these guys are following our adage, that being the only worse than a bad team is a bad, old team.

So, optimistic may be the wrong word regarding our thoughts on the Browns, perhaps a healthy curiosity is a better choice. At this point, you have to think that what they are doing makes sense.

And that doesn’t mean we think the Browns are going to win in 2016 either. If they win three or four games, that’s probably an accurate prediction.

But we can feel good about it as fans if they are doing it with young players and those guys are showing process on a week to week basis.

That would show a promising future, and if they do a good job with this year’s draft, we can all be anxious to see what they can do with another high pick and a bunch of choices later in the draft.

In the meantime, there is nothing wrong with trying something different. It just may pay off in the long run.

Browns Have More House Cleaning To Do

A few weeks ago, we wrote about the Cleveland Browns’ need to get younger because it’s bad enough to stink, but to have many old players and stink is worse.

Since then, the Browns have cut ties with Karlos Dansby, and Alex Mack departed via free agency. Both were over 30 years old.

However, Sashi Brown and coach Hue Jackson still have a bunch of grizzled veterans who wouldn’t seem to have a place on a building football operation.

Notice he didn’t use the term “rebuilding” because something needs to be in place at one time, and having two winning seasons in 16 years doesn’t really qualify.

Cleveland still has 10 players over 30 years old on the roster, nine if you disqualify punter Andy Lee, because he should be able to kick a football effectively for a few more years.

That leaves this group with their ages listed:

Josh McCown (36)
Tramonn Williams (33)
John Greco (31)
Joe Thomas (31)
Gary Barnidge (30)
Desmond Bryant (30)
Andrew Hawkins (30)
Paul Kruger (30)
Donte Whitner (30)

We would get rid of all of them, and we feel most will no longer be with the team after the NFL Draft occurs in late April.

Rumors already have the brown and orange shopping McCown now that Robert Griffin III signed here as a free agent.

Brown, Paul DePodesta, and Jackson are probably holding on to most of these guys trying to move each of them for additional draft picks during the draft, and if trades can’t be made, many of them could be released shortly after the selection meeting.

The most controversial name here is Thomas, a nine time Pro Bowl player.

We wouldn’t move the future Hall of Famer unless Cleveland can secure a first round draft choice for him. This is likely the last time Thomas would be able to garner such a haul, and our guess is the “analytical” approach of the front office tells them the same thing.

If Thomas is dealt, the Browns may keep Greco to keep at least one veteran on the offensive line. Barnidge will likely stay as well, since the team signed him to a friendly three year deal last season.

For the rest of the players, well, let’s say we wouldn’t get involved in long term lease arrangements.

In our opinion, the new regime wants to get rid of the losing attitude that has hovered over the locker room over the past ten years. It’s no disrespect to these players, who play hard for the most part, but when you lose 10 or more games year in and year out, it is human nature to insulate yourself against all the losing and you begin to accept it.

You lose your will to be angry about it.

The Browns need to build around this draft class and the young players from the past couple of drafts who can play.

We also have a feeling that we will see what a terrible coaching staff this team had the past two years, and perhaps Danny Shelton, Cam Irving, Nate Orchard, and some others aren’t as bad as originally thought.

Basically, the Browns need to do a thorough cleaning of their locker room, getting rid of the losing stench.

So, we anticipate more roster adjustments will be made. In one month, this roster will look completely different from the one who ended the season.

Why Not Take A Look At RGIII?

First, it was Colin Kaepernick, but it appears that has fallen through, and now the big rumor is the Cleveland Browns are close to signing former Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III as a free agent.

We have no idea if Griffin can regain the magic of his rookie season, when he completed 65.6% of his passes and had 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions as Washington went 10-6 and made the playoffs.

The former second overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft hurt his knee at the end of that campaign and never really has regained the magic.

Since he is only 26 years old, perhaps Hue Jackson wants to find out if he can rebuild Griffin’s career. It wouldn’t be unheard of.

Even with all of the injuries, the former Baylor standout has completed 63.9% of his throws.

For all of the people who think Josh McCown had a solid season for the Browns last season, he completed 63.7% of his passes last year.

What is pretty apparent to us is that Jackson simply doesn’t want to have McCown as his starting quarterback. That’s why he pursued both Kaepernick, whose price was way too high.

The combination of the San Francisco QB’s bloated salary and that the Niners wanted the Browns third round pick was too rich for Sashi Brown and the rest of the front office.

Look, McCown is a lot of things. He’s a great teammate, he has a huge heart, and did a good job being a steadying influence for Johnny Manziel. He took a great deal of punishment last season, even to the point of taking a couple of snaps with a broken collarbone.

However, there is one thing McCown isn’t, and that is a competent NFL starting quarterback. His lifetime record as a starter is 18-39 and is 8-27 since 2007.

He’s also going to be 37 years old, and that is a huge consideration for the Browns, who want to get younger.

We get that the local media likes McCown. He’s a stand up guy, a hard worker, and talks to reporters no matter the situation.

We are sure Jackson’s thought is if we are going to go with a question mark behind center, it would be better if that guy is 26 years old, not 37.

Quite simply, who has the better chance to improve?

We also aren’t saying that RGIII solves the Browns’ quarterbacking issues. We would still take a QB with the 2nd or 32nd overall picks (or if they trade for a late first round pick), and having Griffin would allow Jackson to have the rookie play when he’s ready and not a minute before.

If Griffin plays well, and the rookie develops, the Browns can move either one of the players, and since they are quarterbacks, they can get a king’s ransom.

And if Griffin’s career doesn’t bounce back to his rookie year level, all Cleveland lost was money, and they certainly have plenty of salary cap space.

RGIII has to have been humbled by what has happened to a promising career, and because of that, he should be a willing student for what Jackson is teaching.

That’s why it’s a no risk move for the Browns.

But don’t read the possible signing as Cleveland finding an answer at QB, but rather it’s they feel McCown has no upside and Jackson has no interest in the veteran being his signal caller this season.

Why Losing Free Agents Isn’t That Big Of A Deal For Browns

Since the NFL calendar year started a week ago, the Cleveland Browns have once again become the butt of jokes in the national media because five of their six free agents have left the team.

Included in those five players are four starters, including Pro Bowl offensive lineman Alex Mack and RT Mitchell Schwartz.

In our eyes, the latter was the biggest and really only loss from a team that went 3-13 a year ago. Schwartz showed he was one of the best right tackles in the league, and he would have entered this season at 27 years old.

And apparently, according to some reports, he left because Sashi Brown and the new regime showed stubbornness in the negotiations, telling the lineman the offer they had made went away if he left the room.

While many football writers are hammering the Browns for losing the four players, although we would have kept Schwartz, we can see the front office’s thinking.

In losing the two starting lineman, you can be sure Hue Jackson’s team will be near the bottom of the NFL in running the ball and in protecting the passer.

Oh wait, that’s where Cleveland ranked in 2015 with Mack and Schwartz. So, how big of a loss is the duo?

It could be that the front office thinks there is a losing attitude within the entire roster and they are going to have to start from scratch to establish a winning culture.

If that’s true, then we can definitely see the Browns trading their All Pro left tackle, Joe Thomas, as well. We have often said that although Thomas is undoubtedly going to the Hall of Fame, he seems to accept defeat easily.

He doesn’t think losing is unacceptable, he thinks it just stinks. We always say that everyone likes winning, but we would rather have players who hate to lose.

We aren’t sure the Browns have enough players who have become sick of what has gone on here over the last five years, let alone since 1999.

We would not be opposed to trading Thomas, but only if the Browns can get a first round pick this year in return. As we have advocated before, if you are going to start over, then get rid of all players over 30 years old (outside of perhaps punter Andy Lee), and accumulate as many draft picks as possible.

That will accelerate the process.

As for the pursuit of Colin Kaepernick, we believe it does not change the Browns’ intention to get a quarterback early in the draft, but it may allow them to wait until the 32nd pick to do so.

Kaepernick has struggled over the past year and a half, but the guess here is the front office views him as an upgrade to 37 year old Josh McCown.

Really, the Browns are saying if we are going to have a mediocre veteran at the position, we would rather have him be 29 years old instead of 37.

However, we believe a third round pick is way too high for a player who was benched a year ago. We wouldn’t give up anything more than a fourth rounder to San Francisco.

After over 15 years of terrible football, it looks like the Cleveland Browns are basically starting over, and that starts by getting rid of players who aren’t still in improving mode.

That might hurt for now, but it’s really the only thing they haven’t tried.

Why not give it a shot?

It All Adds Up to Hue Jackson

When the Cleveland Browns fired Mike Pettine following the end of the regular season, we hoped they would hire someone with experience and someone who would hold the players accountable.

When Hue Jackson was hired yesterday, the first part of that combination was fulfilled.

He was the head coach of the Raiders in 2011, the last season Oakland went 8-8. He was the offensive coordinator of the silver and black the year prior, when the Raiders had the same record.

As for the accountability part, we won’t know that for sure for awhile, although the 50-year-old Jackson comes highly respected throughout the league.

Which, of course, is another feather in Jimmy Haslam’s cap.

Jackson was also interviewed by San Francisco, and the Giants were to talk to him tomorrow regarding their head coaching position, but the Browns never let him get to the Big Apple.

This wasn’t hiring Pat Shurmur, Rob Chudzinski, or Mike Pettine, assistant coaches on no one’s radar to be promoted. They were the equivalent of coaching leftovers, with the brown and orange left to pick up table scraps.

He’s also an offensive coach, which we prefer to head coaches with a defensive background, because those guys tend to play not to lose. Offensive coaches are aggressive and play to win football games. We would be surprised if the Browns “manage” games when they have the lead with Jackson at the helm.

As a coordinator, Jackson’s offenses ranked in the top half of the league in yardage while at Oakland and Cincinnati, and also were in the upper tier in scoring.

And he likes to run the football, which is something the Browns have been inconsistent doing since 1999. His Raider attacks and last season in Cincinnati all produced top ten rushing offenses, before the Bengals dropped to 13th this past season.

In reading about the new coach, it has been reported that he likes physical play from his offense which is supported with these running numbers. The Browns absolutely need to have a mindset to run the ball down opponent’s throats, and we hope that whoever the defensive coordinator is, he has the same mindset. You have to win the line of scrimmage to be successful in the NFL.

Although we wouldn’t do this, we are resigned to Jackson and however the personnel man the Browns hire using the second pick in the draft to get the franchise quarterback, and our guess is that it will be Jared Goff from California.

One reason for our begrudged change of mind is that the Browns have a guy who can develop a quarterback. Between the head coach and Josh McCown, the rookie will have two mentors developing him as quickly as possible to play in the NFL.

Although Jackson wasn’t there at the time, remember that the Bengals started Andy Dalton right away, and Jackson was the Ravens’ QB coach in Joe Flacco’s rookie season.

The new coach didn’t come out and say it yesterday, but Johnny Manziel’s days with the Browns are numbered.

We also believe wide receiver will be a focal point in the draft. The days of the small, quick wide outs will be dwindling.

We don’t know what Jackson will be as a head coach until he actually starts the regular season, but we like the hire because of the reasons stated above. Cleveland still needs a personnel guru, which Jackson will have a hand in.

It will be interesting to see how much of a roster turnover and who the assistant coaches will be. However, the Browns have an experienced NFL head coach. That’s a great place to start.