Browns Should Have Accountability For Coach and GM

When the Haslam family bought the Cleveland Browns in 2012, initially there was a lot of change. Rob Chudzinski was hired as a coach for the 2013 season, promptly went 4-12 and was fired.

Mike Pettine held the job for two years. Hue Jackson for 2-1/2 seasons, including 1-15 and 0-16, so we can see the ownership was trying to be more patient. But Gregg Williams finished the 2018 season, was let go, and Freddie Kitchens had the gig for a year.

The same was true in the front office. Michael Lombardi was the GM in ’13, followed by Ray Farmer for two years, Sashi Brown for a couple, and John Dorsey for three seasons.

And rightly so, the Haslams were criticized for the turnover, not establishing any continuity within the organization.

The question we have is have they flipped the script now and perhaps are giving the people who run the football team a little too much rope?

The GM/head coach combination of Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski has been in place for five seasons, and some of the people who cover the Browns think they will be safe for this season as well.

We like Stefanski, who guided the Browns to two playoff appearances in the five seasons, and has gone through a slew of quarterbacks, compiling a 40-44 record to date. He’s been named coach of the year twice, once because he guided the Browns to their first post-season appearance since 2002 in 2020.

The second came when Cleveland went to the playoffs despite using four different starting quarterbacks, including Dorian Thompson-Robinson and P.J. Walker in 2023.

As for Berry, you can make the argument he has completely mangled the most important position in sports, the quarterback. Dissatisfied with former first overall pick Baker Mayfield, he engineered (maybe he did, maybe he didn’t, but he’s the exec on record) perhaps the worst trade in NFL history, dealing three first round picks and guaranteeing the contract of Deshaun Watson.

We absolutely agree Stefanski and Berry should get a pass for the incredibly bad 2024 season, because it seems to us that year was about justifying the horrible deal for Watson, and not really about winning.

When you change several coaches, including the offensive coordinator, and change the offensive line blocking scheme, after a playoff season you have to think that was something decided by the entire organization (i.e. ownership) and that’s why the pair weren’t fired after the 3-14 debacle.

However, if the Browns don’t play better this year, meaning be competitive on the field, a spotlight should be shone upon the coach and GM.

The coaching staff fiasco seems to be repaired, and although they don’t seem to have a “franchise” QB, the veteran that got them to the post-season in ’23 is back in Joe Flacco, and they seem to have reinstituted an emphasis on the running game.

As for the GM, in his tenure, he has selected one Pro Bowl player. Part of that is not having three first round picks, but he seems to have chosen a lot of solid players, but no impact guys.

And in this past draft, despite needs on the offensive line, safety, and wide receiver, he took two running backs (we like both of them, by the way) and two quarterbacks.

We don’t want the ownership to return to their ways of firing people every two years, but we have no issue with having some accountability for Stefanski and Berry after this season.

Creating a mess and using it as a reason to keep your job shouldn’t be how it works.

Overreaction to Browns’ So-Called Mess.

A couple of years ago, the Cleveland media regarded pro football writer Jason La Canfora as a mouthpiece for Browns’ executive Michael Lombardi. These people never liked Lombardi from his days here in the Belichick regime, and so most of what La Canfora wasn’t taken seriously.

However, his column yesterday was treated like it was gospel judging by the conversation on sports talk radio yesterday.

This isn’t to say there isn’t some grain of truth in what he wrote yesterday, but it seems to have exploded throughout the city and fan base, and we think everyone should take a step back and ease up a bit.

First of all, there are no names mentioned, just unnamed sources or people within the organization. This probably means former team president Joe Banner or Lombardi or people who they know that still work there who may be disgruntled.

It is also likely that some stuff came from former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who was referred to as the “lone bright spot on offense” and a “talented assistant” within the article.

The decision to draft Johnny Manziel was also panned, with Brian Hoyer being praised. Remember that Hoyer’s biggest advocate within the organization was Lombardi. We have said this before, Brian Hoyer is a decent NFL passer, no better, no worse, and the Browns should still be working to upgrade at that position.

This isn’t to say that the Browns’ organization is a well oiled machine, nor are we saying that Haslam isn’t making decisions that he shouldn’t be making, which would mostly be on personnel.

However, we are saying people need to consider the source of this blistering review of the entire organization.

On the other hand, it has been reported that Mike Pettine wanted to hire John DiFilippo as offensive coordinator last season, but was overruled because Shanahan had more experienced. If the head coach wanted him in the first place, then what is wrong with getting him now?

His hand-picked defensive coordinator, Jim O’Neil, looks like a keeper. So, let’s give Pettine the benefit of the doubt on DiFilippo.

As for the coach’s film review with Haslam and team president Alec Sheiner, perhaps those two simply want to learn what the coaching staff looks at, and asked Pettine if they could watch with him.

We understand that might be a stretch, but it is a plausible scenario.

La Canfora also referred to the Browns having a huge amount of high draft choices and significantly large salary cap space had they traded Josh Gordon and not signed the free agents brought in, and had a front office who loved Teddy Bridgewater and Odell Beckham Jr. Doesn’t anyone see that is a blatant endorsement of the Banner/Lombardi regime?

He pans Haslam for vetoing a possible Gordon deal. That’s probably because Gordon was one of the team’s best players and you can’t keep going down that road. Most of the fans and media alike were against making that deal at the time.

And Bridgewater’s stock took a huge hit after his terrible pro day, and he wound up being taken with the last pick in the first round.

It’s much easier to judge players after the fact.

Look, we aren’t saying the Browns’ front office is stable and doesn’t make puzzling moves. However, would you believe a story about a restaurant from someone who just got fired? You would have to view the tale with a jaundiced eye.

That’s all we are saying here.

No Matter Who’s Making Decision, Browns Need to Get It Right

Most people’s assessment of Browns’ CEO Joe Banner and GM Michael Lombardi is they think of themselves as the smartest people in the room.

The team’s search for a new coach isn’t really supporting that argument.

It is clear at this point that when the Browns (most likely owner Jimmy Haslam) decided to fire Rob Chudzinski, they didn’t have a plan to hire his successor. It appears to be a knee-jerk reaction by someone, probably Haslam, after a seven game losing streak to end the season.

Sounds a little bit like what goes on in Washington and their owner Daniel Snyder, a man who is the butt of jokes by people who work in and cover the National Football League.

That’s not what we thought we were getting when Haslam bought the team from the reclusive Randy Lerner.

So, the view here is now Banner and Lombardi have to clean up that mess, which isn’t a great job, but one they are paid pretty handsomely to do.

There isn’t anyone out there that is going to create a buzz with the Cleveland football fan, although that really shouldn’t be a consideration. It’s more important to hire the right man for the job. Remember, no one had really heard of Mike Tomlin when the Steelers chose him, and as Banner would put out, Andy Reid wasn’t greeted with fanfare when he got the job with the Eagles, either.

The front office asked for permission to hire Denver offensive coordinator Adam Gase early in the process, but Gase decided to not interview for any job until the Broncos are eliminated from the playoffs. Maybe Gase takes the job and the Browns can say they got their man, but supposedly Minnesota wants him too.

The problem that Chudzinski’s firing after one year has caused is it makes other candidates leery of taking the job because of security. Yes, head coaches are highly paid in the professional football, but they are still human beings and they want to have some assurance that they will get more than a year to produce results.

Haslam’s decision isn’t helping attract candidates.

Neither are the rumors that Banner and Lombardi want to limit the new coach’s authority in terms of the roster. We have been advocates in the past of not giving coach’s total control because they favor the players they brought in, even if they aren’t cutting it.

However, the coach needs to feel like he’s part of the process, not that it’s Banner and Lombardi’s show and the coach is a replaceable part.

There is going to be negativity about this ownership/front office until winning starts taking place on Sunday. The main problem with Haslam and his crew is that the Browns went 5-11 in 2012, and finished with a worse record in 2013.

While the roster may be more talented (they are quick to point out five Pro Bowlers), until the progress shows up in the win column, fans are going to be skeptical.

They don’t want to hear about “the process” anymore. Other teams in the NFL turn around on the yearly basis. This year it was the Chiefs, last year it was the Colts.

It’s never the Browns.

There seems to be uncertainty in Berea regarding who is in charge now. Is it Haslam calling the shots on the new coach? Is it Banner?

Fans want to see an open search. Why isn’t Mike Munchak (22-26 with no QB in Tennessee) interviewed? How about Jack Del Rio (68-71 with two playoff appearance in Jacksonville)?

Regardless, fans really can’t judge any hire until the games start in September. That being said, the Browns need to get this hire right.

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.

Browns Want Franchise QB. Where is He?

The Cleveland Browns made every indication that they are looking to next year when they traded Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts for a first round pick in 2014.

Most speculate that president Joe Banner and GM Michael Lombardi will be looking for their franchise quarterback next spring in the draft.

However, there are plenty of holes in that argument.

The first question would be are there any “franchise” quarterbacks available next May. Oh, there will be plenty of players who so-called experts will say are franchise players at that position, but are they really that good?

There is no Andrew Luck available next year.

People will say no, but maybe there’s another Robert Griffin III or Russell Wilson. Although he looked great last season, the former had a severe knee injury at the end of last season, and while Wilson played very well for Seattle last year, the major burden of the offense isn’t on him.

While the Browns would be better off with either player, there still isn’t any substantial evidence that either guy is an elite quarterback at this time.

Next, how do you get that QB, assuming that there is one near the top of the ’14 draft? Is Teddy Bridgewater of Louisville, Tahj Boyd of Clemson, or Brett Hundley of UCLA on the same level as Luck or Griffin? Or are they guys like Geno Smith, currently with the Jets.

Obviously, the Browns figured having two first round picks will enable them to get them to where they want to be. But you have to remember the reason the Redskins were able to deal up to get Griffin.

The Rams had that pick and already had their signal caller in Sam Bradford.

Will another team that has a quarterback land in the top two or three choices and be willing to trade up with Cleveland?

That is doubtful.

It’s difficult to tell after just two weeks of the season, although Banner and Lombardi obviously figured out in that time that their team wasn’t good, who are likely candidates to have high draft picks next spring.

Many experts feel Jacksonville will be one of those teams, and they would be looking for a quarterback, and Oakland is another team mentioned as one of the league’s worst, and even though they are still unpredictable even without Al Davis running things, you have to figure they will be looking for a QB as well.

If the Browns finish 4-12 again and even if Indianapolis goes 8-8, would the 5^th and 17^th picks be enough to entice a team needing a passer to trade down? That’s highly unlikely.

Why 4-12 instead of say 2-14? The front office may be looking toward 2014, but the players and coaches still have pride.

We say this knowing that the best player in the draft isn’t a quarterback, it is South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney.

That’s the real criticism of this trade. It was made because Banner and Lombardi want to find a franchise quarterback, and want to be bad enough to get a high draft choice. But it doesn’t look like there is a mortal lock to be that guy available.

If you are going to do something like this, then getting Andy Dalton, Mark Sanchez, or Alex Smith doesn’t make you considerably better. You need to surround them with a great deal of talent to succeed.

Blowing up a season to get a high pick is a cowardly way to run an organization. We’ve seen turnarounds in San Francisco and Seattle in recent years, and for that matter in Kansas City this season without dismantling the franchise.

And if this trade makes the Browns better in the present, then they will foil the front office’s strategy. That will be hilarious.

If a franchise player is available in a draft, like LeBron James, then it might make sense to sacrifice a season. That guy’s not there next spring.

Meanwhile, the front office sold out their fans. Hope they can live with that.

Patience Can’t Be Long for Browns Front Office

If you are working for the Cleveland Browns, you can’t be happy with what took place on Sunday afternoon.

After a 3-1 preseason, and two impressive, although meaningless wins at home in exhibition play, the fans of the football team were excited about the changes made in the coaching staff and front office.

After one regular season game, the fan base is crushed, looking at another season of mediocre football.

Now, no one is expecting Joe Banner, Michael Lombardi, and Rob Chudzinski to make wholesale changes after one game, but they can’t sit back and put up with another 10 loss season.

It is nice that progress is being made in terms of upgrading the roster’s talent base, there also needs to be an increase in the Browns’ win total.

Nothing else should be acceptable to the supporters of Cleveland’s pro football team.

That’s why people are confused regarding some of the coach’s comments, particularly those involving G Oneil Cousins, who had four penalties in the opener.

Chudzinski said Cousins was the best option at the position.

Our theory is why not try rookie Garrett Gilkey, because it’s pretty much impossible that he could do worse.

The lack of trying something different, even if it is only one game, makes fans think there is a different agenda here.

We get that perhaps Chudzinski wants to give Cousins another opportunity, because maybe it was just a bad day. However, you have to make a change if he struggles again early in this week’s game against the Ravens.

The same goes for any other position, including quarterback, if the coaching staff cannot get acceptable play.

The time for rebuilding and looking for high draft picks should be over. It is time to start winning football games. Enough is enough.

The front office was very calm this week, despite several media people asking for changes right away. This is probably a good strategy because the organization has to show faith in the players they assembled.

Still, there is a fine line between support for the players and accepting mediocrity. That’s the line that Chudzinski has to walk. He’s got to make clear to everyone in the locker room that another game like last Sunday’s 23-10 loss to Miami will not be tolerated.

We understand that Banner, Lombardi, and Chudzinski aren’t responsible for the horrible record for the Browns over the last 15 years, but they have to understand that the fans base is tired of watching teams that annually compete for the first pick in the draft.

And they also have to realize NFL teams take quantum leaps in terms of wins every year, so it is possible. The Browns’ faithful are anxious because they see teams like the Colts go from two wins to the playoffs in one off-season.

In recent years, they have seen similar turnarounds from the 49ers, Chiefs, and Seahawks. It is a league that lends itself to those situations.

Why can’t the Browns do the same?

Granted, it is just one game, so it is way too early to throw away the season yet. But starting 0-3 or 0-4 is going to have the fans howling at the door in Berea.

No Matter How Much is Changed, Browns Lose the Opener

Next year, the Cleveland Browns should request opening the season on the road, just to try something different. Because one thing is for sure, no matter who the opponent is, the Browns can’t win the season lidlifter at First Energy Stadium, no matter what it is called.

For the 14th time in 15 seasons, Cleveland starts the year 0-1 after a 23-10 loss to Miami.

It looked like a new era was signaled when the first play from scrimmage for the home team was a Trent Richardson run that went outside for eight yards. This was something that was never used last season.

However, we have come to this conclusion. Richardson must have something in his uniform which makes him invisible to his own coaching staff, as we received only 13 carries for the game, with six coming in the first quarter. Those six carries netted 26 yards.

What is more strange is that of the offense’s first eight plays, a drive culminated by a Brandon Weeden interception, Richardson touched the ball on five of them, gaining 40 yards.

He touched the ball just ten times the rest of the afternoon, and according to our recall just one run was sent to the outside.

This was a 13-10 game going into the fourth quarter, so there was no need to go away from the running game.

After the Browns fell behind 20-10 with 6:51 remaining in the game, they were forced to pass, needing two scores. Cleveland understandably did not run the ball after that, and Weeden threw 17 of his 53 passes in that time frame.

It is strange that Richardson carried the ball just seven times total the balance of the game.

That lack of a running game allowed the Dolphins’ defense to go after Weeden, who was sacked six times. Mitchell Schwartz had troubles with Miami DE Cameron Wake, and Oneil Cousins was a disaster at guard.

We were surprised Cousins was not replaced by rookie Garrett Gilkey at some point, he was being beaten that badly. Surely, GM Michael Lombardi was be searching the waiver wive for an experience guard this week.

Defensively, Ray Horton’s crew shut down the Miami running game, allowing them just 20 yards in 23 attempts. However, making the Dolphins one-dimensional did not help, because they couldn’t put pressure on QB Ryan Tannehill much after the halftime.

They did have four sacks in total, two by DE Desmond Bryant.

We said coming into the season that Horton’s crew would give up some big plays, and CB Buster Skrine was victimized for a 34 yard TD catch by Brian Hartline, and they allowed the Fish to convert 8 of 16 third downs.

The Browns were horrible in this area too, forcing the Miami defense to stay on the field just once in 14 third down situations.

Fans who are anti-Weeden will point to three interceptions, but the first two were really not his fault. WR Travis Benjamin didn’t really fight to prevent the first, and WR Greg Little had the second go off his hands into Dmitri Patterson’s waiting ones.

This was a game that could have went either way until the fourth quarter, but the Browns just simply couldn’t make the big play. Is that the result of losing season after losing season? Quite possibly.

Eventually, the Dolphins did make the big play with the pass to Hartline, and the Browns couldn’t respond.

The only bright side of this loss is that everyone else in the AFC North lost as well, meaning everyone is still even.

Rob Chudzinski and the coaching staff must learn from this loss quick as they visit the Super Bowl champion Ravens next Sunday, and they will be looking to rebound from the beatdown they received in Denver last Thursday.

This is the new coach’s first challenge of 2013.

Browns’ Roster Shake Up No Big Deal

After the Cleveland Browns pared their roster to 53 players on Saturday night, coach Rob Chudzinski said it would be a “fluid situation”. Everyone figured there would be changes, especially because they had no place kicker on the team.

No one could see a major overhaul coming the following day, but Michael Lombardi and his staff claimed six free agents and let six of the so-called final 53 go.

There were howls from many Browns fans, several of them commenting that it was proof of the lack of talent on the squad, supporting their woe is me mentality (taken from former GM Phil Savage), and preparing themselves for another horrible season.

To us, it was no big deal.

This is not to say the Browns are going to go 11-5 and win the AFC North in 2013, but we do feel this team will be improved as the young talent accumulated in the past few years will continue to improve and a more experienced coaching staff will put the players in positions where they can succeed.

As for the roster shake up, it is not like any of the six players signed yesterday are coming in to start for Chudzinski’s team, but they were acquired to provide depth, something the Browns don’t have yet in several positions.

For instance, at running back, the injuries to Montario Hardesty and Dion Lewis caused Cleveland to have only Brandon Jackson, unimpressive in the preseason, to back up Trent Richardson.

So they went out and signed two backs who were similar to Lewis, a change of pace speed back, in Bobby Rainey (from Ravens) and Dennis Jackson (from Texans). They are on the roster to be third down backs and return kickoffs, both jobs that Lewis looked to be in position to handle.

They also swapped out tight ends, letting Kellen Davis and Brad Smelley go, and replacing them with MarQueis Gray (49ers) and Keavon Milton (Saints). The top two tight ends on the depth chart, Jordan Cameron and Gary Barnidge remain unchanged.

It shouldn’t be a huge deal to change the third and fourth tight ends on your roster.

They also exchanged LB L.J. Fort, who made the team as an undrafted free agent a year ago for rookie Brandon Magee, who was cut by the Cowboys, and signed C Patrick Lewis (Packers) and released two other offensive linemen who were undrafted free agents in Jerrod Shaw and Caylin Hauptmann.

While letting Fort go was a bit of a surprise, Lombardi just picked up Eric Martin from New Orleans as well, and the Browns felt Tank Carder was ahead of Fort.

Most of these changes were probably done with special teams implications in mind, as the coaching staff felt those units needed an upgrade. There is nothing wrong with that.

Neither is there anything wrong with trying to incrementally improving the football team. If you see a young player out there who is better than the young player you currently have, why not add them to the roster.

Again, it is not like the front office released a high draft choice to sign someone who was cut on Saturday.

And more changes are coming because the Browns still need to find someone to handle the kicking duties this Sunday against the Dolphins.

If Joe Banner, Michael Lombardi, and Chudzinski feel they can make the team better, even slightly, by picking up players cut by other teams, then why shouldn’t they.

After all, that’s their job.

Why Pan Browns’ Draft Now?

Nothing brings out so called experts like the NFL Draft. Everyone has their “individual draft boards”, which is usually based on what people in the media tell them.

For the most part, these fans haven’t ever seen the players they are rating highly, and even if they have seen them play, they don’t know if the skill set they saw during a college game will translate to the professional level.

In Cleveland, there is an affinity for the famous player or anyone from Ohio State. Either one of these guys will no doubt become a superstar.

You also have the people who will go back and criticize a team for not taking a player in a later round who wound up being a potential Hall of Famer. To be sure, if every team would have known Tom Brady would become one of the all time greats, they would have taken them in the first round, including New England and Bill Belichick.

Sometimes you don’t have a good book on a player until you get the opportunity to work with them on an everyday basis.

Remember, all of these people giving the Browns bad grades are not working in the personnel departments of any NFL teams. Mostly, they are media people with an opinion. And if you don’t agree with their ranking of players, then that team receives a bad grade.

This isn’t to say that Joe Banner and Michael Lombardi had the best draft since the Steelers in 1974 (they drafted Jack Lambert, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann, and Mike Webster) either. We are simply saying it is way too early to tell.

And trading the picks wasn’t a bad idea either. Apparently, the Browns didn’t see anyone there who could make an immediate impact with this year’s team, so they dealt them for a better choice in next year’s selection meeting. Why would that be a problem?

Also, ludicrous is the bashing Banner and Lombardi are taking for dealing with the Steelers, especially those saying you can’t deal in your division. If Pittsburgh wanted to deal Ben Roethlisberger, you’d have to be an idiot to turn them down because you don’t want to trade with a team in your division.

Look, we get that Banner and Lombardi aren’t likeable guys, at least in their public persona’s, and it is easy to take issue with their moves. But they have earned a chance, and they should get to fail a couple of times before they are written off as morons.

They are also getting heat for not trading down in the first round and picking up another second round selection. Yet, many of those people saying the Browns should have done just that, still complain about trading down in 2011 and giving up the right to pick Julio Jones.

Will we really hear from any of those people in Barkevious Mingo turns out to be the next defensive impact player in the NFL? Of course not.

The point is, the front office liked Mingo and they took him. He appears to be a superior athlete, but that doesn’t make him a great player, it simply gives him the ability to be one if he has the drive to succeed.

It is sure that the Browns’ executives interviewed the former LSU standout and talked to his coaches about those factors. It is part of the due diligence that organizations have to go through.

We won’t know how the Browns did until at least halfway through the 2013 season. Until then, you can’t condemn anyone for this rookie class. It’s simply way too soon.