Let's-build-a-snowman MOCK

Greg, you lazy bastard. I'll bet you are home building snowmen in the backyard today, rather than working like the rest of us. Just in case, I figured I'd provide you a Wednesday dose of Browns Improvement Plan - 400 level.

First, I made 3 trades. DA to the Vikings for a 2nd and 6th and K2 to Buffalo for a 3 and a 5. Charles Ali for a 7th. Now we’ve got 9 picks to net some new talent.

Snow-filled Wednesday Mock:

1/5: Brian Orakpo, DE – Texas – 6’4” 265
2/37: Alphonso Smith, CB – Wake Forrest – 5’9” 193
2/54 (trade DA to Vikings): Nick Harris, SS – Oklahoma – 6’3” 233
3/75 (trade K2 to Buffalo): Phil Loadholt, OT – Oklahoma – 6’7 340
4/101: Rashad Jennings, RB – Liberty – 6’1” 230
5/133: A.Q. Shipley – C – Penn St. - 6’1” 300
5/139: Cedric Peerman, RB – Virginia – 5’9” 210
6/182 (trade DA to Vikings): Ryan Palmer, CB – Texas – 5’9” 190
7/197 (trade Charles Ali to someplace): Henry Melton, OLB – Texas – 6’2” 262

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• 2 new running backs means buh-bye Jamal & Jason Wright.
• Orakpo is a given to start
• Smith is an aggressive corner that’ll push to start but be very capable as a nickel
• Harris would be a thumper in run support and no more a liability than Sean Jones
• Loadholt would be the opening day starter at RT
• Shipley wasn’t the remington award winner for nothing. Dude can play. Great pick here
• Remember the other end at Texas? The converted fullback, too atheltic, nasty and fast to keep off the field? Henry Melton. Or should I say Adalius Thomas!

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The talent infusion will enable Mangini to concentrate on moving the chains, rather than satisfying play-maker egos (Edwards/Winslow/Lewis). Quinn will hand-off left, right, middle, delay — then throw off the play-action. Best way to win. Control the clock, stop the run.

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You can resume snowman building. Remember, use a carrot and resist the urge to put it in the wrong place!

Browns Ramblings

Liberty running back Rashad Jennings met with the Patriots, and was requested for a second meeting with the Cleveland Browns. An interesting coincidence to the Browns' interest in Jennings is that the team's director of player personnel, T.J. McCreight, played tight end for Liberty when he was in college. Other teams who have been in contact with him are the Seahawks, Bengals, Vikings, Panthers, Jets, Chargers and Broncos.

This, I don’t mind. Jennings might turn out to be a very good running back. They can look at all the backs for all I care. We need one.

The Browns continued to work the field of Senior Bowl talent aggressively, spending time with Navy fullback Eric Kettani and Cincinnati cornerback DeAngelo Smith.

Just what we need, another fullback. If I were McCreight and one of my scouts was sniffing around fullbacks, I’d kick him in the jimmy. We have 2 good fullbacks and don’t need another.

I’M A GENIUS, SO LISTEN UP...
I watched Tuesday and Wednesday’s Senior Bowl practices on the NFL Network. Far and away the most dominant player is DT BJ Raji from Boston College. He’ll be a top 10 selection. He made the interior lineman look silly.

Of the centers, Alex Mack looked strongest. Max Unger is a tall dude, looks like a tackle. Mack seems able to get lower and has better core strength. I wish AQ Shipley were playing in this game. I’d have loved to see him battle against these DT’s.

Trevor Cantfield, G Cincinnati, looks good. Not a fat dude. Seems athletic and solid.

Marcus Freeman has done nothing to diminish his stock. He’s physical and athletic and has looked good.

Clint Sintim is fast becoming a favorite for me. If the Browns look to trade down and acquire picks, Sintim would be a natural fit later in round 1. Something tells me the Browns would draft him and move him to tight end because they love his versatility. “He’s going to be a special player for us someday,” they’d say.

“Hey Browns! Draft a fullback, a long snapper, a kicker and a punter, please. Who cares if we can’t stop anyone. We all know how important special teams are. We’d be dominant!”

Maybe reverse psychology will help.

More picks - best player, dammit!

It is still early and we’ve got to give the guy a chance to prove something on the field, but the Browns reaching for Beau Bell is still a pricey mistake. Maybe not as much as giving up your third round pick to land Rucker, but considering the LB’s that were still on the board, it’s mind-boggling.

Here is an example of the type of player available to the Browns, had they been patient:

Colts Expecting DE Marcus Howard To Step Up In '09
...There’s a feeling around Indianapolis that DE Marcus Howard can make a similar jump in ’09, even though he won’t be winning a starting job. Howard’s incredible speed rivals that of fellow Colts DE Dwight Freeney, and if he can improve his defensive awareness, he’ll be given more of a green light to ply his craft in Year Two. (Howard was drafted 161st in last years draft (pick 26 of round 5)).

I can already hear the argument, “We already had Wimbley, a speed rusher. We didn’t need Howard.”

2 words. Best Player. Run your draft based on need and you’ll always be in need. Take great players and you’ll wind up loaded with playmakers. Yes, it is true the Colts have a completely different defense that relies on smaller DE’s with speed. Don’t care. Great coaches and organizations find ways to get playmakers on the field.

Holati Ngata is an absolute beast. Nice scouting Savage.

Tuesday

I concede, the Browns stand little chance at winning consistently in the AFC North. With the Steelers and Ravens in the division, how could they? The Rooneys have cornered the market on organizational consistency and tough, intelligent coaches. Their physical brand of in-your-face football has been the mainstay in the division for the last 10 years.

Then there's the Ravens. Want to know how they are able to rebound so quickly from a down year? Simple. Look at their draft history.

1996 - 1 - 4 - Jonathan Ogden, T - UCLA
1997 - 1 - 4 - Peter Boulware, DE - Florida State
1998 - 1 - 10 - Duane Starks, DB - Miami (FL)
1999 - 1 - 10 - Chris McAlister, DB - Arizona
2000 - 1 - 5 - Jamal Lewis, RB - Tennessee
2001 - 1 - 31 - Todd Heap, TE - Arizona State
2002 - 1 - 24 - Ed Reed, DB - Miami (FL)
2003 - 1 - 10 Terrell Suggs, DE - Arizona State
2004 - 2 - 51 Dwan Edwards, DT - Oregon State
2005 - 1 - 22 Mark Clayton, WR - Oklahoma
2006 - 1 - 12 Haloti Ngata, DT - Oregon
2007 - 1 - 29 Ben Grubbs, G - Auburn
2008 - 1 - 18 Joe Flacco, QB - Delaware

Ozzie Newsome truly is a wizard. Every one of their first round picks, save Boller and Dwan Edwards have been in the very productive to all-star status. It's mind boggling. Lerner should give Ozzie the keys and the title and let him drive.

Cleveland? Oh yeah. Well, we've got Joe Thomas!

Actually, it's not that bad. The Browns proved they have the personnel to hang with the big boys by crushing the Giants on Monday night last year. It shows how important emotion is to football. Top-down, the organization wanted that game. Coaches and players were focused and executed from start to finish. It was a thing of beauty.

But that was the past. Mangini and Co. need to find the nucleus and add to it, some by subtraction. Edwards will be in a contract year so you can count him in for major production. Question is, will the production come in Cleveland or with another team like say, Arizona or Seattle?

The bottom line is talent on the field. We need more of it. This is a very important draft for the Browns. Let's hope they get it right so we can close the gap.

Fixing the Browns

I'd start with this guy.