Making a Case for AJ Green

In the Blawg Pound Draft Board (see sidebar on left), we have Georgia wide receiver AJ Green listed as a Who We Like and Alabama’s Julio Jones listed as a Biggest Question.

Some blog readers have questioned this … especially my brother, who really like Jones for the No. 6 pick.

Sure, Jones really showed off at the NFL Combine … he displayed speed, agility … basically, he looked awesome. Of course, you still cannot overlook Green.

Hillis is a Beast

Basically, today, I wanted to share this awesome highlight reel of Peyton Hillis. Enjoy!

Looking to the Draft

A lot has happened so far this offseason. Or, perhaps it only seems that way since I crammed a couple of months worth of material into a week's worth of posts.

Regardless, with the threat of a lockout looming, all we can do as Browns fans right now is what we normally do this time of year — look forward to the NFL Draft.

It’s still a couple of months away, so I’ll save my mock drafts and talent evaluations for future posts.

I will, however, say one thing. Early indicators are that the Browns are targeting either Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green or North Carolina defensive end Robert Quinn as their first pick.

As mentioned yesterday, these are both positions the Browns will need to fill.

Seasoned Coaches, Unseasoned Talent

As mentioned the other day in our offseason recap, new Browns head coach Pat Shurmur has picked Dick Jauron and Ray Rhodes to lead the defense.

Both Jauron and Rhodes have a lot of experience — and so did the Browns defense, until now.

Recently, the team released six players, including Shaun Rogers, Kenyon Coleman, Eric Barton and David Bowens — four seasoned veterans.

The Browns are shifting to a 4-3 defense next year, and for that they’ll need quicker, more athletic players. That equates to younger, it seems.

Franchise Tag for Dawson Makes Sense

Finally, something to be happy about with the Browns this offseason. The other day, the Cleveland Browns placed the franchise tag on kicker Phil Dawson.

I, for one, think this is a terrific move. Sure, many will look at this and think it's silly to waste such a think on a mere kicker.

Let's be honest ... who else deserves the franchise tag?

Since 1999, Phil Dawson is the Cleveland Browns. He's the only player remaining from that inaugural reincarnation season.

And, throughout the misery of seasons since, he's been a constant bright spot for this struggling franchise.

Masters of Media Hype

It's that time of year again ... are you excited? Sure, the season has been over for quite some time, and the Super Bowl is almost a distant memory. But, this is the NFL ... where there is no offseason.

It's time for the NFL Combine!!!

Everything — and I mean everything — the NFL does is a big event. Press releases are issued every time Roger Goodell farts … OK, maybe that's a bit extreme.

Seriously, though, the marketing minds at the NFL have a knack for garnering interest in the most mundane events.

The NFL Draft is a huge ordeal, with an abundance of media coverage and analysis. In fact, last year it was moved from Saturday and Sunday afternoons to a four-day weekend's worth of coverage beginning with a Thursday night prime time first round.

Shouldering the Load

Back to our Browns offseason recap …

Turns out, rookie quarterback Colt McCoy was not 100 percent this year and that he was still recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered in last year’s BCS Championship game.

I think I speak for all Browns fans when I say, “WTF!”

On the one hand, I think about how dangerous it was for his future and the future of this franchise to have him out there playing injured week after week.

Of course, on the other hand, I can’t help but think how an injured Colt McCoy was still better than a healthy Jake Delhomme and can only imagine how good McCoy will be when he is healthy.

Money for Nothing

OK, this is all I’m going to say about Josh Cribbs, and then I’m putting a moratorium on Blawg Pound posts related to him.

Injury or not, thanks for nothing, Josh Cribbs. You whined and cried last year that you “outperformed” your contract and that you deserved more money.

Against better judgment, the Browns did redo your contract — even though they didn’t have to — and you got more money.

Jauron, Rhodes Give Defensive Assist

We're back to talking about the new Cleveland Browns organization again today. On the job for about a month now, Shurmur has announced his coaching staff.

We learned while back that former Bears/Bills/Lions head coach has-been Dick Jauron will lead the defense. I apologize if that sounds a bit harsh … I mean nothing by it. Jauron has lots of NFL experience (something Shurmur does not), so maybe he’ll be a solid defensive coordinator.

Assisting Jauron will be Ray Rhodes, who you may remember as Holmgren’s successor for one season after he left Green Bay.

If anything, at least the defense has a lot of experience leading a fairly inexperienced group (we’ll address that another day).

Alex (not Kevin) Mack Scores a TD

Continuing my recap of all-things Cleveland Browns the past couple of months, I have to note the Pro Bowl.

As much as I loathe the Pro Bowl — even more so now that it’s played the week before the Super Bowl — I do have to say it’s nice to have some representation in Hawaii for the Cleveland Browns.

Not only was perennial Pro-Bowler Joe Thomas the starting left tackle for the AFC, but center Alex Mack was picked to go as a back-up.

Two Weeks Until D-Day

The current NFL collective bargaining agreement expires two weeks from today. What does that mean?

It means, unless the NFL and the NFL Players Association can come to an agreement by March 4, there will be a lockout until they do.

But, what does that mean?

It’s simple: it’s all about greed.

OK, perhaps it’s a little more complicated than that. Luckily, I’ve found someone who has broken it all down and explained it in real people terms.

The Browns Hired Who?

I’m pretty confident most Browns fans were as puzzled as I was when Mike Holmgren’s “exhaustive” coaching search ended in about a week with the hiring of Ram’s quarterback coach Pat Shurmur.

I mean, who is this guy? Why is he qualified to lead the Cleveland Browns? … OK, let me rephrase that: Why is he qualified to be a head coach in the NFL?

What happened to Jon Gruden? I thought for sure he would have been a shoe-in, what with his ties to Holmgren and Cleveland. Apparently, though, he wasn’t even interviewed.

Recapping the Chaos

Welcome back, Browns fans. It’s been a crazy (typical) end of season/beginning of the offseason for our beloved Brownies.

Over the next several days, I’m going to do my best to recap all the madness that is Cleveland Browns football.

First though, let me just say that good ol’ Wisconsin cheese never tasted so good (and no, it does not taste bitter). What goes around comes around.

OK, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, let’s talk about the events that unfolded at the end of the 2010 season.

New Blawg Pound Mascot

This is Rocco ... the new official mascot of The Blawg Pound.

Go Browns!