Browns: Just When You Thought It Was Safe

I cannot remember a longer off-season than this. For over a decade I have watched the Cleveland Browns and throughout that entire time I have expected the same dismal results. 4-12, 6-10, 2-14, ect. It just doesn't get old. Yes, there were certain fluke situations like in 2001 and 2007 when we had winning records. When the Browns went to the playoffs in 2001, playing the long-time rival Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card game, we thought "this is our year."  We were wrong and the Browns, in their usual fashion, blew a double digit lead going into the 3rd quarter.

But something has been tremendously different this year. For the first time since... well... 1994 and the two year "regime" of Bill Belichick we have actually had a legitimate team all around, ranging from the front office to the very core of our personnel. Randy Lerner is a good owner, despite fans' complaints in the recent past. Yes, maybe he cares way too much about his European Triumph, the British Premier League stars Aston Villa. However, that has recently been outshined by the hiring of Superbowl winning coach, now president, Mike Holmgren.
There is so much that this man brings to the table, not only his skills as a coach and his resume of being consistently successful, but his mutual staff that he brings with him. I don't think many fans have yet to realize what an asset Gil Haskell serves as our Senior Adviser to the President. Can anyone say "Hall of Fame?"

So what does Holmgren do in his first act as President? He goes and hires a GM. Not just any old GM, but one coming from another dominant team of the past decade, the Philadelphia Eagles. The Browns have never tread in these foreign waters before. Tom Heckert has a track record of drafting some of today's and tomorrow's Pro Bowlers, including greats like Brian Westbook, Sheldon Brown, and Brent Celek.

With all of this in place, Browns fans still were skeptical. We have, after all, seen this before with Carmen Policy and Butch Davis, which didn't turn out so well. But, once again, the Holmgren administration makes all of the right moves. First, we cured the cancer of last season by getting rid of the two worst quarterbacks in the NFL, Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson. Then, we bring in one of Sports Illustrated's Top 5 NFL Backups in Seneca Wallace, but Holmgren doesn't stop there. The signing of former Pro Bowler and quarterback of Super Bowl XXXVIII Jake Delhomme was arguably the best acquisition of the off-season. Other great signings were those such as OLB Scott Fujita and TE Ben Watson. Then, our GM made his best move by trading mediocre prospect LB Alex Hall and our 4th and 5th round picks to the Eagles for Pro Bowl DB Sheldon Brown and a solid MLB in Chris Gocong. Suddenly, our defense is starting to look legitimate.

Then, drafting Joe Haden and TJ Ward provided some extra depth with young players sure to break the mold. But it wasn't all about defense in Cleveland as the Browns traded up in the second round to grab Montario Hardesty, who some scouts called "the next Adrian Peterson." We also drafted a hard-nosed offensive linemen, Shawn Lavao, and one of the most successful college Quarterbacks in history, Colt McCoy. Everything seemed to be in place and the chemistry was nothing short of perfect, as shown in spring OTAs, minicamps, and finally training camp. Even with criticisms about our lack of a true #1 wide receiver and a weak defensive line, we were still stunning everyone who came through Berea, even the national media.

Everything looked perfect... until today. Reported in the late morning after the first daily practice, top CB Eric Wright injured his hamstring and was in a leg brace for the rest of practice. To make matters worse, Tony Pashos did not practice today either. He is going to be heavily relied on as a solid force on the right side of the O-Line. Marcus Bernard, who was a sack machine last year, was carted off the field with an as-of-yet undisclosed injury. Finally, Brian Schafering exited the building with a knee injury. I know I am probably overreacting, especially since all other 32 NFL teams are having the same issues right now. But because of such high expectations around Brown's Town, every little play, every injury, every mishap, is being closely watched. Guys, please get healthy and remain that way.

The Browns will be 8-8 in 2010. Write that down.