Olympic Conclusion Leaping

The Browns went after RG3, therefore they think Colt McCoy is a bumb.

San Fransisco is pursuing Peyton Manning, therefore they think Alex Smith is a bumb, right? A year after Jim Harbaugh took a bunch of flak for not only retaining him, but naming him the starter for the next season.

Smith did a nice job, and San Fran won thirteen games. So why does Harbaugh now think Smith is a bumb? Well, he doesn't. He just thinks Manning is better. See how that works?

This is a difficult concept for many Browns fans to master, but I'll try again: There are bad, below average, average, above average, good, and great quarterbacks...not just great and bad ones, you see?

Last season, McCoy was under fire and had little help, and yet managed to be okay--as in maybe average. No-no--stay with me here! Average means that he threw one more touchdown than interception, completed over 55% of his passes, and had an adequate quarterback rating. Is this sinking in--I mean that this was not bad, but instead was between bad and good?

So: Just as Harbaugh likes Alex Smith, but LOVES future Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning, doesn't mean he thinks Smith is a bumb. Because H/H went after SuperGriffin doesn't mean they think McCoy is a bumb, either.

So soon after causing you that headache, I really hate to do this, but here is another complex notion for you to begin to think about thinking about: Young players tend to IMPROVE with experience. In fact, this happens like 80% of the time, and for the first three or four years of their carreer!

When you call NFL Radio and proclaim that the Browns now need two guards, one tackle, two wide recievers, etc. you are being what I call a Memorex Moron (MM). Two young first-time guards were thrown to the wolves all season, and were bad.

This can be deceptive. Were they as bad in the second half of the season as they were in the first half? Isolate the last, most important, four games of the season, and compare.

Well, I don't have all the films and we can't really do that, but you see Tom Heckert and Pat Shurmer can. They will know stuff like:

Did they fall for the same sucker moves they did before?
Did they maybe punch the defender's pads quicker and harder to arrest their momentum better?
Were they more decisive about who should handle that delayed blitze, or how quick to disengage the lineman and hunt linebackers?

How good were they in the LAST few games, and how much had they improved? And now that they had a whole off season to look at their own tapes and know for real exactly what they needed to get better at, how much better will they be this season?

Now, do the Browns need new guards? I can't honestly tell you. Unlike many of YOU, I know what I don't know. But I CAN tell you that the Coach and Personel guy probably DO know.

What did Heckert say about McCoy? About "having enough" to know if he can play? He meant game-films. Every player has isolated films that are studied. There are DATES on the films, which are NOTED, because they're looking for IMPROVEMENT.

Full circle here: Alex Smith was conservative/careful, per Harbaugh's instructions. He marched the Niners up and down the field as half of a balanced attack. He didn't have to come from more than three or seven points behind very often. He proved to be a solid, intelligent quarterback.

Peyton Manning runs his own offense. He can carry a team on his back. He can attack deep and not throw interceptions. He can come back. He is a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer who could make SURE a 13-3 team goes to the Superbowl. So Harbaugh wants him more than he wants Smith.

For the Browns, RG3 was the brand-new version of that for a 4-12 team that's rebuilding. McCoy can become Alex Smith. RG3 can become more. But niether McCoy nor Smith suck, ok?

Now for a huge, massive sleeper in this draft that...I just don't get why this guy is so hugely underrated:

Arkansas wide reciever Joe Adams.

Ok well he's 5'10 1/2, 178. That weight is the main reason why he's so low among this class of recievers. He's also had some fumbles, and scouts say he'll need to work on precision routes if a West Coast team like the Browns STEAL him in the third round or below.

While NFL strength trainers will probably pump him up some, I know that he just lit up the Senior Bowl. He was unstoppable. It didn't matter who was throwing the ball to him, or which cornerback was trying to stop him. Yeah, he outran them, but he also broke tackle after tackle after tackle!

I mean, he's light, but must be made of baling wire or something!

Adams can go vertical and beat most man cornerbacks, but more often shakes them off--getting lots of separation with sudden moves. With the ball, he's just plain lethal, which is why he's an excellent returner as well.

This is a guy the Browns could get pretty cheap later in the draft. His route-running issue is purely mental. He simply must learn the West Coast reads, and the mental discipline to make his moves at the correct depths. He's physicly ideal for the system (except for his size) because he can CONSISTANTLY get separation, has very good hands, and racks up yards with the ball in his hands.

As a rookie, he'd be introduced gradually in the slot and as a fourth reciever. Jordan Norwood already knows the routes and has proven reliable. I would also take some returns off of Cribbs and use him that way.

The most important thing about Adams is that he is a certified "play maker" who can go all the way from anywhere on the field. Further, if he gains some weight and can defeat press coverage, he just might be able to play X or Y (outside) down the road--although that's not ideal. Norwood is actually bigger than he is.

Now, the Browns re-signed Smith. There's also this tight end named Cameron on the roster. He had very little experience at tight end in college, which is why he was drafted lower. The Browns knew that he was very raw, and would take awhile to develop.

While many of YOU MM'S have written him off already, I'm here to point out that he's now had a year of practice and coaching, and is right on schedule to challenge for playing time. I also need to point out to you conclusion-leapers that he is NOT Evan Moore, and was projected to become a decent (or better) in-line blocker (ie a REAL tight end).

While I have misgivings about Watson and his concussions/age, Smith is a very solid all-around tight end that I feel good about. He's not just a blocker, but a very good reciever as well.

Wide recievers aren't the only recievers. Last season, New England had mainly Welker and tight ends. Now, they're going after Brandon Lloyd, and I suspect that if they don't nab him, they'll turn their low first round pick into Mike Wallace. But they won a lot of games without "that guy", just as they have in other seasons.

My point? That if the Browns trade down rather than drafting the best wide reciever, and take Richardson instead, and then a right tackle rather than a wide reciever or something, don't starts throwing bricks at your TV.