Another weekend, and yes, another Browns rant coming at you…
It is absolutely astonishing to me that our coaching staff cannot seem to find any continuity in our offense. You do not have to be an NFL expert to realize the Browns lack “playmaking” talent on offense, nor do you have to be an NFL expert to realize that Josh Cribbs is easily the best playmaker on our team. Which, makes it befuddling when you look back and realize he only touched the ball on Sunday during kick or punt returns. Mindboggling.
At this rate, the Brownies are headed towards another top ten draft pick, and unless their offense miraculously wakes up, more likely a top 5 draft pick (here’s hoping Atlanta continues to lose so we end up with two first round draft picks in the top 15-20)…Here is what the Browns should do with both of those picks; draft the best player available. I am not bemoaning the front office, yet, I understand they have only had two drafts, and both classes have produced very solid results. However, they cannot continue to trade down, stockpile draft picks, and take offensive lineman. Nor, should they package those two first round picks we do have, for the number one overall pick to take Andrew Luck. It is so clearly obvious that it would not matter if the Browns had Aaron Rogers at quarterback; we lack playmakers at skill positions which are what teams like Green Bay, and New England, and Pittsburgh have.
With that said, here is my Browns 2013 draft wish-list: 1) Justin Blackmon – he won the Belitnikoff as a sophomore, and has been nothing short of a beast for the #3 Oklahoma State team that should be playing for the national championship (more on that to come). 2) Trent Richardson – look I know we have Hillis, and Hardesty, but Richardson is one of those freak, once in a lifetime, Adrian Peterson type running backs that do not come along every year. 3) Morris Claiborne – LSU has a tremendously deep talent pool at defensive back, and Claiborne is only a junior, but he is a ball hawk, and putting him next to Joe Haden would be a lethal tandem for a long time. 4) Dont’a Hightower – it is grossly obvious that we lack linebackers that can make plays (proven by our awful rush defense) and Hightower can play any of the linebacker spots with his athleticism. 5) BJ Cunningham – here is a guy who probably will not go in the first round, but the WR from Michigan State proved all year why he will make his living on Sunday afternoons. Buckeye fans probably remember the torching he put on us: 9 catches for 154 yards and the Spartans only touchdown.
Chop It Up…
It is clear that we have a flawed system. We know this, and have for years, but this year might be one of the worst whack jobs the BCS has laid on us ever. We can start in the BCS National Championship game; clearly LSU deserved to be there, but how a team that finished second in its own division, and did not even play for its conference championship, and lost to LSU at home, makes it into the game is tough to explain. In my mind, if Alabama does win this game, there should be a split national champion because LSU proved through its body of work that it was the best team in college football. Oh by the way, Alabama did not beat a top ten team this year, while LSU beat three top five teams.
But wait, there is more! The biggest snub has to be Boise State. The #7 team got hosed so bad they are playing in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl. Maybe MAACO can paint over the car wreck that is the BCS. Even worse, two teams ranked lower than Boise State, and outside of the top ten (Va Tech #11, and Michigan #13) will face off in the BCS Sugar Bowl yet Boise State, South Carolina, Kansas State, and Arkansas who are all ranked higher than Virginia Tech and Michigan failed to receive a BCS bowl invite. And two teams ranked outside of the top 14 will play in the Orange Bowl thanks to the automatic tie ins, which means we get to see #15 Clemson, losers of 2 of their final 3 games, play #23 West Virginia who won the highly touted Big East. Hope you sense the sarcasm.
The reason for these choices and snubs is simple. To the BCS it is all about selling tickets, hotel rooms, merchandise, and plane tickets rather than putting the teams that deserve it in these games. Did Michigan and Virginia Tech have good years? Yes. Will they have large fan bases that travel well? Sure. But that should not be the reason the #7 team in the nation has to go play a pre-Christmas bowl game.
Let us hope that this will be the year that brings the BCS to its knees. I would not even care if players from Boise State, Arkansas, South Carolina, or Kansas State sold all of their stuff and pocketed some extra money. It would just be the money their schools are being swindled out of by the BCS’s gluttonous system.
