tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Has Anyone Seen Tom Heckert??

As teams augment their rosters via free agency (ex.-Washington) and trades (ex.-Chicago), the Cleveland Browns have signed DE Frostee Rucker and cut Tony Pashos and Eric Steinbach while also letting Peyton Hillis go to the Kansas City Chiefs. This is a period where teams try to augment their rosters with established players which then sets their needs for the upcoming draft. But the way the Holmgren/Heckert regime is operating, the Browns will need multiple picks through every round to meet this team's needs.

Here are the needs: quarterback - is Colt McCoy the answer or do the Browns need to draft a quarterback?, running back - is Montario Hardesty the answer or do the Browns use a high pick to draft a running back?, wide receiver - the Browns do not have a number one wide receiver. Will they use a top pick to draft one?, offensive line - Steinbach anchored the left guard position and now he is gone, Right tacle is a problem area. So what's the plan??, linebacker - the Browns have limited depth and this will be magnified if Scott Fujita is suspended for his role in the Saints bounty situation.

Tom Heckert has indicated that he would not be opposed to trading down to get additional picks. With Hillis gone, I can see Heckert moving down a few slots from number four and drafting Trent Richardson. I'm not all that sold on Richardson. The Browns created a need by letting Hillis walk. They were competitive against the Steelers and Ravens this past season with him in the lineup. With so many other needs on offense, this made no sense. Hillis signed a one year contract for $3 million. The Browns didn't even make an offer. They couldn't have made a similar offer for one year??? It could have bought them some time and allowed them to address other needs on offense.

The only thing that makes sense with the release of Steinbach is if the Browns had some questions about his health. But with the Browns medical staff's track record it makes you wonder. The Browns had a pretty solid left side of the O-line with Steinbach and Joe Thomas. The situation with Tony Pashos is interesting. There is no question that Pashos has been injured as often as he has been able to play. But according to reports, he played injured for most of last year when most guys would have bailed on the season. It would have been easy to bail since the team was going nowhere. For his dedication Pashos was cut.

With all of these needs and no committment to add any more pieces through free agency, the Holmgren/Heckert regime better be right on all of their draft picks, particularly those two first round picks. One thing that appears to be certain, it's going to be another long year on the Lakefront for long-suffering Browns fans. Almost makes me consider dropping the NFL Sunday Ticket.