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

Browns Take Richardson & Weeden

The Cleveland Browns had an interesting first round of the NFL Draft by moving up from number 4 to number 3 and selecting Alabama running back, Trent Richardson and then using their second number 1 pick to select Oklahoma State QB Brandon Weeden. In the second round, the Browns picked right tackle Mitchell Schwartz from California and in the third round selected defensive tackle John Hughes from Cincinnati.

The selection of Richardson made sense to me. In January, I was not in favor of drafting Richardson because I thought that the Browns should re-sign Peyton Hillis and then draft Justin Blackmon. Once Hillis went to Kansas City, I then changed my mind and felt that the Browns could get Richardson and then select a wide receiver with their second pick in the first round. This leads to Brandon Weeden.

It is evident that the Browns were not comfortable going into the 2012 season with Colt McCoy as the quarterback. Mike Holmgren and Company tried to acquire the second pick of the draft so that they could draft Robert Griffin III. When Washington out bid them, the Browns obviously started to look at Plan B. Apparently, Plan B was Brandon Weeden.

Weeden is 28 years old and has had a successful college career. He stood toe-to-toe against RGIII and Andrew Luck this past season with Weeden's Oklahoma State team defeating Baylor and Stanford. Weeden is bigger than Colt McCoy and has a stronger arm than McCoy. I have given McCoy the benefit of the doubt. By that I mean that I believed that he suffered from a lack of receivers, a lack of a consistent running game and a struggling offensive game plan. However, physically McCoy may not have the ability to compete as a starting quarterback in the NFL or at the very least as a starting quarterback on a team with many needs.

There is an opinion on the part of some that a franchise quarterback brings up the level of play of those around him. I think it's safe to say that McCoy does not have the ability to do that. The big question now is whether or not Brandon Weeden has that ability. Weeden will come in with a rookie running back as the number one guy in Trent Richardson and the selection of Schwartz would seem to mean that he will be starting at right tackle. The wide receiving corp remains the same. Weeden will not have a Justin Blackmon to throw to and instead will have Greg Little as his go-to-guy.

Whether Weeden knows it or not, the direction of this franchise will weigh heavily on his shoulders. His success or failure could also impact the future of Mike Holmgren, Tom Heckert and Pat Shurmur. Holmgren's reputation is that of an offensive guru who knows quarterbacks. The selection of McCoy was in the third round and he basically took a chance on him. But the selection of Weeden is different. He picked Weeden in the first round. He's 28 years old so he will be expected to start right away. There will be no apprenticeship.

My patience with Holmgren & Company is wearing thin. I think they have made plenty of mistakes and I did not appreciate the comments made by Holmgren when he said that we as fans just need to get over what happened in the past. Sorry Mike, as a fan the past does matter particularly when last season we saw no hope. Instead what we saw was an offense that was worse than the Brian Daboll-led one in 2010. I can take losing if I see some progress. If I see some young players who give you the belief that things will get better. The Browns have some of those type of players on defense. But in today's NFL, it's all about being able to score. That's why there will be plenty riding on Brandon Weeden. If Weeden does not succeed, this franchise will go backwards for another 5 years and Holmgren, Heckert & Shurmur won't be long for Cleveland, Ohio.