While We’re Waiting… Lebron is Good, Kerry Wood, Mangini Understood?
February 5, 2009Hines Ward and His Super Bowl Blood Treatment
February 5, 2009
Of the many things ex-Browns GM Phil Savage did wrong, not having any real depth at cornerback behind second year players Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald was right near the top. He thought the team would be fine with Daven Holly as the nickel corner (which may have been the case), so he dealt starter Leigh Bodden to the Lions in a package to get All-Pro defensive tackle Shawn Rogers. Nobody can question that move as Rogers lived up to all the hype, was a dominant force in the middle, and was the MVP of the 2008 Browns – the equivalent to being the captain of the Titanic.
Then in late May, Holly blew out his knee during OTA’s, and the Browns were left paper thin at CB, considering they didn’t draft one three weeks prior when they had the opportunity to do so. Instead of exploring deals for big names like Lito Shepard or checking on the availability of free agent Ty Law, Savage went cheap and signed journeyman Terry Cousin. Cousin spent the year being picked on every third down he was on the field.
Then Savage compounded his mistake by trading a 2009 seventh round pick to the Dolphins for CB Travis Daniels, who lost his starting job the previous year due to the fact that he was burnt deep too often. Daniels rarely sniffed the field, even with McDonald going through a mid-season slump, highlighted by the Denver game where WR’s Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall used him as their personal pinata.
That brings us to this offseason. Savage is no longer with us. Holly’s status is still unknown. There is no chance Cousin is brought back, and Daniels most likely will not make the roster purge expected to come from the hands of new GM George Kokinis and coach Eric Mangini. The Browns pick fifth in April’s NFL draft, and many here would like to see Ohio State’s Malcolm Jenkins in the Brown and Orange. But with such a huge hole at Linebacker, Wake Forest’s Aaron Curry would be the wise choice. You can expect the Browns to take a DB at some point though.
This brings us to free agency and the option that just popped onto the radar screen, Bodden. According to the Detroit News, Bodden has been told by the Lions he won’t be brought back. The biggest reason is the $8.6 million roster bonus he was due on March 1st. The former Brown spent the early portion of the season in coach Rod Marinelli’s dog house. While his play wasn’t stellar in ’08, he is the perfect fit to return to Cleveland as the third corner.
Here me out. This is a guy who started his career in Cleveland as an undrafted, free agent out of Duquesne, who made the team because of his hard work on Special Teams. He turned himself into a very productive starting cornerback. He is in the prime of his career at 28, and knows the city and its fans well. He has worked with McDonald and Wright before, and no doubt would come in with a chip on his shoulder after his lost season in “The D.”
Nobody knows what Kokinis and Mangini are thinking, but Bodden’s return is not as far fetched as you may think. Talk about coming full circle. He went for a nobody to starter in Cleveland, before getting a big deal in Detroit and being knocked down a few pegs. Coming back to the Browns to resurrect himself is not the worst idea in the world.
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A quick Browns note, according to the Associated Press, the Browns have a new Offensive Line coach, former San Francisco assistant George Warhop. Do we have any other info on this guy? Nope, The Manginius is keeping everything on the DL these days.
25 Comments
I still think that the Browns would be better off trading the #5 pick to either Detroit or Philly for the 20/2nd round #1 or the 28/31 picks, and grabbing a pair of defensive players.
Jenkins reminds me too much of Shaun Springs.
Not sure that Curry is so much better than Laurinitis or others who’d be available at the end of the round, and the Browns should think about grabbing a certain Ravens’ LB named Suggs in the FA market.
I agree with most of the things you said ezzie. I would love the browns to get out of #5, especially if curry is off the board. But I dont see any FA ravens LB coming inside the AFC north division. Suggs is the one openly saying to give the Ravens a discount. The player on the ravens that is most intriguing to me is Leonard at S. If bodden does actually want back in cleveland, and Kokinis wants him, then why not? getting 3 solid corners and if we get leonard and address the LBs in the draft we could have a solid defense.
Cornerbacks. Blah. Least of the Browns worries.
Right. And if we can trade DA+KWII for Minny’s 1st and 3rd, even better.
Are you kidding? DA and KW2 for a first and third rounder? If I’m Minnesota I pull that trigger in a heartbeat! Picks #22 and 54? They get a starting QB and a Pro-Bowl caliber TE to team with Peterson. We get late draft choices? No thanks. They better be throwing in this year’s first and third and another first next year at least.
ya.. minnesota is talking about a 2nd or 1st for DA alone. plus I want to see K2 in a browns uni. If there was a chose of him or braylon, I would stay with K2.
Rick – I don’t know that DA is even worth a 3rd, even to Minnesota, though I think he would be to them. KW2 for a first rounder seems about right when you think salaries, too, though hey – if you think the Browns can squeeze another 1st rounder out of it, go for it.
Also remember that getting any decent value for those two would be a huge boost, as the other TE’s are solid and DA is extraneous.
If Minnesota is really talking that high on DA alone, getting a #1 & #2 this year + a late #1 next year seems very realistic, as the pitch would be that these guys can really push that team over the top. They have a great D, a good line, and Peterson – a strong-armed QB to keep defenses from stacking the box and a great blocking/catching TE would make them a serious contender.
Other options would be to get picks this year and a DB from their stocked secondary.
Anybody take a #2 this year, and a #2 next year (goes to a #1 if he becomes a Prow Bowler – for a DA? Curious?
Bodden certainly knows the best parking spots at the airport…
I would take a bag of footballs for DA.
Why look to trade KWII? He has the most talent on the team and plays with the intensity that I love to see
Bridgecrosser – I would take that, but doubt that Minnesota would give up 2 2s. Hell, I’d take anything higher than a 3 for DA. I would even think the Browns wouldn’t mind entertaining some conditional picks like you mentioned. I’d take a 3rd for him, but if they make playoffs, then it’s a 2nd and if he’s a Pro Bowler a 1st. I think that makes sense for both teams.
And I think Minnesota getting a young DA is a better option than signing Jeff Garcia. This way they can start to build for the future instead of going through this problem in a year or 2 when Garcia is gone. And I’d love for the Browns to get something for DA, which obviously won’t happen if Garcia signs w/ Minn, so you may say I’m biased
@#1 – What’s wrong with Jenkins being like Springs? Maybe I’m not looking at this correctly b/c he’s a Buckeye, but Springs played in 2 Pro Bowls and for a couple of years other teams threw away from him.
If Jenkins makes 2 Pro Bowls, I’d say that’s worth the pick, considering the lack of depth at CB for the Brownies.
I do agree about Curry not being much different than lil animal and malaluga. a decent LB can be had in the 2nd round I would like to think.
Im just saying with teams that want a young QB with a strong arm, theres a few out there. Minnesota and NYJ are 2 that i have heard mentioned as possible landning spots if or when DA is dealt. I say Kokinis goes to talk to mr danny ferry to get the best value. Minnesota is talking a 2nd rounder or even a 1st for DA. I think he could still be a starter, not as bad as he was lat year, but still not as good as his Pro Bowl year.
For the draft, I want the browns to get a game changer. Maybe Malcolm can, but rarely do teams go wrong when getting a LB in the first (Cleveland excluded). It will be easier to try to get some added depth in the secondary by signing FAs and then adding younger guys late in the draft while getting a LB or 2 on day 1.
DA is a perfect fit for Minny. They run the ball first and just need someone with an arm to launch the ball downfield so they can spread the defense. I could see them giving up at least a 2nd if not a 1st for DA.
As for KWII, I am not sure that Kokinis will want to trade him.
I am not too worried about our CB’s. If we pick up Bodden (or another good nickelback) that is one less thing to address in the draft.
Lyon, I was going to write the same thing. With the #5 pick, I certainly wouldn’t mind taking a guy who will be in the league 12 years, and at his peak is a lockdown corner.
My feeling exactly Bison. But if we do pass on Malcom, I can see us taking a CB in the 2nd or 3rd and hopefully get a steal
It would be a no-brainer for the Browns to pick up Leigh Bodden, given they would have to give up nothing to get him. He would provide much needed size in the secondary (which is currently smurf city) and at the least function as a dependable nickle back (please, haven’t we seen enough of Terry Cousins?). Bodden is a competitor and battles hard-given the lack of draft choices he would be a perfect pickup at this time.
Alas…….Mankok is unlikely to give this even a sniff as he’ll want to do it his way with his hand picked choices. He’s already said he won’t even watch film of anyone with “questionable character”, so forget about Bodden. (parking/airport incident……..instant Mankok rationale).
Viva la Mankok.
Just a quick question who do you get to back up quinn if we do trade DA yeah it sounds good to get a 1 or 2 but you need a quality backup. i say we get the best lb for our situation leaning on malaluga or curry but jenkins would be nice in brown and orange
Like I said in the ‘While We’re Waiting’ post, I would love to see Bodden come back. He gives us good depth and experience. I have no idea what to expect from Mangini/Kokinis in what looks like an average free agent market, so there will be a lot of attention on the draft and trades. I’d deal DA out for some help on the D-line, then draft an RB (We need our own Dasher to compliment our Smasher, Jamal Lewis) and fill gaps in the rest of the defense.
There was a reason Winslow hired a certain hardball agent last off-season who specializes in attempting to force mid-contract renegotiations. High-powered agents don’t come aboard in the middle of a contract unless they think their percentage will come soon. We don’t know yet what the new regime thinks of Winslow or how it will handle this but we can assume it will affect draft/trade strategies. If they decide not to re-work his contract I hope they have the sense to keep that quiet so other teams don’t feel like the Browns must trade him.
Randy – I want a “Viva La Mankok” T-shirt made up….
DA for a draft pick works a lot better then DA for a player. And instead of drafting a RB i think WR is of bigger importance on the offense. If in the browns 2nd pick in the draft (whether its in round 1 or 2) Hakeem Nicks out of North Carolina is available then I think the browns should get him. Hes a big body, good hands receiver that can replace Joe J since no one knows if he’ll get back on the field. Harrison/Cribbs/Lewis should be alright for this season, or maybe theres a late round stud that we find.
Just to clarify from above… one of the reasons I say to trade DA with KW2 is that DA alone is a big risk even if he could seemingly be the QB the Vikings need. You won’t get much value for him by himself. But if you say you’ll trade them KW2 and DA as a unit, but you want serious picks (and/or players) coming back in exchange, I think the Vikings would feel that it’s a move they have to make.
If you’re the Vikings, you have a top D, a great O-line, and Peterson, and your fans know that you could have had a big arm QB and a top TE who plays well with said QB… you better have made that move, even if it means giving up a 1st rounder this year and a conditional 1st or second-rounder next year (starting to agree that I didn’t ask for enough above) plus a 2nd or 3rd round pick this year. Meanwhile, if the Browns make that trade down from #5 Detroit (who could then take a LT to block for whichever QB they picked at #1) to get #20 and #33, the Browns would have four picks between #20 and #36 to get four solid defensive players.
I went to college with Leigh, even was on the same floor as him in my freshman year at Duq., and I have to tell you, he is a solid player who deserves to be on some NFL team.