Browns get an ‘A’ for effort

By Connor Byrne  |   Tuesday, March 06, 2007  |  Comments( 9 )

Cleveland Browns
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Over the last couple offseasons, the Cleveland Browns have transformed themselves into Washington Redskins North. Free-spending owner Randy Lerner has done his best to make the Browns into a playoff team for the first time since 2002, but it's been to no avail.

Cleveland has brought in high-priced, proven veterans like Willie McGinest, LeCharles Bentley, Ted Washington, Kevin Shaffer, Joe Andruzzi, Gary Baxter and Joe Jurevicius in the last two years. They picked up on that trend this month by signing the consensus top free agent offensive lineman on the market, Eric Steinbach, to a record contract (seven years, $49 million and $18.5 million in guarantees).

You have to salute the Browns for trying, but where has it gotten them so far?

The team added Baxter -- a former Baltimore Ravens cornerback -- for $30 million over six years in the 2005 offseason, but he's appeared in just eight of 32 games for Cleveland. The 28-year-old tore his pectoral muscle two seasons ago, then amazingly tore the patellar tendons in both knees last October. At best, the Browns can expect him back midway through the 2007 campaign.

Then there's the similarly unfortunate tale of Bentley, who signed a six-year, $36 million contract last year. Right now, the Cleveland native is on the verge of seeing his career end because of a debilitating knee injury. The sad part is that Bentley -- a former two-time Pro Bowl center with the New Orleans Saints between 2002-05 -- hasn't yet suited up in a regular-season game for the Browns. The 27-year-old actually tore his patellar tendon on the first day of training camp last summer, and he hasn't recovered since.

The rest of the above names have fared well for Cleveland, yet the team still finished just 4-12 in 2006. Since the Browns started spending big-time money in '05, they've gone a terrible 10-22. Somehow, it seems the team just can't get out of its own way. Most believe the Browns have been a luckless franchise since their inception in 1950, and their recent struggles seem to further prove that notion.

Therefore, who's to say this Steinbach signing will work out? The 6-foot-6, 290-pound guard was a second-round pick of the in-state rival Cincinnati Bengals in 2003, and he started all four years for them. The soon-to-be 27-year-old Steinbach, because of his past success, became the most highly touted O-lineman available this year. Right away, the Browns pried him off the free-agent market.

On paper, the Browns' line looks good, with Steinbach, Shaffer and Andruzzi manning it. The group would look much better if it had Bentley in the middle, obviously, but that's not a possibility.

The bottom line is that no matter which players the Browns sign, it seems as though the team can never climb out of the rut its been in since 1999, when the NFL returned to Cleveland. The Browns deserve applause for consistently trying to improve themselves, but if they continue failing miserably even with Steinbach on the line, it may be time to rethink their strategy in free agency for next March.

It's put up or shut up for Cleveland's veteran-laden team. Improvement is a must.

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CommentsComments: 9  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
fr8ttrain		12:39 PM
03/06/2007
Yes, the Bentley injury sucked/s, the O-Line could be coming together, but instead its still up in the air. The one thing I will...
No.2
Mikey		01:31 PM
03/06/2007
I still think Schaffer is too slow to be a decent left tackle. They could really use Joe Thomas if he's there. Then the line is...
No.3
Edward		01:34 PM
03/06/2007
I really think Charlie Frye will be a great QB. He finally has an 0-line. If this group makes it through the offseason and...
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