The Cleveland Browns may hold the key to the top half of this weekend's NFL Draft. At the third position, they could take running back Adrian Peterson or quarterback Brady Quinn. Or maybe even wide receiver Calvin Johnson.
So here's hoping they do what's right. Here's hoping they take Adrian Peterson.
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| Adrian Peterson could be part of the cure for Cleveland's chronic rushing problem. (US Presswire) |
No, the reason for taking Adrian Peterson runs deeper, because it's Cleveland we're talking about. You don't win games in Cleveland in November and December by throwing the ball; you win by playing sound defense and grinding down opponents with an effective rushing game.
Pardon Browns fans if they can't remember. Since the club returned to the NFL in 1999, Cleveland hasn't ranked higher than 20th in rushing, four times hasn't made it past 31st and only once reached the playoffs.
So, yeah, running the ball is a problem.
Now, you're going to solve that problem by drafting, say, Quinn and teaming him with Jamal Lewis or second-year back Jerome Harrison? I don't think so. First of all, there's no guarantee Quinn will make it. In fact, the success rate of first-round quarterbacks is no better than 60-40, and you don't have to remind Browns fans.
They root for the club that made Tim Couch the first pick in 1999.
Couch was part of a draft class that included five quarterbacks in the first round. Only one -- Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb -- remains with the team that chose him. Three others are out of football, while the fourth -- Daunte Culpepper -- awaits an uncertain future in Miami.
Dating back to 1999, there have been 24 quarterbacks taken with first-round picks. Fourteen are starters; 15 if you include Culpepper. That means there have been nine or 10 washouts, and I'd pay attention to those odds if I were Cleveland.
And maybe the Browns are. You can only hope.
Listen, I know a lot more scouts and coaches who think Peterson is a surer shot than Quinn. The dead-bolt cinch, of course, is Georgia Tech's Johnson, but he takes us back to that idea of winning in Cleveland in December by throwing the ball. It doesn't make sense. Or, let's put it another way: It makes more sense to run it.
Hey, the Browns reached the playoffs in 1988 when they had four quarterbacks, including career backups like Mike Pagel and Don Strock, getting serious air time. And where did they get them? The playoffs, that's where. The Browns won four of their last five because they knew how to play defense and because they had Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack.
