Draft Recap: Browns and Dolphins Take A Step Back

By Jason Comack

Grading drafts is a futile process. After all drafts should be evaluated three years in hindsight, not one minute after it's done. With that being said it is possible for teams to have good or bad drafts based on where players are picked, what trades were made and so on.

Here are two teams that had particularly poor drafts.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns walk out having the strangest draft. They traded up one spot (giving up fourth, fifth and seventh round picks to do so) to draft Trent Richardson. In 2010 Peyton Hillis had a monster season for the Browns (Hillis was a mere throw in as part of the Brady Quinn trade.) As Bill Barnwell quipped on Twitter the lesson the Browns took away from that was to invest a ton of resources into a running back.

Does the offensive line make the running back? Or does the running back make the offense? It's a debate that's been settled. Even if Richardson is Adrian Peterson he doesn’t have the ability to transform the team like many think he does.

At pick 22 the Browns decided to take 28 year old quarterback Brandon Weeden. What’s confusing about this selection is Weeden was the Browns backup plan after Kendall Wright. Beat writers have called it a confounding pick and a total throw away. The biggest myth of the draft was that Weeden was NFL ready because he’s older. More mature, probably, however his age won’t make NFL defenses any slower and it won’t help him learn an NFL offense any faster.

All in all the Browns used two first round picks, a fourth, fifth and seventh and walked out with Richardson and Weeden. The Redskins on the other hand used three first round picks and a second to draft Robert Griffin III. What would you rather have done?

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins selection of Ryan Tannenhill was also a head scratcher Let’s recap Tannenhill’s college career.

In 2007 Tannenhill red-shirted.

In 2008 Mike Sherman took over as head coach. Tannehill competed for the quarterback job against Stephen McGee and Jerrod Johnson. Tannenhill finished third in the QB derby and Sherman moved him to receiver.

In 2009 Tannehill competed against Jerrod Johnson for the starting QB job. Johnson was named the starting QB.

In 2010 Tannenhill began the season at WR. He didn’t take over until midway into the season. Starting seven games.

In 2011 Tannenhill started all 13 games at QB. The Aggies would end up with a disappointing 6-7 record and Mike Sherman would be fired after the season.

I'd bet Mike Sherman is totally stoked to coach Ryan Tannenhill again. Maybe he can move him to wide receiver again. Maybe Tannenhill will get Mike Sherman fired for a second time. 

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Montie's MLB Preview 2012 (National League)

The St. Louis Cardinals will begin their quest to repeat as World Series Champions against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park later tonight. So how will the Cardinals, Marlins, and everyone else fare in the NL that has lost some superstars to their countpart in the AL in 2012?

NL East: (1)Phillies, (2)Marlins[WC], (3)Nationals, (4)Braves, (5)Mets

• The Phillies look for their sixth consecutive NL East crown in 2012. However, this year features their toughest competition. The division is much improved & the Phils are not the same as years past. Yes, their rotation is still solid. But they begin the season without Howard & Utley. Plus, Rollins & Polanco have been injury-plagued the past few years. The outfield is a strength for the club & Papelbon should replace Madson quite well.
• The Marlins season depends on the health of two players: Josh Johnson & Jose Reyes. The fish added quality arms in Buehrle & Zambrano + one of the better closers in the game in Heath Bell. The young corner outfielders will provide a lot of pop. Look out NL for the flying fish.
• The Nationals are a team that is up in coming. Although, they're still stuck in a tough divison & they begin the season with four players on the DL. Nevertheless, a full season from the phenom Stephen Strasburg along with Gio Gonzalez, Edwin Jackson, Ryan Zimmermann & Jason Werth will keep them in contention.
• The Braves are a good team. Likewise the Nats, they are stuck in a divison that has upgraded. The rotation is full of potential, yet full of questions. The offense will need to elevate for Atlanta.
• When describing what the Mets can do in 2012 it comes down to one word: "if". And there are way too many "if"s in talking about them. They can win games provided all the "if"s combine at the right time, against the right teams.

NL Central: (1)Reds, (2)Cardinals, (3)Brewers, (4)Pirates, (5)Cubs, (6)Astros

• This division is the toughest to predict. To me, the Reds are the favorite because of what happened to everyone else. The Reds did have an off year in 2011 but with the addition of Mat Latos & an offense featuring Phillips, Votto & Bruce. The Reds look to rebound to 2010 form and beyond.
• A lot has happened to St.Louis since winning the World Series 5 months ago. No more Pujols and no more LaRussa. Chris Carpenter will not be ready but they do get ace Adam Wainwright back from Tommy John Surgery. So consider it a Pujols for Wainwright-Carlos Beltran kind of trade.
• So why third for the Brewers? The loss of Prince Fielder will affect MVP winner Ryan Braun. Expect to see a lot of intentional walks to Braun because Aramis Ramirez/Corey Hart are not Prince Fielder and will not provided enough protection for Braun.
• The Pirates have their best roster in years. Is it enough to contend for the divison? No. Can they finally get over .500? They are due and I believe they will. When healthy, Eric Bedard is one of the best. The Bucs added some low value-high reward type players in Rod Barajas, Casey McGehee, Clint Barmes & even A.J Burnett. With no Pujols on the Cards & Fielder on the Brewers that opens the door for the Pirates to raise the Jolly Roger at least 81 times.
• The Cubs, now under GM Theo Epstein, should be on top of the Central in the next few years but not this year. The Astros will just tell you, "lets just move to the AL already".

NL West: (1)Giants, (2)Diamondbacks[WC], (3)Dodgers, (4)Rockies, (5)Padres

• One of the biggest reasons the Giants could not duplicate what they did in 2010 was the season-ending injury to Buster Posey. Now with Posey back, the additions of Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan to the outfield & of course a robust rotation the Giants attempt to get back to the top of the NL West.
• Can Arizona do it all over again in 2012? They'll be up there but no. Good pickups in Jason Kubel & Trevor Cahill but what they can do against a healthy Giants team.
• It seems like all we talk about with the Dodgers is who will be the owner in the future. We seldomly talk about the Dodgers on the field. On the field they have one of the best core group of players in Kershaw, Billingsley, Kemp, and Ethier. It would not suprise me to see them in second in the end.
• The Rockies may not be the same as in years past but reasons to watch them are (a) they feature two of the best young hitters & defensive players in baseball in Carlos Gonzalez & Troy Tulowitzki. (b) the best storyline entering this year: 49 year old Jamie Moyer being named second starter.
• The Padres have a strong back end of the bullpen but unfortunately very little offense in a pitching packed NL West.

-Johnny Montalbano

-add/follow me on Twitter @MontalbanoNY

-Remember to check WCWPSports.org for my 2012 American League Preview.

-Listen to me on "Monday Night Kickoff" Mondays 5-6pm & "Review and Preview" Wednesdays 5-6pm on WCWPSports.org

Montie's MLB Preview 2012 (American League)

Just over five months ago the St.Louis Cardinals completed one of the most memorable comebacks not only in baseball but sports history. Trailing the Braves by 10.5 games as late as August 26th, the Cards fought back to win the NL Wild Card on the last day of the regular season. St.Louis would ride their momentum from September to October to capture their second World Series in five years. But with the 2012 regular season just hours away (unless your a Mariners or A's fan) everyone has that feeling that their team can win it all in 2012. So what will the American League look like after the last game on October 3rd?


AL East: (1)Yankees, (2)Rays[WC], (3)Red Sox, (4)Blue Jays, (5)Orioles.

• The Yankees pitching has a ton of depth both starting and relieving. The lineup is very similar to last year plus add Raul Ibanez. The bench is one of the best with Chavez, Jones, Cervelli & Nunez.
• The Rays might have the most pitching depth in the AL East. A fantastic defense with Longoria, Jennings, Zobrist & the return of Carlos Pena. Plus not a good but great manager in Joe Maddon. Look for the Rays to once again win the wild card.
• I'm sorry but I'm not sold on the hype of Bobby Valentine in Boston. Does Boston have a great team? Yes. Are there problems? Absolutely. The right side of their infield is one of the best in the sport. But what about the left side of the diamond? Can Crawford rebound? Can Ellsbury encore his 2011 numbers? What will you get out of right field? The back end of the rotation is a big question mark and so is the bullpen. So Bobby V' will have a lot of questions to address in his first year in Beantown.

AL Central: (1)Tigers, (2)Indians, (3)Royals, (4)White Sox, (5)Twins

• Detroit looked like it was going to take a step back after learning Victor Martinez (who drove in 103 runs in 2011) would miss all of 2012 with a torn ACL. But they didn't panic and replaced V-Mart with durable Prince Fielder. Now with a 3-4 of Fielder and Miguel Cabrera, a strong rotation led by Cy Young & MVP winner Justin Verlander & a compelling bullpen the Tigers have all the makings of returning to the postseason in 2012.
• I believe the Royals can compete for second in this division but losing one of the better and more underrated closers in Joakim Soria for the season will effect them in 2o12. I do see Cleveland making a push if they can stay healthy.
• The same cannot be said for the White Sox or Twins. They are definitely not the same teams they were atop this division a few years ago and are also in a division with some improved squads.

AL West: (1)Angels, (2)Rangers[WC], (3)Mariners, (4)A's

• The Angels have the BEST starting staff in the American League. The additions of Albert Pujols & Chris Iannetta (14 HR's in 112 games in 2011) also helps but don't forget about rookie sensation Mark Trumbo & others like Howie Kendrick, Vernon Wells, Torii Hunter & Peter Bourjos.
• Don't count out the Rangers. Very little has changed besides losing C.J Wilson to the Halo's. The lineup is exactly the same. The rotation still looks good including the addition of Yu Darvish as well as moving Neftali Feliz from the closer's role. If Joe Nathan returns to the old Joe Nathan, look out. Texas looks poised for another trip to the postseason and they should at least be able to become one of the wild card teams.
• The Mariners can't be any worst then 2011 but they are stuck in a division with two dominant teams. All you can say about the A's is that they are in a total rebuilding process.

-Johnny Montalbano

add/follow me on Twitter @MontalbanoNY

-Remember to check WCWPSports.org for my National League Preview in a future posting.

-Listen to me on "Monday Night Kickoff" Mondays 5-6pm & "Review and Preview" Wednesdays 5-6pm on WCWPSports.org