Weeden, the team’s second first-round draft pick this year, should greatly benefit from being on the field with their first first-round selection, Trent Richardson, selected at #3 overall.

Weeden’s abilities aside, Richardson’s presence would have helped McCoy or any other QB they put out there. Richardson has been touted, correctly I think, as the best RB prospect since Adrian Peterson. While that remains to be seen, it does mean that enemy defenses will be forced to honor the threat, and that translates into better opportunities for Weeden in the play-action passing game as well as helping to keep things balanced offensively in general. A young QB’s best friend is a great left tackle, and that’s the ONE thing the Browns already have in Joe Thomas. A strong running game is a close second.

Dec 24, 2011; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Mike Wallace (17) attempts to get away from St. Louis Rams safety James Butler (37) during the first quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory credit: Vincent Pugliese- US PRESSWIRE

In other news, Mike Wallace and the Pittsburgh Steelers remain at an impasse. The restricted free agent has yet to sign his tender, in the area of $2.75 million non-guaranteed for 2012, and wants a long-term guaranteed deal. Steelers’ GM Kevin Colbert said “Mike knows where things stand. The next step for him really is to report and to sign his tender, and until that happens, there won’t be anything else. And if that happens, nobody knows where it will go from there. So that’s where it is and has been, and hopefully it comes to an end sooner rather than later because it will be good for us, but it will also be good for Mike.”

The Steelers signed fellow WR Antonio Brown to a 5-year $42 million dollar contract but only about $8 million is guaranteed, so it’s not the chops-buster that many fans seem to think it is for Wallace. It’s no secret that Wallace is one of the league’s best downfield threats – if not the biggest of all these days. He just doesn’t get caught from behind and one would have to think Big Ben has been lobbying behind the scenes for somehow signing him, but if so, they’ve kept everything within the organization and private…just as it should be.

This looks similar in some ways to the now-resolved Chicago Bears/Matt Forte situation. Forte was an RFA as well, but knew at some point he would have to sign with his team. As an extreme measure, Wallace could possibly sit out until week 10, when he MUST report or lose a year of accrual towards becoming an unrestricted free agent. Vincent Jackson did that in 2010.

The Steelers have made it clear that they don’t wish to trade Wallace and have a first-round tender on him – meaning if another team signs him, the Steelers will receive a first-round pick in the 2013 draft from the signing team and league rules is where the $2.75 million figure comes from.

The Seattle Seahawks signed 38 year old shameless self-promoter Terrell Owens, which says a lot about how Pete Carroll feels about the wideouts he’s got now. All of them have some issues – Sidney Rice can’t stay healthy, Braylon Edwards is a career underachiever, and Mike Williams has shown flashes of the talent that made him a top-ten pick of the Detroit Lions during that run where the Lions were legally obligated to draft WRs with their top picks. Consistency is Williams’ Achilles Heel.

One notable remaining free agent is Plaxico Burress. It’s interesting that Carroll signed the 38 yr old Terrell Owens over 37 yr old Burress, but Plexiglass is reportedly asking for too much money…especially for someone who has been out of the league for several years. Owens himself couldn’t find a team last year and is the NFL’s second all-time receiver in most categories behind the apparently un-catchable records of a fellow from a small college in Mississippi named Jerry Rice. Fans sometimes mix up his college state with the name of the QB Rice used to hook up with TO school the rest of the NFL. Just remember “Joe Mississippi” is what you say only to delay yourself from rushing the passer in flag football. Montana was the man…Matt Flynn’s prowess has yet to be resolved. Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice were once teammates ages ago in San Francisco when Montana’s successor and a Hall of Famer himself, southpaw signal-caller Steve Young, was under center.

Lastly, there was a much-ballyhooed scrum at the Jets’ scrimmage yesterday afternoon. What wasn’t widely mentioned was that there were actually several. While fights break out in training camp between a couple of people pretty much every year with every team, the fact there was more than one on Monday doesn’t speak well for Rex Ryan’s control over his team. One fight is going to make a coach angry, and Ryan let them know of his disapproval. Therefore, others decided to fight.

Rex screamed at the team: “Save it for Cincy – WE’RE ALL WE’VE GOT!” The Jets and Bengals play Friday night.

Jan 9, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Trent Richardson (3) looks at LSU Tigers safety Eric Reid (1) coming toward him during the BCS National Championship game at the Louisiana Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-US PRESSWIRE

Pictured here is the apparent savior of the Browns offense for 2012. With Colt McCoy not showing any signs of breaking out, the Browns took Alabama beastly RB Trent Richardson. Here’s the Browns 2012 draft:

1 3 Trent Richardson RB Alabama
1 22 Brandon Weeden QB Oklahoma State
2 37 Mitchell Schwartz T California
3 87 John Hughes DT Cincinnati
4 100 Travis Benjamin WR Miami (Fla.)
4 120 James-Michael Johnson LB Nevada-Reno
5 160 Ryan Miller T Colorado
6 204 Emmanuel Acho LB Texas
6 205 Billy Winn DT Boise State
7 245 Trevin Wade CB Arizona
7 247 Brad Smelley RB Alabama

The Browns wanted Richardson so badly they unnecessarily traded up from 4th to 3rd overall to get him. Be that as it may, it was worth it for a team with no real weapons on offense to draft him at all costs. The Browns have built a solid defense and the plan is to use Richardson as a workhorse back – something rare these days – and shorten games to keep things closer.

Along those lines, they drafted Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden with their 22nd pick overall. Word is he’ll start over Colt McCoy and Richardson’s presence will force opposing defenses to play “honestly.” That should open the passing lanes a bit more, improving overall efficiency. They have all the makings of a run-first offense while mixing in a lot of play action passes.

The also drafted two tackles for the offensive line which should help fill holes they had. I’d expect Mitchell Schwartz to be able to start immediately on the right side while All-Pro tackle Joe Thomas anchors the left side. Mitchell is Minnesota Vikings tackle Geoff Schwartz’s younger brother, so the pedigree is there.

I don’t know yet for sure, but it’s possible Ryan Miller will be moved inside to guard – a more and more common strategy these days and he played both positions in college. For instance, the Panthers drafted Amini Silatolu from Midwestern State to kick inside (he was a left tackle there) and the Bills drafted guard prospect Cordy Glenn to play tackle. So, don’t let the college position fool you. They mean little especially after the first round. They have one of the best young and underrated centers in the league in Alex Mack, but need help at both guard spots and right tackle. They appear to have taken care of most of that during the offseason, so it looks like Richardson will indeed find holes to get through.

Also drafted was Emmanuel Acho from Texas. Another brotherly connection, Sam, played well in his rookie campaign with the Arizona Cardinals with 7 sacks from the OLB position. Travis Benjamin, a WR from U of Miami, should crack the starting lineup since that’s another position of need for this team. Josh Cribbs is a capable starter but his biggest value lies in the return game, so Benjamin and probably Mohamed Massaquoi along with Greg Little will be their 3 main targets at that position. The receiving corps isn’t quite as bereft of talent as people say, but they just don’t have anyone that stands out.

D’Quell Jackson is the tackling machine on the defense, having totaled 158 in 2011. Fellow LB Scott Fujita is embroiled in the Bountygate saga as he was a part of that New Orleans team so his contribution early on is questionable as suspensions are being appealed and lawsuits filed. Chris Gocong is a name nobody outside Cleveland knows about but racked up 70 tackles while starting all 16 games once again.

Former first-round pick Joe Haden capably holds down one cornerback spot. Remember how he slid because of a poor 40 time at the NFL combine? His play shows that a bad day at the combine doesn’t necessarily mean anything. He’s no blazer, but he does his job well. However, the secondary really has no big playmakers, so the Browns need to put heat on opposing quarterbacks. Doesn’t everyone need more pass rushers?

All in all, the Browns should wind up in the cellar once again in the NFL’s second-toughest division but if Richardson stays healthy and runs like we think he’s capable of, they’ll be an improved team and will pose difficulties for other teams to deal with in their old-school style of play. Offensively, probably the best comparison in that style would be the New York Jets. Defensively they remind me of the Miami Dolphins – very few standouts individually, but they play pretty well collectively.

It’s interesting that the Browns knew Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon and Richardson would both be available to them…even if they felt they had to trade up a spot for Trent Richardson. They knew quite well they were going to be able to nab QB Brandon Weeden at 22 overall – that was the plan going in. They COULD have had a situation like in Indianapolis where they drafted Andrew Luck with their #1 overall and added TE Coby Fleener with their top pick in round 2. Fleener was Luck’s favorite target at Stanford and should help give Luck some measure of comfort. A Weeden-Blackmon pairing would have given the Browns’ offense, aching for years for a passing game, an instant connection.

However nice that would have been, it didn’t fit in with the plan. Instead, they went for the stud running back in a pass-happy era. Look for Richardson to get 350+ carries in 2012 if he stays healthy, and watch Cleveland upset the Pittsburgh Steelers once and the Bengals once. I’m not sure they can handle the Ravens and their run defense, but even they will be without Terrell Suggs for most of the year. The Browns could be the Kingmakers in the division this year. Or…King breakers.

If everything falls into place and they take care of the football, the Browns could push for an 8-8 season in 2012. That would be a good start with Head Coach Pat Shurmur’s second year looming. They still need help at TE, S, and in the DL/pass rush but I really like what the team has done in the draft since Mike Holmgren took over the General Manager position. It’s a tough division to climb with the Steelers always being so good and the Ravens defense so stifling. Now, the Bengals are on the rise and appear to be poised to stay a force in the future. With all this in mind, I say the Browns took….

One step forward. The divisional headwinds mean this team needs to improve more than most would in order to compete and they got some really good help at several positions of need. They had to draft well just to keep pace and they did. Give ‘em a year to grow up, and with another very above-average draft in 2013, they could muscle their way into contention with the others.

Next up: the Dallas Cowboys