Cleveland Browns: Randy Lerner Wants Russell
Posted February 7th, 2007 by George Thomas
It's said that coveting is a bad thing. Apparently Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner covets JaMarcus Russell, that's the word that came from the lips of WKYC (Channel 3) news anchor Romona Robinson Monday night.
In a phone conversation, Lerner said that he would love to see Louisiana State University quarterback who lit up Notre Dame in this year's Sugar Bowl in a Cleveland Browns uniform. The thought of it made me wretch. Made me cry. Made me want to root for the Stillers. OK, so it's not quite that bad. And it's not because Russell wouldn't look great in a Browns jersey. It's because it would seem that the Browns haven't learned anything.
Remember 1999 when they wasted the opportunity to trade down, gather more picks and build the team the way it should have been? Football games are won at the line of scrimmage with big men groveling like beasts of burden to gain or protect precious yardage. The Browns could have easily traded down and built the future the way it should have been - on the offensive and defensive lines. Instead they took Tim Couch and - by the way - they didn't bother to build a line that could protect him.
With this current O-line do we dare believe it would be any different with Russell? The Browns will choose third or fourth in the upcoming draft. The best thing about that is the teams ahead of them - Oakland and Detroit - both need quarterbacks. Russell will likely be taken by one of them. What's scarier is the prospect of the team wasti…errrr…trading selections to move up to get him.
Lerner has been knocked for his laissez-faire attitude when it comes to the Browns. Personally, I wish he'd not said anything about who he liked in the upcoming draft. He said that he has a qualified team in place to make draft decisions for him. Let's just hope they are independent enough to not let that statement influence their thinking. If they are not it appears that coveting, in this case, is definitely a bad thing.
