So what went wrong with Charlie Frye?

In case you've not heard, Mr. Frye has been shipped off to Seattle for a sixth round draft pick. Such is the life of an NFL quarterback.

Frye just wasn't in the right situation. Touted as a quarterback with the ability to grow into a starter when he came out of the University of Akron, Frye got drafted into the wrong situation. The Browns didn't need a hometown kid who wanted to play for his hometown team. I realize that many Browns fans fell victim to delusions of grandeur based on the circumstances and nostagia. After all, didn't Bernie almost take us to the Promised Land. The needed a QB who could lead and asking him to do so wasn't fair to him or this team.

Working behind a patchwork offensive line, he looked horrible last year. Fans thought it would all go away with the additions of Eric Steinbach and first round draft pick, Joe Thomas. Yes, the horrible play continued in last year's 34-7 embarrassment against the Steelers. Frye didn't look comfortable. He wasn't inaccurate. He held the ball for far too long and for much of his limited playing time he looked like a bug fleeing from the light. Most of the five sacks were his fault for some of those very reasons. More importantly, however, you could see that he'd lost the confidence of his teammates.

There's nothing more damning than that. Some of the faces in the Browns locker room were longer than the Mississippi River after the Steelers game. Is there any more blame to be parsed here? Probably.

I once wrote that Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel probably bought themselves another two years with this past spring's draft. I don't think that any longer. As much as the current regime loves to put the blame on past administrations, the fact remains that just a few players remain from the Butch Davis era. Savage and Crennel will live or die with this roster, but they have to know that after this weekend, the tick tocks on that ticking clock are very loud.

With the signing of Dorsey, it looks as if Brady Quinn will get his shot sooner rather than later. Given the memories associated with Tim Couch, the Browns had better hope they are right on this one.

I'll give the Cleveland Browns some credit; free agency hit and owner Randy Lerner opened his checkbook and landed the premier offensive lineman available in free agency in Eric Steinbach, a now former Cincinnati Bengal.  That's a good thing.  A graduate of Iowa, he knows how to play gritty football.

Additionally, they added outside linebacker Antwan Peek from the Houston Texans and defensive back Kenny Wright from the Washington Redskins.  Not following those teams much I know little about them.

What I do know is that Steinbach is a proven commodity who blocked for one of the NFL's most productive running backs in Rudi Johnson and one of its most prolific quarterbacks in Carson Palmer.  I'd be willing to bet that Palmer isn't happy to lose his starting left guard.

In some respects by signing Steinbach, the Browns may have tipped their hand when it comes to the upcoming draft.    The team's O-line has been the weakest link since returning to the NFL and until last year when they signed center LaCharles Bentley, the team addressed that wound with a Band-aid.

If Bentley and a healthy Ryan Tucker return and gel along with their new teammate, the O-line has the potential to be powerful.  Please note that I said potential.

It has the potential to block for a premier quarterback or running back and do not be surprised if the Browns look to address those needs.  Sorry local folks, I watched from the pressbox last year, Charlie Frye ain't the answer.  Is Derek Anderson?  We don't know.  But the Browns draft the third position this year.  Personally, I'd much rather they trade down and pick up extra draft picks.  However, should they stand pat, look for them to take Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson.  He is the weapon available to them with the potential to loosen up defenses.  They'd have to respect Peterson's speed and ability to break a game wide open.  What's that do?  Open the passing game via play action.

Is that the scenario I prefer?  Not by a long shot.  At this point, I'm happy Lerner and Savage haven't shied away from dropping cash despite what happened with Bentley on the first day of training camp last year. I can only hope that for the fans' sake the team's luck has changed for the better.

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.