Jabaal Sheard and Greg Little-Browns in the second round

The Cleveland Browns addressed their two biggest needs in the second round with one selection that had a player available that I preferred and the other that saw Cleveland take the exact player that I was hoping for them to tab.

Defensive end  Jabaal Sheard of Pittsburgh is a pass rushing end that was the Big East's defensive player of the year last season.My opinions on the Big East is well known,but Sheard is the type of long armed,speedy end that the Browns GM Tom Heckert loves to draft.
Sheard became a Brown with the first of the two second rounders at number 37.
I still would have preferred Da'Quan Bowers of Clemson,but apparently the questions about Bowers' knees were a issue for the Browns,despite their public protestations about them not being a factor in their evaluations of Bowers.
If the Browns had Bowers down their board for those reasons,then I definitely agree that Sheard was the best defensive end available with this pick.
Sheard is just at 250 pounds,so I am sure that Cleveland will want him to bulk up in the weight room,but with 9.5 sacks last season,Sheard looks to be the pass rusher that the Browns so desperately needed.
With the additions of Sheard and Phil Taylor,the Browns have taken a huge step into solidifying the defensive line going into the new Dick Jauron led 4-3 system.....

I had written earlier today that I was hoping for one of two receivers with the Browns second of their two second round picks either Titus Young of Boise State or Torrey Smith of Maryland.
I really didn't think Young would last that long and he didn't going to the Lions at 44,but I thought there was a chance for Smith at 59.
Smith possesses the straight line speed that the Browns lack,but Baltimore nabbed Smith with the pick before the Browns.
However,the third player on my list that I didn't mention was still available in North Carolina's Greg Little and for a rare occasion,the team picked my guy and selected Little.
Little didn't play in 2010 as part of the North Carolina agent scandal,but physically,Little is almost right off the template for the perfect West Coast offense receiver.
6'3,a good leaper,excellent hands and a guy that has the kind of YAC (Yards after catch) that makes one drool.
Little also was a good enough athlete that he spent time for the Tar Heel hoops program,which isn't exactly Hofstra as far as basketball goes.

If Little is that great,why did he fall to round two?
The reports are that besides missing the season,Little can be a bit emotional and needs to mature a bit.
I'll take that chance in this spot and go as far to say that the Browns may have gotten the third best receiver in the draft,if Little lives up to his physical abilities.

All and all,I like the Sheard pick and I love the Little selection.
Cleveland will have six selections tomorrow-2 4's (theirs and Atlanta's) a 5,2 6's (theirs and Denver's) and a 7 near the final spot of the draft.
Just guessing,but I think the Browns will likely pick a player for each line,a quarterback to groom and then best player available,although I would love a linebacker-especially if Michigan State's Greg Jones is available....

Photo Credit
Sheard:Unknown
Little:Scott Halleran/Getty Images

 

Browns down,up and pick Phil Taylor

I missed yesterday afternoon's Pirate loss to the Giants due to work meetings,so I don't have much to say there.
Pittsburgh is in Colorado for the next three games and since the starts preclude getting finished in time to take the tape to work,coverage is unlikely until Sunday's game.
I may cover the Giants in Washington or the Indians against Detroit or I may just focus on the draft....
I would have been on last night with the Browns first round pick,but the trade moved them so far down that I was at work when they selected.
I hope to be able to post tonight on both of the Browns second round picks before I leave the World Headquarters this evening.

The Cleveland Browns saw the players they liked best  go before them and decided on a bounty of picks from the Falcons as Cleveland dropped from six to twenty-seven in the first,added Atlanta's first and fourth this year and their first and fourth in next years draft for the trouble of dipping so low in the round.
Cleveland then swapped their third rounder to Kansas City to move up from 27 to 21 and selected a surprise on the surface in Baylor defensive tackle Phil Taylor.

I was disappointed at first that the pick was not the falling Da'Quan Bowers,but Taylor makes a lot of sense,which I will get to shortly.
But first Bowers is still available for Day two,the Browns pick fifth today,if somehow Bowers drops to Cleveland and the Browns nab him,I will be ecstatic!
Despite the knee issues,Bowers has the best potential of any defensive lineman in the draft and I am more than willing to take my chances in round two.
I was more than willing to take them at 21,so crossed fingers for Bowers later today.

Phil Taylor is huge at 335 lbs and when I saw the clips,the first thing that I thought of was this-this guy reminds me of Casey Hampton,the standout DT for Pittsburgh.
Taylor and Ahtyba Rubin instantly upgrade the Browns run defense with two huge run stuffers and in the division with Pittsburgh and Baltimore,one had better stop the run.
Defensive end might have been a bigger need area,but defensive tackle hopefully has now become a team strength with the addition of Taylor.
Taylor will not give you the pass rush of higher rated tackle Marcell Dareus or Nick Fairley,but he is going to be much harder to move against the run than those guys and I like that,especially since I am very tired of watching Steeler and Raven guards bully around the lighter defensive tackles favored by Eric Mangini.

The main issue that I have with Taylor is not picking him,it is moving up and losing a third rounder for him.
Looking at the teams between 21 and 27,I didn't really see a match for him in that range.
It seems like Cleveland gave away a pick,but sometimes you want to make sure you have your guy and the price has to be paid to be sure to land him.

I like the thinking and I'll like it even more with a possible addition of Da'Quan Bowers as the Browns pick at 37 and 59 in round two and do not (currently) own a third rounder.
My wish list for today?
37:Da'Quan Bowers DE Clemson
59: Either of these two wideouts would be great-Torrey Smith Maryland or Titus Young Boise State.
Give me Taylor,Bowers and your choice of the two WR's and I'll be sky high!
Until later!

Photo Credit:Jason Decrow-AP Photo

Thanks,Teddy!

Thanks to Teddy and a strong 3:30 AM thunderstorm,I now have time to hammer out a recap of the Pirates 2-0 blanking of the San Francisco Giants.
James McDonald earned his first win of the season with six shutout innings and Joel Hanrahan fired the ninth for his seventh save.
The Giants leave town after a 12:35 matinee that sees them start former Pirate (and awful one at that) Ryan Vogelsong.
Now,there is a name that I would have bet I would not have seen in Pitching Matchups again!

Pitching Matchup
San Francisco: Ryan Vogelsong (0-0 0.00 ERA) at Pittsburgh: Jeff Karstens (2-0 3.94 ERA) 12 :35

Pirate Hooks

1) James McDonald looked like the pitcher that finished 2010 and not the double digit ERA hurler from his first few starts.
After working his way through the first two innings and keeping runners in scoring position from scoring,McDonald was downright dominant during the rest of the game and I thought it was through his curve.

The curve was baffled the Giants wasn't the 12 to 6 curve across the plate,rather it was the curve down and away out of the zone that made McDonald so effective.

2) The Pirates caught a break with the first run of the game on Chris Snyder's RBI blooper as Aaron Rowand was playing a bit too deep.
Had Rowand been playing a normal depth,Snyder would have been out and maybe Neil Walker doesn't score on a tag up.

3) Brandon Wood started at short in place of Ronny Cedeno,who Clint Hurdle benched for jogging up the up on a grounder in the loss on Tuesday.
Could Cedeno become "joggin' Ronny II"?
In any event,it is nice to see Cedeno accountable for his lack of hustle for a change....

4) Steve Pearce started at first and hit the ball solidly in all three at bats,two of them being base hits.
Could Pearce become a regular,at least against lefthanders,which he murders?
Makes sense to me.

5) John Bowker was designated for assignment to make room for the incoming Xavier Paul.
Bowker would have to clear through waivers in order to be sent to Indianapolis.
I'd rather keep Bowker than add Paul,but that's just me....

6) Jameson Taillon's West Virginia debut was rain shortened against the Hagerstown Suns with Taillon allowing a run on three hits over two innings and a tornado watch.
Taillon was clocked at 97 and walked Bryce Harper in their only head to head battle.

7) Now that Ryan Vogelsong has returned to face the Pirates,what terrible former Pirate pitcher should be your pool entry in worst pitcher to leave Pittsburgh and unlikely to return derby?
I think Bryan Bullington (now in Japan,where Vogelsong was for a few years) looks like a promising candidate-If he pitches well there.

Photo Credit-AP

Cleveland Browns Draft Preview-Players of Interest

The Cleveland Browns are playing the draft game well,as they discuss trading down and gaining picks as well as discussing various players that they have interest in.
As we discussed earlier,the main two positions of need are along the defensive line and at wide receiver,but could the Browns avoid taking the best player in the draft,if available at the sixth pick?

That player would be LSU corner Patrick Peterson on our board.
Peterson reminds me of former Steeler and Hall of Famer Rod Woodson as I think the Browns could get several pro bowl level seasons from Peterson on the corner and then several more with a shift to safety later in his career.
If Peterson is there at pick six and the trade up offers are not enticing,do the Browns take Peterson and team him with Joe Haden for the next ten years despite their deficiencies on the D-line and at wide receiver?

A.J. Green of Georgia is the top pass catcher with Julio Jones of Alabama close behind Green.
There is a huge drop from Jones on down,so if the Browns do not tab one of the pair,the odds of the Browns improving their pass catchers immediately drops off strongly.
I like Green better than Jones and if Green is there,Cleveland needs to make that move.
The Browns could trade down to maybe 10 or 11 and still possibly land Jones,but no guarantees on that.
A player that I like a lot that could be available in round two,if the Browns go DL in round one is Pittsburgh's Jonathan Baldwin.Baldwin might have been a top 15 pick in next year's draft,had he stayed at Pitt.

Cleveland's top need is defensive line,which is fortunate as that is the spot of the most depth in the draft.
Alabama DT Marcell Dareus will likely be off the board as the safest pick,but the other main talents will be there for the Browns-warts and all.
Auburn's Nick Fairley was dominant last season,but not heard from previously and didn't make tons of friends with dirty play.
Robert Quinn of North Carolina missed last season with agent difficulties and has a benign brain tumor to boot.Da'Quan Bowers of Clemson is the best of the bunch in my opinion at his peak,but comes with a high risk with a knee that some think will shorten his career.
Wisconsin's J.J. Watt looks to me to be more of a 3-4 end than in Cleveland's new 4-3 and I am not sure that the six pick is low enough for two players that I like,but not this high in Purdue's Ryan Kerrigan and Iowa's Adrian Clayborn.
If Cleveland goes green in round one,count on round two going here.
I don't see either Kerrigan or Clayborn still being around,but if they are-I would love to see Cleveland grab one of them.
Second round possibilities that I like include Iowa's Christian Ballard,Ohio State's Cameron Heyward,Texas' Sam Acho and North Carolina's Marvin Austin,who with the proper coaching and motivation could be among the best in this draft.
Austin would be a risk,but with a massive reward.

The Browns could use a mid round linebacker with the questions on D'Qwell Jackson's health and two that I love are Michigan State's Greg Jones and Nevada's Dontay Moch.
Jones is one of those backers that drops every year due to size or speed concerns and then he beats your brains out for the next ten years,while Moch is the fastest linebacker in the draft and I think could be huge off the edge.
Moch strikes me as a perfect Steeler type pick and I would be thrilled to see the Browns draft either of these guys.

Cleveland could use a change of pace back from Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty and with the West Coast offense in vogue,he better be able to catch the ball.
Two that fit that bill and will not go off the board too early are Oklahoma's Demarco Murray and Syracuse back DeLone Carter.
I would also be in favor of Wisconsin bulldozer John Clay,but I don't see the Browns going that direction as Clay is similar to what the team already has at back.

Cleveland will also likely take a developmental player at tackle or guard and maybe a safety as well.

All things considered and assuming the Browns stay at six,this would be my order of preference and assuming that these players would be available

1:A.J.Green WR Georgia
2:Patrick Peterson CB LSU
3:Julio Jones WR Alabama
4: Da'Quan Bowers DE Clemson
5:Nick Fairley DT Auburn.

Back tomorrow with the pick,IF I have time coverage of the Pirates 2-0 win over the Giants tonight.

Cleveland Browns Draft Preview-Team Needs

I thought about how I wanted to do this and decided on two smaller posts,one which will look at the players that might be available to the Browns and the other which looks at what Cleveland needs position wise in the draft.

I'll start with the team needs and there are many.
Almost too many to choose from,but I'll try to cover them anyway.
On the offensive side of the ball,one need stands out above all-Wide Receiver.
Eric Mangini's use of 2009 second rounders on Brian Robiskie and Mohammed Massaquoi has not panned out and although I am not ready give up on either player,especially with the change in offensive philosophy,the reality is that neither player is going to be a game breaker.
The Browns will use an early round pick at this position,the question is will it be round one,two or three?
Mike Holmgren has had one consistency in the draft since his days in Green Bay-pick a quarterback sometime in the draft every year.
That not only keeps the corps young,it also pays dividends down the road with being able to move some of those players.
Just look at the many backups to Brett Favre that eventually were moved for high picks in Green Bay without proving anything.
Considering the Browns likely do not want to go through another season with both Seneca Wallace and Jake Delhomme backing up Colt McCoy,one of them will have to go and the third stringer will likely come from this draft.
Running back might be another late round target considering the lack of depth at the position after Peyton Hillis.
The Browns are likely counting on 2010 second rounder Montario Hardesty to return full strength,but his history with knee issues make that a dicey gamble and Mike Bell showed little in the tank after being acquired from the Eagles.
With those three being the entire RB group,a back might be a possibility.
The offensive line is solid,but a right tackle might be a nice idea since the team wised up and released John St.Clair.Floyd Womack plays tackle better than guard and a healthy Shaun Lauvao could slot in at right guard,but a tackle to develop behind the ten year veteran Womack would be a smart decision to bring in.
I don't see the Browns going after a tight end with Ben Watson and Evan Moore returning unless they need a power blocking type for short yardage situations..

The Browns have needs all along the defense,most notably along the defensive line where the shift from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense leaves the Browns very short at the depth chart along the line.
With the exception of Ahtyba Rubin,who will fill one defensive tackle spots,the team is loaded with aging injury riddled veterans and practice squad fodder and this will need to be addressed with at least a high pick along with another selection sometime during the draft as well.
I think if all is equal,the team would prefer an end to a tackle,but either more than makes sense,
The Cleveland linebackers are veteran laden and solid with Scott Fujita,Chris Gogong and D'qwell Jackson as the starters.
If Jackson can return from missing almost the last two years,the linebackers look decent enough,if not spectacular.
A pass rushing specialist could be a thought,if Matt Roth is not brought back.
The secondary improved last year with top pick Joe Haden at one corner,but Sheldon Brown looked more suited to a safety move as the season progressed and Eric Wright had another disappointing season.
T.J. Ward played well as a hitter at one safety,but Abram Elam has never impressed me much at the other position.
Mike Adams fills well as a nickel back,but the Browns could use help here as well,especially at corner,where I think Brown is getting past his expiration date on the island at corner.
Phil Dawson and Reggie Hodges are entrenched as the kickers and don't look to have strong challenges.

This is not a list of what positions I would draft in order,just a list of needs from most important on down.
1: Defensive End
2: Wide Receiver
3: Defensive Tackle
4: Cornerback
5: Offensive Tackle.

Back later with some looks at possible Browns and who I would hope to see in Brown and Orange....

Rainy pair in Pittsburgh

Since I missed the Pirates 4-2 win on Monday over the Nationals,I'll be using this post to cover that and last nights 10 inning 3-2 loss to the Giants.
Paul Maholm (1-3) was the winner against Washington with Joel Hanrahan notching save six on the campaign.
Hanrahan was the loser against the Giants (0-1) with Garrett Jones (4) hitting the only Pirate homer over the two games.
The series continues tonight at 7:05

Pitching Matchup
San Francisco: Madison Bumgarner (0-3 7.79 ERA) at Pittsburgh:James McDonald (0-2 10.13 ERA) 7:05

Pirate Hooks

1) Paul Maholm was strong in his first win of the season,Maholm pitched seven innings and retired the last 13 batters that he faced.
Other than his two run first inning,Maholm pitched very well and considering his performance thus far,he deserves a 3-1 record more than the inverse record.

2) Brandon Wood started both games playing third against Washington and short against the Giants.
Wood knocked in the first two Pirate runs with a double into the gap,but his first at bat was similar as the ball was ripped to the same spot,but the Giants were playing Wood to the gap and made the catch.

3) The claiming of Wood has been somewhat controversial to some Pirate fans and I am on the fence on Wood.
I think he still has potential and is worth a flier especially on a team with Ronny Cedeno on it,but I am strongly against yesterday's claim of Dodger outfielder Xavier Paul.
Paul brings some speed,but little power and to either lose John Bowker or send Steve Pearce to Indianapolis over Paul makes me question this claim strongly...

4) The fourth inning rain delay might have meant the difference in the game as John Lannan looked to be out of sorts after the delay.A walk to Steve Pearce was followed by the game tying double by Wood.
Pittsburgh would take the lead in the inning and never threaten thereafter....

5) Last night's loss was a tough one as Charlie Morton bounced back from his previous start and pitched very well.
Morton deserved the win with allowing just one run over six innings and left the game with the lead.

6) Evan Meek must have issues that the public does not know about.
Meek looks more like the wild Rule 5 version than the All-Star of last season.
Meek's control issues make me think there is more to his "stiffening" of earlier this season than has been reported.

7) The winning run scored by Darren (I'm not signing that Bowman) Ford on a grounder to a drawn in Neil Walker comes down to this-Walker is still learning second.
I am not making excuses for Walker,his glance and resulting soft toss to first allowed Ford to have the opportunity to score,but he is learning still on the job.
Nonetheless,part of playing infield at any spot,is looking the runner back and offering more than a cursory glance...

8) I spoke about Xavier Paul being claimed earlier and that I wasn't thrilled,but more because either a possibly productive player would leave his second team without getting a true chance (John Bowker) or a hard working player that does nothing but bust his hump gets sent down to AAA (Steve Pearce).
Why guys like Bowker and Pearce always seem to get the short end in favor of others makes me wonder about people in this game sometimes...

9) Jameson Taillon makes his pro debut tonight in Charleston with Low A West Virginia against,you guessed it-Bryce Harper and the Hagerstown Suns.
Wish there were some TV available for this one.
Harper has been on a tear of late and here is hoping that he keeps up the sizzling pace!

10) Our friend Wilbur Miller has begun to question Neal Huntington and his ability to judge major league talent.Wilbur takes an interesting look at the issue at Bucs Dugout...

I will be back later with the Browns preview for sure.
I have plans tomorrow so I may have do another two game combo post on the Wed and Thursday games against the Giants,but count on a post tomorrow on the newest member of the Cleveland Browns!

Nailed by the Nats

The Pittsburgh Pirates scored a run in the first,but a three run homer by Washington's Michael Morse erased the lead in the third inning and never looked back in a 6-3 Nationals win.
Kevin Correia allowed five of the runs in a four and two thirds innings outing and fell to 3-2 on the season.
The series ends today with a makeup of Friday's rainout.

Pitching Matchup
Washington:John Lannan (2-1 3.43 ERA) at Pittsburgh:Paul Maholm (0-3 4.30 ERA) 7:05

Pirate Hooks

1) The only high point of Kevin Correia's day was his three up three down first inning.
Other than that Correia was in trouble in every inning....

2) Nice job by Daniel McCutchen,who has yet to allow a run in his six appearances thus far and picked Danny Espinoza off first base to boot.
I would not say that righthanders picking runners off first base is rare,but it happens far less than by southpaws....

3) Andrew McCutchen was gunned down at the plate by Jayson Werth for the final out of the game.
I thought McCutchen looked safe,but a bigger question is why McCutchen was sent at all?
Considering the strong arm of Werth and a three run deficit,it made little sense to me to even risk the play...

4) Clint Hurdle must have been impressed with Jeff Karstens on Saturday as the Pirates boss has given Karstens a chance for more starts until Ross Ohlendorf returns from injury.
Not sure how this plays out long term,but I am not outraged with it.

5) The sparse crowd of under 10,000 booed Adam LaRoche consistently,who then responded with a long homer.
Had he done more of that for the Pirates,the crowd reaction towards him might have been different...

Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images