Tuesday thoughts

Even if you didn't think much of the Browns draft you have to like 6th round pick Antonio Garay. Rated as one of the best defensive ends in the country at the start of last season, Garay could prove to be an extremely valuable defensive lineman if he can overcome some of his injury problems. He is slated to move to defensive tackle where he may be a bit undersized but reportedly has a great "first step" that Butch likes. There's of course no guarantee Garay can stay healthy but for a 6th round pick you have to like his chances. If he can be a 3rd or 4th defensive lineman and provide something of a pass rush next to Warren we should all be ecstatic. Overall, I still think the defensive line will be a strength of this team despite it's poor showing last season. Roye and Warren will have good years, C Brown will hopefully contribute, and Word, McKinley will team with guys like Garay. Will it be enough to stop the run? We'll see, but I like the potential.

Also, one thing that can safely be noted now -- Butch's draft philosophy is coming into focus more and more. Although no longer a college coach, I think Davis is still trying to outsmart NCAA coaches by finding good prospects who played out of position like Crocker (moving to CB from safety) and Garay (moving inside to DL). These are not major position changes but they are things that Butch obviously believes makes these guys much more valuable in the NFL. It also helps explain why the Browns "reached" for guys the draft pundits had rated lower.

I think when all is said and done and we are a month into the 2004 season it will be obvious that the travails of this offseason were overblown. The draft was fine, maybe even excellent. Couch is still a decent NFL quarterback who will win some games for this team. Jamel White will continue to be an effective running back and receiver. And all the inexperienced linebackers will perform well enough to keep the defense competitive, and by the end of the year they may be outperforming last years trio of Rudd, Hambrick, and Holmes.