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Didn't seem to fit into another thread too cleanly. Sure there will be other visits schedule.

Cleveland Browns schedule visit with New Orleans LB Scott Fujita
By Tony Grossi
March 05, 2010, 12:30PM
CLEVELAND -- The Browns have a visit lined up with New Orleans Saints linebacker Scott Fujita, an unrestricted free agent who could be in big demand.

A league source told The Plain Dealer that Fujita will visit the Browns Saturday. It will be Fujita's first visit. It will tell us about the Browns' new management team's ability to close a deal, because Fujita is expected to be highly sought-after.

Fujita, 6-5 and 250 pounds, was a mainstay on the Saints defense that rode quarterback Drew Brees to an unexpected Super Bowl championship in 2009.

Fujita, 30, orginally was a fifth-round draft choice of Kansas City in 2002. He signed with Dallas in 2005, and then followed coach Sean Payton to New Orleans in 2006.

He played strongside outside linebacker in New Orleans' 4-3 scheme. In the Browns' 3-4, Fujita may be moved inside. He's a smart player with eight years' experience and made the calls on the field for the Saints' defense.

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Would love to have him next to DQ or Bowens. Barton needs to be gone and gone yesterday.


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Would make some sense for a reasonable price....that also makes it pretty official that Heckert/MH also think that Mangini whiffed on 2 high picks in Veikune and Maiava...thanks again for the waste Penguin


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Quote:

Didn't seem to fit into another thread too cleanly. Sure there will be other visits schedule.





That's because we generally have distinct threads for Browns activity. Someone usually starts a general thread for other teams activities so that tons of threads are not started on each visit or signing by another team. I see no reason to have to put all Browns activity in one thread, but I'll leave that up to the posters.

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First off, Maiava was not a high pick. He was drafted in the 4th round. And he played pretty well at times during the season.

Second, Fujita will be 31 when the season starts. Signing him in no way makes it "pretty official" that Mangini whiffed.

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Mangini whiffed HARD on Veikune, no doubt about it. You try to refute that, youre being delusional.


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First off, Maiava was not a high pick. He was drafted in the 4th round. And he played pretty well at times during the season.

Second, Fujita will be 31 when the season starts. Signing him in no way makes it "pretty official" that Mangini whiffed.




If you drafted 2 ILBs in 1 draft...one in the 2nd and one high in round 4 (around pick 100) and you deem none of them capable of being your starter the 2nd year...then you either drafted backups or, at best, projects that need 3to4 years to "maybe" become a starter (at a position where there shouldn't be too high a learning curve to boot)..and you should avoid projects in top 3-4 rounds when your team has a need at every 2nd starting position

Don't know about you guys....but I've heard the same apologies on Chaun Thompson and all those 5th round LBs that we had to start one year....it's sounding more and more like the same tune to me....

Also, with all our needs and 5+ LBs brought in by Mangini last offseason the new FO deems LB a priority and the 1st to come to CLE is a ILB? What's that saying about Mangini's offseason/draft?


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I thought we all had agreed that Barton and Bowens were here as one year guys when Mangini was trying to bring over his new regime.

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Also, with all our needs and 5+ LBs brought in by Mangini last offseason the new FO deems LB a priority and the 1st to come to CLE is a ILB? What's that saying about Mangini's offseason/draft?




Nothing that all of us didn't already know. We all knew we needed help at ILB.

Oh and also who's to say we aren't bringing him in because we might have a deal on the table for Jackson?

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I thought we all had agreed that Barton and Bowens were here as one year guys when Mangini was trying to bring over his new regime.




As bridge for Veikune, Maiava and Trusnik...oh wait


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Bowens, for the most part, actually played pretty well. Was unfortunate he got injured. If he's healthy, I would think he returns.

Barton, well he was a travesty.

Fujita would be a nice pickup. 31 isn't THAT old for a LB. Unless you wouldn't want Ray Lewis, who will be 35 this month.

It's not a position, like RB, where guys notoriously break down at 30.

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I could see your problem with Veikune (although I'm not giving up on the guy after one year). But both Trusnik and Maiava played hard on special teams before given the chance to start (Trusnik started way before Maiava). But once they both started to get regular playing time they both started to improve.

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Justin Bannan (Ravens) visiting Cleveland.


Free agent DT Justin Bannan has set up a visit with the Browns.
Mike Holmgren is finally making his move! The Browns likely envision Bannan as a rotational lineman, though Ravens beat writer Aaron Wilson reports the Broncos are "making a big push" to land him.


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It's usually not a good sign for a team if a guy leaves a visit unsigned. I know Bannan was/is in Denver today. We'll see what comes of it.

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Since when do the Broncos resort to picking up defensive lineman BEFORE they are on the Browns?

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Good point.

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Quote:

Nothing that all of us didn't already know. We all knew we needed help at ILB.




That's actually my point....Mangini spent a lot of ressources LAST offseason...and it still isn't even close to being fixed...same with receiving corps....he spent 3 top 50 picks on Offense and our Offense sucked big time

We have more needs NOW than 1 year ago...Mangini managed to fix nothing...ok maybe C...hey he just needed the 7th overall to do so and had to draft the highest drafted C this decade, hooray...I'm so happy he managed to do this

I've been proven exactly right with what I said right after last year's offseason....Mangini wasted a very important and ressourceful offseason with LATERAL MOVES....guy hasn't managed to fix 1 position other than C...and opened up numerous other needs by doing nothing...

but that's not all, the worst part is: we have pretty much NOBODY, no player he got in that we can look forward to developing into an above average starter

I remember the names I screamed at the TV right before the picks were announced: OT Oher, OLB Barwin, CB S.Smith, RB McCoy....we ended up with Mack ,Robo, Massa and Veikune....I was proven right but the sick feeling in my stomach from the disappointmentS that day hasn't left...looking at those 2 lists, it got even worse 1 year later....what a waste, what an epic fail job


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Since when do the Broncos resort to picking up defensive lineman BEFORE they are on the Browns?




HAHA suprised they didn't tade for Williams


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Mangini whiffed HARD on Veikune, no doubt about it. You try to refute that, youre being delusional.





So you think that's etched in stone do ya? Well, you may be right.. I really dunno yet. If either or both are gone at some point before camp, it's a pretty good sign that they were whiffs..

If they remain, it could mean one thing,, we didn't find anyone anywhere that was better..

But to stand here today and say they are wasted picks.. sorry,, can't do that.. so I guess in your eyes, I'm delusional... I can live with that..


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That's actually my point....Mangini spent a lot of ressources LAST offseason...and it still isn't even close to being fixed...same with receiving corps....he spent 3 top 50 picks on Offense and our Offense sucked big time

We have more needs NOW than 1 year ago...Mangini managed to fix nothing...ok maybe C...hey he just needed the 7th overall to do so and had to draft the highest drafted C this decade, hooray...I'm so happy he managed to do this

I've been proven exactly right with what I said right after last year's offseason....Mangini wasted a very important and ressourceful offseason with LATERAL MOVES....guy hasn't managed to fix 1 position other than C...and opened up numerous other needs by doing nothing...




Good thing Mangini is no longer running things then right? You are complaining about something that happened last off-season with a whole different front office. Mangini did some things wrong, but he also got us 11 picks in the deepest draft in a long time.

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but that's not all, the worst part is: we have pretty much NOBODY, no player he got in that we can look forward to developing into an above average starter




Didn't you just say, "guy hasn't managed to fix 1 position other than C". I think in most people's opinions (including yours') Mack is an above average starter. And in case you didn't notice, Massaquoi had 624 receiving yards as a rookie with two crappy QB's. I would call him above average. Also, players like David Bowens and Kenyon Colemen were both pretty good players for us.

Quote:

I remember the names I screamed at the TV right before the picks were announced: OT Oher, OLB Barwin, CB S.Smith, RB McCoy....we ended up with Mack ,Robo, Massa and Veikune....I was proven right but the sick feeling in my stomach from the disappointmentS that day hasn't left...looking at those 2 lists, it got even worse 1 year later....what a waste, what an epic fail job




For some reason I don't have a hard time picturing you screaming at the TV. I agree with you, I would rather have some of the players you mentioned over Robiske and Veikune. But we don't. Get over it. It happened a year ago. A "sick feeling in my stomach from the disappointments". Get over yourself. Epic fail job by you.

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The one thing Mangini was able to do to this team that we sorely lacked was add depth. We had zero depth on this team and now we have some pretty descent backups.

Once we are able to get a few of those positions filled we will be in a very good position. I really honestly think we can fill alot of those needs with just this FA and draft.

I'm not ready to give up on Veikune, and Robo yet, and you shouldn't either. We all knew Veikune was a project when we picked him and his transition won't be easy but the guy is super smart and I believe he will be able to pick up his game this coming season.

Robo on the other hand he didn't see the field much, could be a bad thing since he was supposed to be the most ready (I think that got over hyped just because his dad is a receivers coach in the NFL). But my point is we don't have any clue yet if Mangini made this team better or worse.

I'm not going to read too much into the Fujita thing because there could be a million reasons why he is being brought in, not just because the FO thinks Mangini whiffed on Veikune and Maiva.

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Browns | May have interest in Carr
Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:16:14 -0800

Ralph Vacchiano, of the New York Daily News, reports the Cleveland Browns could have interest in unrestricted free-agent QB David Carr (Giants).

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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

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Carr, though, is a California native and is obviously looking for a place where he’s got a better chance to play than he does in New York behind Eli Manning. That’s why, if he does leave San Francisco without signing a contract, he is likely to visit either the Arizona Cardinals or the Cleveland Browns - - both of whom have expressed interest, according to an NFL source.




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Not a bad backup. If there are other plans for him...

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The Hamburgular himself?!?! No thanks! I remember people on the boards wanting him when he left Carolina...


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Yeah I wouldn't mind bringing him in either. He would be a good backup, sad to say he would probably been better than Quinn and Anderson last year if he was here too.

Oh and the benefit of having a Carr on your team as your backup............none of the fans will be screaming for him if our starter has a bad game.

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So you think that's etched in stone do ya? Well, you may be right.. I really dunno yet. If either or both are gone at some point before camp, it's a pretty good sign that they were whiffs..



Just because they will be on the roster doesn't mean anything yet.
MH wants see what they have ..we know what Miava can do but he 's more a ST'mer..not a viable starter..
Viekune is learning a huge change and may not do much this year..I don't know but we'll hear about him..
Gini should have just gotten the best LB he could have ..we didn't have time for projects and this kid is a project..

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..we didn't have time for projects and this kid is a project..




I'd argue that we had plenty of time for projects. Everyone knew we would be bad last year and were rebuilding.

A project in the 2nd round though, ehhhhhhh.

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I wonder if Mangini took him that early because he got burnt on Gocong? I remember Mangini saying that he wanted Gocong real bad and the Eagles swooped in and picked him up.

That's no excuse to pick him that early but i'm just wondering if that was his train of thought.

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Yeah AD, I know all of that and I agree.. It's just that some folks on here, if they don't see an instant PRO BOWL out of first year players, they think they are Whiffs.. young guys may need time.., especially in the case of a guy like Viekune and for the reasons you mentioned.

Take MoMass.. dude had 600+ yards receiving last season.. certainly not enough to get toooooooo excited about. But when you look at who was throwing the ball, suddenly, you realize, he may have been very lucky to get that many yards and then you have to wonder,, what if we had someone really good at QB...

But that never seems to be taken into consideration.. at least not by some folks.. you aren't included in that AD...,,, you seem to look at all factors..


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With Veikune, youre failing to realize that the guy was benched behind undrafted FAs picked up off the street and playing after 4 days of practice in front of him. Guys like Marcus Benard and a few others. These were also DEs in college so they had the same adjustment as a Veikune to make. Granted, I would love to be proven wrong on this, but I wont be. Veikune was a BUSTED waste of a pick. Would you rather have him or solidify our RT with Loadholt, who most ppl on here (myself included) we screaming for in the second round?


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Obviously we would rather have Loadholt. But we don't. We have Veikune.

Also, he was/is not being converted to OLB (a much easier transition for a DE). He is being moved to ILB.

The NFL is littered with guys who did nothing their rookie year and then played well there second year. The NFL is also littered with guys who busted after being drafted in the second round. We just don't know which Veikune is yet.

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When you have a team devoid of playmakers and talent ,you don't waste using HIGH PICKS on projects.
Those are for instant starters and game changers.
U use 5th-7th round picks on a project or two.

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Quote:

U use 5th-7th round picks on a project or two.




That's pretty much what I said.

"A project in the 2nd round though, ehhhhhhh. "

Although some team is going to take Tebow in Round One this year and he is a pretty big project.

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When you have a team devoid of playmakers and talent ,you don't waste using HIGH PICKS on projects.
Those are for instant starters and game changers.
U use 5th-7th round picks on a project or two.





EXACTLY!!!! Thank you! Someone who gets it.


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I've followed the draft for years ..I understand the process..sadly the Browns don't seem to in a general sense...most of the drafts leave me feeling disappointed...very much so..then I have to try and see if what they selected could work..I told Diam last year I wasn't giving EM a free pass on the draft..an seeing two of our first 4( 2nd round) picks saw maybe 5 -10 snaps all year is
d i s a p p o i n t i n g again.

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Are you including yourself in the people who don't?

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Quote:

When you have a team devoid of playmakers and talent ,you don't waste using HIGH PICKS on projects.
Those are for instant starters and game changers.





Really? Because here is the second round from last year and I don't see that many that were "game changers" last year on that list. And probably way less than 45% even started their rookie year.

(33) Lions Delmas, Louis S 6'0" 202 Western Michigan
(34) Patriots (From Chiefs) Chung, Patrick SS 5'11" 212 Oregon
(35) Rams Laurinaitis, James ILB 6'2" 244 Ohio State
(36) Browns Robiskie, Brian WR 6'3" 209 Ohio State
(37) Broncos (From Seahawks) Smith, Alphonso CB 5'9" 193 Wake Forest
(38) Bengals Maualuga, Rey ILB 6'2" 249 Southern Cal
(39) Jaguars Britton, Eben OT 6'6" 309 Arizona
(40) Patriots (From Raiders) Brace, Ron DT 6'3" 330 Boston College
(41) Patriots (From Packers) Butler, Darius CB 5'11" 183 Connecticut
(42) Bills Byrd, Jairus CB 5'10" 207 Oregon
(43) Panthers (From 49ers) Brown, Everette DE 6'2" 256 Florida State
(44) Dolphins (From Redskins) White, Pat QB 6'0" 197 West Virginia
(45) Giants (From Saints) Sintim, Clint OLB 6'3" 256 Virginia
(46) Texans Barwin, Connor DE 6'4" 256 Cincinnati
(47) Raiders (From Chargers through Patriots) Mitchell, Mike SS 6'0"220Ohio
(48) Broncos McBath, Darcel CB 6'0" 198 Texas Tech
(49) Seahawks (From Bears) Unger, Max OT 6'5" 309 Oregon
(50) Browns (From Buccaneers) Massaquoi, Mohamed WR 6'2" 210 Georgia
(51) Bills (From Cowboys) Levitre, Andy OL 6'3" 305 Oregon State
(52) Browns (From Jets) Veikune, David DE 6'2" 257 Hawaii
(53) Eagles McCoy, LeSean RB 5'10" 198 Pittsburgh
(54) Vikings Loadholt, Phil OL 6'8" 332 Oklahoma
(55) Falcons Moore, William S 6'0" 221 Missouri
(56) Colts (From Dolphins) Moala, Fili DT 6'4" 305 Southern Cal
(57) Ravens Kruger, Paul DE 6'4" 263 Utah
(58) Patriots Vollmer, Sebastian OL 6'7" 312 Houston
(59) Panthers Martin, Sherrod S 6'1" 198 Troy
(60) Giants Beatty, William OT 6'6" 307 Connecticut
(61) Dolphins Smith, Sean CB 6'4" 214 Utah
(62) Titans Marks, Sen'Derrick DT 6'2" 306 Auburn
(63) Cardinals Brown, Cody DE 6'2" 244 Connecticut
(64) Broncos Quinn, Richard TE 6'4" 264 North Carolina

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Quote:

EXACTLY!!!! Thank you! Someone who gets it.




that's not what you were saying,, or at least, not the way I took it. You made it sound as if he was a wasted pick..

I say it's too early to determine that.. in the end, you may be right...


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I see a lot of contributors on that list and even more who are slated to start the upcoming season....I also see 2 of the absolute worst picks being made by the Browns...thanks for this depressing review


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What's done is done . . .

Mangini isn't deciding on any more picks in Cleveland.

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