Hope

[Dave Gray]

It dawned on me the other day why I was so firmly perched on the front seat of the "Suck for Luck" bandwagon.  Yes, Luck gives you the best statistical chance of being good.  But that can be said for a higher pick in any year and I don't normally wish for failure, when mathematically eliminated.  This year, this draft, however, was different.  Part of it was hype...but it came down to one thing: Hope.

It's something that's lacked for me for a long time with this franchise.

At the end of Shula's reign here and again with the slow fade of Dan Marino, it became clear to me that wishing for the Super Bowl every year was a futile, draining belief.  It was then about rebuilding, which was OK with me, because in much of that time, I felt like the path to glory was laid out.  Jimmy Johnson gave me hope.  Nick Saban gave me hope.  And even though we never ultimately never got to where we wanted to be, at the time, I felt like I could let go...like I was in good hands.  And I felt that way again (though less so) when Bill Parcells came in.  But quickly after that, I became jaded.  I have no faith that we're going to be good again.  Even with a high draft pick.

Because of all the hype and predictions, because the whole country seems ready to rally around this one player, Andrew Luck, it gives me hope.  I would be convinced that winning was around the corner and know, without a shadow of a doubt that we were on the right track.  And maybe I'd be wrong...but I wouldn't know it.

[Pappy13]

^^I felt a little better today after doing a little bit of research on Matt Barkley. Assuming Miami is able to get him, I'd still feel pretty good about the draft. My only concern about him would be that he's only a Junior, he may decide to stay at USC for another year.

[MikeO]

Barkley isn't staying at USC for his final year. There is no reason too. It's a program in flux with sanctions and scandal all around it. There is no reason for him to return to USC for his senior year at all. He is going to be a Top 5-10 pick, probably closer to Top 5 when all is said and done and I don't see him risking that kind of money.

If Miami wins 1 or 2 more you can kiss the chances of Barkley or Jones good-bye in reality. If Miami ends up picking between 5-10 it might be tough for them to move up to get one considering you got a team like Cleveland with 2 first round picks in that same area and more ability to move up and get the guy they want. Also a team like Seattle could be dangerous and mortgage everything to move up. And a team like Denver who will be QB hungry as well. As well as Washington who has a crazy owner and a head coach who loves QB's.

[Phishfan]

I don't expect Cleveland to be looking for a first round QB.

[MikeO]

I don't expect Cleveland to be looking for a first round QB.

I do. McCoy has been awful this year. And Holmgren is running that show and is a "qb guy" who invests a lot into the QB position like Belichick and likes to acquire as many as possible. Look at his days in GB as proof.