Looking Back, Top of the 2000 Draft Was a Bust

The release of Courtney Brown by Cleveland earlier this week emphasized just how poorly the Browns have drafted since returning to the NFL in 1999.

Cleveland has chosen first overall in ’99 and 2000, went third in 2001, 16th in 2002, 21st in 2003 after its only winning season (and playoff berth) since its reincarnation, and sixth last year. There has been some bad luck involved, too, but generally the Browns have struggled on draft day.

The franchise’s first pick was quarterback Tim Couch, whose inconsistent performances eventually led to his release. Arm problems kept him out of the league in 2004.

Brown was chosen in 2000 and the defensive end usually was hurt or underachieving in his five NFL seasons. Defensive tackle Gerard Warren came in 2001 and pretty much was a bust before being traded to Denver earlier this month for a fourth-round choice.

Butch Davis, who ran the Browns -- some would say ran them into the ground -- from 2001 until the middle of last season, when he resigned -- selected troubled running back William Green of Boston College in 2002. Green has made more headlines away from the field than on it and has lost his job. Cleveland’s new regime of GM Phil Savage and coach Romeo Crennel gave Green permission to seek a trade.

Center Jeff Faine, the 2003 first-rounder, should have a long and successful career. He’s a quality blocker, but ligament damage in his ankle ended his ’04 season early. It was the second ankle injury of his short pro career -- Faine missed seven games as a rookie.

Davis traded a second-round pick to move up in the 2004 draft to get tight end Kellen Winslow, who promptly broke his leg and missed all but two games as a rookie.

Cleveland chooses third on April 23.

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Ronald Bartell has the size and speed scouts look for in cornerbacks these days. At 6-foot-1, he can contend with the taller wide receivers now populating rosters throughout the NFL. And with a 40-yard dash time in the 4.3s, he can run with the deep threats.

What he lacks is much experience at a big-time program, which could hurt him in next month’s draft.

Bartell played for two years at Central Michigan, but with coaching changes at the Mid-American Conference school, he transferred to Howard, a Division I-A program. While he performed well enough at Howard to be invited to the Senior Bowl and the NFL combine, there remain questions about his making the jump to the pros.

Bartell scoffs at such notions.

“Any time you come from college to the pros is a big deal, whether you come out of Division I or Division I-A,” he said. “But no matter where you come from it will be tough. It’s an adjustment.

“But come April 23, I won’t hear any more talk about coming from Division I-A.”

While Bartell hopes to go in the first round, he’s rated behind a strong group of cornerbacks: Antrel Rolle, Adam Jones, Carlos Rogers, Justin Miller and Corey Webster, for instance. He reminds some pro scouts of Ricardo Colclough, who came from tiny Tusculum and wound up the Steelers’ second-round pick, 38th overall, in 2004.

But he’s bigger and could wind up at safety.

Bartell is similar to many defensive backfield prospects, needing work on the fundamentals of the position. Skillwise, he held his own against prospects from the big schools.

“I’m not giving much thought about other guys,” he said. “I focus on myself and what I’ve got to get done. You hear a lot of hype, but every one of us at the combine, not much separates these guys. Talentwise, everybody is almost exactly the same. Some guys are a little faster and a little bigger and stronger, but we all can play and we’re all there for a reason.

“You get to see how meticulous life in the NFL is, and you learn how to handle yourself on and off the field. One major thing is that you need to always carry yourself well.”

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That the NFL would discuss playing a regular-season game in Mexico is no surprise, considering commissioner Paul Tagliabue’s desire to make the sport even more international. That the Arizona Cardinals would be the host also is no shock, with the Cardinals routinely drawing small crowds in their current home on the Arizona State campus.

If such an experiment works, where else might Tagliabue propose in-season games? Toronto, which has the 53,000-seat Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome) is a potential choice because the Bills have a strong following in Ontario and they don’t regularly sell out home contests. Vancouver might be another choice, but the Seahawks do draw well at home.

There also are questions about giving up a home-field advantage, which does not just cover playing eight games in the same stadium. While the travel from Buffalo to Toronto or Seattle to Vancouver hardly is prohibitive, it still is travel for a home game. Ask the Chicago Bears about the negatives of that, although the Bears played an entire season in Champaign, Ill., not just one home game.

Still, if the NFL stages a regular-season game in Mexico, the Cardinals could benefit by having a full house in which the majority of the fans are not rooting for the visiting team.

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The type of tackle that injured Eagles All-Pro wide receiver Terrell Owens might wind up being outlawed by the NFL.

Atlanta Falcons general manager Rich McKay, co-chairman of the league’s competition committee, said the issue will be taken up next week at the owners meetings in Maui.

“It is very difficult to figure out if we will recommend something or not,” McKay said. “There is a concern that that tactic can lead to injury. Traditionally, that tactic has been a last-ditch effort to make a tackle, and we have been very hesitant as a league for a long time to take away a tackling tactic, except when it proves dangerous.

“We’re trying to expand the definition of unnecessary roughness, broaden the standard and try to show players these are types of plays we would like not to have in the game. It was the players themselves who really emphasized the point to us.”