Browns GM: "If all we did was take guys from Alabama and LSU, we'd be f--king great."

a relatively large, uncommonly quick man from Louisiana State named Barkevious Mingo is the person (the Browns) will hire to jump-start an NFL franchise that has been relatively awful for the past 15 years...Mingo is absolutely the man they want to draft. They describe him as "always relentless." They identify him as the type of player who "represents everything" they aspire to as a franchise.
...
The main reason (another player they were considering drafting later) is even being considered is because he happened to play his best game against an opponent from the Southeast Conference, the most secure pedigree any potential pick can offer. That partially explains why the Browns are so enamored of Barkevious Mingo. "The SEC is a whole different animal," says (general manager Mike) Lombardi. "If all we did was take guys from Alabama and LSU, we'd be fucking great."

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9255454/chuck-klosterman-draft-day-cleveland

 

Who gets the starting nod at QB? Do we take players from the team now, or those already in the NFL?

They have Kendrick Adams on the defensive line. At 250lb, I assume he'd be one of the ends opposite Mingo.

Chris Faulk on the offensive line. He was a tackle, wasn't he?

Trent Richardson is starting now at a running back. They'd need a back-up.

They have Brad Smelley as a tight end on their roster as well. LSU doesn't have one in the NFL. Michael Williams is in the league but he's more of a blocker than receiver (see LSU v Bama regular season '11.) I believe OJ Howard will be better than both in the long run, but do we count guys who haven't played a down? That leaves us with Travis Dickson. Travis vs Brad? Geesh...

This is fun to think about...might be fun to play around with a bit since it's the off-season.

 

Here's another great piece the Cleveland press did on Mingo. It's a must read-for Mingo fans, probably the best piece I've ever seen on him:

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2013/05/in_the_louisiana_home_of_duck.html

 

Good read thanks for the link. Mingo with another 20-25 lbs of muscle is going to be awesome to watch! May take him a year or 2 but he will be a Pro Bowler IMO.

 

Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News writes:

"no, Michael Lombardi, an NFL team made up entirely of players from Alabama and LSU wouldn’t be great."

"What if an NFL team was populated entirely by former Alabama and LSU players? How good would that team be? Let’s put together a completely random and totally subjective roster, or at least a starting 22, just for the fun of it. Your suggestions, as always, are welcome below."

Offense

OL -- Evan Mathis (Alabama) Eagles.
OL -- Chance Warmack (Alabama) Titans.
OL -- Stephen Peterman (LSU) Jets.
OL -- Andrew Whitworth (LSU) Bengals.
OL -- Andre Smith (Alabama) Bengals.
QB -- Matt Flynn (LSU) Raiders.
RB -- Trent Richardson (Alabama) Browns.
RB -- Stevan Ridley (LSU) Patriots.
WR -- Julio Jones (Alabama) Falcons.
WR -- Dwayne Bowe (LSU) Chiefs.
WR -- Brandon LaFell (LSU) Panthers.


Defense

DE -- Mark Anderson (Alabama) Bills.
DT -- Glenn Dorsey (LSU) 49ers.
DT -- Marcell Dareus (Alabama) Bills.
DE -- Barkevious Mingo (LSU) Browns.
LB -- Courtney Upshaw (Alabama) Ravens.
LB -- DeMeco Ryans (Alabama) Eagles.
LB -- Perry Riley (LSU) Redskins.
CB -- Kareem Jackson (Alabama) Texans.
CB -- Patrick Peterson (LSU) Cardinals.
S -- Mark Barron (Alabama) Buccaneers.
S -- LaRon Landry (LSU) Colts.

"At a glance, that team wouldn’t be good enough to take the Super Bowl title away from Baltimore - there are far more solid pros than stars on that team - but neither would it challenge Kansas City and Jacksonville for the first pick in the next draft."

 

Hilarious that Scarbinsky felt the need to respond when Lombardi was obviously kidding. But looking at that roster, it may not be a super bowl team, but I bet they'd win a lot of games.

 

Define "Super Bowl Team". A solid team can win any game they play. Combine that with a little luck, and you have a championship. We didn't have any stars at LSU in '07, but it was a solid team that took advantage of some breaks.

 

just looking at the last five drafts alone, it's crazy how many players were drafted from Bama and LSU. and if you add Georgia players, that'd be a pretty interesting young team to watch:

OT -- Andre Smith, Bama (#6 overall, 1st R, 2009)
OT -- D. J. Fluker, Bama (#11 overall, 1st R, 2013)
OG -- Chance Warmack, Bama (#10 overall, 1st R, 2013)
OT -- James Carpenter, Bama (#25 overall, 1st R, 2011)
C -- Antoine Caldwell, Bama (#77 overall, 3rd R, 2009)
OT -- Joseph Barksdale, LSU (#92 overall, 3rd R, 2011)
OG -- Mike Johnson, Bama (#98 overall, 3rd R, 2010)
C/OG -- Barrett Jones, Bama (#113 overall, 4th R, 2013)
OG -- Herman Johnson, LSU (#167 overall, 5th R, 2009)
OT -- Cordy Glenn, Georgia (#41 overall, 2nd R, 2012)
C -- Ben Jones, Georgia (#99 overall, 4th R, 2012)
OG -- Clint Boling, Georgia (#101 overall, 4th R, 2011)
OG -- Justin Anderson, Georgia (#208 overall, 7th R, 2012)

RB -- Trent Richardson, Bama (#3 overall, 1st R, 2012)
RB -- Mark Ingram, Bama (#28 overall, 1st R, 2011)
RB -- Eddie Lacy, Bama (#61 overall, 2nd R, 2013)
RB -- Stevan Ridley, LSU (#73 overall, 3rd R, 2011)
RB -- Glen Coffee, Bama (#74 overall, 3rd R, 2009)
RB -- Spencer Ware, LSU (#194 overall, 6th R, 2013)
RB -- Charles Scott, LSU (#200 overall, 6th R, 2010)
RB -- Knowshon Moreno, Georgia (#12 overall, 1st R, 2009)

FB -- Quinn Johnson, LSU (#145 overall, 5th R, 2009)
FB -- Shaun Chapas, Georgia (#220 overall, 7th R, 2011)

QB -- Greg McElroy, Bama (#208 overall, 7th R, 2011)
QB -- Matthew Stafford, Georgia (#1 overall, 1st R, 2009)

WR -- Julio Jones, Bama (#6 overall, 1st R, 2011) -- Pro Bowl (2012)
WR -- Rueben Randle, LSU (#63 overall, 2nd R, 2012)
WR -- Brandon LaFell, LSU (#78 overall, 2nd R, 2010)
WR -- Demetrius Byrd, LSU (#224 overall, 7th R, 2009)
WR -- A. J. Green, Georgia (#4 overall, 1st R, 2011) -- All-Pro (2012), 2× Pro Bowl (2011, 2012)
WR -- Mohamed Massaquoi, Georgia (#50 overall, 2nd R, 2009)
WR -- Kris Durham, Georgia (#107 overall, 4th R, 2011)
WR -- Tavarres King, Georgia (#161 overall, 5th R, 2013)

ATH -- Trindon Holliday, LSU (#197 overall, 6th R, 2010)

TE -- Michael Williams, Bama (#211 overall, 7th R, 2013)
TE -- Brad Smelley, Bama (#247 overall, 7th R, 2012)
TE -- Orson Charles, Georgia (#116 overall, 4th R, 2012)

DE -- Tyson Jackson, LSU (#3 overall, 1st R, 2009)
DE -- Marcell Dareus, Bama (#3 overall, 1st R, 2011)
DE -- Barkevious Mingo, LSU (#6 overall, 1st R, 2013)
DE -- Sam Montgomery, LSU (#95 overall, 3rd R, 2013)
DE -- Quinton Dial, Bama (#157 overall, 5th R, 2013)
DE -- Lavar Edwards, LSU (#142 overall, 5th R, 2013)
DE -- Lazarius Levingston, LSU (#205 overall, 7th Rd, 2011)
DE -- Jarius Wynn, Georgia (#182 overall, 6th R, 2013)

DT -- Michael Brockers, LSU (#14 overall, 1st R, 2012)
DT -- Terrence Cody, Bama (#57 overall, 2nd R, 2010)
DT -- Bennie Logan, LSU (#67 overall, 3rd R, 2013)
DT -- Drake Nevis, LSU (#87 overall, 3rd R, 2011)
DT -- Al Woods, LSU (#123 overall, 4th R, 2010)
DT -- Josh Chapman, Bama (#136 overall, 5th R, 2012)
DT -- Jesse Williams, Bama (#137 overall, 5th R, 2013)
DT -- Ricky Jean-Francois, LSU (#224 overall, 7th R, 2009)
DT -- Brandon Deaderick, Bama (#247 overall, 7th R, 2010)
DT -- John Jenkins, Georgia (#82 overall, 3rd R, 2013)
DT -- Corvey Irvin, Georgia (#93 overall, 3rd R, 2009)
DT -- Geno Atkins, Georgia (#120 overall, 4th R, 2010) -- 2× All-Pro (2011, 2012), 2× Pro Bowl (2011, 2012)
DT -- Vance Walker, Georgia (#210 overall, 7th R, 2009)
DT -- DeAngelo Tyson, Georgia (#236 overall, 7th R, 2012)
DT -- Jeff Owens, Georgia (#243 overall, 7th R, 2010)
DT -- Kade Weston, Georgia (#248 overall, 7th R, 2010)

LB -- Rolando McClain, Bama (#8 overall, 1st R, 2010)
LB -- Dont'a Hightower, Bama (#25 overall, 1st R, 2012)
LB -- Courtney Upshaw, Bama (#35 overall, 2nd R, 2012)
LB -- Kevin Minter, LSU (#45 overall, 2nd R, 2013)
LB -- Kelvin Sheppard, LSU (#68 overall, 3rd R, 2011)
LB -- Nico Johnson, Bama (#99 overall, 4th R, 2013)
LB -- Perry Riley, LSU (#104 overall, 4th R, 2010)
LB -- Jarvis Jones, Georgia (#17 overall, 1st R, 2013)
LB -- Alec Ogletree, Georgia (#30 overall, 1st R, 2013)
LB -- Justin Houston, Georgia (#70 overall, 3rd R, 2011) -- Pro Bowl (2012)
LB -- Akeem Dent, Georgia (#91 overall, 3rd R, 2011)
LB -- Rennie Curran, Georgia (#97 overall, 3rd R, 2009)
LB -- Cornelius Washington, Georgia (#188 overall, 6th R, 2013)

S -- Mark Barron, Bama (#7 overall, 1st R, 2012)
S -- Eric Reid, LSU (#18 overall, 1st R, 2013)
S -- Brandon Taylor, LSU (#73 overall, 3rd R, 2013)
S -- Chad Jones, LSU (#76 overall, 3rd R, 2010)
S -- Rashad Johnson, Bama (#95 overall, 3rd R, 2009)
S -- Curtis Taylor, LSU (#219 overall, 7th R, 2009)
S -- Shawn Williams, Georgia (#84 overall, 3rd R, 2013)
S -- Reshad Jones, Georgia (#163 overall, 5th R, 2010)
S -- Bacarri Rambo, Georgia (#191 overall, 6th R, 2013)

CB -- Patrick Peterson, LSU (#5 overall, 1st R, 2011) -- All-Pro (2011), 2× Pro Bowl (2011, 2012)
CB -- Morris Claiborne, LSU (#6 overall, 1st R, 2012)
CB -- Dee Milliner, Bama (#9 overall, 1st R, 2013)
CB -- Dre Kirkpatrick, Bama (#17 overall, 1st R, 2012)
CB -- Kareem Jackson, Bama (#20 overall, 1st R, 2010)
CB -- Javier Arenas, Bama (#50 overall, 2nd R, 2010)
CB -- Tyrann Mathieu, LSU (#69 overall, 3rd R, 2013)
CB -- Ron Brooks, LSU (#124 overall, 4th R, 2012)
CB -- Tharold Simon, LSU (#138 overall, 5th R, 2013)
CB -- DeQuan Menzie, Bama (#146 overall, 5th R, 2012)
CB -- Marquis Johnson, Bama (#211 overall, 7th R, 2010)
CB -- Asher Allen, Georgia (#86 overall, 3rd R, 2009)
CB -- Brandon Boykin, Georgia (#123 overall, 4th R, 2012)
CB -- Sanders Commings, Georgia (#134 overall, 5th R, 2013)

K -- Blair Walsh, Georgia (#175 overall, 6th R, 2012) -- All-Pro (2012), Pro Bowl (2012)

 

this was published yesterday:

CBS Sports: The NFL's best players under the age of 23

SEC
1. Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU
5. Michael Brockers, DT, LSU
8. Trent Richardson, RB, Bama
6. Fletcher Cox, DT, Miss State
7. Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina
10. Vick Ballard, RB, Miss State

ACC
2. Luke Kuechly, ILB, Boston College

Pac
3. Tyron Smith, T, Southern Cal

WAC
4. Bobby Wagner, MLB, Utah State

Big XII
9. Josh Gordon, WR, Baylor

 

this was nice to here on how epic the LSU v Bama game is. post from a Tiger fan...

Morning talk show I listen to has "The Wall Street Journal Report" near the top of the hour. The broadcaster Jennifer Kushinka starts off her 6:55 piece,"Imagine being able to watch again a touchdown pass in the Alabama-LSU game or the winning kick in the World Cup on your ---- (so surprised I wasn't really paying attention-IPAD, something ESPN developed?) Pretty cool. Of all sporting events in addition to world cup they used LSU and not Super Bowl or World Series.