Ho-hum, another week, another story showcasing the four-letter's admiration of the Browns. This will never get old. Perhaps they're making up for lost coverage.

The story this week is again from senior writer John Clayton. In this saga, Clayton waxes on the greatness of Brady Quinn. He's becoming a better team leader. He's throwing the ball much better. He's so, so dreamy. Fine, that last one wasn't actually in the story, but it may as well been.

Of course, this means an imminent headache for Derek Anderson. His first incomplete pass will probably lead to chants of "Brady, Brady, Brady." Such is life of a Cleveland Browns starter.

It used to be that when publications would list the 50 or 100 best players in the NFL, there was never a Cleveland Brown to be found (that rhymes!). That is no longer the case.

Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline just put out his top 50, mostly because there's really nothing better to write about this time of the year. He lists Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards as the 34th best player in the entire league. That's higher than guys like Drew Brees, Osi Umenyiora and Tony Gonzalez.

That's good for seventh-best receiver in the league. It's also 10 positions higher than teammate Kellen Winslow Jr., who comes in at 44. By Prisco's ranking, that means Winslow is the second-best tight end in the NFL. Lofty.

Do yourself a favor, though. If you check out this list, don't even bother reading the comments. You might heave harder than you did last night when the Cavs drafted J.J. Hickson.

UPDATE: Dawgs by Nature has an interesting take on the list. No Joe Thomas in the top 50? Blasphemous!

Chris Pokorny of Dawgs by Nature had a tidbit recently about the Browns being a possible suitor for Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver bum Matt Jones.

It's become quite clear this offseason that Jacksonville is looking to part ways with Jones. The Jaguars converted Jones out of college from quarterback to wide receiver, something unheard ofthat happens more than I thought in the NFL. After looking somewhat promising his first two years, catching 77 passes for just over 1,000 yards and 9 touchdowns. Last season, though, he struggled and played in only 12 games.

Personally, I don't this happening. The Browns were just a mention, as were Dallas and Miami.

Notes…
James Walker of ESPN.com writes that the Browns are good, but cornerback is still a major concern. There is nothing really new in the article, though.

With this being the deadest part of the football year (and yes, football is a year-round spectacle), fantasy football articles are coming out. The site I help with, New Era Scouting, just released their quarterback rankings. Derek Anderson is No. 7.

In other rankings news, Sporting News just put out rankings for the AFC's best wide receiver groups. The Browns are fifth behind Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and New England. This does not include tight ends, so that's about right.

Kevin Ace of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the Browns are among the teams that have shown an interest in San Diego Chargers wide receiver and punt returner Eric Parker.

Parker missed last season because of a toe problem and hasn't participated in minicamps. While he has been productive in the past, it doesn't seem like the Browns need another receiver. That is, unless they're fearing the worst with Joe Jurevicius.

Notes…
Terry Pluto wrote yesterday that the Browns will continue looking for another cornerback throughout the summer. The best way to acquire one? Trade Darnell Dinkins. Fair enough. Dinkins is the current odd man out, if Steve Heiden can come back healthy. The team could also move fullback Charles Ali for a cornerback. I'm not sure how many teams will be looking for a fullback.

A neat look by the Canton Repository's Steve Doerschuk on how the Browns could have drafted several of this year's Hall of Fame inductees. If you're a sad-sack Browns fan, don't read it.

In other Doerschuk news, I picked up the Sporting News NFL preview annual a few days ago. Doerschuk wrote the Browns portion. SN is generally the best season preview guide. However, it predicts the team will finish 9-7, third in the AFC North, and miss the playoffs.

Dawgs By Nature , through the OBR.com, is reporting the Browns have released three undrafted rookies:

WR Nate Hughes (Alcorn State)
LB Xavier Mitchell (Tennessee)
CB Darnell Terrell (Missouri)

The team then added guard Derrick Morse (Miami-FL) to a contract, to replace the departed LeCharles Bentley. All of these moves are not shocking, though Terrell was rumored to have had his moments in mini camp.

One interesting piece of news is that the Browns might finally be getting something out of running back Jerome Harrison. In 11-on-11 drills, he took two passes for touchdowns. The Browns have been fairly patient with Harrison, who really struggled to handle the passing game so far in the NFL. If he can get his hands on the ball, he can be a dynamic option, but he clearly couldn't be trusted in the past. Lets hope Harrison figures it out.

Finally, how can a fan not love Joe Jurevicius? He's coming back for an eleventh season, despite injuries, to win a Super Bowl ring with the Browns. Joe's a class act, and someone who genuinely loves his hometown and is living out his dream wearing orange and brown.  Who wouldn't want to see the former Lake Catholic star close out his career holding the Lombardi Trophy as a Brown?

Jason Cole of the ever-growing Yahoo Sports team came up with a good read about the Browns last week. He says the Browns defense still has a lot of ifs. He also has a good quote from general manager Phil Savage that basically shoots down any possibility of the team trading for Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor. Cole also makes the comparison between the offenses of the Browns and New England Patriots.

Notes…
Always make sure to check out Terry Pluto's Sunday column in the Plain Dealer. He always has good tidbits.

The same can be said for Patrick McManamon's "Beside the Point" column on Sundays. In this week's column, McManamon has a nice little bit about the LeCharles Bentley situation.

Kellen Winslow II arrived in Berea last night, and plans to attend mini camp, per Marla Ridenour. After speculation by many media figures about a potential holdout, Winslow arrived to the mandatory minicamp. He will be limited to individual drills in practice because of his knee injury. While the Browns aren't out of the woods yet for a potential holdout, this was a step in the right direction.

Keeping up with the positive news, Phil Savage announced this morning that LeCharles Bentley had been cleared to practice per Tony Grossi and had passed his physical. It is a big step for Bentley, who now faces the uphill battle of making a spot on the roster. It's great to see Bentley finally get a step closer to getting to fulfill his dream of playing for the Browns, albeit two years later.

And finally finishing the injury roundup, Gary Baxter is going to be participating in individual drills in camp.

Update: Here is video from the Plain Dealer of this morning's practice.

Later today, center LeCharles Bentley will undergo a physical to determine whether or not he can participate in a three-day minicamp that starts tomorrow. Bentley has been rehabbing a torn patellar tendon that he sustained in 2006 training camp.

Don't know which is the patellar tendon? Reach down at the front of your leg, just below the kneecap. Feel that large tendon that attaches your shin to your knee? That's the patellar. Now imagine being a 325-pound hulking offensive lineman and having it tear. Ouch.

Bentley's six-year contract was renegotiated last year which will allow him to become an unrestricted free agent after this season. Basically, that means Bentley, a former Pro Bowler, is probably doing everything he can to come back. If he doesn't play again this year, his career could be in jeopardy.

Notes…
In Sunday's Cleveland Plain Dealer, columnist Terry Pluto took an interesting look at playing time among players. It's really good stuff. So good, Chris Pokorny of Dawgs by Nature also waxed about it.

Check out Rich Passan's "News and Views" column over at the Orange and Brown report. Some interesting theories.

The Browns, and general manager Phil Savage have been ravaged in the past two weeks for not upgrading the secondary in free agency and the draft. After the Leigh Bodden trade, it was clear the Browns were thinner in the secondary, but after the loss of Daven Holly to injury, the Browns were ripped by the media.

The Browns have two key pieces in the secondary, strong safety Sean Jones and left cornerback Eric Wright who need to produce for the battered unit to succeed.  Jones is the unquestioned leader of the secondary, showing the most poise and productivity.  Wright is a former second round pick who came into the league last year with his expectations.  The question is can both of them be stabilizing factors in 2008 and better their play? 

To start, the Sporting News says that the Browns have the 7th best set of safeties in the AFC.  They say that "Sean Jones is tough and smart but must do a better job covering quicker tight ends. " Jones plays much better in zone coverage than he does in man, which is partially why the team toyed with the idea of moving Brodney Pool to the tight end side of the formation on passing downs in mid-season, which never quite materialized. 

Terry Pluto agrees with this, but does note that Jones got better as the season went on.  While the article mentions that Jones improved, it appeared more that the team was giving him more help in coverage, and not forcing him to play man to man coverage.  Also of note there is that Jones played 100% of the snaps on defense.  At 225 pounds, Jones is nearly up to linebacker size, so maybe his weight affected his productivity late in games?

At cornerback, second year veteran Eric Wright was a highly touted rookie, but had an up and down season.  His early season struggles, particularly against speedier receivers like Santonio Holmes in Game 1, showed.  Marty Gitlin of the Orange and Brown Report thinks that Wright improved as the season went on.  Wright talks in the article that he is more prepared for his second season, both physically and mentally.  The flashes were there last year, but all scouting reports pre-draft showed that he had suspect recognition skills, and lacked interest in physical play. 

If the Browns secondary is at least going to play average, both Jones and Wright need to step up their play.  Jones is a slow starter, as he struggled early on in 2006 and 2007.  Jones has good ball skills and is an intimidator across the middle of the field, but he can give up too much yardage on passing plays. 

Wright on the other hand needs to play more physically, and stop gambling so much.  He has all the physical skill to be a solid NFL cornerback, but he lacks experience, which he's gaining on the fly.  After starting for a season at Southern California, he then transferred to UNLV, where he sat for the 2005 season.  Then he played the 2006 season, and declared for the NFL Draft.  If he can catch up mentally with his physical talent, he could make that leap the Browns secondary needs. 

Blog friendo Matt Miller of Mocking the Draft got bored so he picked every game of the upcoming football season. That's right, all 256 regular season games. Here's how he put it for Cleveland:

Cleveland Browns
Wk Matchup
1 Dallas Cowboys L
2 Pittsburgh Steelers L
3 at Baltimore Ravens W
4 at Cincinnati Bengals W
5 Bye
6 New York Giants L
7 at Washington Redskins W
8 at Jacksonville Jaguars L
9 Baltimore Ravens W
10 Denver Broncos W
11 at Buffalo Bills W
12 Houston Texans W
13 Indianapolis Colts W
14 at Tennessee Titans W
15 at Philadelphia Eagles L
16 Cincinnati Bengals L
17 at Pittsburgh Steelers L
Total 9W-7L

It's hard to argue with much of it, but winning six consecutive games could be difficult. Mike Florio, of Pro Football Talk (and apparently Sporting News), doesn't agree. I wouldn't put too much stock in what Florio has to say. He's great at being the beneficiary of republishing someone's work. I wouldn't expect much of a knowledgeable opinion from the guy.

Notes…
In yet more Browns ranking news, Pete Prisco of CBS Sports says the Browns have the sixth best offensive line in the league. Fair enough.

If you're into such things, Madden 2009 ratings have been released. As a team, the Browns were given an 88. That's good for sixth best in the AFC behind New England, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Jacksonville and San Diego.