It was nearly a year ago that then-Browns lost cornerback Daven Holly blew out his knee in organized team activities. He missed the 2008 season, and his absence, along with Gary Baxter never working out in Cleveland, meant the team had to rely on Brandon McDonald and Eric Wright. Both were second-year players, and although Wright showed promise, McDonald was out his depth from the start. I wouldn't argue that losing Holly opened the flood gates on a four-win season -- Derek Anderson misfiring balls all over the yard gets the blue ribbon for that -- but it didn't help, either.
Now Holly is an unrestricted free agent looking for work, and the Browns, with a new head coach and general manager, are trying to piece together a team. It's a slow process, and results -- particularly in the AFC North -- could be hard to come by. Then again, the NFL is ever-changing; Cleveland won 10 games two years ago, and the Ravens, 5-11 in '07, made it to the AFC Championship game with a rookie quarterback last season.
Either way, Eric Mangini is bolstering the secondary. On draft day, he traded for Abram Elam. (He was part of the Mark Sanchez deal; a small part, but hey, a warm body is a warm body.) The club also signed Hank Poteat and Travis Daniels, and today Roderick Hood joined the Browns. Via the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Tony Grossi:
The Browns have signed veteran free-agent cornerback Roderick Hood, two league sources confirm. ... Hood, 27, played his first four NFL seasons with Philadelphia. He should be considered a strong candidate to displace Eric Wright or Brandon McDonald as a starter at cornerback.If signing Hood allows McDonald to play in the sub packages, I fully support it. Even though offenses built game plans around attacking Hood when he was with the Cardinals, he's an upgrade over the alternative.
And if the Browns can duct-tape the front seven -- specifically, finding ways to consistently pressure the quarterback -- the secondary becomes less of a concern. And Mangini can devote his time to fixing the offense.
