I think I'll have a little more respect for someones opinion like Peter King than Mike Freeman. Who the FUCK is Mike Freeman besides some dude who has recently come out of nowhere to bash the Browns? That's the second recent article I've seen from him ripping on them. Prior to that, never heard of him.
From King...
Good trade by the Vikings. Not a bad trade by Cleveland.
Remember on the famous NFL Films clip when Bill Parcells is exhorting his Giants team back in the '80s by saying, "There's a reason you lift all them weights!'' And in this draft, there's a reason Cleveland built up all those draft choices entering this draft -- a league-high 13 in all.
I've been hearing GM Rick Spielman of the Vikings took advantage of a Browns team that didn't want to risk losing Trent Richardson, which is true. I've been hearing Browns GM Tom Heckert got snookered into throwing fourth-, sixth- and seventh-round picks. That's a load of crap. This is the easiest Monday Morning Quarterbacking to do (hey, that's trademarked!) after the draft.
There's no way Heckert could know what real offer Spielman had on the table. Spielman, as it turned out, had talked to Tampa Bay about the pick, but the Bucs were never seriously interested in it. But Heckert had no way of knowing that at the time. General managers making vital decisions for the long-term cannot sit there and say, "I wonder if Spielman really has something, or if he's bluffing.'' They have to make decisions on the fly. The Browns kept the top five picks of a vital draft intact and got the guy they wanted, Trent Richardson, and still had 10 picks to work with. I don't castigate Heckert. I applaud him.
Read more:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/04/30/mmqb/index.html#ixzz1tbhMZTEL
I'm not saying don't be critical or scrutinize a draft but to rip on this trade is comical.