Written by Cris Sykes

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Good piece this morning from Cris Sykes, who begs and pleads with Phil Savage ... to just be right this off-season. This franchise cannot afford another go round of more misses than hits, and can't afford anything less than excellence at the top of the first round. Simply put, everyones job is on the line, and this team continues to lose segments of the fan base each season. How the Browns should attack free agency and the draft is open for debate. The importance of how they fare is not. There is only one thing I ask of Phil Savage and the front office of the Cleveland Browns. Just be right.

We have had top five picks before. We have had boatloads of cash to spend in free agency before. We have had former Clevelanders state their desire to return to Cleveland before.

We've had everything except the right results.

We've had multiple opportunities to turn this franchise around from the hole dug so deep by Dwight Clark. We've brought in veteran free agents. We have drafted by need. We have drafted by best player available. We've drafted a golden-armed quarterback. We've drafted a freak of nature defensive end. A block eating defensive tackle to take some heat off of the aforementioned defensive end. Running back? Yep ... we've spent a first rounder on one of those, with all the skills needed to be a star in the NFL.

We've drafted a wide receiver, a tight end. We've signed outside linebackers, and drafted inside linebackers. Cover corners and hard-hitting safeties. We have signed away other teams offensive linemen. Even punters have been the objects of our affection some off-seasons.

We've done just about everything.  Except one thing.  To BE RIGHT!

It really is that simple. Whatever choices you make this year Phil, just please be correct. For one off-season, hit the nail on the head more often than you hit your thumb.

I don’t know if Joe Thomas is Tony Mandarich, Robert Gallery, Tony Boselli or Orlando Pace. Is Alan Branch the next Kris Jenkins or the next Gerard Warren? Is Brady Quinn Joe Montana or Rick Mirer? I haven’t a clue. I have my opinions, but it's not my job to know these things. It's yours Phil. Be prepared. Be right.

The Cleveland Browns are walking a tightrope right now. I cannot remember a time where their fan base has been more disgruntled. I do not recall an instance where so many people have uttered the words, “Not renewing season tickets”, or “I am done with these guys” as readily as they have this off-season. To that Mr. Savage, you better have an answer. You need to hit a home run. Free agency better produce solid starters. The draft had better start with the right choice and finish with six more very good ones.

Teams are routinely in this situation. Some get stuck in a rut and spin their wheels. Others get out of the mud, only to land in a pothole. These next few months must get us out of this trench we are in and show a clear road ahead of us. You have to be right. There are no more chances to make mistakes, because you are dangerously close to losing the most passionate and loyal fan-base in the NFL.

There are enough needs on this team that whomever you add to this roster will have the opportunity to become a part of the core if you are correct. I would guess there are close to 15 starting positions that you could enhance in the next few months. All of these holes cannot be filled in one off-season. But with just one good off-season of hits with few misses, you can go a long way towards restoring respectability on the shores of Lake Erie.

See, we would not be in this spot had we just been right in the previous years. There is no perfect way to build a team, other than to be right more than you are wrong. If Gerard Warren was Richard Seymour, Courtney Brown was Julius Peppers; we would not be at this point. If Tim Couch was Peyton Manning and William Green was LaDanian Thomlinson; we would not be in this spot. Hell, if any of our guys had turned out to be any of those other guys, just once, we would not be where we are. As we all know though, our guys were not those guys. Why? Not because of bad luck. Not because of “The Cleveland Curse”. The reason is simple, we were wrong. We made bad decisions. Incorrect choices.

There is no blueprint to go by. The roadmap to a Super Bowl has been printed many times, in many different ways. The only thing that all of the previous Super Bowl winners have had in common is they have made the right moves, whatever those moves may be. Drafting a QB first means nothing. Drafting a left tackle first guarantees crap. Having stud running backs and breath-taking wide receivers ensures only that you will be fun to watch, in practice. The Browns need all of those things, plus some more. That is why the name and position of the player you select first, third, sixth and in free agency or in trades is completely insignificant.

The only thing that matters is that you are right.