Written by Brian McPeek

---

You knew this was a possibility when the week started. You knew that Robert Griffin III had the potential to blow up at the NFL Draft Combine and send media and NFL personnel over the side of the mountain in terms of praising him and coveting him and, in general, hyping the living hell out of him.

I’m not using ‘hype’ in a negative way here. The kid is special. From the way he interviews to the touch he displays on deep throws to his ridiculous athleticism ( 4.41 40-yard dash, 39” vertical leap and 10’ standing broad jump).

After Sunday’s workout performance, ex-Redskins GM Vinnie Cerrato basically said that teams needed to give up whatever it took to get RGIII if they wanted him. Cerrato put nearly no boundaries on that ‘whatever’ indicating he didn’t see a team giving up its entire draft for RGIII as a huge drawback. With that in mind, another report indicated that the Redskins were allegedly willing to part with their first three picks this season and their first round pick next season in order to entice St. Louis to part with that second pick in April’s draft.

What’s that mean as it pertains to the Browns?

It basically means it would cost the Browns their first three rounds of this draft to move up two spots. They’d have to give up the 4^th pick (a mere two picks away, mind you), the 22^nd pick they received from Atlanta, their own 2^nd round pick (37^th overall) and their 3^rd round pick (68^th overall) to MOVE UP TWO SPOTS.

The Browns have the currency to make the deal if that’s what it takes. They have the ability to spend like tourists on vacation and to drop all their cash on that one excursion. The two real questions are: is that really what it will cost and will they entertain the notion?

I have a hard time believing that the cost will end up being that prohibitive. In other words, I’m calling ‘bullshit’ on the fact that RGIII’s value and price went up a great deal this weekend. I think his ‘Q’ factor went through the roof and that fans on Cleveland and Miami and Washington and in other QB-starved NFL cities certainly now know his name if they didn’t before and they’ll be swooning love–sick teenage girls over Justin Bieber for him now.

But that doesn’t mean much.

I went into the Combine wanting to see if RGIII was all he was cracked up to be. I’m not a huge Combine guy but Jason Askew has made me see the value in some elements of it. The Combine refines and confirms what we believe we know about certain players based on the limited look we get of them in games.

I thought RGIII was smart, athletic and had a strong arm before he got to Indianapolis. What I wanted to know was his actual size (he’s taller than some thought at 6’2 and 3/8”), how he came off in the interview of his life (he was engaging and charming, funny and sincere) and whether he worked to stay in shape after winning the Heisman and his bowl game or if he came in entitled and lazy and uninspired (see: Ohio State OT Mike Adams and his embarrassing 19 reps on the bench press…a number that Boom Herron eclipsed by three reps). RGIII was obviously in shape.

But what did the guys who already knew about his character and intelligence and athleticism really learn that they didn’t already know?

The answer is ‘nothing’.

These guys knew how sharp RGIII is and they knew before he got there what kind of athlete and what kind of shape he was in. I’m not buying the fact that his value increased much at all in regard to the scouts and the NFL GMs. His biggest test, and where his price could climb even higher, is when these teams bring him for a look of their own and spend an entire day with him. Forget even his Pro Day. He’s going to kill it. He can make every throw and he can make them all even better with no defenders nipping at his feet or chucking his receivers.

RGIII’s value didn’t increase this weekend. But it very well could when teams get him in a film room. If the kid demonstrates anywhere near the ability Andrew Luck has in reading defenses (not receiver progressions- the two are night and day) then his price tag is surely going higher. The only thing keeping Luck ahead of RGIII today is the fact Luck is a tremendous athlete himself (4.65 40yard dash, 36” vertical (which was higher than Cam Newton’s), and a 10’ 4” standing broad jump that eclipsed RGIII’s 10’ effort) and that Luck has been blessed with an innate and a learned ability to read defenses at what’s probably an NFL level already.

If RGIII can demonstrate either that ability or the potential to develop that ability sooner rather than later then the price teams will pay is going to sky rocket.

Fans have to understand that at the end of the day, moving up two spots cannot cost you two seasons worth of picks. It’s a supply and demand issue so you pay what you must, but there have got to be safe rooms somewhere that you can retreat to. On the newer draft value charts, the 4^th pick and the 37^th pick should be enough to buy you that move from 4^th to 2^nd. If you have to go 4^th and 22^nd then you clearly do so. If for some ungodly reason you need to go 4^th, 22^nd and 68^th (3^rd rounder) for what you believe to be the most dynamic player to come out in a decade then you hold your nose and probably do it.

But you have to line. There has to be some point that you draw that line and say to the Rams, “We’re talking two freaking spots and you’re getting the player you wanted anyway plus two more of the top 50 or so players in a very deep draft”

And, despite the tingly feeling you get about RGIII, there has to be a limit to what you’re willing to spend even with that pocket full of money. But don’t believe that RGIII’s stock drastically increased with NFL front office folks this weekend. I don’t think it did.

But it could in the next two months and that’s a scary and expensive thought.

How high a price are you willing to pay?

Great Start

So it’s only Grady Sizemore and Chris Perez who are hurt and out indefinitely after two days of spring training, right? Aaron Cunningham is okay? Nothing happened to Cristian Guzman?

Cool.

The Sizemore injury is more funny than it is concerning. I hate to be that way but c’mon, dude could hurt himself eating jello with a plastic spoon.

A few of things that surprised me more than finding out it was Grady that was hurt when the ‘news’ broke this weekend:

1. 1.The ‘Crying Game’ chick had a crank.
2. 2.Bruce Willis was dead that whole time he was counseling the freaky little kid.
3. 3.Elton John is gay.

Grady was pretty much destined to play 100 games anyway, if we’re lucky. I guess they just won’t be the first 100 games.

The Perez injury concerns me for a few reasons.

Perez has a tendency to push maximum density. He’s not exactly Kyle Farnsworth out there. That not only leads to the potential for injuries as it is on a good day. Now, with a nagging oblique injury and a tendency for a younger closer to rush back and keep his job, Perez could expose himself to further injuries and down time. The Indians have got to make sure they control the timetable whether Perez is happy about or not and they need to make sure that Perez spends the 4-6 weeks he’ll be out actually recovering. THEN he can begin to build up the arm strength, throw off a mound and catch up.

The issue isn’t really the 4-6 weeks that Perez will miss. It’s the additional time after he heals that he’ll need to actually have his spring training and be ready to throw without worry or limitation.

This is also one of the reasons I was in favor of shopping Perez this past offseason. Not only does he increasingly remind me of Bob Wickman in terms of his size and propensity for getting out of shape, but his velocity was off a few mph all last season, he’s more expensive today than a year ago and he’s not yet shown the maturity I’d like to see in regard to taking care of himself.

That’s something that probably needed to be impressed upon Perez when he arrived in Cleveland a few years back. Perez could find that maturity himself but the longer he goes having some success the less likely he’ll feel a need to change. The ship has probably sailed on the Indians making a dent with him though.

Don’t Get Sucked In

I loved the Kyrie Irving show Friday night of All Star weekend. He was tremendous and he’s a gifted kid that should continue to get better and better in the coming years. And Tristan Thompson played well Friday too. But he’s a different story altogether and a guy who doesn’t inspire much confidence in me.

Thompson can leap small buildings and he’s faster than a speeding bullet. He’s blessed athletically and he has value. What he doesn’t have is a great deal of upside or the value you’d expect to find as the fourth pick of the first round in the NBA draft.

The 2011 NBA draft was a mess. Typically you’ll have 7-11 guys who are worthy of being lottery picks in a given draft. In 2011 you may have had Irving and….well…that may be it.

What the Cavs really didn’t need was a guy they already had. And in Tristan Thompson they basically got Anderson Varejao. And not a ridiculously less expensive Anderson Varejao. Thompson and Varejao have no perimeter game and no real ‘go to’ offensive moves. They capitalize on PG penetration and put backs.

That’s fine for Andy. He hustles his ass off and he was not a high NBA draft pick. But at the 4^th pick you’d like something more. And even though there wasn’t a lot of top ten talent sitting there, there were players the Cavs could have taken that would have better complemented Irving and been of more value to the Cavs than the redundant Thomson. Enes Kanter or Jonas Valaciunas would have been wiser selections and guys you could plug into the starting lineup for years who would have added more value and another dimension than what TT gives you.

I guess you could deal Andy and live with the fact TT can’t hit the floor if he drops the ball and can’t be on the floor late in the game for fear he actually gets fouled and goes to the line, but I’m not sure how that advances the cause. If anything TT is less valuable than Varejao and there’s nothing in his past to suggest his shooting woes and offensive limitations are temporary.

I understand he’s only 19 years old and that he had no NBA instruction during the lockout. I understand he’s getting a crash course in the NBA and there are nights when he looks like a serviceable NBA player. But damn, if ‘serviceable’ is all the Cavs are looking for at #4 then maybe they are comfortable outside of the top ten in the upcoming draft.

Two Weeks

Two weeks from right now we’ll have printed off brackets for the 2012 NCAA Basketball Tournament. We’ll either be organizing our bracket pools or looking over the teams we like for that six-school shootout contest.

That means Championship Week and wall to wall hoops on ESPN starts a week from tonight or tomorrow. That means a Thursday-Friday off of work to watch the opening rounds and it means as the tournament winds up baseball will be ready to start.

And when baseball starts up that means summer.

We’re two weeks away from the unofficial start of summer.

Three Weeks

Ohio State and Cleveland State should be done and focusing on next year’s recruiting class, each school completing a collapse of epic proportion.

How I Spent My Weekend

I’m not a huge gun guy. I hunt and have a number of shotguns but as far as handguns go I have just one. But these days, like tons of other folks, I do use it for home protection and I want to use it for that reason outside my home.

So when I was made aware of the opportunity to take a Concealed Carry Class this weekend I jumped on it. That it was instructed by my uncle, Dan McPeek, was an added benefit. My uncle was a 30-year police officer, a training officer, sergeant, member of the SWAT team for over a decade and is intimately familiar with hand gun safety. He trained with Seal Team 6 and with numerous other elite organizations and the classroom portion of the curriculum is peppered with stories and examples from many of those experiences.

The class is really excellent whether or not you’re certain you want to take on the extra responsibility a concealed carry permit requires. And it is a responsibility. Dan goes over everything from the laws governing concealed carry to bringing a gun into the house with a wife and kids to selecting the appropriate firearm. The requirements for the class are 10 hours in the classroom and two hours spent on safely handling and firing your weapon on the range. The fact that the range time is spent at Gray’s Armory downtown, which breathes history from every creaky floorboard and ceiling joist, is an added benefit.

Dan is running another class on March 31^st and April 1^st. If you have any thoughts on potentially getting a concealed carry permit you should do yourself a favor and take this course. Not only is it required prior to applying for the permit, but it’s extremely educational and also entertaining.

You can reach Dan at dem425@att.net

Follow @Peeker643