The Browns are smart to work out West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith and even smarter to pass on him at No. 6, Bud Shaw writes in his Spin column.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- There is sexy and there is the 2013 NFL draft where the cover boys aren't quarterbacks.
The Browns will travel to watch West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith Saturday after earlier visiting with USC's Matt Barkley.
(Note: The NFL draft is two weeks away. I feel the need to offer that reminder because this is as close as Cleveland has come to being a draft dead zone. Never thought I'd see it.
What is it? Is this what happens when the best offensive talent at the top of the draft is probably guard Chance Warmack? Is it uncertainty over Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi?
Hard to say, but I suspect in part it's because the quarterbacks that teams are interested in traveling to watch are Geno Smith and Matt Barkley.)
Are the Browns just doing their homework in checking out quarterbacks? Are they playing poker?
My guess is they feel obliged to make sure they aren't passing over a franchise quarterback at No. 6. They're also strongly considering trading down. Armed with more picks, they'd want to be prepared if a quarterback falls to them.
Either way, who better than head coach Rob Chudzinski, who had Cam Newton in Carolina, to pass judgment on Smith?
He has been scorched in Pro Football Weekly for small hands, poor ball security, a lack of leadership and a questionable work ethic.
He has been lauded by Jon Gruden for his decision making and for a higher quarterback rating under defensive pressure.
(Note #2: Gruden may have valid points to make but he gushes over players so often it's hard to tell when he's impressed for the best of reasons. You just assume he's sprung another enthusiasm leak.
When I think of Gruden, a game two seasons ago comes to mind. He said this of Miami defensive end Cameron Wake:
"This guy will not quit. He continues to fight, he continues to finish. And at the end of the year, the animal will come out of its cage. . . . He's studying to be a veterinarian!"
And, no doubt, the best doggone veterinarian in the history of veterinarians.)
Gruden wasn't quite that effusive about Smith when asked if Smith is discussing whether Smith is a reasonable selection at No. 1 overall. Andrew Luck went No. 1 a year ago, followed by Robert Griffin III. Newton was the No. 1 overall pick in 2011.
"I answer that by considering where he is . . . not in every draft . . . but for this class specifically," Gruden said in his QB Camp take on Smith. "In this class, I definitely think he's a guy you could take at No. 1, or at least in that range if it's your top need . . . It's supply and demand."
Putting that quote through the Gruden Polyanna Translator: "It's a bad draft for quarterbacks but if you're desperate, why not him?"
It is supply and demand as he says. The Browns cannot possibly be sure about Brandon Weeden. But the answer isn't taking Geno Smith and being unsure about him.
Smith doesn't have to be Luck or Robert Griffin III for him to make sense for the Browns. He wouldn't fall to them at No. 6 if he were as good as those two. But he still has to be everybody's idea of a franchise quarterback -- that includes Chudzinski, Norv Turner, Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi -- to justify taking him that high.
As for Gruden, his take on another quarterback is worth mention:
"I love (him). If you want a quarterback that's tough as hell and that's a winner . . . You walk away and you say (he) makes the most difficult throws in college football. He has a tremendous arm and great anticipation . . . It's a pleasure watching (him) throw the football."
That was Gruden last year.
Talking about Brandon Weeden.
Spinoffs
The ballpark radar gun apparently cheated Ubaldo Jimenez of a couple miles an hour in the home opener Monday, meaning he was throwing closer to his spring training velocity.
So he was just really bad, not hurt.
Whew?
Shakespeare wrote of Spring, "When proud pied April, dressed in all his trim, Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing."
Here, we have a different kind of poetry.
Here, nothing says Spring quite like waking up to the headlines "Woeful Cavs blow another 20-point lead" and "Rotation already in a shambles."
Poetry in commotion.
Fired Rutgers' AD Tim Pernetti's buyout includes $1.2 million, a $12,000 car allowance for the next couple years and an IPad.
Because apparently $1.2 million doesn't go as far at the Apple store as it once did.
Trevor Bauer said he has a personal vendetta against the pitch count.
He also said his first start for the Indians on Saturday would be like any other game.
That was before he walked the first four hitters and seven overall and the day became just another game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey.
Brady Quinn signed with Seattle as the backup quarterback.
No word on whether he stood out because of his two touchdown passes last year to eight interceptions, or because of the company he kept in the Seahawks' quarterback tryout: Seneca Wallace, Matt Leinart and Tyler Thigpen.
Or, as Jon Gruden would call them, the four best backup quarterback talents on the same field. On a Monday. In the Pacific Northwest.
Michigan freshman guard Spike Albrecht, after his surprising 17-point barrage in the NCAA Tournament title game, Tweeted at supermodel Kate Upton: "Hey saw you at the game last nite, thanks for coming out! Hope to you see you again."
When a guy gets this far out over his skis, it's the definition of "still feelin' it."
Carlos Carrasco denies purposely hitting Kevin Youkilis in his first game back since serving a suspension for throwing at Kansas City's Billy Butler in 2011. Carrasco says he slipped, though that's hard to spot on the replay.
The best reason to believe him is that throwing at Youkilis on purpose after a Yankees' home run in the first game back would be the height of stupidity.
He can't be that dumb.
High praise, I know.
Wade Boggs thinks it's time for the Red Sox to retire his number.
The general rule here: If you gotta ask an organization to retire your number, it's not time.
And a rule specific to Boggs: If there's an unforgettable image of you riding horseback at Yankees Stadium in pinstripes, celebrating a World Series championship, a camel has a better chance of passing through the eye of a needle.
Will some Indians' fans ever forgive the Dolans for not re-signing Travis Hafner, despite begging the Dolans not to re-re-sign Travis Hafner.
In Rick Ankiel's first 14 plate appearances with the Houston Astros, he homered, lined out and struck out 12 times. Nine times in a row.
That's enough to make the Indians lineup look like a cloning of Ichiro Suzuki.
If you guessed Ankiel's lone hit came off Derek Lowe, you watched your share of Indians' baseball in 2012.
The International Olympic committee is mulling a decision to add 3-on-3 basketball and BMX to the Olympic menu in time for the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016.
Hackeysack can't be far behind.
You said it
( (The Regular Midweek Edition)
Bud: Based on a starting pitching assignment every fourth or fifth day, followed by a five-game suspension after each appearance, how much of Carlos Carrasco should we really expect to see this season? -- Jim Corrigan, Fairview Park
Let's just say, by comparison, you'll get tired of seeing Mike Lombardi.
Bud: When you negotiate a new contract with the PD, is it ever about the money? -- Tom Hoffner
I've been known to drive a hard bargain. I'm not bragging but in deference to my almost 22 years here they no longer ask me to get on my knees to beg, unless the office is carpeted.
Hey Bud: How many pitching coaches does it take to change Ubaldo Jimenez's delivery? -- Ed Stagl, Berea
Change? One. Fix? Apparently a village.
Hey Bud: Shouldn't the headline from Tuesday night's Indians game have been: "Carrasco Fiasco?" -- Christopher
Good point. On nights when the Cavs also play, it's best to be as specific as possible.
Bud: You published my email back in February, but my T-shirt never came. Maybe I misunderstood the rules: Are the printed emails the winners? Or are they losers? -- Mike Nath, Sandusky
First-time "You said it" winners receive a T-shirt from the mental_floss collection.
Bud: Ohio State LB David Perkins' response to why he tackled Brutus at spring football practice was, "See ball, get ball." All I have to say is. "Take that everybody who still believes football comes first and education comes second at colleges with big football programs" -- Kevin, Medina
Repeat winners are penalized.
Bud: Does Trevor Bauer have a vendetta against home plate? -- Wayne Kuznar
Repeat winners take a walk.
To reach Bud Shaw: bshaw@plaind.com, 216-999-5639 Previous columns online: cleveland.com/columns
Terry Pluto talks about the Browns signing wide receiver David Nelson during his weekly podcast. (AP Photo/David Duprey)
