Before the Browns decide whether to pursue Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb, they have to come to grips with what they want to be on offense.
Kevin Kolb's potential value in a trade will likely depend on what teams -- including the Browns -- will be committed to a West Coast-style offense that suits Kolb's skills.THE KICKOFF
Voters for the Pro Football Hall of Fame have received the preliminary ballot for the Hall’s 2011 class.
At this stage of the process, 113 eligible candidates have to be shaved to 25. In December, the list of 25 is pared to 15. Those 15 then join the two senior nominees, Chris Hanburger and Les Richter, in the finalist round debated the day before the Super Bowl.
Out of 113 on the original list, only four to seven will make it to Canton this year. Included on this year’s ballot for the first time are running backs Jerome Bettis, Marshall Faulk and Curtis Martin, cornerback Deion Sanders and coach Dick Vermeil.
Those seemingly slam-dunk first-timers join candidates who did not make it to the Hall in previous years of eligibility. These include prolific receivers Tim Brown, Cris Carter and Andre Reed; tight end Shannon Sharpe; center Dermontti Dawson; defensive linemen Richard Dent, Charles Haley, Ed “Too Tall” Jones and Cortez Kennedy and safety LeRoy Butler; not to mention eight other coaches and 20 contributors.
Included on the ballot are two former Browns — linebacker Clay Matthews and coach Bud Carson. Matthews played outstanding football for 19 years at one of the game’s most demanding positions. Carson might not have lasted two seasons as Browns head coach, but his contributions with the Steelers and other teams earned him the reputation as one of the league’s all-time finest defensive coaches. The Tony Dungy “Tampa Two” defense now in vogue was originated by Carson in Pittsburgh.
I hope Matthews and Carson at least advance to the round of 25.
KEY STAT
Nineteen of the 32 games (59.4 percent) so far this season have been decided by seven points or fewer. It’s the most at this point of the season in NFL history.
-- Tony Grossi
BALTIMORE, Md. -- What's going on in Philadelphia regarding quarterback Kevin Kolb?
According to a league source, coach Andy Reid's decision to bench Kolb in favor of Michael Vick signals the end of Kolb with the Eagles. The source said that General Manager Howie Roseman is canvassing the trade market to see what they could get.
When the Browns explored Philadelphia's price tag for Donovan McNabb or Kolb in March, the answer was a first-round pick. McNabb eventually was traded to division rival Washington for a second-rounder and conditional future, believed to be a 2011 fourth.
Reid thought Kolb was ready to take the reins from McNabb in his fourth season. Two 300-yard passing games as a fill-in starter last year was the impetus for the off-season trade of McNabb. But Kolb struggled in preseason and in his only start this year before leaving with a concussion.
Vick outplayed Kolb in preseason and wowed Reid with an eye-opening game in his start last week in Detroit. Reid has made a decision which he can't go back on now.
The source said that Philadelphia will not intensify trade talks until Vick proves in games against Jacksonville Sunday, Washington next week and San Francisco on Oct. 10 that he indeed is for real. The price tag for Kolb eventually could drop to a third-round pick.
Will the Browns pursue Kolb, who is 26 years old and apparently a has-been in Philadelphia?
This source speculated that the debate in Cleveland will be whether President Mike Holmgren is willing to tear up the Browns' current offensive system and green-light an immediate transition to the West Coast offense.
Kolb has been schooled for four years in Reid's version of Holmgren's old Green Bay offense. The source does not believe the Browns would pursue Kolb and force him to adapt to the Brian Daboll offense.
Thus, a move toward Kolb would signal, in this source's mind, a commitment by the Browns to blow up their current offensive thinking.
Labor stuff: Players union leaders are visiting each team to educate players on the option of decertifying the union as a means of avoiding an owners lockout next year. Several teams have voted to authorize the union to decertify if it comes to that.
The Browns' vote will take place on Sept. 29, union rep Joe Thomas said. It's expected that DeMaurice Smith, the union's executive director, will visit the team prior to the vote.
At that time, the Browns also will elect new union reps. They are amply represented right now. Because the union rep receives a two-year term, which carries over if a player switches teams, the Browns currently have four union reps -- Thomas and Robert Royal, holdovers from last year; Sheldon Brown, whose term carried over from Philadelphia; and Tony Pashos, whose term carried over from Jacksonville, via San Francisco.
Also, Scott Fujita is a member of the union executive board.
Fujita's take on decertifying: "I need to know more about it, but right now it's strictly procedural, a non-issue. It's one of those things where you need to secure the votes to play that card if you have to. I don't even know if it's the last possible strategy we employ. I just think we have to cover all the bases if we're going to protect ourselves."
North nuggets: The Ravens are paying veteran QB Marc Bulger $3.8 million this year, so there will be calls to play him, first in relief, if Joe Flacco continues to struggle. Coach John Harbaugh declined to say whether he considered yanking Flacco during his career-high four-interception game against Cincinnati.
The next day, Harbaugh said on a radio show, "I don't ever really buy into the thing that one position is different than another position. I would never say you never take a quarterback out of the game. I've never believed that." We'll see if Flacco struggles against the Browns. ...
Last year at this time, Billy Cundiff kicked for the Browns in place of injured Phil Dawson. Today, he's kicking for the Ravens. He thanked the Browns for giving him an opportunity to revive his career last season. "I obviously have a lot of positive emotions when it comes to thinking about the Cleveland Browns," Cundiff said in Baltimore this week. ...
Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer praised rookie tight end Jermaine Gresham and receiver Jordan Shipley, who have been instant contributors. "They have a great grasp of the game and are hard workers," Palmer told reporters. "They watch a ton of film and the older vets around them. It's definitely easy to say I haven't seen two rookies come in and pick it up as easily as they have." ...
No mystery as to why the Steelers are winning despite using two backup quarterbacks. Safety Troy Polamalu is healthy and making plays all over the place for the defense again. He's got two interceptions and a highlight-play tackle of Kerry Collins to preserve Pittsburgh's second straight win last week. He missed 11 games with two knee injuries last year and the defense wasn't close to the same without him. He deserves MVP consideration if he stays healthy.