If tackle becomes too expensive, GM Savage must seek alternative to bolster offensive line

In free agency, Plan B is essential.

Last year, Browns General Manager Phil Savage had a lot of Plan Bs ready. When cornerback Anthony Henry left for the Dallas Cowboys, Savage signed Gary Baxter. When quarterback Kelly Holcomb signed with the Buffalo Bills, Savage traded for Trent Dilfer. When the Baltmore Ravens matched the Browns offer to running back Chester Taylor, Savage traded for Reuben Droughns.

Which is why the Browns are quietly aware of their situation at a key position -- left tackle.

L.J. Shelton remains unsigned heading into free agency. His agent, Vance Larimer, said this week that the team and he have exchanged proposals.

``But I don't see anything heating up until the (NFL scouting combine), if then,'' he said before adding that the uncertainty over the extension of the collective bargaining agreement makes new deals difficult.

The combine will take place this week, from Wednesday through Sunday.

Free agency is due to start March 3 and Shelton -- as of today -- is probably the second- or third-best left tackle who will be available on the market.

Free agency is always hard to predict, but Shelton could find himself in an advantageous position.

Left tackles are vital, and he started 16 games last season for a team that had a 1,200-yard rusher.

``I think, for the most part, he played adequately,'' Savage said in January. ``I think there were certain games where he performed not up to standard, so people think he can't play at all and that's not true.

``He's an NFL left tackle.''

He also seems to fit with the Browns. He's a good guy on a team that wants high-character guys, a young (29) veteran playing for a coach who likes veterans and a part of a line that could improve as it plays more together.

Shelton is not Jonathan Ogden in his prime, but he and Larimer understand that. Ogden could demand a signing bonus more than $10 million, Shelton can't. But he can earn a lot of money.

``We think he played well enough to establish himself as one of the top 10 to 20 left tackles in the league, and those guys are making $4 million a year on average,'' Larimer said.

That might seem like a lot of money, until Plan B is considered -- and right now there is no Plan B.

Savage likes the potential of Georgia Tech offensive tackle Nat Dorsey, but is it wise to entrust a vital position to an unproven guy who never seemed to be in very good shape a year ago?

The market for left tackles will not be great, with Jeff Backus of the Detroit Lions generally considered the best available. That means he'll get more money than Shelton.

The Browns could add a right tackle and move Ryan Tucker, but they have to measure that against keeping things stable.

``There's not a whole lot to choose from out there, especially when you start factoring in the salary and the money that it's going to take to bring other people in here,'' Savage said.

Too, some of Shelton's problems seem like they could be solved with help from the blocking scheme -- in other words don't ask him to block a Dwight Freeney by himself in obvious passing situations.

The Browns signed Shelton at a bargain a year ago when he took a one-year deal worth $1.538 million in salary and bonuses. His idea was to re-establish himself. Shelton was coming off a knee injury that ended his 2004 season early, and he was cut late after Dennis Green decided to go in the proverbial ``different direction.''

By the time he hit the market in May, his leverage was near zero.

Said Larimer: ``At that point, his value was the lowest it could have been for him.''

Now it's higher.

And a team that needs a left tackle will contact him once free agency begins. The position is too important.

Consider that until Shelton became available the Browns were willing to go forward with Ross Verba.

This Plan B will be interesting to watch.

Talks ongoing

The uncertain status regarding an extension of the collective bargaining agreement has some contract talks on hold.

The uncertainty, Larimer said, has held up many deals.

``It makes it next to impossible for the teams,'' he said.

Some reports even have the league and NFL Players Association delaying the start of free agency a month, but Carl Francis, NFLPA Director of Communications, said there is no truth to the reports and free agency will start March 3.

That has teams uncertain about the rules they'll be working under.

If there is an extension, contracts can be prorated over seven years. Without one, it's four years.

With an extension, the cap could conceivably rise to $112 million. Without one, it's $92 million.

Without an extension by March 2, the 2007 year would be uncapped, and the union has threatened to decertify, which would change the entire structure the league has operated under for years.

If there is an uncapped year in '07, a player would have to be in the league six years before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

There are other complications, most woven into the labyrinth of rules that involve the salary cap.

In short, unless a new deal is worked out quickly, there will be much trepidation and careful thought once free agency begins.

Super Bowling

Yes, the officiating at the Super Bowl left a lot to be desired. It's hard to remember the last time a tackle was called a block below the knees.

But the amount of e-mails that came in suggesting the game was ``fixed'' was overwhelming.

That suggestion is utterly preposterous. If it were fixed, someone needs to check the the Seattle Seahawks secondary and see how they could give up an across-the-field throw for a first down on third-and-28, and allow the Pittsburgh Steelers to score on yet one more flea-flicker.

These e-mails suggest -- to me at least -- that Browns fans' frustrations are deeply ingrained, and that a whole lot of people wager their hard-earned money on a game played and officiated by human beings.

Brownies . . .

• Idle thought: If the league does not come to an agreement on a new bargaining agreement, it would be the dumbest decision since New Coke.

• The main stumbling blocks are among owners. High revenue owners such as Jerry Jones with the Cowboys do not want to share more money. Instead, they want teams like the Cincinnati Bengals and the Steelers to increase their revenues by increasing sponsorships and ticket prices. Players, naturally, want more of the pie.

• For crying out loud.

• Rumblings are very loud that the Browns will let wide receiver Antonio Bryant go to free agency and perhaps sign two players with the money they would have used on Bryant. One of them could be Joe Jurevicius of the Seahawks.

• Other rumblings have the team pondering center/guard LeCharles Bentley of the New Orleans Saints, linebacker Will Weatherspoon of the Carolina Panthers, defensive end Aaron Kampman of the Green Bay Packers and nose tackle Maake Kemoeatu of the Ravens.

• Of course, if the team signed every player rumored headed to the Browns, it would cost them almost their entire salary cap.

• If there was any doubt that coach Romeo Crennel was committed to Maurice Carthon as his offensive coordinator, it should be erased. Crennel had ample opportunity to bring in a new coordinator with experience when guys such as Mike Mularkey, Mike Martz and Al Saunders were available, but he stuck with Carthon.

• The Vegas Hilton puts the Browns at 100-1 to win the 2007 Super Bowl. Take heart, some Web site called bodog.com has them at 80-1, and the MGM Mirage Race & Sports Book has them at 50-1.