Repainted Peyton

Ready to revisit the Peyton Hillis fiasco? ESPN chimes in with an extended look at how the 2010 folk hero turned into a 2011 disaster. The piece plays up the rise, fall, and primed-for-redemption angle.

Hillis and those close to him are named sources, and the article — while not entirely glossing over his myriad mistakes — summarily gives the back of the hand to Browns’ management. For one thing it claims they “lowballed” him in contract negotiations. But he turned down their offer for a much better deal than the one-year, $3 million he got from KC in free agency.

In any case, the 2011 Hillis was as awful on and off the field as he was tremendous in 2010. Could the Browns have managed him better? Maybe, but the bulk of the blame for the primary sad storyline of last year’s Browns falls at the feet of #40.

For Browns fans, no other team will be more interesting to watch this season than the Chiefs, featuring former Browns Romeo Crennel (head coach), Hillis, Travis Daniels, Abram Elam, Amon Gordon, and Brady Quinn.