Peyton Hillis and Dave Letterman help "Cleveland forget LeBron"

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Peyton Hillis had a crazy week for sure, and presenting the Top Ten List on The Late Show with David Letterman was just one of the "perks" that came with being named the Madden 12 cover model.

In my opinion, he did pretty damn well.  Guess Dave made him stick to the script and not provide witness to his deep faith, but whatever!

Well isn't this a nice change?

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Phil Taylor changes his tune and also gets 700% more followers in one day. 

See what good things Cleveland brings for you?

Trusting the Browns - and @PhilTaylor98 - tonight

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Wow.  I'm not one to fall in line or in love with the talking heads on TV, Twitter, the web, or the radio about anything.  I was stuck away from the television when the Browns traded down their number six pick down 21 spots Thursday night, and was listening to the folks on WKNR tear it apart.

But like I've said before, I'm trusting the Holmgren-Heckert combination.  I know one wide receiver or cornerback isn't going to turn the franchise around.  It would have been nice to get Colt some weapons, of course, but the Browns' weaknesses run deeper than that.  And the treasure we plundered from the Falcons was definitely worth it.

So when the Browns later moved up to the 21 spot later and grabbed Baylor defensive tackle Phil Taylor, I was okay with it.  Sure, the first thought I had was "who?"  And the second was "he had two sacks last year?  That's only two more than I had."  Yet I didn't hate it.  Because I take the fact that I didn't know about him as only a good thing.

Turns out not many Browns fans had actually heard of Phil Taylor.  Some were willing to wait and see..some were more judgemental.  The national media draft previews also were mixed.  But again, I am willing to trust the Browns' judgement.

Yet then I quickly found Taylor's twitter handle-- @philtaylor98 --and his bio.

My Browns draft wish list...to get it right

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Is anyone really an expert on the NFL draft?  I mean, the so-called experts come out of the woodwork every year, of course.  And there are mock drafts after mock drafts leading up to that wonderful Saturday in April every year.  The Saturday where I normally check the draft from the golf course.  (Grabbing a hot dog at the turn at StoneWater GC was where I found out that Butch Davis traded up one pick for Kellen Winslow.  Junior, unfortunately, not senior.)

Regardless, everyone knows one thing--that nobody knows anything.  There is no sure thing.  Cam Newton might be amazing, or he might be another Ryan Leaf.  Most likely AJ Green and Julio Jones aren't BOTH going to be amazing hall of fame wide receivers.  Is that going to stop me from wanting something specific every year?  No.  My wishes in the past either didn't come true, or when they did, they sucked.  But here we go again.

In 1999, I desperately wanted no part of the Tim Couch v. Akili Smith debate.  I wanted Ricky Williams almost as bad as Mike Ditka did.  Damn shame.

Some Browns fan had a sign at the stadium in the 1999 season that read "Courtney Brown or trade down."  I loved it, and was my personal motto leading up to the draft.  Uggh, that

I was fine with the Gerard Warren pick.  How did that turn out.  The "never draft a player with 'money' in his nickname" is a good rule to live by. 

Those first few years make me cry a little bit. Litter in a bunch of undersized and/or lightly-regarded receivers in high rounds (Kevin Johnson, Dennis Northcutt, JaJuan Dawson, Andre Davis, Travis Wilson, Mohamed Massaquo).  Add a touch of underachieving quarterbacks.  And then a Michigan man.

And you have a recipe for disaster. 

Last year, however, appears to have a few delicious tidbits to whet Browns fans' appetites, with Haden, TJ Ward, McCoy, and Lauvao looking good, and of course Montario Hardesty hanging around, giving Browns fans dreams of a powerful two-headed backfield.

The thing is, the NFL draft is littered with spoiled picks, and the Browns are just one of many teams who have frustrated fan bases for years, especially with high-profile failures.

All I want now is to put my trust in Mike Holmgren and company, just like Colt McCoy did.

And maybe, just maybe, the Browns will agree with me this year and draft will draft Peterson, Jones, or Green, and I'll be happy as a clam.  We need offensive weapons, and Peterson is being sold as the best athlete in the draft, which would help the Browns who need some more athletes.

Or ignore those three players.  Whatever.  Just don't trade up one spot--if you do that, you're a sucker.  And don't draft another quarterback.

Why the Browns aren't cursed by Peyton Hillis' Madden cover

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Well, the people have spoken.  And they love Peyton Hillis--13 million votes later, and Peyton Hillis will be on the cover of Madden 2012.  That's it, right?  They love Hillis? Or maybe enough of them just hate Michael Vick?  Or maybe enough people want to see something positive happen to Cleveland?  Or perhaps it's just that everyone's grandpa was a Browns fan, and so it follows through the generations? Or maybe Browns fans are just really really passionate.

Or, of course, perhaps it's just an extension of the curse, and so of course it's a Cleveland player finally.  Which curse, you may ask?  It could be any number of curses when talking about Cleveland sports history, but in this case, of course, we're talking about the Madden Curse.  From Eddie George to Daunte Culpepper to Ray Lewis to Shaun Alexander to Vince Young to LaDanian Tomlinson to Troy Polamalu, injury and misfortune has affected many (but not all) video game cover models.

Peyton Hillis on the ESPN set with a mockup of a possible Madden cover.

But, of course, let's look at the reality--normally, stars on the cover are coming off several great years in a row, often with deep runs into the playoffs which made them famous.  Which means, in many cases, they had a lot of miles on them that could lead their production nearly only down.  Now, of course, Peyton hit a minor wall last year, but he's still on the upside of his career, as this was a fan-driven contest, and not a career appreciation award.

Amy Sancetta / Associated Press

So breathe easy, Browns fans.  It's not a curse, it's NFL career curves.  And Peyton Hillis is still on the right side of that curve.  Let's just hope the final cover is something cooler like him hurdling a defender or bowling over a linebacker on his way to the end zone. 

Just don't be ashamed to knock on wood a few times.  Like right now.  And every time you turn your Xbox on to play Madden this fall.