Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” At least that’s what the Internet tells me.

By that definition, Browns fans are cuckoo for coco puffs.  Each year we get excited about the draft, only to be disappointed, only to look forward to the next draft.  Rinse, and repeat—with orange soda.

But, like always, I’ll pass on the meds. Because after all, Nurse Ratched, err Pat Shurmur, is now gone, so things will be… different. I swear.

Here’s a look at the possible routes the Browns will go with the sixth overall pick, in order of likelihood:

1) Draft a Defensive End/Outside Linebacker. This is the overwhelming favorite. A pass rusher is (arguably, I guess) the Browns biggest need and there just happens to be a bounty of them available this year. Get used to these three names: Dion Jordan (athletic anomaly), Barkevious Mingo (another gifted athlete with a name for the ages), and Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah (has only played football for three years; glass half-empty—inexperienced; half-full—untapped potential). All three would be huge additions to Ray Horton’s 3-4 defense.

Three well-known players not mentioned: Jarvis Jones (has spinal stenosis, which is the narrowing of the spinal canal, which is terrifying); Bjoern Werner (don’t think he fits in the 3-4); Damontre Moore (seems good at everything, but elite at nothing).

2) Trade Down.  The Browns currently don’t have a second round pick after drafting Josh Gordon in the supplemental draft last season. While Gordon certainly proved to be worth the pick, look for the Browns to jump at the opportunity to gain a second rounder back. My guess is that this would actually be their ideal scenario, but it is easier said than done.

3) Draft Dee Milliner. If the Browns don’t sign a cornerback in free agency, the chances of this happening increase significantly.  The Browns desperately need a quality second cornerback, and Milliner is the only one with a top-15 billing.

4) Draft Geno Smith. This is the wildcard. If he falls to the sixth pick (doubtful, but it could happen), then he could very well be the pick. I’d personally roll the dice with Brandon Weeden again next year (we have so many other holes, and at lease he showed some potential as a first year player), but I could not argue with the Browns management if they decide they cannot pass (pun not intended) on the top signal caller of the draft.

5) Draft Cordarrelle Patterson. Wide receiver is not a pressing need, and if it were, it would probably be for a veteran presence at the position. But just YouTube Cordarrelle Patterson and you’ll see why I have to at least mention him.

Stop it.

Don’t get me wrong: Lance Armstrong is also an asshole. Anyone who can look someone in the eyes and coolly declare a no-half-truth-about-it lie warrants such a description. And Armstrong didn’t just deny cheating; he sued those who correctly claimed he did. So yeah, he’s a first-class asshole.

But let’s not forget that, in the end, Armstrong lied about cheating in a sport that is apparently filled with cheaters.* Now compare that with Ray Lewis, who lied about a double murder investigation. Yet when it comes to media portrayal, Armstrong gets vilified while Lewis gets deified.

National media pundits had no trouble skewering Armstrong’s legacy with an unfettered resolve as reports of his performance enhancers came to light. But those same voices scoff at reader suggestions to probe into Lewis’s involvement in the murders of the two Akron boys in Atlanta. I guess it’s taboo to note that lingering, inconvenient cloud; one that became easy to ignore as it gradually faded over the past thirteen years. Much easier to sweep it under the rug than risk it uncomfortably destroying an otherwise inspiring tale.

But now that it is Lewis’s well-documented “final ride” into the playoffs, questions of what legacy he will leave behind have come back to the forefront. And for the media, which has the biggest stage, to ignore such a vital component to understanding his legacy is cowardice.

Now I’m not channeling King Joffrey and calling for Lewis’s head on a stake. I don’t know what happened that night in Atlanta in 2000. I’m just asking for it to be a part of the discussion. I’m also not questioning his football resume, which is stellar, nor his ability to inspire teammates. After listening to one of his interviews on NFL Films, his passion ignited my adrenaline; I felt like I could run through a brick wall.

My point is that when discussing Ray Lewis’ character, the murder trial deserves more than a blind eye.

If you want to argue that off-field issues shouldn’t affect his on-field legacy, that would be a fair point. I understand that steroid or gambling allegations can directly affect a player’s performance, so it’s an obvious topic of conversation when discussing someone’s Hall-of-Fame credentials. But to ignore the persona Ray Lewis has built would be to ignore reality. As great as he has been on the field, his stats compare rather similarly to London Fletcher. But Fletcher doesn’t appear on Madden covers, doesn’t star in commercials with Paul Rudd, and doesn’t enjoy effusive praise from ESPN in part because he is not a celebrity like Lewis. So it is fair discussion to have.

Lewis also makes it a fair discussion through the role he’s built for himself. With every biblical verse and motivational speech, he parades himself as the champion of changed men. And if you watched the AFC Championship game, you probably saw him crying during the National Anthem; at least he did his best to make certain you did.

If all of his changes are legitimate, then that is undoubtedly a good thing. The world is clearly a better place when men change for the better. But—and this is admittedly judgmental—the tears appear too calculated, too staged. And, more importantly, how can one truly be the poster-boy of atonement when he remains silent about a thing like murders and to this day fails to bring closure to two grieving families?

Now, please don’t bring up the “whatever happened to being innocent until proven guilty” shtick. For starters, Ray Lewis pled guilty to obstruction of justice for originally lying to police during the investigation. So bringing the murder investigation up in discussing his legacy is not some ignorant attempt to troll Ravens fans; he actually was guilty of an offense related to the murders.

Furthermore, his acquittal of other charges doesn’t fully remove the stench of the trial. Lewis and his friends got in an altercation with the two Akron men and they turned up dead. Lewis’ cream-colored suit he wore that night was never located. Witness statements to investigators did not align with their testimonies in court. Something seems afoul.

Sure, Lewis may have well acted courageously that night as a peacemaker and tried to stop the fight. I don’t know, but that’s not really the point. The fact remains that no one has been charged for the murders of those two young men, and that is in part due to Lewis’ inability to fully cooperate with the investigation.

All while two grieving families in Akron are subjected to coverage by national pundits lauding the linebacker for both his skill and virtue, afraid to broach that pesky, inconvenient cloud.

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* - Also, let’s remember that Lance actually did have cancer and still won seven Tour de Frances against a bunch of other dopers. Considering how I refuse to ride a bike to school because that means I have to ride it up the hill by Little Italy on the way back home, I’m allowed to remain impressed.

And whatever else about his character flaws, he still parlayed that ill-gotten fame into one of the most successful philanthropic movements in memory.

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UPDATE (1/29/13): Reports now coming out that Ray Lewis used Deer Antler spray (a banned substance) to speed up his recovery from his tricep injury. Deer Antler spray. Excuse me while I dust my shoulder off as my Lance Armstrong dichotomy became all the more salient.

… and Randy Lerner:

“A Dothraki wedding without at least three deaths is considered a dull affair.” - Jorah Mormant

Now, don’t get me wrong, Weeden’s play was more unsightly than a Lindsay Lohan mugshot. It doesn’t matter that the offensive line played like hot butter. There’s really no excuse for it. And inserting backup QB Colt McCoy very well could have won the game.

In fact, let’s assume, arguendo, that McCoy would indeed have led the Browns to a victory.

I’m still not subbing him in for Weeden.

If you watched the 2011 Browns season, you know what you have in Colt McCoy. I like the guy personally because he’s full of moxie. But he’s also undersized and extremely limited. Only Verne Troyer would be comfortable in a room with McCoy’s ceiling.

With Weeden, at least we have the potential for something more. He has the size and arm that McCoy will simply never have. It’s worth the development.

No. It needs the development. I’m not ready to cut my losses on a first round draft pick after just one game. Even if his play was so horrible that the game tape has been fluently speaking dead languages and is in desperate need of an exorcism.

Benching Weeden would have put a clamp on any future development. It would have killed his confidence and given raw meat to the Cleveland media foaming at the mouth for the chance to write about a quarterback controversy.

One win isn’t worth that in a season where the Browns are not winning the Super Bowl. Especially when that one win means admitting we’re better off with the pedestrian potential of McCoy.

I’d much rather take the loss and hold on to a glimmer of unknown in Weeden.

(Having said that, if we don’t see an improvement over the next few games… I’m going to start pining for Logan Thomas, Tyler Wilson, and Matt Barkley. Yes, in that order. Subject to change.)

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And this:

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Just excellent, excellent GIFs.