It was a little over a year ago when I first interviewed the crusty old curmudgeon of brownsfootballtalk.com you’ve come to know and love . . . well, most of you, anyway. I can hardly believe that I’m back on the hallowed ground that’s often referred to as “the padded cell”. It almost gives me shivers to think I’m sitting in the very place where Bill Wunkle predicted that the Browns would select Washington D-lineman Danny Shelton and Florida State O-lineman Cameron Erving with their first two picks in 2015. That alone was amazing; but then he predicted that in 2016 the Browns would – after trading down from 2nd to 8th with Philadelphia – trade with Tennessee from 8th to 15th so that the Titans could take an offensive tackle and the Browns would then take the first receiver off the board. While he missed on the exact players involved, he correctly picked the positions and the teams involved, which was pretty amazing in itself.

What kind of wizardry could he possibly pull off in 2017, and what kind of insider information could he possibly have to give us this time? Let’s find out about these and other topics of discussion as we bring on the man himself, Uncle Bill.

Q: To say that 1-15 was a bit of a disappointment would be quite the understatement. What’s your take on this past season?

A: The hardest part for me is to decide where to begin. By the time the 2016 draft came around, I thought it was a huge mistake to trade out of the 2nd overall pick when they had the chance to take what looked to be a franchise caliber quarterback in Carson Wentz, then tried to resurrect the career of an often-injured quarterback that’s inaccurate throwing from the pocket and still cannot read a defense in Robert Griffin III. I’m still not sure whether these decisions were Hue Jackson’s or Sashi Brown’s; but whoever made those two calls blew them badly. This franchise hasn’t had a first rate quarterback since Bernie Kosar, and they had the perfect opportunity to let Wentz just fall into their lap. Now it’s a year later and we STILL don’t have a franchise quarterback.

It seemed like they approached the 2016 draft as some sort of science project or something. They traded down and collected a bunch of picks, then basically threw cow pies at a target on the nearest wall and waited to see if any of them would stick. Granted, some of these kids they drafted can play some. Emmanuel Ogbah should do well in Gregg Williams’ 4-3 defensive scheme. Carl Nassib will be a nice rotational player as well – possibly as a DE or a DT in passing situations. Corey Coleman needs to get healthy and stay healthy for an entire season before I can validate his selection in the first round. Cody Kessler showed that he can be an adequate backup QB at the NFL level, but I think that’s about where his ceiling is. The rest of the 2016 draft class are just a bunch of warm bodies until they prove to me otherwise.

Q: And the regular season?

A: Quite frankly, I thought they were going to wear the golden collar of 0-16. Thankfully, they were able to beat the Chargers at home and still hold onto the first overall pick. Had the game been in San Diego, I think they would’ve lost that one as well. We knew it was going to be a long and rough season when they let go of some established players and went with the kids, and they certainly took a lot of lumps along the way. To their credit, they were outmanned, but never quit on their coach.

Q: So going into free agency and the draft, what holes do you see as major needs?

A: Well, as I’ve already said, they still don’t have a quarterback. Until they get that position right, they’ll never be anything better than mediocre. They also need to re-sign Terrelle Pryor to give the passing attack some real teeth. The O-line needs a center and a right tackle that are starter caliber so that whoever is playing quarterback doesn’t have to fear for his very life. Quality depth along the O-line is also a major issue in my eyes.

Defensively, the Browns definitely need a pass rusher. They can fill that need with the first overall pick . . . assuming they don’t trade the pick. A safety or two would be nice, and another cornerback that can play press coverage. I also think another big body in the middle of the D-line would be a huge step in helping their ability to stop the run.

Q: You mentioned the Browns new Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams. How much of a difference do you think that he and his assistants can make this year?

A: Depending on free agency, trades and the draft; It’s not inconceivable for the Browns to crack the top half statistically. Considering that they were 31st in the league in total defense, I understand that a lot of things have to go right for it to happen; but Gregg Williams has a history of getting the most out of his players and getting to the opposing quarterback.

Q: You also mentioned that the Browns can fill their need for a pass rusher with the first overall pick. I’m assuming that you mean Texas A&M defensive end  Myles Garrett. Is he really that good to justify taking him first overall?

A: From what I’ve seen of him so far, yes he is. He’s still a bit raw, but all the physical abilities are there. If he has the work ethic and takes well to coaching, the sky could be the limit with this kid. So many of the better teams ran away from him consistently, so it was tough for him to make any plays. Imagine if you will Emmanuel Ogbah at LE, Myles Garrett at RE, Danny Shelton at one DT, a fully recovered Desmond Bryant at the other DT, Jamie Collins at ROLB, Christian Kirksey at LOLB and Demario Davis at MLB. That would be a nice front seven, don’t you think?

Q: In your first mock, you had the Browns taking North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky 12th overall. Do you see anything that might change that?

A: Sure . . . he could show up at the combine and only measure 6′-1″, he could go off earlier than 12th or the Browns might fall in love with another player. It’s still very early in the silly season, so any of a number of things can happen. I think I’ve got at least two more mock drafts to come before D-day.

Q: Switching gears a bit . . . Now that the 2016 election is in the rear view mirror and a new President has been sworn in, what are your thoughts on what’s transpired?

A: Overall, I think that the American public is fed up with the corrupt political elitists thumbing their collective noses at us and basically gave the Democratic Party in general and Hillary Clinton in particular a gigantic “F-YOU!!!” by Electing Donald J. Trump the 45th POTUS.  I don’t know if he’ll be a great president or not, but he’s doing exactly what he said he’d do if elected. Maybe he’ll be able to get this country back on its feet as a world leader – as opposed to the embarrassment it was under the Obama administration.

Q: What about Mrs. Clinton getting the “popular vote”? Doesn’t that mean anything?

A: That’s why we have the electoral college in place. Our founding fathers had the foresight that some regions of the country would be more densely populated than others. The biggest advantage of the electoral college system is that it prohibits a candidate from winning the election by simply winning 2 or 3 major states – i.e. New York, California and Illinois. A candidate must get a truly representative cross-section of the country’s votes in order to win the Presidential election.

Q: What do you think turned the tide for Trump?

A: A number of things, actually . . .  Hillary’s record as Secretary of State was – in a word abominable – and her being under investigation by the FBI certainly didn’t help her campaign. She also made it perfectly clear that (if elected) she wanted to enact gun control laws similar to those in Australia, basically a confiscation with monetary compensation policy – only with Hillary, there probably wouldn’t be any compensation. This infuriated many second amendment advocates and caused them to band together. Finally, I think the fact that 20 percent her campaign was funded by Saudi Arabia. No foreign interest should ever be allowed to contribute one red cent of campaign funds to an American Presidential, Congressional or Senatorial candidate; much less 20 percent of their campaign budget. The corruption was blatantly obvious to anyone with eyes that see and ears that hear, and it finally caught up with her.

Q: Anything else you might want to add to that?

A: As a matter of fact, yes. I’m still waiting for Rosie, Whoopie and the rest of those Hollywood liberal neo-femi-nazi nut jobs to leave the freaking country like they said they would. And as for Cher flying to Jupiter, maybe she can get in touch with Richard Branson of Virgin Air. Hopefully, they can work out a deal. Actually, I knew their threats were too good to be true.

Q: Switching gears again . . . You and your wife of nearly 34 years have three adult children and have many experiences you could share with us, I’m sure. Are there any thoughts you’d like to share with those who’ll read this article?

A: First off , to those of you who find yourselves in a volatile dating relationship . . . you’re fooling yourself if you think “I can change this or that about a person” – whether it’s alcohol or drug abuse or physically abusive behavior. If you find yourself in that type of relationship, you need to cut all ties with that individual.

Next, to those married without children . . . you need to have the attitude of “it’s not about me, it’s about us – now and forever”. Far too many couples enter into a marriage relationship without a real sense of commitment. You need to be committed to your spouse and to making your marriage work.

Finally, to those married and with child(ren) . . . One of the hardest parts of parenting is giving your children enough space to make mistakes. You can advise them all you want, but in the end, they’re going to make decisions that aren’t always going to work out.

Q: Your youngest child, your daughter, has been diagnosed with a medical condition called myasthenia gravis. What is myasthenia gravis and what’s it like having a child with special medical needs?

A: To the best of my limited understanding: myasthenia gravis is a an autoimmune/neuromuscular condition that causes an unusual weakness/lack of stamina in the muscles. In my daughter’s case, about ten years ago she had just been accepted into Akron U’s nursing program when she started to show some signs that something wasn’t quite right with her. Her thymus gland had developed a rather sizable abnormal growth (tumor) which caused the gland to produce bad antibodies. Those bad antibodies in turn started blocking the messages that her brain was sending to her muscles at the neuromuscular junctions. The result was her sometimes stumbling over her own two feet or her face drooping  on one side or the other. She also had trouble performing other simple tasks, such as styling her hair or even brushing her teeth without an electric toothbrush.

As for treating the disease, the first order of business was to surgically remove the thymus gland – tumor and all. Then she was placed on an intense I-V treatment for seven days. Following that was a series of daily medications, then two-day I-V treatments every month and physical therapy to build up her strength and stamina. After about a year, she was finally able to re-join our church’s Silent Praise team, which basically acted out different musical scores with a christian theme to sign language. It was a huge step for her to accomplish that.

Up until mid-December, she seemed to be doing fairly well. She was taking her daily meds and her I-V treatment was down to one bag every five weeks. Then the unthinkable happened; an uninsured motorist caused an automobile accident that injured her back, as well as my wife’s. Through the pain of the injury, combined with the stress of working and going to college, topped off with a dose of stress from trying to find a new vehicle (her old car was totaled), and it really wore her down terribly. Most recently her neurologist had to pretty much double her I-V treatment. That was just this past weekend, so we really don’t know how much the extra treatment will work nor how soon we’ll see results.

Q: It’s got to be incredibly frustrating for both you, your wife and your daughter.

A: It’s far  more frustrating than I can verbalize. I hope that you’ll never know the feeling of utter helplessness that overwhelms me every time I think of it, knowing that the only thing I can do for her is make sure she has plenty of Gatorade to drink (to keep her well hydrated) and pray for her.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add on the subject?

A: Only that your thoughts and prayers for her would be very much appreciated. Thank you. Next subject, please.

Q: Getting back to the Browns . . . As of right now, what do you think would be a reasonable expectation for 2017?

A: Best case scenario . . . with a couple free agent acquisitions and the front office actually drafting some real impact players, I think they might be able to squeak out four . . . five . . . maybe six wins. You’ve got to understand that this team is very young and needs to learn how to win and win consistently. That’s going to take some time. I do still think that Hue Jackson can be the head coach that gets it done, though. I just hope that the front office and ownership is willing to give him the time he needs to get the job done.

And that wraps up this edition of Wunkle on Wunkle, coming to you live from the padded cell. Have a great night, everybody!