First and 10: How woeful are my brownies?

First and 10

1)     To avoid being negative … I guess we can look at the bright side, at the glass as half-full. At 0-2 the Browns are not mathematically out of the playoff race. So with 14 games left and (presumably) at least two playoff teams in the division, the Browns only have to win 10-of-14 to reach the postseason. Yes, four of those games are with Baltimore and Pittsburgh. So, that means technically the Browns really are 0-6. Which means they only have to win all of the other 10 to make the playoffs. Win over Buffalo, Cincinnati (twice), Green Bay, Chicago, Detroit, San Diego, Kansas City, Oakland and Jacksonville and they're in. See how easy it is?

2)     Imagine. At this point in the season Detroit is looking at the Browns and thinking: Well that could be the one that breaks the streak.

3)     It's pretty tough to think how bad things have gone the first two games. The offense has gone eight games — that's half a season — without a meaningful touchdown. The Browns have 28 first downs, the opponent 44. The Browns are 6-for-26 on third down. They are averaging 3.5 yards per rush, the opponent 5.6. The team's two opponents have rushed for 205.5 yards per game. They're getting shellacked in the second half. Each game the other team broke a big run in the fourth quarter to break the game open. There is no life anywhere. The coach stands on the sidelines with nobody near him, as if there's a 10-yard bubble around him. When it starts losing things snowball. Fast. I've talked to folks who say one win could change things, but that does not seem likely with this team even if by some miracle it finds a way to win in Baltimore. In fact, to pretend this situation will change quickly is pretty delusional. This could be a long, long, long, long season.

4)     What is up with Brady Quinn? Some would say nothing, that he's going through what young quarterbacks go through, and he needs time. This is valid. Peyton Manning struggled in his first year. But if you want examples of quarterbacks who didn't need time look at Matt Ryan in Atlanta, Joe Flacco in Baltimore, Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay (once he took over) and Matt Cassell when he started for New England. Not every quarterback needs time. Not every quarterback needs a better supporting cast. Not every quarterback struggles with the system. It just seems that way because we follow the Browns.

5)     It is starting to look like Quinn is overthinking too many things, which is causing him to get tied up in knots. This could be nerves. It could be Quinn (word that he only throws short or intermediate routes grows stronger by the day) or it may be a result of overcoaching, as if he's being told so much he's not just going out and reacting and playing. When he does, he looks OK. When he doesn't … Then again, Quinn is not getting a lot of help. He does not have a second receiver. Tight end Robert Royal makes you miss Kellen Winslow. I'd also have to say that the rebuilding of the right side of the line has not worked well these first two games.

6)     Quinn is not helping the cause a lot, either. Not when he ducks a rush for no reason, or when he sidearms consecutive passes into the line at a crucial time that are knocked down, or when he continually goes to the checkdown at warp speed. His per-attempt average is 5.5 yards, 29th in the league. He has three completions longer than 20 yards. He's been sacked nine times, second highest in the league. And his passer rating of 66.9 is fifth lowest in the league. He's a good guy with talent, but the Browns now find themselves in a precarious position with him. He needs and deserves time, and the team needs to commit to a quarterback. But it also desperately needs a win. Does it go to Derek Anderson? And if it does, what happens next?

7)     Why does it seem like the Browns are the only team in the league to chew up young quarterbacks like they're a piece of yesterday's gum?

8)     Mangini's start does not bring Usain Bolt to mind. He was hired as a football czar of sorts, with no experienced football voice above him to ask questions or guide the overall football decision-making. It appears — after two games — he's not equipped to fill said role. Mangini brought in 22 new players, not a single one an impact player. With glaring needs at skill positions and at linebacker and cornerback, he traded down three times — to draft a center. Forty-one percent of the roster is new, three second-round draft picks sit and no new player has made any significant impact. There's no experienced football presence in the organization to ask a serious question of the coach, who looks as baffled as any coach has ever looked since the Browns returned. There are 14 games to make something of this season, but there's little evidence to build a foundation that things will change.

9)     What the team needs now is someone to rally the troops, but Mangini does not have that kind of personality. He's more a thinker, a studier. He's not going to do a Bill Cowher. That's a bit of an overrated approach, but there are times when it's needed. Listening to Mangini, it's hard to see him doing a Cowher and getting the players riled up. It's just not his personality.

10) Then there are the fines. Mangini is being widely criticized for fining a player $1,701 for taking a $3 bottle of water from a hotel room. He said he will not back down from expecting players to follow the rules. No problem with that. Guys who get paid what players make should pay for the stinking water just like I do (Incidentally … that water is way overpriced and comes much less expensive in the lobby … or out of the spigot). Rules are fine, and demanding responsiblity and accountability is a good thing. But … there is a way to handle them, and taking $1,701 from a guy for that offense smacks of overkill — at least to the players. If this is happening as often as folks report it's happening, it's creating resentment. Most would say it's much better to be forced to pay up and warned the next time it happens there will be a significant fine. There's many other stories. In the offseason, Mangini "asked" the rookies to take a 10-hour bus ride to work his football camp in Hartford while he flew to Connecticut. When word broke, he rode the bus back — few believe he had planned to ride the bus until word got out he was flying. Yahoo's Mike Silver reported Mangini had a curfew during some offseason workouts, including Memorial Day, which if true could be a violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Others gripe — and yes, there are a lot of gripes when a team loses — that Mangini is not positive, that he harps on the negative and nitpicks everything. There are fines for all manner of things, including not reporting to the hotel on time the day before home games. Video criticism of successful plays is more intense than unsuccessful ones. This can work, but just as easy over time players can be beat down because they hear nothing positive. They start not to "buy in." They need to respect the man with the plan, not resent him. Too, Mangini was fined $25,000 by the league for falsifying injury reports last season. ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported Sunday that Mangini even told the league during the '08 season that Favre was not hurt when in fact he was. It comes across like he'll follow some rules, as long as he likes them, but then he expects players to follow every one of his rules — to the letter. This does not seem to be the best way to earn the respect of anyone, much less the people you need the most. Talk to people who know Mangini, and they describe a likeable, intelligent, organized person. One much different from the persona he presents through the media. That's fine. But that intelligence and organization has to translate to wins. It has to get through to the players. In a situation like this … with little positive reinforcement and much negative …  if things do not go well on the field, the problems become magnified and the team checks out on the coach. In a hurry. Yes, it's negative … but the Browns right now are a precarious team perched on the brink of a very long season. 

Three and Out

Dear Pat,

How about writing a column about how awful the Browns looked in those pants.

Yuck!

Tommy Blackwood.

Dear Tommy,

You mean it was the pants that made them look so awful?

I'm not a fan of the brown pants either, Tommy, but sadly I believe they are here to stay. Much like a lot of other things related to the Browns. 

Dear Pat,

I promise not to bother you again this season but yesterday's game was frustrating beyond belief.

First, the Browns refused to throw the ball downfield.  Denver was unsuccessful throwing downfield early — Kyle Orton was even booed — but Denver insisted on a vertical game and eventually succeeded.

Why don't we insist on throwing downfield?.

 A commentator in New York said that on the last Patriots fourth-quarter drive against the Jets, Rex Ryan rushed six guys on every play.  The commentator said "If that was Mangini, he would have rushed two and dropped nine guys into coverage."

Think back to the Denver game.

In the red zone in the second quarter that is exactly what we did.  We rushed two, dropped nine and Denver got the first down.

Does Mangini have the capacity to learn that if the plan isn't working you go to something else?

Finally Denver just installed a three-four manned by a bunch of new defensive linemen.  And Elvis Dumervil tied a team record for sacks.  How come we can't do that after five years of the three-four?

We never, ever learn.

Yours truly in 40 years of lousy football,

Bill Hennessy

Wading River, New York

Dear Bill,

Once again, the written eloquence of your words is symphonic.

Dear Pat,

The Browns make winning look almost by accident. I continue to shell out money year after year for season tickets for a team that can't even compete for a win.

Ed Miller New Waterford, OH

Dear Ed,

What's the rush? It's only the 11th year of the return.

(Want to be recognized in “Three and Out”? It’s a rare treat. Comment here or send an e-mail to pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com, and put “First and 10” in the subject line)

Tagged as: Brady Quinn, Cleveland Browns, Eric Mangini