First and 10 27 with the Browns
1) Well things are just peachy now, eh? It’s hard to believe the Browns could be more of a mess, and a revived Cincinnati team arrives Sunday. It’s also hard to know where to start with this team. There are only 10 items (though the name did change this week) and the Browns show no signs of heading in a positive direction. There is talk of the team quitting, of Eric Mangini’s ways being too oppressive and of a negative feeling in the locker room toward the head coach that might be impossible to stem. The Browns may face another tough decision before the season ends – if things don’t change. Losing always brings out the negatives, and in the Browns case much of it is directed toward Mangini. It’s a mess. A m-e-s-s.
2) There has been national speculation that perhaps Mangini will not make it through the season. I speculated that very thing in Monday’s Beacon Journal. And I think it’s justified – if things do not change. This team is in disarray. There is not a single position on the team that is better than it was a year ago. It took the fifth pick in the draft – a potential spot for an impact player of some sort – and traded down three times for a center. That’s center. C-e-n-t-e-r. A bunch of guys have been brought in who have not helped. The team’s mood is horrible. There does not seem to be a drop of belief in the coach. The quit word has come up over and over again. The best thing the Browns have going for them is Rob Ryan, and right now his defense can’t defend a flea. If the problems and the losing persist, continuing on the same road for the sake of doing so is just compounding a mistake.
3) In past years I did not cry for coaches to be fired, even when they had bad records. Romeo Crenel had some really bad games, but he never lost his team. The players always played for him. And if they had a stinker of a game, they usually followed with a good effort. Chris Palmer’s teams competed. The 1999 expansion team lost by seven in Baltimore and actually laid a hand on guys when they scored. They beat Pittsburgh. As bad as those teams were, they beat Pittsburgh. They also did not avoid the head coach on the sideline like he had Bubonic plague. One might recall that at the end of the 2007 season the players presented Crenel with a game ball and a thank you, leaving him pretty emotional. I’m not thinking that Mangini is on many players’ Christmas lists at this point. It’s probably not even fair to say Mangini lost this team – because there never seemed to be a point where he had it.
4) The schedule is not pretty, not with two road games in Buffalo and Pittsburgh following Sunday’s game against Cincinnati. Pittsburgh is (sorry) a loss. Buffalo is not all that great, but going there 0-4 would not be like charging in with the Light Brigade. After those two games come a home game against Green Bay and a trip to Chicago. The hope in all these games isn’t based on the Browns suddenly finding themselves; it’s on the opponent. As in, maybe Cincinnati will go back to playing like Cincinnati and maybe Buffalo will be torn up by Terrell Owens by that point (though one would guess that if any cornerbacks can revive TO be season, it’d be the Browns). It’s never good when you look at a team that’s playing poorly and say: Well that other team might be worse.
5) At this point Mangini has to rally the team. Maybe he can. He best hope he can. But the clear feeling I get from league insiders is that Mangini will not try to be upbeat this week, but instead will hammer the team mentally for losing, and that this week will be tougher than tough. Maybe that’s what’s needed. We’ll see. But the general feeling from those I speak with is that that kind of negativity is what has the Browns where they are now. Players are beat down, beat up, playing like they’re tired and playing completely uninspired (hey, is that iambic pentameter rhyming, a la Shakespeare?). Manginieth does noteth seemeth like the coacheth who can get that doneeth.
6) The negativity toward Mangini is growing around the league as well. There’s a lot of chuckling in Seattle because of the signing of Floyd Womack. His nickname – Pork Chop – makes him sound like a gnarly offensive lineman. In reality, he’s been a walking injury report. In the past five seasons, he’s had elbow, triceps, quadriceps, knee, groin, hamstring and foot injuries. Nobody in Seattle is surprised he’s now been out with an ankle, but they were surprised any team signed him as a free agent. Since 2005, he’s started 26 of 67 games (14 of them last season) and missed 19 due to injury. Yet the Browns signed him and touted him as a hard-nosed guy. That’s our Browns.
7) Then again, Womack was playing because Rex Hadnot was hurt. Who’d have thought Rex Hadnot would be this team’s lynchpin?
8) The great mystery of this early season is what happened to Brady Quinn. A year ago, he threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns against Denver, then threw for 185 yards in a win over Buffalo. In that game he guided the Browns on a 96-yard touchdown drive, and led the team to the game-winning field goal. This season he’s looked lost. The difference? Clearly he has no confidence. Insiders say he’s been so programmed to avoid the mistake he was playing scared, which is impossible. It’s the only reason Derek Anderson might change things, because if he’ll do anything he’ll take chances. The Browns would have to live with his interceptions, but he’d also get the ball down the field. Quinn was so tied in knots by this coaching staff that he could not do a thing. I’m not at all sure, though, that Mangini is the kind of coach who will live with interceptions. Me, I’d start Anderson and hope for a miracle against the Bengals like Phil Savage got two years ago. There’s an inherent risk because Anderson pretty well figures this is his last season in Cleveland so he’s just going to go out and wing it. But … nothing ventured, nothing gained. And at this point, the Browns have to venture somewhere and try something.
9) At some point, too, some questions have to be asked about Brian Daboll, who kind of makes you pine for Maurice Carthon, but really makes you lust for Terry Robiskie or Bruce Arians. Daboll opened Sunday’s game in Baltimore with some quick-hit passes, but after an interception four plays in he went right back to the same old stuff. Daboll’s inexperience seems glaring, and a team with a young quarterback has a defensive head coach and an inexperienced coordinator trying to guide him. Is it any wonder Quinn looks confused?
10) Brian Robiskie has been spending his Sundays with Amelia Aerheart. One of the reasons given is that he’s not able to contribute on special teams. Anyone tell me how many receivers contribute on special teams? The answer: One. Josh Cribbs. Mike Furrey, Mohammed Massaquoi and Braylon Edwards do not play special teams. Why then is Robiskie required to do so? And if he is, didn’t he do fairly well on special teams in the final preseason game (yes, it was the final preseason game)? Is the guy considered the most polished and most NFL ready receiver in the draft that far behind? Or is there another unspoken reason he’s not playing? I don’t know. I just wonder.
OK .. I just can’t stop at 10 …
11) The San Francisco 49ers, who are 2-1, sent out this news release about injured players: “The results of a MRI on 49ers RB Frank Gore show a right ankle strain and a right hind foot sprain that will sideline him for approximately three weeks The results of a MRI on T Joe Staley show a right quad contusion and he is listed as day-to-day. The results of a MRI on S Reggie Smith show a right groin strain and he will be re-evaluated in two weeks.” Not only did the walls not collapse in the 49ers facility, the team is actually winning. Any explanations on how the 49ers can actually reveal this information and … umm … accomplish something on the field are welcome.
12) Randy Lerner is taking a lot of public heat for the state of the team. This comes with the territory. He did in fact hire Mangini. And my guess is he will recognize this reality. Calling for him to sell the team, though, is pretty silly. Unless you want to go door to door in the neighborhood, I’m not guessing there are many people in the area with $1 billion sitting around to spend on a football team. How Lerner handles this situation if it doesn’t improve will be telling, though. Because (I repeat) … continuing with a mistake just for the sake of doing so only makes the mistake worse.
13) The Browns have a very tenuous situation on their hands, and without a win it will not change anytime soon. In fact, it will get worse. They need some hope. So if there is any extra hope sitting around the house, it might be wise to pack it up and send it to Berea. Because right now the hope isn’t coming from within the team. It might on Sunday, but that will be tough. Please … folks … pack up any hope in an envelope, a mayonnaise jar, a small box … and send it to Berea. They really need some.
Three and Out
Several good letters were sent the past week. Because of that, in honor of you, the dear reader, a longer version of Three and Out will appear on the blog in a few hours.
(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)
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
ALL DONE with the Browns. They will no longer monopolize my Sunday afternoons. Life's too short. Lerner and Mangini wanna be stubborn and ram crap down our throats? No reason we have to even bat an eye. The team gets a big "A" in my book: Apathy.
As I have stated many times before, GAMBLING IS ILLEGAL. But boy, if I had bet on the Ravens last weekend, and I would have if gambling was legal, I would have won a lot of money.
On a related note, the Browns open at +5.5. If anyone reading this lives in Vegas, or is going there, I suggest you take your house note and put it on the Bengals. Because, you know, you can't do that in Ohio.
What a mess! This is worse than 99 as at least there were no expectations of winning more than 1 or 2 games and now here we are 11 seasons later and expecting the same, no more than 1 or 2 games won-maybe! I am sick, just sick-Modell, you suck! This is what the best most loyal, die hard fans deserve? How many players, coaches and OWNER came out and made a public statement to the fans, in terms of 'our" owner- "I am as sick of losing as you are, and no matter what it takes, either I personally or someone with superior football knowledge will turn this ship around.. and fast, if not, I give you my word, I will sell your/my "beloved' Browns for the sake of you, the fans that have had your hearts ripped out for so many years under my watch, and for that I apologize! From this point forward everyone from the ball boy to the GM will be held accountable, and if we do not see any improvement, this year, I will not hesitate to make changes even now.
Browns fans, I sympathize and will never let the best fans on the planet left the laughingstock of the league!
Love, Randy
"oh, crap, my plane leaves for London in an hour-gotta go!'
That's alot of vitriol towards Mangini. Reminds me of my feelings towards Quinn. But I was laughing at Dolphins fans for a year, because I thought they would be the idiots to take him.
Mangini must be pretty hard on reporters. But that's ok with me (Belichick).
This team needs to have hard weeks of practice. The NFL is home to the 1500 best football players in the universe. Maybe there are 50 guys out there who could produce better, and 50 guys who shouldn't be in the league. But not alot more. The only way you win is to fight for to be productive for every second you can – and to gain every yard of turf you can. It's fine and expected that this years team won't be good.
The offense was completely impotent under Quinn. IMPOTENT. At no point did they threaten to score. The biggest danger opposing teams faced was punting or kicking off. It actually would make more sense to go for a 4th and 5 against the Quinn offense anywhere outside of their own 35, rather than punt. That's not vitriol. What team wouldn't give up when you are trying to plug the damn with a jar of mayonnaise?
At least with Anderson there was some hope, and some fear in opposing defenses.
This should be a hard week, but the team should have a little more hope. I'm fine with this full season of Mangini, a second draft, and a last or near last-place schedule in 2010.
Joy comes from winning. But satisfaction comes from building, and the process thereof.
can anyone say tim tebow here we come?
I strongly object to Mangini's Dierdorfian lisp. Lose the lisp, and the wins will come.
I think Quinn is becoming David Boston too much lifting effecting his throwing motion Boston lifted his way out of the league
Actually, a destroyed knee, steroids, various other drugs, and booze took Boston out of the league. It had nothing to do with lifting, and lifting has absolutely nothing to do with any of Quinn's problems. Quinn hasn't even tried throwing the ball deep. Dink, screen pass, dunk. A crazy Boston Terrier could toss the ball as far as Quinn has attempted, just bounce the ball off the dog's nose.
"Brian Robiskie has been spending his Sundays with Amelia Earhart." Classic. I'll go out on a limb and say that Mangini is teaching Robo a lesson. Nice that it is at the expense of the team. If this season is to get a feel for who is a Mangini guy and who is not why not play him and find out? I just don't get it.
As you said, as bad as things are all people need/want is some hope. I'll take a glimmer – decent qb play or a few nice plays on defense or some decent tackling, etc. The bar is so low I'll take almost anything that isn't a penalty, turnover by the Browns or doesn't result in a touchdown against the Browns. With even a little success Mangini could play this whole onslaught as him against the rest of the NFL world and perhaps gain some fans among his detractors. Prove the critics wrong Mangini and we will support you.
Anderson reportedly will get the start on Sunday. I have been an advocate of giving Quinn more time but will agree that Anderson is more entertaining to watch. I just want one to emerge as "the guy" and for the offense to get on track. Daboll needs to ditch the Sesame Street playbook though.