It's only fair to point this out. The league found no wrongdoing by the Browns or Eric Mangini in the injury of rookie running back James Davis.
The league's statement: "After reviewing video of the practice session and interviewing Cleveland Browns players, coaches and team staff, the NFL determined the injury sustained by running back James Davis occurred in a controlled environment and the Browns did not violate any league policies."
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Pat,
Thank you for setting the record straight. Of course, like the $1701 fine for a water bottle (which was apparently really a fine for multiple infractions and not just one bottle – amazing how the media can get the fine down to the last dollar but can't seem to get the rest of it, but I digress), this particular incident will most likely continue to be incorrectly brought up as an example of a Mangini screw-up.
Notice how the Jets had a bunch of penalties and now Rex Ryan is having the team run gassers when they screw up? Seems like it might be better to instill the discipline BEFORE you lose a game because of all of your penalties rather than after, but that's Mangini's approach so it must be wrong.
One more piece of misinformation cleared up.
But what has happened to Dawson? Is the strained calf muscle really a torn achilles? Or should I say a teeny tiny torn achilles? Inquiring minds want to know since the only points on the board come from the kickers and kick returners.
I think it's time to get off Mangini's ass. He has been hounded since he signed his contract. Cleveland fans need to remember it took Chuck Knoll 4 years to build a playoff team in Pittsburgh. We want to be contenders in 3 games. Let him run his team, make his draft picks and see what we have in a few years. In the meantime, give it a break.
the james davis situation is NOT about whether mangini did wrong or not. i was never going to jump on his case over this one until it was decided against him. the davis injury and subsequent accusations are a reflection of how agents across the league view the browns. and folks……it ain't good. mangini's chance of building this team into a playoff team is close to NIL. his only hope is to hit big with the draft so players and their agents are locked into playing for a franchise they would otherwise avoid. and free agents? not only does mangini believe the team can win without impact players (they can't) but agents for good players are not going to encourage their clients to play in cleveland.
Pat, talk about a pg 15 retraction…… Maybe you should put a few more words to it to even out how you described it when it happened.
And … because they're the Browns and these kind of things keep happening, a bonus 11 …
11) The James Davis situation is potentially very bad for Mangini and the Browns. Davis hurt his shoulder in the opener, then was suddenly and mysteriously put on injured reserve a couple weeks later. ESPN.com reported Sunday that Davis tore the labrum on his shoulder when he was hit in a post-practice drill when he was not wearing pads. The player who hit him was wearing pads. Adam Schefter, one of the better reporters in the business, wrote the story. He had several witnesses — all unnamed, who for obvious reasons can't have their names printed (ever hear of the word "reprisal"?) — describe the story. If true, this is very disturbing — even if Mangini was not present when it happened. Allowing guys to work in that kind of environment is inviting serious injury. It puts players in serious danger. The NFLPA spends hours and hours trying to make sure players are protected, and the image from this injury — emphasis on image — is that there is a team that is willing to skirt rules and put players at risk under the guise of improvement. Now … it's also hard for me to believe any of the team's assistant coahes would allow this to happen. The story will come out; it always does. When it does it will be interesting to see what if anything happened. In normal circumstances, it might cost a coach his job — or a hefty fine. These are not necessarily normal circumstances, though, what with an owner giving this coach the keys to the team. It might be tough to prove the story is true, but if it is it should be very troubling and disturbing to owner Randy Lerner.
Thanks Pat. This is big news and worthy of mention.
I don't know if Mangini is going to eventually get the Browns to a championship — and a 1-5 record isn't giving me a lot of hope, but I do feel that time and time again, Mangini's perceived flaws are being exaggerated beyond reason. This latest incident was used time and time again in reports to add fuel to the fire that Mangini is unfit to be an NFL coach. And it isn't fair to him, nor is it fair to readers. (Personally, I would guess Mangini could not care less what other people think, but he represents the fans, and it's just one more of uncountable slams that Browns fan have to endure.)
It's not you, specifically. I appreciate your writing style and enjoy your columns. Your columns are the reason I follow Ohio.com — and why I'm posting comments on your space. My point would be to ask those, including yourself, who cover the Browns to continue to try to dig a bit deeper and put proper perspective on all of the changes that Mangini is making.
It was no secret when Lerner hired Mangini that he'd be a disruptive force in the organization. Lerner wanted this change and he's getting it. It's no surprise he alienated players and is cleaning house. It's no secret that this style is going to alienate fans until the team produces on the field. It's no secret that Mangini's style makes it virtually impossible to get a good read on what's really going on. And finally, it is no secret that in the vacuum of better information, misinformation will continue to echo uncontrollably.
So that's the spot that we, as fans, are in right now. The little time we've had with this version of the Browns shows that this change is going to take more time before we know if it will pay off. I don't think we need a few years to get a good picture on the prospects of the team, but we do need at least this one complete season.
Until then, I'm beginning to feel that the readers could use a little more balance as time bears out whether the criticisms we read are accurate, and that if/when the Browns do things right that those get mentioned as loudly as when they do things wrong.
If I would be writing this post to Mangini, I'd say similar things. But for him I would include that he does himself more harm than good by being so secretive. Browns fans aren't asking for secret information or for him to announce his game plan mid-week. But until you field a competitive team, you need to assure fans that you know what you're doing. And until then, you need to avoid making the fans feel like they don't matter. This is the wrong town to be playing that game. The boss isn't going to like a half-empty stadium, whether tickets were bought or not. A little respect to the fans will keep them in your corner during the inevitable rough start.
Thanks for bearing with the lengthy post. (I feel better now.)
Also thank you for mentioning the Davis update.
rich, can you please stop with the asinine comparisons? mangini is neither cowher or belichick. please refer to the work histories of belichick vs mangini at d coordinator level or higher. mangini has 9 more years of d coordinator to get to belichick's level of coaching. not to mention 3 super bowl rings. that will get a lot of players wanting to play for you. and cowher??? players loved bill cowher. not even comparable in the least.
Shut up terje. Who are you to dictate what Rich G says.
Benjii – I agree with one part of your comment that people need to get off his case-to a degree. Have you watched how this offense remains offensive? The head Coach has the choice to do something about it-make changes-maybe even yank the responsibility of play calling to himself? Since the season is in the toilet-again-really, let Quinn play this out regardless to make sure we are not going to let another player go who becomes a star elsewhere-and last of all, I am quite frankly sick of another re-build!! The time is now as it has been proven, you do not need super stars to win in this league. The Browns, especially on defensive have shown to be competitive enough to help this team win some ball games-it is when the game gets out of hand they give up. The Offense here is the most glaring problem! One more thing, B.A. was traded for nothing-and was the only real 'threat" and one that was capable of catching at least 12% of the balls thrown his way compared to this cast of characters now starting!
I am old.
Daniel,
I agree with and appreciate your insightful comments regarding the Brown's team, ownership and coach. A very good counter to those who comment with emotion but little else to offer in the way of facts.
Cheers from a long-time Brown's fan in NorCal.