I'll be at the Cavs opener tonight, so this week's First and 10 arrives a little early.
1) There were many reactions to my idea that it's time for the Browns to admit they made a mistake with Eric Mangini, that it's best to move on. Almost 90 percent of the e-mails and calls were positive. Folks said they agreed a change is needed. Some said thanks, others said well spoken, others criticized the owner for hiring Mangini, and some said my brains have less consistency than Jello. All is fine. As Mike Brown once said, I agree with what I said. But … just because I said … errr … wrote it doesn't mean Randy Lerner will do it. In fact, he's probably not going to do it. Which is fine. It is his team after all.
2) That being said, the Browns have to be aware of the damage being done to their following. I've never seen a Browns crowd so apathetic as it was against Green Bay. The opposing quarterback said it was eerily quiet in the Browns stadium. People are acting like they've been hit too many times. Friends I know who have tickets can't give them away. The people I hear from are angry, which on one level makes sense because you usually hear from the angry people. But the fan base is sickened by what they see. The team's revenues could nosedive this offseason if the fans think 2010 will be more of the same. Yes, there are 11 draft picks. But if the Browns are hanging their hats on those draft picks they are fooling themselves. This regime traded three top six picks (Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow, the fifth overall choice) and the only first-round pick they got in return was center Alex Mack. So they got a center, second- and third-round choices, a bunch of mid-round picks and a bunch of ex-Jets.
3) Some criticized me for criticizing the Browns for lack of continuity, then asking for another change. Fair enough. I just think keeping on with a mistake makes the mistake worse. If you paint your living room and realize one-third of the way through that the color is ugly, do you keep painting? Didn’t think so. The Indians made quick moves with coaches in the past when it was obvious their hiring wasn't working (Eddie Murray, a pitching coach whose name I forget). It's time to bite the bullet and accept reality. It's not working. Chart a new course in 2010, and hope that the next hire (or hires) has (have) more success. Too… if a change is made, I'd advocate hiring a football guy to run football. Then said football guy can hire the coach.
4) It's been opined that the Browns have no talent. I don't disagree. There is a serious lack of talent. But I said that last year, and many yelled at me and cried for Romeo Crennel to be fired. Much of the same talent is back, and Mangini supplemented it with 23 players he chose (as of opening day). Ten of them are ex-Jets he wanted and went and got — either via trade or free agency. So if Mangini was right on the new guys, the team should be better. Because he brought in players he wanted to a team that got screwed up last season by the coach. Doesn't seem like you can have it both ways — cry about the coach last season, then lament the talent this season.
5) The Browns rank dead last in the league in defense, and they are giving up 170 yards rushing per game. Why, then, did I opine that Rob Ryan would be the choice for interim coach? Basically because he's the best option. The only thing that I think will get the Browns going this season is a different voice, a guy who approaches things far differently from Mangini. That would be Ryan, a coordinator with personality who's not afraid to take people on. I'd make the move, tell Ryan to try to make a name for himself and see what happens. Like I said, it can't be worse.
6) Seems to me that the Browns keep forcing the issue with Josh Cribbs on offense. They've tried him at receiver, they've tried him at quarterback. Thus far, he's had a critical fumble against Minnesota, a big dropped pass against Buffalo, an interception against Pittsburgh and another fumble against Green Bay. Is it possible that forcing the issue with Cribbs is actually hurting the offense? Or that perhaps he's spread too thin? What would I do? Let him run from the Wildcat formation, but run different plays — not just the sweep and the fake-one-way-and-run-the-other play they always run. Use some misdirection, something different. Last season's coaches did not believe Cribbs could handle a larger load on offense. At this point they appear to be right. You have to love Cribbs as a player, but more and more it's looking like as a receiver he makes a great kick returner.
7) The Browns ran a quarterback sneak on second-and-1 against Green Bay, and some people defended it because it got them a first down. These are the levels to which we have sunk.
8) My buddy who used to call Pete Franklin and identify himself as "Joe Fan" — he'd always take the side of the fans — called Sunday and offered this solution: Have the Dolans and Lerners trade teams. Give the Indians to the Lerners, who could operate with their financial resources in a system without a salary cap. Then let the Dolans run the Browns, because they could operate in a capped system and let the revenues dictate their spending. "Joe Fan" often suggests things like this.
9) Someone smarter than me — and that's a lengthy list — will have to figure what happened to the two quarterbacks. Brady Quinn led the Browns to 59 points in two games last season. Derek Anderson threw 29 touchdowns two seasons ago. Neither look close to what they did. To say they've regressed is putting it mildly. Maybe the team needs a field trip to the Shedd Aquarium this weekend to help clear the mind.
10) Here's another thing that bothered me about the Browns offense against Green Bay. Their way to "take some shots" down the field was to throw the go. Receiver lines out wide, and takes off straight down the field. Against Green Bay, it came against man coverage with two very good corners doing the covering. Maybe run a go once, but four times? Why keep trying such a simple route that is pretty easy to defend, especially when receivers are not that fast. This is a low percentage pass. Might it not help to go with a more high percentage passing game? What's that? Can't do it because Derek Anderson doesn't throw the short pass well? Well what about Brady … umm .. never mind. See what a mess this team is? I mean … they trade Kellen Winslow and then run an offense tailor made for Kellen Winslow. It's not a matter of effort or caring. Obviously everyone is trying. It's. Just. Not. Working. Oh … get ready to hear how the late-season games are a boost if the Browns somehow find a way to beat an Oakland or a Jacksonville or a Kansas City in December. Right here is where you roll your eyes.
A sampling of letters, mainly dealing with Eric Mangini …
Dear Pat,
When Eric Mangini took over as head coach I was "drinking the Kool-Aid" about players trying to get better every day on one thing and that we'd see steady improvement. Well, that has proven to be just one more false hope for us diehard Browns fans, who have now been putting up with these emotional swings for 11 seasons.
I sat at yesterday's game in Cleveland against Green Bay and I had pretty much made up my mind it would be my last game there as a season ticket holder. The final nail in the coffin was watching that debacle. The Browns are no better than the original expansion team in 1999. I am no longer willing to throw my complete loyalty and money towards supporting the Cleveland Browns, so I won't be renewing my season tickets. I'll have to eat my PSLs, but when you look at the cost of me traveling to games from St. Louis, Dallas or Chicago, walking from the PSLs is nothing.
Why would I continue to go to games when I don't have fun?
All the time I put into supporting the team for 47 years and all the money spent just isn't worth it anymore. I hope Randy Lerner does well. He and his father brought a team back to Cleveland for which all of us should be grateful. It's the so-called "football people" that have let him and the great fans of the Browns down.
Steve Bohnenkamp
Geneva, Ill.
Dear Steve,
To those who say making a move now is not fair to the coach, it might not be. But what is fair to the good and loyal fans of the Browns?
Dear Pat,
I can only think that if Brady Quinn was given these last four games to play he could have developed and the team would be in a better place now because of it. But egos stand in the way of the Browns finding out if we have one quarterback that might be worth a damn. I have never rooted against the Browns in all my years. At this juncture I find myself pulling for them to lose. And to lose badly. This coach does not deserve his position and I would rather rebuild with a true GM and coach instead of someone that obviously is an egomaniac and control freak.
Sincerely,
Gerald Keefer
Dear Gerald,
The only thing the Browns have learned about their quarterbacks this season is how not to handle them.
Dear Pat,
I cannot argue any of the points in your recent article. However, as an educated reporter, what do you think will really happen to the new Browns coach? Personally, I think Randy Lerner will never fire a coach in his first season, but I'm hoping I'm wrong. This might actually surpass the Spergon Wynn days as the worst football in Browns history, and it makes me wonder if Lerner realizes the damage that's being done to the fan base. Not only with the loyal customers, who have been kicked in the teeth for years, but also the next generation of kids who have never seen winning football in Cleveland.
Tom Crookston Stow
Dear Tom,
Imagine this … 11 years of losing … three years with no football … the Belichick years. That's an entire generation of football kids, lost.
Dear Pat,
I am a Jets fan and have been all my life. My best friend is a dedicated Browns fan and I love to root for the underdog. Believe me when I tell you, we (Jets fans) almost had a ticker tape parade when Mangini was fired. It was in my opinion at least two years too late. For the Browns to have picked him up so soon was a mistake and it needs to be rectified now. He saps morale, and he can't coach, as you can plainly see. He needs to go. I hope for the fans sake that something happens soon.
Allison Norman
Dear Allison,
It's not about fines or laps or anything else. It's about what's happening on the field. And it's not working.
Dear Pat,
If there are others like me, here, you can have a good laugh … I'm having second thoughts about Romeo Crennel.
Keith Vlasak Sandusky, Ohio
Dear Keith,
I never thought Crennel was as bad as people made him out to be, but I also didn't think he helped himself a lot. That being said, imagine the situation we are in now where Crennel has been vindicated.
Dear Pat,
Eric Mangini is embarrassing an already embarrassed city and franchise. This team is every bit as bad as the 1999 team and getting worse. Heck, we beat Pittsburgh in '99 I think.
Ray Lehotsky North Royalton, Ohio
Dear Ray,
You're right. Chris Palmer's expansion team beat Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh.
Dear Pat,
Here we go … Mr. Know It Al is at it again. You are as crazy as they come. The best thing that can happen is the Browns shut the media OUT. Leave Mangini alone. He cleared out a large percentage of players from Davis and Crennel that you sportswriters said needed to go anyhow. Give the guy a chance to get what is needed. It's not going to happen overnight with things as bad as they were. Yu writers make me puke.
Rusty Kristen Sara
Dear Rusty,
Glad we got that straight. Hope you feel better tomorrow.
Dear Pat,
It is amazing how pathetic a team can play. Name just one part of the Browns that may even be classified as average. The quarterback situation has been talked about even before the season started and yet that hardly can be the total problem. It just boggles my mind.
Ron Ferko
Dear Ron,
You're right. Nothing is even average on this team.
(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.)
{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
i wouldn't say crennel has been vindicated. he has just managed to look like a legitimate nfl coach in comparison to the current fraud in charge. no one ever doubted romeo crennel's character. he truly is a good human being. now we have a jerk trying to emulate one of the biggest scumbags to ever lead a team (bill belichick) minus the rings, the experience and the respect of the players. as a matter of fact, mangini went one lower on the scumbag scale in his professional career than his mentor ever did—-rat out bill for taping practices when mangini benefited for years in new england under this practice.
it's not surprising that a man who's father helped move the real browns team from cleveland is silent when a napoleanic, fraudulent, sociopath runs his team into the ground. maybe this is how randy truly gets his kicks from a sport he cares little about.
Ron and Pat –
Do you even watch the games? Our extra-point defense is well above average.
All I know is, I'm actually disappointed when the Browns score points. I want this complete and total failure to be so blatantly blatant, it would take a moron of historic proportions not to see it.
Yes, I know…we're at that point already. Which is scary, because that means the evaluator/employer/owner (however you want to refer to him) has taken stupidity to an entirely new, unexplored level.
Bottom line: I don't want to see a single victory or point scored the rest of the season. It's just fun to listen to rolly-polly WaterBoy make excuses, while the rest of the country shakes their heads, points and laughs.
How about we just get rid of everyone on the team and start over. After all, aren't we always in a "re-building year?"
This team is so rediculously bad this year that I passed up on free tickets, with the whole nine yards. I was offered a ticket to the game, a ride(no gas/parking to pay for) and even a meal and some free beer. I opted instead to stay at home and listen to the game while doing yardwork. I have been a Browns Fan for more than 25 years now, and love my team to death. I will always root for my Brownies. I will not however spend one more dime of my money on this franchise until Lerner starts to make some good decisions. One of those good decisions would be to either sell the team to an owner as passionate about football as the fans in NE Ohio, or Hire in a director of football operations like Miami did with Parcells, then have him find us a Head coach to run this team. This is truly disheartening to the franchise to watch this team. The players Mangini brought from the Jets are castoffs that the Jets were more than happy to see go. Mangini is trying to flush this team down the toilet and Lerner can't seem to see how pathetic his team has become. Oh and if we see Quinn again after the bye week, we can all know that the team did everything in his power to keep his salary low so that they can trade him away later this year, or in the offseason.
RANDY LERNER YOU MUST BE SLEEPING WITH ERIC M OR ON DRUGS BECAUSE A BLIND MAN OR WOMAN CAN SEE YOUR PICKING ERIC WAS ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST MISTAKES HE WAS A LOSER FOR THE JETS AND NOW FOR YOU BUT LIKE I SAID MAYBE YOUR IN BED WITH HIM
Why is there a constant harping about putting Brady Quinn back in at QB? Do we really want to lock up another $11 million in salary cap for a lousy player?
DA may be even worse, but at least his playing won't negatively impact the salary cap for the future. Neither one is the long term answer.
And instead of having Dolan and Lerner switch ownerships, how about selling both teams to Dan Gilbert? At least he'll put a knowledgeable person in charge and let them run the team as they see fit.
I'll be at the Cav's opener tonight as well. Alan, if I see Danny Ferry I will make sure to tell him that you think he is doing a great job!
yes fake alan t. practically anyone is better than mangini. and if you throw enough money at a real coach with credentials (my dream pick is tony dungy–i find it hard to believe that he will stay out of coaching) he will come to cleveland.
Dear Pat
I remember growing up when those Orange Helmets, meant so much for familiy's on Sunday's. Everybody got together, and watched..I agree with everyone now a whole generation has never seen winning in Cleveland Football. Instead we are sincerely the joke of the league as have been. Every large media outlet, ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, everyone sees it, talks about it, but Lerner is just to stubborn to admit a mistake. We need a coach with experience, Gruden, Shannahan, Holmgren, someone who has built a team QUICKLY. It can be done. We do have 11 draft picks next year, but only 2 in the first 2 rounds, and with Mangini here they will definately be traded down, for more special teamers, or players that will make less money. There is a lot of talent in this years draft, especially on Defense, we could use one of those great safety's, or a shut down corner, or someone that could get to the quarterback..But Lerner, and Mangini seem to miss on everything. We could have had Clay Mathews, and Ray Maluaga, as starters this year in our 3-4. Instead we got Robiskie who we could have grabbed in the third of fourth round, and David Veikune out of Hawaii, who wasn't even dominate in a Mid Major Conference.
What did you expect? C'mon….really…..what did you expect? The last year under Crennel, the Browns showed that they were nothing short of a dysfunctional mess. From the coaching staff on down. KW2 spent more than 50% of his Browns career NOT playing; he became a major distraction to coaches and players. BE became upset the second he found out that the sun didn't rise and set each day on his primadonna little derriere. Savage ransomed a whole year's draft to get a "local" kid for a QB….one that FELL like a rock in the draft, past teams who could have used a QB in the present or for the future. Ever wonder WHY that happened?
I visited the Browns sites alot, and got into many "discussions" over the past few seasons with "fans" who for years clamored for "change". My message? "Be careful what you wish for, because yoou may just get it". Well, Cleveland, you got it: you wanted a new coach, and you got one. One who took one look at the roster, and determined that certain players/personalities were not conducive to what he was trying to accomplish. Yet many "fans" felt that the Browns were "a few players away" from fielding a competitive team. They clamored last year for teams to "take" one of their QB's off their hands….DA or Quinn. Then could not understand why QBs like Sage Rosenfels and Dan Orlovsky were being signed/traded while DA and BQ sat quietly waiting….much like BQ on draft day. Yep, Cleveland, you got what you wanted….a new coach, and because he sees what you FAIL to….that personnel in Cleveland were not conducive to producing a winning product, you whine. You asked, and you received.
What gets me about this whole Browns mess is that he rushed out to hire a coach who was beat by his former coach not once but twice and he thought that was an upgrade. It seems no one points out to Lerner hey if you want to really run this like a business take your time hiring because you never know what may shake out of the trees. To hire a coach one week after he was fired was crazy in the first place. I advocate a back to the future and hire Marty as your Director of Football Operations and let him keep Mangini, fire Mangini or whatever but you can't have a coach, and a non entity as GM going unchecked and not even questioned on any football decisions. I was in Cleveland on Sunday and while returning home to Columbus I had never seen the freeway so empty for a home game as it was that day. What normally is bumper to bumper a 3and a half hour drive home after a game was the smmothest 2 hour drivr like just another sunny day. He is losing this fan base I am 48 Browns fan all my life and I have to admit I am seriously just saying hey I may not root for the STEELERS BUT MAYBE THAT IS THE TEAM i WILL START WATCHING BECAUSE at least they play with passion and have a clue as to who they are and what they are
steelernation, stick with talking about a team you know about because you're clueless when it comes to the browns. if you had a higher reading comprehension than the average appalachian than you would have noticed from pats points that mangini handpicked close to half the roster.
Simply to bring some sense of tradition, stability and football sense to the table, I would ask Shottenheimer to step in. Like him or not, he's been a winner every place he's gone. He may not be a longterm answer, but at least he could help get the franchise back "up" to mediocrity, if not respectibility. Right now, there's a severe credibility issue in Cleveland, both with the coaches, the team and ongoing staph infections. We need someone who players can at least respect and want to play for.
I'm in favor of giving the coaching staff time to turn the team around. That said, they didn't exactly give Brady Quinn time to prove himself. He had 10 quarters of so-so numbers against three very good defenses. Derek Anderson has now had 18 quarters of horrible numbers.
I know musical quarterbacks isn't a recipe for success, but we know who D.A. is – a QB that'll make bad choices and kill a drive/team. Let's give Quinn a chance to define his career.
This all could've been avoided if the Browns would've traded D.A. after the 2007 season when his value was at its highest. Right now, neither QB has trade value.
Too late for this week, but next week it should be entitled, "Second and 20: The John St. Clair Edition."
Brian D., yes, when you see Ferry this evening, please do tell him I think he is doing a great job. That Dukie sure did engage in some real forward-thinking. Nothing like persuading your guy to re-up after the season for the future privilege of playing ball with six guys over the age of 50, and the other eight guys being role players with 10-year contracts crushing the salary cap like Oprah Winfrey crushing a vinyl toilet seat. Nah, the Clippers and Nets and even the Knicks won't have any negotiating advantages whatsoever.
This season is going to be like watching the Americans head into battle in Iraq. OK, you sure did wipe them out in three weeks, General Danny. Great job. Now what, you Pentagon genius?
As bad as it is,I wouldn't fire any coach after 6 games. In eleven years we have had 4 coaches,not counting interim coaches,how many coordinators,how many philosophies ? Pittsburgh has had 3 coaches in 4 decades. Chuck Noll won ,what 1 game his first year ? A lot of people in Pittsburgh were calling for Bill Cower's head when his teams weren't performing as expected. I'm sure their local media were at the front of the mob.That ownership did not waver and it lead to championships for all 3 coaches. Mangini would not have been my pick,
(sorry,I wasn't finished)
Schottenhemer would have been my pick. If anything,I think we need a football man to take the place of Lerner in football related decisions on coaches and direction. An experienced person ,hopefully with Cleveland roots . I would like to see Marty hired as President of football operations to oversee both GM and coaching staff and to take Lerner out of the equation. If Mangini didn't like it,then so long.
Were not saying fire him now, he has the rest of the season to try and shoe some progress, but it's obvious to see that it's not gonna happen, we fluked a win at Buffalo, and we will be lucky to win another game the rest of the year. Mangini is terrible when it comes to drafting, just look at his track record. We cannot let him set us behind further than he already has. We went from a terrible team last year to an expansion team this year, and we actually have players that have made Pro Bowls on our roster, there's no excuse for that..They won't play for him, and he won't but Quinn in, because just think how stupid he'll look if Quinn comes out and starts putting points up, and moving the ball and making us look competitive..He's not going to risk that..So while Anderson is the quarterback for the rest of the year, we wait for April again, so we can watch other plays grow into legends, and hall of famers, and say, we could have drafter him too..So we sit and say again, wait until next year….
oh, i'm saying fire mangini now. the guy is a boil on the brown's behind that needs to be lanced.
If Delonte West becomes a porn star, Lance Boil would be a great name.
maybe john st. clair can get him in the business.
hello Pat. Even though i root for the Steelers on Sundays my blood still runs orange i have given up on this franchise for the time being and HOPE for the day they return to the era of the 50s&60s we had a nice run in the 80s but thats it the last time we had a reason to root is going on 20 plus years ,your correct in saying we have lost a generation of fans .I am 43 and have never seen a title for NE Ohio (thank you vest for a national title ) ive posted before with this saying ive been waiting for some team to take me to the promised land ive decided to find my own date that represents how we would want our team to be so GO STeelers!!! Please please give me a reason to comeback i feel like a abused boyfriend ill forgive you just give me a REASON!!!
Roadkill….appropriate name because that's what you should be. Come back if you ever become a real fan. A real fan doesn't change alllegiances!
roadkill did you buy your Yankee hat yet? Better hurry up so you can get in front of the parade and lay claim to being a "super" fan.
We had only SIX starters show up on Wednesday. The rest had the Flu. What did everybody think was gonna happen Sunday? Judging Mangini by this game or a few more (without some time for the offense to adjust to losing Edwards) makes about as much sense as judging the Savage/ Crennel duo while they were forced to use a 4th QB and third string recievers due to injury.
Just keep the revolving door going and we'll all keep going in circles.
Crennel offered to stay and coach the defense. We let him go..
May I remind you; we've already fired Shottenheimer, Bellicheck, and let Cower go to another team. We showed them. But How'd that work out for us?
Uhh … they were "starters?" Out of curiosity, how can you tell?
Alan t.
Uhh … they were "starters?" Out of curiosity, how can you tell?
You know, guys like Mack, Shawn Rodgers, Wimbley, Vickers, Harris, Corey Wiiliams, Pool, Royal, Stuckey all spent Wed/Thurs stuck with one end or the other in the crapper. I know let's fire them all !!!!Let's fire the hot dog guys and the ticket takers..That'll win some games, We already fired Shottenheimer, Bellicheck, and let Cower go to another team. It's really worked for the last TEN YEARS HUH????? But I guess according to Mac we just aren't firing them fast enough. 6 Games???
There's a good reason the guys you mentioned spend entire days in the crapper. And it has nothing to do with the flu.
As they say, the fish rots from the head down so you're either making sushi, or you're making cat food….
EVERYTHING ABOUT CLEVELAND SPORTS = LOSERS
HEY AT LEAST THE BEACON JOURNAL SAVES MONEY ON THEIR TEMPLATES WHEN PUTTING UP THE HEADLINE DESCRIBING THE RESULT OF A MAJOR MATCH UP IN CLEVELAND SPORTS, "LOSER"
INDIANS= BAD
CAVS= EXCUSES
BROWNS= NO WORDS
CLEVELAND=LOSERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WE SHOULD ALLOW CASINOS HERE…AT LEAST THERE MIGHT BE A WINNER AROUND ONCE IN A BLUE MOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One word….. Schottenheimer
Ask Randy who loves the soccer and still lives in New York to sell the Browns to any owners who has a better understanding in football. His father Al bought the team but he had passed away too soon to get this franchise rolling.
jimgreen, got any excuses for the other 6 games? flu? herpes? how does romeo playing bench scrubs compare to this team which is reasonably healthy? i guess i'd need to breathe through my mouth for 30 or so years to understand.
I can't believe it has really come to this – the Browns have managed to alienate one of the most loyal fan bases in sports. This has definitely been building but I get a sense from others, and feel it myself, that apathy has settled in among those most loyal fans. I just don't care as much as I used to and that is saying alot – my patience has worn out.
What's funny (or sad, really) is all it would take was a decent effort every now and again to give fans some hope. The Browns look lifeless and clueless on the field and this mess is compounded by Mangini constantly reminding us of alleged progress in his process. A consistent competitive effort at this point – the Packers game really was over at 7-3.
All this being said, I am willing to give Mangini some time if only out of morbid curiosity. I don't know if he can turn this around but he certainly needs more than half a season to prove that. He and Kokinis are banking their careers here on next years draft – it better be a bonanza.
I have been a subscriber to the Beacon for over 40 years but don't plan to make it 41 years if I constantly have to read muckraking sports journalism!! Bring back Terry Pluto!!!
as i was walking into the game on sunday i noticed the absence of any spirit from the brown faithful. i mentioned to my son that i had never seen a more quiet browns crowd before a game. we are long time season ticket holders and we basically just sat around and quietly talked with other browns and packers fans during the game. it was as if we were sitting in someones livilng room and paying no attention to the game.
Mangini killed the Spirit..Browns fans are the best and most loyal in the world..There's Browns Backers all of the WORLD..I passed up FREE tickets to the game last Sunday, I live in Akron, and would never pass up tickets..But watching them now, wasting 25 dollars in gas there and back, 15 bucks for parking, food and drinks, it's a wast to sit there and watch a J.V. team run up an average NFL teams stats, so some of their players make the Pro Bowl just because they got to play the Browns..Two players from the Packers even said "I can't believe this actually counts as a victory in the NFL, our scout team is better than thos guys". That's embarassing..All Green Bay had to do was show up. Fllu or no Flu, we would have got spanked anyways..Be ready for April, and if Mangini is here we'll trade a top five pick for 2 second round special teamers, and development players..
So sick of the Belichick love affair
Let’s move away from that path
Here is your fix:
1) Fire the Belichick want a be now while there is still time to get on track for 2010
2) Bring Marty back to finish this season out
3) Name Marty head of Football operations (Like they did with Parcels in Miami)
4) Let Marty pick a coach for 2010
Thanks for saying it how it "really" is. The Cleveland media seems to be the only local media blind to the fact that Steeler Mania is spreading in Northeast OH quicker than H1N1. Not even back in the day when the Steelers were going for their "1 for the thumb" did this area bail on the Browns. By the time the Cleveland Media wakes up they won't have a team anymore or at least anyone outside of Cleveland who gives a hoot.
Excuse me folks, but we haven't gone far enough in our evaluation of the problem. I mean when I was a kid, I used to pull up dandelions growing up in my yard only to find out several weeks later that the same darn dandelion would grow back up… I say all that to come to this conclusion… RANDY LERNER NEEDS TO GO!! Say what you want about the Browns organization, but the root of the whole problem is the decision making or lack thereof right at the top… Scott Pioli could have been had, so could the Tom Heckert of the Eagles or Rick McKay of the Falcons… but Randy got a "Woody" for Mangini and everyone else with any kind of horse sense realized that Cleveland wasn't the destination for them… I'm sorry Randy, I know you love the Browns as much as we all do, but it is time you look yourself in the mirror and do what Donald Trump does on the Apprentice every week and say "You're Fired!" I'm just so frustrated!!!
The only thing worse than the playing is the writing!
It just amazes me that the Browns go 4-12, are clearly one of the worst teams in football so they finally fire a horrible head coach and the fans and media act like the new guy was going to turn it around in the first 6 games? Mangini brought guys in who knew his system and love the game to create a mind set, not to win games in 2009. The Browns have 11 draft picks and should be picking in a good spot so next years draft will be huge for the new regime. Pat suggesting firing Mangini at the point is beyond dumb. He's till crying because some of his buds were fired and he wasn't treated like an insider her used to be. Get over it Pat.
Hey roadkill:
If you're rooting for the Squeelers, you deserve all the love that Bubba can give you!
I think the problem is the Offensive Coordinator …with a poorly designed Offense and topped by terrible play calling and use of personnel…
A lousy offense is one of the big problems the Defense is having is the OFFENSE and lack of talent.
The Offense Has talent…A better then average Offensive Line….Harrison and Lewis both have talent that is being poorly used….They should both play in the backfield…which will prevent the defense clogging the middle with Harrison used to threaten the corners…Horizontally stretching the Defense and slowing the pass rush…which would allow Anderson to go deep and vertically stretch the Defense..I would also like to see Harrison in the Backfield WITH Cribbs when Cribbs is running the Wild Cat…..Currently all we have is Cribbs taking a deep snap and running left or right? That surly isn't how the Miami Wild Cat works.
The problem…I believe rests with Daboll Both as Coordinator and his play calling…He has no experience with either and it shows….The Fact Mangini, who I think is otherwise doing a good job rebuilding from pretty much nothing, DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THE PROBLEM AND CUT DABOLL Is a Serious Problem with HIM…But not all the other stuff you guys whine about. The fines the laps the discipline etc.
"The Fact Mangini, who I think is otherwise doing a good job rebuilding from pretty much nothing"
please give specifics. exactly HOW is mangini doing a good job rebuilding? what exactly is being rebuilt? how has the 40% of the roster he replaced aided in this rebuilding in any way whatsoever?
Who in their right mind does not believe Mangini is both the offensive and the defensive coordinator, but just doesn't have the official titles on the Browns stationary?
While this season is painful to watch, I see an even bigger problem on the horizon. The Browns will have a high draft pick, maybe the first. The smart thing to do is to draft a franchise QB because you never know when a sure thing like Sam Bradford is gonna be available again while picking this high. If they do draft a QB, can anyone honestly trust this coaching staff with developing this important position? They've already ruined two good quarterbacks and Im afraid they'll do it again.