First and 12: Somehow that seems appropriate, no?

1)      Sadly, it's official: The Browns have been eliminated from the playoffs.

2)      Brady Quinn gave little hope for the future with the way he played in Cincinnati, but I still would not give up on him. This season has been a mess from start to finish, so I think it's next to impossible to judge any player based on the way the offense has been run and the way things have gone.

3)      When I see Quinn I kind of/sort of/maybe/perhaps want to think of Vince Young, a guy many were saying was done in Tennessee after last season. He's got himself back together. Why can't Quinn, he wrote, wondering if perhaps he's next going to advocate that the flying reindeer will soon be distributing Clark bars to all autoworkers as they clock in to work.

4)      Really, the only two consistent and dependable guys on the offense week in and week out this season have been Joe Thomas and Eric Steinbach — and maybe even Alex Mack. Them we can judge. They can stay. Put down roots. Buy, not rent. The rest … who knows what to make of their performances. Things have been mishandled that badly. When this season ends, it's best to flush it as fast as possible and move to clean water. And yes, that's a nasty image.

5)      The Browns have yet to hire a general manager — how did this term "football czar" take hold? — and they might not until the season ends. It just seems that most folks who are available and willing to work in 2010 want to wait and see what else is available, and those who aren't available have to wait because they're working for another team. This tells me that Mike Holmgren might not decide if he wants to become the "czar of football" until after the season. Though it sure would be nice to think that he might become Cleveland's (dramatic music in the background as John Facenda mutters) "czar of football." I just think pursuing him makes a lot of sense.

6)      It's hard to see anyone telling a new "czar of football" that he must accept a coach not of his choosing. No self-respecting "czar of football" is going to run "football" without wanting to choose "his" coach. Bottom line: This just does not seem good for Eric Mangini's "future" with the Browns. Using quotation marks that way always makes me think of Saturday Night Live.

7)      The absence of a "czar" — again, where did this term arise? — shows in the Brian Robiskie situation. A "czar" could ask, pointedly: "What the heck? The guy is a second-round draft pick. The team is 1-10. Get the guy on the field and see what he can do." Would we rather evaluate Mike Furrey some more? Or was Jake Allen that impressive in practice last Thursday?

8)      Shaun Rogers is done for the season, which is a shame. The guy is a good player who's given his all in every game since he's been a Brown. But I wonder how much it will matter. The Browns are ranked 31st in the league in defense with Rogers, and they're giving up 159.9 yards per game rushing with him in the middle. It's not like their ranking is going to plummet without him. Though I guess it could go to 32.

9)      Rogers' penalty at end of the first half gave Cincinnati another of those infernal "untimed downs" the Browns have made famous, but at least it was a hustle play. Rogers chased Carson Palmer out of the pocket and just grabbed the wrong part of Palmer's jersey. The play did show why the horse-collar tackles has been banned. The potential for injury is high. And it was nice to hear Eric Mangini say he didn't see the play but he respected the ref's call. It was far different than the way he approached the pass interference penalty in Detroit, and a far better way to handle it. But, even though it was a hustle play, those three points sure changed the nature of the game.

10)  It's pretty goofy of Mangini not to say exactly what Rogers' injury is, but that's the coach's policy.

11)  That promise of stopping the run this season made by Rob Ryan before the season? Doesn't seem to have worked out.

12)   Noticed that Darnell Dinkins caught a touchdown pass for New Orleans Monday night. That's the ex-Browns tight end, the guy the Browns let go when they signed Robert Royal. Dinkins caught the pass, and when the game ends he's in New Orleans playing for an undefeated team and eating beignets and drinking café au lait. It'd be interesting to know if he's happy about the change of scenery.

Three and Out

Hey Pat,

What's the real reason behind the unrelenting support of Brady Quinn?  Did you dole out big bucks for official Brady Quinn jerseys for your daughters?

Brian D.

Twinsburg

Dear Brian,

Well, he did hold the door for me once at Panera.

Good afternoon Pat,

It’s hard to disagree with your assessment about Brady Quinn’s incomplete.  But there is something I’ve seen the last two weeks that bothers me, to the point I wonder if he’ll ever pan out.  On about 75 percent of his passes, he looks completely out of sync,  like a power pitcher trying to throw to first base after fielding a slow roller in front of the mound.  His motion is not right.  How many times is he going to fire the ball into the ground at the receiver’s feet? There is no rhythm to his delivery.  His wrist is tight, not loose.  On a couple throws he looked like he was trying to throw a sinker, his wrist snapped so hard downward at the release. And that’s where the ball went – straight down.

Browns played Bengals close both games – and that’s the  team that dominated the Central Division this year.  The glory of the ‘Tradition’ of the Cleveland Browns has just expanded.  It now includes the opponent scoring on extra plays awarded at the end of halves/games by penalties on the defense.  Rogers’ play cost us three points.  At the end of the game, that could have made a difference.  In any event, we played them pretty tough this year. Silver lining?

How bad is a franchise when, over a 10 year period, its best players, year in, year out, are the punter and place kicker. Phil Dawson has to be the unluckiest player in the NFL.  I think he might be  the best place kicker the team has ever had.  We just don’t realize it because he hasn’t been there to win big games for us.  He’s such a classy guy.  Think what a huge star he would be had he played for Indianapolis or New England the last 10 years.

And our punters have been very good as well.  Dave Zastudil is as good as we’ve ever had.

So when you assess the cloud hanging over the Browns, ask yourself how many teams in the history of the NFL have lost both their place kicker AND punter simultaneously for an extended period of time.

George Rosin

Akron

Good day George,

Always good to hear from an old friend, and as always you raise good points. As for the silver lining, has it really reached the point where it's a silver lining to play the Bengals close? Is that what we've come to? And … how can there be any silver lining given your extremely accurate statements about the kickers.

From the online comments …

Eric Mangini is the Lord of his kingdom and no player should ever, ever question him over his rule.

Just look at his history. Because of his Lordship's rule, he has stabbed veteran players in the back, fired his own best friend General Manager, accused another former buddy coach of stalling time with fake injuries, and accused his former "mentor" (Belichick) of cheating by stealing signals.

He has overlooked veteran players at charity events (Rogers) and has had the most grievances filed against him in one season in the NFL.

If a player makes a statement to the press, that player's time is cut for the next game. Rookie players cannot get onto the field to play because they have not "shown enough" yet??? So he picks up free agents off the waiver wire and plays them instead???

He fines players with excessive fines and even refuses to allow them to play in a game until they learn "his way or the highway."

What happened to the days of a coach being a mentor, teacher and instructor instead of a ruler???

Not much else I can add here, other than I sure would hate to be his friend. I wonder how many Browns players feel that way right now???

Strange behavior leads to strange happenings.

Alex K

Dear Alex,

Fairness forces me to admit that Mangini does have his defenders online as well. Not many, but there are a couple holdouts. Just like there are a couple folks who still insist Oswald acted alone in the library with a paring knife.

I just wonder why you use three question marks at the same time.

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