Cleveland Browns
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NFL Team Column By Will Smith |
Post season Analysis – Receivers
The Browns' receiver corps was not exactly outstanding going into the 2009 season so Mangini worked on it and made it worse. Starting WR Edwards could not catch a cold if he was swimming in Lake Erie in February. He was traded. WR Stallworth was suspended because of an accident in Miami. That could happen as early as next Monday. Holmgren has announced that when Stallworth is reinstated, he will be released by the Browns.
The most reliable receiver was TE Winslow but Mangenius traded him to TB. There has been a ton of discussion about the QB. However, if the Browns don't fix the receiver problem, it won't make any difference. We will see a 100 yard passing game or less a lot in 2010.
To make up for a lack of receivers, Mangini drafted 2 guys but rookie WRs usually don't produce much. The lack of NFL quality WRs is the weakest area of the team and their top need.
Mohamed Massaquoi Massaquoi came on as a WR as the season wore on. He ended up being the only deep threat with 34 catches for 18.4 per. He does not run good patterns, struggles to get open except on fly patterns, and can not get off the line against press coverage. He has average hands and good but not great speed. Massaquoi does not read coverages well. Too often he went one way on an option route and the ball went to a DB behind him. He is at best a #2 guy. He disappears against double coverage and will not fight for the ball despite his nice size. He does block very well down field for the run.
WR/KR/PR/Wildcat QB Cribbs, Josh Cribbs is the best player on the team. He contributes in a lot of ways however, is not a #1 or #2 WR at this point. He understands patterns having been a college QB but has not mastered running routes or getting open. He also has only average hands. In 2009 he averaged only 6 yards per catch because most of his catches were on swing patterns out of the backfield. Bears' multi-purpose guy Hester has asked the team to take him off the WR list to return to special teams. Cribbs is way too valuable to use him as a starting WR.
Brian Robiskie Robo was fairly productive when he was in the lineup. However, for some reason he found himself in Mangini's dog house and only played in 11 games despite being a high 2nd round pick. Robo is a possession receiver that can get open on short routes. He has above average hands and should have been a bigger contributer to the team in 09. The question is how much will he contribute in 2010?
Mike Furrey Furrey is at best a slot Welker type WR. He is not big or fast but has good hands, runs accurate patterns, and can get open. The problem with Furrey was that the D backfield was so bad, he had to start there toward the end of the season. Even with a couple of DBs from the draft, Furrey will likely spend more time on D than on O. Furrey is a UFA.
Chansi Stuckey Another ex-Jet that never fit in--what a surprise. Stuckey started the first 3 games then disappeared from the O. He played a little DB as well but did not contribute much on either side of the ball. I don't expect Stuckey to make the team on O.
Syndric Steptoe Steptoe is the wild card in the WR group. He went on IR before the regular season but started 5 games in 08. He has some speed and hands but is not a west coast route runner at this point. He needs a lot of work but enough talent to make it worth the staff's time to try him.
What should the Browns do at WR?
Many sights have them picking a WR with their 1st pick. I think they will do that but the WR group in the 2010 draft is deep enough to take a difference maker on D in the 1st round then a WR or RB in the second and 3rd. The first order of business at WR should be to sign a free agent that is or could be a #1 type guy. Rookies as I said do not usually develop until their 3rd year in the league.
The UFA WRs include:
Brandon Marshall DV who is an outstanding talent who comes with enough baggage to fill a stadium. If you can get by the attitude, he is a 100+ a year WR with speed and hands.
Lee Evans BF has never had a QB that could get him the ball regularly so he would fit right in with the Browns. I like Evans more than most do.
Lance Moore NO was hurt in 09 but had 79 catches in 08. He is a quality WR that should not cost fortune to sign.
Miles Austin DA will not hit the FA market. The Boys will resign him if they have half a brain.
Others: Jason Avant PH, Arnaz Battle SF, Vincent Jackson SD, Brandon Lloyd DV, Brad Smith NG
Here are some of the WRs that should be available in the 2nd round or later:
Mardy Gilyard Cincinnati 2nd great hands and decent speed.
Jordan Shipley Texas 2nd very good speed (4.47) and above average hands. I like him a lot.
Jacoby Ford Clemson 2nd has top speed but is short (5-9). Needs work on routes.
Dexter McCluster Mississippi 3rd is very small (5-7) but catches over the middle and is hard to tackle.
Riley Cooper Florida 3rd or 4th great speed/size combo at 6-3 with a 4.47 40. In the 4th, a steal.
Freddie Barnes Bowling Green 5th or 6th a crafty effective slot receiver. I like him but he is slow.
Post season Analysis – Running backs
NOTE: Over the next few weeks, we will look at every position of the team with an eye toward what we can expect to see in 2010.
One of the top needs for the Browns in 2010 will be RB.
Jamal Lewis--Lewis has talked about retiring. He is old and for the first time seems brittle. That is not a good combination. If he comes back he is not going to have the speed to be a starter. His averaged has fallen each of the last 3 years with the Browns. Last year he averaged only 3.5 per carry. I doubt he will return if he is not going to be the starter.
Jerome Harrison--The picture of Harrison was on milk cartons because he was missing most of the season. When Lewis went down he became the starter and gained 862 yards rushing in 7 starts. Conventional wisdom (which is very seldom wise) says that he can not hold up for an entire season as the starter. He is 205 pounds and there have been a lot of very good backs at that weight. The way he avoids direct hits will help him survive. I would agree that few backs can carry 35 times a game for 16 games. But he could be a starter in a WC O. He has very good speed, has good vision to see the hole and is patient waiting for blocks to develop. He is a solid receiver and is OK at picking up the blitz.
Chris Jennings--Jennings was a non-factor in his rookie year. He did start one game but had only 63 carries for a 3.5 average. His ability to make the team next year will depend on his contributions to special teams.
Josh Cribbs can not be a full time RB because he is too valuable in other areas. RBs can be found but a multi-talented guy like Cribbs comes around very seldom.
James Davis is a total unknown. He was the starter at Clemson in front of Spiller who now is projected to be a 1st round pick. He was solid late in games in the preseason but that was against guys that are flipping burgers for a living now. He was hurt in a contact drill when he was not wearing shoulderpads. That happened in Mangenius' "opportunity session" which was just another really bad idea. Davis has a low center of gravity and runs hard. The off season is going to be critical for Davis. He might be a change of pace for Harrison or a possible starter. We just have not seen enough of him to know.
Fullback Vickers is playing at an All Pro level but is a blocker not a runner.
The Draft
Running backs seem to slide down the draft because there are usually only a couple of teams that need them and this year the RB crop looks good. Given the size of the guys on the roster, the team will be looking for a thumper rather than a scat back. They need to get a difference maker in the first round probably on D. The Browns will probably look to the WR spot at 2 if they don't get one in the first round. RB should be on the agenda for the 2nd or 3rd round at the earliest. Here are some candidates.
Jonathan Dwyer, Georgia Tech Dwyer is 235 but is projected to run a 4.4. He will be an early to mid 2nd round pick. He ran the ball when every D that he played against knew the team could not throw much. Even so he averaged 7 yards per carry. He is also young and has not been beaten up too much in college. He is an inside runner with a good jump step and decent vision. He needs to run a little lower to avoid big hits.
Anthony Dixon, Mississippi State is also 235 and is projected to run a 4.5 40. He should be a late 2 or 3rd round pick. He has good feet, and excellent lower body strength. He had only 20 catches in 09 but doesn't look like a guy that struggles as a receiver out of the backfield. If he is available in the 3rd round he would be a good value for the Browns.
Toby Gerhart, Stanford is a classic thumper. He is not fast but runs very hard and seems to move the pile composed of 300+ pounders. He has had a lot of carries in college but has been durable. He will be available in the 3rd round for Cleveland. I really like Toby but am concerned about his weight and speed. He is projected to run a 4.6. If he runs slower than that at the combine, he will fall to the 4th round and would be a good first RB pick for the Browns.
Others in the middle rounds could be Montario Hardesty from Tennessee (4th), Ryan Mathews of Fresno State (4th) or Keith Toston from Oklahoma State (5th).
Post season Analysis – Quarterbacks
NOTE: Over the next few weeks, we will look at every position of the team with an eye toward what we can expect to see in 2010.
The biggest question in Brownie land is who will be the starting QB for 2010? No one knows for sure except perhaps Pres. Holmgren and that is not certain. Here are some thoughts going into the off season for the Browns.
Brady Quinn
Brady was the latest fair haired boy coming to save the franchise from QB hell. Not so far. Does anyone remember the furor about the drafting of Tim (I'm on the) Couch?
Brady played better in 08 than he did in 09. He has enough arm strength and the intelligence to be a west coast QB but that is as far as it goes now. The key ability for a WC QB is accuracy. He was bad in 08 and horrible in 09.
The problem is his mechanics. They got worse in 09. The good news is that Holmgren is know for developing QBs and Quinn needs a lot of development. Mechanics start with footwork. Anyone that watched Joe Montana play knows that the footwork is the key to timing and timing is at the heart of the success of the WC O. The ball must be out at the count after the 3, 5, and 7 step drop. The drops have to be made in exactly the same way every time. Quinn has not perfected the drop. After being chased around like a butcher surrounded by a pack of wild dogs in college as well as in the pros, Quinn has lost the muscle memory of the drops if he ever had it.
Quinn does have the intelligence and therefore I assume the ability to read Ds given time to study them. All reports indicate that he has the work ethic necessary to spend the time in the film room to do the job. But his play on the field shows no indication he has learned anything. He throws into double coverage when he has single coverage receivers available. There is no question that some of his bad habits come from a lack of protection but he has to get over that. Great QBs ignore the pressure and are still accurate. Only game time will help him learn how to do that.
Derek Anderson
Anderson is a mystery. He was a pro bowl QB in 07 when he threw 29 TDs. In 08 his completion rate fell to 50% from 56% and he threw 9 TDs with 8 picks. In 09 he completed just 44% of his throws. He too suffered deterioration of his skills in 09. Anderson has a classic “big” arm. But it doesn't matter how far you can throw the ball if you can't get it in the same area code of the receiver. In 07 he did but not since.
Anderson can not throw the outlet pass. He puts the same force on the 2 yard pass that he does on the 40 yard pass. His short and medium accuracy has never been good even in 07. He is not a fit at all for the WC offense. He has very little trade value and a decent bonus due before the 2010 season kickoff. He will be gone.
Brett Ratliff
Ratliff is a non-factor. He was outplayed by the 4th QB Richard Bartel in the last preseason game of 09. But because he was a former Jet Bartel was cut. Bartel is now in Washington.
Others
There will be a new QB to replace Anderson. He will probably come from a trade or free agency. He will likely be an experienced vet. There are a few names flying around and I will avoid those. However, a few names come to mind that would be a fit and should be available.
Chad Pennington Miami -- I wrote once that he had the head of a coach, the heart of a lion and the arm of a chicken. Chicken or not, he had a great 08 but was injured again in 09. He is a coach on the field, had deep experience in the west coast offense, and is capable (assuming he comes back from the injury) of playing as a backup if necessary. He has been replaced by Chad Henne and is unlikely to be retained by the Dolphins.
Kerry Collins Tennessee -- Because Young came around this past year, Collins might be cut or traded to take pressure off Young. He is very experienced and may still have the physical skills to play if necessary although it looked like he got old in a hurry earlier this year. He has done a lot to help Young and would be a good mentor.
Jon Kitna Dallas -- Kitna has seen it all and played in most systems. He is smart and a solid backup. He would require a trade with the Boys but JJ is always willing to deal.
Jake Delhomme Carolina -- DelHomme is also injured now. He will likely be replaced as the starter and be available. He has some background in the WC and is a smarter QB than he shows on the field.
Mark Brunell New Orleans -- Mark is another very experienced QB in every offense. He is also capable of stepping in if needed. He is currently under contract with the Saints but might be available in a trade.
This offseason for the Browns should be very interesting.
What we know:
Holmgren is the President of the team. Mangini and his staff will stay for at least the 2010 season. Former Eagle GM Tom Heckard is the new GM under Holmgren. Former GM Kokinis is suing the Browns to get his contract honored. And finally, KR/WR/PR/Wild Cat QB Cribbs hasn't gotten paid yet. That is it. That is all we know for sure.
Speculation:
I have rubbed my crystal ball and consulted my daughter Kristina who knows more about football than most men I know, and this is what we speculate MAY happen.
Mangini will not be the coach in 2011 if there is a season. He is on double secret probation with Holmgren and his new administration. Any slip up or serious disagreement on policy between them and Mangini will do a disappearing act even better than Kokinis' being frog walked out of the building.
The speculation by others is that he is waiting for Jon “Chuckie” Gruden to become available to take over the coaching duties. That may be the case. Holmgren is very careful with his words. He has said that the offer he was given by Lerner was President, GM, coach or any or all of the above. According to his own words it was a tough decision on coaching himself or letting someone else to do it. Holmgren has a BIG job ahead of him. There are a ton of problems with the team particularly on offense. There are also a ton of contracts that have to be done or players let go. Those decisions will take time.
By the start of the 2011off season (if there is one) he should have things in the front office under control. If Gruden is available he may go that way. However, there is at least as good a chance that he will name himself HC and bring in the staff that he wants.
We don't know a lot about the qualifications of GM Tom Heckard. In Philly he did not have the final word on whom to draft and whom to pass on. He gathered the scouting reports from the scouts and organized them for use in the war room. Only time will tell how he does as a full service GM in Cleveland. However, I doubt that Holmgren would risk his reputation on someone about whom he had major concerns. I will give Mike the benefit of the doubt until evidence is in.
Cribbs will get his money but Kokinis may not.
The Browns End the Season with 4 Wins
The Browns ran over the Jags just the same way that they ran over the Steelers, Chiefs and Raiders. The passing game was missing in action. RB Harrison ran the ball 33 times for 127 yards but had only a 3.8 average. The difference with the Jags game was the lack of long runs. FB Vickers had an outstanding game again blocking for the run. LG Steinbach also had a great game pulling for the run outside. He would have been all pro if he played for a winning team. He is a key to the future of the team.
QB Anderson had another lack luster game passing only 11 times for 86 yards and 1 pick. In the 4 game winning streak, the Browns have had only 1 game passing for more than 100 yards. So how did the Browns win 4 straight to end the season for the first time in more than 20 years? The schedule.
The key to winning a game is only partly which team you play. It also depends on when you play them. The Browns caught the Steelers in a 4 game slide. Their team was beaten up. QB Roethlisberger was coming off a concussion and clearly wasn't right.
They then got to play 2 of the AFC West teams at the bottom of the worst division in the league. They finished up with a Jags team that had just been knocked out of the playoffs and had lost 3 in a row and were certain to lose their coach Jack Del Rio.
So, we are left with a D that is starting to get it and seems to be competitive with the bottom third of the NFL and an offense that can run against the bottom third of the league but couldn't hit water passing if they were in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. That basically limits the team as it is now constituted to winning 4-6 games a year. This team doesn't have the talent to get over the 8-8 hump. If a team is satisfied with a losing season, it is a loser. The Cleveland fans deserve better than that.
For most teams that did not make the playoffs, the season is over. For the Browns, the real story is just beginning. Football Guru Holmgren is on his way to Cleveland as you read this. Everything will change again. There is reason to believe that this time things may be different.
The indications are that Holmgren will hire a GM and coach that fit his “system.” Holmgren is a west coast offense type guy. He also prefers the 4-3 to a 3-4. The question is what will happen? No one other than Holmgren knows for sure. Here are some guesses—and that is exactly what they are.
Holmgren will let Mangini go along with his staff.
That is both good and bad. I am convinced that Mangini would never have been successful if he continued to have total power. The Browns had a less than acceptable draft in 09 due to Mangini and his insider deals with the Jets among others. Mangini hired OC Daboll—enough said.
The Bad side is that D Coordinator Ryan will probably go with Mangini. I think he is a keeper. He had the guys playing hard for him. Remember, in the first 3 wins in the late run, the guy that got hit with GatorAid was Ryan and not Mangini.
Jim Brown and Bernie Kosar will be less influential.
Holmgren recognizes the need to honor the history of a team like the Browns. He will welcome the former players and have them around the team when appropriate. However, Brown and Kosar will not have the amount of influence they did when they had the ear of Lerner. He will refer them to Holmgren rather than act on their suggestions.
The guys that Holmgren brings in will have a history with him.
There are dozens of rumors floating around about who will be the next head coach. Don't believe any of them. The only thing that is sure is that Holmgren wants this to work as soon as possible. He will only hire those he trusts completely. He won't risk his reputation on anyone he doesn't know.
Any Change to the Browns' Offense Will Be Welcome
During the majority of this season the Browns' O led by rookie OC Daboll has spent way too much time parked at the corner of 3rd and Long. While 3rd down is the key to a successful offense, it is impossible to be consistent when it faces 3rd and 9 or more yards. The Run, Run, Pass that Daboll called way too often killed the 2009 season for the team. It also resulted in the demise of the Mangini era in Cleveland. That is proof of one thing—in sports you have to take the good with the bad.
The O has evolved over the last few games. Several things have changed. The biggest change was in the style of blocking. The team had been using what is called man blocking where the O lineman must follow the player opposite him in both running and pass blocking. There was very little pass protection and holes so small a mouse couldn't crawl through the D line.
For the past few games, the team has changed to zone blocking. The advantage is that given the lack of foot speed of the right side of the line in particular, zone blocking is much easier for the team than man. With the change, the team has been able to open holes against the weaker D lines in the league. The question is why did it take so long to make the change? Did anyone think that St. Clair had the feet to be effective in a man style system? No one that has any ability to judge talent would expect a man system to work with this line.
So how excited should we be about the improvement in the O and the fact that they have won 3 in a row? Somewhat encouraged. The fact that they caught the stumbling Steeler team at the bottom of their fall helped. The other two wins came over the worst AFC West teams. These wins didn't come over playoff teams.
The addition of Holmgren as Football Czar will change things but it should be change for the better. The loss of St. Clair was addition by subtraction.
Frankly, any experienced OC would be better than Daboll. A good HC would have known that Daboll was over his head in that position and replaced him after the preseason. Other newbie OCs were replaced before the season or early on by stronger head coaches that were willing to admit they had made a mistake. Those organizations were willing to correct their errors. But not Mangenus.
A good OC would have corrected the footwork and mechanics of both Anderson and Quinn but that was not done either. Without good mechanics passing accuracy is impossible.
Had these things been fixed early, Holmgren would not be here and the season would have been a lot more enjoyable.
The major question around Cleveland is will Holmgren keep Mangini or not? I predict he will not be retained. Mangini will be let go not for what he has done but what he has failed to do.
What should we make of the 2 wins in a row by the Browns?
The Doctor said to his patent “I have good news and bad news.” The good news is your tests showed you have have 48 hours to live. The bad news is I should have called you yesterday. That is similar to the situation of the Browns. The good news is that they have 2 wins in a row. The bad news is the 3-11 record. Like most things, the secret to the meaning of the season is in the details.
The wins over both the Steelers and the Chiefs were accomplished by one man—Josh Cribbs. In the game against the Chiefs QB Quinn threw for a grand total of 66 yards. UCH!!! Take the 2 TD returns away and the score is 34-27 Chiefs win. The Browns were able to run very well against the Chiefs who were without key members of their D. RB Harrison had 286 yards of rushing setting a Browns record for a single game. However, we have to remember that the great game came against another of the worst teams in the league. If the Browns were in the AFC Weak and could play the Chiefs twice a year, that might mean something. All it means now is that given a hole, he can run effectively.
NOW the BIG question—Do 2 wins save Mangini's job or at least should it? In a word, NO!
If the Browns' D had followed up a great effort against the Steelers with a second outstanding game vs. the Chiefs it would have shown improvement. What we saw instead is a D that couldn't stop one of the bottom 3 Os in the league and allowed 27 points against them (I don't consider the fumble on the punt chargeable to the D). The D allowed 331 yards passing and 165 rushing to the Chiefs.
The passing O showed no improvement from day 1. Quinn's mechanics have not improved or stabilized and he is no more accurate than he was at the beginning of the year. He still misses wide open receivers on deep passes.
There are still O line problems in pass protection although the line improved after St. Clair went out. That says a lot about how Mangini picks his starters.
Overall, there is nothing with the exception of Cribbs that indicates to me that this team is ready to make a move in the league. I am glad they won a couple of games because the fans deserve at least some hope for next year. But unless Holmgren comes as everyone is sure will happen, Lerner will not fire Mangini and we will see Jet QB Kellen Clemens as the starter next year. DOUBLE OUCH!
Forget what Mangini Says, His Body Language Tells the Truth
When he was asked about Mike Holmgren coming on board as the GM and Football Czar, he said “I think anytime you can bring in someone with a wealth of experience as not just a position coach and coordinator, but as a head coach, it’s great. It’s great to have those guys.”
The words sound fine but watching the video, I was struck with his body language. Having taught salesmanship to industry, I have become a student of body language. He was shaking his head side to side all the time he was talking about Holmgren. That is almost a certain indication that he did not believe what he was saying. In addition his eyebrows were elevated when he talked about keeping his job in a Holmgren administration. That indicated that he doubted he would be retained.
What does all this mean? Probably if Mangini is stripped of his control of the draft and ability to cut deals with other teams, he will resign. I think his pride will not allow him to give up those powers that he was granted just this off season by Owner Lerner. So Lerner may accomplish 2 goals with one hire. Not only will he gain some football background but he may avoid paying off a failed Coach's salary.
I still do not think that Holmgren is the right choice. See my earlier article on Holmgren's poor drafts while he was head coach and GM of the Seahawks.
Did Mangini save his job with the 13-6 win over the Steelers?
Before the upset of the Steelers by Cleveland last night, I felt that the chances of Mangini saving his job was about 40%. Now the chance that he won't be fired seems to stand at about 60%. But that does not mean there is a 60% chance he will be the head coach in June of 2010.
IF, and it is an IF the size of the state of Alaska, the Browns in 2 out of the final 3 games, Mangini's chance of avoiding a pink slip will rise to about 75%. However, there are factors a foot that will affect the chances of him being at the helm for the draft and next season.
Let's not kid ourselves that this is the same Steeler team that we have met and lost to over and over again. They had losses in free agency and to injury since their Super Bowl win in February. They had lost 4 straight games coming into the game last night. They have a record of losing over 80% of their games when S Troy Polamalu is out. They lost DE Roye to retirement and CB Gay slowed due to injury as well. The win last night had a lot more to do with how far the Steelers had fallen than it did with how much the Browns have improved. Don't forget that this Steeler team lost at home last week to the Raiders led by QB Gradkowski. Do you remember how he looked last year? Does 7-21 for 26 yards with 0 TDs, 3 picks and 4 sacks ring a bell?
The sacks that the team got were more due to very bad pass protection and nice effort by the front 7 than talent. The Steeler O line has allowed more sacks than our Congress has bad earmark spending projects this season. Former RT Starks who was beaten out by journeyman Colon is now the starting LT responsible for protecting the QB's blind side.
In the NFL, you lose three times more games than you win scoring 13 points. The sub Steeler DB's dropped more potential interceptions than the Browns WRs caught. But there were improvements. One of the biggest is at C where 1st round pick Mack is doing much better blocking the run. Several times he handled the Steeler NT 1 on 1 which left the guards to pull and block linebackers at the edge to allow nice gains. That is huge improvement and can be credited to coaching.
The D played well despite a flood of injuries. They forced field goal attempts rather than allowing TDs in the red zone. They shut down the run (but Pittsburgh has not been able to run very well the last couple of years) and played with good effort. I can't help but wonder if they were playing for HC Mangini or DC Ryan.
Back to the issue of Mangini's survival. Two factors would lead to Mangenous staying with the Browns. First, the team is already paying a gaggle of former coaches. Owner Lerner may well decide that the cost of paying off another staff is too high a price to bear. Second, Learner may not be able to find a football guru with great credibility to take his Czar job. I can't see a Cowher or Shanahan being willing to try to fix the mess that Mangini Inc. has created. Don't forget, he gave away the 3 marketable assets that the team had in the draft pick, Winslow and Edwards with almost nothing of value in return.
That leads me to the wild card—Bernie Kosar. It is well known that Mangini has a personal disdain for Kosar and even greater dislike for anyone looking over his shoulder. IF Lerner can't find a name brand there is a good chance that his choice for VP/GM and head Czar would be Kosar. I believe that would cause Mangini to resign rather than submit to constant management by Kosar.
IF Lerner changes coaches without a Czar in place, we are liable to end up with Wade Phillips after he is fired by Dallas. How is that for a change you can believe in?
Where have all the draft choices gone, Long time passing!
The Browns lost again. At 1-11, that is not news. But there is some news that came out of the 30-23 loss to the Chargers Sunday. The news was someone found the picture of WR Brian Robiskie on a missing person ad on a milk carton and contacted Mangini. Robo actually showed up on the field and had 4 catches for 69 yards.
The Browns moved the ball down the field on the first possession and scored for the first time in 34 games. That is new as well.
Two issues must be discussed. First, why has Robo, the 36th pick of this year's draft, been on the shelf all season?
Robo's Dad is long time WR coach and former Cleveland interim head coach Terry Robiskie. Anyone that watched Robo Jr. play at Ohio State knew that he ran very disciplined routes. He also has exceptional hands. The Browns have seen ball after ball dropped by their so called “veteran” receivers. But that didn't seem to matter to Mangini. He should have promoted Robo to the starting lineup weeks ago. But Mangini's pride would not allow that.
The answer is that he has been on double secret probation due to being in Coach Mangenous' dog house. How does something like that happen in the NFL? The NFL stands for Not For Long for coaches that allow personal feelings to determine who plays and who does not. This is just one more case where Mangini's pride has gotten in the way of the team. That alone is reason to fire him.
The second issue is the score on the first possession. The play calling was clearly different than in the rest of the game. We don't know for sure but someone taught OC “Dumbbell” Daboll how to script the first series of plays. That person was undoubtedly QB Coach Smith, a former OC with the Saints. Why hasn't Daboll been demoted? How can a proud franchise like the Browns allow itself to be the laughing stock of the entire league? Don't forget that just 2 years ago, this was one of the highest scoring O's in the league. After the dismal preseason it was obvious to everyone that Daboll was in way over his head. A quality HC would have immediately sent Daboll back to the QB coach spot and made Smith OC. Again, Mangini's pride prevented him from seeing the danger signs or acting on them if he noticed the lack of points.
After the first series, the play calling went back to the miserable mediocrity that has distinguished it from anything even close to NFL level since day 1 of this administration. The comeback at the end of the game was due to the need to throw every play. The situation took the shackles off the 1850 style O that Daboll seems to use.
Mangini acts like he is totally safe in his job. He has shown no intention of changing or even letting the rest of the world know what (if anything) he is thinking. He is ignoring the screams of agony from the fans like he was a member of Congress. The people may have to wait until November of 2010 to relieve a spend thrift Congress of the keys to the treasury. That is not true of Mangini. One man can put Mangini in his place—the unemployment line.
I add my voice to those that have already called for Mangini to be fired. It is way past time that be done.
The Browns still looking at the 2nd overall pick in 2010
In every radio broadcast of the Browns the announcer says that any rebroadcast or other use of the descriptions of this game without the express written consent of the Browns is prohibited. That is the most ludicrous statement since the spend-thrift Congress said it is against sending more troops to the Afghan theater because of the cost. Watching or listening to the game the first time is painful enough. Who other than a masochist would want to listen to it a second time?
The rule of thumb is that if you can stop the run and run the ball, you will be competitive in the league. That is particularly true in the AFC North. The Browns can't do either. Now stopping the run will be even more difficult with the injuries the D suffered in a very physical game against Cincy yesterday. The best player on the D, NT Rogers, was on crutches after the game joining DE Smith, LB Wimbley, LB Bowens, S Pool, and a couple of others with lesser injuries in the training room.
The 1-10 record is the worst in Browns' history. The team couldn't have beaten the U of Cincinnati Bearcats let alone the Bengals. Had Cincy not played down to the level of their opponent, the score could have been whatever they wanted. The Browns O did nothing to give the D any rest. O Coordinator Daboll had one play that was at least interesting—the pass by Cribbs to Quinn out of the wildcat. Quinn was 15-34 for 100 yards. Most of his completions again were at or behind the line of scrimmage. Lewis had 11 carries for only 40 yards. That is not going to get the win against any NFL team.
The team may not win another game. The problem is lack of talent. Mangini has given away the few marketable assets the team had and got nothing much in return. He has hurt this team for years. 2 of his second round draft choices are so deeply buried in his dog house that they were not dressed for this game or many others. As much as I would like to see the team use the 1st or 2nd pick to get a DT to stop the run, the best move may be to trade down to get more 1st and 2nd round picks. After the season, I will put a draft plan together. Of course if Mangini is still in charge, he will use his first 3 picks on special team players.
The future games against Oakland and Jacksonville will likely be blacked out locally. That is one of the kindest things the NFL could do for the City. Cleveland and Ohio have been through enough with the economy. We don't need the aggravation of having to watch more inept junior high reserve quality football.
The Browns are now on the clock
The football gods sent down a bolt of lightening and a bad call on the last play of the game against the Browns and the Cleveland Tans found yet another way to rip failure from the jaws of victory.
I have predicted that despite the rumors flying around Cleveland, even a loss to the historically bad Lions will not result in Owner Lerner firing coach Mangini. In my opinion, Lerner doesn't have the stones to do what needs to be done to save his team and what little credibility he has left with the fans. We will see. But regardless of feelings of fans or the owner, the 38-37 loss to the Lions was the most depressing loss yet.
This was the most “winable” game on the schedule. They had a 24-3 late in the 1st quarter. The O finally looked like it had at least some idea of what it was doing with QB Quinn completing deep throws to open receivers. But the O success wouldn't last.
In the second half, the Browns became the Tans again and both the O and the play calling crawled back into the shell of fear. It didn't take the Lions long to catch onto the Run Run Pass play calling. The 3rd down passes were rushed and inaccurate.
In previous articles I have laid out a plan I would follow but the question is what will happen. I have rubbed my crystal ball so hard it now no longer clear.
I believe that Lerner will hire someone with a little football gravitas to turn this dismal operation around. He has said that Mike Holmgren is his top choice to become President/GM. Mike has been quoted as “interested” in the opportunity. As usual I disagree completely with Lerner. He has had the draft under his direction before with poor results.
Later in his tenure in Green Bay he had considerable input to the draft. Part of the reason he left was the consecutive fruitless drafts that the Pack had in that time. In Seattle he had both the GM and Head Coach jobs. I have felt that no human can do both jobs in the NFL today. But I am just as convinced that Holmgren is not a guy that can draft well enough to close the talent gap between us and the rest of the division let alone the league elite.
Here are his 1st round picks for the Seahawks:
1999 R1 CH22 Chris McIntosh T Wisconsin—Mac was a can't miss run blocker that did. He started 10 game in his rookie season and 3 more in 01 but was out of the league after that season.
2000 R1 CH19 Shaun Alexander RB Alabama—Alexander was a star that burned out way too soon. After an MVP season he faded quickly and was out of the league early in the 08 season.
R1 CH22 Chris McIntosh T Wisconsin—Mac was a can't miss run blocker that did. He started 19 game in his rookie season and 3 more in 01 but was out of the league after that season.
2001 R1 CH9 Koren Robinson WR North Carolina State—Robinson developed nicely in 02 with 78 catches and had another 65 in 03. He would never reach 50 again in his career.
R1 17 Steve Hutchinson G Michigan—Hutch is one of the best Gs in the league but guards are usually 2nd or 3rd round picks. The Hawks lost him to free agency after the 05 season.
2002 R1 CH28 Jerramy Stevens TE Washington—Stevens is still in the league but had never developed into the weapon Holmgren though he would be. In 7 seasons through 2008 he had started only 32 games mostly as an injury replacement. He is at best a 2nd TE in a 2 TE set.
After the 2002 season, Holmgren was relieved of his GM duties. To be fair, he did have some notable picks in lower rounds but is this the kind of record as head draft guru that the Browns can depend on to turn the team around. I don't think so.
Are the Browns the Worst Team in the NFL?
Watching an ice cube melt is more exciting than watching the Browns' offense.
The fans deserve better than what at least a few of them suffered through last night. The D and the D coordinator deserve better too. FIRE THE O COORDINATOR WANT-TO-BE NOW!
Three things were made abundantly clear in the 16-0 loss to the Ravens last night.
Otto Graham could be QB and the team would still struggle to score. There is a right tackle that is a joke; the receivers couldn't catch pig flu if they were married to the pig that originated it; the running game won't work because the middle of the line can't get a push and the O coordinator who I will not give the honor of naming here is blind, deaf, and most assuredly dumb.
The defense is leaving its heart and soul on the field every game. To hold the Ravens with the 10th best O in the league to 3 points is outstanding. Remember, the 2 picks scored one TD and made the other automatic. Coach Ryan has made a group of Jet castoffs and a couple of stars from the previous administration into a cohesive competitive defense.
The players have bought into the Ryan program and are playing for him not for Mangenous.
When the Monday Night crew breakout films of Jon Chuckie Gruden playing college football, it will be a long time before they will accept a game in Cleveland again.
When Mangenous says “we've tried everything we could think of” to get the offense moving and NOTHING has worked, it is time to replace him and “your little dog (the offensive coordinator) too” with Ryan and anyone with an IQ above 50 on an interim basis. That would at least give the team a little hope that the owner is watching and cares about what is going on.
There are also a couple of FA WRs that would help. Does anyone have Marvin Harrison's cell number?
Then I stand by my outline of the changes that I would make (published here a couple of weeks ago) to at least give the fans something approaching decent to watch.
So what will happen? The Browns will do nothing this week and will lose next week to the Lions. I do not believe Lerner will fire Mangenous unless the Football Czar he hires does. They will get the 1st or 2nd pick in the draft and trade down a couple of times because those top spots are too expensive.
Mangini has compared the 09 Browns to the 2000 Patriots!
Anyone that needed proof of the lack of football knowledge of Mangenous got it yesterday when he told the Boston Globe that he sees "remarkable similarities" between the 2010 Browns and the 2000 Patriots. WHAT?????
“At one point in that second year, we were 1-3, but we didn’t change the approach, and then we went on a streak, he said. Eric evidently hasn't looked at the current standings. The Browns are 1-7 and lucky not to be 0-8. The 00 Pats had 2 NFL quality QBs including Tom Brady. We don't have one.
They had a great front office. Ours is vacant. Yes, we have a Belichick want-to-be but that is all he is. He doesn't have any concept of scouting talent based on the vets he had his punching bag GM sign like Bob “the turnstile” St. Clair. He doesn't have any concept on how to use the little talent he has. He drafted Hawaii DE David Veikune with the 52nd pick in the draft. A change from DE to OB is very hard. So what did Mangenous do? He tried to teach him not 1 but 4 different positions making the transition so hard that Veikune is so confused he is trying to figure out how to spell his last name.
Eric, you are an arrogant jerk that should never be within 1000 miles of an NFL team. You aren't smart enough to plan a 2 car funeral procession. You don't inspire the players you put them in position to fail not to succeed. You insult the fans and generate disgust with you and your “system.”
You don't understand anything about what the Browns' fans have been through since the team was stolen by Art Muddle. JUST SHUT UP AND TRY TO GET THE TEAM TURNED AROUND. We don't want to hear a word out of your mouth. We want to see the team become at least competitive on the field.
The Browns Will Not Lose This Week, Guaranteed!
The Browns are in transition. That might be news in some cities but not for the folks in Cleveland. We have seen the team in transition since 1999. One of the things my Dad taught me early on was never do business with a widow or idiot son. He never said anything about writing about a sports team owned by one or the other.
The latest episode of “As the Stomach Churns” was GM George Kokinis being frog-walked out of the building. GK had never been a GM before. He also had never been responsible for scouting or evaluating college talent. His background was strictly veteran player scouting. Mangenous said he felt the team could find quality players without GK. That would be good because based on the vets that GK and he brought in, they couldn't find water on a cruise ship.
Owner Randy Lerner said after a 5 turnover drubbing at the hands of the Bears that he was sick about what has happened so far this season. WELCOME TO THE TUMS BRIGADE! Fans of your team have been chomping Tums34 like gummy bears for years because Tums Extra Strength doesn't begin to stop the heart burn caused by the play of this team.
All Browns fans are wondering what comes next. Lerner indicated to a reporter that Coach Mangenous was likely to be the coach beyond the 2009 season. GREAT! That is just what the fans and players wanted to hear—NOT!
I have rubbed my crystal ball so hard that it now has a frosted look to it. Here is what MAY happen in the near future.
Lerner has said he is going to bring in a real football guy to oversee that side of the operation. The problem is that no self respecting guy with any reputation will want to risk it in this environment. So who does he think he is going to get? There is one name floating around that makes some sense for a couple of reasons—Bernie Kosar. Kosar is hanging around the team “finding out what everyone in the organization does.”
Lerner does not want to fire Mangenous. That is a money issue. He is reportedly paying off not only the previous administration contracts but also that of Coach Davis. He doesn't want to get writer cramp with all those checks.
Mangenous said he will not demote O coordinator Baboll. The latter was appointed by Mangenous without any play calling experience. His only experience has been as a QB coach. The QB coach Smith was the OC for the Saints for years but will not be given the keys to this offensive clunker now. But Baboll will take input from Smith.
There is a well documented dislike bordering on hatred of Kosar by Mangenous. What is the only thing worse than having a consultant that reports to the owner milling around? Having a boss you hate take all your power away and stop you from trading the second overall draft pick to the Jets for a bucket of used balls.
In my opinion, if Kosar is named GM or VP of football operations, Mangenous may quit. He will not take kindly to giving up his power. Kosar has a great knowledge of the game and his only agenda he has is what is best for the Browns.
Mangenous quiting would eliminate the problem and the need to pay off his contract. At this point, the logical choice for an interim head coach would be D coordinator Ryan. Ryan's D has played its heart out trying to stop the bleeding from self inflicted wounds caused by turnovers of the O. The team would welcome the change and rally around Ryan. Smith would be another possibility.
Next year—who knows. IF the drama unfolds like I have described, the team would get better immediately. I could easily see 3 or 4 wins between now and the end of the season. After a 1-7 first half of the season, a 3-5 or 4-4 close would be celebrated by the fans. The interim coach would likely be given a raise and maybe a contract extension.
That would be the best possible outcome. So of course it won't happen and somehow Lerner will let Mangenous destroy the rest of this season and 2010. Browns fans may be hoping the league does go on strike in 2011. Our nerves could use the rest.
Where do the Browns go from here?
I am not going to say anything about the “game” against the Pack except that it was the worst performance since the team has come back in 99.
Let's face it. The 2009 season is D E A D! I think that Mangini has decided that and is going for a high draft pick which he can trade to the Jets for a bucket of practice balls and a practice squad player. In most situations, that would not be a bad approach (except for the trade of course).
The Browns are in serious danger of losing the fan base. After all, they were crushed by the disintegration of the team under Belichick 1, then all but lost hope when the team was stolen by Art Muddle. The hopes for a new start were rewarded by the most inept series of management teams since the Know Nothing Party of political history. The team needs to play respectable ball ASAP to keep the interest in the franchise.
Immediate changes:
OL- The worst part of the team is the right side of the O line. I would put Steinbach at RT and Fraley at LG. I would let Womack and Hadnot fight it out for the RG. Mack has to be given a season or 2 to prove he is or is not the guy at C. That would stabilize the pass protection and give us some hope for running the ball.
QB In my humble opinion, we have seen enough of Anderson to know for sure he is not the QB of the future. I would start Quinn with the understanding that he has until the end of the year to prove he is the guy or I would look for another starter in the draft.
RB Lewis is no longer a starter and is too expensive for a short yardage back. The team needs to find out what they have in Jennings. I would also work Cribbs into the 3rd down back role only if they can't find anyone else. They also need to search the practice squads and free agency for a young RB to replace Davis. A couple of possibilities are FAs Chris Henry, Antonio Pittman, or Panther PS Javarris Williams.
WR Put the young WRs excluding Cribbs in and let them sink or swim. The team has to know if the draft choices can play. I would put Furry on D full time. The team has enough WRs to tryout. If some don't catch the ball, there are a number of young WRs available on practice squads and cut lists around the league.
DL DE Coleman is not a fit for the 3-4 but with all the other issues on the team, nothing should be done unless there is a young DE available on a PS or FA. NT Rubin is starting to develop nicely. There will be several DTs in the draft that can become DEs in the 3-4. Draft one and trade Coleman for a draft choice or other need.
LB The team needs a lot of help at LB. They have to play with what they have because there isn't much available elsewhere. They have numbers but there is a major question if they have enough talent or not. Try the young guys and see what they can do.
DB McDonald is a disaster. I would put Francies into that spot. I would make Furrey the nickel and let McD compete against the rest for the dime back spot.
Special Teams I would prefer that Cribbs stay on special teams full time.
Offense? We don't need no stinkin' Offense!
There is no question what is wrong with the Browns—NO O! Given the lack of ball control and bad field position that the O gives the D, the defense has played as well as their talent will allow. I like what Coach Ryan the D coordinator has done with the team. He does not have many quality athletes and two of them, LB Wimbley and NT Rogers had the flu. Wimbley didn't play but Rogers gave all he had to the team in the loss to the Steelers. The loss of LB Jackson to the IR is going to hurt. LB Bowens has played well. The DBs have to tackle better. CB McDonald has to play better or be replaced.
The only offense was provided as usual by Cribbs. Not only did he return a kick for a TD, he played well in the wildcat. He threw the pick that ended a nice drive but the team wouldn't have had the ball in the red zone without Cribbs runs to get it down there. So, why does the wildcat work and the regular O not work?
The Browns receivers should be immune from any illness. If they can't catch the football how could they catch the flu? Depending on who is counting, there have been nearly 20 dropped passes in the last 2 games. The Browns are very short of TEs. But Mangini cut a 08 4th round pick TE Rucker. That was particularly surprising given the fact that TE Heiden is coming back from an ACL and Mangini says he wants to run the ball using 2 TEs. Rucker was not much of a blocker but at least in college he could catch the ball. That seems to be in short supply in Cleveland this season.
Some of the drops have not been the problem of the receivers. QB Anderson has a great arm but the touch and accuracy of 100 lb sledge hammer. Anderson's mechanics have deteriorated due to the pressure he has been under. He also has no running game to take pressure off the pass. The play calling is predictable. Even so, there is nothing that justifies an NFL qb rating of 51.
Mangini wasted the preseason. He let both QBs split snaps and didn't play either in the final game. Then he started Quinn. 2 ½ games later, he changed his mind and now Quinn is a ghost that has disappeared despite the fact that every stadium in which Anderson plays has to call in the EPA Super fund to clean the stench of another stinker out after the game.
The right side of the O line has been a huge problem. RG Hadnot is not ready for full time play so Womack played most of the game sending C/G Fraley to the bench. The RT St. Clair is a disaster. His turnstile blocks will get Anderson a trip to Cleveland Clinic. Let's just hope he doesn't catch the staph infection bug there.
Now, Cleveland Hero Bernie Kosar has been hired as “consultant” reporting directly to the owner. That is a good thing. Bernie will keep the fans aware of what is going on. He and Mangini are going to struggle for power soon. To me, it indicates that Owner is not comfortable with Mangini. He also wanted a spokesman for the team since he doesn't want that job and Mangini is as talkative as an oak tree. Bernie has the three things that this team needs most—1. the respect of the fans and the players 2. a knowledge of the game that has been missing from the team and 3. the energy to become an active part of the management staff. Jim Brown has the respect of everyone and the knowledge of the game but is too involved in other things to devote the energy to the Browns.
Next week I will discuss what I would do to fix the Browns this season and for the long haul.
Ugly is as Ugly does!
Watching the Browns lose is punishment. Watching them get blown out is worse. Columbus Channel 10 chose to show the Bengals v the Ravens. It was an excellent choice. The Browns game at Buffalo was about as exciting as watching the grass grow. A former OSU President once called the 10-10 tie against Michigan “a great victory.” That statement came after the Buckeyes went 0-10 against that team up north. It was a ridiculous statement. I feel the same way about the Browns 6-3 win at Buffalo. Some called the OT lost last week against the Bengals a turning point for the team. Those same people are now calling the 6-3 win proof that the team has turned the corner. That remains to be seen.
But there were some positives that the team can build upon. The special teams were for the most part very special. Zastudil was nothing short of amazing with his punts. In some of the most difficult punting situations you can imagine he came within 1 kick of tying the all time record for the most punts inside the 20. However, it is not the ideal situation to have your punter be the MVP of the game.
The gunners on the punt team did a great job of getting down field to kill the punts deep in Bills' territory. That unit also recovered the muffed punt that allowed them to win the game.
Another positive was the running game. Lewis ran for 117 yards but it took 31 attempts and was only 3.77 per carry. The O line is starting to run block better. RG Fraley is doing well and even my usual target C Mack is improving. He is still too weak in the legs to get the kind of drive necessary to handle the AFC North NTs.
QB Anderson was brought in to give the team a spark. He completed 2 for 17 attempts for a total gross of 23 yards with an interception. That is a passer rating of 15. If you go 0-1 without a pick your passer rating is 39.6. That is similar to missing a chance to get 5 points on the SAT for spelling your name right because you forgot a letter. There were some drops but to quote the ESPN Radio commercial “Come on!” A passer rating of 15 is embarrassing. If the Mangini passing game is in effect long hand offs, there were a LOT of fumbles Sunday.
The D held the Bills to 3 points. The obvious defensive plan is to import the Buffalo wind to every game the team plays. It was the wind more than the D that held the scoring down. Only Rogers stood out although the new guy on the block OLB Trusnik was forced into action by an injury and did OK. OLB Wimbley got in on 11 tackles including his 4th sack of the season. He had only 4 all last year.
But a win is a win and the team at least gave a decent effort. A little more production on both sides of the ball will be required if the team is going to beat Pittsburgh next week.
I have to mention the fact that backup QB Quinn has his house up for sale. That is not a good sign. It has to be as clear as glass that Anderson is not the long term answer. I don't know if Quinn is either but I have seen St. Clair block and know for a fact that the Browns will need Quinn, and probably Ratliff before the season is over.
There is almost no trade value for Quinn right now. The fact that he was pulled along with a less than stellar 2 and a half games as the starter this year have depleted whatever trade value he might have had last off season. The only possibility to get better QB play this year is to keep him putting pressure on Anderson to perform.
Anderson tends to take too many chances and make some very questionable decisions. Quinn is a rookie. He has been holding a clip board for a couple of years but you can not get better at QB decision making watching from the sidelines. He needs live snaps in regular season games to get better. My experience tells me that you can not evaluate a pro QB in practice. The D line can't hit him and the speed of practice never approaches that of the real thing. This season is toast—Burned toast. Give him a real shot and this time don't trade away the top 8 draft choice.
The Browns in Week 4—Close but No Cigar
The Browns played the much improved Bengals close Sunday in Cleveland. For the first time this season, they did not look like dead men walking. They looked like they cared about winning and wanted to be there—except that is for WR Edwards. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but Cleveland and got his wish yesterday. More on that later.
There is no question that Derek Anderson moved the ball better against Cincy than Quinn did in the previous 2 and a half games. But Cincy's D is not Minnesota nor is it Baltimore. It is also clear that the play calling is significantly different for Anderson than for Quinn.
Part of that difference is the arm strength advantage that DA has over Quinn. Anderson has that type of arm that makes coaches drool. But his decision making and accuracy makes D backs drool as well. Anderson reads coverages better than Quinn but that is a function of game experience rather than innate football instincts. But the brain trust of the Browns (and I use that phrase with all the sarcasm possible) decided that their strategy carefully crafted over the 8 months since the start of the off season was in error. So they changed field generals at half time in week 3 despite the fact that Mangini personally picked Quinn for that job.
Gee, for those of you that have been watching the news, this sounds slightly familiar. But Mangini is stuck with Anderson for the rest of the season or until St. Clair misses another block and gets him hurt. At that time, Quinn will come in to save the day and the season.
The D under Coach Ryan has played well but has been on the field way too long. They need the O to develop a running game which the team has not had since it was reborn in 99. The Bengals realized that the Browns would not beat them running and concentrated on the passing game.
For the Bengals this was a trap game. They beat the Steelers last week and face the division leading Ravens next week. The Browns caught them in between bookend games. They played down to the level of the Browns.
But give the team credit for their best game of the year so far. I believe that the team will be 0-8 at the bye and the best thing that the owner could do is replace Mangini with Ryan who by all accounts is respected and liked by all the players.
Edwards was traded to the Jets. The rumor is that no GM will deal with Mangini unless they get a steal except for New York. The Browns got a reasonably good WR in Chansi Stuckey. Stuckey is a possession receiver that needs to run much crisper routes to get open. He struggled with that in NY. The Browns also got a reserve LB that is a special teams player only and 2 draft choices that are reported to be a 3rd and a 5th. That certainly was not the 1st round pick they had sought before the draft but is probably what the WR (3rd pick overall in the 05 draft) turned pugilist is worth.
For those that haven't heard, after not catching a single pass Sunday, Edwards topped off his night in a club and hit the sponsor of the party. The Cleveland police and the NFL Commissioner have yet to determine if Edwards will be able to contribute to the Jets season. Of course if he drops as many passes as he did in Cleveland, he won't contribute much there either.
The Browns go to Buffalo this week. They had better win because it is about their last chance before the bye. They go to Pittsburgh the following week then play Green Bay at home before facing the Bears in Chicago on 11/1. If there are 0 wins, we could be saying BYE BYE to Mangini. That probably won't happen but for a L O N G suffering Browns fan, we can only hope. By the way does anyone know how Randy Lerner's new toy the Aston Villa soccer team is doing? But then who in Browns land really gives a damn.
The Browns in “WEAK” 3
I missed the first 5 minutes of the Browns game against the Ravens. I had to run to our Piggley Wiggly store to get more antacids. I bought 3 cases but ran out around the start of the 3rd quarter.
The game was terrible. The team has lost faith in the “Mangini way” and by changing QBs at half time he let everyone know that he has lost confidence in his own decision.
This is a situation that is going to get a lot worse and will not get better. The D has given all it has but there are just too many clicks on the team to make it work. There is the Quinn click, the Anderson click, the ex-Jet click, and the old Browns click.
Here is the problem in a nutshell. A real player can tell in the first 10 minutes of the first practice if a coach knows his stuff or not. Mangini should know his stuff but doesn't have a clue about how to build a team from a collection of parts. Everything he has done has divided the locker room. He has never had the responsibility of judging talent in the draft and clearly did not have a good draft. He is not someone that takes criticism well.
Wednesday he named Anderson the starter “for now.” Quinn never had a chance. The OC Brian Daboll is in his first year at that position. We have seen that before. Someone should tell the ownership that Cleveland is tired of being the training ground for newbies at their positions. The play selection with Quinn behind C was terrible. The run run pass methodology works only if you are getting reasonable yardage on the first two downs. Cleveland has voting rights at the corner of 3rd and Long St.
We know what Anderson can do. He will thrill the fans with an outstanding pass on one play then throw a pick the next. The good news for Quinn fans is that as soon as Anderson fails and ex Jet Brett Ratliff lose a couple of games each, Quinn will be back to mop up with the team sitting at 0 and 8 or 9.
The solution is to fire Mangini and put D Coordinator Rex Ryan in as interim HC. But that won't happen because Soccer Boy is too busy playing with his English toy. I wish I had better news but I don't see anything but a 1st or 2nd overall draft choice in the Browns' future. But don't too excited because Mangini will trade the 1st pick to the Jets for a bag of balls and a 1977 school bus so he can take the team to more unpaid service days.
The Browns lack of offense rests primarily on a defective O line
The entire league has noticed what I have been complaining about for weeks here and on my own site—the Browns O line is abysmal. DE/LB Elvis Dumervil showed RT St. Clair to be the statute I have been saying he is all along.
RG Floyd Womack went down with an injury during the game. Of course Fort Mangini is not leaking any details of his injury. Even when he was healthy, Womack was not a starting quality player. He started 9 games for the Seahawks in 06 then was benched in 07 before starting 14 games in 08 after the team lost their starter to free agency.
The one armed former C Hank Fraley replaced him. Fraley has a strap on his elbow due to a previous injury. Womack was not intended to be the starter. Originally Ryan Tucker who started part of the 08 season at RT was slated to start. He never recovered from injuries suffered last year.
Rex Hadnot had been signed as a UFA to back up Tucker who hasn't played a full season since 05. Hadnot did not survive Camp Mangini. Coach has not announced if or when he might be able to return. Rumors circulating around the team indicate that he may be back in a couple of weeks.
The next issue on the line is rookie 1st round pick C Kevin Mack. The day of the draft part of the justification for trading down three times was that the team had targeted Mack for their first round pick and could get him lower. That was half right. They were wrong to target Mack but were right that they could have gotten him lower—like in the 2nd round.
Mack struggled to block for the run in California. He was known as a finesse pass blocker as well. Finesse is a kind way of saying that he couldn't knock a 5th grader off his feet. Mack caused the first turnover by dribbling the ball back to Quinn in a shot gun formation. That happened inside the 15 and turned the ball over to Denver inside the 10.
The O line has been penalized a lot for false starts. What the media and announcers failed to notice is that when everyone moves but the snap doesn't come, the fault lies with the C. Mack is regularly a half count late on the snap. He is also very inconsistent on shotgun snaps. They float back to Quinn. If the O line was up to the job, that would not be as significant a problem. But giving the lack of time Quinn has to find a receiver and get rid of the ball, the delay is critical.
A large part of the running game's struggles are attributable to the O line as well. There just is very little push by the line. Way too often, the back is getting hit in the backfield. Even with a FB in the I formation the team can't seem to get much of a whole.
The passing game suffers from several issues. The O line is a major part of the problem. The line is not giving Quinn any time to find an open guy. This is causing Quinn to develop some very bad habits. He is nervous in the pocket and if his first look at his progression is not wide open, he is throwing to his safety valve. Good passing games require time to allow players to make moves to get open.
Quinn is also part of the problem but given his lack of pro experience, it is not surprising. A good NFL QB anticipates the receiver getting open and throws the ball before the target makes his final move. Quinn is not able to anticipate receivers getting open due to lack of reps with the first team. That is also Mangini's fault for not naming Quinn the starter sooner.
The receiving crew is not the most reliable either. WR Edwards had an outstanding game. He was targeted on 8 passes and caught 7 of them. That was the extent of the quality receiving efforts. Cribbs fumbled one catch and missed another that he should have caught. I am not surprised because he gets limited reps because he is also having to split time with the special teams.
The last major problem with the O is the inability to score TDs in the red zone. Part of that is execution. But part is also due to some very questionable play calls. For example, when the team recovered the fumbled kickoff they got the ball inside the Broncos 10. They ran the ball twice to Lewis and threw a poorly designed pair of pass routes that fell incomplete. Result—as usual no TD and the team had to settle for a field goal.
Overall the O is holding the team back. As I said more than a month ago, the Browns fans are in for a very long season. We can only hope that time together helps. If not, the D is going to spend a lot of time on the field.
Brown Fold in Second Half
The 09 Browns have one thing in common with the 08 Browns—Folding up in the 2nd half.
All we have heard from management is how totally different the 09 version of the Browns would be from that of 2008. Not so much.
On my site Frying Pan Sports I predicted that the game would be over by half time. I was wrong. It took the Vikes the first offensive and defensive series of the second half to put the game away. The Vikes moved the ball right down the field and scored the go ahead TD on their first possession. Then Brady Quinn and WR Edwards did not read the coverage the same way and the Vikes picked off the Quinn pass.
The key problem all last season was that the O was non-existent in the 2nd half of games and the D wore down quickly. What has changed? Not much. The 13-10 lead at halftime quickly become a significant deficit and another loss to a visitor to Cleveland.
The play calling was identical to the calls in 08 with the exception of a couple of less passes deep. The running game worked surprisingly well in the first half with Lewis and Davis. But the Williams boys at the DT positions for the Vikes put a quick end to that in the second half. By the time Davis went out with an injury, the game was already lost.
The right side of the O line is still useless. They were not able to give Quinn much protection even against a 4 man rush. They also were not able to open many running holes for the backs. The majority of running came off the left side.
However, a number of the illegal procedure calls were the fault of rookie C Mack not snapping the ball on the right count. I can't really blame him much for that because he had never seen anything as big and ugly as the Williams boys nose to nose with him in college. He is going to have to do better. In almost every game this year he will face better NTs in the league than he ever saw in college. He also needs to work on his shotgun snaps. They were inaccurate and had a measurable hang time. Given the lack of pass protection, the ball needs to get into the hands of Quinn as quickly as possible.
There was one bright spot. The Browns got some pressure against a really good O line. The down side for that is that they had to blitz to do it. The 4 man rush did little to make Farve move.
One final issue is the interception and several near picks. In my opinion, had Mangini named Quinn the starter after the first preseason game and given him all the reps with the first team, the chances are that he and Edwards would have read the coverage the same way on the pick. That would have kept the team in the game. On a number of other passes it was clear that the QB and his receivers were not timed up. Getting the passing game timed takes a lot of reps. The unwillingness to name a starter sooner cost Quinn the chance to get that timing down. It contributed greatly to the loss to the Vikes. That is the fault of the coach and his brain lock on fooling the Vikes by not naming the QB early.
Mangini is clearly happy with his O line.
Head Coach Eric Mangini is clearly comfy with his O line but I am still trying to figure out why. I wonder what he is looking at.
Exhibit 1—RT John St. Clair He has been the one man marketing program for personal injury lawyers from St. Louis to Chicago, to Miami and now here. He has never been able to handle a speed rusher faster than a 1978 Hugo. Not only did St. Clair make the team but he was installed as the starter from his signing. Uch!
Exhibit 2—The NFL Cuts at T that were available to the Browns.
Langston Walker has started 16 games for the last three years. He is not great but better than what we have.
Tony Pashos was cut for salary cap reasons by the Jags. He has started every game but 1 in the last 3 years and is a better than average pass blocker with decent feet. He is better than either of the above. He was just signed by SF.
Exhibit 3—Free agent Ts signed
Phil Trautwein URFA acquired on waivers from Carolina played at college ball at Florida. He has something in common with St. Clair. He too struggles with speed rushers.
Exhibit 4—C
The starting C (we think) is rookie Alex Mack. Mack got no push on running plays and allowed DTs to push him back into the QB all preseason. Even at Cal he struggled to get push on running plays against teams like Stanford and Washington. C was the worst spot on the O line and that includes RT! He just barely beat out last year C Hank Fraley who was playing in the preseason with 1 arm.
Exhibit 5—Veteran Cs signed to help None.
There is a basic rule in football and it doubly important in the AFC North. If you can't run the ball and can't stop the run, you can't win. The Browns have struggled to run the ball against all but the 3rd string guys that are now greeters at WalMart. A lot of that has to do with a total lack of push from the O line particularly in the middle. The D will be on the field a lot if the O can't move the chains.
This week they play the best running back in the league in Adrian Peterson who comes to town with the best line in the NFC. How is that trade down working for you now, Mangenis? Good luck guys. On Sunday you are going to need it.
And the winner in the Browns QB derby is...
Brady Quinn—I think. But of course we don't know yet. There may be an announcement about 5 minutes into the first game of the regular season against the Vikings.
Tomorrow in my Tuesday Morning QB column on Fryingpan Sports we will discuss the differences between the two QBs. I will say that it is time—in fact past time that Coach Mangini makes his decision public. The team needs to know who will be their leader on O.
The team did play a lot better in what is considered the “dress rehearsal” preseason game in the NFL. Tennessee came to town with the plan of having their first team working the first half and that was all. The Browns who blew the game open in the 3rd quarter kept their 1st group in for the most part through 3 quarters because they had more to evaluate than the Titans.
Quinn looked sharp against the Titans first team on his scoring drive. Again as was the case so many times last year the team ran out of downs in the red zone hand had to kick a short field goal. If the Browns O can't do better inside the 10, they will be kicking a lot of short FGs. You can not win regularly with field goals.
Anderson looked good too. He was in a very short time against the Titans' first group.
The Browns are in 3rd and long (7+) way to often. That killed them over the last few years. The problem is not on 3rd but on 1st and 2nd. When you only average 1 or 2 yards on 2 downs, the chances are 82% that you will end up punting. The team was averaging only a 25% 3rd down conversation rate this preseason until game 3. That is not going to maintain possessions and give the D a chance to catch their breath.
The Browns running game is poor to non-existent except against the 2nd or 3rd string of their opponents. RB Davis looked really good again but it was his 1st team line vs. the Titans 2nd and 3rd group D. Too often the Browns run on 2nd and long. When they get only 1 yard, they face 3rd and 8 or 9. There is a partial answer to the lack of a consistent ground game.
The Browns never were much of a screen play team but Mangini has added those plays to the game plan. That is going to be critical if the team struggles to run and pass protect. The screen can slow down the pass rush a lot. This can not only replace the running game it can get the RBs out in open where they can do damage.
The O line is still a problem. I hope the team can get a RT to replace St. Clair. He is the weakest link and is not getting better with practice.
It is hard to evaluate the D because their best player, NT Shaun Rogers, has played only 1 series so far. I am not sure if he is injured or just being rested. I hope for the team's sake it is the latter. Without him and S Brodney Pool, the team struggled to get off the field. That problem has been exacerbated by a lack of pass rush and the inability to stop the running game. In the AFC North, the other 3 teams are clearly run first. If the Browns can't stop the run, its going to be a L O N G season.
The D line is getting better. NTs C.J. Mosley and Ahtyba Rubin are both coming around. They are not quality substitutes for Rogers yet but they are improving with every game. Mosley is even providing some pass rush. E Corey Williams still doesn't fit the 3-4.
The linebackers seem to have more depth than we expected. Alex Hall looks good opposite Wimbley. Hall got the interception and took it in for a D touchdown. Kaluka Maiava, the rookie from USC, is working better in the Browns' zone. He knocked down a pass and is solid in special teams.
The DBs are showing better tackling than they did last year. That is a direct result of the Mangini camp. The one improvement by the new staff is that the training camp is more serious than it ever was under the previous group.
Special teams penalties still are killing the field position of the O. 2 long returns, one of 58 yards and one of more than 40 yards were called back by stupid penalties. That has to change.
OVERALL: I think we have a lot more to be cautiously semi-optimistic. The team has gotten better over the last 3 weeks. Not good enough to compete with Baltimore and Pittsburgh, but better. It may be able to beat Cincinnati for 3rd place in the division. Given the debacle last year, that would be an improvement.
That's what I think. Tell me what you think.
Derek Anderson's redemption—sort of
Anderson looked like a new man. He was accurate, decisive, and able to read the Lion's coverages like a Half Price Bookstore novel. He has a real strong arm that is among the best in the league. It is the kind of performance that would lead any coach to immediately announce Anderson as the starter except for one thing. Let's not forget that his performance was against the Lions. You, your mother and I could beat the Lions even if your Mom was having a bad game.
Anderson is not going to be the Browns starter for two reasons. First, because Mangini has seen those old vampire movies where the townspeople attack the castle with their clubs and torches. There is just too much history for Anderson here. He would be best served in another city where he could start fresh. Second, Anderson is not the type of QB that fits Mangini's short passing offense. He is not accurate enough in the short and medium passing game. In his disastrous 08 season he missed enough backs on circle patterns to choke 3 horses, 5 antelope and a herd of buffalo. Maybe Anderson's trade value was increased by his game against the Lions but I doubt it. The other teams know Anderson's limitations.
Quinn converted 2 third downs but the second was called back because St. Clair was too far off th line.
Then there is QB Brett Ratliff, a key part of the trade for the 4th overall choice with the Jets. The last time a trade that bad was made, Indians were giving away Manhattan Island. I have one question for Mangaini. Exactly what was it about Ratliff's game that you liked? The missed open receivers? Maybe his ability to throw the ball to the opposition when he is under pressure? Whatever it was, it reminds Browns fans of Ken “Dorthy” Dorsey. Ratliff is 8-17 for a total of 91 yards, 0 TDs 2 interceptions and a passer rating of 24.0. The passer rating is 32 for a guy getting his name right on his jersey. To add to the poor performance, he has been sacked 5 times in 23 called passes.
KR/PR/WR and head ticket taker Josh Cribbs certainly should have proven himself to the staff. Browns' hero Jim Brown told Cribbs to just go out and prove his value on the field. He took that to heart and did just that. He had 2 touchdown returns—a kick return of 94 yards that was called back on a hold and a punt return of 84 yards that counted. Not only is he as explosive as any returner in the league, he is becoming a solid receiver. He runs good routes and catches anything even close to him.
WR Edwards needs to keep his head on straight catch the ball and stay in bounds.
RT John St. Clair is a personal injury lawyer's dream. He can't handle a speed rusher, or bull rusher, or 98 year old grandmother with a walker. He tends to cheat back off the line and gets called for it on occasion. He also is forced to hold because he does not have the feet to play T. When the opponent starts to get around him, he reaches out and grabs rather than being able to move his feet to regain position. To compensate for his inability, the Browns have to keep a TE in on his side or dedicate a back to help out. That is a luxury that the team can not afford and be effective on offense.
Both George Foster and Ryan Tucker played T in the second line. They allowed the second and third D lines of the Lions to harass Brown QBs on almost every pass. The team is going to have to find a T that can hold up the right side of the line. To make matters worse on the O line, recently signed G Fred Weary went out of the game hurt.
The running game looked better this week but again it was against the Lions. One rookie that did look really good was James Davis from Clemson. He broke an 81 yard TD run. At 218 pounds, he is capable of being the backup to Lewis.
The defense looked a lot better. There was much more energy and the team seemed to care about winning. A rough week of practice will do that.
OB Alex Hall has improved his technique markedly over last year. It is a good sign because the team needs another LB that can take the run at the line of scrimmage and rush the passer. Another young player that shined again this week was C.J. Mosley. He was one that provided pressure on the passer regularly.
The Browns return teams are outstanding primarily because Cribbs. The kick and punt coverage is not nearly as good. Cribbs was a top tackler on special teams in 07 and 08. Another HUGE problem is the penalties. Flags on special teams called back a TD kick return, another long return, and two punts inside the 10. There is no excuse for that laps of focus.
Stafford is going to be good. He got fooled by CB Wright who batted him into to throwing to a player Wright undercut to get in interception. Stafford was without his top 4 WR and his 3rd WR in the game, Dwayne Looker, had been building a deck earlier in the week. That played a part in the Lions failing to be competitive against the Browns.
OVERALL: The Browns are the worst team in the division in terms of talent. Only a great coaching job will get them to 3rd place in the AFC North. I am not sure that Mangini is capable of that but we will see. I do see much more hope than I did last week after just an abysmal game against the Packers.
The Cleveland Tans have their first game under Mangini.
Based on how they played since their return in 99 the Browns have changed their name to the Tans, a shadow of their former greatness. Their first preseason game did not give the Tans faithful much to cheer about let alone anything to maintain their hope for a turnaround.
Head Coach Mangini said after the game that because the teams play in the regular season, he decided not to show much. You succeeded because the team didn't show anything. With the exception of a couple of players, they didn't even show up for the game.
Defense:
Both the first and second units of the Pack washed the starting front 7 of the Browns line 6 or 7 yards down field regularly. On 1st down the Bear D worked well against the run. They only ran it a couple of times. To be fair, some of the better players did not participate.
The one thing that got everyone's attention was the total lack of pressure on the QB with either a 3 man or 4 man rush. The QBs had enough time to tweet a short story to their Twitter followers between the snap and the time they finally forced to throw the ball. That HAS to improve if the team is going to become competitive.
Ex Jet and the key to the trade down in the draft DE Kenyon Coleman was invisible. He had 1 tackle and 0 effect in the pass rush. It's no wonder that the Jets weren't counting on him in 09. The other starting DE Corey Williams didn't do much better.
A couple of D linemen deserve positive mention. NT Ahtyba Rubin did hold up fairly well even against double teams. He also sniffed out a play and crushed the running back. One ex-Jet looked good. E C.J. Mosley had 3 tackles including a sack.
Mangini has said that IB Eric Barton will make a lot of tackles this year like he did as a Jet. That is true but most of those will be 5 to 6 yards down field. Also, it looks like the D will be on the field a lot giving him more tackle opportunities because the D can not seem to get off the field. Barton does not attack the run effectively and shows a lack of instincts. He also struggles to get off blockers and gets caught in the wash too often. He is decent at covering receivers when he sees them but let TE Lee slip down the middle in the first quarter to set up the second TD.
The D backfield is going to have to cover a long time unless the team develops a better pass rush. SS Abram Elam was another part of that trade down in the draft and to say the least didn't have his best game. He failed to read and respond to the Lee pass down the middle, and did little to prove that he can replace SS Sean Jones who was allowed to leave via FA.
The defense looked anything but disciplined. Corey Ivy held 4th and 6 giving the Pack a 1st down. The coaching staff kept a Packer drive going on a on 3rd and 4 because of 12 men on the field. The 1st team D allowed 2 TDs on 2 possessions. The all out blitz worked for a sack but the Pack's 2nd team moved the ball against mostly 1st team Browns. But the CBs were not able to cover the WR man on man. That will negate the value of blitzing. The tackling was abysmal. There were enough missed tackles to fill a 2 hour horror film. Not a good sign.
Offense:
I don't have much to say about the O because they couldn't stay on the field long enough. The one very good sign was that Brady Quinn looked solid. He moved the ball and got a field goal. Of course the lack of discipline showed up again with a penalty that wiped it off the board.
I don't have a clue why John St. Clair is still in the league. St. Clair hasn't developed any better vision. He failed to notice the 6-4 260 pound DE Aaron Kampman blitz right by him and crush Quinn. Frankly both Ryan Tucker and George Foster are better than St. Clair. I'm 62 years old and at least I would know who to block. The overall line play of the first team beside St. Clair was fair. However, they did not do a good job blocking the run. There was too much leakage in the pocket.
There were a couple of other positives. Both Robert Royal and young Martin Rucker block a little on the run from the TE spot. TE Aaron Walker caught 3 passes and has some speed. Rookie C Alex Mack didn't look bad but still struggles to block the run. WR Mike Furrey looks like he can handle the 2nd receiver spot.
OVERALL: The team is bad. The new Jets-West don't look like they can beat the Bengals let alone the Ravines or the Steelers. Because of an easier non-division schedule, they may win more in 09 but at least right now don't look as good as they did last year before losing 2 QBs. It's going to be a L O N G season for Browns fans.
Analysis: The Browns' receiver group gets thin
Now that the NFL office has suspended Donte Stallworth for the 09 season and Syndric Steptoe may be forced to sit out the season, what do the Browns do for a WR? They cross their fingers and hope that a rookie or second year guy steps up. If not, RB Jamal Lewis is going to face a lot of 47 man lines.
Compounding the problem is the contract dispute between the team and KR/PR/WR/QB and pop corn salesman Josh Cribbs. Cribbs wants a new deal and avoided the “voluntary” workouts like the swine flu.
The starters will likely be Braylon “I never saw a pass I couldn't drop” Edwards and the winner of the rookie bowl between Mohamed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie. Edwards must find a way to catch the ball more consistently. Massaquoi has great speed but a rep for running sloppy routes. Coach Mangini has praised him for running better patterns. We'll see.
Robo has great hands, runs very presice patterns but is not fast. He will do a much better job of getting open underneath to pull the D in for Edwards to run deep. Cribbs is a good receiver. But he is an all pro return man. That aspect of his game suffered last year when he was used more at WR.
The team's salvation might be in a trio of vet WRs that are under the radar of most people. David Patten and Mike Furrey have been successful in previous years with other teams. Both are underneath type guys with good hands. The short passing game is a staple of the Mangini era. These guys will really help in that regard and one will play the 3rd spot.
Furrey started 24 games for the Lions in 06 and 07 and caught 159 passes for 7 TDs. He only started 2 games last year and his contract was not extended. Patten has started 73 games in his 12 year career and caught 324 balls for 4,715 yards and 24 TDs. He was a speed guy but time has taken a toll. He still can get open but is a longer shot than Furrey to make the rotation. He was briefly with the Browns in 2000.
Paul Hubbard was picked in the 6th round of the 08 draft by the Browns but has yet to develop. This training camp he has looked very good in part because he is finally getting the repetitions that would have gone to the departed guys. He has speed and hands. If he can do a better job with his patterns, he could be a factor.
The rest are camp cannon fodder and the team hopes they will be candidates for the practice squad.
The Browns have to have a little luck if either QB is going to have success. With the trade of TE Kellen Winslow, Jr. the team can't expect much out of that position. The running backs are not known for their receiving abilities but might be better than they have looked. QB Derek Anderson couldn't complete a swing pass to the Empire State Building if his toes were touching it. We didn't see enough of QB Brady Quinn to know if he can throw the swing or not.
The passing game is critical to the Browns success in 09. The O line is decent in run blocking but can not move the chains with the run alone. Defenses and D lines in the AFC North are too good to live on the run alone. Until they can win against their AFC N competitors, they will not get to the playoffs let alone beyond. Don't expect any North Coast Miracles any time soon.
The Browns have quantity on the D line but do they have quality?
Coach Eric Mangini has 11 D linemen in camp. There is no question about having quantity. Quality of the group is very much in question.
Projected Starters:
RE Kenyon Coleman—Coleman is an ex-Jet, ex-Cowboy and ex-Raider. In his 7 seasons he has started only for Mangini at New York. In his last 32 games as a Jet he started 30 times and had a grand total of 2 sacks. Not much of a pass rusher. He was not part of the plans for new Jet coach Ryan's plans because Ryan wants pass rushers at the end positions in his attacking D. Mangenus wants him to be a run stuffer and Coleman is much better at that than putting pressure on the QB.
LE Corey Williams—Williams struggled in the 3-4 and with a shoulder injury in 08. But for Mangini he will be end in the 3-4. Not good. Too often Williams fails to get off blocks of the linemen. He plays too high and is an easy target for pulling linemen or fullbacks. In 16 starts for the Browns who traded for him from Green Bay, he had a total of 0.5 sacks. Not too impressive.
NT Shaun Rogers is the only legitimate star on the D. He gives the team all he has. As a thank you, Mangini snubbed Rogers when the coach came to Browns land. Mangini said he didn't notice Rogers. It's hard not to notice someone that is 6-4 and 350 pounds. Rogers is 30 and doesn't have enough stamina to play long drives. No NT does. The Browns need to keep him fresh.
Backups
DE C.J. Mosley is another ex-Jet. He knows Mangini's D and is the most likely to replace Williams if he fails. However, Mosley has only started 3 games for the Jets in 3 seasons on the roster. Not a sterling endorsement.
DEs Shaun Smith and Robaire Smith—These Smith Brothers don't make cough drops and they don't generate many sacks either. The Browns are the third team Shaun has played for. He has started 20 games in the last 2 seasons for the Browns and played in 6 others and has a grand total of 2 sacks. He plays the run a little better but not much. His one hit that made news was in the locker room against his own QB Brady Quinn. Shaun was cut yesterday.
Robaire started 16 games in 07 and had 4 sacks. He was hurt nearly all of 08 and has to prove he is healthy to have a chance to make the final roster.
NT Ahtyba Rubin was the primary NT relief for Rogers last year and in 11 games got 7 tackles and no sacks. He isn't much but is all the Browns have with experience at NT.
NT Louis Leonard started 4 games for the Browns in 08 at DE after getting released by the D starved Rams. He will struggle to make the final cut.
DE Santonio Thomas—In 3 seasons with the Pats, Thomas got into only 4 games. In 08 he got into 11 games with the Browns but averaged only 1 tackle per game. He will not be a factor.
DE Melila Purcell and DE Adam Hoppel are rookies. Purcell has potential as a pass rusher.
OVERALL: The Browns were bad against the run and the failed to put much pressure on the passer. That leads to long drives and a lot of time on the field. In the AFC North, you had better be able to stop the run first. Bringing in ex-Jets won't help much because they gave up more points than the Browns did last year. Mangenus is trying to make a 3-4 defense out of a pigs ear. It didn't work in New York and I doubt it will work in Cleveland. Neither team had the personnel to make the 3-4 work. He wasn't in New York long enough to remake the D roster into a 3-4 capable team. Unless he can turn the D around in Cleveland, he won't be there long enough either.
Analysis: The Browns O line is in a word Offensive.
Head Coach Eric Mangini is bringing 14 offensive linemen to camp. There is no question that the teams has quantity but it looks now like there is a serious lack of quality in one of the two areas that were the biggest problems in 08.
The starting offensive line currently is projected to look like this:
LT Joe Thomas—Thomas is a stud. He did not play quite as well last year has he did in his rookie campaign but is the best tackle the Browns have had since they returned in 99.
LG Eric Steinbach—Steinbach is the veteran leader on the line and is the only interior lineman with pro bowl potential. He suffered some minor injuries last year but played through them. He came to Cleveland as a free agent but is now under pressure because he is the least likely to kiss up to Mangenous. Unless things change look for him to leave as soon as possible.
C Alex Mack—Mack will start because Mangenous picked him. He is a good run blocker and has much more potential than last years starter Hank Fraley. Fraley now is a significantly better pass blocker.
RG Ryan Tucker—Tuck gives you all he has but that isn't much. He is limited by his feet and his injury history. In my opinion he is barely adequate as a starter in the NFL.
RT John St. Clair—If John “the turnstile” St. Clair starts the Browns will need a lot more QBs on the roster. He has been personally responsible for forcing QBs all over the league to upgrade their health and life insurance policies. He was a disaster in St. Louis, Miami and Chicago.
T George Foster—Foster is a zone blocking move type tackle which doesn't fit with the new O. He is a minimum quality starter but a decent reserve. Even with his shortcomings, he is much better than turnstile.
G/C Rex Hadnot—I liked Hadnot in college but not in the pros. He has not developed his techniques. There are rumors that he is pushing Steinbach. That is political not based on the quality of his play.
G Floyd Womack—Womack is a solid player and should challenge Tucker for the starting spot.
C/G Hank Fraley—Fraley was the “pre-Mangenous” starter. He can play all the interior line positions but is older. With a younger QB behind C, the pass protection is more important than run blocking. He should start for at least the first few games.
T Brandon Braxton—Brax is a rookie with some serious up side. He came from Oklahoma where both run and pass blocking techniques were taught well. He needs to work on his foot speed but may develop into a starter at RT.
G/T Isaac Sowells G/C Dustin Fry have been around but have no starting experience and little reason to believe they will provide much this year.
T Kurt Quarterman and G Marlon Davis are training camp cannon fodder and have very little chance of making the team. They are both practice squad eligible.
Overall the line should be a little better mostly because Thomas should improve with experience and Steinbach should be healthier. The rest of the line remains a question mark. The group will become solid ONLY if all of the coins in the air fall in Mangenous' favor. Don't look for that to happen and don't look for any substantial improvement on the Browns O line in 09.
Josh Cribbs wants it all. The Browns just need production.
Last year Josh Cribbs had more jobs than he could handle. He was KR, PR, WR, and resident slash QB in the Browns' version of the wildcat. That was about 2 too many jobs.
He was forced into the WR role when injuries took down the receiving corps. Having been a former college QB, he has the ability to run and pass out of the wildcat. But he realizes that the more he can do, the better his odds of getting the big contract he is looking for. He signed a six year deal two seasons ago and still has 4 years remaining on that deal. He is scheduled to make about a million dollars this year. That is good but not great returner money. He wants something closer to starting or 3rd WR money—around 4.5-5 million.
The Browns have been collecting WRs like some people collect stamps. They want to put Cribbs back to just 3 jobs dropping his responsibilities at WR. His kick return numbers went down precipitously due to the WR duties. In 07 Cribbs was an all pro with a 13.5 yard average on punts including a TD and 6 returns over 20 yards. In 08 he averaged 8.1 yards per punt return with only 1 return over 20 yards.
His kick returns suffered as well. He went from 30.7 yards and 2 TDs in 07 to 25.2 and a single TD in 08. The Browns need all the points they can get. Last year they went without an offensive touchdown in their last 5 games. Cribbs is a fair at WR but he is a real weapon returning punts and kicks. Unless the O finds a way to make first downs more frequently, the D will be spending a lot of time on the field. That is bound to mean that Cribbs will have a lot more kicks to return than most returners.
The WR Position in Cleveland is a Problem Area
The Browns have 2 NFL quality quarterbacks. The question that the front office of the Browns is pondering now is to whom will they throw the ball?
The most consistent target in the last couple of years, TE Kellen Winslow, was traded to the Bucs. The other starters last year were Braylon Edwards and Donte Stallworth. Edwards has been on the trading block so long he is developing splinters in his posterior. He also left his hands somewhere last year but has forgotten where. He led the league in drops—not the kind of recommendation that you look for in your star deep threat. Stallworth evaded a long prison sentence for DUI Manslaughter but has been suspended until further notice by Commissioner Goodell.
Josh Cribbs played WR in addition to his return duties last year. In 07 he was an all pro returner. In 08 he was an average returner because he also had been made into an average WR. He is too valuable as a return weapon to waste his energy as a WR. Syndric Steptoe and Paul Hubbard were on the roster last year but did very little.
The Browns have picked up every loose former Jet available except the one that could have helped the most WR Laveranues Coles. Coles is a reliable possession receiver that has some speed. He would have helped a lot. Now he will be helping the Bengals.
So the Browns picked up what they could off the waiver wire. David Patten, the well traveled former Saint, is capable when healthy. He wasn't much of last year and the Saints released him.
They also used both 2nd round picks on receivers. Brian Robiskie (Ohio St.) is as polished as a rookie could be and is a great prospect for that possession position. At the opposite end of the prepared chart is their other second round pick, Mohamed Massaquoi (Georgia). He has great physical ability, but is as green as baby peas and has a very questionable work ethic.
So that is the WR picture for 09. If you know of anyone that can catch a cold please call 1-800-brownWR. Thank you in advance for your help.
The Browns and Mangenious—How to lose a team before the first kickoff.
For years to come, the Eric Mangini system will be studied by football coach wannabe candidates. They will probably find out what they shouldn't do, rather than how to change the losing mindset of a team.
All Browns fans everywhere hope that Mangini succeeds, but the chances of that happening seem to have a half life of about 10 minutes.
Just for fun, let's open a new book by Mangeniou and call it, "How to lose a team without really trying."
Start off by ignoring the presence of the only D star on the team—Shaun Rogers. Mangini said he just didn't see Rogers. Now it isn't easy to over look a 6'4 350lb NT. But that is what seems to have happened. Rogers said he would like to be traded and was irritated by the snub.
Mangini then traded star TE Kellen Winslow to Tampa and talked about trading all star WR Braylon Edwards. Neither of those plans set well with Browns fans.
Then there was the talk of drafting USC QB Mark Sanchez with the 5th pick in the draft. Now that may have made some sense if the Browns needed a QB. But in fact they had 2 QBs at the time and the talk irritated both of them.
Mangini acts like Bill Belichick II. He won't talk to the press and holds secrets better than the CIA. The long suffering Browns fans deserve to know what the new administration is thinking. Given the previous administrations, it would be good to know IF the new administration is capable of thinking.
The draft irritated the vast majority of Browns fans. The team had “earned” the 5th pick. But Mangenious traded down three times. The biggest jump down was from 5 to 17. He should have gotten a minimum of 2 first round picks. Instead, he took 17 and three players from his old team, the Jets. Those players were not in the Jets long term plans. An extra first round pick would have given the Browns the kind of quality player next season that they could have really used. You need good players. But you need a couple of great players to compete in the AFC North. In both the second and third moves down, he got an extra 6th round pick. He should have held out for a 4th at least. By failing to get maximum value for the one tradable asset the team had, he hurt the team.
Then there was the Magical 10 hour Bus Trip to the Mangini football camp for the Browns rookies. They were the lucky volunteer camp counselors. Mangini flew to Hartford for the camp. He planned to fly back to Cleveland but somebody with more employee sensitivity suggested that he take the bus back with the guys and he did. Now, the NFLPA is investigating the Browns to see if Mangenious violated NFL rules. Nice move.
The book is still unfinished on the Mangenious era. We Browns fans can only hope it gets better. While he is acting like ex-Brown coach Belichick, he lacks the Championship Rings that Bill has. Mangini had better learn that and tone down his attitude. If not, the NFL will stand for "Not For Long" and we will be rebuilding again.
Interesting Offseason
The Browns have at the very least had an interesting off season.
In February there was the accident in Miami where WR Donte’ Stallworth reportedly killed a pedestrian. Stallworth's arraignment has been postponed until June 4th.
According to local legal analysts Stallworth may even be able to avoid a long sentence. According to Florida law, if the victim was partially at fault for the accident by jaywalking, Stallworth may only have to serve a few months in jail primarily for the DUI.
The Browns had the 5th choice overall—that is the good news. The bad news that went with that is that there were no players fitting the Browns' needs that really justified the money they would have to spend to sign one.
The Browns traded down—that was the right thing to do. The bad news that went with the trade was that they failed to get anything close to full value for the trades that handed 2 teams potential franchise quarterbacks.
The team has new leadership and new offense and defense. That's the good news. But Coach Eric Mangini seems determined to establish the NY Jets West. The Jets were worse on D than the Browns were last year.
The Browns will face a different looking division this season.
The Steelers are still the class of the division. The Steelers have had a very quiet offseason. Really good teams usually do.
The Ravens will have major changes in their defensive backfield this season. Chris McAlister the former all pro but often injured starting CB failed his physical and was released. SS Dawan Landry is still trying to recover from his spinal injury last season. With the QB situation settled, the offensive line was this year special project on that side of the ball. The Ravens brought in all pro C Matt Birk from the Vikings and drafted T Michael Oher with their first round pick to replace retired ex-Bengal Willie Anderson.
The Bengals passed up a trade offer before last season that would have brought them 2 first round picks (2009 and 2010) for Chad Ochocinco. Chad finally got the name change that he wanted but when he submitted the paperwork to the NFL he failed to separate the Ocho from the Cinco. The Bengals probably wish they had separated themselves from the head case formerly known as Johnson.
The Bengals had an above average draft from the standpoint of talent. Unfortunately for the Bengals much of that talent was available because the character of the players involved was less than most teams were comfortable drafting. Both their first two picks, Andre Smith T Alabama and Rey Maualuga LB USC, have red flags in their past that caused some teams to pass on them. There is little question that both are talented.
The Cleveland Browns' Bail Out Plan
GM George Kokinis and HC Eric Mangini gave away draft choice value board points like a politician giving money to buy votes. Both are clearly running for “Mr. Congeniality” in the NFL. While they made a lot of friends, they certainly did not help the team as much as they could.
Exhibit 1 The trade of the 5th overall pick. Value 1700 points.
The Jets gave Cleveland the 17th pick value 950 points, and the 52nd pick value 380 points. That left a total of 370 points to be made up. The perfect value would have been for the Jets to give the Browns their first pick in 2010 which would have provided 380 points and leveled the deal. Did they do that despite public reports that they were willing to give it up? No.
What the Browns got were 2 free agent fill in starters from last year's Jets D that gave up more points than Cleveland's did and a clip board jockey 5th string QB that can maybe run the scout team. WOW! DE Kenyon Coleman came to the Jets as a Cowboy reject in 07. In his last 32 games, he has a total of 2 sacks and what is worse—he is 30 years old.
S Abram Elam was a restricted FA this off season and someone that Mangini wanted. The Browns made an offer but the Jets matched it. In the last two seasons he has played in 29 games and has one—that's right 1 single interception. He will be 28 half way through the season.
Exhibit 2 The trade of choice 17 to the Eagles for 19.
The difference between the choices is 75 points. That would equal the Eagles' 4th round pick. Instead, Mr. Benefactor took a 6th.
Exhibit 3 The trade of the 19th pick for the 21st pick.
The difference was again 75 points and a 4th round pick but the Browns got a 6th.
With the two 4th round picks, the Browns could have gotten any 2 of the following:
NO Lawrence Sidbury Jr. OB Richmond—The best pure pass rusher in the draft.
NE Rich Ohrnberger G Penn St.--A solid run blocker that can develop into a starter.
TN Gerald McRath LB Southern Miss—He was the Conference USA Player of the Year and a 3 down backer.
DV Seth Olsen G Iowa—A solid guard that will start in 2010 for the Broncos.
SD Gartrell Johnson RB Colorado St—A bowling ball at 219 that will spell LaDainian Tomlinson
So what did the Tans finally take with the 21st pick? They took a C that they could have gotten an equal guy in the second round.
The draft:
Round 1, Pick 21 (21) (From Eagles) Alex Mack C 6'4" 311 California Mack is solid in both the run and pass but just one of 4 centers that were roughly equivalent.
Round 2, Pick 4 (36) Brian Robiskie WR 6'3" 209 Ohio State Robo is the most prepared WR in the draft with great hands and feet. He is an under receiver that should help Edwards and the passing game.
Round 2, Pick 18 (50) (From Buccaneers) Mohamed Massaquoi WR 6'2" 210 Georgia He is a big fast receiver with a serious case of dropsy. Let's hope its not contagious.
Round 2, Pick 20 (52) (From Jets) David Veikune DE 6'2" 257 Hawaii He is a DE to OB conversion. While he has quicks, he lacks experience in pass coverage and only 40 percent of these conversions work. This was a serious reach for a player that would have been available in the 4th round.
Round 4, Pick 4 (104) Kaluka Maiava ILB 5'11" 229 Southern Cal He is an all around and versatile LB but was not good enough to start at USC.
Round 6, Pick 4 (177) Don Carey CB 5'11" 192 Norfolk State Carey started all 4 years at NS and has decent speed and good ball skills. This was a reach for need.
Round 6, Pick 18 (191) (From Buccaneers) Coye Francies CB 6'0" 185 San Jose State Another decent CB with better than average ball skills. This was also a bit of a reach.
Round 6, Pick 22 (195) (From Vikings through Eagles) James Davis RB 5'11" 218 Clemson Davis had a good 07 but was often shared duty in 08. He has some speed and is a good value at this point in the draft.
Overall Grade F- because of the gifts it gave the Jets, the Buccaneers and the Eagles and the reaches.
Browns Draft—What to do? What to do?
Even when the Browns have good luck to get a high draft choice, it falls just at the wrong spot in the wrong draft. With the 5th choice in the 2009 draft the Browns...punt. And any of you that have watched the offensive offense realize that punting is something they have gotten a lot of experience doing.
Needs:
A pass rusher—a pass rusher—and a pass rusher. No D backfield can be effective if the QB has 6 months to throw the ball.
They need a lot of other in stuff no particular order like:
A safety to replace Sean Jones (UFA signed by Eagles)
A pair of WRs to replace Braylon Edwards (to be traded) and Donte' Stallworth (guest of the state of Florida for 10 to 20 years)
A TE to replace the traded Kellen Winslow (TB Bucs)
A real right tackle to try to keep the QBs healthy
A RB to spell Jamal Lewis
A NT to replace/spell the pro bowl Shaun Rogers that HC Eric Mangini ticked off
An IB to replace Andra Davis (UFA Colts)
A CB to replace Brandon McDonald who would move to nickel back.
In other words, they have more than a couple needs.
The Problem:
There isn't any blue chip pass rushing OB in this draft that would justify the first pick. There are a few college DEs that might convert to OB but that is a risk. Some work and some don't. When you use the 5th pick, you had better get a player that can be on the field for 3 downs.
So bet that the Browns will go WR with the 5th pick. Michael Crabtree WR Texas Tech is the candidate they like most. Adding Crabtree would give whoever plays QB a reliable pair of hands to whom to throw. But Crabtree needs another WR to prevent triple coverage.
Then they will have the choices from the trade of Edwards. Cleveland is insisting on a 1 and a 3. What they will get is a 2 and a conditional 2010 choice between 3 and 5. That will give the Browns 3 second round picks.
Pick 2-36
With their own second (#36) they will go for a T if one of the top OTs is still on the board. That won't happen. They might go for C Alex Mack (California) because Hank Fraley will be 32 this season. But Mack will be gone by that pick. If James Laurinaitis (LB Ohio State) is there, he would be hard to pass up. While he can't be the outside blitzer they need, if they play a 3-4, he would replace Davis and be a great value here. There is a 20-25% chance he will still be available at 36. If not they will be forced to go to a converted DE. Connor Barwin DE (Cincinnati) is the most likely possibility. He is fast, is OK at stuffing the run, and weighs around 260. He is an above average blitzer but has 0 experience dropping into coverage or playing standing up.
Pick 2-50 (from Tampa)
The Browns will probably throw this pick away and take a RB. There will be good RBs available in the 4th round. What they should do here is pick the best S available assuming they got a OB candidate in the earlier pick. William Moore (Missouri) is the best choice and should still be on the board. He had a below average year in 08 because of injury. He is well now and would be an upgrade over a good S in Jones. Another S that would be available would be Sean Smith (Utah).
Pick 2-60 (from NY IF the trade is made for Edwards)
If they didn't get the OB earlier Kaluka Maiava (USC) would be a possibility. He is not as much a blitzer as you would like but can stuff the run. He didn't start in 08. Otherwise, they should take a TE like Chase Coffman (Missouri) if they don't think 08 choice Martin Rucker (4th round pick 111) can start. If they go for a CB DJ Moore (Vanderbilt) would fit. He can play both man coverage and zone. An alternative would be CB Darius Butler (UConn).
That's what I think. Tell me what you think.