It've got a trifecta of topics burning on my mind today, so let's get right to it with...
Hiring Dick Jauron
As I wrote in this post, I think Dick Jauron is the best man for the Browns defensive coordinator job, and thus I'm pretty happy that the braintrust of Holmgren, Heckert and Shurmur picked him up. The coaching pedigree that he has along with coming from the Andy Reid family of coaches (albeit he was only there for the 2010 season as the defensive backs coach and senior assistant) I'm sure made him the front runner all along.
Jauron is going to have the probably somewhat unpleasant task of transforming a...well... competent 3-4 defense into a staunch 4-3 defense. The old adage "Defense Wins Championships" has never been more true than this year, when we have all four teams competing in conference championship weekend with defenses in the top 10. Combine that with a division where you play Pittsburgh and Baltimore two times a year - both of them with defenses that routinely rank in the top ten - and I think Jauron is sort of in a tough position as a coach.
I know that implementing the west coast offense has been a big focus of this offseason, as evidenced by the hiring of Pat Shurmur, but if the Browns want to be competitive in the AFC North, they're going to have to be at least above average on D - at that might not even cut it unless we have a top tier offense. We'll have to wait and see how that's going to turn out.
A Negative Nancy
I don't really publicize this all that much, but between the two Browns beat writers for the Plain Dealer / Cleveand.com/sports, I vastly prefer Mary Kay Cabot over Tony Grossi. The main reason is that Grossi is so obviously a jaded Cleveland sports fan, and he lets that carry over into his writing all the time. Last year he was probably the harshest Mangini critic, and that was largely true for this season as well. But what bothered me yesterday as I read stories online was the headline "Browns Lose Dave Wannstedt to Bills." I clicked on the story, and promptly read "[Dick] Jauron has been the Browns top choice all along." So my question is, if the Browns had their guy in mind, and ended up hiring him, how in the wide world of sports does that constitute losing Wannstedt?
That's exactly what I mean by the jaded sports mentality. If you get what you want, then you're inherently not losing. You're winning. Why Grossi had to frame the story in such a negative way, I have no ide other than that's just the type of writer he is. Negative.
Losing Brad Seely
Now this is actually a really big deal. Brad Seely is widely regarded as one of the best - if not the best - special teams coaches in the league, and the Browns have let him go to join Jim Harbaugh's staff in San Francisco. Now, the Browns could have blocked him from leaving (which I think would have been a good idea) but I'm assuming that Holmgren didn't want to make him work in a place where he didn't want to.
You know what? I think when you have someone who is the best at their position, you do whatever you have to to keep them. Coaches like Seely don't just come along every day. If you have contractual control over the guy, I say you exercise that and keep him. It's like putting the franchise tag on a player - sure he might be unhappy, but if he wants a job elsewhere when his contract is up he better keep performing at a high level.
I don't mean to be a negative Nancy myself, but when your special teams have been as good as the Browns have been the last few years, I think it's easy to see why I might have a problem with letting Seely go. I'm not entirely sure that this is true, but I believe the Browns haven't given up a touchdown on a kick or punt return in at least two years - the time that Seely has been with the team. Replacing him is going to be one heck of a task.
*Update* Seely actually had a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave the Browns if Eric Mangini was fired. And that explains a lot...
Well that's all I've got for today, Browns fans. Enjoy the weekend!
~MAS
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
They Call Him Coach, Pat Shurmur
First off, was it a good hire?
I'm going to have to say yes. I know he's not the big name coach we all were hoping for (ahem, Jon Gruden), and that I wrote this pretty critical post about him in my "A Look At" series, but I think he's going to get the job done well. Shurmur comes highly recommended from Eagles head coach (and Mike Holmgren favorite) Andy Reid, he runs the West Coast offense, and he did a very nice job with Sam Bradford down in St. Louis this past year.
Did the Rams offensive stats set the world on fire this year? No. Did they make the playoffs? No, they actually kind of choked on offene the last game of the season to take them out of that equation. Did they even have a winning record? Well, no again. But I think coordinating the offense that made Bradford have the best rookie quarterback stats since Peyton Manning is something for which Shurmur should be given a lot of credit.
All that aside, the next thing the Browns need to do is hire a great defensive coordinator, because defense is something Shurmur knows little to nothing about. I actually have no problem with that, as the last two Browns head coaches were former defensive coordinators of Bill Bellichick in New England, and neither of them paned out that well. In a sort of after the fact criticism of Crenel and Mangini, I think that if you have a specialty as a head coach, then your team should reflect that specialty, right? Well, the only successful Browns team in the past six years was the '07 version where we were 10-6, and that team was known for Derek Anderson throwing 28 touchdowns, many of which were to Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow Jr. Let's hope Shurmur can bring a good offensive identity to the team, since we really haven't had an identity at all since we got back into the league in '99.
But to get back to defensive coordinators, the Browns have interviewed former Bills and Bears head coach, and the current secondary coach of the Philidelphia Eagles, Dick Jauron. According to ESPN and the Plain Dealer, they're also looking at former Dolphins head coach Dave Wannstedt and former Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Bill Davis. Now, I'm not really sold on Wannstedt and Davis, the former because he's been out of the NFL since 2005 while serving as coach at Pitt, and the latter because he just got fired from the Arizona Cardinals - if he's not good enough for them, he's not good enough for us.
That brings us to Jauron, who has a pretty good resumé, and is also a candidate to replace the recently fired Sean McDermott in Philadelphia as defensive coordinator. Now that's a team we should be competing with for a coordinator. I'm not sure if he'll come here, but he would also be great to have around the building just as another resource for Shurmur to bounce his head coaching ideas off of - especially when it comes to defense.
Also, we're going to have to change from the 3-4 to the 4-3 defensive scheme. This actually could be a problem that sets the Browns back a couple years because right now we are just not built for that at all with the players that are currently on the roster. We're going to need an overhaul at the defensive line position, and that's a shame because Ahtyba Rubin has been doing a great job stuffing the run for the past couple of seasons at nose tackle. In a perfect world, we'll acquire a couple of great defensive ends who will be able to rush the passer and we'll build around Scott Fujita at the linebacker position. When I think of a great 4-3 defense, I think of the New York Giants because of the way the rush the passer, yet still defend the run quite well year after year. With any luck, we'll be like them in...maybe 2, 3...or 5 years.
That's a lot of information to diget, Browns fans, so make sure you don't go swimming for a little while (not that you would if you're in Cleveland, or anywhere in the world where it's winter this time of year - unless you have an indoor pool, of course). I'll probably be back this weekend to assess what I think are the two best games of the year in the NFL - the conference championship games. The games this week promise to be great, with division rivals Chicago and Green Bay squaring off in the NFC, and two teams with top defenses battling in the AFC, the Steelers and Jets.
Enjoy the games on Sunday - I know I will.
~MAS
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Does the NFL Need the Rooney Rule?
Yes.
I read a lot of cleveland.com/sports, and right now there are a lot of articles up about the Browns interviewing Perry Fewell, which they did today. Many think this interview was simply to fulfill the Rooney Rule requirement, which is that all temas must interview a minority candidate for a head coaching job. This is a false, as Mary Kay Cabot reported in this article that the Browns brass were "eagerly anticipating" the interview. There are lot of comments on different articles about how "outdated" the Rooney Rule is because it's "insulting" to minority candidates when they're just interviewed as a token candidate to satisfy the rule.
I'm not trying to stifle free speech, as those people are entitled to their own opinions, but as an African-American male, I have to say that the Rooney Rule is neither of those.
First of all, the rule was only established in 2003, back when only seven African-Americans had held a head coaching position in the NFL. Yes seven in the entire history of the NFL, which was formed in 1920. Plus, there were only two black coaches at that time - Herman Edwards and Tony Dungy. There are currently five black head coaches (could be six if Oakland hires Hue Jackson as they're expected to), and six minorities if you count the Panthers freshly named HC Ron Rivera. You also have Art Shell, Dennis Green, Romeo Crenel, Mike Singletary and the aforementioned Edwards and Dungy as African-Americans who have held coaching positions since that time. That's a huge increase from before '03, and to me it means that the rule is working.
Now when it comes to those "token" interviews, I believe even if the team knows who they want to hire, they're still important. Take Leslie Frazier for instance. That guy has been a coveted defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, and with the amount of interviews he had received the last couple of years the Vikings knew they were probably going to lose him this offseason if they didn't hire him themselves. Lo and behold, that's exactly what they did. That is the Rooney Rule at work.
I also believe that the Rooney Rule should be extended to NCAA football coaches. When you look at the numbers, there are 32 coaches in the NFL and there are going to be at least 6 minority coaches next year. You look at just Division 1 football, and there are upwards of 100 temas and you could count the black coaches on no more than two hands. (Check out this article and this article for where I got that. It's been a little while since those articles came out, which is why I didn't give an exact number).
Despite the fact that I think a lot of the NCAA football system is stupid and corrupt, I think the NFL has proved that if you make it a requirement to at least interview a minority candidate, you're going to increase the amount that are hired. You can't tell me there aren't more qualified minority coaches for college football in this country than have been hired. They just need to be given the opportunity.
So, you eight readers out there that I'm preaching to, I believe the Rooney Rule is an important part of the NFL today. It's not outdated, it's not irrelevant, and it certainly is not insulting.
Just ask Leslie Frazier.
~MAS
I read a lot of cleveland.com/sports, and right now there are a lot of articles up about the Browns interviewing Perry Fewell, which they did today. Many think this interview was simply to fulfill the Rooney Rule requirement, which is that all temas must interview a minority candidate for a head coaching job. This is a false, as Mary Kay Cabot reported in this article that the Browns brass were "eagerly anticipating" the interview. There are lot of comments on different articles about how "outdated" the Rooney Rule is because it's "insulting" to minority candidates when they're just interviewed as a token candidate to satisfy the rule.
I'm not trying to stifle free speech, as those people are entitled to their own opinions, but as an African-American male, I have to say that the Rooney Rule is neither of those.
First of all, the rule was only established in 2003, back when only seven African-Americans had held a head coaching position in the NFL. Yes seven in the entire history of the NFL, which was formed in 1920. Plus, there were only two black coaches at that time - Herman Edwards and Tony Dungy. There are currently five black head coaches (could be six if Oakland hires Hue Jackson as they're expected to), and six minorities if you count the Panthers freshly named HC Ron Rivera. You also have Art Shell, Dennis Green, Romeo Crenel, Mike Singletary and the aforementioned Edwards and Dungy as African-Americans who have held coaching positions since that time. That's a huge increase from before '03, and to me it means that the rule is working.
Now when it comes to those "token" interviews, I believe even if the team knows who they want to hire, they're still important. Take Leslie Frazier for instance. That guy has been a coveted defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, and with the amount of interviews he had received the last couple of years the Vikings knew they were probably going to lose him this offseason if they didn't hire him themselves. Lo and behold, that's exactly what they did. That is the Rooney Rule at work.
I also believe that the Rooney Rule should be extended to NCAA football coaches. When you look at the numbers, there are 32 coaches in the NFL and there are going to be at least 6 minority coaches next year. You look at just Division 1 football, and there are upwards of 100 temas and you could count the black coaches on no more than two hands. (Check out this article and this article for where I got that. It's been a little while since those articles came out, which is why I didn't give an exact number).
Despite the fact that I think a lot of the NCAA football system is stupid and corrupt, I think the NFL has proved that if you make it a requirement to at least interview a minority candidate, you're going to increase the amount that are hired. You can't tell me there aren't more qualified minority coaches for college football in this country than have been hired. They just need to be given the opportunity.
So, you eight readers out there that I'm preaching to, I believe the Rooney Rule is an important part of the NFL today. It's not outdated, it's not irrelevant, and it certainly is not insulting.
Just ask Leslie Frazier.
~MAS
Saturday, January 8, 2011
A Look At... Mike Mularkey
This weekend and the next few coming up are some of my favorite of the year because of the NFL Playoffs. Of course, there has only been one year that I remember that the Browns have been there, but it's still fun to watch the elite teams go head to head and see who comes out on top in each conference for a Super Bowl birth.
Of course, here in Cleveland we're still searching for out next head coach so that hopefully we can compete in these playoff weeks for years to come.
Today, Browns President, Mike Holmgren, and general manager, Tom Heckert, were scheduled to fly down to Atlanta to meet with current Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey, so let's take (ugh) a look at his credentials.
I actually didn't know this before researching him for this piece, but Mularkey is a former tight end who spent six seasons with the Vikings, from 1983-1988, and then the following three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers to finish off his career. He wasn't really an impact receiver, never catching more than 20 passes, except for two seasons late in his career, but I do believe NFL playing experience if definitely helpful when it comes to relating to players.
In terms of coaching experience, Mularkey is, not surprisingly, a tight ends coach by trade. He started out as the tight ends coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in '94 and '95, went to Pittsburgh in '96 and worked under Bill Cowher until 2003, first as the tight ends coach and then got promoted to offensive coordinator in 2001. He was hired as the Buffalo Bills head coach in 2004, and did a really nice job in his first season, leading the team to a 9-7 record - the last time the Bills had a winning record. The 2005 campaign didn't go nearly as well, as the Bills slipped to a 5-11 record. Mularkey resigned his position following that season because of differences he had with the front office. I guess it was a good idea for him to get out of he big B when he did.
Mularkey spent the next couple of years in Miami, but that was back before Bill Parcells came and made them better, so it's really not even worth mentioning. He was hired as the Falcons offensive coordinator before the 2008 season, and since then he has helped guide Matt Ryan to becoming one of the premiere quarterbacks in the NFL.
This past season, Atlanta was in the middle of the pack in yards at 16th in the league - 15th in passing, and 12th in running. That being said, they were 5th in the league in total points scored, which means to me that they were both opportunistic and the defense created a lot of turnovers. But I think the real testament to how well Mularkey has done in Atlanta is the improvement of Matt Ryan in
all three of his NFL seasons. In his rookie season, Ryan threw for 3440 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, the next season it was 2916 yards, 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions (in 14 games), and this season it was 3705 yards, 28 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Those sound like a good endorsement of Mularkey to me.
However, Mularkey does not come from the Bill Walsh/Mike Holmgren school of coaching, making it that much more unlikely that he'll be the next head coach of the Browns. He does seem to be interested in the position, though, as he canceled his interview with the Broncos to "focus on playoff preparation" but he kept his interview with the Browns. But after hearing how well Pat Shurmur's interview with Holmgren and Heckert went yesterday, I'd find it hard to believe that they would go outside of the tree in which they feel most comfortable.
Enjoy the playoff games this weekend, Browns fans. I know I will.
~MAS
p.s. A shout out must go to Adrienne who was kind enough to let me use her MacBook to write this post while it was still relevant.
Of course, here in Cleveland we're still searching for out next head coach so that hopefully we can compete in these playoff weeks for years to come.
Today, Browns President, Mike Holmgren, and general manager, Tom Heckert, were scheduled to fly down to Atlanta to meet with current Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey, so let's take (ugh) a look at his credentials.
I actually didn't know this before researching him for this piece, but Mularkey is a former tight end who spent six seasons with the Vikings, from 1983-1988, and then the following three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers to finish off his career. He wasn't really an impact receiver, never catching more than 20 passes, except for two seasons late in his career, but I do believe NFL playing experience if definitely helpful when it comes to relating to players.
In terms of coaching experience, Mularkey is, not surprisingly, a tight ends coach by trade. He started out as the tight ends coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in '94 and '95, went to Pittsburgh in '96 and worked under Bill Cowher until 2003, first as the tight ends coach and then got promoted to offensive coordinator in 2001. He was hired as the Buffalo Bills head coach in 2004, and did a really nice job in his first season, leading the team to a 9-7 record - the last time the Bills had a winning record. The 2005 campaign didn't go nearly as well, as the Bills slipped to a 5-11 record. Mularkey resigned his position following that season because of differences he had with the front office. I guess it was a good idea for him to get out of he big B when he did.
Mularkey spent the next couple of years in Miami, but that was back before Bill Parcells came and made them better, so it's really not even worth mentioning. He was hired as the Falcons offensive coordinator before the 2008 season, and since then he has helped guide Matt Ryan to becoming one of the premiere quarterbacks in the NFL.
This past season, Atlanta was in the middle of the pack in yards at 16th in the league - 15th in passing, and 12th in running. That being said, they were 5th in the league in total points scored, which means to me that they were both opportunistic and the defense created a lot of turnovers. But I think the real testament to how well Mularkey has done in Atlanta is the improvement of Matt Ryan in
all three of his NFL seasons. In his rookie season, Ryan threw for 3440 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, the next season it was 2916 yards, 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions (in 14 games), and this season it was 3705 yards, 28 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Those sound like a good endorsement of Mularkey to me.
However, Mularkey does not come from the Bill Walsh/Mike Holmgren school of coaching, making it that much more unlikely that he'll be the next head coach of the Browns. He does seem to be interested in the position, though, as he canceled his interview with the Broncos to "focus on playoff preparation" but he kept his interview with the Browns. But after hearing how well Pat Shurmur's interview with Holmgren and Heckert went yesterday, I'd find it hard to believe that they would go outside of the tree in which they feel most comfortable.
Enjoy the playoff games this weekend, Browns fans. I know I will.
~MAS
p.s. A shout out must go to Adrienne who was kind enough to let me use her MacBook to write this post while it was still relevant.
Friday, January 7, 2011
An Open Letter to Andrew Luck
Dear Andrew Luck,
I know you just announced that you're going to come back for another year at Stanford, but I've got to ask you, are you sure?
I understand why you would want to stay another year at Stanford. It's college, it's a great time! I'm in college too, so trust me, I get it. Plus, if you stay, you've probably got a chance to compete for a national championship next year. That's great, it really is, but you're not even going to have your same coach next year, as Jim Harbaugh has just signed a 5-year $25 million contract to go just down the road and be the 49ers head coach. Do you really think it's going to be the same?
I mean, you are pretty much a lock to be picked #1, and your draft stock is probably never going to be as high as it is right now. Think about it, you just crushed Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl, going 18/23 for 287 yards and 4 touchdowns. Sure, you threw one interception, but that's not what everybody is focusing on.
Then, when teams look at your stats for the season, they'll see that you threw for 3338 yards and 32 touchdowns. Not only that, but your completion percentage was 70.7. Andrew, that just doesn't happen very often. There was only one game where you threw for under 190 yards, and only 3 games where you were under 70% completion. You had a special season, it's time to capitalize on it.
ESPN analysts just can't say enough about you. Everybody around the league thinks you could step in and be "The Guy" for a team right away. Maybe you just don't want to go to the Panthers, I can understand that. But, they've got a good core of young running backs that could easily help you adjust to the league. They're going to get a good head coach who can come in there with you, and you guys can help get the Panthers out of the basement of what has become a highly competitive NFC South division.
Just think about it, okay? I mean, ask Matt Leinart. If he hadn't stayed for another year, he would have come out and been at the top of the draft board for a whole bunch of teams. Who knows, he may still be the starting quarterback somewhere. But I'm sure you know what happened, he was drafted after Reggie Bush by the Arizona Cardinals to be their backup, and now he's the 3rd string on the Texans. Do you want that to happen to you?
The only thing that can happen now is that your stock goes down. If you don't declare now, who knows what could happen in a year? You could get hurt, you could have a terrible year, someone else could emerge as a better quarterback than you.
Do yourself a service, change your mind and declare for the draft. It's okay to be a flip-flopper. When you said you'd come back, you didn't know if coach Harbaugh would be there.
Don't be the next Matt Leinart.
~MAS
I know you just announced that you're going to come back for another year at Stanford, but I've got to ask you, are you sure?
I understand why you would want to stay another year at Stanford. It's college, it's a great time! I'm in college too, so trust me, I get it. Plus, if you stay, you've probably got a chance to compete for a national championship next year. That's great, it really is, but you're not even going to have your same coach next year, as Jim Harbaugh has just signed a 5-year $25 million contract to go just down the road and be the 49ers head coach. Do you really think it's going to be the same?
I mean, you are pretty much a lock to be picked #1, and your draft stock is probably never going to be as high as it is right now. Think about it, you just crushed Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl, going 18/23 for 287 yards and 4 touchdowns. Sure, you threw one interception, but that's not what everybody is focusing on.
Then, when teams look at your stats for the season, they'll see that you threw for 3338 yards and 32 touchdowns. Not only that, but your completion percentage was 70.7. Andrew, that just doesn't happen very often. There was only one game where you threw for under 190 yards, and only 3 games where you were under 70% completion. You had a special season, it's time to capitalize on it.
ESPN analysts just can't say enough about you. Everybody around the league thinks you could step in and be "The Guy" for a team right away. Maybe you just don't want to go to the Panthers, I can understand that. But, they've got a good core of young running backs that could easily help you adjust to the league. They're going to get a good head coach who can come in there with you, and you guys can help get the Panthers out of the basement of what has become a highly competitive NFC South division.
Just think about it, okay? I mean, ask Matt Leinart. If he hadn't stayed for another year, he would have come out and been at the top of the draft board for a whole bunch of teams. Who knows, he may still be the starting quarterback somewhere. But I'm sure you know what happened, he was drafted after Reggie Bush by the Arizona Cardinals to be their backup, and now he's the 3rd string on the Texans. Do you want that to happen to you?
The only thing that can happen now is that your stock goes down. If you don't declare now, who knows what could happen in a year? You could get hurt, you could have a terrible year, someone else could emerge as a better quarterback than you.
Do yourself a service, change your mind and declare for the draft. It's okay to be a flip-flopper. When you said you'd come back, you didn't know if coach Harbaugh would be there.
Don't be the next Matt Leinart.
~MAS
Shaking My Head: Miami Dolphins Front Office
This actually has nothing to do with Cleveland, but with the coaching searches going on in the NFL, I felt like it had a lot of relevance.
If you haven't heard, the Miami Dolphins flew out to California to court current Stanford coach, and highly coveted candidate for many head coaching jobs, Jim Harbaugh. The Miami Dolphins were seen as a disappointment to ownership as they finished the season 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year, after making them in 2008 following a 1-15 season. I have no problem with the Dolphins wanting to make Jim Harbaugh their next head coach - but they went to interview him withmob boss Tony Soprano Tony Sparano still employed!
Miami Dolphins, NO!
The owner and GM of the Dolphins were going to make Harbaugh the highest paid coach in the NFL with an annual salary of 7-8 million. That's like telling your longtime girlfriend you're going to take her to the prom, and then you go out and propose to another girl with a huge diamond ring.
It's just wrong. Dead wrong.
And I was watching Mike and Mike in the Morning yesterday, and they also brought up the fact that Harbaugh shouldn't have even accepted the interview because someone already has that job! Tony Dungy, former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, was on the show, and said that Harbaugh really did violate the unwritten code of ethics between coaches.
To Harbaugh's credit, he did reject the offer, and now the Dolphins are left with their longtime girlfriend. If I were Sparano, I would want to quit. If the front office isn't behind you 100% - which they clearly are not - it's incredibly hard to win games in the NFL. The thing is, if he quits he doesn't get the rest of his millions in salary, an option I wouldn't be too keen on either.
What should happen, is this - Miami Dolphins, if you want to court other people for their coaching jobs, just fire the coach you don't want first. It's very simple. You clearly have lots of money to spend, since you were willing to pay Harbaugh 8 million a year, spend some of it on getting rid of the guy you don't want. Nobody likes to be cheated on.
~MAS
If you haven't heard, the Miami Dolphins flew out to California to court current Stanford coach, and highly coveted candidate for many head coaching jobs, Jim Harbaugh. The Miami Dolphins were seen as a disappointment to ownership as they finished the season 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year, after making them in 2008 following a 1-15 season. I have no problem with the Dolphins wanting to make Jim Harbaugh their next head coach - but they went to interview him with
Miami Dolphins, NO!
The owner and GM of the Dolphins were going to make Harbaugh the highest paid coach in the NFL with an annual salary of 7-8 million. That's like telling your longtime girlfriend you're going to take her to the prom, and then you go out and propose to another girl with a huge diamond ring.
It's just wrong. Dead wrong.
And I was watching Mike and Mike in the Morning yesterday, and they also brought up the fact that Harbaugh shouldn't have even accepted the interview because someone already has that job! Tony Dungy, former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, was on the show, and said that Harbaugh really did violate the unwritten code of ethics between coaches.
To Harbaugh's credit, he did reject the offer, and now the Dolphins are left with their longtime girlfriend. If I were Sparano, I would want to quit. If the front office isn't behind you 100% - which they clearly are not - it's incredibly hard to win games in the NFL. The thing is, if he quits he doesn't get the rest of his millions in salary, an option I wouldn't be too keen on either.
What should happen, is this - Miami Dolphins, if you want to court other people for their coaching jobs, just fire the coach you don't want first. It's very simple. You clearly have lots of money to spend, since you were willing to pay Harbaugh 8 million a year, spend some of it on getting rid of the guy you don't want. Nobody likes to be cheated on.
~MAS
Thursday, January 6, 2011
A Look At... Pat Shurmur
In the third "A Look At" post of the week, I'm...well, taking a look at someone the Browns are bringing in to interview today, current offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams, Pat Shurmur.
Shurmur, 45, has spentonly one season (nope, I was wrong about that) two seasons as the OC of the Rams, but before that he spent nine years with the Philadelphia Eagles, seven as the quarterbacks coach. It's widely known that the Eagles run the west coast offense with Andy Reid, which is obviously a plus in Holmgren's eyes. It would be nice to have a head coach with not only a specialty in that offensive system, but also with quarterbacks to help the development of Colt McCoy. Shurmur obviously knows his fair share about both topics as he coached Donovan McNabb to three Pro Bowl selections in his time as the QB coach.
He was brought on to the Rams staff last year and clearly helped speed along the development of the first overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft, Sam Bradford. Keeping in mind that he was a rookie this year, Bradford was 20th in the league in completion percentage (60%), 12th in passing yards (3512), 18th in touchdowns (18), 9th in interceptions (15) and 25th in QB rating (76.5). Those are pretty solid numbers for a rookie. By comparison, Peyton Manning completed 56% of his passes, threw for 3739 yards, 26 touchdowns and led the league with 28 interceptions.
The rest of Shurmur's offense was definitely not as impressive this year, as the Rams ranked 21st or below for each yardage category (26th overall, 21st passing, 25th rushing). They also ranked 22nd in first downs with 292, and were tied with Arizona for 26th in the league in points per game with 18.1. I don't know about you, but those numbers really don't get me excited.
So why are the Browns interviewing this guy? Well, he's got the connection with Tom Heckert from their time spent together in the Eagles organization, he runs the west coast offense, and he's a quarterback specialist. Plus he comes with a high recommendation from Eagles head coach Andy Reid, someone Holmgren knows well and respects a great deal.
Because of all that, unfortunately I think Shurmur has a decent chance at becoming the next Browns head coach. If it comes down to him being our top candidate because everyone else turns us down, I'd hope that Holmgren would just decide to coach the team himself.
More to come!
~MAS
Shurmur, 45, has spent
He was brought on to the Rams staff last year and clearly helped speed along the development of the first overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft, Sam Bradford. Keeping in mind that he was a rookie this year, Bradford was 20th in the league in completion percentage (60%), 12th in passing yards (3512), 18th in touchdowns (18), 9th in interceptions (15) and 25th in QB rating (76.5). Those are pretty solid numbers for a rookie. By comparison, Peyton Manning completed 56% of his passes, threw for 3739 yards, 26 touchdowns and led the league with 28 interceptions.
The rest of Shurmur's offense was definitely not as impressive this year, as the Rams ranked 21st or below for each yardage category (26th overall, 21st passing, 25th rushing). They also ranked 22nd in first downs with 292, and were tied with Arizona for 26th in the league in points per game with 18.1. I don't know about you, but those numbers really don't get me excited.
So why are the Browns interviewing this guy? Well, he's got the connection with Tom Heckert from their time spent together in the Eagles organization, he runs the west coast offense, and he's a quarterback specialist. Plus he comes with a high recommendation from Eagles head coach Andy Reid, someone Holmgren knows well and respects a great deal.
Because of all that, unfortunately I think Shurmur has a decent chance at becoming the next Browns head coach. If it comes down to him being our top candidate because everyone else turns us down, I'd hope that Holmgren would just decide to coach the team himself.
More to come!
~MAS
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
A Look At... Perry Fewell
As I said in my previous post, I'll be taking a look at some of the head coaching candidates for the Browns and letting you know just how qualified I think they are for the job. As Browns President Mike Holmgren said on Monday, this is an extensive search with a lot of early candidates, so I may not get to all of them, but I'll try.
The coaches I'm talking about today is defensive coordinator of the Giants Perry Fewell. He has received permission from the Giants to interview with the Browns, but as far as I know, he doesn't have a strong connection to the Bill Walsh coaching tree that Holmgren himself is a part of.
Fewell is a defensive backs coach by trade, and has spent the last five seasons as a coordinator, 2006-09 with the Buffalo Bills and then this past season with the New York Giants. He also served as the Bills' interm head coach for the last seven games of the '09 season, where the team went 3-4 beating the Dolphins, Cheifs and Colts. The Colts game deserves an asterisk as it was week 17 and they were resting their starters for their eventual Super Bowl run, but they only lost one game by more than 7 points - a 31-3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in week 16. I think that's fairly impressive for a team that's a perennial basement dweller in the AFC East.
For the past year, Fewell's Giants were in the top 10 in each of the yardage categories as they were 7th in total yards, 9th against the pass, and 8th against the run. However, they were 17th in points allowed, as they gave up 21.7 per game. I feel like the Giants offensive turnover problems had a lot to do with that, though, since they had the league leader in interceptions at quarterback, Eli Manning.
Depends on the way you think about it, but the Giants could be considered 5th in sacks with 46, but since there are three teams ahead of them tied with 47, I'll consider them 3rd. They were also first by far in forced fumbles with 48, 10 more than the second place New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers. They also were first in recovering fumbles, with 23. All those are good numbers, but the Giants are usually at the top of those categories every year, so I think they might have more to do with Tom Coughlin than Fewell.
A lot of people are saying that Fewell is just being interviewed for a lot of these jobs because he satisfies the Rooney Rule, but I think Fewell could be a pretty good coach for any team based on the record he had as interm head coach of the Bills. That being said, I don't think he'll be the next coach of the Cleveland Browns because he has no previous connection to Holmgren and probably wouldn't run the West Coast offense. And even though Holmgren has said that it's not a necessity, it's clearly preferable as it's a system he and GM Tom Heckert are familiar with, and Colt McCoy would run it well.
So no, I don't think Perry Fewell will be the 16th head coach of the Cleveland Browns, but I always like to hear of African-American coach getting opportunities. The more interviews he gets, the more his name gets out there, and he could end up as the next Leslie Frazier, who just had the "interm" tag removed from his title as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings after receiving numerous interviews for positions last year.
I'll be back soon with more on the coaching search. Go Browns!
~MAS
The coaches I'm talking about today is defensive coordinator of the Giants Perry Fewell. He has received permission from the Giants to interview with the Browns, but as far as I know, he doesn't have a strong connection to the Bill Walsh coaching tree that Holmgren himself is a part of.
Fewell is a defensive backs coach by trade, and has spent the last five seasons as a coordinator, 2006-09 with the Buffalo Bills and then this past season with the New York Giants. He also served as the Bills' interm head coach for the last seven games of the '09 season, where the team went 3-4 beating the Dolphins, Cheifs and Colts. The Colts game deserves an asterisk as it was week 17 and they were resting their starters for their eventual Super Bowl run, but they only lost one game by more than 7 points - a 31-3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in week 16. I think that's fairly impressive for a team that's a perennial basement dweller in the AFC East.
For the past year, Fewell's Giants were in the top 10 in each of the yardage categories as they were 7th in total yards, 9th against the pass, and 8th against the run. However, they were 17th in points allowed, as they gave up 21.7 per game. I feel like the Giants offensive turnover problems had a lot to do with that, though, since they had the league leader in interceptions at quarterback, Eli Manning.
Depends on the way you think about it, but the Giants could be considered 5th in sacks with 46, but since there are three teams ahead of them tied with 47, I'll consider them 3rd. They were also first by far in forced fumbles with 48, 10 more than the second place New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers. They also were first in recovering fumbles, with 23. All those are good numbers, but the Giants are usually at the top of those categories every year, so I think they might have more to do with Tom Coughlin than Fewell.
A lot of people are saying that Fewell is just being interviewed for a lot of these jobs because he satisfies the Rooney Rule, but I think Fewell could be a pretty good coach for any team based on the record he had as interm head coach of the Bills. That being said, I don't think he'll be the next coach of the Cleveland Browns because he has no previous connection to Holmgren and probably wouldn't run the West Coast offense. And even though Holmgren has said that it's not a necessity, it's clearly preferable as it's a system he and GM Tom Heckert are familiar with, and Colt McCoy would run it well.
So no, I don't think Perry Fewell will be the 16th head coach of the Cleveland Browns, but I always like to hear of African-American coach getting opportunities. The more interviews he gets, the more his name gets out there, and he could end up as the next Leslie Frazier, who just had the "interm" tag removed from his title as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings after receiving numerous interviews for positions last year.
I'll be back soon with more on the coaching search. Go Browns!
~MAS
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Turn Out The Lights, The Party's Over & A Look At... Jon Gruden
Yes, all good things must end for Eric Mangini as he has been fired as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns after two 5-11 seasons. But did he deserve to be let go after the team showed so much progress this season?
Well, after watching Mike Holmgren's press conference yesterday, I really think he made the right decision. The Browns players made the decision that much easier, I'm sure, when they went out and laid an egg against the Steelers on Sunday, but after losses to Cincinnati and Buffalo it was probably going to happen anyway.
I could say more about how Mangini beat the Patriots and Saints this year, and the Browns played in a lot more close games, but you know all that. The bottom line is this, it's true that Mangini instilled a lot of quality values into the current Browns players, and changed the culture in Berea from chaotic to disciplined, but I just don't believe that he was the coach to take us to the next level.
Not that it really matters what I believe anymore, since he's gone.
A Look At...
This is a new series I'm starting for the Browns coaching search, where I'll take a look at some (not all, because that might really take a while...) of the candidates for the job and I'll let you know what I think of them. In addition, not all of the posts will be this long, but I felt like it would be a good idea to start off with a bang. With that, the most attractive choice out there is obviously Jon Gruden, but is he really as qualified as people like to think he is?
Gruden took over a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team in 2002 that had been coached the previous six seasons by Tony Dungy, and had made the playoffs four of the previous five. Dungy was fired because Buccaneers ownership felt that he couldn't take the team to the next level, but the talent was clearly there. Enter coach Gruden, who came to the Buccaneers through what I think was a pretty bizarre trade with the Oakland Raiders because their owner and general manager Al Davis didn't like the type of offense he ran. Gruden ended up taking what many people call "Tony Dungy's Buccaneers" to the Super Bowl and won it over the Oakland Raiders, a team he knew very well as he had just coached it.
But I think that Gruden's time with Oakland also tells about his ability as a coach, especially since they reached the Super Bowl the year after he left. For the first two seasons with the Raiders, the team went 8-8. Then, they went 12-4 and made the AFC Championship game, and followed that up with a 10-6 campaign where they lost in the divisional round of the playoffs. To me, that means you could say "Jon Gruden's Raiders" made the Super Bowl, much like "Tony Dungy's Buccaneers."
After the Super Bowl victory, the Buccaneers only made the playoffs twice in in six seasons, and only once did they have at least 10 wins. That being said, they did bounce back in 2007 with a 9-7 record after a poor 4-12 showing in 2006.
In my estimation, the Buccaneers were a pretty consistant team with Gruden at the helm, and I guess they fired him because they lost their final four games of 2008, his final year with the team. But his strong qualification for the Browns head coaching job comes more from the fact that Holmgren was his mentor when they worked together in San Francisco and Green Bay, and Holmgren asked for Gruden's advice on drafting Colt McCoy.
I know people like to think there are "more attractive jobs" out there for Gruden, but if he came to Cleveland he'd be working with a front office with whom he shares the same philosophy on just about everything, and he'd clearly have a lot of pull to get the players he wants. You add the fact that Gruden grew up in Sandusky as a Browns fan and how his son recently tweeted that Gruden would maybe be interested in the Cleveland job, and I think we might have a better chance of landing Gruden than many people are giving us.
Keep checking back for more of the "A Look At"s, as I'll be posting them periodically until we find, as Holmgren put it, the one coach who can lead us to a championship.
~MAS
Well, after watching Mike Holmgren's press conference yesterday, I really think he made the right decision. The Browns players made the decision that much easier, I'm sure, when they went out and laid an egg against the Steelers on Sunday, but after losses to Cincinnati and Buffalo it was probably going to happen anyway.
I could say more about how Mangini beat the Patriots and Saints this year, and the Browns played in a lot more close games, but you know all that. The bottom line is this, it's true that Mangini instilled a lot of quality values into the current Browns players, and changed the culture in Berea from chaotic to disciplined, but I just don't believe that he was the coach to take us to the next level.
Not that it really matters what I believe anymore, since he's gone.
A Look At...
This is a new series I'm starting for the Browns coaching search, where I'll take a look at some (not all, because that might really take a while...) of the candidates for the job and I'll let you know what I think of them. In addition, not all of the posts will be this long, but I felt like it would be a good idea to start off with a bang. With that, the most attractive choice out there is obviously Jon Gruden, but is he really as qualified as people like to think he is?
Gruden took over a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team in 2002 that had been coached the previous six seasons by Tony Dungy, and had made the playoffs four of the previous five. Dungy was fired because Buccaneers ownership felt that he couldn't take the team to the next level, but the talent was clearly there. Enter coach Gruden, who came to the Buccaneers through what I think was a pretty bizarre trade with the Oakland Raiders because their owner and general manager Al Davis didn't like the type of offense he ran. Gruden ended up taking what many people call "Tony Dungy's Buccaneers" to the Super Bowl and won it over the Oakland Raiders, a team he knew very well as he had just coached it.
But I think that Gruden's time with Oakland also tells about his ability as a coach, especially since they reached the Super Bowl the year after he left. For the first two seasons with the Raiders, the team went 8-8. Then, they went 12-4 and made the AFC Championship game, and followed that up with a 10-6 campaign where they lost in the divisional round of the playoffs. To me, that means you could say "Jon Gruden's Raiders" made the Super Bowl, much like "Tony Dungy's Buccaneers."
After the Super Bowl victory, the Buccaneers only made the playoffs twice in in six seasons, and only once did they have at least 10 wins. That being said, they did bounce back in 2007 with a 9-7 record after a poor 4-12 showing in 2006.
In my estimation, the Buccaneers were a pretty consistant team with Gruden at the helm, and I guess they fired him because they lost their final four games of 2008, his final year with the team. But his strong qualification for the Browns head coaching job comes more from the fact that Holmgren was his mentor when they worked together in San Francisco and Green Bay, and Holmgren asked for Gruden's advice on drafting Colt McCoy.
I know people like to think there are "more attractive jobs" out there for Gruden, but if he came to Cleveland he'd be working with a front office with whom he shares the same philosophy on just about everything, and he'd clearly have a lot of pull to get the players he wants. You add the fact that Gruden grew up in Sandusky as a Browns fan and how his son recently tweeted that Gruden would maybe be interested in the Cleveland job, and I think we might have a better chance of landing Gruden than many people are giving us.
Keep checking back for more of the "A Look At"s, as I'll be posting them periodically until we find, as Holmgren put it, the one coach who can lead us to a championship.
~MAS
Sunday, January 2, 2011
So It Ends...
And with the Browns 41-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, it wasn't a moment too soon. That was the ugliest game the Browns played the entire season and it really couldn't have come for a worse time if you're Eric Mangini, Brian Daboll and Rob Ryan. The former was, of course, fighting for his job today, the latter has is going to be interviewed to be the Panthers head coach. Daboll...well, he was probably going to be fired anyway. But I'm sure each of those coaches would love to have this game erased from their resumés.
To say the game was an offensive mess would be an understatement. We already knew that it was going to be difficult for the Browns to run against the #1 running defense, and #2 defense overall in the NFL, but I thought we'd be able to muster a little bit more than 43 total yards on the ground. Colt McCoy was actually today's leading rusher, with 4 scrambles for 19 yards. Mike Bell had 5 carries for 14 yards, and Peyton Hillis had 6 carries for 13. Just an all around bad day.
In the passing game, McCoy was 20/41 for 209 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Yikes. Tight end Ben Watson was the leading receiver today with 7 receptions for 67 yards. Despite the fact that he played volley ball on his first targeted pass which caused an interception, Watson has really been one of the bright spots of the Cleveland Browns this season, and is clearly a great target for Colt McCoy as he threw to Watson 12 times today. I suppose it's elementary.
It's unfortunate that I have to ask this question again, but why oh why in the wide world of sports is Robert Royal being targeted for passes? He cannot catch! As Terry Pluto wrote in his "Halftime Scribbles" on Cleveland.com, Robert Royal had eleven catches and six drops last year, and this year he had five catches and four drops coming into the game. He is regarded as a blocking tight end, and I'm sure he's great at that. But why is he the one catching the pass on the bootleg down in the endzone? When you have a tight end who is your leading receiver, there's no excuse for putting in the butterfingers who has a reputation for dropping passes, and then drops a touchdown in the endzone. And yes, I'm looking at you, Brian Daboll.
I've been a big fan of Rob Ryan since he came to the Browns from Oakland last season - but this was clearly not his best effort. I think he and his brother Rex, head coach of the New York Jets, are great for football with their frank and outspoken nature, and I sincerely hope that Rob can become a successful head coach someday soon - but for now I would love it if he stayed and helped our Browns defense improve, no matter who our head coach is next year. They didn't show it today but the defense has improved leaps and bounds over where it was when Romeo Crenel was fired after the 2008 season, which means we've got to give credit to Mangini for that too.
I was going to take a look at the offensive numbers for the Steelers today, but the only one you need to know is 41 - the number of points they scored. That tells you enough about what went on.
So now that the season is over, I'm sure we will see in the next few days whether or not Eric Mangini will stay, whether or not Mike Holmgren will take off a suit and coach the team, or if he'll hire someone else. And I'm sure I'll have something to say about it if you want to check back.
Thanks for reading this season, Browns fans, it's been a lot of fun for me.
~MAS
To say the game was an offensive mess would be an understatement. We already knew that it was going to be difficult for the Browns to run against the #1 running defense, and #2 defense overall in the NFL, but I thought we'd be able to muster a little bit more than 43 total yards on the ground. Colt McCoy was actually today's leading rusher, with 4 scrambles for 19 yards. Mike Bell had 5 carries for 14 yards, and Peyton Hillis had 6 carries for 13. Just an all around bad day.
In the passing game, McCoy was 20/41 for 209 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Yikes. Tight end Ben Watson was the leading receiver today with 7 receptions for 67 yards. Despite the fact that he played volley ball on his first targeted pass which caused an interception, Watson has really been one of the bright spots of the Cleveland Browns this season, and is clearly a great target for Colt McCoy as he threw to Watson 12 times today. I suppose it's elementary.
It's unfortunate that I have to ask this question again, but why oh why in the wide world of sports is Robert Royal being targeted for passes? He cannot catch! As Terry Pluto wrote in his "Halftime Scribbles" on Cleveland.com, Robert Royal had eleven catches and six drops last year, and this year he had five catches and four drops coming into the game. He is regarded as a blocking tight end, and I'm sure he's great at that. But why is he the one catching the pass on the bootleg down in the endzone? When you have a tight end who is your leading receiver, there's no excuse for putting in the butterfingers who has a reputation for dropping passes, and then drops a touchdown in the endzone. And yes, I'm looking at you, Brian Daboll.
I've been a big fan of Rob Ryan since he came to the Browns from Oakland last season - but this was clearly not his best effort. I think he and his brother Rex, head coach of the New York Jets, are great for football with their frank and outspoken nature, and I sincerely hope that Rob can become a successful head coach someday soon - but for now I would love it if he stayed and helped our Browns defense improve, no matter who our head coach is next year. They didn't show it today but the defense has improved leaps and bounds over where it was when Romeo Crenel was fired after the 2008 season, which means we've got to give credit to Mangini for that too.
I was going to take a look at the offensive numbers for the Steelers today, but the only one you need to know is 41 - the number of points they scored. That tells you enough about what went on.
So now that the season is over, I'm sure we will see in the next few days whether or not Eric Mangini will stay, whether or not Mike Holmgren will take off a suit and coach the team, or if he'll hire someone else. And I'm sure I'll have something to say about it if you want to check back.
Thanks for reading this season, Browns fans, it's been a lot of fun for me.
~MAS
Browns Halftime Blurb, 1/2/11 vs. Steelers
Well...I'm sure this is not what Eric Mangini envisioned. A deficit of 31-3 at the half? I know we haven't lost yet, but
The defense has been nothing more than horrendous, as Pittsburgh's first 4 drives all resulted in touchdowns, and the fifth resulted in a field goal. That's partially the fault of the offense as quarterback Colt McCoy has thrown three interceptions which landed the Steelers pretty good field position, but you've got to stop them from scoring at some point in the first half.
The Browns had only given up 26 1st quarter points going into today's game, 1st in the league in that category, but they gave up a 56 yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger on Pittsburgh's first offensive play. On Pittsburgh's next series, the Browns let them drive 71 yards down the field for a 14-0 point lead.
It's also worth noting that the Browns hadn't given up 30 points before Jeff Reed's field goal late in the second quarter to give the Steelers 31.
Are there any positives about this half? Well, I like the fire I see out of Colt McCoy. Yes, three interceptions mean you're having a really bad game, but (for all you Hawken people out there) in the words of Mr. Peters, "His helmet was destroyed!" when McCoy smashed it while talking to Brian Daboll. I would probably smash my helmet too if I had to talk with that guy about offensive plays...
Honestly, as I watch McCoy go down time after time again today, I can't help but think that this was the game I expected when we went to Pittsburgh earlier this season. Three picks in one half? Rookie. Two sacks and four other QB hits? More like a rookie. You've just got to feel bad for the poor guy.
There was one time I played a high school football game where my team was up by so much at halftime, and the other team is so bad, that my coach requested that we use a running clock in the second half. I wish Mike Tomlin could have mercy on us and do that today.
See you after,
~MAS
The defense has been nothing more than horrendous, as Pittsburgh's first 4 drives all resulted in touchdowns, and the fifth resulted in a field goal. That's partially the fault of the offense as quarterback Colt McCoy has thrown three interceptions which landed the Steelers pretty good field position, but you've got to stop them from scoring at some point in the first half.
The Browns had only given up 26 1st quarter points going into today's game, 1st in the league in that category, but they gave up a 56 yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger on Pittsburgh's first offensive play. On Pittsburgh's next series, the Browns let them drive 71 yards down the field for a 14-0 point lead.
It's also worth noting that the Browns hadn't given up 30 points before Jeff Reed's field goal late in the second quarter to give the Steelers 31.
Are there any positives about this half? Well, I like the fire I see out of Colt McCoy. Yes, three interceptions mean you're having a really bad game, but (for all you Hawken people out there) in the words of Mr. Peters, "His helmet was destroyed!" when McCoy smashed it while talking to Brian Daboll. I would probably smash my helmet too if I had to talk with that guy about offensive plays...
Honestly, as I watch McCoy go down time after time again today, I can't help but think that this was the game I expected when we went to Pittsburgh earlier this season. Three picks in one half? Rookie. Two sacks and four other QB hits? More like a rookie. You've just got to feel bad for the poor guy.
There was one time I played a high school football game where my team was up by so much at halftime, and the other team is so bad, that my coach requested that we use a running clock in the second half. I wish Mike Tomlin could have mercy on us and do that today.
See you after,
~MAS
Start Me Up - Steelers vs. Browns
Well Browns fans, we've come a long way this season and it comes to a close today as the 11-4 Pittsburgh Steelers come into town to face our 5-10 Cleveland Browns in the regular season finale.
There is a heck of a lot riding on this game - for the Steelers. If they win, they secure the #2 seed in the AFC, which means a bye week to start the playoffs and then facing the winner of the Ravens/Colts (I'm projecting that the Colts will win their division with Peyton Manning...) in the divisional round at home. If the Steelers lose, they have to go to Kansas City next week, and if they win that game they face New England in Foxboro for the divisional round.
Now, which scenario would you prefer?
That's why this game has extreme importance, and not just because of the "rivalry." Let's be serious, before last season's 13-6 shocker the Browns had lost to the Steelers two times a year since 2003, when Tim Couch had his best game as a Brown and led us to a 33-13 victory. On the ESPN "Game Preview" page, it shows the Browns record against the Steelers since 2001 which is a horrendous 2-18.
Offensively, the Browns are going to have to take risks and be creative. Why not? We're 5-10, and boy would it be nice to give the Steelers a parting shot - especially if you're Eric Mangini and could be about to lose your job. Peyton Hillis will not be 100% in all likelihood, which means Mike Bell and even Josh Cribbs could see a lot of time in the backfield. I'm not particularly fond of those odds for our running game, but it has a chance.
Colt McCoy has a distinct advantage that no other quarterback in Eric Mangini's short tenure as the Browns head coach has had (so far) in that he will be facing the same divisional opponent twice in the sameyear (nope, it's 2011 now!) season. His first outing against the Steelers was his NFL debut, in which he not only wasn't eaten alive, but was 23/33 for 281 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He also managed four rushes for 22 yards. To me, McCoy rarely looks overmatched, and I think he'll have a decent showing against the defense ranked 14th in the league against the pass. (They're 1st against the run, with only 64.1 yards given up per game. Yikes.)
Defensively, the Browns are going to have their hands full with Ben Roethlisberger and company. Mike Wallace has emerged as a great primary target and big play threat, as he's caught 57 passes for 1102 yards and 9 touchdowns this season - that's an average of 20.2 yards per catch. Rashard Mendenhall has also had a great season, with 1237 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. With the Browns defense failing to stop the run effectively in the last few weeks, their ranking in that category has fallen down to 26th in the league, while their passing D has been effective enough to stay at #13. I'd expect the Steelers to try and pound it down the Browns throats and dare the team in brown and orange to stop them.
I would love to see Eric Mangini close out the 2010 campaign with a win, but I honestly don't think that's going to happen. I believe the Browns will empty the playbook, give everything they've got and leave it all on the field, but it won't be enough to get past a very motivated Steelers team on the shore of Lake Erie today.
The Prediction: PIT 28 - CLE 17
See you at the half,
~MAS
There is a heck of a lot riding on this game - for the Steelers. If they win, they secure the #2 seed in the AFC, which means a bye week to start the playoffs and then facing the winner of the Ravens/Colts (I'm projecting that the Colts will win their division with Peyton Manning...) in the divisional round at home. If the Steelers lose, they have to go to Kansas City next week, and if they win that game they face New England in Foxboro for the divisional round.
Now, which scenario would you prefer?
That's why this game has extreme importance, and not just because of the "rivalry." Let's be serious, before last season's 13-6 shocker the Browns had lost to the Steelers two times a year since 2003, when Tim Couch had his best game as a Brown and led us to a 33-13 victory. On the ESPN "Game Preview" page, it shows the Browns record against the Steelers since 2001 which is a horrendous 2-18.
Offensively, the Browns are going to have to take risks and be creative. Why not? We're 5-10, and boy would it be nice to give the Steelers a parting shot - especially if you're Eric Mangini and could be about to lose your job. Peyton Hillis will not be 100% in all likelihood, which means Mike Bell and even Josh Cribbs could see a lot of time in the backfield. I'm not particularly fond of those odds for our running game, but it has a chance.
Colt McCoy has a distinct advantage that no other quarterback in Eric Mangini's short tenure as the Browns head coach has had (so far) in that he will be facing the same divisional opponent twice in the same
Defensively, the Browns are going to have their hands full with Ben Roethlisberger and company. Mike Wallace has emerged as a great primary target and big play threat, as he's caught 57 passes for 1102 yards and 9 touchdowns this season - that's an average of 20.2 yards per catch. Rashard Mendenhall has also had a great season, with 1237 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. With the Browns defense failing to stop the run effectively in the last few weeks, their ranking in that category has fallen down to 26th in the league, while their passing D has been effective enough to stay at #13. I'd expect the Steelers to try and pound it down the Browns throats and dare the team in brown and orange to stop them.
I would love to see Eric Mangini close out the 2010 campaign with a win, but I honestly don't think that's going to happen. I believe the Browns will empty the playbook, give everything they've got and leave it all on the field, but it won't be enough to get past a very motivated Steelers team on the shore of Lake Erie today.
The Prediction: PIT 28 - CLE 17
See you at the half,
~MAS
Saturday, January 1, 2011
2010 In Cleveland Sports
I'm not sure why I didn't think of this earlier, but I feel like it's worth going back and taking a look at the year that was in the sports world of our fair city with our three teams, and what 2011 might hold for them.
Cavaliers
What a difference a "Decision" makes, huh? Our basketball team has gone from perennial #1 seed in the east to one of the laughing stocks of the entire league. With LeBron James in the '09-'10 NBA season, the Cavs were 61-21 overall, including a 35-6 record at home. They reached the second round of the playoffs before losing to the Boston Celtics in six games, where LeBron either quit because he knew he was going to team up with the other two Amigos in Miami, or straight up choked. Either way, he broke the city's heart when he went on ESPN for his hour long "Decision" special to tell everyone he was "taking his talents to South Beach." Remember, all the "Decision" nonsense came after Cavs owner Dan Gilbert fired Mike Brown at the conclusion of the season, General Manager Danny Ferry resigned, and then Byron Scott was hired as coach and Chris Grant was promoted to GM to try to appease LeBron so that he would stay.
Obviously, none of it worked and people were burning jerseys all over North-East Ohio the night of July 8th.
Now the Cavs are dead last in the east with a record of 8-24. We all know Dan Gilbert is frustrated, as first evidenced by his Comic Sans letter to the fans, and then his tweet after the disgraceful loss to the Heat on December 2nd, but I think Byron Scott has got to be frustrated too. I really thought this team would be good enough to at least contend for a #8 playoff seed, but that's just not going to be the case. It's unfortunate to see a team go down so far so fast, but, as much as I hate to admit it, I guess it just proves how talented LeBron James is on a basketball court. He could really use some work in the PR department, though.
2011? Well, the Cavs better hope they get a nice lottery pick. I'm not particularly a fan of college basketball, so I really couldn't tell you who I think they should draft until I see them in the tournament in March. But our basketball team clearly has a lot of work to do in order to climb out of the same basement where they were locked for so long before LeBron arrived.
Indians
I'm pretty sure nobody thought the Indians would actually contend for anything other than 4th place in the AL Central with Kansas City, and that's exactly what they did. All. Year. Long.
I'm sure the Dolan's would love for it to be winter longer, in order to extend the "Snow Days" promotion that from what I've read has been very successful down at Progressive Field. But that stadium's primary use was downright ugly this year.
The Tribe did end up in 4th place, two games above Kansas City, with a 69-93 record. That's 25 games behind division winner, Minnesota, and also 12 games behind the 3rd place team, Detroit. Nothing like those sobering numbers to tell you just how bad the Indians were.
There were bright spots in the season. Carlos Santana earned a lot of respect for his bat and made some significant strides in his defense behind the plate under the tutelage of Sandy Alomar, before a season-ending knee injury against Boston ended his rookie campaign. Shin-Soo Choo had a great season, hitting .300 with 22 home runs, 90 RBIs, 31 doubles, and 22 stolen bases, then helped his home country, South Korea, win the Asian Games baseball tournament and earned his military exemption. That's good news for both him and the Tribe. Fausto Carmona had a good comeback year, after two terrible seasons of '08 and '09, going 13-14 with a 3.77 ERA in 33 starts. And Chris Perez looked like a real dominant closer, as he saved 23 games this year, first while Kerry Wood was hurt and then after Wood was traded.
However, there was a lot more bad than good during Manny Acta's first season as manager of the Indians. Grady Sizemore had another season ending injury, and now there are questions as to whether he will ever be the same All-Star caliber player he was again. Travis Hafner continued to struggle with his bad shoulder, and only hit .278 with 13 home and 50 RBIs in 118 games. Luis Valbuena took a few steps back at the plate as he struggled all year and finished the season under the Mendoza line with a .193 average. And Matt LaPorta really failed to improve at all as he finished the season with a .221 average, 12 home runs an only 41 RBIs. Very paltry numbers from a corner infielder, especially a first baseman.
It's also worth noting that Chris Antonetti took over the General Managing duties from Mark Shapiro during this offseason, as Shapiro was promoted to team President. This means pretty much nothing, as Antonetti was Shapiro's right hand man as Assistant GM for all of Shapiro's tenure. So if you were looking for a change in general managing style with Antonetti, you're not going to get it.
What might we see from the Indians in 2011? Well, unfortunately, probably a lot more of what we saw in 2010. I'd like to think our offense will be improved with the return of Sizemore and Santana, but I'm not convinced that Sizemore will be healthy the whole year. It will be interesting to see if Carmona can continue to get back to the Ace-like form he had in 2007 when he received votes for the Cy Young award, which then Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia deservedly won.
In speaking of Cy Young winners, I'd like to see the Tribe go after Bartolo Colon for another starting pitcher option. It might just remind people enough about the good 'ol days to put some fans in the seats. Plus, I just don't like watching young guys get shelled every fifth day. It would also be nice if the Indians could sign or trade for a 3rd baseman, because from the little bit of baseball I watched last year I can tell you Jayson Nix is not the bridge to prospect Lonnie Chisenhall at that position.
We'll have to wait until April 1st to see what 2011 will hold for our baseball team, but if the stars align properly, and if we have very few to no injuries (yeah right) then we could potentially contend for 2nd place in the AL Central. Now that is a dangerously optimistic outlook, but hey, that's why they go out and play the games, right? They can always surprise us.
Browns
What to say about those Cleveland Browns... Clearly it's the team I followed the closest this past year, and it's also the sport I know the most about since I played it in high school. That being said, after Mike Holmgren was hired in December of '09, and the Browns finished the season with a four game winning streak, we all expected a sound improvement in the team this year. I think the team is clearly better than last year, where they lost 7 games by at least two touchdowns, but unfortunately their 5-10 record doesn't show that at all.
The Browns had a great draft, headed by their new General Manager Tom Heckert, where they took three players who have emerged as regular starters this season in Joe Haden, T.J. Ward, and Colt McCoy. I think all three have a chance to be Pro Bowlers in the future if the Browns can improve the team enough around them.
Haden has six interceptions on the year, which is the most by a Browns rookie since Anthony Henry led the league with 10 in 2001. Ward has begun to emerge as a feared, hard hitting safety, which is exactly what the Browns need in the AFC North. And to me, Colt McCoy looks like the quarterback the Browns have been searching for since '99. His intangibles are off the charts, and you can tell this son of a high school football coach was born to be a leader.
I think it's been a tale of two teams for the Browns this season - the team of the first 10 weeks, and the team we've seen the last weeks. Sure, I was upset when we lost to the Buccaneers and Chiefs by blowing fourth quarter leads, but who knew those teams were actually good back in weeks one and two? And then we had the memorable back-to-back wins against the Saints and Patriots, and the overtime loss to the Jets where we looked like a real contending team.
However, ever since that loss to the Jets, the Browns just have not looked the same. I don't know if that loss was a shot to their confidence or what, but since then, we were defeated by the Jaguars - a game I believe we should have won. Then we beat arguably the worst team in the league, the Carolina Panthers, by 1 measly point because they missed a field goal at the end of the game. We beat Miami with a lucky break interception at the end of the game by Mike Adams. And then we lost consecutive games to two-win teams, Buffalo and Cincinnati. I just don't think the Browns of weeks 1-10 would have lost those two games based on the way Peyton Hillis was running, and the defense was stopping people from scoring with their confusing formations.
True, the team has suffered with injuries to all three of their quarterbacks, linebacker Scott Fujita, defensive end Robaire Smith, and (maybe they've suffered from losing) Eric Wright, but to me that's no excuse for what a lot of the time seems like a lack of effective offensive game plan.
What's on the table for 2011 with our beloved NFL franchise? Well, a lot of it depends on whether or not the players and owners work out their collective bargaining agreement which will determine whether or not there will be a lockout. There is a lot of speculation that there will be a coaching change, that Jon Gruden will be the next head coach, but I would honestly like to see Eric Mangini and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan stay. Brian Daboll, on the other hand, has got to go, and I would love it if Mangini's good friend and former Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels came in to run our offense.
In terms of draft and free agency needs, the Browns would be wise to pick up an impact wide receiver. Part of the problem with our team now is that they have very few dominant players on either side of the ball. You can never have too many offensive lineman, and I think the Browns could really sure up the right side of the line with a good right tackle so that we never have to see "Open Gate" John St. Clair again.
A lot of this is purely speculation, and Mike Holmgren is going to do what he feels is best for the franchise - which could be coaching the team himself. Either way, I think the Browns are going to be the team that carries us through this decade, much like the Cavs carried us through the last one.
~MAS
Cavaliers
What a difference a "Decision" makes, huh? Our basketball team has gone from perennial #1 seed in the east to one of the laughing stocks of the entire league. With LeBron James in the '09-'10 NBA season, the Cavs were 61-21 overall, including a 35-6 record at home. They reached the second round of the playoffs before losing to the Boston Celtics in six games, where LeBron either quit because he knew he was going to team up with the other two Amigos in Miami, or straight up choked. Either way, he broke the city's heart when he went on ESPN for his hour long "Decision" special to tell everyone he was "taking his talents to South Beach." Remember, all the "Decision" nonsense came after Cavs owner Dan Gilbert fired Mike Brown at the conclusion of the season, General Manager Danny Ferry resigned, and then Byron Scott was hired as coach and Chris Grant was promoted to GM to try to appease LeBron so that he would stay.
Obviously, none of it worked and people were burning jerseys all over North-East Ohio the night of July 8th.
Now the Cavs are dead last in the east with a record of 8-24. We all know Dan Gilbert is frustrated, as first evidenced by his Comic Sans letter to the fans, and then his tweet after the disgraceful loss to the Heat on December 2nd, but I think Byron Scott has got to be frustrated too. I really thought this team would be good enough to at least contend for a #8 playoff seed, but that's just not going to be the case. It's unfortunate to see a team go down so far so fast, but, as much as I hate to admit it, I guess it just proves how talented LeBron James is on a basketball court. He could really use some work in the PR department, though.
2011? Well, the Cavs better hope they get a nice lottery pick. I'm not particularly a fan of college basketball, so I really couldn't tell you who I think they should draft until I see them in the tournament in March. But our basketball team clearly has a lot of work to do in order to climb out of the same basement where they were locked for so long before LeBron arrived.
Indians
I'm pretty sure nobody thought the Indians would actually contend for anything other than 4th place in the AL Central with Kansas City, and that's exactly what they did. All. Year. Long.
I'm sure the Dolan's would love for it to be winter longer, in order to extend the "Snow Days" promotion that from what I've read has been very successful down at Progressive Field. But that stadium's primary use was downright ugly this year.
The Tribe did end up in 4th place, two games above Kansas City, with a 69-93 record. That's 25 games behind division winner, Minnesota, and also 12 games behind the 3rd place team, Detroit. Nothing like those sobering numbers to tell you just how bad the Indians were.
There were bright spots in the season. Carlos Santana earned a lot of respect for his bat and made some significant strides in his defense behind the plate under the tutelage of Sandy Alomar, before a season-ending knee injury against Boston ended his rookie campaign. Shin-Soo Choo had a great season, hitting .300 with 22 home runs, 90 RBIs, 31 doubles, and 22 stolen bases, then helped his home country, South Korea, win the Asian Games baseball tournament and earned his military exemption. That's good news for both him and the Tribe. Fausto Carmona had a good comeback year, after two terrible seasons of '08 and '09, going 13-14 with a 3.77 ERA in 33 starts. And Chris Perez looked like a real dominant closer, as he saved 23 games this year, first while Kerry Wood was hurt and then after Wood was traded.
However, there was a lot more bad than good during Manny Acta's first season as manager of the Indians. Grady Sizemore had another season ending injury, and now there are questions as to whether he will ever be the same All-Star caliber player he was again. Travis Hafner continued to struggle with his bad shoulder, and only hit .278 with 13 home and 50 RBIs in 118 games. Luis Valbuena took a few steps back at the plate as he struggled all year and finished the season under the Mendoza line with a .193 average. And Matt LaPorta really failed to improve at all as he finished the season with a .221 average, 12 home runs an only 41 RBIs. Very paltry numbers from a corner infielder, especially a first baseman.
It's also worth noting that Chris Antonetti took over the General Managing duties from Mark Shapiro during this offseason, as Shapiro was promoted to team President. This means pretty much nothing, as Antonetti was Shapiro's right hand man as Assistant GM for all of Shapiro's tenure. So if you were looking for a change in general managing style with Antonetti, you're not going to get it.
What might we see from the Indians in 2011? Well, unfortunately, probably a lot more of what we saw in 2010. I'd like to think our offense will be improved with the return of Sizemore and Santana, but I'm not convinced that Sizemore will be healthy the whole year. It will be interesting to see if Carmona can continue to get back to the Ace-like form he had in 2007 when he received votes for the Cy Young award, which then Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia deservedly won.
In speaking of Cy Young winners, I'd like to see the Tribe go after Bartolo Colon for another starting pitcher option. It might just remind people enough about the good 'ol days to put some fans in the seats. Plus, I just don't like watching young guys get shelled every fifth day. It would also be nice if the Indians could sign or trade for a 3rd baseman, because from the little bit of baseball I watched last year I can tell you Jayson Nix is not the bridge to prospect Lonnie Chisenhall at that position.
We'll have to wait until April 1st to see what 2011 will hold for our baseball team, but if the stars align properly, and if we have very few to no injuries (yeah right) then we could potentially contend for 2nd place in the AL Central. Now that is a dangerously optimistic outlook, but hey, that's why they go out and play the games, right? They can always surprise us.
Browns
What to say about those Cleveland Browns... Clearly it's the team I followed the closest this past year, and it's also the sport I know the most about since I played it in high school. That being said, after Mike Holmgren was hired in December of '09, and the Browns finished the season with a four game winning streak, we all expected a sound improvement in the team this year. I think the team is clearly better than last year, where they lost 7 games by at least two touchdowns, but unfortunately their 5-10 record doesn't show that at all.
The Browns had a great draft, headed by their new General Manager Tom Heckert, where they took three players who have emerged as regular starters this season in Joe Haden, T.J. Ward, and Colt McCoy. I think all three have a chance to be Pro Bowlers in the future if the Browns can improve the team enough around them.
Haden has six interceptions on the year, which is the most by a Browns rookie since Anthony Henry led the league with 10 in 2001. Ward has begun to emerge as a feared, hard hitting safety, which is exactly what the Browns need in the AFC North. And to me, Colt McCoy looks like the quarterback the Browns have been searching for since '99. His intangibles are off the charts, and you can tell this son of a high school football coach was born to be a leader.
I think it's been a tale of two teams for the Browns this season - the team of the first 10 weeks, and the team we've seen the last weeks. Sure, I was upset when we lost to the Buccaneers and Chiefs by blowing fourth quarter leads, but who knew those teams were actually good back in weeks one and two? And then we had the memorable back-to-back wins against the Saints and Patriots, and the overtime loss to the Jets where we looked like a real contending team.
However, ever since that loss to the Jets, the Browns just have not looked the same. I don't know if that loss was a shot to their confidence or what, but since then, we were defeated by the Jaguars - a game I believe we should have won. Then we beat arguably the worst team in the league, the Carolina Panthers, by 1 measly point because they missed a field goal at the end of the game. We beat Miami with a lucky break interception at the end of the game by Mike Adams. And then we lost consecutive games to two-win teams, Buffalo and Cincinnati. I just don't think the Browns of weeks 1-10 would have lost those two games based on the way Peyton Hillis was running, and the defense was stopping people from scoring with their confusing formations.
True, the team has suffered with injuries to all three of their quarterbacks, linebacker Scott Fujita, defensive end Robaire Smith, and (maybe they've suffered from losing) Eric Wright, but to me that's no excuse for what a lot of the time seems like a lack of effective offensive game plan.
What's on the table for 2011 with our beloved NFL franchise? Well, a lot of it depends on whether or not the players and owners work out their collective bargaining agreement which will determine whether or not there will be a lockout. There is a lot of speculation that there will be a coaching change, that Jon Gruden will be the next head coach, but I would honestly like to see Eric Mangini and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan stay. Brian Daboll, on the other hand, has got to go, and I would love it if Mangini's good friend and former Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels came in to run our offense.
In terms of draft and free agency needs, the Browns would be wise to pick up an impact wide receiver. Part of the problem with our team now is that they have very few dominant players on either side of the ball. You can never have too many offensive lineman, and I think the Browns could really sure up the right side of the line with a good right tackle so that we never have to see "Open Gate" John St. Clair again.
A lot of this is purely speculation, and Mike Holmgren is going to do what he feels is best for the franchise - which could be coaching the team himself. Either way, I think the Browns are going to be the team that carries us through this decade, much like the Cavs carried us through the last one.
~MAS
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