Non-GMs and assembling a quality coaching staff

With the Browns making plenty of moves to their front office and coaching staff, I think it's time to make a few comments that can't be expressed in the 140 character-limited Twitter.

1. Hiring Mike Lombardi
Yes, yes, the big Browns story of the day is that Lombardi is the new General Manager VP Player Personnel. I'm sure I don't have to tell you about how he trashed the Browns drafting Brandon Weeden and Josh Gordon, Lombardi's own poor drafting record, and the fact that he's been a TV analyst for five years.

I saw 92.3 The Fan's Anthony Lima Tweet this earlier, but really the last person to come out of broadcasting to get back into the NFL was Matt Millen with the Detroit Lions in 2001. Sure that's a small sample size, and it's not a particularly apt comparison because Millen had no prior player-evaluating experience—something Lombardi does have, even if it isn't strong—but it still is a red flag.

The thing is—and I Tweeted this earlier today—there really wasn't a GM name out there that was going to knock my socks off for the Browns GM/Player Personnel position. I mean, the rumored front runner had been Kansas City's Ray Farmer. We all know the Chiefs have pretty much been as bad as the Browns the last couple of years. So I guess one of the reasons I'm not that upset about this hire is who else was there to pick?

Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but Lombardi eat some crow today in saying that Gordon has "nothing to worry about." But when asked about Weeden, Lombardi said that he has to evaluate. Between the lines, that can't be great news for the 29-year old quarterback.

But irrespective of all this, Lombardi is now officially a member of the Browns organization and that means I'd like nothing more than for him to succeed.

2. Bringing in Ray Horton
If there's anything a first-time head coach in the NFL needs, it's quality coordinators. And it's hard to argue against the two Rob Chudzinski landed—Norv Turner (who we'll get to in a bit) and Ray Horton.

Horton comes to the Browns from Arizona, where he held the same position. It's been reported that the 52-year old was none too pleased about being passed over for the Cardinals HC job in favor of Bruce Arians, but Arizona's loss is Cleveland's gain.

Incredibly, the Horton-coached Arizona defense was ranked 12th overall in 2012—fifth against the pass but 28th against the run. The unit came in 17th in terms of points, but when you think about how dreadful the Arizona offense was—32nd overall and rushing, 28th passing—that's a pretty remarkable feat.

Before going to the Cardinals, Horton spent 2004-2010 with the Pittsburgh Steelers as the defensive backs coach. That's just one more advantage in my mind, because it means Horton knows the AFC North.

Of course, coming from the Steelers menas Horton is trained in Dick LeBeau's famed 3-4. However, Adam Kaplan Tweeted that Horton can coach both the 3-4 and the 4-3. I would very much like to see that "hybrid" look on the Browns, but either way I think Horton will be great.

Per this Tweet by Kyndra de St. Aubin, Horton will be paid $8 million over four years. That's big money for a defensive coordinator, so it's obvious the Browns were impressed in their interview with him for head coach.

There really isn't much—if anything—to dislike about this hire.

3. The Norv factor
I don't think I'm saying anything anyone else hasn't said when I say Norv Turner has been a failure as a head coach, but is a slam dunk hire for the Browns at offensive coordinator.

This might be an absurd comparison given how long ago it was, but Turner did coordinate the Dallas Cowboys offense from 1991-1993. In that time, the Cowboys ranked in the top-10 in total offense, passing, and rushing yards in all three years (okay, with the exception of 1991, when Dallas ranked 13th in rushing.) Those Dallas teams had three key players on offense—quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith, and wide receiver Michael Irvin. Who do the Browns have now? Brandon Weeden, Trent Richardson, and Josh Gordon.

Admittedly, Weeden doesn't seem to have nearly the same potential as Aikman. And with Lombardi at the helm of Player Personnel, it's also looking more likely that Weeden won't be the guy. But you have to think that Richardson and Gordon could be cornerstones to a great new offensive era for Turner and the Browns.

Of course, in today's NFL, a team is only as good as it's quarterback, so finding that right guy must be the priority. Still, just as I think with Horton, there really isn't anything to dislike about this hire as well.

Say what you want about the Browns hiring Lombardi, but by bringing in Turner and Horton, the Browns have set up Chudzinski much better than Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert set up Pat Shurmur two years ago.

Welcome back, Chud

Rob Chudzinski—the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

You want to talk about something I just didn't think would happen, this is it. Hiring Chudzinski definitely doesn't make the big "splash" pretty much everyone thought owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner would go for. But here we are, and this is what we've got.

And the more I think about it, the more I think I like it.

If you don't remember, Chudzinski has ben in Cleveland with the Browns twice before—under Butch Davis in 2004 as the tight ends coach, and then under Romeo Crenel from 2007-2008 as the offensive coordinator.

Chudzinski's spent the past couple of years as the Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator, guiding Cam Newton to a then rookie-record 4,051 passing yards in 2011, along with 706 rushing yards. Obviously, having an elite talent like Newton helps you as a coach, but Chudzinski's offenses ranked seventh and 12th in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The guy also likes to run the ball, as they ranked third in 2011 and ninth in 2012 in that category. Good news for Trent Richardson, no?

I know I've seen some people on Twitter comparing this hire to that of Pat Shurmur, and I really don't see it that way. At least Chudzinski has been at the helm of top-10 offenses in his career—multiple times. Mike Holmgren hired Shurmur after two seasons of being offensive coordinator in St. Louis, where the offenses ranked 29th and 26th. So seriously, let's stop the Chudzinski-Shurmur comparisons.

Let's think about it—that offense in 2007 was excellent. The Browns ranked eighth in total offense—12th in passing and 10th in rushing. They also ranked eighth in points. Derek freaking Anderson made the Pro Bowl that year, throwing 29 touchdowns. Sixteen of those went to Braylon freaking Edwards. Kellen Winslow also set a franchise record for tight end receiving yards.  

So what else do we know about Chudzinski? Well, he's 44 years old, so that means he has plenty of time to grow as a coach. He also grew up in Toledo and was apparently a Browns fan. And the fact that he's already been in Berea two other times is certainly a plus.

Now additionally, reports are that Norv Turner is likely to be a part of Chudzinski's staff—presumably as the offensive coordinator. Chudzinski worked under Turner in San Diego, and apparently Turner's son, Scott Turner, was one of Chud's right-hand men in Carolina. The younger Turner is also likely to join the Browns staff.

I don't think anyone is a fan of Turner as a head coach, but as a coordinator Turner has been largely successful. He's had five top-15 offenses in seven years as coach, and has had four in the top-10. I really think bringing in Turner(s) would be a good thing.

What I'm a little more nervous about is the defense. If all the reports on Twitter are true and the Browns do, in fact, switch to a 3-4, then the defense is going to be significantly behind the offense. Let's face it—the Browns have pretty much one viable linebacker and his name is D'Qwell Jackson. James-Michael Johnson has some potential, but the fact is the Browns have a solid core of defensive linemen...for a 4-3. Though I do inherently prefer a 3-4, it's going to take maybe 2-3 years to adjust personnel.

I may be in the minority, but as I said, the more I think about it, the more I like this hire. Banner's hired a little-known coach before, and his name was Andy Reid. Ever heard of him?

Yes, the Browns have gone through so many different changes since 1999, and I don't want to just say "this time is different," but...yeah, I just won't say that.

I'll put it like this instead—the fact that Banner has put together a successful franchise before, and the fact that Haslam has run a successful business venture like Pilot, makes me feel pretty good about Chudzinski. Let's at least give him a chance, Browns fans.

No matter what, he can't be worse than Shurmur.

...right?

~MAS

"So this is what rejection feels like." — No Chip Kelly, and a plea for Bruce Arians

Looks like Chip Kelly's talents will be
staying in Oregon or heading to Philly.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

After Friday night's news that Chip Kelly was "very close" to becoming the next head coach of the Cleveland Browns came down, I got a post ready for when his hiring was officially announced.

Of course, the best laid plans are the ones that go awry, right?

Well, I'd bet that's probably what the Browns decision makers are thinking at this point.

As I'm sure you all know by now, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner are moving on from their pursuit of Oregon's Kelly. Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer cites "league sources" saying the Browns weren't sure if Kelly was 100% into the idea of leaving Oregon to coach in Cleveland, and that is the primary reason Haslam and Banner are moving on in their search. They want the coach they hire to be "all in" for coaching the Browns.

Okay, I do realize that this could be some kind of smoke screen from the Browns so that they look a little less foolish when they later say, "We wanted this guy all along," but at the same time you can't say that Kelly's process had nothing to do with it. In a lot of ways, the guy seems like the little boy who cried "wolf." You can't be surprised if he ends up going back to Oregon. And if he does, then he obviously was not 100% into the idea of coaching the Browns.

Don't get me wrong—I'm not saying that to validate the smoke screen. But whether it was Kelly or the Browns backing away, the fact is that it just wasn't going to work.

And now the Browns are left to "reboot" their coaching search...whatever that means.

One of the issues is that nobody knows who in the world the Browns might want to interview next. We know—not from the Browns themselves, mind you—that Haslam and Banner have interviewed former Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Wisenhunt, and Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton. But Doug Marrone was supposedly the next guy up for the Browns, and he agreed to coach the Buffalo Bills this morning.

If you're keeping the speculative score, that means the Browns have been shafted by their first (Nick Saban), second (Kelly), and third (Marrone) choices. You could probably throw Bill O'Brien into that mix somewhere as well, since the Browns did interview him before he decided to remain at Penn State.

Four coaches, four swings and misses.

Obviously, at some point in the next few weeks, the Browns are going to hire a coach. And I sincerely hope that this "reboot" begins and ends with one man—Bruce Arians.

Sure, there are other names out there like Wisenhunt and Lovie Smith, but I just really feel Arians is the perfect fit. He was Butch Davis' offensive coordinator the only time the Browns made it to the playoffs since 1999—meaning he coached (my favorite "modern era" Brown) Kelly Holcomb to that (incredible) 429 yard, three-touchdown performance against the Steelers. And he also coached Andrew Luck to a rookie record for passing yards this season. That's in addition to him taking over for Chuck Pagano after he was diagnosed with cancer, meaning he does, in fact, have some type of head coaching experience.

Furthermore, after Davis fired him, Arians spent the next eight seasons with the Steelers, meaning he knows the division. In the AFC North—almost always one of the toughest divisions in the NFL—that kind of knowledge is invaluable. Who knows, maybe Arians' offense could be exactly what Brandon Weeden needs to be effective?

So hopefully Arians' bout with the flu that landed him in the hospital instead of on the sideline for the Colts' playoff game in Baltimore is not serious so that the Browns can set up an interview with him as soon as possible. Mike Carins of WEWS tweeted that Arians really did want the job in Cleveland, and now that it's up for grabs again, this job should fall right into his lap.

The Cleveland Browns: Never a dull moment.

~MAS

"Strong Leadership"

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam wants "strong leadership" in
his next head coach, and that's a good thing.

As we all know, yesterday was was a very Black Monday around the NFL with seven head coaches and five general managers losing their jobs—Pat Shurmur and Tom Heckert among them.

This, of course, was no surprise, including to at least Heckert himself. I'm not going to re-hash everything that's gone on with the Mike Holmgren-Heckert-Shurmur triangle, because in the end it doesn't matter. When Jimmy Haslam decided to spend a billion dollars to buy the Browns in August, those three never had a real chance to keep their jobs.

And it makes sense. I'm sure I've said this before—and I'll probably say it again—but when you spend a billion dollars to buy something, you get to do whatever you want with it. And I've never been that big of a fan of Shurmur anyway, so to me he's no big loss.

What's important now is to find the right man to lead the Browns on the field. And that's what leads me to to title of this post: Strong leadership.

When asked the qualities he's looking for in a head coach, Haslam gave that two-word answer. That's after being a part of Steelers ownership the past few years, and then watching Shurmur throughout the season. And it's also after doing a lot of research with CEO Joe Banner over the past few months.

So what might "strong leadership" mean a little more specifically?

Well, in my opinion, it certainly doesn't mean Shurmur. I know Holmgren basically set up Shurmur to fail—a first time head coach with no offseason and no offensive coordinator was a horrendous strategy—but if you just look at the guy and compare him with coaches that have won recent Super Bowls, Shurmur just doesn't stack up.

I'm talking about coaches like Tom Coughlin, Mike Tomlin, Mike McCarthy, Sean Payton, Tony Dungey, Bill Cowher, Bill Bellichick, and Jon Gruden—those are the coaches who have won Super Bowls in the past 10 years. There aren't necessarily tangible reasons for this, but you can say that all of those men are strong leaders. Each one of them passes the "eyeball test" for that. They're all accountable for decisions they make—whether good or bad—and they're not surly or condescending to the media (...well, with the exception of Bellichick for that one). But they certainly don't look like they're cluelessly sleep walking through the game on the sideline.

Because Super Bowls have only been won by these types of men in the last 10 years, I think it makes sense that Haslam and Banner want to find a coach first and then go after a GM or Director of Player Personnel. Yes, finding players is important, but coaching up those players and creating schemes that put those players in positions to win is arguably even more vital to success.

What I don't think, though, is that "strong leader" is code for "Nick Saban" or "Chip Kelly." Sure, those men have had good success at Alabama and Oregon, respectively, but I feel Haslam is talking more about an "it" factor than anything else. Whatever "it" happens to be, it's the same factor that has led all the aforementioned coaches to winning the Super Bowl.

So far, reports have surfaced that Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone and Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton will interview for the Browns job. And, of course, everybody thinks Chip Kelly and Nick Saban are on the short list. I agree with Terry Pluto, though, in that I'd like Colts offensive coordinator/interim head coach Bruce Arians to at least get an interview, and I also wouldn't mind seeing Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien get a look.

But in the end, I just want Haslam and Banner to get it right. It's not about pleasing me or any other fan. As Haslam said yesterday, "If we win, [the coach will] be embraced."

He couldn't be more right.

Start Me Up: Browns @ Bengals

Let's hope Brandon Weeden will have a better
rating than 5.1 today.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday—the second Browns Sunday in the 2012 season.

Straight up, I'm having a very hard time finding positive reasons that the Browns will win this one.

Let me explain. Obviously, the Browns offense still isn't very good. Brandon Weeden is a rookie, and he's going to need some time to adjust to the NFL. I think the game speed overwhelmed him last week—something that isn't entirely unexpected since he only played five quarters in the preseason. Trent Richardson also played too much last week, as even head coach Pat Shurmur admitted he played probably 10-12 more snaps than he was prepared for. But irrespective of the snaps, you can't convince me Richardson should've had 19 carries after not taking a live snap since the National Championship Game in January.

Okay, yes I do expect Richardson to be better this week after getting his feet wet against the Eagles, but who knows what to expect from Weeden? Even if he stinks again, they have to keep him in there. He's a first round pick. If you think he should be taken out in favor of McCoy, you're lost.

I have more confidence in the other side of the ball, but not much. Joe Haden's immaturity got the best of him and now the Browns won't have him for four pretty key games. The other starting cornerback, Sheldon Brown, is reportedly going to play, but won't be at 100 percent after sustaining a shoulder injury last week. With an elite caliber receiver in AJ Green on the Bengals offense, how will Dimitri Patterson, Buster Skrine, and 2012 7th round pick Trevin Wade do against the pass?

Also, lost in the shuffle last week was that the Browns allowed 110 yards on 20 carries to LeSean McCoy. That's 5.5 yards a carry. Why Andy Reid had Michael Vick throw the ball 56 times when he had a running game that effective will always be a mystery to me, but the Browns are going to have to do a better job against the run if they want to win today. Despite getting demolished by Baltimore last week, Bengals RB Benjarvus Green-Ellis rushed the ball 18 times for 91 yards—that's 5.1 yards a carry.

I'm not really a betting man, but if I were I'd put money on the Bengals pounding the run today with the Law Firm and trying to play ball control offense.

But despite all of that negativity surrounding the Browns this week, let's think about what we know about the Bengals. They always have these flash-in-the-pan years, and then go back down to earth. It's happened plenty of times before—they won the AFC North in 2005, then went 8-8 in 2006. Then they won the division again in 2009, and went 4-12 in 2010. They really weren't even competitive against Baltimore on Monday night, and with the short week who knows how they'll look today?

So what's going to happen in this game? Honestly, I have no clue. I think it'll once again be a low scoring affair, with Dick Jauron once again doing a bang up job with the "Bend but don't break" defense. I think both teams will try to establish a solid running game early and often. And I think the Browns will probably struggle trying to cover AJ Green.

But without further ado...

The Prediction: Bengals 20 - Browns 17

It'll be close, the Browns will once again be winning in the fourth quarter because the defense has kept the team in the game, but a tired D will once again lead to a heart breaking loss.

Can you really see this one playing out any other way?

Well, no matter what happens, I'll see you after.
~MAS

The Final Word: Only in Cleveland

It would've been more surprising had they actually held on to win the game.

That's what I thought to myself as I sat watching the Eagles offense take a knee after Brandon Weeden threw his fourth interception of the day to seal a 17-16 victory.

Ah yes, Weeden's fourth interception.

Wow.

This morning, I prepared myself to sit down and write a post defending the 28-year-old quarterback if his debut didn't exactly go well. But now...

I mean, the numbers speak for themselves. Shield your children's eyes: 12/35 for 118 yards. 3.4 yards per completion. Four interceptions. And—the kicker—a horrific 5.1 quarterback rating.

Now we can all talk about how bad Weeden was, how Colt McCoy is better and should be playing, and to be honest, I really can't make an argument to counter that other than let's give Weeden a few more games. But to me, the bigger concern was the Browns startling lack of a running game.

I wrote in the Start Me Up today that Trent Richardson really is the key to all the Browns offensive hopes and dreams, and if you look at his numbers from today you can easily see why the good guys lost.

Richardson carried the ball 19 times for just 39 yards. His longest run was just nine yards, and it came on the play to the right were he truck sticked an Eagles defender into next week.

Obviously 2.1 yards per carry is not ever going to get the job done. And on a team that traded up to draft Richardson 3rd overall, 39 yards on 19 carries in an entire game is simply unacceptable.

To be honest, however, I really wasn't expecting Richardson to get the ball so much. I'm not sure why Pat Shurmur didn't spell him a little bit with Brandon Jackson for some carries. Yes, Jackson did make a key catch for a first down, but Richardson hadn't taken a handoff in a live game since the National Championship Game in January when he was still playing for Alabama. You can't tell me he was prepared to go 19 carries in his first NFL action.

That being said, the Browns were embarrassing on short yardage run situations. Yes, Philly loaded up the box constantly when it was 2nd or 3rd and 1, but with a RB like Richardson, you must get to the point where you know, I know, the defense knows—everybody in the NFL knows he's going to get the ball on 3rd and short and he makes it anyway. That's what a dominant running game looks like.

That's what the Browns need to strive for.

I'll kill Shurmur for many things over the course of this season, but I can't be too mad about not going for 2 after D'Qwell Jackson's pick-six. After the touchdown, there was 13:59 left to go in the game. That's a whole lot of time. And honestly, the way the Browns offense was going, was there really a realistic chance that they'd make it? At least because they kicked the extra point, two field goals would've just tied the game, instead of winning it.

Not that it really matters.

In the end, we're stuck with yet another gut wrenching loss. I long for the days when we'll be happy after games like this instead of stuck feeling the same old way game after game, week after week, year after freaking year.

Until next week...
~MAS

Start Me Up: 2012 Cleveland Browns Season

If you ask me, the Browns season hopes are tied
to how well this guy can run the ball.

The return of Start Me Up posts can only mean one thing...

The Browns are back, baby!

This 2012 season is obviously going to be a big one for four men: Jimmy Haslam, Mike Holmgren, Tom Heckert, and Pat Shurmur.

As someone who just bought a franchise for a billion dollas, Haslam has earned the right to do whatever he wants with the Browns. And based on everything I've learned about him in the last month or so, I think he's going to do what it takes to win football games here in Cleveland. Not only is he an extreme lover of football, he's a shrewd businessman. The Browns will be a hobby for him. It's not that owning an NFL franchise won't make him richer, but it also won't be his only source of income.

That's the way I want an owner to operate.

Still, though, this season could—and probably should—be defining for Holmgren, Heckert, and Shurmur's careers in Cleveland. Holmgren is already expected to be packing his bags for Seattle as former Philadelphia Eagles President Joe Banner is presumably going to fill that same role in Cleveland once the sale is finally approved in October.

But for Heckert and Shurmur, things could be different. If the team plays well and shows that what they've begun building over the last few years is making tangible progress, I believe there's a very good chance that both could stay. I can't give a number for wins on that, but if they go 6-10, I think there's more than a reasonable argument that progress has been made.

If they go 1-15 as some "experts" have been predicting...well, let's not even go down that road.

When you think about it, though, the keys to the season pretty much rest in the hands of the supremely young Browns offense.

Obviously the Browns hope Trent Richardson and Brandon Weeden can become stable backfield fixtures in Cleveland for the foreseeable future, but if the season goes south only one of those guys realistically has a chance to be here when a new regime takes over. And his name isn't Brandon Weeden.

To me, if Richardson is healthy and productive, the Browns will have a realistic shot at winning each and every game they play. Yes, I know the NFL has little by little shifted into a passing league, but a running back with speed, power, and agility still has a place in the league—just ask the Texans. I'm not going to pretend it's all about the running back—since I firmly believe Houston lost to the Ravens in the divisional round last year because they were playing their third quarterback in TJ Yates—but if you have a top-notch running game and can control the ball and the clock, you will have a chance to win.

Plus, now opposing defenses have at least one guy that they must gameplan to stop. You literally could not say that about one Browns offensive player last year. As weeks go on, we might even prove to have two or three guys like that—Greg Little has reportedly made some strides, and Josh Gordon is just a supreme physical talent. Hell, maybe even Weeden will progress enough to scare some defenses as well.

For now, we all have to hope that Holmgren's bold prediction that the team will take a "big jump" this year holds true. Will it? I'm not sure. There are just so many unknowns on this team. The lack of depth at the linebacker position scares me—and it should scare you too. At some point, Joe Haden might be out for four games, and that would be terrible. And losing Phil Taylor for half the season at one of the DT spots certainly isn't that good either...

But when it comes down to it, who cares? It's football season yet again, and as of this writing the Browns are undefeated!

And because this is a Start Me Up post, of course we have some predictions to make...

The Season Prediction: 5-11, Fourth Place, AFC North.

I just don't see how the Browns are going to win more than five games with their schedule. I want to be wrong—meaning I want them to win more games—but there are just too many question marks. Like I said, if Richardson is healthy and productive, the Browns will have the ability to be in every game. It's just going to be a matter of making sure those games turn into Ws, and I'm just not sure they have the ability to do it.

And now for today...

The Prediction: Eagles 28 - Browns 17

Okay, here's a bold prediction—the Browns will come out and score a touchdown on their first drive of the season. Trent Richardson will surprise us all and come out looking like a man on a mission, allowing the Browns to run the ball down Philly's throat while Weeden comes up with some big time throws. And then the Eagles will remember that they're playing a worthy opponent, and all the wind will be sucked out of the Browns sails. But I really don't think it's going to be as bad as it looked like it could be in that preseason game just a couple of weeks ago.

For all of you loyal blog followers out there, unfortunately there won't be any halftime blurb today as I've got too many meetings to go to, so I probably won't even see most of the game. But at some point, I'll do what I can to see what I can and there will be a Final Word. So all three of you, don't you worry about a thing.

Enjoy the day, Browns fans!
~MAS

How I'll Remember Art Modell

I’m not going to cheer for Art Modell’s death.

But I’m also not going to pretend like it should be a sad day in Cleveland.

I’ve heard a whole lot in the last 24 hours about how great of a guy Modell was, and how much he loved to laugh, and how he did so much for the game of the NFL, and the city of Cleveland. And I just don’t care.

Yes, he was a human being, and he has died. And I wish his family nothing but peace.

But I can’t sit here and act like every Browns fan should be mourning Modell’s death.

Conversely, I can’t begrudge any Baltimore Ravens fan or any member of that organization for mourning him either. That city and fan base had their team ripped from them as well when the Colts moved to Indianapolis. Modell gave them football again, and did it with a great, stable, storied franchise. With all that, of course they should celebrate his life.

But that doesn’t mean I have to. 

Multiple times Wednesday night, I saw tweets that said “Art Modell was the last one to win a Championship in Cleveland in 1964.”

That means absolutely nothing to me. I wasn’t even a thought in the back of my mother’s mind in 1964, let alone alive to see the city celebrate the win. Hell, I don’t even remember the Browns ever winning a playoff game and I was alive in 1994—yet hardly cognizant of what was going on.  

As far as I’m concerned, Modell stole Cleveland’s football team for no good reason. He took it away from us. He took our franchise, one with a rich winning history, and moved it to Baltimore.

And then he won a Super Bowl.

Modell said that in the end, he had “no choice” but to move the team. I simply don’t see how that’s true.

He could have sold it.

But as former Browns GM Earnie Accorsi said on 92.3 The Fan today with Bull & Fox, Modell “wasn’t going to sell it” because the team was “the love of his life.”

To me, anyone that says the situation “was more complicated than portrayed” is choosing to ignore the fact that the Browns could have been sold. I’ve heard plenty of times that Modell was broke and needed the money. If he loved Cleveland as much as he claimed to, he would’ve sold the team and to someone who would have kept our storied franchise where it belonged. 

Yes, I know we still technically have all those records and colors and whatever else here in Cleveland, but as far as I’m concerned, the Ravens are the old Browns. All our tradition, stability, and everything else we loved about that franchise is in Baltimore. It starts with their front office, as Ozzie Newsome is their General Manager.

Ozzie Newsome is a Cleveland Browns Hall of Fame Tight End. He’s on the Cleveland Browns Stadium Ring of Honor. There’s no good reason he should be the GM of the freaking Baltimore Ravens. The principle of the matter drives me up the wall every time I think about it.

I recently watched this video on YouTube of the NBC telecast of the last Browns game in Cleveland in 1996. To me, that was the day the franchise died. And at the time, even color analyst Mike Ditka said, “If Modell had any sort of sense of dignity, he would have sold the team.”

You know why? Cleveland supported that team through thick and thin. I’m not going to claim I remember Municipal Stadium because I don’t, but I’ve heard enough people say that it was a s— hole, but it was our s— hole. And, from what I understand (do correct me if I’m wrong on this), the city had voted to build a new stadium for Modell and the Browns. With all that, I don’t think I’ll ever understand why Modell chose to move the team instead of just sell it.

And for everyone who says that Modell is such a great guy who was misunderstood, that’s all well and good. But don’t expect me to feel sympathy for someone who was so selfish he claimed he had “no choice” but to move the team just so he could keep his precious NFL franchise. I won’t do it.   

Again, don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying that we should celebrate Modell’s death. That’s both inhumane and absurd. As 92.3 The Fan’s Ken Carman tweeted, “Modell was a poor sports owner. Not a terrorist, child molester, murder. Death is a part of life, and there’s no way I’d cheer for it.”

Carman’s right. It’s not something to celebrate.

But Clevelanders, that doesn’t mean we should ever forget what that man did to our city, our franchise, and us. We went three years without football in a town that lives for it. We love our Browns with a passion that is unmatched by most other fan bases in the NFL. And to take that away, and leave us with what has been a pathetic excuse for an NFL franchise…

To me, at the very least that’s unforgettable. And for many, it’s probably unforgiveable.

So I’ll leave you with this. I know I’m going to remember Art Modell for the villain he was. I don’t care what good he did for the NFL. I don’t care that he was the last owner to win a Championship in Cleveland.

I never lived through any of that.

My only impression of him is the bastard that took the Browns away.

And no matter what anyone might say to try and convince me, I’ll never, ever forget that. 

"Come out and compete," they said. "It's a competition," they said.

Colt McCoy looking a little defeated. I'm sure "defeated"
is exactly how he felt on Monday

Even if your name is "Colt McCoy," you saw this coming from a mile away.

The first depth charts came out for the Cleveland Browns today, and as Pat Shurmur so eloquently put it, "Brandon Weeden will start the Detroit game, and he'll be our starter going forward here."

Like I said, even if you're McCoy himself, you knew this was coming. Anybody who has attended more than one training camp practice has surely noticed that McCoy doesn't take any snaps with the first team. And that was something the young quarterback seemed to think was important enough to specifically point out to the media as he spoke after practice this afternoon.

"I would like to say that I haven't taken any snaps in walk through or in practice with the first group," McCoy said.

That's right, bud, you sure haven't.

McCoy is a gentleman and a professional. Does he provide material that the media is going to salavate over so they (...we?) can write their (...our?) articles? No he does not.

But to me, that's just fine.

You see, today was the first time McCoy has even voiced any type of frustration to the media over what has happened to the quarterback situation in Cleveland. Okay, so that might have something to do with the fact that it was just the third time all camp he's spoken (when he saw the gathering waiting for him, he said, "You guys wanna talk, huh?"). But even so, McCoy didn't explicitly say he was ticked off because it was obvious he never had a chance.

"Well I thought coming in it would be a competition," he said at one point. And in response to a reporter saying he had a shot at the starting role he quipped, "I did?"

So, yes, he went as close as you can get without going over in terms of did he or didn't he say, "there was no quarterback competition." But he was adamant about the fact that he was still going out to compete and trying to get better everyday.

Unfortunately, the simple fact of the matter is that Brandon Weeden is just better than McCoy. Weeden is bigger and stronger than McCoy. He's been more accurate in practice than McCoy. He has a better ability to throw the ball downfield than McCoy.

And I don't want to sound too politically incorrect with this, but McCoy just looks slow on the field sometimes. When he goes through his reads it's as if someone is counting, "One-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, three-one-thousand..." instead of the "one, two, three, boom" you see when looking at Weeden. It's even apparent during 7-on-7 drills, where there aren't any linemen for McCoy to have to look over. He reads the defense slowly and then has no choice but to go with his checkdown. Watching him in practice has kind of explained the offense last year. McCoy is just slow on the uptake.

In some ways, it pains me to write this because I like McCoy a lot. He's exactly the kind of guy you'd like to date your sister. But that certainly doesn't make him a quality NFL quarterback.

The problem is that McCoy was supposed to be a developmental project. Think about it, when McCoy was originally picked in the third round of the 2010 draft, he was supposed to be the third quarterback behind Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace. He was to hold the clipboard and learn for a few years before potentially competing for the starting job.

Then Delhomme and Wallace both got high ankle sprains in 2010 and that plan got shot to hell.

We all know how the story has turned out for McCoy. Could he use a fresh start? Probably. Will he get that chance? I'm not sure. Both McCoy and Wallace have looked like backups in camp, and this team just isn't big enough for three real quarterbacks. (And if you think Thad Lewis counts, you obviously haven't seen him in practice.)

In the end, I do hope we're able to keep McCoy and send Wallace elsewhere. Heaven knows we could use a good backup for the next few years that's actually going to put the team first, and won't unnecessarily change a play at the end of the first half.

McCoy's a professional. He can be that guy.

~MAS

Welcome to Cleveland, Jimmy Haslam

For those of you who read this blog often, you know that I'm a huge football fan.

And right now, my beloved Cleveland Browns are going through a period of transition and I couldn't be happier about it.

Maybe I'm being an impressionable and naïve fan, but from everything I've seen, read, and heard from Jimmy Haslam III, I think we're about to usher in a fantastic new era of football in Cleveland, Ohio.

Once the sale becomes official—either in October or a at a special NFL commissioned meeting—Haslam will become the fifth owner in Browns history. The first, obviously, was Paul Brown, followed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Al Lerner was awarded the expansion franchise that began playing in 1999, and once he passed away his son Randy took over.

And I've heard some people talk about this, but the way Randy Lerner just didn't seem to love owning a football team is somewhat baffling. I mean really, can you imagine owning anything better than a football team?

To me, that's one of the best things about Jimmy Haslam. He came out to practice today dressed in Browns t-shirt and shorts to see his team practice. And throughout the morning session, he talked with both President Mike Holmgren and GM Tom Heckert, asking questions about the way things are run on and off the field.

Isn't it a beautiful thing to see the owner actually taking an interest in the franchise?

And that's not to speak too ill of Randy Lerner, but everybody knows he was the epitome of an absentee owner. Mike Holmgren had been attending the NFL Owners Meetings for him for the past couple of years, so what does that tell you?

I will say this for Lerner, though—he was never afraid to spend money. He threw tens of millions of dollars at people so that they would just go away—Romeo Crenel, Eric Mangini, Carmen Policy, Phil Savage, the list goes on and on and on.

But now, the Haslam family from Tennessee is coming in and I believe we're going to see a new period of stability. If Holmgren is right and the team does take "A pretty big jump" this year, I don't see Haslam cleaning house as some have reported he will.

Seriously, if this team wins six games and looks good doing it, why in the world would you blow it up?

This team finally seems to have a direction. It finally seems to have a purpose. It has an offensive and defensive philosophy. We have a premier running back—seriously, if you haven't seen Trent Richardson in person in Berea, just wait until next Friday's first preseason game. The new quarterback might be older, but he looks like a winner as well.

Now you add an owner to this equation who is passionate, driven, and committed to making this team successful here in Cleveland—what's not to like?

I may have drank that Brown and Orange kool-aid too quickly, but man is Jimmy Haslam an impressive man.

And I'd be shocked if he didn't bring winning back to Cleveland.

Here we go Brownies, here we go!
~MAS