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October 2, 2008Jim Thome, Thin Thome
October 2, 2008
As the Cleveland Browns sit and rest over the Bye Week while waiting to take on the New York Giants on Monday Night Football (again), it’s understandable that this would be a time of reflection for the Browns organization and the media alike. After all, this season has not exactly turned out like anyone around this franchise had envisioned. Unfortunately, it seems like it’s only the media and fans who are asking questions. It seems like we are the only ones who understand that the status quo is not working.
Rather than showing accountability, all we’ve heard out of Berea instead is excuses and plausible deniability. Craig touched on this a bit earlier this week with Phil Savage’s comments, but this is starting to extend so much farther beyond just Phil Savage (who, I must point out, I am still 100% in support of despite his botching of the QB situation and his seeming lack of frustration with Romeo Crennel). It’s the coaches and the players themselves who all seem united in this “it’s not our fault, we’re fine” mentality that is driving fans nuts.
James Walker, who covers the AFC North for ESPN.com’s NFL Blog Network had a mailbag session yesterday, and the following exchange came up,
“Ryan from Cleveland writes: James, whats going on in Berea (Cleveland)? Are the fans the only ones who see the way D. Anderson ended last season and started this season playing so poorly? Please tell me Savage and Crennell are not that blind? Or are we missing something?
James Walker: Whether you agree or disagree, Ryan, I’ll try to give you a peek into their mindset in Berea. To bench Derek Anderson would hold just one player accountable instead of the other half-dozen or so on offense who also are underperforming. No one is saying bench receiver Braylon Edwards, for instance. No one is saying bench tackle Kevin Shaffer as another example. Yet those two have been just as inconsistent and their jobs are not on the line. It’s always easiest to bench the quarterback, but the Browns are not to that point yet. They know some of the problem lies with Anderson, but certainly not all of it.”
Really, in all honesty, I love James Walker’s work on the AFC North blog, but that is not an answer. Of course nobody is saying bench Braylon Edwards. Who would take Braylon’s place? Syndric Steptoe? Believe me when I say this, if the Browns had a young first round pick at WR rotting on the bench while Braylon was simply not getting the job done, we’d all be asking for him to take Braylon’s spot. The reality is, that situation doesn’t exist. But what does exist is a young first round draft pick at QB who is rotting on the bench while Derek Anderson plays QB worse than anyone else in the NFL.
Nobody is saying just the coach is the problem, or just the QB is the problem. It’s a matter of what’s available to be fixed right now, though. It’s as if the Browns are saying to us, “we’re either going to hold everyone accountable or nobody accountable,” and that line of thinking is just getting to be unacceptable.
Derek Anderson is dead last in the NFL in passer rating, he’s second to last in completion percentage, completing fewer passes than he misses on, and he leads the NFL in interceptions. So surely Derek Anderson realizes just how bad he has been and is willing to show his leadership by owning up to his problems, right? Wrong.
In Tony Grossi’s article yesterday for the Plain Dealer covering the Q&A session with Anderson, DA was typically defiant and irritable with the media, and unwilling to acknowledge that anything might be wrong at all. Grossi writes,
“Arm strength, lingering effects of his preseason concussion, throwing mechanics, and a sideline spat with Braylon Edwards in Cincinnati all were subjects thrown at Anderson.
The line of questioning prompted Anderson on two occasions to good-naturedly exclaim, “We’re digging deep on the bye week, aren’t we?””
Oh, hilarious, DA. I wish he would try his hand at stand up comedy. Seriously, at least he would vacate the QB spot in that case. But I guess we shouldn’t worry about that, because DA is just fine. Ask him, he’ll tell you.
“I’m throwing the ball well. My arm doesn’t hurt me like you guys think it might. My brains are fine. I mean, we’re digging pretty deep right now.”
Yeah, he’s throwing the ball well. Haven’t we been watching? What’s wrong with us? The guy is fine and he’s on top of his game. Oh, also, remember that fight with Braylon that we all saw on TV? That never happened either. Anderson tells us,
“There was no argument whatsoever. I just mentioned to him about being smart. I told him I loved the effort he was giving, just be smart. He agreed. Jamal happened to come over while we were in the process of getting the whole offense together and somebody said, ‘Offense, all up.’ So it looked like he and I were arguing but that wasn’t the case.”
Like I said, plausible deniability. Anderson must really think we’re all stupid. Everyone saw what happened, they showed it clear as day on the sidelines. That was not Braylon playfully agreeing with DA and Lewis stepping into a huddle with the offense.
This constant state of denial makes is making me violently ill. It’s not just DA, either. Romeo Crennel seems to think everything is smooth sailing as far as DA is concerned,
“I don’t think so,” Crennel said about whether the concussion may be affecting his play. “I think that the missed time has an impact on that. He missed games and missed practice time. He was cleared as far as the concussion goes, and I think his decision-making is still pretty good, he still commands the huddle, his verbiage involved in the offense, he’s able to get that out.
“I think the missed time has more to do with it and also the missed weapons around him. It’s just not him by himself. It’s always somebody else he has to depend on.”
Once again, wholesale accountability. All or none. Anderson’s decision making is still “pretty good”, Crennel says. I guess that solid decision making explains the 49.6% completion percentage and the 6 interceptions Anderson has thrown this year. It has to be, since DA is fine. He’s healthy and there’s nothing wrong, and he’s making good decisions. So how else can Anderson’s numbers be so bad?
If you compare Ohio State to Cleveland, and more importantly, Jim Tressel to Romeo Crennel, you can notice some stark differences. When the Ohio State offense was stagnant and struggling, Tressel made the hard decsion to make changes where possible. He benched the 6th year senior captain and reigning media selection as Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in QB Todd Boeckman in favor of a true freshman in Terrelle Pryor. Tressel has started a true freshman at Center the last two games. He has switched up his defensive line to put in basically 4 DE’s across the board. Tressel never rested on the laurels of what players accomplished last year. Instead, he realized that this year was in peril, and he made adjustments where he felt like the backups could possible offer an improvement. It’s an ideology and coaching philosophy that completely escapes Romeo Crennel.
Instead, we get to hear from Savage about how DA did enough last year to warrant him playing as poorly as possible and not being in jeopardy of losing his job any time soon. Until the Browns as an organization come to grips with reality and realize that everything is not ok here, things will not get better, they will only get worse as team morale begins to fracture and decay.
26 Comments
“If you compare Ohio State to Cleveland, and more importantly, Jim Tressel to Romeo Crennel, you can notice some stark differences.”
Tressel opts for the occasional salad…
But in all seriousness, very valid points. This is a sport where VORP needs to be used…at least intra-team. I’d assume that D.A. would have one of the lower ones on the team, if we had viable stats to use for Quinn.
I am going to feel sorry for Randy Lerner next Monday night when the Browns are constantly booed throughou the game.
I hate DA
The name on the door says “It’s not our fault”
/slogan fix’d
I’m breaking up with the Browns. Usually, our whole family watches the game together. However, the past two Sundays have gone so much better in our lives as we have spent time doing other things…. Playing cards with my wife, reading with my daughter, chopping wood for the winter, and playing catch with my son… as opposed to watching a repeat of the last twenty years. My bailout plan: Take all of the money that I would be spending on tickets, Brown’s parties and merchandise in 2008 and put it into savings. So far, its working well. I guess its interesting enough to check in on the game, but at this point (year 9 since the return), what’s the point in going out of my way to watch it?
I think RAC and DA were sent here by Belicheck and Modell to ruin our franchise as they did.
Yeah I don’t understand the organization at all. Maybe, they’re thinking we have a buy week to get healthy and get things together, if not. Then that’s when the meltdown will begin. i.e. start Quinn, fire Crennel.
I really dont think it is fair to compare college football to any nfl team. Tressel can make changes because the drop off in talent isnt there like it is in the nfl.
DA is the only one where a decent player can actually step in. Anderson still being in is probably due to him giving the team the better chance to win right now. Especially with all the injuries in the AFC North, I want us to try to win games. We dont need Brady in until we are mathematically ruled out.
I’m hoping that when we get our heads kicked in by the Giants, the front office might just realize that some changes need to happen. It’s disgusting watching this team play and listening them interact with the media. A sign of a good team growing up is showing accoutability. This team shows no sign of accountability. I’m thinking that both RAC and DA are out of a job come Tuesday following the Monday night game. Good riddance to those turds!
I think once we do get our asses beat by the Giants, some changes will be made. I think Shaffer is out of a job as soon as Tucker gets healthy, and another sorry performance from DA, which more than likely will happen because with the way the right side of our line is performing the Giants amazing D-Line will tear apart DA which will lead to Quinn getting the starting nod.
That said, maybe this bye week will be used to get everyone healthy, get the rhythm back in the offense and get their swagger back. Maybe
Sam, when Brady Quinn finally gets to play, I will bet you anything that he puts up better numbers than DA has right now. You name it, I’ll wager it. DA does NOT give the Browns the best chance to win right now.
@RockKing – I think you’re right but I think that is because the line and recievers will be playing better at that point.
How about if Quinn has more TD’s at the end of the season than Anderson, I will come down to Columbus and buy you a beer.
Loser of the bet has to buy me one as well
Well, I’m not taking that bet because I don’t believe Crennel has the guts to make a change, so I think Quinn ends the year with 0 TDs.
Somebody made an online petition to get RAC fired. I just signed it. Here’s a link so you can too: http://www.petitiononline.com/firerc08/petition.html
Let’s be honest, you can’t play much worse than DA has played so far this season. yes the line has been suspect, but he is just inaccurate. He is like a pitcher who can’t find the strike zone. Even last week he was making the wrong reads, underthrew Heiden on 4th down, overthrew Jerome Harrison on a screen. He almost got K2 killed in B’more. Yes, he isn’t the only problem, but you can’t tell me that another QB wouldn’t have been able to make those throws. It is statistically improbable to be as bad as DA has been so far this season, so that means it is statistically probable that Quinn could have done better.
I award Craig 5 points for his excellent analysis. Spot on.
The attitude does seem terrible as they walk around acting like they have just won a ton of games. Sports is a “what have you done for me lately?” business, it always has been. I don’t care what DA or Braylon did last year. If they can’t do anything on the field this year, if RAC can’t coach this year, then it is time to fix it. We may not have replacement for Edwards, but we do for DA. He is not accurate at all, as has been said. I don’t think Quinn ever had accuracy problems at Notre Dame, his was more arm strength quesitons if I remember. Bottom line is, get whoever in the game that gives us the best chance to win, and that is obviously not Anderson right now.
At least the team’s got swagger.
@Rock: I award you seven Schrute Bucks for giving Craig 5 points.
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Dang it! I was trying to upload a picture of some actual Schrute bucks. It obviously didn’t work.
Back to the Future:
Five and Six Years Ago we would be saying Holcomb, Couch, Holcomb, Couch….
Four Years ago it was “Garcia” wooooooh!
Three Years ago it was Difer, Frye, Dilfer Frye
Then there was Frye
Last Year it was Frye, Anderson, and then Quinn holding out like a #1 Pick
Today its Anderson, Quinn, Anderson, Quinn
Pittsburgh doesn’t have this problem. We’re addicted.
What is the conversion rate of Rock Points to Schrute Bucks?
So who do we call on when Quinn throws his first interception? And please don’t tell me it’s not gonna happen.
Bernie…
Hahaha, come on cathy….nobody was calling for DA’s job after just ONE interception. There’s no need to argue Reductio ad Absurdum.
Anderson started out as a wizzbang at the beginning of the season last year. Why? Because of Edwards and Winslow. But as the season progressed, Anderson’s productivity of play slid as the season progressed. Remember when a win at Cincy would have taken them to the playoffs? I believe he threw 3-4 interceptions and lost the game! Remember the Pro Bowl? The AFC was w3inning until he entered the game. And remember this season. 0-6 (including pre-season) until they lusked out and won against a hopeless team! He’s had his chance that’s for sure. If Savage is conceding the season (if he leaves Anderson in he is), why not give Quinn the nod and use the quarterback that cost the Browns a lot to get. Year after year we Browns fans go through this! It’s about time somebody at the top gets the message!!! BTW, Crennel needs a class on decision making!