Report: Jamal Lewis to Retire at Season’s End
November 2, 2009Braylon Watch – 13 Catches So Far
November 2, 2009
Has a team ever needed a bye week more than the Cleveland Browns right at this juncture? Things have gotten so bad that I literally sit back and laugh when Derek Anderson forces one into double coverage, or Eric Wright whiffs on a tackle in the secondary. What else can you do? Its a laughable mess. Ten years of this garbage and we are back to square one, thanks to that hot commodity duo of Eric Mangini and George Kokinis and the “genius” who hired them – Randy Lerner.
Think about it. Off the field you have an absentee/clueless owner who finally decided to show up and talk about the current situation after months and months in hiding. You’ve got a GM who is the 2010 version of the “unknown comic” (the comedian in the 80’s who always wore a bag over his head) who’s duties nobody really knows. After all, when the Browns traded WR Braylon Edwards, Kokinis wasn’t the one who faced the media to answer questions – that was Eric Mangini. And speaking of the head coach, the portly head man engineered a clean sweep of this roster and coaching staff, bringing in 10 of his former players while trying to change the culture of his new organization.
To say this hasn’t worked is an understatement. (I won’t even get into how much of an amateur offensive coordinator Brian Daboll is).
On the field, the team makes me long for the days of Jerry Ball, Ty Detmer and Darrin Chiaverini. The QB situation is a mess. Can we really sit through more of Derek Anderson? What is Mangini trying to prove there? Imagine how bad he must think Brady Quinn is if he can’t replace DA. The Wide Receivers and Tight Ends are a group of youngsters and journeyman who not only can’t seem to get open, but have a hard time holding on to the ball. It doesn’t help when seemingly every pass pattern involves only two receivers.
The Running Backs can’t really get into any sort of groove because the team is always trailing. The O-Line changes players like Eric Wedge changed Mark DeRosa’s position. The secondary is in constant flux to the point where WR Mike Furrey is a regular in the dime packages. The Linebackers have little to no play-making ability.
Save for Josh Cribbs and the special teams units, there is absolutely nothing to get excited about with this team.
So the bye week is here and we get two weeks to stew on just how bad things have gotten. RB Jamal Lewis is already talking retirement. Boy Randy tells the media he wants to bring in “a strong, credible, serious leader within the building to guide decisions in a far more conspicuous, open transparent way.” Well Randy, maybe you should have done this BEFORE you hired a coach this time? Adding more chefs in this kitchen is a horrific idea.
We shall see what happens over these next two weeks, but the state of the Cleveland Browns has never been sadder. Never. We are officially at rock bottom. Do I have any solutions? Not really. There is only one thing that I’d like to see happen, but won’t. Randy Lerner must cut his losses and sell. Enough is enough.
Oh, one last thing – give Jamal Lewis his release. Not because he is ineffective as a player, but so he can be signed to a contender and go after a ring in his last season. He deserves it for the crap he’s had to go through the last two years.
I’m just thankful I don’t have to nap sit through a Browns game this Sunday. We all need a mental break.
(photo by Tracy Boullian/PD)
22 Comments
Where’s your “GM”? Why doesn’t he grab a microphone as the leader of the organization and communicate anything to you? Why don’t you demand such?
No kidding, Bernie is really going to need these couple weeks to re-familiarize himself with the offense before he starts against Baltimore.
Wait that is why we brought him in right?
Amen, TD… Amen. I don’t have Sunday NFL ticket and I can’t be ditching the wife every Sunday to head to the bar, so I don’t get to see many of the Browns’ games. I do, however, follow them closely on the Yahoo Stattracker, and I have just started laughing to myself every time I see a drive-killing turnover. I expect it now more than I expect a punt, field goal, or (heaven forbid) touchdown. I kept waiting to see if a replay or something would overturn the 1 yard TD sneak by Anderson. I mean, an offensive touchdown? Bullcrap… he must have fumbled somehow and it wasn’t seen by the officials. Yet somehow, I have this strange optimism coming back from the bye-week… something along the lines of, “Well it’s not even humanly possible to get worse, so things can only go up.”
Hey, I’m ok with Randy going out and getting someone to oversee the operations of the team; it’s too late to fix this season, but bringing in a Cowher or Holmgren type could be just what this team needs going forward. Mangini would likely end up staying on in a reduced role (as in, not the GM/head coach combo he is today) and just run the team. Or, he could quit and forfeit the remaining millions on his contract to go be a D coordinator or secondary coach somewhere.
And I, for one, don’t want to see Lerner sell. I like that our owner is hands-off (see Davis, Al or Jones, Jerry for reasons why) and trusts his football people. He hasn’t hired great football people of late, but bringing in a proven commodity could change that.
I think it is just depressing, the saddes part is the only solution is for Randy to sell and have someone else rebuild this team, so in a few years we can compete, maybe.
The best thing about this season so far is that we cannot go 0-16. As someone said after the Buffalo game, now, if the game makes me physically ill, I have no reason to continue watching it.
The other Browns fans and I at the bar yesterday had a couple good laughs and I did get a free shot from the staff – a mind eraser. I should’ve waited to take it, though, as immediately after I finished it came the last turnover.
I think what this team needs more than a bye week is for the season to mercifully come to an end. I had no hopes going into this season, as the first year of a rebuild, new regime, new staff, new players, etc., don’t tend to go as smoothly for most teams, I don’t care who you are.
I’m not that surprised by the record, so I’m not really on the fire everyone kick just yet. We need to see a few drafts before we can judge anything that Mangini’s done. That’s just my feelings on it, however, it does suck how horrible we look. I’ll take the losses, but at least make it look like you’re trying to play a football game.
In brighter news, the bye week always means we get to see some good football, at least. So there’s that.
This team makes me long for the golden age of the Crennel era, when we would regularly rip off four wins a year. Man, those were the days.
Seriously, as bad as the expansion Browns have been, I always went into a game thinking that we had some hope of winning. I haven’t had that feeling for the last couple weeks. I turn it on knowing that we have no chance, no shot, no hope. Bring on the carnage.
Mangini may be great at choosing the color of the walls, firing secretaries, and deciding to wear turd pants, but he sucks at drafting and coaching. So why doesn’t Lerner “promote” him to interior decorator/office manager/fashion coordinator.
It’s obvious that Anderson is playing to make sure Brady doesn’t hit the escaltors in his contact that would pay him a lot more money. Why else would that 6’6 slacker continue to stay under center?. A monkey can see he isn’t doing that job then again i don’t want to insult a monkey.
Isis – you sound more and more like the preacher on the corner who shouts “The end of the world is here….repent your sins!”. We get it. Mangini is a joke, Lerner should sell…blah blah…observe…blah blah…kool-aid & bunkers…blah…..
I think Lerner has FINNALY relized he’s made a mistake, and is attempting to correct it, for which I respect that. I hate to jump on the ‘Fire Mangini’ bandwagon, but I think it’s time. Make Rob Ryan the interm coach for the rest of the year. His defense has come along nicely, but it’s hard to hold an opposing team from scoring when you’re on the field for 40 minutes of a 60 minute game. Bring in Cowher, or Gruden, or Shannahan; a coach with a winning track record, both on and off the field. Rebuild this dang thing for the last time, the right way, and let’s bring respect back to the city of Cleveland on Sunday afternoons.
Here’s a crazy thought. We’ve heard Lerner constantly mention a strong head leader type guy to run this organization. Kosar has been hired to be…Bernie Kosar? Warfield and Brown are our best players, but sadly never see the field. I’m gonna go outside the box on this one, and here’s my idea for Team President. We want a strong leader who knows football and has achieved success multiple times. I know many don’t want him as coach, but what about Marty as Team President?
why do people think Cowher is the right fit for the “football man”? He was a coach (a pretty good one), but that doesn’t make him the next Bil Parcells.
If Dave Zastudil & Josh cribbs do not make the Pro Bowl, it will be tragic.
I actually had a Steelers fan at work today tell me he felt sorry for us, and that the fans of Cleveland really did deserve better. How much worse of an insult can there be than pity from a once former rival. I kind of wish the team could just forfeit out the rest of the year, and save some face. It wouldn’t be as humiliating as actually playing.
“He hasn’t hired great football people of late”
corrected:
He hasn’t hired great football people ever. Not once.
The funniest thing to me is that at the bye week, the only GOOD thing the Browns have going for them is that they are the FIFTH LEAST penalized team in the NFL (in terms of number of penalties).
As bad as they are now in comparison even with Romeo’s worst teams, Romeo’s teams ALWAYS had a ton of stupid penalties to aid in killing drives/extending other teams’ drives. These Browns, however, are actually JUST THAT BAD on offense.
Careful TD, there have been at least a half dozen times since the Browns returned where I have said, “Well, we’ve hit rock bottom. There’s no place to go but up.” Guess what: Just when you think this franchise can’t go any lower, they do it. I can’t imagine what could possibly be worse than our current situation — expansion-level talent, horrific a-hole head coach signed for several years, puppet gm, no qb, no lbs, no dbs, no dls, no rbs, no wrs — but I’ve learned never to assume it can only get better with these Browns.
A bye year wouldn’t help this organization.
CNNSI is reporting Lerner is meeting with the 2 guys who are organizing the protest during the Monday night game. Looks like its going down Tuesday or Wednesday at Browns HQ. Maybe they will let Isis in also.
For this team I’m afraid “reaching rock bottom” just means dynamiting the floor and digging down deeper.
If they don’t do something good the rest of the season I predict a serious drop off in season tickets next season.
You want to see a franchise in permanent trouble? Be bad, be unlucky, AND scare away season ticket buyers.
@20 – Like the Indians?
I’m not convinced this is rock bottom. Look at the schedule…
Baltimore – MNF blood bath featuring a fan protest
@ Detroit – A loss here would probably put us at rock bottom and wouldn’t surprise me.
@ Cincy – Played them tough last time but they crushed Chicago, who in turn crushed us.
San Diego – Blow out.
Pittsburgh – Blow out.
@ KC – Could win.
Oakland – Could win.
Jacksonville – Could win, probalby won’t be able to contain MJD.
The rest of the way we play either strong teams or really weak teams and that’s pretty scary.