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March 2, 2015Tribe comes out glowing in Grantland’s MLB preview
March 2, 2015The Cleveland Browns’ signing of Josh, rhymes-with-brown, McCown has set off another round of eye-rolling, smirking and comments of consternation. I’d like to take a stab at trying to approach it from another direction. But first, an anecdote from the 2014 season: After the Browns convincingly defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-10, I took a peek at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, not looking to gloat, just to see how the writers and commenting fans would respond after a rare drubbing by their longtime rivals. Well, my goodness, it was hard to believe. It almost seemed like a parody of what the world of sports entertainment has morphed into. The writers were shocked—shocked, I say—at the humiliation experienced at the hands of the obviously inferior Browns. And reader comments were like a Monty Python skit. “I think they ought to rip their nostrils open with a boat hook!” Only not as polite. Almost every comment demanded the firing of Steeler offensive coordinator, Todd Haley, but there were also a surprising number of calls for the firing of head coach, Mike Tomlin, and, get this, for getting rid of Ben Roethlisberger!
Well, I never …
I figured the Pittsburgh writers and fans would show Cleveland a thing or two about how a city which is accustomed to continuity, consistency—and winning—responds to a little adversity. After all, a rebuilding season for the Steelers usually means nothing worse than the inability to get past the first round of the playoffs. Needless to say, that little incursion into Steeler Nation left an impression.
I think it’s fair to say that the Browns’ organization (make that plural—organizations, given their recent proclivity for revolving doors and musical chairs) and their fan base are not accustomed to continuity or winning. Yes, it’s only entertainment, but for those of us who are attached to the game, we really would like to have what we’re paying for: An entertaining, well-played game. We who played the game, even pickup games in the schoolyard, expect to be impressed by the professionals, to at least see them avoid the misplays that we, as 12-year-olds, taught 10-year-olds to avoid. OK, so you intercepted the pass eight yards deep in the end zone. You’re a hero. But when you run it out of the end zone instead of putting your knee down, without a prayer of getting past your own five yard line, that hurts, dude. (Again, I reminisce about the 2014 season.) So, in hopes of an entertaining game, we make our plans and our sandwiches and, at 1:00, we’re ready. But all too often in the last 15 years, we’re making other plans for the rest of the afternoon by 1:30.
We really should, however, acknowledge that the 2014 Browns were a somewhat different story. They were, in fact, far more entertaining than usual. The 2013 Browns, post-Hoyer, were a very boring 4-12 but, until November 30, the 2014 Browns were 7-4. And while I never thought of them as serious contenders for the Super Bowl, they did seem to be taking some important, early steps in the right direction.
During the 2014 season, I pulled for Brian Hoyer. He genuinely seemed to want to be part of the community and part of a Browns revival. And you certainly couldn’t complain about his behavior and professionalism. One of the first things I noticed about him, even during the 2013 season, is how quickly he got rid of the ball in contrast to his recent predecessors. He made his read, was decisive and he fired it. I could tell right away he was less prone to standing back there and holding the ball for an eternity until, wham! A sack. In several games in 2014, he made some big-time, clutch throws and led some dramatic 4th quarter drives. I was impressed. And if he’s on his way out, I’ll miss him as a member of the Browns.
Am I claiming that Brian Hoyer was the end-all and be-all of the Cleveland Browns‘ QB issues? No, I’m saying he was an improvement, an incremental step of progress.
In the near term, however, and especially after a shocking loss or a string of losses, there is always the temptation to “get rid of the bum.” Well, fine, but my question is always, “What’s the alternative?” If you have something better, fine, go for it. And perhaps that’s exactly what the Browns are doing, being ever-vigilant about improving the team, even one incremental step at a time. But, for the life of me, if you’re going to complain about a quarterback’s won-loss record outside of the context of the overall roster and coaching staff, you’re in for a rude awakening. Good teams have winning records. Very good teams win Super Bowls. So, a quarterback’s performance has to be kept in context. If you want to emphasize the running game and you’re successful at it, piling up yardage and actually running it into the end zone, how can you complain about fewer TD passes? If you’re going to complain about your quarterback’s interceptions keep it in perspective. During this past season, we all saw some incomprehensible “decisions” and bad passes for interceptions by Tony Romo, Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and, in the Super Bowl, in the red zone, by Tom Brady. If you want to minimize interceptions, give your QB a ton of time to throw. Give him some good receivers and some intelligent offensive planning. If you want to eliminate interceptions, don’t throw it. And most of all, remember Urban Meyer’s admonition that quarterbacks are, to a great extent, the sum of the parts around them.
So Josh McCown comes to town with what is perceived to be an unimpressive resume. But, while I don’t expect overnight miracles from my hometown teams, I am not without hope. There aren’t too many professionals who are as forthright about quarterbacks as Urban Meyer but I don’t think it takes a professional to know that a QB cannot survive for long, let alone thrive, without a good offensive line and without the other parts and pieces to the equation, no matter who you are. So I hope the Browns don’t think last year’s selection of Joel Bitonio is enough for a while. Or that they can just pick up a WR at K-Mart. It’ll be a tough schedule next year so I’ll be reminding myself at regular intervals that it is no small matter to excavate out from under the accretion of many years of a losing tradition.
I don’t suppose we’ll ever hear Frank Ryan called a superstar or a candidate for the Hall of Fame, but in the brief span of some glorious days in Cleveland, along with an impressive group of teammates, he got the job done.
83 Comments
It’s a lot of things. The Browns had a great running game, but one injury (Mack) seemingly caused that whole unit to crater. The defensive line was thought to be a strong point heading into last season and now looks to need a complete overhaul. We thought we had a talented young QB whose biggest concern was that his slight frame could be injury-prone. He looked really bad in game situations and is now in rehab. Our pro bowl wide receiver struggled when returning last season and is now as good as irrelevant. We’re still looking for a #2 CB and our 1st round pick last season left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. There are so many questions this offseason at positions where we thought we were going to finally have answers.
Did we really plug that many holes though? I guess we did plug holes at OG, ILB, and RB. We found out that our S tandem is solid. We still have holes at QB, WR, CB2, and now seem to realize that we have needs at DL and OLB. We thought our kicker was at least serviceable heading into last season, but now looks to need an upgrade. My biggest concern is of course at QB. It’s so vitally important these days and it’s incredibly rare to have a top 12 (playoff) team without having a top 12 QB. This is where my belief in the Browns is really wavering this offseason. I don’t think there is a top 12 QB on our roster right now, and I don’t think there is a top 12 QB (as a rookie) in this year’s draft. Sure, some of the QBs in the class could end up being that good with time, but not right away.
Even if a player doesn’t have the capabilities to become an elite player in his lifetime, If he is willing to continue developing himself into more of an elite player, then he’s ok in my book.
But do any of the QB free agent options make you feel as though they are actually addressing the QB position?
hi PAT … with cameron leaving , you forgot TE. i think we are okay at CB2 … we still have gilbert , desir , k.williams & there’s always a chance skrine might decide to stay.
you are correct on the QB … you definitely need a good one. 3 teams made the playoffs last year without a top 12 QB … carolina , detroit & cincy … these 3 all made it via the strength of their defense.
no , none of the free-agents do , though i preferred a younger , more athletic guy like jake locker over mccown.
i will feel like they are seriously addressing it if they either pull-off a trade for QB , or get another in the upcoming draft … and who could that “top 12” guy be that you mentioned above ?? … a healthy sam bradford could be the guy , but he is still an expensive question mark.
I just can’t bring myself to endorse the latest signing of Jake Delhomme. It seems to be just another example of Browns front office illogic, namely the blind faith that the way to become a successful football team is through doing something other than winning football games.
The reasoning behind the McCowb signing seems to be something like this: Brian Hoyer isn’t good enough to win a Super Bowl. Therefore, the role of “veteran quarterback” should be someone suited towards “mentoring” the “quarterback of the future”, whether that quarterback of the future is Manziel or someone drafted this year, or next year.
But here’s the thing: Hoyer is a better quarterback than McCown. He was last year, has been over their careers, and will be next year. Hoyer gives the Browns more wins in 2015 than McCown does. And that’s not an irrelevant fact. It is the point: if you want a winning team, a winning culture, you have to put winning first. All the players know that the team doesn’t value winning as much as it values following some convoluted plan that involves waiting for the next quarterback before they start winning. And that affects the performance on the field and the development of the younger players.
If the idea is to find the next next quarterback in the 2016 draft, the Browns would be better off going with Hoyer and finishing the year 7-9 than going with McCown and finishing the year 4-12. This is because the draft positions you gain with having your starting quarterback be a “mentor” rather than “the better player” is insignificant when compared to the damage to the team culture that is created by this idiot plan and the way the development of that 2016 quarterback will be harmed by the culture that is created by terrible, terrible decisions such as this.
hi BLUE … this is a good post , but have you considered that hoyer & manziel probably cannot co-exist together ? … and the browns pretty much have to keep manziel. if hoyer is detrimental to the locker room , do you still keep him ?? … and i’m not saying he is , but something was obviously going on between him & manziel & it seemed to divide the coaching staff & the team .
you will not have this problem with mccown … and in my opinion, both hoyer & mccown are average QB’s & back-up material at-best … they are both pretty even. mccown was 3-2 13 td’s & 1 int with the bears in 2013 … so mccown is probably not as bad as showed in 2014 with tampa & is probably not as good as he showed in 2013. in hoyer’s defense, he does have a 10-6 record as a starter.
and i still think the browns may do more at QB yet … either by trade or via the draft.
I have considered that Manziel and Hoyer can’t get along, and have two responses: (1) I don’t believe it is true, and (2) I don’t care. The Browns don’t “have” to keep Manziel. This is the sunk cost fallacy. But if they don’t want to give up on him — and I don’t think they should — that doesn’t mean that they should sacrifice wins to do so. If you need a quarterback other than Manziel and Shaw and that quarterback has to be able to start week one (and you do), you get the best QB available and expect everyone in your organization, including Manziel and the guy you sign, to accept the presence of that guy as what is best for the organization.
I don’t agree that both Hoyer and McCown are even. If you do, that’s find with me. But if you think they’re both “back-up material at-best”, that does not mean that they are the same. You go with the best one, the better backup with better upside and a longer career ahead of him. You don’t take second-best because you think he’s not going to be the permanent solution. Otherwise, your real permanent solution is a team built around the idea that there are things more important than success on the field, and that the team will sacrifice success to appease personalities, rather than expecting personalities to bend to the team’s needs for success.
It’s telling that of the three offseason scandals this year — deflation with the Patriots, crowd noise with the Falcons, and texting with the Browns — that two of them come from franchises trying to gain a competitive advantage, while the Browns’ scandals is sacrificing good practices to appease personalities stepping outside their role.
there are only a couple of teams so desperate for a starting QB & where hoyer & mccown could possibly go to & be a starter … that is cleveland , buffalo & possibly houston. hoyer could not start anywhere else in the league … same with mccown .
Everyone seems to want to claim what a lousy QB Hoyer was last year. That is utter nonsense, and this is one of the better pieces I’ve seen to illustrate that. Why was Hoyer so “bad” for the last 5 games? That’s simple. The Browns offense last year was built around play-action passing. Shanahan was pretty good with that scheme, and it worked well for the first 11 games or so. But play-action passing is dependent upon having a credible running threat. If you can’t run the ball, well, play-action isn’t going to fool NFL caliber linebackers at all. Hoyer wasn’t the problem last year. He did his job. The Browns season went off a cliff when Alex Mack broke his leg. Alex Mack was the main guy opening holes for that inside running game that surprised everyone, and made the three-headed backfield look so good. When he went down, there weren’t any more inside holes to be exploited, and there went the Browns running game. Once that became obvious to opponents, the play-action passing failed as well. Since we didn’t really have receivers who could stretch the field, there wasn’t much of an offensive alternative.
Again – Hoyer wasn’t the problem, and IMHO he does not deserve the blame he was given. Urban Meyer is right. The QB is the sum of all the parts around him. And when those parts fail, it takes the QB down as well.
What the Browns should do, is cut ties with Josh Gordon because of his inability to stay sober and pay attention, trade Manziel away for a happy meal, or whatever they can get for him, and beef up the offensive line. That is where football games are won and lost. If we don’t beef up the line, whoever we get to play QB is going to end up as road pizza.
Tigerbrowns2, actually not a rant. The author asked for comments regarding the McCown signing, I commented. I agree also to you. That 1) they are not done (but not thru this years draft for 2015 season), There is no starter ready QB attainable to us in the draft, so would need to be thru free agency. 2) I have no doubt Haslam and ALL within the organization want to win. I just hope they have a smart plan to do just that.
Glad to see I am not the only person whose mind immediately jumped to Delhomme pt 2.
And another thing….leave the coaching staff and front office intact for a change.
I certainly don’t like the Steelers, but they seem to have this “NFL success” thing pretty well figured out.
And the Browns would do well to follow that example. One of the key points to that success is organizational
consistency. We haven’t had that around here in a long time. Maybe Haslam wasn’t really paying attention when he was a part owner there. I would have hoped that was a lesson he learned from that franchise.
The other part to that success formula is: run the ball, pass enough to keep opposing defenses honest, and be able to stop the run. You don’t need a high-priced, elite QB to do that. Big Ben is a prime example of that. Roethlisburger looks as good as he does because he has enough of a team around him to make him look good. It’s not because he is as good as he appears to be.
Not a stretch to spend another 5 mil for a QB for 2015. 10 mil would still be less than Rams, Chargers, 49ers, Giants, Bears for example spend on theirs. Of that group, only the Cards made the playoffs and their QB situation is iffy at best. Brady made 11 mil. so comparatively speaking 10-15 is not that big a deal at that position. We have the cap space and neither McCown nor Manziel has enough talent to play well in this league. It’s imperative that they bring in another.
good post … “rant” was a little strong … my apologies.
hi ERIC … excellent common sense. browns fans are way too impatient to take the time it needs to do it right … they want it quick , not right.
Whisenhunt. Do not forget that we thankfully passed on Whisenhunt (twice).
Great post and great logic in your thinking. The only thing I would tend to disagree with you about is Hoyer V. McCown. Not in their play (personally I think Hoyer is slightly better and agree with you that showing the fans and the team that you intend to win rather than raising the white flag for 2015) But the difference would be their contracts. You’d have to sign Hoyer for 4 maybe 5 years and much would be guaranteed for at least 2 or 3. With McCown only 1.5 mil is guaranteed after this year, so you can dump him next year, With Hoyer, you can’t. Therefore, I am certain, No, not certain, but hopeful that there will be a 2nd veteran QB signing to be penciled to start this season.
not necessary, was not offended in any way. Just correcting because maybe the tone wasn’t as intended to be perceived.
thanks MG … i knew i left somebody out. i can’t remember if we interviewed him or not.
A quick check tells me that the five teams with the most cap space are: Jaguars, Raiders, Browns, Jets, Titans. The caps isn’t irrelevant, but it sure seems to me like good teams find a way to pay who they need to pay what they need to be paid to stay, while bad teams use the cap as an excuse, almost as if maintaining cap space was a separate and more important goal than maximizing wins, rather than viewing the cap space as a tool to be used for maximizing wins. (Which doesn’t mean that the Browns should spend every penny now, just that their savings — and not just their spending — needs to be justified).
Easy there, mgbode. Winning the QB job for the worst 2014 football team in the league isn’t really saying much. And let’s not forget that McCown has played BEHIND such notables as Jeff Blake, Jon Kitna, Matt Moore, Jake Delhomme, Chad Pennington, Duante Cullpepper and Caleb Hainey on the depth chart during his career. Pretty safe to say that there will be another signing to come and he won’t be the 2015 starter.
Thanks much. Lots of good comments. Although it wasn’t the point of the article, the question is bound to come up a lot, as it has here: Who’s a better QB, McCown or Hoyer? But I don’t think even think there would be a consensus in the Browns’ FO about that. It seems logical though, as some have pointed out, that McCown is willing to live with maybe starting, maybe not. While Hoyer probably (and justifiably) felt he wanted some form of commitment about starting or being able to compete for a starting role. But I’d be interested in what our commenters think of McCown’s basic QB mechanics if you’ve actually watched some film on him. Here’s what I see: He’s 6-4, two inches taller than Hoyer and he throws pretty much over the top. From the 50-60 highlight vids I saw, he seems to have a strong, but not exceptional, arm, with zip or a soft touch when needed. Not a very quick release – average, I’d say. He’s certainly not a scrambler but he has enough foot quickness to sidestep or move about enough to extend a play (a critical talent per the gurus in Bruce Feldman’s book). In the highlight vids, McCown even took off on some runs for first downs or TDs that made him look downright mobile, like he’s not protecting his knees, a la Bill Nelsen (that’s the Nelsen with two e’s). Accuracy? Well, they’re called highlights … lowlights not included. He’s thrown a bunch of INTs and he’s thrown very few INTs. And here’s where the OL, receivers and coaching staff come in. Overall though, I agree with Garry_Owen’s comment. The Browns seem to be in a different place this off season: Continuing to build — not starting over.
Hi Pat … can’t put your finger on it? This is only anecdotal but almost unanimously in my circle of friends and relatives, it’s Mr. Manziel. Subtract him and add a different first round pick. Then how would you feel?
Hey Richard, I think I can honestly say that I wouldn’t feel any better because in that scenario, the Browns still seem to have no viable QB options for next season. Now… if you replaced Manziel with Teddy Bridgewater, I would probably be feeling a lot brighter, yes.
I was just adding a correction. It was stated he did not win the Tampa job when he did win it. Nothing more, nothing less.
I put my overall McCown thoughts in the “mediocre qb sampling” article.
If I accept that McCowen was not brought in to start than why are we paying him starting QB money? Does that mean we have just tossed another $14M away to try to coach our last QB disaster Manziel because we can’t admit a mistake????? Just at what point during this disaster of an off season do we see a glimmer of hope? Certainly not the draft because if one thing has been made abundantly clear over the last 15 years the Browns are an incredibly poor judge of talent. 2 years of redesign on the uniforms and the answer is a brighter orange helmet – REALLY !!!! 2 years and that’s the plan????? The Browns are adept at one thing and one thing only -stepping on our hearts every year.
What was McCown’s record last year? 1 / 8. Would you buy any product from a company if you knew that only 11 % of their products work? Would you eat at a restaurant iF you knew that only 11 % of the meals they served were edible, and the other 89 % were garbage? I WANT THAT GUY’S AGENT WHEN I NEGOTIATE MY NEXT CONTRACT. HOLY ****
Thank you, Compass90. You could write a book, indeed several of them, that document the Browns challenges of running an NFL franchise in a competent manner and fielding a competitive team. But I’m sorry, you cannot use this line of reasoning. I get your point but, as a valid analogy, it’s off by a country mile.
hi Richard … it’s also worth bringing up that Flip was mccown’s QB coach in oakland a few years back. Flip obviously knows something & more than likely pressed farmer to bring him in.
Hi, tb2, interesting you bring that up because one of the things Farmer mentioned when upgrading their scouting is they felt their current group had better connections — better access to reliable info — than the previous group. Can’t blame them if the Browns feel gun shy about recommendations. So here’s Flip, hired by Pettine bc there’s a personal connection (trust) and then McCown comes in, maybe another result of a personal connection? Hopefully that makes these decisions a little less of a crapshoot.
You need to listen to Rizzo’s interview with McCown on Wed. March 26, on the Really Big Show. You will not feel the same. You will, in fact, feel sheepish and apologetic. You can see why this guy was the number one choicer in this year’s market. I’ll go into any fight with this guy. And if Manziel or a draft pick becomes a better choice, McCown is good with that but listen to the podcast.