LeBron 13 added to Nike’s 2015 Doernbecher “Freestyle Collection”
October 26, 2015The 2015 Cleveland Browns still have something to prove
October 27, 2015
Happy Tuesday, WFNY!
Itâs basketball time!!! Tonight the Cleveland Cavaliers begin their Eastern Conference title defense with their eye on the next prize. But before you can get to whatever ultimate outcome might happen, you first have to start by playing Game One of the season. For LeBron and company, that first step starts in Chicago against perhaps their stiffest competition in the East, the Chicago Bulls.
Weâre going to get into the basketball stuff shortly, but first, some quick football thoughts.
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Blow it up or stay the course?
There has been some unrest these last couple days with Cleveland Browns fans. And with good reason. After a couple early season wins and some tough losses that could have gone a different way with a break here or there, the product on the field Sunday was simply unwatchable.
The Rams arenât a terrible football team, but thereâs just no reason the Browns should be made to look like a high school football team against them. What we saw was simply not good enough. And everyone knows it. The players know it, the coaches know it, the front office knows it, the owners know it. And the fans know it.
And so suddenly there has been some talk about whether or not the Browns need to blow everything up again and start over. Again. For his part, Jimmy Haslam has said in the past that he is not going to clean house after this season no matter how many losses pile up. But some are starting to wonder if the Browns need a change.
Thereâs really a couple ways of looking at this. First of all, the season is still pretty early. The Browns still have nine games left to play, and so much could happen over those nine games. The Browns arenât going to make any changes today, so trying to decide what the Browns will/could/should do at the end of the season based on what the season looks like today is, frankly, really dumb.
Itâs very similar to the last two seasons with the Cavaliers. Midway through the 2014 season, everyone was projecting whether Kyrie Irving would stay or not. But they were basing it on where the team was in December and January. Kyrie made his decision in July. Then last year there was a lot of talk about whether David Blatt would be fired or Kevin Love would leave, based on things that happened fairly early in the season. The Cavs ended up being the hottest team in the second half of the year, made the NBA Finals, and Blatt was clearly coming back and Kevin Love re-signed.
Now, of course Iâm not saying the Browns will make it to the Super Bowl. But what I am saying is that the season will look a lot different if, say, the Browns take a couple more division games and win a couple other games than it will if they just lose out.
But Iâll play along. Itâs a Tuesday and I feel like doing some pointless projecting. If it becomes clear that the Browns need a change, what is the move? Obviously the Browns defense has been a mess this year. So perhaps Jim OâNeil is the logical one to place on the chopping block. But then again, his relationship with Mike Pettine will make that a tricky situation. So is the head coach where change is needed, then?
Or perhaps we need to look at the âtalentâ on the field. Only one man is responsible for the construction of this roster and the extreme dearth of talent, particularly at the skill positions. Ray Farmer is the architect of this joke of a roster, and if you ask me, heâs the one who should be first on the firing line. I like Mike Pettine. I think he has real potential as a coach. I like John DeFilippo and the job he has done with the offense with this lack of playmakers is remarkable. I want some real continuity in the coaching staff. If a change needs to be made, I hope itâs the GM.
But thatâs a real catch 22, though, isnât it? If you fire Ray Farmer and hire a new GM, you might as well clean out the coaching staff as well. Itâs only fair to let a GM pick his own coach. Oh, but wait. Ray Farmer never got that opportunity. Maybe Pettine isnât the right coach for the type of roster Farmer wants to build.
This is why the Browns situation is so bizarre and figuring out how to make changes, should changes be necessary, will be extremely tough. And itâs why as much as I donât want to blow everything up, I also see it as the only logical solution if a change is truly needed.
Ideally, in a perfect world, the change would take place in the ownerâs box. It was under Jimmy Haslamâs watch that a coach was fired after one season, a new coach was hired right before the people who helped hire him were fired, the new GM got caught up in a texting scandal, a highly thought of offensive coordinator took extreme measures to get out of Cleveland, etc.
But, well, you knowâŠ..that change sure isnât happening. So I guess for now, Iâm still rooting for continuity. I think you need to give Ray Farmer another couple of seasons to see if he has a long term plan for upgrading the talent on this roster. And Iâd like to see Mike Pettine have a couple more years to see if he can turn around the performance on the field.
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The most important season in Cleveland sports history?
Or just the most important season of my lifetime? This Cavaliers season really feels like it is the season that will determine the narrative of the LeBron James era. I know, with Kyrie, Love, and LeBron all here for the long term, this season should really be only the beginning. But I also know that due to the financial realities of this roster and the current NBA collective bargaining rules, this roster is more or less the one they are stuck with. And if the Cavaliers donât make it back to the Finals and donât win the NBA title, a very different story will start to set in.
Which is why I think this season is so important. If the Cavaliers can stay relatively healthy and can achieve the height of their potential by winning the Championship, I truly feel like it could usher in an era of multiple titles. I say this not to be greedy1 but more as a reflection of how I see this team and this season.
The simple truth that weâre not ready to fully embrace yet is that LeBronâs clock is ticking. His time of being the most dominant singular force of nature in the NBA (with all due to respect to Anthony Davis who is very close to taking this title from LeBron) is drawing very, very short. In a perfect world, even when LeBron begins his inevitable decline, he will still be an elite player and with Kyrie and Love will still be able to compete for championships. But for that to happen, I feel like itâs important for this team to win one while LeBron is still at the top. From there, it will make it so much easier for this team to transform from LeBronâs team to Kyrieâs team. Because make no mistake, that is going to happen eventually.
But weâre (or, I am, I should say) getting ahead of ourselves here. This season starts tonight with so much anticipation. Last season was not always fun. But this season should be so much fun. Sure, we have to wait a bit to get Kyrie back, Iman Shumpert is out for a couple months, we need to see how effective Love is early in the season and we need to see if Tristan Thompson is rusty coming off his holdout and missing the preseason. But forget all that. This team is going to be a blast to follow.
Not only because of the play on the court, but the personality off of it. JR Smith endeared himself to Cavs fans last year, Tomofey Mozgov quickly became a fan favorite thanks to his quirky personality, and perennial fan favorite Anderson Varejao is back. And Mo. Mo Williams. One of my favorite Cavaliers ever despite his brief stint in Cleveland will be back. There are just so many story lines and so much personality. This team is going to be fun.
Oh, donât get me wrong, there will be more silly story lines this year Iâm sure. I wouldnât be surprised to see some more passive aggressive nonsense this year from LeBron and Blatt. This team could very well struggle out of the gate and some fans will get nervous and start to call for drastic changes. No team has ever played a perfect season in NBA history. There are always challenges and trials to overcome.
So my call to fans and readers of this site for this season is to not let yourself get wrapped up in any of that drama or nonsense. Lets just all have fun this season, watching a LeBron James-led Cavaliers team fight for an NBA Championship. What more can we, as fans, really ask for?
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Sign up for Brian Spaethâs Cavs emails
Once again this year, Brian Spaeth will be sending out periodic emails full of Cavs (and other things) goodness. If you didnât sign up last year, you truly missed out. The emails are always fun and entertaining, even when things are going poorly and Brian is trying to work out his feelings about said struggles.
If you signed up last year, youâre still good. If youâre new to the site or if you simply havenât signed up yet, please do so by clicking here.
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Thatâs all I have this week. No music talk because, well, apparently the bands I like arenât going to make any more music this year and for the third week in a row, I canât really make a suggestion that I can honestly stand behind. Itâs ok, though, it happens. Either way, enjoy the Cavaliers tonight and letâs hope the Browns can make next week a better week for us all.
- Look, I will gladly settle for one championship in my lifetime. Itâs all I need. [↩]
86 Comments
The photoshop job on Tristan is my favorite.
“The Most Important Season In Cleveland Sports History”
I hear what you’re saying, but believed at the time–and still believe–that the 2010 season where LeBron could walk into free agency was the most important. Win the title that year and he assuredly stays. Based on the disasterphe (disaster crossed with a catastrophe) of the next 4 seasons… ugh, I’m not gonna even finish that thought, man it’s nice to have beautiful basketball in Cleveland again.
Meh, you can tell me all day it was Pettine and Haslam that made those picks but honestly I don’t care.
If Farmer was the talent evaluator/general manager he needs to be for this role he would have told them both to shove it and taken the actual play makers available at his picks.
BUT CHRIS HOW DOES A ROOKIE GM TELL HIS NEW OWNER TO SHOVE IT??
….because he has the understanding that if he allows the Owner and HC to make those picks he’s getting the axe for them in the long run anyways. If you’re going to get fired, do it with your guys.
So I’ll ask you…what’s worse; that he allowed the HC/Owner to make those picks or HE actually failed that hard in selecting them?
Yea he does stick out doesn’t he? Well don’t worry Cavs fans tonight he’ll show us all how deserving he was to get $82.5M!
We need to know more about the actual power that our GM has to decide how to move forward.
Did Farmar make the Gilbert pick or did Pettine heavily influence it? – It’s been suggested by some that Pettine, a defense first guy had a heavy say in the selection of Gilbert. You’d also wonder if he had similar stakes in the Orchard and Shelton picks as neither of those guys have shown much yet either.
Did Farmar make the Johnny pick of did Haslam heavily influence it? – Everyone knows the rumors of what may have happened here.
If Farmar is truly making those decisions, he’s been a major problem. If not, his hit/miss record looks a lot better. Unfortunately we’ll never know the answers to those questions, so we’ve gotta hope Haslam does and acts accordingly.
hi CHRIS … you are right & i’m not sure which is worse. but i am willing to chalk-it-up as a “rookie” mistake that shouldn’t happen again.
in all seriousness , how long should farmer be given to execute a plan ? … what is fair , or have you already seen enough ?
i still say stay the course.
This one is called: Arizona!
“how long should farmer be given to execute a plan”
Me: What’s the plan?
Ray: Oh, the plan has been to build a top tier defense and run the football.
Me: What can’t this team do?
Ray: Thanks, I’ll see myself out.
Should have been $94. đ
I think Farmer has a problem either way. Obviously if he made those picks himself it’s game over but if he had “help” in making them especially Manziel then what does that say about him? Lastly why is it so difficult for anyone to step up and own who drafted who? It’s not like this is some important secret that will stop the Earth from spinning. You know why? Because they’ve been disasters and nobody has the courage to admit it and take responsibility. So why should Johnny Manziel have to take any responsibility for anything he does?
lmao … but , that’s not an answer , CHRIS.
Don’t forget the mysterious lack of a running game. Duke Johnson has been a breath of fresh air, but most of his value has been on screens/swing passes. The highest paid O-Line in the league has been a giant problem, not opening holes for RBs, not keeping the pocket clean, and getting called for multiple holds per game.
Who’s accountable for that?
We know.
… the players & coaching.
His master scheme was to construct an overpaid, aging defense to compensate for Josh McCown at quarterback….Ray should be given no more time to execute this plan.
That’s fine, but my point is it’s hard to give DeFilippo (and/or Pettine) a bunch of praise when the O-Line has been such a disaster.
i think his scheme is to build through the draft … ALL of the free-agents brought in are merely average players filling gaps. they are not going to spend huge dollars on guys like revis & suh.
and did you look at last year’s & this upcoming year’s list of free-agent QB’s … there aren’t any !! he is going to have to score his franchise QB through the draft.
and i’m not sure about you , but mccown has surpassed my expectations & has played well enough to win most of these games.
agreed …
Browns: Is “blow up the course” an option? Because after 15+ years, whatever the hell course this team is on needs to be carpet-bombed.
Cavs: The regular season is way too long to get excitied about tonight. And this team is far too beat up to think anything before January is particularly relevant anyway. Pray to the sports gods for health and get us to the actual games that matter: the playoffs. If it doesn’t end in a title this season, I’m not sure it ever will.
“i think his scheme is to build through the draft”
–has not selected an impact player in two full drafts. FAIL.
“they are not going to spend huge dollars on guys like revis & suh”
— He gave $9 million dollars to a FA who can’t crack our starting WR corp, this is huge wasted dollars. FAIL.
“he is going to have to score his franchise QB through the draft.”
— he passed on Carr and Teddy. FAIL.
“mccown has surpassed my expectations & has played well enough to win most of these games.”
— McCown has won 2 games in two years. FAIL.
Duke Johnson is the perfect third down back. The problem is the Browns don’t have a first and second down back. Then again the way this OL blocks who knows.
You know, that’s a really great point. If that season turns out differently, we don’t have this current “most important season”. So I think you’re right.
The problem is finding a present, competent owner.
bitonio & duke johnson are immediate impact players … and just from this draft alone we will net starters in shelton , erving , orchard , cooper , i. campbell , gaines , m.johnson & ekpre-olomu … this year was a good draft … just because it’s not bearing fruit after 1/2 a season does NOT make it a fail .
and if you don’t think mccown has surpassed expectations , then there is no point debating with you … it is because of the defense that he doesn’t have more wins this season.
and yes , bowe & b.tate were free-agent fails …
many misunderstand my “love affair” with ray farmer … it’s not that i’m in love with farmer , i’m in love with the idea of giving someone more than 2 years to get this thing right. if it were up to many browns fans , they would firing the GM & HC every single season. like heckert , savage , pioli ,kokinis & others before farmer , these guys aren’t stupid & they got hired for a reason … only to be run-out by impatience.
There’s plenty of examples in the NFL of the GM not picking the head coach. Like Bode said, the owner usually has finally say. As for MLB/NBA, apples and oranges.
Bitonio and Duke Johnson while nice pieces are the farthest thing from “impact” players by definition in today’s NFL… I fear too much Browns viewing has skewed your evaluation there.
Derek Carr, Beckham JR, Khalil Mack, Mike Evans, Amari Cooper, Todd Gurley… all guys available at your pick or could have traded up to obtain are NFL immediate impact players. (I’m stretching with a few here on obtain through trade up but you get my point.
Starters in Shelton, Orchard..okay.
The rest of the list is complete fodder and lord help me you didn’t mention a guy who you’ve never even seen play (Ekpre) in that list.
Look, I’m not pegging you as having a “love affair” with Farmer, just that there is no reason to keep continuity for continuity’s sake when the person you would be continuing with’s negatives far outweigh their positives…..we haven’t even mentioned his ridiculous suspension.
the bottom line is farmer & pettine will be judged on wins & losses … nothing else. they went 7-9 last year , which is the best we’ve done in a while … like it not , it was improvement. granted , it is going to be hard to match that this year. let’s let it play-out first & then we’ll have another discussion … have a good one.
I wonder if David Griffin knows anything about football…
Dan Gilbert!
I can be present and I think I can be competent (at least relative to what we are used to – high bar, I know). I just don’t have the resources to buy the Browns đ
“He’s been about as solid as you could hope for.”
Exactly. Now talk to us about what we hoped for given that he’s, you know, Josh McCown. Obviously the problem is not McCown, or street FAs like Crowell and Taylor Gabriel, or Turley, or Craig Robertson, or Jordan Poyer, or … The problem is not low-expectation guys playing below their low expectations. It’s more that the only guy who can make a play is a tiny little boutique wideout, and that besides him no one you drafted or signed in the last 4 years to make plays can make them. Half the the guys playing well this year are your kickers – think about that, and it vaguely smell like 1999 all over again.
The roster needs a major upgrade stat, by someone who knows what the hell they’re doing. I’ve soured quite a bit on Pettine, but there’s no denying that almost no Cleveland player can break a tackle and get to the house, almost no defender can blow up the block and the play. No one can execute those type of physical impact plays that mediocre opponents victimize the Browns with, multiple times, every freakin’ Sunday.
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Sure. And then the GM usually fires the coach and hires his own guy. The 2nd dumbest thing Mike Holmgren ever did was keep Mangini on for a wasted year (the dumbest thing being hiring Pat Shurmur then).
I still generally like Pettine, and thus I do think Farmer is the bigger problem. I suppose it doesn’t matter if Farmer has a long term plan or not. The reality is the picks he has made have been atrocious, and there’s no way whiffing on picks is part of said plan.
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