WaitingForNextYear

ALL EYES ACROSS THE LEAGUE WILL BE GLUED TO THIS GAME. The two most hapless franchises in the league, battling it out to see who might be the worst football team of the decade—and possibly of all time—in front of maybe 400 fans. Browns! Lions! The NFL on CBS! (That sound you hear is league and CBS executives banging their heads on their office walls…)

Total offense: Detroit, 26th (15.9 ppg); Cleveland, 32nd (8.7 ppg). Total defense: Cleveland, 28th (25.0 papg); Detroit, 32nd (29.3 papg). That’s right. The league’s worst offense against the league’s worst defense. The real “battle” will be the high-20’s matchups between Detroit’s offense and Cleveland’s defense. This game is gonna be AWESOME. Without further ado…

The Browns Will Win If…

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How many times in the histories of these two cities would a game not sell out?  I know the Indians and Tigers don’t sell out over the summer, but there are enough Tigers fans who make the trip to Cleveland for me to know there should be interest enough to sell out an NFL game.  That is, of course, unless you are talking about two of the worst teams in the NFL.  Buffalo, St. Louis  and Oakland aren’t going quietly in the race to the bottom, but Cleveland and Detroit definitely both belong in the conversation.  So this clash of the titans will definitely be blacked out in Detroit this weekend as Cleveland fans will assuredly not be able to motivate themselves enough to go to Detroit for this horror-fest of a game. (more…)

If it there was ever a testament as to how bad the 2009 Cleveland Browns season is going, we may have uncovered it today.  In the thick of a 1-8 season, Browns head coach Eric Mangini and Brady Quinn would welcome LeBron James to play for their Cleveland franchise.

When asked about James by the Associated Press, Eric Mangini said, “I think he should come on down.” (more…)

Following an interception to Baltimore’s Chris Carr, Browns quarterback Brady Quinn dove at would-be blocker Terrell Suggs which resulted in an apparent knee injury.  Today, Mary Kay Cabot reports that Quinn was fined a significant amount - the quarterback would not specify what amount he will forfeit.

Quinn’s actions riled up perennial perfect citizen Ray Lewis, who considered the tackle attempt a “cheap shot.”  Lewis has yet to discuss the coddling of Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who received the benefit of the doubt on several plays. In a recent press conference, Browns head coach Eric Mangini said that Quinn will in fact get the start this Sunday against Detroit.  Getcha (we are) terrible towels ready.

The Browns have seven games left this season.  Starting this Sunday against the Detroit Lions, the Browns should move on without Jamal Lewis.  I say this without any malice or anger.  I don’t care that Lewis spouted off in the locker room last week.  This season Jamal Lewis has topped 100 yards once.  That was the game against Buffalo where he needed 36 attempts to get his 117 yards.  At this point in the Browns’ “progression” and at this point in Lewis’ career, there is no point in giving Jamal a single additional carry as a member of the Browns.  He has officially achieved Willie McGinest and Ted Washington status for the Cleveland Browns.

So, who would get the carries?  Obviously the first two people I look to are Chris Jennings and Jerome Harrison.  I know Jennings didn’t blow us away with his running against Baltimore this week, but honestly, neither did Jamal Lewis.  I know that Harrison missed blocking Ray Lewis toward the end of the game, but that was four quarters into a game where Baltimore defenders were already mostly running unabated to the quarterback after the snap anyway.  This is the point in the season when it would have been nice to work in a trio of James Davis, Jerome Harrison, and Chris Jennings.  It is kind of ironic that Davis won’t get an “opportunity” due to his participation in “opportunity drills.” (more…)

Thankfully, according to Mary Kay Cabot’s report on Cleveland.com, Josh Cribbs is out of the hospital and doing just fine.  Her report also goes on to say just how angry Cribbs’ agent is that Josh was put in harm’s way last night on a meaningless hook and ladder play that would have only guaranteed a 9 point loss if it had been successful.  As this season has progressed and seeing the way Josh has handled his business since not getting a new contract prior to the season, I don’t think there is room for a split anymore amongst the fans. (more…)

While it does not appear to be as bad as many would have assumed given the news that morning, Browns defensive back Eric Wright posted the above image on his Twitter feed this morning with the caption “count ya blessings.” 

Wright, 24, reportedly flipped his Mercedez Benz three times on I-77 South at the 490 ramp heading home following the Jay-Z concert in downtown Cleveland.  Thankfully Wright only suffered a few scratches in the accident.  He was released from the hospital after a few hours and missed relatively zero time away from the team.  One would assume that he would take countless uniform infraction fines before having to go through anything of this magnitude again.

Update: Two more after the jump… (more…)

After having two weeks to prepare for last night’s contest with the Baltimore Ravens, the Cleveland Browns managed to accumulate only 160 yards of total offense.  Quarterback Brady Quinn amassed a passer rating of 23.5 through the air.  The Browns carried the ball 26 times, collecting 86 yards.  But one thing that jumps out of the box score, running back Jerome Harrison did not receive one carry, nor was the recipient of any of the countless screen passes thrown.

Jamal Lewis carried the ball 10 times – becoming the 20th player in NFL history to accumulate 2,500 rushing attempts.  The Wildcat allowed Josh Cribbs to tote the ball six times.  Quinn ran it twice, Mohamed Massaquoi once.  The balance of the carries were taken by former practice squad running back Chris Jennings who had seven carries for 18 yards. 

Jennings also caught one of the short passes and managed to take it for 10 yards.  Jerome Harrison, one of the only play-makers on the Browns managed to have zero carries, zero receptions, zero total yards. (more…)

As I was speeding (and I do mean speeding) up I-71 yesterday from Columbus to meet up with my friend in Mansfield, the afternoon show on 97.1 was talking about the rumor of Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops heading to South Bend to take over for the apparently-soon-to-be-deposed head coach of the Irish, one Charlie Weis.

While I think Stoops would have to be insane to leave Norman for South Bend, that’s not really the point. If the firing of Weis comes to pass as many believe it will, wouldn’t it make sense for the Browns to take a flyer at hiring the portly offensive coach to be their offensive coordinator?

Observe the following factors:

1) Brian Daboll is over his head.

I can’t look at the Browns defense and say they are light years ahead of the offense in terms of talent, but they ARE light years ahead in terms of results. Last night is a prime example: missing their two starting middle linebackers, they held the Ravens to effectively seven points on offense (with Robert Royal’s and Mike Furrey’s lack of hands accounting for the other nine, IMHO). The defense makes up for lack of talent with scheme and execution. The offense does not. That’s on coaching. (more…)

I get sick and tired of getting “the look” from my wife after Browns games.  I have been married just over three years, and “the look” has become ridiculously commonplace during the NFL season.  As I have stated before, my wife is a Colts fan from Indy.  The look is that piteous, apologetic look that combines all the misery of Browns fans into one and says “maybe things will eventually get better, but I can’t really say for sure.” It is the kind of look that Sally Field would have given to a disappointed young Forrest Gump. All Forrest wants to do is fit in and be normal.  Unfortunately for us, it doesn’t appear that we are going to get any kind of amazing savant-like experiences later in life like Forrest Gump.

It wasn’t all bad last night, I guess.  A scoreless halftime against an improved Ravens offense seemed like something of a victory for the Browns.  In the first game against the Ravens the Browns were down 20-0 at halftime.  This time, the Browns defense came to play.  In the first half, the Browns’ defense forced four punts and a missed field goal.  For the game, the Browns’ defense forced Baltimore to punt seven times.  It would have been eight if the Ravens hadn’t just run into the line on fourth down at the end of the game. (more…)

Baltimore Ravens (4-4) at Cleveland Browns (1-7) | Cleveland Browns Stadium
8:30 PM EST | ESPN, WJW-TV (Ch. 8); WMMS FM/100.7. 
48 degrees, winds 13 mph | Line: BAL (-10.5)

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Much has been made about the names that are currently among those receiving severance packages from Randy Lerner and the Browns.  Recently fired coaching staff and general managers can create quite a list. 

Obviously, one of those individuals is former coach Romeo Crennel – a face that has been seen quite often in Coors Light commercial spots.  But thanks to those spots featuring Crennel in the infamous fake press conference setting, Lerner himself is free of the approximately $20,000 that Crennel made in compensation from Molson Coors Brewing Company. (more…)

I was asked to appear on a sports radio talkshow in Athens, Ohio- home of the Ohio Bobcats. The segment went live last Friday night, but you can hear a podcast of the discussion here if you are interested. Thanks Brian for the opportunity. The first segment is with Bobcat head coach John Groce. My segment starts at the 12 minute mark. If you are curious about my take on the Brown-out you can listen. Here’s hoping the Browns make news on the field instead of the fans making news in the seats.

[Inhales deeply] Ahhh! There’s nothing like the smell of imminent nationally televised embarrassment in the morning!

The Ravens are one of those teams that you really can’t get a true read on. They started 3-0 and looked solid. They then lost three straight, including blowing a beautiful comeback against the then-unbeaten Vikings. They then handed the Broncos their first loss in a big way. And then Cincinnati beat them again. So, the Ravens are an odd 4-4. Not that that matters much tonight. Without further ado…

The Browns Will Win If…

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While we are all readying for whatever should occur tonight versus the Ravens, I have some random football-y things that occurred to me this morning and over the weekend.  Even with the Browns game not happening until Monday, it wasn’t like I was going to take advantage of unseasonably nice weather or anything.  Why would I, when the NFL was playing games?

Memories of Mondays Past

See that picture?  That was the pic I used for my Browns Bullet Points article following last year’s Monday Night Football game against the NY Giants.  That game also had the Browns coming off a bye week for the record.  That game was also the one that got Romeo Crennel the Motorola Coach of the Week award!  Have you stopped laughing yet?  I’ll wait.  So, that game seems like a long time ago, right? (more…)

A little light humor on a Sunday night before the eyes of the entire football-watching country turn towards Cleveland tomorrow night.  The “Really Big Show” on WKNR has popularized a particular song recorded on Youtube by an enthusiastic soccer fan.  Vince at ‘64 and Counting posted on this over this weekend.  By now, I am sure many of you have seen the preposterous little British homage to Randy Lerner which extols him as a savior.  The song focuses on his ownership of the Aston Villa soccer club and the relative success they have enjoyed since he bought the club in 2006(If you have not, definitely watch it here first before you play the video below).  In this tumultuous season, Browns fans know how hilarious the thought is of someone writing a song to express gratitude for Randy being a savior owner.  One creative Browns fan took it upon himself to come up with this mocking Browns edition for Randy’s American football team and as you can imagine, the theme and lyrics do not exactly line up with what the old British man belts out in his version.

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Rick first documented the story on Thursday when Jamal Lewis came out in the media and directly took on Coach Eric Mangini and his practice habits and schedule.  Rick wrote that Jamal could well have been the voice of reason as opposed to your average disgruntled player trying to fight through a horrible season under a new coach with an extremely different approach.  He also finished his piece with “it is safe to say Jamal isn’t the only one in the locker room who is fed up.”  Lewis is a respected veteran and leader on the team and it was expected that he was simply not a lone ranger in the locker room speaking out.  Well, that is officially confirmed now and it appears his statements are receiving significant backing from the rest of the team to the point where they began chanting “J-Lew, J-Lew!” in the open locker room yesterday as Lewis answered more questions from the media.

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Nobody knows what was going on with Jamal Lewis and his tirade except maybe Jamal Lewis, a few teammates, and maybe some on the coaching staff.  We can guess and speculate all we want, but we might not ever find out for sure.  I would probably just take it all at face value if it wasn’t the second time in as many weeks that Lewis was talking.  He blurted out his retirement announcement in the locker room out of frustration.  And now, a week or so later he is back again spouting off in the locker room to reporters.  It is hard to tell just what the motivation could be for all this talk.

Of course, Lewis could be completely altruistic.  He is certainly a competitor that has shown excellence over the course of his career.  From that standpoint, it must be extremely difficult to be stuck in a situation like what the Browns are this season.  Think about how Jerome Bettis got to go out in his career.  What Lewis is dealing with this year is easily a nightmare by comparison.  Maybe he truly believes exactly what he is saying and he wants Mangini to lighten up so that the team can compete more effectively on game days for the rest of the year. (more…)

Let’s be honest. The Browns locker room can’t be a very happy place these days. I have no special insight, knowledge or ‘little birdie’ whispering that in my ear. But a 1-7 team, with a major QB controversy and an iron fisted head coach/GM that has already shipped off talented players that were supposed to be ‘core’ guys just a season or two ago is bound to be in a dismal mood. And we know that the players loved Romeo Crennel. So the potential is certainly there for some ’sour grapes’ type of quotes. But could today’s thoughts expressed by Jamal Lewis be more a voice of reason than bitter fruit?

Lewis took several shots at Eric Mangini and his staff today. You can read the comments in several places, but I think the OBR did the best job of giving us the entire conversation (go there to read it all, here is a piece)- (more…)

Though the Cleveland Indians will be coming off of a season that saw 97 losses, those that were traded away in said season will look to be a little more successful with their respective teams.  Fortunately for both Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez, they will get at least one more crack at the post season with their new squads.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has already picked up the club option on ace lefty Cliff Lee.  Costing the Phillies $9 million, hopes are that Lee can replicate his successes in 2010 that he saw in 2009 where he saw a postseason record of 4-0 with an ERA of 1.56.

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