...a tradition of hope, passion, and misery
While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com
Remember that chip shot from our Ohio boys a few weeks ago? Well, check out the one above…
With the Browns 2010 regular season kicking off in 136 days, a lot of questions remain around just who will be catching Jake Delhomme’s passes. Assuming that the answer to this question is someone wearing a Cleveland jersey, Tom Heckert and company have some work to do before the team heads into minicamp.
As of today, the current stable of wide receivers includes Mohamed Massaquoi, Brian Robiske, Joshua Cribbs, Jake Allen, Chansi Stuckey, and newly drafted Carlton Mitchell. Not exaclty a cast of characters that are making opposing defensive backs concerned about their personal welfare on an upcoming Sunday.
With the draft over, the only means of acquiring a veteran presence in the wide receiver ranks would be via free agency or a trade. But what options are out there?
Literally. You did see that accidental option play right? Anderson found himself in the open field and then realized that he still had the football, and quickly opted to give it to someone a wee bit more fleet of foot.
When asked if that was a drawn up play – or at least hoping that it wasn’t – Anderson responded with, “Oh lord no. I just kind of looked to my read and nobody was open. J.C.’s (Jerome Harrison) guy kind of slipped off him and I was going and all of a sudden I just hear, ‘D.A.’ and I was like, ‘Here you go.’ Then I was like, ‘Maybe I’ll block that corner,’ and then all of a sudden he was like ‘zoom.’ ‘Maybe not.”
It is these types of accidental successes that Browns fans have to bank on, if only because the routine plays often do not go as planned. [Read more...]
Time to pile on the Browns. Sure, I’ll drink the Mangini kool-aid for the year. In today’s NFL, it doesn’t take much to turn things around. All it takes is some good drafting, good leadership, a last place schedule, and some luck. Just ask the 2008 Miami Dolphins. Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano took over a 1-15 team and won the AFC East a year later. Yet while many a team has turned it around quickly, the Browns seem to be stuck in the proverbial rebuilding mode.
Eric Mangini has ruffled many feathers since he has been here, but in doing so, he is attempting to establish his culture. He is also running out players with lesser talent that follow his rules. Kellen Winslow had to go this past offseason because his contract demands were unreasonable. Braylon Edwards forced his way out of town thanks to a ginormous ego, bad hands, and one too many off the field incidents.
Were the Browns a better team after they jettisoned these two players? Of course not. K2 and Braylon had the type of talent that the current team sorely lacks. But the way Mangini looked at it, his team was a loser with these two on the roster, so how much worse could it get without them? [Read more...]
Chris Rock has a bit where he throws digs at people who want to be rewarded for things that they’re supposed to do. He uses lines like “I take care of my kids,” or “I ain’t never been in jail.” I always think of that bit when I talk about how the Browns should be given a pat on the back for having all of their rookies in camp before August 1st.
But the more and more I look at it, having Alex Mack, Brian Robiske and Mohamed Massaquoi all in camp by day one was quite the feat. Look around the league. If the Browns would have stuck with their fifth-overall pick, sure they may have wound up with a player that has more potential (and star power) than Mack, but would said player be in camp as we near the first week of the preseason?
While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email in the sidebar.
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
“New organization, new league, new approach. With all of the velocity, but fewer strikes, Wood’s fastball has been put to good use in 2009. With a new love for the cutter and a discarded slider, Wood has taken a three-pitch approach to attacking opponents. Now that he’s throwing cutters when he used to throw sliders, the breaking pitch has become a specialized weapon. The curveball gives hitters a different look than the slider, but it’s still a power pitch thrown almost as hard.
All things considered, I’d expect the new approach to cause less wear and tear on Wood’s fragile arm. While the ERA, WHIP and save rate posted for the Indians doesn’t look too good, there are a few points I’d like to leave you with: Wood’s walk rate is up, but last year was the anomoly. His K-rate is down one per nine innings, but is still in double digits. His home rate has increased four times over 2008, but, at 1.6, is due to fall.” [Harry Pavlidis/Hardball Times]
Looking over the latest odds to win the 2010 BCS National Championship, I have noticed a few tiers. The Florida Gators are currently alone at the top. Following Tim Tebow and Company is the group of Oklahoma, Texas and the USC Trojans.
Then, enter the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Scarlet and Gray are currently at a 12/1, meaning that there is about a seven percent chance that the Buckeyes are holding up that coveted Coaches Trophy when it is all said and done.
The over-under in terms of wins for the Terrelle Pryor show is set at 9.5 games. If DP’s assertion of a USC win is correct, that allows for minimal slippage the rest of the way. The Buckeyes travel to Happy Valley this year, which looks to be our toughest conference bout on paper. They’ll host Wisconsin, then travel to Purdue, which has proven to be historically rough on the Big Ten teams. Others feel that Iowa could surprise as well. Without Beanie and the Brians (which could be a killer barbershop trio in about 20 years), are the Bucks primed to drop a game to one of the others?
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(h/t TBL)
In a recent survey conducted by ESPN.com, randomly selected players within the AFC North were asked what players within their division they felt would have “breakout” campaigns in 2009.
Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers took home the crown, but only one vote behind him was Browns quarterback Brady Quinn who tied for second place with Pittsburgh’s linebacker Lawrence Timmons.
Other Browns also getting some recognition included Brian Robiske (fourth), D”Qwell Jackson (fifth), Eric Wright and Syndric Steptoe (both tied for eighth).
The Browns actually had the most players selected among the division. The only member of the Ravens to get some love was Joe Flacco who was tied with Jackson. The rest of the list was littered with Bengals and Steelers.
As we bridge the gap between Organized Team Activities and the mandatory training camp – that hopefully has a mandatory shoe requirement – we get to mull through the news and notes about specific players that may or may not have made an impact over the last few months.
One player of note, that will likely have one of the more watchful eyes cast upon him is wide receiver Braylon Edwards. There is no denying that 2008 was a huge fall from grace. Forget the fact that he was obliterated in his bet with Michael Phelps. Last season was just plain brutal, ultimately resulting in No. 17′s name getting tossed in to trade rumors.
We often wondered how Edwards would respond when things were not as rosey as they were during a 10-6 seasons. And if the latest report from The OBR is any indication, fans of the four-win Browns may actually have something to look forward to. [Read more...]
Though the start of free agency is long gone and the NFL draft has joined it in the rear view mirror, the Mangini/Kokinis-lead Browns have not slowed down one bit in terms of adding value-type players to the roster. Despite addressing the wide receiver role through both the draft as well as undrafted free agents, the newest man to join the orange and brown is wide receiver Mike Furrey.
Per team media relations:
The Cleveland Browns today signed free agent wide receiver Mike Furrey, the team announced. Furrey is a veteran of six NFL seasons, including the last three with Detroit. [Read more...]
While We’re Waiting aims to be the round-up of the recent WFNY-esque information for your morning viewing. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email in the sidebar.
About that second round: “It’s hard to figure out why a man educated in the Bill Belichick school of coaching, which bows before the shrine of defense and salutes the running game on offense, would gamble on a pair of receivers. Of all people, Mangini knows defense wins championships. Perhaps he became sanguine with his defense after obtaining defensive end Kenyon Coleman and strong safety Abram Elam in the first-round trade with the New York Jets. Then again, maybe Mangini noticed the Browns’ offense finished last season without a touchdown in the final six games. That would scare any coach.” [Rich Passan/The OBR]
Every MSM and football-based sports blog out there will attempt to inundate you with “grades” from this past weekend’s festivities. So, instead of grading each player individually, or giving an all-around letter, we decided that it would be good to look at a few different aspects of what Eric Mangini and George Kokinis did during their first draft with the Orange and Brown.
First grade goes to Denny, who get’s an A+ coupled with this gold star that I just pealed off of a 22-year old spelling test. He did an excellent job this weekend, giving WFNY one of the biggest weekends since inception. Very well done, sir.
And now for the actual draft… [Read more...]
While many fans of the Ohio State Buckeyes may still be a bit baffled that junior wide receiver Brian Hartline left Columbus to head to the NFL, that has not stopped him from controlling his destiny. While his teammates Malcolm Jenkins, James Laurinaitis and Brian Robiskie are all looking at first-day draft selections, many scouts within the league think that Hartline will be looking at a fifth-round selection at best.
There is a strong feeling among Buckeye faithful that Hartline would not have been able to better his stock next season as the offense will funnel more through quarterback Terrelle Pryor and less through the deep passing game as it had for many years. Thus, Hartline is doing the most with what he can by showing up at the NFL combine. It is at the combine where the wide receiver can control the controlable – jump as high as he can, run as quickly as he can. No teammates are needed.
So how did he do?
While We’re Waiting aims to be the round-up of the recent WFNY-esque information for your morning viewing. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email in the sidebar.
“An interesting name showed up on the list of players interviewed by the Cleveland Browns: USC quarterback Mark Sanchez. The Browns, with two young quarterbacks in Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn, are probably the last team interested in drafting a quarterback with the No. 5 overall pick. But this shows Cleveland could be willing to explore trade options for teams looking to move up. Sanchez is expected to be the second quarterback taken and there are a lot of teams in need of that position. Cleveland getting to know Sanchez in Indianapolis could give the Browns a gauge of the player other teams are coveting.” [James Walker/ESPN]
While the game against Minnesota was not one that was on the top of the “must watch” list, perhaps the more recent play – as opposed to what we saw against USC – can start to stir up some more conversation. We’ll be heading to Wisconsin this weekend for what will be a very big game, regardless of what the Badgers did (or didn’t do) against the Wolverines of Michigan. But before we preview this upcoming contest, let’s get into what we saw this past weekend. [Read more...]
The Ohio State Buckeyes vs Ohio Bobcats
Check out the latest podcast for a short scouting report on the Bobcats. Ohio State hasn’t lost to an in-state opponent since 1921. Don’t expect that streak to stop. Don’t expect to see Chris Wells running the ball either. Wells has been ruled out of this one by Jim Tressel. To be honest, I’m glad that Tressel has made that decision and Wells can rest his foot for 3 more days before resuming practice on Monday. So what should you be watching for in Saturday’s game? Glad you asked…
A Running Back to Step Up
According to Doug Lesmerises, Mo Wells will get the starting assignment [Read more...]
Don’t plan on Hartline and Robiske pulling a “Jenkins” or “Laurinaitis” [Doug L.]
But while he’s here, could Robiske be the new Ted Ginn? [Scout.com]
Is Illinois gaining ground in the recruting game? [Register-Mail]
And the absolute best link comes after the jump…
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