June 19, 2013

The NFL, Injuries, Cutler and Cribbs

January 24, 2011 by 10 Comments

The culture of the NFL opens the league to a wide variety of opposite forces.  Players want to be viewed as warriors.  The league uses slow motion highlights to paint them that way.  Companies like Nike and Under Armour do everything they can to paint them that way too.  Ronnie Lott’s legend couldn’t be bigger because he chose amputation of his finger in order to keep playing.  Has it gone too far now?

Yesterday Jay Cutler left a playoff game with an apparent knee injury and the questions started flying about whether he was tough or not.  During the late game yesterday, I got caught up in it and cracked about LaDainian Tomlinson actually playing in the Jets game after standing on the sideline injured as a member of the San Diego Chargers.   [Read more...]

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A few thoughts on Sunday’s Jets – Steelers game…

January 22, 2011 by 27 Comments

The first of those being the fact that if Pittsburgh loses, Braylon wins.  This might be a tough spot for some Browns fans to root from - assuming you’re looking for a rooting interest in Sunday’s AFC title game - but not for me. 

I don’t want Pittsburgh to go to the Superbowl.  I don’t want to hear what a great guy Big Ben has matured into becoming for the next month leading into that game down in Dallas because of the fact he helped his team string together enough wins to get after his suspension, and I don’t want to hear or see the bursting from the seams joy from Stiller Nation.

I don’t really care about Braylon either.  I’m not a fan of his, but in truth he has rendered himself irrelevant to me.  I could care less.  He’s not the best receiver on his team, and I really can’t see a scenario in which the Jets advance because of Braylon Edwards.  I suppose I hope he gets shut out by Pittsburgh’s secondary, drops six balls, catches none, and the Jets advance despite of him. [Read more...]

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Random Browns Thoughts: Rob Ryan, Wide Receiver, Alex Mack vs. Clay Matthews

January 10, 2011 by 28 Comments

The Browns are desperately searching for their next coach, but I won’t talk about candidates today, because there is nothing new to say.

Instead, I will point out an interesting question that a friend of mine raised yesterday.

When the Browns fired Eric Mangini, many thought that Mike Holmgren had his dream guy all lined up and ready to go.  At least at this early stage, that doesn’t seem to be the case.  The Browns are certainly offensive coordinator-heavy at this point.  One thing is for certain: the Browns will have a new looking offense (to us, anyway) next season.  Even if Brian Daboll hasn’t been given his walking papers yet, you can be sure he won’t be back.

But what about Rob Ryan?

I have an off-the-wall prediction based in nothing but my version of entertainment.  Rob Ryan will get hired by Al Davis and the Raiders. Why stop the cycle of insanity now?  I’ll admit that I have no basis for this what-so-ever, except that I think HBO should definitely load up the “Hard Knocks” cameras and do the only suitable sequel to last year’s train wreck with the New York Jets. [Read more...]

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Charting Mangini Via ESPN Power Rankings

November 18, 2010 by 7 Comments

Disclaimer: If you are looking for a scientific post with bona fide conclusions, you won’t find it here.  This is for entertainment purposes only.

Power rankings aren’t really all that scientific.  I mean, they could be if someone wanted to standardize the way they are calculated based on a number of variables and factors.  But as it sits now, they are mostly based on opinion without much more research applied than the average fantasy football player does to work the weekly waiver wire and the starting lineup.  Regardless, I decided to throw some numbers together when I saw that the Browns jumped up a spot in this week’s ESPN NFL Power Rankings even though they lost a game.  Considering my opinion after the game ended, it seemed sensible to me that the Browns could stay flat this week or have a modest increase after going toe-to-toe with three of the best teams in three straight games.  First, I decided to compare Romeo Crennel’s first two seasons vs. Mangini’s first two seasons so far.

[Read more...]

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Be Proud of Your Browns Even in Defeat

November 14, 2010 by 81 Comments

It is good to be upset at losing today’s heart-breaker to the Jets 26-20 in overtime. That’s what real fans of real NFL teams feel after losing a game like this. I was really disappointed just like the rest of you. So I am glad that you feel that way. Then again, if that negativity carries over into Monday, after the game the Browns played today, I think you should be ashamed of yourself.

The Browns played an incredibly gutty game today against the Jets. They survived early injuries to Sheldon Brown, Scott Fujita and Josh Cribbs to find a way to tie it in the fourth quarter. They survived a 10-minute, 19-play, 65-yard drive by the Jets to open the third quarter.  They got lucky that Nick Folk missed the 24 yard field goal at the end of that drive.  The Browns defense deserves acclaim for finding a way to get off the field on the ensuing drive too after the Browns’ offense couldn’t manage anything more than a three and out. The Browns defense was on the field for almost 13 minutes of the third quarter.  They were bruised and battered, yet somehow they looked the Jets in the face time and again and basically told them that they wouldn’t be able to put the game out of reach on this day. [Read more...]

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Pre-Game Intel – Jets vs. Browns

November 13, 2010 by 10 Comments

When and Where: Sunday November 14th, 2010 – 1:00 PM – Cleveland Browns Stadium – Cleveland, OH

Overview: I have no interest in the themes of this game.  Yes, I will always root against Braylon Edwards for the rest of time, but it doesn’t matter that he is in Cleveland this week.  I root against Braylon every week.  There is really no extra emphasis this week.  The fact is that Braylon is a talent.  The fact is that Braylon could and should be a greater talent.  The fact is that the cost / benefit of having Braylon on this roster no longer made sense to Mangini or the rest of us.  So now that I have spent too many words telling you about something I really don’t care about… [Read more...]

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WFNY Time Machine – My January 2009 Letter to Braylon Edwards

November 11, 2010 by 20 Comments

In January 2009, I wrote a letter to Braylon Edwards.  We had just finished Romeo Crennel’s disappointing tenure with the team.  Eric Mangini was hired and Braylon and the Browns really had a chance to start over.  Except Braylon never really started over.  He came back even worse.  He fought Mangini and the new team discipline every step of the way.  He got in trouble off the field, which finally ended his tenure as a Cleveland Brown, but it didn’t have to be that way.  If only he would have read my letter maybe I would have posted a nice picture rather than an animated one of him dropping the ball for the Jets.

Braylon,

Boy, that escalated quickly… I mean, that really got out of hand fast.  First, you started dropping passes.  Then we started booing you and making fun of you.  Then we even started mocking your commercial endeavors like 5 hour energy.  Then you yelled at us for hating you because you were from Michigan and claimed to have carried the Browns to a ten win season.  And then we kept going making you the punchline of all our jokes until you basically became the only one to blame from this season other than Romeo Crennel. [Read more...]

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Cleveland Browns Time Machine – June 2009

June 17, 2010 by 12 Comments

As we now sit and wait for training camp with real football pads it is a time to take very very early stock of your NFL team.  The roster has come into focus and we have initial reports to mull over regarding rookies and free agents and any off-field incidents.  This year, the word seems to be leadership.  Veterans like Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, Sheldon Brown, and Scott Fujita have all been brought in and are almost immediately associated with team leadership.  That is a good thing, but it makes me wonder, exactly where were we a year ago?  I’ll tell you.

I decided to take an early stab at comparing Mangini and Josh McDaniels. [Read more...]

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Browns Should Not Draft A QB at #7

March 17, 2010 by 47 Comments

Most Browns fans that we come across around these pages seem to be mostly in agreement that the Browns need to take the most talented, difference-making defensive player with the #7 pick.  In fact, beyond that, I think most people around here are down to even making sure it is a defensive back, either Joe Haden or Eric Berry if the safety happens to fall that far.  Most of us (and probably Mike Holmgren) I think feel this way, but it is important to talk about why the Browns shouldn’t jump out on that limb this year, and probably ever again.

Obviously, there is an exception to every rule.  Every now and then Peyton Manning shows up at the top of the draft board.  Even beyond Peyton Manning, you have his brother Eli, Phillip Rivers, and potentially even Mark Sanchez who the Browns enabled the Jets to draft a year ago.  But for every one of those, there are seemingly even more players like Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Ryan Leaf and on down the line of complete and utter failures.  Even beyond that, there are more reasons why I can make the argument the Browns should pass though. [Read more...]

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NFL Rookie Wage Scale Being Discussed

November 10, 2009 by 14 Comments

Pro Football Talk is reporting that the meetings between the NFL and player’s association are now starting to get into financial details.  Specifically, they report by way of SportsBusiness Journal that the concept of a rookie wage scale could very well be on the table now.  The NFL is the best-run league in the United States right now and I think a rookie wage scale would only help the league further.  There are a couple things going on with the current “slotting” system that bug me.

First, the top ten picks in the NFL draft are artificially lowered in market value.  The talent level is obviously high at the top of the draft, but so is the risk because of the amount of money that the picking team will have to pay the player.  This is not to even mention the possibility that the player will hold out and not show up.  This is a disadvantage to everyone involved.  The player ends up behind in his development.  The team that presumably needs that player most is behind in integrating the player into the game plan.  The fans of the bad team that needed the player end up suffering longer as they wait for a hopeful turnaround. [Read more...]

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Braylon Watch – 13 Catches So Far

November 2, 2009 by 5 Comments
Bill Kostroun / AP

Bill Kostroun / AP

Braylon Edwards helped the Jets lose to the Miami Dolphins yesterday in a divisional matchup.  Thanks to a victory in Oakland last week, the Jets are now 1-3 since adding the dynamic receiving threat to their roster.  Yesterday during the Miami game Braylon caught 4 balls including one touchdown.  He was targeted 8 times according to the ESPN box score.  As has been widely reported, Braylon needs to catch 55 balls in order for the Browns to turn that 3rd round pick into a 2nd round pick.

Braylon has 42 more catches to make.  The Jets have their bye this week just like the Browns.  After that, Braylon will have half a season (eight games, duh) to catch those 42 balls.  That means Braylon must average 5.25 catches per game over the second half of the season in order for the Browns to get the Jets’ second round pick.  Of course, there could be a lot of factors in play. [Read more...]

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Jets Sign Mark Sanchez to Rich Rookie Deal

June 12, 2009 by 4 Comments

Just like when we all sat back in satisfaction when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Kellen Winslow to his giant contract, we should all take a moment and sigh in relief as the Jets sign Mark Sanchez.  The Jets seem to have come to terms with the draft pick that they got from Cleveland on draft day.  Mark Sanchez’ deal is for five years and potentially as much as $60 million.  The real number to look at is the guaranteed $28 million.  That is $5.6 million per year in guaranteed dollars.  That is about a 27% raise over the #5 pick in last year’s draft, Glenn Dorsey who received $4.4 million per year in guaranteed dollars.

This is not to say that Mark Sanchez won’t earn every one of those dollars and then some.  He very well might.  He could be the next Carson Palmer out of USC and be really successful.  The point is that he better be for the Jets’ sake.  The risk of taking a guy to lead your team that high is that whether he turns out to be that guy or not, he is going to get paid regardless.  Not to mention the fact that the tendency is to build around the quarterback.  You would hate to be building a team for a captain who might never be capable of taking it over. [Read more...]

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We Ask Jets Fans About Mangini

January 6, 2009 by 24 Comments

Eric ManginiThe Internet is a magical place.  While Clevelanders of yester-year had to suffer in a vacuum of sports misery talking about their problems, we have the benefit of communication like the world has never seen before.  That sounds like the opening lines of pretty much any paper I wrote in college.  Wide sweeping statement that is meant to sound somewhat intriguing while not telling you anything that isn’t completely obvious.  I digress.  I was tired of living in a tunnel with regards to the supposed front-runner for the Cleveland Browns head coaching job, so WFNY reached out to some Jets bloggers to find out what their thoughts are / were about Mangini over the last three years.

So, we have reached out to The Legend of Cecilio Guante (link fixed) and TheJetsBlog.com to provide the learnin’ that we require.  Read below and consider yourself informed.

1.  Please tell all the Clevelanders here about yourself and your site with the name that nobody ever wants to type.

The Legend of Cecilio Guante – First off, thanks for the chance to talk to a fan base for whom I have much respect. [Read more...]

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Browns Bullets for Sunday January 4, 2009

January 4, 2009 by 19 Comments

I am sure most of you are either watching the NFL playoffs or the Cavs’ battle in Washington against the Wiz.  Meanwhile, we haven’t been talking a lot about the Browns since the season ended, and with good reason.  What is there to say that hasn’t already been said?  Well, now with a little time and with the coaching / GM situation pending, I finally have some thoughts.  No worries though.  It isn’t like I have a cohesive narrative or anything like that, so I give you the writer’s version of Cliff’s Notes with bullets.

  • Bud Shaw may have beaten me to the punch, but it needs to be stated again.  What is the Browns’ hurry?  Maybe it is because I am a little baffled at the thought that the Browns are so in love with Eric Mangini, but why is it that a two week vacation for Mike Shanahan has eliminated him as a candidate for a job that should be on a contract for at least two whole years?
  • Speaking of Eric Mangini, what is it that he could have said to impress Lerner so much? [Read more...]

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