June 19, 2013

Cleveland Sports Life Boat – Browns Head Coaches

February 22, 2013 by 22 Comments

Browns Coach Life Boat

I am a huge fan of the Ron and Fez show on Sirius XM Satellite radio. They do a bit on the radio called life boat, and I’m borrowing it for Cleveland sports. Here’s how it works. There are four people and only three seats remaining on the life boat. You must work your way through the list of candidates and, unfortunately, someone is designated to try their hand at long-distance swimming.

A couple rules.

1. You MUST pick three people to ride in the boat. “Let them all drown!” isn’t an interesting answer and frankly, you’re not funny. It’s been done, so skip it.

2. Don’t use an overly silly premise for your answer. Life boat is a silly enough premise where you aren’t going to “wow” anyone with your take that you should “keep the fatter guy because at least when we turn to cannibalism, we’ll have someone tasty to eat!”

So, this Cleveland sports life boat is Browns coaches. The candidates are:

Butch Davis, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Pat Shurmur  [Read more...]

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Browns fans are very familiar with ugly season-ending games

December 26, 2012 by 14 Comments

So who is the backup for the backup?

As Scott told us today, Thad Lewis, recently called up from the practice squad, got the first team reps today in Berea. That’s right. Not Brandon Weeden with a bum shoulder. Not Colt McCoy, also with a bum shoulder. Thaddeus Lewis. Just a reminder, Lewis is a 25-year-old from Duke with a much-heralded arm and some decent athletic ability. He’s been with the Browns since Pat Shurmur arrived having originally been with the Rams via undrafted free agency in 2010.

Although not the exact same scenario, this reminded me of another season-ending game against Pittsburgh when the Browns had no healthy quarterbacks left and signed Bruce Gradkowski to play. Obviously this is a bit different because Thad Lewis has been with the Browns, played with them in pre-season and has been in practice all year. Regardless, let’s take a trip down memory lane and remember what that final day of the NFL season was like. [Read more...]

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Crennel told players not to respond to Joe Thomas comments

December 9, 2012 by 1 Comment

ESPN Cleveland’s Chris Fedor is reporting that in a team meeting this week, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel specifically instructed players not to respond to comments made by Browns all-pro Joe Thomas.

Thomas described Chief’s running back Peyton Hillis’ time in Cleveland as “toxic”.

Hours after the meeting, Hillis went to the Kansas City media and fired back at Thomas’ comments.

This isn’t the first time a story has broke of Hillis ignoring team leaders. In 2011 Hillis drew criticism for leaving the Browns midweek to attend his own wedding back in Arkansas.

Read all about the Hillis and Thomas soap opera at WFNY.

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Chiefs vs. Browns Reader Survey

December 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment

It’s a good thing I won’t be doing the pre-game television production for this game.

Peyton Hillis (cannon sound effects.) Joe Thomas (fireworks noises.) Pat Shurmur (kazoo.) Romeo Crennel (sad trombone.)

It’s the Chiefs and the Browns! Only on CBS!

That’s just for the national audience. I know Browns fans are amped for this game. The Browns are coming off two wins in a row and are looking to make it three. It would be the first three game winning streak (I think) since Eric Mangini was fighting to keep his job on the heels of Mike Holmgren’s Berea employment. Just like then, there are lots of jobs on the line. More importantly, this is a young Browns team that is looking to get experience and get a taste for winning, even if in less-than-spectacular fashion.

So now’s your chance. Weigh in! [Read more...]

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Quinn: Romeo Crennel has been a “steady force” in wake of tragedy

December 5, 2012 by 3 Comments

Romeo was huge [this past week] — he was kind of that steady rock. In the midst of everything, he obviously witnessed it so he knew he had to put it on himself to not only communicate what happened, but at the same time, lead us because there was going to be so much emotion involved — a lot of guys searching, seeing how they should respond. He was obviously emotional, and rightfully so. After that, he was able to be that steady force on this team.

– Former Cleveland Browns quarterback on head coach Romeo Crennel, Wednesday, via conference call. Crennel had been largely criticized for having lost the locker room in the wake of the 2008 collapse when both men were with the Cleveland Browns. “You have to be willing to climb to get a higher vantage point,” added the quarterback when talking about dealing with adversity throughout his career. Crennel credits his parents’ strength helped him get through last week’s tragedy.

[Related: TV Review: “Road Tested” entertaining, unfocused, and effective]

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Francona, Scott, and Gruden? Could You Imagine?

October 9, 2012 by 51 Comments

Think back to 2008. It was a year removed from one of, if not the best year in the history of Cleveland sports. The Browns were coming off a 10-win season. The Indians had just won the AL Central and finished a game away from the World Series. The Cavaliers still had LeBron James and were one of the best teams in the NBA. We probably took for granted just how great that year was. It seems like a lifetime ago when you consider the sad state of affairs that we are currently subjected to.

Just a year later, the Tribe was beginning their downward spiral. The Browns proved to be a one-year, schedule-aided fluke. The Cavs were still great with LeBron, but we all knew his contract was just one year away from expiring.

In 2008 the three major sports teams in this town were led by Eric Wedge, Mike Brown, and Romeo Crennel. Let that soak in for a moment….. [Read more...]

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Bills vs. Browns – Reader Survey

September 21, 2012 by 2 Comments

Last week Browns fans thought the team would lose 24-20 to the Bengals. In the end the Bengals won 34-27. All things considered, that doesn’t seem like an awful prediction. The Browns finished within a score even if everyone scored more than Browns fans thought they would. So this week, the Browns have the Bills coming in. The Bills got torched by the Jets in week one, and torched Romeo Crennel’s KC team in week two. So, it will be interesting to see which story you’re believing about the Browns’ opponent and the Browns themselves.

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Colt McCoy Through the Lens of Brady Quinn

May 18, 2012 by 70 Comments

Browns fans are understandably terrified of a QB controversy. The days of Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn (not to mention Charlie Frye) will do that to you. I’ve already been on record that I think it is a possibility that Colt McCoy might beat out Brandon Weeden, at least initially, because of his experience in the Browns’ offense. Still, despite all the moving parts and an ultimate desire to win ASAP, some Browns fans are so bitten by the Brady Quinn past that they think the only option is for Colt McCoy to be gone.

They might be right. I might be missing the boat completely on this thinking that this mix of quarterbacks can coexist. It does seem similar to Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn in some ways. On the one hand you have the somewhat smaller guy with questionable arm strength with Colt McCoy and Brady Quinn. On the other you have a guy who fits the stereotypical QB mold in terms of height and ability to hurl the ball like Derek Anderson and Brandon Weeden. And other than that, there just isn’t much similarity between the controversies of the past and potential conflict now.

One of the biggest problems with the D.A. vs. B.Q. situation was that Browns fans kept echoing the sentiment that “we need to see what we have in Brady Quinn.” That phrase became so common at one point that it made me want to scream just because everyone was using the same exact phrase. Is there anything worse than a localized cliché that peppers sports talk radio and website comment sections? I digress. The current situation with Colt McCoy is totally different than when we had to see “what we have in” Brady Quinn. [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting…Grading The Sessions Trade, Tribe Bullpen Battles, Browns Quarterback Questions

March 17, 2012 by 3 Comments

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.

Grading the Cavaliers’ trade of Ramon Sessions: “I was on the fence about their move of Sessions, because I’m so high on him. Yes, he was expiring and would be leaving. Yes, they only had 20-some-odd games left with him. But couldn’t they get better value than terrible contracts with another year left on them and a 25-plus pick? Then I thought more about it, and saw that the Cavs also got the right to swap their Heat pick obtained in the LeBron James sign-and-trade in 2013 with the Lakers’ pick, which could be substantially worse if the Lakers don’t improve considerably on their older core.

The Cavs now could have four first-round picks in 2012 and more picks in the future. They can package to move up or for a player. If yoiu’re rebuilding, this is the way to go. Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, and picks on picks on picks.

It’s a big-picture plan, and a good one.” [Eye On Basketball/Matt Moore]

[Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting…Quiet Browns Offseason, Indians Offseason Improvements, Romeo Crennel Returns!

January 8, 2012 by 6 Comments

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.

Can there really be such a thing a a quiet offseason in Browns town? “When did this become Browns fans’ last stand at the Alamo?

Are we really wondering about blowing everything up, or spending a bazillion dollars in free agency next year, or intimating that Pat Shurmur should be fired?

Maybe the news that they plan to hire an offensive coordinator isn’t enough to satisfy the bloodlust we’ve developed over the past four years.

Think about it—this very well could be the most boring offseason the Browns have had since 2008. We’ve seen a major player get hired or fired every year since then. Here’s a recap of that carnage up until now, starting in 1999, and getting pretty aggressive as we arrive at the present.” [Jimmy Weinland/Dawg Pound Daily]

[Read more...]

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Former Brown Says Mangini “was a bad head coach.”

November 18, 2011 by 39 Comments

Vince Grzegorek at Scene posted a quote yesterday from a former “player” for the Cleveland Browns, Nate Jackson.  You don’t remember the tenure of Nate Jackson as a member of the Cleveland Browns?  I am guessing I might be able to find him if I search old roster moves on NFL.com, but he doesn’t have any stats applied to his name since 2008.  Apparently, though, he was on the roster of the Cleveland Browns last year in Eric Mangini’s final year in Berea.  Here’s the quote.

I was only in Cleveland for one week, but as I wrote last year, I was there long enough to figure out that his coaching style was so interactive as to be intrusive. He peppered his players with fourthdownulator-esque studies, made them memorize those figures, then called upon them in meetings and forced them to stand and recite them. Players were visibly shaken by the process. This was not the football they knew. They had notes scattered about their laps and desks, nervously hoping they wouldn’t be asked to stand and tell Mangini what percentage of the time field goals are made by a left-footed kicker from the right hash-mark facing south with an east-to-west wind in the second quarter of Thursday night games in November. It’s hard to play your best with these things on your mind.

Mangini was a bad head coach. He couldn’t reconcile his scientific approach to the game with the real-time lack of science that was needed to play it. He took it too far and lost his team. [Read more...]

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For the Browns, Pat Shurmur’s Debut Just the Latest In a Long Line of Rough Starts

September 12, 2011 by 16 Comments

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

The Cleveland Browns, coming off a couple disappointing seasons, make a coaching change. The new coach comes in, the front office is happy, the players are excited about the change, the fans are fired up with all the hope and optimism that this new coaching regime is going to bring.

And then the season starts. And without fail, it starts with a spectacular display of failure. A stagnant offense that seems incapable of converting 3rd downs in the 2nd half when just one measly TD would seemingly put the game away. And then there’s the bizarre/boneheaded play that turns the game in the opponents’ favor, and just like that everything seems exactly the same as it has always been. [Read more...]

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Time to Forget the Wildcat

March 28, 2011 by 14 Comments

I know it seems like I am really trying to rain on Josh Cribbs’ parade lately, what with my talk about kickoffs, etc.  I still love Josh Cribbs as a player and certainly as a Cleveland Brown off the field.  Unfortunately, I need to say that the wildcat formation is over.  You never want to be the last person sporting your “Where’s the beef?” t-shirt.  At least the wildcat fad will be able to say that it lasted longer than Charlie Sheen’s “winning” catch-phrase, right?  It was a gimmick that worked in Miami for the Dolphins and showed a bit of promise on occasion for the Browns with Josh Cribbs.  That being said, it is a gimmick for teams that have trouble moving the ball in a traditional fashion.

Look at the place where it was most successful.  The Dolphins employed the wildcat in the third game of the 2008 NFL season to provide a spark to the offense with a different look.  In this case, the Dolphins were having trouble generating offense in the passing game between Chad Pennington and receivers Ted Ginn, Greg Camarillo, Davone Bess, and Anthony Fasano.  It helped the Dolphins get to the playoffs where they lost in the wildcard round to the Baltimore Ravens. [Read more...]

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The Browns and Their New Plan

March 17, 2011 by 14 Comments

I don’t want everyone to jump on me for this post as if I am supporting Mike Holmgren and the Browns blindly.  I am not.  The Browns have done a few things that leave me scratching my head.  I am still a little befuddled that they hired Pat Shurmur and immediately allowed him to call his own plays.  The overall timing of letting Eric Mangini stay a year before the potential lockout is also a beard-tugging maneuver.  Even with some of those things, I think I do understand what the Browns are trying to accomplish and why they made the moves they did.

I still think Eric Mangini has a future in the NFL.  I also think he did more good than bad in his time in Cleveland.  As it turns out, Mangini caused a lot of his own problems and simultaneously found himself the victim of circumstances created by Randy Lerner.  Life isn’t fair.  Life in the NFL isn’t fair either, but at least you get a lot of money for putting up with it.  If Eric Mangini did more good than bad with decidedly little talent, then how can I say that I understand the Browns and their new plan?

Again, I am not saying it is a lock to work, but I understand the thinking.  Consider the Browns as a factory.  They produce widgets and their success is determined by the number of widgets they produce on an annual basis. [Read more...]

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Coaches Are Made, Not Hired

January 13, 2011 by 21 Comments

(Update: The hiring of Pat Shurmur is official)

As the Browns are reportedly on the verge of hiring Pat Shurmur to be their next head coach, most Cleveland fans don’t get it.

The hand-wringing and sniping reminds me of all that TV footage of Jets fans complaining about their team’s draft picks live on TV over the years.  Point being, just because you don’t know anything about Shurmur doesn’t mean that he isn’t the right guy for the job.

“But he doesn’t have a track record that we can look at like Jon Gruden or Bill Cowher!”  Neither did Mike Tomlin or John Harbaugh to name two men who we see a combined four times per year.

[Read more...]

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Finding Truth in Mangini’s Firing

January 4, 2011 by 56 Comments

Now that the initial dust has settled and we have heard from Mike Holmgren about the latest coach to hit the turnstiles in Berea, it is time to get down into some details.  

I keep reading and hearing the same things over and over again, and I want to at least do my best to set the table as I currently see it.  I am going to do my best to paraphrase the things that I have been hearing on Twitter, in comments sections and from some of my friends.

Question – “Stability is good.  How can Mangini’s firing be defended as Cleveland yet again tries to find their coach of the future?”

Mike Holmgren agrees that stability is important.  He said that in his press conference explicitly.  He clearly would like to find a coach who will be in Cleveland for the long haul.  You get the sense from listening to Holmgren talk about Mangini that he wishes Mangini had become the guy.  He obviously didn’t think Eric Mangini was the guy for the job after working closely with him this year.  Mike Holmgren can believe in stability as an organizational strategy and also fire Eric Mangini after only two years.  The two notions aren’t mutually exclusive. [Read more...]

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Breaking News: Eric Mangini Has Been Fired

January 3, 2011 by 65 Comments

Whether it is fair or not will probably be debated for a long time, but we finally have word that Eric Mangini is out of a job in Cleveland.  

Mike Holmgren reportedly made the move this morning, in a meeting with Mangini who has two years left on his contract with the Browns.  

Mangini leaves behind a mixed legacy with two 5-win seasons of work that will appear sub-par in the record books.  He will also leave some with the negative images of Randy Lerner fumbling a major organizational hand-off.

Eric Mangini was fired from his previous head coaching position with the New York Jets on December 29, 2008.  Mangini was then interviewed and subsequently hired by Randy Lerner and the Cleveland Browns on January 7, 2009.  This was on the heels of Lerner’s housecleaning sweep of head coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Phil Savage. [Read more...]

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About Phil Dawson’s Potential Valedictory Contest

December 30, 2010 by 23 Comments

The longest tenured Brown, the man we call Captain Clutch and the guy who taught the world of modern-day NFL fans what the “stanchion” was may be playing his final game in Orange and Brown this Sunday.

While the media brigade prefers to cast a storm of rhetoric and hypotheticals on Eric Mangini and his band of perceived underachievers, Browns fans may be watching their four-star team captain take his final kick in Cleveland Browns Stadium as one of their own. 

Now 35 years of age, Dawson has seen it all.  He came aboard during the expansion season of 1999, endured the laundry list of men who considered themselves to be professional quarterbacks – though better suited to merely be holders on field goals and extra points – and saw the constant upheaval and three-ring circus that was Berea, Ohio.  He has made many game-winners and has had a few fall just shy, but he continues to be the one player who fans could count on as a timeless and perpetual fixture each and every season. 

But after two years of holding out of non-mandatory activities with hopes of a new contract with the only team he knows, Dawson will enter this offseason as a free agent. [Read more...]

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Appreciating Randy Lerner by Comparison

December 16, 2010 by 58 Comments

To derive happiness from the shortfalls of others is really very unbecoming in life.  Then again, the yin and yang are important because without ups, there could be no downs and without unhappiness there could be no such thing as happiness.  

You know; elementary philosophy and all that.  

As the Browns head into “The Battle for Ohio” this week against the 2-11 Bengals, we shouldn’t waste any pity on them or their fans.  They probably don’t want it even if we felt like giving it to them.  The Browns are 1.5-point underdogs as I write this, so it isn’t like Browns fans have a whole lot to crow about other than a better record on the way to also missing the playoffs.  None of this means that I can’t muster a bit of a back-handed compliment for Randy Lerner as I think about Mike Brown’s reign over the Bengals. [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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