May 20, 2013

WFNY Debate: Do NFL coaches even matter?

January 12, 2013 by 7 Comments

chudzinskiIn case it hasn’t been clear yet, the WFNY writers email each other a lot. And I mean a lot. So on top of our two email-based roundtables already this week (post-Kelly rumors and post-Chudzinski hire), we bring you inside the famed Gmail inbox for a look at a Friday debate: This time, we’re talking about the possible impact of pro coaches.

Jacob: Hey guys, I’m considering writing a numbers article about Rob Chudzinski. I’m intrigued by the stats about his TDs, points and plays of 20+ yards with Carolina. Then maybe look at the Browns in ’07-’08, the Chargers, Miami, etc. Compare to league averages. His success with RBs (DeAngelo Williams in Week 17). Here’s a quick snippet of the stats that I had in mind for such a post:

2011: plays of 20+ pass/rush (total) —- Carolina: 66/24 (90); Cleveland: 32/7 (39)
2011: third down conversion —- Carolina: 75/185 (40.5%); Cleveland: 92/238 (38.7%)
2012: plays of 20+ pass/rush (total) —- Carolina: 58/17 (75); Cleveland: 50/7 (57)
2012: third down conversion —- Carolina: 88/204 (43.1%); Cleveland: 67/218 (30.7%) [Read more...]

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NFL Week 4: Winners and Losers

October 1, 2012 by 13 Comments

So after each Browns game I pick my winners and losers for the game. Since the Browns played last Thursday, I thought we’d open up today with a league wide winners and losers piece. I mean hey, what else are we going to talk about this morning?

Alright. League wide winners and losers from yesterday. Go…

LOSERS: Detroit Special Teams. Wow. The Lions gave up a kick-off return for a score and a punt return for a score in their 20-13 loss to the Vikings. The Lions fall to 1-3 in a season they had playoff expectations. They four teams they played so far had a regular season record of 27-37 last year, and if you take San Francisco out of the equation, they were 14-34. Yikes.

WINNERS: The Usual Suspects. Brady, Manning, Rodgers and Brees combined for 1,443 yards passing (all over 300 yards), 13 TDs, 1 Interception and 3 wins. Why not 4? Well, Brees and Rodgers played each other. Think QB play is important in this league? Look at the rest of the QB numbers. Insane. [Read more...]

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Mortenson: The end of the NFL Pro Bowl could be near

April 26, 2012 by 19 Comments

I honestly don’t know anyone who watches the Pro Bowl. I mean like really watches it.  According to Chris Mortenson (by way of PFT,) the Pro Bowl gets good TV ratings and makes money, but it could be all over.

The idea for getting rid of the Pro Bowl entirely has picked up steam in recent years, and Chris Mortensen reported on ESPN Radio this morning that there’s talk of suspending the Pro Bowl as soon as this year: There might not be a Pro Bowl at all at the end of this season.

Obviously it won’t be missed by too many people. It will probably most be missed by guys like Derek Anderson and Browns center Alex Mack. With no actual game, there won’t be guys bowing out to avoid injuries. Without Pro Bowl alternates we never would have had to hear arguments for Derek Anderson that included mention of his Pro Bowl (when he filled in for the real Pro Bowler, Tom Brady.)

The only downside is that we won’t get any more Alex Mack touchdown scampers either.

[Related: The Relief of the Arrival of Draft Day]

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Another view of Peter King’s stat of the week regarding running backs

April 23, 2012 by 29 Comments

Peter King does great work and his Monday Morning Quarterback column is a must-read. He has some really enlightening information in the column even if you sometimes question his sources. Obviously Tom Heckert does, as he blatantly told the Cleveland press this week that he hasn’t talked to King in years. Be that as it may, King was talking about the 2012 NFL draft and the Browns’ potential for taking running back Trent Richardson.

I know it’s fashionable to give Trent Richardson, far and away the best back in this draft, to Cleveland at No. 4 in round one Thursday. But with the game becoming more and more of an aerial show, the Browns should be thinking hard about their choice before Thursday.

Six teams in the NFL won 12 or more games last year. Here are those teams, and where the leading rusher on each ranked in league rushing stats last season:

Team Record Leading Rusher NFL Rank
Green Bay 15-1 James Starks 39
New England 13-3 BenJarvus Green-Ellis 27
New Orleans 13-3 Darren Sproles 33
San Francisco 13-3 Frank Gore 6
Baltimore 12-4 Ray Rice 2
Pittsburgh 12-4 Rashard Mendenhall 21

 

Ack! That is terrifying. Maybe the Browns should just draft Justin Blackmon! [Read more...]

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Super Bowl Box Score: New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17

February 5, 2012 by 6 Comments

Your Super Bowl MVP- Eli Manning.

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter NYG – NE
8:52 New York Giants NYG SAF Safety 2 – 0
3:24 New York Giants NYG TD Eli Manning passed to Victor Cruz down the middle for 2 yard gain (Lawrence Tynes made PAT) 9 – 0
2nd Quarter NYG – NE
13:48 New England Patriots NE FG Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 29-yard field goal 9 – 3
0:08 New England Patriots NE TD Tom Brady passed to Danny Woodhead to the left for 4 yard gain (Stephen Gostkowski made PAT) 9 – 10
3rd Quarter NYG – NE
11:20 New England Patriots NE TD Tom Brady passed to Aaron Hernandez to the left for 12 yard gain (Stephen Gostkowski made PAT) 9 – 17
6:43 New York Giants NYG FG Lawrence Tynes kicked a 38-yard field goal 12 – 17
0:35 New York Giants NYG FG Lawrence Tynes kicked a 33-yard field goal 15 – 17
4th Quarter NYG – NE
0:57 New York Giants NYG TD Ahmad Bradshaw rushed up the middle for 6 yard gain (2pt attempt failed, D.J. Ware run to the right) 21 – 17

Passing

New York Giants Comp Att Yds Pct Y/A Sack YdsL TD Int Rating
Eli Manning 30 40 296 75.0 7.4 3 14 1 0 103.8
New England Patriots Comp Att Yds Pct Y/A Sack YdsL TD Int Rating
Tom Brady 27 41 276 65.9 6.7 2 10 2 1 91.1

Rushing

New York Giants Rush Yds Avg Lng TD FumL
Ahmad Bradshaw 17 72 4.2 24 1 0
Brandon Jacobs 9 37 4.1 11 0 0
D.J. Ware 1 6 6.0 6 0 0
Eli Manning 1 -1 -1.0 -1 0 0
New England Patriots Rush Yds Avg Lng TD FumL
BenJarvus Green-Ellis 10 44 4.4 17 0 0
Wes Welker 2 21 10.5 11 0 0
Danny Woodhead 7 18 2.6 6 0 0

Receiving

New York Giants Rec Yds Avg Lng TD FumL
Hakeem Nicks 10 109 10.9 19 0 0
Mario Manningham 5 73 14.6 38 0 0
Bear Pascoe 4 33 8.3 12 0 0
Victor Cruz 4 25 6.3 8 1 0
Henry Hynoski 2 19 9.5 13 0 0
Ahmad Bradshaw 2 19 9.5 11 0 0
Jake Ballard 2 10 5.0 9 0 0
D.J. Ware 1 8 8.0 8 0 0
New England Patriots Rec Yds Avg Lng TD FumL
Aaron Hernandez 8 67 8.4 12 1 0
Wes Welker 7 60 8.6 19 0 0
Deion Branch 3 45 15.0 19 0 0
Danny Woodhead 4 42 10.5 19 1 0
Rob Gronkowski 2 26 13.0 20 0 0
Chad Ochocinco 1 21 21.0 21 0 0
BenJarvus Green-Ellis 2 15 7.5 8 0 0

Kicking

New York Giants XPM XPA FGM FGA Lng Pct Pts
Lawrence Tynes 1 1 2 2 38 100.0 7
New England Patriots XPM XPA FGM FGA Lng Pct Pts
Stephen Gostkowski 2 2 1 1 29 100.0 5

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While We’re Waiting… Rookie Honeymoons, Twitter Rankings and Brady/Belichick vs History

January 24, 2012 by 13 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

Is the Tristan Thompson honeymoon over already? “What really concerns me, though, is his offense. While he’s still great at doing what he’s always done (facing the basket and throwing it down with authority) he hasn’t really shown much improvement in the post, which is critically important, particularly for a guy his size who won’t be able to use pure power against the Dwight Howards and Andrew Bynums of the NBA. At the rim, TT is shooting a good 57% (especially for a guy who spends most of his time in the paint), but at just 3-9 feet away, his numbers drop to 38.2%, meaning our guy has a lot of learning to do even just a few feet away from the hoop.” [Factor/Cavs the Blog] [Read more...]

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NFL Playoffs Teach Us that Building Teams is Hard Work

January 23, 2012 by 52 Comments

Every week of the Browns season we do the (sometimes comical) “Browns will win if…” articles here on WFNY.  Usually it was something about Peyton Hillis being healthy, Colt McCoy finding some rhythm with his receivers, Phil Taylor and Ahtyba Rubin stopping the run, or Phil Dawson hitting eleventeen field goals as the keys to victory.  It was always interesting to see how the games turned out to see if any of our “predictions” or key matchups became as key as they felt on Friday afternoon as we were making things up.  In the end, the NFL has become a game of predictions between Vegas and Fantasy and, really,  nobody knows what is actually going to happen.  Nothing could have been illustrated more perfectly than that sentiment yesterday during the NFL playoffs.

Peter King pointed it out in his MMQB column and it is true. [Read more...]

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Colt McCoy’s Interceptions Are Not Out of Control… Yet

November 29, 2011 by 50 Comments

Colt McCoy has thrown two brutal interceptions in the last two weeks.  The Browns were in precarious spots both times.  Against Cincinnati this weekend the Browns were driving toward the red zone and were clinging to a three point lead when McCoy threw as he was hit.  It was probably about five yards in bounds and about ten yards short of Greg Little.  McCoy would later say he was trying to throw it out of bounds, but there is no excuse for turning the ball over in that situation.  The week prior in a win over Jacksonville Colt McCoy threw an interception from the Jax six yard line as a linebacker jumped in front of a pass intended for Ben Watson.  It was an ugly one with the game tied up at 7 in the third quarter.  Those types of interceptions in particular seem especially inexcusable considering game situations and location on the field.  That being said, interceptions are going to happen to every QB on occasion.  So, is Colt McCoy’s interception rate a problem?

One thing we’ve definitely learned from Tim Tebow is that stats aren’t always the most meaningful measures for football players.  Well, unless you’re talking about wins and losses.  Even then, while wins are the most important stat, they can’t tell the story of an NFL QB any more than they can for an MLB reliever.  I decided to delve into the stats a bit to see how Colt McCoy’s interception rates stand up to the rest of the NFL. [Read more...]

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Browns Smart to Stay Cautious in Free Agency

July 29, 2011 by 16 Comments

The cool thing about being a fan of sports is that you really can learn over time.  I feel like a smarter fan today having been through all the things the Browns have been through since 1999.  Take free agency, for example?

The Browns have signed guys like LeCharles Bentley, Donte Stallworth, Dave Zastudil, Gary Baxter, Joe Jurevicius, and Eric Steinbach.  There have been some others, but these are the names that stick out to me most.  Eric Steinbach has been great.  Jurevicius was solid for a season.  The rest ended up being not worth the money or trouble mostly.

Today I was reading about the trade of Albert Haynesworth from the Redskins to the Patriots and Andrew Brandt at The National Football Post helped me really tie together something else I have learned over the last few years with Eric Mangini at the helm for the Cleveland Browns. [Read more...]

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City of Champions – Boston Scores Again

June 16, 2011 by 27 Comments

Last night the Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks to win the right to drink beer out of The Stanley Cup.  After the clock read zero, I tweeted my congratulations.  ”You gotta feel good for those long suffering Boston sports fans.”  It had been a long 29 years of hand-wringing including a “kiss your sister” celebration of Ray Bourque’s Stanley Cup in 2001 after the long-time Bruin was traded to the Avalanche to win it.  In case you feel like attacking Boston’s sports credibility, just imagine for a second that the Heat had won the Finals this year and we had a party with Zydrunas Ilgauskas.  No matter, though.  Bourque is long forgotten now that the Bruins won it all.  Talk about a Cleveland contrast.

There is a generation of Boston sports fans who will have no idea what to do with themselves if Boston sports teams don’t win it all every couple of years.  Since the millennium, it is absolutely astonishing.  The Patriots won in 2001, 2003, 2004 and nearly missed a perfect season in 2007.  The Red Sox won it in 2004 and 2007.  The Celtics won it in 2008.  And now the Bruins have won it in 2011.  So that’s seven championships across four teams in basically a decade’s time.  And beyond that, it is a ton of contention even when they didn’t win it all. [Read more...]

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Derek Anderson Still Doesn’t Think It’s Funny on Twitter

January 11, 2011 by 15 Comments

Derek Anderson’s rant is forever captured in the Internet consciousness.  If you forgot what Derek Anderson’s meltdown was all about, well here it is… again…

Apparently, DA is ready to move on and doesn’t think anything is as funny as what he was laughing about on the sidelines on Monday Night Football.  And of course, seemingly the thinner the skin you have, the more likely it is that you are willing to engage people on Twitter.  This time, his protagonist was Jerod Morris from Midwest Sports Fans. [Read more...]

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The Similarities Between Tom Brady and Colt McCoy

November 10, 2010 by 14 Comments

Obviously this is very very early and means very very little in the scheme of things.  Most of it is just pure coincidence and anecdotal.  Still, sometimes this stuff is more interesting than the things we can make up.  I know everyone wanted to talk about the Belichick vs. Mangini storyline last week and I refused to do it.  For one, the whole “spygate” affair isn’t our deal.  It happened with the Jets.  That wasn’t a crime committed against the Browns even if we have Mangini here now.  Still, let’s look at a couple things.

Bill Belichick was in his second season with the Pats when Drew Bledsoe got smashed running out of bounds.  Tom Brady replaced Bledsoe.  Eric Mangini is in his second season with the Browns.  Granted two quarterbacks had to go down in order for Colt McCoy to take over and Colt McCoy is a rookie whereas Tom Brady was in his second year.  Still, when Tom Brady started his first game for the Pats (not counting the game he took over where Bledsoe got hurt) he was 24 years and 58 days old.  When Colt McCoy started his first game for the Browns against Pittsburgh, he was 24 years and 42 days old.  I know it is completely stupid, but even the alliteration works. Brady and Belichick. McCoy and Mangini. [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting…Browns vs. Patriots Edition

November 7, 2010 by 1 Comment

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.

On Holmgren and his coaching staff:  “I hope team President Mike Holmgren keeps the same open mind that he had about coach Eric Mangini as he watches the remaining games. Mangini has brought much-needed discipline and toughness to this team. I don’t know how they will play in the remaining nine games, but there is no reason for Holmgren or anyone else to come to grand conclusions about the head coach until the end of the season…I hope (and believe) Holmgren meant it as a compliment when he said defensive coordinator Rob Ryan’s defenses drive him crazy with all the wandering around and strange formations. That’s exactly the point. No matter who is the coach next season, Ryan and special teams coach Brad Seely must remain because these are veteran coordinators who make an impact.” [Terry Pluto/Plain Dealer]

[Read more...]

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The Browns Will Win If…

November 5, 2010 by 18 Comments

Aaaaand, we’re back! Fresh off their Bye Week, the 2-5 Browns get back to it against another tough, tough opponent. Raise your hand if you thought this team would be 2-5 at this point. OK, OK, I see a lot of hands, including my own, raised. Now, keep your hand raised if you thought one of those wins would have been against the Saints on the road. Yeah, me either.

brownspats

The Pats’ offense is still solid, even without Randy “I wouldn’t feed that [bleep] to my dogs!” Moss—its name is “Tom Brady”. Their defense, however, well, it’s not your slightly older brother’s defense that won three out of four Super Bowls. There’s some talent there, but the Viking among other teams showed there are yards to be gained out there against them: in fact, they’ve allowed 200 more total yards so far on the season than our Browns have. In fact, marinate in this stat for a moment: the Browns secondary—yes, that Browns secondary—allows 40 fewer yards per game than the Pats’ secondary does. Without further ado…

The Browns Will Win If…

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Was Drafting Kellen Winslow Wrong?

February 4, 2009 by 20 Comments

Kellen WinslowI’m notcing that a  lot is being made of the 2004 NFL Draft.  After all, the last two quarterbacks to win the Super Bowl were drafted in the first round of 2004.  Eli Manning made the most news that year by saying that he did not want to play for the San Diego Chargers, who then had the top selection.  But not long after he was traded to the New York Giants, another trade went down that saw the Browns add their second-round selection to their first-rounder in order to move up one slot to grab tight end Kellen Winslow, Jr. out of Miami.

Five selections later, the Pittsburgh Steelers took Ohio native Ben Roethlisberger.  Five years later, Roethlisberger has two Super Bowl rings and Winslow has entering his second coaching regime.

Sean McClelland from the Dayton Daily News says that the Browns are now being haunted by the “Curse of Big Ben.”  I am not sure that I agree.  [Read more...]

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Other Teams’ Players Get Infections Too?

October 23, 2008 by 16 Comments

Although the word staph is never mentioned in this post, it is morbidly refreshing to hear this story come out about Tom Brady a few days after Kellen Winslow’s statements about his infections.  You don’t root for anyone to be injured, but sometimes it feels like Cleveland is the only city that contracts infections after surgeries.  Tom Brady has received multiple treatments on his surgically repaired knee because doctors fear that the replacement ligaments could be in jeopardy.

Doctors are so concerned about containing the infection in Tom Brady’sleft knee they have performed three procedures in an attempt to eradicate it, according to a source familiar with the Patriots quarterback’s travails on the West Coast.

While Brady acknowledged on his Web site that he had one arthroscopic procedure done to “clean and to test the wound” last Wednesday, the Herald has learned there have been two additional procedures performed since that time, with the same goal in mind.

Brady, on his web site, stated that the infection is being treated aggressively with antibiotics.  Now, it is coming out that the Pats are very unhappy with this latest surgical revelation. [Read more...]

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Which Was Worse?

May 20, 2008 by 2 Comments

The FanHouse recently did a piece that revisited the 2005 Cincinnati Bengals draft.  What looked like a solid draft on paper, at the time, turned out to be quite a disaster just a few years later.

Chris Henry1.17 – David Pollack: Retired
2.48 – Odell Thurman: Released
3.83 – Chris Henry: Released
4.119 – Eric Ghiaciuc: Starting C
5.153 – Adam Kieft: Not Tendered
6.190 – Tab Perry: Plays for Miami
7.233 – Jonathan Fanene: Backup DE

Yes, having your top three selections be complete busts/felons only three years later may come off as a tad on the “not-so-good” side; but if we really wanted to be optimists, we could point out that they did at least come out with a starting center and a backup Defensive End still in tow. 

I mean, that’s a goldmine compared to the 2000 Draft of the Cleveland Browns, right?

[Read more...]

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Oh, So THAT’S Why The Browns Lost

May 8, 2008 by 6 Comments

Patriots vs BrownsSpy Gate Hits Close To Home

I’ll be honest, I don’t remember anything about the Browns game in New England on December 9th, 2001. It was 7 years ago, and the if anything sticks out about the 2001 season, it was the following week at home against Jacksonville….the bottle throwing game (on a side note….why is it called the “bottle throwing game”? wouldn’t it make more sense to call it the “game where the refs called for a review after another play had already been run and thus cost the Browns the game and possibly a shot at the playoffs”? but I digress….). Well, as it turns out, that game against New England might have been important for a completely different reason.

According to an article on ESPN.com, the Patriots’ former video technician handed over several tapes of stolen signals that he recorded while working for New England. It caught my eye that one of the teams included was none other than our own Cleveland Browns. The sidebar in that article reads, [Read more...]

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Ben Roethlisberger: Third Best QB In NFL?

March 18, 2008 by 6 Comments

Ben RoethlisbergerI was glossing over an article written over at RotoWorld, one of the best sites for player news out there today.  I got about five lines down and came to a screeching hault.  When discussing quarterbacks and their ranking on the fantasy world, we have this:

1. Peyton Manning IND 32 - With Clark re-signed and Gonzalez ready to step up if Marvin doesn’t snap back, Manning’s consistency trumps Brady’s career year
2. Tom Brady NE 31 - Remains the NFL’s best QB; Moss’ return guarantees another great season, but Brady is not going to hit 50 TDs again
3. Ben Roethlisberger PIT 26 - Easily the third best QB in the NFL and may bypass one of the Big Two in the next couple of years

[Read more...]

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GAMBLOG – The Super Bowl Prop Bets

January 31, 2008 by 1 Comment

Super Bowl XLII, Proposition Bets

GAMBLOGCarrying on with the tradition of The GAMBLOG, I thought it would be a great idea to touch on the proposition bets that infiltrate Super Bowl weekend. You see, with only one game on the docket, there is not very much action to throw money on – so if we add a few elements to the game (and in this case, a few elements outside of the actual game itself), it makes things a bit more interesting for those without particular rooting interest. Or in some cases, those that simply need to bet on something.

There are entirely too many bets to mention in this post, so if you need to see them all, head over to Bodoglife.com. I’ll only touch on the ones that I feel give us some decent odds for success. And by “decent,” I mean “Oh, what the heck – its only money.”

If you are a legal type, check out the disclaimer in the post below. Otherwise, get your wager tickets ready – the line is going to be a long one. NEXT!

—-

We’ll start this puppy off somewhat chronologically. Last year, some people made a big deal regarding the fact that we could bet on how long it would take Billy Joel to get through the National Anthem. The final line was one minute and 44 seconds, and those that took under were handsomely rewarded. This year, we can thank Mr. Joel for moving the line a bit for this year’s singer, Jordin Sparks.

How long will it take Jordin Sparks to sing the National Anthem?

[Read more...]

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