The Real "Only in Cleveland"

Only in Cleveland is a phrase I cannot stand.  WKNR’s Kenny Roda uses it to represent the “woe is us” mentality that Browns’ GM Phil Savage talked about when he was hired to his current job.  I don’t believe in it.  If you build solid organizations and base the teams are solid fundamentals, eventually you will win.  There is no curse on Cleveland sports, just a history of bad management and bad decisions.  That said, when I hear “Only in Cleveland”, it makes me think about how we react to our teams.  For example…

Derek Anderson.  Only Cleveland fans would criticize a player over his performance in an All Star game.  If LeBron James goes 1 for 12 from the floor this weekend in New Orleans, should the Cavaliers look to deal him?  The game didn’t count, people!  Yes, Anderson’s performance this season went down as more games were played, and he had a terrible game against Cincinnati with the playoffs on the line, but there could be several reasons for that.

One factor could be that Anderson isn’t that good.  However, it could also be that the defense caught up to Rob Chudzinski’s offense.  We wrote after the second Pittsburgh game, that many teams would probably do what the Steelers did in the second half, which was take away the deep ball, and make the Browns move the ball with short passes.  That’s exactly what happened. 

Anderson deserves the opportunity to start the season as the team’s starting quarterback.  He earned that right by throwing 29 touchdown passes and leading the team to 10 wins.  If he struggles during the season, Romeo Crennel can make the change to Brady Quinn.  Even if you can get a first and third round pick for Anderson, there is no guarantee that Quinn would play better in 2008.  And if the front office was wrong on the former Notre Dame QB, the Browns will be right back where they were before the 2007 season.

The NFL Draft.  Lately, it has been said that Browns fans would rather lose games so they can talk about the draft.  How many times have you heard people say the team should make a trade to get back into the first round of this year’s draft?  The Cleveland Browns missed the NFL playoffs due to a tiebreaker this year.  Why would you want to trade one of the young talented players on this team for a first round choice?  Apparently, they don’t remember Gerard Warren, Tim Couch, and Courtney Brown.

If you deal for a first round pick, there is no guarantee that whoever you draft will turn out to be a Pro Bowl player.  Look at the six all stars the team had this year.  Yes, Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow, and Joe Thomas were all top ten picks.  But, Josh Cribbs and Anderson were free agents.  Ryan Pontebriand was a 4^th rounder.  Trading a veteran who will be fading for draft choices is a good idea; you are replacing age for youth.  But trading just to get in the first round is a bad idea.  You know what they say; the draft is the Super Bowl if you are a Browns fan.

JD