In June, when the Cleveland Indians were going through their collapse which ultimately led to the trade of C.C. Sabathia, the cocky fans of the Browns, drunk from the success of a 10-6 season last year, started asking when training camp started for the brown and orange. After yesterday’s debacle in Baltimore which leaves Romeo Crennel’s crew at 0-3 for the season, Tribe fans can now have their shot…when does Spring Training start? Because there will be no playoffs this season for the Browns.
After the Cavaliers went to the NBA Finals in the 2006-07 season, Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto said the team developed the “disease of me” at the start of the following season. I can’t help but watch the Browns and see the same thing with this football team. Too many players are living off their laurels from 2007 and haven’t shown the same level of performance, or in some cases work ethic, as they had prior to the 2007 season. Yes, the injuries haven’t helped, but there is no excuse for not finishing plays like we saw in the 28-10 loss yesterday.
The game changed in the first five minutes of the second half when two interceptions turned a 10-7 Browns’ lead into a 21-10 deficit. Despite having 25 minutes remaining in the game, Cleveland played like it was in a two minute drill, and they handled that in panic mode. They had the classic “deer in the headlights” look. Watching the game, I would have made the decision to replace Derek Anderson with Brady Quinn the next time the Browns got the ball. Crennel didn’t make the move then, but after Anderson’s 14 of 37 performance for just 125 yards and three interceptions, I wouldn’t be surprised if Quinn starts next Sunday against the Bengals.
Last week, we wrote about Jerome Harrison needing to be more involved in the offense. I had a large smile on my face when he took a short pass and scored the first touchdown of the game. However, that was the last time he touched the ball in the game. Also, has anyone seen Steve Heiden? Heiden is a reliable receiver, but can anyone remember the last time he was thrown to? Pluto referred to this in yesterday’s column about using Kellen Winslow as a wideout and Heiden at tight end, but instead we saw plenty of Syndric Steptoe at wide receiver, and he has not shown an ability to get open on a consistent basis.
Defensively, the Browns didn’t seem to put much pressure on Joe Flacco until they were trailing 21-10 in the third quarter. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. In fact, when they did decide to blitz the rookie, they were fairly effective at getting to the passer. It wasn’t the defense that was the big problem; they really allowed only 14 points, with the other 14 coming off of the turnovers. However, they couldn’t get off the field as once again stopping the run became troublesome.
As for the other problems, when is this team going to stop picking up stupid penalties? Nine more flags hit the turf, including just about every kickoff or punt return. Those penalties put the offense in poor field position on a consistent basis. The special teams had as poor a day as that of the offense.
Should Crennel be let go? Not now, bringing in an interim coach usually doesn’t work. But, it is on the coaching staff to make some changes now to starting winning some football games. Why doesn’t Harrison play? I’m sure the answer will be his blocking. However, isn’t it coaching to maximize what a player does well, and minimize what he doesn’t? Somehow, Crennel and his coordinators, Rob Chudzinski and Mel Tucker have to figure something out, and they have to do it by Sunday afternoon when the Browns go to Cincinnati to take on another 0-3 team.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 