It was a day of conclusions for the Cleveland Browns, and it will continue today. The team ended its dismal season with another embarrassing 31-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday. It also meant the end of GM Phil Savage, who was fired prior to kickoff on Sunday. And Romeo Crennel has followed Savage out of the door today after he meeting with owner Randy Lerner.
One thing continued, however. The streak of quarters without an offensive touchdown continued to 24 with another whitewashing, which sets an NFL record. This streak will continue at least until the 2009 Browns take the field next September.
Still, the most painful statement about the Browns is this: If they played the 0-16 Detroit Lions next weekend, they would likely lose the game. The Browns offense is simply incapable of scoring right now. That falls on the coaching staff.
The less said about the Steelers’ game the better. Jamal Lewis had some success early and wound up reaching the 1000-yard mark for the season, and the primary focus of the offense in the second half was to make sure this happened. The Pittsburgh defense figured Cleveland would be passing since they were trailing 17-0, so they relaxed the run defense and Lewis ran for 94 yards on the game.
Oh yes, despite saying there would be greater use of the “flash” formation, Josh Cribbs threw just two passes, completing one, for eight yards. He also carried just twice for seven yards.
The offense has gotten so predictable that I believe the Browns went to the “flash” package on their second offensive snap for the last three games. When you use it at the same time every game, it’s not really a surprise.
Defensively, the missed tackle festival continued. A hit by Willie McGinest and D’well Jackson did knock Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger out of the game with a concussion, but on the same drive the defenders whiffed on a sack of Byron Leftwich and he waltzed in from 8 yards out to put Pittsburgh up 14-0.
For all the talk from the players about how they like Romeo Crennel, their effort in the last few games spoke louder than their words. They didn’t play like they wanted their coach to keep his job.
So now, Browns’ fans have to have faith that owner Randy Lerner will get it right with the hiring of yet another coach and general manager. The first thing to demand is that we see the owner. His shyness around the television camera is getting annoying. Everyone talks about how much Lerner cares about this football team, but the average fan needs to see the passion. The owner has to be out front and talk to arguably the most loyal fans in the NFL. They deserve at least that.
Savage had upgraded the talent in his four years as GM, but his lack of leadership qualities doomed him. He should have been out front when all of the crises that befell this season occurred. Instead, Crennel was left holding the bag. Savage didn’t provide a clear direction for the franchise, perhaps because he and his head coach were not on the same page.
WEWS-TV had Reggie Rucker analyzing the situation last night, and Rucker hammered Savage and spoke in glowing terms about the head coach. Rucker is half-right, because Crennel is hardly blameless in this mess. Crennel is a good guy. He’s a class act. However, he’s a terrible head coach, and keeping him as a defensive coordinator would not be a good move either. His passive approach doesn’t work in today’s NFL. Speed and aggressiveness are the new mantras on defense. Look at Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Tennessee, etc.
It appears Lerner has his eye on New England VP Scott Pioli, who is said to be tired of being in Bill Belichick’s shadow with the Patriots. This would thrill Tribe GM Mark Shapiro and Cavs GM Danny Ferry who are friends of Pioli. It also appears Lerner is going to act quickly since there are several teams in the market for coaches and general managers.
Let’s hope this time the owner gets it right. The fans of the once proud Cleveland Browns franchise deserve better than the mess they have witnessed the past 15 years.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 