Time to tie up some loose end in the world of sports in Cleveland.  Today, we will have comments about each of the three professional teams on the North Coast.

 

The Browns’ Defense.  I have heard a lot about how the defense held Peyton Manning and the high-powered Colts’ offense to just three points last Sunday.  And yes, Mel Tucker’s crew should get congratulations for that. 

 

However, the same people point out how Houston was limited to just 16 points.  I watched that game and the defense was a sieve in the first half.  The only way the Texans were held to field goals was the penalties that put them in tough down and distance situations.  In the second half, QB Sage Rosenfels threw a number of poor passes to open receivers that fell incomplete or became interceptions. 

 

The Browns defense fails the eye test.  That is to say, watch the games and tell me this is a good defense.  Yes, they played well against the Colts, but I remember the games against the Cowboys, Ravens, Broncos, and even the Bills when they offered the same resistance as a piece of tissue paper.  They got four turnovers against Buffalo and still gave up 27 points!  This is not a good defense, period, and there must be changes in the off-season to upgrade the unit.

 

Tribe Search for a Closer.  The baseball Winter Meetings take place in Las Vegas next week, and the Indians are still absent in the rumor mill.  Yes, there is some stuff out there regarding Casey Blake, and occasionally 2B Orlando Hudson and Rockies’ 3B Garrett Atkins, but mostly there is quiet. 

 

However, Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto has noted the Tribe will be players in the Francisco Rodriguez sweepstakes, and they have also been mentioned in regards to Seattle closer J.J. Putz.  To me, Putz is the better option. 

 

He will turn 32 in February and has a contract that includes a club option through the 2010 season.  He is set to make about $5.5 million in ’09 and the option year is for a reported $8.6 million.  This is far more affordable than the approximately $14-15 million Rodriguez will command.  And Putz was the better pitcher in 2007.  He has saved 91 games over the past three seasons. 

 

Ferry Can’t Be Conservative.  The Cavaliers are flying high right now and the temptation is to leave everything alone right now.  The status quo is working, correct?  I’m a great believer in player development, but when you can win a title by making a move, you have to go for it.  You may not get another shot at winning and you owe it to the organization to try to get a championship.

 

Therefore, if Danny Ferry can turn the expiring contracts of Wally Szczerbiak or Eric Snow into something that can help the wine and gold in the playoffs, he has to do it.  The Plain Dealer’s Brian Windhorst speculates that even if the Cavs deal Szczerbiak, he will be released by his new team, and would re-sign with the Cavaliers.  He also said Joe Smith would be willing to come back here if he negotiates a buyout with Oklahoma City.

 

The point is this; the Cavaliers are good enough to win an NBA title next June.  Whatever Danny Ferry has to do to accomplish this, he must do it.  I’m sure owner Dan Gilbert will be behind any deal Ferry wants to make.

 

MW

 

 

There isn’t much to discuss about the Cleveland Cavaliers because they are on a roll.  They have won five straight and 13 of their last 14 games.  Last week, they breezed through a four games in five nights schedule with only one close game, a road win against Milwaukee.  They currently sit at 14-3 overall, and they are clearly played like one of the NBA’s elite teams.

 

As a season ticket holder, this team reminds one of the Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, Ron Harper teams of the late 80’s in that you go to the game feeling a win is imminent.   Those were the days when the Cavs would go 37-4 or something like that at home.  Of course, the difference is this edition of the Cavaliers has the best player on the planet in LeBron James.

 

Obviously, James is the leader of this team, but the mark of a very good team is they get contributions from everybody on the roster.  Saturday, Sasha Pavlovic stepped up and played excellent defense on Michael Redd.  Earlier, rookies J.J. Hickson, Darnell Jackson, and even Tarence Kinsey played well against Oklahoma City and Golden State and allowed the starters to get some much-needed rest.

 

LBJ is averaging a little less than 36 minutes per night, way below last year, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace are also playing less, which will keep them fresh as the season goes on.  It’s also a plus that Hickson and Jackson are getting experience.  That will also help the team as the season goes on.

 

Some people have suggested a soft schedule is the reason for the wine and gold’s impressive start, but in reality, Cavalier opponents are slightly above .500 on the year, so the quality of the slate has not been ultra-easy.  Here’s a memo to the east coast media that has gotten lost with all of the LeBron to New York stories.  James is already on a great team, one of the top three teams in the NBA.

 

That being said, we have to weigh in on the debate of #23’s impending free agency after the 2010 season.  I have to agree with Charles Barkley and The Plain Dealer’s Bill Livingston.  It is disrespectful to the city, Dan Gilbert, but most of all, LBJ’s teammates to keep talking about what may or may not happen in July 2010.  The Cavaliers are off to a tremendous start and if they stay healthy are most definitely a title contender.

 

Any thing or wasted time that take away from that goal should be avoided.  LeBron should understand that.

 

The media also brings up how all these teams (Knicks, Nets, Pistons, etc.) are creating cap room for the ’10 free agent class.  However, they fail to mention that the Cavaliers are prepared for that date as well.  It has been pointed out by many that the wine and gold are the only team with a superstar that can sign another one.  Why wouldn’t a Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudamire come to Cleveland to play with James, especially with a couple of visits to the conference finals, The Finals, or even a title in the past two years? 

 

Maybe the Cleveland newspapers should start talking to those guys when their teams visit “The Q”.  

 

JK

 

The Cleveland Browns designed the offensive game plan to keep Colts’ QB Peyton Manning off the field and limit the possibility for mistakes for their own signal caller, Derek Anderson.  They indeed kept Manning off the field and the vaunted Indianapolis offense was held to just one field goal.  As for keeping Anderson error free, he made just one mistake.

 

Unfortunately, it was a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, the deciding score in the 10-6 loss at the Stadium on Sunday.  What’s worse is that Anderson was injured later in the game, leaving the quarterbacking chores to Ken Dorsey probably for the rest of the season.

 

This game was another reason Romeo Crennel will lose his job at the end of the year.  The Colts are one of the NFL’s better teams, and the brown and orange showed the ability to play with them.  Remember, the Browns beat the Giants, and hung in against the Steelers and Redskins.  They have some talent, but they are poorly coached and/or motivated.

 

When Crennel goes, likely offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski could be going with him.  Jamal Lewis popped off about not getting the ball last week against Houston, so someone made the decision to keep giving him the ball, despite the diminishing returns.  Lewis averaged just 3.2 yards per carry, yet the Browns kept running the same plays which after some initial success, kept getting stuffed at the line. 

 

Jerome Harrison touched the ball just twice.  Josh Cribbs only once.  Cribbs lined up in the shotgun on a 3^rd and 2 situation in the second half, and was stuffed.  Because the Browns only run out of this formation, the Colts knew Cribbs was going to run.  Once again, I will write it.  The former Kent State quarterback has thrown just one pass in almost four complete seasons.

 

It looked to me like the Browns were feeding Lewis the ball to prove a point, not to win a game. 

 

On defense, the Browns played well causing three turnovers, and forcing Manning to throw short time and again.  They also seemed to blitz more, which made Manning rollout a little.  In this respect, the offense worked.  They kept the beleaguered defense off the field and kept them rested.  Perhaps that strategy should be used more often.

 

If you aren’t going to make the playoffs, the best thing to do is get a good draft pick.  As of right now, only six teams in the NFL have records worse that the Browns.  With the injuries at the quarterback position, the prospect for any more wins appear to be slim, so Cleveland should be in the top ten of next year’s selection.  There’s looking at the bright side.

 

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, who I have a lot of respect for, said his source told him it would require a miracle to save Crennel’s job.  I don’t think you need to be an NFL “insider” to know that.  The Worldwide Leader treated the information like it was a big scoop.  Romeo Crennel will not be the Browns’ coach in 2009.  That is hardly inside information. 

 

With the Titans on the slate next and Dorsey at quarterback, it will be a miracle if the Browns are in the game at halftime.  Once again, it’s time to play Harrison, Beau Bell, Martin Rucker (who caught a pass yesterday!), etc.  This season is lost.  It has been for several weeks, and now that Brady Quinn is out, it’s not even watchable.

 

JD