Apparently, many of the Cleveland Browns thought the season ended last week after the loss to the Ravens.
That would explain today’s utter humiliation of the brown and orange by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns had been the only team in the NFL not to give up 30 points in the game this season, but they allowed 31 in the first half today in route to a 41-9 drubbing by Pittsburgh.
The game was reminiscent of the 41-0 beating administered by the Steelers on Christmas Eve a few years ago. Maybe the Browns can ask the NFL schedule maker not to play Pittsburgh around the holidays again.
In a season filled with bizarre offensive game plans, today was just another. With RB Peyton Hillis limited with a rib injury, Cleveland decided to not run at all early in the game, as the first eight plays were passes. This totally flies in the face of what the coaching staff has preached all year long.
Maybe Eric Mangini was just showing team president Mike Holmgren that using the forward pass doesn’t work as well as Holmgren thinks it does.
Without any sort of running game, QB Colt McCoy was harassed all over the field by the Steelers defense, particularly after his first interception, a deflection off the hands of TE Benjamin Watson into the hands of Steeler All Pro S Troy Polamalu.
The next play, Ben Roethlisberger hit Mike Wallace for a 56 yard touchdown pass and the rout was on. That pass showed the difference in philosophy between the two coaching staffs. Remember the six picks the Browns had in Jacksonville, and the reluctance to throw even a short pass after each one?
The defense had no answer for the black and gold offense as well. Pittsburgh didn’t even punt until midway through the third quarter. So much for the pride defensive coordinator Rob Ryan talked about early in the week.
What’s even worse is the Steelers pouring it on in the second half. Running a gadget play up 31-3 early in the third quarter? Yes, this is professional football and it’s up to the defense to stop the opposition, but here’s hoping every member of the Browns’ organization remembers that play when the two teams get together next season.
Unfortunately, that kind of pride doesn’t exist anymore in professional sports.
So, the watch is on in Berea, as it is expected that Mangini will be relieved of his duties. perhaps as early as tomorrow. The four consecutive losses to end the season clinched that outcome. For those fearing another rebuilding process, with Holmgren and GM Tom Heckert in place, it will not be that.
It will be a continuation of what happened on draft day when Heckert picked these players: Starters Joe Haden, T. J. Ward, McCoy, and a guy who should start next season in G Shaun Lauvao.
For Mangini, his team didn’t show any improvement from last season’s 5-11 mark. And what was even more damning was this team defeated two playoff teams back to back in New Orleans and New England, and took the Jets to overtime the following week. However, they followed that up a few weeks later with losses to woeful teams like Buffalo and Cincinnati.
A 2-10 record within the division didn’t help either.
The improvement of teams like Kansas City, Tampa Bay, and St. Louis also showed it doesn’t have to be a long process in the NFL. Those teams all had records worse than the Browns last season and in the case of the Chiefs and Buccaneers, won 10 games this season, and the Rams could make the playoffs.
It was a sad ending to a season which showed so much promise in the middle of the season. After the Jets game, Cleveland entered a stretch of five winnable games (Jacksonville, Miami, Carolina, Buffalo, and Cincinnati) which could have put them at 8-6 going into the last two games of the year. They were in every game, but came up with just one victory. A disappointment indeed.
However, we did see some talented new players and may have found a quarterback as well. The last two games should not shake anyone’s opinion of McCoy, provided he gets some wide receiver help and decent game plans.
It’s never a good thing to see someone lose a job, but for the benefit of the franchise, Holmgren will start looking for a new coach soon.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 