When Mike Holmgren was named the president of the Cleveland Browns two years ago, the move was applauded by football fans in northeast Ohio. 

Finally, a football man was in charge of the organization.  Not a public relations guy like Carmen Policy, or a marketing guru like John Collins.  Holmgen had a pedigree.  He was an assistant coach under Bill Walsh with the San Francisco 49ers.  He was the head coach of a Super Bowl champion, the Brett Favre led Green Bay Packers.

He took another team with a forlorn past, the Seattle Seahawks to their one and only Super Bowl appearance.  He was a football lifer.  Finally, Cleveland had someone in charge who got it.

Holmgren may succeed here in time, but right now, Browns’ fans are angry.  They are hungry for a winner, and don’t seem any closer to having one than the day The Big Show began his tenure here.

Browns’ supporters are impatient.  They have seen just two winning seasons since returning to the NFL in 1999, and prior to that, had just one playoff appearance since the halcyon days of Bernie Kosar, Kevin Mack, Clay Matthews, Hanford Dixon, and Frank Minnifield.

In other words, in the last 21 years, the Cleveland Browns, once the NFL’s headlining franchise, has made two playoff appearances.

The fans want to have hope, they want to see progress.  That’s what the folks in Berea aren’t getting.  Right now, this franchise, or better, this administration isn’t giving the fans hope.

Yes, there has been a talent infusion from the Eric Mangini days, when the roster was filled with aging veterans and good special team players.  GM Tom Heckert was brought in guys like CB Joe Haden, DT Phil Taylor, and DE Jabaal Sheard with his last two drafts, and there are other players who make contributions from time to time as well, but the closest thing to an impact player is Haden.

Colt McCoy was drafted in the third round in 2010, but right now, the best thing anyone can say about him is that he hasn’t shown he can’t be “the guy”.  Too much around him has failed to make any further judgment. 

At this point though, the people of Cleveland thought they would see progress, and that is measured in professional sports by wins and losses.  Most think it will be difficult for the Browns to win more than the one game it would take this season to better the last two season’s 5-11 mark. 

Browns die hards aren’t particularly demanding, heck, a 6-10 or 7-9 record would have been cause for tremendous optimism going into the 2012. 

That doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.

Instead, people have been treated to dismal performances like this past Sunday, when the Baltimore Ravens, yes, the team that Art Modell stole from the fans, came in the punched the Browns in the face.  Repeatedly.

Two days from now, Cleveland travels to Pittsburgh to play the hated Steelers, whose fans have infiltrated our city, and will likely endure the same fate. 

It’s getting too much to take. 

Browns fans just want to be proud of their football team, and right now, that’ s a very difficult thing to do.  Touchdowns come seemingly with the frequency of Halley’s Comet.  Excitement for the game usually ends in the middle of the first quarter when the first pass is dropped, or the initial dumb penalty is called against the team.

Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert are probably doing the correct things to build a football organization that will be more than a one year flash in the pan, like the 10-6 Browns of 2007. 

Still, it would go a long way for the city and the fans to see some sort of progress before this season is over.

MW

Sitting down to write down thoughts on today’s 24-10 Browns’ loss at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, I wanted to talk about the positives.

Rookie DE Jabaal Sheard had six tackles, including a sack which caused a fumble by Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco that was recovered by Cleveland. 

And there were no bad snaps from new long snapper Christian Yount. 

That’s about it.

The Browns were completely dominated by the Baltimore ground game, which outgained the Cleveland offense by itself, 290 to 233.  The biggest question for Ravens’ coach John Harbaugh was why his team even tried to pass.  Putting the ball in the air was doing the Browns a favor.

Back in the 1960’s Plain Dealer sports editor Hal Lebovitz used to talk about “zero defects” when Cleveland went into a playoff game.  Eliminate errors and you have a chance to win.

These Browns shoot themselves in the foot more times than Yosemite Sam.  It’s constant and after 12 games, it doesn’t appear to be getting any better.

On the team’s first offensive play, QB Colt McCoy threw a pass for WR Greg Little, who promptly dropped it.

Later in the first quarter, one of the few receivers who have been catching the ball, Jordan Norwood, caught a pass for a first down, and then flipped the ball (probably unintentionally) at Ravens’ DB Bernard Pollard, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, costing the team 15 yards.

The defense was giving up yardage in large chunks to RB Ray Rice, who gained 204 yards in 29 carries, including a 30-yard jolt on the first play from scrimmage for the Ravens.

Dick Jauron’s unit has generally played well this season, keeping the Browns in games, but you have to wonder why halftime is needed to make an adjustment to stop the run.  Opponents are running the ball at ease right out the gate. 

It was if the Ravens said to themselves, Cleveland can’t stop the run and can’t handle good tight ends, so that’s what we will do.  And they did that over and over again.

Offensively, Pat Shurmur came out mixing the run and the pass, and on their first drive, Peyton Hillis ran the ball effectively.  In the first half, Hillis had 10 carries.  He had two more the rest of the game.

That would be understandable if the Ravens were winning at the half 24-0, but it was only 10-0.  At halftime, it was noted that the Browns had to continue to run the football.  They had just four planned runs the balance of the game.

That’s horrific play calling by Shurmur, who can’t seem to stop himself from throwing the football.  The one-dimensional attack doesn’t work for the Browns, and it doesn’t work for McCoy, who averaged less than five yards per attempt once again.

The Browns best chance to win was to pound the ball and control the clock, and their coach chose to stop running for no good reason.

Once again, whether or not McCoy in the Browns’ QB of the future is up for debate, but there is no question the dropped passes are killing the attack.  Usually reliable Benjamin Watson dropped a couple, and Evan Moore, who later caught a TD pass, dropped one that could have put the Browns within three at 10-7 following the fumble caused by Sheard.

In fact, the Browns bad hands aren’t limited to receivers.  In the first half, CB Sheldon Brown dropped an interception, a possible pick six after a Flacco pass was deflected may a lineman.

And of course, no Cleveland game would be complete without a special teams gaffe.  This week, it was a 68-yard punt return by Lardarius Webb, making it 24-3 Baltimore.

Problems with this unit continue to pop up every week, and it makes fans just shake their collective heads.

There simply isn’t any part of this team that it doing well right now.  And after three-quarters of the season, people have every right to expect improvement from this football team.

No one was expecting a playoff appearance, and the most realistic fans didn’t think a .500 season was possible. 

However, seeing the same things, the same mistakes that is, out of the Browns week after week is getting old. 

Mike Holmgren can’t fault anyone for being sick of it.

JD

The NBA lockout ended last weekend and fans of the sport should be rejoicing, and many are, anxious to get their pro hoops itch scratched.

However, there are others who aren’t so thrilled, present company included.

Why?  You may ask.

Because the ink on the deal isn’t even dried yet, and already we have been greeted with rumors of deals sending more top flite players to big market teams.

Dwight Howard to New Jersey?  Chris Paul to Boston or New York?

Meet the new NBA, same as the old NBA.

In time, the new CBA may take care of these situations, since some of luxury tax rules don’t take effect for two years, but why should fans in smaller markets be excited that the season will resume on Christmas Day?

The people who are thrilled are mostly the star chasers, the people who can’t be without their fix of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Howard, etc.

That’s one of the reasons that people said the league was healthy, the TV ratings are good.  That’s because the games broadcast on the national networks feature teams that have the superstar players. 

The casual fans turn in to watch the spectacular plays.

So, things may even out some time, but until that happens we may find two more “superteams” forming which isn’t good for competitive balance.

That being said, Cleveland basketball fans will soon get their first look at rookies Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson very soon.

These two players will be the cornerstone of the rebuilding process the franchise is undertaking since the teams that had the best regular record in the league two straight years was destroyed.

These Cavs will be young, for the most part, although they will likely still have Baron Davis around to provide veteran leadership, at least at the start of the season. 

If Davis plays well, he could be a nice trade chip come deadline time.

What is surprising is the word that the wine and gold have interest in bringing back veteran swingman Anthony Parker. 

Yes, Parker has been around for a while, but his game did drop off, particularly defensively, from his first year with the team, and he is 36 years old. 

It seems the Cavs would be better off letting him go elsewhere, and giving his time to younger players for evaluation purposes.

Another question will be whether the front office will use the “amnesty” clause to rid themselves of a bad contract on the salary cap.

Antawn Jamison could be a candidate to be let go, since the Cavs would like to get a good look at Omri Casspi and Thompson at the forward spots, but early indications are GM Chris Grant would be more inclined to look for a trade later in the year involving the veteran.

Having Davis and Jamison, two vets who still can play, are yet another reason why there is light at the end of the tunnel for the Cavs.  Besides, Irving and Thompson, there is the opportunity to get more draft picks, which will add to the rebuilding process.

If the Cavs do sign any free agents, they likely will be complementary pieces at this time.

The concern is whether or not this new CBA will make a difference for teams like the Cavaliers.  Once fans begin to realize there is no chance to win a title, will there be any interest in the team. 

Right now, NBA fans have more interest in players.  That’s not a good sign going forward for the league.  It’s a mess David Stern created for the NBA.

JK