Gilbert Should Be Careful What He Wishes For

When it comes to Cleveland sports, many times we point out reasons why we can’t have nice things. Apparently, the same is true of the people who own the teams here as well.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, owned by Dan Gilbert, currently have the best player in the sport of basketball playing on the team. However, from many reports, it appears the owner has fallen in love with the same thing football fans look forward to every year, the draft process.

LeBron James, the best currently playing basketball, and the leader of the team that won the only professional sports championship the city has in the last 54 years, can be a free agent after this season. And Gilbert seems to be making the decision very easy for him.

The Cavs do possess what is certain to be a lottery pick in this summer’s draft. Now, we would not give up that pick for a rental player, but we would deal it for a younger player who could wear the wine and gold for at least a few years.

We are sure James would understand that, but what is disturbing to the ownership and the star player aren’t getting along again. We know they will never be friends after what happened when James left for Miami following the 2010 season, but Gilbert should understand the ways of the NBA by now.

It has been reported that the owner “wants his team back”, which is theory should be the case, but not in professional basketball. Like it or not, the star players carry a tremendous amount of clout.

James should finish his illustrious career with the Cavs, and in our opinion, we believe he would like to do just that. Unfortunately, the situation seems to be pushing him away from the franchise.

With James, the Cavaliers should be a contender to get to the NBA Finals every year. The superstar, even at 33 years old, is still a force in the NBA. He’s also a global icon, meaning Gilbert’s team in relevant on a worldwide basis.

Trying a rebuild through the draft is a slow, tedious process, and quite frankly doesn’t have a great success rate.

Anthony Davis is arguably the most talented player to enter the NBA in the past 10 years. His teams have made the playoffs just once in his first five seasons in the league.

How many years would Cavs fans have to wait before another playoff experience?

Gilbert is a smart man, making billions of dollars in the business world. However, he’s not smart enough to know what he doesn’t know, which is how to put together a winning basketball team.

Surely he has to know the value of the Cavaliers greatly diminished without James on the roster. It certainly did when LeBron left the first time.

The way the team is constructed right now, it doesn’t look good for this season, but that’s the beauty of having LeBron James. With the right roster adjustments, the Cavaliers can make a fourth consecutive trip to the championship round.

But if ownership has decided one title is enough, James won’t stick around. His legacy within the sport is based on winning titles. If that opportunity doesn’t exist in Cleveland, The King will go elsewhere.

Heck. former Indians’ president Mark Shapiro was vilified here for saying the best fans can hope for was to contend once every few years, and now Gilbert feels one championship is enough?

Gilbert and his partners will have their team back, but will anyone care?

Tribe Looks To Be Waiting For July To Make Moves

With spring training starting in two weeks, it would be fair to say the Cleveland Indians have had a very quiet winter.

Sure, they’ve been in the news in terms of losing players, as Carlos Santana signed as a free agent with the Phillies, Bryan Shaw went to Colorado, Jay Bruce to the Mets, and Joe Smith departed for Houston.

The front office did sign Yander Alonso to replace Santana at first base, banking that Alonso’s power surge last year is sustainable.

After never reaching double figures in home runs during the first seven years of his career (his high was 9 in 2012 with San Diego), Alonso crushed 28 dingers in 2017.

He slugged .501 last season after never reaching the .400 mark during his career.

If changing the launch angle of his swing can be carried forward, then the Indians have Santana’s replacement, at least vs. right-handed pitching, against whom he had a 900 OPS a year ago.

President Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff obviously feel the platoon of Lonnie Chisenhall and Brandon Guyer or perhaps Yandy Diaz can handle rightfield, after all the Tribe was in first place before they dealt for Bruce.

In the bullpen, the organization is banking on Nick Goody to step up and hoping perhaps a non-roster invitee such as Alexi Ogando, Preston Claiborne, or Neil Ramirez can emerge like Jeff Manship, Ryan Webb, or Scott Atchison have in recent years.

We believe the Indians feel comfortable in their place in the division, after all they won the American League Central Division by 17 games a year ago, and will use the first three months of the 2018 season to see what they will need for the stretch drive.

This means the July 31st trading deadline will be more important to Cleveland than the off-season was.

Management is banking on a return to form from Jason Kipnis to boost the offense, and this is a solid move. The second baseman has had an OPS over 800 in three of the four years prior to last year’s injury plagued campaign.

If Kipnis has was is an average season for him (.268, 17 HR, 74 RBI, 762 OPS) that will add offense for Terry Francona.

Don’t forget Chisenhall was having an outstanding season before missing most of the last two months. The former first round pick was hitting .288, slugging .521, and had a career high OPS of 881.

We are unsure about replacing Austin Jackson, who had a rebirth in Cleveland (.318, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 869 OPS in 89 games) with Melvin Upton Jr., who didn’t play in the big league during 2017.

Upton does have a career 760 OPS vs. southpaws, but hasn’t hit over .250 in the bigs since 2008, and is prone to striking out.

As for the bullpen, we think Antonetti and Chernoff will do what they did in ’16 and see what relievers come available as the season progresses.

Remember, that’s how Andrew Miller came to the Tribe. If you can get a bullpen piece of that magnitude to go with Cody Allen and the big lefty, you will be well suited for an October run.

This strategy also will show what you have in players like Diaz, Upton, Kipnis, and Francisco Mejia and Triston McKenzie.

And who knows, another minor leaguer may emerge as a piece other teams will covet.

Remember, the Cleveland Indians didn’t squeak into the playoffs last year, they had the best record in the AL. Even a slight regression puts them in a great position going into 2018.

Time For Lue To Be A Leader.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are teetering on the brink right now.

They haven’t played well since the holiday season started, the defense is getting progressively worse, and now, Kevin Love will be out for awhile after breaking his hand in last night’s loss at Detroit.

Some team’s would look at the injury and band together, strengthen their resolve to win games without their all-star. Look at Washington last night in their first game without John Wall, a 102-96 victory over Oklahoma City.

Unfortunately, we do not see that happening with this group of Cavaliers.

LeBron James looks disgusted with what is going on, and we are sure he and Dwyane Wade can’t believe what is happening.

The defensive effort on this team is putrid. We saw at least four times last night where Pistons went the length of the floor for layups without anyone stopping the ball.

That’s taught in fifth grade basketball.

We have watched probably thousands of basketball games and we have yet to see someone score without the ball. You have to stop the ball.

It’s time for strong leadership from Tyronn Lue, and we hope he has it in him.

It’s time for the coach to start holding players responsible.

If you aren’t going to put forth effort on the defensive end, you should be on the bench. And that means anyone, including LeBron James. The correct tone has to be set.

We found it ludicrous that Cedi Osman was inactive for last night’s contest, and when Love went down, that decision came back to bite the head coach.

Meanwhile, Iman Shumpert, who has been out since the middle of November with a knee injury, and when he came back fired up a three point shot 24 seconds after entering the game, was dressed, but he didn’t play, even when the game got out of hand.

So, the Cavs had to have Channing Frye and Wade playing in garbage time because Lue didn’t want to disrespect Shumpert and Derrick Rose by putting them in in that situation, even though neither played to that point.

Why didn’t Rose play? Outside of Sunday’s game vs. Detroit, he had played pretty well since returning from the ankle injury, averaging 10 points on 15 of 24 shooting. He has an off night Sunday and gets buried on the bench?

Lue’s rotations are often criticized and this is another case of a puzzling move.

Why was Frye benched when Tristan Thompson returned? Why did Derrick Williams lose playing time a year ago when he played well? It’s due to loyalty to veterans, and sometimes that’s not good.

Right now, the Cavaliers are getting very little on a nightly basis from Isaiah Thomas, JR Smith, and Tristan Thompson, all of whom are currently starting.

Besides James, which players are playing well? Jeff Green, Wade, Frye, and Kyle Korver come to mind. The problem is all of those players are over 30 years old, so limiting minutes for them has to be done to keep them effective.

Good players want to be coached. Wade is always pulling players aside to offer insights on the game, but it’s time for Lue to start basing playing time based on performance right now, and not the past.

It’s a critical time for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They need leadership from their coach.

Two Wins Doesn’t Mean Cavs Are Good To Go

For the first time since mid December, the Cleveland Cavaliers have won two games in a row. The consecutive victories came after coach Tyronn Lue moved Tristan Thompson into the starting lineup and moved Jae Crowder to the bench.

However, any thoughts that GM Koby Altman doesn’t need to make any moves heading into the February 8th trading deadline should be put to bed. This roster still needs some revamping.

First, the two wins both came at Quicken Loans Arena, where the wine and gold haven’t had trouble winning this season. They are 18-6 at home in 2017-18, one of the top ten records in the league this season. The best records are San Antonio (21-4) and Toronto (18-4).

The Cavaliers aren’t too far off that pace.

Cleveland is 11-13 away from northeast Ohio. Only seven teams have winning records on the road this season, but the Cavs are supposed to be an elite team. The best records are by Golden State, Boston, Houston, Toronto, and Miami.

Outside of the Heat, those are teams who came into the year searching a championship.

The good teams in the NBA also win big. The squads with the best records in games decided by 10 or more points are Toronto, Boston, Golden State, Houston, and Washington. Cleveland is 8-11, in the lower half of the league.

This is not a team that looks like an elite team, at least right now. So, management shouldn’t look at two victories, one over a Pistons team that has lost eight in a row, as a solution.

This basketball team still needs height.

The Cavs’ only true big men are Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love, Channing Frye, and little used Ante Zizic. None provide a deterrent to opponents who want to drive to the basket.

It is something the front office has ignored since the middle of last season, when Chris Andersen and Andrew Bogut went down with injuries. It has to be addressed going forward.

We are sure that Lue would also be happy if some of the roster logjams are taken care of. With Isaiah Thomas back, he has to divide up time for Thomas, Dwyane Wade, and Derrick Rose at the point. For sure, Wade isn’t going anywhere, so moving one of the other two would clarify things.

Jeff Green has been a godsend to date, averaging in double figures in points (10.8) and is one of the few Cavs playing solid defense, but Lue can’t find minutes for Iman Shumpert, who hasn’t earned them, and Cedi Osman, who has.

And remember, in Sunday’s win over Detroit, neither Thomas, Rose, or Thompson played in the fourth quarter when the wine and gold put the game away.

Lue has problems fitting people into rotations, and the roster may be too deep because the coach can’t keep everyone happy. Players like to know how they are going to be used, and it is difficult for Lue to make that happen.

So, with just a week ago before the trading deadline, Altman can’t be complacent, he has to realize this roster needs help to get to the NBA Finals for a fourth straight year.

General Managers don’t usually get fooled by two games. Here’s hoping Altman isn’t either.

Cavs Need Thomas To “Fit In”

The first year LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers, he famously told Kevin Love (allegedly) to stop trying to “fit out”, and start trying to “fit in”.

He may have the same message now for new teammate Isaiah Thomas, who is struggling to find his place with the wine and gold since returning to the starting lineup.

Thomas seems to be playing like he did with the Celtics, being a high volume shooter, which was needed in Boston, because they really didn’t have any other scoring threats.

In Thomas’ first year with the Celtics, he led the green in scoring at 22.2 points per game. The next two leading point makers were Avery Bradley (15.2) and Jae Crowder (14.2), and neither of those two are known as guys whose primary reason for being on the team is putting the ball in the hoop.

Last year, Thomas scored 28.9 points a night, with again Bradley (16.3) and Crowder (13.9) ranking next.

This year, with the Cavaliers, Thomas is taking 26.4 shots per 100 possessions, the second highest rate of his career, behind only last season.

The difference is the wine and gold have plenty of other scoring options, namely LeBron James and Kevin Love. They also have several other guys known for putting the ball in the basket: Dwyane Wade, Kyle Korver, JR Smith among others.

So, it would seem Thomas needs to change his game, to fit in more into what the Cavaliers need to do to play winning basketball.

The other day in addressing the media, Thomas basically said that’s what here for, he’s a scorer, and if they don’t want him to score, then why did the Cavs trade for him.

That doesn’t seem to sound like a player who is trying to adapt to his new surroundings, or fit in to a team that has advanced to The Finals in each of the last three years, beating Boston in two of those three years, does it?

When the Cavs were playing well, winning 18 of 19 games with Jose Calderon playing the point, we felt if Thomas came in and played like Calderon, albeit penetrating a little more often, the Cleveland offense would be unstoppable.

Instead, they have a player who seems to have his own agenda on the floor. Thomas is forcing bad shots, driving into two or three players without leaving himself an angle to find a teammate, and all the while playing poor defense, which isn’t a surprise.

He seems like he is aware he will be a free agent at the end of this season, and is trying to put up numbers, instead of being part of a winning basketball team.

If he wants to see an example of how to make the transition, he could look at this current teammate, Kevin Love.

Love was a high volume scoring in Minnesota, on a team that never made the playoffs, and he changed his role in Cleveland.

Perhaps that’s the problem, as Thomas’ Celtics went to the Eastern Conference finals a year ago, with him playing the way he is now.

However, with the Cavs, Thomas is another weapon, not “the weapon”. He has the best player in the sport on his squad in LeBron James. He has another all star in Love, plus an all time great in Wade.

Thomas could be a big help to the Cavs if he would decide to fit in with the wine and gold style of play and learn to play off of James. Can he do that?

If not, then the Cavs probably have to make his tenure with the team a short one. They may not have a choice.

Tribe Fans Get To Celebrate A Hall Of Famer

It has been so long since a position player who played the majority of his career as a Cleveland Indian was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the writers, you would have had to have seen Lou Boudreau patrolling shortstop for the Tribe in the 1940’s.

And you thought the 52 year championship drought was a long time.

Boudreau was inducted into Cooperstown in 1970, so it has been 48 years until Jim Thome was voted yesterday into the Hall.

And make no mistake, Thome is a Cleveland Indian through and through.

The powerful left-handed hitter played 1399 of his games (out of 2543) as a Tribesman, hit 337 of his 612 home runs as an Indian, and knocked in 939 of his 1699 runs here.

For comparison, his next highest total for another team would be 529 games, 134 homers, and 362 RBIs as a Chicago White Sox player.

Thome is 8th all time in home runs, 26th in runs batted in, 7th in walks, 23rd in slugging percentage, and 18th in OPS.

Among the active players he is ahead of in the latter statistic are Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols, who everyone regards as the most feared offensive players of today.

For those of you who still hold a grudge against Thome for leaving via free agency following the 2002 season, get over yourselves. You witnessed greatness, and you should appreciate that at the very least.

Think about it, from the team Boudreau left the Indians after the 1950 season until Thome made his debut on September 4, 1991, northeast Ohio fans didn’t get a chance to see a truly great player on an everyday basis.

True, we got to see Frank Robinson at the end of his career, Dave Winfield too, and Roberto Alomar spend three seasons at Jacobs Field, but all three had their best year’s elsewhere.

NOTE: Larry Doby played in Cleveland until 1955 and spent the ’58 season here too, but he was voted into Cooperstown by the Veterans’ Committee.

Cleveland fans have seen great pitching too, with Gaylord Perry, Dennis Eckersley, and Bert Blyleven taking the mound here for the good guys, but the last hurler who spent the majority of his career here was Bob Lemon, who was inducted in 1976.

Thome was here when Jacobs Field opened in 1994, he was part of the first Indians’ team to make the post-season since 1954. Heck, he caught the pop up that clinched the Central Division title in 1995.

He hit four home runs in that post-season.

He moved from third base to first base in 1997 when the Tribe traded for Matt Williams, and in game five of the ALDS against the Yankees, the deciding game, had a sacrifice bunt (he had only one in the regular season for his entire career) which set up Cleveland’s fourth run in what turned out to be a 4-3 victory.

He also made a diving stop in the field and turned it into a force out.

He’s the Tribe’s all time leader in home runs, walks, strikeouts, and intentional walks.

We hope that someday Thome is joined in Cooperstown by Omar Vizquel, and the Veterans’ Committee will see fit to honor Albert Belle and Kenny Lofton, two other greats from those teams of the 1990’s.

For now, savor the memories that Thome provided Tribe fans. It’s been a long time since the franchise had a Hall of Fame player. So, it shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Tribe Starters Still Make Them Elite

There is no question this year’s off-season for the Cleveland Indians is not as exciting as last winter.

The biggest reason is a year ago, the Tribe brought in a big ticket free agent in Edwin Encarnacion and another bullpen arm in Boone Logan.

This year, most of the free agent news have been people leaving Cleveland. Relievers Bryan Shaw and Joe Smith went to Colorado and Houston respectively, while Carlos Santana (Philadelphia), Jay Bruce (New York Mets) and Austin Jackson (San Francisco) have also departed.

Even Logan is gone, signing with the Brewers.

Still, as spring training is a mere weeks away from commencing, Terry Francona’s team is the odds on favorite to defend their Central Division title, and they would still be considered one of the best teams in baseball.

The biggest reason for this is the Indians’ starting rotation, which may still be the best in baseball.

The starters ranked 2nd in Major League Baseball in ERA in 2017, ranking behind only the Dodgers, who have the advantage of playing in a league without the DH.

The only AL team within a half run of Cleveland’s 3.52 mark for starters is the Yankees, who had a 3.98 ERA. The World Champion Astros were at 4.03.

Among innings pitched for starting hurlers, two National League teams (Washington and San Francisco) led the majors, while the Tribe and Red Sox tied for the American League top spot.

Texas was next, a full 43 frames behind the leaders.

Indians’ starters also led the big leagues in strikeouts with 1066, 54 more than second place Washington and 65 more than the AL runner up, Boston.

And the Tribe’s rotation also narrowly edged the Yankees and Astros for the lowest batting average against.

That part of the team has been unaffected this winter. In fact, the Indians have six starters contending for the starting roles to start the season in Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, the man who finished fourth in the voting, Carlos Carrasco, and 17 game winner Trevor Bauer fronting the rotation.

They are backed up by Danny Salazar, who has as electric stuff as perhaps any of the three guys also mentioned, Mike Clevinger, who went 12-6 with a 3.11 ERA in 27 appearances (21 starts), and Josh Tomlin, who would be a middle of the rotation guys for many MLB teams.

Southpaw Ryan Merritt, who is 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA in five big league appearances, and Cody Anderson, who went 7-3 with a 3.05 ERA in 15 starts in 2015, before hurting his elbow and missing all of last year with Tommy John surgery.

Something has to give, because Merritt is out of options, and of course, since the Tribe will start the year with five starters, someone who started a year ago will have to begin this season in the bullpen.

We would guess since Anderson is coming off an injury, he will start the year at Columbus.

Julian Merryweather could make some starts at the big league level in 2018, and Cleveland still has Shawn Morimando and Adam Plutko at AAA too.

So they have some depth as well, although to be fair, none of those guys are even close to the six pitchers who made most of the starts in Cleveland in 2017.

That’s the big reason the Indians are still among baseball’s elite. Very few teams can put someone out there each and every night who has the ability to put zeroes on the scoreboard.

Francona always says when you think you have enough pitching, you go out and get more. It looks like the front office agrees.

Status Quo Not Working For Cavs

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in need of a jolt to their senses. After a stretch in which the wine and gold went 18-1 and looked every bit like a trip to their fourth straight NBA Finals was assured, they have looked, well, terrible.

The entire roster is responsible too, from coach Tyronn Lue, to all the players, and yes, that includes LeBron James.

We watched yesterday’s debacle against Oklahoma City and noticed several disturbing things.

The first was the terrible defensive concepts the Cavs use. There is no help concepts being used, they don’t force offensive players into help, and they play underneath the pick and roll more often than not.

We have watched basketball for a long time and we have never seen a player without the ball score. Yet, the Cavaliers consistently stay connected to the man they are supposed to be guarding, while the player with the ball is going to the basket.

This happens time and time again.

In the first half, Isaiah Thomas was guarding Russell Westbrook on the wing and Jae Crowder was near the paint to lend help. Instead, Thomas allowed Westbrook to go baseline for an uncontested lay up.

That’s horrific team defense.

Lue seems to be so passive, which is fine when the team is winning, but this team needs a spark.

In the first half, Thomas went to the basket and was fouled, which wasn’t called. That’s fine, referees miss calls. The very next play, Thomas was called for a touch foul defending Westbrook, who missed a jump shot.

In that situation, Lue has to challenge the official verbally. He has to defend his player, particularly when the contact was more severe against Thomas.

Later in the first half, Thomas was called for palming the ball, which we don’t believe has been called in the NBA since the 70’s, right in front of the coach. We would have had to have been restrained at that point.

Although we used Thomas in both examples, this isn’t about him. He pretty much says nothing when James is mugged going to the basket on a nightly basis.

When Lue took over as coach, his first move was to quicken the pace. He wanted the team to play faster. However, this squad is the oldest team in the NBA.

That doesn’t mean they aren’t talented, in fact, we still maintain they can win the NBA title…this year. But they need to slow the game down, particularly against younger teams who like to run the floor.

They have issues in transition, so they need to get good shots, which may not always be a shot within five seconds of the possession, so they can guard against opponents racing back up the floor.

Another problem may be the coach’s loyalty and how it affects the roster. Players know who should be playing, and don’t think for a minute they know how well Channing Frye played earlier this year, and wonder why he is out of the rotation.

The same thing happened a year ago to Derrick Williams, who played well in February last year, and then vanished.

The difference is Williams just joined the team. Frye has been here for more than two seasons, and is a veteran presence.

There is no question in our head that is a factor in the disconnect.

Cavs’ management can’t keep firing coaches at the first sign of trouble, but the best coaches recognize when the status quo isn’t working and a change has to be made.

Right now, the wine and gold need a new defensive philosophy and a more aggressive stance from their coach.

Let’s hope Lue can see the same thing.

Not Ready To Give Up Hope That Cavs Can’t Win A Title.

Nothing incites panic around the sports city of Cleveland more than a Cavs regular season loss to the Golden State Warriors.

After Monday night’s defeat, the town was filled with talk ranging from the wine and gold having no chance to win a second title in three years to folks talking about how the Cavaliers should deal LeBron James before he can leave in free agency this summer.

Our belief from watching the two games, which were played within three weeks, is right now Cleveland is a little short, but both games were decided late. The Christmas Day matchup was tied with a couple minutes remaining, while the Martin Luther King Day game was even into the fourth quarter.

It would be surprising if Koby Altman didn’t make a deal before the trading deadline, but everyone assumes such a transaction would involve a fourth star player to add to James, Isaiah Thomas, and Kevin Love.

That may not necessarily be the case.

We believe the team needs an upgrade on the wing, where JR Smith has declined from the title team of 2015-16. Getting a player like Kent Bazemore from Atlanta (12.5 points, 39% from three, a very good defender) would be an upgrade.

Maybe you could swing a deal to bring Bazemore and C Dewayne Dedmon (10.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 41% from three) to the team, upgrading the team at both the wing and getting a rim protector.

Or you good get Nerlens Noel and Wesley Matthews from Dallas, a duo that would accomplish the same task.

Getting players such as these would give Cleveland a better chance against the Warriors because it would improve them, or at least should improve them defensively.

Of course, improving the team’s defensive scheme would be a step in the right direction as well. If you don’t think the philosophy is an issue, just check the performance of Jae Crowder last year in Boston, and Kyrie Irving’s defense a year ago in Cleveland.

As for the organization’s biggest prize, the first round pick from Brooklyn, we would consider giving up that pick for a young player who is under contract for two or three more years, or at least isn’t an unrestricted free agent during that span.

After all, a player who is already good is better than one who might be good, because the latter describes most draft picks.

While we understand that Tyronn Lue likes to play with pace, we would rather see a different tact against the Warriors.

We would slow the game down on offense, and try to establish an inside power game vs. Golden State, being very physical with them. Let James operate the offense out of the post, and whoever is being guarded by Stephen Curry needs to take him to the basket at all costs.

Why not take a page out of the 80’s Celtics playbook vs. the Showtime Lakers?

Playing fast is what Golden State does, and if you try to match them, we feel you will lose more often than not, because they are better at it than you are.

Because the games were close late, we feel some creative minor tinkering would be enough to make a possible fourth straight Finals’ matchup competitive and one the Cavaliers could win.

We refuse to think any team is unbeatable. No doubt, the Warriors are good, in fact, they are a great team. They aren’t perfect, though.

It’s up to Lue, James, and the wine and gold organization to put together the plan and the talent to knock them off.

Browns Make Changes. That Can’t Be Bad.

The Cleveland Browns make a lot of news for an 0-16 football team. It’s bad enough the ownership decided to bring back a head coach that has won a single game in two seasons, so if they were totally standing pat, it would be a greater concern.

Since John Dorsey was appointed the GM, the Browns have added more executives well respected in the football industry to their front office, hiring Alonzo Highsmith and Eliot Wolf away from Green Bay.

Although we thought Sashi Brown got a raw deal from Jimmy Haslam, we cannot complain about bringing people with solid credentials in.

Some in the media have been critical that more people from the past regime have not been let go, but that’s just silly. Why wouldn’t you want as many qualified people as you can involved with building a team that has reached depths in terms of losing that no team in NFL history has seen.

Our guess is Dorsey came in, and much to Hue Jackson’s chagrin, didn’t find a bunch of idiots in the front office, so he kept them around. We believe the reporter spouting this opinion is echoing the comments of the head coach.

As for the coaching staff, Jackson has yet to give up play calling duties, but he has brought in Adam Henry (who worked on his staff in Oakland) as wide receivers coach, and Ken Zampese (who worked with him in Cincinnati and was fired two games into the 2017 season) as quarterbacks coach.

Running game coordinator Kirby Wilson was let go, but the way the head coach eschews the running game, this position could be considered superfluous.

Rumors emerged yesterday that Mike Mularkey, just let go as head coach of the Tennessee Titans, may come aboard as offensive coordinator.

Mularkey liked to run the ball as head coach of the Titans, especially the last two seasons, but in eight years as a coordinator, his offense finished in the top ten in rushing offense just three times (2001 and 2002 in Pittsburgh, and 2008 in Atlanta).

He did finish in the top ten in scoring offense five times in those eight years.

It would be interesting if Mularkey comes aboard if he can get Jackson to run the ball more often. In 10 of his 14 years as head coach or offensive coordinator, his teams have been in the top half of the league in running attempts.

The game plan should not be changing, though. We would go out and get a competent veteran quarterback, one that takes care of the football. That was DeShone Kizer’s biggest weakness this past season, and he really didn’t progress in that area as the season went on.

Then draft your future franchise guy with the first overall pick. You have the guy who has been rated the best QB since he came out of high school in Josh Rosen. You have the guy who was the darling of the college football world after last season in Sam Darnold.

And you have the Heisman Trophy winner in Baker Mayfield.

Don’t overthink it, take one of them and let them learn behind the veteran for at least a season.

Bringing in good front office people is great. Making changes to the coaching staff is fine. However, until they start winning football games, it’s all a bunch of noise.