Baseball’s annual General Manager’s Meeting start this week, and so will the hot stove league.  The groundwork for trades can be laid down at the meeting, and some may even be consumated.  Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti are representing the Indians, who have watched their AL Central brethren already make moves. 

 

The White Sox, Royals, and Twins have already made trades since the World Series ended on Wednesday night.  The Sox traded Mark Teahen to Kansas City for INF Chris Getz and cornerman Josh Fields, while Minnesota picked up former all-star SS J.J. Hardy from the Brewers for OF Carlos Gomez. 

 

Will the Indians do anything this week?  What should they do this off-season?

 

The Tribe doesn’t have a lot of payroll flexibility, so they will have to redistribute the cash in order to be improved going into spring training.  The Sporting News put Cleveland 30th in their post-season power poll, and for those who are mathematically challenged, that ranks them dead last. 

 

Their priority should be starting pitching, as new manager Manny Acta really has no one he can depend on going into camp.  With this in mind, Shapiro is probably looking to move Kerry Wood and his annual $10 million salary, so he can acquire a reliable starter.  The Florida Marlins are send to be interested in Wood. 

 

If Shapiro deals Wood for prospects, he should be interested in righthander Jon Garland, whose option was not picked up by the Dodgers.  Garland shouldn’t be that expensive, and he has pitched in the American League.  He’s also an innings eater, which is something the Tribe desparately needs.  Garland, 30, has won at least 10 games the last eight years, with highs of 18 victories with the White Sox in 2005 and 2006.  He’s also thrown at least 190 frames in each of those eight campaigns. 

 

The Marlins do have some young, hard throwing starters they may be willing to part them in order to get a closer.  Perhaps Shapiro could get a guy like Chris Volstad included in the deal.  Acta talked about the need for hard throwers in order to compete in the American League, and the Marlins have used that philosophy for years.  They would be a perfect trade partner.

 

Teams who almost lose 100 games shouldn’t be spending huge money on a closer.  Acta can try Chris Perez as his closer to start, and he has Rafael Perez in reserve, providing the veteran gets himself straightened out. 

 

Not to sound like a broken record (or skipping CD), but the other player who should be moved in Jhonny Peralta.  His salary is too high compared to the production he has given the Tribe.  The reported $4.5 million he is scheduled to make next season can be put to better use. 

 

To replace him, the Indians have Andy Marte, who can play his natural position, or they could go out and get a free agent.  Melvin Mora’s option was not picked up by the Orioles, and he might be a good fit. 

 

Mora, who will be 38 next season, hit .260 last season, but is a year removed from hitting 23 HR and knocking in 104 runs.  He probably isn’t an everyday player any more, but could be a guy who can play against southpaws, as he has a lifetime .454 slugging percentage against lefties.  He can also play the outfield (LF) in a pinch. 

 

The Indians only need a one year stop gap at the hot corner because either Wes Hodges or more likely Lonnie Chisenhall will be playing the position in 2011.  If Peralta can be moved for more pitching help, it should be strongly considered by Shapiro.

 

When Shapiro took over as GM, he said the Indians would be built on pitching.  These meetings have to signal a move back to that philosophy.  With a limited budget, the Indians need to improve this area, and they can start by re-allocating funds to take care of this problem.

 

MW

 

 

 

The Cleveland Cavaliers have gotten off to a bit of a slow start, splitting their first six games.  Their coach, Mike Brown, has a lot of new personnel to work with, and he is searching for combinations that work.  That accounts for the .500 record thus far.  There is no question this team will be a lot better in March and April than it is right now.

 

There is one combination that needs to be shelved right now, and that would be playing Shaquille O’Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas at the same time.  Having the two big men on the court at the same time makes the Cavs slow and unathletic, the two things that hurt the wine and gold in the playoffs against Orlando a year ago.

 

GM Danny Ferry set out to rectify this situation in the off-season signing Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon.  They would have the Cavaliers both offensively and defensively, Parker being a good catch and shoot guy, and Moon is a slasher, who can also stick the three.  Defensively, both guys are long and athletic enough to the tall wing players who hurt Cleveland last season.

 

While Parker is starting, Moon has seen less than ten minutes of playing time per game over the last three contests.  That is puzzling, particularly since Brown is always emphasizing defense. 

 

There are times when playing the two centers together make sense, such as when they are playing a team like Boston with Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett.  However, when you are playing a team like Chicago, with no true center, the move backfires.  O’Neal and Ilgauskas simply aren’t athletic enough to be on the floor together covering guys like Joakim Noah.

 

Offensively, the Cavs need to establish O’Neal as early in the game as they can.  Going to the big man right away will force the defense to double him, leaving open shooters.  If they choose to guard Shaq straight up, then you keep feeding him because even at 37, there are very few men who can stop him near the basket. 

 

And since O’Neal is an older player, why not play him 26-28 minutes a night, with Ilgauskas getting the rest.  It just makes too much sense. 

 

What the coach needs to do is get more time for Moon and another athletic player in J.J. Hickson.  The Cavaliers are going to need those guys when the playoffs come around.  Mike Brown is trying to see what works, but six games in, I can tell him that having two slow big guys on the floor at the same time isn’t working.

 

JK

 

 

Is it really change when you get rid of someone who really didn’t do anything?  It is if you are the Cleveland Browns, as GM George Kokinis was let go yesterday with the team floundering at 1-7.  Was Kokinis a sacrificial lamb, offered up by Eric Mangini?  

 

Although Kokinis had the title, most people believe that all aspects of the football operations have Mangini’s fingerprints on them.  Can we really blame the general manager for last April’s draft, which right now looks questionable at best?  Or did Kokinis point out some things the coach did that he wasn’t happy with, and he paid for it with his job.

 

There have been reports that the GM and the coach clashed on some issues from the moment Kokinis was hired, so Mangini took this opportunity to get rid of him.

 

If the move came down from owner Randy Lerner, then Mangini cannot feel very secure today.  Obviously, Kokinis’ dismissal is a forerunner to a new head of football operations being hired, a person who will want his own man to be the head coach.

 

This is a similar situation to the Dolphins during the 2007 season.  They hired Bill Parcells to be in charge of football, and he fired Cam Cameron after one year in which Miami finished 1-15.  Parcells brought in Tony Sparano to be the new coach.  The Dolphins went 11-5 last year and are playoff contenders this season.  And they show imagination on offense. 

 

This move shows once again, what a mess this franchise is in.  Apparently, Lerner sees that he made a mistake with the hiring of Mangini.  However, he didn’t seem to do the due diligence involved when he was hired.  Most football people would have hired the guy that Lerner is looking for now, someone to be in charge of the football operations.  Had Lerner done that in January, instead of getting all googly eyed for Mangini, perhaps the team wouldn’t be 1-7 right now.

 

The owner is supposedly seeking the counsel of former Browns’ GM Ernie Accorsi as to what to do with this team.  Apparently, Lerner is now willing to listen to Accorsi, because it has been reported he was against the hiring of Kokinis from the get go.  Reports also have Accorsi grooming former Browns’ quarterback Bernie Kosar to be the man in charge at some point in the near future.

 

Whether or not Kosar is going to be the man, it appears that Lerner is set on putting together an organization with a strong football man at the top.  This means that Mangini will either have to decide he is willing to work with that guy, or be out on the streets looking for work. 

 

Either way, the head coach’s power with the Cleveland Browns will be drastically reduced.  As someone who doesn’t think the coach should be in charge of personnel, this is a good move. 

 

Many people are criticizing the owner for this move, preaching patience.  However, if a disaster is starting to happen, why not make changes sooner rather than later.  The huge step backwards taken this season forced Lerner to rethink his decision.

 

Eric Mangini may not be a bad NFL head coach, but he may have been given a job that he is incapable of in running an entire franchise.  To paraphrase Paul Brown, you can’t blame Mangini, the blame rests with the man who hired him.

 

JD

 

Last season, the Cleveland Browns failed to score an offensive touchdown in their last six games.  However, at that point in the season, they were playing the third and fourth string quarterbacks in Ken Dorsey and Bruce Gradkowski.  What’s their excuse this season?

 

The Browns did score an offensive touchdown today, but the philosophy and results when they have the football continues to be an out and out joke.  Their passing game is a total embarassment for an NFL team as once again, Derek Anderson had a horrible game.  After completing just two passes in the first half, Anderson was not replaced for the third quarter as the coaching staff apparently was watching a different game than the rest of us.

 

Anderson wound up hitting on just 6 of 17 throws for 76 yards and two interceptions before being mercifully removed in the fourth quarter after having his last pass returned for a Chicago touchdown by Charles Tillman. 

 

Yes, there were dropped passes and fumbles, but Anderson’s second throw was a short pass (maybe about 5 yards) that was behind Lawrence Vickers and that set the tone for his day.  His passer rating was 0.0 at halftime and improved to 10.2 by the end of the game.  Is it possible that this guy went to the Pro Bowl just two years ago?  He should have started his last game as quarterback of the Browns barring some sort of injury.

 

It should be noted that the touchdown scored yesterday was put on the board without the aid of the passing game.  They took over the ball on the Bears’ 30-yard line and used all running plays to move it into the end zone. 

 

After the game, owner Randy Lerner said he was dissatisfied with the performance of the team, and hinted changes will be made over the bye week.  The first change should be to have a new person calling the plays two weeks from tonight against the Baltimore Ravens.  Brian Daboll has been terrible in this area, and needs to be replaced. 

 

What will be done?  There have been hints that Lerner would like to bring in someone to run the football operations right away.  Whether that person is Bernie Kosar or someone else, bringing in a football man would seem to mean than Mangini doesn’t have a lot of job security right now.

 

One good thing about the game was the performance of the defense, which was aggressive before running out of gas due to the poor performance of the offense.  They were on the field for over 37 minutes yesterday.  They put pressure on Jay Cutler most of the day giving him different looks, and held the Bears to three field goals despite great field position for Chicago.

 

Rob Ryan’s unit continues to work hard, and his feisty demeanor is refreshing.  He jawed at Cutler when the Bears couldn’t score on a 1st and goal situation from the one in the fourth quarter.  Cutler is one of those guys who isn’t as good as he thinks he is, and Ryan was probably telling him that. 

 

Thankfully, there will be no action on the field next week, and hopefully there will be some action off it.  Jamal Lewis said he’s had enough after the season, which is more problems for the coaching staff since he is a captain.  Perhaps, this dreadful season finally makes the owner admit he needs someone to run the football operations, and let that man hire a coach.  It hasn’t worked with Butch Davis, Romeo Crennel, and Mangini. 

 

Browns fans deserve a good product, and movement forward.  There was no reason to take a step backward after last year’s 4-12 fiasco, but this year looks like it could be a tough time hitting that mark in 2009.

 

JD 

 

As we come to the end of another month, some comments on each of the Cleveland sports teams—

 

CAVALIERS

 

The wine and gold have played just two games this season, and there is every confidence they will be a championship contender, but a few things are irritating after training camp and these first two games. 

 

First, Mike Brown needs to shelve the idea of playing Shaquille O’Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas at the same time.  For a coach who made his mark in the NBA coaching defense, he has to see that this is a huge defensive liability.  Toronto outscored the Cavs by a bundle when this duo was on the floor together. 

 

I understand the coach is still trying to find his rotation, but he needs to get J.J. Hickson and Jamario Moon on the floor more often.  Hickson will never learn to subtleties of NBA defense on the bench, and Moon brings the athleticism missing with Delonte West’s absence, particularly on defense. Anthony Parker is not cut out to playing 35-40 minutes per night. 

 

If you are built on defense, then put your best defensive team out there on a more consistent basis.

 

BROWNS

 

Their season is in the toilet, and the coach is talking about special teams.  I don’t claim to know more than an NFL coach, but I thought rookie Coye Francies looked pretty good in the pre-season games.  However, he’s been inactive for the last three games.

 

Why?  Apparently, because he’s not making an impact on special teams. 

 

Meanwhile, the Browns’ secondary is getting beaten like an egg.

 

Why not give Francies a shot at playing defensive back, the position he’s been trained to play?  Heck, right now the team is using a wide receiver as a nickel back. 

 

The guys on special teams are players who are back ups, because a coach doesn’t want to risk his starters on punt and kickoff teams.  Isn’t it more important to have guys play on every down, and play well?  If the rookie can perform better at CB than Brandon McDonald, then he should be on the field even if he’s not a good special teamer.

 

The Browns have a very good special teams unit.  However, they seem to have trouble stopping the pass and tackling.  Francies seemed like a guy willing to stick his nose in and hit someone. 

 

Mangini should worry more about receivers gashing his secondary than keeping a guy on the active roster who can cover kicks.

 

It’s another case of misplaced priorities for the Browns’ coaching staff.

 

INDIANS

 

Still recovering from watching Cliff Lee dominate the Yankees in game 1 of the World Series, it reminded me that Lee should still be pitching for the Tribe next season.  The Phillies will undoubtedly exercise the option on the southpaw’s deal for 2010, something the Indians could have done as well.

 

GM Mark Shapiro’s biggest need for next season is starting pitching, yet he traded one of the game’s best for a group of players who will not have nearly the same impact on the ’10 Tribe as Lee would have. 

 

Lou Marson might be the Indians’ starting catcher next season, and INF Jason Donald may be a platoon player at 2B with Luis Valbuena, but Shapiro could have easily have found people to take their places.  Behind the plate, you could keep Kelly Shoppach (yeck!) or promote Carlos Santana, and at the keystone spot you could keep Jamey Carroll, or sign another utility infielder.

 

Carlos Carrasco might be in next season’s rotation, but he also may have to start the year in Columbus based on his performance in September.  Jason Knapp, the so-called “key to the deal” had shoulder surgery a couple of months ago, and was in Class A ball anyway.  He is years away from appearing in the big leagues.

 

It would be one thing if Shapiro had received players who would impact the big league roster in 2010 for Lee.  He didn’t, and by the way, he still needs a starting pitcher…like Cliff Lee.

 

MW

 

The Cleveland Cavaliers opened the 2009-10 season last night with high expectations…and a loss to the Boston Celtics.  While a victory would be have been nice, and needed with the success of our football and baseball teams, no one should be hanging their heads in shame over this loss.

 

Remember, the Cavs started last season 1-2, and finished 66-16.

 

The wine and gold looked like a team that was trying to figure out a way to play with each other.  You have to realize they changed 40% of their starting lineup with Shaquille O’Neal at center and Anthony Parker playing the #2 guard spot in place of Delonte West.

 

There was no rhythm to the offense with the guards ever mindful of O’Neal’s presence in the middle, as it seemed they were trying to force the ball inside instead of looking for shots.  Mo Williams took just eight field goal attempts, only one in the fourth quarter.  He needs to be getting 12-15 shots per night.

 

The Cavs shot just 41% for the night, and if you remove LeBron James’s 12 for 22 effort from that total, the rest of the guys wearing wine and gold shot 29%.  That’s not going to win a lot of games. 

 

The attack was stagnant, with the offense regressing into James handling the ball outside the three-point arc and initiating the play rather than getting the ball below the foul line and finishing.  LBJ had eight assists, but he would better served attacking the rim that playing out on the perimeter.

 

There is no question the team needs Delonte West healthy.  West provides an alternative at the point guard spot, and can share the ball handling responsibilities with Williams when both are in the game.  He’s also a very good defender.  That’s why the team is interested in Antonio Daniels, because Daniel Gibson simply cannot handle the ball well or start the offense.  Gibson had no assists in 13 minutes last night.  But keep in mind, Daniels is not a replacement for West.

 

Working new guys into the mix is not an excuse.  The Cavs have to be mentally tougher when things aren’t going well, and I think for the most part they are and they will be.  The coaching staff also has to recognize when the offense is back to the “everyone watches LeBron dribble”, and get back into a normal flow.

 

Also, Mike Brown played James too much, putting too much emphasis on this opening game.  In fact, when LBJ is pounding the ball outside, perhaps the coach should take him out and force other guys to get involved in the offense. 

 

Still, it’s just one game, and it was a game played against one of the NBA’s elite teams.  When you are playing these teams, you have to bring your “A” game, and the Cavs didn’t do that last night.  However, as they become more accustomed to playing together, they will get better as a team. 

 

Of course, the national “experts” have probably eliminated the Cavaliers from title contention.  Let them.  This team has talent, and will play better, probably starting tonight against Toronto.  Don’t worry, this season shapes up as one to enjoy.

 

JK

 

 

That’s the best adjective that can be used to describe yesterday’s 31-3 beating handed to the Cleveland Browns by the Green Bay Packers.  The word can be applied to the team’s play on offense, defense, and the coaching philosophy.  If you have tickets to any of this team’s remaining game, why would you use them outside of the cash used to buy them.  The Cleveland Browns are unwatchable as a sports product.

 

While most rational people did not expect a playoff appearance this season, nor did they figure a winning season was possible, what the fans thought would happen was improvement.  After seven games, this football team has taken a step backwards, and I, for one, would like to hear a good reason from Eric Mangini as to why this team is not better than the one who played for Romeo Crennel in 2008.

 

Their were very few dropped passes yesterday, and still Derek Anderson stunk the joint out.  He is becoming the Scott Mitchell of the 00’s, having one good season, and fooling a lot of people in the process.  Anderson missed open guys, forced throws in to coverage, and had another game where he completed less than half of his throws.  This is despite hitting his first five passes.  After that beginning, DA went 7 of 24 through the air.  Those are simply not up to standards for an NFL quarterback.

 

This week or at least during the bye week, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll should be removed of his duties.  Last week, the Browns were most effective using the "wildcat" formation.  This week, it was used just once.  Was Daboll trying to show how smart he is by confusing Green Bay and not putting the ball in Josh Cribbs’ hands?  Cribbs isn’t a receiver, but he gains yardage on the ground.  To not use him in this capacity tells me the Browns are not trying to win games.  There is a different agenda here. 

 

I don’t know what it is, but moving the ball doesn’t seem to be a priority.  The Browns have gained less than 200 yards in five of their seven games.  Something has to be changed.

 

The worst attribute a coach can have is stubbornness.  At what point will Mangini see that what he is doing is not working and try something else.  So far, he has changed one position, the quarterback.  That move has not brought about any difference,  save for the Cincinnati game where the offense showed some life. 

 

When Anderson was named the starter, supposedly it was because Quinn checked down to the tight end and running backs too much.  Yesterday, nine of Anderson’s 12 completions went to running backs (four to Jerome Harrison, one to Lawrence Vickers) and tight ends (two to Michael Gaines and two more to Greg Estrandia).  So…

 

The coaching staff seems content to shove Jamal Lewis down our throats, eschewing the use of Harrison or the wildcat formation.  Harrison and Cribbs touched the ball on offense nine times in 52 plays.  Gee, wonder why they averaged less than three yards per play.

 

Defensively, Mangini brought in some former Jets (Kenyon Coleman and Eric Barton) to help shore up the run defense.  That hasn’t worked either.  The Cleveland Browns are getting run over on a weekly basis to the tune of 170 yards per game.  And if you can’t stop the ground game, you simply cannot be a good defensive unit.  Oh yeah, the secondary can’t cover either, continuing to allow big chunks of yardage, yet rookie Coye Francies, impressive in the pre-season, can’t get on the field. 

 

The only unit playing well is the special teams with Cribbs and punter Dave Zastudil leading the way.  The team’s most effective play in a kickoff return.  Think about that one.

 

Regardless, Eric Mangini needs to give us some answers.  This team not only isn’t as good as last year, they aren’t as good as the team that started the season.  That’s on the coaching staff.  They are getting overmatched on a weekly basis. 

 

This is a team in full reverse.  However, they have a lot of draft picks next year.

 

JD

 

 

 

 

Indians’ GM Mark Shapiro has narrowed his list of managerial candidates to four names:  Former Washington skipper Manny Acta, former Rangers and Mets manager Bobby Valentine, Dodgers’ bench coach Don Mattingly, and the Tribe’s AAA skipper Torey Lovullo.  All are interesting names with different backgrounds.

 

The thought here is that Acta is the frontrunner, although the team is still going through the interview process.

 

Acta’s record looks terrible, but you have to remember that the Nationals are one of the worst run franchises in baseball.  He went 73-89 in his first year, and followed that up with a 59-102 record in 2008, before getting fired at the all-star break with Washington sporting a 26-61 record. 

 

Before you dismiss Acta, remember that Casey Stengel didn’t have a sterling record as a manager before taking over the Yankees, and Terry Francona was run out of Philadelphia before leading the Red Sox to two world championships. 

 

I have no idea how Acta runs a game, but he managed with horrible talent, and didn’t win.  That’s not a crime.

 

Valentine seems like an odd fit for the Indians, but maybe he is the “different” voice the Tribe needs.  He’s had some initial success in turning losing teams into winners, and won a pennant with the Mets in 2000.  He took over the Rangers, a seventh place team in 1985 (he managed the last 129 games) and guided them to second in 1986.  He had five finishes over .500 in eight years.

 

With the Mets, he inherited a team that finished 78-84 in 1996, and guided them to five straight winning seasons before being let go following the 2002 campaign.  He’s a baseball lifer.

 

However, he probably didn’t help himself with the front office by admitting he knows little about the Indians’ players and the other teams in the Central Division.  In an organization that prides itself on preparedness, this didn’t help Valentine.

 

Mattingly has an impressive resume as a player, but has not managed at the big league level.  He has been on Joe Torre’s coaching staff with the Yankees and Dodgers, but has always been in the background, and has always been involved with big market franchises. 

 

I doubt Shapiro will take a chance on someone who hasn’t managed before. 

 

Which brings us to Lovullo, who probably is really being considered for a position on the new skipper’s coaching staff rather than as a manager.  Lovullo has managed in the Tribe farm system for a long time, but it would be a tough sell to the ticket buying public to hire a minor league manager whose team finished last in the International League last season.

 

Look, hiring a manager is important, but it’s more important to acquire talent, particularly starting pitching.  The previous manager’s biggest weakness in my opinion was handling the pitchers, especially the bullpen.  So, hopefully the guy Shapiro picks will be better in that regard. 

 

Still, no one would win if there weren’t better talent, especially in the starting rotation.  You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.  Just ask the guy who will likely be the Tribe’s 40^th manager, Manny Acta.

 

KM

 

The Denver Broncos hired a new coach this year and they are currently 6-0.  Josh McDaniels, the former Patriot offensive coordinator and a northeastern Ohio native has made some changes in the Mile High City, and as of this point in the season, those alterations have had a profound effect.

 

Meanwhile, back here in Cleveland, the Browns hired a new coach and they are struggling along at 1-5.  Eric Mangini, a former Patriot defensive coordinator and head coach of the New York Jets, has made sweeping changes here and seems willing to make more. 

 

Will the Browns ever reach the heights the Broncos are now enjoying?

 

McDaniels even traded his so-called “franchise” quarterback, Jay Cutler, received what many would consider a journeyman in return in Kyle Orton, and still Denver in winning.  Most experts thought the Broncos were devoid of talent going into the season, yet here they sit as one of the NFL unbeaten teams after six weeks.

 

Because of the trade, McDaniels picked up an extra first round pick, and although Robert Ayers and Knowshon Moreno are both contributing, they haven’t been difference makers.  Why have the Broncos zoomed to the top of the AFC, while the Browns look to be preparing for another top ten pick in the 2010 NFL Draft?

 

Both teams have outstanding tackles to anchor the offensive line in Joe Thomas and Ryan Clady.  However, the Broncos have better skill players, such as Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal at wide receiver.  The Browns have nobody of this ilk, and in fact, traded one of their few playmakers in Braylon Edwards. 

 

The difference is McDaniels looked at his roster, saw talent there, and decided to work with it, making some additions of players he liked.  Mangini decided to gut the roster, and bring in only guys he was comfortable working with.  That process takes more time.  Whether it will be more successful in the long run, only time will tell.

 

Coaches earn their money but handling some difficult players, something Mangini doesn’t seem to want to do.  McDaniels worked things out with Marshall, one of the many diva wide receivers in the NFL.  For Mangini, if you aren’t a certain type of player, then you are out of here.  Good coaches look at the talent available, and figure out how to get the most out of it.

 

Also, gutting the roster and getting draft picks in return seems like a good strategy, but you have to make the correct picks.  So far, no one can feel confident that the Browns will cash in on the extra picks they have accumulated.  The fact that out of the three second round picks from this past draft, only one is a regular contributor (Mohammed Massaquoi), doesn’t give fans a sense of optimism. 

 

Mangini’s method may ultimately work, but from a fans’ standpoint, most people were looking for improvement in 2009.  The people in Denver have seen a big step up, the people in Cleveland have not as of yet.  Most people thought the Browns underachieved last season, and the right coaching would lead to more wins.

 

As of now, it’s difficult to make that case.

 

JD

 

We have been a proponent over the past few years that a successful football team needs to run the ball to win, especially in the division the Cleveland Browns are in, the AFC North.  The past two weeks, coach Eric Mangini’s squad has shown improvement in that area, having 100 yard rushers in each game.  Even in yesterday’s 27-14 defeat in Pittsburgh, Cleveland averaged 4.0 yards per carry. 

 

The "wildcat" formation worked well in the first quarter yesterday, but after Josh Cribbs finally threw a couple of passes, and God forbid, one was picked off, the formation was shelved until midway through the third quarter.  That’s a coaching mistake.

 

However, they have no passing game whatsoever. 

 

Yes, they did show some improvement because they completed two passes in the first half of the game, compared to two successful throws in the entire game against Buffalo.  That meant in their last six quarters of football, the Cleveland Browns completed just four passes.  Collegiate wishbone attacks of the 1970’s and 80’s had a better throwing game.  It really is absurd.

 

The Browns put together a nice drive in the third quarter by passing with Derek Anderson hitting a long one to Mohammed Massaquoi to set up a TD toss to FB Lawrence Vickers to cut a Steeler lead to ten points.  However, that was pretty much it in the air, as Brian Daboll’s "air attack" netted just 106 yards for the game.

 

The thing we’ve learned is it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is, Anderson or Brady Quinn, the offense philosophy designed by Daboll is archaic at best.  Experienced receivers or not, there have to be play designed to get guys open.  I believe we have found Bernie Kosar’s first assignment in his new position with the organization.  Design a pass pattern that will result in an open receiver.

 

In regards to the quarterback, he continues to have problems playing decent on the road.  This is a problem because the NFL mandates that half of a team’s games are away from home.  He also continues to struggle on short passes with touch.  Chansi Stuckey was said to have "dropped" a ball that he got one hand on running a short, maybe 10-yard pattern.  He really didn’t have a chance to catch the ball, it was a poor pass.

 

Defensively, you knew it was a bad day when Kamerion Wimbley was sent home with the flu.  The team missed his pressure, although David Bowens did okay putting some heat on Ben Roethlisberger.  There were open receivers all day long in the porous Browns’ secondary, as Big Ben threw for 417 yards.  Many times, Steeler receivers didn’t have a Cleveland player within ten yards of them, as the coverage schemes were ineffective.

 

The defense did control the running game, holding Pittsburgh to under four yards per attempt, and that includes a 21-yard end around by Mike Wallace, who gained some extra yards after a missed tackle by CB Brandon McDonald, who Deion Sanders thinks is a poor tackler.  Seriously, McDonald’s tackling is a huge problem which may land him on the bench next week.

 

Despite his interception, Cribbs was the bright spot of the game.  He ran for 45 yards in six attempts, and scored on another kick return, this one for 98 yards on a kickoff.  He is clearly one of the Browns’ best players regardless of position.  Mangini and Daboll should be getting him the ball from scrimmage at least 10 times per game.

 

Who knows what the score of this game would have been had Pittsburgh not turned the ball over four times?  It could have been 48-14.  The Steelers looked like a sloppy football team yesterday, and their lack of a decent running game doesn’t bode well for their future success. 

 

Also, I’ve never seen a game where the officials blew a measurement.  The league said it was a bad camera angle, but the players who were a yard away from the chains didn’t have a bad angle.  It was a terrible call and hopefully the NFL will apologize for it this week.

 

In the same vein, maybe the Browns will also say they are sorry they haven’t put in a passing offense.

 

JD