Remaining Schedule Should Help Cavaliers

There is no question that the Western Conference of the NBA is much stronger than the East.

Currently, the Brooklyn Nets are the 8th seed in the East with a 17-24 record, a mark that would rank them 12th in the West. The Cavs, who sit in the fifth spot in on the right half of the NBA grid at 22-20, would be on the outside looking in if they played out west.

And there is no question the wine and gold have struggled this season, especially in the first couple of weeks in January, when they lost six in a row before winning the last three.

However, right now the Cavs have played the most games against the tougher conference in the NBA, and they are 6-11 in those games.

The team with the best record in the East, Atlanta, has played 30 of their 42 games in their own conference, a difference of five contests. They are 10-2 in those dozen games, but they will no doubt have a tougher slate in front of them.

Washington has the conference’s second best record and they’ve played 28 games in the East, going 9-5 vs. the West.

Toronto, the third seed, is the only team ahead of the Cavs in the standings that have played a similar amount of games as the wine and gold, having played 26 inter-conference games. The Raptors are 9-6 against the west.

Now, it is most definitely true that a 6-11 mark against the Western Conference is nothing to be proud of, especially compared to the top three teams, but the point is, the Cavaliers have fewer games against the tougher teams, and they don’t have to make any more west coast trips.

Which brings us back to the Wizards and Raptors, who have played four and five more home games than road games so far this season. Of course, this means they will play more on the road in the second half of the season, another advantage for the Cavaliers, who have split their 42 games right down the middle.

The Hawks, currently in another stratosphere, have actually played more on the road through 42 contests.

Milwaukee, immediately behind Cleveland in the standings, will get to play more at home than on the road for the balance of the season, having played just 18 of their 41 games in Beer Town.

On the other hand, they’ve only played 14 games out of conference, meaning they will see a steady diet of western squads for the balance of the campaign.

All this means that the Cavs have a solid chance to improve their lot in the standings if they stay healthy going forward and continue to play together. And obviously, if they can make up the ground between themselves and the Bulls (currently Cleveland is 4-1/2 games behind), they would get home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

With two more games vs. Philadelphia (yes, we know they lost the first game between the two teams), three more games against the Celtics, and two more with the depleted Pacers, they are opportunities for the Cavaliers to make up some ground.

And it is a big advantage not having to travel further than the central time zone again.

It’s no excuse, but David Blatt’s team hasn’t had the easiest schedule thus far, there has been a lot of travelling. Now comes the payoff for that slate, the wine and gold won’t go far from home the rest of the year.

Here’s Our Rating of NFL’s Top QBs

Recently, Browns’ GM Ray Farmer made the comment that most teams in the NFL play without elite quarterbacks, so they have to figure out a way to win.

We agree with that statement because we don’t think there are that many elite passers in the game today, although many fans and media alike would disagree.

During the playoffs, we’ve seen the following players described as being in that class: Tony Romo and Cam Newton. Guess what? They aren’t “elite”.

This is different from the term “franchise quarterbacks”, because which Romo and Newton are a part of because their teams aren’t looking for a new passer. Those teams have put their future in the hands of players like Romo, Newton, Joe Flacco, etc.

And another thing, winning a Super Bowl doesn’t make you an elite quarterback either. Yes, we are well aware Flacco did just that with the Ravens, but Eli Manning has won two championship rings, and of course, we can point to Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer doing the same thing.

And at this point with just three seasons under his belt, one winning a title, we can’t put Russell Wilson there just yet.

In order to be at the top of the heap at this position, the most important position in team sports, you have to be a player who can win a game, basically by yourself, and demonstrate it on a regular basis.

For our money, the top five quarterbacks in the NFL are as follows, in no particular order–

Tom Brady
Peyton Manning
Andrew Luck
Ben Roethlisberger
Aaron Rodgers

Yes, we understand Manning is fading and it’s been since the 2008 season since Big Ben won his second, but those are the elite guys in the NFL.

Brady and Rodgers are playing today to get another chance at a Super Bowl ring, and Luck is trying to make it for the first time.

The next five based on the totality of their careers would be, once again in no particular order–

Drew Brees
Russell Wilson
Philip Rivers
Eli Manning
Matt Ryan

First of all, see what we mean about not being that many “elite” QBs. Two of the players on this list (Rivers and Ryan) have never been to a Super Bowl, and have only been to the conference championship game once each.

Now, we are sure one of the questions will be about the omission of Flacco, who is a solid NFL quarterback.

First, we’ve witnessed too many “blah” games against the Browns over the years.

Second, in the seven years Flacco has been the starter, the Ravens have never ranked in the top ten in yardage, and has only been in the top ten in points scored twice.

Romo? His history shows he makes too many key mistakes at the wrong time. Newton? Not enough of a track record, and the Panthers’ offense has regressed since his rookie season.

So, that’s why we agree with Farmer. Many people around Cleveland just think if we don’t have the quarterback, the Browns should either tank the season to get one, or our perpetually doomed.

The coaching staff and front office can’t think that way. They need to figure out another way to get it done. Guys like Manning and Luck don’t come around too often, and as we are all aware, Brady was a 6th round pick.

Roethlisberger and Rodgers feel into their team respective laps.

The Browns made progress in the win column in 2014, the organization has to keep moving in the right direction, elite quarterback or not.

Cavs Biggest Problems: Defense, Three Point Shooting

By the end of this week, the Cleveland Cavaliers will have played half of their NBA schedule, and no one thought they would be struggling this much.

They are currently sitting below the .500 mark at 19-20, far from the juggernaut many experts predicted before the season started with LeBron James returned to the team, and GM David Griffin traded for Kevin Love.

Yes, there are a lot of new players that started the season with the wine and gold, and the recent trades made by Griffin have added three more new players (one of whom, Iman Shumpert hasn’t played yet), and that makes continuity and knowing your teammates very difficult.

The biggest problems seem to be on the defensive end, where right now it appears there isn’t a consistent effort on a nightly basis.

Part of the problem is the lack of quickness on the players defending the perimeter. That problem means they play off of the opponent to stop penetration, and then cannot recover to contest the jump shot. This has led in part to allowing a 51.6% defensive field goal percentage thus far, second worst in the league behind only Minnesota.

It seems like teams hit an inordinate amount of three-point shots against the Cavs, but the wine and gold ranks 19th defensively against the long distance shot. That’s not great, but they are getting hurt inside the arc.

In terms of defensive efficiency, the Cavs rank as the sixth worst defense in the NBA. That needs to improve and quickly.

Yes, we understand that Love and Kyrie Irving aren’t good defensively, but you can cover that up by team concepts. Right now, the team scheme needs to be revamped because it’s not getting it done.

Cleveland allows the sixth most dunk attempts in the league, but don’t allow a lot of layup attempts. However, opponents convert a good percentage of those layup attempts, which Timofey Mozgov should help with.

Where the Cavs get killed is on jump shots of between 16 feet and the three-point line, as opponents are making 46.3% of their shots, two percent more than the next worst team Toronto. Besides the Raptors, no one else is giving up more than 42.6% of these shots.

That’s because the perimeter defenders are having a problem closing out on shooters.

Oddly, this ties into the other problem, the lack of three-point shooting. Cleveland ranks 18th in the NBA offensively, which is disappointing for a team with Irving, Love, Mike Miller, and James Jones on it. The thought before the season was with all the ability the Cavs have going to the basket, these guys would have plenty of good looks from beyond the arc.

Irving shot close to 40% in his first two years in the league, but shot just 36% last year and is sitting around that mark again this season.

Love came into the season hitting 36% of his shots from distance, but he’s dropped to 34% this season.

Miller has been over 40% each of the last three seasons, but he’s dropped to 35.3% in 2014-15.

Jones is a career 40% shooter that is making 36.8% of those shots this season.

The latter two are big problems because they don’t provide the perimeter defense the Cavs need, and they aren’t making as many shots as they have in the past. And quite frankly, if Miller and Jones aren’t hitting shots, there is no reason to put them on the floor.

David Blatt would be better served playing Joe Harris, who is a little better defensively, at this point in time.

At this point, the Cavs still seem to be using the roster turnover as an excuse, which it shouldn’t be half way through the season. They really need to just start playing hard, especially defensively.

One other thing. This team needs to get out and run, but if the other team keeps scoring, it’s difficult to get transition buckets.

The defense has to get fixed right now.

Tribe Should Emphasize Plusses, Not Lack of Cash

Spring training is a little over a month away, and sports fans through northeastern Ohio are starting to think about baseball. The cold, cold winter does that to you.

On Friday, Indians’ president Mark Shapiro was doing a radio interview and when asked about the roster brought up (once again) that the team is financially limited.

Most of the interview was Shapiro talking about what the Indians have focused on most of the winter, namely the construction at Progressive Field. We get that, he’s the president now, not the general manager, so he doesn’t want to steal GM Chris Antonetti’s thunder.

However, it almost seems like a reflex for anyone in the organization to bring this up when talking about trying the add talent to the current roster.

And it is a sensitive buzzword for many potential ticket buyers. As we have said before, like it or not, perception is reality and the perception around Cleveland is the ownership is cheap.

We get it.

Most fans understand the Indians will never be able to have one of the top ten payrolls in the sport. However, there are many teams in the sport who have managed to stay relevant without spending $150 million on talent.

So, we will play public relations/advertising consultant for the Indians. Why not talk about the positives the Tribe has going into this season.

1). The Indians have had back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the 2000-01 years, and made the playoffs in 2013, and were still alive in the playoff chase until the last weekend of the 2014 season.

2). They have a widely respected manager in Terry Francona, who has piloted two World Series winners.

3). They are the only team in the American League with a player who finished in the top three in both the Cy Young Award voting (Corey Kluber) and the MVP voting (Michael Brantley). Really, the only team in baseball because although a Dodger claimed both awards in the NL, it was the same guy (Clayton Kershaw).

4). The Indians have a good core of young players. Their best players are Brantley, Kluber, Yan Gomes, Cody Allen, and Carlos Santana. All are under 30 years old.

5). They have one of the game’s top prospects in SS Francisco Lindor, who should make his big league debut in 2015.

6). The last two months of the ’14 season were highlighted by excellent starting pitching, led by Kluber, but also with dominant months from Carlos Carrasco (27), Danny Salazar (24), Trevor Bauer (23), and T. J. House (24).

7). The Indians had the sixth best ERA in the American League, and they did it with the youngest pitching staff in the AL at 27.2 years of age. And that figure includes the ageless Scott Atchison.

8). They traded for a left-handed slugger who made the All Star team in 2014 in Brandon Moss, who, by the way, also hit two home runs in the wild card game.

9). Although the players are far away, the ’14 amateur draft was rated the best in baseball by Baseball America.

Those are things to talk about if you want to encourage people to purchase tickets. That, and get rid of the dynamic ticket pricing that most fans dislike.

There are plenty of positives to talk about with the Cleveland Indians that don’t involve money and/or ripping seats out of Progressive Field.

We just wish the front office would talk about these instead of playing the “small market” card.

The Reshaping of Cavs Should Be Complete

The one thing you can say about Cavs GM David Griffin is that he isn’t afraid of change.

After watching his basketball team struggle more than expected, Griffin didn’t sit back and hope things would get better, he did something about it.

It has been painfully obvious if you know the game of basketball that the main problem for the wine and gold has been on the defensive end. They have ranked among the best teams in the NBA in offensive efficiency. The two trades made in the last few days have addressed the problem when the opponent has the ball.

The Cavaliers have had problems stopping perimeter jump shots and also have had breakdowns when opponents have gone to the basket. Picking up Iman Shumpert helps with the first issue and is a solid enough defender to stop penetration as well.

And if they do get to the hole, Griffin’s latest acquisition, Timofey Mozgov will be there to provide resistance.

Quite simply, Mozgov is a large man at 7’1″ and 250 pounds. He averaged 8.5 points and almost 8 rebounds (7.8) per game and is a career 51.3% shooter from the floor. Those numbers were compiled playing a little over half the game at 25.6 minutes per night. And he’s not horrible from the line either at a little over 73%.

But the biggest thing is he provides a presence and size inside that the Cavs haven’t had all year. Let’s face it, Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao are really power forwards masquerading as centers, and while they are solid defenders, they don’t provide the bulk or height needed to make opponents think twice about going to the hoop.

And Brendan Haywood hasn’t been dazzling when he has received minutes either.

Many people have questioned the deal because of the cost, as Griffin gave up two first round draft picks, a steep price for a player who averages less than 10 point and 10 rebounds per night.

However, if Mozgov has the desired effect, then the cost shouldn’t be an issue.

Not to compare the big man to Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond, but what if the same thing happens now as when Thurmond arrived in November of 1975.

When Thurmond was dealt to Cleveland on November 27th of that year, the Cavaliers were 6-11 after losing to the then Kansas City Kings 95-91. Bill Fitch’s squad went 43-22 the rest of the season and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals.

Nate only averaged 17 minutes per game for that team, but he was the right fit at the right time.

If Mozgov proves to be a good fit and the Cavaliers get healthy and make a good playoff run, then giving up two first round picks, neither of which will probably be in the top half of the round, is inconsequential.

And it’s not as though Mozgov is an aging player, he’s 28-years-old, and should be a solid NBA player for many years.

That’s another good thing about the moves Griffin made. Shumpert will not turn 25 until after the end of the current season, so his future is in front of him as well.

When LeBron James and Shumpert get back from their injuries, you have a starting five of those two, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and probably Mozgov. That will enable David Blatt to bring these players off the bench: J.R. Smith, Mike Miller, Shawn Marion, Thompson, and his favorite, Matthew Dellavedova.

If Blatt doesn’t give the subs minutes then, maybe he doesn’t have an NBA future.

And in making the deals now, it gives the Cavaliers more time to learn each other prior to the playoffs. If he had waited until the deadline, it would have put that process behind another five weeks.

Regardless, kudos to Griffin for seeing the current roster wasn’t working and going out and trying to fix it. He gave it plenty of time, more than 25% of the season.

Now, let’s see how this version of the Cavs works out.

Griffin Makes the First Move To Improve Cavs Roster

The recent struggles by the Cleveland Cavaliers are partially the result of the injuries, but also an indication that the current roster wasn’t working.

We just wrote a couple of days ago that it was incumbent on GM David Griffin to do something to improve the bench.

That’s the reason Griffin chose to make a significant change, dealing Dion Waiters to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a three team deal that netted guard Iman Shumpert and swingman J.R. Smith.

Griffin parted with veteran Lou Amundsen and rookie Alex Kirk as part of the deal.

Really, it appeared more and more that Waiters wasn’t accepting his role with the current group of Cavaliers. In Sunday’s loss to Dallas, he kept trying to drive to the basket when a lane wasn’t there and took a series of questionable shots that didn’t appear to be part of the offense.

While the focus of many have been on the enigmatic Smith, the real key to the trade is Shumpert, a 24-year-old who can be the wing defender needed by the wine and gold.

Although he is currently sidelined with a shoulder separation, Shumpert is a capable shooter from behind the arc (34% lifetime), but he makes his bones on the defensive end. And that has been a huge problem for the Cavs over the last month.

Smith is a scorer, averaging 13.3 points per game in his career, and is known as a guy who when he gets it going can turn a game around. He has made 37% of his three-point shots during his time in the NBA.

Smith will take the role that coach David Blatt wanted Waiters to have, that of instant offense off the bench, and Griffin picked up a solid wing defender as well. And outside of James Jones, who is limited in other areas, mainly defense, Smith is needed because Mike Miller hasn’t provided the outside shooting the Cavs thought they were getting when they signed him.

And, by the way, picked up a first round pick from Oklahoma City, which can be an asset in a future move, probably in bringing a big man, which the Cavaliers also need.

Which brings us to Samuel Dalembert, who was released by the Knicks as part of this trade. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Dalembert, who is a solid, defensive oriented big man, eventually winds up in Cleveland for the veteran minimum.

He’s a “rim protector”, the new lexicon for a guy who can block shots and rebounds.

The deal will likely put Shumpert in the starting lineup at the two guard with Miller going back to a reserve role, along with Smith to provide shooting. If they sign Dalembert, it would give the coach four solid players off the bench along with Matthew Dellavedova.

And Shumpert and Dalembert should also improve the defense which has been the main weakness for the Cavs over the last month.

With the trade exemptions and the first round picks Cleveland possesses (Memphis and Oklahoma City), Griffin still has ammunition to go out and get yet another big man. Even when Anderson Varejao was healthy, the wine and gold was one big short, so there is still a need to add another.

Yes, the adjustment period will probably get longer now with new players coming aboard, but if the Cavs are clicking in March, they will be the team no one wants to face in the playoffs. And with the core still being LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love, they can still make a long run in the East.

Cavs’ Bench Has No Big Man Depth

When this basketball season began, many people (us included) thought that Cavs’ GM David Griffin had put together a talented and deep basketball team.

We marveled at a second five that included four players who have been starters in the NBA: Mike Miller, Shawn Marion, Brendan Haywood, and Tristan Thompson.

With the season almost halfway through, we see how wrong we were.

First, Dion Waiters didn’t seem to fit with the starting unit, and first Marion, then Miller were inserted in the starting role for him. However, Waiters’ scoring and overall game should have been a boost to the bench bunch, and for the most part it has been.

Then, Anderson Varejao tore his achilles, forcing Thompson into the starting role.

In terms of efficiency, the wine and gold have played better with Thompson out there with LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving.

But, putting Thompson in the first five leaves a void because Haywood hasn’t been able to contribute for a variety of reasons.

He’s only played nine games this season, averaging just six minutes per night.

We believe the reason for that is the lack of low-post oriented centers in the league right now. In the Eastern Conference, you basically have Roy Hibbert and Andre Drummond.

The game has evolved into having centers who play away from the basket now, and based on what we’ve seen, Haywood would have a problem guarding these players out on the floor. That leaves rookie Alex Kirk, and he probably isn’t ready for the NBA game either at this point.

Then, LeBron James went down, and that forced Matthew Dellavedova into the starting lineup. Dellavedova is an energy guy, a player who moves the ball and plays solid defense, and he’s starting so Waiters can continue to come off the bench.

So, right now it leaves coach David Blatt with two players, Waiters and Marion, who are giving him quality minutes off the pines, and that isn’t enough.

The problem Blatt has now is too many of his reserves are too one-dimensional.

Since the injury bug has hit, the coach has tried to use James Jones more, but let’s face it, Jones is a one-dimensional player. He’s a shooter, a long-range bomber who is effective from outside the arc.

But he’s not a good defender, rebounder, or passer, so he’s reliant on guys who can penetrate and get the ball to him for open shots.

Lou Amundson can give the team some minutes at the power forward spot, but he’s another energy guy, who really doesn’t have the bulk (225 pounds) to guard the bigger forwards at the NBA level. As a comparison, Love weighs 260 pounds.

A. J. Price is the one guy who probably should get more minutes, but the void currently is up front, where somebody needs to give Love and Thompson some rest.

Blatt has tried using Marion at power forward at times, but he’s undersized at that spot too.

This is why Griffin needs to find the coach a big man who can give him some minutes, and he needs to do it soon. Friday night at Charlotte, the Cavs got hammered on the boards and this team needs to rebound well so they can run.

Before the season started, it looked like the Cavaliers had a good plan in place, but good GMs need to react when the original plan isn’t working.

The time for reaction is now.

James’ Injury Doesn’t Mean Cupboard is Bare

No doubt it has been a crazy week for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

They’ve lost three of their last four, including a loss on Christmas Day at Miami, and then received a beatdown a few days later at home to the lowly Detroit Pistons.

Then, rumors started to fly that the management wasn’t happy with the job coach David Blatt is doing, and that LeBron James apparently talked to Dwyane Wade about an on-court reunion if things didn’t get better with the Cavs.

And yesterday, it was announced by the club that James will miss two weeks with lingering back and knee issues.

Phew!

With James out, there is the usual Cleveland doom and gloom in the air, with people feeling the dream season they envisioned for the wine and gold is slowly slipping away.

First of all, remember that even with LeBron on the sidelines, the Cavs still have two all-stars on the court in Kyrie Irving, who is having his best season as a pro, and Kevin Love. It’s not as though they are the Philadelphia 76ers.

This should allow and encourage Love to take more of an aggressive role offensively. So far, the former Timberwolf has seen to struggle to find his niche with Cleveland, so this will give him an opportunity to do just that.

Hopefully, it will also make Dion Waiters be more aggressive too, at least in the concept of the offense. Waiters has gone back and forth this season, either shooting too much or not enough. Now, the Cavs need his points and he should try to score more, but not do it in the one on one style he has used too much this season.

In fact, it would be a good opportunity for Blatt to move Waiters back in the starting lineup.

James’ absence could also improve how Blatt’s offensive system flows.

This isn’t to say that LBJ is circumventing the coach’s game plan, rather we think Blatt has moved away from his motion based attack to accommodate the four-time MVP’s ability to take pretty much anyone in the league off the dribble.

Now, without him, perhaps the offense will stay with the passing game more often. We have noticed in several contests that moving the ball gets Cleveland the lead or back into a game, and then the squad reverts to isolation basketball and they have trouble.

The stretch early in the fourth quarter against the Heat was a perfect indication. The Cavs tied the game, then missed nine consecutive field goals, most without running offense, and couldn’t recover.

This is where Blatt can put his stamp on the team. He can go in the locker room tonight and tell this team it doesn’t matter if James is out, there is still plenty of talent on the current roster to continue to win while he is out.

As for James, many have suspected that he hasn’t been healthy since training camp, and this is a good opportunity for him to heal up and come back strong for the rest of the season. And when he does, the coach needs to do a better job managing his minutes.

He shouldn’t be playing more than 35 minutes per game.

It would be nice if the Cavs had the best record in the Eastern Conference right now, but it is more important if they are playing their best ball in March and early April, heading into the playoffs.

We think a lot of fans think the post-season starts in the couple of weeks. We haven’t even reached the halfway point of the season.

If this is the best the Cavs can do, then there is a problem. However, we feel they will get better as the season goes on.

It Doesn’t Have to Be Hoyer vs. Manziel

With everyone quick to judge how a first round draft pick’s career will go after six quarters of action, the debate has resumed about who the Browns’ quarterback should be going into the off-season.

Many fans are back on the Brian Hoyer bandwagon, and of course, they cite his 9-6 record as a starting quarterback, which gives no indication of how he played in those games. Heck, Tim Tebow and Christian Ponder have led teams to the playoffs, and no one is thinking about either being an NFL starting signal caller anytime soon.

We believe that if Hoyer was from Lenexa, Kansas, there wouldn’t be a big clamor for him to be the starting quarterback. Why? Because he was one of the least efficient passers in the NFL this season, ranking 31st in the league, just ahead of Josh McCown and Blake Bortles.

Hoyer also had the second lowest completion percentage among qualifiers in 2014 ahead of only Drew Stanton, completing only 55.3% of his throws.

The point here is that Hoyer only looks good in comparison to the job Manziel did in his two starts, and quite frankly, you have to assume, the former Heisman Trophy winner will get better with his first NFL experience under his belt.

It is doubtful that at Hoyer’s age, he is currently 29 years old, he is going to get much better.

So, why settle for mediocrity at the most important position on the field.

There isn’t a glut of passers who can be free agents this off-season, so if Hoyer leaves via free agency, where do the Browns turn for competition for Manziel, who thus far hasn’t shown anything to suggest he can be a solid NFL quarterback?

However, there are four who caught our eye as guys who could come here and compete for the starting job with the Browns.

Jake Locker is a former first round draft pick who has battled injuries throughout his three years in the league. He is 27 years old with a lifetime 57.5% completion rate and 27 touchdown throws against 22 interceptions. He is mobile, which accounts for some of his injuries, and gave Cleveland fits earlier this season when they faced the Titans.

He would be our first choice.

Mark Sanchez will be mentioned as well, but he is very similar to Hoyer in that he has accuracy issues (56.3%) and is prone to critical turnovers, having thrown 80 interceptions lifetime vs. 82 TD throws.

Here are a couple of longshots.

Matt Moore has started a game since 2011 with the Dolphins, but he could be worth a look. He’s 30 years old, has a lifetime 58.9% completion percentage and has thrown 33 TD passes against 28 picks in his career. You would think he’d be interested in coming to Cleveland for a chance to start.

Case Keenum was signed by Houston off the Rams’ practice squad at the end of the season, and might be worth a look. His accuracy isn’t great (55.2%), but he did win two games down the stretch for the Texans and could develop into a serviceable type of player.

The point is the Browns’ front office shouldn’t be married to the notion that Hoyer is the only alternative to Manziel, and we don’t think they are. Perhaps Cleveland can catch lightning in a bottle with a guy like Locker, and if healthy can be an upgrade over Hoyer.

No matter where one guy is from or the other guy is immature, the Browns need to get better at quarterback. The veteran they have now doesn’t allow for much improvement.

Browns Play Hard for Coach in Finale

With all the pre-game talk about parties, suspensions, and inactives, the Cleveland Browns still had to play one more football game before the season ended.

And for those who think Mike Pettine lost his football team, you were proven wrong today, as the Browns played hard, but still came up short in a 20-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Using an ultra conservative offense because they were forced to play rookie Connor Shaw, and a tough hard-nosed defense, the Browns were tied at halftime at three, and actually took a 10-3 lead with 3:29 left in the third quarter on Terrance West’s short run.

But the defense couldn’t hold the lead once again, and once the Ravens took the lead, there was very curious play calling and Baltimore won going away and received a playoff spot when Kansas City beat San Diego.

All in all, the defense only allowed 20 points, but the problem was they allowed 17 in the final quarter.

Yes, they are depleted by injuries, but remember in three of the last four games, Cleveland had a late advantage only to see the defense give up the game winning points.

They should take accountability for that.

It seemed that once the Browns took the lead, the defensive strategy became conservative, meaning they didn’t go after Joe Flacco they way they did earlier.

Without the pressure, Flacco got hot hitting 8 of 9 throws down the stretch, including a 53-yard shot to Torrey Smith, which set the Ravens up to take the lead.

After Baltimore took a 13-10 lead, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s play calling got strange. With the running game being effective all day (West had 94 yards on 18 attempts), Shaw became the mad bomber, throwing consecutive deep balls to WR Travis Benjamin, both which fell incomplete.

Baltimore got the ball back, scored again, and the game was basically over.

Several people have mentioned Shanahan as a head coaching candidate this off-season, but as with Washington coach Jay Gruden, if his last name was different, no one would be interested in him, at least at this point in his career.

Shaw performed okay considering he was undrafted, hitting 14 of 28 throws for 177 yards, but also showed his lack of arm strength, and why he is not a serious contender for a starting job next summer.

With Brian Hoyer a free agent, and Manziel showing little in his six quarters of play, the Browns will again have questions at this most critical position. We will say it again, when the Browns get competent play at QB, they are a good football team. Not superstar play, just a solid performance.

One of the trademarks of the Cleveland defense all season was getting turnovers, but they couldn’t get one today, and had they got one, it could have turned the game (no pun intended) for the Browns. They forced Flacco into some poor throws early and even forced a fumble (Paul Kruger), but didn’t get the big play.

After the game, owner Jimmy Haslam made the announcement that Pettine and GM Ray Farmer will be back next season, which is the correct course of action.

Yes, some people will point to the five straight losses to end the year, but Cleveland had chances to win four of those late in the games, overall, there was progress. The seven wins is the most since 2007.

The Browns identity got a way from them a little bit and the injuries didn’t help. That’s not an excuse, but the facts.

The offense needs a strong running game and Alex Mack’s broken leg killed the success the Browns were having, and the run defense took a hit when Phil Taylor got hurt.

Next year, with another draft building more depth, these issues can be addressed.

Jumping from 4-12 to 7-9 in nice. Next year, the playoffs will be expected.