Some Targets for the Tribe

Even though the World Series hasn’t even started, the hot stove league is already underway with a couple of deals, including one for Toronto manager John Farrell.

This impacts the Indians because the Blue Jays will likely hire Sandy Alomar Jr. to take over for Farrell.

Regardless, it is not too soon to start looking at the off-season news and rumors involving the Indians.

One of the early players said to be coming to the North Coast is 3B/1B Kevin Youkilis, who would be reunited with his skipper in Boston, Terry Francona.

Youkilis will be 34 next season, and has been in decline since his best years with the Red Sox (2008-10). He hit just .235 in 2012 with 19 HR and 60 RBIs.

He would be a fit in Cleveland because he can give Lonnie Chisenhall some time off against tough southpaws, and can play 1B or DH. And although his batting average has slipped, he still draws walks accounting for a better than league average 745 OPS.

That would still be an improvement over Casey Kotchman at first base, and the Indians need to get better wherever they can.

If they can sign Youk to a two or three-year deal at decent money, the Tribe front office should make the move. He’s still a .283 lifetime hitter.

GM Chris Antonetti also needs to upgrade the starting rotation, which ended the season full of question marks. Justin Masterson will probably be back, as Francona spoke well of him at his introductory press conference, and Zack McAllister and Carlos Carrasco, coming off Tommy John surgery will be starters as well.

That means the Indians should be looking at guys like Shawn Marcum, Joe Blanton, and Ryan Dempster to fill spots.

Marcum would be the best option, having pitched in the American League with Toronto from 2006-10. The soon to be 31-year-old righty has a lifetime record of 57-36 with a 3.76 ERA. For his career, he’s allowed fewer hits than innings pitched, and struck out more than twice as many as he’s walked.

Blanton, who will be 32 next season, has also pitched effectively in the American League with Oakland from 2005-08. He’s an innings eater, throwing at least 170 innings every year except one from 2005 through this season.

He also averages almost 8 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, although he gives up a lot of hits. He would be a middle of the rotation guy with a career ERA of 4.37, but his numbers are better than Ubaldo Jimenez’ since the latter joined the Indians.

Dempster is the oldest at 36 years old, and has only pitched in the AL this past season with the Rangers, compiling an ERA of over 5.00.

He’s a lifetime .500 pitcher at 124-124 with a 4.33 ERA. He would probably want to stay in the NL at this stage of his career, but would benefit pitching at Progressive Field, a good park for hurlers.

Neither of these pitchers would break the bank for the Indians, and they definitely need to add at least one solid starter before spring training starts, because it all starts with good pitching.

With the free agent market this year being what it is, and with the history of this franchise, Cleveland is not signing a high ticket player.

However, they can improve the roster incrementally with every move. The people mentioned here would help in this regard.

That would be a good start to the off-season.

Too Many Mistakes Kill Browns, Including on the Sidelines

Sometimes the obvious thing is the right thing to do.

That’s something coach Pat Shurmur needs to learn, but unfortunately, his learning experience cost his football team a game they should have won, as they lost to the Indianapolis Colts, 17-13, and dropped to 1-6 on the season.

The Colts came into the game not being able to stop the run, getting gashed each of the last two weeks. So, what did the Browns do?

The passed on 41 of their 58 plays from scrimmage, despite not trailing by more than one score for the entire game.

On the flip side, Indy came in to the contest not being able to run the football at all, but they ran it 37 times for 148 yards, an average of 4.0 yards per attempt.

Can’t run the ball, can’t stop the run. Where have we heard that before?

Pretty much every week since 1999. That’s the biggest reason the Cleveland Browns cannot win football games.

Otherwise, this was a game where mistake after mistake cost the Browns a victory in a game where they had numerous opportunities to claim their second straight victory. They showed today why they are a bad football team.

The most obvious mistake was the dropped touchdown pass by Josh Gordon late in the fourth quarter which would have given Cleveland a 20-17 lead. But another error followed on the next play.

If you are going to throw the ball deep on 3rd and 1 at that point in the game, the thought process has to be that you have another play to get the first down.

That would be the thought unless you are Shurmur and you decide to punt the ball away to the Colts.

You also have three special teams penalties that nullified good returns by Josh Cribbs and took away good field position.

You have an unnecessary roughness penalty on D”Qwell Jackson which gave Indianapolis three additional plays early in the fourth quarter.

You have a missed tackle on an obvious running play by CB Sheldon Brown, which led to a 26 yard run by the Colts’ RB Vick Ballard when they were basically trying to just run time off the clock.

You have a missed extra point on the Browns’ first touchdown because Reggie Hodges dropped the snap and hold.

That’s too many mistakes to make in a close game, even if that contest is against a team who had the first pick in the NFL draft a year ago.

However, the biggest problem was the lack of effort in trying to exploit the Colts’ inability to stop the run coming into the game. In the second half, Shurmur treated the game plan like the Browns were behind by three touchdowns, not eight points, running the ball just two times in the third quarter and just six times in the second half.

By the way, those six runs netted 21 yards.

Trent Richardson had eight carries for eight yards, and only caught two passes for 11 yards. He appeared tentative hitting the hole for the second straight week, but he did gain nine yards on his first catch on a pass to the flat, which the Browns didn’t use the rest of the game.

Montario Hardesty did hit the hole quick, and gained 28 yards on seven attempts, but the Browns biggest rushing play of the game was a scramble by Brandon Weeden of 13 yards.

Weeden did hit 25 of 41 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns, one of 14 yards to Greg Little, and the other a 33-yard strike to Gordon, his fourth TD reception in the last three games.

Defensively, Cleveland couldn’t stop the Colts in the first half, but Dick Jauron made adjustments in the second half and held Indy to just a field goal. Brown was picked on quite a bit, but did cause the only turnover of the game when he sacked Andrew Luck and recovered the resulting fumble.

It was a very disappointing loss for the Browns, because they came into the game probably with the better team. That won’t happen too much this season.

Once again, the propensity of this team to ignore the run killed the Browns. New team CEO Joe Banner has seen this movie before, in Philadelphia with Andy Reid as the pass happy coach.

A Little Worried About Waiters

The Cleveland Cavaliers will not start the regular season until the end of this month, but it would be nice to see something more out of rookie guard Dion Waiters during the exhibition contests.

Waiters, the 4th overall pick out of Syracuse in June’s draft, was considered a gamble at that choice. Most scouts had him in the top ten choices, but very few had him in going in the first five picks.

The rookie had to be pulled out of one game because coach Byron Scott felt he didn’t have a grasp of the plays, and has largely been inconsistent. He’s shooting just 36% from the floor, and there is a possibility he won’t start opening night.

To be fair, last year’s rookie of the year, Kyrie Irving, is shooting 34.3% in the games that don’t count.

Still, other rookies picked after Waiters are making a bigger impact thus far. The guy many people wanted to take with the fourth pick overall, Golden State F Harrison Barnes, is shooting 50% and scoring 10.4 per contest.

Granted the regular season is still over a week today, and there will be five and a half months to evaluate Waiters, but there certainly can be some concern.

Yes, we know that Scott was also the fourth pick in the draft and said he didn’t start until halfway through his rookie year, but he was drafted by the Lakers, and his teammates included Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, and Jamaal Wilkes.

Also, Scott was a solid NBA player, but he was never considered an elite player.

GM Chris Grant and Scott need Waiters to be the second building block (with Irving) in the Cavs’ return to playing in the post-season. They need more than a solid performer.

And don’t forget that the rook was out of shape going into the summer league, another thing that raises eyebrows.

In today’s NBA, title contending teams need three all-star type players if they hope to mount a serious challenge to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

The Cavaliers had three picks in the top four of each of the last two drafts and right now can only claim Kyrie Irving as a future star.

This is not to write off either Tristan Thompson or Waiters because the former has played just one season and the latter hasn’t yet played a regular season game.

The greatest improvement many players make is between their first and second year, so we should have a better read on Thompson after this season, and he’s averaging 8 points and 7 rebounds in a little over 20 minutes in the pre-season.

It appears he can be the double-double guy Scott hoped for as early as this year.

Again, this is not to call Waiters a bust. It’s far too early for that. However, he certainly hasn’t had that “wow” moment yet during exhibition play. He had one really good game, which came right after he was yanked out of the game, but hasn’t followed up with another one.

When Waiters was drafted, we said this was a huge gamble by Grant that could either pay off handsomely or cost the GM his job down the line.

Right now, Grant should feel a little uneasy. Waiters needs to show more, both for himself and for the Cavalier franchise.

Colts’ Game is Key to Improved Record

Now that they finally have a win under their belt, the Cleveland Browns have a critical game coming up this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

It’s not important in terms of playoffs or anything like that, that’s really far-fetched, but if Pat Shurmur wants to show improvement record wise over last year, then they could really use a win this weekend.

A victory would constitute a winning streak and raise the team’s record to 2-5, and there is no question this game can be won.

The Colts have perhaps the best quarterback to enter the league since Peyton Manning in Andrew Luck, and of course, we all know of his ties to Cleveland, with his father playing at St. Ignatius, but remember they got Luck because they had the worst record in the NFL last season.

They also have trouble stopping the run, which should mean a steady dose of Trent Richardson and now, we have to include Montario Hardesty based on Sunday’s win.

Being 2-5 and winning the last two would bode much better for the future than 1-6 with a loss to the Colts.

That’s because the rest of the schedule doesn’t seem as daunting as it once did.

We hate to play the schedule game before the season starts, but now that we have a gauge on teams are strong and which ones aren’t, we have a better perspective on what games can be one and which ones will be difficult to walk away with a victory.

Cleveland has games remaining with both the Raiders and Chiefs, two teams who have the same victory total as the Browns. When the various power rankings come out this week, don’t be surprised if Kansas City ranks 32nd.

The Browns also have already played the better teams in the NFC East, the Giants and Eagles, so they have Dallas and Washington remaining, with the Redskins at home.

The ‘Skins have the electrifying Robert Griffin III at quarterback, but remember they are another team that picked in the top ten in last spring’s draft.

The Cowboys are a mess, getting destroyed by the Bears two weeks ago, and then using horrible clock management to blow a potential win against Baltimore on Sunday.

Within the division, the Browns have three games left, two of them at home. The Steelers are struggling a bit right now, and the Ravens, who are 5-1, have all kinds of problems with injuries, particularly on defense.

And it’s not as though Baltimore dominated the Browns in their first meeting in the Charm City.

However, any positive momentum will develop with a victory this coming weekend at Indianapolis, which would put the Browns at 2-5.

Let’s say Cleveland can beat the Raiders and Chiefs, and pick up one more victory against Washington or Dallas. Mix in one more divisional win, and you wind up the season 6-10.

That’s a two game improvement from last season, a good step forward for Shurmur and GM Tom Heckert.

Another thing that bothers us is criticism of Heckert. Apparently, some fans think every draft pick should be an impact player, and hammer the GM for any pick that doesn’t work out, such as Greg Little and Hardesty.

However, look at guys like Billy Winn, Jason Pinkston, and even Buster Skrine and Trevin Wade. Those are all guys picked in the later round who can play in this league.

They may not be stars, but if they weren’t good enough to make the roster, then people would be all over Heckert for that. They are contributing, so you have to give him props for that.

It may be overly optimistic to project an improved record for the Browns after one win, but they games they have lost are all to teams .500 or better at this point, and they really haven’t been overmatched in any of them.

Still, a win on the road this weekend would go a long way in showing everyone that this isn’t the same old Browns.

Is Browns Win a Sign of Things to Come?

At least for one week, the doomsayers among the Cleveland Brown fan base will be quieted.

No talk about how Colt McCoy would be doing better than Brandon Weeden if he got the chance, no talk about how Tom Heckert’s drafts are overrated, and no talk about going 0-16 for the season.

The Browns snapped their losing streak at 11 with a 34-24 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at home. It also snaps a losing streak within the AFC North and it marked consecutive weeks that the offense put up more than 21 points.

After several weeks where the Browns looked like a team getting close to a victory, they finally played solid football in all phases for four quarters and came away with a win.

And they were balanced offensively too. Shurmur’s crew ran the ball 34 times and threw 29 passes, which is close to the 50/50 ratio you want to have offensively. However, if you would have been told Montario Hardesty would lead Cleveland in rushing before the game, you probably would have thought of an 0-6 record.

Hardesty came in when Trent Richardson hurt his ribs, and displayed a burst into holes that he didn’t show in the preseason, gaining 56 yards in 15 carries. He also scored his first professional touchdown to give the Browns a lead they would never lose at 20-14.

Rookie WR Josh Gordon showed that he might just be the go to receiver Cleveland has needed for a while, hauling in three Weeden throws for 99 yards, including a 71 yard hookup in the first half. It’s the second straight week Gordon has scored on a pass play of over 60 yards.

That the kind of quick play strike capabilities today’s NFL offenses have.

Weeden completed 17 of 29 passes for 231 yards with two TDs and one interception off a pass that was deflected at the line of scrimmage. Another solid game for the rookie who seems to get more and more confident every week.

He even got to use his former college teammate WR Josh Cooper, who caught two passes in the first half for 39 yards. He displayed the good hands that he was noted for when he signed with the Browns.

Defensively, the presence of Joe Haden, who returned from a four game suspension, seemed to make a huge difference.

He had an interception, one of three by Bengals’ QB Andy Dalton, and there was a stretch from the beginning of the second half into the fourth quarter where Dick Jauron’s guys totally shutdown the Cincinnati offense.

They made big plays as well. Sheldon Brown got a touchdown on an interception which gave Cleveland a commanding lead at 34-17, and any Bengal hopes for a comeback were dashed when Emanuel Stephens strip sacked Dalton inside the Browns’ 20 late in the fourth quarter, and another rookie DT Billy Winn picked it up and ran 30 yards to seal the deal.

Perhaps the biggest play of the game, however, belonged to a guy who has been the symbol of the Browns over the past few years. Josh Cribbs’ punt return of 60 yards in the third quarter seemed to spark an offense that hadn’t had a first down since early in the second quarter.

Cribbs may have lost a step, but he’s still among the AFC leaders in both kickoff and punt returns, and also had two tackles on special teams as well. He’s still a difference maker with the ball in his hands.

So, with a win under their belt, Shurmur’s squad will look to build on today’s momentum against Indianapolis next week.

Today’s win showed that progress is being made on the field. Most people thought the Browns would be a better team at the end of the season than the beginning. They have the opportunity to start a winning streak next Sunday.

Shurmur Needs to Embrace the Run

One of the great football quotes of all time belongs to former Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints coach Bum Phillips talking about Don Shula.

Phillips said something to the effect that Shula can take his team and beat yours, and he can take your team and beat his. We are paraphrasing slightly.

The point is that Shula looked at the talent on hand and made a game plan that fit the talent.

To put it even simpler, he didn’t try to fit a square peg into a round hole.

That’s a weakness of many coaches, and Browns’ coach Pat Shurmur is one of them.

So is his mentor, Philadelphia Eagles’ coach Andy Reid.

Both guys want to throw the football, even when they should be running the ball. Sometimes they just aren’t patient enough. The Browns’ opener against the Eagles shouldn’t have been close, but Reid refused to give the ball to LeSean McCoy, who Cleveland couldn’t stop.

For example, let’s look at last Sunday’s game against the Giants.

After the Browns took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, New York’s next 10 plays went as follows: run, pass, run, run, pass, pass, pass, run, run, pass.

That’s a 50/50 split between running the ball and throwing it.

Granted, it was the first quarter and there was plenty of time for the Giants to get back in the football game.

When New York scored early in the second have to increase their lead to 17 points at 34-17, here are the next ten plays used by the Browns: pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, run, pass, pass, pass.

That would be nine out of ten plays throwing the football, keeping in mind the Browns best offensive player is Trent Richardson.

To be fair, a few of those passes were to Richardson, but at the end of those ten plays, there were still almost 10 minutes left in the game and Cleveland had shaved the deficit to two touchdowns.

Certainly there should be a sense of urgency, but it shouldn’t involve a total dismissal of the running game.

Let’s look at 2011. In the opener against Cincinnati, which wound up being a 10 point loss, the Browns threw 40 times and ran just 26 times.

Game                                     Rushes                        Passes
Cincinnati (L 17-27)          26                                  40
Indianapolis (W 27-19)     34                                  32
Miami (W 17-16)                 19                                   39
Tennessee (L 13-31)           22                                   61
Oakland (L 17-24)               21                                   45
Seattle (W 6-3)                      45                                   35
San Francisco (L 10-20)   23                                   34
Houston (L 12-30)              21                                    22
St. Louis (L 12-13)               30                                   27
Jacksonville (w 14-10)      28                                   24
Cincinnati (L 20-23)          30                                   34
Baltimore (L 10-24)           17                                    36
Pittsburgh (L 3-14)             30                                   36
Arizona (L 17-20)               29                                   31
Baltimore (L 14-20)           25                                   33
Pittsburgh (L 9-13)             15                                   41

This year, Brandon Weeden is second in the NFL in passes attempted through five weeks.

While you can certainly understand throwing the football a lot when you are behind, you can plainly see there weren’t too many games when the Browns were out of it from the get go.

They threw the ball 20 more times than ran in a one point WIN against Miami. There were 24 more throws than runs in a seven point loss to Oakland.

Browns quarterbacks threw it 19 times more than they handed off in a six point loss to the Ravens, and a greater disparity was shown in a four point defeat against the Steelers.

You can understand the affinity for the pass last season because Peyton Hillis was injured, but this year, the Browns have Trent Richardson and an offensive line which features two first round picks and Pro Bowlers in Joe Thomas and Alex Mack, a second round pick in Mitchell Schwartz, and two other young guards in Jason Pinkston and Shaun Lauvao.

The running game should be the strength of the team, right now the coaching staff doesn’t realize it.

Yes, the NFL is a passing league and throwing the football is the “sexy” thing to do. Fans watch games and think “why don’t they throw every time?”

But the name of the game is winning and to do that, you need to use your best players and weapons.

Right now, the Cleveland Browns should be looking to run the ball more often and more effectively.

Francona Figures to Give Youngsters a Shot

The big hullabaloo about the out clause in new Indians’ manager Terry Francona’s contract if team president Mark Shapiro and/or GM Chris Antonetti are no longer with the organization is another case of people making more out of something than there actually is.

The fact is if Shapiro were to be let go and another president was named, the new guy would want to hire his own GM, and that GM would want to hire his own skipper.

The thing no one brings up is that they may hire someone Francona is very comfortable working with and he would stay on anyway.

That all said, you have to love the aggressiveness of Shapiro and Antonetti, even those who have been highly critical of the Tribe front office.

Francona has instant credibility, with two World Series championships to his credit. And for those who point out the Red Sox’ high payroll in those years, there are plenty of large market teams paying players huge dollars who aren’t winning World Series.

Shapiro is said to be very respected within the game, and that respect and friendship with the former Boston manager led to his hire.

The Indians organization desperately needs the opinion of an outsider, particularly one connected with a winning franchise. Terry Francona provides just that.

Another plus is the new managers success in breaking young players into the major leagues. Much has been made of “Tito” giving breaks to players such as Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jon Lester, but even in Philadelphia, he made everyday players out of Scott Rolen, Mike Lieberthal, Bobby Abreu, and Pat Burrell.

Contrast that to previous managers who had to be dragged kicking and screaming to play young players, preferring marginal veterans instead.

While it is true those players were highly regarded in the minor leagues, save for Youkilis, only Rolen, Ellsbury, and Burrell were ranked in the top 20 prospects in the game.

You have to believe that Lonnie Chisenhall has to feel good about being the everyday third baseman for the 2013 Indians.

With his resume, you have to believe Francona will not hesitate to challenge the front office’s opinions on certain players. He knows and understands what it takes to win in the major leagues and will make sure everyone wearing a uniform understands that winning is important.

His career winning percentage, including when he was in Philadelphia is .519. Compare that to Manny Acta’s record of .418. Remember, managers get paid to win ballgames.

He likely will bring in a new coaching staff as well, although Sandy Alomar Jr. may return as bench coach, and that’s because Francona and Alomar are former teammates and the new skipper wants him.

That means a new hitting coach with a different perspective, a new pitching coach that will no doubt emphasize throwing strikes, and an entirely new way of looking at the game in total. A winning way of looking at it.

Last year, when the Arizona Diamondbacks surprised and won the NL West title, a look at their manager and coaches showed Kirk Gibson, Alan Trammell, Matt Williams, and Charles Nagy, all players who spent most of their career on winning team.

That rubs off on young players, and it wouldn’t be a shock if Francona did something similar and bring in proven winners to teach his new club.

The guess here is we’ve heard the last excuse made by the Indians’ field manager in a very long time.

Turnovers A Killer for Browns in New York

The Cleveland Browns were looking good Sunday afternoon against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants as they were ahead 17-10 and driving with 4 minutes to play in the first half.

The game suddenly turned on them in a hurry.

Coach Pat Shurmur called a pass play on 3rd and 1 at the NY 25 yard line. Trent Richardson was not on the field for the play. The Giants knew the Browns were going to throw the ball at that point and Stevie Brown picked off the pass and returned it to the Cleveland 40. Two plays later, the Browns advantage was erased and the score was tied.

After six more plays were run, the Giants were on top 24-17 following a fumbled kickoff return by Josh Cribbs.

At the very least, Shurmur’s crew could have extended the lead to 10 points. Instead, they trailed by seven heading into the locker room.

It was a strange play call to say the least. If you are taking your best offensive player out of the game (while he was having a great deal of success, mind you), then surprise New York by running Chris Ogbonnaya. As said before, when the rookie from Alabama came out of the game, the Giants knew a pass was coming.

Even so, you can blame the play calling all you want, and judging by talk shows after the game, that was the focus of fans’ discontent, but the real culprit was a terrible defensive showing by Dick Jauron’s crew.

You simply cannot win in the NFL giving up 502 yards of total offense, especially with 243 of it coming on the ground.

For all the hand wringing done about defending Eli Manning, more focus should have been given to stopping Ahmad Bradshaw, who carried 30 times (note that Browns!) for 200 yards.

This enabled the Giants to win the time of possession battle by over 10 minutes.

Remember our familiar refrain about the Browns? Can’t stop the run. It was never more evident than today.

That’s not to say the secondary is blameless. Manning looked at times like he was running a 7 on 7 drill in practice, just sitting in the pocket and picking out open receivers.

The Cleveland defense could not put pressure on Manning, as he wasn’t sacked at all on the day. With the Browns’ defensive backs being either very young or very old, they couldn’t stop the aerial assault either.

New York had a whopping 30 first downs for the game, and they only had to punt twice.

It’s tough to say any Cleveland defensive player stood out, but rookie DT Billy Winn continues to impress and S Usama Young had an interception. That’s about it.

Offensively, the coaching staff seems to resist the temptation to give the ball to the rookie from Alabama more often. Richardson had just 17 carries and caught five passes, far short of the at least 30 touches he should get. He averaged almost five yards per carry.

QB Brandon Weeden came up just short of his second straight 300 yard passing performance, throwing for 291 on 22 of 35 completions. He threw two TD passes to rookie WR Josh Gordon, but threw two interceptions as well, the ill-fated pass mentioned earlier and another was picked off in the end zone with the Browns trailing by 14 early in the fourth quarter.

WR Greg Little took a goose egg on the day, but Jordan Norwood responded with nine catches for 81 yards, and Ogbonnaya caught three balls for 54 yards, including a 38 yard gain.

And besides the fumbled kickoff return, Cribbs returned six kicks for an average of 36.8 yards.

So now the Browns come back home at 0-5 and a return date with Cincinnati, who is coming off a disappointing loss to the Dolphins.

At this point, you have to wonder when a victory will come, because it is becoming obvious that this group has forgotten how to put one in the win column.

Browns Need Offense? Give it to Richardson

After most Browns’ losses, we bemoan the inability of the team to run the ball and defense the opponents’ running game.

That is usually a recipe for defeats, even in today’s pass happy NFL.

That’s why it is time for coach Pat Shurmur and offensive coordinator Brad Childress to get more touches for RB Trent Richardson.

The third overall draft pick last spring, the rookie from Alabama gives the teams playing the Browns someone to account for when Cleveland has the ball.

Finally!

After Richardson’s game against Cincinnati, in which he ran for 109 yards in 19 carries, the defensive coordinators in the Browns’ last two games (vs. Buffalo and Baltimore) have put eight men in the box, daring Brandon Weeden to throw the football.

That has led to the rookie quarterback throwing the football an average of 40 times per game, a total far too high for a player getting his first NFL experience.

It is time to give Richardson more of a load for several reasons. Right now, he’s averaging a little less than 20 touches per game. That number needs to get closer to 30.

And it doesn’t have to be 30 runs, it can be 24 carries and catching six passes out of the backfield, getting T-Rich in space.

First, he’s the best skill player the Browns have. With the receivers dropping Weeden’s throws at an alarming rate (a continuation of last season’s problems for Colt McCoy), getting the ball to your biggest weapon needs to be a priority.

Second, the life of an NFL running back is around four seasons.

True, some guys last longer than that, and can remain effective for up to seven or eight seasons, but for the most part, Richardson will have about five years of playing at a very high level, and the Browns should take advantage of using him before the rigors of the NFL take a toll on him.

Naysayers might say it is dumb to run into eight and nine man fronts, and by and large that is true.

However, it is still a matter of execution. If every team thought like that, then running backs like Arien Foster, Ray Rice, and Frank Gore, just to name a few, would be obsolete.

Shurmur and Childress shouldn’t bang their collective heads against a brick wall, but they can’t forget about getting the ball in the biggest weapon’s hands.

If an opponent stacks that line of scrimmage to stop the run, that doesn’t mean your quarterback should be throwing 45-50 passes per game.

And even if you aren’t handing off to the rookie, you can still get him the ball in space by throwing it to him out of the backfield.

This much is clear, the offense shouldn’t ignore him.

In fact, after four games, it’s time for Shurmur and Childress to know who can make plays (and who can’t) and try to get the ball in those players hands as much as possible.

That requires creativity on the coach’s part and that may just be the rub.

Let’s face it, the Cleveland offense may not be vanilla, but it certainly isn’t rocky road either. It tends to be a bit predictable.

This is an area that needs improvement, and it starts by getting the ball in the hands of Trent Richardson more often.

The Issue With Acta.

The Cleveland Indians started their off-season a little early by jettisoning Manny Acta with six games remaining in the season.

The timing was odd, only because the front office could have easily waited a week until the season was over to do it. In fact, doing the deed when they did seemed a little classless.

It was the first of hopefully many moves this off-season to repair an organization that has put together nine losing seasons in the last 11 years.

Unfortunately, from the baseball operations, this appears to be the only change since team president Mark Shapiro and GM Chris Antonetti will remain in charge going into 2013.

You can make a very good argument that Acta had a better last 12 months than his boss, but he got the gate and the GM remains on the job.

Most supporters of Acta come from the angle that the former manager is a good man, which there is no reason to doubt. However, that’s not enough to be successful at the major league skipper.

His starting pitching stunk for much of the season, and his usual line up was made up of five decent to good hitters, followed up by four guys who couldn’t hit their way out of a paper bag.

However, there are two lasting impressions of Manny Acta for most Indians fans.

One was his seeming refusal to argue calls that went against the Tribe.

The situation that galled most Indians fans was the play in Yankee Stadium when DeWayne Wise fell into the stands to catch a foul ball off the bat of Jack Hannahan, and clearly dropped the ball before he emerged from the seats.

Acta never came out, and waited for Hannahan to be ejected by the third base umpire the next inning before coming out of the dugout.

There is a sentiment out there that he may have lost his team right then and there.

His other weakness was his hesitation to use young players. In his three years in charge, the only young players he willingly put in the lineup were Carlos Santana and Jason Kipnis.

It was a no brainer to use Santana over Lou Marson, but with Kipnis, he was kept in the minor leagues at least a month longer than needed while Acta kept playing Orlando Cabrera who struggled since the end of April.

Acta also didn’t use Cord Phelps instead of Cabrera when he was brought up to the bigs after a solid season at Columbus.

He preferred using veterans for the most part, using players like Jack Hannahan and Casey Kotchman over younger guys.

Perhaps that was an organizational decision, but he could have argued for the Lonnie Chisenhalls and Russ Canzlers of the world.

It was noticeable that in Sandy Alomar Jr.’s first game as manager, he had Phelps hitting in the two hole and Chisenhall higher in the batting order.

The successful managers in the major leagues generally aren’t afraid to give young players a shot over established mediocre guys.

Look at Davey Johnson. He knew Bryce Harper was better than the players he was using, even at 19 years old. He did the same thing with the Mets and Dwight Gooden.

Even in Cleveland, Charlie Manuel went to the wall for a 20-year-old C.C. Sabathia in 2001. The organization wanted to send him back to the minors.

Manny Acta isn’t a horrible major league manager, but he wasn’t a difference maker either.

However, that’s what the Tribe needs and Chris Antonetti has to figure out whether Alomar or Terry Francona can be exactly that.