If ever there was an argument for less pre-season games in the NFL, last night’s Browns-Bears game would be exhibit A. 

 

Both teams scored one touchdown, and both were set up by turnovers deep in the opponents territory.  There were no long sustained drives by either team, and both coaches held out most of their key players, including starting quarterbacks Jake Delhomme and Jay Cutler. 

 

It was really like watching a controlled scrimmage, except that it was the last opportunity to impress for many players who are on the bubble. 

 

No one wants injuries in the last pre-season game, but the Browns may have suffered a key one, when RB Montario Hardesty left the game with a knee injury, and left the stadium on crutches.  It is a tough blow for a kid who missed the first three games with an injury to his other knee.  He is out for the season.

 

RB James Davis took advantage of the situation by running for 66 yards on 13 carries and catching five passes for 53 yards.  However, with Hardesty out, both he and Chris Jennings will likely make the team. 

 

Colt McCoy overcame a bad snap early, which led to the Bears’ only touchdown, to then complete every one of his 13 passes.  McCoy dinked and dunked his way to doing this, but after watching Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn complete low percentages last year, it is nice to see this type of efficiency.  By the way, this is not to say the rookie should get any meaningful playing time this season. 

 

However, he probably beat out Brett Ratliff for the third string QB spot.  Although McCoy starting gave everyone the indication he’s the guy the front office wanted to win the job.

 

Veteran Bobby Engram also showed there was some life in his old legs, catching six balls for 61 yards.  His inclusion on the final roster will probably depend on how many receivers Eric Mangini wants to keep on the roster.

 

Defensively, LB David Veikune made his bid to be included on the roster with five tackles, and rookie Larry Asante should have cemented a spot with seven stops from the safety spot.  Defensive lineman Derreck Robinson played well too, and has done some good things throughout the pre-season.  LB David Bowens is said to be on the bubble and he responded with four tackles and a half a sack with Brian Schaefering. 

 

CB Brandon McDonald helped his cause with two pass break ups. 

 

So, GM Tom Heckert and Mangini will have a tough job when cut downs come on Saturday.  For the first time in a while, tough decisions will have to be made, and it will be interesting to see if the team goes with youth or veterans when push comes to shove. 

 

And of course, they will also be looking at other teams’ cuts to see if there is anyone who can upgrade this football team. 

 

The pre-season is over.  It’s time to play some games that count.

 

JD

 

 

 

September call-ups happen today, and the Cleveland Indians wasted no time getting Carlos Carrasco into the starting rotation.  And to welcome him to the team, the bullpen blew what could have been Carrasco’s first major league win. 

 

Perhaps the recent performance of Mitch Talbot had something to do with inserting the rookie into the rotation right away.

 

Talbot has been struggling for the last two months, and with Justin Masterson’s inconsistency and Josh Tomlin and Jeanmar Gomez being rookies, it makes Fausto Carmona the only starter that skipper Manny Acta has any faith in.

 

That’s probably why Acta has kept Carmona perhaps one batter too long in each of his last two starts.  The bullpen has been taxed by the starters barely making it through five innings, so when Carmona takes the bump, the manager needs him to go at least seven frames.

 

Some other thoughts on the Tribe as they enter the last month of the season: 

 

Another reason why the Tribe is so maddening to watch:  Joe Smith.  Smith has shown effectiveness since coming back from Columbus, but then he goes through a stretch like he’s in right now, where he walks too many.

 

He comes into games for one reason and one reason only, to get right-handed hitters out.  So, in the last week, he’s come in three times and walked the first batter he faced.  On Tuesday, Acta brought him in to face three straight righties, Alex Rios, Paul Konerko, and Carlos Quentin.  He walked Rios, struck out Konerko, and then walked Quentin. 

 

Please, let’s hope he’s not on the roster come 2011.

 

It appears that Jared Goedert will be this year’s Jordan Brown in terms of not getting added to the big league roster in September.  Once again, more excuses from the front office about defense are the reason as to why he won’t be called up. 

 

First, it’s not like the Tribe is getting gold glove play at the hot corner from Jayson Nix, Andy Marte, and Luis Valbuena.  It is doubtful Goedert would be worse.  And really, isn’t it possible that he could hit better than the .170 average put up by Valbuena.  Just another reason to cast a jaundiced eye at Tribe management.

 

The White Sox used their first round pick in this year’s draft, southpaw Chris Sale, in the first game of the series this week, and actually used him to close game three!  Can you imagine the Indians ever doing something like that under the current management regime?  Heck, the Tribe’s first round pick, Drew Pomerantz, didn’t even sign until August 16^th.

 

So as not to be all-critical, the recent issue of Baseball America listed three Cleveland farmhands as players to watch in 2011.  It bodes well for the organization that 2B Cord Phelps, OF Nick Weglarz, the 2009 first pick for the Indians, right-hander Alex White were all mentioned. 

 

The writer said that White has a better upside than any of the pitchers recently acquired in deals by the Tribe.  He could be in the rotation as early as next season, although he likely will not open the season in Cleveland even if he throws 20 scoreless innings in Arizona. 

 

Oops, there goes the negativity again.

 

KM

 

Boy, how about the Browns’ offense.  After having virtually no passing game a year ago, the team looks precise and fine tuned.  QB Jake Delhomme has a rating of over 100 in three pre-season games and Seneca Wallace has proven he can move the unit as well. 

 

They are even getting production out of the wide receiver position as Brian Robiske has contributed, and Josh Cribbs has shown great improvement as a wide out.  Ben Watson and Evan Moore are catching ball at tight end, and the running game hasn’t been as good as it was the last four games of the 2009 season, but Peyton Hillis has proven to be an effective power runner.

 

If only James Harrison can cut down on the fumbles.  Don’t forget, we haven’t even seen Montario Hardesty yet.

 

The offensive line performed okay, and it should get better once T Tony Pashos can get regular reps in practice. 

 

That’s the good news.  The bad news is the defense hasn’t been mentionned so far.

 

Yes, the Browns used a very vanilla scheme against the Lions, with not a lot of blitzing, but Detroit gashed the defense with the running game, and if that doesn’t get fixed, it could be a long year for Cleveland defenders. 

 

The game started with rookie Jahvid Best running for a 51 yard gain.  In total, Detroit gained 154 yards on the ground in 26 attempts.  Even without Best’s run, the Lions averaged over four yards per carry, which is unacceptable for NFL defenses.

 

The defense also got virtually no pressure on Matthew Stafford without the use of the blitz.  Yes, we know Shaun Rogers did not play, and hasn’t played yet in the pre-season, but it’s unlikely that Rogers will open the season on the active roster for the first game of the regular season against Tampa Bay.  In fact, he will probably start the year on the physically unable to play list.

 

One of the problems this team has had since coming back in the league has been stopping the run, and so far in the exhibition games, it’s still a problem.  Not being able to control this area puts the defense on it’s heels, and doesn’t allow coordinator Rob Ryan to attack, which is what he wants to do.

 

The defensive line is an area that GM Tom Heckert will be searching the waiver wire for when rosters get cut down over the next two weeks.  The front office upgraded the linebacking corps and the secondary, but still need to help the front three, although NT Ahtyba Rubin continues to play well.

 

This Thursday’s game against the Bears is simply the last chance for players on the bubble to make a statement.  It is unlikely that Delhomme, Wallace, and many of the other key personnel on the roster will play in that game. 

 

The next meaningful game is on September 12th against Tampa Bay.  That one will count in the standings and the defense has to be ready.

 

JD

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cleveland Indians are limping through this stretch of the season, and it is tough to watch.  It is reminiscent of last September, when the Tribe went 7-25 from the beginning of the month through the end of the season. 

 

Just think, they still have 35 games left!

 

In watching the games, I started thinking about whom currently playing for the team will definitely be here next season.  And the answer is not that many are for sure.  This doesn’t include guys like Grady Sizemore and Carlos Santana, who will likely be part of the 2011 Indians, but are currently not playing.

 

It also doesn’t account for off-season trades, although the players who would be in the for sure column are unlikely to be dealt by the current front office.  It also doesn’t count players the Indians would like to be in next season’s lineup either.

 

That would leave SS Asdrubal Cabrera, RF Shin-Soo Choo, and DH Travis Hafner, and the latter is only in this category because of his untradable contract.  If they are healthy, Sizemore and Santana will be starting on Opening Day 2011 too.

 

Matt LaPorta has struggled mightily since his salvo immediately after his call up, and should no longer be considered a sure thing at first base.  His prolonged slump has caused his average to dip below .240. 

 

Jason Donald has done some good things in his rookie campaign, but he has had problems defensively and hasn’t hit enough to be considered a lock.  His OPS of 692 is below average, and with the plethora of candidates for 2B in the organization, such as Cord Phelps, Jason Kipnis, Josh Rodriguez, and holdover Luis Valbuena, he’s not guaranteed to start.

 

Third base is a mess, and it doesn’t seem like the team is going to take a look at Jared Goedart anytime soon.  It wouldn’t be a surprise if Andy Marte and Jayson Nix weren’t in the organization come spring training.  The same can be said about Shelley Duncan, who with extended playing time has shown the holes in his swing.

 

In the outfield, Michael Brantley’s recent performance gives him a leg up on a starting job, but it shouldn’t be etched in stone.  If Brantley can hit, then it makes it easy to move Sizemore to LF to help take some pressure off his knee.

 

Trevor Crowe has the second most at bats on the team this year, which is an indictment of what type of team this is.  However, he’s failed to take advantage of his opportunity.  He’s a fourth outfielder, at best and certainly not a lock to make the team next year. 

 

On the pitching side, the only for certain is Fausto Carmona.  Mitch Talbot’s recent slide should put him in the candidate stage for next year, and Justin Masterson looks to be headed to the bullpen in 2011. 

 

The other current starters, Jeanmar Gomez and Josh Tomlin, will be in the mix to open next year in the rotation, but certainly aren’t locks. 

 

The bullpen is actually the most stable part of the team.  Chris Perez will open 2011 as the closer, and Rafael Perez has rebounded from his horrible start to prove quite effective.  Joe Smith is serviceable, and Tony Sipp will be back next year as well, although it would help if he could keep the ball in the park regularly.

 

The point is the organization isn’t taking advantage of their time out of contention.  Yes, it’s understandable to show loyalty to guys like Duncan and Marte, but if they aren’t going to be here next season, then let’s look at Jordan Brown and Goedart.  Maybe they will show something to impress the brass.

 

These guys can be called up in a week anyway, but just maybe they should have been in there already.  Some of these will be on the roster to open the season in 2011, but that doesn’t mean they are major league players either. 

 

The uncertainty for next year can’t be encouraging if you are a fan of the Cleveland Indians.

 

MW

 

The Cleveland Indians can drive you crazy.  After playing well against contenders immediately following the All-Star break, they are playing with seemingly no purpose in losing 9 of 12 versus teams out of the race.

 

In the meantime, the front office (including the ownership) is busy patting themselves on the back because they spent over $9 million on draft picks taken in the June amateur draft.  Isn’t that what a good “small market” franchise is supposed to do?

 

Since the odds of the team signing any major free agents are slim, the lifeblood of the organization must be in player development.  That’s how the Minnesota Twins remain competitive.  They keep adding good young players to their farm system and then they develop them.

 

That’s also the biggest reason the Tribe has floundered for much of the last ten years.  Poor talent evaluation and poor draft picks usually mean a long period of time looking up at other teams in the standings.

 

Make no mistake, it’s better that the Indians spend money on the draft than not.  However, fans get tired of the constant promotion when the franchise decides to pony up.  They don’t care.  They just want to see a winning team, a team they can be excited about.  They don’t care how you get the talent, just as long as you get it.

 

The Dolan family and the front office seem to want to tell you when they do well, but they are offended by criticism when they don’t.  This is the mentality that has to change on the corner of Ontario and Carnegie.  Just get better and get competitive.  

 

Stop talking about the pitfalls of being a smaller market team, and stop griping about how unfair the system is.  Fans see plenty of examples of teams in similar size cities that are successful, there aren’t many, for sure, but the Twins, Reds, Rays, and Padres are having good seasons.  Instead of moaning and complaining, just get to those teams level.

 

It seems like the Indian ownership would rather wallow in their mediocrity.  Instead of complaining about the inadequacies of baseball, tell fans how you are going to combat it and win anyway.  It’s possible.  However, if all you focus on is that life is unfair, and then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

Maybe the Dolans should adopt the philosophy of their manager, Manny Acta, who has been quoted as saying “life’s not fair, grab a batting helmet”.

 

There are even rumors that among the changes being made at Progressive Field next season is a reduction of suites, because the ownership doesn’t think the park can have more than 40,000 seats anymore.

 

Here’s a clue…get a better team and watch people buy tickets!  There will be sports dollars available in this market over the next few years due to the departure of LeBron James.   If the Indians can get back to the top of the AL Central Division, the fans will come back.

 

Right now, everything about this franchise is defeatist.  That’s has to end.  When Phil Savage made his infamous comment about the “woe is me” attitude in Cleveland, the Indians took this to heart.

 

Please Mark Cuban, call Larry and Paul Dolan and make them an offer.  Baseball fans in this city will be forever grateful.  They would like to be optimistic about the Cleveland Indians.

 

KM

 

There goes the pre-season division championship for the Cleveland Browns.  The dream of an undefeated exhibition season went out the window Saturday night in a 19-17 loss in the rain to the St. Louis Rams. 

 

At this time of year, whether you win or lose doesn’t matter.  However, the inability to hang on to the ball Saturday night was troubling, as it appeared the Browns never played in the rain before, particularly in the first quarter when it looked like the ball was a bar of soap.

 

Still, there were some good things happening for this football team.

 

First, outside of the first couple of snaps that Jake Delhomme mishandled, he and Seneca Wallace played well.  There is no question that this year’s Browns will have better quarterback play than last season, although that is not setting the bar particularly high. 

 

The two signal callers combined for 17 completions in 25 attempts for 194 yards, two touchdowns and one interception (by Wallace).  Wallace also had a 16-yard run for a first down.  The offense looked efficient and moved the ball well, although keep in mind the Rams won one game last season.

 

Peyton Hillis was impressive running and catching the ball.  He runs hard, through tacklers instead of around them.  He provides a physical, punishing runner.  Jerome Harrison made a nice run after a catch late in the first half for 32 yards.

 

Josh Cribbs played one of his better games at receiver, catching six balls, including a nice grab for a touchdown from Wallace.  Chansi Stuckey caught three passes on crossing routes, something missing from the attack last season.  Benjamin Watson made a tremendous catch on his touchdown from Delhomme, and even Robert Royal caught a pass from Wallace for 25 yards.

 

The offensive line struggled a bit, but keep in mind, the team was without Tony Pashos, Shaun Lauvao, and Pork Chop Womack.  This gave Scott Kooistra and Billy Yates, two experienced players, more time than they normally would have received.

 

Defensively, CB Eric Wright was tremendous in the first half, breaking up passes and making tackles.  LB Chris Gocong had six tackles, one QB hit, and one pass defended.  And first round pick Joe Haden showed his quickness closing on receivers. 

 

However, while Stephen Jackson was in the game, he rushed for 20 yards on four carries, and starting QB A.J. Feeley completed five of six passes for 45 yards and a touchdown.  The Rams marched right down the field early against the Cleveland first team defense.  That’s disconcerting since this unit is supposed to be improved.

 

It is tough to gauge the performance of the defense because once Feeley injured his thumb in the first quarter and rookie Sam Bradford came in; the St. Louis offense reverted to the Stone Age in terms of creativity.  It’s likely a good high school defense could have stopped what the Rams were trying to do.

 

The Rams gained just 172 total yards for the contest.

 

On offense, neither Colt McCoy nor Brett Ratliff looked good.  McCoy was 0 of 2 passing, although he didn’t get a great deal of time to throw.  Ratliff hit just one of four passes for 10 yards, and threw the game clinching interception trying to fit one in to tight coverage.

 

Up next is the critical third pre-season game against the Lions on Saturday.  This is generally regarded as the dress rehearsal, with the starters likely playing at least three quarters.  It will ease Eric Mangini’s mind if his team doesn’t turn it over five times this weekend.

 

JD

 

The Cleveland Indians showed some encouraging signs immediately following the All-Star break, winning 13 of 24 games against contending teams (Detroit, Tampa Bay, Boston, New York, and Minnesota).  The young players contributed, the starting pitching was surprising, and the bullpen was very effective.

 

Since then, the Tribe has dropped six of nine, despite playing three of the American League’s bottom feeders:  Baltimore, Seattle, and Kansas City.  Such is life for skipper Manny Acta managing a very, very young team.

 

Acta held a team meeting yesterday, probably to remind his squad that the same intensity and execution needed to play well against the contenders is needed to beat team on the same level as the Indians. 

 

Of course, then they went out and made five errors in a 7-3 win over the Royals.

 

The team dealt 3B Jhonny Peralta, which was definitely the right move, but since the trade, the hot corner was become the black hole.  Anyone who plays the position has seemingly forgotten how to field a ground ball.  Andy Marte, who normally is a solid defender has made 3 errors.  Jayson Nix has made four since Peralta was dealt.  And those numbers don’t include the grounders scored as hits that should have been fielded.

 

Cleveland pitchers have got to cringe every time a ball is hit to the third baseman.

 

That’s why the organization should bring up Jared Goedert from Columbus right away.  Yes, he’s made 15 errors at AAA, but he’s young and deserves a chance.  Plus, as is our mantra, he can’t do any worse.

 

 

Michael Brantley:  Hopefully, Brantley’s ankle problem is minor because he’s starting to look like a guy who can play in the majors.  He has started to drive the ball, which was our criticism in the off-season.  And he’s started to hit the ball on the line and on the ground instead of hitting an endless supply of fly balls. 

 

Jayson Nix:  Nix seems struggle when there are men in scoring position, but the stats don’t bear that out.  He’s hitting .286 with men in scoring position.  However, he has an extremely low total of RBIs (22) compared to home runs (10).  His biggest problem seems to be strike zone judgement.  He’s fanned 49 times in 197 at bats, which projects to about 150 whiffs in a full season.  He seems to take many called third strikes.

 

Frank Herrmann:  Herrmann provided a boost to the bullpen when he was called up, but has struggled lately.  He throws hard, but lacks a strikeout pitch, fanning only 14 in 30 innings.  He’s allowed five home runs, and seems to give up a lot of long fly balls.  He does throw a breaking ball, but doesn’t throw it often.  He needs to come up with an off-speed pitch to put hitters away.  It bodes well for his future that he throws in the mid-nineties.

 

Luis Valbuena:  What is he still doing on the roster?  He hit well in Columbus after being sent down, but after returning to Cleveland, it’s been more of the same.  He batting just .163 in over 200 plate appearances.  He’s not a platoon candidate either right now because he’s hitting .141 against right-handers.  Perhaps Josh Rodriguez should get a chance?

 

MW

 

 

Travis Hafner is the oldest member of the Cleveland Indians, and with his contract continuing for two more seasons, it seems very likely he will remain an Indian through 2012, when his contract expires.

 

Hafner has been plagued by shoulder problems much of the last three season, and his 2007 season wasn’t up to previous standards either, even though he did hit 24 HR and knock in 100 runs with an OPS of 837.  However, when you put up OPS numbers like Hafner did earlier (993 in ’04, 1003 in ’05, and 1097 in ’06), even a season where you have 100 RBIs is considered an off season.

 

Hafner is portrayed as the prototypical big hulking slugger, but do most people realize he’s only hit 40 home runs once in his career?  And that he’s crossed the 30 HR mark just one other time?

 

While the slugger nicknamed "PronK" will likely never reach the numbers he put up in 2004-2006, he still had an OPS of 826 last season, and currently is at 817 for the 2010 season, both above average considering all American League hitters.

 

So, he’s still a productive bat in the Tribe lineup.

 

The point is in Hafner’s glory days, he didn’t put up overwhelming home run numbers.  In fact, outside of his epic 2006 season (.308, 42 HR, 117 RBI), he has always had more doubles than home runs.  He had 28 dingers in 2004, but 41 doubles.  In 2005, he doubled 42 times to go with his 33 home runs. 

 

What happened in 2006?  Likely, some of the balls that normally went up the gap for doubles had more loft and sailed over the fence.  And remember that Pronk’s big years came when he was 27-29 years old, the statistical peak years for most major league players. 

 

Yes, the shoulder injury has taken a great deal of power away from the big man.  However, he did have a .470 slugging percentage a year ago, and that number exceeded his 2007 campaign when he knocked in 100 runs for the fourth straight year.  The problem was that he only had 383 at bats because of the shoulder. 

 

He should top that number in at bats this season, but the power production hasn’t been there, although the slugging percentage is climbing at .444 for the season.

 

What is odd is that Hafner seems to do well against power pitchers, meaning the bat speed is still there.  He seems to have more problems with soft tossers and recognizing when they are throwing strikes.  This typically happens to older players, who start to "cheat" on fastballs, but are more susceptable to breaking stuff. 

 

Hafner did hit one out against wunderkind Steven Strasburg.  He’s also homered against Felix Hernandez and Javier Vazquez.  He’s 3 for 6 against Justin Verlander of Detroit and 3 for 5 against Zack Greinke from Kansas City.  Early in the season, he turned a 98 mile an hour fastball from the Tigers’ Joel Zumaya into a double off the wall in right at Progressive Field. 

 

Whether or not he can make the adjustment to recognizing a breaking ball for a strike will determine if Hafner can be a guy who can hit 25 homers and knock in 100 runs again.  That and can he stay healthy.

 

The Indians could use a productive Pronk in the middle of the lineup.  He’ll never hit 40 bombs again, but if he could go back to being a 35 doubles and 25 home run hitter, he would be a big piece in the middle of the Tribe batting order.

 

KM

 

 

 

 

It is rare that both teams are happy about a last second game winning field goal, but that is the oddness of the NFL pre-season schedule.  No one wants to play overtime in these meaningless games, so the Packers were probably thrilled that Phil Dawson made a 46-yard field goal to give the Browns a 27-24 win.

 

Imagine the sense of panic from both teams when Dawson tied the game with a little over a minute to go in the contest.

 

As we said over the weekend, the most important thing to look at in these games in individual performances, because a win or loss can depend on a bunch of guys who will not make the final roster. 

 

Still, you have to be a little happy with the quarterback play from Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace in the first couple of series against the Packer defense.  It is refreshing to see guys who can hit open receivers, and for the most part, make completions that did not depend on a tremendous catch by a receiver.

 

The offense looked like a professional one, an attack that could mix both the run and the pass, instead of succeeding despite the quarterback play.  And both Mohammed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie hauled in three catches, with the latter scoring on one. 

 

The tight ends were utilized too.  Ben Watson caught one ball good for 20 yards, and Evan Moore caught two for 24 yards.  And Peyton Hillis was a factor in the passing game as well; making three catches, including one for 26 yards.

 

Jerome Harrison did well, rushing for 25 yards on seven carries, and scoring a touchdown, while James Davis, last year’s early camp sensation, gained 24 yards on six attempts.

 

On defense, T. J. Ward looked very impressive.  Yes, he made mistakes in coverage and he couldn’t stop John Kuhn at the goal line on Green Bay’s second touchdown, but he made eight solo tackles, a few of them being in the open field.  It was nice to see someone in the secondary actually bringing someone down. 

 

Ward and first round draft choice Joe Haden got plenty of action because of the absence of CB Eric Wright, and both did alright in coverage.  Packer QB Aaron Rodgers hit 12 of 13 passes during his time in the game for 139 yards, but he is one of the NFL’s best passers.  What you want to see out of the two rookies is improvement going forward.

 

It was not like last year when the Packers ran all over the Cleveland defense.  Green Bay averaged just 3.7 yards per carry with a long run of 15 yards.

 

Despite not using perhaps the NFL’s best, Josh Cribbs, in the return game, the Browns had success here too, averaging 26.5 yards per kickoff return, with Haden’s 34-yarder being the longest and Syndric Steptoe returned two punts for a 16.5 yard average.  Steptoe did have a critical dropped pass late in the game, though.

 

And Phil Dawson made a 58-yard field goal to tie the game in the fourth quarter, showing he is in mid-season form.

 

So, the offense looked better, some new players contributed, and the Browns won.  Two of those things are important.  All in all, it’s a much better start than the team had last year after the first pre-season game.

 

JD

 

Tonight begins one of sports’ biggest scam for its fans:  The NFL Preseason Games.  Actually, the games started last weeking in Canton with the Hall of Fame Game, but this evening the Cleveland Browns take the field for the first time against someone other than themselves.

 

Paying full prices to see legitimate NFL players play for 15 minutes ranks as one of the biggest injustices in sports. 

 

And tomorrow will start the over-reaction of fans and sports talk show hosts who will overanalyze most of the things that happen in the game.  And if the Browns win, they will be considered a playoff team by some, and if they lose, people will forecast another dismal season by the orange and brown.

 

Don’t buy into anything you see from the team tonight.  THE GAME MEANS NOTHING!!!!

 

What should you watch instead?  Look at the performance of individual players.  Check out how the rookies play.  Safety T.J. Ward has been getting rave reviews in training camp, see if he merits that hype against a good offensive team like the Packers, or if the Browns’ front office is merely justifying a pick that many draft experts thought was a reach.

 

Check out how the secondary as a whole plays.  GM Tom Heckert brought in three draft picks and veteran Sheldon Brown over the off-season to upgrade the unit.  If Green Bay receivers are running free in the first half, that’s not a good sign. 

 

Watch how the offense functions with Jake Delhomme at quarterback.  Is he forcing balls into coverage like he had a tendency to do in his last season with Carolina?  And are young wide receivers like Mohammed Massaquoi and Brian Robiske getting open and catching the ball? 

 

Also, watch for the improvement of other second year guys like Alex Mack, Evan Moore, and Coye Francies.  Mack showed signs he can be a stud, and can the latter two be contributors to the 2010 edition of the Browns.

 

Another thing, don’t pay much attention to the second half.  This isn’t what the advertisers who are paying for time on tonight’s broadcast/telecast want to hear, but much of play after halftime will be done by players who will not be on NFL rosters come opening day.  The one thing Browns’ fans will be anxious to see is the fourth quarter, when Colt McCoy will make his long awaited debut.

 

You also don’t know how the respective coaching staffs will play the game.  Some coaches think it is important to win these games to develop a winning attitude.  Others don’t want future opponents in the regular season to see game plans so they play it very vanilla.  Remember, the Detroit Lions won all their exhibi…pre-season games two years ago, and then went 0-16 when it counted. 

 

Oh, and one more thing.  Hope there are no serious injuries.  For both teams.

Enjoy the game, football is back, and that means a lot to this pigskin crazed city.  Just don’t overreact.  When the Browns take the field for their opener against Tampa Bay, they will be 0-0 for the season.  No matter what happens tonight.

 

JD