The Cleveland Indians bolstered their bullpen at baseball’s Winter Meetings by signing free agent closer Kerry Wood, and picking up situational right-hander Joe Smith from the Mets in a three team deal that sent OF Franklin Gutierrez to Seattle.  It appears the bullpen could be set for the regular season barring injuries or another trade.  Here’s how we see the make up—

 

Closer:  Wood

Righties:  Rafael Betancourt, Jensen Lewis, Smith, Masa Kobayashi

Lefties:  Rafael Perez, Rich Rundles

 

Notice there was no mention of guys like Adam Miller, Jeff Stevens, Tony Sipp, or Jon Meloan, which means there is some depth here which could lead to the inclusion of one of the right-handers in a deal.  You get the feeling that if Miller is healthy, he will head north with the big club out of Arizona.

 

What about the other holes that GM Mark Shapiro needs to fill?  To me, the most pressing need is finding a starting pitcher.  If the season started today, the #3-#5 spots in the starting rotation would be filled by Anthony Reyes, and a combination of Jeremy Sowers, Aaron Laffey, Zach Jackson, and rookie David Huff.  I don’t know about you, but that scares the heck out of me. 

 

The Tribe doesn’t need a top of the rotation starter, but they do need a solid #3 starter.  Jake Westbrook will hopefully be back around the All-Star Game, but what does Eric Wedge do until then?  Reyes has a lock on one spot if his elbow is sound, and I get the feeling Huff will get a good look in spring training for the #5 spot.  That leaves a trio of hurlers who have showed some effectiveness for short periods of time, but largely have not got the job done.

 

The Tribe front office keep talking about the importance of getting an infielder, but if they had to start the season with a combination of Josh Barfield and Jamey Carroll at 2B, no one would lose any sleep.  The biggest change in the infield, and the most important, is moving Jhonny Peralta to 3B and shifting Asdrubal Cabrera to short. 

 

As the free agent market continues to sag, unless you are a top-flight free agent, there are opportunities to sign a guy like Mark Grudzielanek or Ray Durham to a one-year deal.  The reason for a short deal is that everyone is high on the other player obtained in the Gutierrez transaction, Luis Valbuena.  He will start the year at Columbus, but could be wearing a Tribe jersey by the end of the season.

 

I still think the Indians need a bat for the outfield.  It seems to me the ballclub is putting all of their eggs in the Travis Hafner basket.  If Hafner doesn’t comeback to be close to the player who terrorized American League pitchers from 2004-06, the offense will have a gaping hole. 

 

Right now, leftfield is going to be manned by Ben Francisco and David Dellucci.  Yikes!  That’s why I would be looking at a professional hitter who can play LF.  Depending on the market, you could see players like Bobby Abreu or Adam Dunn looking for one-year deals.  Here’s a wild card for you:  Rocco Baldelli. 

 

Baldelli missed most of last season fighting what was diagnosed as a mitochondrial disorder, which left him fatigued.  Recently, it was found the outfielder has channelopathy, which is very treatable.  Where was the correct diagnosis made?  The Cleveland Clinic.  Perhaps, Baldelli would like to be closer to the doctors who found out what was really wrong with him

 

If not, again the depth in the bullpen and one of the four lefty candidates for the starting rotation (I also included Scott Lewis), could be moved to get a bat.  The organization doesn’t want to block Matt LaPorta, Michael Brantley, or Trevor Crowe, so a player on a one-year deal would be perfect.

 

Mark Shapiro still has a lot of work to do, and indications are he knows it.  There will be more changes to the Tribe roster in the two months before the team relocates to Arizona for 2009 Spring Training.  With the White Sox looking to shed some age, and the Tigers in rebuilding mode, the Indians and Twins shape up as the chief contenders in the AL Central.  That’s providing Shapiro makes the right moves. 

 

MW

 

Here are a few good things that happened in the Browns-Eagles game last night—

 

·          The Browns scored a touchdown, albeit a defensive score, an interception by Brandon McDonald.  It was their first TD since Jerome Harrison’s 72-yard run against the Bills four games ago.

 

·          Eagles’ QB Donovan McNabb had to be dismayed when he found out his alma mater, Syracuse, was defeated by Cleveland State 72-69 on Cedric Jackson’s three quarter court shot.  A great win for the Vikings.

 

·          After the game ended, it meant there were only two games remaining for the Browns in this remarkably disappointing season.

 

The stubbornness of the Romeo Crennel regime continued last night.  I understand the Browns are undermanned, they have lost their top two quarterbacks, and they know they are out of the playoff chase.  However, when Chris Palmer knew the end of his head coaching tenure was near, he pulled out all the stops in a game, ironically, against Philadelphia.  He went out fighting.

 

The defense has been given praise for recent performances, but it occurred to me that the Browns do not have a good defense; they have a good red zone defense.  You really can’t say you have a decent defense when the opponent moves up and down the field at will.  It is frustrating to watch the Browns put teams into 3^rd and long situations, and then allow the first down easily.

 

This happens because of Crennel and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker’s reluctance to send more than three or four people after the quarterback.  They are trying to help out the secondary by dropping seven or eight into coverage, but it’s not working.  A guy like Mc Nabb is going to find someone open eventually.  Sure, the Browns get a lot of interceptions, but if you allow points on six drives and get a couple of picks, you aren’t really ahead of the game. 

 

The Eagles sent the kitchen sink at Ken Dorsey, the same strategy they employ on a weekly basis.  They disrupt offensives by putting pressure on the QB.  I watched several plays were Eagle offensive linemen were looking for defenders to block.

 

Offensively, it was more of the same.  Apparently, Ron Jaworski was told the Browns were going to use the “Flash” package with Josh Cribbs “four or five times per quarter”.  So…what happened to that plan?  Instead, the coaching staff went back to the tired practice of running Jamal Lewis into the line twice and then putting Dorsey in a horrible 3^rd and 8 situation with the Eagles blitzing. 

 

In the first quarter after an initial first down, Cribbs ran on a sweep and picked up six yards.  On a 2^nd and 4, Dorsey hit Lawrence Vickers for 21 yards.  Why?  Because the possibility of the run or a pass existed, the Philly defense was off balance. 

 

Braylon Edwards showed up because it was a national TV game; catching five passes for over a hundred yards, and then started his own trade rumors after the game.  More bizarre behavior from #17. 

 

One definition of insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result.  This is the coaching we are seeing from Romeo Crennel and the coaching staff.  They keep using the same tired schemes, the same aging players, and keep getting the same result…defeat.  Crennel’s reluctance to adjust will cost him his job the day after the Pittsburgh game. 

 

His players may love him, but they don’t have to watch the games.

 

JD

 

The Cleveland Cavaliers had their 11 game winning streak end Saturday night in a 97-92 loss at Atlanta.  The defeat dropped the wine and gold’s record to 20-4 on the season with three more road games to follow (Minnesota, Denver, and Oklahoma City) before returning home to Quicken Loans Arena.  As their excellent beat reporter Brian Windhorst pointed it out in The Plain Dealer, the only blemish on Cavs’ record is their mark on the road against winning teams.

 

The truth is because of the success of the Cavaliers, Celtics, and Lakers, there aren’t many very good teams in the NBA this season.  There are several good teams, and others who have reputations for being very good, but they have struggled this year for many reasons.  For example, the Cavs only road victory against a winning team thus far was against Dallas, and they are just 13-9 on the campaign, disappointing for them.

 

The wine and gold’s main competition in the Eastern Conference is the defending champion Celtics, who currently sit atop the conference standings with a 22-2 record.  Boston has played four more home games than road contests compared to the Cavaliers two game advantage at home, which will be evened up on this trip.  It’s safe to say Boston has had a very favorable slate thus far.

 

So even though the Cavs have just one road win against a quality opponent, Boston has just two, beating Houston and Detroit.  Of course, they have played ten games away from the Garden in 2008.  The other beast of the NBA, the Lakers, has four quality road victories, beating Denver, Dallas, New Orleans, and Phoenix. 

 

Another thing that stands out on the Celts is the minutes played by two of their big three.  Both Paul Pierce (37.1) and Ray Allen (35.6) are getting more minutes per contest than LeBron James (35.5).  Of course, James will turn 24 years old in a couple of weeks, while Pierce is now 31 and Allen is 33 years old.  It will be interesting to see if this heavy workload will have an effect on the older guys as the season goes on.  Allen, in particular, wore down as the season went on last season.

 

While there is reason for a little concern regarding the Cavaliers performance against good teams on the road, the same thing can be said about the Boston Celtics.  The biggest difference is that the green cashed in a title in 2007-08, while Cleveland is still looking for a championship.  The Cavs have to hope their fresher legs will pay dividends as the 82 game regular season goes on.

 

JK

 

The Cleveland Indians jumped into the free agent market by signing right-handed relief pitcher Kerry Wood to a two-year contract worth $20 million with an option for a third year.  Although we have not advocated the Tribe signing a closer, I really cannot argue to vehemently about this signing. 

 

In fact, when I saw a few weeks ago that the Cubs did not offer Wood arbitration, I thought he might be a good fit for the Indians because they would not have to give up a draft pick to sign him.  The only negative on Wood is his injury history, but in his first full year as a reliever, his only ailment was a blister problem on his finger.

 

The real reason I like the signing is for the first time since Mike Jackson closed for the Tribe in 19989, the Indians will have a power arm coming out of the bullpen to pitch the ninth inning.  And not even Jackson had the strikeout prowess that Kerry Wood has.  No more fooling hitters with change ups, curve balls, and guile.  Kerry Wood throws 95 miles per hour and has a devastating breaking ball.

 

Guys like Bob Wickman and Joe Borowski did good jobs in some years.  Heck, Borowski led the American League in saves in 2007.  But, those guys are always pitching on the edge; always have guys on base, always one bad pitch location away from a real disaster.  Finally, we have a big guy who says here it is, go ahead and try to hit it.

 

The 6-5, 211 pound Texan pitched 66-1/3 innings last season and struck out 84 hitters.  He allowed just 54 hits and just three home runs for the season.  He will turn 32 years old next June.  He is a legitimate power pitcher, and can be a guy that makes other teams think it’s an eight inning game when they play the Indians.  Heck, Wood even averages 10.38 whiffs per nine innings for his career!

 

The other good thing about the deal is it is only a two year commitment with, of course as all Shapiro contracts are, a club option for a third year.  This means that even if Wood gets hurt or is ineffective, Cleveland is only on the hook for two years.  Compare that to the Sabathia deal with the Yankees or the Zito deal with the Giants, those deals being for seven years.

 

The Tribe also added another reliever in right-hander Joe Smith in a three-team deal with the Mets and Mariners, which saw the Indians part ways with OF Franklin Gutierrez.  Smith, who will be 25 in March, has spent the last two years with the Mets, and is a submariner, which makes him effective against right-handed hitters.  He held those hitters to a .192 average last season.  He gives Eric Wedge another option out of the bullpen.

 

Shapiro also received 23 year old 2B Luis Valbuena in the deal.  He was a late season call up for the Mariners, appearing in 18 games last season, batting .245 with an RBI.  He hit .304 with an 864 OPS in 70 games last year in Class AA.  However, it was his second year at that level, as he hit .239 with an OPS under 700 the year before.  He was selected by Baseball America as having the best strike zone judgment in the Mariners organization. 

 

Gutierrez’ main value is as a platoon outfielder of as a defensive specialist in CF, presumably where he will play with the Mariners.  He struggles against right-handed pitchers, but is still young enough to improve in that area.  He falls victim to the emergence of Shin-Soo Choo, and the three young outfielders in the farm system:  Matt LaPorta, Michael Brantley, and Trevor Crowe. 

 

However, unless the Tribe gets another outfielder they face starting the season with a LF platoon of Ben Francisco and David Dellucci.  That’s not going to be good enough to contend. 

 

They also still need a starting pitcher.  I can’t picture starting the season with Anthony Reyes as the third starter. 

 

KM

 

It seems kind of cruel that Romeo Crennel is still coaching the Browns, yet the main topic of conversation about the team is who will be the next coach.  It’s a foregone conclusion that Crennel will not be back after this disappointing season, however, outside of Bill Cowher, we haven’t seen or heard of any candidates for the position.

 

The first thing that has to be decided is who will be in charge.  Will Phil Savage remain as General Manager?  If he isn’t, then that position has to be filled first, and then the new GM should have the opportunity to pick his own coach, something Savage wasn’t afforded a chance to do.  At this point, that’s a bigger question because I don’t think Savage would want Marty Schottenheimer as the next head coach.

 

Who should be the next Browns’ coach?  A better question would be what characteristics should the next Browns’ coach have?

 

First, the days of the easy-going coach should be over.  It’s time for a disciplinarian, someone who will crack the whip.  Since the Browns have returned to the NFL, they really have never gone that route.  Butch Davis looked the part, but he didn’t bring the same discipline that a guy like Bill Parcells or Jimmy Johnson brought.  Chris Palmer and Romeo Crennel might be good tactical coaches, but they allowed the inmates to run the asylum.

 

Second, it should be a coach who emphasizes the fundamentals, like running the ball and stopping the run, and he conveys that idea to the GM, who then gets the players who fit that criteria.  The Browns have been searching for an identity since 1999.  The next coach needs to have an idea of what will work in Cleveland in November and December, and the strength to stick with the program. 

 

The new coach needs to be a defensive presence with the confidence to have an offensive coordinator who will be aggressive.  The Browns have never had a dominant defense in all my years following the team, which dates back to the mid-1960’s.  It’s time to build one.  Let’s get after the passer and put pressure on the other team’s offense for a change.  And if that involves blitzing, then so be it. 

 

Crennel’s successor should also be young, so he can be in charge for more than a couple of years.  The last two points eliminate Schottenheimer, who at 65 would probably only be interested in the gig for a couple of years.  Look at Baltimore and Pittsburgh, who hired young vibrant guys to head their teams.  There is nothing wrong with playing follow the leader. 

 

At this point, management should be looking at what has worked around the league and then adapt it to Cleveland.  They say offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships.  Why haven’t the Browns won since 1964?  They haven’t developed a championship defense.

 

It’s time to use this opportunity to finally set a direction for this franchise.  If Phil Savage is going to be here, he needs to hire a coach that shares his vision of what a winning football team will be.  Everybody makes fun of Mark Shapiro and Eric Wedge, but they have the same vision.  Mike Brown and Danny Ferry have a similar relationship with the Cavaliers.  I don’t think that is the case right now with the Browns. 

 

If they want to return this team to the glory days of the 50’s and 60’s, they need that type of leadership.

 

MW

 

The Cleveland Browns did not play like a team that had nothing to lose yesterday.  They played like a team trying not to lose.  The Browns dropped to 4-9 with a 28-9 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon, their third straight game without scoring a touchdown.  The offensive was very vanilla, which made me wonder how much time was spent on the game plan.

 

The game was lost in the first quarter.  After a promising opening drive that resulted in a field goal, D’Qwell Jackson picked off a Kerry Collins pass on the Titan 25 yard line.  Unfortunately, the Browns didn’t try to pounce, running three conservative plays and settling for another Dawson three pointer.  Romeo Crennel and offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski could have went for six points, but decided to play close to the vest. 

 

To turn a phrase, the Browns brought field goals to a touchdown fight.  The Titans had four scores to the Browns three, but the final score was lopsided because Cleveland never got close to sniffing the end zone.

 

The offensive game plan left me shaking my head.  Josh Cribbs finally threw a pass, however.  However, it came with the brown and orange trailing 28-9!  Why wasn’t the play used after the Jackson interception?  Why didn’t Crennel go for a first down on 4^th and 1 in the fourth quarter when his team was losing 21-9?  If you play not to lose, that is precisely what will happen most of the time.

 

Cribbs played his heart out, carrying the ball, returning kicks, making tackles on kick coverage.  He was by far the most effective runner, as he had 24 yards on six carries, the only Brown to average more than a yard per carry.  He had a 30-yard run called back because of a holding penalty on Darnell Dinkins in the second half. 

 

By the way, this just in, Jamal Lewis’ career has hit the wall.  His last effective season was 2007.

 

On defense, despite D’Qwell Jackson’s great day (he had two interceptions and 15 tackles), it was another case of not being able to stop the run.  The Titans rushed for 235 yards, an average of 5.5 per carry, and came within one yard by LenDale White of having two runners gain 100 yards in the contest. 

 

Quite frankly, I couldn’t understand why Collins was throwing at all early in the game.  He was doing the Browns a favor by not running the ball.  In the tenth year since the team returned to the NFL, they still cannot stop the run. 

 

Look at the Titans.  They are 12-1 with a simple formula:  They run the ball and stop the other team from doing the same.  It’s a little easier to win when you can do those things.  That should be the goal of the organization in the off-season.  Make strides to run the ball and stop the run.

 

If the players enjoy playing for Crennel, they have a funny way of showing it.  If Crennel believes he needs to win to save his job, he’s going about it the wrong way.  Trying to keep the score close doesn’t get it done, and playing this brand of football is not going to get the fans on your side.  The Crennel regime has three games left; this season can’t end soon enough.

 

JD

 

 

Time to tie up some loose end in the world of sports in Cleveland.  Today, we will have comments about each of the three professional teams on the North Coast.

 

The Browns’ Defense.  I have heard a lot about how the defense held Peyton Manning and the high-powered Colts’ offense to just three points last Sunday.  And yes, Mel Tucker’s crew should get congratulations for that. 

 

However, the same people point out how Houston was limited to just 16 points.  I watched that game and the defense was a sieve in the first half.  The only way the Texans were held to field goals was the penalties that put them in tough down and distance situations.  In the second half, QB Sage Rosenfels threw a number of poor passes to open receivers that fell incomplete or became interceptions. 

 

The Browns defense fails the eye test.  That is to say, watch the games and tell me this is a good defense.  Yes, they played well against the Colts, but I remember the games against the Cowboys, Ravens, Broncos, and even the Bills when they offered the same resistance as a piece of tissue paper.  They got four turnovers against Buffalo and still gave up 27 points!  This is not a good defense, period, and there must be changes in the off-season to upgrade the unit.

 

Tribe Search for a Closer.  The baseball Winter Meetings take place in Las Vegas next week, and the Indians are still absent in the rumor mill.  Yes, there is some stuff out there regarding Casey Blake, and occasionally 2B Orlando Hudson and Rockies’ 3B Garrett Atkins, but mostly there is quiet. 

 

However, Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto has noted the Tribe will be players in the Francisco Rodriguez sweepstakes, and they have also been mentioned in regards to Seattle closer J.J. Putz.  To me, Putz is the better option. 

 

He will turn 32 in February and has a contract that includes a club option through the 2010 season.  He is set to make about $5.5 million in ’09 and the option year is for a reported $8.6 million.  This is far more affordable than the approximately $14-15 million Rodriguez will command.  And Putz was the better pitcher in 2007.  He has saved 91 games over the past three seasons. 

 

Ferry Can’t Be Conservative.  The Cavaliers are flying high right now and the temptation is to leave everything alone right now.  The status quo is working, correct?  I’m a great believer in player development, but when you can win a title by making a move, you have to go for it.  You may not get another shot at winning and you owe it to the organization to try to get a championship.

 

Therefore, if Danny Ferry can turn the expiring contracts of Wally Szczerbiak or Eric Snow into something that can help the wine and gold in the playoffs, he has to do it.  The Plain Dealer’s Brian Windhorst speculates that even if the Cavs deal Szczerbiak, he will be released by his new team, and would re-sign with the Cavaliers.  He also said Joe Smith would be willing to come back here if he negotiates a buyout with Oklahoma City.

 

The point is this; the Cavaliers are good enough to win an NBA title next June.  Whatever Danny Ferry has to do to accomplish this, he must do it.  I’m sure owner Dan Gilbert will be behind any deal Ferry wants to make.

 

MW

 

 

There isn’t much to discuss about the Cleveland Cavaliers because they are on a roll.  They have won five straight and 13 of their last 14 games.  Last week, they breezed through a four games in five nights schedule with only one close game, a road win against Milwaukee.  They currently sit at 14-3 overall, and they are clearly played like one of the NBA’s elite teams.

 

As a season ticket holder, this team reminds one of the Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, Ron Harper teams of the late 80’s in that you go to the game feeling a win is imminent.   Those were the days when the Cavs would go 37-4 or something like that at home.  Of course, the difference is this edition of the Cavaliers has the best player on the planet in LeBron James.

 

Obviously, James is the leader of this team, but the mark of a very good team is they get contributions from everybody on the roster.  Saturday, Sasha Pavlovic stepped up and played excellent defense on Michael Redd.  Earlier, rookies J.J. Hickson, Darnell Jackson, and even Tarence Kinsey played well against Oklahoma City and Golden State and allowed the starters to get some much-needed rest.

 

LBJ is averaging a little less than 36 minutes per night, way below last year, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace are also playing less, which will keep them fresh as the season goes on.  It’s also a plus that Hickson and Jackson are getting experience.  That will also help the team as the season goes on.

 

Some people have suggested a soft schedule is the reason for the wine and gold’s impressive start, but in reality, Cavalier opponents are slightly above .500 on the year, so the quality of the slate has not been ultra-easy.  Here’s a memo to the east coast media that has gotten lost with all of the LeBron to New York stories.  James is already on a great team, one of the top three teams in the NBA.

 

That being said, we have to weigh in on the debate of #23’s impending free agency after the 2010 season.  I have to agree with Charles Barkley and The Plain Dealer’s Bill Livingston.  It is disrespectful to the city, Dan Gilbert, but most of all, LBJ’s teammates to keep talking about what may or may not happen in July 2010.  The Cavaliers are off to a tremendous start and if they stay healthy are most definitely a title contender.

 

Any thing or wasted time that take away from that goal should be avoided.  LeBron should understand that.

 

The media also brings up how all these teams (Knicks, Nets, Pistons, etc.) are creating cap room for the ’10 free agent class.  However, they fail to mention that the Cavaliers are prepared for that date as well.  It has been pointed out by many that the wine and gold are the only team with a superstar that can sign another one.  Why wouldn’t a Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudamire come to Cleveland to play with James, especially with a couple of visits to the conference finals, The Finals, or even a title in the past two years? 

 

Maybe the Cleveland newspapers should start talking to those guys when their teams visit “The Q”.  

 

JK

 

The Cleveland Browns designed the offensive game plan to keep Colts’ QB Peyton Manning off the field and limit the possibility for mistakes for their own signal caller, Derek Anderson.  They indeed kept Manning off the field and the vaunted Indianapolis offense was held to just one field goal.  As for keeping Anderson error free, he made just one mistake.

 

Unfortunately, it was a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, the deciding score in the 10-6 loss at the Stadium on Sunday.  What’s worse is that Anderson was injured later in the game, leaving the quarterbacking chores to Ken Dorsey probably for the rest of the season.

 

This game was another reason Romeo Crennel will lose his job at the end of the year.  The Colts are one of the NFL’s better teams, and the brown and orange showed the ability to play with them.  Remember, the Browns beat the Giants, and hung in against the Steelers and Redskins.  They have some talent, but they are poorly coached and/or motivated.

 

When Crennel goes, likely offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski could be going with him.  Jamal Lewis popped off about not getting the ball last week against Houston, so someone made the decision to keep giving him the ball, despite the diminishing returns.  Lewis averaged just 3.2 yards per carry, yet the Browns kept running the same plays which after some initial success, kept getting stuffed at the line. 

 

Jerome Harrison touched the ball just twice.  Josh Cribbs only once.  Cribbs lined up in the shotgun on a 3^rd and 2 situation in the second half, and was stuffed.  Because the Browns only run out of this formation, the Colts knew Cribbs was going to run.  Once again, I will write it.  The former Kent State quarterback has thrown just one pass in almost four complete seasons.

 

It looked to me like the Browns were feeding Lewis the ball to prove a point, not to win a game. 

 

On defense, the Browns played well causing three turnovers, and forcing Manning to throw short time and again.  They also seemed to blitz more, which made Manning rollout a little.  In this respect, the offense worked.  They kept the beleaguered defense off the field and kept them rested.  Perhaps that strategy should be used more often.

 

If you aren’t going to make the playoffs, the best thing to do is get a good draft pick.  As of right now, only six teams in the NFL have records worse that the Browns.  With the injuries at the quarterback position, the prospect for any more wins appear to be slim, so Cleveland should be in the top ten of next year’s selection.  There’s looking at the bright side.

 

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, who I have a lot of respect for, said his source told him it would require a miracle to save Crennel’s job.  I don’t think you need to be an NFL “insider” to know that.  The Worldwide Leader treated the information like it was a big scoop.  Romeo Crennel will not be the Browns’ coach in 2009.  That is hardly inside information. 

 

With the Titans on the slate next and Dorsey at quarterback, it will be a miracle if the Browns are in the game at halftime.  Once again, it’s time to play Harrison, Beau Bell, Martin Rucker (who caught a pass yesterday!), etc.  This season is lost.  It has been for several weeks, and now that Brady Quinn is out, it’s not even watchable.

 

JD

 

After Blanton Collier retired as coach of the Browns in 1970, Cleveland’s football team has been in a perpetual state of flux, outside of the late 1980’s.  Owner Art Modell was impatient and either ran the football operation, something he wasn’t really qualified to do, or made poor choices as to who should run things.  Whenever a coach had some success, Modell fell in love and gave the coach too much power.

 

This is ironic because when he bought the team, Modell thought that then coach Paul Brown had too much power.  After Ernie Accorsi built the teams that Marty Schottenheimer coached to back-to-back AFC title games, Modell decided to give Schottenheimer power over all football operations.

 

There is a fine line between being an owner whose hands are on all phases of the operation and one who lets his football people run the football operation.  Modell crossed the line too many times; leading to signing guys who weren’t needed like Jerry Ball and Andre Rison. 

 

However, it is difficult to think the Browns’ organization today with Randy Lerner at the helm is any better than the Modell regime, although I agree with Lerner’s style of hiring football people and letting them run the show.

 

First, Lerner hired Romeo Crennel as head coach before he had a general manager in place.  After Phil Savage’s first year as General Manager, Lerner took the advice of team President John Collins, and decided to unload Savage.  The outrage from the fans and the media saved the GM’s job.  In the end, it was Collins who left the organization. 

 

The problem was Lerner listening to a guy with no football credentials (Collins) in the first place.

 

It has been reported that the owner is now talking to former Steeler head coach Bill Cowher about the head coaching job and probably total control of the football operation.  Has Phil Savage been consulted on this possible hire?  I doubt it.  However, if he is running the store, shouldn’t he know what is going on?

 

Let me say that Phil Savage has made mistakes, such as not calling players in the hospital and emailing fans, but he has upgraded the talent on the Browns’ roster.   I believe that his biggest disagreement with his head coach is the playing time for some players that Savage brought in, players like Jerome Harrison, Alex Hall, Beau Bell, and Brady Quinn.  He deserves the chance to work with a coach on the same page as he is, one that he hired.

 

Cowher did an excellent job as Steelers’ coach winning a Super Bowl, and would be an excellent candidate to coach the Browns.  But, has he ever run an entire football operation?  It appears to me that Pittsburgh was a contender before his arrival and they continue to be two years after he left.  It is a huge gamble to give him a boatload full of money and have him in charge of the football operations.

 

If Lerner is going to replace Savage it should be with someone like Bill Parcells, a person who has a history of building, not coaching, a winning organization.  Otherwise, Savage should keep his job and should hire someone to “run the office” while he is out scouting players.  It is said that one of the things that bothers the owner is that Savage isn’t in the office enough.  Did he make that clear to Savage during the interview that’s what he wanted?

 

The Browns need leadership and Lerner isn’t providing it.  He needs to hire a voice for the team, perhaps someone like Bernie Kosar.  That voice needs to give the team a direction, convey this direction to Savage, who will in turn hire a coach who will carry out this message. 

 

My suggestion is to return to what made Cleveland a great franchise in the past:  A strong running game.  This is the franchise of the greatest runner of them all, Jim Brown, but also Marion Motley, Leroy Kelly, Ernie Green, Greg Pruitt, Mike Pruitt, Kevin Mack, and Earnest Byner.  Sure, Otto Graham and Kosar played here, but it was the running game that fueled the team. 

 

Right now, the Browns are a rudderless ship.  Someone has to take charge, and if Lerner can’t do it, he needs to hire someone who can.

 

MW