Best Change For Browns Would be Winning

The Cleveland Browns announced yesterday that the venue that they play would now be known as First Energy Field.

Who cares?

Owner Jimmy Haslam also discussed uniform changes, cheerleaders, and the surface of the field during the press conference announcing the naming rights to the building formerly known as Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Again, who cares?

While some of these things are nice and add to the ambiance of the game experience, in the end they don’t matter.

All of those things are either about money or marketing. Let us remind you again, the best marketing plan in Cleveland, Ohio when it comes to sports is…WINNING!

Let’s hope Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner understand that, because if they do, the Browns will be the talk of the town, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Want proof? They pretty much are the subject of sports talk every day any way, and they’ve made one playoff appearance in 14 years. Imagine if they were a Super Bowl contender? Fans would be lining up at the stadium every day just to look at the edifice.

You couldn’t go anywhere in the area without bumping into someone wearing a Browns jersey or having someone barking at you. It would be that crazy.

For all of the shock and horror that would come with a change in the uniforms and/or helmet, if the Browns came out with chartreuse jerseys, ruby-red cleats, and a navy blue helmet and went 14-2 and won the Super Bowl, not one person would care.

The uniform change is all about money. It will give Haslam the right to make up for the billion dollars he spent to buy the franchise in merchandising. Many people who have Cleveland Browns’ paraphernalia will rush out to store to buy jerseys in the new style.

The uniforms have nothing to do with the performance on the field. That’s why it was a joke this season when fans complained about wearing white uniforms at home all the time. Heck, it wasn’t an issue in the 1960’s when the Browns were a perennial contender.

The only time we saw the brown shirts was when the team played in Dallas, St. Louis, and Los Angeles, because the Cowboys, Cardinals, and Rams also wore white at home.

As for going to field turf, which should be done for many reasons, but the end result will be added revenue for the Browns and Haslam.

The playing field at First Energy Stadium is a complete joke considering there are maybe 14 or 15 games played there every year. The severe weather conditions are a factor in late fall or early winter, but the grass looks chopped up even in September games.

Going to field turf would be beneficial to the primary tenant, because it would help speed players. However, it would also allow more games to be played at the stadium.

You could have more college games, some high-profile high school games, including state playoffs and at some point, even state title games with an artificial playing surface.

It would also make the stadium a site for concerts too, without the fear of damaging the playing surface.

Changes like these are fine, but they are like putting lipstick on a pig. None of these things will matter if the football team doesn’t win.

Here’s hoping the Haslam and Banner understand that.

The Losing Keeps Continuing for the Browns

The Cleveland Browns were not ready for what the Buffalo Bills had in store for them this afternoon, and Pat Shurmur’s crew was quickly down 14-0 before the first quarter ended.

It was a hole they couldn’t dig all of the way out of, and the Browns fell to 0-3 with a 24-14 loss at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Cleveland did have chances, but they fell back into their old habits, their usual way of defeat. That is they couldn’t run the ball, and the couldn’t stop the run.

The Browns caught a break when the NFL’s leading rusher, C. J. Spiller had to leave the game in the first quarter with a possible separated shoulder. Spiller had already taken a screen pass 32 yards for a touchdown to give Buffalo a 14-0 lead with the contest not quite 10 minutes old.

But Tashard Choice, the Bills third string running back, ran for 91 yards on 20 carries, as the visitors ran for more than 100 more than the home team’s total.

Trent Richardson gained just 27 yards for the game on 12 carries.

However, Buffalo came into the game with the intention of taking the rookie from Alabama away from Shurmur and offensive coordinator Brad Childress. At least the Browns can now say they have someone the defense has to respect.

That opened up the passing game for Brandon Weeden, and until the last two possessions of the game, he took advantage of it.

After his 22-yard touchdown pass to yet another rookie, WR Travis Benjamin late in the third quarter, Cleveland was very much in this game, trailing by only three at 17-14.

That was as close as they would come.

The Browns forced a three and out on the next Bills’ possession, but the offense couldn’t capitalize after picking up one first down, and gave Buffalo the ball back, and on the first play Choice slashed through the defense for 22 yards.

The defense had one more opportunity to hold the visitors to a field goal, but gave up an 11 yard gain on a bubble screen on third and nine. The Bills scored two plays later and the game was basically over.

After that, Cleveland made mistake after mistake with Weeden throwing two interceptions and a key holding penalty on C Alex Mack ending drives.

Another problem was wide receivers dropping passes. Greg Little dropped one near the end of the first half with at least 15 yards of real estate in front of him. It could have put Cleveland in a position to get a field goal heading into the locker room, closing the gap to 14-10.

And Benjamin dropped one on a 3rd and 19 with a lot of room in front of him in the third quarter.

Weeden finished hitting on 27 of 43 throws for 237 yards, with the TD toss and two interceptions. His longest completion was a bubble screen to Josh Cribbs for 24 yards, a play that wasn’t used again.

Say what you will about Cribbs, and his shortcomings at wide receiver, but when he’s on the field, he makes plays offensively.

Weeden’s only other completion over 20 yards was the touchdown pass. Other than that, he became a dink and dunk passer, taking what the Bills gave him. This is typical of the Shurmur offense.

Remember that Shurmur’s attack doesn’t score many points.

In his two years as St. Louis’ offensive coordinator, the Rams scored more than 20 points just four times. Last year, running the Browns’ attack, Cleveland scored over that mark just once.

After last week, that means the Shurmur offense has scored more than 20 points just six times in 51 games. That won’t win you too many contests in today’s NFL.

Until his young team can put up at least 21 points on a weekly basis, the Browns aren’t going to be successful.

The Browns have a short week with a divisional game against the Ravens on Thursday night, staring 0-4 right in the face.

When teams don’t win occasionally they forget how to win. That’s something the Browns have to overcome. They don’t do the little things that translate into wins. New owner to be, Jimmy Haslam can’t be impressed by what he sees.

What Are Browns Fans Worrying About Now?

For the most part, the Cleveland Browns have had a pretty successful training camp. They’ve won both of their preseason games, and it seems a lot of their young players look to be players.

That doesn’t mean Browns’ fans have nothing to worry about. In fact, if the team ever won the Super Bowl, many supporters would be concerned about repeating the following year.

That’s just the way it is.

Anyway, here are some comments on what is weighing on the minds of fans of the orange helmet.

Colt McCoy. While it is clear that Brandon Weeden will be the starter when the Eagles visit on September 9th, who will be the back up quarterback?

Most think the Browns will deal McCoy for a low round draft pick, but should they?

The only reason for doing so would be so that if Weeden struggles, the crowds at Cleveland Browns’ Stadium can’t start chanting his name.

And that seems silly, but it’s tough on a rookie to have a divided fan base.

McCoy is probably better than veteran Seneca Wallace, and probably gives the team a better chance to win if something happens to Weeden.

Plus, McCoy seems to be more engaged in the games than Wallace, who hasn’t been seen wearing a headset during exhibition play.

GM Tom Heckert and president Mike Holmgren will likely deal McCoy after the last preseason game next week, but it’s for the wrong reasons.

It’s an emotional decision rather than a football one.

Playing the Eagles twice in three weeks. The answer here is that the Browns need to do what is good for the Browns, and they can’t worry about injuries and showing the opponents too much.

This is not to say Pat Shurmur should use the same game plan he is going to use on September 9th this Friday against the Eagles, but it shouldn’t affect anyone’s playing time.

The rookies and young veterans on this squad need playing time and need to be prepared to play four quarters when the opening bell rings.

Use a basic offense and defense and keep the starters in for three quarters. That’s what is beneficial for the Browns.

New Owner Jimmy Haslam. After Randy Lerner’s ownership, a guy like Larry Dolan might look like Redskins’ meddling owner Dan Snyder, which Browns fans are fearing Haslam may turn into.

Why? Because he’s gone to a few practices? He’s had the audacity to be seen at games?

Those are things most owners in the NFL do.

Now, if Haslam starts standing on the sidelines during games, like the Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, then it’s time to be a little concerned.

If he starts sitting in the war room on draft day and tells Heckert who to pick, then Browns’ fans should be worried.

If he goes over the GM’s head and starts spending huge amounts of cash on marginal free agents, then he’s turning into Snyder.

So far, he hasn’t done any of that, he’s just watching the team he paid one billion dollars for practice. And in that regard, he’s the same as the thousands who attend training camp in Berea everyday.

If Haslam learned anything from his partnership with the Steelers, it should be to let his football people do their job.

If he wants to truly be a part of the city and become one with the fans, he’ll start to worry about insignificant things.