Browns Not As Bad As People Think

Sunday afternoon, the Cleveland Browns open another NFL season on the road against the New York Jets.

The training camp was filled with hamstring pulls, and the media brought up the quarterback situation once again, as if GM Ray Farmer and Mike Pettine don’t realize the position needs an upgrade.

And of course, the media continued to hammer away at the “dysfunction” of the franchise, with every misjudgment in terms of talent, or even how the play in the pre-season is held up as proof of that.

We have a different view. Remember that the Browns were 7-5 heading into a home game against Indianapolis, who advanced to the AFC title game in January.

Cleveland outplayed the Colts that day, except that Brian Hoyer had a terrible game and Andrew Luck and Indy pulled out a 25-24 win, dropping the Browns’ record to 7-6.

We have always said that when the Browns get decent play at quarterback, they win, and it would have been true on that Sunday, because if Hoyer had been merely good that day (he was 13 for 30, 136 yards and two picks), the Browns would have been 8-5, very much in the race for a playoff spot.

Now, we are a firm believer in “you are what your record is”, but that game sticks in our collective craw. The entire season changed on that contest.

Mike Pettine went to an unprepared Johnny Manziel the following week in Cincinnati, and both Manziel and Hoyer were hurt vs. Carolina, forcing undrafted Conner Shaw to start the season finale at Baltimore.

A game the Browns lost 20-10 with their third string passer.

Our point is that this isn’t as bad of a football team as people think.

The biggest weakness the Browns had a year ago was the inability to stop the run, and it appears they addressed that with the drafting of Danny Shelton and the signing of Randy Starks as a free agent. We won’t know for sure until they line up for real on Sunday, but if Cleveland improves in that area, with their strong secondary, the defense will be among the league’s best.

That will keep them in most games.

And that brings us back to our earlier statement that the Browns can win with decent quarterback play, which means not turning the ball over. That will be Josh McCown’s job and challenge this year.

As usual, the key to the season will be how the Browns handle the AFC North. They proved last year that the gap has closed, and they defeated the Steelers and Bengals in dominating fashion, and lost to Pittsburgh and the Ravens on the last play of the game.

If they can split the divisional games, they can win seven games again this season, albeit with a tougher schedule, and may even get to the break even mark.

We don’t see the other teams in the division being substantially better than they were a year ago.

There are three keys to the season in our view: 1). Improved defense vs. the run. 2). Josh McCown’s ability to not turn the ball over. 3). Avoiding catastrophic injuries, which change the season of most NFL teams.

If the first two things happen, the Browns will continue on the path of improvement.

Browns Settle on 53, But They Aren’t Done Yet

Except for the NFL Draft in the spring, no day is awaited with more anticipation among Browns’ fans than final cutdown day, when the front office decides which 53 players have made the team.

And, of course, with the reputation of the dysfunctional team that permeates both nationally and locally, critics were ready to hammer GM Ray Farmer.

First, a couple of things to say about the process. It is a game within the game. Sometimes, players get cut because management knows they can get through unclaimed by another team so they can be put on the practice squad.

Second, the front office knows that the 53 players they decide on Saturday will not be the same players who will suit up a week from today when Mike Pettine’s squad takes the field in New Jersey.

Much of the uproar from fans and media (and even one player) early in the day involved WR Josh Lenz. Lenz had a solid pre-season and a good game Thursday night, but was let go by Farmer.

Lenz is a good player, but the Browns knew if Terrelle Pryor were to be let go, another team would pick him up, and they’ve seen enough of the former Ohio State quarterback to know they would like to see more.

On the other hand, Lenz will probably not be claimed by another team, and could end up on the practice squad. That’s what we mean about a game. And Farmer played it correctly.

The second point involves the final roster as it stands right now. There will certainly be more changes afoot.

Cleveland is only carrying six offensive linemen, which is one or two short of what they will need. As we said the other day, the back ups in place during camp weren’t getting the job done, so we knew Farmer would be looking for help on the waiver wire.

They will pick up at least one lineman via that method this week.

The other big news was that last year’s third round pick, RB Terrance West was either going to be cut or traded. One media member even reported that Farmer and Pettine liked Shaun Draughn better than West. Draughn was cut later that afternoon.

Perhaps West will be traded today and Draughn will be brought back, but what harm is there in asking a team that needs running backs if they are interested in a player who will be a reserve for your team? To us, that’s just being smart.

What if Dallas or Houston were willing to give up a second round pick for West? Then, you’d make the deal, no?

The Browns are probably worried about how West will be in the locker room if he is not getting touches, and are hoping to take care of that issue. But they don’t want to give him away.

We always say everyone is tradeable for the right price. Not that this would ever happen, but if Green Bay offered you Aaron Rodgers for Joe Haden, you would turn it down? Of course not.

The point is, let’s see what happens in the next few days with the roster, because it will no doubt change.

On the other hand, we don’t see any glaring examples of potential starting players getting cut either.

That won’t stop the criticism of the “dysfunctional” Browns though, will it?

Browns Show Blueprint Of How They Need to Play

If you wanted to know how the Cleveland Browns envision themselves as a team, last night’s 31-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is the blueprint.

The Browns’ defense stopped the run early, then confused rookie QB Jameis Winston, sacking him twice in the first quarter and then forcing a turnover (an interception by rookie CB Charles Gaines).

It is amazing how much better the defense looked with Pro Bowl CB Joe Haden on the field. He improves the pass defense immensely, and tonight was the only game in August he will play.

After the first series was a three and out by Tampa, the special teams came up with a big play as Travis Benjamin returned a punt 57 yards for a touchdown, and Mike Pettine’s crew was off and running.

QB Josh McCown didn’t throw the ball downfield much, but he was efficient, completing 17 of 23 throws for 117 yards and two touchdowns. After last week’s game where he made two bad throws that resulted in interceptions, he did not turn it over last night.

The running game worked well too, and it appears that Isaiah Crowell took the lead in the running game derby with 27 yards in eight carries, while Terrance West did more dancing than we are sure the coaches will like.

Crowell also caught two passes for 12 yards.

Duke Johnson ran the ball well once, in between the tackles, gaining four yards before leaving with a concussion later in the first half. We would have liked to seen more of the rookie.

But this is how the Browns want to play, and it is encouraging that in the one pre-season game that both teams game plan for, Pettine and his staff had his team prepared and they executed.

However, let’s remember that the Bucs had the first overall pick in the last spring’s draft and they didn’t trade for it. They are a bad football team. Still, Cleveland took care of business.

Had they lost to Tampa, the negative members of the fan base and media would be citing this game as proof that the Browns will be horrific during the regular season.

Rookie Danny Shelton continues to look like the beast in the middle he was projected to be, and DE Desmond Bryant had two sacks, but we are also impressed with another first year player, S Ibraheim Campbell, who is always making plays, and has done so in all three games.

Gaines is another rookie to be excited about, as he made several nice plays. Besides the interception, he broke up two other Winston passes.

With no one of consequence playing Thursday night at Chicago, this is the last we will see of the best Browns’ players until the opener against the Jets on September 13th.

Thursday will determine who makes up the end of the roster, probably spots 45-53.

And hopefully we will see Terrelle Pryor, who we believe will make the team whether he plays or not. We believe Pettine and GM Ray Farmer have seen enough of his athletic ability to understand someone will pick him up if the Browns cut him loose.

Quite frankly, Cleveland isn’t in the position to cut someone who can be a difference maker on offense. They simply have to keep him.

Until then, Pettine has to be very satisfied with the result last night. It is just as they wanted the script to be written when the regular season starts in two weeks.

QB Obsession For Browns By Media is Out of Control.

We’ve reached a new record with the Cleveland Browns in terms of the sports talk industry.

Yesterday, we heard hosts and fans discussing the 2016 NFL Draft in terms of what quarterbacks are available, even before one game of the 2015 NFL regular season has been played.

Craziness.

The media and some fans are simply obsessed with the position of quarterback, making it the end all, be all, regarding success of a pro football team.

Isn’t Atlanta’s Matt Ryan a very good NFL QB? The Falcons went 6-10 last season.

New Orleans’ Drew Brees once led the Saints to a Super Bowl title. Yet, his team went 7-9 a year ago.

On the other hand, Andy Dalton has led Cincinnati to the playoffs each of the last three years, and the Bengals went 10-5-1 in 2014.

The Houston Texans used Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mallett, and Case Keenum as quarterbacks last season, and that squad went 9-7.

Is having a good quarterback important for a football team? Of course. Does it guarantee success in the NFL? No. Does not having one doom your team to a 3-13 record? It does not.

We have even heard some talk show hosts suggest the Browns should tank the season so they can get their franchise passer in next spring in the draft. Here is a list of QBs taken in the top five picks in the draft over the last 10 years–

2014–Blake Bortles (#3 overall)
2012–Andrew Luck (#1 overall)
2012–Robert Griffin III (#2 overall)
2011–Cam Newton (#1 overall)
2010–Sam Bradford (#1 overall)
2009–Matthew Stafford (#1 overall)
2009–Mark Sanchez (#5 overall)
2008–Matt Ryan (#3 overall)
2007–JaMarcus Russell (#1 overall)
2006–Vince Young (#3 overall)
2005–Alex Smith (#1 overall)

Out of those 11 signal callers, how many would you call an elite player? Certainly, Luck qualifies, and Ryan would certainly be in our list of the top ten quarterbacks in the NFL.

And you can make an argument that Newton and Stafford should be in that group as well.

That means four out of 11, (36%) of passers drafted in the top five become very good players. Not exactly a reason to throw away a season.

Two of these guys (Russell and Young) can be considered out-and-out busts, while Smith and Sanchez would probably be placed in the “journeyman” category. Griffin and Bradford have been hampered by injuries throughout their career, and it is too early to evaluate Bortles.

What kills us is the Browns know they need to upgrade the position, but unfortunately, the NFL isn’t going to cancel the season until they do, nor does the team want put its fans through a 2-14 season either.

So, they are trying their best to minimize the amount of influence the quarterback has to the team’s success.

We have documented before that when the Browns get decent play from their QB, they can win football games. That was certainly on display last year, when Brian Hoyer led Cleveland to a 7-4 start, before he started turning the ball over on a regular basis.

We are also not claiming that Josh McCown is going to be the second coming of Johnny Unitas nor that Johnny Manziel will be the next Brees.

If the Browns get lucky, they will get average, decent play out of the position.

However, we aren’t going to obsess about not having Aaron Rodgers or Ben Roethlisburger either.

Slowly but surely, we think the Cleveland Browns are building a very good football team. Their roster is in far better shape than it was three or four years ago.

That should be the story going into this season. As Gene Hackman said in Hoosiers, “we hope you judge us on who we are, rather than who we are not”.

Browns Lose, But They Are Still 0-0

Last night’s Browns-Bills preseason contest should be exhibit A in any case where a football fan wants to sue NFL teams for charging full prices for these games.

It was that ugly.

Besides the numerous players on both teams that sat out the game with injuries (the Browns had 19 players listed as inactive for the contest), the play from both teams was sloppy and inconsistent.

That should be expected considering the number of guys who played that wouldn’t if the game really counted.

If you were upset early on with Browns’ CB Johnson Bademosi struggling in coverage, remember that if Mike Pettine has to have him covering the starting wide receivers from the opponent, it will indeed be a looooong season for the brown and orange.

And that wasn’t written to denigrate Bademosi, a very good special teams player. However, on the pecking order, he is behind Joe Haden, Tramon Williams, K’Waun Williams, Pierre Desir, and probably Justin Gilbert.

The game was entertaining only to the two head coaches, Pettine and Rex Ryan, who seemed to have a contest on who could dial-up a more exotic blitz package against the other.

Josh McCown looked like a journeyman, throwing two bad interceptions, but we thought the play calling was odd, not that it matters in the pre-season.

Against a team with a pass rush like Buffalo, you almost have to pass on first down to stay out of second or third down and long situations, but offensive coordinator John DeFillipo wanted to establish the run, and McCown had to face a hard rush because the running game wasn’t working.

The veteran did have a good drive before the half, and Isiah Crowell had a couple of good runs, and once Terrance West figured out to make one move and cut up field, he had more success than he did early in the game. McCown needed that, if only to restore confidence among the fan base.

Johnny Manziel led the Browns to their only touchdown drive, and although he is still is looking more and more like a pro QB, he had to run for his life for most of the half. Still, he did make plays.

It would be interesting to see Manziel with the first unit if only to see if he can make plays from the pocket. It is worth noting that GM Ray Farmer needs to find some offensive linemen when teams start cutting down, because outside of rookie Cam Irving, the second team line is a sieve.

TE Rob Housler looked good and probably put himself back in good graces, but undrafted free agent TE E.J. Bibbs continued to impress as well, meaning somebody with talent may not make the team if Cleveland decides to go with three tight ends.

WR Shane Wynn caught the Browns’ lone touchdown pass and had an electrifying punt return called back by penalty, but isn’t he the same player as Travis Benjamin and Taylor Gabriel? The brown and orange need a big target, and that is why Terrelle Pryor is so intriguing. He has size.

He also may have the ability to score from the Browns’ own 30 yard line. Name another player on this roster who has this capability. That’s why the former quarterback will be given every opportunity to make the final roster.

Next week is the “dress rehearsal” against Tampa Bay. Our guess is several of the players with minor injuries will play that game, and that game only.

That should give us a better idea about this team going into the regular season. Because right now, we can’t say we know anything.

There Are Some Positives Regarding Browns

For most football fans nationwide and even some in Cleveland, the persona of the Cleveland Browns is negative.

The owner is a “lite” version of the Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, the head coach and general manager don’t get along, and the recent drafting history of the team is abysmal.

That’s just recent history.

To be truthful, since the Browns returned to the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1999, there has been just one playoff appearance and two winning seasons, the last being in 2007, which is only eight years ago.

We get it. There isn’t any real reason for optimism, especially if you buy in to the premise that unless you have a great quarterback, any franchise is doomed to failure.

Of course, stories like Mark Sanchez leading the New York Jets to an AFC Championship game, and Colin Kaepernick taking the 49ers to the Super Bowl prove that theory wrong.

Let’s just say it is definitely tougher to achieve success without a stud signal caller.

However, there are a lot of good things going on with the Browns, but it seems like people just continue to focus on the quarterback, and on Josh McCown being a journeyman.

That isn’t going to change. Aaron Rodgers and/or Andrew Luck aren’t going to magically show up in Berea, nor is the NFL going to cancel seasons until the Browns get a “franchise” signal caller.

Until that happens, here are some good things going on with the city’s football team.

The offensive line should be one of the NFL’s best. They have two Pro Bowl players in Joe Thomas and Alex Mack, and another who is on the verge of that status in Joel Bitonio. John Greco, Mitchell Schwartz, and rookie first round pick Cameron Irving should be solid.

Having a very good line should help the running game and give the passer time to survey the defense and find open targets.

Even mediocre wide receivers will get open if the quarterback has enough time to throw.

The secondary is also a position of strength.

Joe Haden is one of football’s best cornerbacks, and both Donte Whitner and Tashaun Gibson made the Pro Bowl a year ago. Free agent signee Tramon Williams from Green Bay, made the squad in 2010.

There is also depth with second year players Pierre Desir, K’Waun Williams, and rookie Ibraheim Campbell. That’s why Justin Gilbert’s struggles are only an issue because he was a first round pick.

He’s not leaving a huge void on this team.

The defensive line is also deep with rookie NT Danny Shelton, and veterans Phil Taylor, John Hughes, Billy Winn, Desmond Bryant, and Armonty Bryant, and Randy Starks was added as a free agent. Xavier Cooper is another new addition via the draft.

This should allow defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil to keep these guys fresh, and hopefully that enables them to stop the run better, a huge weakness for the ’14 Browns.

So, there is a foundation for success with this front office. We can’t think of any Browns’ team with three areas of strength over the last 15 years.

And while the muscle pulls keeping players off the practice field is a problem, none of the injures have to do with knee injuries or broken bones that will keep players out for extended time.

For example, we are sure that Haden and Thomas would have played last week if it were a regular season game, and that is probably true with several other players.

So, you can focus on not having the QB, but there are several teams in the same boat around the NFL. On the other hand, we choose to look at the glass half full until proven otherwise.

Nothing Really Learned From Browns Last Night

When watching NFL pre-season games, this is the rule of thumb we use–

For the first game, only the first quarter matters. For the second game, the first half matters. In the third game, the “dress rehearsal” if you will, the first three quarters matter. And the last game is just to decide who makes the back-end of the roster.

So, what did we learn from last night’s game against the Redskins? Not much.

First, it is tough to judge anything considering the Browns’ two best players, Joe Thomas and Joe Haden, didn’t even play. Nor did Dwayne Bowe, Terrell Pryor, Duke Johnson, and several others who could be key members of Mike Pettine’s squad when the regular season starts on September 14th.

The morning newspaper was filled with praise for new starting QB Josh McCown, which we thought was jumping the gun a little bit.

McCown played just one series, made the throws he needed to make, benefited from a pass interference penalty, and otherwise dinked and dunked the Browns into the end zone.

This is not to say, we don’t think McCown will be better than Brian Hoyer, because we think he will, but we didn’t see anything special about the performance last night. We want to see more.

As for the backup quarterback, Johnny Manziel, he showed improvement from last year, mostly in that he looked like an NFL quarterback.

Gone was the “Johnny Package”, the read option non-sense that is being phased out by most NFL teams because defenses have caught up to it.

And although Manziel scored a touchdown on a run, it was the type of run he should have made. He dropped back, the defense parted like the Red Sea, and he took the opportunity to get his team in the end zone. But, there was a marked difference in the way he approached the offense this year.

Overall, the offense was pretty vanilla with mostly short, safe throws, and perhaps the reason for that was the absence of Bowe, Pryor, and Johnson, who we think will be a big part of the passing game.

It was a little disturbing to see last year’s first round pick, Justin Gilbert, get torched on the opening series of the game, losing Pierre Garcon wide open on a deep pass, which he dropped.

He also whiffed on his next chance, a sideline route. He did recover to defend two passes in the end zone, but he needs to be better in the next couple of contests if he is going to contribute.

The run defense, which was arguably more of a weakness than the quarterback play a year ago, didn’t shine, so that is a bit concerning as well. They still have a hard time keeping backs from getting outside. To be sure, that will be a point of emphasis this week in practice.

Next week, we will get to see the people who are going to play in the regular season a whole lot more, probably through the first half. At that point, we should see more things to start forming opinions.

It was good to see football again, but that’s about all we saw. Nothing to get excited about, nothing to be depressed about.

That’s probably the ideal circumstance if you are Mike Pettine.

How The Cleveland Media Covers Our Teams

We refuse to be political here, but everyone knows when it comes to news, the liberals watch MSNBC for their slant, while the conservatives favor Fox News.

That got us to thinking…what kind of bias do the people who cover Cleveland sports have? We will look at it team by team, in our humble opinion, of course.

Cavaliers. Right now, Dan Gilbert’s franchise is the favored child by the writers and broadcasters, because they present the best hope for a title on the North Coast, which would be a great story.

However, make no mistake, there is bias. Whenever there is any problem with the team, there is no question that David Blatt is probably the root of the issue, at least according to those who cover the team.

Blatt is a man full of confidence, which doesn’t sit well with the media. So, they will constantly pick on his problem with being called a rookie NBA coach, and because he can be condescending to them at times, they love to point out any errors he may make.

There is also a slant toward LeBron James, who is the best basketball player in the world, but he is a human too, and is not infallible. There are those who question James on how he relates to Blatt, but for the most part, James is right, and Blatt has no clue.

Browns. The most popular word to use to describe Cleveland’s professional football team is “dysfunction”. The GM and coach aren’t on the same page. The owner meddles. What will be the story if the Browns improve once again in 2015.

GM Ray Farmer is another guy who exudes confidence and that turns off some reporters as well. So, they like to point at his draft record, which isn’t sterling when it comes to first round choices.

However, it is kind of comical when 8th overall pick CB Justin Gilbert is passed over for first team reps in practice by last year’s 4th round selection Pierre Desir, Farmer takes a hit because Gilbert doesn’t get the nod.

Who do they think found Desir? Santa’s elves?

Mike Pettine is a serious man, and seems like he will be a solid NFL coach, but he is down to earth with the media, and in turn, you never hear a peep about him being at fault if the team goes 3-13.

And the scribes turned against owner Jimmy Haslam this week when he made some comments about reporters being accountable for their stories.

Guess some people should play along so the media will like them.

Indians. For a franchise that has produced just four winning seasons in 15 years, and just two playoff appearances, you don’t hear a lot of criticism being thrown toward the Dolan family, and the front office.

Our opinion is the guys at the top at Progressive Field are genuinely nice people, so they seem to get a free pass.

No one questions them about their horrible record at drafting in the 00’s, or why they seems to do nothing to put a team over the top when in contention.

The Indians are very media savvy, and seem to feed reporters with facts that make the organization look favorable, and they are reported without question.

But it is very quiet this summer despite being picked to win the AL Central Division for the first time since 2007.

We guess it pays to be nice.

Again, these are our perceptions about how the teams are portrayed locally. It would be nice if the personalities involved didn’t seem to have as much to do with how the coverage is slanted.

Sometimes “Conflict in Front Office” Is Good.

The other day, we wrote about how the Cleveland Browns get no credit for trying something different, when the Cleveland Indians are a stand pat organization, and they get criticized for not making any changes.

There is another way the two organizations are different as well, and it has to do with the relationship between the front office and the head coach/manager.

On the corner of Carnegie and Ontario, it’s a Kumbaya fest. Everyone seems to be on the same page and have the same opinion. In fact, it is difficult to tell who is doing the talking sometimes, be it president Mark Shapiro, GM Chris Antonetti, or Terry Francona.

They always seem to be in lock step, at least publicly.

On the other hand, the media loves to report about the discord between Browns’ GM Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine. It is further proof of the team’s “dysfunction”.

The reality is behind the scenes, there should be some disagreement between the coach and the person who picks the talent, because they should be coming at it from two different perspectives.

The coach or manager is trying to win, and win right now. That’s the way he gets to keep his job, and also, he is ultimately the person who the wins and losses are assigned to.

When the Browns have a 4-12 record, no one is saying that Ray Farmer’s squad has that record. It goes on Pettine’s record.

The general manager has to look at not only this year’s team, but also the future of the franchise, and if football’s case, salary cap implications.

Many coaches fall into the trap of favoring veterans with little upside because they are dependable, instead of going with a young player, who may have a bigger upside.

Think about the Indians in this situation. Terry Francona likes to have his bench filled with veterans like Ryan Raburn, Mike Aviles, etc., instead of keeping younger players like Tyler Holt or Jesus Aguilar.

In baseball, the GM has to weigh the positives of major league experience against not playing. For young players, they need to play. No one gets better by watching extensively. If that occurred, there would be a lot of fans who would be suddenly able to play professional sports.

When a team is in a situation like the Cavaliers are, it is easy for the coach and GM to be on the same page, because there, the goal is clearly stated. The Cavs are trying to win a title now, and everybody is “All In”.

However, in other situations, there is a different point of view for both the front office and the coaching staff, and that is healthy. It’s why you also don’t want to have a coach/GM in charge.

We remember Butch Davis proudly saying that all of his draft picks made the team. Of course, they did, because he was in charge of keeping them or letting them go.

Now, you don’t want the two people is total disagreement to the point where they cannot work together either. But, they should not be in lock step with each other.

To be sure, there have to be players that Farmer likes, that Pettine doesn’t, and vice-versa. It’s healthy and necessary in a winning organization.

The Indians seem to have a “group think” approach, and that’s not working well for them.

So, don’t be concerned that Ray Farmer and Mike Pettine don’t see eye to eye on everything. They have two different points of view.

Browns Get Criticized For Doing What We Wish Tribe Would Do

Yesterday, Browns’ owner Jimmy Haslam took some members of the media to task for some of the reports regarding the “dysfunction” of the team.

We believe that the sports journalists, both print and broadcast, criticize GM Ray Farmer because the Browns aren’t being built the conventional way.

That way would be to find a “franchise” quarterback and then construct the rest of the team around said QB. Because the Browns do not have that guy, and they weren’t willing to overdraft in last April’s draft, it means Cleveland once again doesn’t have a clue, at least in terms of the Cleveland sports media.

By the way, doesn’t it say something that Farmer didn’t repeat the mistake, if he indeed made one, of picking another quarterback in the first round after the struggles of Johnny Manziel in his rookie season?

Farmer has said this publicly and apparently the people reporting on the Browns do not listen. He said the reality of the situation is that very few NFL teams has an elite passer, so those teams have to figure out another way to win.

The Browns’ front office recognizes this, and one of the things you always hear about the Indians situation when they complain about their small market status, is that other teams in the same situation figure out how to win, so why can’t the Tribe?

Haslam, Farmer, and head coach Mike Pettine have decided to try a different way to win, and that is building through a strong defense and a solid running game. It may not be the sexy way to compile victories, but they know that Josh McCown and/or Manziel aren’t top-notch quarterbacks, but they don’t use it as an excuse for not winning.

Pettine says it all the time, it’s a pass/fail league. And they don’t use not having an Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Ben Roethlisberger as a reason to just punt the season.

Instead, they have decided to build the rest of their football team, and make each game about playing in the teens or low twenties, and putting up just enough points to claim a win.

And early last season, it worked. They dominated the Steelers at home, and the Bengals in Cincinnati. They lost to Pittsburgh on the road and the Ravens at home on last second field goals.

Yes, yes, we know those were losses, but losing on the last play is a bit different that leading going into the fourth quarter and getting hammered then.

Part of the problem the media has with Farmer is his attitude toward them. He’s not warm and fuzzy, and comes off at times like he’s smarter than the people who cover the team, which he is. If he wasn’t, their situations would be reversed.

The Indians front office acts like that all the time, yet no one challenges them, and if fact, because they are nice people, they seem to escape the criticism for their poor results.

If Farmer and Pettine turn this thing around, guess what. They will be even more detached from the media because they will have been correct.

Haslam set himself up yesterday by saying he like the direction of the team and there aren’t plans to make changes if the Browns have a bad season last year. However, at this point, he should be taken at his word, even though his track record says otherwise.

The reality is no matter what kind of schedule the Browns played a year ago, they did get better by three wins. The five straight losses is what makes everyone so down on the team.

Just think what the perception of the team would be is the season had been reversed, and the Browns lost their first five, and then rallied to a 7-9 season.

We both know that Farmer and Pettine would be hailed for putting the team in the right direction.

This is a key season because the slate is tougher in 2015. But give the Browns credit for not saying woe is us, we don’t have Tom Brady, so we are just going to finish 3-13. They have a plan, it’s just now one the media agrees with.