Browns Fill Needs, Nothing Wrong With That.

The Cleveland Browns seem to have had a very good draft. Just let that sink in for a minute.

It wasn’t sexy like some people in the media wanted, they didn’t draft a quarterback early, nor did they take a wide receiver. However, what they did do was address a major weakness.

For all the moaning and hand-wringing about the quarterback play in 2014, the Browns ranked 20th in the league in passing yards. Granted, that is in the lower half of the league, but it is not the worst, which is where their defense against the running game was in 2014.

So, in their first five choices in the first three rounds, they picked three defensive players, two of them specifically picked to help against the run.

Washington NT Danny Shelton was the pick at #12, and at 6’1″ and 343 pounds will play in the middle of the defensive line for Cleveland. He, along with a healthy Phil Taylor, will occupy blockers and make plays against the run.

In the third round, GM Ray Farmer traded back in to pick another interior defender, DT Xavier Cooper from Washington State who weighs 293 pounds. Cooper is said to need more strength, but is very fast for a tackle, which should help him rush the passer as well.

Farmer didn’t ignore the pass rush either, selecting OLB Nate Orchard in the second round. Orchard, from Utah had 17.5 sacks and 21 tackles for loss last season, and was said to give first round pick Andrus Peat from Stanford fits when they played the Cardinal in ’14.

The Browns needed play makers in the front seven and they may have added three in this year’s draft. You really can’t complain about that.

On the offensive side of the ball, perhaps no team in the NFL has a better threesome on the left side than Joe Thomas, Joel Bitonio and Alex Mack. However, as good as they are, the right side had problems. So, Farmer addressed that by taking Cameron Erving from Florida State, who can play any position on the line.

He will no doubt move in here at either right guard or right tackle.

And the offense also lacked a change of pace running back, which the Browns addressed in the third round by taking Duke Johnson from Miami. He can catch the ball out of the backfield, which is not a strength or Terence West or Isaiah Crowell. This gives the offense an added dimension.

It seems when the Browns draft skill position players, they are criticized for not addressing the offensive and defensive lines. And when they take care of the infrastructure and take care of the basic needs of the team, then they get heat for not making a splash.

We don’t know if the players they have taken so far will be Pro Bowl talents, but it does appear that both Shelton and Erving should start in Week 1, which first round picks should do.

That’s why you draft them there.

You have to give Ray Farmer credit for addressing the weaknesses of his football team. Are there still more to fill? Yes, we undoubtedly need a play making wide receiver. But, it’s not like he took a left tackle instead of one.

The Browns can’t be a contender until they can run the ball and stop the run. That’s basic football.

Last year, they showed big improvement in the running game, and this year they are taking strides to stop the opponents.

That seems like a plan, which they are usually mocked for not having one.

Browns Have Other Needs Than QB, Take Care of Them

Just think, a week from now, it will all be over.

You might think we are talking about the Cavs’ first round series against the Boston Celtics, which may be over later this afternoon.

No, we are talking about the NFL Draft and the northeastern Ohio football fan’s annual rite of passage, trying to figure out what quarterback the Browns should go after so they can start qualifying for the playoffs.

We get so absorbed into this and the perceived need for a QB, that people lose sight that you need a complete team to win the Lombardi Trophy.

What do these quarterbacks have in common: Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Eli Manning, Colin Kaepernick, and Alex Smith.

All would probably be considered in the top half of signal callers in the game, but none of them played in the playoff after last season.

This is not to say the Browns don’t need help at the QB spot, but first, they need to see what Johnny Manziel can do, because six quarters isn’t enough evaluation time, and second, they have other needs to fill.

That’s why it is ludicrous to us to consider trading both first round picks for another rookie quarterback.

You probably will wind up with a player who can’t start in the first game of the season, but you also lose the opportunity to add two players who could.

The conversation on sports talk shows regarding getting a passer border on desperation.

In the past week, we heard hosts excited by a scout saying the basement for Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota is Smith, the former first overall pick, who has turned into a serviceable player in Kansas City.

However, if that draft were held today, Smith wouldn’t be the first player chosen, because he’s not a great player.

There is also continued talk about dealing one of the Browns’ first round selections for Sam Bradford, a guy who has played seven games in the past two seasons. While we would be interested in Bradford, that kind of price is simply too high.

We realize it is the silly season.

Rumors about the Browns trading for a quarterback appear daily, because the national perception is that the franchise will do anything to get one.

And there is no question that Cleveland needs a great QB, a lot of teams do. Unfortunately, wanting Jameis Winston and Mariota to be one, doesn’t make them one.

We were asked earlier this week what we want the Browns to do this Thursday night. Our reply was to stay right where they are at #12 and #19, and pick two players who can start and help this football team in 2015.

That said, if you could move a first round pick for a proven top ten quarterback in Philip Rivers, we would consider that, because he’s proven to be quality player.

But we don’t think San Diego will move him, so it’s a moot point.

GM Ray Farmer needs to get help to defend the run, a huge weakness for the Browns in 2014, and they need a difference maker in the front seven. Someone the offense needs to account for.

And although Paul Kruger had a good season last year, Cleveland still needs a dominant pass rusher.

They also need offensive line help, a tight end, and wide receivers. Players who could help the Browns in those area will likely be there when Farmer picks on Thursday night.

Let’s hope the Browns’ front office understands this and doesn’t let their quarterback envy show.

Just be smart, not spectacular.

Forget the Uniform Frenzy, The Browns Are Improving Under the Radar

Tonight’s the night!

Unfortunately, a lot of attention will be given to the Cleveland Browns unveiling their new uniform scheme this evening.

We guess it will be interesting to see what the powers that be came up with, but in reality, they could wear Lady Gaga’s famous meat dress if they went to the Super Bowl.

We understand that a great deal of sports talk conversation on Wednesday will involve the analysis of clothing, not the Cavaliers’ impending playoff series or the Indians start to their season.

It’s Browns’ Town. We get it. However, if you want to talk about the Cleveland Browns, why not focus on the improvements the team has made this off-season. We understand this doesn’t fit in with the “Browns are dysfunctional” narrative that both the national and local media have portrayed, but there is no question here that GM Ray Farmer is addressing the team’s needs and remember, he has 11 draft picks coming from April 30th-May 2nd.

We’ve heard about the lack of quality wide receivers for more than a year, and since the season ended, Farmer signed veteran wide outs Dwayne Bowe and Brian Hartline. And we feel another young pass catcher will be added in the first few rounds in the draft.

There is no question the Mike Pettine’s team had a hard time stopping the run in 2014, and they lost veteran Ahtyba Rubin to free agency. Rubin was replaced by Randy Starks, a two-time Pro Bowl player. Yes, Starks is three years older than the man he replaced, but again, many draft experts have the Browns taking another defensive lineman in either the first or second round of the draft. So, they are upgrading for not only next year, but for the future.

They lost CB Buster Skrine in free agency, and replaced him in the short-term with former Green Bay starter Tramon Williams. Ultimately, one of last year’s draft choices, Justin Gilbert or Pierre Desir, will replace Skrine.

Their other major loss was TE Jordan Cameron, and Farmer addressed this by signing Rob Housler last week. Housler is five months older than the man he replaces, and actually has more seasons with more than 30 catches. Outside of Cameron’s Pro Bowl season in 2013 when he caught 80 passes, his next best year was 24 catches in 2014. Housler caught 45 passes in ’12 and 39 in 2013. And he doesn’t have the concussion issues that have plagued Cameron.

Of course, the one position everyone focuses on is quarterback, and that’s why any optimism is muted.

We have said this before, but when they Browns have just decent quarterback play, they can win.

A passer rating of 80 is below average in today’s NFL. In fact, it would rank 27th last season, so it is barely passable.

Last year, when the Browns QB had a rating of over 80, the team went 6-3. When it was below that mark, they were 1-6.

So, if the Browns get competent play at the position, they have a pretty good record.

While it would be nice to have Andrew Luck or even Joe Flacco, what the Browns really need is someone to not be terrible. That’s the low bar set for Josh McCown and/or Johnny Manziel.

And that’s how Farmer and Pettine have built this team, to find ways to win without having a great quarterback. That’s not to say they don’t want one, but you can’t just lose because you don’t have one.

Pettine’s offense centers around a strong running game and a QB that doesn’t make mistakes until he gets THE GUY.

Still, seeing what the Browns do in the draft is more important than the new uniforms. Unfortunately, that will be all the talk tomorrow.

There’s Plenty of Time for Rest for Cavs’ Big Three

It never ceases to amaze us on the craziness of Cleveland as a sports city.

We guess until we finally win the coveted championship we’ve waited for over sixty years, it will not change.

Usually, the insanity revolves around the Cleveland Browns, but today’s piece is about the franchise that clinched a playoff spot last night, the Cavaliers.

Making the playoffs is a bit anti-climatic, since the Cavs have won 26 of their last 32 games, and since the hot streak started, we all knew they were going to make the post-season.

But the craziness is about resting the team’s best players: LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love.

Love missed the last two games of the last trip the team was on, sitting out against the Magic and Heat, and when it was reported that James missed the shoot around prior to yesterday’s contest vs. the Pacers, the argument started again.

There is no doubt James is sore at this time of year, but he shares that along with most of the sport’s players. He’s 30 years old, and to be sure his back and knees probably feel much older than that at this point in the season.

However, yesterday, he had a cold! Most of us go to work and perform our everyday functions with a cold. We take some medicine and go about our day.

There were those who said James should sit out, and there were even callers on local sports talk stations advocating that James sit out the rest of the season to have him completely healthy for the playoffs.

That is ridiculous, and those people probably don’t own a calendar.

The regular season ends on April 15th, which for you non-math majors is 25 days away. That would be almost four weeks.

Do we really want LeBron James going into the playoffs having sat for four weeks?

Remember the 2008-09 playoffs, when the Cavs vanquished both of their foes in the first two rounds of the playoffs in four games, and had to sit for a week waiting for Orlando to advance?

The Cavs got a little stale and lost game one at home, and could never regain the home court advantage, nor the momentum they had going after sweeping the first two rounds.

Plus, despite LeBron’s protests, it is better for David Blatt’s team to get the #2 seed in the East and have home court advantage for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs.

And with Chicago just 2-1/2 games behind and playing well as of late, the wine and gold still need to win some more contests.

The guess here is the Cavs can accomplish winning the division, thus clinching one of the top three seeds, probably #2 since Toronto is now three games back, with at least a week to spare.

That means Blatt can sit James, Irving, and Love for a full week if they all want to before the playoffs get underway. That would be plenty of time to ease their collective bumps and bruises.

Plus, after this three game trip to Milwaukee, Memphis, and Brooklyn, the Cavaliers will be at home for seven of their next nine games.

Included in those home games are contests against the Sixers, Celtics, and Pistons. If Blatt were to rest James in any of those games, it would be understandable.

Look we all want the Cavs to win the NBA title this year, but locking LeBron James in a vault for the rest of the regular season isn’t the answer either.

We trust James and Blatt to work together to get the league’s best player the rest he needs heading into the playoffs. Let’s not forget the wine and gold still need to win some games in the regular season too.

Browns Add Experienced Free Agents

After sitting out the first week of free agency in the NFL, and irritating their fans and local media alike, the Cleveland Browns opened their check book and signed a pair of free agents yesterday.

They inked former Green Bay cornerback Tramon Williams to replace Buster Skrine, and also signed two-time Pro Bowler Randy Starks from Miami, apparently replacing Ahtyba Rubin.

It seems that Ray Farmer’s plan is to not give big dollars on a long-term deal to average to above average players, and instead pay veterans nearing the end of their usefulness as players to short deals. Our guess is in the meantime, he will use the draft to find more permanent solutions.

It would also not be surprising to see Cleveland sign another such player, former Kansas City Chief WR Dwayne Bowe to another two or three-year deal to provide another experienced wide out to go along with Brian Hartline.

The Browns had weaknesses going into the off-season on the defensive line and at outside linebacker, as well as wide receiver.

There is no question that the receiver position has been upgraded since the end of the year, and they have replaced a couple of the free agents they lost with equal or better players in Starks and Williams.

They do need an outside linebacker to replace Jabaal Sheard, who wasn’t a good fit in Mike Pettine and Jim O’Neil’s scheme.

So, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Farmer sign an outside linebacker, probably one in his late 20’s or early 30’s, and look for more help in the draft in late April.

That seems to be Farmer’s strategy. Get some short-term help at reasonable dollars and then get a long-term solution in the draft.

If the GM would bring in another experienced quarterback, like Matt Moore, you could make a well-reasoned argument that the Browns’ roster is stronger now than it was ending the season with a five game losing streak to wind up at 7-9.

Let’s say Moore would come here, and there are reports that he is quite happy in Miami backing up Ryan Tannehill. A quarterback room of Moore, Josh McCown, and Johnny Manziel (no, we aren’t forgetting Thaddeus Lewis) is certainly better than one with Brian Hoyer, Manziel, and Connor Shaw.

These signings don’t fit the narrative that the Browns’ organization is a complete mess, so we don’t expect the signings to receive much fanfare. And Williams and Starks aren’t sexy names.

Heck, former NFL passer and CBS Sports radio commentator Boomer Esiason rated the free agent QBs and listed McCown ahead of Hoyer. So, at least one person that has knowledge of the sport thinks the Browns actually got better at the position.

Again, you have to remember that most players who reach free agent status in the NFL are usually past their prime. That’s why you don’t want to commit a huge amount of money to them.

Starks and Williams are in the same boat, and although it looks as though the Browns gave them big cash, the contracts are short because of their age.

It’s a different way of looking at the free agent market. It doesn’t mean Ray Farmer is wrong, it’s just different.

Time will tell if he is right, and if he doesn’t address the roster problems in the draft, then criticism is fair.

Let’s just let it play out first.

Browns Right in Not Going Crazy in Free Agent Market

It is hilarious to us that people, both fans and media alike, are criticizing the management of the Cleveland Browns because they don’t expect them to do anything during the NFL’s free agency period, which starts today.

The bulk of that criticism comes from a comment made by owner Jimmy Haslam earlier this year that he doesn’t expect the team to be involved heavily in free agency.

Apparently, that was translated that the Browns won’t do anything.

Last night, the Browns did make a move, signing former Ohio State WR Brian Hartline. The Canton native is just a year removed from back-to-back 1000 yard receiving seasons, catching over 70 passes in each of those seasons.

He also fulfills the native northeast Ohio/Ohio State player requirement that some Browns’ fans have.

Last season, Hartline dropped to 39 catches. Did he lose the ability to get open or did Ryan Tannehill simply find a new favorite target?

He was targeted 26 times in the Dolphins first four games, grabbing 16 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown in that time span.

He was only thrown to more than five times in a game twice the rest of the season, one of those games being the season finale, when he caught five throws for 94 yards. In most of the other games, he seemed to be an afterthought in the game plan.

At the very least, Hartline is a bigger target for whoever is throwing passes for Cleveland next season, at 6’2″ and 180 pounds. The only receivers bigger on last year’s Browns’ roster were the currently suspended Josh Gordon and current free agent Miles Austin.

So, Hartline is worth taking a gamble on.

As for NFL free agency, you have to understand that most of the players who are eligible are past their prime, or perhaps are at the peak of their ability, so teams will be paying them for dimishing returns.

That doesn’t mean they can’t make an impact, though. Certainly, Donte Whitner and Karlos Dansby made a positive impact on last year’s team lending experience and knowledge of professional football that was invaluable.

And both played very well too. The Browns missed Dansby when he was injured at the end of the year, and Whitner wound up making the Pro Bowl.

That said, we wouldn’t be opposed to seeing GM Ray Farmer pick up an experienced lineman, both defensive and offensive to help the depth in those areas. They can probably get both types of players at a reasonable price.

And as we keep saying, we would also like to see the team get another quarterback, one who can challenge Josh McCown and Johnny Manziel for a starting position. If you don’t have “the guy”, then why not have some options and depth.

It wouldn’t or shouldn’t be a problem to bring in a Jake Locker or Mat Moore to compete for a starting spot.

And it can be done and still keep the organization very flexible with the salary cap. Remember, the Browns came into free agency around $50 million under the cap.

However, knowing the Browns’ fan base, unless they sign Tom Brady to play quarterback, the front office is going to take a hit for not doing enough. Let’s wait until the off-season is over before panicking on what Ray Farmer didn’t do this spring.

Another Week of Overreaction for Browns’ Fans

The one thing the Cleveland Browns are very good at is staying relevant, at least around the city of Cleveland.

The Cavaliers can be red-hot and the Indians are starting spring training, but all sports fans can talk about is the Browns.

(By the way, we guess we are guilty of the same thing).

This past week, the Browns had two minor tidbits of news in the grand scheme of things, and as usual, kicked off a tremendous media reaction.

The first was created by themselves, the introduction of a new team logo.

The organization took down the old logo at the team’s headquarters, and hyped last Tuesday’s announcement of the new logo throughout the normal media and social media.

This got fans excited as to what the Browns would come up with.

Would the brownie elf be part of it? Would it incorporate the bulldog which has become a symbol of the “Dawg Pound”. Would it provide a glimpse as to what the new uniform would look like?

Instead, it was a change in font, a different shade of orange, and a brown facemask on the helmets.

It created a negative reaction among fans and nationally as well. Quite a bit of comedy was written talking about the new logo.

The Browns front office should take the hit on this debacle. They overhyped themselves.

If they were going to make minor changes, why bring a lot of attention to it. That’s what got fans upset. They thought it would be an exciting new look for the team, and instead, they simply tweaked the representation of the team.

As a graphic designer told us, it was a big deal to him that they changed the font and the color slightly, but he understood that to someone not in his business, it was a minor occurrence.

Then yesterday, the Browns signed QB Josh McCown to a three-year contract, which made social media explode once again.

McCown has been a below average quarterback through his career in the NFL, with a lifetime passer rating of 76.1. The critics of this move point out that the Browns should have just kept Brian Hoyer, the local hero.

His career passer rating? Try 76.8.

Basically, the Browns simply traded out back up quarterback types.

The reason? McCown will be fine if he’s a reserve to either Johnny Manziel or another QB the Browns get in the off-season. Hoyer wanted to be the starter, and Mike Pettine and Ray Farmer didn’t want to make that guarantee.

Our guess is that Farmer will still try to get a player like Jake Locker or Mark Sanchez or Matt Moore in free agency as well, so people critical of the move are being a little premature.

Also, the fans who have been critical of Kyle Shanahan and Hoyer being gone never consider that the onus may have been on them to leave? Neither wanted to commit to Pettine and they are now gone.

It’s just easier to say the organization is “dysfunctional”.

Look, we have no idea what will happen with the Browns in 2015. We do know they are bringing in talent, although they haven’t been able to get the quarterback.

They have a solid offensive line, some good, young running backs, and a very good secondary.

They also have a lot of draft picks and room under the salary cap.

Let’s wait until the off-season plays out before panic sets in.

Until then, we are sure of one thing…the Browns will stay in the news somehow.

Here’s Hoping Browns Aren’t Reaching for QB

It is becoming an annual rite of passage for football fans in Cleveland, Ohio.

The season ends, and the Cleveland Browns are looking at the quarterbacks who are entering the NFL from the college ranks, and the national pundits are talking about the Browns moving up in the draft to take yet another signal caller.

Last season, GM Ray Farmer resisted the temptation to use the fourth overall pick to take a passer, but succumbed to pressure from around the city to find one and moved up to pick Johnny Manziel with the 22nd choice.

Now, NFL insiders are saying that Farmer is enamored with another Heisman Trophy winner, Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, and the Browns are looking to move up to get him.

Adding fuel to the flames is the man who appears to be Cleveland’s next quarterback coach, Kevin O’Connell, is currently working with Mariota, preparing him for his personal workouts with pro teams.

While the Browns certainly have to upgrade the quarterback position, we aren’t sure that picking another guy out of college is the answer, particularly this year.

Most scouts say the most talented passer coming out this year is Jameis Winston from Florida State. However, Winston has a lot of baggage and after coming off the Manziel circus, do the Browns want to deal with that again?

Mariota has the size, but is he ready to step in and play at the NFL level? His offensive system at Oregon was gimmicky, trying to catch the defense off guard by running plays quickly. That’s not going to happen at the professional level.

And this isn’t to say we wouldn’t take either guy. If one or both fell to the Browns’ first pick at #12 overall, or even further to #19, you would have to think about drafting either player, but we would also bring in a veteran, not necessarily Brian Hoyer, to compete for the job.

We just wouldn’t sacrifice a draft pick, or perhaps multiple choices to move up in the selection process to get either.

Why? Because even though quarterback is a most important position, it’s not the only hole the Cleveland Browns have to fill.

They could use a wide receiver. They could use another offensive lineman. They could use defensive line depth and another linebacker as well.

If a quality player is available at one of those positions, Farmer should use the picks he has to fill one of those spots. Don’t reach for a quarterback yet again.

We say that because in our opinion there aren’t any signal callers available who are worth the price of trading an extra high draft choice. So, basically you would be expending the pick you traded for plus another pick, probably in the first three rounds of the draft.

If we thought either Winston or Mariota was an Andrew Luck type player, then the Browns should do what they have to, but that’s not the case.

So, Farmer and the front office should simply sit tight, and draft the best player available, and continue to build a strong team around whoever plays QB when the regular season starts in September.

It’s about time the Browns learn from their mistakes.

Browns Play Hard for Coach in Finale

With all the pre-game talk about parties, suspensions, and inactives, the Cleveland Browns still had to play one more football game before the season ended.

And for those who think Mike Pettine lost his football team, you were proven wrong today, as the Browns played hard, but still came up short in a 20-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Using an ultra conservative offense because they were forced to play rookie Connor Shaw, and a tough hard-nosed defense, the Browns were tied at halftime at three, and actually took a 10-3 lead with 3:29 left in the third quarter on Terrance West’s short run.

But the defense couldn’t hold the lead once again, and once the Ravens took the lead, there was very curious play calling and Baltimore won going away and received a playoff spot when Kansas City beat San Diego.

All in all, the defense only allowed 20 points, but the problem was they allowed 17 in the final quarter.

Yes, they are depleted by injuries, but remember in three of the last four games, Cleveland had a late advantage only to see the defense give up the game winning points.

They should take accountability for that.

It seemed that once the Browns took the lead, the defensive strategy became conservative, meaning they didn’t go after Joe Flacco they way they did earlier.

Without the pressure, Flacco got hot hitting 8 of 9 throws down the stretch, including a 53-yard shot to Torrey Smith, which set the Ravens up to take the lead.

After Baltimore took a 13-10 lead, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s play calling got strange. With the running game being effective all day (West had 94 yards on 18 attempts), Shaw became the mad bomber, throwing consecutive deep balls to WR Travis Benjamin, both which fell incomplete.

Baltimore got the ball back, scored again, and the game was basically over.

Several people have mentioned Shanahan as a head coaching candidate this off-season, but as with Washington coach Jay Gruden, if his last name was different, no one would be interested in him, at least at this point in his career.

Shaw performed okay considering he was undrafted, hitting 14 of 28 throws for 177 yards, but also showed his lack of arm strength, and why he is not a serious contender for a starting job next summer.

With Brian Hoyer a free agent, and Manziel showing little in his six quarters of play, the Browns will again have questions at this most critical position. We will say it again, when the Browns get competent play at QB, they are a good football team. Not superstar play, just a solid performance.

One of the trademarks of the Cleveland defense all season was getting turnovers, but they couldn’t get one today, and had they got one, it could have turned the game (no pun intended) for the Browns. They forced Flacco into some poor throws early and even forced a fumble (Paul Kruger), but didn’t get the big play.

After the game, owner Jimmy Haslam made the announcement that Pettine and GM Ray Farmer will be back next season, which is the correct course of action.

Yes, some people will point to the five straight losses to end the year, but Cleveland had chances to win four of those late in the games, overall, there was progress. The seven wins is the most since 2007.

The Browns identity got a way from them a little bit and the injuries didn’t help. That’s not an excuse, but the facts.

The offense needs a strong running game and Alex Mack’s broken leg killed the success the Browns were having, and the run defense took a hit when Phil Taylor got hurt.

Next year, with another draft building more depth, these issues can be addressed.

Jumping from 4-12 to 7-9 in nice. Next year, the playoffs will be expected.

No Matter What People Say, The Browns Have Made Progress.

The Cleveland Browns just cannot avoid drama.

They are most definitely an improved football team this season. After years and years, six in total, of four and five win seasons, the Browns will NOT lose 10 games this season for the first time since 2007.

The defense has shown tremendous improvement as the season as gone along, and the offense has some promising rookie running backs as a foundation for the future.

However, even though the brown and orange still have an opportunity for nine victories, there has been criticism of the current front office by a franchise icon, and others speculating that coach Mike Pettine may not be safe if his team loses the last two games, which would be six of the last seven overall.

Want to talk about dysfunction? Firing Pettine after the progress made this season would be the exhibit A for the prosecution.

That can be remedied by owner Jimmy Haslam taking the time to talk to the media and allay everyone’s fears by saying Pettine and GM Ray Farmer will absolutely be back next season and he looks forward to another step forward in 2015.

In a normal world, he wouldn’t have to do that because both are under contract, but after the firing of Rob Chudzinski after one year last season, and the cleaning out of the front office as well, you can understand why supporters of the coach are worried.

Haslam needs to do it and do it before this Sunday’s game at Carolina. It’s the decent and smart thing to do. Most of the fans feel Pettine has done a good job and that he and Farmer have indeed started a culture change in Berea.

The head coach switched quarterbacks last week because the guy who started the first 12 games wasn’t getting it done anymore. If there were any other circumstances, like a meddling owner, those were superseded by Hoyer’s declining play.

So, the rookie first round draft choice played poorly in his first NFL start, and now everyone is looking at needing another signal caller in the ’15 draft. To quote Aaron Rodgers and LeBron James, “relax!”

Look, we weren’t on the Manziel bandwagon as the draft approached last May, especially with the fourth overall pick. However, judging him on one game, especially against a team that reached the playoffs the past three seasons, is ridiculous.

Manziel is a competitor and that performance last Sunday probably eats at him every minute until he can get back on the field this week. If he doesn’t learn from his first start, then he’s not as smart as we think.

He has seen the speed of the game first hand and should be making adjustments. Hopefully, he has learned that it is important to play mostly from the pocket and not follow his instinct to run around if the first read isn’t open.

Those are the things we should see against the Panthers on Sunday.

The best thing about Manziel’s day last week was that we will never have to go through his first NFL start again. Let’s allow him to play a few games before condemning him to the island of misfit passers, which includes several Cleveland quarterbacks who have played here since 1999.

We understand the NFL is a week to week sport and each game gets analyzed way too much. However, this organization has made progress overall in 2014, even if they lose the last two games.

Let’s remember that before we press any panic buttons.