Cavs’ Success Has National Media Confused

We must have forgotten all of the crazy stuff that goes on when LeBron James is on your basketball team.

Early in the season, when the Cavaliers were struggling, it was easy for the media, both local and national, to find things to write about this basketball team.

The stories ranged from David Blatt being on the precipice of being fired, to James and/or Kevin Love opting out of their contracts after the 2014-15 season and heading to the free agent market.

When LeBron was in Miami, those stories simply didn’t exist about the Cavs, because no one cared about him.

There were even times when stories were dug up several weeks after the fact, such as Tristan Thompson turning down a huge contract extension.

Actually, Thompson turned it down before the second game of the season, right before the deadline to do such extensions, but it became a big story when the wine and gold was struggling.

Then, GM David Griffin made the deals which re-shaped the roster, and the basketball team starting winning. And winning a lot.

Last night’s demolition of Memphis gave Cleveland there 28th win in their last 34 games, a torrid pace to say the least.

Now, there wasn’t much controversial to concoct about this team.

Except for writing about the two scapegoats of the franchise, Blatt and Love.

We’ve been saying this for several weeks now, when the Cavaliers lose, you can bet the fans and media are blaming two people, the coach and the team’s starting power forward.

Local media people are always asking national types for the perception of Blatt, despite the fact that the last two times the wine and gold have had two days off and a solid practice, they posted impressive wins against Dallas and Memphis.

Why that doesn’t speak to Blatt’s ability and add how quickly the three new players fit in right away is a mystery.

However, he will no doubt be questioned until he wins the NBA title.

As for Love, without question he made the most sacrifices in his own game to come to Cleveland, and he will be rewarded with his first playoff appearance. He has consistently said he will be back with the Cavs next year, but that hasn’t stopped people (even Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning has weighed in) from saying the former Timberwolf player can’t wait to get out.

And in the past few days, they have blown out of proportion his comments that he and James aren’t “best friends”, and he thought his former UCLA teammate, Russell Westbrook deserved consideration as MVP.

For all of the talk Love did about wanting to be on a winning team, he would look hypocritical if he left the Cavs left one season to go to the Lakers or Knicks, the two most talked about places he will wind up.

Really? That’s all they can come up with?

The point is things are running so smooth right now, that the national writers, who can’t fathom anyone would want to be in Cleveland, have to invent stories to try to disrupt the momentum of this basketball team.

To this point, it hasn’t bothered anyone.

To be sure, they thought J.R. Smith would do something crazy or wouldn’t fit in either, but he’s been a perfect fit here, and Blatt has called him a joy to coach.

It sounds like the players know right now that they have something special going on. They know the playoffs start very, very soon.

No Deadline Moves for Cavs, Who Did Heavy Lifting a Month Ago.

The NBA all-star break has come and gone and the season will continue for the Cleveland Cavaliers tomorrow night at Washington against the Wizards.

It’s the first of a tough 14 game stretch for the wine and gold which will likely determine whether or not they can finish the season as the #2 or #3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

It was a quiet trade deadline for GM David Griffin because he did all of his heavy lifting in January, curing much of what ailed the Cavs by getting Timofey Mozgov, J.R. Smith, and Iman Shumpert basically for Dion Waiters and a first round draft pick.

Those two deals seemed to have turned the season around for the wine and gold, who responded by winning 14 of their last 16 games.

So, the big moves made today, in which 37 players changed teams, were made a month ago by Griffin, transforming his team instantly, and correcting the moves made during the off-season (except for getting LeBron James and Kevin Love), which failed.

The bad news is the Cavs still have two weaknesses. The good news is that they involve the ninth and tenth men in coach David Blatt’s rotation, an extra big man and another point guard.

The loss to Chicago right before the break demonstrated Cleveland can only go three deep at the center and power forward spots, and if someone is missing (like Love that night with an eye injury) or one of them get into foul trouble (like Mozgov did), Blatt’s alternative is to use James Jones, a three-point specialist, at the #4, or dust off Brendan Haywood, who it appears has nothing left in the tank except his favorable contract.

That means Griffin is left to go after one of the big men who could get a buyout after being traded.

The biggest candidate would Kendrick Perkins, dealt by Oklahoma City to Utah today. The 6’10”, 280 pound center has plenty of playoff experience with 135 games, including three trips to The Finals.

Perkins would clog the middle, and although he is limited offensively, could give Blatt another defensive minded post presence. And he would only need to play around 10 minutes per night.

The Clippers are said to also be interested, as Perkins played for Doc Rivers in Boston, but Cleveland would seem to present a better chance to play in June.

Despite Atlanta’s play thus far, many experts still expect the Eastern Conference to come down to the Cavaliers and the Bulls, and with Chicago having Joakim Noah, Paul Gasol, and Taj Gibson, it would serve the Cavs well to have another experience big man to battle the Bulls’ trio.

JaVale McGee, traded to Philadelphia today, would be another possibility, but the Sixers are said to be keeping the oft-injured big man. He has only played 22 games over the last two seasons, but two years ago averaged 9.1 points and almost five boards a night in 18 minutes.

As for a point, the Cavs can probably afford to stay with Matthew Dellavedova, because James is the primary ball handler, and it would be seamless to use LeBron along with Shumpert and Smith on the floor together with Love and Mozgov or Thompson.

In fact, that group would make the wine and gold very long defensively.

Most of the top teams in the standings did the same as Cleveland today, that is to say stand pat. Griffin was proactive and re-shaped his squad a month ago, giving them a 30 day head start on the teams than made moves today.

Hopefully, that pays off when spring arrives.

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.

Why Is Tribe So Bad at Selling Themselves?

Last weekend, the Cleveland Indians held their annual fanfest, bringing in former and current players, along with manager Terry Francona to meet and mingle with the fans.

Once again, it was a very crowded place to be, indicating once again that there is plenty of interest in the Tribe, but unfortunately it doesn’t translate into larger crowds filling Progressive Field.

Let’s face it, for all of success on the field the Indians have had over the last two seasons with Francona at the helm, they are a boring franchise in terms of making news.

With all of the wheeling and dealing that occurred within major league baseball this winter, the Indians made one trade, bringing Brandon Moss from Oakland for minor league infielder Joe Wendle.

And while watching MLB Network last week, they showed a list of least money spent on free agents during the off-season, and there were the Indians sitting in the top five, with only Gavin Floyd’s $4 million deal as of right now.

That really isn’t moving the fan base to dig into their pockets and buy tickets, which by the way, aren’t even for sale yet in terms of single game purchases.

So, even if there were a reason to buy tickets, you can’t unless you are interested in a season ticket program.

And the biggest thing the front office has been promoting this winter is the renovations to the ballpark, which will not seat approximately 10-15% fewer fans come April.

So we can add not very good at promoting itself to being boring in terms of making news.

We asked the people at the website, MLB Trade Rumors, if they even had someone monitoring the Indians since not only do they not make any moves, they also aren’t really involved in any rumors either.

By the way, they laughed at our question, and said in their opinion, Cleveland can look forward to a very good season.

We agree, that’s why it’s a shame more people can’t see that, and why the organization has such a hard time promoting itself.

We wrote an article a few weeks ago that gave nine things about the team that the front office should be pointing out, instead of saying how the team has limited money to spend, and talking about market size.

That lack of self-promotion is probably the biggest problem with the Cleveland Indians.

Because there is interest in this team. We know that because the local ratings for the games is very high. If you are on Twitter during a game, there is plenty of comments, both pro and con during the contest, the same as there is for a Browns’ or Cavaliers’ game.

And some of the players, particularly the young core of talent, are starting to be recognized by the fan base. You can see allegiances being formed with Michael Brantley, Corey Kluber, and Yan Gomes.

Many people are looking forward to this season so they can finally see one of the sports’ top prospects in SS Francisco Lindor.

We don’t know why the Indians are so bad about this aspect of the game, and along with the appraisals they do in regards to the men who are playing, they should examine why they cannot connect with the people who buy tickets.

They are like the terrible sales person who has a great product to sell, but because their spiel is so poor, they can’t get folks to try it.

That makes it a priority for the team to get off to a fast start so people will sit up and take notice. It will be especially difficult this spring because it is likely the Cavaliers will be in the midst of a playoff run, and that will consume the fan’s interest.

Here’s hoping the message can be received some how, because it appears the Cleveland Indians will be in the middle of a playoff race again in 2015.

Griffin Makes the First Move To Improve Cavs Roster

The recent struggles by the Cleveland Cavaliers are partially the result of the injuries, but also an indication that the current roster wasn’t working.

We just wrote a couple of days ago that it was incumbent on GM David Griffin to do something to improve the bench.

That’s the reason Griffin chose to make a significant change, dealing Dion Waiters to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a three team deal that netted guard Iman Shumpert and swingman J.R. Smith.

Griffin parted with veteran Lou Amundsen and rookie Alex Kirk as part of the deal.

Really, it appeared more and more that Waiters wasn’t accepting his role with the current group of Cavaliers. In Sunday’s loss to Dallas, he kept trying to drive to the basket when a lane wasn’t there and took a series of questionable shots that didn’t appear to be part of the offense.

While the focus of many have been on the enigmatic Smith, the real key to the trade is Shumpert, a 24-year-old who can be the wing defender needed by the wine and gold.

Although he is currently sidelined with a shoulder separation, Shumpert is a capable shooter from behind the arc (34% lifetime), but he makes his bones on the defensive end. And that has been a huge problem for the Cavs over the last month.

Smith is a scorer, averaging 13.3 points per game in his career, and is known as a guy who when he gets it going can turn a game around. He has made 37% of his three-point shots during his time in the NBA.

Smith will take the role that coach David Blatt wanted Waiters to have, that of instant offense off the bench, and Griffin picked up a solid wing defender as well. And outside of James Jones, who is limited in other areas, mainly defense, Smith is needed because Mike Miller hasn’t provided the outside shooting the Cavs thought they were getting when they signed him.

And, by the way, picked up a first round pick from Oklahoma City, which can be an asset in a future move, probably in bringing a big man, which the Cavaliers also need.

Which brings us to Samuel Dalembert, who was released by the Knicks as part of this trade. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Dalembert, who is a solid, defensive oriented big man, eventually winds up in Cleveland for the veteran minimum.

He’s a “rim protector”, the new lexicon for a guy who can block shots and rebounds.

The deal will likely put Shumpert in the starting lineup at the two guard with Miller going back to a reserve role, along with Smith to provide shooting. If they sign Dalembert, it would give the coach four solid players off the bench along with Matthew Dellavedova.

And Shumpert and Dalembert should also improve the defense which has been the main weakness for the Cavs over the last month.

With the trade exemptions and the first round picks Cleveland possesses (Memphis and Oklahoma City), Griffin still has ammunition to go out and get yet another big man. Even when Anderson Varejao was healthy, the wine and gold was one big short, so there is still a need to add another.

Yes, the adjustment period will probably get longer now with new players coming aboard, but if the Cavs are clicking in March, they will be the team no one wants to face in the playoffs. And with the core still being LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love, they can still make a long run in the East.

James’ Injury Doesn’t Mean Cupboard is Bare

No doubt it has been a crazy week for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

They’ve lost three of their last four, including a loss on Christmas Day at Miami, and then received a beatdown a few days later at home to the lowly Detroit Pistons.

Then, rumors started to fly that the management wasn’t happy with the job coach David Blatt is doing, and that LeBron James apparently talked to Dwyane Wade about an on-court reunion if things didn’t get better with the Cavs.

And yesterday, it was announced by the club that James will miss two weeks with lingering back and knee issues.

Phew!

With James out, there is the usual Cleveland doom and gloom in the air, with people feeling the dream season they envisioned for the wine and gold is slowly slipping away.

First of all, remember that even with LeBron on the sidelines, the Cavs still have two all-stars on the court in Kyrie Irving, who is having his best season as a pro, and Kevin Love. It’s not as though they are the Philadelphia 76ers.

This should allow and encourage Love to take more of an aggressive role offensively. So far, the former Timberwolf has seen to struggle to find his niche with Cleveland, so this will give him an opportunity to do just that.

Hopefully, it will also make Dion Waiters be more aggressive too, at least in the concept of the offense. Waiters has gone back and forth this season, either shooting too much or not enough. Now, the Cavs need his points and he should try to score more, but not do it in the one on one style he has used too much this season.

In fact, it would be a good opportunity for Blatt to move Waiters back in the starting lineup.

James’ absence could also improve how Blatt’s offensive system flows.

This isn’t to say that LBJ is circumventing the coach’s game plan, rather we think Blatt has moved away from his motion based attack to accommodate the four-time MVP’s ability to take pretty much anyone in the league off the dribble.

Now, without him, perhaps the offense will stay with the passing game more often. We have noticed in several contests that moving the ball gets Cleveland the lead or back into a game, and then the squad reverts to isolation basketball and they have trouble.

The stretch early in the fourth quarter against the Heat was a perfect indication. The Cavs tied the game, then missed nine consecutive field goals, most without running offense, and couldn’t recover.

This is where Blatt can put his stamp on the team. He can go in the locker room tonight and tell this team it doesn’t matter if James is out, there is still plenty of talent on the current roster to continue to win while he is out.

As for James, many have suspected that he hasn’t been healthy since training camp, and this is a good opportunity for him to heal up and come back strong for the rest of the season. And when he does, the coach needs to do a better job managing his minutes.

He shouldn’t be playing more than 35 minutes per game.

It would be nice if the Cavs had the best record in the Eastern Conference right now, but it is more important if they are playing their best ball in March and early April, heading into the playoffs.

We think a lot of fans think the post-season starts in the couple of weeks. We haven’t even reached the halfway point of the season.

If this is the best the Cavs can do, then there is a problem. However, we feel they will get better as the season goes on.

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.

Shanahan’s Offense and Play Calling Letting Down Browns

Last week, none of the Browns showed up to play against Cincinnati. Offense, defense, and special teams were equally putrid.

Today, the defense showed up for the most part, but the offense continued its second half siesta in a 17-13 loss to Carolina dropping their record to 7-8 on the season.

Cleveland could only run 38 offensive plays last week in being shut out, and today, it wasn’t much better, running just 46 plays in losing their fourth straight and fifth in the last six contests.

Guess we won’t have to worry about Kyle Shanahan being rumored for any head coaching jobs this off-season.

Really, we should say the defense kind of showed up, because once again, Cleveland gave up 209 yards on the ground, and on the last true offensive play run by the Panthers, on a 3rd and 5 and Carolina really just trying to not turn the ball over, Jonathan Stewart ran for 30 yards to ice the win.

Third down was a killer on both sides of the ball, the defense allowed the Panthers to convert 9 of 16 plays when they could have gotten off the field, while the offense could convert just 3 of 12 situations of that type.

It’s terrible complementary football, and it has plagued the team over the last four weeks.

Early in the game, Carolina ran the ball with ease controlling the tempo, while the Browns’ offense seemed to be bogged down by mistakes and odd play calling.

Five of Cleveland’s first six plays were passes. The Browns have been a team that has needed to run the football the entire season, and the offensive coordinator is acting like Tom Brady is at the helm.

Finally, after the Panthers scored to take a 10-3 lead late in the first half, rookie QB Johnny Manziel injured his hamstring on what appeared to be a designed run. It may be one of the weirdest play calls we’ve seen in many years.

Shanahan is doing Manziel a disservice by having him play like a college quarterback. He needs to plant his back foot and throw the ball, which he did on a throw to Andrew Hawkins for 28 yards on the Browns’ second possession.

That put Brian Hoyer in the game, and although the veteran went 7 of 13 for 134 yards, he really only made one play of consequence, an 81 yard connection to TE Jordan Cameron to put Cleveland in the lead 13-10.

However, the defense allowed a quick score, as the Panthers went 66 yards in seven plays in less than three minutes to give them a lead they would never relinquish.

Hoyer’s lack of arm strength showed up again as Travis Benjamin had his man beat by at least five yards, and the underthrown ball was picked off by Josh Norman, who subsequently fumbled the ball back to Cleveland.

All we are saying here is that Hoyer might be the best option right now, but he’s not the guy either, and the Browns need to give Manziel a chance to play in a pro style offense to see what he can do.

It seems right now like the Browns don’t even try to do the things they did offensively earlier in the campaign.

For example, where was Terrance West?

Also, finding a center can’t be this difficult. Remember when Alex Mack was a restricted free agent? The Browns signed him, but obviously didn’t pay him enough.

Why not go back to John Greco at center and Paul McQuistan at guard? Ryan Seymour and Nick McDonald are getting dominated by defenders.

So, there is one last game on the road against the Ravens, and the Browns can probably knock the Ravens out of the playoffs with a win.

Mike Pettine has talked all year about “playing like a Brown”. Next week, he should instruct his offensive coordinator to do the same.

Manziel Not Good, But Several People Let Him Down

It turns out that Johnny Manziel is just like any other rookie quarterback who has entered the NFL in the recent future and is not named Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck.

That is to say there is a learning curve and struggles early for most QBs in the NFL coming right out of college.

However, coach Mike Pettine gave the right answer after the game when asked who would be his starter at the position next week at Carolina when he gave Manziel’s name as the answer.

After all, there can’t be another first start for the former Heisman Trophy winner. It should be only up hill from here if he has the talent to be successful in the National Football League.

Still, even in his dismal performance, and being 10 of 18 for 80 yards with two interceptions in a 30-0 defeat is indeed dismal, there are several people who let the rookie down. And in saying that, we realize both picks were plays that worked in college for Johnny Football, but don’t work for John Professional.

Kyle Shanahan. We wanted to see Manziel run the offense that worked for Cleveland the first eight weeks of the season, meaning the attack Brian Hoyer ran, but with a quarterback with a stronger arm and more mobility.

Instead we got some elements of the read-option, an offense that really hasn’t work since Robert Griffin III’s rookie season.

On the Browns’ first possession, they faced a third and 2, and it looked like the play call was for Manziel to fake a throw and then run up the middle. He was stopped short, and after the Bengals ate up seven minutes on their initial possession, they got the ball back after three plays.

Why not have Manziel rollout with the option of a short, safe throw?

Then, there was no attempt by Shanahan to establish the running game which was so effective against Cincinnati the first time the two teams met either.

After that initial series, eight of the next 11 plays run by Cleveland were passing plays. So much for easing your rookie signal caller in.

It looks like the offensive coordinator got caught looking at Texas A & M game films from the last two seasons instead of what the Browns did well in their first 13 contests.

Receivers. It wasn’t the finest performance by the Cleveland receiving corps either, particularly Andrew Hawkins, who dropped a throw that could’ve kept the Browns on the field on their second possession.

After moving out of the pocket, Manziel threw a strike to Hawkins for a first down that was dropped after the wide out was hit by Reggie Nelson. Yes, it was a big hit, but we’ve seen Hawkins take bigger hits and hold on. The drop forced another punt, forcing the defense back on the field.

Walt Anderson. Yes, today’s referee was a culprit as well. Apparently, Mr. Anderson likes being on television, calling nine penalties on Cleveland. While some were deserved, two on the Bengals first drive aided them to a 7-0 lead.

The first was Barkevious Mingo’s roughing the passer call on a third down throw. Yes, technically, Mingo’s helmet hit Andy Dalton’s, but the outside linebacker didn’t lead with his headgear. Instead of forcing an early punt, Cincinnati kept possession.

The second call, a horse collar tackle on Justin Gilbert against Giovani Bernard didn’t give the Bengals a first down, but it was still terrible because Bernard didn’t go down as a result of the so-called illegal move.

Also, the illegal man downfield against Ryan Seymour on a screen pass to Jordan Cameron was also a reach.

In a 30-0 loss, pointing to the officials seems a little tacky, but could the game have been different if Cleveland forces a punt early? We’ll never know.

The Defense. The Cleveland problem stopping the run reared its ugly head again today, as they allowed 244 rushing yards. We don’t know the success rate of teams that allow over 200 yards on the ground in an NFL game, but it probably isn’t high.

Manziel didn’t play well in his debut, and the shutout loss today put the Browns out of the playoffs again barring some sort of miracle. However, we should see progress next week.

That’s a reason to stay interested in this football team.

Tribe Gathers A Moss

We have advocated for a long time that the Cleveland Indians have strengths in their organization and needed to use some depth in those areas to acquire pieces the ballclub needs.

Those strengths are in the middle infield and bullpen depth.

Yesterday, they did exactly that, trading minor league 2B Joe Wendle to the Oakland A’s for 1B/OF/DH Brandon Moss.

Wendle is a solid prospect, but let’s face it, he stuck behind Jason Kipnis and Jose Ramirez with the big club, so future playing time in Cleveland has to be considered bleak.

Dealing from strength is the chief reason we like this trade from the Indians’ standpoint.

The other is Moss’s power. Remember the end of August to the middle of September when the only Indian who could hit a home run was Carlos Santana? Moss should take care of that, having hit 76 home runs over the last three seasons.

The newest Indian should enjoy not playing in Oakland’s pitching friendly park. He hit .265 with 13 homers in 272 at bats away from the bay last season, posting an outstanding 831 OPS in 2014.

He is also reported to be a great clubhouse presence, which manager Terry Francona likes to have. We don’t think the front office would bring in a player who would be a problem in the locker room.

He does strike out a lot, whiffing 153 times last season.

That’s just one of the reasons for concern. Moss hit just .173 with 4 dingers in the second half of the season a year ago, battling a bad hip which he had surgery on in the off-season. In fact, it has been reported he will not be ready for spring training.

He also is a left-handed batter, adding yet another to the collection that GM Chris Antonetti is putting together. There is no question the Indians need a solid right-handed bat, and they may still be looking for one, but with Michael Brantley, Kipnis, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Michael Bourn, the Tribe is vulnerable to southpaw pitchers.

You also have to wonder about the ramifications for the rest of the roster with this move. Moss is primarily a 1B and a DH, he’s not particularly a good outfielder defensively, and the Tribe seems to have Carlos Santana and Nick Swisher currently manning those spots.

The Cleveland defense was shaky last season, so putting Moss and his surgically repaired hip in RF doesn’t really address that area. You have to wonder if Antonetti’s next move is dealing Swisher, if that is possible.

The only way we can see that happening is if the Indians are willing to eat some of his large contract, something the current front office has been loathe to do. We would do it because, let’s say you pay half of the $15 million owed each of the next two years, you would then have $7.5 million to spend elsewhere.

If we were Antonetti, we would still be looking for a right-handed hitter and another innings eater for the rotation. The Tribe still has the bullpen depth and some young back of the rotation arms to dangle.

With the White Sox making a splash in trades and free agency, Antonetti can’t stand pat with the current roster. He still needs to improve the club. We are skeptical, but here’s hoping another decent move is coming for the Cleveland Indians.