Titans Gave It Away, But Give Browns Credit for Taking It

At halftime, it appeared the Cleveland Browns inability to stop the running game was going to cost them another game they should’ve been able to win.

The Browns did score right before the half on a Brian Hoyer 1 yard pass to TE Jim Dray, to cut Tennessee’s lead to 28-10, but based on how the Titans moved the ball on the ground, it looked bleak for the brown and orange.

Then, two things happened. Titans’ QB Jake Locker was ruled out for the rest of the contest, and apparently, so did the home team’s willingness to keep running the football.

It got so odd, that in the middle of the fourth quarter, we were wondering about Tennessee’s refusal to continue to exploit the Cleveland defense’s obvious weakness, stopping the ground game.

The Titans ran the ball 30 times on the day, gaining an average of 5 yards per carry. Let us repeat, 5 yards per carry! If you are a Tennessee fan, you have to be seriously second guessing your coach, particularly with your starting quarterback out of the game.

After reserve passer Charlie Whitehurst completed his first two passes for 86 yards and two TDs, he went 11 of 19 the rest of the game for a paltry 108 yards.

Yes, the Titans gained 38 of their 149 yards on the ground on a reverse to WR Kendall Wright, and Locker picked up 34 more yards on scrambles, but to basically ignore the running game in the second half is puzzling.

All that said, the Browns still had to put up the points to overcome the 25 point deficit, the largest comeback in the team’s illustrious history, in order to come away with the 29-28 win to square the season record at 2-2.

Some of them were the usual, such as the running game, which gained 175 yards during the game, including 123 in 22 carries from Ben Tate, who returned to the lineup after a knee injury in the opener at Pittsburgh.

Hoyer was solid as well, completing 21 of 37 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns, including the game winner to Travis Benjamin, who overcame a muffed punt earlier in the game to garner two TD receptions.

Taylor Gabriel caught four passes for 95 yards and Miles Austin had two big catches on scoring drives. And TE Jordan Cameron returned to be part of the offense after getting a little healthier during the bye week, grabbing three Hoyer throws for 33 yards.

The special teams chipped in with a huge blocked punt by Tank Carder that resulted in a safety, making the score 28-15. It took all conversation about when to go for a two-point conversion out the window.

Defensively, the Browns needed to pitch a shutout in the second half and they did. K’waun Williams played a big role in the game with first round pick Justin Gilbert out of the mix, making six tackles and getting a sack. Armonty Bryant and Jabaal Sheard also sacked the Tennessee passer during the game.

We also have to mention the horrible officiating crew, which clearly lost control of the game after Locker early in the second quarter to give the Titans a 14-0 lead.

First, they set up the first Tennessee TD with a pass interference penalty on the struggling Joe Haden which gave the Titans a 29-yard penalty. The pass just at least five yards out-of-bounds.

Second, the personal foul call on the Locker touchdown against Chris Kirksey could be because the Cleveland player was blocked into the sliding Locker. He did hit the quarterback with a forearm, but to us, we thought it was at least questionable that he aimed for his head.

So, the Browns now sit at 2-2 just a half game behind the Ravens and Steelers in the AFC North, with Pittsburgh visiting next week.

Pettine and defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil have to figure out the run defense because you know the Steelers will come in trying to run the ball right down the Browns’ collective throats.

If that isn’t solved and solved soon, it will be a long year for the Cleveland defense. Unbelievably, the offense has carried Cleveland thus far.

Who thought that before the season began?

Wanting Hoyer Out? That’s a Real “OIC”!

Several years ago, a local broadcaster started referring to the various calamities that have befallen Cleveland sports using the phrase “Only in Cleveland”, which over the years has been shortened to OIC.

We have always hated that expression, mostly because most of what happens to our teams is a result of just not being good enough, not anything else.

“Red Right 88” was the result of not having a strong armed quarterback on a day that required one.

“The Drive” occurred because the coaching staff decided to change the defense they used to contain John Elway all day was changed. The only lucky play on that series was the one were the snap hit the motion man and went right to Elway.

“The Fumble” may have been bad luck for a great running back in Earnest Byner, but the Browns’ vaunted defense gave up 35 points that afternoon. For all emphasis Marty Schottenheimer put on his area of expertise, never forget that it was that side of the ball that failed the team in both AFC Championship Game losses.

“The Shot” was simply the greatest player in the history of the sport beating us.

Even though we can’t stand the term, we have to laugh at some people around town who are still pining for Johnny Manziel to be the Browns’ starting quarterback as soon as this Sunday against Tennessee.

Only in Cleveland would the quarterback play be debated while the team scores over 20 points in each of the first three games since 1969.

We understand that Brian Hoyer doesn’t have a sexy nickname like “Johnny Football”, and he wasn’t a first round draft pick, but to make a change at that position, wouldn’t you have to be losing games because of poor quarterback play?

The Browns currently rank 12th in the NFL in scoring offense, averaging 24.7 points per contest. That would rank just behind (by .3 points) the 25.0 a game scored by the Denver Broncos, who have Peyton Manning at QB.

Now we aren’t saying Hoyer is Manning, not by a long shot, but scoring points hasn’t been Mike Pettine’s team’s problem in 2014.

That would be the defense, which is allowing 25.7 points a game, ranking 23rd in the league in that category.

The Browns’ defense has allowed the fourth most rushing yards per game in the league, behind only Green Bay (2-2), Oakland (0-4), and St. Louis (1-2), and they allow the second most yardage per play (6.4), trailing only Dallas.

The pass defense ranks seventh in the league, but that is a hollow statistic because if you can move the ball by running it, why would you put the ball in the air?

Hoyer? He ranks 11th in passing efficiency, mostly because he hasn’t thrown an interception this year, and he also ranks 12th in ESPN’s QBR stat.

And for all of those who claim he is a nickel and dime passer, feasting on short throws, he is right in the middle of the pack in yards per pass attempt, right between Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger, and ahead of both Mannings and also higher than big arm throwers like Joe Flacco and Jay Cutler.

We wouldn’t disagree with people who say Manziel is the future of the franchise and we look forward to seeing him play too. But right now, the right man to quarterback the Cleveland Browns is Brian Hoyer.

Until he shows otherwise, any talk about playing Manziel should be muted.

Cavs’ Circus Begins Tomorrow.

Tomorrow, perhaps the most important non-sporting sporting event in Cleveland will occur when the Cavaliers have their media day.

So, the circus that will surround them all year will start then and there.

The biggest focus for everyone will be LeBron James, who hasn’t really sat down to speak about his return to Cleveland, except through his essay in Sports Illustrated and his welcome home party in July in Akron.

To be sure, he will be asked about his future with the Cavaliers because he signed a one year deal with an option, even though he has stated publicly that he will finish out his career in wine and gold.

There will also be considerable attention on the NBA’s newest “big three”, James, recently acquired all-star Kevin Love, and the MVP of both last year’s All Star Game and the FIBA World Championship, Kyrie Irving.

To be sure, they will be compared to the Celtics recent grouping (Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce) and Miami’s famous, or infamous trio of James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. Will the Cavs group have the same success as Boston, winning a title in their first year together?

There is no question than not only do the Cavs have a core of all-star players, but they also have put together a deep roster of solid role players, something Miami didn’t have at least last season.

Besides the holdovers from last season, Dion Waiters, Anderson Varejao, Tristan Thompson, and Matthew Dellavedova, who are all solid NBA players, GM David Gilbert also brought in Shawn Marion, Mike Miller, and James Jones, and don’t forget big man Brendan Haywood, who missed last season with a stress fracture in his foot.

The deep roster will allow James to cut back on his minutes, as our guess is all parties would like him to average around 33 minutes per game in 2014-15, compared to the 37.7 he played last season in Miami, and the 39.5 he averaged throughout his time in the NBA.

The only thing this team doesn’t have on paper is a big time shot blocker or rim protector in the new vernacular, and that could be Haywood if his feet can hold up.

And while some critics will say there aren’t a lot of lock down defenders in this group, right now James, Marion, Varejao, and Dellavedova would be considered the best defensive players, the name of the game is scoring more than your opponents, and this edition of the wine and gold should be very proficient in putting the ball in the basket.

The coolest thing about all this is the amount of focus that will be on Cleveland, Ohio this winter. The two best teams in professional basketball might just be here and in San Antonio. The national media has to be going crazy. We will probably hear about how the league is in trouble because it doesn’t appear its hallmark franchises (Celtics, Lakers, Knicks) will be in the championship mix for a while.

Also, the Cavs will be embraced throughout the league too. James was named the most popular professional athlete in the country this summer, in part because he did the right thing in many people’s eyes by reversing the wrong committed four years ago and returning to Cleveland.

As we have traveled around the country this summer, most basketball fans are genuinely happy that The King is back in northeast Ohio.

It all starts tomorrow. And the wait to Opening Night will be excruciating.

The Tribe Front Office Didn’t Believe in This Year’s Team.

Last night, the Cleveland Indians played the biggest game of the season and Terry Francona had to fill out a lineup card that included veteran Chris Gimenez at 1B and rookie Tyler Holt in right field.

We don’t think that was plan back in April.

Look, while Francona can be criticized for some in-game decisions, the reality of the situation is he has kept a flawed baseball team in the race for a post-season spot until the final week of the season. You also have to credit his pitching coach, Mickey Callaway, for putting together a starting rotation that has been dominant throughout August and September.

It is apparent that at the end of July, when the trading deadline takes place, the front office didn’t see the dominant pitching coming. The Indians were 53-56 and sat six games behind the second wild card team, the Toronto Blue Jays, and GM Chris Antonetti decided to deal free agents to be Asdrubal Cabrera and Justin Masterson, and basically get prospects in return.

To be fair, neither Cabrera nor Masterson were having good seasons, but in dealing those two, Antonetti didn’t address the Tribe’s weaknesses, mainly a right-handed bat and pitching help.

The inability to address the former led to Gimenez and Holt being thrust into a race for a playoff spot.

Antonetti and his boss, team president Mark Shapiro, can say anything he wants, but it is clear he didn’t have any faith that his ballclub would arrive at the last week of the regular season with a chance to make the playoffs.

We wonder what Francona thinks about the lack of confidence in his players.

When the Tribe made an August surge, going 18-9 for the month, the front office brought in some reinforcements to help out when players suffered injuries. Gimenez was brought in when Yan Gomes suffered a concussion, J. B. Shuck was eventually added in September after David Murphy and Nick Swisher went out of the lineup.

Those two have combined to go 1 for 30 while wearing a Cleveland uniform.

Meanwhile, players like Josh Willingham (Kansas City), Adam Dunn (Oakland), and John Mayberry Jr, (Toronto) were all moved during August, and while none of them have been difference makers down the stretch, they aren’t 1 for 30 either.

The point is even on July 31st, six games out isn’t enough to toss in the proverbial white towel. Maybe Antonetti didn’t see Corey Kluber becoming arguably the American League’s best pitcher, nor did he see Carlos Carrasco turning into a right-handed version of Sandy Koufax, but you don’t know if you will ever get that type of dominant starting pitching in 2015.

That’s why you have to go for a post-season spot whenever you have the opportunity. And that’s why the front office failed the players, the manager, and the fan base, who want to be convinced the organization wants to win.

While the rotation looks good for the future, we all know pitching isn’t the most stable commodity. It is doubtful that Kluber will pitch this well next year, and who knows about the rest of the rotation, who really don’t have a track record in the major leagues.

And whatever you want to say about Terry Francona, there is no question that he knows how to get the most out of his players. His belief and trust of his players offset any weaknesses he has in the in-game strategy department, and he squeezes the most out of his guys.

It’s too bad the front office didn’t understand this. As close as they came this season, any help that would have come in could have put the Tribe back in the playoffs this fall.

Is Optimism on Browns Warranted?

After the Cleveland Browns actually won their home opener for the first time since 2004, fans of the team went crazy, and as usual most of them got carried away.

A week earlier, particularly after the first half of the game against the Steelers, there was a feeling of “here we go again”, and many people felt once again like they were duped by Jimmy Haslam’s team.

That’s the way it is in Cleveland concerning the Browns.

Is the optimism from the victory over the Saints merited, or are fans simply setting themselves up for another season of disappointment?

We will certainly find out on Sunday afternoon when the Ravens visit First Energy Stadium.

There are definitely things to be excited about. For one, their seems to be a connection between the front office and the coaching staff. Over the past few seasons, it has appeared that the head coach has been on a different page than the front office.

For example, dealing the team’s best running back and leaving the ground game in the hands of Willis McGahee, or basically punting an entire draft and then firing the coach because he didn’t win.

This year, it looks like Mike Pettine has a direction for this team and GM Ray Farmer agrees with that vision and gets players who fit what the head coach wants to do.

That’s a reason to be encouraged.

On the field, it is basic football to say you need to be able to run the ball and be able to stop the run defensively.

For the first time in a long time, it appears the Cleveland Browns have a legitimate ground game. Yes, they’ve had success here and there throughout the years, like when Jamal Lewis had his big season in 2007 and Peyton Hillis’ 2010 campaign in which he gained over 1,000 yards.

For some reason, this season feels differently with Ben Tate, now injured, Terrence West, and Isaiah Crowell. Perhaps it is because of reputation which preceded Kyle Shanahan’s offense, which has had a history of running successfully with the zone blocking scheme.

After two games, it looks like opponents playing the Browns need to realize it will be a long day if they can’t stop the ground game.

Conversely, the defense has struggled stopping the run in both games. The Steelers gashed the defense for big gains, and the Saints, normally a passing team, did a very good job running the football.

That may have been because New Orleans realized the Cleveland defense was geared to stopping the aerial attack and was looking for an alternative way to move the ball. A better test will be this Sunday, because we know the Ravens want to run, and the question will be can the Browns’ stop it and make Baltimore one-dimensional.

We will also see if Brian Hoyer can continue his winning ways. Hoyer is now 3-1 or 4-1, depending on how you count last year’s Buffalo game, as a starter. True, that’s not great, but for a team that usually wins four or five games per season, it is reason for hope.

A win on Sunday has to make you think that no matter what the statistics say, Hoyer can put numbers in the victory column.

If the Browns win against the Ravens and start the season 2-1, the hope for the rest of the year will be off the chart. Let us remind you of one thing.

Pat Shurmur started his tenure with the same record. And we all know how that turned out.

No Almost Win Today for Browns, They Get It Done

So many times in recent seasons, there are times the Cleveland Browns had a valiant effort on the field only to fall just short on the scoreboard.

It happened so much, former Brown Josh Cribbs once said the team almost always almost wins.

Today was different for Mike Pettine and his team as he picked up his first win as an NFL head coach with a 26 -24 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Billy Cundiff’s 29-yard field goal with :03 left on the clock.

To win the game, Brian Hoyer took his team 85 yards on 14 plays to set up the kicker, including a 28-yard pass to Andrew Hawkins to set up the final kick with 13 seconds left.

The game started with the Browns on fire, forcing a three and out on the Saints’ first series and basically shutting down New Orleans throughout the first quarter allowing Cleveland to take a 10-0 lead.

But Drew Brees figured with the amount of emphasis the Browns were putting on the passing game, it might be time to start running, and the Saints did that successfully all day, gaining 174 yards on the ground, getting 6.4 yards per carry.

After the success Pittsburgh had in week one on the ground, the defense better get this under control or they will see a steady diet of opponents just beating them with the run.

John Hughes missed today’s game once again and he plays the run very well, but it is doubtful one player makes that much of a difference.

After the opening stanza, the Saints moved the ball seemingly at will with the only hiccups being a Brees’ interception being returned for a touchdown by Tashaun Gipson, which gave Cleveland a 16-3 lead because the extra point was botched. It looked for a long time like that might come back to haunt the Browns as well.

The main reason for that was the inability to stop Saints’ TE Jimmy Graham, who 10 throws for 118 yards and a TD. The Browns simply had no answer for him.

In the fourth quarter, with Cleveland needing a stop on their own 31 yard line, Karlos Dansby made the key play of the game defensively as he sacked Brees, forcing the Saints out of field goal range.

The ensuing punt was the last snap made by New Orleans for the rest of the game.

Cleveland used a balanced attack throughout the game and the rookie running backs continue to shine as Terrance West gained 68 yards and Isaiah Crowell picked up 54 more with West getting a touchdown.

Hawkins was once again Hoyer’s favorite target, grabbing six throws for 70 yards including the decisive offensive play of the game. And TE Gary Barnidge took up the slack for Jordan Cameron, catching 4 balls for 41 yards.

And also kudos to Hoyer, who is quieting any calls for Johnny Manziel thus far, completing 24 of 40 for 204 yards and leading the winning drive, which again started from his own four.

He may not be pretty, but he’s also 4-1 as the Browns’ starting quarterback. And there shouldn’t any more talk about Manziel being the starter when the Browns come back from their bye week.

Defensively, Dansby is showing more and more how vital his leadership is with eight tackles including the huge sack on the Saints’ last offensive play. And Paul Kruger had another sack, his second straight game with one after struggling last year.

Whatever happened at halftime at Heinz Field, the Cleveland Browns look like a different football team. Not just different from the first half of the Steelers’ game, but different from the last five years.

Next week’s game against the Ravens is another chance to show the progress this football team has made.

Why Don’t Tribe Fans Show Up? Front Office Needs to Look in Mirror.

It is an annual rite every fall in Cleveland, especially if the Indians are in contention. Why doesn’t anyone go to Progressive Field?

Last night, they drew just under 10,000 fans for a game with post-season implications because the Tribe is still under five games behind for a wild card spot in the American League.

Certainly, there is interest in the Indians, their local television ratings ranking near the top in all of major league baseball. However, those ratings don’t translate to putting people in the seats.

We are sure that the front office has conducted polls and surveys to find out why fans do not turn out for games, and it appears they respond to some of the comments by making changes to the game day experience at the now 20-year-old ballpark.

However, they ignore the real reason for people staying home and that would be the lack of trust in the current ownership and front office.

Instead, they spend a lot of time trying to contradict the opinions of the masses, mostly by pointing out market limitations, etc., and they also have many media people backing them up in regard to the perception of the fans.

They need to realize that perception is reality and they need to do something to change the mindset of the playing public.

Fans do not believe there is any real commitment to winning with the Indians, and they can back that up by the total inactivity of GM Chris Antonetti both at the trading deadline this season, but also during the winter when the Tribe was coming off a 92 win season, and interest in baseball was up all around the town, because of the sizzling September that put the team in the playoffs.

Instead of striking while the iron was hot in terms of interest, the Tribe didn’t make any significant moves this winter (sorry, David Murphy) to show the fans they weren’t satisfied with being ousted in the single game wild card contest.

Then they followed that by trading away two veterans who were key parts going into the 2014 season at the trading deadline even though the Indians were very much in contention at the time.

If Antonetti did make a trade to bring in let’s say David Price at the deadline, would there have been instant sellouts at Progressive Field? Of course not, but there is no question there would have been a buzz around the city, and the talk shows would have been filled with Tribe talk.

Which brings us to another failure of the front office, and this is something we’ve addressed before. The Indians made a terrible short-sighted move in staying with WTAM as the team’s flagship station instead of moving to an all sports stations like WKNR or 92.3.

No doubt both stations would have more Indians’ based programming if a significant amount of their spring and summer programming was Tribe baseball. As it stands right now, the baseball team is an afterthought on both stations.

The continue to misjudge their market. What draws people to game in Cleveland, Ohio is winning and the hope of winning. All the other stuff is nice, but it doesn’t give fans a reason to go to the ballpark. If the Indians make the playoffs again this year, they will start to see fans returning to watch.

Even the Browns have suffered attendance loss because of their terrible record over the last several years.

Is there a solution? A good start would be lowering ticket prices and putting individual game tickets on sale around Thanksgiving Day so fans can buy them as Christmas presents for hard-core baseball fans.

But the Tribe needs to make a splash this winter and show fans they want to win.

Until that perception is changed, there is going to be a problem. The Indians are the third sports option right now in Cleveland now that LeBron James and Kevin Love are with the Cavaliers. That means it could be June before the Tribe has a stage all to itself.

They need to give fans a reason to show up at Progressive Field, but they need to stop ignoring the basic problem–that they aren’t interested in winning big.

Cavs Give Everyone Reason for Extreme Optimism

We realize that the average Cleveland sports fan has no real sense of success, so they don’t understand how to handle it.

This has become particularly evident in regards to the city’s basketball team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Since the regular season ended, another non-playoff campaign just like everyone since the departure of LeBron James, nothing but good things have happened to Dan Gilbert’s franchise.

First, despite overwhelming odds, the Cavs got the first pick in the NBA Draft. Cleveland had the ninth worst record in the league, with just a little over 1% chance to get the pick, yet it came up for them.

Unbelievably, the next great thing that occurred was James returning to the franchise, still the best player in the sport, and this made the wine and gold an instant playoff team, and a contender for a title, even if nothing else was done.

Unlike James’ first tenure here, he started actively recruiting for the Cavs, and told all-star forward Kevin Love that they should team up and try to win titles in little ol’ Cleveland, Ohio.

So, GM David Griffin apparently has packaged this year’s first round pick, Andrew Wiggins and last year’s pick, Anthony Bennett sending them to Minnesota to bring Love to the Cavs.

The Cavaliers will now feature their own big three of James, Love, and two-time all-star Kyrie Irving, and are the favorite to win the Eastern Conference and advance to The Finals for the second time in history.

They’ve also added veterans Mike Miller, James Jones, and Shawn Marion, all with championship rings to add support for Cleveland’s all-star trio. And they may also add another well-accomplished veteran in Ray Allen soon.

Still, fans are complaining, worried that the team still needs a big man, someone who can block shots.

Let’s put it this way. If the Cavs suited us up with James, Love, and Irving, along with another member of the Cleveland blogging fraternity, they likely would make the playoffs.

This team is a definite title contender barring injury as currently constituted.

They have Irving and Matthew Dellavedova at point guard. At the wing spots, they can put James, Dion Waiters, Miller, and Marion on the floor. They will have Love at power forward and Anderson Varejao at center, or they can bring the latter off the bench, and use Tristan Thompson, who averaged almost a double double last season as a starter.

It is true that the last move to make would be someone who can block shots, and based on the moves made already, we have no doubt that Griffin will add one to those to the roster.

The Cavs still have several first round picks that can deal as well as some non-guaranteed contracts picked up in the deal that sent Carrick Felix to Utah.

That’s the beauty of the situation that has been created here, not only do the Cavs have James, Love, and Irving, but they aren’t hamstrung in the ability to make moves.

That’s why James structured his deal (two years with an opt out after the first year) the way he did. He saw what happened in Miami, where the Heat management didn’t want to go over the luxury tax threshold, and the Heat couldn’t add some younger pieces to keep the title train going.

If you aren’t optimistic about this basketball season, you would probably complain about the taxes if you won the lottery.

Some fans will still complain though, that’s the Cleveland way.

Hoyer or Manziel? Whoever Can Win Should Play

The exhibition football season hasn’t even started yet and already there seems to be a quarterback controversy involving the Cleveland Browns.

Veteran Brian Hoyer has his supporters within the Browns fandom, and of course, there is a tremendous amount of buzz surrounding rookie Johnny Manziel, aka Johnny Football.

The incredulous thing to us is the Manziel supporters seem to be willing to suffer through another 4-12 and 5-11 campaign in order for the former Heisman Trophy winner to gain much-needed experience.

For a franchise that has lost the number of games Cleveland has over the past 15 years, that is ludicrous.

Who should start for Cleveland in the opener at Heinz Field against the Steelers? The player who gives them the best chance to win and get off to a good start.

Remember, the Browns have won their season lidlifter just once since returning to the NFL in 1999, so a victory in week one would be rarefied air indeed for the franchise.

The notion that Manziel should start no matter what is crazy. If he shows in the pre-season games that he deserves to be under center for the first offensive play of the regular season, then fine, let him start.

There is no hidden agenda for Hoyer here, and we believe the coaching staff doesn’t have an affinity for either QB at this point.

The guess here is that Hoyer is starting against Detroit this Saturday night and will play with the first team offensive unit with Manziel playing with and more to the point, against, the second teamers.

We also think the following week against the Redskins, the roles will be reversed, and the rookie will go with the first team offense against the Washington starters. As a matter of fact, that’s the fair way of doing things.

After those two outings, head coach Mike Pettine will make a decision before the third exhibition contest, the dress rehearsal if you will.

We understand the feelings toward both players. Hoyer is a hometown kid, and he sat and watched and worked with one of the sport’s all time greats in Tom Brady while at New England. He’s going to do a professional job.

Last year, he got an opportunity to start three games and the Browns won all three, although in his last start he was hurt and Brandon Weeden got the bulk of the action in a victory over Buffalo.

Hoyer’s second start, a workman like win over the Bengals at home, is more the type of game we would expect to see from the former St. Ignatius and Michigan State star. The Browns used a ball control offense and a tough defense to dominate Cincinnati.

Manziel is obviously the flashier of the pair, and fans want to see the guy who took college football by storm the past two seasons. He will probably make a lot of great plays, but the potential for some colossal mistakes because of inexperience is there as well.

Mike Pettine has a defensive background and those coaches generally try to win games with that unit. They don’t like quarterbacks to make mistakes which put the defenders in bad situations. That would seem to give Hoyer the edge.

However, the games will start this week although they obviously don’t count. So, if one of the two plays very well and the other doesn’t, the decision will be an easy one. If both Hoyer and Manziel play well or play poorly, then we believe Pettine will go with the veteran to minimize errors.

Either way, the guy who gives the Browns the best chance to win should start. The franchise needs to start putting numbers in the win column this season.

Disconnect Between Tribe and Fans Grows

The Cleveland Indians’ organization just doesn’t get it.

They don’t get the ever growing disconnect between the front office and the fan base.

Yes, the current team is flawed, they are a .500 team with over two-thirds of the schedule in the books. On the other hand, there are plenty of teams in the same boat, so as this is written they somehow are just four games out of a post-season berth.

They continue to operate under the premise that was stated by the current ownership many years ago, that is they will spend money when people start showing up to Progressive Field.

Compare that to the buzz surrounding the Cavaliers, who likely will put a title contender on display at Quicken Loans Arena, and the Browns, who drafted the most talked about rookie in the NFL last May.

They are shiny pieces, attractive to the eye. The Indians are like a gray sweater. They simply just don’t, or perhaps don’t know how to make a splash with the area’s baseball fans.

They made two good baseball decisions this week, trading two players who will be free agents this fall, and who weren’t producing as expected for the club either. They picked up two young players who may help the Tribe in the next couple of years instead of letting them leave for nothing.

Still, the fans expected them to take a shot at making the post-season for the second consecutive year, a feat not accomplished by the current ownership or management team.

Instead, they claimed they couldn’t or weren’t willing to get a deal done.

Team president Mark Shapiro, GM Chris Antonetti and the Dolan family are good people, well liked by the media in northeastern Ohio. Therefore, there wasn’t really much of an outrage when other teams around the Indians in the standings made move to improve their teams while the Tribe didn’t.

There seems to be an agreement between Shapiro and Antonetti and the ownership that the executives won’t bring up the lack of cash available and the Dolans won’t hold them accountable for the lack of success.

We even heard a member of the media floating the ridiculous contention by the organization that Tampa Bay wanted Danny Salazar, Carlos Santana, and Francisco Lindor for former Cy Young Award winner David Price.

Really? What did Tigers’ president Dave Dombrowski do, hypnotize Rays’ GM Andrew Friedman to convince to accept just Drew Smyly, Nick Franklin, and an 18-year-old prospect?

The fact of the matter is, there haven’t been enough results by this regime since the turn of the century. Just three playoff spots, the first done with holdovers from the division and pennant winners of the mid-90’s, and one of those a one game wild card game.

To be fair, the Indians would have made the playoffs as the wild card under the old rules.

You have to go for it when you have the chance. Now, we aren’t advocating dealing Lindor, who may just be the sport’s premier prospect, for a play who would spend a half season, or even a year and a half in a Cleveland uniform.

However, the Tribe does have middle infield prospects and power bullpen arms that could’ve been used to fill a weakness.

We have said it before, they didn’t need to get Price or Jon Lester, they just needed to get someone better than Justin Masterson, T.J. House, Josh Tomlin and Zack McAllister.

Instead they picked up another middle infielder, who likely will be moved elsewhere and has shown no strike zone judgment in the minor leagues, and yet another left-handed bat in an organization already top heavy from that side of the plate.

After making the post-season and winning 92 games a year ago, a way to bring fans back to the ballpark would have been to make the playoffs again. Show them that last year was no fluke.

It could happen, but it isn’t likely when you have two shaky starters, and that’s crossing your fingers on Salazar, who has been solid since returning to the majors.

It appears the only team Antonetti improved at the deadline was the Columbus Clippers. Somehow, the front office doesn’t understand the disappointment of its fan base.