One Word NOT Into Action: Accountability

It is ludicrous that any member of the Cleveland Browns’ defense is parading around the locker room wearing a wrestling championship belt after the team allowed 182 yards rushing against Seattle.

It is not as crazy as knowing that the belt was awarded to rookie NT Danny Shelton by his own coaching staff.

And it was reported the several other players received trinkets for “playing like a Brown”, we guess, even though the Browns lost by more than 14 points for the sixth time in the last eight games.

By this point in the season, with a 3-11 record, and 16 losses in the last 19 games, wouldn’t the little internal “prizes” given out by the coaching staff have gone away?

It seems that even through all of the losing, it’s still fun and games in the Browns’ locker room.

This is yet another example of the fake tough guy persona that Mike Pettine has cultivated.

At least one Cleveland sports talker even points out after Pettine’s daily press conferences how well the head coach handles himself and how the points he makes are well thought out.

This host thinks Pettine should be brought back as coach because he seems to understand what is going on here.

We could not disagree more.

We have said this before, but what this football team really needs is accountability and toughness.

The next coach of the Browns needs to come in with a mindset to really change the losing culture that permeates the locker room.

He needs there will be consequences for dumb penalties, missing blocks, missing tackles, etc.

And that penalty will be a reduction in playing time, and that would start in training camp.

No more “veterans day off” for anyone wearing a Browns’ uniform, and that includes nine time Pro Bowler Joe Thomas.

If you want to limit him in practice a few times per year because of his age, that’s fine, but eliminate giving anyone the entire day off.

It is crazy that two players, young players at that, were given the day off yesterday for personal reasons. Outside of a death in the family or a medical emergency, they should have been there.

Does anybody think this stuff happens in New England?

And the new coach should demand that players report to training camp in July in shape. Most analysts who still think rookie Cam Erving is not a bust say he needs to get stronger (we agree with this).

The real question is why isn’t he stronger? After the Browns picked him in the first round, why wasn’t he told that he needed to get bigger and stronger to play offensive line in the NFL?

And last, but not least, stop the excuses with injuries. Every single team in the NFL has them and the good team overcome them.

If someone gets hurt, for example, Joe Haden, you can’t just keep everything the same and hope for the best.

The Browns don’t have the depth that other NFL teams have, and that is a problem with the personnel department, but the coaching staff has to look at the players remaining and put them in the best position to succeed.

That’s coaching after all.

You have to develop the mentality that we have to win football games, and there are NO excuses.

We don’t see that in Berea.

The Cleveland Browns are in need of a real tough, no nonsense coach and coaching staff. It’s too bad if the players don’t like it, but after all, they don’t win, their experience is losing.

That has to change before this organization starts to move forward.

Still Want to Support Pettine?

After the Cleveland Browns defeated an equally terrible San Francisco team a week ago at home, there were some, particularly in the media, who were giving coach Mike Pettine an endorsement to return in 2016.

Do you still think that today?

After today’s 30-13 loss to Seattle, you would have to say this looked like the same team we’ve seen over the last two months.

The defense allowed 30 or more points for the 9th time in 14 games, and there was poor tackling, poor defense against the run, and dropped passes galore.

But, quarterback is still the issue with this football team, right?

Perhaps the funniest thing was Pettine’s attitude this week, acting like he was doing a good job, making comments about the 49ers effort in the middle of the week, and making comments which could have been construed as negative about a QB who has appeared in the last two Super Bowls.

While the coach’s comments on Russell Wilson are true, the point is why make them at all? Nothing positive was going to be made by them.

Maybe Pettine has the same issues with self-control as he accused his own passer of having?

Maybe Johnny Manziel should bench the coach for two games.

Seattle gained 182 yards on the ground, above the usual 150 Jim O’Neil’s defense gives up. A man with the same first name as my wife’s friend, Christine Michael, gained 84 yards in 16 carries.

Also, the defense allowed the Seahawks to convert 9 of 12 third down situations, and the ‘Hawks’ punter, Jon Ryan, was only used once.

And again, all the media talks about is the QB.

This has been a problem since game one, and there hasn’t been an adequate solution found after 14 games.

In fact, outside of the quarterback position, what other unit has improved since 2014? The correct answer is none, and that’s why Pettine and his staff should be dismissed on January 4th.

There are plenty of other things that confound us too.

For example, why does Pettine and O’Neil continue to use Johnson Bademosi at cornerback? Pierre Desir was the staff’s darling during training camp, but now he is buried behind a special teams ace.

Bademosi made his bones in the NFL on special teams, and isn’t putting players in positions where they can’t succeed a sign of poor coaching?

As for Manziel, all week we heard how he was going to have an issue with turnovers and it will show he can’t play in the NFL.

He showed just the opposite.

He led the Browns to a touchdown (7 yard pass to Gary Barnidge) on the opening drive (by the way, that’s why you shouldn’t defer on the coin toss), and overall had a solid game, hitting 19 of 32 throws for 191 yards.

He did throw an interception on the Browns’ last possession, which we are sure will be held up as why he isn’t good enough.

He had four passes dropped, which to be fair was a problem for Josh McCown too.

And did you hear Fox analyst Charles Davis talk about draft options for Cleveland? He said it on local radio here earlier this week and said it again on the game broadcast.

He doesn’t think there is a college QB who should be picked high in next year’s draft. We believe the same thing.

With the defense being as pathetic as they have been this season, don’t the Browns have to take a defensive player?

Manziel has showed us enough to say he should be the starter going into the off-season based on the progress he has made during this season.

We aren’t saying he is the next Tom Brady or Brett Favre. We are simply saying he has shown he can be an NFL starter, and deserves the opportunity to have that job.

Meanwhile, the Pettine regime will have just two remaining games, both against teams in the playoff hunt.

3-13 looks like reality to us.

Are We Still Getting Close, Mike?

The best thing you can say about today’s utter beatdown by the Cincinnati Bengals over the Cleveland Browns is that nobody died.

The road to 2-14 started today as the Browns looked like a team whose spirit was broken in the blocked field goal return for a touchdown Monday night against the Ravens, in a 37-3 loss.

While we have been questioning Mike Pettine’s coaching and decision making for the past two months, it is ridiculous to fire him after today, something many are clamoring for on social media.

Pettine should be made and watch and suffer like the rest of the fan base, that is punishment enough for the coach and the staff.

The lopsided loss had many of the same contributing factors we have come to love all season long.

Cincinnati ran for 141 yards, the eighth time an opponent has exceeded 140 yards in the 12 games Cleveland has played this season.

The defense allowed 30 or more points for the eighth time this season.

The Browns had more penalties on the afternoon and lost the turnover battle too.

It was the fourth time on the season that the defense did not force a turnover and the 7th time in 12 games they turned their opponent over once or less.

It was the largest margin of defeat for Cleveland this year and the fifth time in the last six games the Browns have lost by 14 or more points.

And when questioned about the distance right now between the division leading Bengals (10-2) and the Browns (2-10), Pettine talked about injuries, an excuse if we ever heard one.

Excuses are for losers. Pittsburgh has had several injuries to key players this season, and they are sitting at 6-5.

Let the media make the excuses for your team, Mike.

Yet, we will hear about “being close” and “progress being made” by Pettine in press conferences.

They are regressing as the season goes on.

About the only life shown by the Browns today was by LB Chris Kirksey, who drew a personal foul for stopping Jeremy Hill from jumping into the stands after a Cincinnati touchdown.

When asked about it after the game, Pettine said he was hoping it was going to be offsetting penalties, instead of commending the young linebacker for showing some caring.

This is what kills us about the coach. He talks about accountability concerning Johnny Manziel, but the defense has been a sieve from week one on, and yet Jim O’Neil continues to be the defensive coordinator.

This may the worst situation for this football team since the expansion days. The Browns are the worst team in the NFL and they don’t seem to be playing hard either.

There doesn’t seem to be veteran leadership either. Offensively, Joe Thomas and Alex Mack aren’t rah rah types.

Defensively, out of the vets, only Karlos Dansby is performing at a decent enough level that he can give out advice and be taken seriously.

CB Tramon Williams was abused by A.J. Green today, and was beaten deep once again, continuing a streak of that occurring.

One other comment. Why wasn’t Terrelle Pryor active for the game? It is typical of the Browns to bring in a player and find all kinds of reasons not to use him.

Unfortunately for all of us, there are still four games remaining. Is this as bad as it can get?

Browns Need to Concentrate on Fundamentals

Most every football fan in American would like their favorite team to be a squad that puts on an aerial circus each and every week.

It’s an exciting and sexy way to play the game.

However, if the Cleveland Browns try to play this way in the 2014 season, it will be a long, long year for coach Mike Pettine and the fans of the brown and orange.

They simply don’t have the personnel to win in that matter.

Part of being a solid coach is knowing what kind of personnel you have and putting together game plans that utilize the talent at hand to win football games. And until we see otherwise, we have to believe Pettine knows what he is doing.

So, here’s hoping fans aren’t expecting an air show every Sunday afternoon from the Cleveland Browns.

We understand that there are a great many fans that want to see Johnny Manziel at quarterback so they are seeing footballs flying around the stadium, but Pettine is more interested in winning games, and if he does that, the fans will be entertained.

Time and again, Pettine has said the Browns want to follow the “Seattle model”, which is based on a strong running game and a very good defense. So, how do you think the Browns will play starting this Sunday?

A tried and true way to win football games having the ability to run the football and also be able to stop the run. When you think about it, this makes total sense.

If you can run the football, you make the defensive unit have to respect both the ground game and the passing game. Too often since the Browns returned in 1999, they haven’t been able to gain yardage running, and that puts the quarterback at a terrible disadvantage. It’s a lot tougher to play when you are consistently in 2nd and 9, and 3rd and 7 situations.

With Ben Tate and Terrence West, if the offense can get four or five yards on first down, it will make Brian Hoyer’s job much, much easier.

On defense, the Browns spent the last two pre-season games playing a lot of zone defense, but that will change in Heinz Field on Sunday. With Joe Haden and Buster Skrine back on the field, and rookie Justin Gilbert playing as well, the defense will play much more press coverage.

And if they are successful at stopping the Steeler running game with an improved front seven, it will make the Pittsburgh offense one-dimensional, and to be sure, Pettine will be dialing up a variety of blitzes to make Ben Roethlisburger very uncomfortable in the pocket.

Really, it’s the way football was played in the 70’s and 80’s, before every rule to help the passing game was put in place.

This style of play will ideally shorten games thus hiding the lack of talent Cleveland has in certain areas.

Pettine doesn’t strike me as a coach who is interested in being flashy and exciting, he wants to win, and if the best way to do that is to dominate on the ground, then that’s how they will play.

And after watching 15 years of futility, putting numbers in the win column should be fine with Browns’ fans everywhere.