Manziel’s Role Model Should Be Wilson

So, it’s now official. Johnny Manziel will make his first start of the season this Sunday at First Energy Stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Mike Pettine is 100% correct in saying the rookie currently gives his football team a better chance to win this week and for the final two games of the season. The Cleveland offense under Brian Hoyer had become stagnant, and wasn’t able to take advantage of the turnovers and great field position the defense had given them.

It is refreshing to hear Manziel say that he will not be the player he was at Texas A & M, because he can’t be. This is the NFL, and hopefully the former Heisman Trophy winner will change his style to adapt to the bigger and faster athletes in professional football.

Here’s hoping that Johnny Football emulates in style the Super Bowl winning quarterback of a year ago, Russell Wilson.

Wilson is around the same size as Manziel and he also has the ability to be mobile. However, the Seahawks don’t run a lot of read option plays for Wilson, probably because they want him to stay healthy and limit the hits on him.

We know that offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan coached Robert Griffin III during his first two years in the league and Griffin ran the football a lot. We hope that Shanahan has observed that style of offense doesn’t really work in today’s NFL.

We would like to see Manziel make most of his plays from the pocket, but with the added dimension of being able to move out of the pocket if the protection breaks down. Certainly, the new quarterback has better arm strength, so the offense may be able to take some shots down the field.

As CBS college football analyst and former Browns’ QB Gary Danielson said earlier this year, Manziel needs to realize there are 4000 yards in the pocket, and maybe 500 yards running the ball.

Some quarterbacks struggle with making the conversion from college to playing inside the tackles in the NFL. Griffin III is the most current example, but Michael Vick has had the same issues over his years in the league.

On the other hand, Donovan McNabb came into the league with the reputation of being a running quarterback, but quickly learned the lesson that playing from the pocket is what wins in the NFL.

Think about it. The great passers currently in the NFL are pocket passers: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisburger. The latter two can use their legs to extend plays, but they run the ball out of necessity, not generally from designed plays.

That’s the way to go if Manziel wants to have a long, successful career in the league.

As for this Sunday, if JFF can make some plays with his legs to revitalize what has become a moribund attack, then fine. The team needs to win this Sunday to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

Also, here’s hoping that Shanahan gives him some safe throws early in the game to ease him into his first start. Although, it would be fun to see the rookie drop back on his first play from scrimmage and look deep for Josh Gordon, just to show Cincinnati the Browns now have the ability to stretch the field.

There is no question that Manziel brings a buzz to the “Battle of Ohio”. But to have extended success in the NFL and have the chance to become the franchise quarterback for the Browns, he will need to make an adjustment in the style of play he used in college.

It may not be exciting for the Manzealots, but it’s the smart way to go.

Turnovers and Not Stopping Run = Recipes for Defeat

After the Cleveland Browns’ convincing victory last Thursday night in Cincinnati, many people started convincing themselves that Mike Pettine’s team was one of the better teams in the AFC.

The reality is that yes, the Browns are a good team, an up and coming squad, but they are like most NFL teams in that if they make a bunch of mistakes, they could lose to anybody as well.

That’s what happened against Jacksonville, and it happened today in a 23-7 loss to the Houston Texans at First Energy Stadium.

If there is a recipe for losing in the NFL, what happened today could be considered as the formula.

First, lose the turnover battle. Cleveland has been very stingy in turning the football over today, but the Browns lost this category today, 2 to 1, and the game probably turned on Isaiah Crowell’s fumble on the Texans’ 19-yard line with 3:11 left in the second quarter in a tie game.

Instead of taking a 10-7 or 14-7 lead late in the half with the Browns getting the ball to start the second half, the defense let Houston go 78 yards in ten plays for a TD and a 14-7 halftime advantage.

That was huge.

Second, you have to be able to stop the running game. Houston didn’t feel the effect of not having Arian Foster today, as his back up, rookie Alfred Blue gained 156 yards in 36 carries, and in total, the Texans ran for 213 yards for the game. It is doubtful many teams win in the NFL allowing 200 yards rushing.

This has been a problem all year, and with DL Phil Taylor done for the season with a knee injury, it isn’t going to get any better. GM Ray Farmer, Pettine, and defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil have to fix this and they have to fix this before next Sunday’s game against the Falcons.

And lastly, you have to do well on third down. The Browns converted just 3 out of 15 third downs on the day. They simply couldn’t stay on the field.

These were the most glaring problems.

The Browns’ can’t have Brian Hoyer throwing the football 50 times a game and hope to win, and today’s game bears that out. Hoyer had his accuracy problems again, completing only 20 of those throws for 330 yards.

The special teams were bad too. Billy Cundiff shanked a 38-yard field goal. Christian Yount snapped a ball over Spencer Lanning’s head on a punt, Marlon Moore fumbled a kickoff return, but was ruled down, and there was a holding penalty on another kickoff return by Moore that he took to the house.

Defensively, besides not being able to stop the run, there was little to no pressure on Ryan Mallet, who was making his first NFL start. He wasn’t sacked at all, and there were few plays where he was forced to throw before he wanted to.

The coaching staff isn’t immune today either. One of our pet peeves is coaches trying to show off, and Kyle Shanahan was guilty of that today.

How? In the win against Cincinnati, Terrance West played very well, gaining 94 yards in 26 hard carries. Today, he toted the rock just five times for 12 yards as Crowell was the featured back.

We like Crowell, but we don’t understand the change from West, who has played well for most of the season.

Regardless, the Browns are now 6-4 for the season and still in the thick of the playoff race, although they aren’t the good position they were to start the day.

And they get All Pro wide receiver Josh Gordon back for next week’s game against the Falcons.

Still, the winning formula for this team is to play error free football. They didn’t today and they paid a stiff price.

It Isn’t Easy to Dominate NFL Teams, Even the Bad Ones.

Cleveland Browns’ fans overestimated this team after they routed the Pittsburgh Steelers in week six. With Jacksonville, Oakland, and Tampa Bay coming up on the slate, most supporters figured three blowout wins would follow and the Browns would go to Cincinnati with a 6-2 mark.

However, that’s not how the NFL works.

Instead the Browns lost to the Jaguars, and then won two home games, both in workmanlike fashion, and head to the Queen City at 5-3, still very much in the playoff race as the calendar turned to November.

The truth is that the Browns are not an elite NFL team, they aren’t even a very good team. They are in the middle of the pack, and that is good enough to play meaningful football at this point in the season.

After years of hopelessness regarding this football team, we should all be excited about that.

Cleveland’s offense couldn’t get into the end zone in the first half, getting only three Billy Cundiff field goals (49, 29, and 43 yards) and trailed going into the locker room 10-9.

After a touchdown a little less than six minutes into the second half, Mike Pettine’s team took a 16-10 lead.

The lead was short-lived, as the Bucs’ went deep to Johnny Manziel’s former teammate at Texas A & M, Mike Evans, caught a 24-yard throw from Mike Glennon to give Tampa a one point lead.

But Brian Hoyer led the Browns back, hitting rookie WR Taylor Gabriel (with the aid of a crushing block by Terrance West) to give the home team a lead it would never surrender.

As we said before, it isn’t easy in the NFL.

Look at today’s results. Cincinnati didn’t blow up Jacksonville either, although they did beat them, and San Diego, thought to be one of the AFC’s best teams, were dominated by Miami, losing 37-0.

Earlier this year, this same Tampa Bay team went into Pittsburgh and beat the Steelers.

Style points do not matter, but wins do, and right now the Browns have collected five of them, one more than they had all of last season. In fact, the last time Cleveland won more than five games in a season was 2007, when they went 10-6.

That’s not to say the Browns are a team without problems.

The running game continues to sputter without Alex Mack, averaging less than two yards per carry again (50 yards in 28 attempts), and Mack’s replacement, Nick McDonald was dominated by Tampa Bay DT Gerald McCoy, who sacked Hoyer twice.

Another problem is the run defense, which to be fair, did improve in the second half, but still allowed 113 yards in total. Former Brown, Bobby Rainey, deemed unusable by Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi, picked up 87 yards on 19 carries.

Defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil did make an adjustment in the second half, as Rainey gained just 17 yards on his last nine carries.

The special teams were also a huge factor in today’s win. Billy Winn blocked a field goal in the first quarter, and Craig Robertson blocked a punt that set up the winning touchdown. It was the second blocked punt of the season, and both were major factors in victories. We can’t remember the last time a Cleveland special teams unit blocked two punts in a season.

Donte Whitner had his best game as a Brown too, getting an interception off a pass batted away by Joe Haden, and he forced a fumble on a play that was called back because of a penalty. The former Glenville product is starting to make his presence felt.

And we have to mention Hoyer, who threw for 300 yards despite two interceptions, one a horrible throw, and the other off a deflection. He evened up the two picks by throwing two touchdown passes.

It’s a short week for both the Browns and Bengals as they play Thursday night. Because the AFC North is so good and so bunched up in the standings, any divisional game is huge.

Cleveland is 5-3, but they need to start playing better if they want to stay in the race for a playoff spot.

Fans Split on Manziel, Shouldn’t That Say Something?

A week from today, the first round of the NFL Draft will be history. What will we debate about then?

In Cleveland, it seems about half of Browns’ fans will be ga-ga if GM Ray Farmer selects Texas A & M quarterback Johnny Manziel with the fourth overall pick next Thursday, while the other half will be relieved. Doesn’t that say everything about picking the former Heisman Trophy winner?

If this were two years ago, and Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III were possibilities for the Browns, don’t you think a majority of the team’s supporters would be on board with the choice? Of course.

The NFL talent gurus are also split on taking Manziel. He’s a huge risk, at least that’s the opinion of many of the folks who judge college players coming into the National Football League.

The main questions about the former Texas A & M quarterback are his size and his style of play, which some people consider reckless, too reckless for the NFL. Certainly, Brett Favre was considered a passer who played fast and loose with the football, and carved out a pretty successful career in professional football.

He will be enshrined in Canton some day soon.

As for the size, most of the QB’s supporters talk about New Orleans’ Drew Brees and Seattle’s Russell Wilson, who have both piloted teams to Super Bowl victories as proof shorter quarterbacks can succeed in the league.

However, neither player was selected in the first round, let alone in the top five choices. And although Wilson is a good player, and a great leader, putting him in the discussion of great quarterbacks seems to be a bit of a stretch.

When was the last time a quarterback who measured in at around six feet tall was picked in the top ten selections of the draft?

The answer: It has been 13 years since Michael Vick was selected first overall by Atlanta in 2001.

What has been the wrap on Vick throughout his career? He can’t stay on the field.

This isn’t to say that Manziel will have a similar career path as Vick, but it does explain why many pro scouts are reluctant to say he should be picked in the first five selections next Thursday.

Other bigger quarterbacks get hurt too, and Brees and Wilson have both been durable throughout their NFL careers. But the thing is, neither was a premium selection. If you are picking in the top five, you have to feel you are getting a great player who is going to start in his rookie season and be a mainstay for your team for many, many years.

As for the Browns, even though they finished 4-12 last season, they did have six players who received Pro Bowl recognition, and added two more, S Donte Whitner and LB Karlos Dansby who merited All Pro status last season.

They have to believe they are ready to win in 2014, and are they better off filling the holes they have on the offensive line, wide receiver, inside linebacker, and in the secondary with their first few picks next week than drafting a passer who seems to be risky?

Farmer and new coach Mike Pettine can look in their own division and see Andy Dalton, who has led the Bengals to three straight playoff apperances, despite not being one of the league’s best QBs. They also see the current Super Bowl champion Seahawks, who were led by a strong defense and running game in route to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

We still maintain that the Browns certainly need a quarterback, but in this year’s draft, there isn’t one worth picking in the top five. Add more talent, and see who is available in the second and third rounds.

You may just find another Brees or Wilson.

Are Cleveland Fans Not Demanding Enough?

The city of Cleveland has three professional sports teams and in the past four seasons (at least), only one of them, the Indians, have had any success, and that was last year.

However, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of outrage about this lack of success. The Browns have pretty much been lousy since returning to the NFL in 1999, and since LeBron James left for Miami, the Cavaliers have been in the draft lottery every season.

The Tribe’s attendance has suffered since the sellout string ended in 2001, and the Browns no longer fill their stadium week after week on Sunday, despite selling all the tickets. The Cavs actually have drawn better than expected despite some dreadful seasons.

Yet, the sports talk stations in town talk nothing but football, so you would have to assume the populace isn’t fed up with the poor record of the Browns, and year after year, when another mediocre season has ended, there is actually optimism regarding the draft.

The Cavs have another season where they lose, or almost lose 50 games and there is a significant amount of supporters who think it is good because they will be able to secure another lottery pick.

If the baseball draft was followed as closely as the other two sports, perhaps the Indians would get more of a pass from people because it would mean another high first round draft choice.

There is no question that the fan base here is ingrained to look toward the future. Sure, we are disappointed with the losing, but if it happens, then it’s okay, we get to choose high in that respective sports’ draft.

When it comes to the Browns, perhaps there is a nagging feeling that if we are too critical of their foibles, the team will leave town again because the owner is angry. After all, Art Modell was just starting to get heat from the fans and media alike when he picked up and moved to Baltimore.

That’s not going to happen again. The NFL isn’t going to allow it as long as the tickets are sold out every week.

Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert has done a lot for the city, including bringing casino gambling to the area, and a lot of jobs from that business and Quicken Loans.

Because of this, fans feel guilty about holding him responsible for the state of the basketball team. While more criticism has been put on him recently, he still gets off pretty lightly considering the record of the wine and gold since James left town.

The team the fans are toughest on is the only one with any recent success, the Indians, but because of the way the sport’s draft is set up and the fact there is no salary cap, it’s also the hardest for a smaller market to compete.

That’s why the Browns and the Cavaliers can sell hope. With the right draft pick or free agent signing, they can be good again. And the fans obviously just lap it up.

But the ticket buyers should be more demanding of success. The Browns continue to be terrible and last year, didn’t even try to improve when injuries hit or trades were made.

That obviously even infuriated the owner, because Jimmy Haslam was fed up enough to sweep out the old front office and hire new people. At least he got angry.

Gilbert is said to be upset with the Cavs showing this season, but will he fly off the handle and make an impetuous decision, or will he take steps to make sure his team wins more games?

As for the Indians, fans were upset that the franchise didn’t build on the success enjoyed last season. After 92 wins last season, supporters wanted to see the front office “go for it”. There is much pressure on them to at least make the post-season again in 2014.

Cleveland fans have become too soft on demanding success from its teams. That needs to end right away.

Yes, Browns Need a QB, but Do They Need One at #4?

The prevailing debate among Cleveland football fans is the quarterback position and how it relates to this May’s NFL Draft.

Local sports talk shows have been discussing it since the end of the season, and the bad news is, there is still five weeks of draft talk to come.

Should the Browns take a passer with the fourth overall pick? If you don’t believe they should, then people think you believe the Browns don’t really need a QB, and they should settle for Brian Hoyer because he’s a hometown guy.

First, we feel Cleveland should draft a quarterback in 2014, but we don’t feel any of the passers coming out, including the “big three” of Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater, and Blake Bortles, are worthy of the fourth selection.

We have said this before about all professional drafts. The idea of the draft is to make poor teams better, to upgrade their talent level.

Drafting a player who may be the 15th best talent in the selection process with the fourth pick is just stupid. And moving a player that many spots up the board because they play a certain position defeats the idea of the draft.

You are just pushing better players down to the better teams, which in turn makes them stronger.

Look at how this year’s playoff teams acquired their quarterbacks:

Denver-Peyton Manning: signed as free agent, although he was the first overall pick in 1998
New England-Tom Brady: most famous sixth round pick of all time
Cincinnati-Andy Dalton: second round pick
Indianapolis-Andrew Luck: first overall pick in 2012
Kansas City-Alex Smith: acquired in trade, but was the first overall pick in 2005
San Diego-Philip Rivers: fourth overall pick in 2004.

Seattle-Russell Wilson: third round pick in 2012
Carolina-Cam Newton: first overall pick in 2011Philadelphia-Nick Foles: third round pick in 2012
Green Bay-Aaron Rodgers: first round pick (22nd overall) in 2005
San Francisco-Colin Kaepernick: second round pick in 2011
New Orleans-Drew Brees: second round pick

So, out of the twelve playoff teams, five had their quarterbacks drafted in the first round, but two of those (Manning and Smith) are no longer with the teams that originally drafted them.

Three of the first round picks (Manning, Luck, and Newton) were all considered no-brainers for the first overall pick. They were highly decorated college players, and no one debated Rivers as a top ten selection either.

Smith was considered the best QB in a mediocre lot, and he’s already on his second team, but to be fair, he’s turned into an efficient player and he’s been a winner as of late.

Three more players were drafted in the second round, and one of those (Brees) is likely headed for the Hall of Fame, and Kaepernick has played in a Super Bowl and two other NFC Championship games.

While there are zealots who will tell you that Manziel, Bridgewater, and Bortles will become great NFL players, there are also scouts who have their doubts. That’s why you can’t take them at #4 if you are the Browns.

With that pick, GM Ray Farmer has to take a player who can start immediately and be an All-Pro in a couple of years, regardless of position.

Why not pick up Derek Carr or A.J. McCarron or Jimmy Garoppolo in the second or third round and develop them for a year or two behind Hoyer?

When the Browns had decent quarterback play last season, they won some football games. If Hoyer plays smart, and Cleveland has a solid running game, they should escape the 10 loss season streak.

They don’t need to play a high stakes game of poker. Besides, it’s not like quarterback is the only hole on the roster to fill. The team needs offensive line help, another wide receiver, linebackers, and secondary help.

Why not fill one of those spots with a player who has a higher floor.

Yes, the Cleveland Browns need a quarterback, but there is plenty of evidence that you don’t have to take one in the top five to win in the NFL.

Browns Can’t Close Again on Defense.

It is now official that the Cleveland Browns will lose 10 or more games again in 2013, losing their final home game to the Chicago Bears, 38-31 at First Energy Stadium.

It’s the sixth straight season with double-digit losses, and the tenth in 11 seasons. Since returning to the NFL in 1999, the Browns have lost ten or more contests 12 times.

It’s a losing culture and it won’t change until the entire organization, which includes the front office, coaching staff, and players make a commitment that losing is not tolerable, and end the “next year” mentality that permeates the whole building in Berea.

Teams turn around every year in the NFL. This year, it’s Kansas City that was gone from a 2-14 record a year ago to an 11-3 season to this point. Last year, it was Indianapolis.

Here’s who it has never been: The Cleveland Browns. They have a tradition of being a doormat for 15 years.

To be fair, perhaps the Browns can be the Chiefs next season. KC has several Pro Bowl players on their roster in 2012, more than a team that wins two games should have. Rob Chudzinski’s team could have three or four players going to Hawaii in January.

But based on the last 15 years, forgive us for not holding our breath.

Today’s loss represented another collapse by what many people thought was the strength of the team going into the year, the defense. In fact, there were a lot of people (us included) who felt defensive coordinator Ray Horton would be a prime candidate for a head coaching position this winter.

Now, it would be a long shot with the Browns’ defense allowing almost 26 points per game this season, a figure that ranks in the bottom part of the NFL. Horton likes to recite statistics, but the only real stat that counts is how points you allow.

What is more disturbing is that 128 of those points have been allowed in the fourth quarter, including 21 today. And while the Bears did score seven points on defense today, the three touchdowns if the final stanza came from Chicago carving up the Cleveland defense.

In the last five games, all defeats, the Browns have allowed 165 points, which averages 33 per game. 40% of those points have come in the fourth quarter, including 37 the past two weeks combined.

The defense isn’t exactly closing out games.

Horton’s crew has been effective against the run all season, but today the Bears ran it right down their collective throats gaining 179 yards on the ground. The dagger came as a result of Michael Bush’s 40 yard TD burst which gave the Bears a 38-24 lead.

The third down efficiency was terrible too, allowing the Bears to convert on 9 of 14 situations. And the Bears ran the same play three times, a fake reverse with a pitch out to Matt Forte, who gained 127 yards in 24 carries, for big yardage every time. There were no adjustments by the defense.

The only bright spot were the two touchdowns scored by the unit, Tashaun Gipson’s 44 yard interception return and T.J. Ward’s 51 yard run with a fumble recovery.

Offensively, someone (either the offensive coaches or the Bears’ defense) took Josh Gordon out of the game, leaving Jason Campbell to his dink and dunk game. Gordon did get in the end zone on a 43-yard pass play in the fourth quarter, but his 100-yard receiving streak ended with just 67 yards.

The bright spot for the offense was the newest member of the team, RB Edwin Baker who gained 38 yards in eight carries and caught four more passes for 46 yards.

The question is why wasn’t he brought in sooner?

After the optimism of last week’s near miss in New England, the reality set back in that this team can’t avoid losing, and the front office doesn’t seem to mind.

Until that ends, the losing cycle may never be escaped.

Do Browns Need to Run the Ball?

The running game has certainly been de-emphasized in today’s NFL.

It used to be a tenet about good teams that they had to be able to run the ball and also be able to stop the run.

Earlier this week, Browns’ All Pro OT Joe Thomas scoffed about his team’s lack of a running game, saying something to the effect that it really isn’t important anymore.

Is he correct?

We looked at the top 10 rushing teams in the league this year and found more teams that are winning than losing.

The top two rushing teams to this point are Washington, who led the league last season and are currently sitting at 3-6 on the season after last night’s loss to Minnesota, and Philadelphia who are 4-5 on the 2013 campaign.

That certainly supports Thomas’ opinion that the ground game isn’t a prerequisite for winning.

However, looking at the rest of the top ten shows the following teams: Seattle (8-1), San Francisco (6-2), Green Bay (5-3), New England (7-2), New York Jets (5-4), and Kansas City (9-0).

Notice that several of those squads also have Pro Bowl caliber quarterbacks in Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick, a possible future Hall of Famer in Aaron Rodgers, and a definite enshrinee in Canton in Tom Brady.

The other two teams among the leaders are Buffalo (3-6) and Oakland (3-5). Thus, six of the ten having winning records.

Conversely, the worst running teams in the NFL shows only two teams with a winning record: New Orleans (6-2) and Dallas (5-4).

Atlanta (2-6) is the worst team in the NFL on the ground, followed by the woeful Jacksonville Jaguars at 0-8.

The Giants (2-6), the Ravens (3-5) and Pittsburgh (2-6) round out the top five.

So, what we can conclude is that you have a better chance of being successful if you can run the ball, which when you think about it, isn’t really a change in conventional wisdom.

That brings us to Thomas’ team, the Cleveland Browns, who rank 25^th in the NFL in rushing.

A closer look shows that coach Rob Chudzinski and offensive coordinator have had to be very creative in getting some of the yards on the ground the Browns have accumulated.

The trick/gadget plays used by Turner have accounted for 15% of Cleveland’s running game. That would include reverses by WRs Josh Gordon and Travis Benjamin, plays out of the wildcat formation by MarQueis Gray, and the fake punt by Josh Aubrey that went for 34 yards.

Taking away those eight plays would lower the Browns’ average yards per carry by a half yard (3.7 to 3.2), and the latter figure would rank third worst in the National Football League.

The flaw in Thomas’ logic is that if you are a good team, a winning team, you have to be able to run the football to protect leads. In reality, the Browns were lucky to be able to burn over six minutes off the clock last Sunday in the victory over Baltimore.

As the weather conditions at home get more severe, the ability to run the football will become more and more important.

That’s why the front office needs to do something during the bye week to improve this aspect of the game.

If the Browns want to be a winning team, perhaps one that can make the playoffs, they have to be able to run the ball, particularly late in games.

A majority of the good teams in the NFL can do just that.

The Browns’ QB Dilemma

After Brandon Weeden’s infamous flip that resulted in the interception that clinched the Lions’ win over the Browns on Sunday, it seems the only people who still have confidence in the quarterback is the Browns’ coaching staff.

Most media members, including ex-coaches and ex-players are advocating replacing Weeden with Jason Campbell, a serviceable veteran at best.

Even if Campbell eliminated the “dumb” plays that occurred last Sunday, it would be worth seeing him under center rather that Weeden, who doesn’t seemed to have progressed from his rookie season.

However, Rob Chudzinski announced that Weeden would start this Sunday against Green Bay.

What that means is the coach and his staff feel the former Oklahoma State star is better than Campbell and any other passer currently not on an NFL roster.

When you think about that for a minute, you realize it’s probably true.

Or does the front office not really care about this season, and that’s why they aren’t doing anything. If that’s true, that’s a disservice to every Browns fan in the country.

Especially since the team is 3-3 and is only one game out of first place in a division that is proving to be mediocre at best.

There were a lot of people (us included) who felt the Browns were giving up on the season when they traded Trent Richardson to Indianapolis. Three straight wins changed the opinions of the fans, but was the management impressed.

Of course, some of that optimism came with the play of Brian Hoyer, who orchestrated a comeback win against the Vikings and led the team to a victory over the Bengals.

Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi have stated they want to get a “franchise” quarterback in the draft, and the first round pick acquired in the Richardson deal gives them the assets to do just that.

But do they?

It will be difficult if the Browns win six or seven games, which is very possible, and Indianapolis win their division, which is also very possible now that the Houston Texans seem to have gone into the toilet.

Outside of the Giants, who have Eli Manning, or the Steelers, with Ben Roethlisberger, what other team that would currently pick in the top five wouldn’t want to take one of the top quarterbacks available in next spring’s draft?

Jacksonville, regarded as the NFL’s worst team will almost certainly take Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater with the top pick. Tampa Bay, another winless squad, will also be looking for a QB after letting Josh Freeman go.

Among the one win teams thus far, besides Pittsburgh, Washington and Atlanta wouldn’t be looking for new signal callers, but they also aren’t likely to stay at the bottom of the standings for the balance of the season.

Add to this Phil Simms’ opinion that there is no top-tier quarterbacks available next spring. ESPN’s Mike Golic said he thinks Bridgewater will be a good NFL player, but he’s not on the level of Andrew Luck.

If those guys are right, it means the quarterback derby in the ’14 Draft will be a crapshoot. You may get Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers or you may get Ryan Leaf or Akili Smith.

So, the Browns should do what they can to win and make the playoffs while they have a chance. And they have a chance this year.

If they believe Weeden is their best chance to win, he should play. If not, then give Campbell, a guy with a proven track record, a shot.

The 2013 season should be most important, not 2014.

If They are Tanking, No One Told Browns’ Players, Staff

If the Cleveland Browns front office’s plan was to be bad enough to be able to get their franchise quarterback in next year’s draft, someone forgot to let the players and coaching staff in on the plan.

The Browns scored more points in the first half than they had in the first two games in total, and then overcame their usual second half blahs to win their first game of the season, 31-27 over the Minnesota Vikings.

The offense was much more efficient under Brian Hoyer, playing for an injured Brandon Weeden, converting 6 of 15 third downs and although the offensive line struggled all afternoon, they allowed just three sacks.

It has been reported that Weeden could be available to play next week, but after a win and Hoyer’s performance today, why change back unless the former St. Ignatius star gives the coaches a reason to do just that.

The other dimension that returned to the offense was WR Josh Gordon, the subject of trade rumors by the national pundits before the game. Gordon caught 10 throws for 146 yards and a 47 yard touchdown reception which started the scoring for Cleveland.

Now, many people may say the Browns didn’t miss recently traded Trent Richardson because they emerged with the win, but the offense had no running attack the entire game, although they ran for 103 yards in just 17 attempts.

That’s because Cleveland’s leading rusher was Josh Aubrey, who picked up 34 yards on a fake punt, and Gordon also gained 22 yards later on an end around. Those two plays accounted for more than half of the offense’s rushing yards.

Richardson’s primary replacement, newcomer Willis McGahee, picked up just 9 yards on 8 carries.

Coach Rob Chudzinski and coordinator Norv Turner showed more aggressiveness in the first half than we have seen all season, pulling out both the fake punt previously mentioned and they also scored a touchdown on a fake field goal with punter/holder Spencer Lanning hitting TE Jordan Cameron with an 11 yard touchdown pass.

Cameron had another outstanding afternoon with three touchdown receptions, including the game winning 7 yard catch.

Hoyer did something in his first Cleveland start that is missing from Weeden’s resume, that is producing a game winning drive, after getting possession at his own 45 with almost three and a half minutes left.

He hit a key third down play immediately, hitting Gordon for 11 yards to keep the drive going after two incompletions.

Still, the lack of a running game is going to come back and haunt this team if they don’t figure it out soon. Cleveland’s last running play came with 1:49 left in the third quarter.

Defensively, Ray Horton’s crew held RB Adrian Peterson under 100 yards rushing (88 total), and added four sacks and two turnovers. The sacks came from DE Desmond Bryant (third straight game, 3.5 on the season), LB Barkevious Mingo (second straight game), Billy Winn, John Hughes, and Jabaal Sheard.

ILB D’Qwell Jackson had seven solo tackles and forced a Peterson fumble and T.J. Ward picked off a Christian Ponder throw.

You can make a very good argument that had the Browns taken care of the football better (three interceptions and a fumble), this game wouldn’t have needed a late game drive to get the victory.

So, the first game coming after a week of turmoil (quarterback change and Richardson trade) was a success, with Chudzinski getting his first win as a head coach.

Now, we can see how the team performs in a more normal week, with a home game against the division favorite in the Cincinnati Bengals.

It was thought the front office was giving up on the 2013 season, but in retrospect, the Dolphins are now 3-0 after beating Atlanta today, and the Ravens blasted Houston 30-9 and now sit at 2-1.

Maybe the Browns aren’t as bad as some people in the organization think.