Holmgren to fans: Keep Calm & Carry On
Browns President Mike Holmgren met the media on Monday and delivered a message to Browns fan that can be paraphrased as “keep calm and carry on.”
Holmgen said it’s “business as usual” for the team during the lockout.
“It is our feeling and hope that we will play football games [this season],” Holmgren told The Plain Dealer. “We’ve worked very, very hard to begin to establish a program that will win and we are proceeding along those lines.”
”I realize what I’m asking the Cleveland Browns fans to do because they’ve probably heard somebody say, ‘Hey, hang in there,’ for a little bit of time now. But in trying to be real straight with them, I am very, very encouraged about the direction of the football team,” Holmgren told The Beacon Journal. “This will get done, and we will play again. Stay rooting for your favorite team. It’s OK to get frustrated and ticked off on occasion, but the beauty of it is you’ll be there when the good times come.”
Good times? In Cleveland? Sign us up!
The problem is, no one knows when we will see football again. We’re still confident that, someway, there will be a season this fall, but no one really knows what impact the work stoppage will have on the Browns as they install new offensive and defensive systems.
Wisely, the Browns made sure quarterback Colt McCoy received a copy of the playbook before teams had to cut off contact with the players, which should pay off once teams can start practicing again.
“You can visualize yourself doing it and I think he can,” coach Pat Shurmur told The Plain Dealer. “When he gets more and more schooled in our approach, I think it’ll become more familiar and hopefully he’ll be happier and happier about it.
“I think he has the attributes that will make him a good quarterback in any system, especially our system. First and foremost is decision-making. If you have a guy that’s a bad decision-maker, he’ll always break your heart. But Colt’s a good decision-maker.”
We want to believe it’s just football and, since this is the NFL, the players will be able to pick up the new system somewhat easily. Shurmur sounds like he believes that to be the case.
“I guess I’m looking at it more as the glass as half-full than empty,” Shurmur said. “I feel as though the systems we’re teaching are proven. I’ve seen them be taught in a short amount of time. I’m not anxious about it.”
Well, that makes one of us, although it’s good to know the coaching staff isn’t in a panic.
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Staying in Berea, Holmgren has some in a tizzy because he’s doing the proper thing by scouting and evaluating available college players – even quarterbacks.
“I think with our due diligence as an organization and a personnel department, it’s our obligation to evaluate the best players coming out of college football,” Holmgren said. “Cam Newton is one of those and so, yes, we are looking hard. It’s fun for me anyway; I’ve told you this before.”
This is a good thing; we’re not sure why some can’t see that.
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Speaking of doing their due diligence, Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller will reportedly visit the Browns in April.
After his strong combine and pro day, Miller is earning a lot of interest among the teams at the top of the draft and is considered by many the top linebacker in the draft.
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Finally, happy birthday to Liverpool FC!
The club was founded on this day in 1892 by John Houlding, owner of the Anfield stadium. Houlding needed a team for the grounds following a disagreement with Everton that saw the Toffees move to Goodison Park, so Houlding started Liverpool.
Eighteen league titles and five European Cups later, the club is still going strong.
Red Right 88 