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In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the month “November, 2011”

04 Nov 2011

Still don’t believe in curses, Cleveland?

Another day, another controversy in the ongoing saga of Madden cover boy Peyton Hillis’ 2011 season with the Cleveland Browns.

Hillis left Friday’s practice after aggravating his injured left hamstring. According to media reports, Hillis took a handoff, ran off right guard, stood straight up and started limping off the field. He then threw the ball and his helmet in frustration.

He walked off the practice field with a trainer.

It’s been one thing after another for Hillis this season, which has been the exact opposite of last season. At this time last year, the Browns and Hillis were getting ready to face the Patriots, a game where Hillis ran for a career-high 184 yards and two TDs in a Browns win.

Now? He’s expected to be out at least a couple of weeks after an MRI this afternoon revealed that he significantly aggravated the muscle.

Not only is Hillis injured, but he’s losing the support of the one group that he needs the most – his teammates.

According to a report at Yahoo Sports, on Wednesday a group of about eight Browns veterans called Hillis into a meeting room for an intervention-style, air-clearing session designed to restore his focus. Supposedly the 25-year-old back’s consuming desire for a new contract has become a locker room distraction and several teammates believe it is holding the team back.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” says one Browns veteran. “Last year, Peyton was such a positive, inspirational force on our team – but now he’s like a different guy. It’s like he’s in a funk that he can’t get out of, and it’s killing us, because we really need him. And we’ve told him that. But we’re at the point where we just don’t know what to do.”

We tried to warn you Cleveland.

“The fact that everyone has to get asked about (Hillis’ situation) by the local beat writers every day, it’s started to create a distraction, and it’s a shame that it has to be that way,” said linebacker Scott Fujita. “I’m never gonna be in a position to question a player’s toughness. I just want him to be healthy and in the right frame of mind to help the team. More than anything else, that’s what our conversation with him was about.”

We really did warn you.

“A few guys tried to talk to him, to make him understand the best way to go about things is to put your head down and do the best you possibly can,” tackle Joe Thomas said. “Because if the Browns aren’t going to pay you, some team will break the bank – and either way you need to play hard.”

Oh boy.

Granted, this isn’t good news, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a silver lining or two here.

It’s good to see the veterans on the team taking ownership of the situation and trying to talk to Hillis. That’s a positive sign and shows that team president Mike Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert have filled the locker room with the right kind of players.

Plus, not to excuse Hillis if he really is pouting, but he’s only 25 and there is a good chance that his actions are at least partially to blame on immaturity.

If he can get healthy and get his head on straight, there shouldn’t be any reason that the Browns can’t count on him.

If not, well there’s a reason why the Browns have two No. 1 picks next season.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Madden Curse, Peyton Hillis | Leave a comment
03 Nov 2011

Wherefore art though Romeo?

Guess which Browns coach has the best record in the month of November since Marty Schottenheimer was looking for a gleam along the lakefront?

That’s right, old friend Romeo Crennel.

According to a story in the Canton Repository, Schottenheimer was 14-8 in November as Browns coach, since then things have been not so friendly to Browns coaches.

Crennel tops the list at 7-10, followed by Bill Belichick (6-15), Butch Davis (5-10), Bud Carson (2-4-1), Chris Palmer (2-6) and Eric Mangini (2-6).

Current coach Pat Shurmur has a chance starting Sunday in Houston to make his own mark. After the game with the Texans (5-3), the Browns have home games with St. Louis (1-6) and Jacksonville (2-6) and an away tilt with Cincinnati (5-2).

***

Speaking of the Browns and their upcoming opponents, Grantland did a mid-season report on the AFC and had some interesting items about the teams that Cleveland will be facing in the upcoming weeks.

The Baltimore Ravens have 25 sacks through seven games, the second-highest total in football. Last year, the Ravens had 27 sacks all season. Ben Rothlisberger just soiled himself.

The Cincinnati Bengals haven’t lost a fumble on offense all season and have managed to grab 13 of the 18 fumbles in their games this year. The fumble luck and short fields have helped Cincinnati’s limited offense to the best average starting field position in football. That’s not going to continue and it will be fun to watch the Bengals crash back to earth in the second half of the season.

Eight games into the season and Pittsburgh’s defense has just two interceptions and one fumble recovery. The Steelers three takeaways are the fewest for any team in NFL history after eight games. After they play the Ravens this week, Pittsburgh’s schedule turns pillow soft, with four games against the Bengals and Browns, two games against the NFC West and a game against the Chiefs.

Since 2000, teams have thrown for fewer than 100 yards in a game 363 times; Jacksonville’s Blaine Gabbert has failed to throw for 100 yards in three consecutive games. That has happened only four times since 2000; can you guess the most recent? Yep, Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn pulled off that feat of offensive ineptitude in 2009.

***

With No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama ready for a showdown on Saturday, Chris Dufresne at The Los Angeles Times points out that the loser shouldn’t get a rematch in the BCS title game.

And he’s right.

If the loser gets another shot and they win the rematch, why should that game carry more weight than Saturday’s tilt? Plus, as much as we love watching SEC football, there are other conferences out there. You can’t shutout other legitimate contenders and deny them a chance at Saturday’s winner (presuming they win out the rest of the year).

Thankfully, that potential list of other contenders won’t include anyone from the Big Ten.

***

Finally, Simon Jenkins at The Guardian has some fun with the silliness of Daylight Savings Time. (h/t EPL Talk)

Posted in Cleveland Browns | Leave a comment
02 Nov 2011

Browns need to know when to hold ’em

We’ve been a little behind on our reading so it was just in the past couple of days that we read the Sports Illustrated article about how San Francisco’s Alex Smith has turned into a viable NFL quarterback – at least through the early part of the season.

In the article (written after the 49ers win over Detroit), Jim Trotter points out how a simpler game plan calls for Smith to do less, which means he doesn’t have to force things or take as many chances. “With this coaching staff and this system, the way it’s built, it’s just take the plays that are there,” Smith said in the article.

The seventh-year quarterback is also helped by his offensive line, where three of the five starters are first-round picks, and a running game that is sixth-best in the league after averaging 188.5 yards per game in October.

Reading that got us thinking again about The Colt McCoy Question, mainly wondering if the Browns will know when to cut ties with McCoy, if that day ever comes around.

Solid offensive line? Strong running game? Simpler offensive plays? Sounds like a blueprint the Browns would consider following to help develop McCoy.

Of course, a season-ending injury to guard Eric Steinbach forced rookie Jason Pinkston into the lineup perhaps before he was ready. And right tackle Tony Pashos’ play has reminded fans of John St. Clair.

Same with the running game. Injuries have stalled Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty, meaning the Browns may very well line up with Chris Ogbonnaya and Thomas Clayton as their running backs on Sunday in Houston.

Those injuries have conspired against the Browns and contributed to McCoy not making as much progress this year as many had hoped for.

And let’s not forget the wide receiver play.

It’s still possible, of course, that even if the Browns surround McCoy with talent that he won’t be the answer, but now is not the time to make that call.

The Browns have been searching for a quarterback since trading away Bernie Kosar. They’ve tried young quarterbacks, veteran quarterbacks, benching quarterbacks after a couple of games only to make them the starter again later in the season, and none of it has worked out.

While we don’t expect – or want – the Browns to take seven years to make a determination on McCoy (but really, after 47 years without a title what’s another five years?), Smith offers another good lesson about not making hasty decisions over the quarterback position.

Because he works for a morning newspaper and we write for the Internet equivalent of the evening edition, Terry Pluto made the same points in today’s paper.

Of course, not everyone shares our same opinion, but that’s what makes sports in this town such a spicy topic.

(Photo by The Associated Press)

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, quarterback conundrum | Leave a comment
02 Nov 2011

Browns continue to prune dead wood

The Cleveland Browns continued the process of pruning away the dead wood left behind by former coach Eric Mangini, releasing Brian “Blutarsky” Robiskie on Wednesday.

A second round pick in 2009 – the 36th player selected – Robiskie finishes his Browns career with 39 catches for 441 yards and three touchdowns in 32 games.

And he probably had the most Blutarsky lines – 0 catches, 0 yards – of any active wide receiver in the history of the NFL.

The Browns made the move after signing running back Thomas Clayton.

Mangini’s one and only draft where he was in charge has had a lasting impact on the Browns – and not in a good way. In addition to Robiskie, Mangini wasted a second-round pick on linebacker David Veikune and under-performing wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi.

And to think the Browns could have selected LeSean McCoy and Mike Wallace with those second-round picks.

There’s little doubt that draft set the team back, leaving current general manager Tom Heckert with even more holes to fill.

Hopefully this serves as a lesson to those Browns fans who think the team should draft players simply because they played at Ohio State. The Browns need football players – regardless of where they went to school.

Oh well, maybe Robiskie can team up with former Ohio State quarterback and NFL washout Troy Smith in the UFL.

Posted in bad reception, Brian Robiskie, Cleveland Browns | Leave a comment
01 Nov 2011

Tribe takes a sip of sweet & Lowe

The Cleveland Indians were movers on the first day of baseball’s off-season, declining the option on outfielder Grady Sizemore, picking up the option on pitcher Fausto Carmona and trading for starting pitcher Derek Lowe.

Wait, what?

The Indians traded for the 38-year-old Lowe, who was 9-17 with a 5.17 ERA for the Atlanta Braves last year. The Braves were so frantic to get rid of Lowe that they will pay $10 million of his $15 million salary for next year.

And those 17 losses? They were the most by a starting pitcher in the big leagues this season.

Oh boy.

We just can’t join the crowd in trying to talk ourselves into Lowe as a viable starting pitcher any more. If he couldn’t do any better in the weaker NL, what is he going to do taking the mound against the Tigers, Yankees, Rangers and Red Sox?

We understand the reality of the economic situation for the Indians, however. They don’t have the money needed to be active participants in free agency so this is the only kind of move they can make. And that is probably what gets on our tits more than the thought of Lowe taking the mound every five days for the Tribe.

We just finished a post-season where the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals were praised for taking on the “big-money teams” in baseball. Of course, the Cardinals had an Opening Day payroll of $105 million and the Rangers were at $92 million; both far more than the Indians $48 million.

And let’s not forget the Rangers have an $80 million per year TV contract in place to start in 2015; the Tribe ain’t getting that kind of money.

Consider that the Yankees will pay C.C. Sabathia $24 million next year – about the same, or slightly more, than the Indians will pay for their entire starting rotation.

So, wahoo to a starting rotation of Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Carmona, Josh Tomlin and Lowe.

As for Sizemore, there was no way the Indians could bring him back at $9 million a year, no matter how much money they had. Not after he played in only 210 games over the past three seasons.

Of course, if the Indians pony up the cash then Sizemore will be back in Cleveland next year.

“Grady is not going to rule out playing for anyone, including the Indians,” said Joe Urbon, Sizemore’s agent. “The only difference is now he is able to engage with all 30 teams.”

In other words, Sizemore will sign with the team that gives him the most money. And there is already speculation that Sizemore will be the “right fit” for the Red Sox.

Something tells us we’ve seen the last of Sizemore in Wahoo Red, White & Blue.

Posted in Cleveland Indians, Derek Lowe, Grady Sizemore | Leave a comment
01 Nov 2011

Browns find no San Francisco treat

We knew going into the 2011 season that things could get rough for the Browns this year.

When you are rebuilding a franchise that is coming off consecutive 5-11 seasons, and has won only 14 games in the past three years under two different regimes, things aren’t going to get fixed over night.

If the Browns were a TV show, they would be Hoarders, and you have to clean out the dead cats, moldy food and collection of cheap tschotskes before you can start fixing anything else.

But we didn’t expect them to be quite this pathetic on offense.

Against the 49ers, the Browns tried once again to win the game the hard way – no need to score any points in the first or third quarter – and, just like in Oakland a few weeks ago, they came up short, falling to 3-4 on the season after a 20-10 loss to San Francisco.

For the seventh consecutive game (aka the entire season), the Browns were held without a touchdown in the first and third quarters. On the year, the Browns have been outscored 44-3 in the first quarter and 29-6 in the third quarter.

What the hell is going on around here?

“Our margin for error on offense is very small,” coach Pat Shurmur said after the game. “That’s not an excuse. That’s the reality. We have to hit on everything. We just do.

“We have to fight for every yard. We can’t make mistakes, and if we do make a mistake, we have to overcome it. We’ve struggled right now to overcome penalties.”

On the one hand, it should probably come as no surprise the Browns struggled on Sunday. They were down to their third-string running back after Montario Hardesty left with a calf injury, were without (by default) No. 1 wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, and are still playing an overmatched Tony Pashos at right tackle and Jason Pinkson (rookie fifth-round pick) and Shawn Lauvao (second year third-round pick) at guard.

And things are only getting worse now that Hardesty is going to be out for a while with a moderate tear of a medial gastroc in his right leg.

That’s not going to help the running game, which currently ranks 29th in yards per game (87.6), 30th in yards per carry (3.2) and last in touchdowns (two).

“I know Brownstown is really upset, but one thing they can be excited about is our effort,” Josh Cribbs said in published reports. “I hope back home they won’t get into a frenzy like the world’s going to end with this loss.”

It’s true, the team doesn’t give up. The Browns cut San Francisco’s lead to 17-10 with 6:17 left to play after Cribbs’ touchdown reception.

But after carrying the team all game, the defense finally wore down. On their first five possessions of the second half, the Browns defense forced the 49ers into four three-and-outs and five punts. But after Cribbs score, the 49ers had an 11 play, 67-yard drive that took up 4:21 and ended up in a field goal that sealed the loss.

But trying hard can only take you so far.

“I get tired of talking about never give up and fight to the end, but now it’s about winning,” Colt McCoy said in published reports. “We can talk all day about how we fight and fight and fight, and that’s good, that’s the character of this team. But we’ve got to start winning.”

It’s hard to see how the Browns can do that with the offense in its current state.

The Browns are already seeing eight- and nine-man fronts because the wide receivers don’t have the ability to win one-on-one battles. That lets the defense load up in the box and, when McCoy dumps the ball off to the backs or tight ends, there’s no room to run.

If you can’t score in the first quarter and the third quarter – and with the exception of the Indianapolis game, the Browns have shown they can really only score against a prevent defense – you’re not going to be winning many games.

Things don’t get any easier as the Browns head to Houston next week, and the Texans are averaging 25.7 points per game.

The way things are currently going, it may take the Browns the entire month of November to score that many points.

(Photo by The Associated Press)

Posted in Cleveland Browns, slumping offense | Leave a comment

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