Red Right 88

In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the category “Cleveland Browns”

26 Aug 2011

Is there a doctor in the house?

Injuries are the word of the day in Cleveland sports.

For the Browns, starting left guard Eric Steinbach and third-down back Brandon Jackson reportedly will be out for a while – and Steinbach may be looking at season-ending back surgery.

Coach Pat Shurmur told The Plain Dealer that Jackson will be out “an extended period.”

As for Steinbach … well it doesn’t sound good.

“At this point, he’s going through some treatments that we’re hoping will get him back, and there’s no real final call yet on whether he’ll be back — or when actually,” Shurmur said of Steinbach.

Doctors are trying to determine whether he needs surgery, according to The PD and, if that’s true, he could be put on injured reserve and be out for the season.

If that turns out to be true then what was shaping up to the a true strength for the team – the offensive line – takes a big hit. Shurmur said rookie guard Jason Pinkston has made “tremendous progress” and Pinkston is expected to replace Steinbach if he can’t come back.

The only possible bright side to that scenario is Pinkston would line up between Joe Thomas and Alex Mack, two of the best offensive linemen in the NFL, who would be able to help him out.

In addition to Steinbach and Jackson, (take a deep breath) backup linebacker Titus Brown has a high-ankle sprain (apparently he didn’t get the memo that that was last year’s injury), while wide receiver Jordan Norwood (knee), defensive end Marcus Benard (sore shoulder), wide receivers Josh Cribbs (hamstring) and Mohamed Massaquoi (left foot), strong safety T.J. Ward (hamstring), free safety Usama Young (hamstring), weakside linebacker Chris Gocong (pinched nerve), cornerback Dimitri Patterson (ankle), wide receiver Carlton Mitchell (finger surgery) and linebacker Steven Octavien (unspecified) are also all injured and had limited to no participation in Thurday’s walk through.

Did we mention that the season-opening game against Cincinnati is just over two weeks away?

The news isn’t much better for the Indians, who just keep seeing players fall by the wayside.

Starting pitcher Josh Tomlin and outfielder Michael Brantley were placed on the 15-day disabled list on Friday.

“Michael was seen again by Dr. (Thomas) Graham at the Cleveland Clinic,” head trainer Lonnie Soloff told The Beacon Journal. ”It was unlikely that he would be able to play in three to five days, so he was placed on the disabled list.

As for Tomlin, ”Josh experienced discomfort in his right elbow during his last start,” Soloff said. “”After an examination and an MRI, it was determined that he has a sprain of the elbow. He will shut down all throwing for two weeks then be re-examined.”

Boy, we just can’t handle all the good news going around town today.

At least Jim Thome has come back to save us all from … something.

But unless Thome earned his medical degree in the nine years he was away from home, it may not matter much.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Eric Steinbach, injuries, Jim Thome, NFL | Leave a comment
24 Aug 2011

Browns lock up their cornerstone

Josh Cribbs, Peyton Hillis and Joe Haden may be the heart of the Browns, but Joe Thomas is clearly the hardworking soul of the team.

So it was no surprise that the team and the Pro Bowl left tackle have agreed to a seven-year contract extension worth $84 million, including $44 million guaranteed.

And you don’t have to read too hard between the lines to realize that the changes that team president Mike Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert have made since arriving in town played a big role in Thomas staying with the team.

“We’re really building something special with Tom Heckert and Mike Holmgren and I think this program is headed in the right direction,” Thomas told The Plain Dealer. “It was really important for me to make this a real long-term deal so that I can finish my career here.

“I’ve been so impressed with coach (Pat) Shurmur and the staff that he brought in and the way he teaches the players. Tom Heckert’s been drafting guys I really want to be around and I want to be part of this really great thing that’s going on now. The way the team has picked up the new offense, plenty of mistakes have been made, but you can just see the potential there. It’s so exciting to be part of it.”

Read more…

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Joe Thomas, Josh Cribbs, NFL, Pat Shurmur | Leave a comment
23 Aug 2011

Can You Go Home Again?

“You can’t go back home to your family, back home to your childhood … back home to a young man’s dreams of glory and of fame …” – Thomas Wolfe

Now that Travis Hafner is on the disabled list with an injury to his right foot – “Travis is going to be out for a little while,” general manager Chris Antonetti said – the Indians find themselves in the market for a designated hitter.

As luck would have it, the Twins reportedly put Jim Thome on waivers on Monday.

“Today, I know nothing really about that, so it’s hard for me to answer your questions right now when I don’t know any of that stuff. I think that’s safe,” Thome said. “Out of respect to the organization and all that, the best thing is not to comment, really, to be honest.”

Could Thome come home to Cleveland and, like Kenny Lofton in 2007, help the Indians as they try to get back into the playoff race?

At first we thought, no way. Thome is a 41-year-old part-timer; surely he wouldn’t be an improvement over Hafner?

But then we looked at the numbers. Since the All Star break:

Hafner is batting .220, with a .642 OPS, 3 homers, 14 RBI and 31 strikeouts in 118 at bats.

Thome is batting .300(!), with a .971 OPS, 6 homers, 21 RBI and 27 strikeouts in 90 at bats.

Looks like an upgrade to us, at least on paper.

The good news is, if the Indians do bring Thome back, it would be because they think he can help for the rest of the season, and not just as a PR move. As Terry Pluto pointed out in his column in the Sunday PD, ticket sales are up 45 percent on the season and TV ratings are up nearly 100 percent.

Seems like the Tribe should at least kick the tires on Thome.

***

Switching to the NFL, Pro Football Talk reports that there is more bad news for members of the 2009 NFL Draft class.

Last week, of course, the Bills cut linebacker Aaron Maybin, the team’s selection at No. 11 in that draft. And the Bengals decided not to pick up the option on tackle Andre Smith (selected No. 6), reducing his rookie contract from six years to four.

Now the Seahawks have done the same with linebacker Aaron Curry, the fourth overall pick.

Throw in Jason Smith, taken No. 2 by the Rams, Tyson Jackson (No. 3 to KC), Darrius Heyward-Bey (No. 7 to Oakland) and Michael Crabtree (No. 10 to San Francisco) and that draft starts to look pretty ugly.

The Browns of course selected Alex Mack in that draft. When you play in a division where you have to go against Casey Hampton and Haloti Ngata twice a year, it was a solid pick.

And looking at what the Browns could have ended up with, the pick just looks that much better.

***

Finally, Peter King shows the Browns some love in this week’s Monday Morning Quarterback column.

King writes that:

I think if you look at Cleveland’s schedule — the Browns play the NFC West this year — you can see them winning eight games. At least I can. I mean, you look at the schedule in the first 11 games and you think: Somebody at 280 Park Avenue is very fond of Randy Lerner.

The slate includes one team, Indy, with a winning record in 2010: 1. Cincinnati, 2. at Indianapolis, 3. Miami, 4. Tennessee, 5. at Oakland, 6. Seattle, 7. at San Francisco, 8. at Houston, 9. St. Louis, 10. Jacksonville, 11. at Cincinnati.

Not saying they’ll go 10-1, and you gotta think the other teams are looking at Cleveland on the schedule and thinking it’s an eminently winnable game. But the point is, no other team in the league has the kind of chance to start strong and stay strong as Cleveland has. The problem with the first 11 weeks for the Browns is the season isn’t 11 games. It’s 16. And the last five games include two with Baltimore and two with Pittsburgh. But when you face one strong returning playoff team in the first 11 games (Seattle, at 7-9, will forever be asterisked, even with the decisive win over New Orleans), you think it might just be your year.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Jim Thome, NFL | Leave a comment
20 Aug 2011

The glass is empty this morning

Cleveland had a rare sports double header with Detroit on Friday night and woke up this morning to an empty glass.

In the game that mattered, the Indians fell to the Tigers to drop 2.5 games out of first place.

Josh Tomlin needed to be perfect for the Indians because the offense decided it was a good time to take the night off.

Tomlin tried his best, shutting out the Tigers through five-and-a-third innings, but the long ball did him in, with Austin Jackson hitting a two-run shot in the sixth, and Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta adding solo shots in the seventh with two outs.

Tomlin has now given up 23 home runs on the year, or one every seven innings.

“I thought Josh pitched well and gave us a chance for six innings,’’ manager Manny Acta said in published reports. “We just couldn’t get anything going against (Max) Scherzer. He got better as the game went on.’’

The Tribe offense was inept, scoring its sole run in the seventh inning courtesy of a wild pitch by Max Scherzer.

The Indians have apparently decided that putting the ball in play is not important, as batters have struck out 47 times in the first four games of this road trip. Travis Hafner has contributed 21 percent of that total as he continues his second-half transformation into Adam Dunn.

The Tribe continues to ride the K Train, striking out at a staggering rate of 7.8 times per game. At that pace they will finish with a franchise record 1,265 strike outs on the year.

Having said that, there is still a lot of baseball to be played. If the Indians can take care of business today and tomorrow, they come home just a half-game back of Detroit.

“The way they are playing, the way we are playing and even the way Chicago is playing, I don’t think this is going to be decided in the next couple days,” Tomlin said.

***

In the game that didn’t matter as much, the Browns lost to the Lions in Cleveland’s second – and final – home game of the exhibition season.

Colt McCoy continued to give us confidence that the West Coast offense is the right fit for him. McCoy completed 10-of-18 passes for 96 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.

“He did a good job,” Browns coach Pat Shurmur said of McCoy. “He executed like you’d expect. They came after us with some pressure and he stood in there and executed. I think he would tell you he missed some throws out there.”

Evan Moore caught two touchdown passes and rookie wide receiver Greg Little had one as the first-team offense put up 21 points despite missing Peyton Hillis, Ben Watson and Eric Steinbach, none of whom played because of injuries.

“He can really run and catch the football,” Shurmur said of Moore. “That’s how we’ll try to use him throughout this deal. I think he’s improved as a blocker, but I think his real value is a pass catcher.”

If Moore can stay healthy – he left Friday night’s game with what may be a concussion – and Ben Watson can have another solid season, that will take a lot of the pressure off of a group of unproven and unproductive wide receivers.

“Evan is definitely a weapon,” McCoy said. “He’s a big target and he creates mismatches. I thought he played excellent. He got some good balls and then we got him out of there.”

The best part of the night was that the cool, refreshing breeze of Shurmur’s offense continued to blow through Cleveland Browns Stadium. After two exhibition games, it’s clear that Shurmur thinks touchdowns, not field goals.*

“Tonight we faced a good front and we had our ups and downs, for sure,” McCoy said. “We capitalized on some short fields. We didn’t settle for field goals.”

The first-team defense didn’t play all that bad, either, holding Detroit’s first-team offense to just 10 points. And they did it while playing without starters Usama Young, T.J. Ward, Chris Gocong and Scott Fujita.

Ahtya Rubin and Jabaal Sheard were active on the defensive line, with Rubin notching a sack and Sheard forcing and recovering a fumble.

“I thought they battled,” Shurmur said of the Browns starters on defense. “(Detroit) is a pretty explosive group on offense. I thought they did a good job battling.”

The Browns travel to Philadelphia on Thursday to take on the Eagles in what is normally the last true test for the starters in the preseason. It should be a good test for the Browns new offensive weapons.

*Sarcasm font is activated at 35 percent.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Colt McCoy, Josh Tomlin, K Train, Pat Shurmur | Leave a comment
19 Aug 2011

We’ve heard this one before

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Brian Robiskie is ready to take on a bigger role in the West Coast offense and is finally going to produce like an NFL wide receiver.

“It’s completely different than (the offense) we had last year,” Robiskie said in published reports about the offense under first-year coach Pat Shurmur. “The receivers are a lot more involved. For me, it’s been a matter of learning it and making sure I’m exact in what I’m doing.”

“I would say Robiskie has been very steady,” Shurmur said. “You can say that a lot about what he is. He’s just a steady guy in terms of his personality, his performance, being on time and doing the right thing. He’s had a steady camp, and I think that speaks well to him.”

Yeah, but …

We get that Robiskie is a good kid who doesn’t cause trouble in the locker room or off the field. And that’s always a good thing, especially as we’ve had our share of hoople heads in recent seasons.

But eventually the team needs to see some production on the field – 36 total catches in two seasons just isn’t going to cut it.

The switch to the West Coast offense should help. The offense wants wide receivers who can run precise, sharp routes, which should play to one of Robiskie’s strengths.

Of course, it also wants receivers who can gain separation from defenders and Robiskie just doesn’t have NFL-caliber speed.

Quarterback Colt McCoy is going to spread the ball around a lot, so while it would be nice to have a stud wide receiver, the Browns may not need that to be successful on offense. With Greg Little, Mohamed Massaquoi (if he ever gets healthy), Ben Watson, Evan Moore, Peyton Hillis and Brandon Jackson, the Browns don’t need Robiskie to put up huge numbers.

Maybe this is the year that Robiskie pulls it together. It could turn out that the West Coast offense and Robiskie being in his third year – which is when receivers generally make a jump in production – will be the right combination.

***

The news that Browns guard Eric Steinbach may not play Friday night against Detroit because of back problems has us more than a little bit worried.

While its nice that rookie guard Jason Pinkston could gain some experience with the first-team offense if Steinbach can’t go, having that come against Detroit may not be the best thing for Colt McCoy’s continued good health.

Luckily for the Browns, defensive tackle Nick Fairley, the Lions’ top draft pick this year, is out with an ankle sprain, which means that old friend Corey Williams will line up opposite Pinkston. The Browns also have to worry about defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

At the very least, Pinkston should be able to take up some space, as he is 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds.

“He’s working through training camp,” Shurmur said of the team’s fifth-round draft pick. “He’s done some things that you need to see in an offensive lineman as far as coming off the ball (and) finishing blocks. He’s a real heavy-body, lower-body guy. He’s got an anchor. He knows how to play the game. We’re pleased with his progress. We’d like to see it keep going.”

So at least he has that going for him, which is nice.

Posted in bad reception, Brian Robiskie, Cleveland Browns, Pat Shurmur | Leave a comment
16 Aug 2011

Browns preseason opener is first step

Preseason games in the NFL are tricky things.

The players are almost in a no-win situation with media and fans. If they do well, “it’s only preseason” against an opposing team that is playing under its own agenda.

Struggle, and it’s “man the lifeboats” time (which is only true if the team you are talking about is the Bengals).

Having said that, there were some positives to take out of the Browns win against Green Bay on Saturday in the exhibition opener:

  • Colt McCoy looked sharp, completing 9-of-10 for 135 yards and a touchdown. “I’ll be the first to tell you we’re nowhere where we need to be,” McCoy said in published reports. “It’s a good start, but we’ve got a long way to go.”
  • Josh Cribbs caught a 10-yard pass on third down and a 27-yard touchdown pass from McCoy. “It’s a great sneak preview of the West Coast offense, especially with the way we moved the ball down the field at will,” Cribbs said. “It was so beneficial for us to work all summer long … and we’ve got the timing down pat.I don’t want to say too much, but with the talent on this football team and the winning tradition that Colt had in college, it’s starting to look like that now.”
  • Defensive tackle Phil Taylor drew the first of what should be several holding penalties.
  • Defensive end Jayme Mitchell finally had a chance to show Browns fans what Tom Heckert saw on tape last season, sacking backup quarterback Matt Flynn in the first quarter.
  • The starters on the offensive line looked really good. We all know Joe Thomas, Eric Steinbach and Alex Mack are going to be solid, but Shawn Lauvao and Tony Pashos looked like they can do some damage if they stay healthy (a big if in Pashos’ case).
  • Coach Pat Shurmur finally saw game action as a head coach and he came through it in one piece. “Even though this one doesn’t really go in the record books as a regular-season victory, that feeling you get when you win is something we all long for,” Shurmur said. “Somebody that’s teaching young men, to see them respond to some of the things we’ve been talking about, I thought it was good.”

Having said all that, it’s good to remember not to get too carried away.

Green Bay didn’t dress four of their cornerbacks, including Charles Woodson, which helped make things easier for the Browns offense.

And on their second drive, the Packers went 73 yards in seven plays pretty easily, scoring on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Greg Jennings.

“We did some good things and we have to improve on some things,” tight end Ben Watson said. “Don’t take it any further than that. We’re still in training camp, we’re still working out the kinks and we’re still going to face some adversity. When that happens, it’ll be important to see how we respond.”

But the Browns still accomplished everything you could want from the first game. They got their first-team offense on the field under game conditions, rookies Taylor, Jabaal Sheard and Phil Taylor all got their first taste of NFL action and, most importantly, the team came out of the game without any major injuries.

It’s also evident that the players are responding to Shurmur in a way we haven’t seen with the Browns in quite a while.

“It all starts up top,” lineback D’Qwell Jackson said in published reports. “Shurmur) has created a winning environment. The coaches are relaxed and it trickles down to us players.”

“Coach Shurmur is real calm,” Ward said. “He expects you to do your job and be a professional. He lets us go out there and be men. We really appreciate that because he’s not riding us all the time. As men we have to knuckle up and know that this is our job. We’re not just here to play football. We’re here to win and play football. He let us know that right off the bat.”

“I like his aura,” cornerback Joe Haden said. “It’s really good and it rubs off on the players.”

So while this was just the first step in what is sure to be a long journey, at least the Browns made that step in the right direction.

(Photo by The Plain Dealer)

***

Finally, this one is for the few remaining hoople heads who think the Browns should sign Troy Smith to play quarterback simply because he used to play for Ohio State.

San Francisco got rid of Smith in the off-season, choosing to keep Alex Smith and rookie Colin Kaepernick instead. Now, after one preseason game, the team is so desperate for quarterback help that they are bringing in 34-year-old Daunte Culpepper for a workout.

Culpepper hasn’t played in the NFL since 2009 and spent last season with the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League.

Further proof that Smith isn’t an NFL-caliber quarterback and the last player the Browns need to bring to the team.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, hoople heads, NFL, Pat Shurmur | Leave a comment
13 Aug 2011

Reds, Browns & Wahoos – oh my!

Huge sports day today around these parts.

The day kicks off with the opening of the 2011-12 Premier League season. Despite the ongoing violence in London and other parts of the country, six matches are still on tap for Opening Day, starting with Liverpool taking on Sunderland.

The Reds and manager Kenny Dalglish open their first full season under the ownership of John Henry and Tom Werner, who have taken on a data-driven approach to rebuilding the former kings of English football.

Liverpool have been active in the transfer market, spending $30 million each for Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson; $13 million on midfielder Charlie Adam; nearly $40 million for forward Luís Suárez; and a record $57 million for striker Andy Carroll, now the most expensive English player ever.

The club’s moves have all been an attempt to create more scoring opportunities – the baseball equivalent of getting more men on base – which, in theory, will result in more goals.

Read more…

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool | Leave a comment
11 Aug 2011

On the outside looking in?

Did former Browns coach Eric Mangini intentionally sandbag Colt McCoy’s development during his rookie season last year?

And if he did, does it matter going into this season?

Yahoo’s Les Carpenter got McCoy to open up about what he went through last year under Mangini and deposed offensive coordinator Brian Daboll:

“Last year had a lot of challenges,” McCoy admitted in the article. “I spent a lot of time trying to think about ‘Why did this happen? Or that happen?’ ”

What happened, allegedly, is that when McCoy arrived in the spring ready to get to work, the coaching staff rarely even spoke to him.

And in the preseason, McCoy didn’t find out he was going to start the final exhibition game until five minutes before kickoff. A coach looked at him and said: “You’re starting,” then McCoy raced into a huddle with players he barely knew.

And once the season started, quarterbacks Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace got the weekly game plan on Monday, while McCoy wasn’t included in the quarterback club until Wednesday.

(Of course, Daboll’s game plans weren’t all that complicated, so McCoy may not have been missing much. But we digress).

In their defense, coming off a 5-11 season Mangini and the coaching staff had their hands full trying to hold onto their jobs – especially as Mangini was no longer the lone voice in the room, but now had to answer to general manager Tom Heckert and team president Mike Holmgren.

With that new dynamic, it seems odd that Mangini would intentionally snub the quarterback hand picked by his boss, Holmgren. But McCoy doesn’t strike us as someone who would lie.

When you add McCoy’s story to that of Jayme Mitchell, who was told to “be patient” when he asked why a 3-4 team would acquire a 4-3 defensive end, and Joe Thomas’ comments about how it is “exciting to be a part of the professional approach everybody takes because I feel like there’s going to be tremendous stability for a long time here,” it sheds a little more light on why Mangini is now the former Browns coach.

The bigger question is does any of this matter now?

Probably not – at least we hope not.

If McCoy is so soft that he would lose his confidence after one season, then the Browns are in trouble. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

“I think what I have seen in Colt, at least in the last week or so, he’s a very eager guy, very smart, he understands how to play the position and he really tries to learn the terminology – try to get up to speed that way,” Shurmur said in the Yahoo! article. “Because every play doesn’t work how you draw it up, he has the ability to improvise and make something happen.”

What’s done is done, and no matter what went on last year McCoy ended up receiving valuable playing time in his eight starts.

McCoy seems ready to put last year behind him and get on to bigger and better things.

“It’s easy to say this is one of those teams that fans will support if it plays well,” McCoy said. “We’ve got to win. We’ve got to find a way.”

(h/t to TenCentBeers for finding the Yahoo! article)

(Photo by Getty Images)

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, NFL, strange things | Leave a comment
10 Aug 2011

Can We Get Reception Here? The sequel

While there’s little doubt who will be throwing the ball for the Cleveland Browns this year – barring injury Colt McCoy is the starter – the question remains as to who will be on the receiving end.

It was right about this time last year that we asked the question Can We Get Reception Here? and, a year later, we’re still looking for an answer.

The Browns currently have 12 wide receivers in camp – Mohamed Massaquoi, Brian Robiskie, Josh Cribbs, Jordan Norwood, Carlton Mitchell, Greg Little, Chris Matthews, L.J. Castille, Jonathan Haggerty, Demetrius Williams, Juan Nunez and Rod Windsor.

Not exactly the second coming of Webster Slaughter, Reggie Langhorne and Brian Brennan.

As Waiting for Next Year pointed out on Monday, the Browns aren’t going to keep everyone. And it will be interesting to see how Mike Holmgren, Tom Heckert and Pat Shurmur make the final decision as to who gets a roster spot.

Will they pick the best players for the squad without letting ego get in the way?

After all, they can let go of Massaquoi and Robiskie and not have it be on them – they can lay the blame on former coach Eric Mangini if they decide to part ways with the former second-round draft picks.

So far the Holmgren, Heckert, Shurmur triumvirate haven’t given us any reason to believe that is how they operate, but it will be worth keeping an eye on.

Of course, it may not matter who they decide to keep and, with the season opener still a little more than a month away, things may work themselves out.

Massaquoi hasn’t practiced yet as he has an injured bone in his left foot – turns out bones are important if you are an NFL player.

“He’s progressing,” Shurmur said in published reports. “We’re going to have to go with what (trainer) Joe (Sheehan) and the doctors say in terms of when he’s ready to be out here. I see him watching practice and getting the mental reps. I know he’s probably a little anxious.”

Little is having trouble putting together consecutive good practices.

“He needs to be consistent and play at a high level every day,” Shurmur said. “At times, he needs to catch it better.”

Robiskie is still too slow to get separation against NFL defensive backs – there just aren’t very many Purdue and Northwestern guys out there – and we still believe Cribbs would make a better running back than receiver.

On the bright side, Peyton Hillis and Brandon Jackson are receiving threats out of the backfield, and the Browns have a solid group of tight ends in Ben Watson, Evan Moore and rookie Jordan Cameron.

It would be nice, though, if we could get a clearer signal on the receivers.

(Photo by The Plain Dealer)

***

In his weekly “Hey, Tony” mailbag in Sunday’s Plain Dealer, Browns beat writer Tony Grossi came up with this gem:

Hey, Tony: Adam Schefter speculated that the Browns are not active in free agency because of all the money they are paying former coaches and GMs. Doesn’t it have to be either that or Heckert, et al do not believe the team is close enough to warrant big bucks on a player or two just to fill holes? They are 35 million under the cap, after all. — Toby Godfrey, Austin, Texas

Hey, Toby: Adam’s point is certainly plausible. The dead money being paid former coaches and executives such as Phil Savage, Romeo Crennel, George Kokinis and Eric Mangini does not affect the salary cap, of course, but it may contribute to a cash crunch that has resulted in the current “don’t spend” philosophy. I appreciate that Heckert is not a fan of free agency, but something is fishy about the team’s approach this off-season.

Fear not, Tony. Because the good news is that Browns owner Randy Lerner reportedly “won a court order for the return of the remainder of his $40 million investment in a hedge fund that had refused to say where the money was invested.”

Now that Lerner and the Browns are once again flush with cash, we don’t have to worry about hypothetical situations and fish smells.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, NFL, wide receiver woes | Leave a comment
07 Aug 2011

Just Braylon being Braylon

Browns fans have obviously know for some time that Braylon Edwards is a hoople head.

New York Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum and head coach Rex Ryan know it too, but after Edwards was a starter the past year and a half on a Jets team that went to consecutive AFC Championship games, New York decided to try to make it work with him.

After all, it’s hard to find a team in professional sports more player-friendly than Ryan’s Jets.

But Braylon being Braylon, he decided he could get a better deal elsewhere, because why should he take less money than Santonio Holmes to stay with the Jets?

So the Jets turned to Plaxico Burress , a 34-year-old wide receiver with the ankles of an 80-year-old who spent the past two seasons in prison. And they waved goodbye to Edwards.

Turns out, though, that the rest of the National Football League has been paying attention.

Edwards hit the open market thinking a big payday was waiting for him. Turns out he was wrong.

Edwards finally found out just how the league values him when San Francisco signed him this past week for a one-year, $1 million contract – with no guaranteed money. The deal can max out to $3.5 million if Edwards catches 90 passes and makes the Pro Bowl this season.

Of course, only three players in franchise history have ever caught 90 or more passes for the 49ers – Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens and Roger Craig – and they had Joe Montana and Steve Young passing them the ball, not Alex Smith.

So it’s pretty much a lock that Edwards won’t be seeing any of that extra cash.

Edwards didn’t help his cause any after allegedly being involved in a fight that broke out at a bar in Birmingham, Mich., early Monday.

The fight, at South Bar in downtown Birmingham, Mich., saw two of Edwards’ cousins charged with felonious assault after allegedly attacking two bouncers with a pocket knife and a fork.

The (Detroit) Free Press also reported that “privately, employees at South Bar said Edwards was spurring on his cousins rather than trying to get them to stop fighting.”

Sounds like just the kind of guy you’d want in your locker room, doesn’t it?

Even with the current state of the Browns wide receivers, not a day goes by where we aren’t glad that Edwards is some other team’s problem.

Posted in Braylon Edwards, Cleveland Browns, hoople heads, NFL | Leave a comment

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →