Red Right 88

In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the category “Cleveland Browns”

19 Jul 2010

Cleveland Sports On Demand Wishlist

Last week, during the mid-summer dead period of sports – World Cup over, baseball on its All-Star break, no basketball, football not yet here – I started to dream of an on demand channel that featured Cleveland sports games through the decades.

No sporting events happening? Just order up a complete game from the past, sit back and enjoy. And if I had every Browns, Indians and Cavs game at my fingertips, which would be my go-to selections? Most of my top choices are older games, either ones that happened before I was born or I was too young to remember.

For the Browns, you’d have to start with the championship games, not just the NFL titles, but the AAFC ones as well. Other must-have games include:

  • A Jim Brown game vs. Sam Huff and the New York Giants
  • The 1972 Monday Night game vs. San Diego that the Browns won on a late Mike Phipps to Frank Pitts TD pass
  • The Browns defeat of Dallas in 1979 on Monday Night Football
  • The 1976 game vs. Pittsburgh when David Mays came off the bench to lead the Browns to the win
  • Brian Sipe’s last game as a Brown, a 30-17 win over Pittsburgh at the Stadium
  • The double OT win vs. the Jets in the 1986 playoffs
  • The 1986 win in Three Rivers Stadium

For the Cavs:

  • Any of the four playoff wins vs. Washington in the Miracle of Richfield season
  • The blowout of Boston in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals that same season
  • The Cavs Game 3 win vs. Boston in the 1985 playoffs
  • The Game 4 OT win vs. Chicago in the 1989 playoffs
  • The OT win in Boston Garden in the 1992 playoffs
  • The Game 2 win against Chicago in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1992
  • The team’s first ever victory, a 105-103 win over Portland

For the Indians:

  • A Luis Tiant game from the 1968 season, when he won 21 games with a 1.60 ERA
  • A Sam McDowell game from the 1970 season, when he won 20 games
  • An early 1970s game when the Indians had Chris Chambliss and Graig Nettles
  • A Gaylord Perry game from his Cy Young season of 1972
  • The 1975 home opener when Frank Robinson homered
  • Dennis Eckersley’s no-hitter in 1977
  • The home opener in 1980, when Super Joe Charboneau became a legend
  • Game 5 of the ALCS in 1995 when Paul Assenmacher struck out Ken Griffey
  • Sandy Alomar’s homerun off of Mariano Rivera in the 1997 playoffs

That’s a good start for a list. I’m sure, given enough time, I could come up with several games I’ve overlooked.

I don’t know if something like this will ever become available as it’s unlikely that film exists of some of these games.

But I’m old enough to remember when we only had five channels to watch on the TV and televising a home game for the Indians and Cavs was not even a consideration, while the Browns could only sell out their home game vs. Pittsburgh. Plus you got one college football game on Saturday.

Now we have games in HD, virtually every game is televised, NFL Sunday Ticket, NBA League Pass and MLB Extra Innings, so anything is possible.

We may be on to something here.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, TV sports, wishlist | Leave a comment
16 Jul 2010

Standing Tall in the Pocket

Since their return in 1999, the Browns have had, to be blunt, horrific quarterback play. From Tim Couch to Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn, the QB position has been a giant pool of stench.

But that may all be changing, especially if you look at the current quarterbacks on the roster as a whole, rather than just presumed starter Jake Delhomme.

John Clayton recently had a column on ESPN.com detailing how the state of backup quarterbacks in the NFL is dismal”

“The backup (QB) landscape is a desert,” Clayton wrote. “More good teams have unknown, unproven quarterbacks behind the starter than ever before. An injury to a starting quarterback could take a 13-win team to six or seven wins in an instant.”

Just take a look at some of the examples Clayton cited:

  • Brian Hoyer backs up Tom Brady in New England
  • Curtis Painter backs up Peyton Manning in Indy
  • Caleb Hanie backs up Jay Cutler in Chicago
  • Jim Sorgi backs up Eli Manning in NY

Clayton continues that “football people talk about the value of a backup quarterback, but so much of it is just talk.”

Which brings us to the Browns. With eight-year veteran Seneca Wallace backing up Delhomme, the Browns have one of the better combinations – taken collectively – in the league.

For his career, Wallace has completed almost 60 percent of his passes, thrown for more touchdowns than interceptions and has a QB rating of 83.1 – a mark that no Browns quarterback has been able to match since their return in ’99. Mix in his potential as a runner in the Flash package, and the Browns find themselves in a very good position.

Consider the rest of the division:

  • A broken-down Marc Bulger, along with the over-rated Troy Smith, are Joe Flacco’s back ups in Baltimore
  • J.T. O’Sullivan and Jordan Palmer are backing up Carson Palmer in Cincy
  • The Steelers will find out quickly how much Byron Leftwich has left as he and Charlie Batch will be running things while Ben Roethlisberger serves his four-game suspension.*

The Browns, led by Mike Holmgren, a “football person” if there ever was one, are suddenly looking pretty good.

No one expects Delhomme to play the way he did in 2003, when he led the Panthers to the Super Bowl, but he doesn’t have to. It appears that after adding Montario Hardesty and Peyton Hillis to a running game that already features Jerome Harrison, Lawrence Vickers and Josh Cribbs, as well as a solid left side of the offensive line, the Browns are committed to run, run and run some more.

A solid running game takes pressure off Delhomme to make plays; eats clock; keeps a suspect defense off the field; and is the perfect offense for the cold-weather games sure to come in November and December.

And if Delhomme struggles or is hurt, the Browns just may be able to buck the league-wide trend with a capable backup waiting in the wings.

That would certainly be a welcome change of pace for Browns fans.

*I know Rothlisberger’s suspension is for six games; but it can be reduced to four and with the Steelers having a bye after Week 4 and then facing the Browns in Week 6, you just know his suspension will be cut to four games.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Jake Delhomme, quarterback play, Seneca Wallace | Leave a comment
13 Jul 2010

How will we remember the LeBron Era?

With each passing day, the anguish over LeBron James’ decision to go to Miami slowly fades away. But how will the LeBron Era be remembered by Cleveland fans? And how will it compare to other post-1964 eras of Cleveland sports?

Before LeBron, the Cavs were just … there. After firing Lenny Wilkens and prior to drafting James, the team went through a succession of boring, dull coaches – Randy Wittman and Keith Smart anyone? – and even worse players (Trajan Langdon, Ricky Davis, etc.), playing in a downtown arena they didn’t need in front of mostly family and friends.

With LeBron, the Cavs were back on the NBA map with sellouts and national TV games. The team won two division titles, made it past the first round five consecutive years, was the top seed in the East two years in a row, went to two Eastern Conference finals and one NBA final, and had the best five-year record in franchise history.

Along the way their games became events; one of the best feelings was looking at the upcoming schedule on a Sunday morning and, seeing back-to-back games on Tuesday/Wednesday and another game on Friday, knowing the week was set. Watching this team – especially the past two years – has been so much fun.

I know some will argue that the Daugherty/Price/Nance Cavs of the late-’80s/early ’90s were better, but they never accomplished what LeBron’s Cavs did, not by a long shot. No division titles, one conference final, first-round playoff losses.

Not all of that was their fault, as injuries and Michael Jordan conspired against the team. It still hurts, almost 20 years later, to think about what might have been with that team.

Probably the closest to LeBron’s Cavs were the Indians of the mid- to late-90s. They captured the town’s fancy with an excitement level and star power equal to the Cavs and had just as much on-field success. Six division titles in seven years, three American League Championship Series and two World Series appearances.

Of course, they also lost to the Florida Marlins and were the only team to lose to Atlanta in a World Series, but they still hold a spot in many fans’ hearts.

The one team that the LeBron Era may never surpass in popularity is the late-’80s Browns. With four division titles in a five-year span and three losses in the AFC Championship Game, those teams still hold a firm grasp on Cleveland fans, many of whom probably still remember the lyrics to Bernie Bernie (“Bernie, Bernie. Oh, yeah! How you can throw! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah”)

As hard as it may be for some to believe, eventually we will be able to separate LeBron’s “decision” from the seven years he was on the court for the Cavs. And we will look back and remember when the Q was rocking and, for a short time, anything seemed possible in Cleveland.

Even a championship.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, End of an era, LeBron James | Leave a comment
06 Jul 2010

Who Needs Two?

Terry Pluto had an interesting item in his Sunday PD column: the Browns are having trouble selling tickets:

Once upon a time, the Browns had a waiting list for season tickets. No more. … When the Browns returned in 1999, it was a civic movement to sell tickets and luxury suites to support the expansion franchise. Many of those deals were for 10 years. They have expired. In the meantime, the Browns have the NFL’s second-worst record (after Detroit) since 1999. … At their peak following the return, the Browns sold more than 61,000 season tickets. That was a few years ago. They dropped below 55,000 last year. While the Browns are confident they will sell enough tickets for every home game to avoid a TV blackout, it’s obvious they are working hard for new customers.

That’s not good, but it’s also not surprising. For much of the past decade, it seemed like all the team had to do was hang a sign that read “Game Today” outside Cleveland Browns Stadium and the game would sell out. But fans of a certain generation can easily remember a time when the only home game that sold out was the annual tilt with Pittsburgh.

Now, after a decade of despair on the field, the team is feeling the bite at the box office. Certainly, last year’s dismal effort, which included coach Eric Mangini’s inability to pick a quarterback, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s amateur playcalling, a 1-11 start and the most over-rated victory in franchise history, have taken its toll on the paying public. The economy and the success of the Cavs have also been a major drain on ticket-buying customers.

The off-season hiring of Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert has helped the team regain some credibility with its fanbase, and the team is now reaching out to fans for help:

The Browns want to hear from fans about what they can do better on game days, with tickets, etc. Please, don’t write, “Win more games.” Don’t send suggestions about coaching, quarterbacks, etc. This is an attempt to connect with fans about how the Browns can improve on the business side. E-mail: suggestions@clevelandbrowns.com

It will be interesting to see what steps the team takes to improve the gameday experience. It seems likely they will follow the model of the Cavs, filling every stoppage in play with non-stop noise, which is something we’ve never understood. As a fan, you are there to see the game, that’s the most important thing. And the more successful the team plays, the less you need all the extra nonsense.

Even as the Browns continue their slow march back to respectability, they will face a problem all teams are facing: how to combat the experience of watching the game at home, which is better than it has ever been?

With the growth of large flatscreen TVs, games in HD, the NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone Channel, it’s really difficult to actually attend a game in person. At home, you don’t have to sit through endless TV timeouts, you just switch to another game. Big play? You get multiple replays. Bad weather? Not a problem. You don’t have to miss the late afternoon game while driving home. And over-priced, low-quality food and beer are not a problem at home.

Sidebar: How is it, with a growing number of microbreweries in NE Ohio and the esteemed Great Lakes Brewery right in town, the stadium concessions offer Bud, Bud Light and Coors Light? We wouldn’t drink that if we were paid.

You do lose the communal aspect and atmosphere that is an important part of many fans’ lives by watching the games at home, but if you have a big enough group over to watch the game you can replicate the experience.

It definitely makes it a tougher ticket to sell, even if you can put a winning team on the field. It’s good to know the Browns are taking the extra step to try and keep the fans engaged.

Now about that quarterback situation …

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Great Lakes Brewery, NFL, Sunday Ticket | Leave a comment
30 Jun 2010

The Real Reason Brady Quinn Failed

We love the English media. Seriously, they are the best.

After The Three Lions were knocked out of the World Cup by Germany, the diagnosis began and everyone had a reason why the team lost. But The Daily Mail may have finally come up with the answer: man grooming.

Turns out striker Wayne Rooney waxed his chest, which may be the reason why he played so poorly in the World Cup.

Really.

So that got us thinking and we realized that there may be a connection between waxing and the real reason why Brady Quinn couldn’t make it work in Cleveland.

Look at this picture. Does that look like someone who could drive the Browns down the field against Baltimore in the closing minutes of a game in 10 degree weather on the lakefront?

Of course not.

So it wasn’t Eric Mangini’s horrendous “quarterback competition” or Brian Daboll’s amateur play calling that doomed Quinn. It was vanity.

And now we know.

Posted in Brady Quinn, chest waxing, Cleveland Browns, Wayne Rooney, World Cup | Leave a comment
25 Jun 2010
1 Comment

The Strange Tale of "Slow" Joe Haden

Media personality* Mike Lombardi had an interesting notebook item in his latest column on NFL.com:

“According to coaches around the league, Browns first-round pick Joe Haden has not been very impressive in camps and might not have enough speed to play corner. Maybe all that talk about some in the organization wanted to take Kyle Wilson over Haden was true.”

So Lombardi has talked to other coaches in the league, who somehow have witnessed or seen film from Browns practices, which are private, and have determined that Haden is too slow to play cornerback in the league. And they were able to do this without seeing him perform in pads at full speed.

Very impressive.

This shouldn’t be surprising coming from media personality* Mike Lombardi, as he was critical of Haden prior to the draft, writing that:

“Florida corner Joe Haden has had some top-10 visits, but I keep hearing he’s not a top-10 pick. Hard to pick a speed-deficit corner in the top 10 and pay all that money. Remember, the rookie pay scale overpays the players from the first to the 12th pick in the first round; the rest of the salary structure is effective.”

Apparently the talk the Lombardi is hearing doesn’t take into account what Haden did at Florida, where he played well enough to be a starter on a national championship team that played in the toughest conference in the nation.

Or that Haden improved his 40-yard dash time from the 4.6 he ran at the NFL Combine to the high 4.3 to low 4.4 range he ran at his Pro Day at Florida.

We don’t know, Haden looks like he knows what he’s doing here.

None of that matters because media personality* Mike Lombardi is hearing things. Very bad things.

This is where he loses us. As a media personality, rather than a reporter, Lombardi is in the business of stating his opinion, which is fine. We all watch these guys play football in college and think that this player or that player would be a good fit for a particular team.

If he thinks Kyle Wilson is/will be a better player than Haden, that’s OK. But once the pick is made, why do you have to continually try to discredit someone just for the glorification of your own ego? Why not just say, “if I had been making the pick, I would have picked this player and here’s why”?

But to continually manufacture items with no sourcing to stand behind it, that just comes off as childish.

For all his faults, we think Eric Mangini knows something about defense. We’re sure Rob Ryan knows defense. And Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert know the type of players a team needs to succeed in the NFL.

If they say Haden’s the man, that’s good enough for us.

*We refuse to refer to Lombardi and his ilk as journalists. As someone with a journalism degree who worked in the newspaper business for more than a decade, we still believe in proper sourcing, having people go on the record and standing behind their comments. WI don’t put much faith in stories that are attributed to “league officials,” “people close to the situation” or any of that nonsense. That’s not reporting, it’s just throwing crap against the wall and hoping something sticks.

Posted in bad reporting, Cleveland Browns, Joe Haden, NFL
19 Jun 2010

On Holiday

Red Right 88 is on holiday at the shore for a few more days. Regular activity will resume Tuesday.

In the meantime, a few quick thoughts:
  • Incredible comeback by the U.S. today against Slovenia. Never thought they could do it after falling behind 2-0 at halftime. The English are certainly doing their part to help.
  • Thank you Tom Izzo. You’ll be happier and the Cavs will be better off.
  • Dan Gilbert better be on the private plane to talk to Phil Jackson. Even if there is only a million-in-one shot he comes to Cleveland, you have to talk to him. If money is no object, and you were willing to give an unproven coach (reportedly) $6 million a year, then you must talk to Jackson.
  • Seven weeks until the Browns return for training camp.
Posted in Cleveland Browns, holiday, Phil Jackson, Tom Izzo, World Cup | Leave a comment
13 Jun 2010

A Break for Some Good News

With the Indians still flounderigng around with one of the worst records in Major League Baseball, and the Cavs on the brink of the abyss as they consider turning the franchise over to a college coach, good news is in short supply in Cleveland sports.

That’s why Browns minicamp was a nice diversion this weekend. And what a difference a year makes. This time last summer Eric Mangini was busy plotting his “strategy” for the upcoming training camp quarterback debacle and working behind the scenes on the demise of then-General Manager George Kokinis.
This year things are much better, as Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert have taken Mangini’s place at the table where men conduct business. In today’s Plain Dealer, Terry Pluto talked about the ways that Holmgren has righted the ship as training camp looms, with the main point being that Holmgren would make the decision on the quarterback going forward, after he and his team evaluated the current situation.
Now, instead of heading into training camp wondering which quarterback will be taking the snaps on a game-by-game basis in the preseason – a time when teams can evaluate talent in games that don’t count, something the staff didn’t seem to comprehend last year – the team is in solid hands with Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace. And Holmgren has said the decision “is all on me.” And Delhomme and Wallace “are quarterbacks who can help you win the game, if you need it. You don’t just hope they don’t make a mistake. They can make some plays.”
Browns fans are all too familiar with watching a QB – Derek Anderson anyone? – and not only hoping but praying they don’t make a mistake. Now, thanks to Holmgren, we won’t have to worry about that.
In addition, Gil Haskell has been working with Brian Daboll, teaching the offensive coordinator who was routinely over matched in his play calling last year, how to build an offense. Browns fans can be confident that the mistakes of last year, when if a play didn’t work in the first quarter it was redacted from the playbook for the rest of the game, are a thing of the past.
And the Browns have a structure in place where the coaches coach and nothing else. Which can only be a good thing.
All in all, not a bad way to start the week.
Posted in Cleveland Browns, Jake Delhomme, Mike Holmgren, NFL | Leave a comment
03 May 2010

That Rascally Rex

The National Football League is often criticized as being the No Fun League. The Commissioner’s Office has legislated a lot of the personal displays of excitement out of the game, turning it more corporate.

That’s why Rex and Rob Ryan are a breath of fresh air. Over the weekend, Sexy Rex talked about the Jets top draft pick, cornerback Kyle Wilson, and mentioned how the Browns, especially defensive coordinator Rob, wanted Wilson over Florida cornerback Joe Haden, whom the Browns selected.

“There is somebody that I really know well for a long time that basically said that he was their guy and they picked a lot earlier than us,” Rex Ryan said in published reports. “You can probably figure it out. That’s who he wanted and then after practice, I’m like ‘Yep. I guarantee you were right because this guy is the real deal.'”

There were several reports on draft day that the Browns were debating between Haden and Wilson, which, as pointed out here, is a good sign for the team.

Disappointingly, the Browns would not let Rob Ryan respond to what his brother said, which is surprising given the new air of openness that is blowing through Berea after last year’s black cloud of misinformation and distrust.

In any event, this gives the Browns, and Rob Ryan, a little more fire for what is sure to be a crazy fun week when the Jets come to Cleveland on Nov. 14.

We may just have to wait for the response until then.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, fresh air, National Football League, New York Jets, Rex Ryan, Rob Ryan | Leave a comment
26 Apr 2010

Surrounded by Conspiracies

The secret kabal that is behind the scenes of all the LeBron to New York scenarios has struck again, this time roping in a headphone manufacturer in, of all places, Utah.

According to The New York Times, Skullcandy, based in Park City, Utah, has produced a run of NBA Limited Mix Master headphones, a continuation of its NBA Player Series of headphones.

The signature models – Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, David Lee (seriously?) Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade – are available on the company’s website and at Apple stores in the players’ hometown cities – except in Cleveland!

So you are going to the trouble of making a LeBron James signature product but you won’t make it available in his home city? Are you serious?

Then The Wall Street Journal New York sports section (yes, there is such a thing because New York sports needs more coverage) read the tea leaves and came up with this:

“Speculation about where the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James will play next season, and whether the Knicks and Nets are on his list, is starting to bubble. But one big New York sports figure says he’s not counting on it.

“Mitchell Modell, chief executive of Modell’s Sporting Goods, one of Nike’s biggest accounts in New York, said the apparel giant isn’t planning to push huge amounts of LeBron merchandise for the fall.

“From what we hear, there’s a very, very long shot of him coming to New York,” Mr. Modell said. “We speak to our retail partners about our athletes on a regular basis,”

“Nike spokesman Derek Kent said. “At this stage, there is absolutely nothing specific or out of ordinary relating to LeBron and NYC.”

Gotta go to Mo’s!

The conspiracies aren’t limited to just the Cavs, of course.

When the news came out that Ben Rothlisberger was suspended for six games it was good times for Browns fans. But as details came out, it was revealed that the “six game” suspension could be reduced to four games if Rothlisberger behaved.

So when the suspension is reduced to four games, which you know it will be, Rothlisberger will return during the Steelers’ bye week, just in time to prepare for Pittsburgh’s Week 6 game against – wait for it – the Browns.

Of course.

Cleveland sports baby. You gotta’ love it!

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, conspiracies, LeBron James, Nike | Leave a comment

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