Wrapping up Browns vs. Steelers
There’s really not anything left to say about the Browns’ loss to Pittsburgh to end the season on Sunday.
It’s no real surprise the Browns loss, Pittsburgh is currently the better team and had something to play for. The Browns are still a work in progress and were short-handed due to injuries and a lack of talent.
The only real surprise was the final score. For the first time all season the Browns were not competitive and picked a bad time for it. If this loss had come in Week 6 it would still have been disappointing, but would have been forgotten as the season went along. But coming in the season finality made the loss seem worse to some, and that memory is what too many will probably take from this season.
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A day later and we’re still divided over the firing of Eric Mangini.
We were ready to give Mangini another year to see if the Browns were really improving or not. But Mike Holmgren was not and, in the end, his opinion is the one that counts.
One thing we can’t shake, however, is Holmgren saying in November that “wins and losses are not the only criteria” and that “there’s more to look at.”
We’re not sure what Holmgren saw this year to make him believe the Browns should have finished with more than 5 wins. Apparently he believed the team that beat New England and New Orleans was the true Browns team and the losses to Cincy, Buffalo and Jacksonville were not acceptable.
On the flip side, it’s hard to overlook Mangini’s 10-22 record and 2-10 mark in the division and that seems to be what sealed the deal in Holmgren’s eyes.
The division record points out just how far the Browns still need to go and just how difficult it is going to be to be consistently competitive.
Until they show us otherwise, we have to assume the Steelers and the Ravens are going to have double-digit wins each season, which puts the Browns squarely in the toughest division in the league. This isn’t the NFC West (which the Browns would have owned this year) and the next coach needs to get the Browns to a point where they can compete in the division if they have any hope of being a playoff contender.
Holmgren had made his decision; while we’re not 100 percent behind it, it’s done so we need to move on.
Here’s a nice, fair take on Mangini from CBSSports.com.
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Speaking of the next coach, the Browns are reportedly going to interview St. Louis offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur on Thursday.
Shurmur’s time in St. Louis appears to have been a mixed bag this season.
Shurmur has the requisite ties to Holmgren, having worked with Andy Reid in Philadelphia. But we have to wonder about him as the Rams ranked 26th in offense this year (21st in passing and 25th in rushing).
The team is also expected to interview Atlanta offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey, Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell and Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg.
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Finally, today is the 30th anniversary of the Browns playoff loss to Oakland in the Red Right 88 game.
That was the day we learned what it meant to be a Browns (and Cleveland) fan. We were obviously much younger then and that was the first Browns team we fell in love with.
If only Brian Sipe had thrown the ball to Dave Logan this site would exist under a different name and would possibly have a different tone to it. But that’s not the way it worked out.
If you’re in the mood, video of the final drive is here. If you want to relive that magical season, Jonathan Knight’s book, Kardiac Kids: The Story of the 1980 Cleveland Browns, is an excellent read.
Red Right 88 