Red Right 88

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

14 Aug 2011

Documentary captures the artistry of Ayrton Senna

“I don’t know driving in another way which isn’t risky. Each one has to improve himself. Each driver has its limit. My limit is a little bit further than other’s.” – Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna was a true artist on the Formula 1 circuit in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

We’re not auto racing fans, but Senna captured our imagination as he raced his way to three world championships and 41 wins before his shocking death in 1994 in a crash at the San Marino Grand Prix.

Senna’s rise to world champion, and his defining nine-year battle with rival driver Alain Prost, is the subject of a documentary, Senna, which looks fantastic.

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.

To be continued …

It wasn’t a sweep, but it wasn’t all that bad for the Cleveland Indians in their series with Detroit this week.

The Tribe took 2-of-3 to shave a game off the Tigers’ lead heading into a weekend series with the Twins.

“It was a great series,” manager Manny Acta said in published reports. “We came in trying to shorten up the distance and we did. The goal was to sweep them, but if you can’t sweep them, two out of three isn’t bad.”

The Indians probably did as much as they could against Detroit’s Justin Verlander, somehow scoring three runs on just three hits.

And while he couldn’t match Verlander, Fausto Carmona wasn’t that bad. He gave up all four runs and seven hits in as many innings of work, but he struck out six and only walked two.

“Fausto threw the ball really well,” Acta said. “He gave up those runs on ground balls. He had very good rhythm after the second inning. I can’t say enough about him.”

Carmona has posted a 2.85 ERA in his past six starts – a sign that he is finally turning his season around?

You can tell things are starting to heat up, as Asdrubal Cabrera and Carlos Santanta got into an argument in the dugout after the top of the first inning.

Santana failed to catch a high throw from third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall, which led to Detroit taking a 1-0 lead, and Cabrera took charge when they reached the dugout, letting Santana know those kind of plays can’t happen with the team in a pennant race.

“I like it,” Acta said. “It means people around here want to win. Asdrubal confronted Carlos about not catching the throw. Carlos didn’t like the way he talked to him. That’s fire. I like it. People care.”

So the Tribe picked up an important game in the standings this series, and Detroit had to turn to their ace to salvage a game. So that’s good.

Now the Indians need to make sure they don’t give it back this weekend with the Twins in town.

The Indians are only 3-6 against Minnesota this season; there can’t be a letdown as they close out the home stand.

After Minnesota comes a three-game series in Chicago against the White Sox before another huge three-game series in Detroit.

“They’re not going anywhere,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said of the Indians. “They’re for real. They’re going to be there. We know that.”

With the way things are going, would anyone really be surprised if this division came down to the final weekend of the season, when the Indians travel to Detroit for a three-game series?

***

The Indians had good news on Friday, as they activated Shin-Soo Choo from the disabled list and designated Austin Kearns for assignment.

Choo is coming back about four weeks earlier than what was estimated at the time of his injury. One concern is that his timing will be off for a while, as he only had six at-bats at low-Class A Lake County during his rehab.

But if Choo can work the kinks out this weekend against the Twins and next week against the ChiSox, his bat could be a boost to the lineup by next weekend in Detroit.

Posted in Cleveland Indians | Leave a comment

11 Aug 2011

Tribe releases the Kipnis on Detroit

The Cleveland Indians may have found the bat they were looking for to wake up their slumbering offense – and it was right in their backyard all along.

Jason Kipnis put a charge into Progressive Field Wednesday night against Detroit, going 5-for-5 with a home run and three RBI on the night. In his past 10 games, dating to July 31, Kipnis is batting .364 (16-for-44) with two doubles and 10 RBI.

Kipnis also showed the kind of hustle that is quickly turning him into a favorite among Tribe fans. Twice he went from first to third on singles, the second time drawing a bad throw from center fielder Andy Dirks that allowed Kipnis to score and ignite a four-run inning.

“He’s a dirtbag,” Indians manager Manny Acta said in published reports. “A dirtbag is one of those guys who’ll run through a wall to win. His uniform is always dirty. He’s not concerned about how he looks on the field. He just wants to win. I feel like we’ve found our own Dustin Pedroia or Chase Utley.”

Where were the Indians hiding this guy in June and July?

Just as important, stater Ubaldo Jimenez went eight innings, giving the bullpen a much-needed rest after Tuesday night’s 12-inning effort.

“I commanded my fastball much better tonight,” Jimenez in published reports. “From the first pitch I was able to throw everything down in the zone, especially the fastball.”

So the Indians now sit two games back of Detroit as they head into tonight’s game against Justin Verlander, who is 16-5 on the season, although his career record at Progressive Field is only 4-8 with an ERA of 6.31.

Even if the Tribe can’t pull off the sweep, they will have shaved a game off the Tigers’ lead and planted some doubt in the minds of the Detroit players. The Indians just need to keep chipping away at Detroit.

And no matter what happens, it’s so nice after a four-year wait (that felt like 40) to have the Indians playing games in August that matter once again.

(Photo by The Associated Press)

Posted in Cleveland Indians, Jason Kipnis | 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

09 Aug 2011

Are closers overrated in baseball?

The Cleveland Indians reconfirmed something last week that we’ve long known to be true – that you are only as good as your bullpen.

The Tribe bullpen had a week to forget, going 2-4 with two blown saves on the seven-game trip through Boston and Texas.

Those four losses were all painful, last at-bat defeats, twice in Boston (Jacoby Ellsbury on back-to-back nights) and twice in Texas (Friday night and Sunday night).

The road trip implosion by the pen was pretty much universal. Joe Smith gave up a winning home run in Boston and blew up Josh Tomlin’s excellent start Sunday night; Vinnie Pestano couldn’t hold a tie game against Boston, and Rafael Perez did his part.

But a lot of the focus is on Chris Perez after he gave up a game-tying home run Friday night with the Indians leading 7-5 in the ninth, and barely held on to a two-run lead in the ninth on Saturday night.

According to Indians Prospect Insider, this season “Perez has taken a noticeable step back in all of his numbers. He is still throwing 93-95 MPH, so the velocity is there, but he is getting hit a lot more and not missing bats this season as he is 2-5 with a 3.40 ERA and has a 7.3 H/9, 0.9 HR/9, and 4.3 BB/9, and also has just a 5.9 K/9 and 1.37 K/BB. The biggest concern is the jump in his hit rate where he is allowing almost two more hits every nine innings and the drop in his strikeout rate where he is striking out almost three less batters every nine innings.”

Which leads us back to our question: are closers overrated in baseball?

Certainly the stat of a save is not a reliable indicator of a closer’s value.

But the closer’s role isn’t overrated as much as it’s misunderstood by most fans.

The closer’s job is to get the final three outs (sometimes less) of the game – nothing more. If it’s a one-run game or a three- or four-run game, the job description is still the same.

But over the years fans have somehow decided that unless you shut down the other team 1-2-3 (think Mariano Rivera) you have somehow failed

Go back to Saturday night’s performance by Perez. He quickly got the first two Rangers out, but then gave up two hits and a run before finally sealing the deal.

Was it pretty? No. Did it give Cleveland a collective case of agita? Yes. But the end result was the Tribe won and, really, that’s all that matters.

Bob Wickman used to drive people batty when he closed for the Tribe, but in his own way he got the job done. If he wanted to pitch around a batter – or two – in a one-run game, that was OK as long as he finished the game with the Indians leading.

If a starting pitcher throws six innings and litters the bases with runners, but somehow gets out with only giving up a run or two, he’s praised for “pitching out of a jam.”

But if a closer puts a runner on base it’s the end of the world for some fans.

We’ve learned over the years that when the Indians have a solid bullpen, they generally do well. Bullpen stinks? There goes the season.

This year’s bullpen has been a real strength for the Tribe. Unfortunately the bullpen picked a bad week to have a collective slump.

Now, with the Indians trailing Detroit by four games and the Tigers coming to town for a three-game series, the Tribe needs the pen to bounce back from the mess that was this road trip.

Because if the Indians are going to stay in this pennant race, they are going to need Raffy Perez, Pestano, Smith and especially Chris Perez on their game starting Tuesday night and as long as the team stays in the running for the division title.

And there’s no way to overrate that.

Posted in bullpen, Chris Perez, Cleveland Indians | 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

06 Aug 2011

A whole week of the other 42

Early in the season, Indians manager Manny Acta pointed out that every team wins 60 games and loses 60 games – it’s what you do with the other 42 that count.

Well, we’ve just spent quite the week learning about those other 42 and it hasn’t been good news for the Tribe.

Tuesday night it was Jarrod Saltalamacchia scoring from second on a single in the bottom of the night to beat the Indians. Wednesday, it was a Jacoby Ellsbury home run with two outs in the ninth.

But that was nothing compared to Friday night.

The Indians blew leads of 3-0, 6-2 and 7-2 before finally falling to the Rangers in extra innings as Elvis Andrus somehow scored from second base on a ground ball to shortstop in the bottom of the 11th.

There was plenty of blame to go around Friday night.

The offense shut down after the third inning.

Closer Chris Perez gave up a two-out, game-tying two run homer to Michael Young in the bottom of the ninth.

Rafael Perez threw a wild pitch – the Indians second on the night – in the 11th to allow Andrus to get into scoring position.

Then there was Matt LaPorta.

On Andrus’ game-winning score, LaPorta fielded Asbrubal Cabrera’s throw which just missed nailing a sliding Josh Hamilton for the third out. LaPorta looked at first base umpire Derryl Cousins before throwing to the plate, and that split second allowed Andrus time to score.

LaPorta’s ongoing lack of baseball sense proved costly – and was not missed by Acta.

“You catch the ball and throw home,” Acta said in published reports. “You don’t worry about whether the guy is going to be safe or out, you come off the bag and you throw home — that’s the winning run. That’s what you do.”

Acta has to take his share of the blame as well.

With two on and one out in the 10th, Acta let Shelley Duncan – back on the team because Jack Hannahan is on paternity leave – bat rather than pinch-hit Travis Hafner.

Duncan had homered in the third inning and had two hits on the night, so expecting him to come through again was really pushing the odds. Predictably, Duncan hit into a double play.

“It was a complete day off for Travis,” Acta said. “Hafner shouldn’t even have been a temptation in the 10th. We should have won it in the ninth.”

We get that you want to give someone a day off, but shouldn’t the game situation play a role in your decision? Last night was not Actaball at its finest.

The Indians are now four back of the Tigers, having lost three games in the standings over the past 10. The season isn’t lost by any means, but things are starting to get serious.

With the Tigers coming to town next week for three games, the Tribe really can’t afford to fall any further back in the standings than they already are.

As it is, they are looking at needing a sweep next week because, even if they take two-of-three, that only shaves one game off the deficit.

After the way this week played out, it’s getting harder and harder to see that happening.