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In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the tag “Cleveland Browns”

01 Mar 2015

Browns better be working on Plans B, C and D

The Cleveland Browns signed veteran quarterback Josh McCown on Friday.

If the team is planning on McCown helping to solve the biggest on-going issue with this team, then they better be working on Plans B, C, D and beyond. (And Brady Quinn better not be part of those plans.)

“Josh is your consummate professional,” Browns general manager Ray Farmer said in announcing the move. “He’s known to be a great guy in the locker room and will be great for the quarterback room. He knows how to get an entire offense on the same page and get a team to rally behind him. He has been exposed to a lot of different types of offenses and we think still has the drive and skill set to be a successful quarterback in this league.

“We are excited to get him and believe he will help continue to move us in the right direction and help us build the type of team that will bring winning football to Cleveland.”

Good for Farmer for being able to say all that with a straight face. As to the part about bringing “winning football to Cleveland,” we’ll return to that point in a minute.

26 Feb 2015

3 Comments

Can we talk quarterbacks for a moment?

Come with us for a moment, if you will, as we join Mr. Peabody for a trip in the Wayback Machine. It won’t take long – we’re only traveling back to the fall of 2013.

Cleveland Browns fans remember that magical time, when Jason Campbell took over at quarterback and led the Browns to a series of stirring moral victories. Sadly, Campbell only posted one actual victory in his eight starts.

We’re back now and you’re probably wondering why, if we could travel back in time to any Browns season, we picked 2013.

It’s because that season taught (or should have taught) the Browns and their fans an important lesson — just because you may not be happy with your current quarterback, that doesn’t mean that plugging someone else in automatically solves the problem.

Posted in bad quarterback play, Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns

24 Feb 2015

4 Comments

Browns refreshed logo is OK; worst may be yet to come

The Cleveland Browns unveiled what is essentially a refreshed logo on Tuesday and while there is nothing particularly noteworthy about it, there is also nothing objectionable.

So that’s a win, we suppose.

The team updated the primary helmet logo to reflect “today’s modern Cleveland” with design that “honors the past while evolving into the future. The iconic brown and white stripes stand tall over the orange helmet – a new orange color that matches the passion of the Dawg Pound. The new brown facemask represents the strength and toughness of Cleveland.”

There is also a “contemporary redesigned word mark,” one that is now ” simplistic and utilizes a stronger, bolder font.”

Can’t really complain one way or another about a brighter orange, it is what it is. The helmet logo most likely reflects what the actual helmets will look like when the Browns unveil their new uniforms on April 14, so it will be interesting to see how the brown facemasks look.

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns

22 Feb 2015

From the editor’s notebook …

The Kent State men’s basketball teams has reclaimed its rightful place as the best in the Mid-American Conference after Saturday’s road win against Ohio University.

The victory earned the Golden Flashes a sweep of the season series with the Bobcats and, coupled with Bowling Green’s loss, puts Kent State at the top of the East Division standings. The Golden Flashes are also tied with Central Michigan and Toledo for the best conference record at 10-4.

Senior Devareaux Manley hit five three-pointers on Saturday to move into second place on the school’s all-time three-point list with 211, and he is just one away from tying the school’s single-season record of 89 set by Randal Holt two years ago.

The win puts the Golden Flashes at 19-8 on the season and leaves them just one win away from their 15th 20-win season in the past 17 years. They are currently just one of 20 Division I programs to have won 20 or more games 14 times in the past 16 seasons.

Kent will be back in action Tuesday night when they go for a season sweep of Miami University. The Golden Flashes have only swept both Ohio and Miami in the same season twice — in 2002 and 2006 – and both those years Kent won the conference’s regular-season and tournament titles.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Kent State, Liverpool, US soccer and tagged Cleveland Browns, Kent State, US Soccer | Leave a comment

19 Feb 2015

On Farmer, Pettine and Browns quarterbacks

It has been an interesting start to the NFL Combine for the Cleveland Browns, and that’s without even talking about the various players gathering at Lucas Oil Stadium for the weekend.

Head coach Mike Pettine owned the day on Wednesday, calmly and confidently touching on a variety of topics. We won’t go into the micro-details (although we did like Pettine’s assessment that the off-season so far has been “well documented”) other than to say the quote in the above picture should to put to rest any lingering doubt about what went down with former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. (You can view video of Pettine’s press conference here.)

It was general manager Ray Farmer’s turn today, and while he wasn’t as entertaining as Pettine, Farmer did hit on some very important points. (Video of Farmer’s press conference can be found here.)

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns | Leave a comment

15 Feb 2015

6 Comments

5 takeaways from Jimmy Haslam’s talk with the media

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam picked an interesting day to meet with reporters to have what basically turned into an impromptu “state of the Browns” talk.

Whether it was intentional or just coincidental, it wasn’t loss of many Browns fans that Haslam spoke on the one-year anniversary of his fumigation of most of the dysfunction surrounding the franchise as Feb. 11 marked a year since he fired Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi, setting the Browns on what is hopefully the right path.

In speaking with the media, Haslam showed off a trait that seems important to many Cleveland fans – Haslam, it seems, “gets us.”

“I accept that until we win and win consistently which we have not done — they didn’t do before we got here — and we haven’t done it, we don’t have any credibility (with our fans),” Haslam said. “We don’t have any equity with y’all. We accept that. We have to prove we can win and win consistently and we accept that.”

While we’re still confident that having general manager Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine calling the shots, especially now that Pettine has a coaching staff committed to winning, rather than looking for the first bus out of town, there is obviously still work that needs to be done.

The quarterback situation is still unsettled (to put it mildly), the Browns still have holes to fill on the roster, and they still play in the AFC North, which only sent three of its four teams to the playoffs this past season.

We’re pretty sure the Browns know all this, so here are five additional takeaways from Haslam’s talk on Wednesday.

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns

10 Feb 2015

2 Comments

One year ago, Browns fortunes took a turn for the better

Like a dog working an old bone (and rest assured this dog is not named Swagger), we just can’t seem to let go of the media-driven narrative that Cleveland Browns headquarters in Berea is a flaming mess.

Especially as tomorrow marks an important turning point in the franchise’s fortunes.

The NFL, still smarting over the fact that they can’t penalize New England for taking air out of the footballs, and lacking any additional way to levy a fine on Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch, may decide to take out its frustration on Browns general manager Ray Farmer for his role in the in-game texting situation surrounding the Browns. (An investigation, we need to point out, that is still ongoing despite the fact that many have already tried and convicted everyone involved.)

Make no mistake, if the investigation turns out that Farmer was texting coaches during a game then that is, pure and simple, a stupid thing for Farmer to do. But that is all it is — a stupid act — and we’ve gone far beyond the point where people need to start trying to make this out to be anything else.

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns

04 Feb 2015

5 Comments

A La Canfora hatchet job on the Browns? We’re shocked!

We were understandably a bit dismayed this afternoon when we stopped by Twitter and saw people freaking out about a “bombshell” from Jason La Canfora at CBS Sports about the Cleveland Browns.

You can imagine our trepidation as we clicked on the link to La Canfora’s “bombshell.” In a week that has already seen quarterback Johnny Manziel check himself into rehab, and wide receiver Josh Gordon be suspended by the NFL for a year for repeated violations of the NFL’s drug and alcohol policy, what could La Canfora be writing that had so many so dismayed?

So you can envision our surprise as we read the article and found that … there really wasn’t anything there that Browns fans hadn’t already heard about in recent weeks. It was really more Christmas cracker than “bombshell” and left us wondering what everyone was getting worked up about.

We read it again, certain that we must have missed something, but … nope. Still nothing.

Make no mistake, La Canfora made sure to hit all the appropriate squares on the Dysfunctional and Toxic Browns bingo card, including:

Posted in bad reporting, Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns

02 Feb 2015

From the editor’s notebook …

With today’s news that Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel has entered a treatment facility, we have reached the point where we no longer know what to think, feel or do in regard to Johnny Football.

The one thing we do know is, just like Josh Gordon before him, we hope that Manziel can find a way to chase away whatever demons are plaguing him.

We also sincerely hope that Manziel is taking this step because he truly wants to getter better, either mentally or physically, and he’s not doing this because his handlers believe this move will help his image. We know that sounds cynical, but that’s not the way we mean it.

And just like Gordon before him, we hope that general manager Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine are working hard to figure out the quarterback situation and are going into the upcoming off-season with no expectation that they can count on Manziel.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Kent State, Liverpool and tagged Cleveland Browns, Kent State, Liverpool | Leave a comment

29 Jan 2015

1 Comment

From the editor’s notebook …

It was Kyrie Irving’s world on Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena, and we were all just witnesses.

Irving set an arena record by scoring 55 points in the Cavs win against Portland. In addition, Irving now holds the franchise record for 3-pointers made (11) and attempted (19). He joins LeBron James and (bonus points if you remember) Walt Wesley as the only Cavs players to break the 50-point mark in franchise history.

Irving’s 55 points are the fourth-most by a player whose team did not score 100 points in a game in NBA history. He joins George Mikan, Michael Jordan and James on that list. He becomes the first former Duke player to break the 50-point barrier in an NBA, and joins Wesley as the only other Cavs player with a 50-point game at home. Wesley’s 50-point game came against Cincinnati on Feb. 19, 1971, while James’ eight 50-point games as a Cav have all come on the road. (All according to ESPN Stats & Information.)

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, US soccer and tagged Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, USMNT

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