So, in a town that is so very desperate for a winner, the Cleveland Indians -- who, as of May 21, were in first place in the American League Central Division with a 23-18 record -- are struggling to catch the fans' attention.
Well, the only attention the Indians have gotten locally has been negative attention, which may play into why the team is 30th out of 30 Major League teams in attendance through their 23 home games at Progressive Field (they are 11-12 at home heading into a huge three-game series with third-place Detroit, who are just 3 games behind the Wahoos).
The most recent negative strike for an organization that just can't seem to win came from closer Chris Perez following Saturday's 2-0 victory over the Miami Marlins.
"I was tired of getting booed at home so I figured, 'I'd better throw some strikes.' You can quote that," he began, following a 1-2-3, 10-pitch ninth inning -- by far, his best outing in a few seasons.
Perez was apparently irritated that some fans began booing him two nights before in a 5-4 11-inning win over Seattle. Perez pitched the 10th and put two runners on before escaping the jam unscathed. However, the boos and catcalls began after he walked the second hitter on four pitches to put the two runners on base.
Asked if it bothered him to get booed at home, Perez said, "It doesn't bother me, it pisses me off. I don't think they have a reason to boo me.
"They booed me against the Mariners when I had two guys on. It feels like I can't even give up a base runner without people booing me. It's even worse when there's only 5,000 in the stands, because then you can hear it. It pissess me off."
Perez ended the 10th by striking out Jesus Montero, but even that didn't ease his anger because the fans responded with a Bronx cheer.
"After I struck out Montero, the mock standing applause just adds to it," he said. "You see their true colors."
He was just getting started.
Perez said the fans' reaction to the Indians is one of the reasons they weren't able to sign free agents such as Carlos Beltran over the winter.
"Guys don't want to come over here and people wonder why," he said. "Why doesn't Carlos Beltran want to come over here? Well, because of that."
Apparently, Perez didn't realize that he plays for one of the biggest penny-pinching owners in the Major Leagues in Larry Dolan, who has never broken the bank for anybody. Beltran turned down the Indians' two-year, $24 million offer to sign with the defending World Series champions for two years, $26 million.
Pretty easy decision if you're Carlos Beltran. But not to the eyes of a guy whose nickname is "Pure Rage" and has already been fined by MLB for an inflammatory Tweet directed at the Kansas City Royals.
"That's part of it," he said. "It doesn't go unnoticed -- trust us. I'm not calling out the fans. It's just how it is. That stuff is reserved for road games.
"We don't want to deal with that crap. Here, good fans are supposed to help you try to get through the inning and say, 'Hey, you're only one pitch away. Hey, it's all right.'"
Apparently, Perez didn't get the memo that, as a professional athlete, sometimes you get booed, sometimes you get cheered, and sometimes you get booed at home. He also didn't realize that Cleveland fans are a pretty emotional bunch themselves and are pretty brow-beaten by 50 years of losing.
The Indians drew 29,799 to Saturday's game. It was their second-largest crowd of the season next to the sellout crowd of 43,190 for the season opener. Still, the Indians are last in attendance at 341,403.
"Nobody wants to play in front of 5,000 fans," Perez said. "We know the weather stinks, but people see that [attendance]. Other players know that.
"You had a choice of playing in St. Louis where you get 40,000 like Beltran chose to do, or you can come to Cleveland. It's going to take more money to get him to come to Cleveland. That's just how it is. That's another thing that you have to go against. It's not only the payrolls of the AL East teams, but that kind of stuff."
Never mind that the Indians have never drawn a crowd as low as 5,000 to Progressive Field this year, but he was rolling.
Perez tried to smooth things over when someone asked him about the economy, but he continued to dig a hole for himself.
"I completely understand, but the fans can't take it personal when the players don't want to stay here or players don't want to come here," he said. "It's a business. You didn't choose to get drafted by Cleveland. I'm in it for my family. Who knows? I could throw my last pitch tomorrow.
"At the same time, I'm here. I'm here to win. I'm here for my teammates and I want to bring a championship to Cleveland, to do my job and help the team win. I think I do a pretty good job of showing that on the field. I don't think I bring any undue attention to myself. I'm out there for the team. In big wins, I get excited and I'm like a kid again, because it's fun."
Given the chance the following day to retract or apologize for some of his statements, following a visit with team president Mark Shapiro and GM Chris Antonetti, Perez decided to do neither, instead bringing his bottle of kerosene to add to the fire.
"Thursday was the last straw for me, and Saturday night was the first time I'd spoken [to reporters] since then," he said. "I just didn't understand the booing when I hadn't even given up a run. I don't understand the negativity, in general. Why? We have a first-place team. How many teams in the country would want that right now?
"You think the Tigers are happy? The Tigers are in third place. We're in first place. Enjoy it. We could be in last place. We could be the Royals, we could be the Pirates, who haven't won anything in 20 years."
Never mind that both the Pirates and Royals have won World Series titles sooner than the Indians' last win in 1948, and that, other than a playoff berth in 2007, the Indians have, by and large, not won anything since 2001.
Also, while Perez's Indians began last season at 30-15, they stumbled and bumbled under the spotlight and the sunshine of June, July and August and wound up 80-82, double-digit games behind first-place Detroit.
The blowback from his Saturday outburst was pretty intense, and Perez felt some of it on Twitter and on the Web. He basically said he didn/t care.
"I expected it, but I really don't care anymore," Perez said. "I'm here to do my job and play for this team. If the fans come, they'll come. If they don't, it will be just like it was in April, so who cares?"
Perez tried to downplay his fan bashing by saying he expected more fans to show up. Unfortunately, his explanations didn't help anything.
"The fans are going to come, I know that," he said. "It's just a slap in the face when you're in first place and last in attendance. Last. It's not like we're 25th, 26th -- we're last. Oakland is outdrawing us. That's embarrassing.
"In 2010, I wouldn't have made those comments [the Indians went 69-93 that season]. We deserved to get booed. We deserved to have nobody here. But we've been building up for this season. We're good. We have a good team. We haven't even played our best ball and we're in first."
Perez said some of his teammates feel the same way about the low attendance, but "they just won't say it."
That's a fantastic way of throwing his teammates under the bus, but then again, he's been a walking distraction for a long time,
"I'm not doing anything to bring extra attention to myself or distract from what the team's doing," he said. "I don't have an ulterior motive. I'm here to win. I want to win here. I care. We all care. We want to win. But right now, we're winning for ourselves, basically."
Winning for ourselves ... A fantastic way of saying that you, as a fan base, doesn't matter because he, speaking for his Indians, are not playing for your benefit anymore.
They're not playing for the name on the front of the jersey, they're essentially playing for the name on the back (unless they're using those special uniforms where there is no name on the back of jersey, but whatever).
The Indians responded to Perez's critical comments by losing to the Marlins, 5-3. Perez didn't give fans the sastisfaction of pitching, since the Indians were out of the game for the get-go and only a two-run ninth-inning rally made things respectable.
Yes, Chris Perez, it probably is frustrating that your team is in first place, but nobody is going to games. However, you must not know the fans of Cleveland all that well. You claim to, but you don't.
It seems like, fair or not, the Cleveland Indians have to prove something to the fan base each year to get them to "buy-in." The Browns don't have to do that, but that's because Cleveland is a football-town and the Browns actually left town for three years. Absense makes the heart grow fonder, even if that team has been a stinking pile of dump since it returned in 1999.
The Indians, out of anyone, took advantage of the Browns leaving town the most. Jacobs Field was a palace when it opened in 1994. Dick Jacobs made some key free agent signings, and the team started to win.
They reached the World Series in 1995 -- the first Series berth since 1954 -- but lost. Their Game 6 loss came a few weeks before word of the Browns moving to Baltimore was leaked and then confirmed on Nov. 6.
Without the Browns, the Indians reached the postseason in 1996, 97, 98, 99 and 2001. They reached the ALCS in 1997 and 98 and reached the World Series in 97.
In fact, 1997 may have been the closest anyone from Joe Cleveland's generation has been to a championship. They led Game 7, 2-1, heading into the bottom of the ninth, before Jose Mesa imploded and gave up the tying run. The Tribe eventually lost in the 11th, 3-2, on a two-out single up the middle by Edgar Renteria off of Charles Nagy.
In 2000, the Indians were elminated from the wild-card on the final day of the regular season. That was the year they were sold to Larry Dolan.
Under Dolan's ownership, the Indians have had two postseason berths, one ALCS berth (2007) and three winning seasons (they went 93-69 in 2005 after a furious second-half rally, but choked in the final week of the regular season and missed out on the playoffs). The rest has been terrible.
In 2002, Mark Shapiro was promoted to general manager after John Hart took the identical job in Texas. Shapiro's first act was trading future Hall of Famer Robbie Alomar to the Mets, but his next trade was his best.
After firing Charlie Manuel at the All-Star break, Shapiro dealt Bartolo Colon (who wound up winning 20 games) to the Montreal Expos for Lee Stevens and three prospects -- Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips. While Phillips didn't emerge until Shapiro and manager Eric Wedge gave up on him and essentially gave him to the Reds, Sizemore and Lee became two of the better players in baseball.
Lee, who did little to contribute to the 2007 team, won the 2008 Cy Young Award after winning 24 games. CC Sabathia won the Cy Young in 2007, while the guy formerly known as Fausto Carmona caught lightning in a bottle and also won 19 games that season.
By 2009, only one of those pitchers will still be in Cleveland. Unfortunately, it was the artist formerly known as Fausto Carmona, who is currently being detained in the Dominican Republic under his given name of Roberto Hernandez Heredia and is three years older than he told the Indians and the U.S. Government.
Lee and Sabathia were dealt in back-to-back years in cost-cutting trades. Out of the two trades, the Indians have three players on the current big-league roster -- center fielder Michael Brantley, utility infielder Jason Donald and backup catcher Lou Marson.
The Indians also traded popular catcher Victor Martinez to the Red Sox for pitchers Justin Masterson and Nick Hagadone. Hagadone finally made the club this year and has become a decent end-of-the-pen guy. Masterson had a great season last year, but has struggled this year.
It's maneuvers like this that cause fan disconnect. The fans loathed that all of their heroes from the "Era of Champions" -- Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Kenny Lofton, Omar Vizquel -- all were allowed to walk away as free agents because the Indians couldn't afford to keep them. They loathed that others who replaced them and emerged in their absence, such as Brandon Phillips, Martinez, Lee and Sabathia, were dealt for prospects -- prospects that, for the most part, haven't emerged yet.
The Indians have drafted poorly during that time, which further depleted their farm system. They've drafted better recently, but two of their most recent first-round choices -- pitchers Alex White and Drew Pomeranz -- were dealt at the trading deadline to Colorado for pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez.
To say Jimenez has been inconsistant since coming to Cleveland would be an understatement. One game,he looks like Cy Young. The next, he looks like Anthony Young.
(Joe Cleveland break -- if you don't know who Anthony Young is, Google him. Young went 3-30 over a two-year span with the Mets, which included a record 24-game losing streak.)
So, fans went into this season with a general distaste for the Indians' ownership and front office. Also, on the eve of the regular season, Forbes Magazine reported that the Indians turned the largest profit in the major leagues -- $30 million. Meanwhile, the Dolans continued to cry the poorhouse blues, and their denial of the report just reeked of lies.
Despite that, a whopping 44,000 people showed up to watch Opening Day against the Blue Jays, and, for 8 1/2 innings, the fans were enjoying a 4-1 lead.
Then Chris Perez showed up to undo all of the good tidings, giving up three ninth-inning runs.
By the way Chris, if you wonder why fans get restless and boo you when you pitch, it's performancs like yours in the home opener you can point to. Some fans just don't trust a lead with you on the mound. Want to shut them up and prove them wrong? Keep firing 1-2-3, 10-pitch innings at opponents. If it takes "not wanting to be booed" to do that kind of performance, Joe Cleveland can only wonder why you're not motivated to pitch like that all the time.
The Tribe wound up losing in 16 innings, and most fans tuned them out after that.
So, you factor in distaste for ownership, a lackluster offseason in which a lot of promised but nothing was delivered (Casey Kotchman and a bucket of crap constitutes as NOTHING), a spectacular blown home opener in front of a raucus capacity crowd, and a chilly April, and it's no surprise why they've been drawing 11,000 fans to their games on average.
Also, you have to go back to last season. Like last season, the Tribe came off of a do-nothing offseason and a miserable home opener to shock baseball by going 30-15 at the end of May.
There was no way a team 15 games above .500 would not win a division title, let alone clinch a playoff berth. And yet, the bargain-basement Indians found a way to do both.
This season has almost been a mirror-image of last season. Fans were skeptical about the Tribe's good fortune last season, but bought in during the summer with large crowds. Once the fans started coming, the Indians started wilting. They were relegated to bringing back legend Jim Thome in August and September to continue some of those large crowds into football season. By then, the team was toast.
So, to say the fans were skeptical again this season is perfectly understandable. Joe Cleveland, for one, is definitely skeptical. They just don't look like a playoff-calibur team to me.
Yeah, they're playing a gritty brand of baseball that Cleveland fans can identify with. They're underdogs, and we all love an underdog. However, everyone's waiting for that other shoe to drop.
All the fans who did so last year pointed to everyone who yelled at them and said, "I told you so." They are waiting to do that again.
Chris Perez's nuclear meltdown this past weekend can't help matters with a fragile fan base. Yes, fans are talking about the Indians more than the Browns today. However, it's mostly debating as to whether or not you side with Perez and/or will continue to support the Tribe.
If the Indians get swept by Detroit, or drop 2-of-3 games, the boo birds and buzzards will swoop in. Perez's meltdown will be the factor in many fans' eyes for their dismal performance, especially if Perez blows a save. Hoo-boy, buckle up for that one, Chrissy!
Who knows, perhaps an outburst like this will galvanize the team into rallying around their beleagured and outspoken closer. Baseball's a funny game.
But, as of now, Joe Cleveland will go back to paying attention to the Browns' OTAs and the Cavs' upcoming NBA Draft lottery. Chris Perez just burned his last bridge to this fan.
By the way, baseball fans, if you like baseball but don't want to pay $10 for a beer, there are cheaper and more family-friendly alternatives to the Indians. The Lake County (Eastlake) Captains to the East, the Akron Aeros to the South, the Columbus Clippers to the further South, the Lake Erie (Avon) Crushers to the West and the Mahoning Valley (Niles) Scrappers to the further East are minor league teams, but put on a great brand of baseball and promote fun for the entire family. Plus, you're not spending over $100 to take a family of four to a ball game.
Joe Cleveland took his 9-year-old nephew to a Crushers game last Saturday. The kid wound up with two foul balls, a couple of autographs, and ate like a champion for under $10.
Ironically, all but the Crushers are affiliated with the Indians, so they're basically competing with themselves. The Captains come highly recommended, as do the Aeros, Clippers and Crushers.
Some fans are saying that the low attendance will eventually lead to the Indians moving. Do these fans not remember all the times the Indians were going to "move to New Orleans" or "move to Miami" or "move to whereever" during the 1970s and 80s, when ownership was terrible and the team was even worse and they played in a dump of a stadium? They didn't move then, did they?
The Tribe's not going anywhere. They play in a great stadium with a great lease. If they do, Larry Dolan will have no one to blame but himself. But, that's a discussion for another day.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Draft Thoughts
Joe Cleveland does not like this new Blogger format. But, here goes the latest installment of "Joe Cleveland":
The most anticipated draft in Browns history -- debatable, but I've never remembered such hype and buzz about it, even during the expansion year -- came and went Thursday through Saturday, and the Browns did not disappoint in their spashy moves.
Well, at least for the first round. The remaining six rounds were pretty pedestrian by most standards, only because there weren't any "sexy" picks (by the way, Joe Cleveland hates when people describe draft picks as "sexy." To me, there's only one definition of "sexy" and it involves women. Of course, that's just my opinion. Some men think other men are "sexy," not that there's anything wrong with that. But, I digress ...)
The Browns entered the draft with 13 picks and wound up selecting 10 players and signing 11 others as undrafted free agents. Here are your new Cleveland Browns:
First Round:
3. Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
22. Brandon Weeden, QB, Oklahoma State
Second Round:
5. Mitchell Schwartz, OT, California
Third Round:
25. John Hughes, DT, Cincinnati
Fourth Round:
5. Travis Benjamin, WR, Miami (FL.)
25. James Michael-Johnson, LB, Nevada
Fifth Round:
25. Ryan Miller, OG, Colorado
Sixth Round:
35. Emmanuel Acho, LB, Texas
36. Billy Winn, DT, Boise State
Seventh Round:
38. Trevin Wade, CB, Arizona
40. Brad Smelley, TE/FB, Alabama
Undrafted:
Josh Cooper, WR, Oklahoma State
Jermaine Saffold, WR, Missouri St
Andrew Sweat, LB, Ohio State
Matt Cleveland, OT, Idaho
Antwuan Reed, CB, Pitt
J.B. Shugarts, OT, Ohio State
Jake Anderson, OT, Akron
Johnson Bademosi, SAF, Stanford
William Green, DE, Florida
Tashaun Gipson, S, Wyoming
Garth Gerhart, OL, Arizona State
Well, let's start at the top. The Browns moved up one spot (from 4th to 3rd) to select Richardson, who many believe was the best football player in this draft. They also gave up the fourth round pick they received from Atlanta and their sixth and seventh-round selections to move up. Richardson was the first running back taken in the top 10 since Darren McFadden, and the first Browns first-round running back selection since William Green in 2002.
In fact, he's the highest draft pick the Browns have spent on a running back since they acquired the No. 1 overall pick in 1962 and took Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis. Davis, unfortunately, was diagnosed with leukemia and died without ever playing in a single NFL game.
Some are lamenting the high price the Browns paid to move up to take "The Kraken," but it pales in comparison to the price Washington paid to select Robert Griffin III. In fact, it also pales in comparison to the time Butch Davis moved up from No. 7 to No. 6 in 2004 to select Kellen Winslow Jr. Davis also gave up his second round pick to move up one spot, meaning it was the only time Matt Millen ever pulled the wool over someone's eyes in the draft (Butch was gone by the next draft).
I give the Browns a ton of credit to go out and get their guy. Many fans (unjustly, I might add) lambasted them for trading down with Atlanta last year. The Falcons gave up a king's ransom to move up to take receiver Julio Jones, who had an up-and-down rookie season where highlight-reel plays were augmented by drops and injuries. Suddenly, those same fans (fans who cried about the Browns not giving up a king's ransom to take RG-ME) were now complaining that the Browns gave up too much.
WHICH IS IT?????!!!!!!
God-damn, I love being a Browns fan, but you people are ridiculous sometimes. I know we're jaded from years of losing football, but come on! Give the front office the benefit of the doubt. They did what they had to do get the one player that everyone wanted (after Luck and RG-ME). And, to be honest, other than the fourth-round pick (which was a low fourth-rounder at that), the other picks were junk picks. For every sixth- and seventh-rounder that emerges, there's about 50 others that fade into obscurity.
The next pick drew even more controversy, even though every Browns fan cried and complained that they needed to replace Colt McCoy. Brandon Weeden's lone knock is his age -- 28. He became the oldest player drafted in the first round in many years.
Skeptics immediately brought up the last 28-year-old who had a good college career and went to the NFL -- Heisman winner Chris Weinke. Weinke went in the fourth round, started his rookie year in which the team went 1-15, and then spent several years as a backup and mentor. He was the backup when Carolina reached it's lone Super Bowl, and he now has made a name for himself as a QB guru, running offseason camps for prospective pros.
People like Joe Cleveland brought up guys like Kurt Warner, Steve Young, Roger Staubach, Rich Gannon -- players who didn't do much in their 20s but emerged in their late 20s and 30s to become great. Staubach and Young are Hall of Famers; Warner could very well be one; Gannon will not, but had a fine career, nonetheless.
Weeden has a great arm, a great head on his shoulders, is a natural leader and is a proven winner. Sure, Colt was a natural leader and proven collegiate winner as well, but his lack of size and arm strength caused him to fall to the third round and were exposed last season -- his first full season as a starter.
All the so-called draft experts felt that Weeden was a lock for the Browns, but at No. 37 -- the fifth-overall pick in the second round. The Browns made it clear that Weeden was their guy when they lost out on RG-ME and Luck, and they feared that another team would swoop in between 22 and 37 to take him. They didn't want to gamble.
That essentially became the theme of their draft. The Browns saw the person they liked and, draft gurus be damned, they didn't want to gamble and took them regardless.
Did they reach on a few picks? Probably.
But did they fill a ton of needs? Absolutely.
You could argue that the Browns should have filled the right tackle spot in free agency, that Eric Winston could have been had and been affordable under their cap, which would have allowed them to take a receiver. However, the sad reality is Cleveland is just not a desirable place for free agents.
Part of it is the teams, but a larger part is the area.
We get angry about it because we love our town and we're fiercely protective of it's image (a big reason why I LOVE Cleveland), but the national perception is what it is.
The only way the Browns, Cavs and Indians will lure players is if they overpay them. Tom Heckert and Mike Holmgren made it clear they weren't going to overpay to bring anyone in. They may have overpaid Frostee Rucker a bit, but Heckert and Holmgren believed Rucker would bloster their 30th-ranked run defense.
So, for us outsiders to complain that the Browns didn't do anything in free agency, we're overlooking the fact that free agents may not want to come here.
That could change once the casino gets up and running. It will add to businesses and add other attractions that should appeal to professional athletes. The fact that Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is one of the main proponents behind the Horseshoe Casino should tell you that he's trying to make Cleveland attractive to pro athletes.
It will also change once the culture changes and the teams begin winning. The Cavs won with LeBron James, but many players believed LeBron was going to leave so they stayed away (they were right, what a surprise). The Indians just can't afford to spend money on top-flight talent and have made a habit out of letting their own top-flight talent go, which doesn't help the outside image. And the Browns have been a perennial loser for so long.
You have to break the bank on a player if you're a losing team, like the Bills did with Mario Williams. The Browns did that when Phil Savage was running the show, but Holmgren and Heckert made it clear that they won't operate that way.
Now, back to the draft ...
If any player will be nominated for the Montario Hardesty Award, named for the running back Heckert traded up for in the second round of his first draft but never panned out, it will be Cincinnati defensive tackle John Hughes.
Hughes, who shares the same name as one of the best movie directors of the 1980s (The Breakfast Club, Home Alone, Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, etc.), was pegged to be a very late round pick by the so-called experts. The Browns traded down from their fourth-overall spot in the third round to add another fourth (making up for the one they lost in the Richardson deal) and took Hughes.
Fans screamed that they didn't add a wide receiver in the first three rounds. They felt that defensive tackle was the least of their worries. They wondered who the hell this John Hughes guy is.
When the Browns decided right tackle was more of a glaring need than wide receiver (it was, Browns fans, it was), they were gambling that a wide receiver may fall into the third round. They almost got their wish, as LSU's Ruben Randle plumetted like a stone to the third round. However, once he was taken just four picks ahead of the Browns, I believe that gave them the excuse to trade down.
From that point on, the Browns drafted for need. They added another guard (Colorado's Ryan Miller) to push Shawn Lavauo and Jason Pinkston for one of the starting spots. They added Hughes and Billy Winn to add to the depth of the defensive line. They added Wade to add depth to their defensive backfield (which was one thing they were trying to do). And, Smelley's versitility will aid their special teams and give Owen Marecic a challenger for the fullback spot.
Browns fans will complain about their ignoring of wide receiver again. The only one they took was speedy Travis Benjamin out of Miami. Benjamin is small, but has breakaway speed that could be an asset in the return game (Cribbs isn't getting any younger). Then again, the player they may have been targeting at 22 (Baylor's Brandon Wright) is also speedy and smaller, so what does that tell you.
I was hoping the Browns would take a flyer on Western Michigan's Jordan White, a North Ridgeville native. They almost did, but the Jets picked him just one spot before the Browns were selecting. Now that would have been a great story, especially since former Brown Herman Fontenot was a mentor to White when he was in high school.
Free agency isn't over. There are still several servicable veterans out there that will be picked up as we get into June and July. Already there's a rumor that Braylon Edwards would be open to a return to Cleveland (yeesh). Plus, there will be some roster cuts on June 1 when players are due their signing bonuses.
I originally graded the draft an A-, but I'll be realistic and give it a B. The Browns upgraded their quarterback, running back, offensive line and linebacker and added depth at the defensive line, cornerback and wide receiver. I can be happy with that.
I was hoping the Browns would have drafted Virginia cornerback Chase Minnifield (Frank Minnifield's son), and then hoped they would sign him as an undrafted free agent. I guess Minnifield had microfracture surgery on his knee, and it scared a few teams off. Washington signed him as an undrafted free agent.
The Browns got the two players they really wanted in Richardson and Weeden, and those two should drastically change the pedestrian offense. Richardson is about as can't-miss a running back prospect as Adrian Peterson was. The Browns passed on Peterson and took Joe Thomas. The Browns passed on LaDanian Tomlinson and took Gerard Warren (that's one you'd like back). This time, they was the running back, and they went out and got him.
And, the best part about both Richardson and Weeden -- they genuinely wanted to be here. You can't put a price-tag on that.
The Browns are a better team today than they were last week. I am now geninely excited to see how this season plays out and to see our top-two draft picks in action.
***
Now, our thoughts and attention turns to the Cavs draft.
The Cavs won two more games than they did last year while playing 16 less games. They were more exciting with the emergence of No. 1 overall pick Kyrie Irving and No. 4 overall pick Tristan Thompson and were in playoff contention through the All-Star break.
After dealing Ramon Sessions to the Lakers for a first-round pick and Luke Walton, the Cavs only won five of their final 25 games. Irving getting hurt didn't help, and the Cavs resorted to playing a lot of D-Leaguers during the final few weeks of the regular season.
If there is a bright spot, the losses wound up giving the Cavs the third-worst record in the NBA. Thanks to good-luck charm Nick Gilbert, the Cavs won two coin-flips to give them the third-most chances at winning the NBA draft lottery and also made their Laker pick one spot better than Memphis.
Last year, Cavs fans were drooling about the possibility of Harrison Barnes and Kyrie Irving in the same draft. Now, they have a chance to get Barnes anyway, along with Kentucky freshmen Anthony Davis (if they win the top-pick again) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
I feel really good about the Cavs' future. In fact, even though I'm skeptical about the NBA's behind-the-scenes dealings and officiating, I think the Cavs may have the best chance to win a title of our three teams if they draft plays out like we hope.
The Browns' draft is a reason for optimism, as is the prospects of the Cavs' draft lottery chances and subsequent draft.
Who knows, if the Heat don't win an NBA title this year (which is a distinct possibility), maybe Dan Gilbert's guarantee won't look so outlandish after all. I wonder if ESPN would apologize to him after they mocked him for a full year. Probably not.
***
Surprise, surprise, the under-the-radar Indians have found themselves in first place in the AL Central Division with April coming to a close.
Just like last year, the Indians had a miserable first few games. Just like last year, the Tribe found their mojo a bit. And, just like last year, they are in first place at this point of the season.
Attendance continues to be below 10,000 at Progressive Field, and the Indians still struggle to get anything going offensively. Their bullpen has been inconsistant, as have their starting pitching. And yet, somehow, they're in first.
I attribute this more to the Tigers scuffling a bit than the Indians playing well. Once the Tigers find their stride, they will blow past the Indians in the standings. Not to be a Gloomy Gus, but it's true.
We saw it last year, and we'll see it again this year.
If they Indians somehow find themsleves in first place in June, fans will start paying attention again. And, once they do, the Tribe will wilt under the spotlight like they always seem do to. Not even Johnny Damon will help change that.
I'd like to hope that things will come together for the Indians, but this team just isn't very good. They're using smoke, mirrors and luck to do it. Hopefully, the smoke, mirrors and luck continue.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
The most anticipated draft in Browns history -- debatable, but I've never remembered such hype and buzz about it, even during the expansion year -- came and went Thursday through Saturday, and the Browns did not disappoint in their spashy moves.
Well, at least for the first round. The remaining six rounds were pretty pedestrian by most standards, only because there weren't any "sexy" picks (by the way, Joe Cleveland hates when people describe draft picks as "sexy." To me, there's only one definition of "sexy" and it involves women. Of course, that's just my opinion. Some men think other men are "sexy," not that there's anything wrong with that. But, I digress ...)
The Browns entered the draft with 13 picks and wound up selecting 10 players and signing 11 others as undrafted free agents. Here are your new Cleveland Browns:
First Round:
3. Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
22. Brandon Weeden, QB, Oklahoma State
Second Round:
5. Mitchell Schwartz, OT, California
Third Round:
25. John Hughes, DT, Cincinnati
Fourth Round:
5. Travis Benjamin, WR, Miami (FL.)
25. James Michael-Johnson, LB, Nevada
Fifth Round:
25. Ryan Miller, OG, Colorado
Sixth Round:
35. Emmanuel Acho, LB, Texas
36. Billy Winn, DT, Boise State
Seventh Round:
38. Trevin Wade, CB, Arizona
40. Brad Smelley, TE/FB, Alabama
Undrafted:
Josh Cooper, WR, Oklahoma State
Jermaine Saffold, WR, Missouri St
Andrew Sweat, LB, Ohio State
Matt Cleveland, OT, Idaho
Antwuan Reed, CB, Pitt
J.B. Shugarts, OT, Ohio State
Jake Anderson, OT, Akron
Johnson Bademosi, SAF, Stanford
William Green, DE, Florida
Tashaun Gipson, S, Wyoming
Garth Gerhart, OL, Arizona State
Well, let's start at the top. The Browns moved up one spot (from 4th to 3rd) to select Richardson, who many believe was the best football player in this draft. They also gave up the fourth round pick they received from Atlanta and their sixth and seventh-round selections to move up. Richardson was the first running back taken in the top 10 since Darren McFadden, and the first Browns first-round running back selection since William Green in 2002.
In fact, he's the highest draft pick the Browns have spent on a running back since they acquired the No. 1 overall pick in 1962 and took Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis. Davis, unfortunately, was diagnosed with leukemia and died without ever playing in a single NFL game.
Some are lamenting the high price the Browns paid to move up to take "The Kraken," but it pales in comparison to the price Washington paid to select Robert Griffin III. In fact, it also pales in comparison to the time Butch Davis moved up from No. 7 to No. 6 in 2004 to select Kellen Winslow Jr. Davis also gave up his second round pick to move up one spot, meaning it was the only time Matt Millen ever pulled the wool over someone's eyes in the draft (Butch was gone by the next draft).
I give the Browns a ton of credit to go out and get their guy. Many fans (unjustly, I might add) lambasted them for trading down with Atlanta last year. The Falcons gave up a king's ransom to move up to take receiver Julio Jones, who had an up-and-down rookie season where highlight-reel plays were augmented by drops and injuries. Suddenly, those same fans (fans who cried about the Browns not giving up a king's ransom to take RG-ME) were now complaining that the Browns gave up too much.
WHICH IS IT?????!!!!!!
God-damn, I love being a Browns fan, but you people are ridiculous sometimes. I know we're jaded from years of losing football, but come on! Give the front office the benefit of the doubt. They did what they had to do get the one player that everyone wanted (after Luck and RG-ME). And, to be honest, other than the fourth-round pick (which was a low fourth-rounder at that), the other picks were junk picks. For every sixth- and seventh-rounder that emerges, there's about 50 others that fade into obscurity.
The next pick drew even more controversy, even though every Browns fan cried and complained that they needed to replace Colt McCoy. Brandon Weeden's lone knock is his age -- 28. He became the oldest player drafted in the first round in many years.
Skeptics immediately brought up the last 28-year-old who had a good college career and went to the NFL -- Heisman winner Chris Weinke. Weinke went in the fourth round, started his rookie year in which the team went 1-15, and then spent several years as a backup and mentor. He was the backup when Carolina reached it's lone Super Bowl, and he now has made a name for himself as a QB guru, running offseason camps for prospective pros.
People like Joe Cleveland brought up guys like Kurt Warner, Steve Young, Roger Staubach, Rich Gannon -- players who didn't do much in their 20s but emerged in their late 20s and 30s to become great. Staubach and Young are Hall of Famers; Warner could very well be one; Gannon will not, but had a fine career, nonetheless.
Weeden has a great arm, a great head on his shoulders, is a natural leader and is a proven winner. Sure, Colt was a natural leader and proven collegiate winner as well, but his lack of size and arm strength caused him to fall to the third round and were exposed last season -- his first full season as a starter.
All the so-called draft experts felt that Weeden was a lock for the Browns, but at No. 37 -- the fifth-overall pick in the second round. The Browns made it clear that Weeden was their guy when they lost out on RG-ME and Luck, and they feared that another team would swoop in between 22 and 37 to take him. They didn't want to gamble.
That essentially became the theme of their draft. The Browns saw the person they liked and, draft gurus be damned, they didn't want to gamble and took them regardless.
Did they reach on a few picks? Probably.
But did they fill a ton of needs? Absolutely.
You could argue that the Browns should have filled the right tackle spot in free agency, that Eric Winston could have been had and been affordable under their cap, which would have allowed them to take a receiver. However, the sad reality is Cleveland is just not a desirable place for free agents.
Part of it is the teams, but a larger part is the area.
We get angry about it because we love our town and we're fiercely protective of it's image (a big reason why I LOVE Cleveland), but the national perception is what it is.
The only way the Browns, Cavs and Indians will lure players is if they overpay them. Tom Heckert and Mike Holmgren made it clear they weren't going to overpay to bring anyone in. They may have overpaid Frostee Rucker a bit, but Heckert and Holmgren believed Rucker would bloster their 30th-ranked run defense.
So, for us outsiders to complain that the Browns didn't do anything in free agency, we're overlooking the fact that free agents may not want to come here.
That could change once the casino gets up and running. It will add to businesses and add other attractions that should appeal to professional athletes. The fact that Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is one of the main proponents behind the Horseshoe Casino should tell you that he's trying to make Cleveland attractive to pro athletes.
It will also change once the culture changes and the teams begin winning. The Cavs won with LeBron James, but many players believed LeBron was going to leave so they stayed away (they were right, what a surprise). The Indians just can't afford to spend money on top-flight talent and have made a habit out of letting their own top-flight talent go, which doesn't help the outside image. And the Browns have been a perennial loser for so long.
You have to break the bank on a player if you're a losing team, like the Bills did with Mario Williams. The Browns did that when Phil Savage was running the show, but Holmgren and Heckert made it clear that they won't operate that way.
Now, back to the draft ...
If any player will be nominated for the Montario Hardesty Award, named for the running back Heckert traded up for in the second round of his first draft but never panned out, it will be Cincinnati defensive tackle John Hughes.
Hughes, who shares the same name as one of the best movie directors of the 1980s (The Breakfast Club, Home Alone, Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, etc.), was pegged to be a very late round pick by the so-called experts. The Browns traded down from their fourth-overall spot in the third round to add another fourth (making up for the one they lost in the Richardson deal) and took Hughes.
Fans screamed that they didn't add a wide receiver in the first three rounds. They felt that defensive tackle was the least of their worries. They wondered who the hell this John Hughes guy is.
When the Browns decided right tackle was more of a glaring need than wide receiver (it was, Browns fans, it was), they were gambling that a wide receiver may fall into the third round. They almost got their wish, as LSU's Ruben Randle plumetted like a stone to the third round. However, once he was taken just four picks ahead of the Browns, I believe that gave them the excuse to trade down.
From that point on, the Browns drafted for need. They added another guard (Colorado's Ryan Miller) to push Shawn Lavauo and Jason Pinkston for one of the starting spots. They added Hughes and Billy Winn to add to the depth of the defensive line. They added Wade to add depth to their defensive backfield (which was one thing they were trying to do). And, Smelley's versitility will aid their special teams and give Owen Marecic a challenger for the fullback spot.
Browns fans will complain about their ignoring of wide receiver again. The only one they took was speedy Travis Benjamin out of Miami. Benjamin is small, but has breakaway speed that could be an asset in the return game (Cribbs isn't getting any younger). Then again, the player they may have been targeting at 22 (Baylor's Brandon Wright) is also speedy and smaller, so what does that tell you.
I was hoping the Browns would take a flyer on Western Michigan's Jordan White, a North Ridgeville native. They almost did, but the Jets picked him just one spot before the Browns were selecting. Now that would have been a great story, especially since former Brown Herman Fontenot was a mentor to White when he was in high school.
Free agency isn't over. There are still several servicable veterans out there that will be picked up as we get into June and July. Already there's a rumor that Braylon Edwards would be open to a return to Cleveland (yeesh). Plus, there will be some roster cuts on June 1 when players are due their signing bonuses.
I originally graded the draft an A-, but I'll be realistic and give it a B. The Browns upgraded their quarterback, running back, offensive line and linebacker and added depth at the defensive line, cornerback and wide receiver. I can be happy with that.
I was hoping the Browns would have drafted Virginia cornerback Chase Minnifield (Frank Minnifield's son), and then hoped they would sign him as an undrafted free agent. I guess Minnifield had microfracture surgery on his knee, and it scared a few teams off. Washington signed him as an undrafted free agent.
The Browns got the two players they really wanted in Richardson and Weeden, and those two should drastically change the pedestrian offense. Richardson is about as can't-miss a running back prospect as Adrian Peterson was. The Browns passed on Peterson and took Joe Thomas. The Browns passed on LaDanian Tomlinson and took Gerard Warren (that's one you'd like back). This time, they was the running back, and they went out and got him.
And, the best part about both Richardson and Weeden -- they genuinely wanted to be here. You can't put a price-tag on that.
The Browns are a better team today than they were last week. I am now geninely excited to see how this season plays out and to see our top-two draft picks in action.
***
Now, our thoughts and attention turns to the Cavs draft.
The Cavs won two more games than they did last year while playing 16 less games. They were more exciting with the emergence of No. 1 overall pick Kyrie Irving and No. 4 overall pick Tristan Thompson and were in playoff contention through the All-Star break.
After dealing Ramon Sessions to the Lakers for a first-round pick and Luke Walton, the Cavs only won five of their final 25 games. Irving getting hurt didn't help, and the Cavs resorted to playing a lot of D-Leaguers during the final few weeks of the regular season.
If there is a bright spot, the losses wound up giving the Cavs the third-worst record in the NBA. Thanks to good-luck charm Nick Gilbert, the Cavs won two coin-flips to give them the third-most chances at winning the NBA draft lottery and also made their Laker pick one spot better than Memphis.
Last year, Cavs fans were drooling about the possibility of Harrison Barnes and Kyrie Irving in the same draft. Now, they have a chance to get Barnes anyway, along with Kentucky freshmen Anthony Davis (if they win the top-pick again) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
I feel really good about the Cavs' future. In fact, even though I'm skeptical about the NBA's behind-the-scenes dealings and officiating, I think the Cavs may have the best chance to win a title of our three teams if they draft plays out like we hope.
The Browns' draft is a reason for optimism, as is the prospects of the Cavs' draft lottery chances and subsequent draft.
Who knows, if the Heat don't win an NBA title this year (which is a distinct possibility), maybe Dan Gilbert's guarantee won't look so outlandish after all. I wonder if ESPN would apologize to him after they mocked him for a full year. Probably not.
***
Surprise, surprise, the under-the-radar Indians have found themselves in first place in the AL Central Division with April coming to a close.
Just like last year, the Indians had a miserable first few games. Just like last year, the Tribe found their mojo a bit. And, just like last year, they are in first place at this point of the season.
Attendance continues to be below 10,000 at Progressive Field, and the Indians still struggle to get anything going offensively. Their bullpen has been inconsistant, as have their starting pitching. And yet, somehow, they're in first.
I attribute this more to the Tigers scuffling a bit than the Indians playing well. Once the Tigers find their stride, they will blow past the Indians in the standings. Not to be a Gloomy Gus, but it's true.
We saw it last year, and we'll see it again this year.
If they Indians somehow find themsleves in first place in June, fans will start paying attention again. And, once they do, the Tribe will wilt under the spotlight like they always seem do to. Not even Johnny Damon will help change that.
I'd like to hope that things will come together for the Indians, but this team just isn't very good. They're using smoke, mirrors and luck to do it. Hopefully, the smoke, mirrors and luck continue.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Draft Madness
Is it just Joe Cleveland, or do you wish the NFL Draft would have already happened?
With not much else to care about in the world of Cleveland Sports (even if the Indians suddenly found their winning mojo under the cover of 10 p.m. starts on the West Coast), the main topic since March has been the upcoming NFL Draft and what the Browns will do with their two first round picks, three picks in the top 37, five picks in the top 100 and 13 overall picks in the seven rounds.
The draft will finally begin this Thursday night with the first round, and Joe Cleveland cannot freaking wait for it to happen. Because all the speculation about who the Browns should take (or shouldn't take) and whether or not they'll trade up or down or stay put or do something to move from No. 22 is driving me insane.
Joe Cleveland does not help his "insanity" by listening to Cleveland talk radio during my daily commutes to my sportswriting gigs or food runs or whatever else I'm doing in my vehicle. No matter if it's WKNR or WKRK (92.3 The Fan) or WTAM, the only topic that seems to be discussed is the draft.
The talk didn't die down after the Redskins made the Rams an offer that they couldn't (and shouldn't) refuse for the No. 2 overall pick and the right to take Robert Griffin III (or, as I'll be referring to him after hearing about his selfishness, RG-Me), especially since every talking head in this town believed that RG-Me was going to be the answer to all of the Browns' fans prayers.
Because this town is so hell-bent on QBs (we love them and then devour them, just as we're starting to do with Colt McCoy), talk turned to the next two guys on the draft depth chart, Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill (not to be confused with poet Lord Alfred Tannyhill, although I think the Browns might as well draft the wordsmith if they're going to waste the fourth-overall pick on this project) and Oklahoma State's Brandon Weeden. Tannehill, who was nowhere near the first-round converastion when the college season ended back in January, has suddenly rocketed up the draft boards, to where suddenly draft "experts" like "Chicago" Mike Mayock and Todd McShay were thumping their chests and proclaiming that the Browns "have to" take Tannehill at four.
Suddenly, the possibility of QBs going 1-2-3 appeared to be realistic, as the Vikings were supposedly shopping around the No. 3 pick. The Dolphins, who may need a QB even more than the Browns do and also have the advantage of Tannehill's college coach (Mike Sherman) as their offensive coordinator, may try to move up to No. 3.
Joe Cleveland is praying to whatever God or Higher Power there is for this to actually happen. Because without Tannehill on the board, the Browns won't be tempted to screw the pick up by taking him.
And, with Tannehill off the board, suddenly four top-notch players are there for the taking -- Alabama RB Trent Richardson, LSU CB Morris Claiborne, USC tackle Matt Kalil and Oklahoma St. WR Justin Blackmon. You can bet the Browns' phone will be ringing off the hook with trade offers.
Even though trading down with Atlanta last year was the smart thing to do (they gave up a fortune for Julio Jones, who I still am not 100 percent sold on as the "next-big thing."), fans are afraid about trading down this year. They want playmakers, not nice players.
Phil Taylor was a definite need, but he's not a playmaker. Jabaal Sheard can be a playmaker from the DE spot, but that's not really the definition of a "playmaker."
Richardson = playmaker.
Blackmon = playmaker.
Claiborne = playmaker (even if fans want offense first, a backfield of Haden-Claiborne would harken us old-school Browns fans to the days of Dixon-Minnifield).
Kalil is not a playmaker, however, he makes the playmakers you have do their job a little bit easier.
I believe the Browns have whittled it down to Richardson, Claiborne and Blackmon as their top three choices, with Tannehill on the outskirts. Honestly, I believe the Browns are more sold on "old-man" Weeden instead of Tannehill, and I could not be happier with that thought process.
Richardson is probably the best RB prospect in the NFL Draft since Darren McFadden, although he's more can't-miss than McFadden was. Richardson may be the best "can't-miss" prospect since Adrian Peterson came out. The Browns passed on Peterson and took Joe Thomas (a great choice). A few years before that, they passed on LaDanian Tomlinson and took Gerard Warren. A few years before that, they passed on Ricky Williams and took Tim Couch. I'd still argue for the Couch pick. The Warren pick was a huge mistake (thanks a lot, Butch Davis).
The knock is that so many teams are finding good running backs late in the draft, or not in the draft at all. Those same people also want to say that finding a Tom Brady in the sixth round is an anomaly, so you can't have it both ways.
Also, running backs have an average shelf-life of five-to-seven years in the NFL. Once a running back reaches the age of 30, they suddenly magically start to regress. Jim Brown retired at the age of 29, for Christ-sakes, and he was the best running back of ALL-TIME. So, critics wonder if it's worth taking a guy that high when he has a short shelf life.
With Blackmon, the knock is his size and his attitude. Blackmon gave an interview on Cleveland radio last week that seemed to indicate that he really didn't want to be in Cleveland. He didn't come right out and say it, but some read between the lines and his demeanor on air. The last time the Browns took a WR high who wasn't 100 percent sold on Cleveland, that WR did more to turn off the fan base during the expansion era than arguably any other player (and there have been quite a few). He dropped a lot of passes, screwed around off the field, was a destraction in the locker room and, upon leaving, let Cleveland know how he REALLY felt about them. Today, that receiver is a free agent, and not a lot of teams are lining up to sign him. That receiver was Braylon Edwards.
Do we really want another Braylon Edwards on this team? I sure as hell don't.
Besides, the WR crop is so deep, you can find good guys at No. 22 (Stephen Hill, Kendell Wright, Alshon Jeffrey, to name a few). Unless I trade down, I pass on Blackmon.
Kalil makes sense because right tackle is such a glaring weakness. However, do you want to take a right tackle with the fourth-overall pick? How about a right tackle who primarily played left tackle in college? The draft is also deep in quality offensive linemen. Offensive linemen that could be on the board at No. 22, or No. 37, or in the third round. I love Kalil, but I'd have to pass. However, I'm not going to cry a river if he gets taken.
I mentioned earlier why Claiborne would be a great pick. With the NFL being, mostly, a passing league, you want two great cornerbacks to thwart that. Joe Haden appears to be on his way to becoming a top-notch cornerback. Morris Claiborne is a shut-down cornerback who also has the ability to help in the return game (Cribbs isn't getting any younger). You see two good QBs twice a year in Rapist Roethlisberger and Porn-stache Flacco, and Ginger Dalton had a solid rookie season last year. Yes, the Ravens have Ray Rice, but the Steelers are definitely pass-first, as are the Bengals. Sometimes, your best offense is a good defense.
Of course, you have more glaring needs on offense, and there will be a large portion of the fan base not happy that the Browns went defense. But, here's the biggest thing:
You're not going to please everybody at once. No one is going to be 100 percent behind the pick, regardless of WHO it is. There will be critics if it's Richardson because of the shelf-life thing. It's just the way it is.
The Browns have to do what's best for the Browns. If that means trading down a few spots and adding an additional second round pick (or more), then by all means.
To be honest, the only pick Joe Cleveland will be steamed about is if they stay at No. 4 and take Tannehill. Tannehill is not ready to play this year. He could be a great QB, but he also could be a bust. If you take Tannehill fourth-overall, the pressure is there to play him over McCoy. What does it say if the fourth-overall pick can't beat out a guy who wasn't taken until the third round a few years ago and who many are ready to run out of town?
Griffin would have put more asses in the seats. Tannehill will not.
Which brings me to Mr. Weeden. Yes, he'll be 29 during the regular season. Yes, he injured his arm while pitching in the Yankees organization. Yes, you probably have about a seven-year window on the guy for success.
However, I think Weeden has the most talent of ANY quarterback in this draft. Yep, that includes Andrew Luck.
I think Weeden comes in with a veteran's mentality off the rip. I think he allows you to tell that cancer Seneca Wallace that he can go elsewhere if he wants to be a starter, and best of luck to him in that quest.
I think he's the one QB pick you can make that doesn't damage McCoy's psyche. McCoy is still young enough to be in the future plans. You have Weeden, but Weeden's not under any pressure to beat McCoy out. He COMPETES with him, which is what Holmgren, Heckart and Shurmur want anyway.
If Brandon Weeden is still there at No. 37, you take him. If you select Justin Blackmon in the first round, you HAVE to take Weeden at No. 37, because that's the only way Blackmon will be happy in Cleveland.
Here's who Joe Cleveland predicts for the first two rounds (not factoring in potential trades, which I believe there will be a few):
4. Trent Richardson -- Makes the most sense, and is the least PR-damaging selection you can make.
22. Stephen Hill -- At 6-4 with great speed, he could be the breakout star wideout the Browns have been seeking. Keep an eye out for Jonathan Martin, the OT from Stanford, at this spot as well.
37. Weeden -- I think Holmgren and Heckart really like him, as does Shurmur.
In the later rounds, look for the Browns to address the offensive line (Mike Adams could fall to the third round due to his marijuana test), cornerback (Chase Minnifield would be PERFECT here), receiver again, and the defense (they could use an athletic linebacker on the outside, especially if Scott Fujita gets suspended for Bounty-Gate). If they don't take Weeden, I expect them to take a QB in the third or fourth round (Brock Osweiler, Kirk Cousins and Kellen Moore are three likely names). And, if Richardson isn't the choice, Doug Martin or LaMichael James are almost locks for that No. 37 pick.
Tom Heckart said in January that it would "hard to screw this up." I hope he's right.
This draft holds the key to whether or not the Browns will sniff a Super Bowl in the next 5-10 years, or if they'll continue to be NFL laughingstocks. Since I believe the Browns will be in a Super Bowl (or two) during that span, I am leaning toward the former. Please, make it so!
***
I alluded to the Indians earlier, and how their 7-2 road trip couldn't have happened so quietly. This is what happens when you start your homestand 1-4, blowing a three-run ninth inning lead in the home opener before falling in 16.
I firmly believe, though, that the Indians thrive at this "under the radar" thing. Remember, after they got destroyed in last year's home opener that everyone (including Joe Cleveland) had written them off, that they suddenly went 30-15 through the first two months of the season? Then, when people started paying attention, they folded like the cheap accordians they are.
It will be interesting to see if there is any spike in attendance at home this week. I predict that there isn't.
The Indians went from the largest home opening crowd in many years to back-to-back crowds under 10,000 by the time that homestand came to a close. This is what happens when you have a penny-pinching owner that fans don't trust who has the audacity to criticize them for his own shortcomings.
Joe Cleveland is declaring all crowds under 10,000 to be "Dolan Specials." When you turn a $30 million profit and still cry the poorhouse blues, this is what happens, Larry.
Do you see what happens, Larry? This is what happens, Larry! (yes, I'm quoting The Big Lebowski, but it's apt).
I hope the Tribe can keep winning, but I doubt it.
***
The Cavs have two more games left in their season.
YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! Then we can move on to their draft madness.
Perhaps the NBA will rig the draft lottery in our favor for the second straight year. It's payback for having evidence that LeBron colluded with Pat Riley while under contract with the Cavs. Make it so, Stern!
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Follow Joe Cleveland on Twitter @JoeCleveBlog
With not much else to care about in the world of Cleveland Sports (even if the Indians suddenly found their winning mojo under the cover of 10 p.m. starts on the West Coast), the main topic since March has been the upcoming NFL Draft and what the Browns will do with their two first round picks, three picks in the top 37, five picks in the top 100 and 13 overall picks in the seven rounds.
The draft will finally begin this Thursday night with the first round, and Joe Cleveland cannot freaking wait for it to happen. Because all the speculation about who the Browns should take (or shouldn't take) and whether or not they'll trade up or down or stay put or do something to move from No. 22 is driving me insane.
Joe Cleveland does not help his "insanity" by listening to Cleveland talk radio during my daily commutes to my sportswriting gigs or food runs or whatever else I'm doing in my vehicle. No matter if it's WKNR or WKRK (92.3 The Fan) or WTAM, the only topic that seems to be discussed is the draft.
The talk didn't die down after the Redskins made the Rams an offer that they couldn't (and shouldn't) refuse for the No. 2 overall pick and the right to take Robert Griffin III (or, as I'll be referring to him after hearing about his selfishness, RG-Me), especially since every talking head in this town believed that RG-Me was going to be the answer to all of the Browns' fans prayers.
Because this town is so hell-bent on QBs (we love them and then devour them, just as we're starting to do with Colt McCoy), talk turned to the next two guys on the draft depth chart, Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill (not to be confused with poet Lord Alfred Tannyhill, although I think the Browns might as well draft the wordsmith if they're going to waste the fourth-overall pick on this project) and Oklahoma State's Brandon Weeden. Tannehill, who was nowhere near the first-round converastion when the college season ended back in January, has suddenly rocketed up the draft boards, to where suddenly draft "experts" like "Chicago" Mike Mayock and Todd McShay were thumping their chests and proclaiming that the Browns "have to" take Tannehill at four.
Suddenly, the possibility of QBs going 1-2-3 appeared to be realistic, as the Vikings were supposedly shopping around the No. 3 pick. The Dolphins, who may need a QB even more than the Browns do and also have the advantage of Tannehill's college coach (Mike Sherman) as their offensive coordinator, may try to move up to No. 3.
Joe Cleveland is praying to whatever God or Higher Power there is for this to actually happen. Because without Tannehill on the board, the Browns won't be tempted to screw the pick up by taking him.
And, with Tannehill off the board, suddenly four top-notch players are there for the taking -- Alabama RB Trent Richardson, LSU CB Morris Claiborne, USC tackle Matt Kalil and Oklahoma St. WR Justin Blackmon. You can bet the Browns' phone will be ringing off the hook with trade offers.
Even though trading down with Atlanta last year was the smart thing to do (they gave up a fortune for Julio Jones, who I still am not 100 percent sold on as the "next-big thing."), fans are afraid about trading down this year. They want playmakers, not nice players.
Phil Taylor was a definite need, but he's not a playmaker. Jabaal Sheard can be a playmaker from the DE spot, but that's not really the definition of a "playmaker."
Richardson = playmaker.
Blackmon = playmaker.
Claiborne = playmaker (even if fans want offense first, a backfield of Haden-Claiborne would harken us old-school Browns fans to the days of Dixon-Minnifield).
Kalil is not a playmaker, however, he makes the playmakers you have do their job a little bit easier.
I believe the Browns have whittled it down to Richardson, Claiborne and Blackmon as their top three choices, with Tannehill on the outskirts. Honestly, I believe the Browns are more sold on "old-man" Weeden instead of Tannehill, and I could not be happier with that thought process.
Richardson is probably the best RB prospect in the NFL Draft since Darren McFadden, although he's more can't-miss than McFadden was. Richardson may be the best "can't-miss" prospect since Adrian Peterson came out. The Browns passed on Peterson and took Joe Thomas (a great choice). A few years before that, they passed on LaDanian Tomlinson and took Gerard Warren. A few years before that, they passed on Ricky Williams and took Tim Couch. I'd still argue for the Couch pick. The Warren pick was a huge mistake (thanks a lot, Butch Davis).
The knock is that so many teams are finding good running backs late in the draft, or not in the draft at all. Those same people also want to say that finding a Tom Brady in the sixth round is an anomaly, so you can't have it both ways.
Also, running backs have an average shelf-life of five-to-seven years in the NFL. Once a running back reaches the age of 30, they suddenly magically start to regress. Jim Brown retired at the age of 29, for Christ-sakes, and he was the best running back of ALL-TIME. So, critics wonder if it's worth taking a guy that high when he has a short shelf life.
With Blackmon, the knock is his size and his attitude. Blackmon gave an interview on Cleveland radio last week that seemed to indicate that he really didn't want to be in Cleveland. He didn't come right out and say it, but some read between the lines and his demeanor on air. The last time the Browns took a WR high who wasn't 100 percent sold on Cleveland, that WR did more to turn off the fan base during the expansion era than arguably any other player (and there have been quite a few). He dropped a lot of passes, screwed around off the field, was a destraction in the locker room and, upon leaving, let Cleveland know how he REALLY felt about them. Today, that receiver is a free agent, and not a lot of teams are lining up to sign him. That receiver was Braylon Edwards.
Do we really want another Braylon Edwards on this team? I sure as hell don't.
Besides, the WR crop is so deep, you can find good guys at No. 22 (Stephen Hill, Kendell Wright, Alshon Jeffrey, to name a few). Unless I trade down, I pass on Blackmon.
Kalil makes sense because right tackle is such a glaring weakness. However, do you want to take a right tackle with the fourth-overall pick? How about a right tackle who primarily played left tackle in college? The draft is also deep in quality offensive linemen. Offensive linemen that could be on the board at No. 22, or No. 37, or in the third round. I love Kalil, but I'd have to pass. However, I'm not going to cry a river if he gets taken.
I mentioned earlier why Claiborne would be a great pick. With the NFL being, mostly, a passing league, you want two great cornerbacks to thwart that. Joe Haden appears to be on his way to becoming a top-notch cornerback. Morris Claiborne is a shut-down cornerback who also has the ability to help in the return game (Cribbs isn't getting any younger). You see two good QBs twice a year in Rapist Roethlisberger and Porn-stache Flacco, and Ginger Dalton had a solid rookie season last year. Yes, the Ravens have Ray Rice, but the Steelers are definitely pass-first, as are the Bengals. Sometimes, your best offense is a good defense.
Of course, you have more glaring needs on offense, and there will be a large portion of the fan base not happy that the Browns went defense. But, here's the biggest thing:
You're not going to please everybody at once. No one is going to be 100 percent behind the pick, regardless of WHO it is. There will be critics if it's Richardson because of the shelf-life thing. It's just the way it is.
The Browns have to do what's best for the Browns. If that means trading down a few spots and adding an additional second round pick (or more), then by all means.
To be honest, the only pick Joe Cleveland will be steamed about is if they stay at No. 4 and take Tannehill. Tannehill is not ready to play this year. He could be a great QB, but he also could be a bust. If you take Tannehill fourth-overall, the pressure is there to play him over McCoy. What does it say if the fourth-overall pick can't beat out a guy who wasn't taken until the third round a few years ago and who many are ready to run out of town?
Griffin would have put more asses in the seats. Tannehill will not.
Which brings me to Mr. Weeden. Yes, he'll be 29 during the regular season. Yes, he injured his arm while pitching in the Yankees organization. Yes, you probably have about a seven-year window on the guy for success.
However, I think Weeden has the most talent of ANY quarterback in this draft. Yep, that includes Andrew Luck.
I think Weeden comes in with a veteran's mentality off the rip. I think he allows you to tell that cancer Seneca Wallace that he can go elsewhere if he wants to be a starter, and best of luck to him in that quest.
I think he's the one QB pick you can make that doesn't damage McCoy's psyche. McCoy is still young enough to be in the future plans. You have Weeden, but Weeden's not under any pressure to beat McCoy out. He COMPETES with him, which is what Holmgren, Heckart and Shurmur want anyway.
If Brandon Weeden is still there at No. 37, you take him. If you select Justin Blackmon in the first round, you HAVE to take Weeden at No. 37, because that's the only way Blackmon will be happy in Cleveland.
Here's who Joe Cleveland predicts for the first two rounds (not factoring in potential trades, which I believe there will be a few):
4. Trent Richardson -- Makes the most sense, and is the least PR-damaging selection you can make.
22. Stephen Hill -- At 6-4 with great speed, he could be the breakout star wideout the Browns have been seeking. Keep an eye out for Jonathan Martin, the OT from Stanford, at this spot as well.
37. Weeden -- I think Holmgren and Heckart really like him, as does Shurmur.
In the later rounds, look for the Browns to address the offensive line (Mike Adams could fall to the third round due to his marijuana test), cornerback (Chase Minnifield would be PERFECT here), receiver again, and the defense (they could use an athletic linebacker on the outside, especially if Scott Fujita gets suspended for Bounty-Gate). If they don't take Weeden, I expect them to take a QB in the third or fourth round (Brock Osweiler, Kirk Cousins and Kellen Moore are three likely names). And, if Richardson isn't the choice, Doug Martin or LaMichael James are almost locks for that No. 37 pick.
Tom Heckart said in January that it would "hard to screw this up." I hope he's right.
This draft holds the key to whether or not the Browns will sniff a Super Bowl in the next 5-10 years, or if they'll continue to be NFL laughingstocks. Since I believe the Browns will be in a Super Bowl (or two) during that span, I am leaning toward the former. Please, make it so!
***
I alluded to the Indians earlier, and how their 7-2 road trip couldn't have happened so quietly. This is what happens when you start your homestand 1-4, blowing a three-run ninth inning lead in the home opener before falling in 16.
I firmly believe, though, that the Indians thrive at this "under the radar" thing. Remember, after they got destroyed in last year's home opener that everyone (including Joe Cleveland) had written them off, that they suddenly went 30-15 through the first two months of the season? Then, when people started paying attention, they folded like the cheap accordians they are.
It will be interesting to see if there is any spike in attendance at home this week. I predict that there isn't.
The Indians went from the largest home opening crowd in many years to back-to-back crowds under 10,000 by the time that homestand came to a close. This is what happens when you have a penny-pinching owner that fans don't trust who has the audacity to criticize them for his own shortcomings.
Joe Cleveland is declaring all crowds under 10,000 to be "Dolan Specials." When you turn a $30 million profit and still cry the poorhouse blues, this is what happens, Larry.
Do you see what happens, Larry? This is what happens, Larry! (yes, I'm quoting The Big Lebowski, but it's apt).
I hope the Tribe can keep winning, but I doubt it.
***
The Cavs have two more games left in their season.
YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! Then we can move on to their draft madness.
Perhaps the NBA will rig the draft lottery in our favor for the second straight year. It's payback for having evidence that LeBron colluded with Pat Riley while under contract with the Cavs. Make it so, Stern!
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Follow Joe Cleveland on Twitter @JoeCleveBlog
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Merry-go-round and round ...
Well, the NFL's free agent circus came and went over the span of just a few weeks. For the most part, the Browns sat back and watched the carnage form around them.
The Browns showed an interest in Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan. However, not at the exhorbitant price tags Dan "The Fan" Snyder and his Redskins paid for them.
***A quick break in the action here. I've heard a lot of people complain that the Browns didn't match Washington's steep bid for the Rams' No. 2 pick to presumably pick Robert Griffin III. I've heard some people claim that they wish they had an owner like Snyder, who isn't afraid to spend money and take chances, instead of the quiet, deep-pocketed Randy Lerner. Do you realize how much of a joke that Redskins franchise is? They win as much as the Browns do lately, which is NEVER. They are always in salary cap hell because Snyder overpays for mediocre talent and tries to recreate a fantasy football team in real life. They treat draft picks like cancer, which is why you'll never see any young nucleus in Washington. Snyder likes to throw a lot of money at big-name coaches (Steve Spurrier, Joe Gibbs, Mike Shanahan), but then quickly gets rid of them if they can't win with his overpriced, mediocre talent. Even with the "savior" RG3, Joe Cleveland will go on record and say that the Redskins will NEVER win a Super Bowl, much less even get to one, as long as Snyder continues to run his team into the ground. Moving on ...
The Browns let Matt Flynn go to Seattle without even bringing him to talk to them. In fact, they didn't really show an interest in any quarterback that was out there.
Tim Tebow could suddenly be had for pretty cheap, but the Browns didn't even show one hint of interest.
The only two free agents signed where a pair of defensive linemen -- Frostee Rucker and Juqua Parker. Of course, free agency is not over yet, and there are still plenty of free agents to choose from, but most of the big names are gone.
Unlike some of the other people in this town, Joe Cleveland would like to take a moment and applaud Tom Heckert for not breaking the bank on mediocre talent.
Remember Phil Savage, the absentee general manager who had an up-and-down four year tenure with the Browns? Savage LOVED making a splash in free agency every single year. He had a deep-pocketed owner who never asked questions and trusted his talent evaluators, so Savage took advantage of that never-ending checkbook.
Here's just a few of the gems Savage gave exhorbitant contracts too -- Gary Baxter, LeCharles Bentley, Corey Williams, Shaun Rogers, Derek Anderson, Joe Jurevicus, Ted Washington, Willie McGinest ...
Jamal Lewis was a nice signing for one season, before the treads came flying off those tires in a hurry during that second year and especially that third year.
Eric Steinbach was a great signing, until he hurt his back and missed all of last season.
Dave Zastudil was a great signing, until he got injured and missed a season-and-a-half.
Jurevicus and Bentley were popular signings because they were from Cleveland. Jurevicus was at the end of his career and was only productive for one season. Bentley, who was a Pro Bowl center the season before, never even played in a single game with the Browns, suffering a career ending knee injury just one play into his first training camp.
Savage gave up his entire 2008 draft for Brady Quinn, Rogers and Corey Williams. How did that one turn out? That turned out to be the final nail in his coffin.
Derek Anderson had one great year (or 3/4ths of a year, if you want to get technical) and was rewarded with a large contract. Then, the real DA showed up and drug the franchise down with him. Now, he holds a clipboard and gives Cam Newton chest bumps whenever Newton scores a touchdown.
Savage hit on a few draft choices. Immediately coming to mind are Joe Thomas, D'Qwell Jackson ... and that's about it. He took Atyaba Rubin in his last draft (his first pick, in the FOURTH round), so he gets credit for him, too, I guess. Josh Cribbs was signed as an undrafted guy the same year he wasted the third-overall pick on Braylon Edwards.
Remember Travis Wilson? Of course you don't. Wilson was a receiver from Oklahoma that Savage once drafted in the third round. Wilson never caught an NFL pass, even though he proclaimed in his first press conference that he was "the best wide receiver in the draft" that year.
You can blame Savage for the disaster that was a starting defensive backfield of Eric Wright-Brandon McDonald. Both were drafted in the same year (Wright in the second round; McDonald in the fourth). Both made a living out of getting torched by opposing quarterbacks. The second-coming of Dixon and Minnifield, they certainly weren't. Last I saw, Wright and McDonald were on a Detroit team that got torched by Matt Flynn and Drew Brees in back-to-back weeks to end their season.
Savage treated the draft like a lost cause. He seemed to focus on the first two rounds, but let himself go from rounds 3-through-7. His excuse was that if anyone becomes a star selected after round 3, that was the exception and not the rule.
Remember Kamerion Wimbley? The Browns could have had him or Haloti Ngata in the first round. Savage listened to Romeo Crennel (who wanted a pass rusher) and GAVE his old boss Ozzie Newsome his first round pick in exchange for the Ravens pick and a sixth-rounder. Ngata has been a stalwart for the division-rival Ravens. Wimbley is now playing for his third-different team, the Browns having dealt him for a third-round choice that turned into Colt McCoy.
Do you still want a guy like Phil Savage running your team? It's no wonder why the Browns only had one winning season in their four years together, but yet were a complete disaster when Savage and Crennel were let go after the 2008 season. He neglected the draft and tried to find "win-now" shortcuts that wound up blowing up in his face.
The Browns' track record in free agency has never really been any good. That even goes back to the Judas Modell days, when he got loans from four different banks to sign Andre Rison to an exhorbitant contract, only to watch Rison destroy his locker room with his cancerous attitude.
How about that Jeff Garcia free agency signing? That was Butch Davis' answer to the Tim Couch-Kelly Holcomb QB carosel. By the end of that season, both Davis and Garcia were gone.
The good teams never go buck-wild in free agency. Green Bay hasn't signed a free agent in two years. Yet they won a Super Bowl just two years ago and came close to doing it again last year. Those hated Stillers never break the bank in free agency, either.
Teams that build through the draft are the ones that wind up consistantly winning over the long haul. This is what the Browns are attempting to do.
The Browns have 13 picks in this year's draft at the moment. Let them do what they do best.
***
So, who's going to be at quarterback, now that Griffin, Luck, Flynn, Manning, Alex Smith, Kyle Orton, Jason Campbell, David Garrard and Tim Tebow are all off the market?
The only way the Browns take Ryan Tannehill is if they trade down from the 4-spot. They won't take him at No. 4. I expect Miami will take him at No. 8, if they don't try to move up to get him first.
Brandon Weeden could be had in the second, or possibly even in the third round. Weeden's age (28) is hurting his stock. If he was 22 or 23 like all the other QBs, he'd be a first-round choice, hands down.
I expect that Colt McCoy will be the starter again. I know that some people are ready to give up on him and think that he's crap, that he's the second-coming of Charlie Frye-Luke McCown-Spurgeon Wynn-Brady Quinn-Tim Couch all over again. And, he might be, when it's all said and done.
However, you can't deny that McCoy played against a stacked deck last year. He had no offseason to learn a brand-new offense. He lost his top offenisve threat in Peyton Hillis for most of the season due to injuries and other assorted bizarre antics, leaving him with a one-legged runner in Montario Hardesty and a practice squad college teammate in Chris Ogbonnaya to hand the ball off to. He was without a dynamic playmaker at receiver, and the receivers he did have led the NFL in collective dropped passes. The right side of his offensive line was a joke, and both of the guards were essentially rookies. Don't forget that rookie fullback in Owen Marecic as well, who wasn't quite ready for primetime.
I expect a lot of these things to be addressed with those 13 draft picks this year. Don't be surprised if a guy like Cedric Benson is signed as kind of a stop-gap, Jamal Lewis-esque signing, even if they take Trent Richardson at No. 4.
This will be a make-or-break year for McCoy. He knows the braintrust in the organization made a play for Griffin (they admitted it and looked like petulant children crying over spilled milk when they did admit it). He knows they may take a QB in the draft, whether it's Tannehill, Weeden, Brock Osweilor, Kellen Moore or Russell Wilson or some other QB I'm not thinking of.
If he fails this year, he'll wind up like Brady Quinn, never starting a game again.
I still think Weeden gets taken by the Browns, perhaps at No. 37, and I still think Seneca "Cancer" Wallace gets shown the door. Wallace has been nothing but a problem since he was brought over to the Browns two years ago and has shown little in positive production in the few times he's been used.
My prediction for the draft -- Morris Claiborne at 4, a receiver (Wright from Baylor, Floyd from Notre Dame or Jeffrey from South Carolina) at 22 and Weeden or LeMichael James at 37. Can that change between now and April 22? Absolutely.
But, that's why this part of the season is fun.
***
Joe Cleveland was going to end his blog here, but I've got to address Paul Dolan's little chat he had with Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer today.
Dolan refuted claims in Forbes Magazine, which said that the Indians turned a $30 million profit last season (largest in MLB). Dolan admitted the only year ownership got to enjoy some of the profits was the playoff year of 2007 (funny what a few extra sellouts in October can do for the bottom line), and that they've never been as much as $30 million.
Had this been true, the Dolans could get into hot water for not spending the money they get from revenue sharing, both with the frustrated fan base and with MLB.
Dolan also claimed that he really does want to win as badly as the fans do. He also said that the team isn't for sale and, even if it was, there aren't any buyers lining up to buy it.
I really want to believe Paul Dolan and take him at his word. But, I just can't.
I believe everything he told Terry Pluto was a lie.
I believe that they did make $30 million and pocketed most of it. I believe that the team is for sale. I don't believe that he wants to win, only to turn a profit.
If he wanted to win, he'd put his money where his mouth is. Time and time again, he hasn't done so.
His cronies Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti aren't exactly babes in woods in this, either. They've made some dumb baseball decisions that have cost this team time and time again. They've spent what little money Dolan allows them to spend in dumb ways (David Delucci and Jason Michaels ring a bell? Matt Lawton? How about that Travis Hafner contract?), and have squandered numerous draft choices (anyone remember John Drennan, Dan Denham or Brad Snyder? Of course you don't) over the years.
The Indians have had their window of opportunity three times since John Hart left for good -- 2005, 2007 and 2011. The window slammed shut in 2006, only to open again 2007, but slam back shut in 2008 and 09. The window is open again this year, but it appears Dolan, Shapiro and Antonetti are willing to let it slam back on them in 2012.
Last summer was fun, even though Joe Cleveland (like many) were waiting for that other shoe to drop (when it did, it dropped hard). Fans were coming back to the Jake. The team was exciting. Some of the young guys were getting their chances and making the most of those chances. Heck, even Jim Thome came back to exorcise some of those old demons.
I fear this summer will be like the summers of 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 were. I want to be wrong.
Joe Cleveland really wants to believe you, Paul Dolan. However, he just can't. You've burned us one too many times.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks
The Browns showed an interest in Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan. However, not at the exhorbitant price tags Dan "The Fan" Snyder and his Redskins paid for them.
***A quick break in the action here. I've heard a lot of people complain that the Browns didn't match Washington's steep bid for the Rams' No. 2 pick to presumably pick Robert Griffin III. I've heard some people claim that they wish they had an owner like Snyder, who isn't afraid to spend money and take chances, instead of the quiet, deep-pocketed Randy Lerner. Do you realize how much of a joke that Redskins franchise is? They win as much as the Browns do lately, which is NEVER. They are always in salary cap hell because Snyder overpays for mediocre talent and tries to recreate a fantasy football team in real life. They treat draft picks like cancer, which is why you'll never see any young nucleus in Washington. Snyder likes to throw a lot of money at big-name coaches (Steve Spurrier, Joe Gibbs, Mike Shanahan), but then quickly gets rid of them if they can't win with his overpriced, mediocre talent. Even with the "savior" RG3, Joe Cleveland will go on record and say that the Redskins will NEVER win a Super Bowl, much less even get to one, as long as Snyder continues to run his team into the ground. Moving on ...
The Browns let Matt Flynn go to Seattle without even bringing him to talk to them. In fact, they didn't really show an interest in any quarterback that was out there.
Tim Tebow could suddenly be had for pretty cheap, but the Browns didn't even show one hint of interest.
The only two free agents signed where a pair of defensive linemen -- Frostee Rucker and Juqua Parker. Of course, free agency is not over yet, and there are still plenty of free agents to choose from, but most of the big names are gone.
Unlike some of the other people in this town, Joe Cleveland would like to take a moment and applaud Tom Heckert for not breaking the bank on mediocre talent.
Remember Phil Savage, the absentee general manager who had an up-and-down four year tenure with the Browns? Savage LOVED making a splash in free agency every single year. He had a deep-pocketed owner who never asked questions and trusted his talent evaluators, so Savage took advantage of that never-ending checkbook.
Here's just a few of the gems Savage gave exhorbitant contracts too -- Gary Baxter, LeCharles Bentley, Corey Williams, Shaun Rogers, Derek Anderson, Joe Jurevicus, Ted Washington, Willie McGinest ...
Jamal Lewis was a nice signing for one season, before the treads came flying off those tires in a hurry during that second year and especially that third year.
Eric Steinbach was a great signing, until he hurt his back and missed all of last season.
Dave Zastudil was a great signing, until he got injured and missed a season-and-a-half.
Jurevicus and Bentley were popular signings because they were from Cleveland. Jurevicus was at the end of his career and was only productive for one season. Bentley, who was a Pro Bowl center the season before, never even played in a single game with the Browns, suffering a career ending knee injury just one play into his first training camp.
Savage gave up his entire 2008 draft for Brady Quinn, Rogers and Corey Williams. How did that one turn out? That turned out to be the final nail in his coffin.
Derek Anderson had one great year (or 3/4ths of a year, if you want to get technical) and was rewarded with a large contract. Then, the real DA showed up and drug the franchise down with him. Now, he holds a clipboard and gives Cam Newton chest bumps whenever Newton scores a touchdown.
Savage hit on a few draft choices. Immediately coming to mind are Joe Thomas, D'Qwell Jackson ... and that's about it. He took Atyaba Rubin in his last draft (his first pick, in the FOURTH round), so he gets credit for him, too, I guess. Josh Cribbs was signed as an undrafted guy the same year he wasted the third-overall pick on Braylon Edwards.
Remember Travis Wilson? Of course you don't. Wilson was a receiver from Oklahoma that Savage once drafted in the third round. Wilson never caught an NFL pass, even though he proclaimed in his first press conference that he was "the best wide receiver in the draft" that year.
You can blame Savage for the disaster that was a starting defensive backfield of Eric Wright-Brandon McDonald. Both were drafted in the same year (Wright in the second round; McDonald in the fourth). Both made a living out of getting torched by opposing quarterbacks. The second-coming of Dixon and Minnifield, they certainly weren't. Last I saw, Wright and McDonald were on a Detroit team that got torched by Matt Flynn and Drew Brees in back-to-back weeks to end their season.
Savage treated the draft like a lost cause. He seemed to focus on the first two rounds, but let himself go from rounds 3-through-7. His excuse was that if anyone becomes a star selected after round 3, that was the exception and not the rule.
Remember Kamerion Wimbley? The Browns could have had him or Haloti Ngata in the first round. Savage listened to Romeo Crennel (who wanted a pass rusher) and GAVE his old boss Ozzie Newsome his first round pick in exchange for the Ravens pick and a sixth-rounder. Ngata has been a stalwart for the division-rival Ravens. Wimbley is now playing for his third-different team, the Browns having dealt him for a third-round choice that turned into Colt McCoy.
Do you still want a guy like Phil Savage running your team? It's no wonder why the Browns only had one winning season in their four years together, but yet were a complete disaster when Savage and Crennel were let go after the 2008 season. He neglected the draft and tried to find "win-now" shortcuts that wound up blowing up in his face.
The Browns' track record in free agency has never really been any good. That even goes back to the Judas Modell days, when he got loans from four different banks to sign Andre Rison to an exhorbitant contract, only to watch Rison destroy his locker room with his cancerous attitude.
How about that Jeff Garcia free agency signing? That was Butch Davis' answer to the Tim Couch-Kelly Holcomb QB carosel. By the end of that season, both Davis and Garcia were gone.
The good teams never go buck-wild in free agency. Green Bay hasn't signed a free agent in two years. Yet they won a Super Bowl just two years ago and came close to doing it again last year. Those hated Stillers never break the bank in free agency, either.
Teams that build through the draft are the ones that wind up consistantly winning over the long haul. This is what the Browns are attempting to do.
The Browns have 13 picks in this year's draft at the moment. Let them do what they do best.
***
So, who's going to be at quarterback, now that Griffin, Luck, Flynn, Manning, Alex Smith, Kyle Orton, Jason Campbell, David Garrard and Tim Tebow are all off the market?
The only way the Browns take Ryan Tannehill is if they trade down from the 4-spot. They won't take him at No. 4. I expect Miami will take him at No. 8, if they don't try to move up to get him first.
Brandon Weeden could be had in the second, or possibly even in the third round. Weeden's age (28) is hurting his stock. If he was 22 or 23 like all the other QBs, he'd be a first-round choice, hands down.
I expect that Colt McCoy will be the starter again. I know that some people are ready to give up on him and think that he's crap, that he's the second-coming of Charlie Frye-Luke McCown-Spurgeon Wynn-Brady Quinn-Tim Couch all over again. And, he might be, when it's all said and done.
However, you can't deny that McCoy played against a stacked deck last year. He had no offseason to learn a brand-new offense. He lost his top offenisve threat in Peyton Hillis for most of the season due to injuries and other assorted bizarre antics, leaving him with a one-legged runner in Montario Hardesty and a practice squad college teammate in Chris Ogbonnaya to hand the ball off to. He was without a dynamic playmaker at receiver, and the receivers he did have led the NFL in collective dropped passes. The right side of his offensive line was a joke, and both of the guards were essentially rookies. Don't forget that rookie fullback in Owen Marecic as well, who wasn't quite ready for primetime.
I expect a lot of these things to be addressed with those 13 draft picks this year. Don't be surprised if a guy like Cedric Benson is signed as kind of a stop-gap, Jamal Lewis-esque signing, even if they take Trent Richardson at No. 4.
This will be a make-or-break year for McCoy. He knows the braintrust in the organization made a play for Griffin (they admitted it and looked like petulant children crying over spilled milk when they did admit it). He knows they may take a QB in the draft, whether it's Tannehill, Weeden, Brock Osweilor, Kellen Moore or Russell Wilson or some other QB I'm not thinking of.
If he fails this year, he'll wind up like Brady Quinn, never starting a game again.
I still think Weeden gets taken by the Browns, perhaps at No. 37, and I still think Seneca "Cancer" Wallace gets shown the door. Wallace has been nothing but a problem since he was brought over to the Browns two years ago and has shown little in positive production in the few times he's been used.
My prediction for the draft -- Morris Claiborne at 4, a receiver (Wright from Baylor, Floyd from Notre Dame or Jeffrey from South Carolina) at 22 and Weeden or LeMichael James at 37. Can that change between now and April 22? Absolutely.
But, that's why this part of the season is fun.
***
Joe Cleveland was going to end his blog here, but I've got to address Paul Dolan's little chat he had with Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer today.
Dolan refuted claims in Forbes Magazine, which said that the Indians turned a $30 million profit last season (largest in MLB). Dolan admitted the only year ownership got to enjoy some of the profits was the playoff year of 2007 (funny what a few extra sellouts in October can do for the bottom line), and that they've never been as much as $30 million.
Had this been true, the Dolans could get into hot water for not spending the money they get from revenue sharing, both with the frustrated fan base and with MLB.
Dolan also claimed that he really does want to win as badly as the fans do. He also said that the team isn't for sale and, even if it was, there aren't any buyers lining up to buy it.
I really want to believe Paul Dolan and take him at his word. But, I just can't.
I believe everything he told Terry Pluto was a lie.
I believe that they did make $30 million and pocketed most of it. I believe that the team is for sale. I don't believe that he wants to win, only to turn a profit.
If he wanted to win, he'd put his money where his mouth is. Time and time again, he hasn't done so.
His cronies Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti aren't exactly babes in woods in this, either. They've made some dumb baseball decisions that have cost this team time and time again. They've spent what little money Dolan allows them to spend in dumb ways (David Delucci and Jason Michaels ring a bell? Matt Lawton? How about that Travis Hafner contract?), and have squandered numerous draft choices (anyone remember John Drennan, Dan Denham or Brad Snyder? Of course you don't) over the years.
The Indians have had their window of opportunity three times since John Hart left for good -- 2005, 2007 and 2011. The window slammed shut in 2006, only to open again 2007, but slam back shut in 2008 and 09. The window is open again this year, but it appears Dolan, Shapiro and Antonetti are willing to let it slam back on them in 2012.
Last summer was fun, even though Joe Cleveland (like many) were waiting for that other shoe to drop (when it did, it dropped hard). Fans were coming back to the Jake. The team was exciting. Some of the young guys were getting their chances and making the most of those chances. Heck, even Jim Thome came back to exorcise some of those old demons.
I fear this summer will be like the summers of 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 were. I want to be wrong.
Joe Cleveland really wants to believe you, Paul Dolan. However, he just can't. You've burned us one too many times.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks
Friday, March 9, 2012
Thwarting the RG3 Hysteria
With NFL free agency upon us, and the NFL draft about a month and a half away, many Browns fans have begun the speculation game.
The most popular speculation -- perpetuated by the local sports talk minions -- centers around Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III, the Heisman Trophy winner.
With the St. Louis Rams holding the No. 2 pick and not in any need to take a QB, especially after drafting Sam Bradford No. 1 overall just two years ago, they have made no secret about auctioning off that pick to the highest bidder. 90 percent of the local sports-yammers are demanding that the Browns win that auction to land the guy they believe will get this team to the Promised Land.
Joe Cleveland is not one of those guys. In fact, Joe Cleveland is saying that the Browns should stand pat at No. 4, or even (gasp) trade down and get some more picks.
There's no question that quarterback is the glamour position in the NFL, and, nowadays, it's hard to find a team that wins a Super Bowl without an elite QB under center. You'd probably have to go back to 2002, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won with Brad Johnson taking snaps, to find a Super Bowl champ that didn't have a "superstar" quarterback.
A lot of people seem to think that Robert Griffin III has the tools to become a "superstar" quarterback. He can throw. He can run. He has a good head on his shoulders. He's a great athlete.
But, does that mean he'd be a good fit for the Browns? Not if it means giving up two first-rounders this year and a first-rounder next year. Sorry to burst that bubble, but it's true.
RG3 (I hate using that moniker, just because I hear it so damn much on the radio) is not a good fit for the West Coast Offense that the Browns are trying to impliment. Bringing Brad Childress on board as the offensive coordinator only reaffirms that committment to that offense.
All the draft gurus like Mike Mayock, Todd McShay and Mel Kiper claim that any team who drafts Griffin will have to tailor their offense a little bit to fit his skill set. So, what makes you think that Pat Shurmur, Childress and Mike Holmgren will deviate from their uniform philosophy just to make sure the square peg (Griffin) fits into their round hole? I can't see that happening.
And, with Tom Heckart's love of draft picks and being able to utilize them well (as we've mostly seen these past two years), why do you think he'd suddenly mortgage the future just to bring in one guy?
And, if you do that, Griffin is still playing around the mediocre talent that the Browns have on offense. You lose out on the chance to add a top wide reciever in the draft, or a top lineman (let's face it, the offensive line, especially the right side, need some work), by throwing everything in the Griffin bucket. Griffin will still be throwing to a receiving corps that led the entire NFL in collective dropped passes. Griffin will still be behind an offensive line that has a revolving door at right tackle, a right guard who was good for at least one false start penalty each game, and a left guard who is coming off back surgery and missed an entire season last year.
He'll get a chance to show off those world-class legs, that's for sure. He'll also open himself to injury.
The Colts release of Peyton Manning this week is a huge wild-card in what the Browns are able to do in the draft. Once that domino falls, others will follow and the path will become clear. Here's what Joe Cleveland believes will happen:
Heckart said that the Browns have no interest in entering the Manning sweepstakes, and smartly did so. The Browns don't need to throw a ton of money on a 35-year-old guy coming off three neck surgeries, even if he is one of the best to ever play the position. Besides, I think Manning wants to go to a team that is close to making a deep playoff and Super Bowl run. Also, after playing his entire career in a dome, I think Manning would want to play his home games either for a warm-weather team or a team playing in a climate-controlled facility. The Browns are neither.
Browns fans pining after Griffin are hoping that the Redskins sign Manning. The Redskins seem to be the Browns' top competition in the RG3 sweepstakes, and seem willing to give up as much as possible to draft him. If they sign Manning, suddenly, they may not need to be involved in the Griffin hoopla. That could also allow the Browns to not give up as much to the Rams, since they'd suddenly be (presumably) bidding against themselves.
Not going to happen. Manning doesn't want to play in the same division as his brother, Eli, even if Washington will give him the farm. It also seems like Manning is eager to remain in the AFC, which puts Miami (where Manning lives during the offseason) as the leading contender. However, I could see a team like Kansas City (AFC West), Arizona or Seattle (NFC West) signing him. Everyone knows that the West Divisions in the NFL are the weakest and are the most wide-open each year. The path to the Super Bowl would be a lot clearer coming out of the West. Denver is suddenly an intriguiging option as well, considering they got to the Divisional Round with a guy like Tim Tebow under center.
The other top QB free agent is Matt Flynn, Aaron Rodgers' backup at Green Bay. Flynn put himself squarely on the radar when he broke all the single-season Packer passing records in a wild season-finale win over Detroit, and Green Bay elected not to slap the franchise tag on him. Flynn, who has only started two games in his career (both starts were outstanding), is intriguing because of the system he comes from. Plus, he won a national championship as a college QB at LSU (Buckeye fans remember that one). Any team running a WCO would be interested in Flynn, which is where the Browns come in.
However, Heckart seemed to put the kibosh on signing Flynn with his statement that the Browns weren't going to go "crazy" in free agency this year. If Miami loses out on Manning, they become the top spot for Flynn, since Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin is now their head coach, and he'd be running the exact same offense he learned the last 3-4 seasons in Green Bay.
I predict Manning will sign with a West team (Denver, Kansas City or Arizona), Flynn will sign with Miami, Washington will give up the farm for the No. 2 pick and draft Griffin, and the Browns ...
Well, I can see the Browns staying put at No. 4 and taking someone like receiver Justin Blackmon, running back Trent Richardson or cornerback Morris Claiborne. At No. 22, if he's still there, the Browns may target Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who played in a WCO system in college. If Tannehill is gone, the Browns may gamble and see if Oklahoma State QB Brandon Weeden tumbles to the second round because of his age (28). I really believe Weeden would be a great fit for the Browns and could easily start immediately. And, by the way, Weeden's team beat Griffin's team and played in a BCS bowl, where they beat Andrew Luck's Stanford team.
Joe Cleveland says that expect either Tannehill or Weeden to be in a Browns uniform next season and competing with incumbant Colt McCoy for the starting job. And, receiver will be addressed in this draft. Can you imagine Blackmon and Weeden renewing their college chemistry in the NFL together in Cleveland?
While Heckart won't go "crazy" in free agency, that doesn't mean they won't sign anybody. I can see them making a play for receivers such as Warren product Mario Manningham, Mount Union grad Pierre Garcon or former Saints first-rounder Robert Meachem. All three wouldn't command exhorbitant bucks to sign. All three would immediately become the top receiving target on the Browns and would allow promising second-year player Greg Little to play more in the slot and for Josh Cribbs to continue to serve as the utilityman. The Browns won't go into next year with just Little, Cribbs and Muhammed Massoquoi as their main receivers again, that's for sure.
While the Browns are willing to draft a QB, I honestly don't think they're ready to give up on Colt McCoy just yet. That's why I think a guy like Weeden, because of his age, becomes a realistic target. Weeden is almost like signing a quarterback in free agency. Weeden can start immediately, but Colt is still young enough that he can be a backup for a year or two and still be in his prime when the time comes for him to start.
I can see the Browns signing a veteran to serve as a sounding board for both McCoy and Weeden/Tannehill, someone like Donavan McNabb. Heckart, Shurmur and Childress are all familiar with McNabb, and McNabb is familiar with their offense. McNabb knows he's done, but who wouldn't turn down some money to serve as mentor and emergency quarterback? McCoy played a lot better when he had Jake Delhomme on the roster helping him out, and regressed when he had just Seneca Wallace, who clearly had his own agenda in mind, playing with him.
The Browns are more than a quarterback away from becoming a contender, which is why I can see Heckart trading down from No. 4 and acquiring more picks, or keeping what they already have. They have holes, plural, and the addition of someone like Robert Griffin III won't suddenly fill all those holes. Sure, he'll be exciting to watch, but I think Browns fans would rather see wins.
We watched how Cam Newton dazzled the highlight reels for the Carolina Panthers last year, but they only won 5 or 6 games last year. Just because Newton rushed for 12 touchdowns and was a terriffic fantasy football quarterback doesn't mean that the Panthers are any closer to the promised land. Griffin can be like Newton was, but that won't translate into wins.
The Steelers appear to be on the decline, and the Ravens aren't getting any younger either. The Browns and the Bengals have a chance to flip the AFC North on its ear and become the two dominant forces that those other two teams were for years based on their young nucleuses and their draft picks. Now's the time to be smart with the cap room and the draft picks and not be greedy. A trade for Robert Griffin III would be greedy.
Give it up, sports-yakkers. Your fantasies of RG3 appear to be over, unless he somehow slips down to No. 4. Time to get on board the realistic train, captained by Joe Cleveland, and get ready for Brandon Weeden or Ryan Tannehill.
***
Quick takes on the other team teams in this town:
<> Joe Cleveland wasn't shy about believing the Cavs' should have went Derrick Williams-Brandon Knight at 1-4 in last year's draft. I admit that I was wrong there, although Tristan Thompson still has a way to go.
However, Kyrie Irving was the correct choice at No. 1 and can become a star in the NBA. He's a top-notch point guard and seems to rise up in the clutch (unlike that other self-centered "King Nothing" that the Cavs had for seven years). He's playing not like a 19-year-old kid who only had 13 college games under his belt, but like a seasoned veteran. Unlike King Nothing, who was anointed the Chosen One before he pulled on his Cavs jersey for the first time, Irving had to earn his standing with the fans. He's just fun to watch, which makes the Cavs fun to watch.
The Cavs probably won't make the playoffs, and the lottery may not go their way this year because they're not one of the worst teams in the league. However, they are in a great position to make more strides in the next few years because of what Irving brings to the table.
<> The news just keeps getting worse for the Indians. Grady Sizemore reported to spring training with an injured back that will keep him out a few more months, and he appears content to collect his $5 million when he said he wouldn't "rush himself back." Nice knowing you, Grady.
Then, closer Chris Perez suffered an injury that will keep him out 4-6 weeks. Vinny Pestano suddenly becomes the frontrunner to become the new closer until Perez gets healthy, which puts more strain on the Indians' top strength, its bullpen.
The season hasn't even begun yet, and I'm already dreading it for the Indians. At this rate, 81-81 would be successful.
Joe Cleveland still thinks there's something to the fact that no one is under contract following this year. I can only hope that means Paul and Larry Dolan are ready to cash in their chips and find a new buyer. That might be the light at the end of this dark tunnel.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
The most popular speculation -- perpetuated by the local sports talk minions -- centers around Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III, the Heisman Trophy winner.
With the St. Louis Rams holding the No. 2 pick and not in any need to take a QB, especially after drafting Sam Bradford No. 1 overall just two years ago, they have made no secret about auctioning off that pick to the highest bidder. 90 percent of the local sports-yammers are demanding that the Browns win that auction to land the guy they believe will get this team to the Promised Land.
Joe Cleveland is not one of those guys. In fact, Joe Cleveland is saying that the Browns should stand pat at No. 4, or even (gasp) trade down and get some more picks.
There's no question that quarterback is the glamour position in the NFL, and, nowadays, it's hard to find a team that wins a Super Bowl without an elite QB under center. You'd probably have to go back to 2002, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won with Brad Johnson taking snaps, to find a Super Bowl champ that didn't have a "superstar" quarterback.
A lot of people seem to think that Robert Griffin III has the tools to become a "superstar" quarterback. He can throw. He can run. He has a good head on his shoulders. He's a great athlete.
But, does that mean he'd be a good fit for the Browns? Not if it means giving up two first-rounders this year and a first-rounder next year. Sorry to burst that bubble, but it's true.
RG3 (I hate using that moniker, just because I hear it so damn much on the radio) is not a good fit for the West Coast Offense that the Browns are trying to impliment. Bringing Brad Childress on board as the offensive coordinator only reaffirms that committment to that offense.
All the draft gurus like Mike Mayock, Todd McShay and Mel Kiper claim that any team who drafts Griffin will have to tailor their offense a little bit to fit his skill set. So, what makes you think that Pat Shurmur, Childress and Mike Holmgren will deviate from their uniform philosophy just to make sure the square peg (Griffin) fits into their round hole? I can't see that happening.
And, with Tom Heckart's love of draft picks and being able to utilize them well (as we've mostly seen these past two years), why do you think he'd suddenly mortgage the future just to bring in one guy?
And, if you do that, Griffin is still playing around the mediocre talent that the Browns have on offense. You lose out on the chance to add a top wide reciever in the draft, or a top lineman (let's face it, the offensive line, especially the right side, need some work), by throwing everything in the Griffin bucket. Griffin will still be throwing to a receiving corps that led the entire NFL in collective dropped passes. Griffin will still be behind an offensive line that has a revolving door at right tackle, a right guard who was good for at least one false start penalty each game, and a left guard who is coming off back surgery and missed an entire season last year.
He'll get a chance to show off those world-class legs, that's for sure. He'll also open himself to injury.
The Colts release of Peyton Manning this week is a huge wild-card in what the Browns are able to do in the draft. Once that domino falls, others will follow and the path will become clear. Here's what Joe Cleveland believes will happen:
Heckart said that the Browns have no interest in entering the Manning sweepstakes, and smartly did so. The Browns don't need to throw a ton of money on a 35-year-old guy coming off three neck surgeries, even if he is one of the best to ever play the position. Besides, I think Manning wants to go to a team that is close to making a deep playoff and Super Bowl run. Also, after playing his entire career in a dome, I think Manning would want to play his home games either for a warm-weather team or a team playing in a climate-controlled facility. The Browns are neither.
Browns fans pining after Griffin are hoping that the Redskins sign Manning. The Redskins seem to be the Browns' top competition in the RG3 sweepstakes, and seem willing to give up as much as possible to draft him. If they sign Manning, suddenly, they may not need to be involved in the Griffin hoopla. That could also allow the Browns to not give up as much to the Rams, since they'd suddenly be (presumably) bidding against themselves.
Not going to happen. Manning doesn't want to play in the same division as his brother, Eli, even if Washington will give him the farm. It also seems like Manning is eager to remain in the AFC, which puts Miami (where Manning lives during the offseason) as the leading contender. However, I could see a team like Kansas City (AFC West), Arizona or Seattle (NFC West) signing him. Everyone knows that the West Divisions in the NFL are the weakest and are the most wide-open each year. The path to the Super Bowl would be a lot clearer coming out of the West. Denver is suddenly an intriguiging option as well, considering they got to the Divisional Round with a guy like Tim Tebow under center.
The other top QB free agent is Matt Flynn, Aaron Rodgers' backup at Green Bay. Flynn put himself squarely on the radar when he broke all the single-season Packer passing records in a wild season-finale win over Detroit, and Green Bay elected not to slap the franchise tag on him. Flynn, who has only started two games in his career (both starts were outstanding), is intriguing because of the system he comes from. Plus, he won a national championship as a college QB at LSU (Buckeye fans remember that one). Any team running a WCO would be interested in Flynn, which is where the Browns come in.
However, Heckart seemed to put the kibosh on signing Flynn with his statement that the Browns weren't going to go "crazy" in free agency this year. If Miami loses out on Manning, they become the top spot for Flynn, since Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin is now their head coach, and he'd be running the exact same offense he learned the last 3-4 seasons in Green Bay.
I predict Manning will sign with a West team (Denver, Kansas City or Arizona), Flynn will sign with Miami, Washington will give up the farm for the No. 2 pick and draft Griffin, and the Browns ...
Well, I can see the Browns staying put at No. 4 and taking someone like receiver Justin Blackmon, running back Trent Richardson or cornerback Morris Claiborne. At No. 22, if he's still there, the Browns may target Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who played in a WCO system in college. If Tannehill is gone, the Browns may gamble and see if Oklahoma State QB Brandon Weeden tumbles to the second round because of his age (28). I really believe Weeden would be a great fit for the Browns and could easily start immediately. And, by the way, Weeden's team beat Griffin's team and played in a BCS bowl, where they beat Andrew Luck's Stanford team.
Joe Cleveland says that expect either Tannehill or Weeden to be in a Browns uniform next season and competing with incumbant Colt McCoy for the starting job. And, receiver will be addressed in this draft. Can you imagine Blackmon and Weeden renewing their college chemistry in the NFL together in Cleveland?
While Heckart won't go "crazy" in free agency, that doesn't mean they won't sign anybody. I can see them making a play for receivers such as Warren product Mario Manningham, Mount Union grad Pierre Garcon or former Saints first-rounder Robert Meachem. All three wouldn't command exhorbitant bucks to sign. All three would immediately become the top receiving target on the Browns and would allow promising second-year player Greg Little to play more in the slot and for Josh Cribbs to continue to serve as the utilityman. The Browns won't go into next year with just Little, Cribbs and Muhammed Massoquoi as their main receivers again, that's for sure.
While the Browns are willing to draft a QB, I honestly don't think they're ready to give up on Colt McCoy just yet. That's why I think a guy like Weeden, because of his age, becomes a realistic target. Weeden is almost like signing a quarterback in free agency. Weeden can start immediately, but Colt is still young enough that he can be a backup for a year or two and still be in his prime when the time comes for him to start.
I can see the Browns signing a veteran to serve as a sounding board for both McCoy and Weeden/Tannehill, someone like Donavan McNabb. Heckart, Shurmur and Childress are all familiar with McNabb, and McNabb is familiar with their offense. McNabb knows he's done, but who wouldn't turn down some money to serve as mentor and emergency quarterback? McCoy played a lot better when he had Jake Delhomme on the roster helping him out, and regressed when he had just Seneca Wallace, who clearly had his own agenda in mind, playing with him.
The Browns are more than a quarterback away from becoming a contender, which is why I can see Heckart trading down from No. 4 and acquiring more picks, or keeping what they already have. They have holes, plural, and the addition of someone like Robert Griffin III won't suddenly fill all those holes. Sure, he'll be exciting to watch, but I think Browns fans would rather see wins.
We watched how Cam Newton dazzled the highlight reels for the Carolina Panthers last year, but they only won 5 or 6 games last year. Just because Newton rushed for 12 touchdowns and was a terriffic fantasy football quarterback doesn't mean that the Panthers are any closer to the promised land. Griffin can be like Newton was, but that won't translate into wins.
The Steelers appear to be on the decline, and the Ravens aren't getting any younger either. The Browns and the Bengals have a chance to flip the AFC North on its ear and become the two dominant forces that those other two teams were for years based on their young nucleuses and their draft picks. Now's the time to be smart with the cap room and the draft picks and not be greedy. A trade for Robert Griffin III would be greedy.
Give it up, sports-yakkers. Your fantasies of RG3 appear to be over, unless he somehow slips down to No. 4. Time to get on board the realistic train, captained by Joe Cleveland, and get ready for Brandon Weeden or Ryan Tannehill.
***
Quick takes on the other team teams in this town:
<> Joe Cleveland wasn't shy about believing the Cavs' should have went Derrick Williams-Brandon Knight at 1-4 in last year's draft. I admit that I was wrong there, although Tristan Thompson still has a way to go.
However, Kyrie Irving was the correct choice at No. 1 and can become a star in the NBA. He's a top-notch point guard and seems to rise up in the clutch (unlike that other self-centered "King Nothing" that the Cavs had for seven years). He's playing not like a 19-year-old kid who only had 13 college games under his belt, but like a seasoned veteran. Unlike King Nothing, who was anointed the Chosen One before he pulled on his Cavs jersey for the first time, Irving had to earn his standing with the fans. He's just fun to watch, which makes the Cavs fun to watch.
The Cavs probably won't make the playoffs, and the lottery may not go their way this year because they're not one of the worst teams in the league. However, they are in a great position to make more strides in the next few years because of what Irving brings to the table.
<> The news just keeps getting worse for the Indians. Grady Sizemore reported to spring training with an injured back that will keep him out a few more months, and he appears content to collect his $5 million when he said he wouldn't "rush himself back." Nice knowing you, Grady.
Then, closer Chris Perez suffered an injury that will keep him out 4-6 weeks. Vinny Pestano suddenly becomes the frontrunner to become the new closer until Perez gets healthy, which puts more strain on the Indians' top strength, its bullpen.
The season hasn't even begun yet, and I'm already dreading it for the Indians. At this rate, 81-81 would be successful.
Joe Cleveland still thinks there's something to the fact that no one is under contract following this year. I can only hope that means Paul and Larry Dolan are ready to cash in their chips and find a new buyer. That might be the light at the end of this dark tunnel.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Thanks, LeBron, but no thanks
So, LeBron James made his lone appearance of the regular season back to the place he stabbed in the back almost two years ago this past week, and had to put himself back in the spotlight and open up some old wounds in the process.
LeBron, the attention whore that he is (thanks, Kendrick Perkins), couldn't stand turning on ESPN -- you know, the network that televised his "Decision" special and then created a special Web page devoted to his new "super team" called the "Heat Index" -- and seeing some undrafted guard named Jeremy Lin dominate SportsCenter. So, he decided -- in typical LeBron fashion -- to put himself squarely in the spotlight again, simply by opening his mouth.
Rumors of LeBron having an interest in opting out of his Heat contract after 2014 and potentially showing an interest in returning to Cleveland have been circulating since the lockout. Fox Sports Ohio's Sam Amico quoted several sources on this subject a month ago for a blog. So, naturally, in his first meeting with Cleveland reporters the day before his Miami individuals met the Cavs, it was asked if it was true.
LeBron responded by saying that he would like to eventually return to Cleveland, that he had fond memories of playing at Quicken Loans Arena and playing in front of the fans, that he was hurt by the reaction but understood the passion of Cleveland fans, that he doesn't hold a grudge against Cavs owner Dan Gilbert anymore for his remarks, admitted his "Decision" was the wrong move and apologized for it, and said that it wouldn't bother him to play for a Gilbert-owned team again and that "Dan's not the coach, and I can play for any coach."
His quote was: "I think it would be great. It would be fun to play in front of these fans again. I had a lot fun times in my seven years here. … I’m here as a Miami Heat player, and I’m happy where I am now, but I don’t rule that out in no sense.
“And if I decide to come back, hopefully the fans will accept me.”
Sports talk stations blew up with this little announcement, and every Cleveland news station led with this little nugget of information. And yes, ESPN made it one of their top stories, temporarily shelving their "Lin-sanity," if only for one day.
Twitter and Facebook blew up with the fans weighing in on whether or not they'd welcome him back. People imagined a lineup of LeBron with Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and whoever they draft in next year's draft, if they were to get a lottery pick again, and how that team should be an instant championship contender.
Blah, blah, blah ...
That next night, LeBron -- playing in front of mostly boos but also some scattered cheers from the sold-out crowd at The Q -- had a game like he did the first time he came back here last season, and his Heat blew out the Cavs in a lackluster effort eerily reminiscent of that one back on Dec. 5, 2010.
Whether or not LeBron was serious, his comments did their job. It temporarily disarmed the Cavs and Cavs fans, and the Heat finshed their series with the Cavs at 3-0, after two close wins at home earlier this year.
Joe Cleveland certainly doesn't speak for all Cleveland sports fans, but he likes to think that his opinions are the ones that most Cleveland sports fans have. At any rate, he has two words for LeBron James:
HELL NO!!
Do you think that I would welcome you back with open arms should you decided to waltz back into our lives, after the way you spit on Cleveland with your "Decision?" The way you embarassed us? The way you added another Cleveland punchline to the many, many Cleveland punchlines that are out there? We're lucky Johnny Carson is dead, or else he would have had a field day with that one.
LeBron didn't make his decision based on money. The Cavs could have guaranteed him more money and more years, even with the sign-and-trade agreement they came to with Miami after the fact. He made his decision because he didn't want to play for Cleveland, simple as that.
All LeBron did was make excuses. The Cavs were one of the best regular season teams in both 2009 and 2010. Both times, they suffered colossal chokes in the playoffs and didn't even get to the NBA Finals like they did in 2007.
In 2010, the Cavs didn't even get the chance to play in the Eastern Conference Finals. That's because LeBron quit on his team during the series with the Celtics.
Even with the obvious tank job, Cleveland was willing to take you back. We came up with stupid, sappy song parodies to lure you back. Gilbert commissioned a Family Guy-esque cartoon made about you in their pitch to keep you aboard. Gilbert hired members of your entourage to the front office, and no move the Cavs made from 2006-2010 wasn't made without your consent.
The signing of Larry Hughes? LeBron stamp of approval.
The trade for Delonte West, Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak? LeBron stamp of approval.
The trade for Mo Williams? LeBron stamp of approval.
The trade for Shaquille O'Neal? LeBron stamp of approval.
The trade of Zydrunas Ilgauskas for Antawn Jamison, and the subsequent re-signing of 'Z'? LeBron stamp of approval.
LeBron claims he couldn't win a title all by himself. That's great. But you signed off on all the help that Gilbert and Danny Ferry tried to give you.
You had a coach in Mike Brown you used like a puppet. You loved him when things went well, but then blasted him and turned on him in the playoffs when he dared try to stand up to you. Now, you have a similar coach in Erik Spoelstra, except he's got a boss with a backbone behind him in Pat Riley. Riley is nobody's puppet. You don't like that very much.
You said you couldn't win a title all by yourself, so you teamed up with your superstar friends Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to try to win, oh, how did you put it, "Not one ... not two ... not three ... not four ... not five ..." You get the picture.
How many did you win last season? Wasn't it ZERO?!?
It was LeBron's cronie, Brian Windhorst, who went on to Cleveland radio and opened up this Pandora's Box by discussing LeBron's wish to return to Cleveland at some point. Windhorst, who began covering LeBron when he played in high school at St. Vincent-St. Mary and then followed him as Cavs beat reporter for two of the largest newspapers in Northeast Ohio before following him down to Miami with ESPN's "Heat Index," claimed that Cleveland would embrace him when, and if, he returned.
"The Cleveland fans gave Jim Thome a standing ovation when he came back," he said, presumably believing that they'd do the same thing for his old buddy LeBron.
There's a big difference between Jim Thome and LeBron James. In fact, there's a big difference between every free agent the Indians lost from those 1990s powerhouse teams and LeBron James.
Jim Thome, Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez all left because of the money. The Indians wouldn't break the bank for any of them, so they left for greener pastures. Perhaps Belle would have left anyway because he was sullen and just a complete jerk. But Thome and Manny left because there were teams that were willing to give them exhorbitant amounts of money -- money that the tight-fisted Indians could not afford.
Sure, fan reaction from Cleveland was anti-Thome and anti-Manny for many years. However, most fans realized that there no such thing as a "hometown discount," and, had the Dolans ponied up an additional year or two, perhaps both players would have stayed put. Both made it known they wanted to return. When Thome did, fans were ready to embrace him.
When Manny decided he wanted to come back to baseball this season, SportsTime Ohio (the Dolans' own network) polled callers on whether or not they'd welcome him back to the Indians. Overwhelmingly, there was support among Cleveland fans to have Manny Ramirez back in a Tribe uniform, even with a steroid suspension looming.
Cleveland fans (and Joe Cleveland is one of them) are great at holding grudges. We booed Carlos Boozer every time he came back, although that has softened since LeBron did what he did. We booed Gerard Warren at a Patriots game last year, even though he hadn't played for the Browns in almost six years. Heck, some of us still boo Bill Belichick, even though he hasn't coached in Cleveland since 1995.
But, LeBron's act of betrayal only ranks him below Art Modell on the Cleveland public enemy scale. All Modell did was move the Cleveland Browns out of town and lie about it every step of the way. He hasn't returned to Northeast Ohio since 1995, and that's because he fears for his life.
LeBron still returns to Akron, but I believe he's starting to realize just how good he had it in Cleveland. He was the undisputed "King James" in these parts. Ownership and coahces cow-towed to him. His under-tipping became a stuff of urban legend around these parts, but people accepted it. Fans bought his jersies in droves. They believed he would bring a championship to Cleveland.
But he didn't, and he left when he couldn't do it. And the fans responded with anger, hurt, vitrol ... all things that have supposedly stunned and hurt LeBron.
Yahoo! Sports has added fuel to this fire when they quoted various sources as saying that LeBron sent emissaries to Dan Gilbert during the summer proclaiming his desire to return to Cleveland and that he would be open to it. Gilbert never responded, and has not responded publicly to LeBron's recent comments that all but confirm this notion.
Nor will he, due to NBA tampering rules. Sure, that didn't stop Pat Riley from doing the same thing in 2009, but whatever.
Speaking of Riley, he is livid that LeBron would openly flirt back with Cleveland like he has, especially in the middle of a season. They stood by him through his struggles last season to fit in and through his collapse in the NBA Finals with Dallas. LeBron has two-and-a-half more years left in Miami, and they are incredulous that he's already plotting his escape.
Sounds a little familiar, no? Didn't we, as Cleveland fans and the Cavs organizaion, go through that same song and dance for the three seasons after LeBron signed his contract extension? The same exact contract extention that Wade and Bosh agreed to shortly after LeBron agreed to his?
Would Gilbert stick by his principles, or would he put things aside for the betterment of his business? Sure, there would be a reaction from either side of the fense if LeBron were to re-sign with the Cavs for 2014-15. Or, would he sell his team before he would even think of bringing him back?
If the shoe were on the other foot, wouldn't Gilbert enjoy telling LeBron what LeBron essentially told the world back in July of 2010?
Instead of Cleveland not being worthy of LeBron, perhaps it would be LeBron who is not worthy for Cleveland.
Mrs. Joe Cleveland (yes, there is a Mrs.) came up with a list of things that LeBron should have to do if he wanted to come back. One of those was that he had to sit in every single seat in The Q -- all 20,562 of them -- for a minute each to put himself in the shoes of the fans he betrayed. Another was to take a bottle of his VitaminWater, dump it out, refill it with water straight from the Cuyahoga River, and drink it, so that he could physically feel what the fans felt like when he said he was "taking his talents to South Beach."
What would it take for you to welcome him back? Or, are you like Joe Cleveland and have this response for him?
Thanks, LeBron, but no thanks.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
LeBron, the attention whore that he is (thanks, Kendrick Perkins), couldn't stand turning on ESPN -- you know, the network that televised his "Decision" special and then created a special Web page devoted to his new "super team" called the "Heat Index" -- and seeing some undrafted guard named Jeremy Lin dominate SportsCenter. So, he decided -- in typical LeBron fashion -- to put himself squarely in the spotlight again, simply by opening his mouth.
Rumors of LeBron having an interest in opting out of his Heat contract after 2014 and potentially showing an interest in returning to Cleveland have been circulating since the lockout. Fox Sports Ohio's Sam Amico quoted several sources on this subject a month ago for a blog. So, naturally, in his first meeting with Cleveland reporters the day before his Miami individuals met the Cavs, it was asked if it was true.
LeBron responded by saying that he would like to eventually return to Cleveland, that he had fond memories of playing at Quicken Loans Arena and playing in front of the fans, that he was hurt by the reaction but understood the passion of Cleveland fans, that he doesn't hold a grudge against Cavs owner Dan Gilbert anymore for his remarks, admitted his "Decision" was the wrong move and apologized for it, and said that it wouldn't bother him to play for a Gilbert-owned team again and that "Dan's not the coach, and I can play for any coach."
His quote was: "I think it would be great. It would be fun to play in front of these fans again. I had a lot fun times in my seven years here. … I’m here as a Miami Heat player, and I’m happy where I am now, but I don’t rule that out in no sense.
“And if I decide to come back, hopefully the fans will accept me.”
Sports talk stations blew up with this little announcement, and every Cleveland news station led with this little nugget of information. And yes, ESPN made it one of their top stories, temporarily shelving their "Lin-sanity," if only for one day.
Twitter and Facebook blew up with the fans weighing in on whether or not they'd welcome him back. People imagined a lineup of LeBron with Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and whoever they draft in next year's draft, if they were to get a lottery pick again, and how that team should be an instant championship contender.
Blah, blah, blah ...
That next night, LeBron -- playing in front of mostly boos but also some scattered cheers from the sold-out crowd at The Q -- had a game like he did the first time he came back here last season, and his Heat blew out the Cavs in a lackluster effort eerily reminiscent of that one back on Dec. 5, 2010.
Whether or not LeBron was serious, his comments did their job. It temporarily disarmed the Cavs and Cavs fans, and the Heat finshed their series with the Cavs at 3-0, after two close wins at home earlier this year.
Joe Cleveland certainly doesn't speak for all Cleveland sports fans, but he likes to think that his opinions are the ones that most Cleveland sports fans have. At any rate, he has two words for LeBron James:
HELL NO!!
Do you think that I would welcome you back with open arms should you decided to waltz back into our lives, after the way you spit on Cleveland with your "Decision?" The way you embarassed us? The way you added another Cleveland punchline to the many, many Cleveland punchlines that are out there? We're lucky Johnny Carson is dead, or else he would have had a field day with that one.
LeBron didn't make his decision based on money. The Cavs could have guaranteed him more money and more years, even with the sign-and-trade agreement they came to with Miami after the fact. He made his decision because he didn't want to play for Cleveland, simple as that.
All LeBron did was make excuses. The Cavs were one of the best regular season teams in both 2009 and 2010. Both times, they suffered colossal chokes in the playoffs and didn't even get to the NBA Finals like they did in 2007.
In 2010, the Cavs didn't even get the chance to play in the Eastern Conference Finals. That's because LeBron quit on his team during the series with the Celtics.
Even with the obvious tank job, Cleveland was willing to take you back. We came up with stupid, sappy song parodies to lure you back. Gilbert commissioned a Family Guy-esque cartoon made about you in their pitch to keep you aboard. Gilbert hired members of your entourage to the front office, and no move the Cavs made from 2006-2010 wasn't made without your consent.
The signing of Larry Hughes? LeBron stamp of approval.
The trade for Delonte West, Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak? LeBron stamp of approval.
The trade for Mo Williams? LeBron stamp of approval.
The trade for Shaquille O'Neal? LeBron stamp of approval.
The trade of Zydrunas Ilgauskas for Antawn Jamison, and the subsequent re-signing of 'Z'? LeBron stamp of approval.
LeBron claims he couldn't win a title all by himself. That's great. But you signed off on all the help that Gilbert and Danny Ferry tried to give you.
You had a coach in Mike Brown you used like a puppet. You loved him when things went well, but then blasted him and turned on him in the playoffs when he dared try to stand up to you. Now, you have a similar coach in Erik Spoelstra, except he's got a boss with a backbone behind him in Pat Riley. Riley is nobody's puppet. You don't like that very much.
You said you couldn't win a title all by yourself, so you teamed up with your superstar friends Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to try to win, oh, how did you put it, "Not one ... not two ... not three ... not four ... not five ..." You get the picture.
How many did you win last season? Wasn't it ZERO?!?
It was LeBron's cronie, Brian Windhorst, who went on to Cleveland radio and opened up this Pandora's Box by discussing LeBron's wish to return to Cleveland at some point. Windhorst, who began covering LeBron when he played in high school at St. Vincent-St. Mary and then followed him as Cavs beat reporter for two of the largest newspapers in Northeast Ohio before following him down to Miami with ESPN's "Heat Index," claimed that Cleveland would embrace him when, and if, he returned.
"The Cleveland fans gave Jim Thome a standing ovation when he came back," he said, presumably believing that they'd do the same thing for his old buddy LeBron.
There's a big difference between Jim Thome and LeBron James. In fact, there's a big difference between every free agent the Indians lost from those 1990s powerhouse teams and LeBron James.
Jim Thome, Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez all left because of the money. The Indians wouldn't break the bank for any of them, so they left for greener pastures. Perhaps Belle would have left anyway because he was sullen and just a complete jerk. But Thome and Manny left because there were teams that were willing to give them exhorbitant amounts of money -- money that the tight-fisted Indians could not afford.
Sure, fan reaction from Cleveland was anti-Thome and anti-Manny for many years. However, most fans realized that there no such thing as a "hometown discount," and, had the Dolans ponied up an additional year or two, perhaps both players would have stayed put. Both made it known they wanted to return. When Thome did, fans were ready to embrace him.
When Manny decided he wanted to come back to baseball this season, SportsTime Ohio (the Dolans' own network) polled callers on whether or not they'd welcome him back to the Indians. Overwhelmingly, there was support among Cleveland fans to have Manny Ramirez back in a Tribe uniform, even with a steroid suspension looming.
Cleveland fans (and Joe Cleveland is one of them) are great at holding grudges. We booed Carlos Boozer every time he came back, although that has softened since LeBron did what he did. We booed Gerard Warren at a Patriots game last year, even though he hadn't played for the Browns in almost six years. Heck, some of us still boo Bill Belichick, even though he hasn't coached in Cleveland since 1995.
But, LeBron's act of betrayal only ranks him below Art Modell on the Cleveland public enemy scale. All Modell did was move the Cleveland Browns out of town and lie about it every step of the way. He hasn't returned to Northeast Ohio since 1995, and that's because he fears for his life.
LeBron still returns to Akron, but I believe he's starting to realize just how good he had it in Cleveland. He was the undisputed "King James" in these parts. Ownership and coahces cow-towed to him. His under-tipping became a stuff of urban legend around these parts, but people accepted it. Fans bought his jersies in droves. They believed he would bring a championship to Cleveland.
But he didn't, and he left when he couldn't do it. And the fans responded with anger, hurt, vitrol ... all things that have supposedly stunned and hurt LeBron.
Yahoo! Sports has added fuel to this fire when they quoted various sources as saying that LeBron sent emissaries to Dan Gilbert during the summer proclaiming his desire to return to Cleveland and that he would be open to it. Gilbert never responded, and has not responded publicly to LeBron's recent comments that all but confirm this notion.
Nor will he, due to NBA tampering rules. Sure, that didn't stop Pat Riley from doing the same thing in 2009, but whatever.
Speaking of Riley, he is livid that LeBron would openly flirt back with Cleveland like he has, especially in the middle of a season. They stood by him through his struggles last season to fit in and through his collapse in the NBA Finals with Dallas. LeBron has two-and-a-half more years left in Miami, and they are incredulous that he's already plotting his escape.
Sounds a little familiar, no? Didn't we, as Cleveland fans and the Cavs organizaion, go through that same song and dance for the three seasons after LeBron signed his contract extension? The same exact contract extention that Wade and Bosh agreed to shortly after LeBron agreed to his?
Would Gilbert stick by his principles, or would he put things aside for the betterment of his business? Sure, there would be a reaction from either side of the fense if LeBron were to re-sign with the Cavs for 2014-15. Or, would he sell his team before he would even think of bringing him back?
If the shoe were on the other foot, wouldn't Gilbert enjoy telling LeBron what LeBron essentially told the world back in July of 2010?
Instead of Cleveland not being worthy of LeBron, perhaps it would be LeBron who is not worthy for Cleveland.
Mrs. Joe Cleveland (yes, there is a Mrs.) came up with a list of things that LeBron should have to do if he wanted to come back. One of those was that he had to sit in every single seat in The Q -- all 20,562 of them -- for a minute each to put himself in the shoes of the fans he betrayed. Another was to take a bottle of his VitaminWater, dump it out, refill it with water straight from the Cuyahoga River, and drink it, so that he could physically feel what the fans felt like when he said he was "taking his talents to South Beach."
What would it take for you to welcome him back? Or, are you like Joe Cleveland and have this response for him?
Thanks, LeBron, but no thanks.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Super Blog II
Another Super Bowl, and another year that Joe Cleveland won't see his favorite team participating in it.
Normally, though, there's always a reason to root against a certain team that's playing in the Super Bowl. This year, that team is the New England Patriots.
Why root against the Patriots? Well, here's a few reasons for you.
For starters, the Patriots are considered a Boston team. Boston has been everything that Cleveland isn't over the last 10 years when it comes to sports, and networks like ESPN (based in nearby Bristol, Conn.) are always ever-so-happy to heap the love onto the Beaneaters. The supposedly cursed Red Sox have won two World Series titles (and knocked off the Indians to win the last one back in 2007-08). The Celtics won their 17th NBA title back in 07 and have also been a thorn in the Cavs' side when the Cavs were in the playoffs. The Bruins won the Stanley Cup last season. And, of course, the Patriots won three Super Bowls in a four-year span in the early 2000s and took an undefeated record into the 2007 Super Bowl before the New York Giants pulled off a huge 17-14 upset.
The Patriots are coached by fellow named Bill Belichick. You might remember Belichick as the coach of the Cleveland Browns before Judas Modell decided to move the franchise to Baltimore. Belichick went 37-45 as the coach of the Browns, with one winning season (and one playoff season) during his tenure. He cut Bernie Kosar in 1993, even though his desired starter (Vinny Testaverde) was out for several weeks and the Browns were 5-3 and in contention for a division title (that team wound up 7-9 and Kosar wound up playing in the Super Bowl that year with the Dallas Cowboys). During the playoff season, the Browns were beaten three times by the Steelers (including in the divisonal round of the playoffs). And, his team slumped from 11-5 in 1994 to 5-11 in 1995 as rumors and talk of a move to Baltimore demoralized the team.
No one figured Belichick would become the next great NFL coach after Modell fired him on Valentine's Day 1996 -- the first official act of the "Baltimore NFL Franchise" (they weren't named the Ravens yet). Heck, no one figured he'd even get another head coaching gig. But things lined up well for Belichick when he went to the Patriots in 2000. Drew Bledsoe's injury gave Tom Brady the job. The Patriots went to three Super Bowls in four seasons and won all three by three points apiece (the first two on field goals on the final play from scrimmage). Of course, there was allegations of cheating with Spygate, which included those first three Super Bowl wins, and then there was the chance for 19-0 in the wake of Spygate that came crashing down as an unknown receiver named David Tyree pinned a football to his helmet.
I think most Browns fans are over Belichick and the disappointment. However, there is something deep down inside of every Browns fan, I believe, that loves to see the so-called "genius" get his. I think that's why you'll see a lot of Giants fans in these parts today.
Let's not forget former Browns bust and the "nicest man Pittsburgh police have ever arrested" Gerard Warren, who is a backup defensive lineman for New England. Warren is the poster child for everything that went wrong with the Butch Davis Era of the Browns, especially since Davis took "Big Money" with the third-overall pick of the 2001 NFL Draft, passing up LaDainian Tomlinson and Richard Seymour, among others. Warren turned off fans with his lacksadaisical efforts on the field and his big bluster off the field, and many weren't sad to see him go four seasons later when he was dealt to the Denver Broncos for a fourth-round draft pick. Since then, Warren bounced from the Broncos to the Raiders to the Patriots, even getting cut after training camp this year. He claims that he was "misunderstood" in Cleveland and that the problem was everyone else around him. Sorry, Big Money, but the buck stops with you. It sickens me that a lazy (bleep) like you could slack your way into a 10-plus year NFL career and wind up in a Super Bowl. I hope to hell you don't get a ring out of it, either.
How about Chad Johnson, or Ochocinco? Forgot that he was a member of the Patriots? I think the Patriots forgot he was a member of their organization until he showed up on Media Day of the Super Bowl. Another poster child for the spoiled, pretentious diva NFL athlete, Johnson/Ochocinco preened and talked trash for his entire career with the Bengals. He was more concerned about touchdown dances than he was actually getting those touchdowns and helping his team win. He was a distraction that fueled opponents and angered his coach. The Bengals only went to the playoffs twice during his career with them, and never won a game. In New England, he couldn't grasp the offense, dropped passes during his few chances, and quickly disappeared from the gameplan. He had to check his attitude at the door or he would have been shown it very quickly. He'll be lucky to even play today. But, like Gerard Warren, it bothers me that a guy who slacked his way through an NFL career and put himself above his team all the time has a chance to win a Super Bowl ring.
And, don't you think Tom Brady has won enough Super Bowl rings and had enough of a charmed life already?
Yes, there's guys like Wes Welker and Julian Edelman and Twinsburg's Zoltan Mesko that you like to root for. But the negatives outweigh the positives.
No team with seven regular season losses or more has ever won a Super Bowl (there have been a few teams that have had the chance, most recently the Arizona Cardinals of 2008). But, I think that changes after today.
Giants 27, Patriots 24. Joe Cleveland says so.
***
Belichick isn't the only former Browns coach to wind up in a Super Bowl with another team. He's just the first to win one.
Forrest Gregg, who became the Browns head coach from 1975-77, compiling only one winning season during that span, went down to rival Cincinnati two seasons after his firing by Modell and, in his second year with the Bengals, took them to their first Super Bowl. They lost to the 49ers, 26-21, at the Pontiac Silverdome, but the fact that Gregg did it with Paul Brown's team (and Modell and Brown did not like each other at all) surely stuck in Modell's craw.
However, every other head coach employed by the Browns (and there have been 13 total) has never gotten to a Super Bowl or won one after leaving the Browns. Belichick is the only one to become a champion, and even he spent four seasons back with Bill Parcells as an assistant coach with both the Patriots and the Jets before getting his second head coaching chance.
Not even the great Paul Brown could win a championship after Modell fired him. He took the Bengals to the playoffs a couple of times, but never got to a Super Bowl or won one. Even as simply the owner, Brown's Bengals went to two Super Bowls, but lost both times to a fellow named Joe Montana and the 49ers.
Marty Schottenheimer went to the playoffs nine times as the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers. However, his teams always choked in the playoffs (just like his Browns teams did) and he never reached a Super Bowl.
Bud Carson spent five seasons as a defensive coordinator with the Eagles and the St. Louis Rams after the Browns fired him midway through his second season as head coach, but his teams never made it to the Super Bowl. And, he never was a head coach again.
Chris Palmer spent three seasons as offensive coordinator of the expansion Houston Texans and was the offensive cooordinator last season with the Tennessee Titans. Neither of those teams did much winning.
Butch Davis never coached in the NFL again, spending five seasons as head coach at the University of North Carolina. He was fired this past season after his program was swept up in a few scandals and never got the Tar Heels into a BCS Bowl game, let alone play for a National Championship.
Eric Mangini works for ESPN and hasn't even been considered for an assistants job since the Browns fired him after two dismal seasons.
Romeo Crennel, after two seasons as the Chiefs' defensive coordinator, was promoted to head coach beginning this coming season. He hired Brian Daboll to be his offensive coordinator. Good luck with that.
Even Sam Rutigliano never did anything after the Browns fired him midway through the 1984 season. He spent a few seascons coaching in college, but never again in the pros.
So, Bill Belichick's success post-Cleveland is the exception to the rule, not the norm.
***
If Belichick wins tonight, he'll become just the second NFL head coach to win four Super Bowls. He'll join former Browns player and Cleveland native Chuck Noll, who won four Super Bowls during the 1970s with a certain team in Western Pennsylvania.
If either the Patriots or the Giants win tonight, they will join the four-time Super Bowl club. Currently, Pittsburgh (six), San Francisco and Dallas (five) and Green Bay (four) are the only members.
Both Tom Brady and Eli Manning are former Super Bowl MVPs. Believe it or not, this is the first the Super Bowl has had a matchup of Super Bowl MVP quarterbacks. The second Pittsburgh-Dallas Super Bowl in 1978 had a matchup of MVPs Roger Staubach, Harvey Martin and Randy White for the Cowboys and Franco Harris and Lynn Swann from the Steelers, and Terry Bradshaw won his first of two Super Bowl MVP award for performance in that game.
Also, the Pittsburgh-Arizona Super Bowl had Cardinals QB Kurt Warner (a Super Bowl MVP with the Rams in 1999) against the Steelers' Hines Ward (MVP of Super Bowl XL in 2005). Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes won the MVP from that Super Bowl.
Only one time in the 45-year history of the Super Bowl has a player from the losing team won the MVP Award. That was in Super Bowl V in 1970, when Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley won the award despite the Baltimore Colts winning the game, 16-13.
The Cowboys also have the distinction of having the only co-MVPs from a Super Bowl (Harvey Martin and Randy White, Super Bowl XII in 1977, 27-10 win over the Denver Broncos).
This is New England's seventh Super Bowl. The Patriots are 3-3 going into today's game.
This is the Giants' fifth Super Bowl. They are 3-1 going into today's game, with their only loss coming in 2000 to the Thieving Bastards from Baltimore.
However, if the Giants win, they will match the Browns with eight NFL championships. Only the Chicago Bears (nine) and the Green Bay Packers (13) have more NFL championships, currently, than the Browns do.
New England has no other titles to fall back on. This will be its fourth, and will match them with the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts and the Detriot Lions on the all-time list, if it wins.
This is the fifth Super Bowl rematch of all time, joining Miami-Washington (1-1), Pittsburgh-Dallas (2-1), San Francisco-Cincinnati (2-0) and Dallas-Buffalo (2-0). Only the Washington Redskins won the rematch on their first attempt (Dallas beat the Steelers in their third Super Bowl meeting after Pittsburgh won both matchups in the 1970s).
There has only been one former Cleveland Browns player who has went on to win a Super Bowl MVP award -- Kansas City quarterback Len Dawson (Super Bowl IV, 1969).
Currently, there are seven NFL teams that have never won a championship (none of which are Cleveland and Detroit). The unlucky seven are the Houston Texans (no Super Bowls), Atlanta Falcons (one Super Bowl), Carolina Panthers (one Super Bowl), Cincinnati Bengals (two Super Bowls), Jacksonville Jaguars (no Super Bowls), Minnesota Vikings (four Super Bowls) and Seattle Seahawks (one Super Bowl). The Buffalo Bills, who like the Vikings are 0-4 in Super Bowls, are credited with two championships from their AFL days.
There are only four teams that have never played in a Super Bowl -- the Texans, the Jaguars, the Lions and ... sigh ... the Browns. Cleveland is the only NFL city to have not only never played in a Super Bowl, but also have never hosted it.
It may not be next season, but I believe that Cleveland skid will be coming to an end, and sooner than we believe.
Go Giants! And, enjoy your Super Bowl festivities, wherever they are!
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
Normally, though, there's always a reason to root against a certain team that's playing in the Super Bowl. This year, that team is the New England Patriots.
Why root against the Patriots? Well, here's a few reasons for you.
For starters, the Patriots are considered a Boston team. Boston has been everything that Cleveland isn't over the last 10 years when it comes to sports, and networks like ESPN (based in nearby Bristol, Conn.) are always ever-so-happy to heap the love onto the Beaneaters. The supposedly cursed Red Sox have won two World Series titles (and knocked off the Indians to win the last one back in 2007-08). The Celtics won their 17th NBA title back in 07 and have also been a thorn in the Cavs' side when the Cavs were in the playoffs. The Bruins won the Stanley Cup last season. And, of course, the Patriots won three Super Bowls in a four-year span in the early 2000s and took an undefeated record into the 2007 Super Bowl before the New York Giants pulled off a huge 17-14 upset.
The Patriots are coached by fellow named Bill Belichick. You might remember Belichick as the coach of the Cleveland Browns before Judas Modell decided to move the franchise to Baltimore. Belichick went 37-45 as the coach of the Browns, with one winning season (and one playoff season) during his tenure. He cut Bernie Kosar in 1993, even though his desired starter (Vinny Testaverde) was out for several weeks and the Browns were 5-3 and in contention for a division title (that team wound up 7-9 and Kosar wound up playing in the Super Bowl that year with the Dallas Cowboys). During the playoff season, the Browns were beaten three times by the Steelers (including in the divisonal round of the playoffs). And, his team slumped from 11-5 in 1994 to 5-11 in 1995 as rumors and talk of a move to Baltimore demoralized the team.
No one figured Belichick would become the next great NFL coach after Modell fired him on Valentine's Day 1996 -- the first official act of the "Baltimore NFL Franchise" (they weren't named the Ravens yet). Heck, no one figured he'd even get another head coaching gig. But things lined up well for Belichick when he went to the Patriots in 2000. Drew Bledsoe's injury gave Tom Brady the job. The Patriots went to three Super Bowls in four seasons and won all three by three points apiece (the first two on field goals on the final play from scrimmage). Of course, there was allegations of cheating with Spygate, which included those first three Super Bowl wins, and then there was the chance for 19-0 in the wake of Spygate that came crashing down as an unknown receiver named David Tyree pinned a football to his helmet.
I think most Browns fans are over Belichick and the disappointment. However, there is something deep down inside of every Browns fan, I believe, that loves to see the so-called "genius" get his. I think that's why you'll see a lot of Giants fans in these parts today.
Let's not forget former Browns bust and the "nicest man Pittsburgh police have ever arrested" Gerard Warren, who is a backup defensive lineman for New England. Warren is the poster child for everything that went wrong with the Butch Davis Era of the Browns, especially since Davis took "Big Money" with the third-overall pick of the 2001 NFL Draft, passing up LaDainian Tomlinson and Richard Seymour, among others. Warren turned off fans with his lacksadaisical efforts on the field and his big bluster off the field, and many weren't sad to see him go four seasons later when he was dealt to the Denver Broncos for a fourth-round draft pick. Since then, Warren bounced from the Broncos to the Raiders to the Patriots, even getting cut after training camp this year. He claims that he was "misunderstood" in Cleveland and that the problem was everyone else around him. Sorry, Big Money, but the buck stops with you. It sickens me that a lazy (bleep) like you could slack your way into a 10-plus year NFL career and wind up in a Super Bowl. I hope to hell you don't get a ring out of it, either.
How about Chad Johnson, or Ochocinco? Forgot that he was a member of the Patriots? I think the Patriots forgot he was a member of their organization until he showed up on Media Day of the Super Bowl. Another poster child for the spoiled, pretentious diva NFL athlete, Johnson/Ochocinco preened and talked trash for his entire career with the Bengals. He was more concerned about touchdown dances than he was actually getting those touchdowns and helping his team win. He was a distraction that fueled opponents and angered his coach. The Bengals only went to the playoffs twice during his career with them, and never won a game. In New England, he couldn't grasp the offense, dropped passes during his few chances, and quickly disappeared from the gameplan. He had to check his attitude at the door or he would have been shown it very quickly. He'll be lucky to even play today. But, like Gerard Warren, it bothers me that a guy who slacked his way through an NFL career and put himself above his team all the time has a chance to win a Super Bowl ring.
And, don't you think Tom Brady has won enough Super Bowl rings and had enough of a charmed life already?
Yes, there's guys like Wes Welker and Julian Edelman and Twinsburg's Zoltan Mesko that you like to root for. But the negatives outweigh the positives.
No team with seven regular season losses or more has ever won a Super Bowl (there have been a few teams that have had the chance, most recently the Arizona Cardinals of 2008). But, I think that changes after today.
Giants 27, Patriots 24. Joe Cleveland says so.
***
Belichick isn't the only former Browns coach to wind up in a Super Bowl with another team. He's just the first to win one.
Forrest Gregg, who became the Browns head coach from 1975-77, compiling only one winning season during that span, went down to rival Cincinnati two seasons after his firing by Modell and, in his second year with the Bengals, took them to their first Super Bowl. They lost to the 49ers, 26-21, at the Pontiac Silverdome, but the fact that Gregg did it with Paul Brown's team (and Modell and Brown did not like each other at all) surely stuck in Modell's craw.
However, every other head coach employed by the Browns (and there have been 13 total) has never gotten to a Super Bowl or won one after leaving the Browns. Belichick is the only one to become a champion, and even he spent four seasons back with Bill Parcells as an assistant coach with both the Patriots and the Jets before getting his second head coaching chance.
Not even the great Paul Brown could win a championship after Modell fired him. He took the Bengals to the playoffs a couple of times, but never got to a Super Bowl or won one. Even as simply the owner, Brown's Bengals went to two Super Bowls, but lost both times to a fellow named Joe Montana and the 49ers.
Marty Schottenheimer went to the playoffs nine times as the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers. However, his teams always choked in the playoffs (just like his Browns teams did) and he never reached a Super Bowl.
Bud Carson spent five seasons as a defensive coordinator with the Eagles and the St. Louis Rams after the Browns fired him midway through his second season as head coach, but his teams never made it to the Super Bowl. And, he never was a head coach again.
Chris Palmer spent three seasons as offensive coordinator of the expansion Houston Texans and was the offensive cooordinator last season with the Tennessee Titans. Neither of those teams did much winning.
Butch Davis never coached in the NFL again, spending five seasons as head coach at the University of North Carolina. He was fired this past season after his program was swept up in a few scandals and never got the Tar Heels into a BCS Bowl game, let alone play for a National Championship.
Eric Mangini works for ESPN and hasn't even been considered for an assistants job since the Browns fired him after two dismal seasons.
Romeo Crennel, after two seasons as the Chiefs' defensive coordinator, was promoted to head coach beginning this coming season. He hired Brian Daboll to be his offensive coordinator. Good luck with that.
Even Sam Rutigliano never did anything after the Browns fired him midway through the 1984 season. He spent a few seascons coaching in college, but never again in the pros.
So, Bill Belichick's success post-Cleveland is the exception to the rule, not the norm.
***
If Belichick wins tonight, he'll become just the second NFL head coach to win four Super Bowls. He'll join former Browns player and Cleveland native Chuck Noll, who won four Super Bowls during the 1970s with a certain team in Western Pennsylvania.
If either the Patriots or the Giants win tonight, they will join the four-time Super Bowl club. Currently, Pittsburgh (six), San Francisco and Dallas (five) and Green Bay (four) are the only members.
Both Tom Brady and Eli Manning are former Super Bowl MVPs. Believe it or not, this is the first the Super Bowl has had a matchup of Super Bowl MVP quarterbacks. The second Pittsburgh-Dallas Super Bowl in 1978 had a matchup of MVPs Roger Staubach, Harvey Martin and Randy White for the Cowboys and Franco Harris and Lynn Swann from the Steelers, and Terry Bradshaw won his first of two Super Bowl MVP award for performance in that game.
Also, the Pittsburgh-Arizona Super Bowl had Cardinals QB Kurt Warner (a Super Bowl MVP with the Rams in 1999) against the Steelers' Hines Ward (MVP of Super Bowl XL in 2005). Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes won the MVP from that Super Bowl.
Only one time in the 45-year history of the Super Bowl has a player from the losing team won the MVP Award. That was in Super Bowl V in 1970, when Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley won the award despite the Baltimore Colts winning the game, 16-13.
The Cowboys also have the distinction of having the only co-MVPs from a Super Bowl (Harvey Martin and Randy White, Super Bowl XII in 1977, 27-10 win over the Denver Broncos).
This is New England's seventh Super Bowl. The Patriots are 3-3 going into today's game.
This is the Giants' fifth Super Bowl. They are 3-1 going into today's game, with their only loss coming in 2000 to the Thieving Bastards from Baltimore.
However, if the Giants win, they will match the Browns with eight NFL championships. Only the Chicago Bears (nine) and the Green Bay Packers (13) have more NFL championships, currently, than the Browns do.
New England has no other titles to fall back on. This will be its fourth, and will match them with the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts and the Detriot Lions on the all-time list, if it wins.
This is the fifth Super Bowl rematch of all time, joining Miami-Washington (1-1), Pittsburgh-Dallas (2-1), San Francisco-Cincinnati (2-0) and Dallas-Buffalo (2-0). Only the Washington Redskins won the rematch on their first attempt (Dallas beat the Steelers in their third Super Bowl meeting after Pittsburgh won both matchups in the 1970s).
There has only been one former Cleveland Browns player who has went on to win a Super Bowl MVP award -- Kansas City quarterback Len Dawson (Super Bowl IV, 1969).
Currently, there are seven NFL teams that have never won a championship (none of which are Cleveland and Detroit). The unlucky seven are the Houston Texans (no Super Bowls), Atlanta Falcons (one Super Bowl), Carolina Panthers (one Super Bowl), Cincinnati Bengals (two Super Bowls), Jacksonville Jaguars (no Super Bowls), Minnesota Vikings (four Super Bowls) and Seattle Seahawks (one Super Bowl). The Buffalo Bills, who like the Vikings are 0-4 in Super Bowls, are credited with two championships from their AFL days.
There are only four teams that have never played in a Super Bowl -- the Texans, the Jaguars, the Lions and ... sigh ... the Browns. Cleveland is the only NFL city to have not only never played in a Super Bowl, but also have never hosted it.
It may not be next season, but I believe that Cleveland skid will be coming to an end, and sooner than we believe.
Go Giants! And, enjoy your Super Bowl festivities, wherever they are!
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
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