Browns Lose Divisional Playoff Game to KC

The Cleveland Browns played in their first divisional round of the NFL playoffs since 1994 today. They lost their first divisional playoff game since 1994 too. However, while I am disappointed and am not disappointed in the season,the result of this game or the team. This season and this team went way beyond anybody's expectations. At the beginning of the season I was hoping for a winning record 8-7 or even a reach of 9-6. We ended at 11-4 and won a wildcard spot. Finally, we played in the divisional round of the playoffs. This season was a huge success!!

Thank you Cleveland Browns!!!

Weekly Tao Te Ching Verse - Week #24

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hannukah, or Happy Kwanzaa. Or whatever other holiday floats your boat this time of year. Although I no longer consider myself a Christian, I do celebrate Christmas since I was raised Christian and family traditions around the Christmas Holiday.

I taught my last "community" class at 3Sisters at least on Friday nights because it will conflict with my Sober Yogi class I teach at Soul Stretch in Westlake. I also taught my weekly Fitworks class as well as subbing on Wednesday night. I am now over 50 hours of teaching since getting certified. Still have a long way to go as a Yoga instructor but so much better than when I was first certified. Still need to find my voice in terms of expressing and talking about themes. Well themes with a spiritual bent anyway.

Weekly Tao Te Ching Verse - Week #23

This weekend started off with my Sober Yogi Hour followed by a Life Is Good discussion. After YTT Anatomy weekend last weekend, I was back to teaching my class at Fitworks. I also subbed at Stat Crossfit at 8am on Sunday before heading to my weekly infusion of Marni Goodness. Went grocery shopping and Christmas present shopping then spent the rest of the day cooking, watching football (Browns, ugh).

Weekly Tao Te Ching Verse - Week #13

On Saturday I was having trouble figuring out what do do with my day (too many choices leading to indecision) when I randomly posted a question on PlantBasedCLE's closed Facebook group if anyone had any recommendations for a spiralizer. The response was great with some great recommendations and a link to one site's ranking of spiralizers.

More importantly, though, one friend (thanks Victoria!!) reached out and mentioned that her friend's dad had one he wasn't using. So I jumped at the chance and Victoria offered to deliver it that same day! Thank you universe.

Sunday was also my first staff meeting for Soul Stretch Yoga where I will be teaching Friday nights at 6:30. I missed the Browns game which isn't so much a loss but was bummed the Indians game was rained out.

Welcome to this week's Tao Te Ching verse. See here for what this is all about. 

Verse 13

Success is as dangerous as failure.

Hope is as hollow as fear.

Mangini Fired

Okay, so Eric Mangini was fired. I'm not surprised really. Those last four or five games were just horrible. I trust Holmgren so far. At a minimum his insistence on getting Colt McCoy seems like it's going to pay off. So if Holmgren decided that Mangini isn't the answer that's okay by me. And some of the decisions Mangini made and what I understand about Holmgren's preferences offensively, I can see why he would decide that Eric is just not a coach that fits the desired mold.

Browns Blow in Season Finale

The Cleveland Browns were blown out by the Pittsburgh Steelers 41-9 in the final regular season game.  The Browns were putrid.  No other way to say it.  The number of drops by receivers today must have been like record breaking.   The defense, to give us fair warning on the quality of the rest of the game, allowed a 56 yard TD pass on the Steelers first offensive play. Believe it or not, it got worse from there.

Browns Give Ravens A Christmas Gift

The Cleveland Browns lost to the Baltimore Ravens today, 20-10.  Or rather they gave them the win. Three interceptions and and a fumble lead to 10 points by the Ravens.  A botched onside kick lead to another 7 points.

Poor clock management at the end of the first half by the coaching staff (and Colt McCoy as QB) limited us to another 3 points with only a couple of chances for the end zone instead of a more consistent attack.

These last couple of games have been extremely painful to watch.  And next week against the Steelers will be again, I think.

But I've made my decision.  The coaching staff of the Browns should remain.  What I've seen this year is a vast improvement over last year.  We improved our roster though there were so many holes to fill it was impossible to do it in one year.  But we have some players, Ward and Haden in particular.  Hollis looks good an I'm looking forward to seeing Hardesty if he can remain healthy.

But I've also seen improvements by the coaching staff.  Do they have their foibles.  Of course they do.  But just as Mangini did some major changes to his personal life (at least he lost a lot of weight), I think that they are working on themselves as coaches as much as they are working on coaching the players.  Considering their age, they have lots of time for improvement.

My preference is for consistently good football team not just a year here or a year there.  I think Steelers whom have been good for the last 30 years.  Have they had a few bad years?  Of course they have but they haven't blown it up every time they do either.  The way to get there is to not demand playoff appearances a year or two after rebuilding.  It means staying behind your staff to allow them to grow and learn from their mistakes.  It requires stability.

So the combination of progress on the field, the progress of the coaches themselves, and a desire for stability I've decided that Mangini and crew should stay for the foreseeable future.  As Ken Carpenter said in reply to me on twitter that may mean I'm on crack, but so be it.  And I'll continue to be hard on the coaches, particularly Daboll but I think I'd like to see these guys grow and build the Browns into a consistent powerhouse.

 

Baffling Browns

The Browns lost to the lowly Bills today in a game that has me completely at a loss. I have no idea what to think. I am clearly in the camp that this team has improved drastically this year and therefore the coaching staff should be safe. But a game like this does make me question that.

What I can't understand is how pathetic the offense was today. Is it Daboll or is it Jake Delhomme? Or are our wide receivers so bad that they can never get open so Delhomme has to pass to Hillis at the line of scrimmage? Why does our offense seem better when Colt McCoy plays? Perhaps its because when we stink I give him a rookie pass?

I just don't get it. That was a game worthy of last year's pathetic team - it wasn't competitive and it wasn't fun to watch. It did not represent progress. So clearly while the coaching staff should stay throughout the rest of the season, I'm less convinced they should stay passed it, progress or not.

Browns Lose Great Game

The Cleveland Browns lost last Sunday to fall to 3-6 on the season. And I'm good with it. Read this @ WFNY first.

Back? Okay, great.

I agree wholeheartedly with WFNY. While we lost the game, and made some mistakes, the Browns are fun to watch again. Would it have been nice to have Chansi take the safe, smart play and step out of bounds? Sure. But I will never complain about a fumble when someone is putting in extra effort. Disappointed to be sure, but the reason the Browns were in the game at all was all the extra effort going into it - except for that final play. That's the only play I found to be inexcusable at this level. The same thing goes for Peyton Hillis' fumble, Joe Haden's pick and the attempt to throw long near the end from the 3 yard line. All of these are effort at winning the game.

But most of all, I'm excited so far by the play of Colt McCoy. That under two-minute drive for a touchdown was a thing of beauty. I'm really looking forward to his development as the Browns quarterback. Can you imagine if he actually had a #1 WR how much this offense would open up. And I'm also looking forward to Hardesty if he can stay healthy. Can you imagine what our offense could be with two good running back and the superb fullback we have?

Can you imagine? Last year, I just wanted the games to end so I didn't have to watch - not sure why I did. This year though, I'm looking forward to the games which in and of itself is a massive improvement over last year.

And at this stage of the re-building, that's all I'll ask. In a year or two, if we are not in playoff contention then I'll get annoyed. But for now, I'm just enjoying the fact the Browns play competitive with the best teams in the league.

Browns Pound Pats

Okay, so the game against the Steelers I thought the Browns played well even though they lost. Then they played even better and pretty much spanked the Saints. After watching the Browns since returning from Japan, they have been bad. So those two games were a definite improvement but I wasn't sold on them or the coaching staff.

Last year, I even called for Mangini's head early on in September. Since the didn't I gave him a free pass for this season, but in return I have called for Brian Daboll's head as this year was some of the worst play calling I have ever seen.

Crow, meet my mouth.

Browns Beat Saints!

What a great game to watch! The Browns beat the New Orleans Saints with a final score of 30-17. But more than winning, it was the way they won. The offense wasn't great, but it didn't need to be. It needed to be solid and it was. In particular with that long 7 minute drive in the fourth quarter. Mostly Hillis just doing what he does, running and hitting defenders as hard as he can.

And the Special Teams made some great, fun-to-watch plays. Cribbs throwing across the field on a punt return; the punter Hodges faking the kick and running up the wide-open middle of the field for 68 yards. Just not plays I would expect the Browns to call let alone execute effectively. And both lead to points.

And the defense was excellent. Yes we got burned on a couple of plays, but for the most part Brees looked completely confused. He was intercepted 4 times, two being pick 6s, and was sacked 3 times. So while the Saints racked up close to 400 yards of offense, in the end most of those yards were for naught as the Browns found a way to stop them.

I tweeted during the game that for the last two games I have been relatively pleased with the offensive play calling. I wondered whether that represents the impact of Mike Holmgren. And while that may be true, the reality is that I think it's the play of Colt McCoy. Granted, the offense didn't do much in this game. I read over at WFNY that we had grand total of 12 first downs and I know we only had something like 74 yards passing. And 12-13 of those on the trick play where Hillis threw a pass to Colt McCoy. The reality is that we don't really have any wide receivers that keep defenses honest, but we were still able to make a long time-consuming drive when we had to. And that's progress.

But I think the real reason that I've been pleased with the offensive play calling is Colt McCoy. In his first start he reminded me a little of Brady Quinn, or rather a deer caught in headlights. But that didn't last long and he started to show confidence and leadership. He looked that way for the whole Saints game. And I don't remember specifically, but I don't remember a boneheaded play. At a minimum, there were no turnovers.

My problem with Delhomme is not the picks, but the types of picks. Any quarterback is going to have picks. It's gonna happen when you have NFL caliber defenses to play against. What I don't like are the boneheaded picks, like the one Jake had in the first game as he was getting tackled. He's been in the league too long to try and make a pass as he's going down. That's boneheaded, and that's my only concern with Jake. Other than that, he reads the defenses well, can audible successfully.

I also like what Seneca brings to the table. With one exception - his throws to the sidelines are 10 yards out of bounds, not even giving the receivers a chance to catch the throws. Yes, the defense doesn't have a chance to pick it because in most cases the receivers have been covered, but its a waste of a throw. And I saw that multiple times with Seneca.

With Colt, though, I haven't seen a boneheaded throw, and for the most part his accuracy is dead on. Throws to the sideline are where only our receiver can catch it. Regardless of whether the throws have been successful or not, he puts it where it needs to be.

So I'm tempted to say Colt should start for the rest of the season. I hear many commenters say that's what the want so we can determine whether he's a "franchise quarterback". I disagree. We don't need a "franchise quarterback". What we need is a servicable quarterback as we get folks to fill the roster - like the right side of the line, some quality receivers(!!), something for better pass rush and coverage. We have so many holes still that Brown's fans obsession with quarterbacks is annoying.

Colt is more than good enough. But what I don't want is to rush him along and get him hurt. So I'll come down on the side of if Jake and Seneca are healthy Colt goes back to third quarterback on the team.

Browns Lose Again

The Cleveland Browns lose again. It's hard to fathom this year's edition of the Browns. They remind me of the Cavs of a few years ago that once they hit the locker room at half time they lose all sense of pace, focus, intensity, or anything resembling a will to win.

Cleveland Browns Beat Themselves

Today, the Cleveland Browns had their season opener in Tampa Bay, and after looking really good for the most part in the first half, last year's high school team returned.

Okay this is my breakdown of the Cleveland - Tampa Bay game. If you want real breakdowns by people that understand the game better than I do, go see WFNY. This is my take, and I'm just a fan that's never played nor really understands the nuances of the game. WFNY and others do.

Cleveland Browns - Not Much More to Say

I was going to write a long post about the Browns and the fact that Randy Lerner actually watched a game and was disgusted as the rest of us have been for the 7 weeks prior to that. I had some sage advice for him. I'm glad I waited because I ran across a blog post, Coming Out Of The Closet by Gary Benz, that expressed the same idea but much more articulately. It's a must read.

His basic point and my unwritten one is the same - the only way for the Browns organization to turn itself around is for Mr. Lerner to take ownership of it. I don't mean property law ownership, but deep down emotional, spirtual, intellectual ownership of the team and the organization. I don't know where I read it but it was basically that what he thought he was doing with Manigini was cleaning out the organization and hoping to bring in a new philosophy.

Cleveland Browns Are Making Some Progress

Okay, I've been pretty much hammering the Browns this season. However, today against the Steelers while they are still bad, I have to admit I like the fact that they are trying different things. From running a lot of wildcat formations, etc. The play calling is still pretty miserable, and the catching is horrid, as are many of DA's throws. But they are trying different things, anything to make themselves competitive.

Not having a quality receiver and Quarterback hurts. We also need to see more of Harrison and Jamal Tip-Toe-Thru-The-Tulips (T⁵) Lewis just doesn't bring enough. He seems slow and doesn't have the power I thought he had. Harrison has speed, but probably not enough size/power.

We'll still lose this game, but I will say the team is making progress.

Browns Win in worst game I have ever seen

Okay, that was absolutely the worst football game I have ever seen. The Browns were terrible, with the exception of our punt team. DA stunk(23 yards passing, worst in Browns history), but so did his receivers (7 drops, obviously in honor of BE). In particular, Robert Royal is just bad. When is Mangini going to bench the guy? Jamal did get over 100 yard rushing, but that's against a team using their 4th string middle linebacker. Tiptoe through the tulips Lewis drives me nuts, but not sure we have anyone else.

Superb play by the punting team, and an absolute refusal to play disciplined footbal by the Bills lead the the Browns victory. Take away Bills penalties and the Browns would have been thrashed. Take away the one fumble at the end of the game and we'd be headed to overtime. Mangini and staff are really luck that really poor play calling at the end of the half didn't come back to bite them.

I have to say though, I feel really bad for the Bills fans. They actually lost to the Browns. Probably the worst team I have ever seen(granted I haven't watched Oakland, Tampa Bay, or St. Louis this year). And they largely lost due to the Bills own mistakes, not anything the Browns did.

I'd like to say the Defense played well, but it's just too hard to say that with all the penalties on the Bills OL. I mean how many times were they called for illegal motion?

I will say that the Browns had very few penalties, including one roughing the passer call that was a really lame call. So that is definitely an improvement.

Bye Bye Braylon

So y new favorite NFL coach traded away Braylon Edwards. Of course, this news has been taken up nationally and locally. I am hoping that Braylon does well with the Jets because according to what I read, we get better draft picks next year the better he does.

What I don't know is whether is was worth it for this year to get rid of Braylon. In our last game, we established Massaquoi (sp?) as a threat when teams double cover Braylon. That's what seemed to keep us in the game against Cinci. Now that they traded him away what's that do for our wide receiver threat? Robiskie? The guy Eric Mangini stretch to just let him dress for the Cincy game.

Okay, so we're getting Chansi Stuckey in return, So far this season he's had 11 receptions for 120 yards and 1 td versus Braylon's 10 receptions for 139 yards and zero TDs. I have a feeling that Chansi's not going to cut it. We'll see, but I have my doubts that we'll have effective enough wr threats to let our offense grow.

Update So I was talking with Ken about the Braylon thing and the fact that Sportstalkcle hinted a rumour that the Browns were actively shopping Brady Quinn around . So Ken asks me, and I respond with :

ME: yes, but the real question is....

KEN rudely interrupting: do the cavs win a championship this year

Ain't that the truth.

Mangini Does a Flip-Flop

Today, Eric Mangini announced that Derek Anderson would be the starting quarterback this Sunday against the Bengals. While it'll make the game more interesting, I don't think the results will change, nor does it provide us with a view as to how good or bad Brady Quinn is. He really hasn't had a chance and while he has looked miserable, it seems to me it's a combination of him being afraid of making mistakes and just horrendous play calling. I'm also not sure what he's afraid of...making a mistake?

We know DA will do one of two things: 1) stink up the place, and 2) make throws that make you go "Wow". And he'll probably do both during the game. That's DA. It does make it exciting because you never know what you're going to get.

I don't particularly like this move by Mangini because it looks like he's trying to get a win, a TD, whatever to save his job. It's not about making the best future football team, it's about now, this week. But reality is we'll still be really, really bad. I'd rather see him focusing on improving the team, and I'm not sure that DA is the right choice for that. But I've been wrong before...

I don't like is that Eric flip-flopped on himself saying he'd stay with the quarterback he chose for the whole season. It just makes me question anything he says. At the same time, I do like the difference from Romeo who would stick with his favorites way too long even though they were stinking up the place. And Brady was stinking up the place, I'm just not sure whether it's Brady's fault.

Go Browns!

Cleveland Browns Are Bad

I was not going to post anything negative about the Browns this season, since I knew that it was going to be a bad team. In fact, I anticipated we'd be lucky to match last year's record. But I expected progress and improvement from a terrible Crennel era.

No such luck.

If anything they are a worse team under Eric Mangini. The team has not improved week to week, losing in increasingly embarrassing fashion. Half way through today's game I couldn't help but think how hard it is for these guys to play with the intensity they need to be competitive. I'm actually okay with the Defense, as bad as it got beat up by the Ravens, but special teams is pretty weak and the offense non-existent.

Once again, our Quarterbacks look worse than they probably are since we have no offensive line. (Well it is offensive, but you know what I mean.) I was not surprised by anything Derek Anderson did today as that's Derek Anderson. I knew that he'd make it more interesting, but in the end would throw picks that would kill any drive. Nor would he get us into the end zone. Brady Quinn, on the other hand, looks bad. He looks like he's afraid to throw longer than 5 yards. I cannot understand why when Brady is the QB the receivers run 2-3 yards short of the 1st down marker.

Whose fault is that? Is that the Offensive Coordinator or Brady? Or both? I noticed that when Derek was in most of the receivers were passed the first down marker on their routes. So is the coaching staff holding Brady in check? Is there something we don't know? I can't tell, but it looks like the offense isn't designed to go deep when BQ plays. But there are also glimpses of Brady just not wanting to throw it deep.

Anyway you look at it, neither is currently working out.

And the problems come down to the current management. Poor draft choices, poor trades, and implementing overbearing discipline. When you have five players filing complaints, there has to be a problem. When you have "fights" breaking out in the locker room there has to be a problem. When two players the Browns passed up on in the draft are starting and looking like pro-bowl material, and our picks are playing there as to be a problem.

With the management and coaching staff.

So against all common sense and probably all rational thought, my gut reaction is to fire Eric Mangini today. I would normally agree that you give a new coach some time to start building. However, Mangini has made so many missteps already that I don't think anything of value is achievable. Cut and run now.

Can you imagine, two Erics fired in one year in Cleveland. Music to my ears.

Of course, we all know what the real problem is. Randy Lerner, the owner. Until ownership is changed, a chance at a competitive football team is a pipe dream. I understand that he is probably making money on the enterprise. Unfortunately, it also appears that he has no pride either. I imagine that most folks who run money-making enterprises actually take pride in the quality of the products and services they provide. Randy apparently has zero pride, putting up with garbage year in and year out.

I was hoping to start a movement to have the residents of Northeast Ohio to purchase the team from Sir Lerner. Unfortunately, a short stop at wikipedia cured me of that particular nonsense...Green Bay was "grandfathered" to allow more than 32 owners of a particular team. Even so, it may be interesting to look into it some more since simply asking Sir Lerner to sell is not the answer since there is no guarantee that he'll sell it to anyone who is 1) going to keep the team in Cleveland, 2) be any good for the team.

Lacking that, though, they need to fire Eric Mangini. I know, it's probably not smart but nothing else the Browns organization has done in the last 10 years is either. So why stop now. Just fire the twit.