All right, Cleveland. It's time to face some cold, hard facts.
The Indians are in a pennant race, whether you want to admit it or not. And after five months of putting this team on the back burner, it's time to realize that this is one of those times that don't come around all that often in these parts.
It's time to drag yourself, kicking and screaming, to the likely conclusion that you are going to develop an emotional attachment to this team over the next two months. You've played it cool since April. You've done a really good job of keeping your emotional distance so far. You've had that "I told you so" on the tip of your tongue since spring training.
You don't trust Larry Dolan. You don't trust Mark Shapiro. You certainly don't trust Eric Wedge. You desperately want to believe that the Indians are just keeping first place warm for the inevitable stretch-run Detroit surge, a belief you hold near like a security blanket so that you can give a dismissive scoff if and when the Indians fall flat on their collective faces like they did in the final week of 2005.
But I have news for you: That resolve is going to melt away. You're like someone who has been on one too many bad dates and vows to completely detach from the opposite sex. How long do you think you can keep that pledge?
You have had built-in excuses all year. The Cavaliers preoccupied you into June. Almost immediately after that, it was the Fourth of July, vacation time, and then the buzz surrounding the arrival of Joe Thomas and Brady Quinn at Browns camp.
Those excuses are gone. The Cavs have been stone-silent all summer, Quinn has found his place behind Charlie Frye on the depth chart and the only federal holiday standing between you and October is Labor Day.
After months and months of waiting for the other shoe to drop before the stretch run arrived, it didn't happen. September starts on Saturday, and the Indians are in first place.
They could have saved you the trouble, like they did last year. They could have saved you the tension of a September push for the playoffs, of an October postseason run where it is statistically probable that your team will end the season with a loss.
They could have saved you all the hassle and just dropped out of contention in June. But they didn't. And now, despite your thick Cleveland psychological callouses, you will soon be compelled to take a front-row seat and watch.
The Indians will soon become the biggest story in town. And the only thing you can do is hang on for the ride. In Cleveland, where every pennant race and postseason run since 1964 has inevitably crash-landed at some point, that's a tall order to fill. But it's too late to stop now.
Welcome to the 2007 American League playoff race. Fasten your seat belts.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
This and that
I've been extremely busy of late, which accounts for the lack of posts. But I do have a few items.
* I have made the decision to cut "The Morning After," my weekly Browns game wrap, in order to concetrate on more issue-based columns. I can't guarantee I'm going to be able to deliver a column every Sunday night or Monday morning, and it doesn't make a lot of sense to run a column called "The Morning After" on Tuesday or Wednesday.
*I am in favor of the decision to sit Josh Barfield, even though I think highly of his talent and his poise in the field. But he just wasn't getting it done at the plate. Someone needs to hit the "reset" button with Barfield. The trouble is, he's only the worst symptom in a teamwide disease, and I'm not sure anyone has the cure right now.
*If the Indians keep hitting like this, they aren't going to the playoffs, C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona aren't going to win 20 games, and Eric Wedge's job should be on the rocks -- should be. But almost certainly won't be.
*The Indians are run by a bunch of farm system guys. I think that plays into why progress always seems to come in increments and they are always so slow to react when things aren't going well. Expect a column on this in the near future, because it's gnawing at me big time.
*Hanford Dixon brought up a good point in the Monday evening edition of FSN's Browns camp show: In Derek Anderson's goal-line disaster during the first quarter of Saturday's game, where was the coaching staff's culpability? It was the coaching staff who had trouble getting plays in, burned two time outs and basically ground the drive to a halt. Anderson has definitely left something to be desired in the first two preseason games, but let's not throw him under the bus for the coaches' errors.
*Will Brady Quinn start the season opener? I'm going to play the Romeo Crennel noncommittal card and say "Ask me again about five minutes before the team runs out of the tunnel on Sept. 9." But in all seriousness, if Quinn is ready, there is no reason to hold him back, because Ken Dorsey represents the second-best chance the Browns have to score touchdowns, and that is sad.
*Michael Vick will plead guilty to federal dog fighting charges. He's going to federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison, so the question of "Will Vick go to jail?" has been answered. But now the question is, "Will he ever play in the NFL again?" My answer: Yes. And the fans of that team (it won't be the Falcons) will be salivating. Nothing is off-limits in war and football -- well, I can't say that. War at least has the Geneva Conventions.
* I have made the decision to cut "The Morning After," my weekly Browns game wrap, in order to concetrate on more issue-based columns. I can't guarantee I'm going to be able to deliver a column every Sunday night or Monday morning, and it doesn't make a lot of sense to run a column called "The Morning After" on Tuesday or Wednesday.
*I am in favor of the decision to sit Josh Barfield, even though I think highly of his talent and his poise in the field. But he just wasn't getting it done at the plate. Someone needs to hit the "reset" button with Barfield. The trouble is, he's only the worst symptom in a teamwide disease, and I'm not sure anyone has the cure right now.
*If the Indians keep hitting like this, they aren't going to the playoffs, C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona aren't going to win 20 games, and Eric Wedge's job should be on the rocks -- should be. But almost certainly won't be.
*The Indians are run by a bunch of farm system guys. I think that plays into why progress always seems to come in increments and they are always so slow to react when things aren't going well. Expect a column on this in the near future, because it's gnawing at me big time.
*Hanford Dixon brought up a good point in the Monday evening edition of FSN's Browns camp show: In Derek Anderson's goal-line disaster during the first quarter of Saturday's game, where was the coaching staff's culpability? It was the coaching staff who had trouble getting plays in, burned two time outs and basically ground the drive to a halt. Anderson has definitely left something to be desired in the first two preseason games, but let's not throw him under the bus for the coaches' errors.
*Will Brady Quinn start the season opener? I'm going to play the Romeo Crennel noncommittal card and say "Ask me again about five minutes before the team runs out of the tunnel on Sept. 9." But in all seriousness, if Quinn is ready, there is no reason to hold him back, because Ken Dorsey represents the second-best chance the Browns have to score touchdowns, and that is sad.
*Michael Vick will plead guilty to federal dog fighting charges. He's going to federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison, so the question of "Will Vick go to jail?" has been answered. But now the question is, "Will he ever play in the NFL again?" My answer: Yes. And the fans of that team (it won't be the Falcons) will be salivating. Nothing is off-limits in war and football -- well, I can't say that. War at least has the Geneva Conventions.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Handicapping the quarterbacks
Since the four quarterbacks the Browns currently have in camp can't seem to declare a winner among them, leave it to the rest of us.
Who is going to be under center when the Browns open against Pittsburgh on Sept. 9? Who is going to be working on his short game and waiting for a team to call? Let the words show the way.
Charlie Frye
Strengths: Tough as nails, very good huddle presence, gets a lot out of limited athletic ability.
Weaknesses: Suspect decision-making under pressure, the NFL game seems to move too fast for him, positively putrid when it comes to turning red zone appearances into touchdowns.
It's tough to fault Frye for what he isn't. He's not Peyton Manning, and never will be. While he is an adequate passer despite below-average arm strength, he lacks what some sports psychologists refer to as "mental athleticism." The ability to read a situation and react properly, and do it in fractions of a second. Too often, Frye resorts to a "damn the torpedoes" style of play when he gets flustered, and that's when reckless turnovers abound.
Frye is a passable stopgap while Brady Quinn develops, and might be a worthwhile NFL backup. But it looks like the jump from the Mid-American Conference to the NFL has been just a bit too far for the former Akron Zip to achieve professional stardom.
Having said that, the starting job, at least for now, is his to lose.
Probability of Frye starting the season opener: 60 percent
Probability of Frye being released/traded: 10 percent
Derek Anderson
Strengths: Throws hard. Superior athletic ability that, on the rare occasion it is harnessed properly, can turn him into an effective quarterback.
Weaknesses: Seldom is able to harness said athletic ability. As far as touch passes go, his sand wedge is a 3-wood.
The more and more I watch Anderson, the more I get the feeling that he'd fit right in with former Indians pitchers Jason Davis and Fernando Cabrera. Like Davis and Cabrera, Anderson has all the physical tools: He has size, a rocket arm, good legs and major-college pedigree ... and an utter inability to put it all together.
Ask Anderson to throw a football through a wooden fence, he might be able to do it. Ask him to feather it into his tight end on an underneath route, he'll probably sail it over his head, bounce it in the dirt or break a couple of fingers.
Finding your receivers as a QB is like finding the strike zone as a pitcher. If you can't do it, no one cares how hard you throw or how much of a physical specimen you are.
Anderson has three more games to prove his worth to Romeo Crennel. Otherwise, he has "odd man out" written all over him.
Probability of Anderson starting the season opener: 5 percent
Probability of Anderson being traded/released: 40 percent
Ken Dorsey
Strengths: A poor man's Bernie Kosar. A smart, fairly good decision-maker with prior experience as an NFL starter.
Weaknesses: Unathletic, immobile, and a below-average throwing arm.
My chief memory of Dorsey is still watching him get stampeded by Ohio State in the 2002 BCS title game. He'd still be a stooge if not for the fact that it makes more sense than any of us realize to give him a shot leading the first team.
Frye and Anderson are gunslingers who both have a nasty tendency to sabotage drives with horrible decision-making. Dorsey, while the least athletic and least impressive of the four Browns quarterbacks, is also a good reader of defenses and an accurate short-yardage passer. With that in mind, he might be the best chance the Browns have to win some games while Brady Quinn develops. He's certainly as good a bet as Frye or Anderson to put the ball in the end zone, which isn't saying much.
It's a long shot, but it just might work.
Probability of Dorsey starting the season opener: 10 percent
Probability of Dorsey being released/traded: 50 percent
Brady Quinn
Strengths: He has all the goods for stardom: Strong arm, mobile feet, Notre Dame pedigree, poster-boy looks and a team in desperate need of a leader.
Weaknesses: Still rough around the edges, doesn't yet fully understand how much faster the NFL game is than college, 11-day holdout robbed him of valuable jelling time with his receivers.
Given the state of the Browns' quarterbacks, if Quinn impresses during the remaining camp and exhibition games, why shouldn't he start the season opener?
The fears of a Tim Couch redux are bogus. Couch was thrown to the wolves armed with an expansion team with a barely professional-level offensive line and Terry Kirby as the feature back. Quinn will have Joe Thomas and Eric Steinbach protecting his blind side and will be handing the ball off to Jamal Lewis.
Having said that, if Quinn shows he's not ready, it is imperative Crennel and Phil Savage do not force-feed Quinn into the starting lineup. Quinn has to be the best option, not the least-worst.
If Quinn shows he's not ready to start, it's better that another QB, one who doesn't have the future of the franchise riding on his shoulders, absorb the early-season Pittsburgh-Cincinnati-Baltimore-New England gauntlet.
Probability of Quinn starting the season opener: 25 percent
Probability of Quinn being released/traded: 0 percent (we'd assume, anyway)
Who is going to be under center when the Browns open against Pittsburgh on Sept. 9? Who is going to be working on his short game and waiting for a team to call? Let the words show the way.
Charlie Frye
Strengths: Tough as nails, very good huddle presence, gets a lot out of limited athletic ability.
Weaknesses: Suspect decision-making under pressure, the NFL game seems to move too fast for him, positively putrid when it comes to turning red zone appearances into touchdowns.
It's tough to fault Frye for what he isn't. He's not Peyton Manning, and never will be. While he is an adequate passer despite below-average arm strength, he lacks what some sports psychologists refer to as "mental athleticism." The ability to read a situation and react properly, and do it in fractions of a second. Too often, Frye resorts to a "damn the torpedoes" style of play when he gets flustered, and that's when reckless turnovers abound.
Frye is a passable stopgap while Brady Quinn develops, and might be a worthwhile NFL backup. But it looks like the jump from the Mid-American Conference to the NFL has been just a bit too far for the former Akron Zip to achieve professional stardom.
Having said that, the starting job, at least for now, is his to lose.
Probability of Frye starting the season opener: 60 percent
Probability of Frye being released/traded: 10 percent
Derek Anderson
Strengths: Throws hard. Superior athletic ability that, on the rare occasion it is harnessed properly, can turn him into an effective quarterback.
Weaknesses: Seldom is able to harness said athletic ability. As far as touch passes go, his sand wedge is a 3-wood.
The more and more I watch Anderson, the more I get the feeling that he'd fit right in with former Indians pitchers Jason Davis and Fernando Cabrera. Like Davis and Cabrera, Anderson has all the physical tools: He has size, a rocket arm, good legs and major-college pedigree ... and an utter inability to put it all together.
Ask Anderson to throw a football through a wooden fence, he might be able to do it. Ask him to feather it into his tight end on an underneath route, he'll probably sail it over his head, bounce it in the dirt or break a couple of fingers.
Finding your receivers as a QB is like finding the strike zone as a pitcher. If you can't do it, no one cares how hard you throw or how much of a physical specimen you are.
Anderson has three more games to prove his worth to Romeo Crennel. Otherwise, he has "odd man out" written all over him.
Probability of Anderson starting the season opener: 5 percent
Probability of Anderson being traded/released: 40 percent
Ken Dorsey
Strengths: A poor man's Bernie Kosar. A smart, fairly good decision-maker with prior experience as an NFL starter.
Weaknesses: Unathletic, immobile, and a below-average throwing arm.
My chief memory of Dorsey is still watching him get stampeded by Ohio State in the 2002 BCS title game. He'd still be a stooge if not for the fact that it makes more sense than any of us realize to give him a shot leading the first team.
Frye and Anderson are gunslingers who both have a nasty tendency to sabotage drives with horrible decision-making. Dorsey, while the least athletic and least impressive of the four Browns quarterbacks, is also a good reader of defenses and an accurate short-yardage passer. With that in mind, he might be the best chance the Browns have to win some games while Brady Quinn develops. He's certainly as good a bet as Frye or Anderson to put the ball in the end zone, which isn't saying much.
It's a long shot, but it just might work.
Probability of Dorsey starting the season opener: 10 percent
Probability of Dorsey being released/traded: 50 percent
Brady Quinn
Strengths: He has all the goods for stardom: Strong arm, mobile feet, Notre Dame pedigree, poster-boy looks and a team in desperate need of a leader.
Weaknesses: Still rough around the edges, doesn't yet fully understand how much faster the NFL game is than college, 11-day holdout robbed him of valuable jelling time with his receivers.
Given the state of the Browns' quarterbacks, if Quinn impresses during the remaining camp and exhibition games, why shouldn't he start the season opener?
The fears of a Tim Couch redux are bogus. Couch was thrown to the wolves armed with an expansion team with a barely professional-level offensive line and Terry Kirby as the feature back. Quinn will have Joe Thomas and Eric Steinbach protecting his blind side and will be handing the ball off to Jamal Lewis.
Having said that, if Quinn shows he's not ready, it is imperative Crennel and Phil Savage do not force-feed Quinn into the starting lineup. Quinn has to be the best option, not the least-worst.
If Quinn shows he's not ready to start, it's better that another QB, one who doesn't have the future of the franchise riding on his shoulders, absorb the early-season Pittsburgh-Cincinnati-Baltimore-New England gauntlet.
Probability of Quinn starting the season opener: 25 percent
Probability of Quinn being released/traded: 0 percent (we'd assume, anyway)
Monday, August 13, 2007
The Morning After: Kansas City
Welcome back to another season of "The Morning After," my weekly Browns recap. Join me as I chronicle another season of valleys (and maybe even some peaks) for your Cleveland Browns.
Browns 16, Chiefs 12
Preseason record: 1-0
It's time to unveil my first official bold prediction of the 2007 season: Don't be surprised if Ken Dorsey enters the starting quarterback picture before the end of the preseason.
Dorsey is still riding third, and might be bumped to fourth once Brady Quinn gets in the race next weekend, but Dorsey is a definite dark horse candidate to be under center when the Browns play the Steelers in the Sept. 9 season opener.
Dorsey's stat line from Saturday's win looks kind of so-so, but he did complete 6-of-9 passes for 52 yards, which places him second behind Charlie Frye's 12-for-15 for 122 yards.
Frye had statistically the best game of any of the three Browns QBs that saw playing time, but he sabotaged any chance he had of solidifying his standing as the team's starting signal-caller with a couple of bush-league plays that are now famously infamous around Northeast Ohio: The botched lateral to Jerome Harrison that was returned for Kansas City's lone touchdown, and the unsuccessful decision to tuck and run for the end zone as the second half drew to a close.
Those two plays were devastating to Frye's momentum, and once again raised questions about Frye's ability to make sound decisions in pressure situations -- which is really what is going to save or kill Frye's chances of becoming a full-time NFL starter.
Combine Frye's gaffes with the fact that Derek Anderson (7-for-16, 76 yards) looked like a glorified Arena League QB, and it doesn't seem that far-fetched to say Dorsey is going to start climbing the charts in the coming weeks if he has more efforts like he had in holding down the offensive fort in the second half Saturday night -- getting stripped of the ball in the end zone for a safety notwithstanding.
Dorsey is what passes for a veteran quarterback on this roster right now, and might end up being the best combination of leadership and smart decision-making that Romeo Crennel has available to put under center. Think I'm crazy? Wait three weeks and see how many touchdown drives Frye and Anderson have led. If the number is less than two, I rest my case.
Right now, Crennel doesn't have a truly good option at quarterback. It's a shame, because the rest of the team looked like it was actually starting to fall into place, if first blush means anything.
Jamal Lewis looked as new-and-improved as advertised, and if he can stay on the field for most of the Browns' 16 games, might actually give this team its first dominant, tempo-setting rusher since returning to the league. And I write that with Reuben Droughns' 2005 campaign in mind.
The offensive line, even without Eric Steinbach, looked much improved over any previous model the Browns have trucked out. Frye and company had time to find receivers, and running backs had room to run. Linemen were even throwing some blocks downfield.
Granted, it was against Kansas City's defense, not Pittsburgh's or Baltimore's, but by the end of last year, I'm not sure the Browns offensive line could have stopped Mount Union's defense on a blitz.
And let's talk about that defense. This is going to be the manna that sustains the Cleveland Browns from week to week. Todd Grantham's unit is going to keep the Browns in a lot of games, as they did in the first half of last year before injuries started to mount. It's all going to be a matter of whether the offense can take advantage of it, or whether the Browns are going to be losing a lot of 17-9 games because the offense can't get the ball into the end zone.
To that end, the results of the first preseason game were not promising. Despite that fact that Kamerion Wimbley once again showcased his goose-bump-producing ability as a pass rusher, despite the fact that cornerback Eric Wright looked about as good as any player probably can look in his first-ever NFL action, despite the fact that the defense basically controlled the game for 58 minutes, the Browns still fell behind late because the offense couldn't muster a touchdown drive.
Thanks to Chris Barclay's running, and a lot of Chiefs scrubs on the field for the kickoff that followed Kansas City's go-ahead field goal, Cleveland escaped with a win and preserved an overall positive feeling from the night. Of course, it took a goal-line stand on the ensuing drive and a fumble recovery on third down to really put the Chiefs to bed.
There was definitely more good than bad to this game from the Browns' perspective. Every unit was solid with the exception of the quarterbacks, who are under close scrutiny anyway.
But the quarterback troubles loom large. The Browns simply cannot head into the season with the most important position on the roster in a state of limbo. Somebody needs to step up and disarm this grenade before it has a chance to blow up the September portion of the Browns schedule. The solution might not currently be on the roster.
Up next: Detroit, Saturday, 7 p.m. at Cleveland Browns Stadium
Browns 16, Chiefs 12
Preseason record: 1-0
It's time to unveil my first official bold prediction of the 2007 season: Don't be surprised if Ken Dorsey enters the starting quarterback picture before the end of the preseason.
Dorsey is still riding third, and might be bumped to fourth once Brady Quinn gets in the race next weekend, but Dorsey is a definite dark horse candidate to be under center when the Browns play the Steelers in the Sept. 9 season opener.
Dorsey's stat line from Saturday's win looks kind of so-so, but he did complete 6-of-9 passes for 52 yards, which places him second behind Charlie Frye's 12-for-15 for 122 yards.
Frye had statistically the best game of any of the three Browns QBs that saw playing time, but he sabotaged any chance he had of solidifying his standing as the team's starting signal-caller with a couple of bush-league plays that are now famously infamous around Northeast Ohio: The botched lateral to Jerome Harrison that was returned for Kansas City's lone touchdown, and the unsuccessful decision to tuck and run for the end zone as the second half drew to a close.
Those two plays were devastating to Frye's momentum, and once again raised questions about Frye's ability to make sound decisions in pressure situations -- which is really what is going to save or kill Frye's chances of becoming a full-time NFL starter.
Combine Frye's gaffes with the fact that Derek Anderson (7-for-16, 76 yards) looked like a glorified Arena League QB, and it doesn't seem that far-fetched to say Dorsey is going to start climbing the charts in the coming weeks if he has more efforts like he had in holding down the offensive fort in the second half Saturday night -- getting stripped of the ball in the end zone for a safety notwithstanding.
Dorsey is what passes for a veteran quarterback on this roster right now, and might end up being the best combination of leadership and smart decision-making that Romeo Crennel has available to put under center. Think I'm crazy? Wait three weeks and see how many touchdown drives Frye and Anderson have led. If the number is less than two, I rest my case.
Right now, Crennel doesn't have a truly good option at quarterback. It's a shame, because the rest of the team looked like it was actually starting to fall into place, if first blush means anything.
Jamal Lewis looked as new-and-improved as advertised, and if he can stay on the field for most of the Browns' 16 games, might actually give this team its first dominant, tempo-setting rusher since returning to the league. And I write that with Reuben Droughns' 2005 campaign in mind.
The offensive line, even without Eric Steinbach, looked much improved over any previous model the Browns have trucked out. Frye and company had time to find receivers, and running backs had room to run. Linemen were even throwing some blocks downfield.
Granted, it was against Kansas City's defense, not Pittsburgh's or Baltimore's, but by the end of last year, I'm not sure the Browns offensive line could have stopped Mount Union's defense on a blitz.
And let's talk about that defense. This is going to be the manna that sustains the Cleveland Browns from week to week. Todd Grantham's unit is going to keep the Browns in a lot of games, as they did in the first half of last year before injuries started to mount. It's all going to be a matter of whether the offense can take advantage of it, or whether the Browns are going to be losing a lot of 17-9 games because the offense can't get the ball into the end zone.
To that end, the results of the first preseason game were not promising. Despite that fact that Kamerion Wimbley once again showcased his goose-bump-producing ability as a pass rusher, despite the fact that cornerback Eric Wright looked about as good as any player probably can look in his first-ever NFL action, despite the fact that the defense basically controlled the game for 58 minutes, the Browns still fell behind late because the offense couldn't muster a touchdown drive.
Thanks to Chris Barclay's running, and a lot of Chiefs scrubs on the field for the kickoff that followed Kansas City's go-ahead field goal, Cleveland escaped with a win and preserved an overall positive feeling from the night. Of course, it took a goal-line stand on the ensuing drive and a fumble recovery on third down to really put the Chiefs to bed.
There was definitely more good than bad to this game from the Browns' perspective. Every unit was solid with the exception of the quarterbacks, who are under close scrutiny anyway.
But the quarterback troubles loom large. The Browns simply cannot head into the season with the most important position on the roster in a state of limbo. Somebody needs to step up and disarm this grenade before it has a chance to blow up the September portion of the Browns schedule. The solution might not currently be on the roster.
Up next: Detroit, Saturday, 7 p.m. at Cleveland Browns Stadium
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Time to get to work, Brady
It has been done.All the posturing and rooster-strutting is over. All the flying in to Cleveland to sign autographs for $75 a pop, then retreating back down the rabbit hole to Arizona. All the haggling, all the dickering, all the holding out.
Brady Quinn is signed, reportedly for five years and a little under $8 million guaranteed, with an overall contract worth of up to $30 million if he hits all his performance incentives.
Now, he gets to work. Hard.
After 11 days and 15 practices missed, Quinn starts at the absolute bottom of the totem pole, behind all the other quarterbacks he'll need to inevitably pass if he is to make a full return on the large investment in draft picks and money the Browns made to get him.
A case could be made that more is riding on Quinn than was riding on Tim Couch in 1999. Couch stepped onto the field with an unknown quantity of a team in '99. He was starting out, the team was starting out, and if all went right, they'd grow together.
Eight years later, we know that maiden voyage ended only slightly more successfully that that of the R.M.S. Titanic.
Now, Quinn steps onto the field as far more than a building block, which Couch was. Quinn must be the primary savior for a franchise that has been a garbage dump of missed draft picks, catastrophic injuries, off-the-field indiscretions and coaching meltdowns in the eight years since Couch first pulled on an orange helmet.
Quinn steps onto the field with a desperate franchise that is riding a streak of four straight last-place finishes in the AFC North. A team that hasn't had a double-digit-win season since 13 years and a franchise ago. A team that hasn't won a playoff game since that year, and hasn't contended for a Super Bowl since 1989.
You can search far and wide, through all the Notre Dame bowl implosions that you want, and you won't find a team or a fan base more shellshocked, more gun-shy and more flinch-prone than what Quinn will encounter when he arrives in Berea for his first practice.
Quinn might think he's arriving as a conquering hero. He'll soon find out that the football-watching population of Northeast Ohio is going to want him to be something far more: The doctor who makes it all better.
Unfortunately, there is no real way for a player of any caliber to prepare himself for that. In many ways, your success or failure -- and by extension whether you are beloved or reviled in the history of Cleveland sports -- is out of your hands.
This is larger than Quinn could ever imagine. This is a team and a city in a life-or-death chess match with the demons that have plagued them for so many years. Quinn is the king piece.
Couch was greeted like Caesar returning from the battlefields. Five years later, he was crying in front of the cameras after fans cheered his post-concussion exit from a game against Baltimore (or the entrance of Kelly Holcomb, depending on which way the wind is blowing that day). Couch was metaphorically undressed that night, and never totally regained his dignity in Cleveland. Less than a year later, he was gone.
Such is life in a desperate city. If the fans and media get even a whiff of failure from you, they will turn on you in less than a heartbeat. Since the departure of Couch, every Browns quarterback has become a negative figure in Cleveland to a greater or lesser degree.
Jeff Garcia never did fit in here. He whined his way out of Cleveland the way he whined his way out of San Francisco. Trent Dilfer was utterly mediocre, and was eventually phased out in favor of Charlie Frye, who has been nothing special in a little over a season as the starting QB. The only thing that gets him a mulligan is his native town of Willard, Ohio, and a little story about having a Bernie Kosar poster on his wall as a boy.
Frye can be the first to tell Quinn that being a native son and idolizing Kosar as a boy can get you far here in Ohio. Quinn should play up that angle as much as possible. It will make you the ultimate fan favorite, especially if you are riding the bench as the starter struggles.
But once you have to strap on the helmet and live up to Kosar's somewhat-bloated legacy, then the real test begins.
And the test for Quinn is more crucial than what any other Cleveland QB has faced since Kosar. Quinn can't fail. He can't even be passable or decent. He has to be great. He has to be the man that rescues the name of the Cleveland Browns from the lake of fire.
If he doesn't, the fans will turn on Quinn with the type of ferocity usually reserved for cheering Pittsburgh fans.
That's a gamble no sensible person should want to make. But with the ink still wet on his contract, that is exactly what Quinn is facing.
This week, Quinn begins to learn what greatness is all about in this town ... and whether he can make the grade.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Tucker's transgression
Sports fans. We're all hypocrites when it suits us.It's not hard to find a San Francisco Giants fan who thinks Major League Baseball is turning Barry Bonds into a scapegoat in the ongoing steroid abuse witch hunt. The default opinion in the Bay Area is either "He has never taken steroids" or more commonly "He was just doing what baseball would allow him to get away with."
In Atlanta, it's probably a bit harder to find a Michael Vick defender among Falcons fans simply because most people view dog fighting as abhorrent and the evidence against Vick appears to be damning. But public demonstrations in support of Vick have shown that team allegiance, in many cases, is thicker than federal charges.
If Bonds were a Dodger or Vick were a Panther, the shoe would be on the other foot and Giant and Falcon fans would be the first to persecute the chief antagonist from a division rival. But that's the way it goes in sports.
We in Cleveland have been guilty of it, too. When Albert Belle was smashing a thermostat, reportedly throwing a baseball at photographer and allegedly chasing Halloween house-eggers in his SUV, the Cleveland fans and media turned the blindest of blind eyes to his off-the-field antics because he was hitting homers and the Indians were winning.
If Belle had been a member of the White Sox two years earlier, how would we have reacted? Be honest.
Now the spin spotlight falls on Ryan Tucker, the Browns offensive tackle who will miss the first four games of this season after testing positive for a banned substance. The test occurred during the offseason, with the league suspension handed down Friday.
Tucker will be allowed to participate in games and practices during the preseason, but will be completely eliminated from all team events from the end of the preseason until Oct. 1. He'll miss the extremely important September gauntlet against the Steelers, Bengals, Raiders and Ravens, which will almost certainly determine the course of the season, and might slay or save Romeo Crennel's job.
On the surface, it seems like a fairly minor situation, and the fans and media have been quick to play it that way. Tucker took something he shouldn't have as he attempted to rebound from mental-health issues during last season. Based on his comments Friday, he knew what he was doing was wrong, knew he was probably going to get caught, and when he did, he offered a full confession and will take his punishment without a word of complaint.
In an era when Rafael Palmeiro might have perjured himself in front of Congress concerning steroid use, Tucker's candor is refreshing. Right?
If you ignore the whole pesky detail about the crime already having been committed, I suppose.
Tucker is quickly transitioning from a rock at right tackle to one of the most unreliable members of the Browns offensive line. It appears that whatever happened to him last year -- which is still shrouded in mystery by both Tucker and the team -- was not his fault. But he rebounded quickly, told the media the start of camp that "I feel great," and for the first time since returning to the league, it appeared the Browns would have some real depth protecting the quarterback and opening holes for the running game.
Now, with this latest stumble -- which was very much his fault and very much avoidable -- he hinders the Browns offensive line yet again, and through what might end up as the most important stretch of the season.
The Browns luckily have a ready-made backup plan in Kevin Shaffer, who might now have a chance to claim a starting job for keeps, even when Tucker comes back. But, as always happens when a player is sidelined, everyone else in the unit moves up a step, creating a domino effect.
The Browns simply cannot absorb another hit, injury or otherwise, to the offensive line between now and the time Tucker returns from suspension. At the rate Browns O-linemen normally fall, who is willing to make that bet?
Tucker can be praised for coming clean and expressing remorse for hurting his team. But it doesn't change the fact that he did hurt his team, at a time when they need to show significant measurable progress early in the season, or run the extremely high risk of watching another season get flushed down the pipes before the first snowflake falls.
For that, Tucker deserves criticism. And he probably deserves a spot on Crennel's bench, even when he returns from suspension.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Training camp '07: And finally...
Today I conclude my 2007 Browns training camp preview series by tying up some loose ends on and off the field.
Special teams
Phil Dawson has been a placekicking rock for the Browns since the franchise returned to action in 1999, so there is no reason to overreact to his shaky second half last year. But there are some definite concerns. After a career-high 93.1 percent of his field goal attempts in 2005, his percentage plummeted to 72.4 percent in '06, the second-lowest percentage of his career behind his rookie year.
Most alarmingly, he made just more than 50 percent (7-of-13) of his field goals from beyond 40 yards. For an offense that had trouble sustaining drives a year ago, it made a bad situation worse.
Kickers, unfortunately, are the most disposable players on NFL rosters. Dawson has to show marked improvement in '07, or the Browns might look elsewhere for a kicker in '08.
Dave Zastudil stepped into the punter's role last year, and was solid, if not Chris-Gardocki-in-his-prime-esque. Eighty-one punts, zero blocks, a 44-yard average with a 38.4-yard net. Sure as heck better than sitting through two years of Derrick Frost and Kyle Richardson.
Josh Cribbs has emerged as arguably the best kickoff returner in the NFL. With blazing linear speed, he amassed 1,494 yards and one touchdown on 61 kickoff returns last season.
The downside? those 61 kickoffs mean the other team was scoring a lot of points on the Browns. If your kickoff returner constitutes a major bright spot on your team, chances are there are other problems that need to be addressed.
The real question mark heading into the dog days of August is who will return punts. Dennis Northcutt, at one point statistically the best punt returner in the league (I still don't know how that happened), is gone to Jacksonville. That leaves a throng of players trying out for the position.
Have legs? Good vision? Able to signal for a fair catch? The Browns might have a job for you.
Right now, receivers Tim Carter and Travis Wilson might get a look as returners, as might Cribbs, who appears to lack the lateral mobility to be a great punt returner if last year's quasi-failure in the role is any indication.
Rookie Syndric Steptoe, a returner in college, could be the long-term solution. But at this point, Vince Papale might be a better kick-returning option than anyone the Browns have in camp.
Coaches
The biggest story heading into camp is the new-look Browns offense under first-year coordinator Rob Chudzinski. Chud was a former tight ends coach for the Browns under Butch Davis, and returns to Cleveland after spending two seasons coaching Antonio Gates in the same role with the Chargers, one of the best offensive teams in football.
Needless to say, Chudzinski figures to employ a lot of plays that call for tight ends Kellen Winslow Jr. and Steve Heiden to get the ball -- not the worst idea, considering they were the two most reliable receivers for the Browns a year ago. Chudzinski previously coached Winslow at the University of Miami, so the two go way back.
Chudzinski will also attempt to rely heavily on a between-the-tackles running game that utilizes the Browns' revamped offensive line and the horseplow running style of new feature back Jamal Lewis. If Lewis can stay on the field and productive for 16 games, it's a good idea ... if he can, that is.
Romeo Crennel enters the season on one of the hottest hot seats of any NFL coach. Coming off a 4-12 season and facing a brutal September/early October schedule, Crennel is fighting an uphill battle to show any progress. In the span of the first four weeks of the season, Crennel will face all three divisional opponents -- all at home, no less.
Crennel is infamously 1-11 versus the AFC North in two seasons as the Browns coach. If that record drops to 1-14 before the bye week, odds are slim Crennel is going to end the season as the Browns coach.
Already, the vultures are swirling and ready to prematurely name Bill Cowher as the Browns coach in 2008.
Front office/ownership
There is no question Phil Savage has been able to ramp up the talent level on the team in two years, even if the record doesn't show it. Last year, he drafted two potential defensive studs in Kamerion Wimbley and D'Qwell Jackson. In each of the last two years, he's drawn top-flight free agents to Cleveland. This year, he addressed the offensive line through the draft, selecting Joe Thomas third overall.
But there is that little nagging problem of Savage performing the role of a super-scout and not really providing the team with any kind of administrative backbone on the homefront. Most of the season, Savage is off scouting the college ranks in preparation for the following year's draft. That's necessary, but for a team that is still trying to crawl out of the muck of years and years of awful football and off-the-field indiscretions too numerous to count, more on-site leadership is probably needed.
Randy Lerner could try to become a front-office owner like Dallas' Jerry Jones or Oakland's Al Davis, but I just don't think that's in his blood. If this little nugget uncovered by TheClevelandFan.com's own Hornless Rhino is true, Lerner might have scones and shepherd's pie in his blood far more than mom and apple pie. Lerner also owns Aston Villa of the English Premiership, and it's becoming painfully obvious that he enjoys English "footie" far more than stars-and-stripes football.
Sooner or later, Lerner might come to the conclusion that he simply can't satisfy two mistresses in the realm of sports. The Browns might be the one he casts adrift.
Special teams
Phil Dawson has been a placekicking rock for the Browns since the franchise returned to action in 1999, so there is no reason to overreact to his shaky second half last year. But there are some definite concerns. After a career-high 93.1 percent of his field goal attempts in 2005, his percentage plummeted to 72.4 percent in '06, the second-lowest percentage of his career behind his rookie year.
Most alarmingly, he made just more than 50 percent (7-of-13) of his field goals from beyond 40 yards. For an offense that had trouble sustaining drives a year ago, it made a bad situation worse.
Kickers, unfortunately, are the most disposable players on NFL rosters. Dawson has to show marked improvement in '07, or the Browns might look elsewhere for a kicker in '08.
Dave Zastudil stepped into the punter's role last year, and was solid, if not Chris-Gardocki-in-his-prime-esque. Eighty-one punts, zero blocks, a 44-yard average with a 38.4-yard net. Sure as heck better than sitting through two years of Derrick Frost and Kyle Richardson.
Josh Cribbs has emerged as arguably the best kickoff returner in the NFL. With blazing linear speed, he amassed 1,494 yards and one touchdown on 61 kickoff returns last season.
The downside? those 61 kickoffs mean the other team was scoring a lot of points on the Browns. If your kickoff returner constitutes a major bright spot on your team, chances are there are other problems that need to be addressed.
The real question mark heading into the dog days of August is who will return punts. Dennis Northcutt, at one point statistically the best punt returner in the league (I still don't know how that happened), is gone to Jacksonville. That leaves a throng of players trying out for the position.
Have legs? Good vision? Able to signal for a fair catch? The Browns might have a job for you.
Right now, receivers Tim Carter and Travis Wilson might get a look as returners, as might Cribbs, who appears to lack the lateral mobility to be a great punt returner if last year's quasi-failure in the role is any indication.
Rookie Syndric Steptoe, a returner in college, could be the long-term solution. But at this point, Vince Papale might be a better kick-returning option than anyone the Browns have in camp.
Coaches
The biggest story heading into camp is the new-look Browns offense under first-year coordinator Rob Chudzinski. Chud was a former tight ends coach for the Browns under Butch Davis, and returns to Cleveland after spending two seasons coaching Antonio Gates in the same role with the Chargers, one of the best offensive teams in football.
Needless to say, Chudzinski figures to employ a lot of plays that call for tight ends Kellen Winslow Jr. and Steve Heiden to get the ball -- not the worst idea, considering they were the two most reliable receivers for the Browns a year ago. Chudzinski previously coached Winslow at the University of Miami, so the two go way back.
Chudzinski will also attempt to rely heavily on a between-the-tackles running game that utilizes the Browns' revamped offensive line and the horseplow running style of new feature back Jamal Lewis. If Lewis can stay on the field and productive for 16 games, it's a good idea ... if he can, that is.
Romeo Crennel enters the season on one of the hottest hot seats of any NFL coach. Coming off a 4-12 season and facing a brutal September/early October schedule, Crennel is fighting an uphill battle to show any progress. In the span of the first four weeks of the season, Crennel will face all three divisional opponents -- all at home, no less.
Crennel is infamously 1-11 versus the AFC North in two seasons as the Browns coach. If that record drops to 1-14 before the bye week, odds are slim Crennel is going to end the season as the Browns coach.
Already, the vultures are swirling and ready to prematurely name Bill Cowher as the Browns coach in 2008.
Front office/ownership
There is no question Phil Savage has been able to ramp up the talent level on the team in two years, even if the record doesn't show it. Last year, he drafted two potential defensive studs in Kamerion Wimbley and D'Qwell Jackson. In each of the last two years, he's drawn top-flight free agents to Cleveland. This year, he addressed the offensive line through the draft, selecting Joe Thomas third overall.
But there is that little nagging problem of Savage performing the role of a super-scout and not really providing the team with any kind of administrative backbone on the homefront. Most of the season, Savage is off scouting the college ranks in preparation for the following year's draft. That's necessary, but for a team that is still trying to crawl out of the muck of years and years of awful football and off-the-field indiscretions too numerous to count, more on-site leadership is probably needed.
Randy Lerner could try to become a front-office owner like Dallas' Jerry Jones or Oakland's Al Davis, but I just don't think that's in his blood. If this little nugget uncovered by TheClevelandFan.com's own Hornless Rhino is true, Lerner might have scones and shepherd's pie in his blood far more than mom and apple pie. Lerner also owns Aston Villa of the English Premiership, and it's becoming painfully obvious that he enjoys English "footie" far more than stars-and-stripes football.
Sooner or later, Lerner might come to the conclusion that he simply can't satisfy two mistresses in the realm of sports. The Browns might be the one he casts adrift.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Men of action
All right, Cleveland fans, turn on your jealousy alarms .... now.
The wheeling and dealing has begun, and not just in baseball.
Baseball's trading deadline is at 4 p.m. today, and while the Indians hold their cards to their vests following Friday's Kenny Lofton deal, other teams have been picking up steam.
Monday, the Mets acquired second baseman Luis Castillo from the Twins, the Phillies traded for starting pitcher Kyle Lohse, and in what will likely be the deadline blockbuster of the year, the Braves and Rangers agreed in principle to trade Mark Teixeira for a package that includes rookie catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
But don't get too frustrated with GM Mark Shapiro and his crew just yet. Of any year since the Shapiro-led rebuilding project began, the Indians' brass knows that this is the year the iron is hot.
Chances are, of any year in recent history, this will be the year Team Shapiro tries to add a significant piece at the trade deadline, particularly as the Indians limp to the end of July having lost five of their last seven series.
If I had to handicap it, I'd say the most likely target is Royals reliever Octavio Dotel. The Indians were interested in him this past winter, but nothing ever materialized. He has a history of arm trouble, and has become something of a journeyman in his career. But, as with any relief pitcher, his services are desired by many different teams, so the Indians will have to overpay. Start with Ben Francisco, and go from there.
Other names to watch include Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen, Nationals relievers Chad Cordero and Jon Rauch, and Rangers set-up man Akinori Otsuka.
If you are dreaming a little dream about the Rangers' Eric Gagne or the Diamondbacks' Jose Valverde pitching for the Tribe, I'd file it under "don't hold your breath." Arizona really has no incentive to trade 28-year-old Valverde, who already has 31 saves, and Gagne can veto a trade to Cleveland, which he would almost certainly do because Joe Borowski is the undisputed closer here.
Think the Indians would be willing to move Borowski to a setup role to get Gagne? Remember, this is a team that has kept Mike Rouse as a utility infielder all season, despite the fact that all signs point to Rouse batting below .100 by season's end.
KG to the Celtics?
The trades aren't just limited to baseball. Several media outlets are reporting that Kevin Garnett is on the verge of being traded to the Boston Celtics for a slew of players and draft picks, including Al Jefferson.
Before we Cavs fans toss our cookies, before we read too many Bill Simmons "Boston rules!" columns (which started today), remember that at least it wasn't a team on the Cavs' level, like Chicago or Detroit, angling for Garnett.
If this trade goes down, it will undoubtedly push Boston to the upper echelons of the East, which says as much about the conference as it does about Garnett.
Right off the bat, the Celtics will have acquired two things the defending Eastern Conference champions do not have: A dominant low-post threat in Garnett and a lights-out three-point shooter in Ray Allen. Combine that with Paul Pierce, and that is one heck of a triumvirate to lead a team, especially in the East, where it doesn't take much to play leapfrog.
But before you crown a Garnett-led Celtics squad the 2008 Eastern Conference champs, remember that Boston will still have a woeful lack of depth with or without Garnett, which puts them in the same predicament as most of the East.
I'd go so far as to say the Cavs, despite all their roster flaws, are still deeper than most teams in the East. And, even with Allen and Pierce, Garnett still won't have a Dwyane Wade-figure to team with as Shaq does. A couple of solid veterans who can score, yes, but neither is the difference-maker Wade is.
So, in a nutshell, the Celtics would be much better with Garnett, but they aren't going to suddenly become the alpha dog in the East.
The wheeling and dealing has begun, and not just in baseball.
Baseball's trading deadline is at 4 p.m. today, and while the Indians hold their cards to their vests following Friday's Kenny Lofton deal, other teams have been picking up steam.
Monday, the Mets acquired second baseman Luis Castillo from the Twins, the Phillies traded for starting pitcher Kyle Lohse, and in what will likely be the deadline blockbuster of the year, the Braves and Rangers agreed in principle to trade Mark Teixeira for a package that includes rookie catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
But don't get too frustrated with GM Mark Shapiro and his crew just yet. Of any year since the Shapiro-led rebuilding project began, the Indians' brass knows that this is the year the iron is hot.
Chances are, of any year in recent history, this will be the year Team Shapiro tries to add a significant piece at the trade deadline, particularly as the Indians limp to the end of July having lost five of their last seven series.
If I had to handicap it, I'd say the most likely target is Royals reliever Octavio Dotel. The Indians were interested in him this past winter, but nothing ever materialized. He has a history of arm trouble, and has become something of a journeyman in his career. But, as with any relief pitcher, his services are desired by many different teams, so the Indians will have to overpay. Start with Ben Francisco, and go from there.
Other names to watch include Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen, Nationals relievers Chad Cordero and Jon Rauch, and Rangers set-up man Akinori Otsuka.
If you are dreaming a little dream about the Rangers' Eric Gagne or the Diamondbacks' Jose Valverde pitching for the Tribe, I'd file it under "don't hold your breath." Arizona really has no incentive to trade 28-year-old Valverde, who already has 31 saves, and Gagne can veto a trade to Cleveland, which he would almost certainly do because Joe Borowski is the undisputed closer here.
Think the Indians would be willing to move Borowski to a setup role to get Gagne? Remember, this is a team that has kept Mike Rouse as a utility infielder all season, despite the fact that all signs point to Rouse batting below .100 by season's end.
KG to the Celtics?
The trades aren't just limited to baseball. Several media outlets are reporting that Kevin Garnett is on the verge of being traded to the Boston Celtics for a slew of players and draft picks, including Al Jefferson.
Before we Cavs fans toss our cookies, before we read too many Bill Simmons "Boston rules!" columns (which started today), remember that at least it wasn't a team on the Cavs' level, like Chicago or Detroit, angling for Garnett.
If this trade goes down, it will undoubtedly push Boston to the upper echelons of the East, which says as much about the conference as it does about Garnett.
Right off the bat, the Celtics will have acquired two things the defending Eastern Conference champions do not have: A dominant low-post threat in Garnett and a lights-out three-point shooter in Ray Allen. Combine that with Paul Pierce, and that is one heck of a triumvirate to lead a team, especially in the East, where it doesn't take much to play leapfrog.
But before you crown a Garnett-led Celtics squad the 2008 Eastern Conference champs, remember that Boston will still have a woeful lack of depth with or without Garnett, which puts them in the same predicament as most of the East.
I'd go so far as to say the Cavs, despite all their roster flaws, are still deeper than most teams in the East. And, even with Allen and Pierce, Garnett still won't have a Dwyane Wade-figure to team with as Shaq does. A couple of solid veterans who can score, yes, but neither is the difference-maker Wade is.
So, in a nutshell, the Celtics would be much better with Garnett, but they aren't going to suddenly become the alpha dog in the East.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Training camp '07: The secondary
Synopsis
You think the offensive line has had the worst luck of any Browns unit? Close, but no cigar.
The O-line is a major contender in the bad karma arena, but even they get nudged out by the secondary.
In the past year, while LeCharles Bentley was attempting to recover from one ruptured patellar tendon, Gary Baxter was recovering from two ruptured patellar tendons, sustained on the same play versus the Broncos last October.
The other starting cornerback, Leigh Bodden, is a tease of Lee Suggs proportions who can stick like glue to Chad Johnson, but only when he's healthy, which isn't often.
The cornerbacks' inability to stay healthy magnifies the frustration for fans (and I'm sure the coaches) because this could be one of the deepest and most talented areas of the team at full strength.
In the wake of the injury to Baxter, Daven Holly came out of nowhere and played well enough to warrant another look in training camp. Justin Hamilton pulled a Mason Unck, performing well enough on special teams to get a longer look in defensive sets. Sean Jones and Brodney Pool began to stabilize the safety positions, though it remains to be seen whether either will morph into a skull-cracking hitter who dissuades receivers from venturing over the middle.
The offseason
The loss of safety Brian Russell is arguably the biggest personnel blow the Browns received this spring. When Russell left, he took the closest thing the Browns had to an intimidating presence in the defensive backfield with him. Now the pressure is on Jones and Pool to fill that role.
Phil Savage stoked the coals of the cornerback corps once again this offseason, adding Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald in the draft, and signing nine-year veteran Kenny Wright in free agency.
After burning this year's second-rounder to acquire the 22nd pick and draft Brady Quinn, Savage traded back into the second round to draft Eric Wright from UNLV. Wright transferred to UNLV from USC due to some off-the-field issues, and many football writers believe he would have been a Top 15 pick had he entered the draft out of Pete Carroll's program.
Needless to say, a lot is riding on Wright to become the shutdown corner who can smother the opponent's top receiver each week.
The major players
CB Gary Baxter: No player has ever recovered from two ruptured knee tendons to have a productive post-injury career. Baxter is trying to break new ground, and it looks like he just might do it.
An offseason of intense rehabbing has gotten Baxter back to the field. Barring any setbacks, it appears likely he'll see game action at some point during the preseason.
There's no telling on what level he'll be able to contribute, but like Bentley, if he can give anything, it will be a major boost to his unit.
CB Leigh Bodden: Who can stop 85? Bodden can stop 85. Bodden's reputation as a Chad Johnson stopper is preceding him, and got him a starting gig.
He's not an elite cornerback, but if Eric Wright develops the way Savage and Romeo Crennel think he will, a starting corner pair of Wright and Bodden seems capable of sticking around here for a while, to say the least.
CB Eric Wright: He just might start right away. He's easily the most athletic player in the secondary.
CB Daven Holly: Carpe diem. Holly, a virtual unknown at this time last year, took the baton and ran with it after Baxter's injury. Now he's looking at major playing time in '07. Still, if he's starting games, it's not good, because it means everyone listed above is either injured or underperforming.
CB Kenny Wright: A veteran of 56 NFL starts, Wright can add some very real depth to the cornerback situation. As important is the leadership Baxter and Wright can provide to the young guys in the secondary.
S Sean Jones: A Butch Davis holdover, Jones had a breakout season a year ago, starting all 16 games and tying for the team lead with five interceptions. He has stud potential as a safety, but with only 32 games under his belt, we need to see more.
S Brodney Pool: It's shine time for Pool, who will be a full-time starter this year. Shine or watch Savage draft your potential replacement next year.
S Jusitn Hamilton: The safety position lacks significant depth, so the opportunity for someone like Hamilton to jump in and see playing time is there. Actually, the Browns need Hamilton to step up, because the rest of the safety unit is either inexperienced or unfamiliar with the Browns' system.
Up next: Special teams, coaching and the front office
You think the offensive line has had the worst luck of any Browns unit? Close, but no cigar.
The O-line is a major contender in the bad karma arena, but even they get nudged out by the secondary.
In the past year, while LeCharles Bentley was attempting to recover from one ruptured patellar tendon, Gary Baxter was recovering from two ruptured patellar tendons, sustained on the same play versus the Broncos last October.
The other starting cornerback, Leigh Bodden, is a tease of Lee Suggs proportions who can stick like glue to Chad Johnson, but only when he's healthy, which isn't often.
The cornerbacks' inability to stay healthy magnifies the frustration for fans (and I'm sure the coaches) because this could be one of the deepest and most talented areas of the team at full strength.
In the wake of the injury to Baxter, Daven Holly came out of nowhere and played well enough to warrant another look in training camp. Justin Hamilton pulled a Mason Unck, performing well enough on special teams to get a longer look in defensive sets. Sean Jones and Brodney Pool began to stabilize the safety positions, though it remains to be seen whether either will morph into a skull-cracking hitter who dissuades receivers from venturing over the middle.
The offseason
The loss of safety Brian Russell is arguably the biggest personnel blow the Browns received this spring. When Russell left, he took the closest thing the Browns had to an intimidating presence in the defensive backfield with him. Now the pressure is on Jones and Pool to fill that role.
Phil Savage stoked the coals of the cornerback corps once again this offseason, adding Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald in the draft, and signing nine-year veteran Kenny Wright in free agency.
After burning this year's second-rounder to acquire the 22nd pick and draft Brady Quinn, Savage traded back into the second round to draft Eric Wright from UNLV. Wright transferred to UNLV from USC due to some off-the-field issues, and many football writers believe he would have been a Top 15 pick had he entered the draft out of Pete Carroll's program.
Needless to say, a lot is riding on Wright to become the shutdown corner who can smother the opponent's top receiver each week.
The major players
CB Gary Baxter: No player has ever recovered from two ruptured knee tendons to have a productive post-injury career. Baxter is trying to break new ground, and it looks like he just might do it.
An offseason of intense rehabbing has gotten Baxter back to the field. Barring any setbacks, it appears likely he'll see game action at some point during the preseason.
There's no telling on what level he'll be able to contribute, but like Bentley, if he can give anything, it will be a major boost to his unit.
CB Leigh Bodden: Who can stop 85? Bodden can stop 85. Bodden's reputation as a Chad Johnson stopper is preceding him, and got him a starting gig.
He's not an elite cornerback, but if Eric Wright develops the way Savage and Romeo Crennel think he will, a starting corner pair of Wright and Bodden seems capable of sticking around here for a while, to say the least.
CB Eric Wright: He just might start right away. He's easily the most athletic player in the secondary.
CB Daven Holly: Carpe diem. Holly, a virtual unknown at this time last year, took the baton and ran with it after Baxter's injury. Now he's looking at major playing time in '07. Still, if he's starting games, it's not good, because it means everyone listed above is either injured or underperforming.
CB Kenny Wright: A veteran of 56 NFL starts, Wright can add some very real depth to the cornerback situation. As important is the leadership Baxter and Wright can provide to the young guys in the secondary.
S Sean Jones: A Butch Davis holdover, Jones had a breakout season a year ago, starting all 16 games and tying for the team lead with five interceptions. He has stud potential as a safety, but with only 32 games under his belt, we need to see more.
S Brodney Pool: It's shine time for Pool, who will be a full-time starter this year. Shine or watch Savage draft your potential replacement next year.
S Jusitn Hamilton: The safety position lacks significant depth, so the opportunity for someone like Hamilton to jump in and see playing time is there. Actually, the Browns need Hamilton to step up, because the rest of the safety unit is either inexperienced or unfamiliar with the Browns' system.
Up next: Special teams, coaching and the front office
Friday, July 27, 2007
A triumphant return
Kenny Lofton returned to the Indians' lineup for the first time since 2001 on Friday night, after coming over in a trade with the Texas Rangers earlier in the day.Batting second, sandwiched between Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez, he looked like he hadn't been away at all.
His stat line: 3-for-5 with an RBI. His trio of hits included a third-inning bunt single that loaded the bases, helped pave the way for a six-run inning, and made us all remember how electrifying Lofton's speed can be, how much of an ignition switch he can provide for an offense.
Short of bringing in a superstar power bat like Ken Griffey Jr., the easiest way to ramp up the production of your offense is to acquire a guy like Lofton who can get on base a number of different ways, then harass the pitcher into making mistakes with the omnipresent threat of a stolen base.
I know you don't want to mess with the lineup too much, Eric Wedge, but please try leading off with Lofton and batting Sizemore third for just one game. See what happens when Lofton is allowed to set the table and Sizemore is placed in an RBI spot in the lineup. You might be pleasantly surprised.
If you need any more convincing, I'm sure someone in the Indians organization can get you Mike Hargrove's phone number.
P.S. If you'd like some more quality reading material on the return of Kenny Lofton, check this out.
One year ago today
July 27, 2006:Browns training camp opened. LeCharles Bentley ruptured his patellar tendon on the first contact drill. In that instant, the 2006 Browns season was wasted. The psychological blow of watching the team's top free agent signing leave the field in a cart was too much to withstand.
Result: The Browns went 4-12. The job security of Charlie Frye and Romeo Crennel started to dissolve. The Browns began camp as a young team starting to turn the corner toward respectability, but were thrown back into a state of disarray.
All in the time it took for Bentley to yell "No!", grab his knee and hit the ground.
July 27, 2007:
Browns training camp opens. Eric Steinbach and Joe Thomas are the latest attempt to stabilize the offensive line. Thomas and cornerback Eric Wright signed contracts yesterday, leaving Brady Quinn as the only unsigned draft pick.
Crennel has possibly one month of the regular season to show that he can improve this team dramatically, or he might lose his job.
Bentley has weathered a yearlong storm no one would want to face. Four surgeries on his badly-damaged knee, with a fifth scheduled but not performed. Two staph infections, which reached leg-threatening and life-threatening proportions. This month, he was cleared to play football in a day many thought would never come.
His ability to help the team is still questionable, and according to The Plain Dealer, Bentley might be viewed by Browns management as something of a mismatched part. GM Phil Savage hasn't said much publicly about Bentley's comeback attempt, and it appears he never received a playbook to study the schemes of new offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski.
Bentley will start camp on the active/physically unable to perform list, along with Gary Baxter, who is recovering from a patellar tendon rupture in each knee, and Kellen Winslow Jr., who is recovering from microfracture surgery on his knee. All three are hoping to be ready in time for the season opener Sept. 9 against the arch-rival Steelers.
This afternoon, we find out if the past 12 months have changed anything for Cleveland's most unfortunate sports franchise, or if the beat goes on.
If anyone leaves the field in the back of a cart today, we'll likely have our answer.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Training camp '07: The linebackers
Synopsis
If there was any nugget of unchecked optimism to be taken from the 2006 Browns, it was the linebacker corps.
In what was unquestionably the most immediate return on investment yielded by Browns draft picks since the team's return, '06 first-rounder Kamerion Wimbley and second-rounder D'Qwell Jackson stepped into the starting lineup and immediately asserted themselves as budding stars.
Wimbley set a Browns rookie record with 11 sacks, second among NFL rookies, staking his claim as one of the game's rising pass rushing talents. Jackson finished second on the team with 115 tackles, including an impressive 16 tackles in a loss to Carolina, according to the team's official site. Tackles are not kept as an official NFL statistic.
Willie McGinest, though past his prime as an elite pass rusher, added four sacks in 13 starts. Andra Davis led the team with 133 tackles.
The backups were capable, including Chaun Thompson, Matt Stewart, Leon Williams, Mason Unck and David McMillan.
Romeo Crennel and Phil Savage know that the success of a 3-4 defensive alignment depends highly on the talent and versatility of its linebackers. To that end, the job the Browns' leaders did in putting this unit together offers more than a glimmer of hope for the future.
The offseason
For good measure, Savage signed former Texan Antwan Peek in March. Peek, an outside linebacker who started all 16 games for Houston in 2005, is expected to challenge McGinest for his starting job. At this point, however, it's hard to see a seasoned veteran and potential future hall-of-famer like McGinest surrendering his job to a guy with 110 career tackles.
Consider Peek an insurance policy in case he suddenly turns into the Donyell Marshall of the Browns.
The major players
OLB Kamerion Wimbley: What does he do for an encore? Hopefully it involves playing in Hawaii in February. If Savage's capacity as an offensive talent evaluator is called into question for the rest of his career, Wimbley is a sparkling example of Savage's ability to draft top defensive talent.
ILB D'Qwell Jackson: He did what inside linebackers are supposed to do in a 3-4 set: Make tons of tackles. Over the years, Browns middle linebackers have gotten a kind of reputation for being masters of the cheap tackle, dragging a running back down after a 14-yard gain. But with Jackson and Andra Davis manning the middle, I think the heart of the defense is in good shape for a while.
ILB Andra Davis: One of the few players to survive the post-Butch Davis purge, he isn't flashy, but he makes plays. Surrounded by better talent, he might be able to improve his own game now.
OLB Willie McGinest: For a has-been, he looked pretty good a year ago. No one is expecting him to dominate anymore. The wisdom he imparts on Wimbley is far more valuable.
OLB Antwan Peek: He's been a part-timer for all but one season of his career. If McGinest goes down, it's either going to be the opportunity Peek has been searching for, or it's going to expose him as a career bench player.
ILB Chaun Thompson: Another Butch Davis holdover, he is the small and fast type of player favored by the former Browns coach. Now a few years older and a few pounds beefier, he might have started last year if not for the emergence of Jackson. But this team is at its best if Thompson is providing depth off the bench.
ILB Matt Stewart: Another kind of undersized bench player. But, much like Thompson and Peek, he has starts on his resume and has the talent to be at least adequate in a starting role. Playing for the notoriously short-handed Browns, that's a big plus.
ILB Leon Williams: He played his way into the foreground at the tail end of last season, including a 17-tackle performance in an otherwise-forgettable game against Tampa Bay. Again, it's the ongoing mantra: Depth, depth, depth.
ILB Mason Unck: The caveman-sounding name is perfect for a guy who likes to get out and crack some skulls. Not terribly big or terribly fast, he has hustled enough on special teams to warrant a longer look from the coaching staff. Coaches will always go for the scrappy guy who plays the game at 100 miles per hour. That's Unck.
Up next: The secondary
If there was any nugget of unchecked optimism to be taken from the 2006 Browns, it was the linebacker corps.
In what was unquestionably the most immediate return on investment yielded by Browns draft picks since the team's return, '06 first-rounder Kamerion Wimbley and second-rounder D'Qwell Jackson stepped into the starting lineup and immediately asserted themselves as budding stars.
Wimbley set a Browns rookie record with 11 sacks, second among NFL rookies, staking his claim as one of the game's rising pass rushing talents. Jackson finished second on the team with 115 tackles, including an impressive 16 tackles in a loss to Carolina, according to the team's official site. Tackles are not kept as an official NFL statistic.
Willie McGinest, though past his prime as an elite pass rusher, added four sacks in 13 starts. Andra Davis led the team with 133 tackles.
The backups were capable, including Chaun Thompson, Matt Stewart, Leon Williams, Mason Unck and David McMillan.
Romeo Crennel and Phil Savage know that the success of a 3-4 defensive alignment depends highly on the talent and versatility of its linebackers. To that end, the job the Browns' leaders did in putting this unit together offers more than a glimmer of hope for the future.
The offseason
For good measure, Savage signed former Texan Antwan Peek in March. Peek, an outside linebacker who started all 16 games for Houston in 2005, is expected to challenge McGinest for his starting job. At this point, however, it's hard to see a seasoned veteran and potential future hall-of-famer like McGinest surrendering his job to a guy with 110 career tackles.
Consider Peek an insurance policy in case he suddenly turns into the Donyell Marshall of the Browns.
The major players
OLB Kamerion Wimbley: What does he do for an encore? Hopefully it involves playing in Hawaii in February. If Savage's capacity as an offensive talent evaluator is called into question for the rest of his career, Wimbley is a sparkling example of Savage's ability to draft top defensive talent.
ILB D'Qwell Jackson: He did what inside linebackers are supposed to do in a 3-4 set: Make tons of tackles. Over the years, Browns middle linebackers have gotten a kind of reputation for being masters of the cheap tackle, dragging a running back down after a 14-yard gain. But with Jackson and Andra Davis manning the middle, I think the heart of the defense is in good shape for a while.
ILB Andra Davis: One of the few players to survive the post-Butch Davis purge, he isn't flashy, but he makes plays. Surrounded by better talent, he might be able to improve his own game now.
OLB Willie McGinest: For a has-been, he looked pretty good a year ago. No one is expecting him to dominate anymore. The wisdom he imparts on Wimbley is far more valuable.
OLB Antwan Peek: He's been a part-timer for all but one season of his career. If McGinest goes down, it's either going to be the opportunity Peek has been searching for, or it's going to expose him as a career bench player.
ILB Chaun Thompson: Another Butch Davis holdover, he is the small and fast type of player favored by the former Browns coach. Now a few years older and a few pounds beefier, he might have started last year if not for the emergence of Jackson. But this team is at its best if Thompson is providing depth off the bench.
ILB Matt Stewart: Another kind of undersized bench player. But, much like Thompson and Peek, he has starts on his resume and has the talent to be at least adequate in a starting role. Playing for the notoriously short-handed Browns, that's a big plus.
ILB Leon Williams: He played his way into the foreground at the tail end of last season, including a 17-tackle performance in an otherwise-forgettable game against Tampa Bay. Again, it's the ongoing mantra: Depth, depth, depth.
ILB Mason Unck: The caveman-sounding name is perfect for a guy who likes to get out and crack some skulls. Not terribly big or terribly fast, he has hustled enough on special teams to warrant a longer look from the coaching staff. Coaches will always go for the scrappy guy who plays the game at 100 miles per hour. That's Unck.
Up next: The secondary
Of toilets and wicked pissahs
It smells like stale urine, and it isn't the team for onceThe picture above illustrates what happens when 1,500 toilets simultaneously have their water-level valves, or "flushometers," fail in an NFL stadium.
The home team needs to have their entire locker room gutted and remodeled less than a month before the first preseason game.
Apparently, when the sewers backed up into Cleveland Browns Stadium during a recent Kenny Chesney concert, the culprit wasn't a broken water main as originally reported. Officials discovered that the flushometers of virtually every toilet in the stadium had become clogged with rust and mineral deposits from the ancient Cleveland sewer system.
When a heavy load was placed on the sewer infrastructure of the stadium, it finally gave way, causing the toilets to back up into the bowels (no pun intended) of the stadium.
Of course, this means that the Browns locker room, on the stadium's sublevel, was turned into a giant culture of bacteria and who knows what other microbial goodness. Even with a complete remodeling of the facilities, maybe the Browns should just pull a John Havlicek and put their uniforms on in the hotel prior to coming over to the stadium.
It's either that, or risk having the Browns become the first team in league history to forfeit a game because the entire roster came down with a staph infection.
Fenway Park West
You think fan support doesn't matter to players?
Just wait until the Red Sox come to town. After winning the World Series in 2004, Ben Affleck and Jimmy Fallon helped Boston become the cool team all the other teams wanted to be like. Celebrity fans, self-fawning books like Bill Simmons' "Now I Can Die in Peace," and TV specials celebrating the eternal loyalty of Red Sox fans helped Boston gather a nationwide army of fair-weather fans the likes of which haven't been seen since the Yankees last won the World Series seven years ago.
The majority of the fans who have been showing up for this week's series against the Red Sox are undoubtedly an actual plague that has descended on Cleveland from the east. But I'm guessing a certain number of the Jacobs Field fans that have been yelling "Youuuuuuu!" when Kevin Youkilis comes to bat will be back at The Jake wearing Yankee gear beginning August 10.
It doesn't matter who wins or loses. All that matters is how many Indians fans threatened to fight them outside Gate B after the game.
Regardless, the players are noticing that the majority of noise coming from the stands is in support of the Red Sox. It's pointless to call out Tribe fans with a "suck it up, get out to the yard and support your team" rant. Cleveland fans have voted with their attendance already. They will only support this team to a very limited point until something drastic happens, like a run deep into October.
So if you don't like having "Papi, hit it wicked haaaaahd!" drowning out the "Let's go Pronk!" chants, my advice is to do what you've already been doing and stay away from Jacobs Field until the Red Sox leave town. Red Sox fans are a beast you can only fight with grandstand attrition, by snapping up the tickets before they can get them. Indians fans lost that battle a long time ago.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Training camp '07: The defensive line
Synopsis
Bob Golic might as well have suited up for the Browns last year.
The defensive line was that old.
With 38-year-old Ted Washington, 33-year-old Orpheus Roye and 28-year-old Alvin McKinley starting in Romeo Crennel's revamped 3-4 scheme, soon-to-be 50-something Golic would have fit right in.
The results were about what you would have expected: No interior pass rush, minimal run-stopping penetration and a glaring lack of being able to recover and make tackles after getting blown off the line on the snap.
The defensive front's advanced age and obscene lack of athleticism were the primary reasons why, once again, the Browns had trouble containing opponents' rushing games.
2007 looks like a transitional year for the defensive line, as Crennel and Phil Savage attempt to shift from big and slow to smaller and quicker. It's probably going to take a few years and a couple of high draft picks to resolve the line's identity crisis.
The offseason
Unfortunately, the oldest and slowest parts of the line -- Washington and Roye -- are still in position to start. Savage added former Texan and Titan Robaire Smith through free agency to plug the spot vacated by Alvin McKinley, who became the latest Cleveland defensive lineman to bolt for Denver.
Shaun Smith was also added to the mix via free agency. The ex-Cowboys, Bengals, Cardinals and Saints journeyman figures to add a smidgen of depth to the nose tackle position, where 2006 draft pick Babatunde Oshinowo had been the only true backup. Oshinowo spent almost all of '06 on the practice squad.
The Browns selected Chase Pittman in the seventh round. At 6'-5" and 275, he has the dimensions to stick in the NFL, but unless he was a diamond in the rough unearthed by Savage, don't expect him to add any actual depth this year.
The major players
DT Orpheus Roye: He's been among the most productive free agent signings the Browns have made since returning to the league. By itself, his age, now 34, wouldn't be as big of an issue. When paired with the borderline-ancient Ted Washington, it becomes a pressing concern.
We've likely seen Roye's most productive years in a Browns uniform come and go. Within the next year or two, finding a new anchor for the defensive line is going to be paramount.
NT Ted Washington: The Browns Web site lists Washington at 375 pounds. If that's actually the case, Washington joined NutriSystem For Men when we weren't looking, because when we last left Washington in early January, he was 375 plus Verne Troyer in a weighted vest.
If Washington was surrounded by hyper-athletic, explosively-fast pass rushers and run-stoppers, he'd likely still be effective as a huge boulder in the middle clogging the rushing game. Surrounded by other tortoises like himself, he just looks like ... well, another tortoise.
Bob Golic might as well have suited up for the Browns last year.
The defensive line was that old.
With 38-year-old Ted Washington, 33-year-old Orpheus Roye and 28-year-old Alvin McKinley starting in Romeo Crennel's revamped 3-4 scheme, soon-to-be 50-something Golic would have fit right in.
The results were about what you would have expected: No interior pass rush, minimal run-stopping penetration and a glaring lack of being able to recover and make tackles after getting blown off the line on the snap.
The defensive front's advanced age and obscene lack of athleticism were the primary reasons why, once again, the Browns had trouble containing opponents' rushing games.
2007 looks like a transitional year for the defensive line, as Crennel and Phil Savage attempt to shift from big and slow to smaller and quicker. It's probably going to take a few years and a couple of high draft picks to resolve the line's identity crisis.
The offseason
Unfortunately, the oldest and slowest parts of the line -- Washington and Roye -- are still in position to start. Savage added former Texan and Titan Robaire Smith through free agency to plug the spot vacated by Alvin McKinley, who became the latest Cleveland defensive lineman to bolt for Denver.
Shaun Smith was also added to the mix via free agency. The ex-Cowboys, Bengals, Cardinals and Saints journeyman figures to add a smidgen of depth to the nose tackle position, where 2006 draft pick Babatunde Oshinowo had been the only true backup. Oshinowo spent almost all of '06 on the practice squad.
The Browns selected Chase Pittman in the seventh round. At 6'-5" and 275, he has the dimensions to stick in the NFL, but unless he was a diamond in the rough unearthed by Savage, don't expect him to add any actual depth this year.
The major players
DT Orpheus Roye: He's been among the most productive free agent signings the Browns have made since returning to the league. By itself, his age, now 34, wouldn't be as big of an issue. When paired with the borderline-ancient Ted Washington, it becomes a pressing concern.
We've likely seen Roye's most productive years in a Browns uniform come and go. Within the next year or two, finding a new anchor for the defensive line is going to be paramount.
NT Ted Washington: The Browns Web site lists Washington at 375 pounds. If that's actually the case, Washington joined NutriSystem For Men when we weren't looking, because when we last left Washington in early January, he was 375 plus Verne Troyer in a weighted vest.
If Washington was surrounded by hyper-athletic, explosively-fast pass rushers and run-stoppers, he'd likely still be effective as a huge boulder in the middle clogging the rushing game. Surrounded by other tortoises like himself, he just looks like ... well, another tortoise.
DT Robaire Smith: With all the hype heaped on the Browns' offensive acquisitions this spring, the signing of Smith kind of flew under the radar. But Smith might become the biggest difference-maker on the defensive front this season.
The former sixth-round pick of the Titans is a self-made starter with 17 career sacks and back-to-back 100-tackle seasons in 2004 and '05 with the Texans. With an aging D-line and another first-round draft pick now two years away, Smith might end up becoming a very important part of the Browns defense in the coming years.
DT Shaun Smith: Even the Browns don't seem to know a lot about this guy. His player profile on the team's official site can't even agree on how many games he's started.
DT Simon Fraser: With flowing red locks and a college history that includes scarlet and gray, Fraser couldn't help but become a fan favorite after signing with the Browns several years ago.
The good news for Buckeye/Brown lovers is that Fraser's role increased last year, and he figures to be a major bench piece for the defensive line this year. If he continues to impress, he might eventually start. He has the size (6'-6" and 300 pounds) to do it.
By the way, you knew he has a university named after him, right?
DT Ethan Kelly: You have to admire a guy with the pluck to survive in this league after appearing in just one game in his first two years, getting cut by the team that drafted him (New England) then playing his way into three starts with Cleveland in two years.
Kelly is like the Browns D-line answer to the Indians' Jason Michaels: He might not be uber-talented, but he hustles and plays hard. Coaches love that.
NT Babatunde Oshinowo: He's a project player who has some work to do, both on his game and in the weight room, but I love the fact that the Browns have a backup nose tackle who is A) working on a master's degree in electrical engineering at Stanford and B) has parents who loved him enough to name him Babatunde Oluwasegun Temitope Oluwakorede Adisa Oshinowo, Jr.
Up next: The linebackers
Sunday, July 22, 2007
What to do with Cliff Lee?
Cliff Lee is a guy I want to root for.After sitting through entire Indians seasons that never featured a fulltime left-handed starter, Lee and C.C. Sabathia were a breath of fresh air as the 2000s dawned. Finally, the Indians would be able to neutralize lefty power hitters and force switch hitters over to their normally-weaker right side.
Finally, teams would be penalized for stacking their lineups with lefty pop against the Indians. The days when the Yankees could face Cleveland and bat Paul O'Neill, switch-hitting Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez in order without giving it a second thought were over.
But that fresh air is turning sour. Lee is struggling mightily and hasn't pitched well on any consistent basis since 2005. Whether they want to admit it or not, the Indians are reaching a decision time with Lee.
He was given a multiyear contract extension last year, when he battled his way to a 14-11 record with a 4.40 ERA. The ERA was a little high, but it was the third consecutive year he reached 14 wins, which justified the extension at the time.
This year, with Lee sitting at 5-7 with a 5.95 ERA following a brutal first inning in a loss to Texas on Saturday, his track record is starting to look decidedly poor once you get past wins and losses.
Since becoming a fulltime member of the Indians rotation in 2004, Lee's hits allowed have gone up every year, from 188 in '04 to 194 in '05, and then jumping to 224 last year. This year, he's allowed 96 hits in 15 starts. Assuming 30 starts, that projects his '07 hits allowed to 192. Assuming last year's 33 starts, Lee will easily eclipse 200 hits allowed again this year.
Lee's earned runs allowed are on pace for a dramatic spike this year. He has so far allowed 58 earned runs, putting him on pace to surrender 116 earned runs in 30 starts, way up from last year's total of 98 and his '05 total of 85. Factor in the 108 earned runs he allowed in '04, and that would mean, without a major shift of fortune in the second half of this season, Lee will have surrendered 100 earned runs in two of his first four seasons as a fulltime starter, and come up two runs shy in a third season.
His ERA is the proof: 5.43 in 33 starts in '04, 3.79 in 32 starts in '05, 4.40 in 33 starts in '06 and 5.95 in 15 starts this year.
His 2005 season, when he went 18-5 and ended up on the outskirts of Cy Young Award consideration, appears to be an aberration at this point.
With three and a half seasons as a fulltime starter under his belt, Lee is developing trends that have become the characteristics of his game: He gives up a lot of hits, and consequently a lot of runs. He has trouble staying away from big innings where he gives up hits and runs in bunches. For some reason, this year the big innings seem to happen early. Lee has allowed hitters to bat .390 within his first 15 pitches per start.
Few things deflate a team like getting dropped into a 5-0 hole before the second inning as happened to the Indians on Saturday.
And that's perhaps the most compelling reason for the Indians to examine other options for Lee instead of giving him the ball every fifth day. The Indians have losing streaks of three and four games this year when Lee takes the mound. They had a winning streak of four Lee starts from June 13 to July 1, but instead of using it to propel himself to a second-half comeback, Lee tossed a six-run, six-hit dud in a loss in Toronto right before the all-star break, and the Indians haven't won a Lee start since.
And that's really been the story of Lee's baseball life since the start of last season: The inability to sustain anything good for long periods. Right now, as much as I don't want to say it, Lee is hurting his team and allowing him to stay in the rotation is probably going to lead to more losses for the Tribe.
Jason Stanford is the long man the bullpen. He might not be a cure-all, but the further Lee ventures into the abyss, the more appealing a Stanford-Lee role swap looks.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Training camp '07: The receivers
Synopsis
If the Browns' offense had a crown jewel heading into 2006, it was supposed to be the receiver corps.
The pass-catchers were highlighted by a pair of Top 10 draft picks in Kellen Winslow Jr. and Braylon Edwards. Both were rebounding quickly from serious knee injuries and expected to carry the load.
Adding depth were veteran speedster Dennis Northcutt and Joe Jurevicius, a sure-handed local boy who had signed as a free agent. The corps also boasted tight end Steve Heiden -- a proficient short-yardage receiver -- and Joshua Cribbs, who proved to be an electrifying playmaker as a kickoff returner.
The Browns' cache of receivers should have been the envy of any team not named the Indianapolis Colts. But like just about everything else involving the Browns offense last year, the receivers never really found a groove.
While Winslow and Heiden flourished as one of the better tight-end tandems in the league, the wide receivers were plagued by dropped passes all season. Northcutt and Edwards were the primary offenders, but even Jurevicius wasn't immune.
The result was a Browns offense that was virtually incapable of making a big play. Charlie Frye's questionable throwing arm and receivers' inability to haul in passes consistently short-circuited Cleveland drives on many occasions.
As with just about every other aspect of the Browns' offense, the receiver corps was sent back to the drawing board this offseason, though most knowledgeable football people seem to agree that the receiving talent is there for the Browns to have a very good passing game. If nothing else, incoming offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski knows that, and will try to build an offense that showcases the talents of Winslow and Edwards.
The offseason
Because the Browns burned two first-round picks on Winslow and Edwards in the past four drafts, there really isn't much to report here. Turnover was minimal.
Northcutt is gone to Jacksonville after dropping a few too many passes to justify a new contract from the Browns. Tim Carter arrived from the Giants in the Reuben Droughns trade and should battle for time at the third and fourth receiver slots. Syndric Steptoe, a 5'-9" speedster, was selected in the seventh round in April and figures to be groomed as a punt returner.
If healthy, Edwards is a lock for the first starting receiver slot. Jurevicius and second-year receiver Travis Wilson appear to be the frontrunners for the second starting receiver slot. Carter could move up the depth chart in a hurry if either Jurevicius or Wilson struggle.
The major players
TE Kellen Winslow Jr.: After missing all of 2005 recovering from a knee injury suffered in his now-infamous motorcycle accident, Winslow bounced back in a big way in 2006, leading all NFL tight ends by snatching 89 receptions for 875 yards.
Of course, it being the Browns, there was a catch. Winslow had surgery in late January to clear out loose bodies in his surgically-repaired knee. Only later did the public discover that the supposed scope job was actually microfracture surgery, a risky procedure in which tiny holes are drilled in the bones of a damaged knee joint, promoting the growth of scare tissue, which is supposed to serve as faux-cartilage.
Youth appears to help a microfracture surgery patient recover. The Phoenix Suns' Amare Stoudemire had the surgery in 2005, missed almost one full season, but showed no ill effects in bouncing back to his old form this past season. Winslow, like Stoudemire, is 24, but plays a far more violent game for a living.
Time will tell how Winslow bounces back. As it is, he'll probably have his workload scaled back in training camp. If Winslow is sidelined at all this season, it will hamper the Browns offense in a big way.
WR Braylon Edwards: He's an incredible athlete with first-rate playmaking ability .... provided he can A) hold onto the ball and B) not let off-the-field ego struggles get in the way of his game.
In 2006, Edwards proved to be more adept at running his mouth than running out his routes or holding onto the ball. It appears that Edwards has maturity issues and an inability to handle adversity well, which is something coach Romeo Crennel has to focus on from day one of camp. Edwards is one more gum-flapping, pass-dropping season away from jeopardizing his standing as a core member of the Browns' future.
TE Steve Heiden: With all the tumult that has surrounded the Browns offense the past five years, Heiden has quietly become the Browns' most reliable receiver over that span. Since arriving in a 2002 trade with San Diego, Heiden has amassed 1,176 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns.
His production spiked in 2005 with 43 receptions for 401 yards, and remained high last year with 36 receptions for 249 yards.
With a former tight ends coach now serving as the Browns offensive coordinator, Heiden figures to continue as a major supporting cast member in Cleveland.
WR Joe Jurevicius: So far, Jurevicius has made it to the Super Bowl with every prior team he's played for -- the Giants, Buccaneers and Seahawks. If he wants to make it 4-for-4 with his hometown team, he might need some patience and a couple of swigs from the fountain of youth.
Jurevicius is entering his 11th NFL season at age 32. He's still a good supplementary player, but he's starting to enter the portion of his career where injuries will become more and more of a concern. Bruised ribs provided a glancing blow to the offense last year, but losing Jurevicius to a lengthier injury could rob the receiver unit of valuable veteran experience.
Because of Winslow's mircofracture surgery and Edwards' flakiness, Jurevicius is among the most important supporting cast players on the team. A lot rides on his ability to suit up and play every week.
WR Travis Wilson: He declared himself the best receiver in the 2006 draft, despite the fact the Browns took him in the third round. But if you make statements like that, you need to go out and back up the words with actions.
In '06, Wilson played in four games, finishing with two catches for 32 yards.
In '07, Wilson will need to live up to his heady assertion far more than in his rookie year. With Northcutt gone, Wilson is one Edwards or Jurevicius injury away from a major role in the offense. At some point this year, it's highly likely Wilson will be pressed into put-up-or-shut-up time.
But then again, when have you ever known an NFL wide receiver to shut up?
WR Joshua Cribbs: His athleticism is tantalizing. He has the explosive legs to do a lot with only a little room to work. But as of right now, Cribbs remains a wild card, a player who doesn't cleanly fit into any role on the offense.
But if you are over six feet tall with the ability to outrun tacklers in the open field, teams will find a use for you. Cribbs fans need not worry; they will see plenty of the former Kent State quarterback this year.
WR Tim Carter: He's played in 31 of 32 games for the Giants the past two years, so at least we know he has a history of good health. Totals of 22 receptions and 253 yards don't hurt either. Carter is a dark horse who could see some significant playing time if enough things bounce his way.
Of course if Carter is playing a lot, it probably means Edwards, Jurevicius and Wilson are on the sideline for one reason or another, so it's best to hope that Carter's role doesn't increase out of desperation.
Up next: The defensive line
If the Browns' offense had a crown jewel heading into 2006, it was supposed to be the receiver corps.
The pass-catchers were highlighted by a pair of Top 10 draft picks in Kellen Winslow Jr. and Braylon Edwards. Both were rebounding quickly from serious knee injuries and expected to carry the load.
Adding depth were veteran speedster Dennis Northcutt and Joe Jurevicius, a sure-handed local boy who had signed as a free agent. The corps also boasted tight end Steve Heiden -- a proficient short-yardage receiver -- and Joshua Cribbs, who proved to be an electrifying playmaker as a kickoff returner.
The Browns' cache of receivers should have been the envy of any team not named the Indianapolis Colts. But like just about everything else involving the Browns offense last year, the receivers never really found a groove.
While Winslow and Heiden flourished as one of the better tight-end tandems in the league, the wide receivers were plagued by dropped passes all season. Northcutt and Edwards were the primary offenders, but even Jurevicius wasn't immune.
The result was a Browns offense that was virtually incapable of making a big play. Charlie Frye's questionable throwing arm and receivers' inability to haul in passes consistently short-circuited Cleveland drives on many occasions.
As with just about every other aspect of the Browns' offense, the receiver corps was sent back to the drawing board this offseason, though most knowledgeable football people seem to agree that the receiving talent is there for the Browns to have a very good passing game. If nothing else, incoming offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski knows that, and will try to build an offense that showcases the talents of Winslow and Edwards.
The offseason
Because the Browns burned two first-round picks on Winslow and Edwards in the past four drafts, there really isn't much to report here. Turnover was minimal.
Northcutt is gone to Jacksonville after dropping a few too many passes to justify a new contract from the Browns. Tim Carter arrived from the Giants in the Reuben Droughns trade and should battle for time at the third and fourth receiver slots. Syndric Steptoe, a 5'-9" speedster, was selected in the seventh round in April and figures to be groomed as a punt returner.
If healthy, Edwards is a lock for the first starting receiver slot. Jurevicius and second-year receiver Travis Wilson appear to be the frontrunners for the second starting receiver slot. Carter could move up the depth chart in a hurry if either Jurevicius or Wilson struggle.
The major players
TE Kellen Winslow Jr.: After missing all of 2005 recovering from a knee injury suffered in his now-infamous motorcycle accident, Winslow bounced back in a big way in 2006, leading all NFL tight ends by snatching 89 receptions for 875 yards.
Of course, it being the Browns, there was a catch. Winslow had surgery in late January to clear out loose bodies in his surgically-repaired knee. Only later did the public discover that the supposed scope job was actually microfracture surgery, a risky procedure in which tiny holes are drilled in the bones of a damaged knee joint, promoting the growth of scare tissue, which is supposed to serve as faux-cartilage.
Youth appears to help a microfracture surgery patient recover. The Phoenix Suns' Amare Stoudemire had the surgery in 2005, missed almost one full season, but showed no ill effects in bouncing back to his old form this past season. Winslow, like Stoudemire, is 24, but plays a far more violent game for a living.
Time will tell how Winslow bounces back. As it is, he'll probably have his workload scaled back in training camp. If Winslow is sidelined at all this season, it will hamper the Browns offense in a big way.
WR Braylon Edwards: He's an incredible athlete with first-rate playmaking ability .... provided he can A) hold onto the ball and B) not let off-the-field ego struggles get in the way of his game.
In 2006, Edwards proved to be more adept at running his mouth than running out his routes or holding onto the ball. It appears that Edwards has maturity issues and an inability to handle adversity well, which is something coach Romeo Crennel has to focus on from day one of camp. Edwards is one more gum-flapping, pass-dropping season away from jeopardizing his standing as a core member of the Browns' future.
TE Steve Heiden: With all the tumult that has surrounded the Browns offense the past five years, Heiden has quietly become the Browns' most reliable receiver over that span. Since arriving in a 2002 trade with San Diego, Heiden has amassed 1,176 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns.
His production spiked in 2005 with 43 receptions for 401 yards, and remained high last year with 36 receptions for 249 yards.
With a former tight ends coach now serving as the Browns offensive coordinator, Heiden figures to continue as a major supporting cast member in Cleveland.
WR Joe Jurevicius: So far, Jurevicius has made it to the Super Bowl with every prior team he's played for -- the Giants, Buccaneers and Seahawks. If he wants to make it 4-for-4 with his hometown team, he might need some patience and a couple of swigs from the fountain of youth.
Jurevicius is entering his 11th NFL season at age 32. He's still a good supplementary player, but he's starting to enter the portion of his career where injuries will become more and more of a concern. Bruised ribs provided a glancing blow to the offense last year, but losing Jurevicius to a lengthier injury could rob the receiver unit of valuable veteran experience.
Because of Winslow's mircofracture surgery and Edwards' flakiness, Jurevicius is among the most important supporting cast players on the team. A lot rides on his ability to suit up and play every week.
WR Travis Wilson: He declared himself the best receiver in the 2006 draft, despite the fact the Browns took him in the third round. But if you make statements like that, you need to go out and back up the words with actions.
In '06, Wilson played in four games, finishing with two catches for 32 yards.
In '07, Wilson will need to live up to his heady assertion far more than in his rookie year. With Northcutt gone, Wilson is one Edwards or Jurevicius injury away from a major role in the offense. At some point this year, it's highly likely Wilson will be pressed into put-up-or-shut-up time.
But then again, when have you ever known an NFL wide receiver to shut up?
WR Joshua Cribbs: His athleticism is tantalizing. He has the explosive legs to do a lot with only a little room to work. But as of right now, Cribbs remains a wild card, a player who doesn't cleanly fit into any role on the offense.
But if you are over six feet tall with the ability to outrun tacklers in the open field, teams will find a use for you. Cribbs fans need not worry; they will see plenty of the former Kent State quarterback this year.
WR Tim Carter: He's played in 31 of 32 games for the Giants the past two years, so at least we know he has a history of good health. Totals of 22 receptions and 253 yards don't hurt either. Carter is a dark horse who could see some significant playing time if enough things bounce his way.
Of course if Carter is playing a lot, it probably means Edwards, Jurevicius and Wilson are on the sideline for one reason or another, so it's best to hope that Carter's role doesn't increase out of desperation.
Up next: The defensive line
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Training camp '07: The offensive line
Synopsis
The story of the 2006 Browns offensive line can be divided into two parts: Before LeCharles Bentley destroyed his knee and after LeCharles Bentley destroyed his knee.
Before Bentley's injury on the first contact drill of training camp, the Browns' offensive line looked like it had turned the corner. The free agency additions of two-time Pro Bowler Bentley and tackle Kevin Shaffer were supposed to stabilize a line that had been characteristically bad with few exceptions since the team returned to the league in 1999.
Then Bentley went down, the center position became a mess that wasn't cleaned up until the Browns traded for Hank Fraley, and the line was worse than ever.
But maybe the rumors of the rebirth of the Browns' O-line were greatly exaggerated to begin with. Even without Bentley's injury, the line would have still been lacking.
As it turns out, the true weakness of the Browns' line wasn't the center position. It was the guard position. Flanking the center spot were Joe Andruzzi and Cosey Coleman. Combined with Fraley, the trio might have been the slowest and least-athletic interior line in the league, a problem exacerbated when facing the blitz-happy defenses of the Steelers and Ravens.
The offseason
For the second straight offseason, Browns GM Phil Savage called in the heavy artillery to address the offensive line. But even last offseason paled in comparison to the overhaul Savage performed this spring.
Andruzzi and Coleman are gone. Replacing them is a younger and more athletic group.
Once again, Savage snapped up the best available lineman on the free agent market, signing left guard Eric Steinbach away from the Bengals. He also added guard Seth McKinney, who figures to start on the right side.
Savage complimented his free agent signings by using the third overall pick in April's draft on Wisconsin tackle Joe Thomas. A top-flight free agent signing and top-three draft pick will now be protecting the quarterback's blindside, so Savage at least gets high marks for effort.
Adding to the intrigue is a potential comeback by Bentley, who is trying to rebound from four knee surgeries, two of them to clear out staph infections that almost cost him his leg -- and if media reports are correct, possibly his life.
But even if Bentley makes it back to the gridiron, it would be wise to believe that anything he could give the Browns would be gravy at this point.
The major players
LT Joe Thomas: A beast of a lineman who reportedly has the footwork to set him apart from the Robert Gallerys of the world. There is little doubt that if he gets into camp anywhere close to on time, he's starting. But if he holds out and it lingers until the third preseason game, the job might fall back to Kevin Shaffer.
LG Eric Steinbach: A self-made elite lineman who was lured away from a division rival. He's been in the league since 2002, so in the aftermath of Bentley's inury, you'll excuse us if, somewhere in the back of our mind, we're wondering if any of his weight-bearing joints are ticking time bombs. But if he stays healthy, he's a Grade-A signing.
C Hank Fraley: After losing Bentley and stumbling though what seemed like about a dozen starting centers, the last-minute pickup of Fraley was a nice save by Savage. Fraley didn't blow anyone away, but considering his limited athleticism, recent history of injuries and the fact that he's closing in on 30, he held his own for the entire season. His grit earned him a four-year extension from the Browns.
It would be wise to assume that Fraley is going to be this team's starting center for the foreseeable future.
RG Seth McKinney: He has two seasons (2004 and '05) under his belt as a full-time starter with the Dolphins. He missed all of last season following surgery to repair a neck disc, so it's been about 19 months since he's seen NFL game action. He'll likely be given first crack at the right guard's job, but his effectiveness is hard to gauge at this point.
RG Ryan Tucker: After losing the final part of last season while seeking treatment for an undisclosed mental disorder, Tucker told The Plain Dealer in March that he's ready to play again. If he can still play at a high level, it appears he'll start at his old job.
Tucker has been the closest thing to a rock that the Browns offensive line has had the past five years, but at the age of 32, there is reason to believe he is on the decline. Of the five projected O-line starters, his future appears to be the murkiest. Shaffer is waiting in the wings should Tucker falter.
T Kevin Shaffer: After the Browns drafted Thomas, rumors begin swirling that Shaffer wanted to be traded if he wasn't going to start. One news report even said a deal was in place to trade Shaffer to the Giants, but it fell through at the last minute.
Shaffer emerged days later to debunk the trade talk. But you'd have to believe that he isn't going to go quietly to the bench. Shaffer gives the Browns some solid depth at the tackle position, but also poses the threat of becoming a locker-room malcontent if Thomas and Tucker hold onto both starting jobs.
C LeCharles Bentley: All we can do is hope. If he can come back and give the Browns anything this year, go to church and give 10 percent, because you will have witnessed an act of God.
Up next: The receivers
The story of the 2006 Browns offensive line can be divided into two parts: Before LeCharles Bentley destroyed his knee and after LeCharles Bentley destroyed his knee.
Before Bentley's injury on the first contact drill of training camp, the Browns' offensive line looked like it had turned the corner. The free agency additions of two-time Pro Bowler Bentley and tackle Kevin Shaffer were supposed to stabilize a line that had been characteristically bad with few exceptions since the team returned to the league in 1999.
Then Bentley went down, the center position became a mess that wasn't cleaned up until the Browns traded for Hank Fraley, and the line was worse than ever.
But maybe the rumors of the rebirth of the Browns' O-line were greatly exaggerated to begin with. Even without Bentley's injury, the line would have still been lacking.
As it turns out, the true weakness of the Browns' line wasn't the center position. It was the guard position. Flanking the center spot were Joe Andruzzi and Cosey Coleman. Combined with Fraley, the trio might have been the slowest and least-athletic interior line in the league, a problem exacerbated when facing the blitz-happy defenses of the Steelers and Ravens.
The offseason
For the second straight offseason, Browns GM Phil Savage called in the heavy artillery to address the offensive line. But even last offseason paled in comparison to the overhaul Savage performed this spring.
Andruzzi and Coleman are gone. Replacing them is a younger and more athletic group.
Once again, Savage snapped up the best available lineman on the free agent market, signing left guard Eric Steinbach away from the Bengals. He also added guard Seth McKinney, who figures to start on the right side.
Savage complimented his free agent signings by using the third overall pick in April's draft on Wisconsin tackle Joe Thomas. A top-flight free agent signing and top-three draft pick will now be protecting the quarterback's blindside, so Savage at least gets high marks for effort.
Adding to the intrigue is a potential comeback by Bentley, who is trying to rebound from four knee surgeries, two of them to clear out staph infections that almost cost him his leg -- and if media reports are correct, possibly his life.
But even if Bentley makes it back to the gridiron, it would be wise to believe that anything he could give the Browns would be gravy at this point.
The major players
LT Joe Thomas: A beast of a lineman who reportedly has the footwork to set him apart from the Robert Gallerys of the world. There is little doubt that if he gets into camp anywhere close to on time, he's starting. But if he holds out and it lingers until the third preseason game, the job might fall back to Kevin Shaffer.
LG Eric Steinbach: A self-made elite lineman who was lured away from a division rival. He's been in the league since 2002, so in the aftermath of Bentley's inury, you'll excuse us if, somewhere in the back of our mind, we're wondering if any of his weight-bearing joints are ticking time bombs. But if he stays healthy, he's a Grade-A signing.
C Hank Fraley: After losing Bentley and stumbling though what seemed like about a dozen starting centers, the last-minute pickup of Fraley was a nice save by Savage. Fraley didn't blow anyone away, but considering his limited athleticism, recent history of injuries and the fact that he's closing in on 30, he held his own for the entire season. His grit earned him a four-year extension from the Browns.
It would be wise to assume that Fraley is going to be this team's starting center for the foreseeable future.
RG Seth McKinney: He has two seasons (2004 and '05) under his belt as a full-time starter with the Dolphins. He missed all of last season following surgery to repair a neck disc, so it's been about 19 months since he's seen NFL game action. He'll likely be given first crack at the right guard's job, but his effectiveness is hard to gauge at this point.
RG Ryan Tucker: After losing the final part of last season while seeking treatment for an undisclosed mental disorder, Tucker told The Plain Dealer in March that he's ready to play again. If he can still play at a high level, it appears he'll start at his old job.
Tucker has been the closest thing to a rock that the Browns offensive line has had the past five years, but at the age of 32, there is reason to believe he is on the decline. Of the five projected O-line starters, his future appears to be the murkiest. Shaffer is waiting in the wings should Tucker falter.
T Kevin Shaffer: After the Browns drafted Thomas, rumors begin swirling that Shaffer wanted to be traded if he wasn't going to start. One news report even said a deal was in place to trade Shaffer to the Giants, but it fell through at the last minute.
Shaffer emerged days later to debunk the trade talk. But you'd have to believe that he isn't going to go quietly to the bench. Shaffer gives the Browns some solid depth at the tackle position, but also poses the threat of becoming a locker-room malcontent if Thomas and Tucker hold onto both starting jobs.
C LeCharles Bentley: All we can do is hope. If he can come back and give the Browns anything this year, go to church and give 10 percent, because you will have witnessed an act of God.
Up next: The receivers
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