Indians Weekend Wrapup: Heading Into the Break With a Thud
July 9, 2012Andy Murray is so Cleveland
July 9, 2012Pre-season power rankings aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Much like initial draft grades, they’re an excuse to talk about things, but rarely do they have much validity as the first few names are populating IR lists in fantasy football. Be that as it may, the Browns have been placed dead last on PFT’s power rankings.
Last year, the Browns were the only members of the AFC North to not make it to the postseason. While they likely won’t be quite so alone when the dust settles on 2012, they’re currently all alone at the bottom of the heap.
Hey, someone has to be No. 32. Though the Browns could scratch and claw and climb and thrive (and I personally hope they will), the franchise collectively has pressed the button that falls between “panic” and “reset” for the coming season.
Give Florio and company some credit. They don’t just throw a list together with a couple of one-liners. Their post on the Browns will seem like old hat to most of you hard-cores, but they do a very good job of laying everything out there on the team’s strengths, weaknesses, changes to the team and expected camp battles.
In this case, it wasn’t so much about smashing the Browns as pointing out the obvious question marks. The Browns might be headed in the right direction with their most recent draft, but it truly is impossible to tell until we actually see Trent Richardson, Brandon Weeden and Mitch Schwartz play football. It is equally impossible to tell until we see the defense without Phil Taylor.
If Tom Heckert and Mike Holmgren did their jobs this off-season it won’t be long until they’re out of the basement. If they didn’t? Well, there’s no place further to drop.
As Florio said, “Hey, someone has to be No. 32.” Did Florio get it right, or is there a team that you think should have been below the Browns?
34 Comments
Sounds about right…who’ll be worse, Indy?
Ya but it can go two ways. If the Steelers had drafted Trent Richardson, there would never be talk of him being the next Kijana Carter. And if they had drafted Mitchell Schwartz, he’d be a sure thing, not a “can he be better than Tony Pashos?” I’m not sayin we’re going to the playoffs, but I don’t think it’s fair to say the Browns are the worst team in the NFL and then throw out a bunch of bullcrap questions. If the Browns weren’t 99.9% sure that Schwartz was the answer over Pashos, then they prolly wouldn’t have drafted him at 37. If they weren’t sure that Trent Richardson is gonna tear some AFC North linebackers a new b-hole, they wouldn’t have traded up to ensure they got him. You cannot seriously believe that the Browns are the worst team out there. Look at Jacksonville. Seattle is pretty bad too. To be honest, Carolina doesnt have a whole lot other than Cam Newton and some aging stars. The Rams still arent very good either. Why is a Strong armed pocket passer with previous experience in another professional sport so much worse than an undersized running qb (RGIII). Let’s be serious, it’s exciting that the Redskins have RGIII but what kind of weapons did they give him? Overpayed number 2 wide receivers? I’ll go on record saying the Browns will have a better record this year than the Redskins.
I actually think Indy will definitely be worse. They’re breaking in a new QB, but they also have a new center and they’re (gasp) switching from their traditional 4-3 under Dungy to the 3-4. Dwight Freeney was built for the 4-3. Talk about not playing to strengths. Gonna be a tough year for them, I think.
I don’t know about record, but Rick and I have a bet on that Redskins vs. Browns game. I bet him that the Browns will be favored going into that game. He thinks the ‘Skins will.
Someone does have to be last. I think the Browns are still a better overall team than the Colts, even w/o Taylor.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see them come in at 31 or 30.
If Tom Heckert and Mike Holmgren did their jobs this off-season it won’t be long until they’re out of the basement.
not true because this statement doesn’t address the biggest weakness on this team last year: head coach and in particular the offensive game-planning/play-calling. bringing in another reid-tree crony at OC should be an improvement. but i’m at loss to understand why shurmur is being allowed to continue playcalling. this guy has no track record as an offensive guru… frankly by any metric he is a poor offensive mind. i don’t know why holmgren kowtow’d to his request to continue calling plays. not only was he bad at it, it was clearly a cocoon where he felt safe and would retreat to. how many times would the camera cut to shurmur after a play, good or bad, and his head was down reading his playcard.
anyways, walter football has the browns at 2-14. as long as shurmur holds on to the playcard, that’s where i see them too.
…and FWIW, I think this whole “McCoy’s got to go” thing is overblown. I really don’t see any “controversy” arising if the Browns don’t otherwise find a way to move him.
31 or 32 does it really matter in July? Until they actually play you go by their last game and what they’ve done since. Based on that they are at the bottom where they belong.
Well said, as always. The team will continue to suffer under Shurmur. I know that no one wants to catch hell and even hint that Holmgren is a fool for picking him and letting him continue as head coach/play-caller. It just sucks as a Browns fan to see this team so behind other teams.
If they finish better than the 2012 Browns (who also had a plethora of “reasons” to suck), what will you say?
Well, obviously they did what they thought was right to address Shurmur by finally hiring an offensive coordinator. That’s not enough by itself. Shurmur has to improve as well. We all know this.
If Shurmur doesn’t improve your 2-14 prediction will probably be accurate and the Browns will most likely relieve him of his duties.
(i originally asterisked ‘true’ and was going to add that very note. cant get a fastball by anyone here.)
not worried about power rankings in July. our record the past 13 seasons gives writers every reason to throw us at the bottom of the heap. but, I have liked what we have gotten out of the previous 2 Heckert drafts, so if this 3rd installment lives up to it’s billing, then I have little doubt we will not end up there.
THERE IS OTHER TEAMS THAT SHOULD BE BELOW THE BROWNS, THE BROWNS LAST YEAR WITH NO OFFENSE STILL SHOWED ALOT OF PRIDE AN TALENT. THEY WERE IN EVERY GAME BUT TWO ALL THE OTHERS COULD HAVE BEEN WINS
THERE IS WAYS TO NOT SCREAM ONLINE JUST PRESS CAPS-LOCK KEY.
If I were still a Browns fan (I had to cut ties), dead last would be a realistic goal heading into a new season. That way best case scenario, the Browns are actually better than you expected.
expletives
I’ll say lots of things… every week… right here on this very website… We could be talking about an interim coach? We could be talking about the draft? How good do you think my future prediction skills are? 🙂
What does it mean to be last in a power ranking? If that’s a prediction that the Browns will have the worst record in the NFL next year, I disagree. Jax, Indy, St. Louis and Miami all are likely to be worse, in my opinion.
Long-term, however, well, there’s reason to think that, of those teams, the Colts, at least, are in a better position. And if you are someone who is not a believer in the Browns’ management and ownership, well, a case could be made for 32. If you’re metric for success is winning football games, there’s little evidence in past performance to suggest that Lerner, Pres. Holmgren, Heckert, and Shurmur are capable of… oh, you know what? I’m sick of having this conversation over and over again. Since I want to watch a winning football team, I’m going to cancel my Sunday Ticket subscription.
WHAT ARE THEY?!?!
SAVE IT 4 THE SEASON 4 NOW WE REST! (…continues torch preparation)
“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” (Dylan).
I would agree that HC issues were high on the list, however to me the single biggest failure last year was RT. If you want to blame the front office for not making a move or just blame bad luck I don’t care, but to me that was the first domino that fell in crippling the team. Having to keep a tight end in to help block, not being able to run right at all, having the QB get pressure on 3! step drops. Again just my opinion but all of the ineptness, QBs, RBs WRs, and even coaches flowed outward from the worst right side of a line in football. Add in Mack’s apendectomy which impacted his game and you had a team that had a lack of skill position talent operating with a very bad line.
Browns are not the worst team in the league, but does it really matter? And with our two draft picks not yet having played a down in the league, can you really argue?
I like the logic… but how do you “cut ties” with your favorite team? Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.
I DON’T KNOW WHAT WE’RE YELLING ABOUT!!!
I think the browns have a much better team and that the biggest missing pieces last year were qb, rb, and wr (which could have been cuz the qb play was so mediocre). We have a new strong armed qb, and a beast of a rb. I think we’re lookin at somewhere around a .500 season.
Will ties be re-established if they start winning?
Of course.. & he will have been a fan the whole time.
Browns gotta win in their division to impress me. It’s the only way out of the basement. Long time Browns fan… I hope they can solve their problems before Thomas gets old and we have to address LT again.
LOUD NOISES!!!!
Damn straight Steve. Wish there was more Browns fan out there like you. Let’s get fired up about this team and have some optimistic thoughts for once. The glass is definitely half full in my eyes going in. We improve across the board and make some noise. Every year there are 2-3 teams that surprise everyone. Why not us this year? Screw PFT and their predictions.
Great point, Schwarz is a big question mark but Mike Adams, who was a so so college pass protector may be starting at LT for the Steelers, and their new LG is already in the Hall of Fame.
But will he sell all his old black and gold gear?