Cleveland Browns Game 7: Winner and Losers
October 21, 2013Ohio State debuts at number four in BCS rankings
October 21, 2013This week we talked about the Browns’ loss to the Packers, but we branched out a bit. We talked about Robert Redford, movie criticism and passing pop culture down generationally. We also talked about Scott Raab coming home to speak at Cleveland State and also the Happy Dog on Wednesday night at 7:30 PM with Zac Jackson as well.
Here’s the email I sent to Scott in anticipation of our podcast this morning.
We’ll talk about the Browns. Specifically, I think I can say without hyperbole that the Browns should cut Brandon Weeden. It seems inconceivable that Michael Lombardi could be involved with the Browns cutting Bernie Kosar and yet can’t find it in this iteration of the Browns to cut Weeden loose.
I really want to talk about Robert Redford. I read your movie review of All is Lost. Unfortunately I didn’t catch the profile from April. Something you said in the review surprised me.
Call it a product of our age difference, but I had no idea that Redford wasn’t a critical success his entire career. Obviously I believe you, but I think it’s fascinating that the translation of Redford from my father to me was nothing but positive and so I always just assumed he was like a George Clooney who was both popular and critically acclaimed.
Is there an actor today that lines up with Redford in that way where he takes a little from the critics, but time will erase almost all of the criticism? I have one in mind, but I’ll save it and run it by you “live” on the air.
That’s all I’ve got right now. I am looking to read some of the post-game quotes from the Browns to see if they have anything to say for themselves.
7 Comments
I posted this last week, so I will post again. Below are three articles FROM LAST YEAR that discuss (with alarm) T-Rich’s low YPC. One if from NFL.com, one is from NBC Pro Football Talk, and one is from the PD.
Of course there are a lot MORE fans making these arguments now, but I know plenty of fans (myself included) who were disappointed with T-Rich LAST YEAR.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000111200/article/trent-richardson-not-demoted-by-cleveland-browns
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/14/browns-might-cut-trent-richardsons-playing-time/
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/12/cleveland_browns_trent_richard_22.html
I know Scott R. doesn’t read the comments but Craig, can you ask him this in the next pod: I want to know if Scott didn’t like Werner Herzog’s ‘Happy People, A Year in the Taiga.’ I can watch that, say, every month and never get tired of it. (And I also loved Herzog’s
Encounters at the End of the World and Grizzly Man (of course).)
This notion that “nobody” was skeptical of Richardson before the trade is simply not true. In addition to those links you posted, here’s another excellent one from this summer that showcases Richardson’s issues with not seeing the holes: http://www.draftbrowns.com/2013/06/browns-film-room-trent-richardson/
Oh, and here are my thoughts on Richardson from our Season Predictions post: https://waitingfornextyear.com/2013/09/the-2013-cleveland-browns-wfny-predictions/
Andrew: Trent Richardson will play 15 games and finish with 1,103 yards and 12 TD. I don’t really know what to make of Richardson. Everyone seems to be pretty high on the guy, but I’ve never really seen anything that truly “wows” me about him. I think he’s an average, serviceable NFL running back, and these numbers reflect that.
Andrew: The biggest disappointment will be Trent Richardson. I swear I’m not reverse jinxing the guy (or am I???), but I just don’t see it. He still looks a little hesitant hitting the hole and I don’t think his vision is the quickest. It just seems to take him a while to make up his mind what he wants to do, and that’s a perilous trait for RBs to have.
Wow. This is great. You should point this out to Craig and Raab! And you should get that free breakfast!
I comment over at Frowns all the time, and at the end of last year there was regular discussion of how T-Rich was a potential dud. Of course as long as he was with the Browns, we all wanted him to turn it around and find his potential. But it really looks like he may never find it.
You’re taking it literally. Do you really think Scott Raab means that NOBODY was talking about Trent Richardson’s YPC, or do you think that’s an exaggeration meant to reflect the reality that ALMOST NOBODY was talking about Trent Richardson negatively? Despite your continued posting of the same comment, and Andrew’s pointing out that he was also one of a very very few (And good on him. honestly. I didn’t see the struggles coming at all.) who did so, the point still stands.
There is overwhelming love for the Trent Richardson trade a year after there was overwhelming love for the draft pick and overwhelming excuse-making for Richardson due to injury and criticism for Norv Turner for not playing him on third down in the first two games this season. There’s a general lack of perspective going on. Maybe not with you personally Bryan, but overwhelmingly I think there are a lot of people changing the story. And they’re changing their story to align with the current front office after previously liking the pick that aligned with the last front office.
Craig – I agree that a lot of people have changed their tune. But I do think you and Scott have your own biased perspective about how widespread concerns about Richardson were last year.
As someone who consumes advanced stats and data-driven bloggers/articles, it was clear to me last year that, within the analytics community, most people agreed T-Rich was a HUGE question mark. That community is small, especially in Cleveland where the biggest media outlets spew “homerism”; i.e. all Cleveland players are amazing, so I can understand why you and Scott perceive that “almost nobody” was skeptical of T-Rich last year, but that really is not true.
What frustrates me is that you and Scott have a big audience, and this is a chance to enlighten people about the dangers of “homerism” by explaining how the FO actually used analytics to make a non-emotional, good football decision. If we want to improve the quality of Cleveland’s sports media (as Raab repeatedly claims he does), we should be using the T-Rich trade to teach people about the dangers of homerism. IMO, you guys are doing the opposite by defending T-Richs’s worth.
Anyway, I will stop posting about this topic. I promise 🙂
Cousin Sal said on Simmons podcast (paraphrased):
The Browns need to get another 1st round pick and just draft all the quarterbacks next year.
There’s a solution to your numbers theory!