WFNY’s 2014 Cleveland Browns Position Review: Linebackers
January 8, 2015Dion Waiters “a little bitter” about timing of his trade
January 9, 2015Welcome to the Friday edition of WWW. I hope you had a nice week, but I surely didn’t expect it to have this many fireworks…
The Cavs made trades…
Look, nobody ever said it was going to be easy. If there’s one thing we learned from LeBron leaving to join the Miami Heat in 2010, it’s that you don’t become NBA champions over night. We know that despite having superior talent there is an awkward transition for superstar players learning to play together. We know that this awkward period can lead to all kinds of speculation about player happiness for one thing. Remember when those first rumors came out of Miami saying that LeBron might have regretted leaving the friendly confines of Cleveland? This awkward period can also lead to lots of rumor and speculation about a head coach. I admit that it’s ugly and awkward right now. I admit it was somewhat ugly and awkward even before LeBron shut it down for a couple weeks to get healthy. The one thing I’ve remained consistent about is that we need to be patient and I stand behind that.
The one thing that I thought for sure was that the Cleveland Cavaliers that enter the playoffs will be very different than the ones that started the year. I didn’t necessarily count on an Anderson Varejao season-ender of an injury, but I anticipated a trade or two. Now we’ve seen a pretty major piece of the team – Dion Waiters – ushered out the door and three new pieces – two Knicks and a Russian center – slotted back in. On paper the Cavaliers are undoubtedly more talented than they were before the moves, but you can go ahead and reset the “days since major change” clock hanging up in The Q.
The Cavaliers are like a hungry startup that feeds on patience instead of cash. That first round of investment? It’s all gone. All the patience you’ve shown so far this season was just spent and the Cavs are going to need you to invest more. The team, like a cash-hungry startup – hasn’t started actually making money yet, but it projects to do just that come April 18, 2015 when the NBA Playoffs begin.
Like any good business you can obsess on the daily ups and downs or you can have faith in the process and trust that it will yield the results you want to see.
Also a note on David Griffin and his job this year…
David Griffin is in the toughest spot of all because he has no choice but to go out there and go hard as if everything’s going to work. He can’t operate with any level of safety net regarding Kevin Love’s future, or even LeBron’s future. He has to act and work every single day as if he just knows all those things are going to work out in his favor like it all did last off-season. He risks looking like the dumbest man alive if things go wrong, and these “things” I’m referring to aren’t even technically in his control.
The Browns went and ended the Kyle Shanahan game of chicken…
I’m surprisingly not panicked by this. I would have preferred to keep Shanahan in place for the sake of continuity, but I ultimately assume that he and Dowell Loggains were the ones who were at odds with the rest of the Browns’ staff. So you can call them dysfunctional and I can’t argue with any case you might make, but to me this is more likely indicative of a lack of clash between Ray Farmer and Mike Pettine. This doesn’t smack of when Phil Savage “helped” Romeo Crennel bring in Chud to replace Maurice Carthon, who “resigned” in the middle of the previous season.
And you just can’t ignore Shanahan’s history. He’s been painted as an immature, petulant child. He has been known as a complete control freak that wanted “his” plays run to his exact specification. It’s grated on players before.
“During the course of a regular game, Kyle Shanahan wants you to run the offense exactly how he wants it, down to the amount of hitches you take to go through your progressions,” Grossman told Zig Fracassi and Solomon Wilcots, per Steinberg. “And if you really study that and rep that in practice, then it becomes a lot easier during the game. You’re not thinking as much as your body just goes through the progressions. That’s some of the things that’s really helped me start the second half of my career, and I feel like I’m a much better quarterback because of that.”
And look, I’m not trying to totally bash him now that he’s gone. I thought he did a nice job calling plays for the Browns this year. The problem is that calling plays isn’t the whole gig. This is a team sport that requires everyone to work together from the personnel department on down to the coaching staff. Healthy debate and arguing is one thing, but the “anonymous” rumor mill has been painting Shanahan as a guy who wanted to get the hell out. He wanted to take his ball and go home.
So call the Browns dysfunctional if you want, but as long as Pettine and Farmer are and continue to be on the same page, I think that’s more important.
I feel like a full blown Cleveland sports apologist between asking for Cavs patience and arguing the Browns might not be as dysfunctional as everyone says. It’s really funny, but let’s be honest here. The Cavaliers have one of the most talented rosters on the planet and the Browns have a structure and two tough-nosed football personalities who appear to be on the same page. Everything’s not perfect, but what’s not to like?
Your weekly moment of soccer zen…
Defense gets some love…
Looking forward to movies in 2015…
A couple of movies I’m looking forward to in 2015 simply based off of YouTube trailers…
First up is Chappie.
And a comic adaptation that I’m really looking forward to Ex Machina.
Have a great weekend everyone. Thanks for reading and watching and being a part of this whole thing.
35 Comments
Goodbye Shanny, we’ll always have that time that you tried the fake out “Manziel getting subbed, no wait he’s a WR” play that should have been a 15 yard penalty.
That tackle is fantastic, particularly given the circumstances: in the box, from the back side, and after chasing the attacker down. It’s very easy in that scenario to let the left leg sweep through and clip the man down, assuming you’re even able to slide in cleanly with the right to get the ball in the first place. Clinical.
Funny, that’ll be my lasting memory, him facing Manziel and mouthing “Go. GO NOW!”
The entire Shanahan departure bothers me. If he wanted to leave, fine. But why did he have to trash the front office on his way out the door? What was the point? Not very classy.
And here’s another thing that bothers me. Keep in mind that I’m assuming that Shanahan and his agent are behind the alleged “sideline texting” rumor. Here’s how it might have played out: Agent calls MKC and drops that little texting nugget on her. Then he innocently suggests that MKC call Shanahan himself. So she does, and Shanny repeats the story. Now MKC has not one but TWO sources, and the second source has just CONFIRMED the story. She’s got her butt covered journalistically, I suppose. Pretty lame. But I could be wrong.
Nevertheless, I find the sideline texting story very hard to believe, at least as it’s been portrayed. Even if there is some truth to it, it’s certainly been exaggerated. Wilbon and Kornheiser on PTI bought this story hook, line, and sinker and piled on the Browns as well. These guys are journalists? They weren’t the least bit skeptical? Nope. They just went with the “dysfunctional Jimmy Haslam is trying to call plays during the game” meme. Pathetic.
On the other hand, the Browns have not refuted or even addressed this kerfuffle, which is a little odd. But maybe they will when everybody gets back from vacation. They do seem to take their time stamping out rumors.
And the Drama-o-rama continues.
yeah, I don’t get why some feel the need to not just leave but to trash the place on the way out.
Terry Pluto writes that Shanahan was the best OC left after the late Pettine hire last year, and implies that Shanahan has maybe been spoiled with extra authority because he’s only worked for his father and father’s protege, Gary Kubiak. It all rings true but right now what this org needs more than genius is stable competence. Not saying this one is Farmer’s or Haslam’s fault, but this still isn’t good.
Imagine you’re Alex Mack, who’s done nothing but lose here. You can void the remainder of your big new contract after next season and be an UFA. You’re entering your prime having lost every year under: Daboll/Mangini, Shurmur/Shurmur, Childress/Shurmur, Turner/Chud, Shanahan/Pettine. You anchor the o-line but never come back consecutive seasons in the same system, using the same verbiage in line calls. (Btw, how smart must he be to always be considered a top center while changing systems annually?). If I’m Mack the only way I stay is if the new OC knocks my socks off, and he has 16 games to do it.
Man, is that depressing. Oh well, my day can only get better from here.
We get to see our shiny new center in action tonight at 10:30pm ET. Actually there’s no way I’m staying up late enough to see the whole game, so let’s say that I’ll see Mozgov play sometime tomorrow. Andrew Bogut will be a tough test for him… Bogut is rarely healthy, but when he is he’s one of the best centers in the game. He would have destroyed Tristan Thompson tonight… that’s just a bad matchup. I’d much rather see Thompson guarding Mo Speights or Draymond Green, and in theory I will. The Warriors are at full strength tonight at home with Speights and Green starting along with Curry, Thompson, and Barnes. They’ll bring Andrew Bogut, David Lee, Iguodala, and Shaun Livingston off the bench. I can’t imagine the Cavs winning tonight to break their current skid. Sunday at Sacramento is our best chance to get right.
I really want to see Chappie, too. More importantly, though, I want him to make the District 9 sequel already. I mean, Chappie looks great, but that was time that should have been spent on District 10 (my name for it).
Your scenario is pretty close to mine.
It is hard for the Browns to respond to these allegations in the perfect way while they are in the market for a new OC. No decent candidate wants to join an org that is engaged in a public pissing contest with its departing OC. And I agree: Shanahan’s agent is trying to portray his reasons for leaving as Same Ol’ Browns, not Ambitious Kyle Still Doesn’t Play Well With the Other Children.
First, I love that the previews have been “approved for appropriate audiences” without any indication of what those appropriate audiences might be.
Second, they should have just called him Johnny-5 and been done with it. I’ll likely still watch it though (I’m a sucker).
Also, I loved D-9, but it just feels like they are putting it off to the point of not doing it at this point.
Finally, I don’t think Ex Machina has anything to do with the 911 comics from DC. Those were really good (basically trashing our current politicians and the mindsets that allow it to persist). The movie though looks like it could be interesting depending on how they delve into the ideas to separate themselves in the genre.
Bonus note: I just saw that Ex Machina will be premiering at SXSW this year, so I’m definitely going to attempt to get tickets to it. Should be interesting as they usually run a panel with the directors/producers after the showing.
Spot on. Even if Shanny hadn’t been complicit in generating the stories (I think he was), he suspiciously did nothing to refute them.
I think that Shanny probably had the idea (or his agent) that they should grease the wheels a bit. What better way to bail out and keep your reputation intact than to say hey guys, it’s because of the “same old dumpster fire browns management blah blah blah….you all get why I’m leaving right?” That would be his only logical (selfish and dickish) reason for going that route.
I think the Browns only sound play here is to take the high road, and at most categorically deny any sideline playxting (TM). Beyond that, you’re rolling around in the mud.
Johnny-5….now you’re talking! I smell an El DeBarge reunion!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA9WhYnsD_4
A little “Rhythm of the Night”, a little synthesizer action… I could get into that.
this is killing me. Ashamed to say I actually saw the the movie within the video (“FX”? or something) a million years ago. Was as horrible as the ’80s hair in the video.
The first line about the Cavs should have read “Nobody SMART said it would be easy.” There were plenty of dummies in the media who thought they’d just plug in love and lebron and roll through the league (ie-chris fedor said theyd win 70 games). That attitude among some fans and writers has a lot to do with the perceived turmoil with the team
“Wilbon and Kornheiser on PTI bought this story hook, line, and sinker and piled on the Browns as well.”
Both Wilbon and Kornheiser left the world of “journalism” awhile ago. Everyone knows the format on PTI is “hot take” and move on.
And honestly, can you blame them for just rolling out the “same old Browns” punchline? The last month has been nothing but bad news to come from an organization that has had nothing but bad news for 15 years.
Fedor said it again and again in his staccato I-Know-Everything style. Never thought they had a chance to get a ring this year. Too much unfamiliarity, inexperience and unknowns. The only things certain were that LeBron was the fulcrum and that both Andy and Kyrie would miss significant time at some point (still waiting on Kyrie).
Still, by the end of the year they could be a nightmare match-up for an opponent as a 4th or 5th seed.
Craig, I’m not trying to be a pessimist and I like your optimism. However, at the end of the day we’re the ones who hired Shanahan. We knew these things about him before we gave him the job. The fact that he left, potentially for a lateral move, makes it a bad hire. That instability will have consequences going forward. We can also almost assuredly say that drafting Manziel was a bad decision. One that will set us back at least a few years. And if the rumors about Haslam influencing football decisions are true I think we are gazing into a deep, dark abyss, and that abyss is most certainly gazing back.
Ha, I saw it too. Short Circuit…Johnny 5 is alive…sadly Steve Guttenberg’s career is not:(
That’s it, Short Circuit. Nothing can kill Guttenberg. He did good work in “Diner,” and then it’s like the mob switched him for someone’s idiot brother doppleganger whose acting is out of small town summer stock and who never met a horrible movie he would refuse.
I agree, you do not want to see the Cavs if you are the Hawks, Bulls, Raptors, or Wizards. I think I would like a matchup with the Wizards best because the Cavs just do not fear that franchise at all. If the Cavs are healthy come playoff time, anything is possible from first round exit to championship, but I wouldn’t bet on how long they last… all scenarios are a push for me.
I’m sure the “approved for appropriate audiences” is intended for the theaters in which it runs (connected to the movies playing).
They better do the District 9 sequel. It’s one of the best sci-fi movies I’ve ever seen, it’s set up for a sequel, and it demands one.
I not only have seen Short Circuit, but own the movie and am not embarrassed to say it on a public forum. Apparently, it is now called Chappie though 🙂
Actually… seeing now that Mozgov might not play tonight if they can’t complete his physical and get sign off from Cleveland Clinic docs in time. That would be absurd if they couldn’t get him ready in time, but Blatt doesn’t think he plays tonight.
I agree. I just don’t know why they are sitting on it unless they don’t feel they have setup the proper storyline for it. Also, I’m a bit afraid they will jump straight into an alien homeworld movie rather than a continuation in the world created.
Maybe it’s an intentional delay to depict the time needed for intergalactic travel? Maybe it factors in a return trip for the (now aged) hero so that the story can take place in S. Africa again?
I don’t know. I’m grasping at straws; trying to give them some reason to make the movie (I know they’re reading this).
Nevermind! Cavs’ beat writers Joe Gabriele and Chris Haynes say on Twitter that Mozgov has been cleared to play tonight. Woohoo!
christopher promised to return in 3 years, it’s been 5.
honestly, now that we are talking about it, I sort of wanted the whole thing to revolve back to humanity as it did in Planet of the Apes. find out that the whole Prawn DNA and advanced weaponry from it was actually developed by us. plenty of ways to then explain the wayward ship escaping and it goes straight into explaining why the black stuff converts wikus. and remember, christopher is the prawn who re-created the black stuff in the first place, so it’s likely that he’d keep the ruse going about returning to his home “world” even if it were merely a home “base” hidden on Earth.
I just think that Kyle Shanahan was never going to stay for long. Keeping OCs and DCs is the toughest part of the coaching side. If they are any good, they get offered HC jobs.
I agree, those guys are part of the “sports media entertainment industrial complex” garbage that made me cancel my cable in the first place. With each flip of the channel I was landing on yet another ESPN-ish bark-fest.
No thanks, I cancelled my daily trips into Loserville.
Pets heads are falling off wins
Should have found a way to retain Speights.
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those movie trailer look like f-ing garbage