Crawling Closer to the End: Cleveland Browns Midway Winners and Losers
November 6, 2017Josh Gordon opens up to GQ about rampant drug, alcohol use
November 7, 2017Happy Tuesday, WFNY!
Tuesdays have been my day for While We’re Waitings ever since we changed the format to what it is today. That means, I always have the luxury of writing my WWW on election day. I like election day. Rather, I love it. Despite my general pessimism or even apathy toward politics today, I still consider myself a bit of an idealist, and that idealist in me absolutely loves what elections stand for and represent. Indeed, for as helpless as we can feel sometimes when things in the political world go in directions we’re not happy about, elections are the one way we can hold our representative government true. It’s an annual peaceful revolution, a chance for us to overthrow any regime that we feel is not doing their job in representing us as a people. So, please, if you haven’t already voted today or haven’t considered doing so, check out this site, get information on the ballot where you live, and vote.
Now, on to sports. I’m not going to lie, I feel like I’m in a sports funk with the teams I root for. It all started with the Cleveland Indians. Not the 2017 Tribe, but the 2016 Tribe. Blowing that 3-1 lead in the World Series. Virtually nothing good has happened for the sports teams I root for since then.
Think about it. First, the Indians lose the World Series. Then the Browns finish their 1-15 season. Ohio State gets absolutely embarrassed by Clemson in the college football playoffs. The Cavaliers lose to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals again. Ohio State has their worst season yet under Thad Matta, and Coach Matta, the greatest coach in Ohio State basketball history, in unceremoniously fired at the weirdest time of the year. The Detroit Red Wings saw their streak of 25 consecutive seasons making the playoffs come to an end. Then the Indians blow a 2-0 lead in the ALDS to the New York Yankees (I’m really sick of losing to Aroldis Chapman). Then we have Ohio State getting embarrassed at home by Oklahoma and then, somehow, getting even more embarrassed by Iowa this past weekend. The Browns are still doing Browns things. Kyrie Irving asked for, and received, a trade out of Cleveland. The Cavaliers are sputtering (at best) without Kyrie, meanwhile Kyrie’s Celtics are on fire and Kyrie is being credited for his massive leap in defensive effort and performance.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing of all is that the Cavaliers were supposed to be our one escape from all of this. And instead, they are perhaps the biggest disappointment of them all so far. However, while the Cavaliers may be the biggest disappointment, by far the most embarrassing situation is the Cleveland Browns.
Yesterday, as I was watching the Sashi Brown press conference, I realized just how far off the path the Browns really are. They’re not just a bad football team. They are a horrid football organization from top to bottom. Literally, any other team in the NFL that held a bye week press conference with their team President would be talking almost exclusively about football. How can the team improve, will there be personnel changes in either players or staff? What are the goals for the second half of the season? Etc, etc, etc.
Instead, Sashi was stuck answering questions about what time he leaves the office, did he sabotage a trade behind the back of the owner and coach, how can he justify missing out on Carson Wentz and Deshaun Watson, and are the reports of a rift between the coaching staff and the front office true. Ok, those last two are things plenty of bad teams deal with as well. But those first two? Pretty unique to the Browns. Sure, there were some questions about Josh Gordon and DeShone Kizer thrown in as well, but the vast majority of the press conference seemed to deal with the circus.
Now, I know, if you are predisposed to defending the Browns and want to preserve your own image that they know what they’re doing and that this is all just a vast media conspiracy against the Browns because everyone wants them to fail, well, then you’re probably going to just write off that press conference as “typical media”. The reality is, though, the media asked nothing but completely fair questions. Yes, when someone in the Browns staff supposedly emails someone in the media and accuses Sashi Brown of leaving the office early every day, it’s fair for the media to follow up on that. When a trade falls apart in the way the AJ McCarron trade did, you have to answer for that.
The Browns’ failures are not a media conspiracy, they are not conjecture. Everyone is not out to get the Browns. This is the franchise’s 19th season since returning to the league in 1999, and the Browns are 88-208 in that time. They have had only five seasons with more than five wins, two seasons above .500, and one playoff game. They have had three owners, eight Presidents/GMs, nine head coaches, 15 offensive coordinators, 12 defensive coordinators, and 28 starting QBs. In the last ten seasons alone, the Browns are 38-114. They are just 4-36 in the last three seasons.
Nobody is making this up. There is no conspiracy. The media isn’t going out of their way to make the Browns look bad. The Cleveland Browns have been a pathetic franchise on the most extreme levels for 19 years now. Enough is enough. The Cleveland Browns have done this to themselves.
Who do we blame, though? Do we blame Al Lerner, Randy Lerner, and Jimmy Haslam for the way they’ve run the team? Do we blame the NFL for forcing Al Lerner on us first, and then delivering Jimmy Haslam to us on a silver platter? Do we blame the front office executives for all the horrendous drafts, poor free agency moves, bad trades, and inability to find a QB? Do we blame the coaches and coordinators for poor schemes, poor planning, and poor execution on game days? Do we blame all of them?
I don’t really care, blame whomever you want. I think they all deserve varying amounts of blame. But I wonder if the solution is perhaps a little more simple than we realize. Watching the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions last night, it was clear the Packers without Aaron Rodgers are a completely different team. It reminded me of how dominant the Indianapolis Colts were until Peyton Manning got hurt. Or how different the Colts look even now without Andrew Luck. Sure, you have the occasional team like the New England Patriots who were able to survive when Tom Brady was hurt and/or suspended, but most of the time when a franchise QB is out, the team falls apart.
It’s no secret the Browns are dying of thirst for a franchise QB. It makes passing on Carson Wentz and Deshaun Watson seem like that much more of a sin on the part of the Browns. And you have to wonder, is that a fireable offense? I will grant anyone who says “Well, Wentz and Watson wouldn’t have been good under Hue Jackson’s system, anyway”. But then I’ll come back to the question of who hired Hue, then. This is the mess Jimmy Haslam has created. And it all lies at his feet because of his ridiculous org chart which has both Sashi and Hue reporting to Jimmy.
Am I saying Jimmy should clean house? Well, I think the results speak for themselves and I would have no problem if he did so, but I’d rather Jimmy just sell the team. I’m firmly on Craig Lyndall’s #SellTheBrowns bandwagon. But above all else, if we’re going to just keep the same people around for the most part, then I hope two things happen.
One, pick the best QB in the draft. It is the height of stupidity that the Browns have not done this since Tim Couch. You want to know how the Eagles and Rams turned things around so quickly? They made aggressive moves to put themselves in position to get the best QB in the draft. The Houston Texans made an aggressive move to get their QB. Meanwhile, the Browns, the team that needs a QB more than anyone, is the team that traded down for two of those three teams. It’s time to stop kicking the can down the road.
Get. The. Best. QB. In. This. Draft1.
Two, Hue needs to update his offense and embrace some of the college schemes that NFL teams are now applying. He needs to have a top tier QB, yes, but he also needs to put him in position to succeed. That means not making learn a bunch of new things and dumb formations that the Browns run. He needs to be allowed to run some (some, not all) of the things he’s comfortable with from college. This is the trend in the NFL, and it’s time for the Browns to embrace it.
I don’t know if the Browns are only a QB away from something resembling relevance, but I know that’s where it needs to start. And I know things are never going to change or get better until the Browns figure out how to get a QB on this roster that can carry the franchise. Until then, the Browns are just one big clown car with a never-ending parade of owners, gms, coaches, coordinators, and QBs spilling out the door one after another.
- Or trade for Andrew Luck, if that becomes a thing [↩]
63 Comments
2018 Browns Draft Position Watch.
Currently: #2, #7 (#2 is because of the bye week. Still a solid #1 due to sos.)
Week 8: #1, #13
Week 7: #1, #15
Week 6: #1, #15
Week 5: #2, #12
Week 4: #1, #12
Week 3: #1, #7
Week 2: #7, #11
Cavs #7 and #8.
Andrew, the generally pessimistic idealist. That’s actually not as contradictory as it first sounds.
I also love Election Day and never miss the opportunity to show up at the grade-school gym to vote in person, even for the most mundane elections. But I won’t be overthrowing any regimes today.
Re the Tribe, Cavs, and Bucks: Even when things here are really good they aren’t really good.
I never miss a chance to write my name in, whenever possible.
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RE: Media conspiracy.
You’re right. It’s not some fabrication. However, when people like Ruiter comment on every single Carson Wentz post, and Grossi somehow still writes articles about Brian Hoyer, they lose a TON of credibility. I can see how fans would not trust media members like him
Oh – also Ohioains, vote against Issue 1, please.
Certainly fair. I’m not saying there aren’t people in the media who are crappy at their job. Just reacting more to a sentiment I keep seeing that seems to imply that all of this is just the media trying to “get” the Browns.
Honestly I don’t even count WKNR as credible media.
Yeah, people who think that are living in some fantasy world.
Fair. Unfortunately, the radio alternative is 850, which is somehow worse.
Aside from Sashi’s predictable non-answer answers, aside from his perfectly modulated patient tone and disarming smile at just the time to ease the tension caused by a barbed question … those haunted eyes of his. He knows. He hears the hammer of gallows being built. He cannot tell us Jimmy is in his shorts about Wentz/Watsonand, and that he and DePodesta are scrambling to show a tweaked formula to justify their manning the draft roulette wheel one more April. He cannot refer questions about the late decision to the owner who may have caused it. He cannot pull a Hue, and say “I’m not gonna talk about that” and thus imply it’s not on him.
Yesterday Sashi’s sad eyes looked like a guy facing up to his own performance and everyone else’s. Don’t exactly pity him; he ambitiously wormed his way into a position for which he had absolutely no qualifications (much like Peyton, for those conjuring up their next Magic Man). Just feel for a guy who takes the bullets for all the nincompoopery.
hi ANDREW … so , you do understand Issue 2 that is on the ballot for today ?
mornin’ , HARV … and with all the nincompoopery & conspiracy theories going on , everyone in Berea is still in-place. I’m hoping the Haslams don’t implode & they keep everyone together.
An implosion would be preferable. Explosions tend to leave collateral damage.
But, but, analytics.
You just don’t understand.
Luddite.
Some people really like it, while others think it’s a travesty against humanity. Typical.
tens of millions of dollars has been dropped towards this issue … the actual wording on the ballot is a little tricky … i still don’t know what to think on this issue !!
I understand it as much as one can from reading up on it and researching both sides of it.
hi MARTY … did you completely understand Issue 2 ??
For what it’s worth, I always lean toward No naturally on ballot issues. You have to really convince me of the merits of something before I’m willing to vote it into our state code. I voted No on Issue 2 because I’m not certain it will work the way they intend it to. Too many questions and potential downsides for my taste.
Support the Port! Yes on 59. I have a soft spot for transportation… stupid civil engineering degree.
I know you do, Tiger. Sashi said the trade downs/asset accumulation was designed to give them virtually 5 drafts in 3 years. Since you’re all about giving GMs 3-4 drafts, this FO is about done, right?
“You have to really convince me of the merits of something before I’m willing to vote it into our state code”
Clap…… Clap….. Clap…. Clap… Clap.. Clap! Clap! Clapclapclapclapclap!!!!
“Two, Hue needs to update his offense and embrace some of the college schemes that NFL teams are now applying. He needs to have a top tier QB, yes, but he also needs to put him in position to succeed. That means not making learn a bunch of new things and dumb formations that the Browns run. He needs to be allowed to run some (some, not all) of the things he’s comfortable with from college.”
More than anything else you wrote, that a writer, any writer, writing about any team would feel the need to put this beyond-obvious statement to cyber paper, as something an NFL coach needs to be clued into, is beyond telling of the potential of this HC/OC and the likelihood of his success with any presumed QBOTF or any talent any FO might provide.
the NO side (the Pharmaceutical Researchers & Manufacturers of America) have outspent the YES side (mostly funded by Michael Weinstein & the California-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation) side 4-1 on this Issue & I’m not sure who to believe & what to think … thanks ANDREW.
they’ve had 2 drafts … i think they ALL get the next off-season & next season to have things start turning around … and I don’t mean just 2 or 3 wins.
This does a pretty good job of summing up where I’m at with sports right now.
I stopped investing time in the Browns about 3 years ago and love that decision more and more each and every Sunday. Sure, if I’m out and the Browns are on, I’ll watch because they’re still “my team,” but until they won’t get my interest and attention back until they earn it.
This Indians season was arguably more depressing than last because we got farther than we were supposed to last year vs we didn’t get nearly as far as we should have this season. And while I’m still excited about near year, I am somewhat worried about this offseason and will go into next season with tempered expectations to protect myself.
As for the Cavs, I’m done with them until April/May. I’ll start caring when they do. I have a 10-game package and I would strongly consider selling any games I have in the next 5-6 months for face value. What they are doing to the fans is borderline disrespectful. Why should I spend my time and hard-earned money on a game where they clearly don’t feel like putting forth any effort? And if this (and my stance on the Browns) makes me a fair-weather fan, then sobeit. According to Lebron, nothing is given, everything is earned. So earn my attention. Earn my interest. Earn my (regular season) respect.
It kills me that it’s come to this. Thank baby Jesus for 6/19/2016.
hi BEN … issue 1 is Marsy’s Law … correct ? You’d vote against it ?
Nope… you’re fine. Professional sports is nothing more than an entertainment business. If you ever start to feel guilty for a conscious detachment, remind yourself…
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No one does. But it’s going down.
yes , but for it to fail , and due to the exact wording on the ballot , wouldn’t you have to vote YES ?
And not only analytics, the Nerds also have “good processes” and “touch points.” So we’ve got that going for us.
Say what?
I don’t know if “guilt” is the right word. I just spent the first ~34 years of my life as a too-passionate sports fan, and now that that passion is dissipating, I’m having a hard time adjusting. I don’t like the current landscape of 2/3 major sports, and I feel like I’ve lost a big chunk of who I am/was. (is this what a mid-life crisis feels like???)
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Absolutely. First, Ohio basically has all of the laws that Marsy’s Law proposes already (Passed in ’94, and I believe expanded upon in ’98).
Second, and most importantly, it adds “victim’s rights” that are bad for the criminal justice system. It allows victims to refuse to participate in discovery from the defendant, which obviously substantially impacts a defendant’s rights and ability to defend himself.
Second, it entitles victim’s to “prompt resolution of the case” (whatever that is supposed to mean). For better or worse, criminal cases are State vs Bad Guy, not Victim vs Bad Guy. There are a ton of very important reasons why cases take time to resolve, especially serious cases, like murder. Sometimes, the State’s interests and the victim’s interests are not entirely aligned. The victim, who is not an attorney, should not have the ability to force a case forward.
The law sounds like a no brainer, until you realize that most of these laws have been on the books for decades already and it only adds laws that erode a defendant’s rights.
Here’s a solid article laying out some of these points.
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:m-6gGszSaXcJ:https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2017/10/09/election-2017-what-ohio-issue-1-aka-marsys-law/688598001/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Yeah, seriously. If anyone has some good info on it, I’d like to read it. As far as I can tell, it’s just 2 opposing bad guys to milk money out of Ohio.
This is where I’m at as well. At worst, the status quo is maintained.
Re the Cavs, my long time fan philosophy includes: I will never care about a game more than the players. I’ve seen some snippets this season and turned away without remorse.
As Chris states, this is entertainment. One who refuses to spend their finite time and resources on an endlessly horrible product is not a lesser sports fan, any more than one who refuses to watch a horrible band is a lesser music fan. In fact, you might argue that demanding at least mediocrity in return for your attention makes you more of one. At this point the drunken “hear-we-go-brownies” dudes in the mostly empty stadium of another blowout loss more closely resemble village idiots than sports fanatics.
good recap, Ben. Full accord on all.
interesting … i would think victim’s rights & the surviving family members rights are just as important … this is designed to notify surviving family members of any proceedings against the defendant … that’s a good thing.
and besides , Kelsey Grammar was on TV pushing passage of this issue … i love Kelsey Grammar … *kidding* … thanks for the knowledge !
Thanks! 🙂
“this is designed to notify surviving family members of any proceedings against the defendant.”
That’s the thing. That’s already the law in Ohio. Notification, services, protection…all things that are ALREADY law.
The ONLY thing that Marsy’s law does is add those bad things I mentioned to the good things Ohio has been doing for years.
As far as I know, No means No. But that’s only as far as I know.
That was good.
“. . . those haunted eyes of his. He knows. He hears the hammer of gallows being built.”
Damn! That’s writin’
thanks again … I am mostly concerned about voting for our Mayor & the renewal of the school levy.
you are too kind, sir