Don’t Look Now…
October 20, 2008The 5-Hole, CBJ News and Notes – 10/21/08
October 21, 2008With the team in meltdown mode, and the fans in meltdown mode (myself included), I decided rather than take out my frustrations in the comments section of this site, it was time for me to initiate the good ol’ Festivus tradition, the Airing of Grievances. So now, without further ado, to quote the great Frank Costanza, “I got a lot of problems with you people! And now, you’re gonna hear about it!”
Randy Lerner
“You, Kruger Lerner. My son tells me your company STINKS!“
I know you like spending time overseas watching your other football team, Aston Villa, play. I can’t say I blame you. I enjoy the EPL as much as any American possibly can (heck, I even root for the EPL version of the Browns, Newcastle United). And while Aston Villa is currently in 6th place fighting for Champions League qualification, or worst case scenario UEFA Cup qualifying, the team you grew up wearing pajamas of is in shambles. I know you don’t want to be a meddling owner like Al Davis or Jerry Jones, and believe me, I appreciate that about you. But enough is enough. If Phil Savage is unwilling to initiate change, then the duty falls on your shoulders. I know there’s NO WAY you’re happy about this, so can you please do something about it. What would you do if Aston Villa was in danger of relegation? I’m sure you’d pull out all the stops to save the sinking ship. I’m not saying you should fire Savage, but could you please give him a little nudge in the right direction? The Browns stink, and I’m sick of it.
Phil Savage
“And at the Festivus dinner, you gather your family around, and tell them all the ways they have disappointed you over the past year!“
First of all, Phil, you didn’t listen to my advice and you went ahead and gave DA a long term deal and thus kick started us in this predicament. I have serious problems with what you did here. You screwed up the QB situation, and now the Browns cannot get anything in return for DA. Furthermore, you refuse to put any pressure on Romeo Crennel. In fact, last season you extended his contract after just one winning season and zero playoff appearances. To quote Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler, “Really!?!” You didn’t think it prudent to wait until after the coach had led the team to more than one winning season to give him a reward? Really!?! That’s like a person somehow miraculously nailing a half court shot during a halftime promotion at an NBA game, and then putting them right on the Olympic basketball team. Really. Maybe next time you might want to wait until you’re sure a team is winning because of their coach and not in spite of their coach. I applaud you on the Shaun Rogers trade and the drafting of Alex Hall, but you’re letting this coach you just extended ignore the QB you spent a first round draft pick on 2 years ago. I don’t get that. You need to fire Crennel, and you need to fire him now. This cannot go on like this. You’re tearing this family (Browns fans) apart.
Romeo Crennel
“Cosmo Kramer: Is there a tree?
Frank Costanza: No, instead, there’s a pole. It requires no decoration. I find tinsel distracting.
Frank Costanza: It’s made from aluminium. Very high strength-to-weight ratio.
Mr. Kruger: I find your belief system fascinating.“
Indeed, Romeo….I find your belief system fascinating. Your resolute stubborness is like the Festivus aluminum pole, with its very high strength-to-weight ratio (yes, there’s a fat joke in there, but I’m not going to go there). HOW CAN YOU NOT BENCH DEREK ANDERSON? What’s it going to take, Romeo? DA started 15 games last year and has started 6 games this year for a total of 21 starts. Over that time, he has played 4 great games, 6 good games, 5 mediocre games, and 6 awful games. That’s 10 positive games to 11 negative games. As for this year, he has played 1 great game (NYG), 1 mediocre game (CIN), and 4 awful games (DAL, PIT, BAL, WAS), and that’s being generous by calling the Cincy game mediocre. DA is 1-for-6 this year in positive games. Why is that ok with you? Why won’t you make the change that EVERYBODY knows this team needs? I know there are some who will say “But, what makes you think Brady Quinn will do any better?” Well, that’s exactly the point. We don’t know, and that’s inexcusable. Lets find out. Show us what he’s made of. How many more pathetic games will you allow DA to play before you bench him? Are you really willing to throw your head coaching career away because of your stubborness? You’re 60 years old, this is probably going to be it for you as far as head coaching is concerned. You need to embrace this job while you still have it. You continue to just allow this team to make stupid mental mistake and commit costly penalties. All of it goes unchecked. You make questionable decisions all the time, you try to “ice” opposing kickers in the first half (showing a complete lack of understanding of how the theory behind icing kickers really works), your team lines up in illegal formations and offside, and you’ve shown no development in your understanding of clock management. The same problems that plagued this team in your first season as coach still plague us. You need to shape up or ship out.
Rob Chudzinski
“Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way.“
Don’t think you’re getting out of this, Rob. You looked like a hero last season. The offense was electrifying, dynamic, and efficient. The Browns put up points almost seemingly at will and exploited mismatches at will. Your offense sent DA, Braylon, K2, and Joe Thomas to the Pro Bowl. So what’s the deal this year? Did you suddenly forget how to coach, or how to draw up plays, or how to call plays, or how to exploit weaknesses and mismatches? Your worst performance yet was the Redskins game. Through the first 3 quarters, before you realized the Browns had to throw the ball to try to catch up and get back in the game, you had Derek Anderson throw the ball on 1st down 9 times. Of those, 6 of them were incomplete. On every single 2nd down you ran Jamal Lewis, usually leading to a 3rd and 6+ situation. I was reading this from my living room, and I know nothing about coaching football. If I can read that, I guarantee you the Redskins’ coaches picked up on it. There’s no imagination in that playcalling. And it certainly doesn’t set the Browns offense up to be in situations that are advantageous. There has to be another way. There has to be something you can do to stop this offense from looking so stale and predictable all the time. You used to look like the heir apparent in Cleveland. Now, I’m not so sure. You’ve got to show us that you can find another way.
Derek Anderson
“Betting Shop Guy: Hello again, Miss Benes.
Elaine Benes: What are you doing here?
Betting Shop Guy: Damndest thing. Me and Charlie were calling to ask you out, and, uh, we got this bagel place.
Cosmo Kramer: I told them I was just about to see you. It’s a Festivus Miracle!“
You know what else is a Festivus Miracle? Every time you complete a pass. I have never in my life seen such consistent ineptitude from a starting QB. EVER. No hyperbole, no exaggeration, no superfluous exclamations……you are playing the worst QB on a weekly basis that I have ever seen with my own eyes. You’re completing fewer than half of your passes, you’re throwing interceptions at the same pace as you are throwing TD passes. Ironically enough, though, you’re STILL on pace to throw fewer INTs (16) than you did last year (19). That just tells me that you weren’t as good last year as everyone thought you were. The only QBs with a worse rating than you have are Matt Hasselbeck and Tyler Thigpen. And yet you have the audacity to get mad at us for questioning you. You continue to sell us rainbows and lollipops while darkness and despair lingers all around. You accept no blame and you have no accountability. We all wanted so much to believe in you. We put aside our common sense, and we ignored all the blinking neon signs that were telling us we shouldn’t trust you. And now look where we are. Truly pathetic.
Braylon Edwards
“George Costanza: No! No! Turn it off! No feats of strength! I hate Festivus!
Frank Costanza: We had some good times.“
Ah, yes, Braylon Edwards. We had some good times. I bought your jersey. You so impressed me the things you said when you got drafted, and then slowly but surely you put it all together on the field and became one of the best WRs in the league. You had it all. And I overcame my hatred of Michigan and bought your jersey. And this is how you repay me? You can still make the difficult catch, I’ll give you that. But every time a nice easy pass is put right on your numbers, you either bobble the ball or you drop it all together. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you need to get yourself together. I’m guessing this hack coaching staff isn’t working with you, but you could always reconnect with your WR coach at Michigan or something to try to get back to basics. Just do SOMETHING to get over this case of the drops, because you’re killing us as fans and you’re killing your team on the field.
Myself
“I can’t take it anymore! I’m going to work! Are you happy now?!“
Shame on me. Shame on me for believing. Shame on me for putting myself through this every single year. I root for a franchise that does nothing to reward my loyalty. Oh sure, I get the occasional exciting victory that gives me chills and sends shivers down my spine (NYG MNF, etc) and makes me feel good for being a Browns fan, but more often than not, I get spit on time and time again. Fans of other teams laugh at me and question why I stick with the Browns. The answer used to be a lot easier than it is these days. I will never give up on the Browns, but these are tough times. As we are in the midst of a mini-depression in the economic market, we are in the midst of a mega-depression in Cleveland Sports. The Indians let us down. The Browns let us down. I shudder to think of what the Cavaliers are about to do to me. I’m not mad at myself for rooting for the Browns. I’m mad at myself for letting it hurt so much. For caring so much. For letting so much frustration get the better of me. This is the 10th year of the new Browns, and we have 2 winning seasons and 1 playoff appearance (another heartbreaking loss at that) to show for it. We deserve better. Browns fans are the most loyal fans you will ever find anywhere in the NFL. 10 years of mediocrity and misery, and yet every Sunday we put on our best Orange-and-Brown gear and head down to the Stadium for tailgating with other fans and for cheering on this team we all love so much. And through it all, I’ve come to realize one thing. I wish that I could change not my loyalty to this team, but the degree to which I care. I’m just tired of the disappointment. I’m tired of watching this team refuse to do anything different to try to get better results. These are dark days indeed. It wears on you to be so low one week, then so high the next, and then back to an even new low the week after. So consider this an exercise in grief counseling. I don’t really want to care less, I just don’t want to be disappointed. I want this to be a proud franchise again. I want to win. I want to go to the playoffs. I want to win a Super Bowl. So I will air my grievances, in hopes of another Festivus Miracle. May the Browns some day learn how to come out on top in their Feats Of Strength.
So give it to us, Browns fans. Air your grievances. Let us hear it. Get it off your chest. Who do you hold in contempt? Who do you blame? Who do you take issue with? Only after we’ve aired our grievances can we move on, and I gotta tell you, I’m feeling better already…
39 Comments
You had me at Festivus.
You lost me with Amy Poehler and Seth Myers.
You redeemed yourself with “every time you complete a pass”.
The overall emotional rollercoaster that was this post sums up my feelings about Cleveland sports in general. The main difference was you left me wanting more. And you left me smiling.
Well played sir.
Great article. I got to tell you, there are 2 things that keep me connected to Browns fans in Cleveland, WKNR web stream, and WFNY. There are 5 of me and my friends down here in Charlotte who gather for each game, sometimes at the Browns Backers Bar, and vent our frustrations with this team. We all think Crennel should be done for all the reasons you listed. Another would be a quote from Braylon Edwards after the loss to Washington that stated they AGAIN “came out lax” after a big win. Why can’t this team figure out they have to come to play EVERY week to be competitive. The players love Romeo, but they obviously don’t show it on the field, or else they would play for him week in and week out. This team overall, since coming back in 1999, plays soft. We haven’t put a team on the field that would make the opposing team cringe in the least bit. I think that the lack of wins, the lack of an overall tough mentality, the excuses for poor play (because its always something) has almost changed my mindset to wanting to see them get their doors blown off. That way there leaves no doubt that change NEEDS to happen, because aparently a bomb needs to go off right in front of their face for them to know somethings not right. I would love to take a Donato’s pizza, put it in front of Romeo, and take a dump on it to show him what he does to me week in and week out. Anyways, this is a great article, and I’m sharing it. If only someone in the organization would read it. I think it perfectly depicts what its like to be a Browns fan.
You know its bad when you are pleading to the owner to do something. It’s frustrating because Browns fans don’t deserve this. Romeo is terrible, DA apparently needs to fear for his job to play well, and meanwhile we have the pieces of a good (maybe great) team twiddling their thumbs wondering who’s gonna step up and lead this party. This season is done in my opinion. Sure they could make it to the playoffs, but I doubt there is the leadership to take this to the next level in the playoffs. Prescription: New Coach, put Brady in. If it doesn’t work, regroup for next year (yep, next year).
All that losing, and fans still don their Brown-and-Orange, to go sit in seats that cost upwards of $30….at the cheapest.
PS: Great post. Forgot that previously 🙂
If I hadn’t seen this episode the other day I would have been lost here. Very, very well done. Your best work in a while. Now, in the spirit of festivus, I give you my grievances…
Why do we have one of the highest paid LG’s in the game, and a Pro-Bowl stud at LT and we continue to run to the right in short yardage situations? And why do we line Thomas up on the right side in an unbalanced formation, and then run to the left?
Why did we allow Washington to bring a safety in the box all day long?
Why don’t we try and get Harrison to the edge more often?
Can you explain why the deepest position on the team (TE) gets utilized the least?
Did you see the hit that Hines Ward laid on Cincy’s rookie LB? Can someone explain why we don’t have WR’s that want to block?
If you were Phil Savage, wouldn’t you have had enough with whoever is in charge of the headsets on the field? How many times do we have to hear in a press conference “we were having trouble hearing the play on the headsets”? Wouldn’t you tell the communications engineer or whatever his title is that if it happens again he can leave immediately?
One more. This one goes out to Lawrence Vickers. Why didn’t you deck DA? You would have been the most popular Cleveland Brown of all time. About the only way you could be more popular is if you decked Art Modell.
It is depressing; not because we stink, but because in August of every season, I look at the team and their schedule and actually fool myself that it is reasonable to believe that the Browns will, not only play .500, but be a serious playoff contender.
I am eighteen years old and I was four when the browns last won a playoff game. How can there be this long of a drought? Why do I root for teams that ultimately disappoint? Why do I watch every game even though there are incredible odds that the Browns will ruin my entire weekend?
The sad thing is, I will watch the Brownies play Jacksonville next Sunday.
Why is it that other teams (Rams) have coaching staffs chock full of head coaching candidates so that when there is a problem they can try to turn things around quickly, and yet the Browns can’t really fire Romeo RIGHT NOW because there is nobody on staff like Jim Haslett who has experience?
Why is it that other teams (49ers) have coaching staffs full of Hall of Famers with the fire of Mike Ditka and Bill Cowher (Mike Singletary) and yet the Browns, when they should clearly fire their coach, have nobody ready to step in and create a culture change?
How is it that other teams find ways to win with whatever talent they have (Troy Brown playing Nickel for New England) and yet the Browns have a pretty decent collection of talent that is already healthy and still manages to go unused?
I came to a revelation yesterday. I am going to stop debating everything with this team. I am not going to debate the QB. I am not going to debate Chud. I am not going to debate Braylon Edwards or Kellen Winslow. I am putting a debate moratorium on myself until the Browns kill that agent zero carrier that is spreading the disease. I will no longer debate anything else with the Browns until Romeo Crennel is fired. He is the head, neck, eye and brain of the problem. Until he is removed, all other arguments will go unheard and unanswered by me.
(At least until I decide to start arguing stuff again this afternoon.)
Classic post, in fact probably my all time favorite on the site. If I had one major grievance to air about the Browns it seems to be their lack of caring of whats happening in front of them. Derek “gosh gee wilickers I overthrew another receiver by 10 feet” Anderson and (to quote Bill Simmons) Romeo “five dollar, five dollar foooooot looooooooong” Crennel are just way too happy-go-lucky for me. In a such a fierce sport would it kill one of these two to get legitimately pissed for once? I mean I hate Terrell Owens for whining and crying on the sideline, but you can’t tell me he doesn’t care about winning or he wouldn’t be causing such a ruckus. Winslow is catching flack for his comments, but I agree with readers from a previous post in saying that I’d take 52 legitimately ticked off Winslow’s on a team over any amount of dweedle-dee Derek Anderson’s. Just watching Lebron scream instructions then encouragement to his teammates in an effort to win and lead because he cares makes the Cavs so much more interesting to me than the Browns are in their current state.
Shaun Rogers
No Bagel No Bagel No Bagel No Bagel…
I have a grievance as a die hard browns fan who lives in pittsburgh.
how do you lose to these bums 10 times in a row? do you not have any pride in terms of this rivalry? forget DA, BQ, the playoffs, the super bowl, and everything else. will you guys PLEASE, for the love of all things holy, PLEASE just beat the GD steelers once every year or two?
PLEASE!!!!!!!
Classic post. The second to last paragraph summed up my experience as a Browns fan better than I ever could have myself.
I agree with almost everything in the post, but I’m willing to cut Chud some slack. Here’s why – in games where DA has been successful, he’s needed to get into a rhythm with his passing early in the game. Chud was able to execute this game plan well against the Giants and DA actually completed the passes early. This past week, Chud adopted a similar approach – past on first down with short and intermediate routes to establish DA’s rhythm. Unfortunately, DA decide he was going to suck. So Chud faced a dilmena – keep trying to pass in early down situations hoping that DA could snap out of it, or run the ball more often on first down and never let DA get into a rhythm. He chose the first approach, and I can’t say I blame him. Yes the playcalling became predictable, but that was because DA couldn’t execute.
To me this all comes back to DA. As you and several others have said, we don’t know if BQ is the savior that many of us dream he may be. But how will we know if we don’t see what he’s got? What we do know is that DA has proven he is WAY to inconsistent to be a successful QB in the NFL.
Nice work Rock.
I can’t help but think that Chud has to dumb down his playbook a little so DA can handle it. Does anyone else get that feeling?
Oh and one more thing. I saw this post last night and cannot even express in words how angry I’ll be if there are repercussions on Winslow for speaking out. Someone had to do it.
I feel for ya Rock, I really do.
Can’t complain about Chud’s playcalling, guys were getting open, Lewis was steamrolling the skins, and DA had plenty of time most plays. If DA could throw a half way accurate pass, and Braylon could catch the few balls that were well thrown, it would have been a good offensive game.
What really concerns me is how horrible the run defense was. OMG. Horrible.
I have never once been in favor of DA-BQ switch, until after the washington game. DA was absolutely awful. I’m not so much on the quinn bandwagon as much as i just want to see DA ride the pine. What a bafoon.
Can we re-hire the conditioning coach Jon Lott just to be a cheerleader, and bring some fire to this team, cause we all know Romeo couldn’t get a match fired up.
I’m from east Liverpool Ohio but live in Williamsburg VA. I am a ticket holder sec 321 row 29 seats 9,10. I made it to the Dallas and Pitt games. I did not make it to the Monday night game but I was so excited I got tickets for the Washington game. I took my 6 year old son his first game. He was so proud to have his orange and brown on. He walked around holding a 3’x5′ browns flag, and did not care what they said to him THIS BROWNS ORGANZATION DOES NOT DESERVE HIM. Let me make this short. On the ride home I thought of a lot of the same things that you have said in this post. This is what I came up with… I’M DONE!!! I put all my browns sh!t in boxes. As far as my tickets I took them off of ticket exchange and you could not give me $1000 to sit in my seats they will be empty!!!!! Until B Quinn is in and RMC is gone. I was OK with Phil but the longer this goes on the more and more I hate him for letting this happen to us.
You know, I read this and all I can say is, welcome to my life. You see, even though you’ve seen only 2 winning seasons in 2 years, I can do you one better! I’ve seen 1 in 18….
Yes I’m a Bengals fan. SO yeah, I feel your pain.
Is there anything more damning that not being able to handle success? That shows a debt of mental strength and conviction. The Browns reek of this trait and it’s a trait absent in all people who have long-term success.
Randy Lerner has done little personally to warrant running an NFL team and Romeo Crennel is a modestly successful coaching journeyman who gravy-trained Bill Belicheck. Changes are needed – this team is on a train to nowhere.
Why did I predict a 4-12 record, when everyone else was so optimistic about this season? Because I’ve been burned way too many times by this franchise. I knew better than to get ny hopes up. I don’t like ti be that fan tgat always expects the worst, but what has this team done to make me feel any different.
Great article Rock. Keep the faith that they’ll disappoint you again.
The grievance I would like to air is some Bengals douchebag posting and trying to get sympathy.
One thing I would add….
Re: Lerner and Aston Villa: George: “I got him Yankees tickets! He got me a piece of paper saying, ‘I’ve given your gift to someone else!'” Because I send him $450 a year for tickets, and he clearly cares much more about THAT team than he does THIS team.
Also, DA is clearly a Two-Face.
Can we please get a leader on the field or in the clubhouse. This team brings no intensity besides when they scuffle amongst themselves. I thought winslow was going to be the one to whip this team into shape, but now it seems even he does not have the strength to prop such a crap team on his shoulders. We have the talent, just not the leadership and intensity to go out each week and hit someone in the mouth.
And Braylon……YOU SUCK. I’m sorry but if you refuse to use your hands then you won’t catch the ball.
Romeo…..YOU ALSO SUCK. For as bad as this team has played, I don’t think I have seen him get pissed once. I understand he is a mellow guy but come on. When your guys are playing without discipline, heart, and intensity YOU ROMEO must provide the spark. So far all I see is your best Art Shell impression and we saw where that took oakland.
Anderson…..I don’t even know where to start. First off you need to learn to put some touch on your short passes. We know Braylon sucks and drops everything, but you should know that by now and stop gunning the ball at him when he’s 8 yards away…..Also if you go 5-22 this week against JAX you should bench yourself. It is inexcusable to be this bad with such a highly touted qb rotting on the bench.
PLEASE BROWNS………All I want is for us to play as if every game is our last, because for Romeo and Co they are damn near close.
An enthustiastic second to Rick’s comment about running behind the left side of the line.
Joe and Eric are better than the guys they’re lining up against. Run left and cram the ball down the defense’s throat.
# 16 Jewpants Says:
October 21st, 2008 at 10:53 am
Can’t complain about Chud’s playcalling, …
Really? Chud should try play-faking on first-down at the 1. Running a play-fake on 2nd down after they already stuffed the run is pointless. Almost as pointless as running the same f’ng play on consecutive 1st & Goals at the 1.
How many times have they stalled in the Red Zone? They have no plays for short yardage – that’s on the O-coordinator.
Derek Anderson = Peter Gibbons (office space)
he does just enough to keep his job, but nothing more than that.
we need to send the Bobs in to Berea.
“Now, Derek, tell us what exactly ya do on any given (sun)day..”
As a Vikings fan, I thought I should mention this. I’m not sure if you really truly have this many problems Derek Anderson or not, but I can say without a doubt that he is not the most inept quarterback ever.
That title belongs to Tarvaris Jackson.
i love that little horn they blow when there is a first down in minneapolis, i laugh every time. i don’t know why.
I’m 60 yrs old and actually witnessed the Browns beating Baltimore in 1964. Saw the Kardiac Kids/Brian Sipe and still think Frank Ryan and Bernie Kosar are the smartest quarterbacks this organization had other than Otto Graham.
That being said, this is the worst group of players, coaches, and front office staff taken as a whole that there has EVER BEEN.
But, I don’t care. I don’t care if they win or lose. If they stay or go. If they are healthy or sick. If they make money or lose. I just don’t care.
All of you young fellows better feel the same or they will slowly drive you crazy. GREAT POST. WELL THOUGHT OUT. EXPERTLY WRITTEN. WELL DONE. Now do more!
Brilliant work…absolutely brilliant
Bob,
At 42, i thought I’d be the elder statesman of the bunch. When that one poster identified himself as an 18 year old, I threw up in my mouth a little. Call me when you’ve really suffered.
Rock,
You nailed it. I used to tell people that being a Browns fan must be what it’s like to be a crack addict. (Your pen name is only coincidental.) The highs are extraordinary. The lows are the worst. The problem is, once you’re hooked, you’re hooked. Sure, I’d love to not be a crackhead for the Browns, but every year when I see those uniforms my hopes are reborn and I am as high as a kite. Then the Browns knock me on my ass again.
Yes, we need a new coach. Yes, we need a new quarterback. No they won’t be the answer. C’mon, this is crack.
Great, great post. I too love when people say “How do we know Brady Quinn will do any better?” Might actually be the dumbest question I’ve ever heard. You’re right, we don’t know! That’s why we need to find out!!! The Browns will only be able to keep both QBs, in my opinion, until the end of this season, then Quinn’s going to understandably start rocking the boat and try to get the hell outta Dodge. We need to find out what we have in him before he walks out that door.
To Chud, I just can’t understand how you see Jerome Harrison play the way he played on MNF and then not put him on the field until the 3rd quarter vs. WAS. He averages 7.5 yards per carry and 14.6 yards per catch. Yet he rides the pine while Jason Wright gets the spot duty behind JLew. Absolutely mind-boggling.
I’ve said since the end of last season that Anderson was not the answer and I’ve never been sadder to say I’m correct. I did the unthinkable and won money off of Cincy in last year’s season finale cuz I knew Anderson would wet the bed. And he did. Anderson has had more than enough chances to prove himself and 1 good game every 4 games ain’t gonna cut it. Time to take DA out and if Crennel won’t, then he needs to go, too.
Hate to break it to you, but Barcodes aren’t the faintest resemblance of a Cleveland team. Tottenham, at least to me (having followed for quite a few years now) is the best comparison of a Premiership club that has the luck of Cleveland.
I see some of the posts here and I see a strain of emotion that bothers me. Its complacency. Its”yeah these guys SUCK, but I’ll still watch ’em.” This is ridiculous. I’m honestly resolved to boycott the Browns. It isn’t worth my energy or disappointment. Plus, why should I reward this team with my hard-earned money? One of the most effective ways I have found to get people to pay attention to your grievences quickly is hit him right in the most painfully felt places….the pocketbook.
If you want a better team, you have to demand it. Clearly, yelling on a comment board of a superior sports-blog (yes, I’m trying to score points here) is not working. Stop sending your money their way. What else can we do? Short of holding public try-outs, what else can Browns fans do to demand excellence from this team. I want a championship from this team damnit. This is unacceptable.
I would say Fulham is a better example than Tottenham… Fulham can’t even get to the UEFA cup, yet they remain in the premier league year after year.
My beef with this team is their inconsistency and continued defensive ineptitude. How the Browns managed to only give up 14 points on Sunday is a miracle considering the way Portis ran all over our defense and Moss created havoc in the secondary. We have as much talent as Tennessee, so why are the Titans undefeated and we’re sitting at 2-4? The simple answer is coaching. Romeo, you’re finished my fat friend. Defense was supposed to be your bread-and-butter… how is it that our defense has never come close to resembling the defense you had in New England? And DA, man am I glad that NFL contracts aren’t guaranteed. You’re going to find yourself cut from the team during the offseason if Quinn shows any sort of promise. It’s hard enough to follow the Browns from Richmond, VA but for them to crap the bed on the year where they have 5 nationally televised games (and one locally against the ‘Skins) is the toothpick in this sh!t sandwich of a season.
I have nothing to add for this was soooo well written and I agree with everything…. almost had me in tears I was so upset and angry!!
It appears Festivus has come early–though not as early as Christmas, judging by half the stores in the local mall. I’ll keep my list to the worst offenders:
To Phil Savage: I’m so tired of you being the Andy Dufresne of this franchise: always coming out smelling like roses while the team is dragged “through five hundred yards of s#!t smelling foulness” on a weekly basis. YOU made the decision to extend DA instead of selling high. YOU gave up a number one for BQ. YOU sent away half last year’s draft AND one of our few competent DBs. It’s now time for YOU to step up and make the decisions that obviously must be made. Let’s see you EARN this genius label you had coming in from B-more.
To DA: This hurts because I supported you. The last thing I wanted to see was this team be entrusted to some pretty boy from South Bend who managed to CHOKE every single time he got in a big game in college. And you helped bring this team back into the national spotlight. But you obviously aren’t capable of handling the pressure that spotlight brings, so have a seat. Maybe Minnesota will be willing to give us something for you, and give you a chance elsewhere.
To Eazy-E: You aren’t Deion Sanders. You won’t ever be Deion Sanders. So stop with the Primetime act when you do something right, because you’re sure to follow it up with at least 2 mistakes–remember the Dallas game? Try a little consistency and keep your mouth shut.
As for RAC, I believe Clark Griswold (with some minor modifications), said it best:
If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me (for Festivus, of course), I have one. I’d like Romeo Crennel, the coach, right here tonight. I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there in Moreland Hills with all the other rich people and I want him brought right here, with a big ribbon on his head, and I want to look him straight in the eye and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, d!ckless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey s#!t he is. Hallelujah. Holy s#!t. Where’s the Tylenol?
Here’s hoping for a Festivus miracle this Sunday.
@Goulet!
Browns Backer club in charlotte? Please tell me where, I have to see this myself.
Well done article. Very well played
The people to me that are so sad are the fans that dress in costume and go to the stadium. The passion is unbelieveable and what do they get for their loyalty—Romeo Crennel!
He is the very perfect example of the Peter Principle as someone promoted past their level of expertise. Only someone who is completely clueless would allow one player or a small group of players get themselves fired as our most talented “FESTIVUS’ writer so adroitly ponted out.
Take heart fellow sufferers, nothing last forever but I’m afraid that I won’t last long enough to see another”” championship anything”” in Cleveland before I totter off this mortal coil!