NBA Trade Rumors: Cavs unwilling to part with Varejao, pick for Jeff Green
December 22, 2013While We’re Waiting… No joy in Believeland
December 23, 2013The Browns still have not won a game since their bye week. They are 4-11 after losing 24-13 to the Jets on Sunday. There’s really not much to say about the particulars of this one. It was just bad to watch all the way around. The Browns failed to score touchdowns with drops and a penalty that nullified a rushing TD. The Browns were gifted an extended trip to the red zone in the first half when the refs called an inexplicable roughing the passer penalty. The Browns couldn’t score, even on 4th and goal from the two yard line. The defense was pretty pathetic too, giving up a 91.7 QB rating to Geno Smith in addition to over 200 yards rushing to the Jets as a team. U-G-L-Y.
Speaking of ugly, it’s not just the losing. This kind of game makes me long for the New England game, which was at least entertaining to watch. I have been impressed by the Browns’ willingness to take accountability and have complimented Joe Banner on that continually, but as this one gets uglier and uglier, I’m starting to wonder what that even means. Accountability for disappointment is alright if it looks like there’s something being built, but what if it doesn’t look that way anymore?
I ask it that way because even if you give the Browns a pass for all the different quarterbacks they’ve gone through, how is it that they allowed known turnover machine Geno Smith to carve them up all day, including two touchdowns to Browns cast-off David Nelson? And this isn’t about how the Browns should have kept Nelson. If that’s an argument worth making, then your football team has far greater issues. The problem is that this is the defense, down the stretch, that the Cleveland Browns actually expended effort to build this off-season. Other than Desmond Bryant, they’re relatively healthy too.
This team has always made it a known priority that they need to find a quarterback. That’s difficult to do, but they also said they needed to get to opposing quarterbacks. Geno Smith is elusive, but we’re talking about a guy who had thrown 21 interceptions coming into the game and the same number leaving it. The Browns had zero sacks on the day and other than some nicely batted down passes, it’s hard to figure out what the defense did well.
It leaves me wondering what Joe Banner can say for himself and his team after the season they’ve put up. Just so you know about my tone of voice here, I’m not upset or screaming. I’m not looking for anyone to be fired, but I’m curious what accountability means for a Browns team that has put up what can only be termed a failure in their first year. As I said first, they haven’t won since their bye week. They’ve got 11 losses on the year. They look drastically worse than they did earlier in the season in pretty much all phases of the game. All phases.
Without getting upset – because apathy has long since set in – I’m simply wondering their thoughts and reactions to this stinker of a year. As fans who’ve watched the games, we can make excuses for them if we want. Certainly the struggles at QB are tough for any team to deal with, but I want the team to speak for themselves. What does accountability mean? Does it extend to ticket prices and holding them flat for another year?
I’m honestly just curious at this point. We’ll see soon enough. The Browns have one more contest left against the Steelers on the road.
33 Comments
A new low. Gonna take a while to wash the stank outta this one.
haha, this is the new low? Still one more week left.
For the first time ever, I am ok with them losing. This draft position could change this franchise for the better. A top-4 pick will yield plenty in a tradedown. I think they could stay in the top-10, still get one of their QBs, and pick up 3 or 4 more picks.
But after next week, it will never again be ok to lose.
Ok…Lets put this whole season in perspective….
Bottom line is that we cant be better than 5-11….so….there really has been no improvement whatsoever in the most important aspect of the game…winning…
Quit telling me about holes we need to fill….last year we were screaming how we don’t have a legit wide receiver..etc etc…well we have the BEST damn wide receiver in the game and it meant nothing……everyone wants to focus on this position, that position…yada yada….bull….everyone has wholes….every single team…and truthfully we didn’t get hurt much with injuries this year compared to most….( Only QB really )…….SO…..what does this mean…?????
Simple….we don’t have a winner…we don’t have anyone who knows how to win…NO ONE!! including the front office…..the darn Steelers start 0-4….have injuries everywhere…and are still in the playoff hunt in week 16…..while we have won one darn game in the last 10 weeks….seriously???…does no one else see this???…I post all the time about this…..the heck with draft choices….we have had draft choices for 15 years and all they have produced is a 4-12 or 5-11 teams……..Hell we might as well bring back Marty S because he is the only true winner we have had here in 50 years…..
Will someone in this organization please stand up and take control????…..let Mack and Ward go….who cares??? The Steelers have a center they hired off the couch so how difficult can it be….Safety ..?? really??…..We cant stop anyone in the second half….esp the 4th qtr…..who needs any of those guys???…we can go 4-12 by accident with just reserves…..If Ward was so valuable he would have made a play to STOP SOMEONE when it counts…..like on all the game winning drives at the end of halves…..
Green Bay loses the best QB in football and have more holes in their lineup than swiss cheese…..But guess what…..They are still playing for a playoff spot???
Come on people…….I am not asking for much….just a few winning seasons where we can have a meaning full game in December…Is that really to much too ask????….Jim Haslam….Where ARE YOU???….Does he still even own the Team????…..I guess when you were born on 3rd base and think you hit a triple you think you can do anything……Well pro Football sure has humbled him…..Has anyone heard a peep out of him????……Where is the passion for WINNING??????…….Are we on this site the only ones that care????
The sad thing is Clevelanders didn’t get to watch Peyton Manning break the single season touchdown record, unlike most people. I feel sorry for you guys there.
some good points, some i don’t agree with. but the most important point is that we DONT HAVE A QB!
If the Browns see a guy they think can be elite, they can solve that in this draft. I am lengthening the leash for ONE more offseason. For me, it’s playoffs/division title or bust next season. Anything less will be unacceptable.
I am not saying i am ok with stinking it up this year, but i understand it. I won’t be so benevolent next season if it’s the case again.
this new thing called “the internet” is pretty awesome. you should check it out. you can, like, totally load videos and highlights and everything.
The phrase “If the Browns see a guy they think can be elite” just makes me cringe because I’ve been hearing it since 1999. There are no “elite” QBs in this draft other then maybe Bridgewater and he will go #1 and I’m not even sure if he’s worthy.
I don’t think many people watched this pathetic game anyways. Worse then Manning you get stuck watching Pittsburgh vs Green Bay instead of the most important game New England vs Baltimore.
What does this all mean? It means Los Angeles had the better “Franchise Free Agency” class of ’95-96 than we did.
I need a realistic reason to be optimistic going forward..maybe having Hoyer in there next year will be a spark? Even with him it was too small a sample size, and this franchise is so damned unlucky we *still* don’t know if the Hoyer myth has legs or was a two-game fluke. Hence using a 1st round pick on a QB close with no dead-bang no doubt Luckian talent.
yeah, i should actually be shot for writing that.
Every word is gospel. We are no better off that we’ve been at season’s end the last fifteen years. I posted this in the thread about Mack and Ward, but it really stung to hear the announcers say today that “they’re building the right way” and they have “a good young core” and “lots of picks in the coming draft” because I knew that we are in exactly the same position that we’ve been in forever.
We have always had and we still have, a few good players, we have always had and we still have a few good upcoming draft picks, and we have always been and we still are a putrid embarrassment as a team – Now With Added Criminal Investigations! Banner had a few smug moments when it was clear he’d picked Indy’s pocket on Richardson and it looked like the team had potential. Turns out it was our usual meaningless win streak a few games earlier than usual and the team is the same as ever. And Banner is going to have to smugly draft a center and safety with two of his bountiful picks, and his demeanor is exactly the same as all the previous regimes who were convinced despite overwhelming evidence that they were the smartest guys in the room. I don’t know what next year’s draft will be like. I do know that by the time next year hits we’ll be convinced that 2014 is just year one of a rebuilding after cleaning house and we need to give them time to break in the next Couch/Anderson/Quinn/McCoy/Weeden to mesh with their new Center, RG, and RB. But the future is going to be bright! because we will undoubtedly get a couple good picks for Gordon and Cameron, who it really, you must understand, didn’t make sense for us to keep around because they were proven stars and we’re a young up and coming team. Mark my words that’s going to happen and before you jump in to claim that I have nothing to back that up, think about fifty years of Browns history, but most importantly, think of how you thought it couldn’t possibly get worse than a mediocre, embarrassing team with an owner in England who didn’t care and then the team was sold to an owner who belongs in jail who somehow managed to make it worse.
the first sign of a losing team and inept coaching came pretty early today. 3rd and 4th and goal to go from the 1 yard line and both are incomplete passing plays. just shockingly bad play calling and philosophy. our offense genuises have no grasp at all on statistics or even basic mathematics for that matter. i call better and more unique plays in madden.
and every year we regress as the season goes on to the point where we wonder what team, if any, we can actually beat in the league. yet we never finish with the league’s worst record. just plain old circus-grade entertainment.
You are being to hard on yourself not shot but maybe severely flogged.
Speaking of potential QBs how did David Carr’s little brother look yesterday? That was one of the potential “elite” prospects.
Looks like TankStrong lives again… Only in Cleveland…
from what I’ve read and heard, it wasn’t good. Missed a handful of throws, and didn’t handle USC’s rush well. To be fair, USC may have had a disappointing season, but their pass rush was pretty soild. Still, not a good sign for how well he may handle an NFL rush.
This makes me haz a sad…because I don’t think you are necessarily wrong. Wait til they trade Joe Thomas…
This is one of the problems I have had with several Browns regimes over the years, it always seems like they’re waiting for all the pieces to fall into place. There is always a reason why this year wasnt the year, and if we just have one more good offseason/ get these new coaches “their guys”/ give that mediocre QB a “real” chance (without getting injured/with a full offseason in the offense/a full offseason knowing he is the starter) then we will be there. We need to stop worrying about trying to build a dynasty and learn to take advantage of the opportunities we have as they come to us, because they may not come again. The AFC north was more wide open this year than it has been in a while, but the Front Office is stacking chips for 2014. We had an opportunity this year, unfortunately we were preparing for 2014. In 2014 the injury bug is going to bite us, and then in 2015 it’ll be “if only” and then in 2016 it’ll be make or break for Chud, etc., etc. (And let’s just hope there are no more staph breakouts)
Please note: there is no one in the world who hopes more that I am completely and totally foolishly wrong than I do.
Take Gordon away from the offense and look at what you have: a ground game led by Edwin Baker and a passing attack featuring Gray, Barnidge, Cooper, Little, and a WR I’ve never even heard of. Account for Jason Campbell at the helm and you’re looking at a group that never stood a chance.
The season ends in Pittsburgh of all places. They are still in the playoff hunt. What a mess.
Agreed. We’ve been hearing the same BS about “building the right way” for the last 13 years.
Whatever grace period these guys think they have will go right out the window if/when the Browns lose next week to let an 8-8 Steelers team somehow sneak into the playoffs. They started 0-4 and are in the hunt through week 17. The Browns started 3-2 and have been out of it for nearly a month.
Doesn’t that just tell you the difference in mentality between these two franchises? One won’t give up. One can’t help but collapse.
I love rooting for my Browns. Can’t they just be good for once?
“And this isn’t about how the Browns should have kept Nelson. If that’s
an argument worth making, then your football team has far greater issues”
Maybe this does signify greater issues. He was cut when he wasn’t fully healthy and more importantly we kept guys like Tori Gurley on the roster?
With Davone Bess and Greg Little having the dropsies this season couldn’t he have helped out as 3rd down receiver? It’s not as if he didn’t have a track record of some success in the league.
I hope I’m wrong in doubting this FOs talent evaluation skills.
“After next week, it will never again be ok to lose”. I’m pretty sure i heard this sentiment last year, and something similar in years before. I feel that were not going to be too far removed from non-tanking quite yet.
One wasnt as good as simply saying 3-2, the other not as bad as simply 0-4?
this is the most asinine thing i have read in some time.
stomping your feet and shouting I WANT TO WIN A WINNER WIN is not a plan.
pragmatic planning and execution of that plan is required (e.g., see hole, fill hole).
the fact is that banner planned to lose through his actions in the off-season (not filling holes, actually creating more holes w a new defense) and executed his plan. simultaneously he sold the jive of ‘changing culture’ to guys like you with brown pants and a new cafeteria and orange office chairs because WINNING WINNERS WIN and crap like that.
do you understand that banner patched no holes? might that fact correlate to the same win count of last year? by my count he’s gone from six holes last year to nine next year (QB, RB, OG, C, WR2, ILB, CB2, SS, FS). sorry that you don’t like to ‘plug holes’… maybe sean lauvao will be better NEXT year.
though you think green bay has “more holes in their lineup than swiss cheese” and “Steelers have a center they hired off the couch” they also employ Kevin Colbert (since 2000) and Ted Thompson (since 2005) and probably have more of a plan and have probably plugged more holes that you’re aware of and both have SB rings to show for it.
“let Mack and Ward go….who cares???”
yeah losing to top five players for nothing (sorry compensatory picks, probably at end of 4th/5th round), that’s good plan. as long you do with WINNING INTENSITY WIN WINNING WIN!!!
my god, go down to berea and let banner show you an inspirational mural. that’ll prove he’s PASSIONATE ABOUT WINNING and then you should be good.
As Browns fans, scratch that, CLEVELAND fans, we truly are conditioned to “Wait for next year”.
I am absolutely sick of this mentality.
I am sick of the draft being our super bowl.
I am sick of watching youtube highlight clips of QB’s who could potentially be the Browns savior.
I am sick of listening to experts, pundits, announcers tell me how THIS Browns regime is finally building the right way.
I am sick of making excuses for the defense because we have a piss poor QB.
I am sick of hearing Rizzo and Goldhammer rant.
I am sick of re-living this year over and over and over and over and over.
I am sick of 4-12.
I am sick of losing and want my kids to know how great it feels to root for a playoff-bound Browns team in December.
Next year, we are NOT Waiting For Next Year!!!!
This was an end of another losing season loss. They’re phoning it in now. LET’S TALK DRAFT! LET’S TALK DRAFT! LET’S TALK DRAFT! LET’S TALK DRAFT! LET’S TALK DRAFT! LET’S TALK DRAFT! LET’S TALK DRAFT! LET’S TALK DRAFT! LET’S TALK DRAFT! LET’S TALK DRAFT! LET’S TALK DRAFT! LET’S TALK DRAFT! LET’S TALK DRAFT! LET’S TALK DRAFT!
I agree, but my statement was less about ability and more about the ability to capitalize on your circumstances. Teams that start 3-2 have a better than average shot at making the playoffs while teams that start 0-4 never make the playoffs…yet, here we are.
Plane and simple, the 2013 browns have a very small margin for error and with no running game, no Cameron, no bess (the real bess), and no QB, this team stinks. Even when they had Hoyer, Cameron, and Gordon, they were a .500 team. There is no surprise here. The good news is that when we get Hoyer and Cameron back and add a quality RB or 2 in the draft, we are in decent shape offensively.
The defense on the other hand, is just not that good. The defensive line (minus the LBs) are very good and will be or years. The LBs are just not that good. they can’t stop a screen, they cant stop an outside run or a crossing patter. We also need a free safety that can shut down receivers (not just pick off deflections 10 yards from the intended receiver). We apparently need a 3rd CB too because we have no depth at that position.
So the list looks like this
Developmental QB – We could stockpile for 2015 if there is no value – Hoyer will be OK for 2014 (goal is 8-8 or maybe 9-7 with consistency. We are not winning the superbowl in 2014)
RB – available all over the place
LB – probably the hardest get right at this point
Free Safety – Easy to get in the 2nd-4th round
3rd CB – we need quality depth
Wild card – Run blocking guard or WR –
Given this list, unless you see a stuff All Pro quality guy with the 1st pick, trade down because there is no need to be desperate. Almost all of what we need is in the 2nd – 4th round range. This doesn’t take into account free agency either. If we fill 2 minor holes with Free agents, we could just stockpile depth for the most part as our real “NEEDS” are not expensive.
Holy SH*&$!! I forgot about FB. How we don’t have one is inexcusable – especially because they are cheap and easy to get.
I was at the game yesterday and it was so bad that Jet fans didnt even bother really razzing me. Usually they are a vile bunch but I guess they felt bad for the sad sack Browns fans that bought tickets yesterday. Oh, and DQ is done. D O N E.
The Steelers might beat us by 35 next Sunday.
What do you want to be told then? The team stinks, it needs a lot of work, and it’s not as simple as getting over the mentality, otherwise Savage would have led us into the promised land.
If investing as much as you do makes you so sick, then stop investing so much. That’s the one and only fix. At least stop listening to sports talk radio.