tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Another Lost Browns Season Mercifully Coming To An End

The Cleveland Browns gave their long suffering fans another disappointing loss on Christmas Eve dropping a 20-14 decision to the Baltimore Ravens. This game was as frustrating as the 14-3 loss to Pittsburgh earlier this month as the Browns blew opportunities for the big upsets. Bad clock management and terrible play calling doomed the Browns once again. Early in the season there was the excuse that the limited training camp hurt the Browns because they did not have enough time to get used to a new coaching staff and new offensive system. Well those excuses ring hollow now in Week 16 when the same mistakes are being made.

It's been two years since the Browns hired Mike Holmgren to be President of the team and lead them back to respectability, playoff appearances and a Super Bowl. But as the second year comes to a close, there does not appear to be much change in the direction of this team. Sure, there have been some good players drafted, TJ Ward, Joe Haden, Phil Taylor and Jabaal Sheard, but the overall talent on this team is lacking dramatically. Offensively, this team is a joke. As I have stated many times, I wanted to believe that Colt McCoy was the guy to lead the Browns to a championship but I am convinced that this is not the case. McCoy simply does not have the arm-strength to win in the NFL.

The Browns receiving corp is a joke. The jury is still out on Greg Little. The kid has a lot of potential and hopefully he will continue to grow. However, he is not a stretch the field playmaker. He's more like a number 2 guy. Mohammed Massaquoi can't stay healthy long enough and I can't see him as a number 1 receiver. Jerious Norwood is a nice player but he is a number 3 at best.

Joshua Cribbs is an offensive threat but the Browns don't know how to use him. Instead of deploying him as a receiver, the Browns would be better off using Cribbs as the former Browns used Eric Metcalf. Have Cribbs in the backfield as a running back, utilizing him in the running game and throwing passes to him out of the backfield. It would be awfully difficult for a linebacker to cover him.

The Browns running game is really up in the air. Tom Heckert moved up in his first draft to pick Montario Hardesty. Hardesty's pro career has been similar to his college career: injury-plagued. I find it hard to imagine him as a number one running back. Chris Ogbonnaya is a nice story but he is not a number one back either. Brandon Jackson, who was brought in from Green Bay and has missed the entire season with an injury, is a change of pace third down back. The best running back the Browns have is Peyton Hillis. Hillis has proven that he can be a number one back but it appears that the Browns will let him test free agency. If that is the case, all three skilled positions on offense are in search of a number one guy. So much for your offense and I have not even mentioned the guard and right tackle positions on the offensive line.

Defensively, the Browns need help at linebacker, another defensive end and more defensive secondary help. So as you can see they need a lot. Holmgren and Heckert have indicated that they want to build the team through the draft. The problem is this team needs so much that it will take at least two more drafts to raise the talent level so that the Browns can compete in the AFC North. This is totally unacceptable. Recently, I've been reading that there appears to be a change of heart as it relates to free agency. Heckert has indicated that the Browns will be looking to bolster their roster with free agents and this should be used not to fill in roster spots but to upgrade the talent level on this team.

Besides the lack of talent on this team, the other thing that is particularly troubling is how this new regime has handled certain issues which gives me the impression that these guys are in over their heads. The whole Peyton Hillis issue I believe was mishandled from the beginning. It appeared to me that the Browns wanted to paint the picture that Hillis was a slackard who was playing a game to get a contract. I can remember Pat Shurmur saying that "the kid said he couldn't play". Why wouldn't he have said, "the kid had strep throat and was unable to play."

The whole Colt McCoy concussion situation was a total joke and an embarassment. Holmgren's press conference was an insult. Does he really expect us to believe that no one, not one person, affiliated with the Cleveland Browns did not see the severity of the hit?? When Holmgren came on board I thought it was a breathe of fresh air the way he answered questions and even how he handled Eric Mangini. But this last press conference gave me the impression that this guy was trying to cover the team's butt as opposed to being honest and saying that they screwed up.

While Holmgren and Heckert have been around and should not be out of their element in running a team, Pat Shurmur is in way over his head. Holmgren's assertion that Shurmur is a bright young coach who is going to be around for a while is troubling at best. For his first year as a head coach I would have to give Shurmur an F. His lack of creativity, terrible game management and his self-righteous attitude leaves me to wonder what lies ahead. I don't see what Holmgren sees in Shurmur. I'd like to think he knows more than me. At least I hope he does.
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Tomorrow is the last Tuesday's Thoughts for 2011. Should be a dandy as I will touch on what may lie ahead in 2012.