Tag: Browns rumors (Page 3 of 6)

Brady Quinn gets a second chance in Cleveland

Brady Quinn won the Browns’ starting quarterback job in preseason and then promptly crapped himself as soon as the regular season started. In three starts, his average pass went less than six yards, he threw just one touchdown pass and was intercepted three times. He also had a horrific time with his decision-making and accuracy, and even when he did find ways to complete passes his receivers didn’t have a chance to make plays up field because Quinn couldn’t hit them in stride.

When Eric Mangini decided to replace Quinn for Derek Anderson, some Cleveland fans were elated because at least Anderson had the ability to throw the ball vertically. Sure, he’d throw the occasional interception or two, but at least he could run the offense better than Quinn, right?

Wrong.

Over the past couple weeks, Anderson displayed some of the worst quarterbacking this side of Drew Henson. In six appearances, he failed to throw for over 100 yards in four of those games and threw nine interceptions compared to just two touchdowns. His performance in the past month and a half deserves to be mentioned in the Epic Failure Hall of Fame (EFHoF).

Facing little to no choice given Anderson’s all-around suck, Mangini has decided to go back to Quinn and start him against the Ravens on Monday night. If Quinn doesn’t realize that this may be his final shot to impress in Cleveland, he should. Because if/when Mangini is fired at the end of the season there’s no guarantee that Quinn can fool the next coaching staff into believing that just because he has the size and frame to be a starting quarterback in this league, that he actually should be one.

Who knows, maybe with a better supporting cast Quinn could actually be a decent starter in this league. Unfortunately for him he’s stuck with what’s around him around now and he better make the most of his situation or else people will continue to wonder whether or not he can be a starter in this league. He better make the most out of his second chance.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Browns to contact Holmgren?


Photo from fOTOGLIF

According to a report by ESPN.com, the Cleveland owner Randy Lerner will contact former Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren to run the Browns.

Holmgren is itching to return to football and the opportunity he would have in Cleveland would be an attractive one. Lerner is looking for someone to perform for the Browns the same role that vice president of football operations Bill Parcells performs for the Dolphins. The job, for the time being, is Holmgren’s to lose.

If Holmgren were to take it — and there are some people who think he still would prefer to coach — he would be returning to the Midwest, where he built his reputation as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.

Holmgren is one of at least four names on Lerner’s wish list, though he is considered the top target. The others are former New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi, Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay and former Packers general manager Ron Wolf.

Holmgren’s track record speaks for itself. He’s coached three different Super Bowl teams and built the Seahawks into a consistent division winner and playoff contender. He knows how to build a team from the ground up, which is exactly what the Browns need right now.

And if you’re Lerner, why wouldn’t you allow Holmgren to coach if that was the only stipulation in luring him to Cleveland? Eric Mangini has been a disaster to this point and there is little to no hope on the horizon. Lerner should have no qualms about firing Mangini and replacing him with someone with a resume like Holmgren’s.

If Lerner can’t get Holmgren, either Accorsi, McKay or Wolf would be solid choices, although it might be tough to get Wolf, who has had opportunities to return as a general manager and has declined them.

Browns to stick with Derek Anderson

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Cleveland Browns are not considering a change at quarterback, which means Derek Anderson will remain the team’s starter.

The Browns are damned if they do, damned if they don’t in this situation. In Brady Quinn, they had a quarterback that didn’t make wise decisions, couldn’t throw the ball vertically, couldn’t hit receivers in stride and couldn’t lead the offense. In Anderson, they have a quarterback that doesn’t make wise decisions, can’t lead the offense and is completely turnover prone. But hey, at least he can throw the ball vertically; sometimes it’s directly to the other team, but vertical nonetheless.

Even though Anderson is incapable of moving the offense, Eric Mangini has to stick with him at this point because if he goes back to Quinn than it’s going to look like he has less of a handle on the situation than he already does. The bottom line is that Cleveland has one of the most inept offenses in the NFL and they don’t have a quarterback on the roster that can guide them out of the muck.

Unless…Brett Ratliff anyone?

Will the Browns trade Quinn before the deadline?

There is growing speculation out of Cleveland that the Browns will deal quarterback Brady Quinn before the October 20 trade deadline. Quinn won the Browns’ starting quarterback job in preseason but struggled mightily once the regular season started and was replaced by Derek Anderson.

Considering the Browns traded Kellen Winslow to the Buccaneers this offseason and Braylon Edwards to the Jets last week, it’s clear that the team has no reservations about dealing former first round picks. So the rumor of Quinn being shipped out of town certainly holds water.

Despite his brutal 2-for-17 passing performance against the Bills last Sunday, Anderson has shown that he can move the offense better than Quinn can. Anderson is turnover prone, but he has the strong arm that head coach Eric Mangini covets. Quinn, on the other hand, displayed poor pocket awareness and the inability to hit receivers in stride during the first few weeks of the season.

But while a trade makes sense for the Browns (Mangini reportedly favors former Jet Brett Ratliff as his backup, making Quinn even more expendable), they just don’t happen that often midseason. I realize Cleveland just dealt Edwards to New York last week, but his recent off-field incident and growing tension with management expedited that process.

Continue reading »

Posnanski: Is Mangini the worst coaching hire ever?

Joe Posnanski of SI.com says it’s not fan hyperbole to suggest that the Cleveland Browns made the worst coaching hire of the last 25 years in Eric Mangini.

But here’s the thing: Based on the Twitter responses I’ve seen … I’m actually starting to believe that I’m right. I’m actually starting to believe that Mangini really was the worst head coach hire in 25 years. The responses have mostly been to list other coaches who were worse hires than Mangini. But you know what? I don’t think any of those hires WERE worse than Mangini. Remember:

1. Mangini had just been fired in New York, where he had done a terrible job. He had a losing record. His team had collapsed down the stretch, he had alienated his players, he was a pain in the neck to deal with. Point is: He’d already PROVEN how much damage he could do as a coach.

2. He came right out of the school of Bill Belichick … and that didn’t work THE FIRST TIME in Cleveland. It seems to me that Cleveland is a working-class town and Browns fans want a working-class coach — not some pompous know-it-all who doesn’t feel like he should have to explain to the commoners what he’s doing.

3. What had he ever done to convince anyone he could be a head coach in the first place? Why, because he was a defensive coordinator for the Patriots under Belichick for one season? The Browns had JUST HIRED Romeo Crennel, who was ALSO defensive coordinator under Belichick. Attention Cleveland Browns owners, here’s a good hint: BILL BELICHICK IS HIS OWN DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR.

4. Basically the first thing Mangini did — first thing — was have them tear down a mural of great Cleveland Browns players on the wall in the Browns offices. Now, there are differing opinions about what really happened, whose fault it really was, does it all matter, etc. You know what? The Cleveland Browns have never been to a Super Bowl. Never. Not one. But Browns fans still have a whole lot of pride. Browns fans grow up on a glorious history. If you allow something stupid like that to happen on your watch … just a horrendous hire.

Posnanski continues by diving into some other bad coaching hires, although he dismisses each one by saying they were still better than the Browns’ hiring of Mangini.

It’s hard to argue with Posnanski based on how Mangini’s tenure in Cleveland has started. But the only problem I have with his argument is that any coach that has worked under Belichick is going to be sought after to some degree, even if that coach failed in his previous job. And let’s not forget that Mangini won his first year in New York, which made him enticing to employers.

That said, if the Browns continue to lose the way they have in the first couple weeks, it will be hard to justify why they took a chance on Mangini in the offseason. People in Cleveland are going to grow tired of his act, just as the fans in New York did.

« Older posts Newer posts »