Tag: Cleveland Browns (Page 23 of 57)

      Report: Browns met with Mike Holmgren

      December 15, 2009 /

      According to the Akron Beacon-Journal, the Browns held a meeting with former Seahawks and Packers coach Mike Holmgren on Monday. The meeting was to gauge Holmgren’s interest in becoming a football “czar” for the Browns next season.

      It’s not known if Holmgren would accept a job immediately; he’s a thoughtful guy who probably would want to think things through. But team owner Randy Lerner is working hard to convince Holmgren the Browns would be right for him.

      As for Mangini’s future, many rumors and reports have trickled out of Berea that the win over Pittsburgh guarantees that Mangini will be back in 2010.

      What the win did was make the Browns 2-11, and Randy Lerner has to be aware of that reality.

      Lerner, though, will not force his will on the new football leader. The team’s owner will have input into the coach, but he will not force a decision on someone he hires to run his football operations.

      Holmgren would absolutely be a great fit for Cleveland. He would bring credibility to the job and a proven track record, which are two things that are incredibly valuable to an organization like the Browns.


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      Week 14 Top 5 Observations: Browns 13, Steelers 6

      December 10, 2009 /

      Here are five quick-hit observations from the Browns’ upset win over the Steelers in Week 14.

      1. The Steelers are done.
      The defending champs are done, folks. A five-game losing streak, capped off by their ugliest loss of the season, has ensured that Pittsburgh won’t be playing in the postseason come January. One would have thought that the Steelers would be able to get up for a game against the one-win Browns when their backs were against the wall, but then again “one” would be wrong.

      2. The Browns didn’t just win – they dominated.
      For those that missed the broadcast because it was on the NFL Network, let me assure you that the Steelers didn’t beat themselves: They got their asses handed to them. It’s strange to say, but the better team won tonight. Cleveland came out more focused, more determined and flat out took a victory from the Steelers. The Browns’ defensive effort tonight was absolutely outstanding, as they suffocated Pittsburgh’s running game and sacked Ben Roethlisberger eight times. For as much heat as Eric Mangini has taken this season (and deservedly so), the Browns have played hard the past couple weeks and they deserved a win tonight.

      3. Cleveland’s young secondary was excellent.
      Something that will be lost in the stat sheet was how well the Browns’ secondary played. Cleveland’s defense might have racked up eight sacks, but most of those were because of the outstanding coverage. Big Ben simply didn’t have open receivers to throw to, which resulted in him double and triple clutching to avoid throwing into coverage. Pittsburgh’s offensive line didn’t play as badly as the sacks would indicate, or at least not from a pass protection standpoint. The Browns’ pass defense was just that good.

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      Is Brady Quinn finally turning the corner?

      December 10, 2009 /

      One game doesn’t define a player’s potential or future, and neither do three games.

      That said, I’m intrigued by the play of Brady Quinn these past three weeks, especially considering how brutal he looked on Monday Night Football against the Ravens four weeks ago.

      In his putrid effort that fateful Monday night, Quinn couldn’t even keep the ball in-bounds on desperation heaves down the field. He struggled with accuracy, turnovers, decision-making and everything else that comes with being a quarterback. He was awful, brutal, terrible – atrocious. He was so bad that I even wrote this in my recap of the game:

      Brady Quinn is bad, so bad that it’s safe to say that he has zero chance of becoming anything resembling a decent starting quarterback in the NFL.

      Ouch.

      Since that point, however, Brady has thrown seven touchdowns and zero interceptions over a three-game span. Thanks to Jerome Harrison taking over the starting running back duties and Cleveland’s use of the no-huddle offense, Quinn has been solid. In fact, he’s looked like a completely different quarterback than he did earlier in the season.

      But alas, here comes another prime time opportunity for Quinn, and against another division rival no less. The Browns take on the Steelers tonight – a team that has a habit of making quarterbacks look silly. Granted, this isn’t the same Pittsburgh defense we’re accustomed to seeing and its loss last week to Oakland proves that. But this is a team in desperate need of a win after losing four straight, and is trying to keep their fading playoff hopes alive.

      It would be nice to see Quinn continue to develop his craft. If he is turning the corner, then he’ll need to prove that he can have success against a tough opponent in prime time. Again, one game doesn’t decide anything. But confidence and consistency mean so much to a young quarterback, so his performance tonight is bigger than one would think.

      I’m neither a Browns nor a Steelers fan, but here’s hoping the kid puts on a good show tonight.


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      Decade Debate: 10 Worst NFL Head Coaching Hires

      December 8, 2009 /

      Perhaps more than any other sport, a bad head coaching hire in the NFL can ruin a franchise for the better part of a decade. When you consider the free agent and draft acquisitions that are made to fit a coach’s style and philosophy, it’s no wonder that it usually takes years for a team to rebound after a bad coaching hire. As part of our ongoing Decade Debate series, here are the 10 worst head coaching hires of the past decade. To be clear, this ranking is based on the result of the hire, and not necessarily the hire itself. (Although the ranking could be a combination of the two.)

      10. Eric Mangini, Cleveland Browns, 2009

      One might argue that since Mangini hasn’t even gotten through his first year in Cleveland yet that he doesn’t deserve to be on this list. But others will argue that since he was absolutely despised in New York that the Browns should have never hired him in the first place. After all, was the one winning season he had with the Jets worth the Browns giving him a shot? Some of the moves that Mangini has made since arriving in Cleveland haven’t been bad at all: Trading Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow, trading down multiple times to acquire more picks in the draft, acquiring safety Abram Elam, etc. But considering he hasn’t won many players over with his crass attitude, has made two quarterback changes and only has one win under his belt, things couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start in Cleveland. It’ll be interesting to see if the Browns fire him after only one season.

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      Jamal Lewis done for the season, and his career

      December 3, 2009 /

      The Browns placed running back Jamal Lewis on injured reserve on Wednesday night with post-concussion symptoms, effectively ending his season and his career.

      From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

      Lewis, who previously announced this would be his last NFL season, has played his last down of football. He will retire as the 21st leading NFL rusher with 10,607 yards in 131 career games.

      But Lewis’ place on the all-time rushing list is the furthest thing from his mind.

      A source said that Lewis was “pretty shaken up” when an MRI test showed “brain abnormalities.” They may be the result of excessive trauma triggered by a recent hit. More tests will be done to determine the extent of Lewis’ injury, the source said.

      The injuries to Lewis and Pool really bring home the wave of concussion awareness currently sweeping the NFL. Recent concussion injuries suffered by Philadelphia running back Brian Westbrook, Washington running back Clinton Portis, Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner and Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger accentuated national attention on the NFL’s need to deal better with head injuries.

      The NFL is trying to make head injuries more of a priority by making players wait longer after they suffer post-concussion symptoms. With the amount of head injuries that players have suffered this year, it’s a good thing that the league is being more proactive but it’s still up to the players to be honest when they’re suffering any symptoms.

      As for Lewis, his 2009 season will end with career lows in total yardage (588), touchdowns (0), catches (8) and rushing yards per game (55.6). He’ll mostly be remembered for his 2003 season with the Ravens when he rushed for 2,066 yards and 14 touchdowns on 387 carries. He rushed for 5.3 yards per carry that season and had 16 runs of 20-plus yards.

      It’s unlikely that Lewis will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but he put together a nice career for himself and he’ll retire with a Super Bowl ring.


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