Tuesday's Thoughts

While thinking about what it would be like to follow a real NFL football team, here is what's on my mind this morning:

* Well, Mike Pettine and Ray Farmer became the next in a long line of fired head coaches and general managers who have been fired by the Cleveland Browns and more specifically by that smooth snake oil salesman, Jimmy Haslam.  While there was no question that Ray Farmer had to go, I really believe that Mike Pettine could have remained as head coach.  Pettine's biggest problem was the decline of the most expensive defensive unit in the NFL.  Firing Pettine made sense if the new general manager was going to be hiring the new head coach.  But according to Snake Oil Jimmy, the head coach will be hired first and then he along with Haslam, his wife and Sashi Brown (the new V.P. of Football Operations) will hire the general manager. What a joke.

* Snake Oil Jimmy's press conference was pathetic. Oh we had to hear how he was accepting full responsibility for the failures of his team, If that is suppose to make me feel better, sorry Snake Oil Jimmy but that does nothing for me. What's clear is that Haslam has no idea what the hell he's doing. We are all suppose to be impressed because he has brought in an executive search company to assist in the hiring of the new head coach. Snake Oil tells us that this company was involved in the hiring of Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, Pete Carroll at Seattle and Andy Reid at Kansas City. Really!! An executive search company was needed to bring Harbaugh to his alma mater or Reid to Kansas City?? Give me a break!! What Haslam didn't tell us was that this company was also involved in the hiring of failed NY Jets General Manager John Idzik.

* Haslam's promotion of Sashi Brown is another example of Snake Oil Jimmy's incompetence. Brown is a lawyer who has worked for the team as its cap specialist and contract negotiator. He is not a football guy, yet Snake Oil Jimmy said that Brown will have ultimate say on the 53 man roster. Brown will also have the final say on draft day.

* Every NFL expert and former coaches have said that the Cleveland job will be the least attractive of all the current openings. But not according to Snake Oil Jimmy. His incompetence will result in the Browns settling for a guy who has never been a head coach in the NFL.

* Johnny Manziel needs to be cut. I'm tired of his defenders trying to justify this spoiled rich kid's actions. He doesn't give a damn about his team, his teammates or the fans. All he cares about is promoting himself. But here's the bigger issue, Manziel is not a pro quarterback. He's too small and his arm isn't strong enough. Couple that with him not being committed to being the best he can be and you have an Arena League QB.

* Heard Justin Gilbert, another one of Ray Farmer's disaster first round picks in 2014, yesterday on Cleveland radio 92.3. The reason why he couldn't make team meetings in his rookie season was because he was a hard sleeper. You can't make this stuff up. This clown needs to be cut too.

* I wonder what Sashi Brown thinks of the $9 million contract that Dwayne Bowe got to do absolutely nothing this year.

* What a great testament to the character of Tom Coughlin by former Giant Justin Tuck. Tuck said that not only was Coughlin a great football coach but he also taught his players how to be good husbands and good parents. Will be interesting to see who the Giants will get to replace their former soon to be Hall of Fame coach.

* So much for exciting college football playoff games. Both games were a bust and one has to wonder how good the championship game will be. In fact the bowl games on New Year's Day were also non-eventful.

* The Maple Leafs head out west for a three game road trip beginning Wednesday against the Anaheim Ducks. You have to be impressed with the job that Mike Babcock is doing. The turnaround that this franchise has made since Team President cleaned house and brought in Kyle Dubas, Mark Hunter, Lou Lamiorello and Babcock has been amazing. Maybe Shanny could give Snake Oil Jimmy a call.

* With Wild Card weekend approaching, isn't it interesting that Brian Hoyer is leading the Houston Texans into the playoffs. As was pointed out by someone in Cleveland yesterday, the beginning of the end for Mike Pettine may have been when he was forced to keep Hoyer on the bench after he was injured so Johnny Boy could play.

* Here's hoping Cincy, Washington, Minnesota and Kansas City are victorious this weekend.

* Loved seeing Peyton Manning come off the bench and lead the Broncos to victory and the number one seed in the AFC. I'm not a Denver fan but I would love to see Manning lead them to the Super Bowl.

* The best that could happen to the Browns is if Hue Jackson or Jim Schwartz were hired as their new head coach. Both have head coaching experience in the NFL.

* And finally, it was really nice listening to former Browns Head Coach Sam Rutigliano yesterday. Brought back many great memories of the Kardiac Kids Days. Not sure if we will ever get back to Cleveland being relevant in the NFL again under Snake Oil Jimmy.

Browns: Can It Get Any Lower Than This?

When it was announced that the Browns were coming back to Cleveland, long time fans were looking forward to once again cheering for their football team.  We looked forward to once again enjoying fall Sunday afternoons like we did watching Jim Brown w/Frank Ryan, Bill Nelson w/Leroy Kelly, Brian Sipe w/Greg/Mike Pruitt and Bernie Kosar w/Mack & Byner.  Well, we were in for a big letdown as they've only been in the playoffs once (2002) and have had only 2 winning seasons since their return in 1999.  In fact, their record since coming back into the league, including this year, is 86 - 180.

It's been hard being a Browns fan since 1999 but this year may be the worst yet as this franchise is totally identified with the circus known as Johnny Football.  There have been a multitude of bad first round picks going back to the Modell days but the selection of Johnny Manziel may very well be the worst of them all.  I say that because it's not just his inability to be a franchise quarterback but it illustrates the total dysfunction of a franchise that was a perennial contender prior to their hijacking to Baltimore in 1995.

While I understand the argument that the Browns need to play Manziel to see if he is "their guy", his actions off the field demonstrate to me that he cannot be the man to lead Cleveland to a Super Bowl.  Moreover, his recent incidents illustrate something bigger: Manziel has an alcohol problem.  This is a guy who was in rehab for 73 days and has fallen hard off of the wagon.  The following was in a 2013 ESPN The Magazine article: "Manziel's father, John Paul, acknowledged that he was concerned about his son's anger issues, his drinking and his struggles dealing with celebrity. 'Yeah, it could all come unraveled', Manziel's father said. 'And when it does, it's gonna be bad. Real bad'."  This isn't from a media person who has an ax to grind.  This is coming from his own father.

On top of his alcohol issues, he has difficulty being truthful to his teammates, the Browns organization and the fans.  On multiple occasions he has said that he learned his lesson.  That he was going to be dedicated to being a professional and not a rock star.  So much for that.  But the icing on the cake was instead of admitting to his coaches that he screwed up, he lied and he has his so-called friends lie for him.  Sounds more like a 14 year old busted for drinking cheap wine after the homecoming game than the guy who will lead his team to a championship.

Head Coach Mike Pettine was right in changing starting quarterbacks as a result of Manziel's shenanigans this past weekend and his lying.  For those who want to see whether Manziel is "the guy", Pettine has left the door open for him to be named the starter before the season is over.  In my opinion, this organization should cut its losses and end the circus known as Johnny Football.

What also needs to happen is that the guy responsible for the state of this team needs to be fired.  General Manager Ray Farmer may go down as the worst general manager in NFL history as he has blown four first round draft picks over the last two drafts.  Not one of these players have had any type of positive impact for a franchise starving for playmakers.  Farmer is in over his head and needs to be shown the door.

I feel bad for Mike Pettine.  He is a football guy and he seems to have the respect of his players.  Unfortunately, he is also known as a defensive minded coach and the Browns defense is one of the worst in the league.  While I would have no problem if he was given another year without Farmer and Manziel, I think that if you are going to have a new General Manager that person needs to hire his own Head Coach.

The one guy who can't be replaced but deserves a lot of the blame is owner Jimmy Haslam.  When Haslam bought the Browns, we were sold on the idea that since he was a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers that he knew the importance of continuity, both in the front office and with the coaching staff.  That has hardly been the case.  Instead of following the Rooney family model, he seems to be following the footsteps of such meddling owners like Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder.

In fact, under Haslam's ownership, he has brought this franchise to it's lowest point ever.  From changing the team's iconic uniforms to those resembling that of a high school program to applying pressure to draft an undersized 20 year old quarterback who has character issues and a sense of entitlement, Haslam has made it harder for long time Cleveland fans to follow this team.  What he has created is a bad soap opera that needs to be cancelled.  

Pettine Creates A Problem With QB Situation

Cleveland Browns Head Coach Mike Pettine has created another, in a long line, of quarterback controversies by replacing Brian Hoyer on Sunday with Johnny Manziel and then naming Hoyer the starter for this Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts. Pettine indicated that his decision was based on the belief that Hoyer gave them the best chance to win. If that is the case, why put Manziel in against Buffalo early in the fourth quarter with the team down 20-3? After all, Hoyer has been the master of fourth quarter comebacks.

What Pettine probably didn't expect was the drive Manziel directed which ended with Johnny Football running in for a touchdown to make the score 20-10 with plenty of time remaining. In that same drive, Manziel showed a stronger arm than Hoyer and obviously provided more of a running threat. Johnny Football gave the offense a much needed spark, something that has been lacking over the last few games. 

In full disclosure, I did not want the Browns to draft Manziel. I questioned his ability to play his type of game in the NFL and be successful. Pettine's decision to name Hoyer the starter was the right one to make at the beginning of the season. In the first 7 games of the season, Hoyer threw for 8 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. What made him successful was limiting turnovers. However, the last five games have been a disaster. The stat line shows only 3 touchdown passes and 8 interceptions. These numbers include the win on a Thursday night over Cincinnati where Hoyer didn't throw a touchdown or an interception. It makes the numbers even worse. 

Many are saying that the Browns are still in the playoff hunt so it would be foolish to hand the fate of the team's playoff chances to a rookie quarterback. That's all fine and dandy but let's have a reality check. In order for the Browns to make the playoffs they are going have to win the division which means that they will need to beat Cincinnati and Baltimore and win one of the games against Carolina or the Colts and that might not still be enough. If they happen to make the playoffs, they are not going to the Super Bowl. So I guess until they are mathematically eliminated, the Browns will keep Hoyer as the starter and delay the evaluation process of Johnny Manziel. In a word: stupid. 

I've heard some say that the Browns should give Hoyer the remainder of this season and the beginning of next season before your consider replacing Hoyer with Manziel. Really?? People want to compare Hoyer to Brian Sipe but he is no Sipe. In 1980, Sipe was the AP NFL Most Valuable Player. Somehow I don't see Brian Hoyer being an NFL MVP. I don't see him being a Pro Bowler either. 

Based on what I've seen this season, Hoyer is a serviceable back-up quarterback. He is not a franchise quarterback. Johnny Manziel?? I'm not sure if Johnny Football is the answer but I would like to find out now. In the 2015 Draft, the Browns have two first round picks that could be packaged to move up to take a Marcus Mariota. That's why the Browns need to know if Johnny is the guy. They can only find out if he plays. 

If Hoyer starts off the Indy game like he has in the last two games, the crowd at First Energy Stadium will be surly and Mike Pettine will have a full blown quarterback controversy on his hands. A controversy he created.