|
|
|
|
|
 |
| The
Full Take: |
With the Browns falling to 0-2 after 2 weeks of play, how will they finish by season's end? Click to read takes from Fletch and Mark
The Gospel according to Fletch:
Here's what I have to say if the Browns start the season 0-3. It might be until they play Houston until they get another win.
Losing to Joe Flacco? Ridiculous. And don't balme it on Derek Anderson people. He's not the one dropping a league high eight passes.
This was the year expectations were high, just as they were for the Tribe, with everyone believing the 'Name on the door was Cleveland.
Not no mo! I never thought the Browns would be a 2-0 team at this juncture, but 1-1 at the worst. They showed their true colors, though, as in - we read too many off season clips about how great we are.
So what should be done if the team continues its slide. I'd like to blast head coach Romeo Crennel, but all is not his fault. Something is wrong in Berea, as year in and out there the injury list looks like a M*A*S*H unit. What gives there? Who comes up with the conditioning program?
I'd love to blame it on the strenght and conditioning guys, but c-mon. Year in and year out this happens. Something is very very wrong here.
The Browns made some good off season additions, but one key element, Donte Stallworth, is part of the M*A*S*H unit. Then there is the defense. Although the line was addressed, the secondary is horrendous. Poor front office thinking if you ask me.
Again, where do you put the blame? The team? The coaching staff? There were those out there who said Chud was a genius after last year. But how about this one - Bruce Arians. Couldn't do squat here, he was an idiot, yet goes to Pittsburgh, and puts together a great unit, even last year when his line was decimated.
Why is it that Cleveland seems to be a minor league team for all the good coaches or talent? You got me, but perhaps Mr. Lerner should pay more attention to this one, then the English Soccer League team.
To win, you need a coach- Not a coordinator like Romeo. I like the guy, the players like the guy, but the Browns needs someone in here who can win, and has done so on the NFL level, NOT some Bill Parcells or Belicheck disciple.
I love when people say bring in Bill Cowher. That would be a great move, but very unlikely. His daughters take priority now, and to get Cowher, that would mean Phil Savage would have to go.
What you say? Savage gone? That's right. If Cowher comes to Cleveland, he would want to clean house and run things himself. I love the guy, but it was a power struggle similar to this, which he won in Pittsburgh, that ended his career with the Steelers. Cowher got his way, but it seemed to strain some relations within the organization.
Another thing is Cowher is content doing television. He is content living in Carolina and not dealing with a Cleveland winter, and soon, IMO, will be the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, if he coaches again anywhere.
So what is the answer? Marty Shottenhiemer. He may not win a Super Bowl, but with him at the helm, the playoffs will be realistic, and so might the opportunity of landing Cowher be much better after he retires.
Whatever happens, the Browns need to do something, and need to do it soon, or ion a few weeks, we will be talking about the Cavs, with football being an afterthought, again.
__________________________________________________
Mark's Take:
Now that the Cleveland Browns have fallen to an 0-2 it’s hard to think that they will end the season with a winning record. As I take a look at their schedule, I honestly think we can still win as many as 10 games by the end of the year. Will it happen? Probably not.
I expect the Browns to improve to 2-2 over the next two weeks. Cincinnati is playing extremely bad right now and don’t look to have any sense of the word “team.”
As for Baltimore, they are coming off of a strange bye week and have a young, inexperienced quarterback at the helm. Baltimore has a much tougher defense than the Bengals, but I still think the Browns can beat them.
The offense will begin to click soon and once it does, watch out. I don’t think the team is getting enough respect at this point in the season. I know Derek Anderson has not put up the numbers we saw last year, but it’s only a matter of time before the team starts to execute the game the way it’s intended to be played.
Jamal Lewis has struggled so far this season, but has been a fighter through it all and that will pay off down the road. He’s going to break out very soon, and I’m expecting the match-up with Baltimore to be the game. If he begins to carry the ball farther than 3 yards a carry, that will in turn help the offense and give Derek Anderson more time to throw.
After the Browns are 2-2, they get a bye week. After the bye the season will go one of two ways.
A.) The Browns will struggle the rest of the season and finish with a record of something like 7-9. If the Browns finish under .500 this season Romeo Crenel will be dropped from the Coaching Staff. He probably should be dropped before that, but my guess is that he’ll continue to hold the clipboard for the entire season. From there Brady Quinn will take over as QB and they’ll begin to build for the future.
B.) The Browns will continue through the season and turn things around. Braylon Edwards will start catching the ball and Jamal Lewis will run for close to 1,500 yards. With that the Browns will finish with a 9-7 record and just miss the playoffs for the second year. Again, Romeo Crenel could see the end of his term in Cleveland and the team will work for the future. Derek Anderson will remain the starter and we’ll hear that Brady Quinn is done being a back up quarterback and is demanding a trade.
Before I go on, please know that this is all just a glimpse of how I imagine the season going for the Browns. All fantasies are approximate and I accept no responsibility on the out come of this season.
Anyways, the Browns have a much harder schedule this year and there are several big games the Browns are going to have to win in order to finish out the season with a winning record.
In either situation, Romeo Crenel will be gone by the end of this season. I don’t know how any owner could be satisfied with Crenel’s production as head coach for this team.
I tend to lean towards the winning record by season’s end. There are 10 out of the 14 games remaining on the schedule that the Browns can win and should win. With the supposed talent on the offensive side of the ball, I’m going to say the Browns finish this season with a 9-7 record. My original guess before the season began was a repeat of last year and 10-6 record. However, I was thinking the Browns would finally beat the Steelers and start the season at 1-1. Now that they are 0-2, 9-7 is their final record for the 2008-2009 season and unfortunately, no playoffs.
There’s always next year. Story of Cleveland fan’s everywhere.
|
|
Back To Head 2 Head |
Hit Back Your Comments |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
