Trouble in Cleveland

Last year the Cleveland Browns went 10-6 and became ESPN’s darling 2008 team. With a big armed quarterback, and athletic pair of receivers, and a tough veteran running back not too mention a sturdy offensive line anchored by rookie left tackle who many believe already is the best in football.  In addition to the offensive fire power the Browns also were bringing back one of the best special team players in the history of the NFL and they answered the defensive questions by trading for 750 pounds of interior defensive linemen.  Every analyst on every major station was ready to anoint them as an elite team in the AFC and for the first time in a very long time there was hope in the city that the Brownies could compete for a championship.  What so many people failed to realize is how plentiful the problems were on this supposedly up-and-coming juggernaut.

I’m going to break down the problems with the Browns piece by piece in an attempt to make the fans realize what myself and my brother discussed all of last year while everyone else was in love with the 30 point a game believeland Browns. 

Problem 1: A false prophet

As is true in football with both success and failure I’ll start with the quarterback.  Last year worked out exactly as I hoped it would for Brady Quinn. He held out, forcing him to fall behind which gave him an entire year to learn the offense and how the NFL works (See Phillip Rivers).  Derek Anderson had great success and this allowed Brady to sharpen his skill set and watch and learn.  At the end of the year the Browns made the colossal mistake of resigning DA and here are the reasons why:

1.) This was Brady’s team (and city) the moment he was drafted. Allowing him to learn for a year was perfect, but now it was time to hand the reigns over.

2.) The draft picks the Browns could’ve gotten because of their rare quarterback overflow could have been spent toughening up a defense that badly needs it. Instead we spent our draft picks on an underperforming defense.

3.) Derek Anderson just isn’t that good.  Yes he had a pro bowl season. Yes he has a cannon attached to his right shoulder.  So does Megaman but he’s not an NFL qb.  Derek Anderson has absolutely no touch with the football.  If you don’t believe me just watch him make a pass over the middle or to the flat. 100 miles an hour isn’t good coming from 5 yards away. No ones hands are good enough to catch that. He also leaves his wide receivers out to dry.  I can not even try to count the times that he’s thrown a ball high and gotten Kellen or Braylon laid out.  This was masked last year by a season long series of ridiculous catches by his two main targets.  He also has lead feet. He’s a pocket passer, which is fine, but he has absolutely no mobility to avoid the rush.  This too was masked last year because of the stellar play by his line. 

Now the Browns are going to have to get rid of him at the end of this year because he is NOT making back-up money and they are going to get significantly less in return for him because other teams realize his weaknesses.

Problem 2: A not so young buck

Staying on the offensive side- One of the main reasons the pass offense worked so well is because Jamal Lewis was consistent every game.  This year he has struggled (he has the lowest yards per carry in the league) and it’s because he seems to be hesitating too much. If you’ve ever seen Jamal Lewis run in the past you know that he would hit the hole with reckless abandon and accept his 4-6 yards per run. It worked well and kept the Browns ahead of the down.  This year Jamal has a bad case of happy feet. He chops around looking for the hole and ends up with a two yard gain forcing the offense to get predictable on 2^nd and 3^rd and longs.

The running issues are not entirely on Jamal however.  The Browns have one of the best left sides of a line in the entire league and yet they consistently run away from it which makes absolutely no sense.  When you have an all-world giant of a man at left tackle you run behind him 25 times a game and let him demoralize the right defensive end.  No tricks, no gimmicks, just punch them in the mouth. 

Problem 3: A fear of contact

Perhaps the biggest problem on this team is their inability to tackle.  Aside from Sean Rogers (who deserves his trip to Hawaii) not a single Browns defensive player scares other teams. Our linemen get pushed off the ball, our linebackers shuffle in the hole and accept the hit rather than deliver it, and our defensive backs can’t cover, take terrible angles, and give 15 yard cushions. The main problem with all three of these areas though is without a doubt their inability to tackle.  No one delivers big hits, no one wraps up, and no one gets low.  They all are busy trying to strip the ball out of the ball carriers hands and its just not going to happen.  We have a “defensive genius” as our coach and no one on the defensive side of the ball knows how to do the most basic part of football: Hit someone.

Last year the Browns had a great record against a bad schedule. They beat one team who would eventually make the playoffs. This year they have a bad record against a tough schedule but these problems above are not the only reasons why.  They have a GM who thinks he should be coach, a coach who doesn’t know how to manage the clock or his team, and a few players who, for some reason, expected last year to mean anything THIS year.

Last year I thought Crennel knew what he was doing only to realize that he got lucky and his players played out of their skin.  What I see now is the fact that this team will not improve until they get a head coach who rules with an iron fist. A coach who everyone knows is in charge, who will force his team to be tough and hit someone every play, and a coach who knows how to make sure the individual parts don’t try to be greater than the whole.

Does anyone have Bill Cowher’s number?