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Sunday, August 15, 2010

Preseason Recap #1: Browns 27, Packers 24

The Browns first game of the 2010 preseason has to be viewed as a success.  This was the start to the season that we needed, and although these wins don't matter.. this one has Browns fans feeling good about this team and this year.

Jake Delhomme looked crisp, and ran an efficient offense down the field for a touchdown against Green Bay's first team defense.  On his only drive, he completed 6 of the 7 passes he attempted, connecting with Massaquoi on a 4th and 1 that eventually led to Jerome Harrison's 4 yard rush into the endzone. 

I don't think anyone could have predicted such a smooth go-round for Delhomme, who quieted the doubters and looked downright fluent with the new offense.  Although he had a rough year last season in Carolina, this is a new year and a fresh start for Jake.  He seems to have control of this team and is the veteran leader our locker room needs.  It's a good feeling going into the season actually knowing who the quarterback will be.   

"It's preseason, it doesn't count. But hey, everybody has a smile on their face," Delhomme said.

Seneca Wallace came in and picked up right where Delhomme had left off, throwing two touchdown passes including a nice throw on the run that landed in the hands of Robiskie in the back of the end zone.  Wallace is sure to be used in some wild-cat packages, as he deserves the opportunity.  He came in and showed that he has a lot of potential, and if Delhomme goes down this year Seneca will prove to be a valuable back-up.

The defense definitely showed up last night, and Green Bay running back Ryan Grant felt the force as he was hit in the head and had to leave the game.  On his first touch, he fumbled the ball leading to one of our touchdowns. 

Our secondary looked solid, and the linebacking core looks primed to keep the big hits coming.  When you can rotate Joe Haden in with Sheldon Brown and Eric Wright, you definitely have a chance to stop the passing threat other teams will pose.  T.J. Ward also showed his potential;  The free-safety out of Oregon is  an instinctive, hard-hitting defensive back who definitely can drop the hammer.   

Colt McCoy made his debut in a Browns uniform, and showed why he shouldn't be the starter.  He threw two costly interceptions, and looked like he was not ready for the speed of the NFL game.  Colt had to leave the game when he banged his throwing hand off the back of an offensive lineman's helmet.  The injury was reported to not be serious. 

After McCoy left, it was the Brett Ratliff show and he did exactly what we needed him to.  In a tie game, with the clock winding down, he led us into field goal position and set up Phil Dawson with a game winning attempt.  Of course Phil didn't miss, and the Browns are officially 1-0 on the year.

Everyone leaves with a smile on their face, and fans look forward to seeing what Delhomme can do with a full game.  Josh Cribbs didn't even touch the ball and we still beat Green Bay.  I know it's just the preseason, but this game definitely has me excited for the rest of the year.  Do the Browns have enough pieces to make a run at the division?

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

This Just In.. Christian Eyenga is a URD (Unreal Dunking Machine)

In case you aren't up on Cavalier news, we signed our draft pick Christian Eyenga this summer after he put together an impressive Summer League and showed exactly what impact he could have on the team this year.  That impact is one of the most crucial aspects any player can have:  The ability to throwdown an unbelievable dunk whenever he gets a wide open lane.  He literally has some of the most ridiculous ups you will see in the NBA this year.  At only 6 foot 6", the awe-factor he has when you watch him dunk is priceless. 
Exhibit A:  Summer League Throwdown



Okay, that was just nasty.  What makes it even more legit is that he did it in the middle of a game.  As any real fan of dunking swagger should know, the Windmill is one of the most aesthetically pleasing dunks to watch.  Eyenga's windmill might be his signature, and hopefully we should get to see it on countless fast breaks this year.  Exhibits B and C:  the "Warmup Windmill" followed by the "Insane Pump"





I know right?  This guy is playing for the Cavaliers this year.. I'm down.  Eyenga is going to be a human highlight reel, and maybe just maybe he'll help us get over the loss of one, "Akron Traitor".  This is probably the best video of him dunking you will find.  I present you Exhibit D: "Slow-motion through the Legs."  Can't wait to see this guy play in the preseason.  LeBron who?

Turning my attention to the Cleveland Browns, and then the Cavaliers

The Indians lost to the Orioles last night by a count of 14-8.  The Baltimore Orioles are 39-74 on the season.  What does that say about us?  We're losing 3-1 right now, and it's painfully obvious that the Indians season is a wash, and has been for a long time. 

On a postitive note, we are not in last place anymore in the division, (at this point I'm holding out hope that we simply end with a better record than the Kansas City Royals.)  Anyways, the Indians are quite pathetic at 47-66, possibly because the front office has yet again traded away key players capable of making an impact when it counts.

For all these reasons, my coverage of the lowly Indians will diminsh significantly over the next several weeks as we turn to two teams that actually has a chance of being somewhat respectable;  the Cleveland Cavaliers and of course the Browns.  I'm stating right now that I think both teams have a decent chance at making the playoffs, and if you look at both rosters that statement is not too far of at stretch.   

The Cleveland Browns might surprise some teams this year, as they drafted well under the brilliance of new team President Mike Holmgren. 

Cornerback Joe Haden is going to be another shutdown corner alongside an impressive secondary that includes Eric Wright and newcomer Sheldon Brown.  Expect Sheldon to be the hard-hitting force the defensive backfield has sorely missed over the last several seasons. 

Don't forget we added stud linebacker Scott Fujita who played with the New Orleans Saints last year, and all of these players play behind monster lineman Shawn Rogers.  Rogers might be the most underrated player on the Browns; His ability to demand double-teams and disrupt the running game must be considered, not to mention he has an incredible ability to block field goals which can determine football games.  You also have to love our Coordinator on the defensive side of the ball, Rob Ryan.  He's passionate and quite frankly a mad-man, and he knows how to coach an NFL defense.  I'll take him anyday over a Romeo Crennel.

Running back Montario Hardesty will also prove to be a great pick, as he will be featured as our downhill bruiser-back and the tandem of Jerome Harrison and James Davis will be more than enough for teams to handle.  That could potentially become a three-headed monster that could become a solid group of running backs. 

The Offensive Line will be solid this year, as Joe Thomas is the anchor and he has high expectations.  The 6 foot 6", 312 pounder out of Wisconsin is a force in this league, and should clear a lot of space for our running backs to get loose in the secondary.   

Of course, the most important position for the offense is the quarterback, and Jake Delhomme has a lot to prove.  Coming off what Delhomme considers himself to be an awful season, he must manage games and not throw the ball away like he did last year.  Even though Browns fans should be excited to see what Colt McCoy can do for this franchise at some point in the future, Delhomme is the starter and thus we must hope he succeeds if this team has a chance to do anything this year.  I don't think Holmgren will want to have a quarterback switch, because this team saw instability at the quarterback position last year and that always hurts a team's level of confidence.

Delhommme will be throwing to a group of young but talented receivers.  Cribbs, Mohamed Massaquoi, and Brian Robiskie should be a formidable group of receivers.  Robiskie has impressed in training camp, and I expect him to have a breakout season. (Brian played his high school football at Chagrin Falls, where I happened to graduate from)  Buckeye fans remember his big-play capability; Hopefully Delhomme targets him frequently. Another important piece of our offense will be the emergence of tight-end Ben Watson, who is talented player we acquired from the New England Patriots.

Arguably the most exciting time during a Browns game is watching our Special Teams ace, one Joshua Cribbs.  He has what I would call RFV, (ridiculous field-vision) to go along with breakaway speed.  Thus every time other teams make the mistake of kicking deep to him, Cribbs poses a threat to take it to the house every time.  The other players on the Special Team go all-out because they know if they can hold a block or even get a good chip on a player they might see Cribbs sprint by them on his way to the endzone.  Josh Cribbs is a unique talent and the Browns are lucky to have him.  He has the capability of completely changing a game on one play. 

Even as President, Holmgren has the ability to get the most out of players.  The Browns will be competitve this year, and although we're in a tough division I feel like we can still win on Sunday's even in the division.  The Ravens will be tough, and the Bengals have a solid team.  Pittsburgh will be without Roethlisberger for likely 4 games, and his return should be against the Browns which I'm sure will be a national story.  We will get to see what the Browns are made of on Saturday, as we travel to Green Bay for our first preseason game.  Hopefully we win the opening toss and Cribbs takes it back for 6.. then we'll know it's our year.


                            Cleveland Browns training camp: Offensive line workout
                            
            

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

The "Larry Dolan Effect" and Trade Deadline Implications

The Tribe has experienced a roller-coaster effect in the last several days.  After beating the Yankees 4-1 last Tuesday, we lost a few straight in massacre-fashion.  Between the last two games of the Yankees series and the first game against the Blue Jays, the Tribe lost all 3 games, getting outscored 27-5.  Not exactly our best effort, and the Trade Deadline certainly had an impact on the team's morale.

Larry Dolan continues makes a strong argument as to why he should be considered amongst the worst owners in professional sports.  When the trade deadline approaches in baseball, they consistently make moves that make you scratch your head.  This year's edition was no different, as the Indians traded away proven veterans in Jake Westbrook, Jhonny Peralta, and Austin Kearns.  Don't forget about Kerry Woods, who was shipped to the Yankees who just beat us down 19-4 in the last two games of the series.

It's hard to keep your hopes up for a team that trades away any talent we actually have.  Let's start with Jhonny Peralta.  Granted, some fans never really appreciated Jhonny and thought he didn't deserve a spot in our infield.  When you actually look at his numbers, you realize he has one of the highest fielding percentages at 3rd base in all of baseball. 

Not to mention he at least provided the threat of power, which is more than can be said about most of our players.  Peralta proved the ignorance of this trade by the Indians when he blasted two home-runs in his first game with the Detroit Tigers. 

Jake Westbrook was next to go, as he was essentially given away to the St. Louis Cardinals.  I guess the one thing we can hang our hats on is that players who have never seen success with the Indians are at least getting a chance to prove themselves on teams that actually have a chance of winning.  Westbrook is an impressive talent;  His sinker is one of the hardest pitches to hit in baseball.  Through 7 innings vs. the Yankees last week, he had only given up 2 hits.  Westbrook is a pitcher who has a lot left in the tank.  Why did we trade him? 

How long before Grady Sizemore gets traded for a "prospect" or Asdrubal Cabrera gets swapped for a "player to be named later"?   That's what is so aggravating and bewildering about our current front office.  When have they actually traded our top-talent for a player who can actually come in right away and make a difference?  The trades we make are so dumb, because we always receive a prospect who will start in the minors and if we're lucky we'll see him in 2 years.  While we do have a bright future in those two as well as Choo, Santana, Donald, and Tomlin, there is no guarantee they won't play their way out of Cleveland. 

Generally speaking, Larry Dolan is too cheap to keep players that actually make a difference.  My proposal is that Larry Dolan resigns, and allows Dan Gilbert to run the Cleveland Indians.   He should be ashamed to be the owner who orchestrated trading away Cy-Young winners back-to-back years in Sabathia and Cliff Lee.  What really gets me is that we had a $7 million dollar option on Cliff for this year.  It's pathetic that Larry Dolan can't afford that.  This is professional sports, where the best players make well over that number each year.  Lee was recently dealt from Seattle to Texas, where he has continued to prove that he is one of the best pitchers in the league.  Philadelphia has got to be living in regret over not keeping him alongside Halladay.

Regardless, the Tribe faithful will always remain.. but we certainly deserve better than what our current ownership is providing.  No amount of PR can spin the fact that Larry Dolan can't afford to run a team that can win on a nightly basis.

Dolan is content with simply owning a team, he's not too concerned with how they actually perform on the field.  He's the guy who bought a Porsche, then let it sit in the garage for 20 years because he couldn't afford the premium gas.  It takes money to run a Major League Baseball team.  Stop screwing Indians fans out of a respectable franchise. 

The standings back up this claim - The Indians are 15.5 games back in the divison, and have a stronghold on last place; We're even looking up at the Kansas City Royals.  It's a mockery of what this team should be.