Improving Bengals Take on Cleveland Browns in Week Four

The Cincinnati Bengals are next in line to give the Cleveland Browns their weekly beating. The Bengals, by all accounts, should be sitting at 3-0 except for a freak play that cost them a win in the waning seconds of opening day.

 

The Bengals have vastly improved since last season’s debacle largely due to the health of their leader, quarterback Carson Palmer. Palmer calmly led them on a 16-play, 71-yard drive which culminated in a four-yard touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell with 14 seconds on the clock to beat the Steelers last week.

 

In week one, Palmer led the Bengals on a 91-yard drive to give them a lead with only 41 seconds on the clock. In a week two win over the Packers, Palmer threw three touchdown scores.

 

Needless to say, Palmer’s leadership and arm were sorely missed in 2008.

 

Not coincidentally, Chad Johnson’s return to form has coincided with Palmer’s return. Johnson has 14 catches for 234 yards in 2009.

 

The loss of T.J. Houshmandzadeh to free agency hurts the Bengals, but Caldwell, Laveranues Coles, and Chris Henry are all solid (albeit somewhat inconsistent) receivers.

 

The Bengals running game was a disaster in 2008 until Cedric Benson took over the starting role in the second half of the year. He looks even better so far this year, averaging almost 100 yards per game at a 4.4 yards per carry clip.

 

Daniel Coats starts at tight end but is not used much in the passing game. He is, however, a fantastic blocker. His bone-crushing hit on Steelers LB James Farrior sprung Benson for a 23-yard score in the fourth quarter last week.

 

The Bengals have three new starters on the offensive line in 2009, including second-year center Kyle Cook. Cook is going to have his hands full this week with Shawn Rogers after taking a beating from the Steelers Casey Hampton last week.

 

Andrew Whitworth moved from left guard to left tackle in the off season. Whitworth’s size (6’7”, 335 lbs.) make him ideal for the position. Whitworth is a tough, hard-nosed player, but there will be growing pains learning the technique it takes to play against NFL edge-rushers.

 

Andre Smith was drafted in the first round to take over the right tackle position. He held out, finally signed a big contract, showed up to camp overweight, and proceeded to get injured.

 

In the meantime, the Bengals are scrambling to fill his position. Anthony Collins was benched after giving up two sacks against the Packers. Second-year player Dennis Roland got most of the playing time last week.

 

Ten-year veteran Bobbie Williams is the only holdover from last year that is playing his original position. The left guard spot is still in transition. Nate Livings (six starts in 2008) is the starter, but was inactive against the Steelers. Evan Mathis got his second start in his place.

 

Outside of Williams, this offensive line is young and inexperienced. They are, however, very big. It will take some time for them to jell.

 

Because of their size, these young offensive lineman can be effective in the run game. However, protecting the passer will be a problem all year.

 

Defense is where the Bengals have shown the most improvement from last season. They are finally seeing the fruit come to bear from all those drafts spent on that side of the ball.

 

But it is a key free agent addition who is finally realizing his vast potential. Defensive end Antwan Odom had 13 sacks in his second year in the league. But injuries and inconsistency have left coaches wondering if he would ever show that form again.

 

Well this year, Odom is answering his critics with an astounding seven sacks in three games! He has been unblockable so far this year, even collapsing the pocket when he doesn’t get credit for a sack.

 

The Bengals did come out of the Pittsburgh game with some injury concerns. Specifically, DT Tank Johnson (foot) and rookie LB Rey Maualuga (knee) are key components to the Bengal defense who will be questionable this week.

 

The Bengals do not have a great deal of depth in the front seven, so it would be a huge loss if either cannot play. Domato Peko, Jonathan Fanene, and Pat Sims are part of the defensive tackle rotation. Peko plays in the base defense and Fanene will sub in obvious passing situations.

 

Veteran Dhani Jones starts at middle linebacker. Jones is an intelligent player, but no longer possesses the athletic ability to be a difference maker.

 

OLB Keith Rivers appears to be turning the corner as an impact linebacker in his second year in the league. And of course, his former USC teammate Maualuga is well-known in Cleveland for being passed by in the draft. Maualuga is playing like the star he was in college, silencing the NFL scouts who let him drop on the draft boards.

 

Leon Hall, now in his third-year, is turning into a shut-down corner. Fourth-year cornerback Johnathan Joseph is a better than average corner on the opposite side. There is very little NFL experience backing them up.

 

Roy Williams and Chris Crocker start at the safety positions. Williams is a big-hitting, five-time Pro Bowler, but has a reputation for occasionally getting caught peaking into the backfield. Crocker is a seventh year journeyman who started his career in Cleveland.

 

This defense has held up well in the first three games, largely due to the play of Odom. There is certainly some athleticism. But they are by no means a juggernaut. There are holes that can be taken advantage of.

 

While the Bengals have started the season 2-1 and are improving, it is a very fragile 2-1. Because there is such a lack of depth, one or two injuries at key positions could send this team into a free fall.

 

Right now, they are playing better than the Browns (who isn’t?!), so they get the edge. But stay tuned on these Bengals because the bottom could drop out at any moment.

 

 

Final Prediction: Cincinnati Bengals 21 – Cleveland Browns 16

 

 

 

 

 

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Improving Bengals Take On Browns In Week Four

The Cincinnati Bengals are next in line to give the Cleveland Browns their weekly beating. The Bengals, by all accounts, should be sitting at 3-0 except for a freak play that cost them a win in the waning seconds of opening day.

 

The Bengals have vastly improved since last season’s debacle largely due to the health of their leader, quarterback Carson Palmer. Palmer calmly led them on a 16-play, 71-yard drive which culminated in a four-yard touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell with 14 seconds on the clock to beat the Steelers last week.

 

In Week One, Palmer led the Bengals on a 91-yard drive to give them a lead with only 41 seconds on the clock. In a Week Two win over the Packers, Palmer threw three touchdown scores.

 

Needless to say, Palmer’s leadership and arm were sorely missed in 2008.

 

Not coincidently, Chad Johnson’s return to form has coincided with Palmer’s return. Johnson has 14 catches for 234 yards in 2009.

 

The loss of T.J. Houshmandzadeh to free agency hurts the Bengals, but Caldwell, Laveranues Coles and Chris Henry are all solid (albeit somewhat inconsistent) receivers.

 

The Bengals running game was a disaster in 2008 until Cedric Benson took over the starting role in the second half of the year. He looks even better so far this year, averaging almost 100 yards per game ata clip of nearly four and a half yards per carry.

 

Daniel Coats starts at tight end but is not used much in the passing game. He is, however, a fantastic blocker. His bone-crushing hit on Steelers LB James Farrior sprung Benson for a 23-yard score in the fourth quarter last week.

 

The Bengals have three new starters on the offensive line in 2009, including second-year center Kyle Cook. Cook is going to have his hands full this week with Shawn Rogers after taking a beating from the Steelers Casey Hampton last week.

 

Andrew Whitworth moved from left guard to left tackle in the offseason. Whitworth’s size (6-foot-7, 335 pounds) makes him ideal for the position. He is a tough, hard-nosed player, but there will be growing pains learning the technique it takes to play against NFL edge-rushers.

 

Andre Smith was drafted in the first round to take over the right tackle position. He held out, finally signed a big contract, showed up to camp overweight, and proceeded to get injured.

 

In the meantime, the Bengals are scrambling to fill his position.

 

Anthony Collins was benched after giving up two sacks against the Packers. Second-year player Dennis Roland got most of the playing time last week.

 

Ten-year veteran Bobbie Williams is the only holdover from last year that is playing his original position. The left guard spot is still in transition. Nate Livings (six starts in 2008) is the starter, but was inactive against the Steelers. Evan Mathis got his second start in his place.

 

Outside of Williams, this offensive line is young and inexperienced. They are, however, very big. It will take some time for them to gel.

 

Because of their size, these young offensive lineman can be effective in the run game. However, protecting the passer will be a problem all year.

 

Defense is where the Bengals have shown the most improvement from last season. They are finally seeing the fruit come to bear from all the draft picks spent on that side of the ball.

 

But it is a key free agent addition who is finally realizing his vast potential. Defensive end Antwan Odom had 13 sacks in his second year in the league. But injuries and inconsistency have left coaches wondering if he would ever show that form again.

 

Well this year, Odom is answering his critics with an astounding seven sacks in three games. He has been unblockable so far this year, even collapsing the pocket when he doesn’t get credit for a sack.

 

The Bengals did come out of the Pittsburgh game with some injury concerns. Specifically, DT Tank Johnson (foot) and rookie LB Rey Maualuga (knee) are key components to the Bengal defense who will be questionable this week.

 

The Bengals do not have a great deal of depth in the front seven, so it would be a huge loss if either cannot play. Domato Peko, Jonathan Fanene, and Pat Sims are part of the defensive tackle rotation. Peko plays in the base defense and Fanene will sub in obvious passing situations.

 

Veteran Dhani Jones starts at middle linebacker. Jones is an intelligent player, but no longer possesses the athletic ability to be a difference maker.

 

OLB Keith Rivers appears to be turning the corner as an impact linebacker in his second year in the league. And of course, his former USC teammate Maualuga is well-known in Cleveland for being passed by in the draft. Maualuga is playing like the star he was in college, silencing the NFL scouts who let him drop on the draft boards.

 

Leon Hall, now in his third-year, is turning into a shut-down corner. Fourth-year cornerback Johnathan Joseph is a better than average corner on the opposite side. There is very little NFL experience backing them up.

 

Roy Williams and Chris Crocker start at the safety positions. Williams is a big-hitting, five-time Pro Bowler, but has a reputation for occasionally getting caught peaking into the backfield. Crocker is a seventh-year journeyman who started his career in Cleveland.

 

This defense has held up well in the first three games, largely due to the play of Odom.

 

There is certainly some athleticism.

 

But they are by no means a juggernaut. There are holes that can be taken advantage of.

 

While the Bengals have started the season 2-1 and are improving, it is a very fragile 2-1. Because there is such a lack of depth, one or two injuries at key positions could send this team into a free fall.

 

Right now, they are playing better than the Browns (who isn’t?!), so they have the edge. But stay tuned to these Bengals because the bottom could drop out at any moment.

 

Final Prediction: Cincinnati Bengals 21 – Cleveland Browns 16

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Film Study Shows That Denver Broncos Defense Dominates In Oakland

Prelude to the Film Studies

At the end of my last article I made a bold prediction about combining the Oakland and Cleveland game studies into one article each for offense and defense.  That is until my computer with the Cleveland game was entirely scrubbed, though the article was backed up; it’s with my technician not me. 

So, my personal apologies, I will get the Cleveland game review out later in the week with a little luck.  In the meantime, the first installment focuses on Denver’s top notch effort against Oakland.

Finally after the film segments I hope to have some interesting thoughts regarding the Dallas Cowboys game with Denver over the coming weekend.

For now, do the mental reps as you recall the game and enjoy the film study segment.

 

Denver’s Defense Leads the NFL and Earns an A+ Rating in Oakland

On the first possession by the Raiders the Broncos defense established control.  On first down the front seven got good penetration to shut down the Raider run in the middle. 

The very next play was a screen that proved the Broncos had good lateral pursuit and the play lost two yards.  Third down, the Broncos had great coverage and forced the screen pass which they shutdown.  The most important piece was that it set the tone early, three and out.

—

 

The second series for the Raiders starts at their own one yard line after denying the Broncos the end zone.

On first down JaMarcus Russell shows his lack of touch by throwing the ball a little high and hard off the hands of his fullback Luke Walton.  Champ Bailey just misses out on an interception.  On second down, the Raiders go deep and it is intercepted by Renaldo Hill who returns the ball to the Raider 23 yard line, putting the Broncos back in business.

While the Broncos did not have a great pass rush on the play, they did have good penetration and that may have caused an early release.

—

 

The next possession for the Raiders starts around their 20 yard line.  On 2nd-and-8, Darren McFadden runs a middle stretch.  Center Chris Morris immediately reaches the second level while right guard and former Bronco Cooper Carlisle cuts down the outside pursuit coming from the middle. 

Meanwhile the tackle and tight end allow the Broncos outside contain to over pursue and the running lane is created.  McFadden cuts back and gains an easy 15 yards.

True to the Oakland Raider fashion of the last few years, the very next play they shoot themselves in the foot.  They decide to mix up the play calling and throw in the area of Darrius Heyward-Bey who runs a deep hook. 

Russell may have been trying to hit Louis Murphy in the slot who was streaking.  Regardless, the Broncos had the perfect man-zone trap called.  These defenses ideally put a triangle of DB’s around a given throwing area.

Defenses like these are what make the NFL hard on young quarterbacks.  Essentially the Broncos line up in what could be man or quarter zone coverage.  The quarterback really doesn’t know. 

The biggest key he has to look for is where the safeties and cornerbacks are rolling to.  If there is some of that rotation it’s a zone and he needs to find the receiver in space. 

Technically Bey was open; however the Broncos had a perfect blanket coverage which forces the turnover.  When young quarterbacks force the ball into these areas they literally are making high risk—reward decisions. 

As this play developed, Champ Bailey rolls to the outside from his inside coverage position.  Over the top Andre Goodman and the safety Renaldo Hill converge on Louis Murphy’s streak route. 

JaMarcus Russell makes an OK read, but wastes his effort with an inaccurate throw that sails too high for Heyward-Bey and behind the streaking Murphy.  Andre Goodman makes a great read of the throw and makes an easy interception, returning it 20-some yards to around the original line of scrimmage.

—

 

The Raiders best drive of the day occurs after Matt Prater’s 48 yard field goal. 

The Raiders start with the ball on their own 14 yard line.  On 2nd-and-6, Darren McFadden catches a seven yard screen pass getting Oakland’s drive rolling.  Then a couple of recurring vulnerabilities the Broncos have are exploited by the Raiders.

The Raiders’ Michael Bush and Darren McFadden are able to run to the outside for a couple of big gains.  This will set up their short inside gains that help them to attain first downs.

Then Louis Murphy is able to make like Brandon Marshall on short cross routes to exploit the Denver defense for big gainers.  The Broncos defense doesn’t get off to a particularly good start on the pass rush and the release is early in dissecting the defense.

The Broncos benefit from a Raider penalty and a caused fumble by Mario Haggan that was recovered by Oakland along with some hard hitting along the way.  Finally on a key third down situation the Broncos show an all-out blitz and force a Raider timeout.   

Oakland connects on an underneath route to Zach Miller and advances the ball down to the Broncos 30 and has to settle for three.

—

 

On the first Raider drive of the second half, Oakland again works to establish a nice lane for McFadden to use on the outside of the offensive line.  A Raider tight end is able to establish contact with Elvis Dumervil and eventually turn him to the outside creating a running lane. 

Darren McFadden carries the ball for 10 yards where he is then de-cleated by Brian Dawkins.

Later in the drive the Raiders go for it on fourth down and the Broncos jump offsides to give them the first down.

Dawkins later has great coverage on Zach Miller and the ball goes incomplete.  Then Elvis Dumervil shuts down the Raider drive with a sack of JaMarcus Russell.

—

 

After the Broncos lose a fumble on their own 16, Oakland then runs a toss play on 2nd-and-5 to the right side.  The play picks up seven for a first down, however DJ Williams strips McFadden of the ball and Brian Dawkins makes a quick heads-up play to recover the fumble and snuff the Raiders’ last hopes of getting back into the game.

The key here is the defense never quit despite being put in a bad spot and they created some magic of their own.  With the turnover, the Broncos came away stealing the Raiders heart as they were pushing towards a touchdown in the south end zone of their fan faithful.

After the replay officials ruled that the play would stand in favor of the Broncos, Brian Dawkins drove home the final nail in the Raiders chance.  He simply signaled a slow point in the Broncos direction for a first down with a jubilant slant as an exclamation to the game.  There were still five minutes left in the third quarter, but this game was over.

 

Special Teams Does Things Well But Finds Room for Improvement  (Grade: B+)

Eddie Royals’ first punt return had very little blocking so the return went for a mere four yards.

—

 

After an interception drive goes nowhere.  Matt Prater connects on a 48 yard field goal that could have been good from 58 yards off the baseball dirt infield.  These are hard kicks for field goal kickers because their plant foot will usually slip a little bit on the swing of the kicking leg. 

No matter, perfect form results in a perfect kick and three more points for the Broncos.

On the play, the Raiders were able to get good penetration up front and this is an area Coach McDaniels said specifically the Broncos will be working on this week.  That is a real plus, since it happened on the next field goal and extra point try as well. 

The Raiders were over stacking eight players to one side and getting good pressure up the middle.

—

 

The following kickoff is six yards deep in the end zone and the Broncos stuff the return at the 14 yard line, allowing the defense to be set up for success.  On the next kick return for the Raiders they were stopped at the 15 yard line.

—

 

Conversely when the Raiders try a 48 yarder the Broncos get very little penetration and Sebastian Janikowski connects on the long attempt.

—

 

On the following kickoff Eddie Royal gets the ball out to the 22 yard line, good for a 27 yard return.

—

 

On the Raiders kickoff return following the Broncos second touchdown, the Broncos make a touchdown saving tackle at the 30 yard line.

 

contact Chaz @ sportsmanagement@gmail.com

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Rams Find a Way To Lose, Even On Tuesday

Coming off an 0-3 start with a road trip to San Francisco on Sunday, the Rams had to think they at least had a few days before anything else bad could happen.

 

Wrong.

 

On Tuesday, the NFL announced starting linebacker David Vobora would be suspended for four games for violating the leagues policy on performance enhancing drugs.

 

According to one of Vobora’s agents, Marc Lillibridge, quoted in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Vobora is the victim of shoddy work at the maker of a supplement he had cleared with the NFL supplement hot line.

 

According to Lillibridge, Vobora went so far as to read off the ingredients list to the league representative to make sure nothing would land him in trouble. But because the maker of his supplement somehow tainted the product with something that is banned, the Rams will be without Vobora’s services for the next four games.

 

“He is suspended under the NFL Anabolic Steroid policy but in no way has David ever used an illegal substance,” Lillibridge was quoted as saying in the P-D article. “He took a (workout) supplement that was tainted. A highly respected toxicologist has proven this to be the case. David did everything by the book in regards to investigating this supplement before he began using this product.”

 

In the article, Lillibridge said he was in the process of filing a lawsuit against the company that manufactures the product, but that will do no good for a St. Louis defense already woefully thin at linebacker. As of this writing, there are only five of them on the Rams roster: James Laurinaitis, Will Witherspoon, Larry Grant, Chris Chamberlain and Paris Lenon.

 

Maybe St. Louis will make a move to bring back Quinton Culberson, who has already been released twice in the past month. Maybe they beg Chris Draft to come back. But the reality is that no matter what Billy Devaney comes up with in his woefully empty bag of tricks, the Rams will take the field totally unprepared to stop a 49ers team that will run it over and over again no matter what they do (witness Glen Coffee’s 25 carries for just 54 yards in a near-upset over the Vikings on Sunday).

 

So I guess instead of 0-3, the Rams are now 0-3 minus.

 

Super.

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Pats vs. Ravens: Is Feeding Fred Taylor the Ball the Key to Victory?

The Patriots face their toughest test of the season next week when they face a Ravens team that finally appears to have put it all together.

Tom Brady, to be frank, has not looked impressive over the past three weeks. He’s missed throws, been skittish in the pocket, and got visibly frustrated during last week’s win against the Falcons.

His receivers have been mediocre thus far. Joey Galloway has been a disaster. Randy Moss, despite some great catches, hasn’t caught a deep pass. Wes Welker’s been injured. Julian Edelman, despite doing a fair Welker impersonation, is inconsistent—he’ll make a beautiful move on a defender on one play, then drop the ball on the next.

The team’s running game, and Fred Taylor in particular, have looked rather good. Taylor rushed for over 100 yards against Atlanta, and is averaging 4.6 yards per carry this year. When Taylor was rushing well, the offense looked in sync.

Given all these facts, one would conclude that a winning strategy would be to base the offense around Taylor next week.

This conclusion, however, would be wrong.

Consider the matchups: Taylor’s performance against the Falcons was good, but not dominant. Atlanta’s defense is ranked 24th in the league against the run so far this year.

Too small a sample size? Look at last year, when they finished 25th against the run.

Defending the run has been an Achilles’ heel for this Falcons team, and the Patriots were able to take advantage of that.

The Ravens, meanwhile, rank first in the NFL against the run this year, but in the middle of the pack (17th) in terms of pass defense. To be fair, that number is likely skewed by the fact that the Ravens have won their first three games, meaning opponents were more likely to pass in order to catch up.

One thing is clear, though: To focus on the running game would be attacking the Ravens’ biggest strength—hardly a great strategic move.

I think, if Welker returns to the field next week, we’ll see a return to the passing mentality that has defined the past few years.

Brady, though his performance has been off, has missed big plays by a matter of inches (and receiver drops). He’s actually been less rusty than Patriots fans had any right to expect and, with his favorite target back, he may begin to reclaim his 2007 form.

Also consider that the Ravens run a scheme similar to the one the Jets used to beat the Patriots in Week Two. Given that it now appears that the Patriots must beat the Jets to win the AFC East, getting pass reps against the same defense seems like a good idea.

Yes, it will be important to at least try to establish a running game on Sunday. Passing every down is not a successful strategy, no matter what team is playing. Trying to change the Patriots to a run-first team against the Ravens, though, is not a recipe for success.

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If Roman Polanski Looked Like Michael Vick: He’d Be Rotting in Prison

What a joke.

Put him in prison. Extradite him to America, carry out his sentence, and let him serve his time.

It will be a real shame, since he is a genius. Not only that, but he has suffered a lot in his life, and deserves to be happy in his old age.

But the same could be said for a lot of criminals. How many gang members on death row grew up under terrible circumstances or lived through tragedy? Probably most.

But that’s not what this article is about.

What has a lot of sports fans fuming is this:

If Roman Polanski were an athlete, he’d be rotting in jail right now with no sympathy.

Just look at Plaxico Burress, who carried a concealed weapon, shot himself in the leg, and is now serving a two-year sentence.

Look at Michael Vick. He abused a group of non-human girls, and spent nearly as long in the slammer.

So why should a convicted rapist—a man who had sex with a thirteen year old girl— getting so much sympathy both from his industry, but also from the nation of France?

Because he is skilled behind a camera, instead of being skilled behind a center, two guards, and two offensive tackles?

Or maybe it’s because he is a small, unimposing man, versus a big, intimidating athlete like Michael Vick, who has a tough glare and corn rows.

Maybe because his type of intelligence—creative intelligence—is more valued than the brilliance of somebody who has great field vision and leadership skills.

Perhaps Roman Polanski gets sympathy because his personal tragedies are documented in history books—that makes them more visible than the tragedies that so many athletes have dealt with in their lives: abandoned by parents, recruited for gangs, treated like nobodies (until they get rich).

Or maybe it’s because Polanski committed his crime several decades ago, back when there was “Free Love” or whatever other silly euphemism we want to use in order to sugar coat his crime.

Maybe it’s an issue of race—gasp—there, I said it. No need to dig deeper into this one. Either you buy it, or you think it’s total crap. But it’s more than just a wild conjecture.

Any way you cut it, those of us who admire athletes and would rather see an Arnold movie than an art house flick should all take notice of this. It’s not right.

Roman Polanski committed a crime, and he should serve his time.

Nobody had a problem throwing Plaxico or Vick in prison.

Nobody should have a problem with Polanski’s sentence being carried out.

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The NFL Coaches on the Hot Seat in 2009

The 2009 NFL season is already three weeks old and some of the teams are separating themselves already.

There is the good separating like the teams that are 3-0 and 2-1, but some of the teams are falling behind quickly and aren’t looking too good at 1-2 or even 0-3.

For some coaches, they can’t afford to have another losing season, because their job could be on the line.

Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren, Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher are all former head coaches with previous success in the league who have won Super Bowls and don’t have a job in 2009. With coaches possible on the hot seat already in 2009, they might find themselves coaching again in 2010.

Who is on the NFL coaching hot seat in 2009? Let’s find out:

Begin Slideshow

Mangini Needs to Go: The Worst Coach Is Leading The Worst Team

 

He’s about as likable as a stomach ulcer.

Actually, as a Patriots fan, I’m pretty sure I enjoy the presence of my stomach ulcer more than I would enjoy his company.

There is only one man in the NFL that could be described in such a manner.

That man is Eric Mangini, head coach of the Cleveland Browns, who currently hold the title in many people’s minds as the worst team in the NFL.

Right now, everything about the Browns is messed up. Their offense is putrid and their defense is absent.

And the guy Cleveland hired to turn all this around is the worst head coach in the NFL.

Going into the season, the Browns needed a guy that could connect with the players and fans, a guy that could revolutionize their organization.

Granted, there isn’t a ton of talent to work with in Cleveland, but the team has a great fan base, and there are some players that, if in the correct situation, could contribute or develop into solid NFL players.

Unfortunately, the Browns front office elected to bring in a Bill Belichick disciple who is about as huggable as an Arizona cactus to lead the team.

As a Patriots fan, I will fully admit that Bill Belichick to an outsider has a likability factor that sits somewhere in between the aforementioned stomach ulcer and a kidney stone.

However, at least Belichick can coach.

Mangini cannot, and after watching the debacle in New York last season and his start with the Browns in 2009, it is becoming evident that Eric Mangini is the worst coach in the NFL.

For starters, when will people realize that, in New England, the coaching tree starts and stops with the man at the top, Bill Belichick?

In theory, the Browns should know this better than anybody else, as they hired another Belichick disciple, Romeo Crennel, to try and right the ship several years ago.

Other than an anomaly of a 10-6 season, the Crennel-led Browns did nothing.

The other Belichick understudies who have moved on to claim head coaching jobs are Charlie Weis and Josh McDaniels.

At Notre Dame, Weis has never really gained any traction. They look solid so far this season, but it has taken Weis an awful long time to reach the point of respectability. Plus, who knows? The Fighting Irish could be a joke in a month.

While it is too early to fairly judge his tenure as head coach of the Denver Broncos, Josh McDaniels’ tenure in Denver hasn’t exactly gotten off to a stellar start either.

Granted they are 3-0 so far on the young season. But it’s a lackluster 3-0, with wins over Oakland, Cleveland, and another lucky one against Cincinnati. Throw in the drama with now ex-Bronco Jay Cutler and current wide receiver Brandon Marshall, and McDaniels’ first few months out there in the Rockies haven’t exactly been anything to write home about.

The biggest knock on Tom Brady has been that he’s simply a product of the Belichick designed system, that if he were to go to some other team, his numbers and success wouldn’t be even close to what it is New England.

For the most part, that assumption has been correct. Matt Cassel stepped in played well last season after not starting a football game since high school, and many players that leave New England never really live up to the expectations that they created for themselves while playing in New England.

What I never hear anyone bring up is, couldn’t all these coaches be a product of the Belichick system as well?

Perhaps Belichick has created such a great system that these coaches coming in and out of New England are simply products of his design. If this rule applies to players, why not coaches?

Mangini, so far, is just another failed product of that intricate and elaborate system.

Unfortunately, it seems like, ever since he left the nest in Foxborough, Mangini has tried to replicate Belichick’s system, and has tried to be Belichick.

There’s just one problem with that.

He’s not as good as Belichick.

While not exactly the same, it appears as if Mangini generally likes to run similar defenses to Belichick’s in New England. He also tries to be tight lipped and conservative at press conferences.

The problem with emulating Belichick’s approach at the podium is that, unless you are winning, the media and the fans aren’t going to put up with it.

Admittedly, Belichick drives even the most supportive New England fans mad at some points. However, they are all willing to accept it because, in the end, they all know that Belichick is the coach you want manning the helm of your team. He has three Super Bowl rings to prove it.

Mangini has a single trip to the Wild Card round, where, ironically, he lost to Belichick in Foxborough.

Eric Mangini needs to develop his own personality and his own style of coaching if he wants to be successful.

He can take Belichick’s defensive philosophy if he wants. He can take Belichick’s approach with the media as well. After all, they can’t be bad philosophies if they won three championships.

However, Mangini has gone overboard. He has no unique personality of his own, nothing to distinguish himself (other than the fact his record is awful and Belichick’s is not) from Belichick.

There are a couple problems with trying to imitate another coach.

One, you can never, no matter how hard you try, perfectly imitate another person. And that goes for everybody on the planet, not just football coaches.

People are unique for a reason. He shouldn’t run around trying to be like Belichick, all it leads to are the never-ending comparisons.

And that’s the other problem.

Granted, Mangini will always be compared to Belichick for the simple fact that he came from Belichick, that he was his understudy before becoming his own head coach.

Those will always be there, but if Mangini constantly tries to be exactly like Belichick and fails to live up to Belichick’s accomplishments, the only thing people are going to say about Mangini is that he is a bust, that Belichick is responsible for any success that Mangini ever had.

He needs to be his own coach, develop his own approach, if not for the reasons listed above than for the plainly obvious one that what he is doing right now is simply not working.

And it’s not like there’s a lack of proof to back that statement up.

In New York last season as head coach of the Jets, Mangini was gift-wrapped a playoff team. The Jets front office brought in guys like Calvin Pace, Damien Woody, and, of course, Brett Favre.

They also had on the roster already Thomas Jones, Laverneus Coles, and a solid defensive core.

All he had to do was let them play and not screw anything up. He didn’t have to do anything revolutionary or groundbreaking to bring this team together to form a playoff team.

He proved that throughout the first 11 weeks, when the Jets went 8-3, knocked off the previously undefeated Tennessee Titans, and were the trendy pick to go to the Super Bowl.

Too bad they finished 9-7 and third in the AFC East.

Mangini couldn’t hold the team together, and many of the players just couldn’t get along with or trust their head coach.

That doesn’t even get into the slew of poor decisions he seems to make over and over again. Fortunately, for the fate of this article, Mangini has provided plenty such examples during his time in Cleveland so far.

For starters he has assembled one of the worst offenses in recent memory. The product on the field is simply abysmal.

Their offensive line is sub par, their running back is way past his prime, they don’t have a reliable receiving threat, and the team doesn’t have a true leader at the most important position on the field.

For the most part, this is almost all Mangini’s fault.

For starters, Mangini could never seem to make up his mind throughout the preseason who his top quarterback was going to be. Instead of supporting either Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn, Mangini created a phony quarterback competition, one that stretched almost to the beginning of the regular season, when he picked the guy that pretty much everybody else knew was going to be selected for the job anyway.

By doing this, Mangini essentially denied his team the opportunity to develop chemistry and a sense of comfort with their leader. It is difficult for a football team to be successful when it has no idea who is going to be its leader.

Training camp is for selecting who will be starting at all positions, and then the four preseason games are for the players who have been selected to start to gel and get comfortable with one another.

In Cleveland’s case, they didn’t have a starter in the preseason, so instead of coming together then, they are trying to do it now.

The problem?

The games count right now. The beauty of the preseason is that the games don’t count, so it’s OK if a team is trying to iron out some of the wrinkles.

In Cleveland, Mangini and Co. are still trying to iron out a pretty darn big wrinkle, and they are losing games while they are trying to sort all of this out.

Now, it seems as if Mangini is unhappy with his quarterback. This makes his quarterback competition even worse. The only quarterback situation in the league that was worse than the fiasco that Mangini orchestrated in Cleveland was the relationship between McDaniels and his now ex-quarterback Jay Cutler.

Prior to the beginning of the season, Mangini had said that he wanted the Browns to employ an offense that featured a strong running game and a selective, conservative passing attack.

You can debate all day whether Mangini’s offensive philosophy is a good one or not, but the most egregious error here is that Mangini didn’t give his offense the necessary personnel to run such an offensive attack.

An offensive unit needs a few things to run such an offense:

 

1. A rock solid offensive line;
2. A dependable running back that can churn out tough yardage;
3. An efficient quarterback; and
4. A reliable receiver/tight end that has dependable hands.

In its current state, Cleveland has none of those things.

Reports out of Cleveland are that the offensive line is worse off than it was before Mangini got there and meddled with it.

As for the running back situation, they are relying on Jamal Lewis, who is way past his prime. He would still be OK in a platoon and if he were the secondary back. He just can’t be that primary guy anymore.

The quarterback situation is Mangini’s fault entirely. Neither Quinn nor Edwards have any idea who is the actual number one and neither one in all likelihood really knows what is expected of them when they take the field.

As for that receiving threat, to run the offense the Browns are trying to run, the top receiving threat should probably be more of a possession guy who has reliable hands, can go across the middle, and can fight for extra yards.

Cleveland had a guy like that. His name was Kellen Winslow.

Too bad he’s currently in Tampa.

Instead, the Browns’ primary receiving threat is a moody wideout that has cinder blocks for hands named Braylon Edwards. On top of this, Edwards is more suited for streaking down the sideline and making a big play, which, in theory, goes against Mangini’s desired philosophy.

Granted, Winslow had his off-field issues, and he was by no means a saint.

However, Winslow was at least a reliable target that Quinn or Edwards could always look for to make the catch and get a decent chunk of yards. At least he fit the job description.

It would have been more difficult to do, but if Mangini really wanted to trade someone on the offensive side of the ball, he should have shipped Edwards out of town first.

What Mangini should have done this offseason is add a couple supplemental pieces to the offensive line rather than try to drastically alter it, either draft a feature back or create a solid running back tandem through free agency, traded Edwards instead of Winslow (or, better yet, just left that whole situation alone), and, most importantly, picked a quarterback prior to the very start of the season.

On top of his poor personnel decisions, it appears as if Mangini is still just as unlikeable in Cleveland as he was in New York.

His latest example came last week when he fined a player $1,701 dollars for a three dollar bottle of water the player didn’t pay for at the hotel front desk.

Make the player fork over the $3 and then make him run a couple extra sprints following practice on Tuesday. But fining him $1,701?

That is a textbook way to alienate your players.

Throw in the other instances where Mangini has alienated players (such as busing his players to New York to work at his football camp for free) and it certainly looks like he will be light when it comes to friends in Cleveland.

To date, Eric Mangini has done almost nothing right in Cleveland.

Because of his decisions and his unforgiving personality, the Browns are 0-3 and are quite possibly the worst team in the NFL.

It will take a long time for the Browns to get back on top of their division (heck, it’ll take a lot for them to get back to .500), and to get there, the ownership will likely have to blow the team up and start from scratch.

They should probably start by looking at Mangini.

And firing him.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Panic Sweeping The Raider Nation? Not All of Us, Not All at Once

Call me the eternal optimist.

Or, call me completely delusional.

Reading through the media in the last couple days you would think the Raiders have lost the last two straight seasons 0-16 and we are resorting to calling Jeff George out of retirement.

Folks, it’s been one loss.

One.

For the season, we are 1-2, in third place in the AFC West.

San Diego is 2-1 and Denver is at 3-0.

Why am I not running like a chicken with it’s head cut off?

Several reasons. For one, it’s only three weeks into the season. Three weeks. Predicting the playoffs or even how the teams will set up for the draft is about as scientific as throwing darts at the wall. Could any of us see Robert Gallery going down in the second week of the preseason? Or how about Chaz Schilens getting hurt in April?

The simple fact is, no one can predict when these things happen.

For the same matter, no one can predict when JaMarcus Russell will go from playing horribly to being the go-to guy for the Raiders. We’ve seen him at his best, and now, I hope we’ve seen him at his worst.

There also is the fact that all three teams will be facing a truly difficult task in the coming weeks. Who wants to go play the New York Giants? They just got done throttling the Tampa Bay Bucs so bad, they switched starters this week.

Baltimore already enjoyed on AFC West team, beating the Chargers in San Diego. The Steelers, who are 1-2, may prove to be more difficult as the season progresses.

And of course all three teams get to face Cinci and Cleveland, who Denver won against.

Oakland has it’s own things to attend to. Getting JaMarcus to practice, learn and if it turns out he is no longer worth the money, get rid of the guy and bring someone in that can make this team work.

As for me, I remain loyal to the colors and the team I have followed.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

For Hire: 10 Coaches to Replace Jim Zorn

We will not witness this anymore
This is the end for you my friend
I can’t forgive, I won’t forget
Anti-flag “This is the End”

Jim Zorn, this “experiment” concocted by the mad scientist Vinny Cerrato and his loyal supporter Danny Snyder is not working. You weren’t ready for the jump. Last season ended in an offensive nightmare and it’s been a recurring one this season as well. You’ve lost the team and your obstinance to your maladroit playbook or lack there of is not a sign of coaching resilience but rather sophomoric ego.

You’re not to be blamed for all of this. That would be unfair to do. As mentioned, Cerrato and Snyder have only aggravated the situation with questionable moves and spending. But, you are the coach and the team responds to your leadership.

Sunday’s loss to the lowly Detroit Lions was the capstone to debate as to whether you deserve more time on the job. You don’t. Your attitude post game and your comments that the Skins are getting better were dull. No wonder the team doesn’t respond to you or your style. Attitude reflects leadership.

There are a number of coaches available better suited for the Redskins job. Washington is a football haven and has a storied tradition that makes it ripe for winning. Some of these coaches probably aren’t interested in the job, because of the front office situation, but can’t a fan dream a little.

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