The Cleveland Browns’ Roster Is Dwindling Due to Injuries and Concussions

The Cleveland Browns have not only been experiencing what some have said is their worst season ever as a franchise, but now it looks like the injury bug is quickly catching up to them too.

With players like linebackers D’Qwell Jackson and Eric Barton, running back James Davis, tight end Steve Heiden, and defensive lineman Shaun Rogers just some of the names already on injured reserve, now it appears the list will continue to grow.

According to cleveland.com, running back Jamal Lewis was a no-show at Browns practice today, and despite the organization not giving a real reason, the website reports that Lewis had sustained a concussion against the Cincinnati Bengals last week, along with safety Brodney Pool.

Pool has had four known concussions in his five years in the NFL, which means he really needs to consider his options for his own well-being after football. He may have to put his passion for football aside and retire early so that he does not do any further and serious injury to his head, which has bad long-term effects.

Lewis, on the other hand, has been fighting his way through injuries all year long, and if he indeed has a concussion, not only his season, but his career in the NFL will be over too since he announced his retirement earlier in the season.

Then there is also the question of the statuses of linebacker Kamerion Wimbley and defensive lineman Kenyon Coleman, which have yet to be determined and clarified by the Browns.

So what does this mean for the Browns?

It means that their starting offensive and defensive lineups may look like this:

 

Offense

Quarterback: Brady Quinn

Running Back: Chris Jennings

Fullback: Lawrence Vickers

Wide Receivers: Mohamed Massaquoi, Josh Cribbs

Tight End: Michael Gaines

O-Line: Joe Thomas, Eric Steinbach, Alex Mack, Hank Fraley, John St. Clair

 

Defense

D-Line: Robaire Smith, Ahtyba Rubin, C.J. Mosley

Linebackers: Jason Trusnik, David Bowens, Kaluka Maiava, Matt Roth

Cornerbacks: Eric Wright, Mike Adams

Safety: Abram Elam, Mike Furrey

 

If this is indeed what the Browns’ starting lineup will look like for the last five games of the season, then it will be a very long five weeks for all Browns fans.

 

(Article also posted on Dawg Scooper)

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Possible 2010 Free Agents That Need to Be on the Cleveland Browns’ Radar

With all the big name former coaches that will be currently on the market in 2010, there will be quite a few big name free agents that will hit the market in 2010 too.

The Cleveland Browns have so many holes and not even the 2010 NFL Draft will be able to fill all of their needs.

With a few smart free agent veteran addition in combination of picking the appropriate younger players in the draft, the Browns could be able to turn a corner to prevent another 10-plus loss season to maybe even break .500.

The following are a list of free agents that the Browns had better look at to fill holes in their roster once the 2009 season comes to an end.

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College Football Players Who Would Look Good in a Cleveland Browns Uniform in the 2010 NFL Draft

The Cleveland Browns have had a very bad decade of draft picks since their rebirth in 1999.

Notables like Courtney Brown and Gerrard Warren are only a few of the names of the players the Browns have selected over much more productive All-Pro players.

Once again in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Browns past over several future All-Pro players the likes of Clay Matthews III and Rey Maualuga.

With the college football regular season coming to a close, the following are several players that would look very good in the orange and brown and hopefully Browns management will take a long hard look at these guys so if they have a chance to draft them, then they will not pass them by too.

In no particular order, here are this journalist’s opinion on one player per each position of need for the Browns.

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Mike Holmgren is One Step Closer to the Cleveland Browns

Former Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren is one step closer to coming to the Cleveland Browns.

After the Buffalo Bills spent seven hours courting and persuading former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan to become their next head coach and possible head of football operations, they made another call.

The Bills also called Holmgren to come in and interview, but according to Sirius NFL Radio he declined and said he wasn’t interested.

Is Holmgren becoming enamoured with thought of rebuilding the Browns?

Or is he just keeping his options open?

Or does he just not want anything to do with Bills owner Ralph Wilson?

It may be a combination of everything above, but one thing is more certain now and that is there is one less team out there who Holmgren won’t be working for.

Browns fans can now get a little more excited, because the odds of landing a football czar like Holmgren have just increased.

This maybe a little too optimistic of a look at this situation, but Cleveland fans will tell you that optimism is like a religion to them over the last decade.

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Browns Fans Are Still Rejoicing That Braylon Edwards Still Can’t Catch or Win

It has been almost two months since wide receiver Braylon Edwards was traded from the Cleveland Browns to the New York Jets for linebacker Jason Trusnik, wide receiver Chansi Stuckey, and draft picks, but the best part of this deal is that it is looking like the Browns got the better end of the deal.

Tursnik was almost immediately inserting into the starting lineup upon his arrival in Cleveland and has played admirably in the orange and brown with 29 tackles, two sacks, and one safety.

Stuckey has been slow to grasp the offense and after having several drops in his first few appearances finally broke out against the Detroit Lions with five catches for 76 yards and one touchdown.

If Stuckey can continue to contribute, then he will fit in nicely with the Browns who are in a dire need to consistency at the wide receiver position.

Edwards, on the other hand, has had his moments for the Jets, but after seven games, he has not lived up to the billing of being a former Pro Bowl wide receiver.

Sorry Jets fans, but almost every Browns fan could have told you that you were getting a player who may have needed a change of scenery, but bottom line is that Edwards will never be the elite player that he sees in the mirror everyday, or his narcissistic life.

With the Browns, Edwards had 10 catches for 139 yards and with the Jets he has 17 catches for 281 yards and two touchdowns.

The Jets have gotten more drops out of Edwards than anything else, and in his most recent game, he not only dropped a very important pass that could have given the Jets a two-point conversion, but he also fumbled in the game and nearly threw an interception himself.

That’s right…the Jets called a pass play for Edwards…crazy!

Yes, there are six more games left and Edwards could break out and get enough receptions to move the third round draft pick the Browns received up to a second round pick, but Edwards’ demeanor is far from changed.

No change of scenery can change the fact that Edwards will always drop passes for the rest of his professional career.

Once a dropper, always a dropper.

Finally, when doing a little research, it most be noted that Edwards is 1-15 in his last 16 regular season games he has played.

He was 0-6 in 2008 win the Browns’ final six games, then 0-4 in 2009 with the Browns, and since the trade he is 1-5 with the Jets.

It appears the losing follows Edwards no matter where he goes.

A final assessment of this trade will occur after the 2009 season ends.

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Browns Coach Eric Mangini: Good Guy Or Not, He Is Still Very Shady

Cleveland Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini has been in the negative spotlight for most of the 2009 NFL regular season. And despite a personal nature that is often portrayed favorably across national media outlets, the way Mangini deals with football matters in Cleveland are as shady and dark as the outlook for the Browns organization.

Mangini has tried to create some positive publicity the last several weeks, conducting exclusive interviews with SI.com and The NFL Today.

In both interviews Mangini appears to be a normal, down-to-Earth, stand up guy who is also a father and a husband.

Sadly, once he puts on a headset and his sideline attire, he transforms straight into Mr. Hyde.

Over the last several years, Mangini has been the centerpiece of a number of shady story lines around the league: ratting out his former mentor, lying to the NFL, and calling out other coaches.

While with the New York Jets, Mangini ratted out New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick when he was taping opposing teams signals from the sidelines.

Mangini and Belichick’s relationship will never be the same—hopefully the world can someday recover.

In the same season Mangini lied about an injury to his starting quarterback, Brett Favre, and was eventually fined $250,000 for the incident.

Most recently, Mangini called out Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz, accusing him of instructing his players to fake injuries in order to stop the clock since the Lions were out of timeouts.

Mangini has since apologized and said he and Schwartz has squashed the issue.

These aren’t even all of the questionable events surrounding Mangini.  There are other injury related issues that he has been investigated for (RB James Davis’ season-ending injury during practice), stabbing a former friend in the back to secure his own job (the firing of general manager and friend George Kokinis a few weeks back), and he has made a number of deals with his former Jets bosses after he was fired last year (it is just too shady that he keeps doing trades with the brass of his former team).

Why play the good guy to the media when your actions are so deceptive?

Are you really the stand up guy you portray to reporters?

Past events say, heck no.

You are more like a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, who will do anything in his power for control and personal gain.

Browns owner Randy Lerner better be looking at the questionable circumstances that have surrounded Mangini’s tenure as an NFL head coach and ask himself is this the type of coach that he really hired back in the beginning of 2009.

It looks like Mangini is a master of disguise, though he needs to hone his skills—things are no longer undercover when the public continually hears about it.

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LeBron James in the NFL? Let’s See What Madden 10 Has To Say About This

So, all week long, the media has been in a frenzy over comments that NBA Superstar and Cleveland Cavalier LeBron James made saying that he would be a great football player given enough time to commit to the training regime.

Many have said and written that this is insane, other have said that James would be a very good football player.

Then there are some like New Orleans Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey that have stated James wouldn’t even be practice squad material.

To solve this hypothetical debate, I went to the one source that could help determine James’s outcome as an NFL football player, and that source is Madden NFL 10.

In the create-a-player mode, I duplicated James’ height and weight (he weight was increased to 270 because he would have packed on more muscle during his training for the NFL), and distributed specific player attributes according to what I thought are James’s possible strengths and weaknesses in professional football would be.

James ended up with a overall rookie rating of 78.

Of course, James was made to be a tight end, since he would obviously want to be a playmaker on the offensive side of the ball, and his tremendous size puts him as a more pass catching tight end more than anything else.

So, the next step was to follow the lead of his State Farm commercial and sign him up with the Cleveland Browns (I also used the default rosters that you have when starting a new franchise.).

Please understand that due to time constraints, I was not able to play any games with James as a tight end, but instead I had Madden 10 simulate all the games, which tends to be rather accurate.

First up, is the preseason, and James finished with 11 receptions for 95 yards.

Nothing too spectacular in the preseason at all, but it was only the preseason.

Now to the regular season, where James had 59 receptions for 580 yards and three touchdowns.

A solid rookie season for James, where he had two touchdowns in one game versus the Green Bay Packers and his best game came against the Oakland Raiders where he had eight catches for 61 yards.

Unfortunately, his rookie performance was not enough to earn his the Offensive Rookie of the Year honor.

In year No. 2, James’ performance in the preseason improved with 16 receptions for 167 yards and one touchdown.

During the regular season of year two, James amassed 55 receptions for 567 yards and four touchdowns.

With his stats falling slightly from his rookie year, James still showed consistency in year two and his best game was against the Cincinnati Bengals where he had eight catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns.

Granted this is only a video game simulation and these stats can vary every time there is another simulation, it still shows that after two seasons in the NFL, James is no where near the top-tier tight end talents like Dallas Clark, Tony Gonzalez, and Antonio Gates.

As James’ career continued, here are some more stats from year three and beyond.

Year three James had 72 receptions for 785 yards and two touchdowns, with his best game against the St. Louis Rams with five catches for 116 yards and one touchdown.

Year four James had 66 receptions for 688 yards and four touchdowns, with his best game against the Pittsburgh Steelers with 10 catches for 133 yards and one touchdown.

Year five James has peeked for three straight years at an overall rating of 97. He had 59 receptions for 558 yards and four touchdowns, with his best game against the Baltimore Ravens with five catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns.

As you can see, the results of this little experiment show that James would be a good tight end in the NFL (no Pro Bowl appearances for James), but he would not be equal to the superstar level that he currently enjoys in the NBA.

Stick with basketball, because in the NFL, you will not be able to make anywhere close to the amount of money you are getting right now in the NBA.

In closing, I must say that this was a fun experiment but it did take about two hours to complete from the start of creating James in the game to finishing this article.

I hope you have enjoyed this little fantasy piece, because I know I did while going through the process!

 

(Article also posted on Dawg Scooper .)

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Eric Mangini FAIL List Part One: Events Leading to His Firing as Browns Coach

This article is influenced by the Fail Blog , and this is part one of Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini’s version, with all of the following “FAIL” events listed below leading up to his eventual demise as coach of the Browns.

 

Whatever Happened to Running Back Jerome Harrison?

When it was announced that Mangini was coming over to the Browns from the New York Jets, many experts, analysts, and fans assumed that he would be able to finally utilize Harrison’s talents as a player in a similar fashion to how he used Leon Washington with the Jets.

Unfortunately, this has not been the case at all

After a great performance running for over 100 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals, Harrison has been a non-factor in the Browns’ offense since.

What’s the deal here, Mangini?

Obviously, you really do not know how to properly utilize talented players on your rosters, and despite the fact that everyone knows the Browns’ roster has minimal talent, Harrison is one of the very few players that do have some talent.

Sad to say that Mangini not using Harrison’s talents more is a “FAIL” toward himself getting fired.

 

Brian Daboll as Offensive Coordinator Instead of Brian Schottenheimer? REALLY!?

So Mangini gets to pick his offensive coordinator here in Cleveland, but instead of bringing his Jets coordinator in Schottenheimer, he brings the Jets’ former quarterbacks coach in Daboll.

WHY!?!?

You have a proven and experienced guy in Schottenheimer, but you go with Daboll, who will give you a rookie offensive coordinator for one of the biggest professional sports team rebuilding projects of perhaps all time.

Bad call.

Bringing Schottenheimer over would have been a much better move, but again Mangini gets a “FAIL” based on his decision to bring Daboll instead.

 

Passing on USC Linebackers and Possible Franchise Quarterback in the 2009 NFL Draft

So let’s give Alex Mack some credit here first, because he has been a great young addition to the offensive line and will be wearing a Browns uniform for many year to come.

Also, some credit has to go to Kaluka Maiava because the Browns did grab a USC linebacker, but they could have had two instead of just the one they have now.

But…Mangini could have drafted for positions where there was more need, like at quarterback and especially linebacker.

At this point in the Browns’ season, Mark Sanchez would have been a welcome addition to the horrible play of both Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn.

Sanchez might not have had much success given the lack of playmakers on the roster, but he does show much more poise than Anderson or Quinn.

Also, the Browns could have had USC linebackers Clay Matthews III or Rey Maualuga, who have both shown immediate impact on their respective teams so far this season. With the Browns hurt at linebacker once more, they will have to look at 2010’s crop of linebackers to fill needs.

Mangini gets a “FAIL” on this too based on the crop of linebackers that USC produced, and those guys (including Brian Cushing) will all be Pro Bowlers down the road.

 

The Handling of the Preseason Quarterback Competition

This is the one event that probably 98 percent of all Browns fans are most aware of.

Here is the quick summary: Quinn and Anderson are equally splitting reps, Mangini starts Quinn in preseason game one, then Anderson in game two, then splits the halves in game three for both, and sits both for the fourth game without naming the regular season starter until a few days before the game.

Mangini gets a “FAIL” for this approach because it would have been much more beneficial to name a starter after the second preseason game so the starter could have the third and maybe the final preseason games to develop chemistry with the rest of the offense before the season started.

 

Rookie Running Back James Davis Gets Injured During Practice

So the NFL ruled that there was no wrongdoing in Davis’ injury, but let’s all be honest here and ask why Davis wasn’t wearing pads.

Davis had a tremendous preseason and was a very promising rookie going into the season, but for some reason Mangini let Davis not wear pads in what he calls “opportunity drills” after practice ends for rookies and squad players to get a chance to impress coaches.

Davis was hit by another player who had pads on.

This is ridiculous, and Mangini should have told Davis to put his pads on since the defender had his on.

Unacceptable, and Mangini gets a “FAIL” for letting one player practice against another with pads on because anything can happen with the game of football, including during practices.

Where are the safety measures, Mangini?

 

Trading Away a No. 5 Pick in the First Round and Two Pro Bowlers For Next to Nothing

Former Jet castoffs and mediocre draft picks are what Mangini got in exchange for the No. 5 overall pick, Braylon Edwards, and Kellen Winslow Jr.

Pathetic, and it was too bad that former general manager George Kokinis didn’t stand his ground and put his foot down to stop the acquiring of average players.

To give some credit, linebacker Jason Trusnik has been a pleasant surprise, but he is no Pro Bowl player at all.

Mangini gets a “FAIL” for not asking for more and higher value in these trades period.

 

Using Josh Cribbs in a Meaningless Attempt at an Impossible 16-Point Play

First of all, there is no such thing as a 16-point play in football, so the last second hook-and-ladder play on Monday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens was dumb.

Cribbs has said that Quinn called to keep the ball alive, which might be a play in keeping all the heat off of Mangini, but with seconds remaining in a 16-0 debacle, why even try to score with two seconds left?

Take a knee, let the fans boo, and get off the field to prevent any injury on a meaningless play.

Mangini, you get a “FAIL” for even trying to score in the final seconds of the game only to save your own butt by not getting shut out so fans would not hate you more.

Guess what…the fans hate you even more because you almost got the best offensive players on the roster knocked out for the season or worse.

 

This will be an ongoing series of articles, so look for more to come in the future as Mangini continues to achieve “FAIL” status in the many decisions and actions as the season progresses and ends with the eventual demise of him as coach of the Browns.

 

 

(Article also posted on Dawg Scooper)

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

As Browns’ Offensive Woes Continue, Firing of Brian Daboll Should be Looming

After a horrible performance against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football, in which the Cleveland Browns had two weeks to prepare for, Browns fans across this nation are calling for owner Randy Lerner to step in and make a move by firing offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

Daboll is a rookie coordinator, but after watching another touchdown-less debacle against the Ravens (that makes six of nine games without a touchdown in 2009), his value is lower than it ever has been. Unless the Browns cannot score a touchdown against the Detroit Lions this upcoming Sunday.

When will the horrible play-calling stop?

What is Eric Mangini really doing in this matter?

Where was the help that Mangini said quarterbacks coach Brad Smith (who is a former offensive coordinator himself) was going to give to Daboll?

So many questions, so few answers, and even fewer results.

Lerner has been more proactive and hands-on with the Browns over the past month than he has been since taking over ownership from his late father Al.

Unfortunately, Lerner being proactive meant him finding a scapegoat in firing former general manager George Kokinis, when he should have fired Daboll instead.

Now he needs to put his extremely wealthy foot down again and fire Daboll now.

Usually, you have to give any rookie a chance to develop, and usually signs of development are noticed as the season progresses, but not in the case of the Browns’ offense.

After two weeks of prep for the Ravens, one would think that Mangini, Daboll, and Smith would create a solid game plan, but that was not the case and the game plan looked the exact same as what was used during Brady Quinn’s first 10 quarters of play as a starter to open the 2009 season.

Any Browns or NFL fan that watched the Monday Night game could tell you that ESPN analyst Jon Gruden’s comments throughout the game were dead-on regarding the offensive scheme the Browns were using and the lack of long passes to back the defenses up.

Too bad Gruden didn’t get fed up with Mangini, throw off his announcer headset, and go down to the sideline where he could have knocked out Mangini and took over the team for the rest of the game.

That was just wishful thinking, but at times it did seem like Gruden got really pissed off at the Browns.

Remember, Gruden grew up about 45 minutes outside of Cleveland in Sandusky, Ohio where he too was a Browns fans while growing up.

If Lerner cannot or will not fire Mangini, then the next best thing needs to happen and that’s getting rid of a horrid play-caller in Daboll and put a new perspective into the offensive coordinator position to get this historically bad offense going somehow.

Browns fans want a better product on the field and with bad play-calling they now are calling for Daboll’s head.

 

(Article also posted on Dawg Scooper )

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A New Cleveland Browns Executive May Feel Pressure of Past Front Office Failures

Since the Cleveland Browns were reborn in 1999, there have been several front office makeovers, and now in 2009, another has already begun.

One would think that after 10 years of having a team, Cleveland would be ahead of where they currently are, but unfortunately, many say that the 2009 Browns are quite possibly worse than their 1999 version.

Now that owner Randy Lerner has fired general manager George Kokinis, the Browns are looking to rebuild their front office only 10 months since the last time it was rebuilt.

Lerner has said that he is looking for a “credible leader” to head up all things football for the organization and to become the face and voice of the team.

This is kind of like a “virtual owner” without actually being the owner.

The problem is that this should have been the focus years ago, but a decade later it looks like the Browns and Lerner might finally get it right as long as the right person is chosen to wield all this power that Lerner is willing to hand out.

The currently rumored candidates (as you may already know) include Mike Holmgren, Ernie Accorsi, Mike Shanahan, Bill Cowher, Tony Dungy, Marty Schottenheimer, and Charlie Casserly, to name a few.

The biggest question is who will want to take on what is possibly one of the biggest rebuilding projects of any professional sports team in the nation?

Also, how much added pressure will be on their shoulders since all previous front office persons have failed in the last 10 years?

The following are the failures of the Browns front office since their rebirth.

 

Carmen Policy, President and CEO (1998-2004)

Policy is best known as the man who helped the San Francisco 49ers win many Super Bowls while he was their front office.

As a close friend of late owner Al Lerner, Policy was brought on board to help build a championship-caliber Browns team utilizing all of his knowledge from his 49ers days.

Some have said in the past that Policy’s biggest mistake was the hiring of Dwight Clark as the head of all football operations.

Policy stepped down from his position after five years in 2004 and sold off his 10-percent share of the team ownership too.

 

Dwight Clark, General Manager (1998-2002)

Clark is best known for being the San Francisco 49ers’ tight end from 1979-1987, and he was on the receiving end of a Joe Montana touchdown pass best known as “The Catch.”

His time with the Browns was less than pleasant mostly due to his horrible evaluating of talent and the questionable drafting of players instead of drafting many others who would become All-Pro talent in the years to come.

Clark’s time was cut short when he was fired following the 2002 season.

 

Butch Davis, Head Coach with some GM powers (2001-2004)

Davis is best known as being a very power-hungry coach who assumed some general manager responsibilities and powers after Clark was fired at the end of 2002.

He led the Browns to a 7-9 record in 2001, nearly making the playoffs but missing them by one game.

In 2002, he led the Browns to their only playoff appearance since their rebirth with a 9-7 record, but lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round.

Also during 2002, a quarterback controversy arose between Tim Couch and Kelly Holcomb, and Davis took a lot of heat for his inability to handle the situation.

Davis’ demise continued the next season, and in the 2004 offseason he cut Couch and signed quarterback Jeff Garcia, who turned out to be a horrid free agent pickup. Davis was forced to resign during the 2004 season with a record of 3-8.

 

John Collins, President and CEO (2004-2005)

Collins’ stint with the Browns was short-lived, and after replacing Policy, he went on to hire a new general manager in Phil Savage.

After Savage was hired, there was a heated “personality conflict” between the two; once it was public, Collins resigned from his position.

 

Phil Savage, Senior Vice President and General Manager (2005-2008)

Savage came in as a guru of evaluating talent with the Baltimore Ravens, and his vision including building the Browns through the draft.

After drafting several All-Pro players for the Ravens, he also drafted two Browns All-Pros in Braylon Edwards and Joe Thomas, who helped the Browns to a very surprising 10-6 record in 2007. However, they missed the playoffs with a late season loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Though his initial vision was to improve via the draft, Savage began trading away valuable draft picks for players in very questionable moves. During 2008, he also responded inappropriately to a fan’s text message, which was the beginning of the end for Savage. At the end of a dismal 2008 campaign, he was fired.

 

George Kokinis, General Manager (2009)

Recently fired Kokinis has many football reporters saying and writing different things regarding the reasons behind the sudden departure, and both head coach Eric Mangini and Lerner are mum on the subject.

No matter what the reason for the firing was, Kokinis was a no-show in his brief eight months as the general manager.

 

Only time will tell who the new Browns executive will be, but that person better be aware of the bad luck that has dwelled within the Browns’ front office over the past decade.

 

(Article also posted on Dawg Scooper.)

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