O.K. the Browns played a bad game.
Get over it. Yes, it was painful to watch. And, yes, they played poorly all
around, but that is going to happen sometimes, a lot of times, in the NFL.
Everyone has heard the cliché
before, don’t let the wins get you too high and don’t let the losses get you
too low. Every Browns fan should get that tattooed on their foreheads. Last
week fans wanted the Browns to franchise Brian Hoyer and sign him to a mega
deal, this week they want to cut him and play Johnny Football.
The Browns spent
a little too much time listening to everyone tell them how wonderful
they are, and they encountered a Jaguar team that isn’t as bad as their record
and was hungry for their first win.
My 82 year old mother called me up
and screamed into the phone, “How can those guys play that bad?” It happens,
Mom. It is hard to get everything right every week, especially in a league were
there is talent on every team and on every sideline.
Everyone needs to learn from the
Jaguars game then put it behind him or her. Remember the important thing, for
the sixth game in a row the Browns were not out-talented.
It was assumed by too many people
that the three game stretch against the Jaguars, Raiders, and Bucs were going
to be an easy 3-0 for the Browns. But it already isn’t, with two of the games
to come. Records in the NFL can be deceiving, especially before the half way
point of the season. Right now the Cowboys are the darlings of the media with a
6-1 record, but it’s a safe bet they won’t be a one-loss team in December. And
after seeing them up close this past weekend you can assume the Jaguars will be
more than a one win team soon.
The Browns are going to do what
they have to do. Work on the things they didn’t do well last week, while
keeping their routine and keeping thing positive. However, quietly and behind
doors, there will be discipline. Players will be moved up and down the depth
chart, someone will be waived and someone will be signed to the practice squad,
maybe someone will be fined for stupid or irresponsible play. Some of this will
become public knowledge and hosts and listeners will dissect it for hours on
sports radio. There will be some ugly moments in film sessions, and some more
when position coaches meet with their players. That is expected, and it will
happen far away from media and fans. By midweek it will all be behind the team,
and it will be all working in anticipation of the Raiders game.
Short term decisions for the Browns:
Decide on who is on the post Alex Mack offensive line and get them as much work
together in practice this week. Get Hoyer and his receivers back on the same
page. Find someone who can think out there as a punt returner.
Long Term Decisions: It is quite
obvious when training camp opens next summer both Hoyer and Johnny Manziel
won’t both be with the Browns. Will it be Hoyer and possibly a long-term heir
apparent? Or will it by Manziel and a respected veteran behind him? Sooner or
later sometime this year they have to play Manziel to see what he has or
doesn’t have. The team has to find a way to showcase both quarterbacks in case
a suitor or two surfaces.
Other long-term decisions: Who is
and isn’t in the long term plans, including but not limited to the following:
Do they keep all three current running backs? Which of the undersized receivers
make the cut next year? Who stays and who goes on defense, especially at
linebacker and defensive back?
The fan base has taken the Jaguar
loss very hard. Yes, the Browns played poorly, but remember this once again,
for the sixth game in a row the Browns were not out-talented. There is too much
talent on this team to see the type of collapse we have seen too often since
1999.
(Greg Cielec can be reached at cielec@hotmail.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment