Watershed Moments

There are watershed moments for sports franchises.

For the Browns back in the early-mid eighties, they had theirs when Head Coach Sam Rutigliano decided to go with Paul McDonald at quarterback after allowing Brian Sipe go elsewhere.

He was wrong and it quickly cost Rutigliano his job.

For the Indians, that watershed moment came in 1997 after underachieving in the regular season (86-76), but getting hot in the post-season and coming within a Jose Mesa meltdown of winning the title that fall.

Instead of going out and finishing the puzzle by acquiring an available true #1 (read: Pedro), the Indians decided to keep Colon, Wright, Giles and company, believing they could develop a horse from within to win the title.

They were wrong, and although the team continued to be very competitive for several more years, the Indians lacked that horse on the mound necessary to claim the mantle as the world’s best baseball team.

For the Cavaliers, that watershed moment came several years ago when Carlos Boozer bolted town for greener pastures (read: more money). The Gund family was betrayed, taken advantage of and embarrassed publicly by Boozer’s actions.

So what?

Instead of thinking long-term and matching the offer the Jazz made, the Cavaliers compounded the mistake of trusting Boozer by not matching the offer.

How much better would the Cavaliers be today if Boozer, a 20-10 player, were still LJ's sidekick? Batman woukld have his Robin.

The organization instead decided not to match and they extended Z the following year.

Again, a watershed moment comes and goes with a Cleveland team dropping the ball.

And now, another watershed moment is potentially at hand with the Browns.

At his season-in-review press conference, Browns’ general manager Phil Savage said all the right things about his quarterback and head coach.

What did you expect him to say?

We already stated the Browns should be in no hurry to extend Romeo Crennel’s deal. When you are in year three of a five year deal and have yet to reach the playoffs, there’s no reason to extend.

What happens if he extends RC’s deal, add several more years, and the Browns finish 8-8 with a 2008 schedule that features seven current playoff teams? What then?

Savage also stated DA has earned going into the 2008 season as the starter, describing him as a "home run hitter."

What Savage didn’t do is describe what kind of home run hitter he has in DA. Is he Manny Ramirez, who also has a career .300+ batting average (read: consistent), or Russell Branyan, who is capable of hitting back-to-back bombs (i.e. six touchdown passes versus Cincy in Game #1) and fanning four times in one game (four picks in game #2 against the Bengals). The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

Regardless, Savage gets paid to make the right decision. We have already stated what we would do. If he (Savage) plays it safe and succeeds, I will be the first to acknowledge it.

In sports, you have a certain window of opportunity to reach the summit. The Browns’ climb next fall will likely be a higher one. The schedule, at first glance, appears much harder. They won’t be able to sneak up on anyone anymore and the injury-bug could resurface.

A watershed moment is here.

Savage gets paid to make the right decisions. He can play it safe by keeping the status quo or step out on a limb and shoot for the moon.

Let’s hope a Cleveland franchise gets it right for once.