Giants - Browns Preview & More

Giants – Browns
All indications point to this one getting ugly. The Giants are the defending Super Bowl Champions, undefeated in 2008 and hitting on all cylinders. The Browns have only one win, a come-from-behind effort against a winless team that committed five turnovers, led by an NCAA Division II level starting quarterback. There’s no need to break this one down further – Giants win, 37-17.

The worst part of this two week wait is the hot air coming from the local media concerning this game. Some media types are trying to spin how the Browns can and may win this one. You talk about being in the tank.

No one in their right mind could realisticaly predict a Browns' win Monday unless they are doing it for shock value. Could they win? Sure. It's the NFL - anything is possible. These guys get paid and they can all play. But you have to be wearing orange underwear or be on the team's payroll to make that call with a straight face.

Ugly Numbers
I saw a stat last night indicating the Browns were currently dead last in the NFL in yards gained and passing yards. Can it get much worse?

Prediction
If the Browns lose their next three - which is a distinct possibility playing the Giants then two quality opponents on the road (Washington & Jacksonville), I expect the Lerner family to make a coaching change at that point. At 1-6, it would be hard for Savage to continue with his "stay the course" strategy while the team is headed for a top-five draft pick in Crennel's fourth year at the helm.

Even if the team does not embarrass itself in terms of overall performance in those contests, it will be hard keeping the fan and media pressure at bay. It will be interesting to see how Phil Savage handles that press conference if it happens.

College Football
We saw a future pro last week at work in the Ohio State – Wisconsin game. Badger tight end Travis Beckum can play on my team any time. I have no idea where the draftnicks have him – nor do I care. He was by far the best player on the field for Wisconsin on that day. Unfortunately, the Badger coaching staff didn’t agree. I don’t think a ball was thrown in his direction until the Badgers’ fourth drive of the game.

That’s bordering on criminal negligence if you ask me in a game of that magnitude. And please don’t tell me he was getting double-teamed. If that’s the case, send him in motion and create the match-up you want.

The only thing worse was Ohio State’s reluctance to give B. Wells the ball 30x. I have to assume he’s not at 100% because that game screamed for the future first round NFL pick to get a ton of touches. There was no way the Badgers would have been able to keep him from consistently moving the chains had the OSU coaching staff fed him the rock time and time again.

Speaking of Wells, if the NFL season ended today, the Browns would have a top-10 pick. I would take Wells if he were available. It is actually to the Browns advantage Wells does not have a huge year. If he gets healthy and leads OSU to a big-time bowl, he might be gone when they pick. Then again, if the Browns continue to spiral downward, they might be picking in the top five and have a real shot at him. Wells has the size, strength and enough speed to be a workhorse at the next level. He reminds me of a faster Eddie George.

Occasionally, I will be dropping names of college players we like to be playing on Sunday. I think you will find this interesting. I don’t grade them – I don’t know how. But I know a player when I see one. Obviously, Wells is on everyone’s radar. Beckum caught my eye last week. He might last a while in the draft because NFL player personnel types will be concerned that he’s not big enough to play tight end at the next level and perhaps too slow to play wide receiver. Ignore them. He can play on Sundays. Period. There will be others and when I see one, I’ll let you know.

MLB Post-Season
I have not watched one inning of it. Sorry. I’m just not interested. I would rather watch the cable news programs. But I am aware my Brewers are out. Go Rays!

Indians & Free Agency
The Indians are in need of a corner infielder with some pop. I have a guy in mind. He can play third, first and the outfield relatively well. The guy is one of the most versatile players in MLB and you should not have to break the bank to get him. He also knows what highway to take to get to the ballpark in downtown Cleveland. His name is Casey Blake.

LeBron & Soft Porn
Every time I see a news story on the Cavaliers this month, I see where 23 is shirtless. What’s the deal? Someone needs to tell LJ if he wants to do soft porn modeling, to do it on his own time. Put a shirt on 23. We know you are cut. You don’t need to show it off all the time. Besides, for a guy that big, that quick and that strong, you are the worst post-up player in the NBA. You should dominate the paint – especially when the jumper isn’t falling.

Unfortunately, most of the time I see you down in the blocks, you end up facing up or taking a fade away jumper. And I haven’t seen any improvement in that part of your game yet. It’s been two years now I’ve been complained about this weakness in your game. Now put a shirt on and get to work inside.

AFC Wide Open
With Tom Brady out for the year, the AFC is there for the taking. We had the Pats beating the Cowboys in February when the season began. We now have to put Pittsburgh in the AFC slot. The Steelers are solid in all phases and they will likely have home field advantage throughout the post-season in their conference. As for who will win the game, I'll have to get back to you on that one. I need more time.

Amazing
What moron predicted the Vikings to reach the Super Bowl with "Michael" Jackson quarterbacking the team?

I only needed to see Gus Frerotte play one half of football this past week and already came to the conclusion he was better at 36 than Jackson is now.

This begs the question - Why would Minnesota spend all that money on free agency in the off-season with the intention of making a serious run at the playoffs yet have Jackson running the show? Some questions simply have no answer.

I know. I know. His name is not Michael. It's an attempt at humor.

Chad The Man
Our boy Chad Pennington continues to impress in Miami. He's simply a very underrated quarterback. Fans, the media and player personel directors fall in love with guys who have "big arms," but we like quarterbacks who just complete passes.

That's what Pennington does. He's not physically gifted, so he doesn't impress people. No, he's not going to throw a laser 20 yard out, but he will complete 60% of his passes or more and make more good decisions than bad.

Had we been in charge of the Browns, we would have picked him up immediately after the Jets released him and stated so on this site. His role would have been to back up "The Other Guy" as Romeo calls him. That would have given Cleveland a solid back-up in case Quinn struggled or went down with an injury.

Mr. Negative
Someone who reads this site asked me recently why am I so negative?

Simply - I call them as I see them.

When Eric Wedge kept the Indians from packing it in this summer, I praised him. When Dany Ferry picked up Mo Williams, I stated that was an upgrade in the backcourt. When Mark Shapiro made the right move and traded C.C. before he could opt for free agency, we agreed with the move.

The point is not all our comments are negative. We pride ourselves on being as objective as possible. Yes, we have been mostly negative in terms of the Browns. That's true. Then again, look at their winning percentage since 1999. They have certainly earned the ridicule. And until they figure it out, more is headed their way.