Some Sunday Thoughts

Browns Hit Century Mark
Congratulations to the Browns. I’m sure others missed it, but we didn’t.

Last Thursday night’s meltdown against the Broncos was significant in more ways than one. It was Cleveland’s 100th loss since the team’s return in 1999. That’s 53 wins and 100 losses to be exact and a sparkling .346 winning percentage for those of you who own PSLs and proudly wear Dino Hall jerseys to the games on Sunday.

If you dig into the math even further, that’s an average of 10 losses per year since the team’s return in 1999 – and that’s not even including the final seven games yet to be played in 2008. Amazing.

Atlanta
As of today, the Atlanta Falcons, arguable the most messed up franchise in the NFL just one year ago, might end the calendar year with the following – a playoff appearance, the NFL Coach of the Year (Mike Smith) and Rookie of the Year (Matt Ryan).

Again, this is just another reminder of how quickly things can change in the NFL compared to the other major sports if you put in place a decent management team, use some common sense in evaluating talent and catch a break or two.

Hopefully, this will also once and for all put to rest the adage that “you can’t win in the NFL with a rookie quarterback.”

Atlanta is not only surviving but actually winning with Ryan to this point in ‘08. They used free agency wisely to fill one huge hole (Michael Turner) and take pressure off Ryan, and they were right in their thinking that Turner’s running and a solid offensive line could keep the kid (Ryan) upright and healthy in his rookie year at the helm.

Good for them.

Atlanta’s success makes the Browns recent 10-year history even that more difficult to digest. I know. It’s tough being a Browns fan.

But remember what we wrote in our last entry after Thursday’s loss – they have at least started to turn the corner. Now it’s a matter of making MORE wise personnel decisions. All they have to do is follow the template we laid out for them or a facsimile there of. They won’t of course.

Too Much Drama
The Browns simply cannot co-exist with both K2 and Butterfingers on the same roster. That’s too much constant drama for one organization to deal with. Therefore, one must go and it’s not a difficult choice. One is an outstanding player (K2) who needs medication (I’m only half kidding here) to calm down during fall Sunday afternoons from 1-4 p.m., while the other (Butterfingers) is aptly named.

We suggested dealing Edwards in the past when he was both catching touchdown passes and dropping passes because we saw the selfish streak, among other flaws, covered in these pages. His value is down right now, but there might still be a team out there willing to part with a number one pick for him. Plus, he still has seven weeks to right the ship some.

I know what you are thinking – the Raiders. That would be too good to be true, plus Oakland will be drafting too high to part with that choice even though that’s about where Edwards went (#3 overall).

Savage
Right now, two of Savage’s top three choices – Edwards and Wimbley – don’t look good. Hey, at least he got Thomas right - over our objections.

Butch Davis
I’ve got to come back to this. I can’t help myself even though he has done a nice job and turned North Carolina round.

How does Butch Davis watch Ed Reed (a future HOFer) in practice every day down in Miami then pass him up and take a running back with off-the-field issues (Green) out of Boston College?

I still can’t get my mind straight with that one.

Someone tell me Reed wasn’t available when the Browns drafted, please.

Ward & Crabtree
Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree has the toughness of Hynes Ward with the added ability to make people miss after the catch. He’s a top-10 pick if I ever saw one.

McDyess & Cavaliers
Antonio McDyess might be available soon if Denver buys out his deal and he becomes a free agent. This one is a no-brainer – the Cavaliers should get him. Period. He would bring playoff experience, professionalism, versatility, depth and quality talent to the roster. Other than that, he would be of no use.

If he ends up in Detroit after his expected release, the league should step in. No player should be permitted to be traded from one club, then be released and go back to his original team. That’s inside trading if I ever saw it and makes Wall Street look like an even playing field.

This sort of silliness should not be allowed to happen. We saw it last year as well, including the Jason Kidd deal that involved Dallas trading a retired player in order to make the deal fit. This process is ridiculous and needs to be addressed in the off-season by David Stern and company, if not sooner.

High Octane Spells Dud In Playoffs
Speaking of the Dallas Mavericks – they stink right now. It will be interesting to see how Mark Cuban handles being the owner a mediocre basketball team.

The media is not interested in fawning over an owner whose team barely plays .500 basketball. Cuban’s ego will suffer and he just might totally flip out this season. Of course, if that occurs, the media that coddled this lovable nut the past 10 years will promptly hammer him if that occurs. The only difference will be the winning percentage.

Dallas’ window of opportunity closing reinforces what we stated some 10 years back when Sacramento, Dallas and others continued to rack up impressive win totals during the regular season with high-powered offenses while falling short in the playoffs.

That formula looks good on television and sells plenty of tickets but doesn’t win you championships in the NBA. Eventually, you have to guard someone and the good defensive team you run into in the post-season will take you out of your comfort zone.

After all those years and all those wins, Dallas, Sacramento, Phoenix and alike have zero rings to show for it.

This is another reason why we like Mike Brown in terms of where he comes from – San Antonio - where they have a tradition of guarding people.

Secondly, he has been able to co-exist with 23 and seems to still have his (LJs) respect. That’s not an easy thing to do in today’s NBA.

The NBA is strictly a players’ league. If James, the NBA’s best and most high-profile player, stops listening, Brown is done in Cleveland. To Browns’ credit, that has not happened – yet.

Back To The Basket
Kudos to LeBron James, who after five years, is finally doing more of his damage in the paint off sharp cuts and post-ups in the half court. He is unstoppable down there and is starting to show it.

James needs to continue to knock down his free throws in order for everything to work, but he at least has figured it out.

With Williams, Gibson, Wally and West knocking down perimeter shots, having 23 at the #4 some makes plenty of sense. James can still get plenty of easy buckets in transition, and occasionally knocking down long jumpers when the shot is falling, but putting him down low more, will pay huge dividends in the long run.