Short & Quick

BROWNS WEEK #2 & MORE
You can’t open 0-2 against Tampa and K.C. It’s that simple. Not when you opened 1-11 last year before getting a handful of semi-garbage wins against poor teams while hardly completing any forward passes.

It made absolutely no sense for the new regime to keep Mangini, and we stated so at the time. And unfortunately, that decision will likely be reversed during the bye week if this team is sitting at 1-6 or 0-7 during that break.

The truth – Mangini has absolutely no one to blame but himself. Not only do his teams lose, but they lose with players he drafted. The wide receiver corps, the one we have ridiculed for over a year, features a pair of starting #2 picks HE drafted.

To be fair, the “Walrus” deserves some blame as well. He revamped a very weak secondary in the off-season. The same should have occurred at wideout. They are trying to win professional football games with good college receivers. Period.

Good teams (aka: Pittsburgh) find ways to win, while bad teams (Browns) seem to always find ways to lose. The truth hurts.

Some thoughts from the KC loss follow.

Marcus Bernard can rush the quarterback. He had one sack Sunday – granted a coverage sack at that – and forced a holding penalty on another strong rush from the outside. He also made a terrific play in space when he tipped a pass during a deep drop. He made plays in 2009 as well when given the opportunity. He should start. End of story.

It's official – the two young DBs drafted early can play. Along with Brown, Cleveland has ¾ of what potentially is a relatively strong secondary. The “Walrus” and his people deserve credit for addressing this problem and getting it right in the off-season.

Now the bad news.
My boy Seneca Wallace cannot go “DA” on us and throw a pick six. The Browns aren’t good enough offensively to make such a huge blunder and still win. Bad decision. Period. Yes, he rebounded and threw a long TD pass to Cribbs on the next series. But I can’t excuse it.

Take that bad play away and they probably win. Yea, but take that five-run third inning away and the starter pitched well. You simply can’t go there.

Someone needs to look it up for me, but this may be the first time in NFL history in the modern age where a team does not have a wide receiver with 50 catches on the year.

Who the hell on this team is going to get open enough to catch 50 balls? These guys couldn’t separate from their mom’s umbilical cord after the doctor cut them loose.

Hell, a former college quarterback (Cribbs) is more dangerous out wide than they are right now. Look for the local media to finally figure it out.

Most obvious line of the day everyone missed yesterday came when the television color commentator said the following late in the Chiefs/Browns game – “Brian Robiskie is not winning the release battle at the line of scrimmage.”

How the hell does #23 not know he’s not allowed to step in the end zone when covering punts?

My other boy, Jerome Harrison, did not make the first guy miss one time during his 16carries yesterday. No, the offensive line is not blocking well on the running game, but once in awhile, you have to make your own hole. JH was tripped up on several occasions by an arm tackle when he had a chance to turn a 3 yard carry into something more.

The most disappointing aspect of this football team after two weeks of play has been the offensive line play – especially the well-paid left side. They simply have not opened up many holes against two very poor run stopping units. This does not bode well for the future folks - like next week at Baltimore.

Look at the bright side - I heard all seven of the Browns’ next opponents had winning record in 2009. Now, I am on record on not giving much credence to past records as an indicator as to what will happen in the future. However, it’s probably safe to say Baltimore, Pittsburgh, New England and New Orleans have a few more playmakers than TB and KC.

So let's get it over with - Baltimore 27-10 over Cleveland in week #3. No, I don't expect them to get totally buried. If they do, Mangini might not make it to break week.

How can anyone ever line up off-sides? I watched small college football in person for 19 years and can honestly say I can count on two fingers how many times I saw it called. I see it called every week in the NFL.

I heard my boy Vince Young was playing poorly and got pulled (again) against the Steelers. This seems to be a yearly occurrence. That’s a game he needed to play well in and win. Credit the best organization in sports for keeping things afloat and winning while using #3 QBs.

I am on record as being a Michael Vick fan in terms of what he brings to the table on the football field. That was not the case when he was drafted, but his on-the-field performance changed my views. Yes, he has proven he cannot be trusted to be the face of a franchise because of his off-the-field behavior. But facts are facts -you have to game-plan for him, unlike most guys who take snaps from center.

ODDS & ENDS
Am I the only one who doesn’t think Joe Torre should be up for sainthood? Here’s a guy who doesn’t win anything until he manages the highest payroll in baseball (New York). He then goes to another large market team (LA) and when it’s clear they are about to cut payroll due to a messy divorce at the top and who knows what else, he bails and says he may go elsewhere to manage next year at age 70.
Let me take a wild guess and predict he won’t end up in KC or Pittsburgh? Billy Martin he’s not.

I heard some national pundit going to the “See, the Rays are proving you can win consistently without a huge payroll” card. Right.

Stop it. Their front office folks, scouts, etc., are obviously very good. But when many of their their top players walk (free agency), they won't be in it every year. That's the shame of this one-sided system known as Major League Baseball.

Perhaps TB can beat the odds, much like Minnesota has, but everything has to go right in order to avoid that “short window of opportunity” a mid/small market has to win it all before the bulk of the talent leaves.

I heard a sick stat yesterday. Thomas Jones did not lose a fumble once in well over 300 carries in 2009. That’s pretty amazing.

OSU

How about a few cupcakes to go with those Canes?

I know OSU scheduled Miami (FL), but do you have to put all cupcakes around Miami when it comes to your non-conference schedule every year? Throw in a relatively weak Big 10 Conference, or whatever you call it now, and you basically have maybe three truly competitive games on the schedule all season long.

Why can’t OSU add a Boise State, or at least a Brigham Young home and home on the schedule from time to time, and play two competitive non-conference opponents a year?

Chris Speilman is going around the country trashing Boise State and saying they would have trouble in the Big 10. I like CS and what he stands for, but Boise State would compete for the Big 10 title. It's not their fault they are where they are. Besides, someone needs to tell Chris this isn't the Big 10 circa 1970. The conference doesn't carry that kind of weight any more. It's a good football conference, but nowhere near the top conference in the country.

POLITICS
First, the media and lefty politicians claimed the “Tea Party Movement” was part of an astro turf program – meaning it was a creation (aka: fake) and funded by the Republic Party and not a true people’s movement.

Second, they ridiculed it by calling them “team baggers,” a derogatory term referring to a sex act.

Then, they went to the “They won’t have any impact on the elections” line.

Now, they are honed in on the narrative that says – they are “kooks,” zealots,” right-wind nuts,” etc…

Even traditional republican operatives and reporters I respect are taking shot s at individual conservative candidates who they feel can’t win in the general election.

They all miss the point – It’s not about winning elections and getting republicans House and Senate leadership and committee chairmanship positions back, it’s about getting people in Congress who have principles and will seriously attempt roll back much of what has been passed in the past 18 months.

What good is it to send a Republican to Washington who looks and acts more like a Democrat when it comes to voting on legislation? That’s what the Tea Party people are saying. And besides, the public uprising is not “republican” based, it’s “Conservative” based. That’s what these folks are missing.

Of course, the media will continue to try to build the template/narrative these candidates are “radical” and/or “dangerous.”

They are also pushing hard on the talking point that the “Republicans are having a civil war within their party” line. Yet, they of course ignore the fact that many democrats running for re-election don’t want to be seen with the president publicly nor are any running on the party’s legislative successes – i.e. Health Care. Talk about a civil war?

It’s not going to work. The majority of the American people know that being fiscal responsible, federal government intrusion into health care, among other areas of private life, and keeping taxes relatively low are sound principles, not “wacky” ideas.

As someone who has a little experience in PR, it’s simple to analyze – if you don’t have anything to run on, attack your opponent. It’s called an “ad hominem” attack.

I don’t think it will work this time.

"You have a right to your own opinion, but not your own facts."