Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Unusual sports bar to be sold at auction
Motorcyclist killed, wife injured in Stark County crash
Family found dead in Ohio home
Man says he was punched, robbed by 3 people in parking lot
Circle K on Brown Street robbed
Man gets 3 years in prison for having sex with horse
Bank helps more save their homes
Woman says clinic refused to help her get pregnant because she's not married
Blogs:
Pets:
Officials: NYer Had 20 Dead Dogs Buried in Yard
The Heldenfiles:
Monday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
Time for Kokinis, Browns to agree and part ways
Akron Zips:
Zips tip off tomorrow
Tribe Matters:
Indians announce spring dates
Cleveland Browns:
Mangini doesn't name a quarterback
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – November 9
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Shaq: It’s All About Winning Championships
Buckeye Blogging:
Weekly ‘B’ Deck Report – New Mexico St.
Varsity Letters:
Louisville’s Bobby Swigert headed to Boston College
All Da King's Men:
If It Looks Like Islamic Terrorism…
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Dems Message To Women: Don't Enjoy The Sex
Akron Law Café:
Abortion Analogies
See Jane Style:
Muffle Your Muffler
Car Chase:
Clock Tender- Extending the Life of Collector Car Clocks
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Rumors: Akron Starbucks Closing
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jack is looking for a trip to Southern Ohio the week of November 16.
Sound Check:
The Black Keys to perform benefit concert at Musica on November 27
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – Why People Do Not Live in Northeast Ohio
Akron Gamer:
New 'Call of Duty' could set entertainment record
A difficult schedule ahead for Browns, but division rivals don't have it any easier
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist
POSTED: 06:48 p.m. EDT, Oct 04, 2008
What's ahead for the Browns?
Trouble.
Well that's too negative. How about difficulty? Lots and lots of difficulty.
Because their schedule, which was tough when the season started, has gotten tougher. How does such a thing happen when the opponents are the same? Simple. Usually after the season starts, some teams are not as good as expected. The teams on the Browns' schedule are better.
The Denver Broncos are better than expected. So are the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Washington Redskins. The Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants are where we thought they would be.
The first six games after the bye for the Browns: The Giants, Redskins, Jaguars, Ravens, Broncos and Bills.
There's a ''breather'' against the Houston Texans, followed by games against the Indianapolis Colts, Titans and Eagles.
Those nine teams are a combined 24-9 (.727). By season's end, the Browns will have played six of the seven best defenses in the league.
In the parlance, that is a brutal stretch of nine tough games in 10 weeks.
This is not to say the Browns can't rebound and play well against these teams. They can. I was as caustic as any about the win over the Cincinnati Bengals, but it was a win, and it can be used as a springboard.
Players approach things a lot differently after wins than they do after losses, and the Browns need to take advantage of every little thing they can when they have that kind of schedule ahead.
Too, the entire AFC North plays the same schedule.
And if it's a tough schedule you want, consider the Pittsburgh Steelers' — which includes nearly all the same teams as the Browns. Instead of the Bills and Broncos, the Steelers will play the New England Patriots and the San Diego Chargers out of the division.
''I don't think there is a team in our division that is just going to run away with it,'' Browns General Manager Phil Savage said. ''Neither is there going to be a team that will be totally out of it because the schedule is so difficult for everybody.
''There is a lot of football left, and fortunately for us, there are a lot of teams ahead of us right now that we are going to have an opportunity to play.''
If the Browns play better, a 9-7 record that wins the division is not out of the question.
But it's sure not going to be easy.
In other Browns matters:
• It's worth wondering what guys like Kellen Winslow think when they see guys like Donte' Stallworth miss four games with a pulled muscle. Not that Stallworth isn't hurt. He is.
But Winslow has played hurt for two years, on a knee that has needed regular work in the offseason.
Few noticed it, but Winslow had to go in the locker room briefly in Cincinnati. He returned and immediately caught that key pass down the middle that set up the Browns' second touchdown. Is Winslow playing in discomfort?
''Nobody knows,'' he said. ''It doesn't really matter though. It's about what you do on the field.''
• Lawrence Vickers' punishing blocks in Cincinnati set a real tone for the team's running game and attitude. Vickers could be the finest sixth-round pick in these parts in a long, long time.
He blocks, catches and can run if he's ever called upon. As a rookie, he was involved in some key plays that didn't work. He's worked himself to a point where he has to be grouped with the better fullbacks in the league.
• Vickers was very fortunate not to be seriously injured in Cincinnati. After the
Browns' last touchdown, a fan threw a full beer bottle, and it hit Vickers in the eye.
Pretty outrageous behavior — and something the Bengals do not tolerate.
''We try to act quickly and decisively,'' Bengals public relations director Jack Brennan said. ''In this case, the violator was ejected, arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.''
If he's a season-ticket holder, he also could be sanctioned by the Bengals — meaning he could lose his tickets.
• I've been hard on Braylon Edwards, but he keeps making it impossible to embrace him. Vickers blocks and knocks guys down, so Edwards takes a 15-yard run at a guy and hits him after the play.
Silly.
Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson make a name with their ability and humorous celebrations. Edwards does an air-guitar routine and looks like a dork, because he had done nothing all season before that touchdown.
It's like Edwards wants to be liked so much he pushes all limits to be accepted.
It'd be nice if he just relaxed and played. He's a likeable guy with amazing talent.
If he just plays, all the accolades and attention he craves will follow naturally.
• The Browns have talked a lot about missed practice time affecting the offense. And players missing practice can be a negative.
Except that it happens all the time around the league — guys miss time, they come back and they play and play well.
• If a guy comes back thinking it will be easy and his mere presence on the field will make things OK, well, then a team is going to start 1-3 and look lousy doing it.
If he comes back determined and driven and attentive to all the details that make good players great, then they return like professionals.
The moral of the story: It's not the missed practice time that matters as much as the attitude a player has when he returns.
INDIANS
Isaac not angry
after being fired
Luis Isaac had been with the Indians for 44 years.
Until last weekend.
At that point, manager Eric Wedge fired Isaac.
''They called me in and told me I'm no longer the guy to make the bullpen run the way they want,'' Isaac said this past week from his home in Puerto Rico. ''They fired me.''
After 44 years, was he angry?
''Angry?'' Isaac said. ''How am I going to be angry when I've been 44 years with the Indians? How am I going to do that?
''When you're running a team and you think the best thing to do is this or that, how am I going to be angry when they are the ones that run the team? You can't be upset.''
Maybe not, but fans sure wondered. It smacked of scapegoating a guy for the struggles of a bullpen in 2008.
And it sounded cold, especially when Wedge announced that Isaac was ''loyal as the day is long'' in the same paragraph he said he wanted a ''different dynamic'' in the bullpen.
One wonders what the different dynamic is.
Those in the know said that Wedge for some time wanted a ''different dynamic'' in the bullpen, that he knew Isaac taught some things differently than the way Wedge or pitching coach Carl Willis taught.
There was even some sentiment within the team that Wedge did the impossible by firing a guy who had been around as long as Isaac, that it showed some gumption.
Which is one way to look at it.
Certainly the way that Wedge presented the decision didn't help him. He casually said there was no chance for Isaac to be reassigned with the team — a statement that was not gushing with loyalty.
Isaac, though, said General Manager Mark Shapiro offered him another job.
Isaac said no; he wanted to search for a coaching job.
''I've been in this game so long,'' Isaac said. ''I think I know baseball and I can make people be good because of my knowledge.
''It's not that Luis Isaac is better than everybody. It's just my experience.''
If he can't find a coaching job, he might rethink the Indians' offer.
''Or I'll stay in Puerto Rico playing golf.'' Isaac said.
The day Isaac said that, he shot an 83 at Cocoa Beach, a 36-hole track in Puerto Rico designed by Tom Kite that hosts the Puerto Rico Open.
Firings happen in baseball. They happen in all sports. Wedge replaced his pitching coach early in his first season.
And Isaac was not exactly cast to the curb.
He has made more than $1 million, and he is fully vested in baseball's pension plan.
Which is probably why Isaac shrugs it off. He only talked of memories — and the most special ones were the Indians' trips to the World Series in 1995 and 1997.
''We got beat and I'm still thinking that I wish I could get to the World Series and win it,'' Isaac said. ''I wish that the Cleveland Indians do it and if they do it and if they go to the World Series, I'm going to be there even if I'm watching on TV.
''I hope that Mr. Shapiro and Mr. Eric Wedge go to the World Series and win. I'll be happy because I think they're my Indians. For 44 years I loved the Indians, and the Indians are my team.''
More Indians thoughts
• There seems to be a real desire to move Jhonny Peralta to third base. I wonder: Why? Peralta's range at shortstop is limited, and third requires an element of quickness and instinctiveness Peralta lacks.
If the Indians find a second baseman, great, move him. But if they don't, I'd leave Peralta where he is.
Or trade him while his value is high for a reliable starting pitcher.
• The Indians are counting on Jake Westbrook returning after Tommy John elbow surgery. Projections don't have him back until July, though.
• Wedge pointed out that early in the season, Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez were hurt and Asdrubal Cabrera was in the minors. ''That's the two-three-four hole hitters,'' Wedge said.
• Josh Barfield does not seem to be in the smallest of the team's plans.
• Wedge said four relievers are pretty much certain to be in the team's bullpen in 2009: Rafael Betancourt, Jensen Lewis, Masa Kobayashi and Rafael Perez.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/.
What's ahead for the Browns?
Trouble.
Well that's too negative. How about difficulty? Lots and lots of difficulty.
Because their schedule, which was tough when the season started, has gotten tougher. How does such a thing happen when the opponents are the same? Simple. Usually after the season starts, some teams are not as good as expected. The teams on the Browns' schedule are better.
The Denver Broncos are better than expected. So are the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Washington Redskins. The Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants are where we thought they would be.
The first six games after the bye for the Browns: The Giants, Redskins, Jaguars, Ravens, Broncos and Bills.
There's a ''breather'' against the Houston Texans, followed by games against the Indianapolis Colts, Titans and Eagles.
Those nine teams are a combined 24-9 (.727). By season's end, the Browns will have played six of the seven best defenses in the league.
In the parlance, that is a brutal stretch of nine tough games in 10 weeks.
This is not to say the Browns can't rebound and play well against these teams. They can. I was as caustic as any about the win over the Cincinnati Bengals, but it was a win, and it can be used as a springboard.
Players approach things a lot differently after wins than they do after losses, and the Browns need to take advantage of every little thing they can when they have that kind of schedule ahead.
Too, the entire AFC North plays the same schedule.
And if it's a tough schedule you want, consider the Pittsburgh Steelers' — which includes nearly all the same teams as the Browns. Instead of the Bills and Broncos, the Steelers will play the New England Patriots and the San Diego Chargers out of the division.
''I don't think there is a team in our division that is just going to run away with it,'' Browns General Manager Phil Savage said. ''Neither is there going to be a team that will be totally out of it because the schedule is so difficult for everybody.
''There is a lot of football left, and fortunately for us, there are a lot of teams ahead of us right now that we are going to have an opportunity to play.''
If the Browns play better, a 9-7 record that wins the division is not out of the question.
But it's sure not going to be easy.
In other Browns matters:
• It's worth wondering what guys like Kellen Winslow think when they see guys like Donte' Stallworth miss four games with a pulled muscle. Not that Stallworth isn't hurt. He is.
But Winslow has played hurt for two years, on a knee that has needed regular work in the offseason.
Few noticed it, but Winslow had to go in the locker room briefly in Cincinnati. He returned and immediately caught that key pass down the middle that set up the Browns' second touchdown. Is Winslow playing in discomfort?
''Nobody knows,'' he said. ''It doesn't really matter though. It's about what you do on the field.''
• Lawrence Vickers' punishing blocks in Cincinnati set a real tone for the team's running game and attitude. Vickers could be the finest sixth-round pick in these parts in a long, long time.
He blocks, catches and can run if he's ever called upon. As a rookie, he was involved in some key plays that didn't work. He's worked himself to a point where he has to be grouped with the better fullbacks in the league.
• Vickers was very fortunate not to be seriously injured in Cincinnati. After the
Browns' last touchdown, a fan threw a full beer bottle, and it hit Vickers in the eye.
Pretty outrageous behavior — and something the Bengals do not tolerate.
''We try to act quickly and decisively,'' Bengals public relations director Jack Brennan said. ''In this case, the violator was ejected, arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.''
If he's a season-ticket holder, he also could be sanctioned by the Bengals — meaning he could lose his tickets.
• I've been hard on Braylon Edwards, but he keeps making it impossible to embrace him. Vickers blocks and knocks guys down, so Edwards takes a 15-yard run at a guy and hits him after the play.
Silly.
Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson make a name with their ability and humorous celebrations. Edwards does an air-guitar routine and looks like a dork, because he had done nothing all season before that touchdown.
It's like Edwards wants to be liked so much he pushes all limits to be accepted.
It'd be nice if he just relaxed and played. He's a likeable guy with amazing talent.
If he just plays, all the accolades and attention he craves will follow naturally.
• The Browns have talked a lot about missed practice time affecting the offense. And players missing practice can be a negative.
Except that it happens all the time around the league — guys miss time, they come back and they play and play well.
• If a guy comes back thinking it will be easy and his mere presence on the field will make things OK, well, then a team is going to start 1-3 and look lousy doing it.
If he comes back determined and driven and attentive to all the details that make good players great, then they return like professionals.
The moral of the story: It's not the missed practice time that matters as much as the attitude a player has when he returns.
INDIANS
Isaac not angry
after being fired
Luis Isaac had been with the Indians for 44 years.
Until last weekend.
At that point, manager Eric Wedge fired Isaac.
''They called me in and told me I'm no longer the guy to make the bullpen run the way they want,'' Isaac said this past week from his home in Puerto Rico. ''They fired me.''
After 44 years, was he angry?
''Angry?'' Isaac said. ''How am I going to be angry when I've been 44 years with the Indians? How am I going to do that?
''When you're running a team and you think the best thing to do is this or that, how am I going to be angry when they are the ones that run the team? You can't be upset.''
Maybe not, but fans sure wondered. It smacked of scapegoating a guy for the struggles of a bullpen in 2008.
And it sounded cold, especially when Wedge announced that Isaac was ''loyal as the day is long'' in the same paragraph he said he wanted a ''different dynamic'' in the bullpen.
One wonders what the different dynamic is.
Those in the know said that Wedge for some time wanted a ''different dynamic'' in the bullpen, that he knew Isaac taught some things differently than the way Wedge or pitching coach Carl Willis taught.
There was even some sentiment within the team that Wedge did the impossible by firing a guy who had been around as long as Isaac, that it showed some gumption.
Which is one way to look at it.
Certainly the way that Wedge presented the decision didn't help him. He casually said there was no chance for Isaac to be reassigned with the team — a statement that was not gushing with loyalty.
Isaac, though, said General Manager Mark Shapiro offered him another job.
Isaac said no; he wanted to search for a coaching job.
''I've been in this game so long,'' Isaac said. ''I think I know baseball and I can make people be good because of my knowledge.
''It's not that Luis Isaac is better than everybody. It's just my experience.''
If he can't find a coaching job, he might rethink the Indians' offer.
''Or I'll stay in Puerto Rico playing golf.'' Isaac said.
The day Isaac said that, he shot an 83 at Cocoa Beach, a 36-hole track in Puerto Rico designed by Tom Kite that hosts the Puerto Rico Open.
Firings happen in baseball. They happen in all sports. Wedge replaced his pitching coach early in his first season.
And Isaac was not exactly cast to the curb.
He has made more than $1 million, and he is fully vested in baseball's pension plan.
Which is probably why Isaac shrugs it off. He only talked of memories — and the most special ones were the Indians' trips to the World Series in 1995 and 1997.
''We got beat and I'm still thinking that I wish I could get to the World Series and win it,'' Isaac said. ''I wish that the Cleveland Indians do it and if they do it and if they go to the World Series, I'm going to be there even if I'm watching on TV.
''I hope that Mr. Shapiro and Mr. Eric Wedge go to the World Series and win. I'll be happy because I think they're my Indians. For 44 years I loved the Indians, and the Indians are my team.''
More Indians thoughts
• There seems to be a real desire to move Jhonny Peralta to third base. I wonder: Why? Peralta's range at shortstop is limited, and third requires an element of quickness and instinctiveness Peralta lacks.
If the Indians find a second baseman, great, move him. But if they don't, I'd leave Peralta where he is.
Or trade him while his value is high for a reliable starting pitcher.
• The Indians are counting on Jake Westbrook returning after Tommy John elbow surgery. Projections don't have him back until July, though.
• Wedge pointed out that early in the season, Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez were hurt and Asdrubal Cabrera was in the minors. ''That's the two-three-four hole hitters,'' Wedge said.
• Josh Barfield does not seem to be in the smallest of the team's plans.
• Wedge said four relievers are pretty much certain to be in the team's bullpen in 2009: Rafael Betancourt, Jensen Lewis, Masa Kobayashi and Rafael Perez.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Posted 08:28 AM, 10/05/2008
The only reason Kobayashi will be in the bullpen next season is because he does not have major league stuff. Trade him for some A player who can fill in in the minors and free up a roster spot.
Naples, FL
Posted 09:00 AM, 10/05/2008
Pat. Thank you for finally giving a few "facts" regarding the Luis Isaac firing. The Cleveland media had done a hatchet job on the Indians front office regaring this issue based on zero facts, just emotion because the beat reporters and fans had gotten to know and like Isaac due to his long tenure with the Tribe. Never did Wedge or Shapiro try to make Isaac a scapegoat for the failing bullpen and never did they day a bad word about him. Now we find Shapiro did offer him another position. I think Paul Hoynes and Bill Livingston at another local paper should print an apology for their yellow journalism.
Posted 10:52 AM, 10/05/2008
This is just a guess---and possibly, therefore, an irresponsible one at that---but I'm wondering if Isaac wasn't canned for being a "leak," a media informant, an "inside source" the brass wanted silenced. Just a hunch.
Posted 11:53 AM, 10/05/2008
Geoffrey, he was "offered" another position? As what, a towel boy? What in the world are you talking about? OBVIOUSLY, he was made one of the scapegoats. Low-class.
Posted 02:25 PM, 10/05/2008
Vickers Blocks Catches and Runs...SAYS YOU...
1) He is a good run blocker, but at best average as a pass blocker..He is not quite quick enough to get over to a rusher that is not coming right at him..
2) Reciever...in the o6..07 and 08 seasons his numbers are 19 catches for 151 yards 7.9 yards per catch...
...Wright in the same period..32 for 10.3 per catch
...Harrison in the same period..14 for 113..7.1 yrds per catch....although most of his Catches was in 06 his rookie year... the last 2 years Harrison is 5 catches for 66 yrds..12.1 per catch.
VICKERS Rushing...Last 3 years..23 for 65 yards
2.8 per carry...Think he has earned a lot more carries?
WRIGHT Rushing...129 for 500 yards..3.87
HARRISON Rushing 48 for 224...4.75 per carry....In the last two years Harrison is averaging 5.8 per Carry...NOTE: I mention Harrisons last two years because he has gained about 15 lbs of muscle in those years and it has made a big difference in all facets of his game.
You guys decide If Vickers should be getting more carries or Catches. Or maybe Harrison and Wright should be in the game a little/lot more.
Posted 07:11 AM, 10/06/2008
Roy Wrote:
"Vickers Blocks Catches and Runs...SAYS YOU...
1) He is a good run blocker, but at best average as a pass blocker..He is not quite quick enough to get over to a rusher that is not coming right at him..
2) Reciever...in the o6..07 and 08 seasons his numbers are 19 catches for 151 yards 7.9 yards per catch...
...Wright in the same period..32 for 10.3 per catch
...Harrison in the same period..14 for 113..7.1 yrds per catch....although most of his Catches was in 06 his rookie year... the last 2 years Harrison is 5 catches for 66 yrds..12.1 per catch.
VICKERS Rushing...Last 3 years..23 for 65 yards
2.8 per carry...Think he has earned a lot more carries?
WRIGHT Rushing...129 for 500 yards..3.87
HARRISON Rushing 48 for 224...4.75 per carry....In the last two years Harrison is averaging 5.8 per Carry...NOTE: I mention Harrisons last two years because he has gained about 15 lbs of muscle in those years and it has made a big difference in all facets of his game.
You guys decide If Vickers should be getting more carries or Catches. Or maybe Harrison and Wright should be in the game a little/lot more."
Hey Roy,
VICKERS IS A FB! Way to prove you're a moron for comparing him to two different halfbacks. Vickers is a fine FB who is more versitile than most in the league. He is an above average FB.
You're a dolt.
Posted 10:30 AM, 10/06/2008
Keep it together folks! We're building off of the fourth quarter of last week's game. You're going to see a gigantic change come Monday, 13th.
We will see a heavy dose of Lewis & Harrison , the new 1-2 punch in Cleveland, to wear down our opposing defenses. You will see vickers catching short passes out of the backfield too, when he's not laying rushers and D-linemen on their asses. This is going to all open up the pass and confidence levels of Anderson, Edwards, Winslow and finally Stallworth.
Did I mention we have the tenth best defense in the NFL? It's going to get better too. our opponets are starting to see that Hall is a big pass rushing threat. That will take some double coverege off of Wimbley. Rogers looks awesome and Shaun Smith is coming into his own. The fact that we're slowly but surley starting to dominate the trenches is going to make our DB's jobs alot easier. Adams too is looking like a stud. Will we keep him in when Sean Jones is back. that's a pair of studly safetys.
Lets not forget that a 100% Cribbs and the special teams should start to give us better field position as well.
I'm optimistic as hell! I think we're going to see the Browns from 07-08 and then some come Monday, Oct.13.
GO BROWNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted 06:42 AM, 10/07/2008
As long as RC is head coach and Savage remains the GM, DON'T expect must improvement! This team will be lucky to win 5 games.
Posted 10:02 AM, 10/08/2008
"If the Browns play better, a 9-7 record that wins the division is not out of the question."
What? Are you on something Pat? The Browns will be lucky to be 4-10 this year. They have (as you pointed out) a killer schedule. They are not motivated, have a lousy head coach, have too many injuries, have a mediocre starting QB, have a declining running back, get no pressure on the opposing QB, etc., etc., etc.
I see 3-13 as realistic, anything better is gravy. They should fire Romeo now and start the rebuilding process again so that they are ready to go next year. This year is a lost cause no matter what they do as long as Romeo is the HC.
I love the Browns, but I know a lousy team when I see it ... 9-7 ... now way!
