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In This Section
Browns terminate Stallworth's contract
Colts kicker Matt Stover, 42, is oldest player in Super Bowl history
Browns, Dolphins make unusual trade
Holmgren dislikes quarterback battles
Cavs' hoops throw Bryant for a loop
Winfield won't let pain intercept playoff chance
NFL title games include several players with local ties
Most Read Stories
Man robbed at Tallmadge Avenue eatery
Another winter punch heading toward Ohio
Four teens restrain man, take items from his Akron home
Complaints against officer keep coming
Police: Ohio girl dies after fall into snow bank
Region makes way for latest batch of snow; cancellations rise
Cuyahoga Falls residents come home to find burning couch on balcony
Blogs:
First Bell - On Education:
No City of Akron basketball tonight
Pets:
Pet telethon re-airs
The Heldenfiles:
Chipmunks "Squeakquel" on DVD/BD March 30
Akron Zips:
Late surge gives Zips ugly road win
Tribe Matters:
Blogmail response on Hafner
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth's contract terminated
Balanced Ledger:
QB in Browns future: another mock draft
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – February 9
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
Varsity Letters:
Garfield at Buchtel basketball
All Da King's Men:
Palin At The Tea Party Convention
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Republican Pre-Conditions
Akron Law Café:
Citizens United v. F.E.C. (Part 4): Kennedy's and O'Connor's Basic Approaches to Constitutional Decisionmaking – Top Down and Bottom Up
Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
Sound Check:
Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
Track HR Research
Akron Gamer:
Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
POSTED: 06:30 p.m. EST, Dec 08, 2007
So let's see if we have this right.
Anderson Varejao holds out for all this time because he wants the big deal, anywhere from $9 million to $11 million per season depending on whom you want to believe.
He rejects the Cavaliers' three-year offer for somewhere in the $6 million range, and rejects a five-year offer for $35 million.
He says that's not enough for his talents.
He also says he's not signing for the ‘‘mid-level exception’’ (someday I want to be a ‘‘mid-level exception’’) because the Cavs will match the offer and he'll be underpaid.
He misses more than a month of the season.
Then he blasts his organization and General Manager Danny Ferry while questioning why he's paid less than teammates he has outperformed.
Shortly after, he signs for the ‘‘mid-level exception’’ (who in the world comes up with these terms?), a contract worth $17 million for three years.
In real terms, it's a two-year deal worth $5.5 million per year because Varejao can get out of the deal and become a free agent after two years.
So the Cavs get Varejao for two years at a little below the price they offered, and they get to determine if they want him to be part of the long-term future
What, then, did Varejao get out of the deal?
Well, here's what: He gets two years to prove he is the $9 million player he thought he was, to prove he's an All-Star type who deserves All-Star money.
Varejao brings many things to the Cavs. He's an active big man who plays defense.
But he has not been an offensive force, and last season he averaged six points and six rebounds, which still adds up to 12.
It's also hard to shake the memory of him taking that wild, spinning, twisting, whatever-it-was drive late in Game 3 of the NBA Finals last season, a Tasmanian Devil type move that left a scoop shot six feet short.
There's talent, but there's a way to go.
So essentially the Cavs got Varejao back, filled a need and did it for less money than they had offered to spend.
And Varejao got the deal he refused in the first place.
How's that work again?
Varejao does make the Cavs more complete. Whether he's ready to play immediately remains to be seen, but it does help put the pieces back together.
Just like it helped when Sasha Pavlovic signed just before the season started.
The holdouts hurt the team, but there was money to be made. At least the Cavs have their players.
Well, some of their players.
Look down the bench and there's quite a list of injured guys.
Starting with LeBron James. Since he has been hurt the Cavs aren't just losing, they're getting blown out. The average deficit in the games they lost with James out, including the game in which he was injured, is 19 points.
Before James was hurt, the Cavs had just beaten the Boston Celtics to move to 9-5. This happened after that brutal early West Coast trip.
Apparently the ‘‘M-V-P’’ chant that was heard when the Celtics were in town was not done inaccurately.
Judge this team with James on the court. Add Varejao and wait for Larry Hughes and Donyell Marshall to get healthy and then the team will be complete.
At that point it will be fair to judge this team.
And at that point, it's not unreasonable to think that they will compete to win the East just like they did last season.
If the Cavs started 9-6 with James and without Varejao, Hughes and Marshall, and they went 0-4 when James was added to the injury list, it's pretty clear that the Cavs’ key to succeeding this season is to keep James healthy.
It's also pretty clear that as long as he's on the court, the Cavs have a chance.
BROWNS THOUGHTS
The Browns produced a lot of local angst last week in Arizona.
Their silly plays were not pretty, but let's also be honest: Did anyone not drinking spiked eggnog really believe that the Browns would run the table and finish 12-4?
The notion was really preposterous.
So the Browns lost one game, and there was some internal muttering that perhaps it was a good thing. That perhaps they were getting a little full of themselves and needed to come back to reality and realize that it takes attention to detail to win.
Time will tell if that message got through.
We're not supposed to talk about the playoffs ` that's what the players said ` but let's do it anyway.
With a month to go, the Browns face the New York Jets (3-9), Buffalo Bills (6-6), Cincinnati Bengals (4-8) and San Francisco 49ers (3-9).
A playoff spot probably will take 10 wins; the Browns must win three-of-four to finish 10-6.
The toughest game will be against the Bills, who are 6-6 despite scoring 90 points fewer than they give up (facing the New England Patriots twice throws that ratio off kilter ` the Patriots have outscored the Bills by 77 points).
But if the Browns handle the Bills, they'll have done serious damage to one of the teams they are trying to beat for the final wild-card spot ` assuming that the Jacksonville Jaguars get the first, which isn't an unreasonable assumption.
If they don't beat the Bills, things get tougher but not impossible, because three wins over losing teams still should get the Browns in the playoffs.
The Tennessee Titans’ remaining schedule is much tougher than the Browns. The Titans face the San Diego Chargers today, then finish the season against the Indianapolis Colts. In between they play the Kansas City Chiefs and the Jets.
The Bills have the Miami Dolphins, the Browns, the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles, which is not easy either.
Clearly, on paper, the Browns have the easiest schedule of those three teams.
But if they lose today, they make a complete mess of things. And if the Arizona Cardinals showed anything, it's that a win is not a given. Two of the Jets' three wins this season have come in the past three games (over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dolphins).
For some reason, the Browns have found it tough to win on the road this season. Their 2-4 mark really drags things down ` though had they won last week it would have been 3-3.
Bottom line: The Browns pretty much have their fate in their hands.
But they can't mess things up by losing today.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
-- Defense will be the reason if the Browns don't make the playoffs.
They rank at or near the bottom in every major category.
The Browns rank last in total defense (388.9 yards per game), last in scoring defense (28.2 points per game), 30th in passing defense (258.4 yards) and 28th in rushing defense (131.5 yards).
What best way to measure the defense's ineffectiveness?
The Browns are giving up 5.7 yards per play.
That's ridiculous.
Just like it's ridiculous that teams are averaging four touchdowns per game against the Browns.
The Browns have survived thus far in spite of their defense, which is absurdly bad.
But the scary part is that eventually weaknesses are exposed.
-- Is Donald Rumsfeld still looking for a job?
-- Kellen Winslow's noncatch at the end of last week's game sure looked like a catch and force out, but the ruling on the field was incomplete.
According to NFL vice president Greg Aiello, to rule force out, the official has to determine three things: a catch; a clear push as opposed to just playing the ball; the receiver would have landed in bounds.
Supervisor of officials Mike Pereira said through Aiello the play met the first two criteria.
‘‘But (Pereira said) it's impossible to tell from the video whether the receiver would have landed with both feet in bounds,’’ Aiello said via e-mail.
Thus, the play was not reviewable.
-- Pity, because that catch would have lived a long time in Browns lore.
-- Had the Ohio E-Check last week, and sat in a long line of cars waiting to get in. All had their engines running. Someday, someone must do a study on how much gas is wasted and how much harm that does to the environment having all those cars running while waiting for their environmental check.
Won't be me, though.
-- The Detroit Tigers, on paper, have to be the favorite in the American League Central Division now that they've acquired Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Cabrera can hit anywhere, and Willis has a 68-54 career record.
Imagine Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez together in the lineup . . . well . . . don't imagine it.
-- The Indians, meanwhile, have yet to make a move beyond adding reliever Masahide Kobayashi to the bullpen and utility infielder Jamey Carroll.
‘‘I think that the best way for us to get better is to have the guys that we're bringing back be better,’’ Indians manager Eric Wedge told reporters at the winter meetings. ‘‘With our youth and our core and with the people that we're bringing back, my focus and our focus should be to the players we have and concentrate on them being better. If we can do that, then I think that will help us more than anything we do.’’
-- Wedge also said that Asdrubal Cabrera will stay at second base. There had been thinking he is a better defensive shortstop, but he was so good at second the Indians will leave him there.
-- Andy Marte will make the team as a utility infielder, Wedge said. Marte has been playing first and third in winter ball.
That pretty much puts Casey Blake solidly at third.
-- Anyone wonder why Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan called timeout Monday night on that fourth-down play against the New England Patriots? He had a defense on the field that had only one lineman, and the Patriots had lined up with a heavy unit.
-- Ryan didn't know his defense would make the stop, but it does kind of highlight how silly it is when coaches call these timeouts on the sideline. The players were ready, but the coach had to try to control it.
-- The reaction of some of the Ravens was a bit over the top, though, especially Corey Ivy gesturing and yelling at coach Brian Billick. I mean, who the heck is Corey Ivy?
-- I still wonder what happened to the bird flu.
-- Until next time . . . there you have it.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com.
So let's see if we have this right.
Anderson Varejao holds out for all this time because he wants the big deal, anywhere from $9 million to $11 million per season depending on whom you want to believe.
He rejects the Cavaliers' three-year offer for somewhere in the $6 million range, and rejects a five-year offer for $35 million.
He says that's not enough for his talents.
He also says he's not signing for the ‘‘mid-level exception’’ (someday I want to be a ‘‘mid-level exception’’) because the Cavs will match the offer and he'll be underpaid.
He misses more than a month of the season.
Then he blasts his organization and General Manager Danny Ferry while questioning why he's paid less than teammates he has outperformed.
Shortly after, he signs for the ‘‘mid-level exception’’ (who in the world comes up with these terms?), a contract worth $17 million for three years.
In real terms, it's a two-year deal worth $5.5 million per year because Varejao can get out of the deal and become a free agent after two years.
So the Cavs get Varejao for two years at a little below the price they offered, and they get to determine if they want him to be part of the long-term future
What, then, did Varejao get out of the deal?
Well, here's what: He gets two years to prove he is the $9 million player he thought he was, to prove he's an All-Star type who deserves All-Star money.
Varejao brings many things to the Cavs. He's an active big man who plays defense.
But he has not been an offensive force, and last season he averaged six points and six rebounds, which still adds up to 12.
It's also hard to shake the memory of him taking that wild, spinning, twisting, whatever-it-was drive late in Game 3 of the NBA Finals last season, a Tasmanian Devil type move that left a scoop shot six feet short.
There's talent, but there's a way to go.
So essentially the Cavs got Varejao back, filled a need and did it for less money than they had offered to spend.
And Varejao got the deal he refused in the first place.
How's that work again?
Varejao does make the Cavs more complete. Whether he's ready to play immediately remains to be seen, but it does help put the pieces back together.
Just like it helped when Sasha Pavlovic signed just before the season started.
The holdouts hurt the team, but there was money to be made. At least the Cavs have their players.
Well, some of their players.
Look down the bench and there's quite a list of injured guys.
Starting with LeBron James. Since he has been hurt the Cavs aren't just losing, they're getting blown out. The average deficit in the games they lost with James out, including the game in which he was injured, is 19 points.
Before James was hurt, the Cavs had just beaten the Boston Celtics to move to 9-5. This happened after that brutal early West Coast trip.
Apparently the ‘‘M-V-P’’ chant that was heard when the Celtics were in town was not done inaccurately.
Judge this team with James on the court. Add Varejao and wait for Larry Hughes and Donyell Marshall to get healthy and then the team will be complete.
At that point it will be fair to judge this team.
And at that point, it's not unreasonable to think that they will compete to win the East just like they did last season.
If the Cavs started 9-6 with James and without Varejao, Hughes and Marshall, and they went 0-4 when James was added to the injury list, it's pretty clear that the Cavs’ key to succeeding this season is to keep James healthy.
It's also pretty clear that as long as he's on the court, the Cavs have a chance.
BROWNS THOUGHTS
The Browns produced a lot of local angst last week in Arizona.
Their silly plays were not pretty, but let's also be honest: Did anyone not drinking spiked eggnog really believe that the Browns would run the table and finish 12-4?
The notion was really preposterous.
So the Browns lost one game, and there was some internal muttering that perhaps it was a good thing. That perhaps they were getting a little full of themselves and needed to come back to reality and realize that it takes attention to detail to win.
Time will tell if that message got through.
We're not supposed to talk about the playoffs ` that's what the players said ` but let's do it anyway.
With a month to go, the Browns face the New York Jets (3-9), Buffalo Bills (6-6), Cincinnati Bengals (4-8) and San Francisco 49ers (3-9).
A playoff spot probably will take 10 wins; the Browns must win three-of-four to finish 10-6.
The toughest game will be against the Bills, who are 6-6 despite scoring 90 points fewer than they give up (facing the New England Patriots twice throws that ratio off kilter ` the Patriots have outscored the Bills by 77 points).
But if the Browns handle the Bills, they'll have done serious damage to one of the teams they are trying to beat for the final wild-card spot ` assuming that the Jacksonville Jaguars get the first, which isn't an unreasonable assumption.
If they don't beat the Bills, things get tougher but not impossible, because three wins over losing teams still should get the Browns in the playoffs.
The Tennessee Titans’ remaining schedule is much tougher than the Browns. The Titans face the San Diego Chargers today, then finish the season against the Indianapolis Colts. In between they play the Kansas City Chiefs and the Jets.
The Bills have the Miami Dolphins, the Browns, the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles, which is not easy either.
Clearly, on paper, the Browns have the easiest schedule of those three teams.
But if they lose today, they make a complete mess of things. And if the Arizona Cardinals showed anything, it's that a win is not a given. Two of the Jets' three wins this season have come in the past three games (over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dolphins).
For some reason, the Browns have found it tough to win on the road this season. Their 2-4 mark really drags things down ` though had they won last week it would have been 3-3.
Bottom line: The Browns pretty much have their fate in their hands.
But they can't mess things up by losing today.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
-- Defense will be the reason if the Browns don't make the playoffs.
They rank at or near the bottom in every major category.
The Browns rank last in total defense (388.9 yards per game), last in scoring defense (28.2 points per game), 30th in passing defense (258.4 yards) and 28th in rushing defense (131.5 yards).
What best way to measure the defense's ineffectiveness?
The Browns are giving up 5.7 yards per play.
That's ridiculous.
Just like it's ridiculous that teams are averaging four touchdowns per game against the Browns.
The Browns have survived thus far in spite of their defense, which is absurdly bad.
But the scary part is that eventually weaknesses are exposed.
-- Is Donald Rumsfeld still looking for a job?
-- Kellen Winslow's noncatch at the end of last week's game sure looked like a catch and force out, but the ruling on the field was incomplete.
According to NFL vice president Greg Aiello, to rule force out, the official has to determine three things: a catch; a clear push as opposed to just playing the ball; the receiver would have landed in bounds.
Supervisor of officials Mike Pereira said through Aiello the play met the first two criteria.
‘‘But (Pereira said) it's impossible to tell from the video whether the receiver would have landed with both feet in bounds,’’ Aiello said via e-mail.
Thus, the play was not reviewable.
-- Pity, because that catch would have lived a long time in Browns lore.
-- Had the Ohio E-Check last week, and sat in a long line of cars waiting to get in. All had their engines running. Someday, someone must do a study on how much gas is wasted and how much harm that does to the environment having all those cars running while waiting for their environmental check.
Won't be me, though.
-- The Detroit Tigers, on paper, have to be the favorite in the American League Central Division now that they've acquired Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Cabrera can hit anywhere, and Willis has a 68-54 career record.
Imagine Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez together in the lineup . . . well . . . don't imagine it.
-- The Indians, meanwhile, have yet to make a move beyond adding reliever Masahide Kobayashi to the bullpen and utility infielder Jamey Carroll.
‘‘I think that the best way for us to get better is to have the guys that we're bringing back be better,’’ Indians manager Eric Wedge told reporters at the winter meetings. ‘‘With our youth and our core and with the people that we're bringing back, my focus and our focus should be to the players we have and concentrate on them being better. If we can do that, then I think that will help us more than anything we do.’’
-- Wedge also said that Asdrubal Cabrera will stay at second base. There had been thinking he is a better defensive shortstop, but he was so good at second the Indians will leave him there.
-- Andy Marte will make the team as a utility infielder, Wedge said. Marte has been playing first and third in winter ball.
That pretty much puts Casey Blake solidly at third.
-- Anyone wonder why Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan called timeout Monday night on that fourth-down play against the New England Patriots? He had a defense on the field that had only one lineman, and the Patriots had lined up with a heavy unit.
-- Ryan didn't know his defense would make the stop, but it does kind of highlight how silly it is when coaches call these timeouts on the sideline. The players were ready, but the coach had to try to control it.
-- The reaction of some of the Ravens was a bit over the top, though, especially Corey Ivy gesturing and yelling at coach Brian Billick. I mean, who the heck is Corey Ivy?
-- I still wonder what happened to the bird flu.
-- Until next time . . . there you have it.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com.
