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Do IT this week: Layering
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 05:44 p.m. EST, Nov 21, 2009
BEREA: Saturday will mark two years since former General Manager Phil Savage infamously boasted that it didn't matter whether Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson was the Browns' quarterback, because ''it's a pretty enviable cockpit to be riding in.''
Now the cockpit is bare.
Twenty-four months ago, Savage cited a solid front line, a very motivated tight end in Kellen Winslow, big-time production from receivers Braylon Edwards, Joe Jurevicius on the perimeter and a pretty solid running game.
Now all three of the aforementioned pass catchers are gone. Third-down receiving standout Jurevicius was a few games away from the end of his career, his right knee ravaged by a 2008 staph infection that forced him into retirement. Tight end Winslow and No. 1 receiver Edwards were traded this year by coach Eric Mangini. The running game ranks 26th in the league, and starting running back Jamal Lewis doesn't care whether he plays or not in the rest of his final season. The right side of the offensive line is usually overmatched, especially tackle John St. Clair.
Now it's all about dubious anniversaries and embarrassing numbers.
Nov. 2, 2008 — The last touchdown by a wide receiver (Edwards, 28 yards from Anderson against the Baltimore Ravens).
Nov. 17, 2008 — The last touchdown by a running back (James Harrison's 72-yard run against the Bills at Buffalo).
Or as far as numbers:
5 — Offensive touchdowns during a 15-game stretch, fewest in the league since 1950, according to STATS LLC.
8.7 — Browns' scoring average, the third-lowest in the league since 1950, also according to STATS LLC. The only teams lower were the 1977 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7.4) and the 1974 Atlanta Falcons (7.9).
36 — The number of points the Browns would have to score in each of the last seven games to reach the 331 the New Orleans Saints have already totaled. Even then, the Browns would be one point short.
78 — Points scored by the Browns this year.
140 — The NFL record for the fewest points in a 16-game season, set by the Seattle Seahawks in 1992.
161 — The Browns' record for fewest points in a 16-game season, set in 2000.
It all adds up to a 1-8 record and Mangini fighting to save his job going into the game against the Lions today in Detroit.
The statistics are so bad, they're impossible to ignore.
''[Shoot], I live it. It's not good enough,'' offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said Friday. ''It's not like we're not trying. We're trying our [tails] off, trust me. It's not to the point where you're going to be hiding underneath the table. You've got to wake up the next day and go out there and fight. We've got to execute.''
The players are just as conscious of their laughingstock-of-the-league status.
''Is that what we averaged?,'' receiver Mike Furrey said, then laughed, when told of the Browns' 2.1 average per pass attempt Monday against the Ravens.
''Numbers don't lie. That's the reality of where we are right now until we do something about it,'' right guard Rex Hadnot said.
''You'd be blind not to be aware of it,'' rookie receiver Mohamed Massaquoi said. ''You might not want to acknowledge it, but it's real and it's something we have to turn around. We have no choice but to get better. There's not too much we can do worse than what we've done.''
Fullback Lawrence Vickers didn't mince words, either.
''You want to call it extra bad, little bad, however you want to call it, bad is bad,'' Vickers said. ''If we're not doing the things we need to do and we're not winning, then that's bad.''
Mangini said Thursday the Browns have had ''plenty of opportunities'' to move the ball and that there have been ''a lot of different reasons why it hasn't happened.'' Here are a few of them:
Rookie offensive coordinator
Daboll spent the previous seven years coaching New York Jets quarterbacks (two seasons) and New England Patriots wide receivers. It's a huge leap to coordinator, especially when the talent is limited and Mangini seems unwilling to take risks. Against the Ravens on Monday, the offense looked like the final days of hall of fame-bound tight end Ozzie Newsome's career, when the Browns would throw a 2-yard pass to keep alive Newsome's streak of consecutive games with a catch.
Daboll seems like a genuine good guy, not at all in the mold of the despised Maurice Carthon, who coached the offense under Romeo Crennel. But when Daboll falls into the run-run-pass philosophy, it only puts more pressure on the underachieving group, especially its rookie receivers. Some things have defied logic, like continuing to use Joshua Cribbs in the Wildcat when down 16 points in the third quarter against the Ravens or throwing two Hail Marys to Cribbs instead of Massaquoi.
Sometimes the play-calling has been so predictable that it's a wonder fans haven't developed a drinking game around it. Oops, sorry for contributing to the delinquency of the downtrodden.
Weak offensive staff
Tim Couch raved about quarterbacks coach Carl Smith earlier this season, but Couch's passer rating never climbed out of the 70s when Smith previously worked for the Browns from 2001-03. Now under Smith, Quinn and Anderson both have regressed, and it's not for lack of pregame preparation by either player. In February, George McDonald was hired as the offensive quality-control coach, an entry-level job breaking down film, then was promoted to receivers coach in May, when Mangini found no other candidates. The struggling receiving corps might have been better served if he had found a veteran assistant or even an ex-player like running backs coach Gary Brown.
Quarterbacks hit rock bottom
Anderson's 66.5 rating in 10 games (nine starts) in 2008 looks Tom Bradyesque compared with Anderson's 36.2 this season. His completion percentage plummeted to 42.9, with nine interceptions and two touchdowns (although he has the team's two lone rushing touchdowns). He's 14-18 as a starter during the past four seasons and has proved he's not the answer. He might have fared better if Mangini had gone to the no-huddle with him instead of Quinn. Anderson is a rhythm passer who has a tendency to get down on himself when he makes a mistake. Less time to think about it in between plays might help.
Quinn was handed the job he always wanted out of training camp and held it for 10 quarters, then regained it against the Ravens. He has fallen to 1-6 as a starter in two years, with the lone victory in 2008 in Buffalo. But the most stunning thing about Quinn is that while it appears he doesn't have the arm to throw deep, he's inaccurate on the short throws, as well. He can throw high and outside to Massaquoi standing still in warm-ups. Of course, it's hard to imagine dreaming of playing for the Browns your whole life and how shattering it must be when it turns out like this.
No running game
The Browns missed the boat in 2008, when several running backs could have been drafted after the first round like Ray Rice (Ravens, second round), Matt Forte (Chicago Bears, second round), Steve Slaton (Houston Texans, third round) and Kevin Smith Lions, third round). But Savage had traded away the Browns' picks in the first three rounds for Quinn and defensive linemen Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers.
That left the Browns this year with Lewis, 30; James Harrison, still struggling to pick up the blitz in his fourth year; and Chris Jennings, a Canadian Football League product who is powerfully built and just now being tested. It's no wonder the running game ranks 26th, especially since Lewis isn't buying in to Mangini's system.
Winslow, Edwards traded
Getting a second-round pick for Winslow in February seemed like a good deal, especially since his oft-repaired right knee is a ticking time bomb. It took half of the Browns' staff last season to manage the crises Winslow created. But the remaining members of the tight-end corps are slow and without a threat an opponent must game-plan around.
Dealing away Edwards to the Jets on Oct. 7 for a third-round pick, receiver Chansi Stuckey, linebacker Jason Trusnik and another undisclosed pick now seems ill-timed, leaving the Browns without a No. 1 receiver. Mangini must have figured Edwards was a reclamation project not worth the effort. Perhaps he was, at least for 2009.
Offensive line woes
Daboll said part of the reason for the Browns' short passing game, especially Monday, was a matter of pass protection. ''It's a function of protection, too, of being able to hold up and throw it a little deeper downfield,'' he said. St. Clair, the right tackle, has been the weakest link. Another blow was the knee injury suffered by right guard Rex Hadnot on Aug. 6, forcing Floyd Womack and backup center Hank Fraley into action there. Rookie center Alex Mack might be improving but still has a ways to go. Even left guard Eric Steinbach has been beaten for sacks. It's hard to score when two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas is the only consistent player.
Turnovers
The Browns are minus-13 in takeaway/giveaway ratio, and Mangini cites this as his biggest disappointment. Their 25 giveaways are a league high, and only four teams are in the 20s (they're joined by Chicago, Carolina and Oakland).
Sack-fumble-touchdown might have seemed like a good joke when it was Todd Philcox replacing Bernie Kosar in 1993. Now it seems like the only piece missing from this offensive nightmare.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/. Follow the Browns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Browns.
BEREA: Saturday will mark two years since former General Manager Phil Savage infamously boasted that it didn't matter whether Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson was the Browns' quarterback, because ''it's a pretty enviable cockpit to be riding in.''
Now the cockpit is bare.
Twenty-four months ago, Savage cited a solid front line, a very motivated tight end in Kellen Winslow, big-time production from receivers Braylon Edwards, Joe Jurevicius on the perimeter and a pretty solid running game.
Now all three of the aforementioned pass catchers are gone. Third-down receiving standout Jurevicius was a few games away from the end of his career, his right knee ravaged by a 2008 staph infection that forced him into retirement. Tight end Winslow and No. 1 receiver Edwards were traded this year by coach Eric Mangini. The running game ranks 26th in the league, and starting running back Jamal Lewis doesn't care whether he plays or not in the rest of his final season. The right side of the offensive line is usually overmatched, especially tackle John St. Clair.
Now it's all about dubious anniversaries and embarrassing numbers.
Nov. 2, 2008 — The last touchdown by a wide receiver (Edwards, 28 yards from Anderson against the Baltimore Ravens).
Nov. 17, 2008 — The last touchdown by a running back (James Harrison's 72-yard run against the Bills at Buffalo).
Or as far as numbers:
5 — Offensive touchdowns during a 15-game stretch, fewest in the league since 1950, according to STATS LLC.
8.7 — Browns' scoring average, the third-lowest in the league since 1950, also according to STATS LLC. The only teams lower were the 1977 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7.4) and the 1974 Atlanta Falcons (7.9).
36 — The number of points the Browns would have to score in each of the last seven games to reach the 331 the New Orleans Saints have already totaled. Even then, the Browns would be one point short.
78 — Points scored by the Browns this year.
140 — The NFL record for the fewest points in a 16-game season, set by the Seattle Seahawks in 1992.
161 — The Browns' record for fewest points in a 16-game season, set in 2000.
It all adds up to a 1-8 record and Mangini fighting to save his job going into the game against the Lions today in Detroit.
The statistics are so bad, they're impossible to ignore.
''[Shoot], I live it. It's not good enough,'' offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said Friday. ''It's not like we're not trying. We're trying our [tails] off, trust me. It's not to the point where you're going to be hiding underneath the table. You've got to wake up the next day and go out there and fight. We've got to execute.''
The players are just as conscious of their laughingstock-of-the-league status.
''Is that what we averaged?,'' receiver Mike Furrey said, then laughed, when told of the Browns' 2.1 average per pass attempt Monday against the Ravens.
''Numbers don't lie. That's the reality of where we are right now until we do something about it,'' right guard Rex Hadnot said.
''You'd be blind not to be aware of it,'' rookie receiver Mohamed Massaquoi said. ''You might not want to acknowledge it, but it's real and it's something we have to turn around. We have no choice but to get better. There's not too much we can do worse than what we've done.''
Fullback Lawrence Vickers didn't mince words, either.
''You want to call it extra bad, little bad, however you want to call it, bad is bad,'' Vickers said. ''If we're not doing the things we need to do and we're not winning, then that's bad.''
Mangini said Thursday the Browns have had ''plenty of opportunities'' to move the ball and that there have been ''a lot of different reasons why it hasn't happened.'' Here are a few of them:
Rookie offensive coordinator
Daboll spent the previous seven years coaching New York Jets quarterbacks (two seasons) and New England Patriots wide receivers. It's a huge leap to coordinator, especially when the talent is limited and Mangini seems unwilling to take risks. Against the Ravens on Monday, the offense looked like the final days of hall of fame-bound tight end Ozzie Newsome's career, when the Browns would throw a 2-yard pass to keep alive Newsome's streak of consecutive games with a catch.
Daboll seems like a genuine good guy, not at all in the mold of the despised Maurice Carthon, who coached the offense under Romeo Crennel. But when Daboll falls into the run-run-pass philosophy, it only puts more pressure on the underachieving group, especially its rookie receivers. Some things have defied logic, like continuing to use Joshua Cribbs in the Wildcat when down 16 points in the third quarter against the Ravens or throwing two Hail Marys to Cribbs instead of Massaquoi.
Sometimes the play-calling has been so predictable that it's a wonder fans haven't developed a drinking game around it. Oops, sorry for contributing to the delinquency of the downtrodden.
Weak offensive staff
Tim Couch raved about quarterbacks coach Carl Smith earlier this season, but Couch's passer rating never climbed out of the 70s when Smith previously worked for the Browns from 2001-03. Now under Smith, Quinn and Anderson both have regressed, and it's not for lack of pregame preparation by either player. In February, George McDonald was hired as the offensive quality-control coach, an entry-level job breaking down film, then was promoted to receivers coach in May, when Mangini found no other candidates. The struggling receiving corps might have been better served if he had found a veteran assistant or even an ex-player like running backs coach Gary Brown.
Quarterbacks hit rock bottom
Anderson's 66.5 rating in 10 games (nine starts) in 2008 looks Tom Bradyesque compared with Anderson's 36.2 this season. His completion percentage plummeted to 42.9, with nine interceptions and two touchdowns (although he has the team's two lone rushing touchdowns). He's 14-18 as a starter during the past four seasons and has proved he's not the answer. He might have fared better if Mangini had gone to the no-huddle with him instead of Quinn. Anderson is a rhythm passer who has a tendency to get down on himself when he makes a mistake. Less time to think about it in between plays might help.
Quinn was handed the job he always wanted out of training camp and held it for 10 quarters, then regained it against the Ravens. He has fallen to 1-6 as a starter in two years, with the lone victory in 2008 in Buffalo. But the most stunning thing about Quinn is that while it appears he doesn't have the arm to throw deep, he's inaccurate on the short throws, as well. He can throw high and outside to Massaquoi standing still in warm-ups. Of course, it's hard to imagine dreaming of playing for the Browns your whole life and how shattering it must be when it turns out like this.
No running game
The Browns missed the boat in 2008, when several running backs could have been drafted after the first round like Ray Rice (Ravens, second round), Matt Forte (Chicago Bears, second round), Steve Slaton (Houston Texans, third round) and Kevin Smith Lions, third round). But Savage had traded away the Browns' picks in the first three rounds for Quinn and defensive linemen Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers.
That left the Browns this year with Lewis, 30; James Harrison, still struggling to pick up the blitz in his fourth year; and Chris Jennings, a Canadian Football League product who is powerfully built and just now being tested. It's no wonder the running game ranks 26th, especially since Lewis isn't buying in to Mangini's system.
Winslow, Edwards traded
Getting a second-round pick for Winslow in February seemed like a good deal, especially since his oft-repaired right knee is a ticking time bomb. It took half of the Browns' staff last season to manage the crises Winslow created. But the remaining members of the tight-end corps are slow and without a threat an opponent must game-plan around.
Dealing away Edwards to the Jets on Oct. 7 for a third-round pick, receiver Chansi Stuckey, linebacker Jason Trusnik and another undisclosed pick now seems ill-timed, leaving the Browns without a No. 1 receiver. Mangini must have figured Edwards was a reclamation project not worth the effort. Perhaps he was, at least for 2009.
Offensive line woes
Daboll said part of the reason for the Browns' short passing game, especially Monday, was a matter of pass protection. ''It's a function of protection, too, of being able to hold up and throw it a little deeper downfield,'' he said. St. Clair, the right tackle, has been the weakest link. Another blow was the knee injury suffered by right guard Rex Hadnot on Aug. 6, forcing Floyd Womack and backup center Hank Fraley into action there. Rookie center Alex Mack might be improving but still has a ways to go. Even left guard Eric Steinbach has been beaten for sacks. It's hard to score when two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas is the only consistent player.
Turnovers
The Browns are minus-13 in takeaway/giveaway ratio, and Mangini cites this as his biggest disappointment. Their 25 giveaways are a league high, and only four teams are in the 20s (they're joined by Chicago, Carolina and Oakland).
Sack-fumble-touchdown might have seemed like a good joke when it was Todd Philcox replacing Bernie Kosar in 1993. Now it seems like the only piece missing from this offensive nightmare.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/. Follow the Browns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Browns.
Comments
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cuyahoga falls, oh
Posted 07:07 PM, 11/21/2009
This is eric mangooni's brownie's legacy...have we ever had anyone more incompetent in coaching? not even nick skorich was this egotistically absurd in failure...fire the goonie now, mr.lerner....then, get a mirror, figure out who has given power to the goonie squads, and then hire someone with browns tradition as a background, like cowher or marty, and get the heck out of the way.
Kent, Oh
Posted 09:48 PM, 11/21/2009
How can Mangini coach a total of 9 games and be the reason for losing 8 of them? I think this goes back more than just a few years when we could've had Tomlison instead of the worthless Gérard Warren or Adrian Peterson whom we also passed up. The draft picks have been horrible, and who picks a center as a first-round pick? We've had two of them, Mack and that other guy that plays for the New Orleans Saints. The reason for losing goes deep and you can't just blame the head coach for everything. Mouths like Jamaal Lewis don't help the team that's already struggling especially when he's averaging less than 3 yards a carry. We already got rid of two of the biggest mouths in football and I don't have to tell you they are. Keep on riding Winslow and nice catch Braylon. I'm pretty disgusted with my team. Still a fan-go Browns!
cleveland, oh
Posted 10:08 PM, 11/21/2009
eric mandummy gutted the team and he let go all of the 2008 draft picks that we had who is left from last years draft ? do anyone know ? did he even studie the guys we drafted last year this is the dummest shi@#$%^ i have ever seen. hey mr. lerner the dummmy gutted your team !
cuyahoga falls, oh
Posted 10:20 PM, 11/21/2009
number one fact: the coach is responsible when he pulls a bill beli-ache move and guts the team with no adequate replacements, and the dumping of brennan, slaughter, kosar-style kaboshing hasn't happened since that individual nut was in charge...there has been more foul moves and high school offensive strategies than one could imagine even if they hated the Browns, and i don't...if he had scored more than the pathetic stats tell us, had they been competitive in any of these losses, then maybe its something else: it isn't.
who cares if he's fired? anyone could do as well, even my mother, and she's deceased. his record and "accomplishments" speak the truth about his ability.
WADSWORTH, OH
Posted 03:13 AM, 11/22/2009
Just throw the remaining games and put all the 3rd stringers in.Lets see who has the blood,sweat and tears to remain a browns player like Rodgers and Cribbs.
Lefty Lemmingville, Oh
Posted 08:00 AM, 11/22/2009
.....and this is a coaching problem?! "he works us too hard, sometimes 2 - 3 hours a day.....how cn we be ready for Sunday?"
Buncha PU55IES!
Posted 08:17 AM, 11/22/2009
Yeah, you canned Belechick too, and seems like he's done ok for himself. You guys have got to realize that our team is made up of inadequate players. This is a rebuild, and if you give the guy time, he just might get us back where we belong; on top! Now lets quit the fire talk and get with the lets rebuild scheme. Gee, and I'm really sorry if this bunch of yoyo's can't make it through a couple hours or so of practice. Seems like a "heart" problem not a coach problem.
Akronicity, OH
Posted 09:33 AM, 11/22/2009
"Browns' roster nearly devoid of consistent players"....
That is not the only thing of which they are devoid!
akron, oh
Posted 10:44 AM, 11/22/2009
"Browns' roster nearly devoid of consistent players"....
The "consistant players" we've let go of: Braylon Edwards consistantly DROPPED the ball. Winslow was consistantly hurt.
laughlin, nv
Posted 10:58 AM, 11/22/2009
You so called Browns fans If you know anything about Football you would remember the Cowboys first ten years is something like the Browns But giving a chance E M will improve this team. The defense is starting to come around and the offense should start jelling
Akron, OH
Posted 03:22 PM, 11/22/2009
browns2030,
If those players from the 2008 draft were so good, why is one out of football (Beau Bell) and one just on the practice squad of another team (Martin Rucker)? If they were so good, I'd think they'd be on an active roster seeing some PT on Sunday.
Akron, Oh
Posted 05:39 PM, 11/22/2009
Dump Eric Man-doopy...
Marla....For the love of god please stop talking about the fact that we traded Edwards left us without a WR weapon....He stopped being a weapon two years ago. For us he turned into a ball dropping bust, we should have dumped him last year.
Akron, Oh
Posted 05:41 PM, 11/22/2009
Mangini is a total failure,
He failed at the Pats as an assistant
He failed at the Jets
He has failed at EVERYTHING he has done here....EVERYTHING.
The bills dumped their loser in the middle of the season why can't we? It will not get any worse
akron, oh
Posted 06:55 PM, 11/22/2009
I heard a story today about Mangini and his anger at Robiske that will cost him his job, more than anything else he has done wrong. I will share when
I can verify.
Akron, OH
Posted 10:06 PM, 11/22/2009
stleo,
Verification? We don't need no stinkin' verification. Since when does anybody verify anything before posting? Come on, whatcha got?
