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Do IT this week: Layering
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist
POSTED: 08:38 p.m. EST, Nov 11, 2009
Memo to coach Eric Mangini, the Browns and their fans:
This isn't New England.
It's Cleveland, and the Browns are 1-and-7.
For whatever reason, folks in the NFL seem to have patented the notion that if things don't go well in one season, it's OK to go back years in your career and say things went well then.
This somehow justifies what is happening in the present season.
This practice has taken place with the Browns almost annually since 1999.
Only former coach Romeo Crennel was straightforward enough to say what happened back then didn't matter if you don't win now.
He was right.
What happened two, five or seven years ago is irrelevant.
Recently, though, interviews have come out with Mangini comparing the situation with the Browns now with the situation with the Patriots when Bill Belichick took over the team in 2000.
Mangini opened up expansively to CBSSports.com and the Boston Globe while also addressing the situation locally when asked Monday.
His point: People were ripping Belichick and the Patriots in 2000, and we turned it around there so we can turn it around here.
Ahem.
There are a few differences.
The first is the people making the picks with the Browns are Eric Mangini and TBD. With the Patriots, they were Belichick and Scott Pioli.
At that point in the turnaround, Mangini was a defensive backs coach, which last I checked is not high on the personnel totem pole.
As for the future with the Browns and picking players, anything can happen, but Mangini's first-year track record does not inspire confidence.
If we must talk about the Patriots, it also seems fair to point out the one season that Mangini was defensive coordinator there. That position allows an assistant coach to have a large effect.
In that season, 2005, the Patriots' NFL rankings in every defensive category were worse than they were in 2004.
In 2006, when Mangini went to the New York Jets, the Patriots' rankings improved in every defensive category.
But even that fudges the main issue. Crennel, after all, wanted to hire Mangini as his defensive coordinator, too.
The Patriots' turnaround happened because of one main reason: They lucked into Tom Brady in the sixth round of the 2000 draft.
If the Patriots don't stumble into a hall of fame quarterback in that late round, where are Belichick and his staff in the Pantheon of NFL geniuses?
For those who say the Patriots were smart to draft Tom Brady, I say: ''Please.''
The Patriots passed on Brady six times.
For those who say the Patriots expected this from Brady, I say, again: ''Please.'' A hall of fame quarterback in round six? You hope for it, but you don't expect it. Pure good fortune. Like Johnny Unitas trekking to the Baltimore Colts after the Pittsburgh Steelers cut him.
Brady Quinn came in with more fanfare and adulation than Tom Brady. Luck is often better than good scouting.
Too, Brady didn't play at all as a rookie, and he might not have played a lot in his second season had Drew Bledsoe not been injured.
He did, and that led to the first of three Super Bowls.
Where would the Patriots be without Brady? Last season provides a clue. Brady was hurt, Matt Cassell played, the Patriots were pretty good — but pretty good did not translate into a playoff berth.
Put the players on a chess board, and Brady is the king. Belichick and Pioli deserve credit for maneuvering the pieces around the king.
Without Brady, are they even in the playoffs all those seasons?
The Browns lack a king, but the way the Browns' remaining pieces are being used is not adding up to wins.
In reality, the team is awful. Dare we dredge up all the 30-something stats the Browns have at this point of the season?
Mangini was right about one thing — the Patriots' staff in 2000 was criticized just like the Browns are being criticized now. But what do you do when the team is lousy? Talk about how great the brown pants look?
Giving interviews to national outlets is fine, though it's oddly curious to do it at this point while the local media never got this kind of access or information or insight. Is Andre Agassi the team's media consultant?
This could be a legitimate effort to improve the team's image, but it also smacks of a frontal effort to save a job.
Here's a suggestion.
Forget the Patriots. Ban it from the lexicon. Forever.
Concentrate on winning the next game. Then maybe the next one after that. And the next one.
Because nothing will save a job faster than wins.
They just need to actually happen this week. And next week. And the next week after that?
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohio.com/mcmanamon/. Follow Pat on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/patmcmanamon.
Memo to coach Eric Mangini, the Browns and their fans:
This isn't New England.
It's Cleveland, and the Browns are 1-and-7.
For whatever reason, folks in the NFL seem to have patented the notion that if things don't go well in one season, it's OK to go back years in your career and say things went well then.
This somehow justifies what is happening in the present season.
This practice has taken place with the Browns almost annually since 1999.
Only former coach Romeo Crennel was straightforward enough to say what happened back then didn't matter if you don't win now.
He was right.
What happened two, five or seven years ago is irrelevant.
Recently, though, interviews have come out with Mangini comparing the situation with the Browns now with the situation with the Patriots when Bill Belichick took over the team in 2000.
Mangini opened up expansively to CBSSports.com and the Boston Globe while also addressing the situation locally when asked Monday.
His point: People were ripping Belichick and the Patriots in 2000, and we turned it around there so we can turn it around here.
Ahem.
There are a few differences.
The first is the people making the picks with the Browns are Eric Mangini and TBD. With the Patriots, they were Belichick and Scott Pioli.
At that point in the turnaround, Mangini was a defensive backs coach, which last I checked is not high on the personnel totem pole.
As for the future with the Browns and picking players, anything can happen, but Mangini's first-year track record does not inspire confidence.
If we must talk about the Patriots, it also seems fair to point out the one season that Mangini was defensive coordinator there. That position allows an assistant coach to have a large effect.
In that season, 2005, the Patriots' NFL rankings in every defensive category were worse than they were in 2004.
In 2006, when Mangini went to the New York Jets, the Patriots' rankings improved in every defensive category.
But even that fudges the main issue. Crennel, after all, wanted to hire Mangini as his defensive coordinator, too.
The Patriots' turnaround happened because of one main reason: They lucked into Tom Brady in the sixth round of the 2000 draft.
If the Patriots don't stumble into a hall of fame quarterback in that late round, where are Belichick and his staff in the Pantheon of NFL geniuses?
For those who say the Patriots were smart to draft Tom Brady, I say: ''Please.''
The Patriots passed on Brady six times.
For those who say the Patriots expected this from Brady, I say, again: ''Please.'' A hall of fame quarterback in round six? You hope for it, but you don't expect it. Pure good fortune. Like Johnny Unitas trekking to the Baltimore Colts after the Pittsburgh Steelers cut him.
Brady Quinn came in with more fanfare and adulation than Tom Brady. Luck is often better than good scouting.
Too, Brady didn't play at all as a rookie, and he might not have played a lot in his second season had Drew Bledsoe not been injured.
He did, and that led to the first of three Super Bowls.
Where would the Patriots be without Brady? Last season provides a clue. Brady was hurt, Matt Cassell played, the Patriots were pretty good — but pretty good did not translate into a playoff berth.
Put the players on a chess board, and Brady is the king. Belichick and Pioli deserve credit for maneuvering the pieces around the king.
Without Brady, are they even in the playoffs all those seasons?
The Browns lack a king, but the way the Browns' remaining pieces are being used is not adding up to wins.
In reality, the team is awful. Dare we dredge up all the 30-something stats the Browns have at this point of the season?
Mangini was right about one thing — the Patriots' staff in 2000 was criticized just like the Browns are being criticized now. But what do you do when the team is lousy? Talk about how great the brown pants look?
Giving interviews to national outlets is fine, though it's oddly curious to do it at this point while the local media never got this kind of access or information or insight. Is Andre Agassi the team's media consultant?
This could be a legitimate effort to improve the team's image, but it also smacks of a frontal effort to save a job.
Here's a suggestion.
Forget the Patriots. Ban it from the lexicon. Forever.
Concentrate on winning the next game. Then maybe the next one after that. And the next one.
Because nothing will save a job faster than wins.
They just need to actually happen this week. And next week. And the next week after that?
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohio.com/mcmanamon/. Follow Pat on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/patmcmanamon.
Comments
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The, US
Posted 08:49 PM, 11/11/2009
You're a crappy journalist.
This story = toilet filler
Dayton, Md
Posted 08:58 PM, 11/11/2009
Flip the Bird's assessment is much too kind. You do much better when you have had the chance to read Pluto, Grossi, Shaw, Livingston, and Steve D to get "origninal" ideas.
naples, fl
Posted 09:09 PM, 11/11/2009
Hey McManamon:
What if EVERYDAY one of your readers would call you out and told you how much you sucked at your job, and how incompetent you are, and how much better your paper would be if they FIRED YOU. Every day?
And this went on EVERY SINGLE DAY SINCE THE FIRST DAY YOU SYARTED WORKING FOR YOU PAPER !!!
Why don't you have the guts to say it to his face instead of BEHIND YOUR DESK?
You are a disgrace as a reporter !!
Anti-Politically Correct & Anti-GOP, OH
Posted 09:11 PM, 11/11/2009
Who is Steve D and what is "origninal"
Richfield, OH
Posted 09:15 PM, 11/11/2009
Wow, Pat. That's alot of anger for a failed teacher from Walsh.
Richfield, OH
Posted 09:16 PM, 11/11/2009
Pat - what is the ABJ going to do to turn around its numbers. Falling ads, declining subscriptions.
Green, Oh
Posted 09:18 PM, 11/11/2009
Get a life people.
Great artilce Pat!
Canton, OH
Posted 09:31 PM, 11/11/2009
& you are NOT Bill Belichick. . .
Canton, Oh
Posted 09:44 PM, 11/11/2009
Sometimes the truth hurts. The Browns are a very bad team. 2-14 was the season perdiction. I would like to pull a Rip Van Winkle and wake up during the Draft to see Holmgren as the VP of football operations, Rich McKay as the GM and Jon Gruden the Head Coach. Oh well back to reality, dogs need walked and I need to pick up that Brown mess in the yard afterward.
Posted 09:46 PM, 11/11/2009
Dear Pat, this is not the New York Times.
Move on, it seems like this is your topic every day. Between you and Dyer, the ABJ is becoming unreadable.
Posted 09:51 PM, 11/11/2009
Nice article, it's funny how clowns fans cannot handle any criticism of their team, even when it's rightly deserved. What do you want the writer to say? The browns suck, they're 1-7, so get a clue people.
Posted 10:13 PM, 11/11/2009
keep writin' pat.
my 10 yr old daughter just officially switched to the dark side (steeler fan) by asking for a pittsburgh jersey for christmas. i started to chastise her for this but stopped. can you really blame her? this kid hasn't seen a respectful home team her entire life. and i see no hope of that changing with the recent trades made that look more like a fire sale than a team trying to get better.
But we get mad at a guy for writing the truth in the paper? he's right, what's he suppose to write about, their uniforms? they're terrible,,,, sad but true.
"They're just not that good dad..."(says my dd). How can I argue?
I can't wait see the stadium Monday Night.
akron, oh
Posted 10:15 PM, 11/11/2009
"What do you want the writer to say? "
That he's in love with Brady Quinn
Realityville, OH
Posted 10:22 PM, 11/11/2009
Great article!!!
Realityville, OH
Posted 10:23 PM, 11/11/2009
fjblacknight
Dayton, Md
Posted 08:58 PM, 11/11/2009
Flip the Bird's assessment is much too kind. You do much better when you have had the chance to read Pluto, Grossi, Shaw, Livingston, and Steve D to get "origninal" ideas.
>All hacks...especially that suck up Pluto<
clinton, oh
Posted 11:06 PM, 11/11/2009
And this is not your fathers Oldsmobile ugh I mean football team
Akron, OH
Posted 11:12 PM, 11/11/2009
Great insight from one Pat to another, don't let the nay sayers disturb your truth....check out our Akron club, Celtic Guards Hurling Club....Rugby guys think WE ARE CRAZY......Irish Hurling, the fastest sport on earth here in Akron....Irish field hockey...better than football
Middleburg Hts., Oh
Posted 11:25 PM, 11/11/2009
You're right, this isn't the Patriots...it's the lavatory slurry dropped from 30,000 feet...from JETS.
Always In Akron, OH
Posted 04:37 AM, 11/12/2009
Pat,
Many of your 'fans' have been extremely harsh towards you. As Charles Barkley would say, "That is just terrrrrible."
I am sure that you have read some Hemingway, Steinbeck and Faulkner at some point in your life, albeit the CliffsNotes version. Therefore, I can surmise that what I am reading before me is pure genius.
Please continue to write and guide us on our path of enlightenment!
norka, OH
Posted 07:09 AM, 11/12/2009
Pat stay the course ...we KNOW the clowns have spies who post on here to try and turn things around for the public... Laugh MY A** OFF...Pat Haters look at the facts 4-12 then 9-7 hen #4 J C****T got hurt the jets fell hard now look how good the Vikes are one player CAN make a difference and BAD COACHING makes a HUUUUUUUGGGGEEEE! difference...how do explain how INEPT this team looks this year? Hank time for your XANAX!! GO CAVS GO Steelers
Naples, FL
Posted 07:18 AM, 11/12/2009
Apparently Pat, Mangini should have stated that Cleveland is not New England and there is absolutely no chance of ever turning this franchise around. Then you would have been happy. What should he have said, "my former coaching experience means nothing and things are hopeless"?
Posted 07:36 AM, 11/12/2009
After thoroughly enjoying Pat's last column on the Browns, it's refreshing to see him back to doing what he does best, producing garbage in print.
Posted 07:51 AM, 11/12/2009
One things for sure, Pat gets paid to write about the Browns and share his opinion. That's more than can be said for most of the arm chair quarterback clowns fans writing here. Pat does a good job. It's too bad many of you want smoke blown up your behinds. Keep telling the truth Pat, even if the whiners can't take it.
cuyahoga falls, oh
Posted 07:52 AM, 11/12/2009
Great article....so true. Clowns fans cannot take any CRITICISM!!!!! Wah wah wah............all you babies need a baba.
Posted 08:34 AM, 11/12/2009
We all know the Browns suck, but does he have to devote his life to the topic?
hickory, pa
Posted 08:46 AM, 11/12/2009
Not only do the browns stink up the place, the journalist are running out of things to write about and have to produce this garbage. Why???
The Beacon Journal aka: The Reeking Urinal
laughlin, nv
Posted 09:17 AM, 11/12/2009
I'm a firm beleiver in that we should give EM at least until 2011 to see if he turns the Browns around After all he still has abouy 27 former Browns to get shy of.
Anti-Politically Correct & Anti-GOP, OH
Posted 09:24 AM, 11/12/2009
On a positive note, the Browns HAVE been very consistent over the last 10 years.
Akron, Oh
Posted 09:37 AM, 11/12/2009
YAWN
N. Canton, Oh
Posted 09:43 AM, 11/12/2009
Go Cincinnati!!!!
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Posted 09:45 AM, 11/12/2009
Pat, ignore the snide comments from "Eric Mangini's family and fan club." Every single thing you wrote above is accurate and needed to be said.
Isn't it amazing how a pudgy, surly demagogue like Mangini can completely wear out his welcome in a town in far less than half-a-season? He's not just bad. He's HISTORICALLY awful.
Posted 11:21 AM, 11/12/2009
Everything he wrote was not accurate. It was yet another Monday Morning QB article from a terrible sports journalist.
"His point: People were ripping Belichick and the Patriots in 2000, and we turned it around there so we can turn it around here.
Ahem.
There are a few differences.
The first is the people making the picks with the Browns are Eric Mangini and TBD. With the Patriots, they were Belichick and Scott Pioli."
Back in 2000, Bill Belicheck and Scott Pioli were not household names either. So saying that THEY were the ones drafting people and that THEY are the second coming was not known until the 2nd Patriots Super Bowl ring came.
Scott Pioli was just another executive, and Bill Belicheck was just another re-tread coach.
Pat.. try writing an article just once that doesn't have to do with calling for Mangini's head on a stick. It might help your credibility.
Paradise, Oh
Posted 11:25 AM, 11/12/2009
People around here are really into that "shoot the messenger" thing.
Looks like you end up with a lot of dead messengers that aren't able to deliver the message...thus, you end up with a solid half century with no victory.
Posted 12:02 PM, 11/12/2009
If I didn't know it, there seems to be an organized effort to bash a very good opinion piece and a highly competent journalist.
Posted 12:07 PM, 11/12/2009
This is so funny. all you poor browns fans need to give up on that garbage team that couldn't beat Ohio State. The SUPER BOWL champs are 2 hours away-root for a real team!!! They consistently win and make their fans proud. All you haters can tell your lies and say your crass remarks. Regardless when the NFL season starts the STEELERS are always a contender-6BURGH baby!!!!!!! Don't be surprised at number 7- the dumb browns passed on ohio born BIG BEN- 2 rings in 5 years. He will get at least 2 more on his way to canton!!!!
akron, OH
Posted 12:09 PM, 11/12/2009
getting awful close to Hater status Pat
Akron, OH
Posted 12:22 PM, 11/12/2009
Pat,
So were you fired or did you "resign" when you left your employment with the Browns?
"Giving interviews to national outlets is fine, though it's oddly curious to do it at this point while the local media never got this kind of access or information or insight."
The above line says it all. Writers like Pat are dinosaurs. Reading Pat and Tony Grossi reminds me of Will Ferrell in Anchorman.
Akron, OH
Posted 12:27 PM, 11/12/2009
Me: "seanh36 = front-runner"
Front-runner seanh36: "No, my uncle was born in PA."
Me: "LOL"
Move along, troll.
copley, oh
Posted 09:56 PM, 11/12/2009
Stop bringing in former Patriot coaches to the Browns it does not work.
naples, fl
Posted 09:30 AM, 11/13/2009
Monday night will be of the worst nights in Cleveland browns history. Ravens defense is going to make Quinn scared to threw the ball. Hopefully he not hurt like Tim Couch was on the national spot light. Prediction Ravens 56 Browns 6.
naples, fl
Posted 09:34 AM, 11/13/2009
By the way Pat rather than bash the coaches, bash Randy instead. Start writing more on his true love soccer instead of the Browns. And how he should sale the team.
Akron, OH
Posted 02:52 PM, 11/14/2009
STOP HATIN ON PAT...He's the only reporter in NorthEast Ohio stating the obvious..Mangini won't even give our Local Reporters and access, or Local story's.. He goes to CBS.COM..Every decision he has made has been terrible..We had 2 ProBowlers in Winslow, and Braylon..We got David Veikune, and Chauncey Stuckey, and Trusknik for them..??? We coulda had Crabtree, and Ray Maleuga..Instead he drafts a center, when we already had a good one in Fraley..and Robiskie, who we could have got in the 4th round according to Kiper, and Mcshay..They said Robiskie was too slow to get separtation in the NFL that's why his draft stock plummeted aftere the combine..And look, he can't get any separation in this league, and never will.. Speed is not something you learn, you got it, or you don't..
churchview, va
Posted 07:16 PM, 11/15/2009
No this isnt New England, and Mangini knows it. This guy will say or do anything to make himself look good. THis organization was in better shape with Coach Crennel last year. Mangini must go.
NorthernWestVirginny, WV
Posted 12:12 AM, 11/17/2009
Sh*ttsburgh suuuurrrre took a wiping with the terrible towelette from the Bengals Sunday. Or was it a suuuwwweep??
GO BENGALS !!!
Did ya happen to see the last play of the game when little ben was FLAT ON HIS BACK in front of the home crowd??? NICE
But not as NICE as seeing the Bengals defensive line dancing on the sidelines !! Ha ha squealer fans !!
sh*ttsburgh SUCKS !!!
NorthernWestVirginny, WV
Posted 12:15 AM, 11/17/2009
SEANH36...The tides will turn as they always do and it will happen before little ben gets any more rings. Sorry squealer fans. You will then have to jump ship as all you non loyal fans do. And that will be really sweet because then 3/4 of your fans will sell their black and baby sh*t yellow merchandise at the gootwill.
