Frustration. Browns fans know this feeling all too well this time of the year. Another disappointing year coming to a close (though there were a few bright spots), injuries piling up, playoffs out of the picture, and a head coach on shaky ground. The prospect of starting over is very real following inept performances against Buffalo and Cincinnati. There's lots of blame to assess. The quarterbacks? Special Teams? Offensive Coordinator Brian Daboll? Coach Mangini? One thing is for sure. After the final game on Jan. 2 against the Steelers, I believe Mike Holmgren will have no other option than to fire Eric Mangini. Here's why.
It wasn't that long ago that I was pining for Mike Holmgren to exercise patience and give Mangini more time to work with this team. It's obvious that the number of playmakers on both sides of the ball are low, but the team was doing a lot of things right and seemed ready to turn the corner TOGETHER. Surprising wins over New England and New Orleans had the city excited about Sundays. A rookie quarterback was managing the game with veteran savvy. Sure the Jets game was a letdown, but we were right there, and probably should have won the game. Recent events have cast a long shadow over what once was. A 1-point win over a 1 win Carolina team at home, followed by losses at Buffalo and Cincinnati (both 2 win teams) have left fans scratching their heads. Pile on the loss at Jacksonville, a game in which the Browns forced 6 turnovers, and you have yourself some unimpressive football. With Baltimore and Pittsburgh left on the schedule, it seems the Browns are headed for a second straight 5-11 season.
To start, this team is extremely inconsistent in its game planning from week to week. Coach likes to play power football, and we've finally got a bruising running back to establish a ground game. What we get in the games where Jake Delhomme starts is a QB chucking it 35 times a game, all while throwing a few to the other team. What makes it worse is that we have a pretty solid fullback in Lawrence Vickers. The Browns have gone through long stretches where he isn't even on the field to open holes for Peyton Hillis. The game plan from week to week seems 1-dimensional and unimaginative. Teams have wisened up and are not kicking the ball to Josh Cribbs as often, and the Browns have done little to get him going in games. Less Wildcat, and few targets when he's in at receiver. Most fans want to see Brian Daboll get his walking papers, but if you all think the head coach isn't signing off on the game plans, you all need to get your heads examined. What makes it worse is that when the Browns are fighting through miserable stretches of play calling during games, Mangini, a man who has to know his job is on the line, doesn't take charge and get his coordinators on the same page.
Most of you will argue that the team is competing because they've been in almost every game this year. I'll challenge you and tell you that they are better managing situations and not necessarily competing. Butch Davis used to run a similar style to what's going on now. Don't make a mistake, keep the game close, call it ultra conservative and try to win it in the end. The defense is playing better, but they still don't get much of a pass rush, and definitely embody the strategy of "bend, but don't break". You can't get to the playoffs, let alone win Super Bowls with that type of defense, you just can't.
As for the quarterback, this style of offense restricts the quarterback. In the Buffalo game, I saw Jake Delhomme throw 6 one yard passes. The quarterbacks rarely stretch the field, and they often throw to the check downs, or throw to Peyton Hillis. Again, no creativity, no excitement, no nothing. Colt McCoy has demonstrated the ability to not fall into easy mistakes and extend plays with his legs. While he's definitely the guy moving forward, I'd like to see the coaches let him open it up a bit.
Personalities. Every football team has them, and every head coach has got to manage them. At first, I was all about cleaning house with the players we had. The "stars" weren't really stars, and the atmosphere was very relaxed. While I agree with coach's decision to get some discipline in the organization, I'm getting the impression that he's not very flexible when it comes to personalities. Everyone agrees that you need more playmakers on this team. Let's face it, star players come with baggage. They need to be managed. I'm not condoning distractions, or even suggesting that guys like Braylon Edwards or Kellen Winslow were right for this team, what I'm saying is that there are not many humble stars out there. You have to manage and grow talent. Looking at our roster, we have a lot of hard working guys, but no stars. Teams like New England have always amazed me how they get stars from other teams, players who were troubled, and they come in and get right in line. Part of that is the structure that's already in place, but part of it is also the coach. In my opinion, Mangini can't coach stars, he's just too rigid. In the end, that will keep stars from coming to Cleveland.
These next two games will tell a great deal about the stability of this team, and the growth of Eric Mangini. It's hard to imagine the Browns winning 1 of these games, but they will probably need to win both, and I do mean win (and not have the other team lose it), to save their embattled coach. The option if Mangini is retained would certainly be that Daboll would be out, and an O-Coordinator would be brought in to run the West Coast offense. I'm not buying that to be successful in Cleveland, you have to run, run, run in late December and early January. The Patriots throw the ball just fine in the snow, and it gets plenty cold up in Foxboro. It's my opinion that the axe will fall on Eric Mangini, fair or not. I just hope the brain trust have a plan to get us a real coach.
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