Gentlemen.... prepare to be disappointed on Sunday

[DeadWombat]

Hey guys... its me again... and I just want to share something with you: The Browns suck.

Whew! There, I said it!

You see, I am begginning to notice all this talk about how we can beat tampa and all these positive-spin reports popping up about the browns... and I'll have none of it! We gotta get some broader perspective here... Perhaps a more accurate perspective. We can't have all you guys starting to believe the hype... because then you'll just be disappointed and frustrated when our Brownies go out and play bad.

So yea.... just a little reminder guys.... we still suck on both offense and defense.

The Offense:

Two words: Brian Daboll.

Do I need to say more? Mr. "Never run a slant route all last season"? Mr. "I am completely unable to make gametime adjustments?" Mr. "I will run Jamal Lewis on the outside while Harrison rides pine"? Mr. "One of the most inept offenses in the history of the NFL?"

Yea, that guy.

Will Daboll improve this season? Undoubtedly. Its impossible to NOT improve when you're possibly the worst offensive coordinator in the NFL's recent memory. Once you hit the bottom, the only way to go is up. And this preseason that looks to be true.... I've seen Daboll do stuff he's never done before last year... like slants! or 4 reciever sets! Or a reverse! In a recent article he's even admitted to going to Holmgren for advice... a lot (thank god). But come game time, its Daboll still calling the shots... not Holmgren, not Haskell... and that means we're in trouble. All that fancy stuff you saw in preseason... well, kiss it goodbye because you're never gonna see it again. Thats what happened last preseason.... For instance, I remember we ran screens all the time last pre-season, and then we almost never used a screen once starting week 1. A lot of other stuff we never saw again... can't think of them off-hand. Our offense will still be boring, predictable playcalling.... just less boring and predictable compared to last year. Maybe once a game we'll see a good play.

Daboll is like the guy who you're friends with, but sucks at everything, but you give him a job anyway because you kinda feel sorry for him because he tries really hard and he's a old buddy of yours so you do him a favor. Thanks, Mangini.

I'm calling it now: The Wildcat will be underused and under-utilized. It will be vanilla. It will be rare. And this is sad because we have so many players who can run the wildcat effectively. Even when our offense was WORSE last year Daboll almost never used it, so why would he be doing it this year? Oh, and if/when Seneca comes in, it will be during a total WTF moment, like that one preseason game (forget which one) where we got close to the endzone, then Wallace stepped in and did nothing for 2 plays, then went back on the bench. I don't think he even threw the ball.

Yea, that was a classic "WTF, Daboll" moment. Be prepared for more.

Then there's the roster. Look at our Wide Recivers. We don't have a Randy Moss... hell, we don't even have a Robert Meacham. The roster has to deal with two 2nd year recievers and a converted college QB all trying to learn the game. Oh, and Chansi Stuckey, the most experienced WR on our roster. On the Browns, the term "receiving threat" is an oxymoron.... kinda like "jumbo shrimp" or "deafening silence".

Delhomme will perform serviceably, but he lacks proven playmakers. Half of the O-line sucks hard (hint: its the half that John "Revolving Door" St. Clair plays on). The offense is full of JAGs trying to step up and become stars. We're still waiting for someone to emerge. We don't know if someone WILL emerge. At least I can say our Tight Ends look nice.... Oh, and our Fullbacks. And by golly, if we can score points with just Tight Ends and Fullbacks we deserve a win.



The Defense:

I love Rob Ryan for the insane shit he talks, but dear lord someone's gotta fix this heap and it doesn't look like he's doing it.

Our front 3 look as tough and imposing as a paper bag. Rubin is a good run stopper apparently, but when our D line get pushed back on every play, whats the point? Our front 3 is horrid. Get ready to hear "he has all the time in the world to throw" as our defense fails to put even a tiny bit of pressure on the QB. "Pass Rush" is a foriegn term to Rob Ryan... he probably thinks its a french word for a wet noodle. Our whole LB rotation is just freaky. Why the heck did we keep so many LBers in the first place when so many of them suck? Even Roth didn't so much as sniff a QB during the preseason IIRC. Fujita should be starting inside. He should NOT be rushing when there's faster LBers we have. Our blitzes looked like moths smacking themselves against a lightbulb.

Thank GOODNESS we got rid of 1/2 of Mangini's LB busts that he drafted last year.... Why the hell that man(kok) wanted to draft a project conversion LBer... one in the 2nd round.... on a team that screamed for instant starting talent... in a position we were horribly weak in... is beyond me.

Then there's our secondary. We have 2 rookies starting. You tell me how often they're gonna make mistakes. Hey, you know its gonna happen. Either directly or indirectly they're gonna cost us points as they make mistakes and learn. Brown and Wright are the only players in the entire secondary who are proven, talented players.

What I'm still trying to figure out is why our first team defense looked so sloppy and ineffective in the preseason. We had an upgrade of talent in many positions... and then we go and suck worse than last year. Go figure that one out. Oh, and speaking of the roster.... We cut Brandon McDonald, Chris Jennings, and two draft picks: Larry Asante (PS), and Clifton Geathers .... but still on our roster: Abe Elam, Eric Barton, David Bowens, and Alex Smith (4 TEs?) among others.

WTF? Can anyone explain why some of these guys are still on our roster over some of the cuts we made? B-Mac was even cut before Viekune and Titus Brown, for crying out loud!

We also kept Ray Ventrone, Nick Sorenson, and Blake Costanzo... I know they're all specials teams beasts, but how many special teams beasts do we really need???



Yea..... we're definitely still the Browns we all know and love.

Well, now that you read that, go out and enjoy the Browns game tomorrow! It will be a lot less painful with lowered expectations.

[mikeyP]

I can't believe you took the time to even post this.

Go away?

[jimbrown]

browns will dominate the bucs today 1-0 baby.

[hiwaygal]

Awww...don't give Wombat too hard a time.

He likes to keep his expectations low so we don't get disappointed.

He likes to give us a little perspective like a slap in the face...but he means well and he's just as much a fan as the rest of us!

Although Wombat, I do take exception to the "Gentlemen" part!!

[nickers]

Browns win today 24-14...dont sweat it

[Enigmatic Evil]

Geez, way to be a buzzkill Wombat.

Starting out with scapegoating the potential woe of our team onto the co-ordinators, well, at least you can take credit once we're in the mid-way point of the season and the blame game starts (It may start earlier than that if we start out slow). I don't particularly agree, I agree that Daboll could be a liability due to his inexperience, and if our offense is sloppy, how long will we let him experience growing pains before we give up on him as a offensive co-ordinator?

Rob Ryan? Well he's got some fans around here. His established track record has never inspired confidence in me. Though I like him as a football guy and I like his enthusiasm for the game and the pedigree he has due to the "Ryan" name, I'm not sold on him as a D-Coordinator.

The cuts... I agree we made some rather confusing moves. BMac, he was dead weight... Jennings, we have 4 superior backs on the roster already (Harrison, Hillis, Davis and Hardesty) I couldn't see us keeping him. He's a good back, but obviously we have superior talent. Asante and Geathers were both late round picks who had potential but didn't really show us anything in camp to believe in. That's why they are gone.

Overall, I think anyone that's been a Browns fan knows to keep their expectations in check to a certain extent just as much as there are those who get their heads in the clouds as soon as pre-season rolls in just to have themselves ripped back to existence as soon as we get a losing record. The year will go as it will, I just hope we see some signs of improvment other than indications of "here we go again..."

[Vegasdogg]

Originally Posted by DeadWombat

WTF? Can anyone explain why some of these guys are still on our roster over some of the cuts we made? B-Mac was even cut before Viekune and Titus Brown, for crying out loud!

Yes, because the players we kept are better than the ones we cut. It sometimes is that simple.

Are you pissed because we cut Veikune?

[TheBestPlayersPlay]

No he's pissed because everyone he has personally slammed and dragged through the mud is turning out to prove him wrong.* (Daboll, Mangini, Delhomme)



*I hope they prove him wrong, all indications are that they will.

[AdaM]

Originally Posted by mikeyP

I can't believe you took the time to even post this.

Go away?

Agree whole heartedly.

I want 3 minutes of my life back after reading that.

[hammertime]

dw???

put the dog in a safe place today

[kydawgfan]

Time to get off the daboll hate wagon bro and enjoy some cleveland browns football!

[DaBrowns41]

Wait, Wombat, did you actually see value in Veikune or Brandy McDonald?