The Search For A Scapegoat

[Enigmatic Evil]

Also blogged, of course, figured I'd try to stir some discussion with this:

I'm going to go off on a bit of a tangent, because it just feels right. This blog entry is going to be a bit more candid, non football related... I'll make it work though. I just need to get some things off my chest.

Locally, a 19 year old girl was kidnapped. It was a pretty big deal. She was found dead, (keep in mind, I live in a small-ish town area, mabe 20-40 thousand in the county I live in. 10-15 thousand in the town I live in.) and a lot of people are pretty upset about it naturally. My co-worker was friends with the girl. There was posters everywhere. It took the police 5 weeks to find the body.

They're (the people) now out for blood, what was a missing person to start has evolved into a homicide. They've arrested someone but I don't know if he's been found guilty or not. I don't have all the details. Living in a small town, you get the rumor mill a lot faster than you get the news. Neither are that reliable IMO.

They want someone to blame it on. I mean, I'm an outsider, I haven't lived here my whole life like most of the people that live here. I empathize for the people but there's a point where sense gets thrown out the window and they want "justice" they want "solace" they want the "family to find peace" and I understand that. Its not how I feel though. I kind of feel like people are jumping the gun here for many reasons and who knows how it will end.

There's a bigger point here, at least a football related one. When I think of the people it reminds me of this place a little bit and what I can equate it to is our offense.

Even though it lacks sympathy, I feel kind of like our offense has been kidnapped, it's been missing for 9 weeks now. It's getting to the point where we are riled up, we want to blame something, anything and judgement goes out the window pretty quickly. I've been guilty of this myself after many games, especially the last one.

Shurmur's seen it, Holmgren's seen it, I'm sure Heckert's seen it and I hope Lerner's seen it. I can't imagine anyone is happy with the team that's playing on the field right now, at least on the offensive side of the ball.

So who do we blame, because clearly someone needs to wear it on their shoulders.

Do we blame Colt? I say no.

He's been playing safe football which is really the best he can do right now. Inconsistant O-line in front of him. Injuries that have beat up our WR corps and our HB's have left most of the responsibility to Colt and the passing game to move the ball, especially in recent weeks though Ogbonnaya played well last week I thought. 4.7 yards per carry, 90 yards on 19 carries. Decent against a weak run D.

Do we blame Shurmur? I say no. Though, I really, really, want to say yes. Many of us agree: He was given too much responsibility too fast, lack of OTA's/Typical Pre-Season/Young Team/New System, etc, etc, etc... however.

How do you excuse inconsistently questionable play calling week-after-week-after-week? How do you excuse gaffes like the "drawn in the dirt" Cribbs TD and the Alex Smith handoff. Incidences where both times Shurmur more or less just ged it off with a "meh" with the rest of the team.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. Where's the football FIRE? I mean... the fans, we have it. We know what we want, but I just don't get the feeling it's reciprocating on the other side, and we may be getting ahead of ourselves in chastising one party over the other but I don't see much fire from Shurmur, little... spurts here or there lately though so maybe he's waking up. The teams lacked intesity as well and that's much more worrisome to me.

I think Shurmur's figuring things out, this is obviously the first head coaching job he's ever had. It's like Greg Little switching from HB to WR and jumping to the NFL after one year of play. That's literally the learning curve I'm imagining for Shurmur. He's got to learn how to manage an NFL team, he's running the team's offense as well as trying to gameplan. He's learning how to handle the media, especially in Cleveland where the media can be pretty interesting at times to say the least.

We're starting to see glimpses more and more that the offense is starting to mesh. I really would love this week to be the week where it comes together, we score some points. We all know that the team CAN score points too, that's the funny thing but the injuries on offense have done their toll, IMO. We're playing the best we can with the scraps but it's clearly not cutting it.

[pl4tinum]

I'm gonna say it; that was weird dude, rape, murder and football? I dunno.

Good post, beyond the first portion.

[akronjoe]

This scapegoat starts with the top down.
Herock and Holmgren must own their part.
1) the deemed it necessary to fire Mangini and let his entire coaching staff walk
are we better off than had they stayed. we are a sloppy, disorganized bunch that does not block or tackle better than last year. with a decidedly much easier schedule we STINK. The front office decides on yet another rookie head coach and the results stink.
2) the front office decided to whistle past the graveyard in free agency. after a solid draft the team was still very weak at LB,secondary, wr, RB, Oline, and we let a solid FB walk and HANDED the job to a rookie. further The broncos dumped a solid WR the rams pounced on for a paltry 6th round pick and we sat.
we have poor blocking, the worst set of wrs in the NFL and no running game with a FB who neither blocks well or is much of a weapon. The problems were all apparent in Preseason yet the front office wrote the season off in August.
3) The Coach on Sunday called a horrible sequence of curious plays in the redzone
and did not even try to score. then played for the "safe" field goal and it was flubbed. His play selection demonstrates he has ZERO faith in his players he has. His play selection says i have zero faith in him. I have never seen a HC stand alone on the sidelines and rarely ever even look at his struggling offense who He calls the plays. He just seems angry and makes no adjustment. mcCoy get blitzed unmercifully because his olines' pass blocking stinks yet he never leaves in extra blockers on 3rd down. he is stuck in a Groundhog day of ineptitude.
4) Scapegoat: It will be McCoy. who has a crappy, line, a crappy FB, crappy wrs, crappy running, coupled with crappy play calling and a Coach who has no faith in him. My guess is the browns waste the picks in the falcon trade and draft yet another QB they can ruin.
There is no ONE scapegoat here yet it starts at the top. year 2 of Holmgren and we are decidedly WORSE than year one even with the cream puff schedule.

[Enigmatic Evil]

Originally Posted by pl4tinum

I'm gonna say it; that was weird dude, rape, murder and football? I dunno.

Good post, beyond the first portion.

I don't want to say there was or was not rape involved. If there was, I haven't heard of it and I don't believe I mentioned it here. I was more trying to relate the reactions more-so than the actual events themselves because a missing persons incident is going to be more important than a pro-sports team's offensive production...

I just had to say some things I know I couldn't really say without posting them here. Since I shared my blog post on Google +, I expect it may trickle back to me but you know you just gotta get something off your chest.

Thanks for the feedback though... I know the early portion wasn't football related at all.

[King of Kings]

You know, you used a phrase in there that is quite interesting EE. "He's figuring things out." I've heard that statement made alot lately and it is an interesting statement. Most interesting about it is how much of a current science it has become with hiring HC's in the NFL. Teams have actually brought on and hired research teams to deduce every little detail about successful head coaches, the traits they posses, the traits they possessed when hired and what to look for in hiring a candidate.

One of those traits going way back into the pre merger days has been that successful HC's have ALWAYS had a plan, the skills and the KNOWLEDGE long BEFORE being interviewed for the position. They had a concrete plan when they walked into the interviews that "I am going to do this, this and this here. We'll use this method to get here, this is the experience I bring to the table and this is WHY I will do what I plan on doing." Aside from really bad teams there has never been a learning period for the NFL head coach. Basically whatever school you come from the expectations are on the day you are hired you have already put in the work, KNOW that system inside and out and can implement it. This is why certain candidates go on "hot lists" in the NFL, they have demonstrated a mastery of the system they run.

Now there is more to it than that HOWEVER that is a big key they almost every team looks for. I say almost because it is clear we have become exception to the rule. Now one thing about that statement IS true, Shurmur IS learning as he goes, lucky us right? The reality of the situation is we hired a guy who walked into a job at St. Louis unprepared and was still trying to learn the OC game and we made him the head coach AND offensive coordinator. We threw out the legwork that has already been done on how to increase ones odds of finding a successful leader for an NFL franchise. Tossed it right out the window. We made a brash firing followed by a hiring that was based purely on nepotism and little more. The truth is Shurmur wasn't on any lists as a HC candidate and in actuality he was on the hot seat as OC of a team that currently is as bad as we are.

You'll notice a recurring theme in the hirings the last two seasons, namely guys that are part of Mike Holmgren's inner circle being given jobs and large contracts with the Browns as they had one foot out the door elsewhere. In Philly we hired a GM who snubbed us the first go around yet was rushing to work here as the Eagles were writing up his termination papers and crafting Howie Roseman a contract to take over GM duties. Pat Shurmurs job was on the line in St. Louis as frankly the guy failed at it two years straight and deservedly needed replaced. Ray Rhodes was seen as a guy the game has passed by and wasn't going to be retained by DC Wade Phillips in Houston. Dick Jauron also was reportedly out the door and Andy Reid was just waiting for us to take him off his hands so he wouldn't have the headache and pressure to promote a 60 year old who has failed as a DC everywhere he has ever been. Hell, Holmgren himself was going to be shown the door in Seattle a second time(the first being when he was fired from the front office) unless he turned the rebuild project he helped to create around. As we seen he promptly retired and left a supposed friend of his, a guy with so little dignity he's dangling from Holmgren's balls every week holding the bag.

See we've traded out one bad situation for another. It used to be Cleveland was the graveyard of over the hill players that needed one last big payday. Now we have become the graveyard to the WCO rejects, the Holmgren good ole boys network who if it weren't for Randy Lerner would all be on the unemployment line right now. That is the brutal and frank truth of the matter and where we stand currently.

I'll agree with you that fans shouldn't be scapegoating Shurmur like they are. We don't NEED a scapegoat, deep down we all know where the responsibility lay and it is at the feet of Holmgren. Pat did what any other guy in the NFL would have, you're offered millions of dollars(Wasn't the contract Holmgren gave him for like 4 million dollars per year for the next 4-5 years?) and a promotion you're going to jump on it. But no, he's kind of stuck with the situation just as we are and the blame goes straight to the top, to that obese pile of dogshit driving this team into the ground while he calls up Seattle radio stations to talk Seahawks and about the good ole days.

That's not to say Shurmur deserves time or understanding or an atta boy, he doesn't. Based off the team he has fielded and the lack of performance he rightfully SHOULD be fired at the end of the season. Is it mean? Perhaps. Not fair? Maybe. But that's life for you and the NFL is like any other business, if you're not performing you are replaced. If you replace someone who was deemed as not improving fast enough and you perform worse then rightfully so, you should be shown the door.

I want to touch on that a little more actually. The Browns are at a crossroads right now. The RIGHT candidate could turn this ship around. Mangini already did all the legwork of positioning us for a turn around. We are young, we have SOME talent now, at least until Heckert lowballs them and runs them off while giving ex Eagles premium contracts. we have salary cap space and we HAVE TO spend to the cap starting in 2013. The right person who knows what he is doing can have us on track and winning relatively fast, the longer we stick with what ISN'T working the longer it will be for a turnaround and mark my words, the longer we stick with this staff the more it will resemble the Phil Savage era where the entire team needs blown up again and rebuilt from scratch.

Here's where things keep getting turned around, right here. Most agree that Shurmur is unqualified, in over his head and needs to go. The problem is this fanbase is calling for the guy responsible for this mess to replace Shurmur with either himself or another one of his jobless drinking buddies. Hell i'm seeing on some forums fans are actually calling for Dickless Jauron to be named the HC.

Fans are on the right track but they need to get on the right train. It isn't just Shurmur that needs to go and merely replacing Shurmur with another Holmgren lackey will do ZERO good. Fans need to be calling for Holmgren's head and let it flow from there. Write to Randy Lerner, E-Mail him, write to the newspapers, make it crystal clear that the paying fans and our passion for the Browns ISN'T supportive of Mr. Seahawk and his way, let Lerner know that this clown NEEDS to go. If you cut the tumor(Holmgren) out it's mere therapy before the cancer(Heckert, Shurmur, Jauron, Rhodes, Haskell) is also removed and the Browns go into remission.

It is time to remove the tumor, ladies and gentlemen. It is time to get the Browns into remission and back onto the path of recovery.

[Solon16]

Heckert #1 with a tiny bit of lee way....
mcCoy aint living up to the dream
cribbs , castrated by rule change
little ...I am seeing a learning disability...whether a fact or not...I see it
LG...Left guard most underated position in football
RT has never been solved with vet FA...Draft a young LT (round 3 or 4)and move him to RT.
FUCKING ADDRESS THE MLB position d fuckin qwell blows ... he aint it never was never will be...MANTI Baby...see what a real D looks like!

[Enigmatic Evil]

Solon, as usual, I disagree with you. I agree that Colt isn't living up to the dream, but find me a QB who could thrive with this offense and I'll give you that point. Tom Brady ain't doing much with our offensive talent. The o-line would be pushed into his face and he would be some poor defenses dinner.

How did we overlook LG? Well Steinbach's been manning that post and his absence is obvious. I hope those who have been saying he's 'getting old' for years now realize how important he has been to our offensive line.

RT. Again, agreed 100%. Seems like it's been a good 4-5 seasons since we had a decent right tackle. Draft a LT and convert him? Hell just draft a RT. Draft a player with the resume to play the position, not a guard with a good starting resume with experience (AKA: Pinkston) draft a RT/LT with pedigree to be the future of this team at that position. Our line NEEDS it. I imagine with a consistent RT alone, our line would look a lot better, but we can't overstate the importance of guard play either.

Who was it that said OL are just fat ass dime-a-dozen anyway? Was that Rich? ... that's looking to be the overstatement of the century. These dime-a-dozen guys are getting us our asses kicked.

[Brown Warrior]

E, if you watched the Colts this year, you'd say the same thing about their offensive talent... and you'd obviously be wrong. With a good quarterback they look great; without one, not so much.

It's chicken and egg, and I tend to believe that bad offenses rarely feature good quarterbacks. When a quarterback is great or at least really good, it radiates. It sparks. It makes things happen.

We went to CRAZY lengths to validate Charlie Frye, insisting that every one else on the team sucked EXCEPT for Frye. He got pulled, Anderson stepped in... poof. Line protection was suddenly way better. Points were scored.

It's entirely possible that a cyclical set of issues has suppressed the play of a lot of people. I don't think the two first-rounders, one third-rounder, and fifth rounder on our line all suck. I don't think Watson and Moore suck. Before they were hurt, I don't think Hillis or Hardesty suck. I do think we have a bunch of #2 or #3 WRs, but Little, Massoquoi, Cribbs, and Norwood don't "suck" individually. They just aren't #1s and they aren't fast.

I can overstate making the case that McCoy isn't the guy, but we do get into novel trilogies of excuses for why he's secretly way better than it appears. I think I know a few things about him after 17 starts and a bunch of preseason games: There are only a few starting NFL QBs he rivals as far as arm strength and honestly I'm being charitable because I can't name them. He's short-ish and struggles to see the third level. He always has an improvement arc, which is a positive, and I do sincerely believe he'll continue to progress in this offense... the dreaded "process."

But I don't think he's That Guy who elevates everybody around him. He's A guy who, under the best circumstances, could be pretty good. My fear is that he won't be great. If we stick with him, I honestly will wake up every Sunday praying that I'm wrong!!

[golfer704u]

Originally Posted by Brown Warrior

It's chicken and egg, and I tend to believe that bad offenses rarely feature good quarterbacks. When a quarterback is great or at least really good, it radiates. It sparks. It makes things happen.

You'll find reasons to deny these, but here are QBS whose bad offenses didn't look great thier first years and thier numbers. Can you guess who they are?

1998 rookie 56% completion rate, 6.5 avg, 71 QBR

1989 rookie 53% , 6, 55.7

2002 2nd year QB 60%, 6.2, 76

2006 2nd year QB 58%. 6.5, 75

[Brown Warrior]

Oh, I think great quarterbacks have learning curves, mostly in their rookie seasons... but Colt's well into his second season and I certainly don't see the upside of the great quarterbacks who had so-so or even bad rookie seasons.

But you could absolutely see greatness in, say, Peyton Manning in that rookie year. He threw 25 picks... but he also threw 26 TDs. Nobody questioned his potential for greatness.

Is there a direct precedent for McCoy, a guy drafted in round 3 who wasn't exactly flashing high end skills his first two seasons who then became great? Someone in the last 10 years or so? I've heard Brees but he "fell" only to 32 and looked way crisper and more polished as a passer (at least to me) than McCoy.

I want to have hope. I'm trying. But I'm gonna need quite a bit more to hang my hat on.

[golfer704u]

Originally Posted by Brown Warrior

Oh, I think great quarterbacks have learning curves, mostly in their rookie seasons... but Colt's well into his second season and I certainly don't see the upside of the great quarterbacks who had so-so or even bad rookie seasons.

But you could absolutely see greatness in, say, Peyton Manning in that rookie year. He threw 25 picks... but he also threw 26 TDs. Nobody questioned his potential for greatness.

Is there a direct precedent for McCoy, a guy drafted in round 3 who wasn't exactly flashing high end skills his first two seasons who then became great? Someone in the last 10 years or so? I've heard Brees but he "fell" only to 32 and looked way crisper and more polished as a passer (at least to me) than McCoy.

I want to have hope. I'm trying. But I'm gonna need quite a bit more to hang my hat on.

Colt recently started his 17th game, that's barely into his second season. He's on his second consecutive OC.

see my comment on Colt's ceiling in another thread. and your arguement may well be the ceiling I have for him isn't high enough then. And we can disagree on that. I was merely pointing out that rookie QBs rarely come in on bad teams and magically make them all that much better.

[Solon16]

Originally Posted by Enigmatic Evil

Solon, as usual, I disagree with you. I agree that Colt isn't living up to the dream, but find me a QB who could thrive with this offense and I'll give you that point. Tom Brady ain't doing much with our offensive talent. The o-line would be pushed into his face and he would be some poor defenses dinner.

How did we overlook LG? Well Steinbach's been manning that post and his absence is obvious. I hope those who have been saying he's 'getting old' for years now realize how important he has been to our offensive line.

RT. Again, agreed 100%. Seems like it's been a good 4-5 seasons since we had a decent right tackle. Draft a LT and convert him? Hell just draft a RT. Draft a player with the resume to play the position, not a guard with a good starting resume with experience (AKA: Pinkston) draft a RT/LT with pedigree to be the future of this team at that position. Our line NEEDS it. I imagine with a consistent RT alone, our line would look a lot better, but we can't overstate the importance of guard play either.

Who was it that said OL are just fat ass dime-a-dozen anyway? Was that Rich? ... that's looking to be the overstatement of the century. These dime-a-dozen guys are getting us our asses kicked.

So you disagree with me as usual and only point out McCoy... hmmmm