Perpetual Motions

[Enigmatic Evil]

This is a bit of a rant and as per usual, re-posted from my BH Blog... Wanted to generate critical DISCUSSION of the team, much like the Walrus thread but not just limited to MH, this is for anything any part, the team on the field, FO, etc. I don't want to turn this into a flaming lynch mob. I'm not trying to ostracize Holmgren, Heckert or Shurmur. I'm just calling them out...



Bernie mentioned how he didn't want this team to become perpetually re-building. Let's take another walk down memory lane, feel free to fact check me here I'm kind of shooting from the hip

Head Coaches: We've had 6 of them...

General Managers: We've had... 5-ish of those.

Presidents/CEO's/Faces: We've had 4 different ones I believe. (According to a quick wiki check, anyway.)

This team has had no STABILITY. Here we find ourselves again at a familiar crossroads where fans who have seen it before are bracing themselves and others are wearing their face paint and supporting the team as we should.

Let me clarify that we are ALL here to support the team, this isn't about choosing a side even though SOMEONE believes that you're with them or against them...

I've already ranted and raved about the instability we've had at Quarterback and how that has been a curtain call of failure for this team. The same could be said for virtually every fascet of the team ON the field as well. PHIL DAWSON is our most tenured player. Who has worn the Brown and Orange jersey the longest next to Dawson? Cribbs... JT... Mike Adams has been a brown for a few years at least, I mean I can only think of three names. When you don't even have that kind of stability on the field, how can we expect this team to bring any kind of consistancy to the field? That's why we've been all over the map on the W-L spectrum and that's why, for the most part, it's been ugly.

I don't want to see this as the beginning of the end of another cycle here in Cleveland. I WANT to see this as a speed bump. Maybe rebounding from this will motivate some of those who run the team, maybe they truly do want to make a winner. I have to believe that, nobody wants to put a losing team on the field, that is absolute ludicrous.

We've seen GM's and coaches build teams, some of them okay, most of them mediocre at best. With fluctuating talent, suspect drafts, coaches that have been given windows of 3-4 years to implement a system, lets not even forget the locker room woes of some years. Shurmur hasn't had that against him, most of his woe comes on game day. It's not the Mangini problems, bizarre clock management, stoic, negative demeanor on the field ALL the time! No... Shurmur has his own, quirks... we will call them. Instead of looking stoic, focused, in the game, he looks lost. He looks scared sometimes is what he looks like! Like he's thinking "What do I do." That's our HC right now. The play on the field reflects that... from the WR's down to Colt, and even the HB's and the offensive line. This season has been a disaster, oh yeah, the worst since 2000 offensively.

Managment does what it has to... for better or worse. I think they need to sit Pat Shurmur down with a PR expert and help give him some pointers on how to handle the media. Holmgren has fucking been there before so to see what I saw from him was downright embarrassing to be honest. What can I expect from a guy who rides around in a fucking golf cart for fuck sakes. Even Shurmur's taken the duck and cover approach. I don't know if I buy into the blind favoritism but he certainly seems to lean on guys he drafted or traded for. That kind of stubborn quality is probably what got him kicked out of Philly...

For the Browns to turn the corner, at least with fan morale, I think they need to buck up and own up to some things. They need to just be better, this offseason is very important for actual growth on this team.

1) Make some kind of public notion of amends with Colt. How about telling us how he's doing. Granted, It's 10AM, I haven't read the forum yet really so there could be something on it. But it's been 9 days since it happened and Colts missing practice, we haven't seen him. Is he experiencing post concussion symptoms and how bad is it.

To digress greatly, and I apologize for yapping about Hockey but it's on topic... One of the greatest Hockey players of this generation, Sydney Crosby's career may end pre-maturely because peice of shit doctors mis-diagnosed his concussion, put him on the ice and he got a second concussion.

Read about the kind of affect Concussions can have. Crosby just got back on the ice and he is missing time again most likely because he's STILL not recovered. His career is currently in jeopardy and I wouldn't be shocked at all if he retired (frankly, I'm not a fan but he is a great hockey player. He's no Gretzky...)

If Colts condition is serious, a game like football... You can't be too careful. I want the team to show Colt some attention, afterall HE'S ONE OF THEIR DRAFT PICKS. Where's the coddling, where's the Greg Little favortism? With Colt, it seems to be different, sure he gets the reps and the play time but the attitude is different.

2) This offseason, the team needs some serious TLC. I'm looking at you Tom Heckert, earn your paycheck this offseason. You've had two okay drafts. IMO, the first one was better overall. You made some dicey risk/reward moves which is how you get it in football, I get that. You need a strong draft, I don't give a shit what kind of personnel you bring in. The offense needs some love if this PROLIFIC WCO is ever going to show some potential. Pretty much everything needs work. Good luck Tom

3) Mike, what happened to the Walrus that joined the team 2 years ago? You need to show that energy and optimism for the team because the FANS need it. We don't need you to be the 'face' in the media. Teach Shurmur that he needs some of those qualities both in the media and on the field. When we do see you, you should be a fucking professional. Period. If you are going to screw around, wear a sweat suit and try to play cheerleader by passing the buck, with this chose a side bullshit... fuck you.

4) Shurmur, Shurmur, Shurmur... Let me be frank, sometimes your play calling requires a little imagination. NOT fucking stupid gimmick plays, that's what got Brian Daboll the ire of Holmgren but YOU'RE his guy... You don't have to run EVERY SINGLE first down. You don't have to tell Colt to pass to Greg Little 10-15 times a game. Call some pass plays that use the field. Better yet, use some of our weapons.

Where the hell is Marcus Bernard, Pat? Do you give Jauron free reign on the D? The side opposite Sheard on the D-Line has been terrible all year, and you're giving a rookie starting reps over him for what reason when he's proven to get to the QB for sacks.... A guy like Evan Moore, who TOM HECKERT gave a contract is sitting on the bench. When he's on the field, he makes plays... all 2 or 3 a game you give him. Wake the fuck up, drink some coffee and look at your team and think about what the hell you['re doing because you get one more season in my eyes and then I am done with you.

YES, YES, YES I know the morale of this is about CHANGE but Shurmur has shown DANGEROUS tendencies in his rookie HC year, beside the clusterfuck of the start of the year, the first week and some of the other games this year (The Baltimore Game also cries in my mind) this team has looked like a glorified College team would beat their ass into the ground. Where's the preparation Pat? You need to look like you CONTROL this team, on and off the field. The Cleveland Browns are YOUR TEAM. Remember that... because its not Tom Heckert or Mike Holmgren on the sideline, calling the plays, 'picking the personnel with the GM'... its YOU. And you're honestly the reason why everyone's flipping the fuck out right now because if YOU had the sense to look at Colt, TALK to him, sure, maybe Colt said he was okay but what did the TRAINERS SAY TO YOU? Did NOBODY think to sit him. Thats not what this is about but I'm still angry about that.

What you do on the sidelines, what you say to the press. It doesn't just reflect yourself... IT REFLECTS THE ENTIRE TEAM.

I wish the three people who run this team would realize what I just bolded. If they dont realize that everyone sees what they say and do... they might be surprised by how quickly they're on the curb with their packed bags while Lerner rolls the dice with the next sadist looking for a job in the NFL...

EDIT: Riffer fact checked me on Marcus Bernard, I forgot about the MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT -_-

[nickers]

Im almost to a point I dont give a shit about this team anymore...they need to show me something to give a shit about...other than that...My support for this PIECE OF SHIT TEAM is wanning fast!

[Enigmatic Evil]

Well Nickers, no offense to you, but you rarely have anything positive to say about the team anyway. This was just to get some steam off of my chest.

I am done with Shurmur, I will be surprised if he will get me to come around.

Holmgren needs to check himself before he wrecks himself.

Heckert, honestly, I have no problem with Heckert but he does seem to lean on players he may have scouted/drafted. (Makes sense, work with what you know after all... but I think he my be a bit stubborn.)

[nickers]

It's kind of hard to say anything positive,However. I like Heckert the best of the 3. I think He shows the most promise for this team thus far. To put a "positive" spin on this. theyre still capable of turning out a 7-9 record for this season as silly as that sounds LOL! I think we all would be happy as 20 pigs in slop if that happened!

[Enigmatic Evil]

Yeah I agree with that, this has been a very depressing season. Tough to really find any positives to draw upon without exhausting myself (most of them are on the defensive side of the ball anyway). IF the Browns could scrape together a 7-9 season it would help fan morale for sure.

[hoorta]

Originally Posted by Enigmatic Evil

Yeah I agree with that, this has been a very depressing season. Tough to really find any positives to draw upon without exhausting myself (most of them are on the defensive side of the ball anyway). IF the Browns could scrape together a 7-9 season it would help fan morale for sure.

E, I've been watching football since the 60s, and I'm running out of seasons.

Instead of 7-9 what do we get? Un-Shurmur getting his pants coached off in the 4th quarter again. Let's play for overtime, let's punt on the 40 instead of going for it on fourth and one. Chickenshit coaching.

Let's put Cribbs out there when even I could tell he's seriously slowed by an injury.

They trot Pat out there again next year, I'll seriously consider selling off all my season tickets (assuming I can even find any interested buyers) and find something better to do with my Sunday afternoons, & DVR the games to save myself 2 hours of beer commercials.

[Solon16]

IT comes down to HORRIBLE drafting! AND I MEAN HORRIBLE...DEAD LAST since 99' more than 80% of our draft picks since 99' are out of football. Closer to 90%. (dig that stat up) I have done the research but too disgusted to go look for it in the archives. When you look at it....just from a First and second round view...It is nearly impossible to fathom how bad we"ve been!

[Enigmatic Evil]

Its pretty close to at least 80% Solon, I forget the thread where someone posted who all our Draft Picks have been since 1999 and the majority of those names, at LEAST 2/3rds are not even in football anymore. Hell, more telling than that, I wonder how long the majority of those players even stayed in Cleveland.

You have to build through the draft, nobody here has been shy about that fact. We haven't built anything. Its too much.

I mean, I'm seeing posters here whose pride in this team I never would have questioned, this season, all is lost. It's borderline disgusting.

Morale wasn't even this low in 08 after the Playoff run and the ultimate disaster that followed.

[Solon16]

It was my thread and it's closer to 90% out of football since 99.

[King of Kings]

Originally Posted by Enigmatic Evil

I've already ranted and raved about the instability we've had at Quarterback and how that has been a curtain call of failure for this team. The same could be said for virtually every fascet of the team ON the field as well. PHIL DAWSON is our most tenured player. Who has worn the Brown and Orange jersey the longest next to Dawson? Cribbs... JT... Mike Adams has been a brown for a few years at least, I mean I can only think of three names. When you don't even have that kind of stability on the field, how can we expect this team to bring any kind of consistancy to the field? That's why we've been all over the map on the W-L spectrum and that's why, for the most part, it's been ugly.

Absolutely. I think we can all agree on that and the fact is there hasn't been much talent to build stability WITH. In my opinion there still isn't. Thing is that falls on the usual lynch mob a bit as well for calling for rookies and young guys to start right off the bat. That isn't always a smart move.

Personally I fall into the Pats and Steelers Philosophy. You sit these 21, 22 year olds behind Vets for their first season, you work them into a rotation in season 2 and you let them become the starter in season 3. That gives you two full years to work with them on their weaknesses and to get them gelling as a cog in the system. In the meantime you rely on 'Vets with a sprinkling of free agents.

Unfortunately we've been stuck in a hole for so long that it's extremely tough to do that. Well we're stuck in the lower part of the middle of the pack, in an endless cycle of 4-5 wins per season and drafting in the middle every year and drafting just good enough to stay stuck there and because we stay stuck there everyone gets pissed when the HC even attempts to slowly bring young players along.

Then of course you now have a staff that believes in just throwing players into the fire. I disagree with that and that's one of the major factors for my calling this staff clueless. You can plug in rookies but once your foundation is established and experienced. You don't toss them all into the fire, as you can see what you get from that is 4 wins that turns into a perpetual 4 wins.

Which brings me to my next point, there's GOOD continuity and BAD continuity. The good kind is my above example. The bad kind is what we keep falling into and if we don't make massive changes are about to fall back into. With the bad kind you end up building a culture of losing, a culture of defeat and get stuck in that pattern.

I honestly wish we really WOULD hit the reset button full on. Clean out the entire F.O. and Coaching staff and work on clearing out the roster. Come out and say hey, we're going to have growing pains and go backwards for a few years but only to fix what's broken. We probably won't win alot the first two years. From there do just that. I'm talking 1-2 win seasons back to back. The prior year start stockpiling draft picks again. Year one use that #1 overall pick to stock draft picks for the next season AND that season. Get two or three years where we have multiple 2nds-4ths. Year one draft a foundation. Year two grab some playmakers and a QB. Year three your foundation is set and your playmakers are getting their experience. Year four you take off.

It's like Jimmy Johnson. He inherited a 3 win team that gave him great draft position. From that as well as trades he went 1-15 his first season and landed prime position again and had a cache of draft picks. By year four he completely rebuilt that team into a Dynasty. We need to mimmick that as best as possible. We WERE trying that somewhat but honestly we need to go all the way, start over at the bottom from scratch and build from there and not from middle of the road. Yeah it'll suck but it's the only option I see for turning this thing around.

[OzDawg]

Originally Posted by King of Kings

Which brings me to my next point, there's GOOD continuity and BAD continuity. The good kind is my above example. The bad kind is what we keep falling into and if we don't make massive changes are about to fall back into. With the bad kind you end up building a culture of losing, a culture of defeat and get stuck in that pattern.

“Winning is not a sometime thing, it's an all time thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”



Vince Lombardi

[King of Kings]

Originally Posted by OzDawg

“Winning is not a sometime thing, it's an all time thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”



Vince Lombardi

Good ole Vince, he nailed it.