Written by Brian McPeek

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 Philly West

That’s not to be confused with Billy West, the genius behind the voices of Ren & Stimpy and the man who was amazing during his stint on The Howard Stern Show years ago. I’m talking about the Browns seemingly manic attempt to bring in anything Philadelphia-related to this organization’s coaching staff and front office.

The Browns have Tom Heckert who came from Philadelphia. They have Pat Shurmur who spent years under Andy Reid (let me re-phrase that given no one could actually survive minutes ‘under’ Andy Reid much less years). Shurmur coached on a staff led by Andy Reid for years.

The Browns just hired Dick Jauron from Philadelphia as their Defensive Coordinator and, if my guess-work is correct, Juan Castillo, the Eagles offensive line coach, will very likely be the next Offensive Coordinator for the Browns.

This is pissing some people off. I’m not sure why. I really don’t care where these guys come from when all is said and done but I actually see one benefit from ravaging the Eagles organization: for the first time in a very long time everyone under the roof at the Browns facility in Berea is on the same page.

That’s really critical and it’s not getting enough run or credit here in Cleveland.

Look at the organizational chart from the top down: Mike Holmgren is the president and he basically (yuck) gave birth to Andy Reid. Reid worked closely with Browns GM Tom Heckert and he basically taught Pat Shurmur, the Browns Head Coach, his philosophies and his version of the West Coast Offense. He also worked closely with Dick Jauron, the new DC, as well as with Juan Castillo, the guy I believe will be the new OC.

All of them are WCO disciples and all of them have a history with each other even if it’s based on philosophies as opposed to actual physical relationships.

It hasn’t been like that in….ever for the Browns. Even when I was a ball boy and the Browns were enjoying success in the mid-80’s  you had a defensive-minded head coach in Marty Schottenheimer who handed over the offense to a guy he couldn’t have been more different from in terms of tendencies and philosophies in Lindy Infante.

This is unprecedented in modern Browns history when you take into consideration that everyone from the team president down is a WCO proponent and disciple.

Will it make a difference? I have no freaking idea. What I can say is that there should be clarity in what the Browns are looking to do and a harmony in terms of relationships. There will be one word and one system and that minimizes the chance for a division in the clubhouse.

I’ll tell you in a couple years whether or not I liked it or whether it was ‘The Hills Have Eyes’ level of incestuous. But I see what they’re trying to do and you have to admire the fact that there’s a really good chance that they’ll all be on the same page in terms of looking at what talent they need for a specific system and then running it.

Stay tuned.

Who the Hell is Juan Castillo?

It really doesn’t matter and that’s not a slap at Mr. Castillo. Castillo is currently the offensive line coach with Philadelphia and the word around the camp fire is that he’d be given the OC position here because he’s a capable teacher, loyal and wouldn’t care whether or not he was actually calling plays. It would be a step up in pay as well as responsibility for the 51-year old former USFL special teamer.

He’s been with the Eagles for 15 years and has done time as an offensive assistant, a tight ends coach as well as his current gig as OL coach.

The man might one day be the second coming of Bill Walsh. But initially in Cleveland he’ll basically be the guy who watches, runs and calls plays in practice for the offense while Shurmur walks around to make sure the other aspects of practice are running smoothly.

Isn’t the WCO Too ‘Finesse’ for Decembers in Cleveland?

I have no idea where the idea that the WCO was for guys wearing pocket protectors and with protractors in their pockets but that shit should really be dispelled before we get into the draft in April and training camp in July.

Roger Craig ran for 1,000 yards in Bill Walsh’s San Francisco WCO. Edgar Bennett (for God’s sake) rushed for 1,000 yards while Dorsey Levens had a couple of 1,000 yard seasons for Holmgren’s Packers.

Ricky Watters rushed for over 10,000 yards primarily in WCOs. Go ahead and look up Shaun Alexander’s rushing stats in the WCO (while for years under Holmgren in Seattle) and tell me why people are worried that the Browns won’t run the football effectively. And after that let me know how the Eagles fared with Bryan Westbrook in the backfield.

Check out when the Packers have had the most success this year under WCO coach Mike McCarthy. Even with Aaron Rodgers running the show James Starks has been a key in the bad weather and the playoffs with 200+ yards of hard running.

It’s ridiculous and it’s a fallacy that WCO is synonymous with finesse.

What kind of rushing team the Browns are will depend on what type of blocking scheme they’ll employ. If they look to a Mike Shanahan zone-blocking style then maybe there will be more finesse than power. But if you read everything from above you’ll note that Holmgren is bringing in an Eagles-heavy personnel group to coach this team and Holmgren and his direct protégé’s aren’t into finesse rushing.

This team will be a power running team under Shurmur. And instead of running Peyton Hillis behind Lawrence Vickers on 3^rd and 2 against 10 guys in the box the Browns will look to spread out defenses with the threat of a pass and then run Hillis behind Vickers against 7 in the box.

Give it a chance folks. The WCO seeks to throw early and often, tire out a defense and then run the ball with a lead against a tired defense that has been chasing receivers and backs out of the backfield all afternoon.

In theory it’s fine for the Browns to employ it regardless of weather. What’s going to define whether or not the WCO is successful here is the same thing that’s defined failure here in the past 12 years: the talent on the field.

If Colt McCoy is the guy and if the Browns surround him with talent the WCO will work. If he’s not and they don’t it has no chance. Much like the traditional offenses had no chance under Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson and Tim Couch. You can look at guys like Rodgers and Matt Ryan who run the WCO in Green Bay and Atlanta and note they can stretch the field (while a guy like Joe Montana had similar arm strength to McCoy) and say they’re the key to a successful WCO. That may be true. But would you rather see McCoy and his lack of arm strength in an offense that stresses the vertical passing game more so than the short and intermediate throws of a WCO?

As has been said a thousand times by me alone: it isn’t the X’s and O’s, it the Jimmy’s and the Joe’s. Get more talent and all be well. If McCoy isn’t the guy then you need to address the QB position regardless of the offense.

The Super Bowl

Go Pack!!!

That is all.

Almost Obligated

I’ve got nothing regarding the Cavs.

I guess I should start looking at who’s going to be available with that top five pick but I don’t have the energy at this point. I wonder if Jared Sullinger has any growth potential. Not so much in his game, which would be nice, but in actual physical growth. He’s a very impressive and intriguing pro prospect but there’s a HUGE difference between 6’8” and 6’10” or 6’11”. At his current height he has to shoot over the top of any number of bigger guys or guys his size.

But at 6’10” or so….hmmm.

Terrence Jones, the outstanding 6'9", 230lb Kentucky freshman, might be an even better guy if you're looking for a more polished player but he's a bit more rangy and less likely to mix it up down low at the NBA level.

As to the team as it currently stands? Well, they are putting together an impressive streak at 16 and counting. I’m looking forward to the press conference after they break this losing streak when Byron Scott talks about guys who won’t quit, work hard and who play every minute like it’s their last.

That will just make the following 10 game losing streak even funnier.

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