Written by Brian McPeek

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I’m back from two weeks of studying the flight patterns of bob-white quail in the sage fields of South Dakota and, damn!!, how things have changed in Cleveland sports since I wrote the last Wrap. The Browns suddenly suck, Mike Holmgren is suddenly an arrogant tool, the Tribe hasn’t landed a notable free agent or swung a deal for a big bat and the Cavaliers are young and rebuilding.

When did all this happen and how did it all go so terribly wrong?

Okay, first things first: “studying the flight patterns of bob-white quail in the sage fields of South Dakota” might be a euphemism for “eating 'Saloon Hot' wings and drinking oneself to near death in dives like Quigley’s Square-Rigger Saloon” but the point is that when the story stays the same it gets harder and harder for me to write it and for you to read it. Mostly because there’s not a single thing different right now than there was a year ago.

I dig that. So I’m going this week, as a way of easing back into the flow of things, with a sort of quick-fire, heavy on the random thoughts kind of approach. Kind of like Terry Pluto’s weekly column, except that my stuff won’t be brazenly stolen from other bloggers or handed to me on a platter from one public relations department or other and I'm actually the one thinking of it and writing.

The Browns

~ Nothing’s changed regarding my thoughts on Colt McCoy not taking another snap with the Cleveland Browns. I don’t care that Holmgren says he loves him or that Holmgren says there will be a competition next year and that McCoy could conceivably win it.

If he was your guy you’d say he was your guy and you’d end the bullshit and the speculation and work to build up around your guy. You wouldn’t fail to call ‘your guy’ for days or weeks after he was nearly decapitated and was concussed (unless Mike still hasn’t noticed the hit) and then declare he’s got the same shot as Seneca Wallace, Thaddeus Lewis and whichever QB you draft.

I watched Wallace start in place of McCoy for the last few weeks and, to be honest, there’s not much difference between a McCoy-led offense and a Wallace-led offense. Wallace has more zip on Pat Shurmur’s favorite play, the 4-yard out. That’s about it. But I guess that’s the point: there’s not much difference and at least Wallace has more experience and a stronger arm. McCoy simply has not looked markedly better than Wallace in the offense. Add in the drama and the bullshit from the concussion and Colt’s dad talking about his kid being mistreated and it’s pretty clear, no? It has been since the second James Harrison planted McCoy in the turf, if not before.

~ Does all of that mean Seneca Wallace may be the starting quarterback for the Browns next year? Well, yes. Yes it does. I’d be surprised if he was the starter but it wouldn’t be shocking to me of the Browns cut ties with McCoy, can’t or don’t land Matt Flynn (and I pray they don’t because all I see is Scott Mitchell) and Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III are gone by the time the browns pick.

I can see them selecting a guy like Ryan Tannehill or Nick Foles and giving them a year to watch Wallace or some other journeyman west coast QB handle the snaps while the Browns develop a young QB and build a team around him.

~ If we played a drinking game that required you to do a shot or take a drink every time the Browns threw that sideline out route we’d all be headed to Glenbeigh. I sat there last Sunday and watched that throw be made at least a dozen times. And the depth on the throw was always the same. It was always a five or six yard throw regardless of down and distance. I hate that GD play and I hate it because every CB in the league is sitting on it and that four yard throw has to travel about 25 yards on a line and be nearly perfect just to pick up those yards.

Throw the ball between the hashes. The Browns gashed the Steelers on a tough day to throw when they threw the ball inside the numbers last weekend. Josh Cribbs had a huge day and with Cribbs you have a guy who gets position with his strength and is a load to bring down. Find your shifty WR who makes people miss and can run away from them and you’re business with that WR position.

~ By the way, if they ever make a video on how one should approach the game of football, they should just show the entire Steeler game from a week ago and highlight the plays Cribbs was on the field. Not only was it a joy to watch him knock Troy Polamalu back 5 yards on a run after catch opportunity but to watch Cribbs all day on kick and punt coverages was a privilege and an honor.

Josh Cribbs gets too emotional at times and pops off when he probably should just shut up, but after listening to Mike Holmgren and his mimes say nothing all year I’ll take Josh Cribbs shooting his mouth off after busting his ass on the field. He might talk too much but at least he’s doing his job and doing it at an extremely high level. The same can’t actually be said for Mike’s Mimes.

~ If the Browns can trade up for Andrew Luck they should (Up to three first rounder is fine with me, meaning their own 4^th this year, Atlanta’s first pick this year and next year’s first as well). If they can’t and RGIII is there at #4 I take him (but I’m not trading a single pick to move up for RGIII). And if those guys are gone I’m (here it comes) strongly considering moving back in the draft. In fact, I could see the Browns over-inflating their desire for RGIII in the hopes that Washington or Miami can’t live without him and will give up a ransom (like picks and maybe players such as Vontae Davis or Tyler Polumbus or something to that effect).

I can see them being tempted and justified to move back and get that QB maybe next year. It’s not like ‘The Guy You Can’t Live Without’ won’t be there next year too. It happens every year where guys like Cam Newton and RGIII blow up and climb the rankings. There will be another guy like that next season as well. Count on it. Because every year I hear about these once in a generation type player who combines efficiency with otherworldly athletic ability. These players are not one-of-a-kind folks. They actually do keep coming along every year.

The Browns do need elite players though. You can’t win without them. They need offensive weapons whose top end isn’t ‘viable’ or ‘consistent’. They need some ‘electric’ and some ‘scares the shit out of defenses’. They need the guy that is gone with a crease or that takes the slant 80 yards if you miss him up high initially with your tackle attempt.

They need those guys. Find some and get a couple and keep building that defense too. It’s not horrific and it should be helped from a quality and depth stand-point when guys like TJ Ward, Marcus Benard and Titus Brown come back next year and missing huge chunks this season on IR.

~ It’s frustrating, I know, but I prefer the lasting rebuild that takes longer but holds up over time. I don’t one “Run William Run” season and then another decade of suck. I can understand the approach even if the execution disgusts me. I also truly believe Pat Shurmur IS on the hot seat next season. He’s a dead man walking if wins no more than four or five games no matter what Holmgren says today.

Holmgren knows he can find another one of his sycophants to come in without a great deal of systematic disruption should Shurmur not succeed. That’s fine in my opinion too. I don’t care who coaches this team. Good God, Marvin Lewis is basically at Shurmur to me. When Marvin has really good talent he gets a playoff berth. When he doesn’t he wins 5 games. Get the talent upgraded to the point where even Lewis or Shurmur can win with it and then finish off the product with a coach who’s not a complete mope.

 

The Cavs

~ How exciting is this to see a non-LeBron led Cavs team come out of the gates and get off to a 4-3 start? A bunch of young guys playing hard for Byron Scott, freed of LBJ’s massive ego and focused on proving to the entire NBA that they can win.

And the Cavs are also separated by a year from that god awful team that finished with the worst record in the NBA and lost an NBA record 26 straight games. That team featured mediocre and plain bad players like Ramon Sessions and Alonzo Gee, Ryan Hollins and Samardo Samuels and…. Hey!!.. wait a second. Those guys are still around. They were horrible last season. Why, their record after seven games last season had to be…. Umm…shit…it was 4-3.

It’s cool to be excited about Kyrie Irving’s potential and Tristan Thompson’s leaping ability. But keep your expectations in check. And don’t lose focus on the fact a top 5 pick next June wouldn’t suck.

~ Keep in mind also that it ultimately doesn’t matter. Not to be Jonny Suicide but if the Cavs get three top 5 picks in two seasons and all three turn out to be superstars, all three will be playing somewhere else, likely in huge media markets, when they ultimately have their best years.

And if they have three top 5 picks in two years and miss on one or more of them, then they’re screwed anyway and the one guy that wasn’t a miss will leave even sooner because they’ll suck.

Merry Christmas!!!!!! Enjoy your NBA fortunes in a small market, cold weather city. You may as well be an advanced developmental team for the 5 or 6 clubs that actually have a chance.

But TV ratings are up. Which is what it’s all about.

 

The Tribe

~ There will be no shiny new players arriving on white steeds to help improve this Tribe offense. Not unless something outrageous happens between now and April, anyway. The situation is that if the Indians are going to improve it will have to come from improvement from within. That means the expectations regarding Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall just went up. That means Carlos Santana needs to round off into a complete player. That means OF Aaron Cunningham, who came to the Indians for minor league pitcher Cory Burns a couple months back, may be counted on to be more than just the other half of that non-descript trade.

I’m okay with that actually. I like the fact the Indians are spending the majority of their cash on the pitching staff. I’d love to see an All Star at every position like it was 15 years ago but it’s not happening and those days aren’t coming back.

Obviously there’s a lot of risk and a lot riding on what transpires this season. The Indians played trump last year twice in dealing Alex White and Drew Pomeranz for Ubaldo Jiminez. There are no such aces up the sleeve or bullets in the gun this year.

Get better individually and put together a cohesive line up that hits, runs and comes up big in the clutch. I think Kipnis and Chisenhall will struggle at times this season but will be better at the end of the year than they are entering it.

If the young kids show improvement over what they did last season, this season could be a fun one and it could make for some entertaining and meaningful baseball in September.

Maybe beyond.

 

 

 

 

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