Thought this article had some good information about the team rankings.
The Blame Game
Added: 1/2/2007 6:35:43 PM
Contributed By Chris W.
The Browns' 2006 season has come and gone and with it passed the hopes and dreams of a legion of Browns' fans who were hoping for much better. For some, the hope died after the Week 1 loss to the Saints where some fans were already jumping to conclusions on the shattered state of this franchise. For the rest of us, we met those fans in the same state of bitterness by the time the end of the season rolled around and the Browns' limped across the finish line. Along the way, the typical Browns' seasonal occurrences happened:
1) Injuries decimated the roster.
2) There were points where the team hit rock bottom.
3) Fans began pointing the finger at someone or something that was the main source of the problem.
4) The Browns managed to embarrass themselves at home against a division rival.
Now that we suffered through another recurring nightmare of a season, what next? Where do the Browns stand going into 2007? It sure beats me. I do not profess to be a know-it-all when it comes to this situation any more. For many of the first 8 seasons since the Browns returned to the league as a cheap imitation of the former franchise (a franchise geared up for a 1st round bye in the playoffs), many of us fans thought we might see something turn around by now here in Cleveland. Unfortunately, the team has its wheels stuck in a big snow bank and can't seem to rock its way out of the situation so it can move forward.
Ultimately...something is at fault. Some people point to the very top of the organization and moonlighting owner Randy Lerner. Roster "gurus" are focusing on Phil Savage and his first two years of personnel moves. Others want the head of Romeo Crennel and think his lack of will and strong personality will keep this team from moving forward. Many have turned their attention to the easiest position to blame on the team and think our QBs are holding us back. Most of us were burnt into believing that Maurice Carthon was initially the main area of concern. A majority of us have been screaming bloody murder about the Offensive Line since 1999. And a handful of people in this town place the blame on the fans for being too impatient with the product on the field.
That's an awful lot of blame to spread around to multiple sources. Can all of these people and areas of the team have something to do with the Browns' lack of success? It's certainly possible, however unlikely in my mind. Every single person brought into this organization can't be a complete failure...can they? In order to make an educated guess at this whole mess lets take a look at the 2006 season and find out what kept the Browns from getting any better:
(Rankings based on all 32 teams...although you can tell this in most cases as the Browns are ranked so low)
Final Record: 4-12 (Tied for 3rd worst record in the league)
Division Record: 0-6 (1st time ever)
Pro Bowlers: 0 (5th season in a row with no Pro Bowlers)
Strength of Schedule Ranking: 5th hardest (Tennessee #1 Finished 8-8)
Injured Reserve: 15 players (This boggles my mind)
Team Penalties: 29th (158 total)
Give Away/Take Away Ratio: 31st (-13)
Offense
Overall Ranking: 31st (264.6 YPG)
Points Per Game Ranking: 30th (14.9 PPG)
Rushing Ranking: 31st (83.4 YPG)
Rushing Average: 29th (3.6 YPC)
Passing Ranking: 23rd (181.1 YPG)
Team QB Rating: 29th (69.8)
Team QB Interceptions: 32nd (25 total)
Receiving: 30th (10.2 YPR)
Offensive Conversions: 27th on 3rd Down (33.5%) - 25th on 4th Down (40%)
Fumbles Lost: 30th (15 total)
Sacks Allowed 30th (54 total)
Defense
Overall Ranking: 27th (344.7 YPG)
Points Per Game Ranking: 22nd (22.3 PPG)
Rushing Ranking: 29th (142.1 YPG)
Rushing Average: t22nd (4.4 YPC)
Passing Ranking: 17th (6.77 YPA)
Opponent QB Rating: 10th (75.9)
Receiving: t24th (11.9 YPR)
Interceptions: t10th (18 total)
Sacks: t27th (28 total)
Forced Fumbles:
Opponent Conversions: 27th on 3rd Down (43.9%) - 8th on 4th Down (40%)
Special Teams
Kick Return Rankings: 13th (23 YPR)
Kick Returns Allowed: 14th (21.9 YPR)
Punt Return Rankings: 7th (10.3 YPR)
Punt Returns Allowed: t9th (7.3 YPR)
Field Goal Percentage: 28th (72.4%)
Punt Yardage: t15th (43.6 AVG)
Punts Inside 20: t6th (29 total)
When you look at the overall performance of the team, it's safe to say that the Offensive and Defensive performances on the team left much to be desired. The only unit on the team that's respectable at this moment is the Special Team's unit led by the lone consistent coach on the team since its 1999 inception: Jerry Rosburg.
On Offense, the team struggled running the ball, and suffered keeping possession of the football, finishing second to last in turnover margin in the NFL ahead of the ugly Oakland Raiders. When looking at the Offense, we can make our best case for the Browns' problems by signaling a handful of events that provided a bit of a chain of reaction that nearly put the Browns' Offense at the bottom of the NFL in many major categories:
1. Browns trade Trent Dilfer to San Francisco for Ken Dorsey - The first misstep leading to the 2006 season saw the Browns trade their only real experienced veteran thanks to Maurice Carthon and Dilfer not getting along. Initial blame can be placed on Carthon for this, but it ultimately fell on Phil Savage for not bringing in another veteran QB to tutor young Charlie Frye. Instead, the Browns handed over the keys to Frye and he was on his own. You can make fun of Dilfer all you want, but Dilfer is a great veteran QB to have around a team grooming a young QB. Just ask Matt Hasselbeck and Alex Smith what they think about him.
2. LeCharles Bentley goes down for the season on first contact of training camp - You can chalk this up to bad luck. However, when looking it at it a bit deeper, one thing comes to mind: NFL Free Agency is a mirage. It doesn't help teams all that much, especially when they throw millions of dollars to one guy to help a 53 man roster turn around a football team. Bentley would have been an upgrade at Center, don't get me wrong...but the Browns have learned their lesson twice in trying to make big splashes on big ticket items in Free Agency: When spending big money on veterans in Free Agency in a physically demanding sport such as football, that money could all go out the window with one pop of the knee. It may behoove Phil Savage to keep Pittsburgh and New England in mind when making moves this year in Free Agency. These two wildly successful teams have done it well by building from within and establishing a solid program of consistency for their young guys to come in and succeed.
3. Browns struggled to fill hole created at Center - This ended up being one bad nightmare for Phil Savage. The Offensive Line took a major hit by losing Bentley for the season, but the cut went much deeper when the team struggled to find Bentley's replacement until the last possible minute. Along the way the Browns tried multiple options at Center during the pre-season. There were players that weren't quite good enough to be the starter, players who were already on the cusp of being suspended for the NFL's drug policy, and a player who went AWOL and retired. By the time the Browns acquired Hank Fraley to take over at Center, it was too late, and the Browns would need to go into the regular season with a line that wasn't in sync with each other.
4. Running game struggles - As a result of the Offensive Line's lack of continuity, the team would struggle to get the running game going in 2006. The guard play also regressed from a season ago as Joe Andruzzi played poorly in some spots during the year. The lack of getting Reuben Droughns going would affect Maurice Carthon's play calling, who would rely on establishing the running game, and it would soon have a negative impact on young Charlie Frye.
5. Frye put in a pickle - As the running game suffered, it was up to Frye to throw the ball. As a result, the Offensive Line paid the price of not opening holes for the run game by finding themselves over-matched as team's keyed on the pass and sent the house at Frye. To add to Frye's struggles, his WRs let him down more times than not. Braylon Edwards and Dennis Northcutt dropped way too many key passes, which made it even harder for the Browns to keep drives going.
6. Young QB begins to make mistakes - While the Browns had no choice but to abandon the run and put all the pressure on Frye to get the ball to guys like Braylon Edwards and stud TE Kellen Winslow, Frye began to make his fair share of mistakes. Like many young QBs who aren't getting much help from their surroundings, Frye began staring down receivers, forcing throws, and became part of the problem. One thing coaches teach a young QB is to avoid turnovers...Frye failed in this responsibility. As a result, it's tough to say whether Frye will stick as the QB of this team and keep the Browns from looking at another young QB in this year's draft.
7. Carthon's play calling comes front and center - While looking back on this situation proved that Mo Carthon's play calling wasn't the sole reason for the Browns' Offensive woes, it certainly didn't help. In many situations, especially on 3rd Down, Carthon called plays that would baffle people. At one point during the year, opposing Carolina Panthers' players identified the Browns as the easiest Offense they had to game plan for since the Browns are so predictable. That's why fans and media began singling Carthon out as the scapegoat, and before you knew it, Carthon left the team during the season letting Jeff Davidson assume the role as Offensive Coordinator and primary play-caller. In hindsight, this move didn't help much at all and Davidson proved that it was nearly impossible to turn around a runaway train. In fact, the turnover worked against Davidson and the Browns while Carthon could rest easy at home.
8. Young player's frustration affects team - This probably affected both sides of the ball, but when players like Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards spoke out over their displeasure with the team's performance this year, it left a cloud of negativity over the team. In my opinion, Romeo Crennel didn't handle this very well and it's his responsibility to keep control of this team. It's easy to look at Crennel right now and get the impression that Crennel isn't the type of personality to help lead a young NFL team out of the gutter. Only time will tell if that's really true or not.
While examining all of the chain reactions that affected this team on Offense, it's fair to actually say that blame can be spread across the board here. Players didn't play well, and the coaches didn't necessarily coach well in key situations. In addition, it was Phil Savage who may have left the team hurting in a few spots: at QB and on the line.
On Defense, the problems were a bit easier to identify and can be chronicled on their own as well:
1. Daylon McCutcheon battles injury - During the pre-season, Daylon McCutcheon, Cleveland's elder statesmen in year's of service, was trying to overcome an injury and get on the field before the season started. The Browns were looking forward to teaming him with Gary Baxter and Leigh Bodden this season...perhaps the strongest Corner group since the late 80s. It was not to be. McCutcheon joined LeCharles Bentley on Injured Reserve and would be out for the year.
2. Ted Washington signing doesn't cure rush defense woes - While Ted Washington didn't have a bad year with the Browns, he certainly didn't have the affect on the Browns' rush defense that they were hoping for. Until Ted finally hangs his big old cleats up, he'll always command attention in the middle of a Defense, and at times, Ted showed his dominance. But at other times, Ted wasn't quite the rock that he was advertised as, and saw a lot of the game from the sidelines while collecting himself. As a result, the Browns ranked in the bottom 5 in the league in rush defense again. Even when Washington was playing well, it left some to ponder whether Andra Davis and D'Qwell Jackson were doing their jobs coming up and stopping the run.
3. Cornerback injuries mount - What was considered to be a position of strength quickly became a position of weakness. Gary Baxter would tear up both knees and miss the rest of the season for the 2nd year in a row whole Leigh Bodden would struggle with a couple different ailments that caused him to miss some games and not be 100% out there. As a result, the Browns had to rely on makeshift starters and adjusted their Defensive scheme to take pressure off the secondary by keeping multiple players back in coverage and keeping their blitz schemes basic.
4. Other injuries mount - As the season wound down, more injuries affected the Browns' Defense. Orpheus Roye, D'Qwell Jackson, and Brian Russell would all miss the rest of the season.
While the Browns' Defense has been a work in progress since switching to the 3-4, a lot of credit can be given to Todd Grantham and the Defense. While injuries kept the team from performing well down the stretch, the Defense showed some serious signs of improvement. Blame on this side of the ball can be kept to a minimum. The Browns' Defense was more a victim of circumstance than a source of a problem.
After further review of one of the worst seasons in recent memory, one has to place a lot of the blame on the Offense's lack of growth as the main area of concern for this team moving forward. However it's tough to say that the team lacks talent on that side of the ball. If anything, the blame that went out to Phil Savage, the coaching staff, and the players who performed poorly, can turn to praise with a decent draft, a little continuity, and player improvement over the off-season.
Despite the results and the incredibly poor performance, you can still come out of the 2006 season with some bright spots for hope:
1. Kellen Winslow tied a franchise record for receptions in a season with 89...tying the great Ozzie Newsome. All this was done on a bum knee that was sore from the beginning of the season. Winslow could be even more dangerous next season with more rest and rehab on that bad knee.
2. Kamerion Wimbley has a stellar rookie season at LB. Wimbley led the entire Defense with 11 sacks and played the entire year learning on the job at OLB in the 3-4. Wimbley impressed many of us even more with his humble attitude and his great work ethic. Barring injury, the Defense will improve as Wimbley becomes a force in the league for years to come.
3. Sean Jones put injury behind him and had a break-out season at Safety. Jones tied for the team lead in interceptions with 5 and became a difference-maker in the Secondary.
4. Daven Holly emerged from the wreckage of an injured Cornerback unit and became a play-maker himself. Holly tied Sean Jones for the team lead in interceptions with 5. Despite having his shortcomings, Holly will add depth to a unit that hopes to return at full strength next year.
5. Simon Fraser, former Buckeye, played well filling in for injured Orpheus Roye. While Fraser, may not have secured a role as a starter, his play has improved the depth at Defensive End by default going into 2007.
6. Despite battling the dropsies and himself as a villain in the clubhouse, Braylon Edwards can be commended for making it through the entire 2006 season on a bad knee. The early consensus had Edwards missing half the season coming off his 2005 knee injury that occurred in December, but Edwards busted his ass in rehab and made it out on the field for Week 1 putting together a damn good year, leading the team in TDs with 6 and amassing 884 yards receiving.
7. The Special Teams' units provided an element of consistency. While not ranking at the very top in the league, they were at least respectable in most areas ranking in the top half of the NFL in most catergories. Josh Cribbs was great as the Kick Returner. Dennis Northcutt was reliable as the Punt Returner. Dave Zastudil stabilized the Punting position.
Now the 2007 off-season begins with questions surrounding the team and the future of its coaching staff while fans wonder when this team will ever be decent again. The debates have also began surrounding what direction this team goes in the NFL Draft. No matter what happens, here's hoping that the team succeeds this off-season in turning a 4-12 season around into something much better. With all the talk that this team is devoid of talent, and it has years of frustration ahead before it gets better, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that good things are closer than they appear.
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