DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Tomlin & Harbaugh like CLE for division title

Ahhh, the games people play....

Coaches tabbing Browns
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Tony GrossiPlain Dealer Reporter

Palm Beach, Fla.- Two coaches in the AFC North are tabbing the Browns as preseason favorites to win the division.

One of them is Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin and the other is Baltimore's John Harbaugh. Both of them spoke with tongues in cheek, sort of.

The Browns' Romeo Crennel and Cincin nati's Marvin Lewis say the defending champion Steelers should be the favorites until somebody knocks them off.

The Browns have not won their division since 1989.

"You have to like what Cleveland has done," Tomlin said at NFL league meetings Tuesday. "They finished strong last year and have a good football team. They have all the major components back.

"They signed [Derek] Anderson to a long-term deal. They fortified their defensive front with some acquisitions, some big men who can play. So they're probably the favorites at this point, but there's no question anybody's capable of winning this thing."

Told of Tomlin's assessment, Crennel let out a hearty laugh.

"Of course that's what Mike would say. I don't begrudge him saying that," he said. "If I were in his position, I would say that also. That's why I'm telling you that [Pittsburgh] is the favorite. Until we can beat Pittsburgh, we won't win the division."

The Steelers have won 15 of the last 16 games with the Browns, including the last nine in a row. Crennel is 0-6 as Browns coach against Pittsburgh. His team has been outscored in those games, 191-83.

Crennel is encouraged that will change because of the upgrade on the defensive line and that the Browns held leads into the fourth quarter in two of the last four meetings.

"The quarterback [Ben Roethlisberger], he made plays for them and he won the games for them," Crennel said. "Hopefully we can neutralize him a little bit with some of the guys we've added to the team and then be able to get over the hump."

Harbaugh is a rookie head coach new to the division.

He replaced Brian Billick in Baltimore after 10 seasons as a special teams and defensive backs coach in Philadelphia.

Harbaugh initially declined to name a division favorite, but changed his tune when a Cleveland reporter asked the question.

"I think the Browns have done a great job with their football team and they're probably the front-runners," he said, smiling.

Cincinnati's Lewis pointed out that three teams have won the AFC North in the past four years. The Browns are the only team that has not.

"I think Pittsburgh is the team to beat," Lewis said. "Cleveland has continued to improve. Phil [Savage] and Romeo have done a great job acquiring players who fit their system.

"Baltimore, because of their defense, there probably won't be much change.

"If they can get some quarterback play and take care of the ball, they will be a team that will be up there."

As for the Bengals, Lewis said: "Our team is angry. We've gotten off to a good start this off-season. We weren't happy with the way things ended. I think we are [better than 2007]."

Although Tomlin and Harbaugh were demonstrating gamesmanship by naming the Browns the favorites, the fact the Browns are even in the conversation is a major step for them.

Entering his fourth season, Crennel has a contract extension and a beefed-up team already intact in April. The Browns have been tabbed by the league itself as one of the exciting teams for 2008 and will be given at least two prime-time network appearances in the 2008 schedule due to be released next week, sources say.

"I think that the players are excited about the Browns, about their team, about the prospects for this year," Crennel said. "They are all buying in. They want all their teammates to be accountable because they realized how close they came last year.

"And they don't want to come close this year. They want to be able to make it to the playoffs and have a chance to make it to the Super Bowl."

pd article

That's a nice Ego Booster to file away in their back pocket as a current Distraction or to post on the locker room wall as Motivation....As long as the Browns don't take it too seriously , and continue to understand that only they can make it happen and IF not only they are to blame ....

I can't wait for the season to start. I am always excited about Football season, but I have a really good feeling about this year.

Same here. I'm excited that we have a chance to truly be a contender.

I'm also excited because we'll be able to stop a lot of this goofy speculation about who is going to win. We can talk all we want about it, but it doesn't mean one thing once the regular season starts.

If you would have told me at the beginning of last year (heck, at the end of last year) that the Giants would win the Super Bowl, I'd have called you Looney McLoon.

Anyone else see this article as just "Coach Speak"?! You think it's coincidence, that none of the teams' coaches picked their own team?!

Nope.

No, but it would be funny if they did.

Quote:

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"I think that the players are excited about the Browns, about their team, about the prospects for this year," Crennel said. "They are all buying in. They want all their teammates to be accountable because they realized how close they came last year.

"And they don't want to come close this year. They want to be able to make it to the playoffs and have a chance to make it to the Super Bowl."

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Now that's a statement! How often does RAC talk playoffs or SB's??........NEVER!! The fact that he can talk about the players and the team's chances to succeed in APRIL is huge.

Let me know when everybody is tabbing the Browns to win their second Super Bowl in a row

Quote:

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Now that's a statement! How often does RAC talk playoffs or SB's??........NEVER!!

The fact that he can talk about the players and the team's chances to succeed in APRIL is huge.

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That's how I see it as well, Cal.

From the start, RAC has always downplayed the good stuff, and soft-served the bad stuff. He's always been the master of understatement.

If DA would throw 4 TD's, have 0 picks, and set a new yardage record, Romeo would say "Derek had a nice day."

If DA threw 4 picks, 0 TD's and six other "WTF?" passes for incompletions, Romeo would say "DA was a little off today...."


It's just his style. He's probably been like this forever- even in his personal life:

Romeo's wife: "Hey, 'Top Dawg'.... you really made me pant like a Dam in heat last night. Felt like you were the leading man in Shaft's Big Score! Touchdown, Big Boss Man! ...Bet you thought I was 'first- pick Pro Bowl material' too, huh?"

RAC: "Girl- you were nice."

R'sW: "Oh, Romeo, Romeo- you silver-tongued Shakepearean devil! -When you let loose and share your true feelings like that, I almost can't stand it!"

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Cal- you're one of the posters on here who has tapped into RAC's style I think you 've got him down- and have learned Romeospeak pretty well.

Regarding your observation, I agree... when RAC says something is good, it's like others saying it was fantastic or unbelieveably great.

When I read those little tidbits, they pumped me up too. For the time being, I'll just sit and wait... but little stuff like this makes me feel pretty positive about the next season....

Quote:

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"They want to be able to make it to the playoffs and have a chance to make it to the Super Bowl."

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I like that quote. We need that hunger, that we have turned a corner and now can start thinking realistically about the Super Bowl.

Yes. In hindsight, missing out on the playoffs might have been the best thing that could have ever happened to this young and hungry team.

Okay well, I guess I can understand BOTH lines of thinking. Yes, playoff experience would have been invaluable, but since we didn't make it (and we can't change that fact), yet we came so close, I believe it will make this team that much more hungry to close the deal and get in this year. And we may not make it further than the first round, but it's all about taking that next step and I believe this team will do that this year. Who knows? Maybe making it last year would have given them too much confidence and then they wouldn't work as hard to get in this year. There's one thing I never want to see and that's for these guys to think they've arrived. I'll take a hungry team over an experienced team any day of the week. JMHO


This says it all....

that was probley one of the best said statments I have heard this entire off season.

j/c...

That blocked field goal in oakland killed it more IMO than the Bengals game..

I'd forgotten that blocked FG at Oakland, but the Bengals game was THE game to win.

I would disagree somewhat.

If we won either one of the two Pittsburgh games (particularly the 2nd one where we had the lead late in the game) we wouldn't have just made the playoffs, we would have won the division outright.

Win Cinci we're in as a Wild Card.
Win Pitt and we're AFC North Champions.

Pitt was the game to win, hands down.

...and considering the outcome of those games, Oakland wouldn't have hurt a bit. Or any of the other losses we had. One more win, and it didn't matter which one, and we'd have at least been in the playoffs.

But your're right, the Pittsburgh game would have been the ultimate game to have won. Then again, had we won that second meeting they may not have laid down for the Rats in week 17 and we'd still have been tied.

All-in-all I'm estatic about the season we had. It left me with great hopes for the future. I know, I know, the schedule was weak. But that's just what we needed to win games and build confidence. The whole season was like a warm-up, a scrimmage if you will, getting ready for '08 with some improvements, (see the DL), so we could go into next season on a high confidence level.

We've had easy schedules before and did nothing with them. Now the team knows it can win. This coming season should be a barnburner. I'm not shouting Superbowl just yet, or even playoffs. We'll see. But I think we finally have a level of talent on offense that can compete. I also believe the defense will be much improved with the overhaul of the DL.

I can't wait!