DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Who will be the next Head Coach of the Cleveland Browns?

Get a grip..this team has two weeks to rest and get several key players back.
That Monday nite game will not resemble the debacle in the preseason .
Quit crying the blyes and foaming at the mouth cuze U dislike Rac...I expect the progress to continue to go up..not down..

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So you really think we are gonna take the Giants? Like honestly?

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This is how I see this game playing out... I think our run game will struggle, I think our defense will put up a decent effort... it's all going to come down to 2 things.. 1. Pass protection, can we give our QB at least SOME time to get rid of the ball.. and 2. Can our QB make plays under pressure.. because even if our OL plays well, our QB is still going to get pressure, he has to handle it and make plays...

Sorry, this belongs in next weeks game forum...

There isnt currently a forum for the Giants game or the bye...

It was going to point...this bye week has some big decisions in it...if RAC choses right...maybe we can win some games and a have a respectable 7-9 season...make the wrong ones and we are in serious 2-10 territory.

This Giants game will be the season....it will show ALOT..I mean ALOT...if this team after 2 weeks cant put a complete game together...if DA cant execute again...RAC most likely gets all the blame and is canned after the season.

If we win...then all is well....prove me wrong RAC....

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if this team after 2 weeks cant put a complete game together...if DA cant execute again...RAC most likely gets all the blame and is canned after the season.

If we win...then all is well....

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If we win is all really well? Or have we done what DA did in the 4th quarter and just postponed the inevitable?

If we win any of the next 4 games

Giants,..Skins,...Jags,...Ravens,...2-6,...if we're lucky

This is why they HAVE to beat the Giants ( and NOT because I have tickets,... )

j/c

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-browns-uglywin&prov=ap&type=lgns

Browns’ GM not giving up on season
By TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writer
43 minutes ago

Buzz Up PrintBEREA, Ohio (AP)—Browns general manager Phil Savage could have taken the easy way out and done something radical after Cleveland’s disappointing 0-3 start.

He could have fired coach Romeo Crennel and/or dismissed the rest of Cleveland’s staff. He could have traded embattled starting quarterback Derek Anderson. He could have quit.

Instead, while others were clamoring for major changes, Savage decided to dig in.

“I’ve talked to people around the league, people who have been in this business for a long time, coaches, front-office types, and you don’t go blowing things up after a couple games,” Savage said Monday. “We’ve had a dry spell for those first couple weeks, you’re not going to be successful in this league doing that.

“It’s not been any thought of changing quarterbacks, changing the coach, or any of that. That’s not the thing to do at this juncture of the season. You just don’t do that. You’ve got to give the people a chance to pull themselves out of the situation. We all put ourselves in this spot and we’re the ones who have got to pull us out of it.”

One day after the Browns (1-3) finally got their first win, 20-12 over the short-handed and equally inept Cincinnati Bengals, Savage discussed the state of his struggling team, which reached the season’s first-quarter pole and its bye week hoping the darkest days of 2008 are behind.

Savage didn’t offer excuses for the Browns, who have been ravaged by injuries since training camp. And although Crennel indicated that the club contemplated benching Anderson for Brady Quinn—last week and again on Sunday— Savage said the team has confidence Anderson, a Pro Bowler last season, will work his way through an early season slump.

“We feel like we have enough good players, enough people around him and that he’s a good enough talent with his ability that we’re going to pull out of this and have our best football out in front of us here with him as the quarterback,” Savage said. “It’s not just one thing. We have great confidence in D.A. I think the players in the locker room have confidence in D.A. If we were going to go by everything that outside people thought, be it the media, the fans, what have you, there would probably be half the things that were done would never have happened.

“You’ve got to believe in what you’re doing and believe in the people you have. That’s what we’re trying to do and support D.A. in this cause.”

Savage’s comments seemed at odds with what Crennel said a week ago. Following Anderson’s three-interception performance in a loss at Baltimore, Crennel said the club would evaluate every position, including quarterback, and that Quinn would get more repetitions with the starting offense.

When Crennel announced he was sticking with Anderson, he refused to give specific reasons for his decision.

Savage met with Crennel several times but never got the impression the coach would turn the offense over to Quinn.

“I never walked out of a meeting thinking that there was any serious consideration about making a switch,” Savage said. “When Romeo says that the backup needs to be ready, basically every backup in our building needs to be ready to play. I don’t know how it was framed, I wasn’t part of that conversation, but obviously it created a stir and I think because of some of the decisions he had made, Derek is an easy target. But I think our issues went a little bit deeper than the quarterback position.

There was an overall sense of relief on Monday as the Browns reviewed their ugly win at Cincinnati. They’re still committing too many penalties and Cleveland’s offense, which hasn’t been at full strength this season, has yet to show the big-play capabilities it thrived on in 2007. But the win had everyone feeling a little better.

“It’s great to get that win, but anyone can notice we still did some things we were doing in the first three games,” said guard Eric Steinbach, who played despite a shoulder injury. “We still haven’t played our best football this year, which is exciting to us, knowing that we can come out maybe after this bye and really start clicking and going on all cylinders.

“Basically that’s what we’re looking for and waiting for.”

Savage said he meets with Crennel and his coaching staff each Monday. The discussions are usually candid appraisals of the team and the coaches’ performances. Savage described the open forums as “sometimes not the most pleasant conversation, sometimes it’s uncomfortable.” It’s during these sessions that Savage has a chance to critique Crennel, who has been lambasted by Browns fans for some curious game management.

Savage, though, praised Crennel for his steady hand during Cleveland’s rough start. And while there’s no guarantee Crennel will survive the season should it get worse, Savage seems satisfied the coach is still getting the most out of his team.

“When you start off 0-3 and people are pulling at you in a lot of different directions, it important to have a head coach who’s going to stand in there and is man enough to take some of the criticism,” he said. “Some he’s brought on himself, there’s no doubt about that. You have to have a head coach who’s strong enough to take it. Romeo does that. I think the players know that and they appreciate it.

“As long as they play hard for him, I don’t think we have any issues at that position.”

Hmmm, imagine that. Savage saying things that others on this board said he was saying on the inside.....and he supports RAC. Whodathunkit?

Yes, there were certain posters on here stating that Savage had lost faith in RAC and he would be fired. They stated that Savage not saying publicly that he was supporting RAC was evidence that RAC was gone (of course, they will now say that RAC is gone because Savage showed public support...you know having it both ways LOL).

His vocalizing that he supports Romeo to the media means one of 2 things.....that he supports Romeo...or...that Romeo's a dead duck.
odds at this point are about equal.

I mean really....what else is he going to say?

(that's what you wanted to hear right?)

I think Savage is hanging himself out to dry .. But you got to play the cards you are dealt ..

Even before this presser by Phil today Michelle, I was beginning to wonder if DA remaining in the starting role had something to do with Phil. Now I'm pretty sure we know who has the influence here.

You can tell from the presser that he looked a little uncomfy fielding questions about DA. I saw the condensed version on All Bets Are Off, but he made me want to punch him in the face. And I have always liked Phil.

I don't think RAC likes BQ, for what it's worth. He never calls him by his name...it's always "the kid" or something like that. I'm not sure what the love affair is with Anderson, but if they seriously believe in him after the past three games of this season and the second half of last season, we are screwed and screwed good.

Seriously, what good can they see in Anderson? It seems 99.9% of the fans see zilch. Oh, that's right...we're just stupid fans that can't tell when crap stinks. NM.

True, RAC never calls him Brady for some reason.

I know Crennel seems to favor vets a lot.

Damn, Pittsburgh in FG range...... wrong thread.

it won't matter how much they love DA. the real problem is you never hear about quinn doing anything to indicate he looks ready.

DA does suck. but apparently quinn isn't impressing anyone in practice. BQ better get it together soon.

so what if DA comes out and plays a clunker against the giants? and then another against the redskins? will there be continued excuses for him, or will people actually start to see what most of us have seen for most of anderson's career?

anderson is indeed on a leash.

if he does not perform against the Gs, he will be replaced. he won the bengal game. not with stellar performance, but he won. apparently BQ has looked like crap in practice. i have never heard about brady lighting it up in practice or otherwise outperforming derek during the week. ever. if DA manages to put something together against the Gs he will deserve another start.

to be blunt. DA is not very good. unfortunately neither is his backup according to the coaching staff.

we will just have to wait and see. football gods, please look down and smile upon this team.

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...I was beginning to wonder if DA remaining in the starting role had something to do with Phil. Now I'm pretty sure we know who has the influence here.

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I think something many are overlooking on the QB issue is something some posters have mentioned but get shot down for the very idea of it and that is, that it may be a consensus of the HC, the offensive staff and maybe even Phil as well, that it is not a good time to put Quinn in yet. Just maybe they'd all like to, but instead, they consider the injuries, lack of experienced WR's and the general slow start due to a pre-season in which they accomplished absolutely nothing due to so many early injuries.

Maybe they are waiting for a better time, or maybe the consensus is that DA had a good year last season (good enough in their eyes for a big contract) and they really do feel that he deserves the chance to right himself. If he can't so be it. If he can it's good for everybody.

It could just be that the outrage and name calling aimed at RAC's QB decision is actually a unanimous consensus of the coaching staff and organization and not totally and completely just the opinon of the "dumb ass" HC.

There is the possibility that the entire organization would like to see Quinn in there, as I mentioned above, (as Jim "STFU" Brown said), but the consensus is that they just feel the timing is not right; nor does it make any sense to them to put all that faith in DA as they did in the offseason when they decided to give him the starting job this season, and then toss him under the bus after two or three games as has been decided by many on this board to be "the right thing to do".

Perhaps they understand, as many on here seem not to, that our injuries so early in the preseason really put the brakes on any of the much needed "tune-up" heading into the regular season. That the number of players who started the season inactive due to injury and those who were playing through their injuries, after missing the two weeks of reps just before the regular season, were not exactly sending DA out there with a full deck. Not to mention that DA himself was injured with a concussion in the second game and missed the remainder of the preseason and did not get any reps either so the possibility of the Browns coming out of the gate like they did last year was nil. Maybe they considered all that and feel it's wrong to just throw him under the bus as though the bad start is all his fault.

Posted on this board somewhere is a PFT story saying that Quinn got only two extra reps in practice last week after RAC said they would give him extra reps and have him ready if needed. It could just be that Quinn is already as ready as he's going to get but the team on the field is not ready for him yet. If Quinn comes in by choice then he has to be put in the best position to win. Right now this team is not at that state. To put him in a bad situation, (many rightfully state that no one on offense is playing to the best of their ability and most are making a lot of mistakes), is setting him up to learn bad habits as he tries to overachieve and overcome the state of the team.

To have brought Quinn in before now would be the same thing as having drafted him onto a bad team and expecting him to play well in spite of the circumstances surrounding him. We all know what happens to young QB's who are put in that situation don't we? He has to be put in the best situation to have success.

The extreme retort to that is, "There is never going to be a perfect time and situation", and that is true. But it can certainly can be a much better situation than right now with the team struggling to overcome their unfortunate circumstances. We have the talent on offense. We just need to get them all healthy.

Figure DA to start vs. the Giants. That rotten, stinking, lousy, worthless, who-can-get-excited-about-it win over the bengals was a win. And winning cures everything. The mindset of the entire team has improved due to that win. It doesn't seem so much like an uphill climb as it did while not having won since December of 2007. We should be a notch or two healtier in two weeks. We should also have some of the lack of focus and pressing behind us. We may have a player or two back from injury (Tuck/Stallworth). Enough improvement and clairity at least to give DA enough to work with and a chance to show he's out of his slump and can return to form.

Five games and a bye before the fifth one, along with a healthier, rested team, should be enough of a chance, in my opinion, for DA to straighten up and show something or not. It would certainly not be unfair, in my opinion, if he failed and the QB switch was on. That doesn't mean he has to win the game. But to me, and maybe? to the organization, he needs to play like the "good DA" of last season. He can't be crusified for losing a close game vs. the unbeaten, reining Superbowl Champs. I'd think, if they gave him that start, and maybe the organization does as well, that they did him right and gave him the chance to prove what they paid him to prove.

That may be too much of a chance in some fans minds. But one thing this organization has shown, and no, no just the HC, is that they are good to their players and give them every opportunity even if it means they've spent some money and got nothing for it. They are, at the least, very good and very fair to their players.

Maybe they've seen enough and Quinn starts after the bye. I would not be disappointed with that. But I might rather see the team get another game under their belt especially with Stallworth and Tuck coming back rusty.

Who knows exactly what is being considered in Berea. I highly doubt that everyone in the organinzation including Phil, Chud, and the entire offensive staff thinks Quinn should have played already but the "dumb ass" RAC is taking them all on to prove a point. That's no kind of a team player and you can bet that he preaches "team player" everyday to both coaches and players alike. That just ain't happening. It doesn't seem to be the sort of thing that's in his core character. If by some unlikey scenario that it is happening then he should be fired immediately in my opinion. But it ain't.

I've been called an apologist because I don't publicly condemn some of the decisions and/or actions of the team but instead defend many them. Neither do I publicly complain much about things I strongly disagree with. But I prefer to term myself as someone who looks for the reasons why certain decisions are made and the situations and circumstances that influence them.

I don't always agree with decisions that are made regarding the team. What I do though, is try to understand why they are doing whatever it is they are doing rather than to call them dumb asses because they are not doing it my way.

I feel as though learn more that way.

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so what if DA comes out and plays a clunker against the giants? and then another against the redskins? will there be continued excuses for him, or will people actually start to see what most of us have seen for most of anderson's career?

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Oh, if only those who run the team weren't so damn blind.

An excerpt from Phil's press conference...


"I think the training camp injuries did make a difference with our offense. I think it impacted the quarterback. Not only the injury he sustained but I think probably some of the guys around him going down for a couple of weeks there. And so I hink it's taken us some time to figure out exactly who we are and what we need to be offensively to be productive without having all the pieces in place that we probably anticipated that we were going to have back in July.

With that comes a lot of criticism for the quarterback position. There's always an inordinate amount of criticism or praise for that position. But I though Derek kinda fought through some uneasy moments yesterday and at the end of the day he went 11 for 14. In the latter stages of the game 6 for 7 on the go ahead touchdown drive so we feel like we have enough good players, good people around him and that he's a good enough talent with his ability that we're going to pull out of this and have our best football out in front of us here with him as the quarterback.

We've got to help him play better. We've got to put him positions to be successful. We've got to play the way that can take some of the strain off him and let some other people carry the load at different times during the games and I thought we did that for the most part yesterday.

I thought I'd mention Braylon, you know I think he's a good example of, regardless of level of talent level - ability level, if you miss practice time and you miss camp you don't just walk right back out there an pick up where you left off. I thought that he made a committment last week to really play hard and give a good effort in practice and in the games and I thought yesterday he definately set a tempo early with some of his blocking on the perimeter. It's probably something that you didn't really notice, but I would say that he really got after the people that got in front of him and then of course he made a big play in the endzone. The kind of play that we're expecting him to make on a weekly basis. I think that was something that was positive for him and hopefully we'll go forward with where he potentially can be rather than where he's been those first couple ball games.

I think the offensive line, as a whole, you know they're really the guys who can control the tempo of the game. I thought yesterday they set a tone on the first drive. And you know that group as a whole, it's critical that they play well for us. I mean, you know, that's the one constant that you have in offensive football, is that sometimes your quarterback can be a touch off, sometimes the receivers can drop the ball, sometimes the weather's going to have an impact, but at the end of the day the offensive line is really the engine behind the car. I think that they can play better, I think that when all else fails that's something that we can be able to depend on, I think it's imperitive that they realize that and know that as we get ready for the rest of the year."

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I was beginning to wonder if DA remaining in the starting role had something to do with Phil. Now I'm pretty sure we know who has the influence here.

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I don't see why Phil would have any preference to DA.. he brought DA in from Baltimore, he also pulled the trigger on the deal to get Quinn... so if either one of them turns out to be "the guy" then Phil can claim he was right... so I don't know why he would have a preference other than to get the best guy on the field... unless as some conspiracy theorists predicted, he is actually just trying to protect Quinn for later... It's all possible I suppose.

I am really considering it and talking about since you ask. I know where we are now; we have fired, released traded, and replaced about every other blameworthy individuals. As far as the games and losses, I am convinced that Satan must do the NFL schedule for the Browns; this was especially an especially ugly start.
That being said, this about that.
I want to win every time. I knew we might have a split in games before bye week. A lot of my negativism is not that we lost, it is the way we consistently lose. As a player, a wise coach said, There are losses, and there are beatings." Some of our games have been the latter. The losses stretch to last year when we had to have 'em, had multiple chances with a much more forgiving schedule, and gagged. We lucked into some just to be near playoffs. No wins and during preseason. They are no counters, I agree, but losing matters.
We are not getting a lot better; the indifference to losses alarms me. Many phases of football are mental, like tackling and penalties and catching. We have have looked lousy and ill-prepared more often than I like and more often than not. I think Cowher would give us an edge because he requires performance and confronts weakness. They hit and tackle and usually execute. I am OK with loyalty, to coaches, to players, QBs, and all. But I think we are beyond that or we are accepting and demanding more of the same. I want wins and I want to look better on the field. Always. IF I had to pick the coach who "gives us the best chance to win" and I go with my 'gut', well, it is what it is, and it ain't pretty. Whether it is good enuff remains to be seen.

"Protecting him later" for what ?? There are only two choices here -- to be the starter,...or -- to be traded. The (already) negative (addtional) equity that would be created by a trade wouldn't seem too smart.

I don't even pretend to know or have the karma to second guess,...something is going to happen, and it will hinge on how well the team -- QB and Coach -- performs over these next 4 games. We all want them to succeed; I'm just not sure the all leadership tools are in the battle shed,...(then, not to mention how sharp are they ?)

Savage may be on the hot seat. He drafted Frye early 3rd, gave a 1st and 2nd pick for Quinn and gave DA an extension because he felt other teams were going to sign him so consider that is a first and 3rd. So he has tied up 2 firsts, 1 second and 2 thirds in one position.

More time Quinn sits the more time savage has to say that we took our time to make sure he was ready. Which isnt a bad idea for Savage nor Quinn. Plus Anderson's stock could not be any lower so it can only go higher. If he turns it around yay Browns win and you can trade him for high value at the end of the season. If he continues to suck, we are where we are right now anyway.

As i said before Romeo deserves to be fired but his job is safe for the remainder of this season. Savage's job is safe for now but this season could turn it to insecurity in a hurry.

I'm sure Phil isn't the only one, and he's not overriding the staff, but I think he definitely pushes his influence.

From the beginning, he was making it very clear that DA was the starter. Not that he's entering the offseason as the starter, but the starter for this team period. And he made sure his whole staff knew that.

After Anderson has looked flat out terrible, I hear him coming back on TV in a presser, and spewing the same exact garbage. "Derek deserves to be the starter because of what he did last year." It's not last year, he's playing like garbage, and we're falling behind in a season filled with a very rough schedule. I'd love to be in the media and sit there and ask questions. They're way to easy on him.

He declined during last season as it went on, and he played terrible ever since. Yet we keep hearing about deserving to start because of what he did for 2/3 of a season last year.

Quit living in the past Phil.

Derek isn't cutting it. As far as I'm concerned, he never will.

At least tell me that Quinn isn't ready instead of that garbage about last year.

They're not. They're on the verge of benching him. However, some of us feel it should have been done already. The rest will wait until the trigger is actually pulled and then say it was absolutely 100% the right move, despite being against it prior to it happening. He's an interception machine on game day, and it doesn't take an insider to see that. Please spare me the condescending "the organization must know better than you" spiel. What we've seen is plain as day.