DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Mary Cabot does her best Crennel-apologist routine

he didnt draft cribbs.......just saying

I'm not a Savage apologist, but RAC is the primary culprit in all of this. This team has some talent. We lack position coaching, gameplanning, adjustments, PLAYER DEVELOPMENT, using the right personnel, etc ... all the stuff that falls on the coach. As much as I can't stand Savage's whining, why do you think he kept repeating the mantra ... "I'm responsible for the 53" ... he knows that RAC is a bozo and he is trying to distance himself from him.

Listen to the announcers that call the games. They are doing everything in their power to come up with answers to how we are playing without being condescending. They are laughing under their breaths. Embarrassing.

With largely the same cast of characters, this team went 10-6 last year. Easier schedule or not, the dropoff this year is beyond drastic. That's RAC.

Having said that, parting with Savage also wouldn't bother me in the least. He's done some good, some bad ... but doesn't appear to be a savior to me. He lacks the qualities of a true leader.

Riz
The coach is always the main culprit when a team has a losing season. Add on a fan base that thought the team was going to the playoffs and that means the coaches head will be served up. But the Cabot's article points out that there is more to this season's problems than RAC.

Yes, we talent. The problem is that there isn't enough of if to really do anything. O-line right side is a mess, D-ends are below average and the LB experiment has gone all wrong. Savage was saying that he was not drafting specifically for the type of D we run, then I would get rid of him right away! Savage brought in Chud, and this year the playcalling has been inconsistent and Chud does not use all the weapons he has! So that means Savage has just as much blame as RAC. The backups we have on this roster are not very good. That is Savage territory!

Yes, RAC is the coach and its his job to coach them up. And the buck stops with him. But as I said before, do not be surprised when the new coach comes in and Savage is gone!

Dog I agree with ya, I'm not sure why everyone wants to keep Savage but ditch Crennel. I can count on one hand the DECENT people he has brought here and with all the baggage to come along with it. There was another article where he said he should just getting a payraise and taking over (or something like that)...... it seems like he tried to.

he didnt draft hall either, by the way where the heck did that dude go?

He did get rogers and williams, we still average 150 yards on the ground against us.

He got stallworth

cousins?

bodden is a guy we sorely miss

Add on a fan base that thought the team was going to the playoffs and that means the coaches head will be served up.

You know I hear that a lot. But I didn't think we'd go to the playoffs. In the beginning I thought we'd be lucky to hit 8-8. I also said that if we didn't (hit 8-8), RAC would probably be gone.

After the first Bengals game I changed that to say that we'd be lucky to hit 5 wins. And I still figured RAC wouldn't survive.

Now here we are, about to finish 4-12. I don't think the fans "over-expected" I think the Browns "under-delivered". We won't get a better team until we decide not to accept the crappy one we keep getting. Maybe if there are a few more games with 30-40 thousand fans disguised as empty seats, like yesterday, management will get the message. I hope so. Hopefully, they've already got it.

Honestly I don't feel replacing Rac is making him a scapegoat..true some things he just can't be blamed for ..but there are things he's simply cannot seem to do..and it's those things( I look at) that proves he's not the right HC for this team.
Now looking at some of this..I could get nasty about it..

1. Players: An example of the disconnect between Crennel and Savage concerns the drafting of UNLV linebacker Beau Bell. A league source said Crennel watched tape of Bell before the draft and determined that he was not the right player for him. Not only did the Browns draft Bell, they traded their fifth-round pick to move up in the fourth round to get him.

Was this discussed like the drafting of Wimbley???
Did he speak up and say I don't want him??
If he did and was ignored then I fault whoever was lobbying for the pick.

Before the 2007 season, Crennel made it clear he wanted to keep safety Brian Russell. Russell was allowed to become a free agent. This season, when Daven Holly went out for the year with a knee injury and Leigh Bodden was traded to Detroit, Crennel wanted to bring in veteran cornerback Ty Law, who was signed by the Jets before Week 11. Crennel talked to Law all season, but Savage repeatedly said Law didn't fit in the Browns' budget. Crennel also was interested in trading for Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard when he was available.

Now we heard that Law being too expensive and old..I was against it ..then cooled to it..but Sheppard was intriguing..I just didn't think we could give up another higher pick for him..so this one is iffy for me..again this falls on Phil more..and he had said he couldn't fix everything ..now if he could have done more..then I will lay that on him.


Crennel and his staff also wanted to bring in a veteran receiver such as a Joe Horn, Terry Glenn or Keenan McCardell when it became apparent Joe Jurevicius would be lost for the season and Dont Stallworth was hurt.
Now that area ticked me off a lot just like corner...because Stallworth was too much of a risk in the first place..and when he imploded early Phil should have made some move to get a bandaid..he handicapped the offense more by not doing anything.

As for his 3-4 defense, Crennel was not given the horses to run the scheme effectively. Some of Savage's draft picks, including linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, are better suited to the 4-3. Even Savage admitted that he hasn't been drafting specifically for the 3-4, but leaning toward versatile players. Crennel needed a formidable pass rusher to make the scheme work, and Kamerion Wimbley is barely rushing anymore, instead dropping back more into coverage.

When did Phil admit he hadn't been drafting specifically for the 34???
Because thats setting Rac up to fail..thats his job to get players for a specific defense .
It's easy to see it but I never heard that admission..here's where I take him to task..34'S DO HAVE VERSITILE players but if you draft correctly you get players that fit, and can be moved around.
He ought to know how to draft tweeners..using college OLB's to put inside and undersized college ends as OLB's..

The next thing on my mind was the drafting of Wimbley ..I found out that Phil scouted him and liked him..however even though Rac said they would look better with a pass rusher and it played into Savage's scheme...someone's common sense should have argued just as loudly that a run stuffer was needed first and you can a find a tweener throughout the draft..this one still ticks me off..

I always read Cabot and Pluto when I can. She is insightful here as he is always. It "helps" to know a bit more. Sorry, Bad Fan Day. It confirms what I suspected, and though a Doc Savage fan at first, I like him much less in his duties expanded position. Just because he has a great work ethic, doesn't mean he has sound business dealings. This article explains many issues well, and this isn't to take Cabot to task in any way. But as a fan let my pain echo out of Berea, 'So what!?!?!' I may understand what was or was not RAC's fault, either en todo or in part. But that said, do we want more? Can it be fixed with the same players and others on stage for the ambiguous 'continuity' factor which sounds like a hogwash kinda rationalization to see if we as fans will sit still and buy manage ment decisions. For whatever and all reasons, this is not a NFL-competitive franchise as coached and as fielded. No matter the length of her article or the truth therein, we did not blitz, did not score, did not compete, and we are substantially worse than last year when we were not good enough. I do not want a rationalization; just a touchdown from the O in December, some respectability as a fan. We come up short in a host of categories that matter statistically. Sorry for the mean spiritedness, but RAC it isn't what it isn't, for whatever reasons. It is not a reflection on you as a person of fine individual character, but the head coach needs to accomplish more.