Hannitized21's Blog

Please tell me the rumors I've heard about Marty Shottenheimer returning to the sidelines in Cleveland are true. Oh, do I long for the days of Kosar to Slaughter or Mack up the middle and Metcalf returning yet another punt against Pittsburgh for a touchdown. Phil Savage, please fire Romeo Crennel as soon as possible for Marty ball. I wanna hear it! I wanna hear it again on audio before a game that actually means something..... "There's a gleam!!...."

Say what you will about the state of the Browns right now, but there are reasons to believe in the future of this franchise. First of all, GM Phil Savage didn't push the panic button when it came to the 3rd pick. Savage took the top offensive lineman in the draft in Joe Thomas, gambling that noone would take a QB that wasn't needed. When it became realistic, Savage traded to get the future of the franchise, Brady Quinn.

Whether or not Romeo will be on the sidelines past 2007 is irrelevent. The pieces are in place, thanks to Phil Savage. Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow II are both being more and more implemented into the offensive scheme thanks to an offensive coordinator not named Maurice Carthon. The Browns also have defensive forces yet to be recognized. Savage's 1st round pick last year, Wimbley from Florida State, proved he was legit. Leigh Bodden has made a claim to be the next shut down corner. Chaun Thompson has made Butch Davis look more like a sheep instead of a donkey. All this combined gives Browns fans something to look forward to. A Super Bowl appearance? Not yet.

So Joey Porter is in the name calling business now. After last Thursday's win over the Browns, Porter used a slur equivilent of a homosexual male, when talking about Kellen Winslow II. It's no secret the two trash talkers didn't like each other on the field, but when Winslow tried to shake Porter's hand before last week's game, Porter refused. Porter went onto to call the Browns and Winslow "soft," and that the Steelers domination over the Browns (winning 13 of the last 14 meetings) makes this a non-rivalry. I think Porter needs to remove the plank out of his eye while pointing out the speck of dust in Cleveland's. The Browns are soft? Maybe they are. But they're not the team returning from a Super Bowl win. They're not a team that lost to the Oakland Raiders. And they're not a team to win a Super Bowl and miss the playoffs next year. So yes, Joey Porter can kick a team while they're down. But in reality, where's his team going?

Even though the Browns have the second to the worst starting quarterback in the NFL, the team does have bright spots that will be interesting to see in play next season. The first is the outstanding play of Phil Savage's first round draft pick, Wimbley. It's nice to know this first round pick wasn't a waste a la Gerrard Warren (who drafted ahead of Tomlinson) and Courtney Brown. The defensive backfield with Leigh Bodden, Sean Jones and Davin Holley remind me of the Foge Fazio days with Daylon McCutcheon and company. Second is the play making ability that Braylon Edwards has shown. Notice, Edwards and Winslow are not used to losing coming from Michigan and Miami, and they are letting it be known that it's unacceptable. Refreshing. Third, Josh Cribbs. I'm talking about the Josh Cribbs who returns kickoffs, not punts. It should be interesting to see what kind of moves Phil Savage makes in the offseason. A quarterback change is absolutely necessary. Just ask the Bengals how much of a difference a legit quarterback makes.

Yesterday's win was nice and all, but let's not forget that the Browns are 4-8. Let's not forget that the Browns haven't won back to back games since their playoff year under Butch Davis. And let's not forget that the Steelers have dominated this rivalry for years now. I for one, am sick of this. I hate Pittsburgh with every inch of my body and it's humiliating to lose to them year in and year out. It's also disgusting to see the rise in number of Steeler fans in Ohio. I find it very refreshing to see the fire in players like Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow II when it comes to this rivalry. However, trash talkin' alone doesn't win ballgames as we saw when Pittsburgh came to town. It's time for Browns fans and the team themselves to step up and show some pride. Let's go into Pittsburgh and smack them in the mouth!

That was a great come from behind win for those Brownies! The only thing I'm going to get excited about though is the possibility of the change at the quarterback position. I'm not saying Derek Anderson is the quarterback of the future in Cleveland but I am saying he's significantly better than Charlie Frye. He's got size over Frye, he throws darts and he doesn't dance around all the time leaving his personel on the field to wonder where he is. Let's just say it'd be nice to buy a number 10 Browns jersey with the last name Quinn on the back of it next year. The bottom line is this, this is still a team in shambles and I actually don't blame Braylon Edwards for his outburst last week. Romeo Crennel and Charlie Frye have been given passes week in and week out for their subpar performances. Let's not forget that we ran out the only coach and quarterback (Butch Davis and Tim Couch) that took this team to the playoffs since their return out of town. I'm not defending Butch Davis, but let's just say I'm not sold on Crennel either. With the talent the Browns have on both sides of the ball and special teams, the only excuse you can make for this team being 4-8 instead of 6-6 or 7-5 is the miserable performance by an undersized and illequipped quarterback and a coach with no fire inside.