Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto offers his thoughts on the Cleveland Browns, Indians and Cavaliers.
View full sizeBrowns running back Peyton Hillis, center, has turned heads during the preseason with his intense play. 1. When a team trades a third-rounder and two fifth-rounders to move into the second round to draft a player with a history of bad knees, such as the Browns did with Montario Hardesty, it takes a risk -- and opens the door to criticism. So when Hardesty blew out his knee in Thursday's preseason finale, the Browns should have expected the fans to howl and the media to second-guess. Hardesty had knee surgery, a foot stress fracture and ankle sprains at the University of Tennessee.
2. Confession time: I did not criticize the choice of Hardesty. Like the Browns, I believed he was healthy enough after he played 13 games, carried the ball 282 times and gained 1,345 yards at Tennessee in 2009 against some of the nation's top competition. Along with losing Hardesty, the hard part for the Browns is they have nothing to show this season for the third-rounder and the two fifth-rounders. Nor do we know if Hardesty can come back and stay healthy. It's up to Jerome Harrison, who has not looked like the running back who gained 561 yards over the final three games of 2009. Harrison has wanted to be a featured back from opening day, so this is his chance.
3. It's also a tremendous opportunity for Peyton Hillis, who has been impressive in camp. When Hillis was announced as part of the Brady Quinn deal, it seemed like a yawner. Coach Eric Mangini had been a Hillis fan for a few years; now, Hillis is a key player. He caught 118 passes in 44 games at Arkansas and has impressed the Browns with his receiving.
View full sizeRookie Shawn Lauvao, center, will be the starting right guard for the Browns this season.4. Once he settled down after a botched first snap to Colt McCoy (who impressed the coaches with his accuracy the past few weeks) in Thursday's game, rookie Shawn Lauvao did a solid job at center. The third-rounder has won the starting right guard spot. At Arizona State, the 315-pounder ended his career with 33 consecutive starts: 17 at left guard, 12 at left tackle, four at right tackle. He never started at right guard, where the Browns will use him, but seems versatile enough to play anywhere on the line.
5. For all the gnashing of teeth over Hardesty and the endless quarterback talk, the real issue with the Browns in the preseason is the defense. I discount Thursday's game because no one takes it seriously, except players at the end of the bench hoping to keep their jobs. But in the other three games, starting quarterbacks were 30-of-36 passing. Last season, the Browns' defense allowed the most first downs in the NFL, and the second-most yards. Part of it was a lack of team speed, and that seems to be a glaring weakness again.
6. It appears they will start Matt Roth and Scott Fujita at the outside linebacker spots, with Chris Gocong and Eric Barton as inside linebackers. The key backups will be David Bowens, Jason Trusnik and Marcus Benard. The linebackers are crucial to making the 3-4 defense work. Consider that only Barton and Bowens started the 2009 opener for the Browns. The other five linebackers joined the team in the middle of last year or after the season.
7. In the preseason, the Browns had one interception in four games. They had one sack in the first three games, then had three more against the Bears on Thursday. It's possible that defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has not used his best blitzes -- the Browns were eighth in sacks last season. Despite all my whining, the Browns' defense ranked No. 5 in the preseason.
8. As expected, the defensive line starters are Kenyon Coleman, Ahtyba Rubin and Robaire Smith, with Shaun Rogers, Brian Schaefering and Derek Robinson as backups. Obviously, Rogers will start once he is in full-game shape. But he has yet to play a preseason game or do much in practice. The surprise is Robinson, who has played in 25 games with four teams since 2005, but has never started.
9. I will talk Browns with Mary Kay Cabot and Tony Grossi at the Pro Football Sportswriters Breakfast on Sept. 17 at 8 a.m. at The Plain Dealer, 1801 Superior Ave. A lot of fans enjoyed the event last season. We take questions, enjoy a breakfast buffet and give away prizes. Cost is $25 per person. Call 216-999-4028 or check at plaindealer.com/footballbreakfast for more information.
ABOUT THE TRIBE . . .
1. Grady Sizemore's major knee injury has opened the door for Trevor Crowe to earn a spot for next season. Crowe entered Saturday hitting .245 (.632 OPS) with two homers and 30 RBI in 363 at-bats. His on-base percentage is .301. He's a switch-hitter, but batting only .196 from the right side. His defense in center is well-below average, and he takes silly chances to make big plays in the outfield. He is 15-of-18 in stolen bases. He will be 27 in November. In 546 career big-league at-bats, he's a .242 hitter. It's doubtful much will change.
View full sizeAndy Marte has not been real impressive in the field as of late.2. I just can't watch Luis Valbuena, who is hitting .175 in 200 at-bats. He was handed the second-base job. He could have grabbed third base. He's a left-handed batter, but hitting only .148 against right-handers. He's below average defensively no matter where he plays. He will be 25 in November. At this point, why even consider him for 2011?
3. Third base has been wide open for Andy Marte, who suddenly has regressed from a decent glove man to one who has made some truly awful plays. He's hitting .216 (.651 OPS) with four homers in 134 at-bats. Just as disturbing as his defensive decline (nine errors in 20 games!), he's batting only .180 vs. right-handers. Marte will be 27 in October. He is a .216 (.628 OPS) career hitter in 802 at-bats. Like Crowe, he was a once hot prospect who has been given a couple of good chances over the years -- and not done much with them.
4. Lou Marson is in his second tour as the starting catcher this season and not much has changed. He can throw out runners trying to steal (25-of-63, 39 percent). After a shaky start, he has improved at blocking balls in the dirt. But he's batting only .190 (.536 OPS). It's .147 vs. right-handers. He's a backup, period.
5. Perhaps the most disappointing young player has been Matt LaPorta. Perhaps his hip never fully healed from surgery, as he's bothered by it again. He's 25 and was handed first base in June. He's hitting .235 with nine homers and 34 RBI. Since the All-Star break, it's .217 (.649 OPS). I'm not ready to write him off, but his name should be written in pencil at first base for next year.
6. Said Tribe assistant general manager Chris Antonetti: "You have to be careful when evaluating players in their first 500 big-league at-bats. A lot of guys have started slow or had real peaks and valleys. It's a tough adjustment, coming to the majors. So we want to be patient with Matt."
7. If LaPorta is going to be out for a while, hand a first baseman's mitt to Jordan Brown and let's see if this career .308 minor-league hitter can help. He's 26, now is the time to give him a chance.
8. I like Jayson Nix or Jason Donald to take over second base. Both have shown decent defense, and some offense. They have taken advantage of this season to at least show they belong in the majors in some capacity.
9. Unlike players such as Valbuena, who folded when they slumped in the majors, Donald has not allowed himself to hit bottom. He actually went into the weekend with seven more extra-base hits this season than Asdrubal Cabrera. Here is Donald's batting averages by month: .256, .257, .268, .262 -- pretty consistent for his first trip to the big leagues. He turned 26 on Saturday.
10. Michael Brantley is a .291 hitter since returning from the minors in August. At 23, he has lot of time on his side and don't be surprised if he develops some power in a few years.
11. Two pitchers who have made the most of their chances are Josh Tomlin and Jeanmar Gomez. They are a combined 6-5 with a 3.63 ERA. Only once in 14 starts have they failed to pitch at least five innings. Both have impressed with their poise, as did Carlos Carrasco in his first start coming up from Class AAA. The hope is at least two of them can win spots in the rotation for 2011. The Indians believe Tomlin can help in middle and long relief -- he's done that in the minors -- if he's not a starter.
12. The Indians see Travis Hafner as a DH who can play four to five times a week next season. In 323 at-bats, he's hitting .276 (.815 OPS) with 10 homers. Obviously, he's not the same Hafner who had a 1.000 OPS before his shoulder injury and surgery. But he's guaranteed $13 million a year over the next three seasons. His contract destroys his trade value, but the Indians think he can still help them as a DH -- so they can get something for their money.
ABOUT THE CAVS . . .
1. Some Cavs fans are very down on Antawn Jamison, acting as if he did little for the team after he was obtained from Washington in February. But that is simply not true. Jamison's game fell apart in the Boston series, where he looked lost and was manhandled by Kevin Garnett while averaging 11.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and shooting 42 percent. No excuse for any of that, other than a lot of strange things happened in that series -- starting with the play of LeBron James.
2. In the first round against Chicago, Jamison averaged 19.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and shot 51 percent. After James, he was the Cavs' best player in that series. In the regular season, Jamison played 25 games for the Cavs, averaging 15.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and shooting 49 percent in 32 minutes a game. He played in the final three regular-season games (all losses) when the Cavs had no interest in winning. They were 17-6 when he started, including those last three losses. He also took only 13.4 shots per game with the Cavs, compared with the 17 shots that he averaged in 51/2 seasons with Washington.
3. The point is, Jamison remains a valuable player. The Princeton-type offense that new coach Byron Scott will employ is much the same as what was used in Washington, where Jamison was a 20-point scorer. Scott's former assistant, Eddie Jordan, took that offense to Washington and Jamison thrived in it.
4. Jamison has been effective in the postseason. Before 2010, he appeared in 31 playoff games, averaging 19.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and shooting 44 percent. The Cavs didn't seem interested in getting him the ball in the Boston series. Then again, after being up, 2-1, they didn't seem interested in much of anything.
5. The point is, Jamison could return to his form of scoring 20 points a game this season, because of Scott's system and more shots being available following James' departure.