A busy off-season that included the hiring of Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert means Browns fans can legitimately hope for a better team on the field in 2010, Terry Pluto writes.
It's been a tough stretch for Browns fans since the team returned in 1999, but some key front office moves in the off-season give fans a reason to be optimistic.It has to be, right?
The Browns finished last year on a four-game winning streak. Then again, they also finished with a 5-11 record. It's the fifth time in seven years that they have lost at least 11 games.
It can't be that bad again. Not another season where the team loses four of its first eight games by at least 21 points. Not another fall of guessing who will be the quarterback.
Bruce Hicks e-mailed: "I'm almost 53 and would not be surprised if I left Earth without seeing another solid Browns team. That said, I do feel different about our latest edition. Why? This is the first time in many, many years I had the impression that the people leading the team actually have an understanding about what they want to accomplish."
Welcome new team President Mike Holmgren, who coached two different teams to the Super Bowl.
Welcome new General Manager Tom Heckert, whose drafting helped the Philadelphia Eagles contend year after year.
And Eric Mangini is still the coach, despite a stormy first season that began by the team losing 11 of 12 games, some big-name players being traded and a general manager fired at midseason.
But the Browns won those final four games, including a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. That broke a 12-game losing streak to the Steelers dating back to 2003, and won Mangini some grudging respect.
"I believe Mangini has brought discipline to this team," e-mailed Josh Abbott.
"To win without talent, we have to be disciplined. . . . We started seeing the discipline that Mangini brought last year . . . a little momentum from a disciplined team, and watch out, we may smell playoffs."
With Mike Holmgren running the show, the Browns appear to be pointed in the right direction.Which is so much better than simply thinking the team stinks.
But playoffs? Playoffs? The Browns in the playoffs?
OK, Mike Holmgren, what will your team's record be this season?
"Nice try," he said at the start of training camp. "I'd rather not [guess], but I think we will be improved. I believe we will be improved."
Players embrace team approach
Holmgren is looking for the same thing as most realistic Browns fans -- a team that is better, a team that you can watch without having to reach for the Tums at halftime.
As Paul McIntyre emailed: "I have hope in one thing. Culture change. . . . I'm hopeful that I won't have to turn the game off in the middle of the second quarter because the score may be 10-0 but deep down you know they are playing like the score should be 30-0. . . . They won't win most games but I will be entertained at the end of the day."
Yes, fans are sort of down to this -- please, don't embarrass us!
Mangini doesn't think that will happen. Each year, Sports Illustrated polls players about the coaches they'd most like to play for . . . and the coach they'd least like to play for.
The past two years, Mangini has been near the top of the list of coaches players want to avoid.
But these Browns seem to be buying into the coach.
"This is a hard-working group of guys, a group of guys that really care about their profession," Mangini said. "When you have everybody pulling in the same direction, it's a lot more powerful. If you have everybody focused on the team first instead of individual success or credit or any of that stuff, it's powerful. There are a lot of things that we have to do right day in and day out and but I know that these guys want to do it right day in and day out."
Only 18 of 53 players remain from the team that Mangini took over in 2009. The Holmgren/Heckert front office imported 14 new players since January.
Joe Buck e-mailed: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Another year of Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn (at quarterback) would be just unbearable."
Holmgren agreed, which is why he brought in veteran Jake Delhomme at quarterback.
The addition of Jake Delhomme appears to have brought much-needed stability to the quarterback position, Understand this is not Bernie Kosar in his prime. It's not another Brian Sipe waiting for a chance, sitting on the end of the bench. Delhomme is a 35-year-old quarterback who led Carolina to the 2003 Super Bowl and was very productive until a horrible 2009 when he had only eight touchdown passes compared to 18 interceptions. The Panthers were so discouraged, they cut him despite owing him $12 million for this season.
ESPN's John Clayton rated the NFL's top 33 quarterbacks. Guess who came in at No. 33?
Clayton wrote: "Interceptions in the playoff loss to Arizona in 2008 led to a downward spiral for a quarterback who won a lot of games for John Fox and the Panthers. At 35, Delhomme has no chance of being a starter anywhere else if he doesn't cut it in Cleveland. Chance of being an elite (quarterback): 0 percent."
Like Holmgren, Heckert and Mangini have been enamored by Delhomme, who completed 38 of 48 passes in the preseason. Many fans agree.
"Jake Delhomme is a true professional and has shown poise, leadership and accuracy in this offense," e-mailed Mark Burnett. "This alone would be a reason to believe."
It's almost impossible for the quarterback play to be any worse. In the past two seasons, the Browns quarterbacks have been the worst in the NFL. They haven't just been terrible, it's historically horrible. In 2008 and 2009, they failed to complete 50 percent of their passes -- something the Browns hadn't done since 1974!
A little respect would be nice
T.J. Falbo e-mailed: "For Browns fans, (it is) refreshing just to see a just-competent quarterback. We may not be 10-6, but there's an important difference between being 5-11 with an average margin of defeat of 10+ points, and a 6-10 team or a 7-9 team that is competitive every Sunday."
Holmgren called Delhomme's struggles in 2009 "an aberration." Delhomme naturally agreed, adding: "It's a fresh start for me. It's new and it's exciting. I enjoy the guys, I enjoy our locker room and I enjoy the way the guys work. This atmosphere doesn't happen at all places."
Some Browns fans are holding back.
As Ed Neugebauer e-mailed: "I know better than to get my hopes up on the Browns, they are like that beautiful girl you had a crush on when you were a kid . . . and she always broke your heart."
Then he added, "All I can say is the Browns are moving in the right direction."
Some fans bleed their team colors. Other fans feel as if all they do is bleed.
"You stub your toe, it hurts like a son-of-gun first and then it bleeds," e-mailed Tom Green. "I have been a Browns fan all my life. I bleed brown. With the upper management in [place], the coach can now concentrate on coaching -- and I have a gut feeling the Browns will . . . be a surprise to everyone in the NFL . . . and earn a little respect."
Given the recent history of this team, a little respect would go a long way.