Are the Browns ready to take the next step in "The Process" and beat the Falcons?
View full sizeEric Mangini takes the next step in "The Process" and does something new: watches a Browns win from the sidelines.That someone is Mike Amicarelli, opining on the blog landloyalty.com.
The 2008 Browns needed an enema in the worst way come 2009. The 2009 season revolved around “stripping the team down to its very core” year and establishing a mentality of toughness. Of course, despite Alex Mack being an exceptional 1st round pick, the rest of the draft is sketchy at best, and not much pure talent was acquired.
But, it was only step one of what Mangini calls “The Process” which he stated is a 5-year plan in an ESPN The Magazine article before the season.
So what is the 2010 season about? It’s Step 2 of “The Process.”
It’s not about contending for a Super Bowl, it’s about building the team back up using the concrete foundation of toughness established in 2009 (the concrete which hardened in December).
If 2009 was about pouring concrete, 2010 is about laying bricks. While the record hasn’t shown it, the results on the field speak for itself.
Through four games, the Browns have physically punished every team they’ve played. If it weren’t for critical, maddening mistakes where the team shot themselves in the foot, one can make a truly logical case that the Browns could be 3-1, maybe 4-0.
Uh, OK, Mikey. Starting Blocks thinks you may be getting a little ahead of "The Process" with that kind of observation.
Missed it by THAT much
Steve Doerschuk of the Sporting News has an interesting preview of Sunday's Browns-Falcons game at Cleveland Browns Stadium. His analysis takes a look at several keys, including Browns quarterback Jake Delhomme's possible rust after a three-week, injury-induced layoff, Peyton Hillis' emergence and the possible effectiveness of tight end Ben Watson, who's having what could become a career year (even it is is because the Browns' wideout corps, couldn't catch a cold until Chansi Stuckey came up with 10 grabs last week).
It will not be a surprise if the Browns pull the upset. They have held fourth-quarter leads in all four games. They found ways to lose the first three, including what amounted to a statement game at Baltimore, but gained confidence by holding on against Cincinnati. The records-Cleveland's 1-3 vs. Atlanta's 3-1-might be much less revealing than the teams' most recent games. The Falcons were lucky to beat a San Francisco team that is 0-4. They likely would have been toast if 49ers CB Nate Clements hadn't fumbled away a late interception return. The Browns, on the other hand, controlled most of their game against defending AFC North champ Cincinnati, ending the Bengals' eight-game division winning streak. Matt Ryan has run hot and cold. He is coming off a two-interception, three-sack game against the 49ers -- and that was at home.
In the end, it is hard to imagine that a team whose last road game was a win against the defending Super Bowl champion Saints will be at a loss for how to cope at Cleveland. Falcons 24, Browns 17.
Sigh.
From The Plain Dealer
Browns beat writer Tony Grossi sees similarities in the Browns and Falcons. Both franchises were in disarray, and now are under the leadership of men who seem to be turning them around: Barberton native Thomas Dimitroff for the Falcons and Mike Holmgren for the Birds. Grossi talked to Dimitroff about how he went about resurrecting a franchise wracked and nearly ruined by Michael Vick's dogfighting conviction.
Grossi also gives his weekly scouting report on the Falcons.
The hit Browns DB T.J. Ward laid on Cincinnati receiver Jordan Shipley is still drawing commentary. The latest, courtesy of beat writer Mary Kay Cabot, comes from Mike Pereira, who used to be the NFL veep for officiating. Pereira, now an analyst for Fox Sports, said the hit WAS a cheap shot, and that Ward should be fined "at least $25,000."