Super Bowl Aspirations?

Training camp in Berea opened on Wednesday. And this is the season. This is the season for the Browns. This was supposed to be the season for the Indians. But we're not going to talk about that. And we're going to focus on the positive. And the positive is playing in Cleveland Browns stadium this fall!

The defense is going to be much improved. With the additions of Shawn Rogers and Cory Williams on the D-Line, which was the weakest part of the '07 Browns, may be the strength of the '08 version. The reviews on Rogers have been real good so far. He's very quickly becoming a leader on the D.

And so far all I've read are great things about Kellen Winslow. He wants a new contract, but he vows to not be a distraction... Again, positive thoughts, so we're not going there. But it really sounds like he's dedicated to being the best player out on the field.

Not to change the subject abruptly, but I'm watching Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network. I do believe this guy has the best job in the world. He goes all over the place eating good food. Not the gourmet crap that most food reviewers go to. He's at a BBQ place in Memphis right now, and I'm seriously considering hopping into the car and heading down there...

Anyhow, all of the things I've read so far about the first 3 days of training camp are good. And of course the debate is who is goign to play QB for this team. I hate this debate, and I'll never understand why having 2 capable QBs is a bad thing?? I don't know what the stat is, but very few QBs made it through last season unscathed. Also, do we forget the DA has only been a starter for one year? He started 3 games in the lost '06 season after Charlie Frye was nearly decapitated because he enjoyed holding onto the ball and making poor, slow, decisions? DA didn't even start the first game last season? And for the majority of last season, he play fantastic football. So well that both Braylon and Winslow made the pro bowl. Along with rookie left tackle Joe Thomas. You don't think that had anything to do with the way Anderson played?? Yes, he played horribly against Cincinnati. That was painful to watch, very. But if you are going to crucify the guy for 1 or 2 bad games, in his first season as a starter, you're crazy.

It's frustrating to listen to. The blogs that I read from the Plain Dealer talked about the first couple days of Training Camp, talked about how DA threw 3 interceptions on Thursday. And there were already talking about how horrible he is and how he should be the backup, and how Brady is such the better QB, and how... Just annoying. Braylon even came out and said that it was a huge distraction last season not knowing who the QB is going to be.

DA is the guy, he's going to stay the guy. So stop all of the Brady Quinn talk for a while. I'm already tired of it. Again, what's the problem with having 2 quality QBs?? Exactly.

Looking forward to signing up for the NFL Sunday ticket! Can't wait for the season to get going! Can't wait to see the excitement in Cleveland!

A Busy Week-in-Review

Big week in sports. Between Brett Favre being a little bitch and not just retiring. Josh Hamilton putting on a display in the homerun contest Monday night. The Rays demise in the AL East. Life after CC. And training camp opens in a week!

Where to start where to start???

I guess we'll get the bad out of the way. Apparently Brett Favre is waging a media war against the Packers. He's now claiming that he was forced to retire. Or something, I can't stand to listen to him anymore. Just go away. Why wait until now to try and wage this battle? Why not 4 months ago. Maybe at that point they would have been more open to the idea of him coming back. You don't think the coaching staff and the management teams have been feverishly working on a game plan with Aaron Rogers?

Which brings me to my next point. Why does he have to be given the starting role? Why shouldn't he fight for the starting job. If he's the better man, then he's starts. Isn't this usually how things work? I think it's ridiculous the way he's acting! Don't get me wrong, I think Farve is a great QB. I love his intensity, the fun he has on the field, and just the way he plays the game. But this is just an old, tired act.

And the real kicker. He went on Greta's On the Record to whine about all this. How many different places could he have gone to vent? When I worked nights I watched Greta just about every night. And if you've never watched the show, you can just watch one and you've seen them all. She always has the same guests and asks the same questions. I didn't watch the interview, but I would not be the least bit surprised if she asked him if he knew where Natalee Holloway was.

Life without CC is much better than originally thought. They're somehow hitting and they just swept the Rays in Cleveland. This really shouldn't be too surprising. They're lineup is exactly the same, they just have Sowers or some other lackey pitching every 5th day. And the offense started producing. So, they swept the Rays. Stranger things have happened.

Which brings me to the fact that the Rays have collapsed. They were 7 games up in the loss column about 2 weeks ago. Now they're down a game. The All-Star break could not have come at a better time. They need this break to get back on track and start again dominating the AL East like they did for most of the first half of the season. They've got a great young team. And there's nothing more I would love to see than both the Yankees and Sox out of the postseason. I'm not holding my breath that this is going to happen, but miracles do happen.

Monday night at the "House that Ruth Built" was simply amazing. Did you know that they were tearing it down at the end of this season? Yeah, me either. Anyhow, Josh Hamilton put on an amazing display. It looked like he was hitting balls off a tee the way he was launching them out of Yankee Stadium. It looked effortless. He made it look like anybody could hit a baseball 400 feet.

It's a great story about him also. Got rid of the drugs, got his life back on track, and is now an all-star putting on a display nobody is going to forget about anybody anytime soon. It was amazing. I enjoyed watching the competition and all of the fun that the other major leaguers were having sitting and watching.

I'm not going to get into A-Rod not entering the competition.

And lastly, the Browns open training camp next Wednesday. Where did the summer go??? But I, along with most of the rest of the country, have very high hopes for the Browns this season. Let's hope they don't collapse and pull what the Indians did this summer. From what I hear, Brady is playing some good football and DA is playing better. The O-line is back together. They got some help on the D-line. The linebackers have matured, Jamal Lewis has revitalized his career. And the recieving corps is going to be 2nd to none! And with my purchase of the Sunday ticket this season, I can't wait for football to start!!

Browns Get A MNF Date!

They're getting 3 MNF games to be exact! This is 3 more than they have had since the Browns came back to Cleveland in 1999. This is great news for a franchise on the upswing!

Although they didn't make the playoffs last season, because they should have won when they had the chance, and Indianapolis decided to send it in against the Titans, but their future is looking real bright. Derek Anderson developed into an excellent Quarterback. Braylon Edwards is emerging as one of the top 5 wideouts in the league. And this includes getting his ego under wraps. Winslow is working to become the TE he was supposed to be before he tried out for the motorcycle circus. The O-Line came together in a big way last season.

The only question mark is going to be the defense. If they come together this season like the Offense did last year. They can be a very dangerous team! They are going to be a very exciting team to watch!

So, they've got their limit 5 nationally televised games this season. They've got week 2 at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Sunday night against the Steelers. Week 6 Monday night against the defending Champion Giants, again at home. A Thursday night meeting with Denver in week 10, in Cleveland. Then they travel to Buffalo for a week 11 meeting on Monday night. And their last nationally televised game will be in Philly for a Monday night matchup in week 15.

This is huge news for this organization. Look at where they were last season at this time. All of the question marks?? Is Braylon going to get his head screwed on straight? Can Winslow play with his surgically repaired knee? What's going to happen to the O-Line?? Who's going to play QB? Are we going to be able to put a Defense on the field. I believe my prediction for the Browns last August was 4 victories.

So the fact that the NFL is putting quite a bit of stock in the Browns is saying alot for what Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel have done over the past 2 years. Very exciting outlook on the shores of Lake Erie!!

February is FINALLY over!

Well, the worst month for sports if finally over, and we can start getting on to some things that really matter. Spring Training baseball, Fantasy Baseball drafts, and the NFL free-agent signing period! Wooo-Hooo!!!

Let's start at Cleveland Browns Stadium, or Berea, or wherever Phil Savage calls home these days. In the last week the Browns have signed Shaun Rogers, Corey Williams, and Donte Stallworth, and re-signed Derek Anderson.

We'll begin at QB with the re-sign of Anderson. I think this was essential. The Browns have assembled a team that can do some damage this year! Not in 3-5 years, THIS YEAR. Anderson will hopefully build on the Pro Bowl season he had last and get himself into a consistent groove. With the talent the Browns have, the don't need Anderson to have a 100+ passer rating every game. They need consistent play, and this is what Anderson is going to give you.

So you say that Brady Quinn needs to be either starting or traded?? Well, I don't see the problem with having 2 capable QBs on the team? Look at how many QBs the NFL went through last season. I don't know the exact number, but I think it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 QBs took a snap. If Anderson gets hurt, and you've traded Brady, who do we have playing QB??? Ken Dorsey?? Josh Cribbs??? What's the problem with a little insurance policy??? I'm not going to hide the fact that I do not like Brady Quinn. I don't think he's that great of a QB, when he was at ND, all he did was beat mediocre teams and throw the ball to Jeff Smardjtizmarta. But with the way the Browns have gone through QBs in the last 9 years, I see nothing wrong with leaving Brady on the sidelines to learn another year.

Sticking with the O, we signed New England Patriot Donte Stallworth. Donte will be the new #2 target for Anderson this year. I love this signing! I love anybody that comes from the Pats. I hate the Pats, but I think they learn that they need to win as a team. Look at what they turned Randy Moss into??? Anyhow, when Anderson drops back he's going to have #1 Braylon, #2 Stallworth, #3 Winslow, #4 Jurevicius. Or he can turn around and hand the ball off to a resurgent Jamal Lewis running behind one of the best front 5s in football. You tell me how a team is going to stop all those weapons???

Now to the D, where the real help was needed. They acquired Shaun Rogers from the Lions for this season's 3rd round pick and Leigh Bodden. I haven't read a whole bunch about Rogers, but I guess he's having some problems fitting in with the coaching staff in Detroit, and hasn't been playing quite as well. He was a Pro Bowler in 04-05 and has been nothing more than a big, fat, distraction since. All I can hope for is that he decides to get back into shape and help a good team get to the playoffs. I can understand how being on a losing team can break down you morale, and a change of scenery is generally a good thing. Let's hope that this revitalizes the 28 year old Rogers into good things! The Browns gave up a 3rd round pick and Leigh Bodden to bring Rogers into camp. I wish I could say that they got good value for that trade, but only time is going to be able to give the answer for this one.

And the last acquisition is DE Corey Williams from the Packers for this years' 2nd round pick. I don't' know much about Williams other than the stats I can find on ESPN.com. 7 sacks last season, that's probably more than the Browns have had in the last 2 years. He's definitely going to be an improvement over what they had.

Now, the Browns do not have a pick in the first 3 rounds of this years' draft? If you would like to look at it this way, their first round pick was Brady, the 2nd round pick was Corey Williams, and the 3rd round was Shaun Rogers. The situation they are in now, the fact that they are a good team NOW, and they desperately need help on the D-Line, they made good decisions. The only college D-linemen who could have a decent shot at making an impact in their rookie season will be picked in the first 20 slots. I think Savage did the right thing. Williams and Rogers are going to be inserted into the D-Line and are an instant upgrade from the guys they had last season, plus, it adds depth which they really need running a 3-4.

On another note, former Boilermaker Niko Koudivides signed a 3 year deal with the Broncos. I would love to see the Browns sign Roosevelt Colvin, who was released by the Pats earlier this week to play some OLB. Partly because he's a Boilermaker, partly because he's good, and partly because he threw down a nasty dunk on me at the co-rec during an intramural game. It wasn't quite the Roy Hariston, behind the back, off the glass, elevate from one side of the lane and throw it down on the other, but it was pretty nasty, especially for a guy who's only 6-3.