Maybe it was Bill Simmons’s projection, or maybe it was Peter King’s. Maybe it was the average Cleveland fan’s youthful tendency to overlook logic and get swept up in the romance of a fresh new NFL season. Maybe it was a belief that Peyton Hillis’ Madden cover would somehow create a reverse-jinx that would elevate Cleveland to something great (yeah, yeah: only in Cleveland). Regardless, the 2011 Cleveland Browns season began with a feeling of optimism that has since given way to frustration and disappointment. Time to take a step back and really look at what the Browns were working with [...]
Cleveland Browns head coach Pat Shurmur made sure everyone knew on Monday that running back Peyton Hillis would not be traded this week. The speculation was running rampant again, especially after yet another disappointing loss that brings nothing but questions and fans left scratching their heads. Hillis was out for most of the second half against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday with a hamstring injury, though he managed to come back in the fourth quarter for two plays. It was obvious that Hillis wanted to get back into the game, leading some to wonder just how tweaked his hamstring really was. Apparently, [...]
Unless you have cut off all communication to the outside world, then you should know that the Denver Broncos have agreed to trade wide receiver Brandon Lloyd to the St. Louis Rams for a 2012 sixth-round draft pick. The pick can escalate to a fifth-round selection if Lloyd has 30 or more receptions in the Rams’ 11 remaining games. The Rams are currently sitting at 0-5 and thus will likely have an early pick; I do not know if this was a determining factor as for why the Broncos traded with the Rams. However, the point of this is not to [...]
There are a lot of excuses that can be made for a game like this. The Cleveland Browns, like every team in the NFL, did not have the luxury of using OTAs and mini-camps as time to build the team. The team started the 2011 season new in almost every facet of the game, introducing a new offense, defense, and head coach in Pat Shurmur. But games like Sunday’s, a game in which the Browns lost to the Oakland Raiders 24-17 (though it was never really that close), are hard to swallow no matter how you spin it. This crop [...]
The Cleveland Browns have had a rough couple of weeks. Running back Peyton Hillis did himself no favors by continuing to address his contract situation and the game he missed against the Miami Dolphins. Up-and-coming star cornerback Joe Haden sprained his left knee against the Tennessee Titans and is out for today’s game against the Oakland Raiders. Everyone – the fans and media – are wondering how That being said, the Browns were given a chance to hit the restart button, thanks to the bye week. The team is 2-2, but there was a sense that head coach Pat Shurmur was dealing with [...]
The Cleveland Browns take on the Oakland Raiders this afternoon after stumbling into the bye week with a 31-13 beating at the hands of the Tennessee Titans. The Raiders are riding an emotional wave following the death of owner Al Davis, which only compounds the problems the Browns would have already had with running back Darren McFadden. To get a better look at the Raiders, we spoke with Chris Shellcroft of Just Blog Baby. We talked McFadden, Sebastian Janikowski, and were able to put in a little OU plug by asking about safety Mike Mitchell. 1) Could you give a [...]
Both center Alex Mack (appendectomy) and cornerback Joe Haden (sprained left knee) are listed as questionable for the Cleveland Browns’ game against the Oakland Raiders, but it’s looking more and more likely that Mack will play in the game and Haden will sit out. Mack has been practicing with the team this week, while Haden has been relegated to working inside the Browns’ practice facility, away from the media. Assuming that Mack plays on Sunday, that leaves cornerback Dimitri Patterson to start in Haden’s place. Patterson started ten games for the Philadelphia Eagles last season, and has been playing well as the nickelback [...]
It’s been a bye week, so there shouldn’t be much to talk about, right? Well, a motorcycle, a stupid Peyton Hillis comment, and a Greg Little playing-time move later and suddenly we’ve had a week full of non-stories-turned-huge-stories. But something stood out for me in this bye week: Every year’s bye week brings the same thing. Every time I hang out with a Browns fan, we’ll talk about how it’s the bye week and blah blah blah until one of us says “Well, at least we can’t lose this week.” It never fails. I would bet my life on it [...]
The first four or five weeks of the NFL season are the hardest to figure out. It takes a while to see who the surprisingly good teams are, and who the surprisingly bad teams are. Betting against the spread and managing your fantasy team gets much easier as the season goes on and we learn. Teams’ schedules vary so greatly from one year to the next that half the league is never what it appears to be. This year has been no different. Through the first five weeks we’ve learned the Buffalo Bills aren’t bad, the Philadelphia Eagles are, Peter [...]
The NBA lockout has left professional basketball players with a lot of time on their hands. Some of them, like the Milwaukee Bucks’ Brandon Jennings, have taken to playing pick-up games wherever they can. Others, like the Miami Heat’s LeBron James, have pondered the possibility of jumping to the NFL. People have long wondered how James would fare in the NFL – he’s built like a tight end and could easily handle himself on the field. No one’s ever really seriously considered the proposition, but with the NBA lockout threatening to end the entire season, James has, at the very [...]
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