I don't know why I am so upset and bewildered about this because I am not a Cleveland Browns fan but if you stay with me through the conclusion of this post, I'm certain that you will be scratching your head too. If anyone can shed some light on exactly how this situation came to be, I would really like to hear about it. I know I'm not an idiot, perhaps I'm just missing something. But no matter how I look at this, it just doesn't make sense.
First off, last night's game between the Ravens and the Browns was perhaps the least entertaining NFL game I've ever seen. A perfect example of why the NFL should just have the Colts and Pats play every weekend.
Did anyone tune in for the game last night or was ‘Dawg Pound Mike' able to not only get fans to not be in their seats for the opening kick-off, but people to not watch it on TV either? By the looks of the number of people in the stands in the fourth quarter, I think apathy is a pretty good word for Browns fans these days.
I feel sorry for the Browns fans. You know before Art Model moved the Browns to Baltimore the Browns had one of the best fan bases in all of sport. We are talking football in Ohio here, it's like a religion.
This game was so boring that during the 4th quarter I was able to actually pay attention to the action (if you can call it that) and put together some stats.
The Cleveland Browns defense played fine. Besides the play where Ray Rice scored on a 13 yard TD run in the 3rd Qtr when the coaches failed to get the correct personnel on the field and only had 10 guys defending, you can win an NFL football game with that defensive personnel and Rob Ryan as its coordinator.
But the offense....., oh my. There are only two possible scenarios' here:
Scenario 1 - Under the assumption that the Head Coach and the Offensive Coordinator know what they are doing coming up with a game plan (and that's a big assumption) there is simply a dearth of talent on the offense. There was either an admission by Head Coach Eric Mangini and Offensive Coordinator Brian Daboll that they ‘couldn't block'em' where they had to throw 22 pass attempts where the ball traveled less than four yards in the air, or the play calling was simply atrocious.
The Browns threw the ball 31 times last night, 22 times for less than four yards, five times for between four and ten yards and four times over ten yards (and two of those, the ball landed out of bounds....)
Scenario 2 - I usually go under the general assumption that there are no bad players in the NFL. Even the worst team in the NFL has players that were of the very best caliber from the previous level, and everyone is playing for a paycheck. Al in all, there is a lot of parody in the NFL (this year there seems to be an inordinate number of very bad teams).
That being said, if they have the talent to block, run, catch and throw, how do you only average 2.6 yards per offensive play? The Browns had 86 yard rushing (3.3 yards per play) and 74 yards passing (2.1 yards per play). 2.1 yards per pass play!?!?!?!? Why bother attempting to throw it? At least if you run it every down you have a fourth and short and can decide if you want to do a Belicheck and go for it.
There has been enough said about Eric Mangidiot and I don't feel the need to pile on (well I do really but it's getting old). Take a look at the qualifications of the Offensive Coordinator. This to me is on Mangidiot's shoulders because he hired him. I'm certain that Brian Daboll is a nice gentleman and has a wonderful family and I mean no disrespect to him as an individual. The guy is just not qualified to be an NFL Offensive Coordinator. There is no way that you can tell me that there is not someone on an NFL staff (perhaps even the Browns staff) or in major college football that is not more qualified to do the job.
Straight from the Browns web site....
Brian Daboll Offensive Coordinator Year with Browns: 1st Year in NFL: 12th
Brian Daboll was named the Browns' offensive coordinator on January 14, 2009. He comes to the club with 11 years of coaching experience, including the past nine in the NFL.
Daboll started for two seasons as a safety for the University of Rochester. As a senior, he once recorded three interceptions in one game. He was born in Welland, Ontario, Canada, and attended St. Francis High School in Buffalo, N.Y., where he lettered in football. He resides in Northeast Ohio with his wife, Beth. He has a son, Christian, and a daughter, Haven, and two stepsons, Marky and Aiden.
Coaching Background: 1997 College of William & Mary, restricted volunteer 1998-99 Michigan State University, administrative assistant/graduate assistant 2000-01 New England Patriots, defensive assistant 2002-06 New England Patriots, wide receivers coach 2007-08 New York Jets, quarterbacks coach 2009 Cleveland Browns, offensive coordinator
Prior to joining the Browns, Daboll spent the last two seasons with the New York Jets as quarterbacks coach. In 2008, Daboll played a major role in helping to acclimate Brett Favre to the Jets' offense after Favre came out of retirement and was acquired by the team on August 7. In 2008, Favre was voted to the AFC Pro Bowl squad, as he ranked fifth in the NFL in completion percentage (65.7). Before joining the Jets, Daboll spent seven seasons on the New England Patriots' coaching staff, where he earned three Super Bowl rings. He began his tenure in New England in 2000 as a defensive coaching assistant. After holding that position for two seasons (2000-01), he was promoted to wide receivers coach and held that title for his final five seasons (2002-06). Under his tutelage, wide receiver Deion Branch was named MVP of the Patriots' Super Bowl XXXIX win over Philadelphia following the 2004 season, the first player to earn that honor as a wide receiver since San Francisco's Jerry Rice in Super Bowl XXIII after the 1988 season. Prior to making the jump to the NFL, Daboll spent one year as a restricted volunteer at the College of William & Mary before serving two seasons (1998-99) as a graduate assistant at Michigan State University.
A few things about Mr. Daboll (again, apologize for pointing this out in the public domain, but it has to be done.) How the hell did he ever get a job as a Patriots defensive assistant with the experience of being a restricted volunteer and administrative assistant/graduate assistant in two colleges? Are those positions any different than a candy striper in a hospital and a secretary? Are they even paid positions or internships? The guy wasn't even a volunteer, he was a restricted volunteer! He wasn't even allowed to do all the activities of a regular volunteer? And why did he leave the position of being a restricted volunteer? Did they have to let him go like Kramer?
Alright so he gets a job as an administrative assistant/graduate assistant. How do you go from being a graduate assistant to being a defensive assistant on an NFL team? What responsibilities could he possibly have been given besides water boy and handing out game film? Then wide receivers coach? I'm sure Deion Branch credits him with his Suberbowl MVP. Then QB coach for Brett Favre! Brett Favre had already won three NFL MVP's and been to two Superbowls and won one for the Green Bay Packers by the time Brian Daboll was getting hired a as a restricted volunteer at the College of William & Mary! What the hell was going Daboll going to tell Favre? And now Offensive Coordinator of an NFL team!
The other night I played a 16 year old in Madden 2010 online, the kid was an offensive genius; I recommend Mangini interviews him for the job as he is clearly more qualified. - Brain James
Brain James is an independent sports journalist. Brian has been covering major professional sports for over 25 years.
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I don't know why I am so upset and bewildered about this because I am not a Cleveland Browns fan but if you stay with me through the conclusion of this post, I'm certain that you will be scratching your head too. If anyone can shed some light on exactly how this situation came to be, I would really like to hear about it. I know I'm not an idiot, perhaps I'm just missing something. But no matter how I look at this, it just doesn't make sense.
That being said, if they have the talent to block, run, catch and throw, how do you only average 2.6 yards per offensive play? The Browns had 86 yard rushing (3.3 yards per play) and 74 yards passing (2.1 yards per play). 2.1 yards per pass play!?!?!?!? Why bother attempting to throw it? At least if you run it every down you have a fourth and short and can decide if you want to do a 
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 