Not necessarily. Heckert and Banner know each other, and worked together for quite awhile. They could work together again. Depends if the GM's responsibility changes significantly under Haslam.

 

And I think Heckert has done a very good job, Owen Marecic aside.

I think Heckert has done a pretty good job also. But all the reporting yesterday suggested Heckert started looking for work in August, after it became official that Haslam was going to buy the team. Still, I hope Heckert sticks around.

 

BTW, I'm watching Mike & Mike and heard a great analysis by Mark Schlereth. When he played for the Broncos and they were a Super Bowl team and went up against a losing team, the losing team treated it like their Super Bowl. But when he sat on the sideline and the losing team was playing a good game, he knew that team was vulnerable. The reason?

 

They're going to make a mistake and respond with: "Here we go again." That's when the Broncos could turn the game. He knew the Broncos would make a mistake too, as all teams do. The difference is the Broncos players would respond with: "It's just a mistake, so let's go get 'em." That's the biggest difference between a team that knows how to win and one that doesn't, he said.

 

That's why the Browns were able to beat the Bengals and not the Giants. The Giants turned the game on several Browns mistakes and then jumped all over them. But in the Bengals game, the Browns overcame an early interception that led to a long TD pass. And the Bengals made a late push that the Browns were also able to overcome with two big defensive plays.

^The Browns beat the Bengals because the quarterback threw three interceptions including a pick six and the left tackle forgot (was inable) to block the Browns end, causing Dalton to fumble to end the game.  If LT Andrew Whitworth blocks his man...

 

Having played sports for a long time, Schlereth is dead on.  As a player, you never know how a game is going to go until it starts.  There's a ton of anxiety that goes along with that.  Teams that have appreciable experience in winning games and playing in the postseason almost always respond by executing those rare opportunities for game-changing events.  The other team is mostly clock-watching instead of attacking.  Just as in everyday life, when attacked, most humans flee.  Same thing in football, the pads don't change that.

 

In life, there is no substitute for experience.  None.

 

 

If LT Andrew Whitworth blocks his man...

 

Then the Bengals might have scored, but would still have been down in need of either a defensive stand or an onside kick.  Sheldon Brown's pick-6 was much more of a game changer if you look at one play.  On more of a macro level, it was that the Browns offensive line, as the game went on, started to wear down the Bengals d-line.  The game started out with the Bengals D-line pretty much dominating, but they seemed to fatigue after a few series and were getting blown off the ball by the end of the game.  If Trent would've stayed healthy, he most likely would have taken over in the 4th

 

If LT Andrew Whitworth blocks his man...

 

Then the Bengals might have scored, but would still have been down in need of either a defensive stand or an onside kick.  Sheldon Brown's pick-6 was much more of a game changer if you look at one play.  On more of a macro level, it was that the Browns offensive line, as the game went on, started to wear down the Bengals d-line.  The game started out with the Bengals D-line pretty much dominating, but they seemed to fatigue after a few series and were getting blown off the ball by the end of the game.  If Trent would've stayed healthy, he most likely would have taken over in the 4th

 

 

I agree with most of that except Richardson coming in to run the clock out if healthy.  The Bengals were getting exposed at the safety and corner positions, specifically Reggie Nelson, Terrence Newman and Chris Crocker.  Until Dre Kirkpatrick plays, positioning Adam Jones as the nickel (though Zimmer will play his guy Newman anyway), throwing on Cincinnati is how you win the game.

 

Newman proved he was incapable of covering Josh Gordon yet Zimmer made no adjustment.  Anytime a quarterback knows he's got a Get-out-of-Jail-free card in his back pocket with the face of an outmatched corner on it, that figures heavily into the gameplan and the defense's ability to get back to the Gatorade.

Who's ready for 2-5?

^Now you're talking!

I say they lose.

The Browns do have a way of losing games that we guess are win-able.  Still, here comes 2-5!

Ready for 2-5.  Ready for a lot of things.

let me throw some gas on the coaching fire before the brownies best bet for win #2 sunday:

 

haslam was at the ut-bama game tonight.

 

so its looks like saban is his main guy.

 

i still wish that somehow someway it could be cowher, but this is good too.

 

 

 

 

He is a big Tennessee backer, so it could be a coincidence

Cowher hasn't coached for a long time.  I think he's done.  Saban is a strong possibility with Jimmy's SEC ties.  He was probably at the TN game to see TN... but hey look, there's Nick Saban.

Kiss my ass, Browns. Losers. Nice knowing ya, Pat.

 

^ Funny you got a screen capture of that.  I suppose I spoke to soon about 2-5.  Who's ready for 2-6??

Anybody else imagining Haslam walking into the locker room and recreating the lolly gagger scene from Bull Durham?

 

"Everybody into the shower!"

Once again, unable to make the big defensive stops when they really need it, or thread the needle offensively. Same scenario mostly, week in and out. Stupid penalties that a pro-team simply should NOT make. Shurmer is a dead beat that could not motivate anyone to move even if he held a fire torch to their behinds!  Average players will excel with proper coaching and management. Look at the '85 Patriots..a rather mediocre team reaches the Superbowl.

^ Funny you got a screen capture of that.  I suppose I spoke to soon about 2-5.  Who's ready for 2-6??

 

I wish I could take credit for it.

Cowher hasn't coached for a long time.  I think he's done.  Saban is a strong possibility with Jimmy's SEC ties.  He was probably at the TN game to see TN... but hey look, there's Nick Saban.

 

yep - of all the games he could attend not exactly a random game

While the easiest path to victory yesterday was for Gordon to hang on to that PERFECTLY thrown pass for the go ahead TD in the 4th quarter (might we be able to steal San Diego's equipment manager?), the old adage holds true..... to win in the NFL, you must first and foremost be able to do two things: (1) run the ball; and (2) stop the run.  To do the former to a high degree, we need to let Trent get fully healthy (or at least as healthy as he can get this year following the surgeries) and we need our O-line to start run-blocking and opening holes in the 1st half.  To do the latter to a high degree, we need Taylor and Rubin back clogging up the middle and generally making a mess of things...... and we could use some better play from our LBs of course.  There is simply no excuse to let a finesse team like Indy have success in the run game even with their starter out and for us to not be able to gash them after NYJ ran it right down their throat the week before.  Soft play on both sides of the ball lost the game for us yesterday.  Terrible job of getting 'up' for the game.

 

**Sidenote - I heard someone mention that Gordon had to 'battle the sun' on that drop.  Indy had opened up the dome yesterday.  How ironic given our discussions with putting a retractable roof on the stadium....

The Browns do have a way of losing games that we guess are win-able.  Still, here comes 2-5!

 

Even if Gordon had hung on to that beautifully thrown pass, there's still no guarantee we would have won. Because of the botched extra point, we would have been up only three points, and Luck needed only to get into field goal range to tie the game and send it into overtime. He also had plenty of time to go down the field to score the winning TD.

 

Believe me, I was horrified when Gordon dropped that pass. I was ready to write a glowing article about him on how well he compares to the other rookie WRs (only Stephen Hill is putting up better numbers), but I will put that on hold for a while now. I like everything about the kid. His attitude, work ethic, smarts, willingness to learn, and doesn't showboat like Little when the team is losing. He looked truly disgusted at himself yesterday, and took all the blame in the post-game interviews (for that matter, he didn't hide from the cameras). I hope he can move on from this, because he's an awesome talent. If he works his ass off (as it looks like he's doing), the sky's the limit for him.

That's ok, I can handle Hillary shoving it in my face.  2-6 is next... watch out chargers.  Honestly though, now with the Chargers being investigated, it could be a good time to play them. 

 

Unwavering optimism off:

 

I think Hts121 has it right when he said soft play on both sides.  It didn't seem like the entire team wanted to be there.  Some players seemed to care, Weeden, Cooper, Little and others.  I bet Cribbs isn't so happy after those special teams penalties.  Hardesty averaged 4 yards per carry on Sunday, why did he not get more touches?

Yeah, 2-6!  On to 3-6!

^yay, 2-6 feels twice as good as 1-5!

Is anyone else thinking late playoff run?  Er.... super late playoff run. 

 

Hey it could happen... McWorld

No playoffs, but think about this: if two dropped balls are caught, this team could be .500.

 

1. the dropped interception in the end zone by L.J. Fort against Philadelphia

2. the dropped long touchdown pass by Josh Gordon against Indianapolis

 

Such is life in this game of inches. Ask Dez Bryant if you need more information.

The playoffs comment was just only sarcasm.  Just a joke on the Bi-polar nature of Browns fans and the media that covers them.  The views are typically extreme, it's all gloom after a loss and blue skys and playoffs after a win.

 

I suppose there wasn't an extreme reaction this time since it wasn't a very decisive win.

The playoffs comment was just only sarcasm.  Just a joke on the Bi-polar nature of Browns fans and the media that covers them.  The views are typically extreme, it's all gloom after a loss and blue skys and playoffs after a win.

 

I suppose there wasn't an extreme reaction this time since it wasn't a very decisive win.

 

Yep, I get the sarcasm. Your message was my opening to comment how close this team was to having a 4-4 record during the toughest part of their schedule. Winning teams make those plays.

The playoffs comment was just only sarcasm.  Just a joke on the Bi-polar nature of Browns fans and the media that covers them.  The views are typically extreme, it's all gloom after a loss and blue skys and playoffs after a win.

 

I suppose there wasn't an extreme reaction this time since it wasn't a very decisive win.

 

Yep, I get the sarcasm. Your message was my opening to comment how close this team was to having a 4-4 record during the toughest part of their schedule. Winning teams make those plays.

No, winning teams still drop passes. The difference is that they can win in spite of those drops. We're not yet at a point where we can win if something small goes wrong.

^ However I will say that these close wins are what build the character to win when things start to go wrong.  The Browns had the one early drive where they scored and then everything basically went wrong offensively.  Now they can draw on this as they won a really really ugly game.  At least that's what winners are able to do, find strength instead of hanging their head.

OK, I'll start...

 

I can't stand it anymore. Many of the players are progressing but the head coach has not. Time to fire Shurmur. Now. It's the bye week. You have three former head coaches (Childress, Jauron, Rhodes) on this team to choose from as your interim. Haslam will then have seven more games to see how the interim coach does, then he can decide in the offseason if he wants to keep him.

agree.  he doesn't go for it on fourth on indy's 40 two weeks ago, but does when there are four minutes and two time outs left on own thirty?  Also, three timeouts spent today because of subs/not getting play in.  Who's fault is that?

Absolutely. And what's worse is that even I can guess what he's going to do on first and second down. So the inevitable third down comes up and that's where I can't guess what he'll do! Then what Shurmur decides to do on third down often defies logic.....

Every third down play is throw short of the first down. Its a Browns strategy. When other teams have 3rd and 5, they throw for 5 yards, maybe more. When the Browns have 3rd and 5, we throw for 4 yards, and a lot of times less!

5 freakin' field goals. Enough said.

We won, 5 scores to 4!  Go Browns!

We won, 5 scores to 4!  Go Browns!

 

Hahah, with that scoring technique the Browns are probably undefeated!!!

Cleveland Browns: Why firing Shurmur now isn't wise

By Ken Prendergast (Contributor) on November 4, 2012

 

After the Nov. 4 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Cleveland, the timing for pulling the plug on Head Coach Pat Shurmur seems better than ever. But is it?

 

Calls by fans and media to fire Shurmur grew louder after Cleveland Browns blew another fourth quarter opportunity to win a game. It involved more unproductive play-calling on third downs, questionable judgment on when to go for it for on fourth down at the end of games, and a coach blaming his players for not executing his bad plays.

 

If a coaching change is to be made, some have reasoned that now is the right time to make it. Jimmy Haslam III officially took ownership of the Browns Oct. 25. The Browns won-loss record fell Sunday to 2-7 on the season. And this is the Browns’ bye week.

 

....There are also at least three reasons why Shurmur, if he is to be fired, should not be canned until the end of the season. Those reasons are Brad Childress, Dick Jauron and Ray Rhodes.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1396577-cleveland-browns-why-firing-shurmur-now-isnt-wise

Time to fire Shurmur. Now.

... firing Shurmur now isn't wise

By Ken Prendergast (Contributor) on November 4, 2012

 

Flip flopper!  :laugh:

Every third down play is throw short of the first down. Its a Browns strategy. When other teams have 3rd and 5, they throw for 5 yards, maybe more. When the Browns have 3rd and 5, we throw for 4 yards, and a lot of times less!

I think it comes down to a few things. All of which suck.

1)shurmur and his staff were late several times  getting play calls in to weeden along with the proper personal on 3rd down. Weedens" No comment" when asked about the issues in postgame interviews as well as shurmur basically saying the coaching staff screwed up puts the blame solely on the the staffs shoulders.

 

2)The browns have been notoriously bad running for third down conversions this season. Who's at fault? Well you could say alot of people but I put the blame on the o-line. The o- line doesn't seem to have the capability to blow people off the line especially on the 3rd downs and for that matter doesn't seem to have the capability to consistently pick up the pass rush in the red zone or 3rd downs for more then 1-1.5 seconds.

 

3) Receivers didn't seem to have a whole lot of separation on the 3rd down especially. The browns still don't have a number one go to NFL reciever and cooper who has recently seemed to be weedens safety valve on those type of plays was out.

 

4)Weeden is a rookie qb who does not want to risk a mistake in those situations. Even if he did see a small area to fit the ball in 10 yds down field he opted to go through his progressions which always went, "Covered,Covered,Covered, fourth option which happens to be a 3 yd out.

 

5)Poor play calling. Taking all of those things into consideration, the plays took way too long to set up and progress. There really shouldn't be any situation that the 4th option is only 2 yds down field if you need 5. The options for weeden to take a quck step and fire on a slant route like the called back td where few and far between from my vantage point.

 

Time to fire Shurmur. Now.

... firing Shurmur now isn't wise

By Ken Prendergast (Contributor) on November 4, 2012

 

Flip flopper!  :laugh:

 

Funny thing is I went into researching that article to prove my original belief of firing Shurmur now. I was expecting to find lots of success by Dick Jauron as I remembered he had some good years at Chicago. Ditto for Ray Rhodes and Brad Childress. Childress may actually be the best of the three, but I was very disappointed to learn that Jauron had just one good year at Chicago and was not revered in his other years there, or at Detroit, or at Buffalo. Ditto for Rhodes who presided over the destruction of a good program in Philadelphia. The reality is different than my memory, my perception and my emotion.

 

So upon further review, I reverse my earlier call and suggest that Haslam & Co. use the remaining season to go after some prime, proven coaching talent before others make their year-end decisions to fire their coaches. I know everyone wants the usual suspects of Cowher, Dungy and Gruden. But there's more out there than just that. How about some endorsed proteges of successful, disciplinary coaches like Tom Coughlin?

All I can say is thank god for Christmas Ale and pizza. It got me through that miserable game.

Good writing on all five points Buckeye54, but I especially agree with #1:

I think it comes down to a few things. All of which suck.

1) Shurmur and his staff were late several times  getting play calls in to weeden along with the proper personal on 3rd down.

(Crickets.....)

 

Nothing to see here. Move along.

 

(Crickets.....)

 

Nothing to see here. Move along.

 

 

I'm predicting a loss  35-21.  Browns score 21 at best.

(Crickets.....)

 

Nothing to see here. Move along.

 

 

I'm predicting a loss  35-21.  Browns score 21 at best.

 

Thats assuming they get Phil Dawson into field goal range 7 times!

(Crickets.....)

 

Nothing to see here. Move along.

 

 

I'm predicting a loss  35-21.  Browns score 21 at best.

 

Thats assuming they get Phil Dawson into field goal range 7 times!

 

LMAO!

So how will the Browns lose this game?

In OT