GameDay Preview: Browns vs Lions

Its Back!  Football season has returned to the shores of Lake Erie and it never comes fast enough for this Browns fan.  Last week the Brownies beat up the defending Super Bowl champs.  This week they square off in the GLC (Great Lakes Classic) vs. the Detroit Lions.  As usual I am heading to the game tonight so here are three areas I will be trying to pay close attention to.  At this stage in the game I'm looking for some consistency out of our Browns' young players.

Follow me on twitter @burnriversports to tweet about the game.

#1 Colt McCoy

The quarterback position is the most important for any team and probably even more so for the Browns.  Since our return to the league we have not had a consistent signal caller.  In my opinion this is the #1 reason for our losing ways. 

Colt showed great poise in the pocket as well as quick decision making last week vs. Green Bay.  I can only remember questioning two of his decisions. The first was on the opening drive.  He started to scramble out of the pocket and fired a lateral pass to Owen Marecic instead of just running the football.  Owen dropped the pass and the Browns were potentially close to a turnover.  In that situation Colt could have scrambled for at least a five yard gain before sliding to avoid damage.  The second questionable decision was the beautiful pass that he threaded through six Packers defenders to Robiskie.  While the pass was pretty the decision was poor.  The window there was just too tight.  That's a batted ball or a turnover more times than not.

Other than these two plays I was very impressed by his performance.  He needs to show this same poise against Detroit tonight.  Make quick decisions, get the receivers involved, recognize blitzes, and move the team.  I expect at least 10 points out of the first team offense tonight.

#2 Offensive Line Performance

The offensive line is the 2011 Cleveland Browns biggest asset.  They are easily the best in the AFC North and need to play that way.  I was somewhat disappointed in their push against the Packers when trying to run the ball in the first half.  Neither Hillis (3.2 ave) or Jackson (3.5 ave) really established much in my opinion.  Id like to see them win the battle up front against a good Detroit defensive line.  Establishing the run will be a key factor in the overall success of this offense. 

#3 Rookie Impact

The Browns front office states that we are building through the draft so I want to see something out of these draft picks.  Id like to see Taylor occupy space in the run game and collapse at least one pocket tonight.  Id like to see Sheard get some pressure and at least not look lost on running plays.  I'm interested to see the play of Buster Skrine and James Dockery, who both should see some extended time.  Greg Little needs to build on a decent game against the Packers.  No drops, good routes, and some YAC (yards after catch).

Realistically the Browns are positioning themselves to make a splash on the contender scene next year.  We have the draft picks in place to do so and we will have the cap money to go after an impact player or two in free agency.  This year's draft class is paramount to our long term contention plan.  If these young kids can solidify spots as starters or key backups it will keep us on track to achieve our goal.  If they falter it will add another year onto our contention timeline.

All in all though its football and I'm excited its back!  So here's to watching the Browns tame the Lions tonight and the Tribe chasing those Kittens up a tree.

Burning Reaction: Ubaldo Jimenez Trade

If your from Cleveland or follow MLB at all you now know that the Cleveland Indians completed the following blockbuster deadline trade this past weekend.

Rockies Receive             

Drew Pomeranz
Alex White
Matt McBride
 Joe Gardner

Indians Receive        

Ubaldo Jimenez




I was sitting at Slim N Chubbies out in Strongsville with Mrs. BurningRiver when the news started to trickle in via twitter.  We were drinking beers, watching the Tribe battle the Royals, and waiting for my buddy's band to start playing.  At first you heard that White and Pomeranz were both scratched from their starts.  Then you started to read the tweets that they were both being shipped to Colorado for Jimenez.  STO even broke in a few times to the Colorado game to show that Jimenez was pitching, but the Rockies had their bullpen up in the 1st inning.  Something was happening.  Twitter these days is an amazing thing.  Just as I was starting to explain what was going on to Mrs. BurningRiver, two other guys at the bar read the same reports on their phone and soon everyone was talking about the trade.  There was even some humorous dialog between a couple that was behind us.

Semi Attractive 28-30 yr old female Bar Patron:

"Wow the Tribe is going to trade for Ubaldo." 

Hipster douche bag boyfriend:

"Ubaldo?  What is an Ubaldo?"

Semi Attractive 28-30 yr old female Bar Patron:

"He is a pretty good pitcher for the Rockies.  We are giving up two good minor leaguers or something for him."

Hipster douche bag boyfriend:

"Oh.  blah blah blah, Man my jeans are way to tight."

Semi Attractive 28-30 yr old female Bar Patron:  "Blank stare at Hipster boyfriend.... Well I hope we win tonight."

LOL. 

Semi Attractive 28-30 yr old female Bar Patron - 1  
Hipster douche bag boyfriend - 0

At first I wasn't happy with the Trade.  I even sent out a tweet that I thought it was a bad move for the Tribe.  We were giving away our top two pitching prospects for a pitcher who was 6-9 this year with a 4.46 ERA.  I know he started the NL All-Star game in 2010 and I know his ERA this year was a bit uncharacteristic, but I wasn't initially sold.  I really think Drew Pomeranz has a chance to be something special.  Why deal him for a pitcher when we clearly need offensive help?  I was torn for the next few hours as I watched the Tribe battle back and beat the Royals on a walk-off HR by LaPorta.  As more drinks went down and the band started to play I changed my opinion on the deal at least five times. 

On one hand the Tribe finally made a big move at the deadline in which we were not giving away a former All-Star for prospects  This is exactly what all Tribe fans have been screaming about since 2007.  We took a gamble, trading away some players that MIGHT be good in the majors, and landed a potential ace.

On the other hand is Ubaldo really an ace?  Has he been battling injuries this year?  Is that the reason his ERA is up?  Did we just trade for a guy that is going to go down with an elbow or shoulder injury due to throwing 95-99 mph for the past three + seasons with a quirky delivery?

I just couldn't decide.  So I let those thoughts simmer for a few days.  Now that they have had the proper time to marinate I'm ready to give my official opinion.

I like the trade for the Tribe and here are three reasons why.

1)  We don't have room for Pomeranz, White, Huff, Gomez, McAllister, Masterson, Carrasco, Tomlin in our rotation.  The last time a checked, most major league managers use a five man rotation.  I just named eight guys that all have the ability to be in our rotation next year.  I didn't even mention Carmona.  By making this deal your rotation going into 2011 should be Ubaldo, Masterson, Tomlin, Carrasco and either Huff, Gomez or Carmona.  Ill take that.  Pitching wins championships.  The Giants just proved that last year and the 90's Indians teams proved that as well.... unfortunately in their case.

2)  We now have a three year window to contend with these young arms.  Ubaldo, Masterson, Tomlin, etc are all pretty much locked up for the next three seasons.  This is big for a mid-market team that cannot give out 100 million dollar contracts.  The front office is now all in to win the division for the next three seasons which means we should see increased free agent spending in the off season and at the trade deadline during this window.  Hopefully we can make a run this year and then in the off season add a power hitting rand handed bat via free agency.  Given how hard it has been to watch CC, Lee, Victor, and others leave us over the past few seasons this should be a very welcomed change.

3)  It gives us the ability to win a playoff series if we were to make the playoffs.  Being able to throw Ubaldo, Masterson, and Tomlin to start a series puts us right there with a team like the Angels and probably gives us the advantage over the Yanks, BoSox, Rangers, etc.  If we had two being able to throw Masterson and Ubaldo twice in a series on 4 days rest is a big plus.

Sure we might have overpaid a bit, and yes I really do think Pomeranz may be a stud, but the potential rewards are worth the risk.  At the end of the day this trade seems to go along with our slogan this year. 

What If?

If Ubaldo pitches like he did in 2008 - 2010 for us over the next three seasons then we are winners here.  He has the ability to make the ball miss the bat.  In 851 career innings Ubaldo averages over 8 Ks per 9 innings.  Even in 2011, a supposedly down year, he is at 8.63 Ks per 9 so the ability is there.  This trait is hard to find and now we have two guys (Ubaldo and Masterson) that can do it.

So instead of worrying about how good Pomeranz or White MIGHT be I'm going to enjoy watching how good Ubaldo ALREADY is.

#Giddyup #Leggo #ItsTribeTimeNow

Xmas in July! The NFL is Back!

Thank you sweet little 6 pound, 7 ounce, baby Jesus!  The lockout is over and we can all start preparing for training camp and fantasy football.  This week should be fun with Free Agency about an hour old.

Below is the official timeline of events this week in case you haven't seen it yet on the world wide leader..  Thanks to ESPN for providing.  Full story here.

ESPN Football Is Back!

NFL timeline of transactions

With the NFL back in business, here's how the first days of league business will go for players and teams:
Monday at 6 p.m. ET
• NFL to publish official list of 2011 free agents.
Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET
• Trading begins.
• Teams can sign rookies and undrafted free agents.
• Teams can negotiate with, but not sign, veteran free agents.
Thursday at 4:01 p.m. ET
• Team can begin to cut players.
Friday at 6 p.m. ET
• Teams can officially sign free agents. Players who sign must report to new teams but can't participate in physical activities until start of league year on Aug. 4.
Aug. 4 at 4:01 p.m. ET
• Clubs must be within salary cap.

With that being said I see the Browns top 5 needs as follows.

1)  Linebacker
2)  Defensive End/line
3)  Wide Receiver
4)  Change of pace Running Back
5)  Safety

Lets be honest we need some help on the right side of the offensive line as well, but I rank that 6th.  I haven't read that linebacker is our most glaring need very much, but I don't see how it isn't.  I don't know who would start for us at the three LB positions right now.  Fujita would be one.  Gocong?  DJax?  Does DJax even have the ability to play football at this point?  This is a problem folks.

Given those needs I think there are a few key names that could be targets for the Browns in free agency.  I have broken the list up into three groups.  Obvious Names - Guys that we would of course like, but probably won't get.  Impact Names That Are Realistic - Guys that could really help the Browns, but are not top top names so we actually have a chance,  Other Names - Guys that are probably only fill in type players (think Mike Adams, Tony Pashos, etc).  As a note these are all unrestricted free agents.

Obvious Names

1)  Charles Johnson DE Car
2)  Ray Edwards DE Min
3)  Paul Posluszny LB Buf
4)  Santonio Holmes WR NyJ
5)  Tyson Clabo RT Atl

As much as I would like to see Johnson or Edwards on our Dline I just don't see this happening.  I don't know if we are quite there yet to attract the big name Free Agent talent.  I think we have an outside shot of stealing Posluszny from the Bills now that Jauron is in CLE.  Posluszny says he likes Buffalo and I think we could make a pitch that Cleveland has the same hard nosed fans (but better), are headed in the right direction (but faster than Buf), and has a more attractive city life without being too big.  Also the Bills are switching to the 3-4 while we are going to the 4-3 and I think Paul is better suited for the 4-3.  Still not a great chance, but I think there is at least a chance to land him.  Probably our best shot at one of my big five free agents.  I don't think Santonio is going back to the Jets but he probably won't end up here either.  Would be nice though.  Clabo might not be a household name but he was a Pro Bowl tackle in 2010.  I doubt he leaves ATL but he is 29 and it would nice if the Browns made a play for him.

Impact Names That Are Realistic

1)  Steve Breaston WR Ari
2)  Eric Weddle S SD
3)  Donte Whitner S Buf
4)  James Jones WR GB
5)  LeRoy Hill LB Sea

Holmgren has said a few times the Browns would target a WR in Free Agency.  I think Steve Breaston could be a great fit in the slot with MoMass, RoBo, and GLittle on the outside.  Breaston has had a 1,000 yrd season to his credit and would provide a bit of a speed threat that the Browns just don't have in their WR core right now.  Donte Whitner/LeRoy Hill are both defensive starters that I think the Browns have a shot at because of their past connections (Jauron Bills, Holmgren Seahawks).  Eric Weddle is a guy I think the Browns should target hard.  He fits our need of a Free Safety, is young (26), and productive.  He is probably a long shot since he is the best free agent safety, but his current rumored destination is Jacksonville.  Our owner has the money and we have a much better pitch than the lowly Jaguars franchise unless all he wants is sunshine.  

Other Names That Could Help

1)  Dawan Landry S Bal
2)  Jerious Norwood RB Atl
3)  Ashton Youboty DB Buf
4)  Atari Bigby DB GB
5)  Lance Moore WR NO
6)  Michael Huff S Oak
7)  Ernie Sims LB Phil
8)  Manny Lawson LB SF
9)  Raheem Brock DE Sea
10)  Chris Houston DB Det
11)  Jared Gaither OT Bal
12)  Alan Branch DT Ari

TJ Ward without breaking the bank.  Ernie Sims is a guy who was once a tackle machine in Detroit.  His production has fallen off the past two seasons, however I think he is a guy that could also help at the LB position in the 4-3 without taking up a large chunk of your salary cap. 

All indications are that the Browns will not be huge players in free agency so here is my futile attempt at guessing who will land in Brown and Orange.

1)  Donte Whitner S Buf
2)  Steve Breaston WR Ari
3)  Ernie Sims LB Phil

I think we will somehow obtain a 3rd down RB and some additional defensively line help, but not sure who at this point.

History proves that since I'm predicting these three will be Browns there is now actually zero chance they will be, but hey ill take a swing anyway.

Go Browns!  Glad football is back.