Mike Pettine

shoes22 said:

Yes Pettine did all of those things...but what is so unique about any of that, that's something several other head coaches in his situation wouldn't have done?

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Several good head coaches, yes.

Are you confident that guys like Crennel and Shurmur would have done what Pettine has done?

Also, I do think it's a testament to Pettine that his teams always fight. I think it's also a testament to the veteran leadership that we have on this team too. It was a glaring weakness last year, our team in the second half of games would come out flat, lethargic and unprepared to either handle success or come back from failure. The team also failed hilariously down the stretch of last season due to a lack of leadership.

This year, we all know that Dansby and Whitner have been very key in lighting a fire under players asses during half time. The coaches seem calm, collected and make halftime adjustments.

And while it's fair to critique the defense so far, their last 6 quarters...they have shut down the opponents offense. Hell, they held one of the best offenses in the NFL to 10 points. They looked like they were turning back into the 2013 Cleveland Browns on defense. That's a good thing, for the most part.

shoes22 said:

Yes Pettine did all of those things...but what is so unique about any of that, that's something several other head coaches in his situation wouldn't have done?

Pettine doesn't have much experience with offense, so he hired a guy that could really take control of scheming that side of the ball. Special teams has been hit or miss and the defense has been well below-average so far. After the preseason, it was clear Hoyer was more mentally prepared to be the starter over Manziel. If the goal was to win as many games as possible this year, Hoyer was the easy pick.

And Crowell had deserved his promotion based on what the coaches saw out of him the first two weeks. I didn't see a single fan or analyst disagree with that, so I wouldn't consider that such an "out-on-a-limb" decision either.

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The decision to play the UDFA over your third round pick is not always the popular decision and many coaches cave to the public.

Same goes for sticking his neck out playing Hoyer over your first round media whore.

As the head coach Pettine has been fine so far. It's his defense I have problems with. Hopefully they can keep improving off of last week.

If this week was any indication the defense is moving in the right direction.

AZ_ said:

If this week was any indication the defense is moving in the right direction.

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I guess we will put that to the test against an awful Jax team. Hopefully it wasn't just a rivalry game against the Steelers that made us play good.

The team also played great defense in the second half of the Titans game. They couldn't get anything done.

AZ_ said:

If this week was any indication the defense is moving in the right direction.

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Over the last 6 quarters, they've been turning the corner & headed in the right direction:

Opposing QB's: 32-60-336-1-1 (that includes garbage time #'s Ben put up)
Opposing RB's: 37/138 (3.7 ypc)

Jack Brickman said:

How many coaches has our team quit on over the past decade, though? How many of them would our team have fought for coming out of halftime like they have in several games this season?

Shanahan is doing a great job with the offensive game-planning, but Pettine is the guy kicking them in the ass at halftime.

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Agree with the point, but it seems that Pettine usually lets someone else -- player leadership -- kick them in the butts. And building a culture in which players step up to those roles, other players embrace it, etc.., may take even more leadership skills than giving the fiery speech yourself. I'm just as impressed as hell with the guy so far. His willingness to let the best guy play, regardless of draft position or pedigree, is something to which a lot of coaches give lip service. Pettine actually practices what he preaches.

Between Francona, Pettine, and Blatt, Cleveland may end up with the best head coach/manager trio we've ever had in the three major sports.

Maybe Mike shouldn't have gotten drunk after the Steelers game? It's week 6 Mike, save it for the offseason. Coach like a Brown...

Will Mike answer why Gary Barnidge got ONE SNAP yesterday.

Who will be accountable for this?

AZ_ said:

Will Mike answer why Gary Barnidge got ONE SNAP yesterday.

Who will be accountable for this?

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FIRE PETTINE!

Hasn't been discussed here, but I'm wondering if I'm the only one who agrees with Pettine's decision to go for the first down instead of the FG near the end of the first half.

A big reason I saw to go for it was that if we'd have gone for the FG, make or miss, we'd have guaranteed that the Jags would get the ball back with nearly two minutes left on the clock. And we saw what happened when they did get it back.

Going for it not only gave us the ability to go for a TD or shorter FG instead of one from 42 yards, but also gave us a chance to run the clock out. I thought it was a smart risk to take.

The Human Q-Tip said:

Hasn't been discussed here, but I'm wondering if I'm the only one who agrees with Pettine's decision to go for the first down instead of the FG near the end of the first half.

A big reason I saw to go for it was that if we'd have gone for the FG, make or miss, we'd have guaranteed that the Jags would get the ball back with nearly two minutes left on the clock. And we saw what happened when they did get it back.

Going for it not only gave us the ability to go for a TD or shorter FG instead of one from 42 yards, but also gave us a chance to run the clock out. I thought it was a smart risk to take.

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The way I saw it, we couldn't run the ball at all, so the third down call to hand off to West was idiotic with less than a yard to go. Run the sneak there and it isn't even an issue. The 4th down was borderline gettable with a QB sneak, so I probably would have kicked, but the playcalling itself those two plays burned my ass a lot more than the decision to go for it.

OptimusPrime said:

The way I saw it, we couldn't run the ball at all, so the third down call to hand off to West was idiotic with less than a yard to go. Run the sneak there and it isn't even an issue. The 4th down was borderline gettable with a QB sneak, so I probably would have kicked, but the playcalling itself those two plays burned my ass a lot more than the decision to go for it.

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West actually had the first if he wouldn't have danced, but I won't argue with you on the 4th down playcall. I just think Pettine getting blasted in the media for the decision to go for that first down unfairly ignores the clock aspect.