2015 Cleveland Browns Regular Season Thread

We could see a lot of head coaching changes in both college and pro this year. USC, Maryland, Minnesota, Miami, South Carolina, Virginia Tech are the teams in College that we know about. The Dolphins have already fired their coach and there are a number of guys already on the hot seat including Detroit, Indianapolis, Philly, Washington, New Orleans, Houston and Tennessee.

The point is there could be a big demand for head coaches this off season, more so than most years. If that's the case, just how attractive is the Browns job when you stack them up against the rest? I'd argue not that attractive. So the question becomes, would you rather can the staff, again, and start over with inexperienced/failed coaches who are lower on the wish list or give Pettine more time to adjust into the position?

Frankly, I don't love what I've seen from Pettine as the defense has taken a step back under him and the line play is awful, but the team plays hard for him every week. The locker room seems to be in order and he's working off of a plan. It may not be going so well but at least there is a plan and organizational philosophy they are working off of.

I do respect the fact that he's not going full blown YOLO and throwing Manziel out there even though the fans want to see him. He's held his ground because he knows, no matter what people outside of the building says, Manziel is not ready to help this team win football games. McCown is better served for that as was Hoyer. Make jokes all you want about the record but we aren't losing games because of Josh McCown.

Did anyone else catch the Fox pregame show with Jimmy Johnson ripping Manziel?

The cameras showed Johnny warming up and James Browns threw it to Johnson with something like, "Do you think Manziel is ready to take over?" Jimmy said, "I think Johnny Manziel isn't ready, but he has the potential to be a solid backup quarterback someday."

Phills14 said:

We could see a lot of head coaching changes in both college and pro this year. USC, Maryland, Minnesota, Miami, South Carolina, Virginia Tech are the teams in College that we know about. The Dolphins have already fired their coach and there are a number of guys already on the hot seat including Detroit, Indianapolis, Philly, Washington, New Orleans, Houston and Tennessee.

The point is there could be a big demand for head coaches this off season, more so than most years. If that's the case, just how attractive is the Browns job when you stack them up against the rest? I'd argue not that attractive. So the question becomes, would you rather can the staff, again, and start over with inexperienced/failed coaches who are lower on the wish list or give Pettine more time to adjust into the position?

Frankly, I don't love what I've seen from Pettine as the defense has taken a step back under him and the line play is awful, but the team plays hard for him every week. The locker room seems to be in order and he's working off of a plan. It may not be going so well but at least there is a plan and organizational philosophy they are working off of.

Click to expand...

I'm with you in that the idea of starting all over again (potentially with a retread or taking a chance on a first timer) does not sound very attractive, but it's really hard to believe that Pettine will figure it out with more time. IMO, his biggest failing is the defense (considering he is a defensive coach). Surely some of that is on lack of players and injuries (it would have been interesting to see what they would of looked like if Solomon hadn't gotten hurt), but the scheme has been a problem, too. So whether he's been unwilling to take the responsibilities from O'Neil or has been unable to improve things by helping him is pretty damning to his ability, imo.

Phills14 said:

Make jokes all you want about the record but we aren't losing games because of Josh McCown.

Click to expand...

You're certainly right on this point, but we aren't winning games because of him either. He's done an awesome job this year (better than even the most optimistic people thought he would do), but the two things we were supposed to do this year (running the ball and playing defense) have been a complete disaster.

The point is though that does winning 1-2 more games with Johnny (or Davis) as the QB versus winning 2-3 more games with McCown as the QB really matter when we are going to be 2-8 at the bye week? The time to be concerned about winning games is over this year. Spending the last six weeks giving the younger guys some more PT seems like a smart use of that time.

According to Tashaun we're 1-0 in the division and thats all that matters.

Pick6 said:

Doug Marrone. Although the way he left Buffalo was weird, he did a good job in his year there. I bet he will be a HC next year, Browns or not.

Click to expand...

Eh, pass...

This week, it was Michael Silver of NFL Network who pointed out the differences between Marrone and Ryan as relayed to him by Marcell Dareus.

"I asked him about the switch from Doug Marrone to Rex Ryan," Silver said Wednesday on NFL Network. "Doug Marrone decided to opt out of his contract. They got the news on New Year's Eve and Marcel Dareus said, 'We celebrated a little harder.' I said, 'Were you surprised?' He said, 'I'm surprised he didn't do it earlier. He seemed miserable.' I said, 'Well, could you elaborate?' He said, 'Things were tense. He was always anal and cared about little stupid things, micro-managed us.' I said, 'Well, give me an example.' (He said), 'What difference does it make if I don't have team-issued socks for practice, and what does putting on a sweater in a cold meeting room have to do with winning?'"

Those are strong words for Marrone, who has since taken over as the offensive line coach and assistant head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite a nine-win season in 2014, players didn't seem to mind losing their coach, especially after the manner in which he left.

Click to expand...

That team won with a stellar defense and a hot stretch of games by Kyle Orton. Does the above quote imply Marrone is a bad coach? No. But he isn't going to endear himself to any players.

They got Pettine all the new toys he wanted on defense and it is worse than it was last year by a lot. We are dead last in the league in rush defense by a considerable margin over the 31st team.

That is supposed to be his calling card, and it is worse than when he walked in the door 2 years ago.

That just can't happen in the NFL if you want to keep your job. He only knows 1 system that clearly doesn't work anymore. It is all he has ever run, and it is why he won't even consider getting rid of his boy, because O'Neil is running Pettine's system.

This team has regressed quite noticeably since last year, and that should tell you all you need to know about how good the coaching is right now that the players get worse the longer they are exposed to these guys.

I am amazed at how strong the support still seems for the guy, because he is every bit as incompetent as Shurmur was at this point and people couldn't wait to run him out of town.

He "looks" the part of what Browns fans want from their coach, but there is nothing behind those glasses.

Binkster said:

Eh, pass...



That team won with a stellar defense and a hot stretch of games by Kyle Orton. Does the above quote imply Marrone is a bad coach? No. But he isn't going to endear himself to any players.

Click to expand...

I don't want a coach who is concerned about being buddy-buddy with his players. I want a coach who wins.

Pettine on being 2-6: Each week, you need to reassess. If that sense of urgency needs to get ramped up, you have to walk fine line

Click to expand...

There is no hope for this guy, he just doesn't get it.

IF!!!!!!!

There should ALWAYS be a sense of urgency, particularly when you're multiple games below .500 like we were for the past few weeks.

He's so busy trying to figure out how not to lose he never even gives these guys a chance to win.

Pick6 said:

I don't want a coach who is concerned about being buddy-buddy with his players. I want a coach who wins.

Click to expand...

You do know that being cold doesn't make you sick, right (e.g. not wearing a sweater)? That's an old wives' tale. The fact that Marrone doesn't realize that scares me.

And you're right. Always good to have a coach that's hated in the locker room. It's one of the qualities I look for in a winning coach.

Sincerely,

Greg Schiano
Josh McDaniels
Jim Harbaugh
Jim Schwartz

People really think the Browns will be able to upgrade the HC position after going thru 3 in 4 years?

That's laugh out loud funny. Do you guys have a clue about what the perception of the Browns is around the NFL? It's not good. It's probably worse than before they hired Pettine and it was bad then!

Do you think coaches don't notice when your OC tries to get himself fired last year? Or when your GM is suspended for texting the coaches on the sidelines? Or when the front office is nowhere to be found while the HC faces the media firing squad regarding Johnny Manziel's domestic incident?

The Browns have a long way to go, in a professional sense, before they can attract any coaches in demand. Stability would help this organization.

Also, do people really expect the Browns to win these games when looking at our roster? Honestly, when you look at the roster, do you guys think we're more talented than teams like the Cardinals or Steelers?

Pick6 said:

I don't want a coach who is concerned about being buddy-buddy with his players. I want a coach who wins.

Click to expand...

And your choice is Doug Marrone, who is .500 or below in both his college and pro career as a head coach.

Superb.

EdMonix11 said:

People really think the Browns will be able to upgrade the HC position after going thru 3 in 4 years?

Click to expand...

Are we watching the same games every week?

Pettine is about as competent a coach as Johnny is a QB.

The worst candidate out there is an upgrade over Mike at this point, he is in that far over his head.

You are underestimating how poor a coach he really is.

Birdy89 said:

Are we watching the same games every week?

Pettine is about as competent a coach as Johnny is a QB.

The worst candidate out there is an upgrade over Mike at this point, he is in that far over his head.

You are underestimating how poor a coach he really is.

Click to expand...

What makes you qualified to make these statements?

Birdy89 said:

Are we watching the same games every week?

Pettine is about as competent a coach as Johnny is a QB.

The worst candidate out there is an upgrade over Mike at this point, he is in that far over his head.

You are underestimating how poor a coach he really is.

Click to expand...

Sincerely,

Birdy 89 (the guy who hasn't coached football at any level, ever.)

Birdy89 said:

They got Pettine all the new toys he wanted on defense and it is worse than it was last year by a lot. We are dead last in the league in rush defense by a considerable margin over the 31st team.

That is supposed to be his calling card, and it is worse than when he walked in the door 2 years ago.

Click to expand...

To be fair to Pettine, rush defense is absolutely NOT his calling card. The defenses he's coached or coordinated have routinely had problems vs the run.
Rank in rushing yards allowed (lower the better)
09: 8th
10: 3rd
11: 13th
12: 26th
13: 28th
14: 32nd
15: 32nd

His calling card is playing press man coverage and rushing the passer to make an impact on the passing game.
Rank in passing yards allowed (lower the better)
09: 1st
10: 6th
11: 5th
12: 2nd
13: 4th
14: 8th
15: 22nd