There IS progress, but it's sporadic and frustrating at best. Mangini and Daboll should not be on an NFL coaching roster. Have you watched any of Mangini's press conferences? There's about as much emotion at one of these things as a Sunday morning sermon! In his defense, however, the Browns are in need of EVERYTHING. They have NO wide receivers, need another defensive back, a rush-end, a linebacker (or two) a defensive lineman and a cange of pace back - Hardesty is not the guy, his injury history in college and now the NFL speaks for itself. That was a bad pick by Heckert & Holmgren. The defense is aggressive in the mold of Rob Ryan, but he does not have the personnel to make it work efficiently. Take a look at his defensive stats at both Oakland AND Cleveland; both at the bottom of the NFL rankings. They beat the Saints and the Patriots, lose games late in what, 4 or 6 contests, and lost to the Bills and the Bengals? (sigh...) Mangini and Dabol have to go. Let Holmgren do what he was hired to do and make certain Lerner stays OUT of the Browns offices and AWAY from the draft. Too many missed and blown opportunities show a lack of leadership, coaching, discipline and heart.
The proof of progress is clearly on the field. Congratulations Mangini you are in the midst of vindication. You have unquestionalbly molded this team to fit your philosophy and its working. I can't hear you Mike Lombardi, I can't hear you!
Although an ugly loss to a winnable game for sure, I'm definitely impressed with the new faces. Ward, Haden, S. Brown, Gocong look to be fine additions. Hillis, in spite of the fumbles, comes better than expected. I happen to be a Tennessee Volunteers fan and Hardesty will make it back, trust me ! This kid is as tough as nails, has a will that won't quit. He was the third rated RB coming out of high school in the country when the Vols got him and desires nothing less than being an elite runner in the NFL. He has been through alot already with good consequences coming from it. His faith in himself is unbelievable. Reminds me a lot of Mike Pruitt. Also nice to see that Rubin, Roth, Trusnik and Benard are picking up where they left off and definitely hope to see more of James Davis. Holmgren and Heckert have done a smash-up job so far and giving Mangini and Daboll enough room to hang themselves was the right thing to do. Stay tuned... In spite of his failings in the second half, Daboll has added some nice wrinkles to the offense and I'm sure there are more to come. Most of them are still in their first 3 years and can only get better (that includes Mangini and Daboll) and hopefully they'll be here for a while to do it. Still gonna be a tough year to watch them all grow but I suspect we'll all be happy with our improvement at year's end. Are there any more faithful fans than Browns fans....WE THINK NOT !!!!
I am encouraged by the progress being made under Holmgren's leadership. I like the fact the Holmgren, Heckert and Mangini are working well together. The vision for how he woulld reclaim the winning tradition of Cleveland football is showing tangible evidence of working. Mangini is being given a fair chance to coach and he's been much better than the media, including Lombardi, have said he could be.
I suspect that someone close to the Coach or the organization has been coming on here and voting up Mangini's approval rating. It's been as high as 7. And no sensible Browns' fan would vote him higher than a 4.
Cleveland get ready to release the Beast!! Hillis is a Monster, he is a jim Brown throw back, but nit as fast. I watched him for four years at Arkansas and he will run over people. He is also on of the best at catching the ball out of the backfield, he has great hands. I'm glad that he is now a Brown, in 2008 he carried the broncos running game, but the came McHoodie and hillis wasn't his man. So Good luck Browns, and roit in the basement Broncos. Get ready to release the BEAST!! Good luck Hillis.
@tnew55.... if you ever find urself - at any time - rooting for the ravens or steelers (or bengals, for that matter), wat kind of browns fan were you in the first place? i dont care how many yrs u have been a "fan." bottom line....there's good times and bad times for each and every major professional team in the country (yankees not included) and its unfortunate that the browns bad time has persisted for a decade. that shouldnt make them question ur allegiance. please get off the browns team, tnew. and be sure not to jump back on wen the browns r back....
Lat year, the Bengals were 4-11-1, and we were 4-12. That is all.
I've been a Browns fan for over 40 years and have endured some bad teams and heartbreaks, but this is absolutley the worst. I hope Randy Lerner reads this and understands the impact Mangini is having on the Browns I do not mean on the field. That is evident. The lack of any apparent plan for the present, much less the future and the poor way in which this head coach administers this team is turning off your fan base. I can't believe that is posible as the Cleveland Browns fans have the reputation as one of the most loyal and dedicated fan base in the country. But no longer. Dare I say it, I find myself rooting for the Ravens or the Steelers or some team in a foriegn NFC because of this mess. Mr. Lerner, please do the right thing...get rid og Mangini, get a serious football person in place and get out of the way so they can do their job. If your fans see the organization on the right path, they will give you time. We will not tolerate and stick arouond for the aimeless meandering that is the current state of the franchise.
I've been a Browns fan for over 40 years and have endured some bad teams and heartbreaks, but this is absolutley the worst. I hope Randy Lerner reads this and understands the impact Mangini is having on the Browns I do not mean on the field. That is evident. The lack of any apparent plan for the present, much less the future and the poor way in which this head coach administers this team is turning off your fan base. I can't believe that is posible as the Cleveland Browns fans have the reputation as one of the most loyal and dedicated fan base in the country. But no longer. Dare I say it, I find myself rooting for the Ravens or the Steelers or some team in a foriegn NFC because of this mess. Mr. Lerner, please do the right thing...get rid og Mangini, get a serious football person in place and get out of the way so they can do their job. If your fans see the organization on the right path, they will give you time. We will not tolerate and stick arouond for the aimeless meandering that is the current state of the franchise.
Does no one else think Mangini's timeout was the worst timeout in memory? I have not seen it brought up anywhere.
Obviously nobody is here to read about Association Football [soccer], but it's worth noting Randy Lerner has invested heavily in his other football team, Aston Villa, over the last three years. This summer he spent £30 million acquiring players [about $50 million], and that doesn't include wages. Villa have also invested heavily in facilities recently - in stark contrast to his unloved Brownies, where everyone who visits the treatment room gets a free staph infection. Seeing how much he's lavished on his 'other' team puts his hands-off approach into perspective.
