Hope springs eternal for Browns fans, particularly in the late summer. It usually fizzles quickly. This year things seem different. Mike Holmgren seems to have put a proper organization in place and he is hitting the right notes with football decisions as well as rhetoric. He has brought in useful players, banking on actual production rather than ever-elusive potential. He has also wonderfully initiated a “Ring of Honor” for the numerous Browns who have excelled throughout the team’s storied history.
All in all, Browns fans-except for a few chuckleheads who have already begun imbibing liquid insulation-are optimistic that the team will be competitive without necessarily winning even half their games. The AFC North is tough.
Several story lines have cropped up this summer, some intriguing, one downright disgusting. Let’s get that out of the way first: Jim Brown-the greatest Cleveland Brown and the greatest running back in NFL history-has once again spewed his disturbing and revolting rhetoric and revealed his own selfishness to the point that no one care that he won’t show up at the inaugural Ring of Honor ceremony. Enough of that, you sense a real need to take a shower after reading his comments.
On to brighter topics. After who knows how many decades, we finally have a real NFL quarterback, maybe two! Delhomme is the first Browns qb probably since Bernie who was capable of leading a team, and Seneca Wallace has proved to be a more than capable backup. For the first time at least since 1999, the backup qb won’t be the most popular player.
In a related topic the wide receivers have been widely panned throughout the league, but seem to be much better than expected. It is likely that their dismal showing last year was, to a great extent, due to pathetic quarterbacking. We also have a full stable of running backs and they all seem to be able to tote the rock without stumbling over their feet or running into their own blockers. Defensively, we may have a defense that can actually tackle and will! What a change that would be.
One final story line that has been dragging on far longer than necessary has been Shaun Rogers and Robaire Smith. Each of them were caught with pistols in luggage at airports (don’t ask me why, but our current sports players do a lot of dumb and illegal things). The NFL headquarters has been threatening suspensions ever since. These infractions took place last winter and spring and the League office still has not done anything. Things are still “under review.” In the meantime, Ben Roethlisberger assaulted yet another female, was suspended by the League office, and is scheduled to have another meeting with Goodell later this week to determine if his suspension will be reduced. Can someone explain to me why Goodell fast tracks someone who sexually assaults females each off season, yet drags its feet over two non-violent and non-harmful incidents.
But the NFL front office is
Cookinthebooks's Blog 