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Cleveland Browns trade tight end Kellen Winslow to Tampa Bay

After cutting five players two days ago, the Bucs fill a roster spot. From AP-

The Cleveland Browns have traded talented and troublesome tight end Kellen Winslow to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for undisclosed draft picks.

Winslow’s five years in Cleveland were marked by injuries and controversy. He missed most of his first two seasons with injuries, but made the Pro Bowl in 2007 after making 82 catches for 1,106 yards. He demanded a new contract after the ’07 season.

Last season, he was briefly suspended by the Browns after being hospitalized with a staph infection.

Winslow was the sixth overall pick in the NFL 2004 Draft. The son of Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow Sr., he had 219 receptions for 2,459 yards and 11 touchdowns in 44 games.

When healthy Winslow has been a good player. He had a run in with management last year and the trade may have something to do with that. Note- The AP article doesn’t tell the whole story of Winslow’s 2008 suspension. He got a staph infection, was suspended after criticizing the GM because the Browns have had a recent history of these outbreaks, but the suspension was subsequently lifted by the Browns Owner.

 

NY Giants Pro Bowl linebacker Brad Van Pelt dies of heart attack at 57

I remember Van Pelt very well. That in spite of my being a Jet fan. Most of my family were Met and Giant fans who hate the Yankees but were at worst indifferent about the Jets. That’s how I felt and feel towards the Giants today and when Van Pelt played for them. RIP.

 

Cleveland Browns name ballboyEric Mangini head coach

He replaces the recently fired Romeo Crennel. From ESPN-

Eric Mangini, who began his NFL career as a ballboy for the Browns, was introduced as Cleveland’s 12th full-time coach on Thursday, less than two weeks after he was fired by the New York Jets.

After Bill Belichick failed in Cleveland, and Romeo Crennel failed in Cleveland, what could the Browns possibly expect from Eric Mangini? The disciples of Bill Belichick haven’t exactly fared well in the NFL.

The 37-year-old Mangini signed a four-year deal with the Browns, who are rebuilding once again following a 4-12 season that ended with the firings of coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Phil Savage.

*****

Mangini began shagging balls with the Browns in 1994 under then-coach Bill Belichick, who liked the kid’s work ethic and quickly promoted him to a public relations assistant before adding him to the scouting department. Now Mangini’s taking over the job from Crennel, one of his best friends in the game.

*****

Mangini had a tumultuous three years in New York. When he arrived, Mangini inherited a 4-12 team and led them to 10 wins in his first season, prompting New York’s tabloids to dub him “Mangenius.” By the end of his run in the NFL’s largest market, he was being called moody, dour and controlling.

He went 23-25 with one playoff loss in three seasons with the Jets, who started 8-3 this season but lost four of their last five games and missed the playoffs.

Bill Belichick Assistants haven’t had a exemplary record as head coaches in the NFL.
Years W-L Playoff
Romeo Crennel 4 24-40 0-0
Eric Mangini 3 23-25 0-1
Nick Saban 2 15-17 0-0
Al Groh 1 9-7 0-0
Combined win pct: .444

Mangini may have more talent(Brady Quinn) to work with in Cleveland than he did in New York and won’t have the Big Apple media circus to deal with either. Still I’m predicting the Browns to be in the market for another head coach in no more than four years.

 

Cleveland Browns fire coach Romeo Crennel

The reborn NFL team went 4-12 this year. From ESPN-

Barely into another massive rebuilding project, the Cleveland Browns have already moved to Plan B.

Plan A — or Plan Cowher — has been scrapped.

Browns owner Randy Lerner made his second major move of the offseason Monday by firing coach Romeo Crennel, who lost 40 games in four seasons, never made the playoffs and went 0-8 against Pittsburgh, the only full-time Cleveland coach to go winless against the archrival Steelers.

Crennel’s dismissal came less than 24 hours after Lerner fired general manager Phil Savage following a 31-0 loss in Pittsburgh.

The Browns, who began the season pegged as one of the NFL’s rising teams and ended it at 4-12 and in last place, began their offseason with a disheartening loss.

Cowher is already saying he isn’t interested in the Cleveland job. As for Crennel, he had a chance to turn around the pathetic Browns. He didn’t do it, and I see Cleveland as more than justified in deciding it was time to move on.

Note- Oddly Crennel’s name came up a year ago after the Miami Dolphins fired Cam Cameron.

 

Battle of the Pits Ohio- Cincinnati beats Cleveland 14-0

The 2008 NFL season has to have Ohio residents longing for the days when Brian Sipe and Ken Anderson duked it out. From AP-

On a bone-chilling Sunday, a season of high hopes hit new depths for the Cleveland Browns.

“Worst season I’ve ever played in,” running back Jamal Lewis said.

Cedric Benson rushed for a career-high 171 yards on 38 carries and cornerback Leon Hall returned one of his three interceptions 50 yards for a touchdown as the Cincinnati Bengals got their first road win this season, 14-0 over the hapless Browns.

After losing their first eight games, the Bengals (3-11-1) have won two straight for the first time since closing 2007 with back-to-back victories. It was their first road win since beating Miami in the ’07 finale, and the shutout was Cincinnati’s first since blanking the Browns 30-0 on Nov. 26, 2006.

The Bengals now lead the series 36-35.

The Cleveland Browns who have lost two quarterbacks already this year, Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson, may have lost another.

To make matters worse, the Browns lost another quarterback. Ken Dorsey, who is only playing because of season-ending injuries to Derek Anderson and Quinn, suffered a mild concussion and injured ribs in the fourth quarter. Dorsey was replaced by recently signed QB Bruce Gradkowski, who may have to start the season finale.

Maybe the Browns can lure Sipe, Mike Phipps, or Bernie Kosar out of retirement. Not that Dorsey was not good either. The first pass he threw today was intercepted and run back for a touchdown.

It is believed Brown coach Romeo Crennel will be fired at year end. Will Marvin Lewis survive this off season also? This will mark the second consecutive losing season for Cincinnati.

 

Browns QB Anderson sprains left MCL, likely will be done for season

Will the last Cleveland Brown Quarterback please stand up. From ESPN-

It appears the Browns have lost their second quarterback in two weeks.

Just several days after losing Brady Quinn to a broken finger, Cleveland also lost Derek Anderson to a left MCL injury in the waning moments of Sunday’s 10-6 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts. The recovery time for MCL injuries is usually 3-4 weeks, which likely means Anderson is out for the remainder of the 2008 season.

*****

Anderson was hurt Sunday when Browns right tackle Kevin Shaffer landed on Anderson’s leg on the final drive.

“It didn’t look good with him coming off,” Browns coach Romeo Crennel said after the game. “I’m not encouraged by the way he came off the field.”

Ken Dorsey, who entered the year as the third-string quarterback, will start next week against the Tennessee Titans and probably for the rest of the year. He didn’t throw a pass all season until Anderson went down in the fourth quarter. He finished the game 0 for 3.

Brady Quinn is already done for the year. Not much good can be expected from a team reduced to its 3rd string Quarterback. Romeo Crunel’s job is in jeopardy, and Anderson’s injury may spell doom for the coach.

 

QB Brady Quinn out for the year with a broken finger

That according to ESPN-

Brady Quinn finally got his chance, but it’s not going to end the way he envisioned.

After only three starts, the Cleveland Browns quarterback will be shut down for the season with a broken index finger, sources told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen on Tuesday.

Sources told ESPN that the team has not determined whether surgery will be necessary, but Quinn must stop all football activity for at least six weeks, ending his season.

Quinn and the Browns made the decision after the quarterback had been examined by noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., earlier Tuesday. According to FoxSports.com, the exam found that the break had gotten worse and was threatening tendons in the finger as well.

Derek Anderson, who lost his job to Quinn in Week 10, will return to the starting spot when the Browns host the Colts on Sunday.

The Browns, who are 4-7, won’t be going anywhere this post-season. The book is still out on Quinn as to whether he will be another bust at QB. His stats so far are far from impressive.

 

Browns GM Savage sent message containing expletive in response to heckling e-mailer

Yawn.

Cleveland Browns general manager Phil Savage sent an e-mail containing an expletive in response to a disparaging message he received from a fan during the team’s Monday night game against Buffalo, coach Romeo Crennel confirmed Thursday.

Crennel said he spoke with Savage, who sent the e-mail during Cleveland’s 29-27 win over the Bills.

“We all get frustrated at times,” Crennel said. “Phil generally, like the rest of us, tries to be professional and hold it in. But sometimes some things slip out. It’s unfortunate that it slipped out. Tough times, tough things happen. I’m sure that if we had it to do over again we’d do it a little bit differently.”

Savage’s e-mail exchange with the fan was first reported on sports blog deadspin.com.

Savage has not yet commented on the e-mail.

Outside the Ohio area, is there really anyone who cares about this news? A football executive used a curse word! What’s next, prostitutes will start asking for money in return for sex?

 

Is Miami Dolphin WR Ted Ginn a draft bust already?

Some idiot analyst named Dan Arkush at Pro Football Weekly thinks so.

Candidates
2007: WR Ted Ginn Jr. / Dolphins
2006: LB Ernie Sims / Lions
2005: CB Carlos Rogers / Redskins
2004: WR Reggie Williams / Jaguars
2003: DT Kevin Williams / Vikings
2002: DT John Henderson / Jaguars
2001: WR Koren Robinson / Seahawks
2000: LB Brian Urlacher / Bears
1999: LB Chris Claiborne / Lions
1998: RB Fred Taylor / Jaguars

And the loser is … Ted Ginn Jr.

The verdict is definitely still out on Ginn, but draft experts far and wide continue to question the wisdom of his selection in last year’s draft over Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn, who eventually dropped into the Browns’ lap at the No. 22 spot. Truth be told, Ginn is victimized in this context by what must be considered a pretty solid cast of candidates. Robinson, who no doubt has had his share of baggage, was given consideration, but he had his moments during his time in Seattle, especially his second season, when he gained 1,240 yards receiving and averaged just under 16 yards a catch. Reggie Williams also was considered based on his mediocre track record in his first three years with the Jags, but it appears the light might have finally gone on for him last season.

I didn’t defend the Ginn selection when it happened. Not because the Dolphins passed over Brady Quinn(who I’d remind everyone that the book is still out on. Quinn spending 2007 riding the Cleveland Browns bench and throwing 8 passes for the entire season.) but because Miami didn’t concern address its most pressing needs. Finding players for a aging defense. This is what I wrote at the time.

I stick to what I said before, the Dolphins should not draft Brady Quinn. Rather the team should either pick

1- DT Amobi Okoye

or

2- LB Patrick Willis

or

3- Trade down

Miami has the oldest starting defense in the NFL. Its time to upgrade it.

Willis was AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year for 2007.

The age of the Dolphin defense was known(Oldest Average age for a team’s line and linebackers in the NFL) going into the 2007 and took full effect last year. One South Florida sports columnist jumped on the ‘why didn’t Miami pick a defensive player’ bandwagon about six months after the draft.

Ginn wasn’t the right move for Miami, but is he a bust at this point in his career? I watched every single game Miami played last year. Ginn returned one kick for a TD and had two more taken back by penalties. His 34 receptions for 420 yards and 2 TDs is hardly impressive(Ginn had his best game in the season finale against the Bengals may I note) but you have to remember how pathetic the Dolphin QB situation was last year. I ought to know, I watched every minute of every 2007 Miami Dolphin game. Did Dan Arkush?

As to some of those other number nine picks, Koren Robinson and Chris Claiborne each lasted just four years with the teams that originally drafted them. I hardly think that’s what the Seahawks and Lions were hoping from these players when they were selected at #9 in their respective drafts. A strong case can be made for both Claiborne and Robinson as draft busts.(Claiborne is out of the NFL entirely at this moment)

The jury is still out on Ginn(Something Arkush admits as much as it is on Brady Quinn. It is downright stupid to call Ted Ginn after only one NFL season.

 

Pacman Jones Allowed to Practice, Not Yet Reinstated

The NFL has allowed Adam “Pacman” Jones to return to practice.

Pacman Jones Allowed to Practice, Not Yet ReinstatedSuspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones moved a step closer to becoming an active NFL player again Monday when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell gave him permission to participate in practices, training camp and preseason games.

Goodell said he will wait until Sept. 1 — six days before the Cowboys’ season opener against the Cleveland Browns — before making a final determination on full reinstatement.

But being allowed to get on the field with his teammates even on a limited basis was a much-welcomed step in the right direction for Pacman and the Cowboys. He will make his Cowboys debut during the organized team activity workouts today.

It’s absolutely unconscionable that one man has this much power to decide the livelihood of another. Presumably, though, Goodell wouldn’t allow a man to practice only to deny him the opportunity to earn a living once the season starts. If this is being done in good faith, the only rationale for holding the final decision over Jones’ head is to add incentive for good behavior.

 
 


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