THE 2014 BROWNS MEMES AWARDS

 Welcome everyone to the 2nd annual Browns Memes Postseason Awards!

The Browns ended up 7-9 which on the surface sounds like improvement.  However the record seems a bit jaded when you factor in the fact this team was 6-3 and riding high in the division.  If you factor in the fact that the team went through a period that looked like something out of a scripted nightmare.  If you think about the fact we now have almost zero value at the QB position.  So much went wrong in a very short period of time.

So where can we find some positives?  Well we can't, but it is sports and we are playing for awards.  If we can't earn awards the traditional ways (winning, in case you have forgotten by now) then someone is going to have to make some awards up for them.  That someone is me.  So with no further delay I present the most prestigious awards a player can earn from a goofball Twitter account... The Browns Memes 2014 Postseason Awards!

First I would like to recognize Josh Gordon as the 2014 Idiot of the Year.  He is the only award winner from this year to have won his award before the season even started.  Despite tremendous efforts from Justin Gilbert and Johnny Manziel to pry this award from Gordon's hands they just couldn't.

I always thought Browns Twitter made severe fun of Indians Twitter due to the overuse of silly nicknames and slogans... then WRECK THIS LEAGUE became the rallying cry for the backup quarterback to enter the game and instantly become some weird hybrid of all the greatest qualities of Randall Cunningham and Joe Montana wrapped into a barely 6 foot tall fratboy.  WRECKED MY TEAM is more like it.

Last year a streaker in the preseason stole the Run of the Year from the entire stable of running backs.  This year a man in the Dawg Pound shed two blocks from Bengals fans and laid the first hit of the day on Jeremy Hill... one row deep in the stands.  Congratulations Rhett, you earned this one!

For a short period of time this year it looked like we finally scared the same old Browns away.  Isaiah Crowell helped with that.  This lightning run against the Falcons was one of the better runs I've seen from an actual running back in a good long time.

I'm glad that we are retaining our coaching staff.  Our defense did a lot of good things.  But offensively we were a bit of a joke.  Most of the dumb coaching blunders of the season seemed to come while we had the ball.  Take this gem early in season, where the Browns broke almost every written and unwritten rule in football.  And couldn't even get set to run the play...

This year I thought it would be fun to let the fans in on the voting as well here is the results for the fan polls for Biggest Letdown, Biggest Surprise and MVP of the season.

Congratulations to all of our esteemed winners.

THE HALFWAY POINT

The only thing I know for sure about the 2014 Cleveland Browns is that I know less about the team now than I did before the season began.  Never in all of my days of watching this team play have I seen more bizarrely unpredictable play.

But one thing I know for sure is that they are better than the old Browns teams.  But reading many people's narratives of this team you would never believe it.  To see the amount of people complaining about the QB situation and digging for negatives is crazy to me.  To have five wins at the halfway point of the year is an incredible feeling.  So lets go down memory lane, as I stack up games 1-8 head to head against last year's team and lets see if anyone would want to live through last season again instead.

Game One:

2014  Browns 27 - Steelers 30 - The season couldn't have started worse, the team bumbled to a 27-3 halftime deficit.  However the Browns came out in the second half like an entirely different team scoring 24 unanswered points to tie the game late in the 4th quarter.  However the team ran out of gas at the very end of the game giving up a game winning FG in the last seconds.

2013  Dolphins 23 - Browns 10 - The Browns finally mustered some offense just before half to take a 7-6 halftime lead.  That was their highlight as the Browns fell apart and Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins cruised through the 2nd half outscoring the Browns 17-3 from that point on.

Advantage: 2014   

Game Two:

2014  Saints 24 - Browns 26 - In a game where most experts gave the Browns no chance to even be competitive in their home opener the Browns outplayed the Saints through most of the 1st half.  However the Browns missed some opportunities and gave up some late points and still led the game 16-10 at the half.  However this week the Saints managed the comeback and took a late lead in the game.  Then the unthinkable happened.  Brian Hoyer led a clutch drive setting up a Billy Cundiff game winning FG.

2013  Browns 6 - Ravens 14 - Once again the Browns wasted a good defensive effort, only managing 6 points at halftime. The Ravens quickly erased the deficit and added one more TD for good measure.  Brandon Weeden was injured in the 4th quarter and Jason Campbell didn't have a chance either.

Advantage: 2014

Game Three:

2014  Ravens 23 - Browns 21 - The Browns managed to hang tough with the Ravens, and heading into the 4th quarter held a fragile 21-17 lead.  Brian Hoyer hit Taylor Gabriel on 70 yard pass that looked like it was going to setup some insurance.  The Browns didn't do another thing right that game.  The entire offense and defense fell apart and the same old Browns reared it's ugly head.

2013  Browns 31 - Vikings 27 - After a shocking week Trent Richardson was traded and Brian Hoyer was named starting QB.  The next shocker was the fact we had offense for the first time in 2013.  In the first exciting game of 2013 the Browns hung tough, but found themselves down by 4 in the 4th quarter.  Then the unthinkable happened.  Brian Hoyer led a clutch drive finding Jordan Cameron for a game winning touchdown.

Advantage: 2013 

Game Four:

2014  Browns 29 - Titans 28 -  The Browns had another first half meltdown in this game, building a 25 point deficit in the 2nd quarter.  However the Browns scored 28 unanswered points to end the game completing the largest road comeback victory in NFL history.

2013 Bengals 6 - Browns 17 - In one of the most drama free games in a while the Browns managed to hold an early lead for the entire game.  The Browns put this game on ice in the 4th quarter with Hoyer's 2nd TD pass of the game.  The Bengals offense didn't have an answer.

Advantage: 2014

Game Five:

2014  Steelers 10 - Browns 31 - In the biggest win over the Steelers in decades, the Browns beat the Steelers from pillar to post.  The only negative in the entire game was the fact that Alex Mack would be lost for the season.

2013  Bills 24 - Browns 37 - Brian Hoyer's season ended during the Browns 2nd offensive series.  This opened the door for Brandon Weeden to reclaim his job at QB.  Weeden wasn't terrific, but Travis Benjamin was.  His punt returns set up several key touchdowns taking the Browns winning streak to three games... but now we have to go forward with Weeden.

Advantage: 2014

Game Six:

2014  Browns 6 - Jaguars 24 - In one of the biggest momentum killing losses in recent memory, the Browns didn't show up in any aspect of the game.  Jacksonville literally had a blowout handed to them in this game.

2013  Lions 31 - Browns 17 - In one of the biggest momentum killing losses in recent memory, the Browns took a 17-7 lead into halftime.  After the half the Browns self destructed as the Lions put up 24 unanswered points.  The game will probably be best remembered for Brandon Weeden's flipper pass interception in the 4th quarter to seal the game for the Lions.

Advantage: None, both of these games can burn in hell

Game Seven:

2014  Raiders 13 - Browns 23 - This certainly wasn't the prettiest game in the world.  But the Browns took advantage of the Raider's mistakes and handily won this game.

2013  Browns 13 - Packers 31 - The Browns traveled to Lambeau Field, and did exactly what everyone expected them to do... get blown out.  Weeden was horrible, and lost his job again after this game.

Advantage: 2014

Game Eight:

2014  Buccaneers 17 - Browns 22 - The Browns running game continued to struggle since the loss of Alex Mack, but the passing game picked them up.  Hoyer threw for over 300 yards for the first time this season, and the Browns hung tough and picked up a hard fought fifth win of the season.

2013  Browns 17 - Chiefs 23 - Jason Campbell became the 20th starting QB for the Browns since 1999 at Kansas City.  And after not being able to complete the comeback after a 20-3 Chiefs lead, became the 20th QB to take a loss.    

Advantage: 2014


So tell me again why people are so upset.  I have the 2014 season up 6-1-1 versus the 2013 team.  And the only time I picked that team was Hoyer's debut.  Let's not forget those 5 wins we have at the halfway point is more than the 2013 team mustered all season long.  They won their next game and never won again.

So calm down people, the most alarming things about this year's team is the offensive and defensive lines.  We have some work to do.  But sit back and enjoy it for a change.

PITTSBURGH WEEK HAD A HAPPY ENDING

To be fair the Browns and Steelers rivalry has never been that good.  The Browns dominated the 50's and 60's. But 1970 brought on a new day and the "Three Rivers Jinx" took hold for the Browns as they watched the Steelers move on to be a dominate dynasty in the NFL.  The mid 80's finally shifted in the Browns favor, and once again they were the better team.  Then the mid 90's the rivalry shifted back into the Steelers favor.  From there the Browns moved to Baltimore, which for Steelers fans replaced the rivalry with Cleveland.  And since the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999 they have failed to recover the passion in the rivalry, making losses to the Steelers a nearly bi-annual tradition for us for the past decade and a half.  It has dampened a rivalry that still has passion and fire, but also is marred by the fact that Steelers fans see the Browns games as a guaranteed win.

That was until 2014.  The season series started with the same old vibe.  In two quarters of play the Steelers made mincemeat out of a seemingly overwhelmed Browns squad.  And after going into the locker room leading the game 27-3, Steelers fans smugly gloated while Browns fans licked their wounds in an all too familiar scene.  But that was the moment the "same old Browns," died.

For all the errors the Browns committed in the first half of that football game, the team came out of the locker room and punched the Steelers straight across the mouth.  The team rallied to tie the game in the 4th quarter, and the Steelers only barely escaped with the win on a last second field goal.  But instead of leaving with their heads held high, the Steelers were left with a win that felt more like a kiss from their sister.

While at least that was progress for the Browns, it wasn't a win but it was something.  Knowing we had a rematch just a few weeks away, many of us hoped that maybe the 2nd half of that game was something more than the Browns just catching a Steelers team who had fallen asleep at the wheel.

When Pittsburgh unholy football team made it's visit to the shores of Lake Erie there was something that felt different.  Excitement for Browns football as reached a level that hasn't been seen since the 80's.  Gone were the sections of terrible towels and black jerseys.  An army of orange and brown arrived instead to greet the Steelers into town.

And we were loud, obnoxious and ready to have a reason to scream.  The Browns entered the game with incredible momentum, and it showed as they cruised to a 21-3 halftime lead.  In normal situations this would usually be enough to feel very comfortable, but being a Browns fan it is a normal reaction to wonder how things are going to go wrong.  But this day was different.  The Browns kept the pedal to the medal, and very quickly turned Pittsburgh's hopes of their own comeback into garbage time.

The Browns 31-10 rout of the Steelers was a showcase.  A four quarter display of a new look Cleveland Browns team that is crawling out of the large shadows cast upon them by the other teams in the division.  A team that Cleveland can finally be proud of.  So for that I will spare you the same old recycled analysis you can get anywhere, and just celebrate with the rest of you.  Enjoy...

WHY WE SHOULDN'T FEEL SO BAD ABOUT THE TRIBE

The 2014 Cleveland Indians were an unlikely team.  A big batch of likable guys that just one season ago perpetrated a minor miracle to get into the post season.  Despite fizzling out in the wild card game last year, many fans were excited to see what this season was going to offer.  Unfortunately this season hasn't quite lived up to expectations.  But I really don't think that is very fair, because this team hung around in the playoff race much longer than they probably should have.  Here is my list of reasons that we shouldn't feel like this season was a waste, because we shouldn't even have been .500.

Corey Kluber:
In April our ace was Justin Masterson, and very quickly we realized that Masty was no ace.  In fact in the first couple weeks of the year it looked like we didn't have anyone that could even be close to considered an ace.  Then along came Corey Kluber.

The man who never smiles managed to continued to improve all season long.  And responded to an All-Star snub by becoming an elite Major League pitcher.  While I'm not going to bore you with his amazing stat lines from this season, you can see above that his efforts will not go unnoticed during the offseason awards.

We are among the bottom 5 payroll in all of baseball:
The Dolans are cheap, and where we stand in the rankings of baseball payroll doesn't exactly lump us in with the contenders, it barely qualifies for a team around .500.  To make matters worse most of that said payroll was used on Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn.  Bourn did a good job when he was out there, but spend a good amount of time this year on the DL.  And Nick Swisher was abysmal before his season ended due to knee surgery.  So the old saying, "You get what you pay for," doesn't seem to apply to this year's team.  We should be extremely proud that this team was able to keep themselves in it for so long.

So here's to hoping for maybe a little effort in the offseason combined with a healthy Bourn next year.  And a rebuilt Nick Swisher...

We didn't even have a left hander in our rotation to start the year:
No offense to the team, but the offseason wasn't exactly world beating.  We signed David Murphy, who really showed up during clutch situations, and John Axford who was essentially given to Pittsburgh.  But outside of that we were probably most hurt by not being able to get Scott Kasmir back in an Indians uniform.  Instead we went with five right handed arms, which is a dream come true for most major league hitters over the course of a three game series.

The bright side came in the form of T.J. House a young lefty, who was able to solidify his spot in the rotation at the season progressed.  Here at the end of the season he has almost done a better job than Kluber.  House provides us with a bit more stability in the rotation heading into this next offseason.

We were the worst fielding team in the MLB:
Not that is something to tip your cap on, but it is a testament to the pitching staff.  No team that is as bad at the fundamentals of defense should have won as many games as us... period.

We didn't hit well:
Once again a feather in the pitching staff's cap.  We were inconsistent at best on the offensive side of the ball.  In fact we scored less runs than even the last place Twins... let that digest.  Remind me again how we stayed .500.

We traded our ace and one of our veteran bats for prospects:
This was an issue that I probably caused the most people to lash out me for my opinion on.  While I agreed with many people that Justin Masterson wasn't performing well enough to stay in the rotation, I simply took the side that teams that contend don't make trades that don't improve the current roster.  It just doesn't happen that way.  Contenders buy veterans, pretenders sell them for prospects.

That is what made it crazier when the Indians traded mainstay Asdrubal Cabrera for a young prospect.  Once again a bizarre move for a team still in the playoff hunt.  Considering we didn't trade for any veteran help and just plugged in prospects to their spots, the team rallied time and again keeping them very much in the hunt for postseason.

We discovered Jose Ramirez because of the bizarre roster moves: 
In a year that had many people clamoring for minor league phenom Francisco Lindor to step up and take over the shortstop duties, when the job came available it was given to Jose Ramirez.  After a slow start he soon became a very solid player at the position.  In fact several of the prospects have come in and done a great job.  Again something you won't normally see out of a team in the playoff hunt.

So I'm not going to cry for the Indians.  I am going to sit back and see what happens to this roster in the offseason.  But I'm proud of this year's team, let's face it... they really shouldn't have been so interesting.

WE NEED AS MANY GOOD QB'S AS POSSIBLE

The offseason before the 2008 season was one of my darkest times as a Browns fan.  We were coming off a 10 win season, and things were looking promising.  However I was stunned by the absolute hate being directed towards the QB that actually won those 10 games.  Derek Anderson had made the Pro Bowl and looked poised to be the most successful signal caller in the new Browns era, but many people were still unhappy.

How was this possible?  A young man named Brady Quinn was on the team, and people were pissed that he wasn't the guy that did the winning.  I've already went into detail about Quinn earlier on this blog.  But the point is people wanted Quinn to win because he was a hometown boy (if you can count Dublin as being hometown) that grew up a Browns fan.  The splitting of the fan base took a toll on everyone, and in my opinion did a lot to affect the product that eventually made its way onto the field.

Fast forward to 2013 when a genuine hometown boy named Brian Hoyer took the reigns of the Browns offense and actually looked good.  His success was short lived, due to an injury which ended his season, but Hoyer seemed poised to bounce back and at give it another shot.  Hoyer's story is like something out of a fairy tale, and up until May it looked like people were going to get that Brady Quinn moment that they all longed for years ago.  Then along came Johnny Manziel...

I don't need to explain who Johnny Manziel is.  If you don't know, go turn on ESPN for about 15 seconds and no matter what is on you are bound to hear a Johnny Manziel reference of some sort.  I'm not trying to bail on Johnny but I'm not so blinded by the hype that I can't see him for what he is.  He is a very athletic QB with a surprisingly good arm... who also came out of college as a sophomore and didn't play in anything close to a pro offense.  Most people in that spot would be considered a good prospect, and be expected to pay his dues in the league, but he isn't most people.  He's Johnny Football, he is the end all next gen Anti-Tebow that ESPN, NFL Network and TMZ can't get enough of.

All of that is cool, but suddenly people hate the hometown boy.  It's not like Hoyer ever did anything wrong.  He is 3-0 as a starter, he didn't set the world on fire, but he looked better than any QB in an orange helmet in a long time.  Yet that has not stopped the hopes in many, that the Browns find some way to make Hoyer simply go away.  That way Johnny Football has no competition for the starting role.

On the flip side many of Brian Hoyer's top supporters have become Johnny Football haters as well.  As far as I'm concerned it is all nonsense.  I don't know why people are so resistant to embrace the fact that we essentially have two promising QB candidates.  How quickly people forget the Browns history of QB need.  In fact the Browns have only had 4 seasons since 1985 in which one guy has started all 16 games, and haven't done it in consecutive seasons since 1980-1981 when Brian Sipe did it.

So for those of you that just want one of our QB's to go away, look at this year by year of our starters and maybe you won't be so eager to get rid of anyone, and maybe your will even want to add a few more...

• 2013 - Jason Campbell, Brandon Weeden, Brian Hoyer
• 2012 - Brandon Weeden, Thad Lewis
• 2011 - Colt McCoy, Seneca Wallace
• 2010 - Colt McCoy, Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace
• 2009 - Brady Quinn, Derek Anderson
• 2008 - Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey, Bruce Gradkowski
• 2007 - Derek Anderson, Charlie Frye
• 2006 - Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson 
• 2005 - Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye
• 2004 - Jeff Garcia, Kelly Holcomb, Luke McCown
• 2003 - Kelly Holcomb, Tim Couch
• 2002 - Tim Couch, Kelly Holcomb
• 2001 - Tim Couch
• 2000 - Doug Pederson, Tim Couch, Spergon Wynn
• 1999 - Tim Couch, Ty Detmer
• 1995 - Vinny Testaverde, Eric Zeier
• 1994 - Vinny Testaverde, Mark Rypien
• 1993 - Bernie Kosar, Vinny Testaverde, Todd Philcox
• 1992 - Mike Tomczak, Bernie Kosar, Todd Philcox
• 1991 - Bernie Kosar
• 1990 - Bernie Kosar, Mike Pagel
• 1989 - Bernie Kosar
• 1988 - Bernie Kosar, Mike Pagel, Gary Danielson, Don Strock
• 1987 - Bernie Kosar, Gary Danielson (Jeff Christensen started as a replacement player during strike)
• 1986 - Bernie Kosar
• 1985 - Bernie Kosar, Gary Danielson

       

HAVE YOU GIVEN UP ON JOSH GORDON YET?

I've already gone off on Josh Gordon.  It is mean spirited, angry and has a link right on the sidebar.  But if you don't want to read the rants of an angry person, it was the moment that I gave up on having Gordon as an option for the Cleveland Browns.

People agreed with my anger, but remained hopeful he would keep his nose clean and get back on the field.  Until last weekend.  He was caught speeding, and guess what, there were drugs found in his vehicle.  Probably not the greatest look for a guy who is currently appealing a potential year long suspension from the league.  Truthfully, I thought Gordon had the traffic cop thing figured out after last year...

Since then I've noticed a few more of you have jumped off of the Josh Gordon bandwagon.  And I have said if he does somehow get back on the field for us, I didn't really like Kellen Winslow Jr. that much either.

So maybe the Browns will be able to get through to this kid somehow...

And if he never gets back on a football field, at least he is keeping the distractions away from Johnny Manziel.  Way to find a way contribute Gordon!

At least I can say I've been calling this all along... This is from way back when we signed the Free Agents.

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