October 2009
37 posts
3 tags
Tumult in NE Ohio
Here’s what happened today:
Inadequinn got benched. D.A. will start on Sunday.
“Red” aka Delonte West continues to be M.I.A. from practice.
Eric Wedge was fired.
It’s early (I’m writing this at about 6:00pm Cleveland time) but the prevailing attitude I’ve been hearing is that this is an “Only in Cleveland” day. The thinking is that cosmically...
September 2009
48 posts
NFL Sliding Doors: Mangini Vs. Pioli
I wasn’t too keen on writing another Browns post, but I have nothing to add to the increasingly sad Delonte West situation, and the Indians are obviously not doing any noteworthy. Plus, I realized something yesterday that I thought was worth discussing.
We’ve heard in subsequent reports that prior to Alpha Dog becoming unexpectedly available, Randy Lerner was on the verge of hiring...
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More Trouble In Cavs Camp
Delonte missed the second practice today as well, according to Yahoo! Sports…
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Trouble in Cavs Camp
Delonte West didn’t show up for practice this morning - unexcused, according to Brian Windhorst.
I wouldn’t normally report this, but I currently have no work to do for the first time in about four months and am tense about this Delonte situation, and therefore releasing tension.
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The Rational Man Theory: Alpha Dog
As much as I would like to come out in positive support of my brother’s post from yesterday, it’s a very hard thing for me to do.
I would immediately, for instance, ignore what the players said to the press about buying into Alpha Dog’s approach. Players almost never tell the truth to the media and very public industries like athletics and entertainment are hyper-sensitive...
No Man is an Island - Except for Alpha Dog
We all knew this would happen - if he didn’t win. We all knew some of the players would be against him - if he didn’t win. We all knew he pissed off the local media and they’d be out to get him - if he didn’t win. We all knew the national media and members of other NFL organizations would be out bad mouthing him - if he didn’t win.
Have you noticed - he...
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Distorted Perception: Browns Positivity
In keeping with the manifesto of the site, I wanted to use this column space to try to unearth any possible positives from the Browns’ abysmal performance earlier today.
I’ve gotta be honest: it hasn’t been easy to come up with many.
As other writers have noted ad nauseam, not only do the Browns keep losing, but the size of the deficit has increased every game. (14 points vs....
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Schefter on Grievances
From Adam Schefter:
“Browns players have filed 2 grievances against HC Eric Mangini and 3 more being processed this week — team has more grievances than W’s.”
This number’s only going to increase the longer the Browns continue to lose. I essentially prophesied this in my Mangini Method post.
Game time is 42 minutes away. Are you amped up??
Required Reading →
For anyone who hasn’t been watching their NBA news feed the past 48 hours, there was a bombshell yesterday in the form of Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov striking a deal to buy a controlling interest in the NJ (soon to be Brooklyn) Nets.
The link goes to a column by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Woj covers a lot of ground, but of course a big part of the focus is on what this...
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The Link Between Running Well and Passing Well →
I’ve been noticing a lot of chatter recently about the Browns inability to run the ball having an effect on how poor their passing game has been. Inadequinn had this to say on Wednesday, specifically in relation to the deep passing game:
“But you have to understand, the best thing to open up things downfield is to have a running game to get more production there. So that’s...
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The Indians: Thrown Out at Home →
It seems like every time I turn on Baseball Tonight, I see highlights of one Indians player or another getting thrown out at the plate. I wanted to know if this was a product of me selectively watching highlights or if the Indians really have an issue with getting thrown out at home. So, I went out and tried to find a stat for “number of times thrown out at the plate” in order to...
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QB Pocket Time →
I’m absolutely thrilled that someone is tracking this…click on the link to see the average length of time your favorite QB has held onto the ball before being sacked this season.
Quinn comes in at 3.29 seconds - let’s watch this as the season progresses.
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The Trouble With Time of Possession
Anyone who watched the Dolphins-Colts game on Monday Night Football this week, will probably immediately know where I’m coming from with this post. If you didn’t, you can read the recap of the game and check out the box score.
My major point gets back to something we’ve discussed previously and that is the fact that you can control field position and time of possession all you...
Sad, Sad State of Affairs
How far our Indians have fallen, not only into the basement of the worst division in baseball - but far from the hearts and thoughts of whatever fans are left out there. No, even I haven’t watched one of their games in weeks - I can’t expect anyone to watch a team that has completely collapsed. Their fan base is completely disgusted.
How do I know this is true? Because today, in...
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Devil's Advocate: Alternating Snaps
By this point in Mesa’s existence, Mike and I have made it fairly clear that our M.O. is to question the established norms of how to look at sports. Every once in a while, though, I’m going to take this position to the extreme and write a post based on an argument that I don’t necessarily believe in 100%, just for the sake of conversation and contrarianism.
I know in advance...
The Complicated Life of Delonte West
Brian Windhorst reported today that Delonte has officially been charged with two counts of carrying a concealed firearm - both of which are only misdemeanors in D.C. BW also reports that in the past, athletes who have pled guilty to this same charge have been hit with 5-7 game suspensions by the league. That’s 3-5 games less than Rashard Lewis’ pending hiatus for unwittingly taking...
Pinocchio Story: Part 4 →
So, the Cubs suck, but they’re still a great investment…
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The Browns and Eric Mangini are in Deep Sh*t
This is a hard article for me to write because a) I’ve been at the bar since 10am LA time and b) I’ve generally been in support of the Mangini regime…but it’s beginning to look like the organization is in deep trouble.
Yes, it’s only been two games, and yes, I do really want to be optimistic and positive and progressive in my way of thinking…but Mangini and the...
Buzz Bissinger - Comments on "The Shooting Star"
I’m really bummed about Mesa fav Delonte West’s arrest today - I’m sure we will cover it in detail as more information becomes available. Since I’m trying not to think about the ramifications for the team and — more importantly - for DWest, I thought I’d fill you in on a radio interview I heard the other day on the Tony Rizzo (The Big Show) broadcast on WKNR.
...
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For Stat Heads Only →
Here’s a breakdown of Point Guard play in the NBA since 1977 using one advanced statistical measure - Wins Produced Per 48 Minutes (WP48).
You’ll see that Steph Marbury rates higher than AI on this list.
One thing that I wanted to say about my AI article…I believe the perception is that I manipulated statistics to make AI look bad. I don’t feel that’s accurate. What...
Ego Trippin'
I want to touch on two quick topics tonight, both of which have to do with the fan / owner relationship:
1) The week before the Browns’ season opener, Bud Shaw of the Plain Dealer wrote a column stating that the ManKok regime should be Randy Lerner’s “last chance” as owner of the team. In other words, if the Browns don’t improve and start winning under Alpha Dog,...
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Rating Adequinn's Performance
We’ve been talking a lot amongst ourselves and in the comments section about just how well Brady Quinn (aka Adequinn) played on Sunday against the Vikings. Immediately after the game, Tim and I decided to grade him with a “F”. Dad gave Adequinn a “B-” before wanting to know what his Passer Rating score was and then subsequently downgrading him. Our grandpa chose not...
Mesa V. Simmons / Ford - Round 2 (The Shining)
About a week ago, I wrote a lengthy rebuttal to Bill Simmons and Chad Ford’s joint argument that the Cavs were a terrible place for LeBron to sign in 2010. Though I felt I did a pretty good job of slashing and burning most of their reasoning, there was one point that I didn’t have time to get into: their conclusion that the LA Clippers were by far the most “intriguing”...
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Fill In The Blank
Mike Lombardi of nationalfootballpost.com wrote the following on Monday:
“I know [QB A] was bad, but who can make this offense more explosive? Take away [WR A] and the [Name of Team] don’t have a playmaker at tight end or wideout. They rely on the big play, and when the big play doesn’t happen, they struggle. [QB A] is never going to be a consistent passer. He just is not making the big...
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Managing The Game
I’ve been thinking a lot about football recently for obvious reasons and have been working to come up with an overall point of view on the game - what are the underlying principles that matter?
Well, I’m not there yet, and it’s probably going to take me all season to figure it out.
Along the same lines, I spent some of yesterday and today trying to determine what to write...
Passer Rating: Geri-stat-ric
I talked extensively with Mike and my dad about The Great Quinn’s performance in the Browns’ opener earlier today. Suffice it to say that I billed it as “even worse than I anticipated.” But knowing the fan base as we do, Mike and I also knew that the “Pro-Quinn” faction (an ironic name, since today Quinn looked decidedly amateur) would find multiple arguments...
Post Status Update
Articles on football - a look at the quarterback rating stat and a conversation about the merits of “managing the game” - are on deck.
Didn’t want anyone to think the Browns loss to the Vikings was so demoralizing that we stopped writing for the blog.
In the meantime, two quick hits:
*How antiquated and borderline sexist is it that women’s tennis matches are still best...
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"Woj" on Jordan's Hall of Fame Speech →
Wow, this sounds like it was truly remarkable. Wonder if Ehlo got a jab?
Vote for Jhonny Peralta
I got this email from the Indians today
As an Indians fan, it’s a chance you won’t want to miss. Hometown hero Jhonny Peralta is one of 30 nominees for the 2009 Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevy. Honoring the legacy of baseball’s most recognized humanitarians. Here’s your chance to recognize Jhonny for his efforts on and off the field, sharing Chevy’s...
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Death to Small Ball
I’ve heard it mentioned and seen it written in a couple places…well, I’ll just call it what it is…the threat of “small ball” coming to the Indians for the 2010 season.
To briefly outline the details, “small ball” is generally used to describe a style of play on offense that emphasizes bunts, steals, and moving the runner, ahead of home runs and...
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The "Mesa" Challenge to Brady Quinn
Our challenge to Brady Quinn, starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns…
…escape the nickname “Adequinn” referring to the fact that you appear to be potentially adequate at almost everything and great at nothing.
From here on out, we will refer to Quinn as Adequinn on this page until he, you know, escapes the nickname.
Let’s hope he does.
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Iverson to Memphis
This may really just be an excuse to reference my earlier, controversy-starting post about the merits of Allen Iverson as a Hall of Famer, but now that it’s official, I wanted to look at what the Memphis Grizzlies will be like with AI playing one of the two guard positions.
I talked about usage percentage in my Hall of Fame post - an estimate of the percentage of possessions a player...
MNF - You've Got To Be Kidding Me
I foolishly turned on the Thursday edition - or whatever it is - of Monday Night Football tonight - hoping, like most C-Town fans - to see the Steelers get beat.
Although its way too early to know the outcome of the game, it only took a few minutes of watching the show to know that I won’t be tuning in very often. Why??
I HATE CHRIS COLLINGSWORTH!
I don’t know why exactly - I...
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Lombardi on Alpha Dog, the Secret Machine →
Mike Lombardi, who admires Bill Belichick maybe as much as Mangini does, goes in on the culture of secrecy.
Also, Chris Mortensen referred to Shaun Rogers’s “foot injury” on Twitter this morning. Were it not for that, he would have picked the Browns to beat Minnesota…
Couple things I want to write about later: who gets the ball in Memphis and the concept of small ball in...
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Information Gleamed From Twitter
Learned just now from @MoveTheSticks - formerly a Cleveland Browns scout - that of the top 10 teams in sacks in the NFL in ‘08, 7 made the playoffs. Also, of the top 10 teams in sacks allowed in ‘08, 7 made the playoffs.
Probably won’t write more until tomorrow - I have a freelance assignment to do overnight - but keep this in mind when we talk about the success of various teams...
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Mesa V. Simmons/Ford - Round 1
Yesterday I made the mistake of listening to a Bill Simmons podcast with Chad Ford thinking that I was actually going to hear new information about the Ricky Rubio debacle in Minnesota. I did, but only for about 20 minutes. Simmons and Ford then weaved through a couple of different NBA topics before rehashing in full a debate they had the week of this year’s draft.
The topic, of course,...
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Could Week One Start With Derek Anderson?
For most of the media in Cleveland, speculation about who the starting quarterback will be when the Browns run out of the tunnel on Sunday has ended: Brady Quinn should and will be the guy.
While I don’t necessarily disagree, I’m not sure my reasons for feeling similarly are the same as theirs. I believe the Browns have an asset in Quinn that the previous regime spent assets to...
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Why College Football Is a Farce
I know that I announced previously on this blog that I wouldn’t be writing about college football, in part because I don’t have an allegiance to any team. What I only half-mentioned is that during the college football season, I spend most Saturdays watching Penn State, as a good friend of mine went to State College and is a huge proponent of everything Joe Pa related.
Thus, I was...
Who Is the Next Matt Cassel? →
I was rummaging around ESPN just now and saw an article by John Clayton with the title of this post (click through for the link). The answer is, in short, hilarious - especially in light of the announcement today that A-Dog will keep his QB selection a secret until opening day.
Enjoy.
-T
Alpha Dog vs The Media
I had a couple of discussions over the weekend with my boys about Alpha Dog and the media here in town. I heard one sports personality rant on the radio for at least 5 minutes on Mangini - how he better be good and “bring hardware” to this city or the media “will run him out of town just like they ran Butch Davis, Chris Palmer, and Romeo Crennel”.
Why — because he...
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Innovation in Offenses in the NFL →
An article from the NY Times about how the pervasiveness of the spread offense in the college game is affecting the pros.
The chess match aspect of pro football is what’s
I’ll be back on Tuesday. I’ve got a college football article coming and a bigger NFL piece later in the week.
Happy Labor Day, a day of work in which no one works.
Reminder
Brief reminder, while everyone in Cleveland (besides the intelligent readers of JMID) stresses about whether or not Eric Mangini will ever make public the name of a starting quarterback, on some positives:
Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley are playing very well. So is Luis Valbuena. Even Andy Marte…all of these guys were acquired in trades by the Indians…let’s see how it...
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The Browns Ownership: No Motivation
As a footnote to my Pinocchio Story columns from the past week, I discovered today that Forbes just released their 2008 analyses of the financial health of the NFL. There are a number of different ways that we can look at the data. But tonight, I want to focus on the fact that the figures back up the idea that Cleveland is a die-hard football city - regardless of record.
In short, the data...
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Running to Win: Debunked →
Analysis on whether the idea of establishing the run in the NFL is a key to winning, like everyone says it is, or if it’s simply a fallacy. The argument isn’t entirely convincing until the end, so stay with it - would also like to see the data extrapolated over several seasons.
However, this is something I’ve been hearing about a lot lately, so I think that there’s...
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The National League Sucks
If you’re like me and Tim, you’ve probably noticed recently that a fair amount of high profile players have moved from the American League to the National League and immediately gotten a whole lot frickin’ better.
Cliff Lee was untouchable until he got knocked around a little bit last week. Manny Ramirez hit somewhere near .400 after he got traded to the Dodgers last year....
Michael and Carlos - Here's My Take With A Twist
Admittedly, it’s a small sample size, and I’m not using statistics (just to aggravate you guys). However, here’s my take on the new guys - Brantley and Carrasco.
Carlos well, he just wasn’t very good last night, most of his pitches were up in the zone, and that is never a good thing, even when you can throw in the mid-90s. But anyone who has watched baseball for any...
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Pinocchio Story: Part 3
I was a little concerned about how to get back into this series because I never intended it to become a trifecta. (If you’re behind, here are links to Part 1 and Part 2.) Things got broken up in ways that I didn’t necessarily anticipate, which threw me off a little.
However, last night I read a recent PD column by favorite Mesa target Terry Pluto, and it resolved all my...
Is Favre a Dirty Player or a Terrible Blocker?
I just watched the video of Favre’s illegal crack back block - it was bad, I hope the kid he blocked isn’t hurt too badly. I heard radio talking heads today say Brett isn’t dirty, just made a bad play.
I guess I’m not so sure - could he really be that clueless about the rules to blantantly hit a guy — illegally — like that? On the video, he shows no remorse...
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The Belichick Way: NY Times →
Interesting blog post in the NY Times about Bill Belichick’s game planning, which is noteworthy for us here because of the influence he’s had on Alpha Dog.
The post explains opponent specific game planning, which I alluded to in my piece about Quinn and Anderson and will no doubt bring up again when I continue the thoughts that occur at the end of that post.
A side note: we typically...