BL Predicts: Week 13 vs Pittsburgh

A leader of any large organization, sooner or later, is going to run into turbulent times. Those difficult moments will test his ability to lead. Failure to lead a group through a crisis usually means career failure both in business and sports.

Tonights game will tell us a lot about what is happening behind the scenes with Pat Shurmur, his coaches and players. When I separate out the emotions of being a Browns fan and look only at the facts, I like what I see in Cleveland. Building a team takes time. Personnel decisions have been solid, progress is being made. Undoubtedly, questions remain. Can Colt McCoy lead the team to a championship and is Pat Shurmur a championship caliber coach are the two biggest questions.

This evenings game will tell us a lot about Pat Shurmur. A string of tough losses leaves the Browns at 4-8 today. Fans are not able to observe how Shurmur is managing all of this. For certain a number of things are happening. During any crisis in an organization leadership will get challenged. A good leader of men knows how to push the right buttons to keep everyone on the team pulling in the same direction. Is Shurmur leading his men appropriately day to day and hour to hour? One big clue will be in the performance of the Browns tonight. Will the team play hard all game long or will they give a half effort? Will the Browns fight and claw for every yard, or will they go through the motions?

I am convinced that Pat Shurmur is a championship caliber coach. When i watch his press conferences it is clear, he is an honest straight shooter and he wears his emotions on his sleeve. He hates to lose but he takes full responsibilty. Finally, by all indications he is fair. These are factors that can hold a team together in crisis. Does he manage his team with the same qualities that he shows when speaking to the press? Tonight will tell us all we need to know.

My prediction is that the Browns will lose but they'll show up ready to play.

BL Predicts
Browns 19
Pittsburgh 28

The Brown Log are 6-6 on prognostication year to date.

BL Predicts: Week 12 vs Baltimore: I'm tired.....

Without any positive or negative connotations whatsoever, most Browns fans are tired.

Tired of years of waiting for next year. Tired of losing. Tired of watching one of the NFLs most fabled franchises continue to play in a way that dishonors the Browns tradition established by Ohio's Paul Brown in 1946. Brown and his Browns established a dynasty in the 50s and a winning tradition that lasted until the day the Art Modell era began in the early 1960's.

Today once again, the fact is that we all have to suffer through at least 5 more games before we have yet another shot at next year being the year that we finally terminate over 50 years largely marked by misery and it is extremely tiring.

The Brown Log is 5-6 year to date in predicting the outcome of Browns games. Time to get our won-loss record shored up. Under the leadership of Mike Holmgren there are reasons to be optimistic, but today is Sunday gameday and damn it, we are tired. It is hard to imagine the Browns winning another game this year.

BL Predicts

Ravens 23
Browns 12

BL Predicts: Week 11 vs Cincinnati

The Brown Log are 5-5 in predicting games this year and as I look back over the season there were two games, Oakland and Houston where I let my heart choose the winner instead of my head. This week, I am going with my gut.

While Cincinnati has far more at stake and they are at home, I believe the Browns will have both an emotional edge and a newfound competence on offense that the Bengals are ill equipped to manage on defense. Last week against Jacksonville, I saw signs that the Browns offense is finally coming together in the West Coast. McCoy was more confident, his throws more accurate, some plays developed quickly as they are supposed to in the West Coast. Most importantly Jason Pinkston and Shawn Lauvao showed dramatic improvement and the Browns ground game finally become a threat. Peyton Hillis is back and he is playing for millions so he will certainly give the Bengals some problems and finally, let's not forget that the Browns D has a score to settle with Cincinnati's O, who used a well planned trick to win game 1 this year when the Bengals quick snapped the ball while the Browns D was still huddled up. Embarrassing for every Browns defensive player and these guys are pros. They will want to settle that score today.

I think it all adds up to an upset win.

BL Predicts

Browns 21
Bengals 20

Interesting article on Colt McCoy

Interesting article on Colt from the Boston Herald

Reasons to be optimistic: D'Qwell Jackson

Browns fans have been buried in so much losing that it is hard to continue to say and think °wait til next year." So the Brown Log has decided to start a semi regular feature called "reasons to be optimistic." While this season has not gone as we all hoped, fact is we are one botched field goal attempt from already being a .500 club. Our leadership is strong and in the 2012 draft we have 9 picks in the first two rounds. There are many reasons for optimism and we shall point one out today: D'Qwell Jackson.

When I attend a game, and this year I have attended most home games, I have a habit of focusing my binoculars onto one or two players all game long. Last week against Jacksonsville, I spent a lot of time watching D'Qwell Jackson. What I found on the field was a middle linebacker who has blazing quick reads coupled with astonishing closing speed. Off the field I was impressed that after the second touchdown, during the kickoff, Jackson made a point to walk over to every single offensive lineman and give each one of them a pat on the back.

Leadership and ability, what more could a team ask for in it's defensive QB?

BL predicts: Week 10 vs Jacksonsville

Barring some kind of miracle transformation, today is the Browns last chance to win a game during the 2011 NFL Season. That stated winning today will not be easy. The Browns have several key players still injured and two ex Browns players, Matt Roth and Brian Robiske, now play with Jacksonville, and in particular Robiske, who was still a Brown 3 weeks ago, will have worked overtime preparting the Jags staff with insight into the Browns schemes. Not that any NFL defense needs help stopping the Browns offense.

It's not easy to win a game without scoring any points but I will go out on a limb and predict that somehow the Browns will ring up their last W of the season.

BL Predicts
Browns 18
Jags 13

6 field goals carry the day for our Brownies

Tim Tebow: Winner

One of the Brown Log's pet peeves is how NFL scouts miss the target so often in player evaluation. Football is not just a track meet or a fundamentals camp, it is a game of skill in which emotions play a large role.

A team with a player in a key position, who believes in himself and is able to transmit his confidence to other players is a fortunate team indeed. If by chance that player has some standout skills, the sky is the limit.

I am not a huge Tim Tebow fan but after 5 games starting in Denver, his 4-1 record is hard to argue with. His mechanics are bad but this guy has an intangible, he is larger than life. And he can run like a tailback. Pass defenses have become so sophisticated as have blitzing schemes, that the value of a QB that can run is growing.

Shurmur is responsible for today's loss

I like Pat Shurmur but today's loss was 100% unnecessary and 100% his responsibility. Let's see how he reacts, the press and fans are going to crucify him his week. It'll either drag him down or hopefully he will learn from his errors and grow.

Terrible and embarrassing loss.

A handoff to a TE on a run up the gut at the most critical moment of the game???????

Why? That was a terrible call. We played for a field goal, that was a mistake.

BL live blog: offensive line play

Today's game really reveals why the Browns struggle. Watch the offensive lines. Bradford has an incredible pass protection, allowing him time to check every option he has downfield. McCoy usually has 2-3 seconds max. It comes down to the skill of the offensive lineman. Our Browns are severely lacking skills on the offensive line.

Were it not for turnovers by the Rams, the Browns would be losing badly.

The "swaggerless" New England Patriots

Today on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, Chris Berman asked the question, based on this years disappointing results year to date, if the New England Patriots have lost their swagger.

I think it worth reminding folks of a fact: Since their cheating was revealed the Patriots have never won another Super Bowl. The evidence that was destroyed by the NFL pointed to the fact that the Patriots had the most sophisticated cheating system ever built in NFL history. It went far beyond the gamemanship of swiping a signal or two from the other team. The Patriots are believed to have extensively filmed other teams and documented play calls. Furthermore it's very likely the Pats have never stopped cheating, even post scandal.

It took the other NFL clubs years to catch on to how to work around the Pats unetical methods, but now that they have, the Pats are just another ordinary team with a very ordinary head coach.

NFL - Rams vs. Browns Preview

BL Predicts: Week Nine vs St Louis

Last week i predicted with my heart, not my head and approximately 5 minutes into the first quarter, when the Browns found themselves down 14-0 I realized the err of my ways. Pity.

This week the Browns face the 1-7 Rams and I really am worried that our Browns are going to lay another major egg. Sam Bradford will be back at the controls this week, TJ Ward is out with an injury and the Browns are coming off a very embarrasing loss in Houston last week.

Football is a game in which emotions count heavily and the winner of today's game will likely be the team that comes out more motivated.

The bottom line today is that both teams stink, but reality is that the 3-5 Browns have much more to play for than the 1-7 Rams. The fact is that if the Browns win, they are only 1 game south of .500 and a decent season will be still within their grasp. I like Pat Shurmur a lot and hope that last weeks beating at the hands of Houston, opened Shurmur's mind to the idea that a full implementation of the West Coast offense should be a long term project and maybe, just maybe, Shurmur should be a bit more realistic and consider putting a few simple and basic plays in his playbook that parlay the talents he has on his roster, such as Josh Cribbs. Furthermore, Shurmur, Holmgren et al, need to realize that our offensive line has so many holes that executing the West Coast is nearly impossible. Only one example, according to ProFootballFocus.com, rookie Jason PInkston has received a negative grade for his play EVERY WEEK of this season and only two guards in the entire NFL grade out worse than Pinkston.

The West Coast offense and it's complex twists and turns takes time to perfect, and that was never more apparent than last week when Colt McCoy's pass to Greg Little at the end of the first half was intercepted by Houston and nearly returned for a touchdown. On that play, Little read the defense one way, and took the option to head deep. In the meantime, Colt read the defense another way and the result - intercept and field goal Houston.....

So against all my instincts, I am going to guess that the team that has more to play for, our Browns, actually shows up motivated and that Shurmur will have a simple gameplan ready that uses the talent he has and considers the limitations of his current talent. But it will not be easy. The home field advantage is normally a big factor in favor of the home team but look for Cleveland fans today to be anything but loving to the home team. Don't be surprised if Bradford rings up a few big plays early and the Browns find themselves once again playing catch up, something they are terribly inept at.

BL Predicts

Browns 17
Rams 14

The Brown Log are 4-4 this year on the prognastication front.