Roda’s Report Card

By: Kenny Roda

Cincinnati Bengals  – grade (A) – As crazy as owner Mike Brown looked in not trading Carson Palmer at the beginning of the season, getting rid of his 2 best receivers in OchoCinco and Terrell Owens, letting cornerback Jonathan Joseph walk in free agency, and keeping Marvin Lewis around as head coach, the Bengals are one of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season.  The drafting of QB Andy Dalton and his play, plus the defense playing at a high level, are big reasons why the Bengals, at the half way point, are tied for 1^st place in the AFC North.

Baltimore Ravens – grade (A) -  The biggest reason they get an “A” is because they finally have defeated the Steelers twice in the same season to gain the tie breaker in the division and potentially home field advantage in the playoffs.  The defense is doing what it always does and Joe Flacco may have turned the corner towards becoming a top-flight quarterback with his impressive game winning 92 yard drive at Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Steelers – grade (B-) – Despite an older defense with a weak secondary, an average to below average offensive line and injuries on offense and defense, the Steelers have won 6 of their first 9 games which puts them right in the divisional race and the playoff race.  However with the defense and head coach blowing that Ravens game at home, allowing Baltimore to hold the tie breaking edge, the Steelers can get no higher than a “B-” grade in this mid-term report.

Cleveland Browns – grade (D-) – 1st year head coach Pat Shurmur looks overwhelmed and befuddled at times on the sidelines during a game. His “West Coast” offense, in which he is calling the plays for, is struggling mightily, being outscored 58-6 in the 1^st quarter of games and is averaging under 15 points per game.  Colt McCoy seems to be regressing at QB.  The offensive line, while a little banged up has been terrible. The defense, while it has some players to build around in Joe Haden, Phil Taylor and T.J. Ward, still cannot stop the run. When your MVP at the midway point is your kicker who has made 6 field goals of 50 yards or more, your season can’t be going well.  As crazy as this may sound, this team is not as good as it’s record at (3-5).  The 3 teams they have beaten have a combined record of (3-22) this season.

Follow Kenny on Twitter @RoadmanWKNR

High School Playoffs: An Escape

By: Kenny Roda

If you’re tired of wasting you’re money and time watching the crappy Browns, then do yourself a favor and go out this Friday or Saturday night and watch some high school football playoff action.  Kids playing at a high level, for the love of the game.

There are some great second round match ups all over the state.  The “Holy War” – Part 2, as defending division 1 state champ, St. Ed’s looks to avenge that earlier season loss to 10-time state champs St. Ignatius.

How about the rematch in division 1 between #1 ranked Mentor and 5^th ranked Solon?  The Comets hoping for a little payback.

Hudson taking on one of the areas top rushers in Jack Snowball and the Wadsworth Grizzlies.  Those are just three of the many great games that will take place on high school fields this coming weekend.  For some kids, it will be the last football game they ever play in.  For others, a chance to chase that dream of a state title.

The purity of high school football during playoff time is a thing of beauty.

Emotions will be flying high and low with 16, 17 and 18 year old kids who have been working hard, sweating and bleeding since the hot 2-a-days of summer practice, and all for the love of the game.

So quit wasting your Sunday afternoons and take a break from that horrific offense of the Cleveland Browns. Go enjoy some entertaining football for a change, as teenagers play their hearts out on the high school gridiron for the right to see their name in the paper, hear the name announced over the PA system, get a kiss from their girlfriend after the game and live to play another week, as they chase that dream of being state champs!

It sure as hell is a lot more fun than watching the Cleveland Browns play!

Answers To Questions

By: Kenny Roda

I went into Halloween weekend with plenty of questions about both the Buckeyes and the Browns, and both teams gave me the answers I was looking for.

• OHIO STATE

Yes the Buckeyes are making progress. In fact they are making a lot of progress.  After a 3-3 start, the Buckeyes have posted back-to-back wins over ranked opponents in Illinois on the road, and Wisconsin at home. Of the two most recent wins, the one over the Badgers this weekend really stands out.  This was a team that was ranked as high as 4^th in the polls just two weeks ago. Wisconsin on paper has far more talent than Ohio State this year.  However, head coach Luke Fickell and the Buckeyes were not intimidated by Brett Bielema’s squad. Ohio State went toe-to-toe with the heavy weights from Madison in the first half and only trailed by 4.  Credit Fickell and the O.S.U. coaching staff for making some halftime adjustments and then the Buckeyes proceeded to come out of the locker room and put up 30 points in the final two quarters to post a thrilling 33-29 upset win over Wisconsin.  Ohio State ran the ball with ease and threw when they needed to.  Freshman quarterback Braxton Miller was the difference.  He ripped of TD runs of 1 and 44 yards, while also throwing the game winning touchdown pass of 40 yards with just :20 seconds remaining.  Miller’s toss was a thing of beauty, showing how much he has grown in the last 4 weeks.  He took the shotgun snap, side stepped a would be tackler, and then while running to his right, surveyed the field, located a wide open receiver in Devin Smith, then off of one foot while falling out of bounds, lofted a perfect pass to Smith in the end zone for the game winner.  Against Michigan State on October 1^st what did he do in that late game situation?

Nothing, because he wasn’t even in the game.  He was benched for his ineffectiveness.  That’s how far Miller has come. From watching crunch time on the bench, to winning in crunch time and on prime time TV.  It also helps when you have senior running back Boom Herron to hand the ball of to 33 times for 160 yards, and a defense that held the vaunted Badgers running game to just 89 yards.  But make no mistake about it, the 33-29 win over Wisconsin was all about “Miller Time” and then celebration time. On Halloween weekend in Columbus, after that performance, it is indeed scary to think how good Braxton Miller can be, wearing the “Scarlet and Gray” over the next three years.

• CLEVELAND BROWNS

They are who I thought they were, “Fools Gold!”  They can beat up on the cellar dwellers in the NFL: Miami, Indianapolis and Seattle. But look over matched against the plus.500 teams in the league in: San Francisco, Oakland, Cincinnati and Tennessee.  In fact, the Browns 3 wins have come against teams with a combined record of (2-20). They’ve beaten one team who has a win this season. The Browns 4 losses have come against teams with a combined record of (19-9).  Pat Shurmur continues to struggle as a 1^st year head coach and offensive coordinator.  Shurmur’s offense through 7 games has been out scored 44-3 in the first stanza.  That’s right, the Browns have scored a total of 3 points all season long in the 1^st quarter.  Quarterback Colt McCoy continues to struggle and regress at the most important position in sports.  Most of McCoy’s big passing numbers are being posted in the 4^th quarter when teams are comfortably ahead, and play a softer defense to allow the opposition to use up clock.  I’ve had my questions about McCoy since Mike Holmgren drafted him, and now through 15 NFL starts (a 5-10 record), those questions still remain.  Will his size be a hindrance (6’1 supposedly)? Can his body (reportedly 215 pounds) withstand the punishment that an NFL starting QB takes on a weekly basis, especially in the rugged AFC North division?  Does he have the arm strength to throw it down the field and in the windy, cold weather that takes over Browns stadium in November and December?

So far the answers to those questions are Yes, Maybe and I Don’t Think So, and that’s not good.  While the defense has made some improvement over the last two years, with the additions of Joe Haden, T.J. Ward and Phil Taylor, it’s not enough to offset the continued poor performance of the offense.  So until there is better overall balance, a more powerful offense and better coaching, the Browns will continue to be “Fools Gold”.  A team that is good enough to beat teams that are worse than them, sneak out an upset win here or there, but when it is all said and done, be drafting in the top 10 every April.  And you die hard, passionate fans in Cleveland deserve far better than that!

A Scary Weekend

By: Kenny Roda

This is a very important weekend for football fans in the Buckeye state. Come Sunday night, about 8pm, we should have a better understanding about how good the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cleveland Browns really are. Arguably both teams are facing their toughest tests of the season.  Ohio State, hosting the 15^th ranked Wisconsin Badgers and the Browns, playing a 1^st place San Francisco team on the road.

Wisconsin Quarterback Russell Wilson

For the Buckeyes, this game will determine if they have been making progress through what has been a tumultuous season both on and off the field.  Also at stake, thanks to Michigan State’s remarkable comeback victory over the Badgers last week in East Lansing, is a chance for Ohio State to get back in the Leaders Division race for the right to play in the 1^st ever Big Ten Championship game. A win over a ranked team would boost their confidence, and put them in control for the most part, to be the Leaders Division representative on December 3^rd in Indianapolis. If the Buckeyes were to knock off the Badgers, and then win out, they would need Penn St. to lose one other Big Ten game to win the division.

For the Browns, a win on Sunday would be the squad’s first victory over a team with a winning record this year.  So far the opponents in the Browns three wins this season have a combined record of (2-17), because of that, it’s hard to tell whether Pat Shurmur’s team is a legit .500 team and getting better, or the beneficiary of a very week schedule with a bunch of back-up QB’s, and thus might be considered fools gold. Going out to the west coast and beating a (5-1) 49ers team would definitely prove that they are more than just a team who can beat the cellar dwellers in the NFL, that they are a team that is improving, and is headed in the right direction for this year and beyond.

Holmgren A Day Late, But Delivers Some Answers

By: Kenny Roda

It took Mike Holmgren and the Browns PR staff a little while to figure out the importance of the team President speaking to the Cleveland media, but once they realized how poorly they both had handled the situation, they brought “The Big Show” out yesterday to address you the fans, through us the media. It was an absolute necessity, and the right thing to do. It’s PR 101, put out the fire before it turns into a blaze!

Browns President Mike Holmgren

I’ve accepted Randy Lerner for the owner that he is. A guy who doesn’t like talking to the media, and thus hired someone to run the team and handle those media obligations. Lerner writes the checks, while Mike Holmgren is supposed to run the team, and be the face and voice of the team, when necessary.  That’s why Browns fans were angered with Holmgren when he chose to speak first about his current team to the media in Seattle, instead of to the media here in C’Town.  It may not seem like a big deal outside of Cleveland, but to diehard Browns fans, it was and rightly so.

When you have questions about your team, and there are distractions going on, along with a losing record, with a first year head coach, you want the stabilizing force, the person who’s been through it before, the person you believe in, to explain to you what’s happening and calm everything down.  That’s where Holmgren dropped the ball. Whether he wants to or not. Whether he thinks its ridiculous doesn’t matter. This isn’t Seattle; it’s Cleveland, where the fans care more!  They should always be first on his list. Basically he works for them now, and they should come before anyone else, regardless of the relationships you may have built elsewhere. Hopefully Mike understands that now.

We’re not asking for “The Big Show” to hold a press conference every week. But when you have a contract situation that becomes a major distraction.  When there are trade rumors. When you have three different players question their roles on offense under a first year head coach, who also happens to be doubling as the teams offensive coordinator.  When you have lost games in the fashion in which you have, with a young quarterback who may or may not be the answer to your future, that’s when you need to realize it’s time to step in and provide answers for all of these situations.

It was a day late, but Mike Holmgren did that on Thursday. He did his job. He provided detailed answers that I’m sure made Browns fans feel better about the team they live and die for, not just on Sundays, but ever day.  He told them the Browns had offered Peyton Hillis a contract extension and that Hillis and his agent turned it down. He said there was no way he was going to trade Hillis, regardless of his contract status, because he’s one of the best players on the team.  He told the Cleveland fans that “He’s All In” in trying to build a championship team here. That “I signed up to do something and that’s what I plan to do!” He also said that he might even stay here longer than his 5-year contract. He addressed the quarterback situation saying, “You have to find a QB that can get you there, that’s a big as anything.” And as to whether or not Colt McCoy is that guy, “Lets let him play and see how he performs and then we’ll evaluate him. I’m not opposed to making changes every year.”  He still feels that Pat Shurmur is the head coach that can lead this team and that he’s doing a good job.

By doing all of that on Thursday, Mike Holmgren helped put an end to the soap opera that was causing the ‘unnecessary distractions’ that he so strongly detests, because as Mike put it, “It cause us to be less than our best.” Well Mike, you were less than your best in how you handled all of this, but at least you rectified it quickly.  Next time consider where you are now, and not where you’ve been, before you speak publicly about your team. I’m going to turn good ole Sam Wyche’s phrase around a little bit for you Mike, remember, “You don’t live in Seattle, you live in Cleveland!”

News and Notes from Media Day

By Kenny Roda

Practice begins today for Thad Matta’s squad, which will be one of the youngest teams in college basketball this season with only (1) senior in William Buford and (1) junior in Evan Ravenel. There are (6) sophomores, (4) freshman and (1) transfer player who must sit out this year. Because of the youth, Thad Matta will rely on sophomores Jared Sullinger and Aaron Craft to provide leadership along with Buford.

The four freshmen will all battle for some playing time, much like last year’s freshmen did. The “diaper dandies” are: 6-1, PG-Shannon Scott, 6-7, F-Sam Thompson, 6-11, C-Amir Williams and 6-8, C-Trey McDonald. A 5^th freshman, 6-8, F LaQuinton Ross will not play for the team after the NCAA ruled he had not qualified academically. That’s somewhat of a blow to this class. Scott and Williams could see the most time of this group.

Jared Sullinger has dropped 20 pounds and 4% of body fat. Last season Sullinger played at 285 with 16.7% body fat. His playing weight to start practice today is 265 with just 12.1% body fat. He told me it has made him quicker and faster and will allow him to get up and down the court better.  One other area that Sullinger worked on a lot this off-season was his range.  He feels he’ll be able to step out further and shoot his jump shot with more confidence.

More Sullinger: When I asked him if last year’s 62-60 loss in the Sweet 16 to Kentucky has been, and still is being used as motivation for he and his teammates, he told me that he has a picture of Brandon Knight’s game winning shot up on his mirror in his bathroom so he sees it every day.  I’ll take that as a yes!  When I asked Thad Matta the same question, he said he’s going to focus more on the 34 wins from last year more so than the 1 loss.  But all of the returning players feel like Sullinger, it will continue to motivate them.

How’s this for a non-conference schedule? At Home: Florida, Valparaiso and Duke. On the Road: @Kansas and @South Carolina. Matta feels this will help get his team ready not only for Big Ten play, but also the NCAA tournament.

Thad Matta, who enters his 8^th season as head coach for the Buckeyes has added two new members to his basketball staff, former Duke guard Greg Paulus and returning to his alma mater (class of 92), to run the offense, is former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach, Chris Jent.

Matta in 7 full seasons at O.S.U. has posted a winning percentage of .770, which is the highest in school history. He is 10 wins shy of 200 at O.S.U., posting a 190-57 record,

He has led the Buckeyes to 4 Big Ten regular season crowns, 3 Big Ten tournament titles, won the NIT title in 2008, 5 NCAA tournament appearances, 3 trips to the Sweet 16 and played for the National Championship in 2007.

Important dates: The Buckeyes tip off the 2011-12 season November 11^th at home vs Wright State. Florida comes to Value City Arena on November 15^th. The Duke Blue Devils visit “The Schott” on November 29^th.  Ohio State plays at Kansas on December 10^th and Big Ten play begins on December 28^th at home vs Northwestern.

2011-12 Pre-Season Polls: Ohio State has been picked 4^th in the A.P. poll and 5^th in the Coaches poll.

ESPN 850 WKNR is your home for Ohio State basketball all season long.  So follow the Buckeyes with us, as we bring you the games, player and coaches’ interviews and news and notes when they happen. In case your wondering, the Final Four this year will take place at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, with the Championship Game slated for April 2^nd.

Follow Kenny on Twitter @RoadmanWKNR

 

My Browns Thoughts Through 5 Weeks

By Kenny Roda

At (2-2), I think it’s safe to say the Browns are who we though they were. A young team, playing a lot of those young players. With that comes some good, but probably more bad, than good. That’s to be expected.  Add in a 1^st time ever head coach, who like the players, has made some mistakes, but is hopefully learning from them, and you have a .500 team coming out of the bye.

The Good:

Rookies Phil Taylor and Jabaal Sheard have played well at times on the defensive line. D’Qwell Jackson has come back from his injuries and has been the team’s most consistent player so far. Joe Haden is becoming a shut down corner and proving his rookie season was not a fluke. Ahtyba Rubin has been steady on the inside of that defensive line. Dick Jauron’s defense has been the key to the (2-2) start so far this season. On offense nobody really stands out so far through 4 games. Josh Cribbs has been somewhat of a spark, but that’s been a combination of him on offense and special teams. Ben Watson has been consistent at tight end and Alex Mack has held his own at center, but that’s about it on offense.  As always on special teams, you can count on 3 things:  Ryan Pontbriand’s snaps will be right on the money, Phil Dawson will kick it through the uprights consistently and Josh Cribbs will make plays in the return game and that’s exactly what’s happened this season.

The Bad:

Let’s start with the coach, Pat Shurmur. At times he has looked overwhelmed. His play calling has been suspect, the team has started slow in all 4 games, and his personnel packages have been very questionable.  My concern before the season with Shurmur was that for a first time head coach, he’d be wearing too many hats and his decision making process would be affected, and I think we’re seeing that. He needs to delegate more, or get more help from Mike Holmgren.  Colt McCoy to me has been disappointing. His strength was his accuracy and we haven’t seen that this year. The running game has been affected by the new West Coast style offense. You combine that with Shurmur not playing Peyton Hillis enough, and you don’t have a solid ground attack. All Pro Joe Thomas has been average at best so far.  I expected more out of T.J. Ward in year number #2, and there’s still time to turn it around, but he has been inconsistent. Sheldon Brown has been awful and should not start. While D’Qwell Jackson is having a good season so far, the same can’t be said for his fellow linebackers Chris Gocong and Scott Fujita. Linebacker will be a focal point in the off-season along with wide receiver, as far as brining in more talent at those positions.  You can blame the front office of Tom Heckert and Mike Homgren for not addressing the receiver position this past season.  Other than the drafting of Greg Little, and to this point he’s done just that, very little, the receivers have been bad. Hopefully we’ve seen the last of Brian Robiskie as a starter and more of Little in his place.

The schedule was easy through the first 4 games, now it gets tougher and the Browns have already had their bye week.  So it’s time for the head coach, his staff, as well as the players to step their game up or this could be another long season that ends up with the Browns Super Bowl being a high pick in the NFL Draft.

Follow Kenny on Twitter @RoadmanWKNR

 

Browns Bye Week Blues

Before the season started, if you would have told Browns fans that heading into the bye week the Browns would be 2-2, I think most Browns fans would have taken that and been happy.  But why then does it feel like, even though they are 2-2, the team is 1-3 or 0-4 heading into the bye week? Is there good reason to feel that way, or is it just an overreaction to the can of “whoop ass” the Titans opened up on the Browns this past Sunday?  The answer may be a little of both!

After getting caught with their pants down for one play in the home opener loss to the Bengals, the Browns rebounded nicely with a Peyton-themed win at Indianapolis. The Colts played without Peyton Manning, while the Browns rode Peyton Hillis to a 27-19 victory.  Then the following week, looking dead and buried for 57 minutes, Colt McCoy led a comeback and registered his first ever  4^th quarter comeback in the 17-16 win over Miami at Cleveland Browns stadium.  They did that without Peyton Hillis, who sat out the Dolphins game with strep throat. That’s when all the craziness started to happen.

Was Hillis really sick? His agent said he advised Hillis not to play.  Did he use the illness as an excuse because of his contract status? Some teammates think he did.  The coach feels he didn’t, sort of.  Hillis hasn’t received a contract extension like teammates Evan Moore, Joe Thomas, and Chris Gocong have. Montario Hardesty, who filled in for Hillis in the Miami win, had a decent game and didn’t get hurt. So put this all together and we have conspiracy theories and a team controversy.

Oh yeah, after dealing with all of that, the Browns had to go out and play Tennessee at home.  They did, and got their butts kicked 31-13.  In that loss Peyton Hillis, who returned to start from that illness, had his workload reduced. He only carried 10 times for 46 yards. Hardesty, an unproven draft pick of Tom Heckert, saw his work load increase, but did not play well as he dropped 4 passes in the loss.

So lets put this all together to try and understand maybe why Browns fan is freaking out right now.  A running back controversy, barely average QB play from Colt McCoy (another story for another day), 2 home losses (both embarrassing for different reasons), a first year head coach who looks like he’s in over his head so far and a 2-2 record.

The question here is should the fans be this upset with what’s gone on in the first four weeks of the season?  Some of it, the off the field stuff, yes. But maybe, just as former Cardinals coach Dennis Green so appropriately stated, “They are who we thought they were.” So, instead of being down in the dumps with the “Bye Week Blues,” Browns fans should be happy that their team is .500, and hope and pray by seasons end that they can end up with a .500 record. And how many of you Browns fans would’ve happily signed up at the beginning of the season, for a Browns team that posted an 8-8 record in 2011?

Follow Kenny Roda on twitter at @RoadmanWKNR