Seems so simple to the rest of us

Memo to Pat Shurmur: In two drives, six total plays of our two final (potential) scoring drives, we sent wideouts into the end zone once. And we threw the ball into the end zone zero times. The end zone is worth seven points. It is the place where your offense needs to find itself in order to win football games. If you win football games, you can stay head coach of an NFL football team.

Do you feel that one foot of yours hitting the pavement outside the front doors in Berea? That's the feeling described by many when they have 'one foot out the door.'

The man was 20-27 for crying out loud and the only body somewhat warm in a chilly stadium Sunday. Let him throw the ball. He will either complete the task or fail. But, he will not win if he is not allowed to try. You can not back your way into a winning record.

Also, if you want to play a power running game, which incidentally is a game plan more than half of this town favors, get Hillis and Hardesty healthy, and embrace them. What should you do when you have an inexperienced shifty halfback on your final, game-winning drive? Keep both feet inside the building. Make a pass at it.

BASEBALL BREAK:

Jim Thome hit home run number 600 in Detroit monday night. It was his second home run of the night.

Let me be just the latest person to say this. It couldn't have happened to a better guy.

One time, Thome signed an autograpgh for my grandfather. Afterword, I asked my grandpa what he was like. "Oh, he was real nice," grandpa said. "We sat and talked for fifteen minutes or so about some players I used to like when I was in the service."

Imagine that. There's a line of people waiting from a Cleveland grocery store back to the corn fields in Iowa, and a baseball player playing in a me-first era not only takes the time to talk to an old man about his own glory days, but also knows enough about the history of the game to stay in that conversation and make an old man's day.

Here in Cleveland, we've watched so many great players move on to other teams. Some were in their prime (Manny Ramirez, C.C. Sabathia, Thome), some were not too far removed (Omar Vizquel, Kenny Lofton).

Most of them we love, some we're embarrassed to say we used to. Thome and Ramirez are usually linked together in for their time in Cleveland because they were about the same age and came up together in the minors.

They grew as baseball players in a town that was regenerating it's love for baseball in the nineties. They also almost always batted next to each in the lineup. They hit gigantic home runs. That's where the similarities end.

Ramirez had about as much love for the game and personal integrity as Thome has in his left pinky.

Put Ramirez in that situation with my grandfather, and he'd probably ask his interpreter for help. "Huh, they had baseball in the 1940's you say?"

Sure, Thome left town with a bagful of memories and accomplishments to go cash his check, too, in another towns bank. But I'll bet you he'd do it different if he could all over again. There's a lot the public doesn't know about that situation.

It's a shame for Thome, having to play his career during the steroids era. PED's have done almost as much damage to his accomplishment as they have the players bodies who took them.

So, Thome now stands as just the eighth player ever to hit 600 home runs behind Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey Jr. (630), Alex Rodrigues (626), and Sammy Sosa (609).

Only the big three, Aaron, Ruth, and Mays are untouched by skepticism, but I'd ad Thome in there as well.

And I'd doubt he hits too many more before it's all over. But, Thome's accomplishment may well help us remember what it was like to admire the big three before the steroids era.

You can safely admire Thome's record, to be sure.

Browns add DB Johnson from waiver wire

The Browns have been awarded DB Brett Johnson off waivers. Johnson is 6-foot-1 and 194 pounds. He has spent time with Philadelphia, St. Louis, Buffalo, and most recently Seattle. He played for California in college.

It's a good bet Eric Hagg will miss considerable time with the announcement of his upcoming surgery and this addition.

Chicago Bears:

We don't kick from the stinking 35.


Peter King for Sports Illustrated has the awesome inside scoop on how the Bears kicked off from the 30 yard line, last years kickoff point, in direct opposition to the new rule. And get this: they told the league they were gonna do it ahead of time!

Hillis' popularity spreads to Canada

Jim Lang of sportsnet.ca, a Canadian sports Web site, has a good survey of the Browns and Peyton Hillis here.

He offers a couple new quotes from the Cleveland media, including some interesting comments from Vic Carucci concerning Hillis' running style.

Interesting take.

The Mc has control of the WC

In the three series he played last night Cleveland Browns Stadium, Colt McCoy steered his offense to two scores in a 27-17 win over defending Super Bowl Champions Green Bay Packers.

After one very poor decision, a backwards pass to rookie fullback Owen Marecic who never caught the ball, McCoy and the first team rattled off passing gains of 10, 12, 8, 15, and 27 yards. Touchdown Josh Cribbs.

McCoy was 9-10 for 135 yards and a touchdown for the game.

Thank you very much.

McCoy said it was the first time he and rookie head coach Pat Shurmur had communicated with each from field to sideline. "There were a lot of firsts tonight," McCoy told the Associated Press.

Shurmur told the AP, "It was good to see Colt go in there and move the ball. It looked like the game was moving slow for him, which is good. Colt's a little bit of a gamer, and that's right up his alley."

Meanwhile, Green Bay had some rust to shake off after not spending any time together during the lockout. 

"It felt good to finally be back out there," Rodgers told AP. "I missed being on the field. It was a long offseason. It was nice to get back out there and play another team."

It showed on their second series. After a 21-yard back shoulder touchdown strike to Greg Jennings at the front pylon Rodgers said, "I was talking to Greg on the sideline before that last drive and said, 'Hey, let's put this one in the end zone and take a break.'"

Sheldon Brown was covering on the play and was right there, but Rodgers and Jennings made a heck-of-a play and showed why Green bay's offense was so effective last year.

On their final series, Mccoy and tight end Ben Watson hooked up for the second time with a 27 yard strike down the seem. Peyton Hillis ran it in the endzone for a 14-7 lead.

After a field goal score and a 3-yard touchdown pass from Green Bay backup quarterback Matt Flynn to Spencer Havner, the Packers led 17-14 at the half.

McCoy told WKYC weekend sports anchor Dave Chudowski, "at halftime it was like, hey, we gotta do whatever it takes to win. (Pre-season or not) you know we want to win."

Dick Jauron's defense shut out the Packers in the second half, a strong comeback after early game jitters. 

Really early jitters.

A first play-of-the-game timeout for having 12 men on the field is an ominous sign, but it proved to be the exception rather the rule. Jauron was seen on the sideline saying, "it's on me, it's on me."

After that, the Browns defense had five sacks, one of them by linebacker Brian Smith on Flynn, who fumbled the ball at the Cleveland 49. Linebacker Titus Brown scooped up the ball and ran for a touchdown.

Backup kicker Jeff Wolfert hit two 40-plus yard field goals in his first game action, in the second half.

Training Days: Browns will look Packers in the eye and hope for reflection

While Colt McCoy went campin' with the boys' this off season, Aaron Rodgers talked to his teammates only via phone. With no new players to count on to produce and no new offense to install, practice seemed like, well, like telling Ron Turcotte how handle Secretariot around the first turn.

Not  needed.

The Pack has been running some form of the West Coast offense for, oh, twenty years or so. The Browns, notta one. Two weeks. 

The Packers won the Super Bowl last year. The Browns picked sixth in the draft in April. 

So, yeah. A lot to learn tonight.

The Browns bring a mixed-bag of firsts into the match: First game with with a first-year head coach; First game with the new offense, new defense. First game for first-year position coaches. 

The Packers bring ten returning starters on offense, ten on defense. An offense and defense that at last glance was clicking. Like Clicking. The New Gunlsinger, Rodgers, had 'em rolling up the points down the stretch last year on their run to reclaim the Lombardi - and bring it home. 

Galluping really.

Meanwhile, Colt McCoy got his feet wet with a 1-5 team against, in order now, the Steelers, the Patriots, the Saints, and the Jets. McCoy would probably admit that at some point in the middle there, the water rose well past his feet.

But he actually won a couple of 'em. Kudos to him. This is a new season, one with expectations. He won't win one tonight. He won't win one quarter tonight, actually.

The only measurable section of pre-season game number one in any season is the first quarter with the starters. So, he's got, at best, three series? I'll bet Colt scores on one of 'em. Maybe a toss-in Dawson field goal on another...just to see. 

Just to see how close they can get to where an NFL team that wants to win in the post season needs to be. And then they can get ready for the rest of the ponies in the league.

So, do the Browns have the horses to beat the Pack to the Wire? Doubt it. But it'll be a good first turn through to be sure.

Owners Own, Players Play

My take on the recent speculation that National Football League Owners served the NFL Players Association a plate of fries instead of a loaded baked potato.

The players are food. They are grown to be cooked and consumed.

The owners serve the food. Period.

In a dog eat dog world where you are either first or last, it comes as a complete shock to me that anyone would be on the the players side in this whole matter.

I had a an old boss who used to say: "Know your role."

I'm not sure the players know their role. All the money is generated by the owners. It is dispersed from the owners. It started with the owners, it ends with the owners. They own. Look up the definition of own .
It might surprise you.

The owners have the right to strong arm anyone they can and want. And if the players don't like it, fine. They'll get new players.

Period. Plain and simple. Not loaded with bacon and cheese. No chives. Very little sour cream.

Fried.

Or served another way, Fired.

Look it up.

I'm back

My response to Bill Livingston's opinion in the Plain Dealer today.

Bill,

Do you really feel this way?

I argue you are guilty of a horrendous penalty, by trashing your journalistic standards and giving up - on a mere blow of one whistle - the very responsibilities the press should be held to.

Tressel is only guilty on a technicality. The sporting public knows it, too. I'll grant, those fans west of the Mississippi might not agree, albeit all the way up to the California line. Carroll, however, jumped off their ship and hardly had the love affair with the student athlete that Tressel evidenced. So maybe they, too, would have a heavy heart for our guy.

And make no mistake, Tressel is our guy, no and forever. I would say he is bigger than Woody Hayes, but not Paul Brown. He did follow in Brown's footsteps, after all. Coaching the student athlete at a D-III school for a near-generation, then using his reputation as a good football mind, but also a guy who does right by the student athlete to sneak his way into a job at the Big Ten school, Ohio State.

From day one, down to the greasy end, Tressell vowed that Ohio State fans would "be proud of their kids in the classroom, and on the football field." He shielded his players from the gruesome, professional media coverage that places college players dark alley when it comes to benefits and educational standards. Namely ridiculous NCAA rules.

These kids are mere amateurs. He fed them and those around him with spoonfuls of spirit, inner determination, loyalty, guidance in much the same way Joe Paterno fed his players spoonfuls of spaghetti dinners at his own table.

Journalists are supposed to be the voice for all, the mouthpiece for conversation. Why not say it like it is then: The only thing Tressel is really guilty of is protecting his players in the face of knowing right from wrong. The NCAA rules concerning the infracting players at OSU have no place in todays sports world.

You know it. Fans, on both sides of the Mississippi know it. And Jim Tressel knows it. He knows it well more than you or I, because he gave his job for it, for his university, and for his players. His students. He knew full well what he was doing and felt it was right. And you know it too.

So, do you really feel it is wiser to tear down the high school coaches who knew this man, his values, who simply are saying with a shirt and a tie what the rest of the sporting world won't or can't - save you, the journalist?

I don't know how many football players went to OSU during Tressel's tenure, but it's in the thousands. The number of parents who are proud their sons played for Coach Tressel is in the thousands more.

I'll bet you a pair of pants that you could find at least as many words to write about the negative impact the NCAA has on all student athletes. Surely, that time with the mouthpiece would better spent than undressing a high school coach such as Chuck Kyle and the hundreds of other decent men coaching Ohio's young men on the football field and in the classroom.

CLASS-room.

Posted on High school football coaches' planned tribute to Jim Tressel is a fumbled idea: Bill Livingston on July 21, 2011, 1:15PM