Keep Mangini!!

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Why does everyone hate Eric Mangini? Did I miss something; were we supposed to be contending for the Super Bowl this year? Am I the only one who realizes we need major upgrades at several positions in order to consistently win?

Two years ago, Eric Mangini took over a horrendous team. Last year wasn’t pretty but with four wins to end the year, you could see there was some hope and that maybe the players were starting to buy into the coach's philosophy. When Mike Holmgren was brought in, everyone thought Mangini was done, but he obviously impressed the heck out of Holmgren and saved his job.

Coach Mangini Running Out of Chances

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About a month ago, following consecutive wins over the defending Superbowl Champion Saints and the Patriots, and an overtime loss to the Jets, I was on board with Coach Mangini and the direction his team was headed. A tough-nosed, gut-it-out group who it seemed, could not only play with - but beat - anyone on any given Sunday.

Then came a blown opportunity against the Jaguars, followed by an uninspired too-close-for-comfort win (at home) against the 1-win Panthers. And except for a nice little win against an average Dolphins team, the Browns have regressed ever since, with stunning losses to two of the NFL's doormats - the Bills last week and a clunker today against the previously 2-win Bengals.

Last week in Buffalo, after rumbling down the field on the back of Peyton Hillis, the Browns had first and goal. This would've been the PERFECT opportunity for a play action pass to the tight end. Instead the Browns went run, run, run. And ended up with a field goal. From that opening drive, it seemed the Browns would score at will. They ended the game with only six. The same paper-thin offensive game plan was seen in the "victory" (barely) against the lowly Panthers a few weeks prior.

Hear the bell, Coach, for it tolls for thee

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I wish I had a screen capture of the sad kitten face Coach Mangini made in the waning seconds of this afternoon’s deflating loss to the Bengals. What I saw as the clock ticked down to zero was a beaten man who knows his ship has sailed.

And sailed it has, Browns fans. If last week’s dull defeat to Buffalo didn’t cement Mangini’s fate, today’s depressingly similar “effort” - and I use that word loosely- against Cincinnati certainly did. A victory today, along with some home cooking against either Baltimore or Pittsburgh, may have barely saved Mangini’s job - with the caveat that he would need to replace a couple of his coordinators if he wanted to keep the position.

What we think will happen today....

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Week 15, Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals

Brian		Browns 27 Bengals 13	Colt again performs mistake-free (or close to it), something Carson Palmer certainly can never say.
Tom		Browns 17 Bengals 13	McCoy comes back and doesn't miss a beat, but it doesn't solidify the thin ice Mangini is on.
Doug		Browns 17 Bengals 13	McCoy back under center, Bengals' general lousiness means a 'W' for the good guys.
Kevin		Browns 23 Bengals 20	The Browns have yet to learn how to win consistently and seize crucial opportunities. They are the Evan Bourne of the NFL. Still, they cannot lose to the lowly Bengals can they? Coach Mangini's job may depend on it.
Ryan		Browns 27 Bengals 13	Marvin Lewis' days in Cincinnati are numbered; hopefully, Eric Mangini's in Cleveland are not.
SamVox		Bengals 27 Browns 20	Holmgren doesn't mind the result, as it gives him a higher draft pick plus more ammunition to fire Mangini.

Big Ten reconsidering "Legends" and "Leaders"

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Unlike the US Congress, perhaps the Big Ten really does get their feelings hurt when a majority of people think their idea is terrible.  And especially unlike congress, maybe they reconsider their decisions.

On Thursday, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney, in an interview with WGN-AM in Chicago, commented that the names may be changed, due in no small part to the extreme dislike the Big Ten fans seem to have for the division names.  (Of course, maybe it was the t-shirt designs the names might inspire.)