Cleveland Browns - Focus Where it Matters

Fans are unhappy. It's in the DNA. Cleveland fans have been unhappy for so long that they don't know what it takes to be happy in regards to sports. Of course, the sports teams in Cleveland aren't doing much to rectify this. The Cavs proved they were a one man show. The Indians proved that maintaining a strong first half of a season was too much. The Browns proved that you can rebuild every year and get nowhere.

Being a life long Cleveland sports fan, I remember when the Cavs were never mentioned, the Indians needed Charlie Sheen to make a movie about how laughable they were, and at this time...the Browns were something to look forward to, at least from a contender standpoint.

How we long for those good old days. To be a contender.

There is such a lack of focus on the Browns, it's sickening. You can see it in the interviews, you can witness it on gameday. Are the players looking for a payday? Are the coaches trying to build an empire?

It's become standard practice for an athlete to stand before the cameras and say "I take all responsibility for today's loss". It's almost as sincere as a celebrity saying "I'm sorry" for their latest DUI, drug arrest, or racial slur. These media step-ups are supposed to make everything ok, at least until next week when that same celebrity drives drunk or that same comedian questions why the N-word is bad at all, or when that same player's team loses another game. Rinse, repeat, move on.

Let's start with our favorite freight train: Payton Hillis. I want to love this guy. I want to put all my hopes and dreams of a successful Browns team on this beast's shoulders and watch him carry us to a post season. However, getting play time advice from an agent? Stupid. I don't care what line of business you are in - asking your agent for advice on whether or not you should do your job: stupid. Now we have a hamstring injury. Bad timing. What Mr Hillis needs to do now and last until the season is to run, run with a purpose...run with a mission. Run over and through every single non-Browns player that gets in your way. Become the Beast. Make them suffer. Show us that all of these injuries and illnesses were non-issues.

On the flip side, to the Browns front office: Pay the man! You paid Cribbs, you paid Thomas. You even paid Evans. Pay Hillis. Feed the Beast. Hardesty is good...Hillis is GREAT. I watch him and I remember the old Kevin Mack days. Bruising, powerful, painful. Then, after you pay the man, USE THE MAN. Third and one, fourth and one? Goal line? No-brainer to most, but for some reason we want to pass?

Colt McCoy is quite capable of being our Payton Manning. From the start of his career until his retirement, Colt does have what it takes. What he doesn't have is a supporting cast. No receivers, no front line, and poor play calling are giving him a bad rap. Colt has the speed, and with a substandard front line as a whole, use his speed and let him scramble. Let him roll out of that pocket. Get him mobile. As far as receivers go, well not much can happen now. Terrell Owens, familiar with West Coast offense, is shopping for a team. He has skills and knowledge he can pass on to our young receivers. Someone with some experience needs to be added. The last time we had experience at receiver was Joe Jurrevicius, and look what we had: Derrick Anderson went to the pro-bowl throwing to Braylon Edwards who also went to the pro-bowl and Kellen Winslow was the next hot thing. JJ gets taken out, and what happened the very next year? No experience, no performance.

And finally, Josh Cribbs is a special teams monster. Keep him on special teams. Use what you got for what they are built for. Trying to force him into other roles or putting a leash on what he's built for has only hurt the team.

Focus. Use what you have, do what you can do, and win games. If you are going to lose, make them earn every bit of it. Be competitive. Don't do it for the money, do it for the fans that bleed brown and orange. They will ALWAYS have your back. We don't want to lose another team...but give us a focused contender. Rebuilding is over. Time to fortify the framework.