The Tribe’s explosion last night served notice to the other teams in the wild card hunt…if you want the wild card, you’re gonna have to take if from them. This is one hell of a stretch run by the Indians.

I’m gonna go out on a limb here, but if the Tribe wins the three game series against Oakland which starts tonight, I think they’ll be the wild card team.

The biggest disappointment in the opener was the play of Trent Dilfer. He got off to a decent start in the first have, but he made some terrible throws in the second half. I thought our offensive coordinator did a good job calling plays, and often there were open receivers downfield. Dilfer just missed too many receivers.

As usual, Dilfer showed that he’s a man of character as he took the blame after the game. That’s certainly a refreshing change. He also deserves more time, much more time, to find his rhythm with the rest of the offense. I’m sure that Crennel will show patience here and not rush in Charlie Frye.

That said, Dilfer needs to play better. Let’s hope he starts next week against a weak Green Bay team.

ESPN’s Brad Edwards writes today…

On Saturday, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Ohio State and No. 8 Iowa all lost, marking the first time since The Associated Press began ranking teams in 1936 that three top-10 teams from one conference were all defeated on the same day.

Is the Big Ten a paper tiger this year?

Bud Shaw in today’s PD…

“It all goes into the same ball,” Crennel said when asked after Sunday’s 27-13 loss if his defensive concerns had more to do with the learning curve or the people playing it. Cincinnati’s Rudi Johnson carried that ball for 126 yards running almost exclusively between the tackles.

I can’t remember the last time the Browns stopped a running game. I wouldn’t be surprised if every single running back on our schedule circles the Browns game weeks in advance and buys extra tickets for friends and family, because he knows that day will be his biggest day of the year.