There will be one less quarterback in the draft for the Browns to consider, as Landry Jones has decided to stay at Oklahoma. Coupled with the decision of Matt Barkley to stay at USC, a once crowded quarterback class headed by Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III is now less impressive.
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Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert had a news conference today to discuss the disappointing season and the plan going forward for the Browns.
I’m not going to get into all the details now, but everyone seems to have an opinion about the Holmgren regime.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course, but I’m really not interested in listening to radio hosts who scream that they are impatient. I don’t care to hear about the emotional pain they’ve suffered watching losing teams in Cleveland. Demanding a winner right away won’t bring one. Acting like a spoiled child doesn’t lead to helpful or interesting analysis.
I’m also tired of the snark. It’s easy to be a critic when things aren’t going well, but criticizing everything is silly.
I’ll take patience over stupidity and emotional overreaction any day.
Look at the consistent winners in the NFL like the Steelers, Packers, Patriots and Ravens. They build for the long term and focus on the draft.
Heckert has done a good job with his first two drafts, and now the Browns have an extra first-rounder for the 2012 draft thanks to the Julio Jones trade. They are also well under the salary cap. They need playmakers, but they are poised to get them this offseason. Holmgren and Heckert have a plan and Holmgren said they aren’t going to panic because they had a tough year. The plan requires some patience, but I’m fine with that.
If you haven’t been watching the Cavs and you just started last night, give them another chance. This team has excellent young talent in Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, but more importantly the entire team plays hard and plays well together.
Some writers around the country are starting to notice. Here’s Ethan Sherwood Strauss from Hoopspeak.com as he ranks the Cavs #1 in hist list of teams that could be the next Oklahoma Thunder:
1. Cleveland Cavaliers (Cumulonimbus)
There was much garments-rending over how LeBron left Cleveland in rancid shambles, but few noted the bizarre NBA paradox: Rancid shambles = where you want to be in this league. Rank failure is rewarded, and handsomely so. The upstart Cavs now sport the first and fourth picks from 2011. With Baron Davis amnestied, and Antawn Jamison expiring, Cleveland will have ample financial room going forward.Despite widespread assertions to the contrary, I believe that Kyrie Irving has superstar potential. Tristan Thompson looks like he could become a valuable defensive force at the 4 spot, no small thing in this league. Promising draft, promising team.
Ointment flies: Owner Dan Gilbert seems quite impulse oriented, and he might jump at the chance to trade for the next Jamison. Coach Byron Scott has been meager with minutes for Irving and Thompson–which should buy Scott a swift conviction in the Court of League Pass.
Let’s see if the Cavs can play well on this tough road trip and generate some more attention.
It wasn’t the best opener for rookie Kyrie Irving, as he only managed 6 points on 2-12 shooting. Three of those points came from a meaningless 3-pointer at the end of the game. Irving has not shown much with his outside shot in the two exhibition games. It’s early of course but it would be nice to see some flashes there. That said, he had 7 assists and only one turnover in 26 minutes, so the other parts of his game looked solid.
Meanwhile, Ramon Sessions had a great night. He seems to have discovered a 3-point shot as he hit two tonight, and he was excellent in every phase of the game as the second teamers led by Sessions got the Cavs back into the game
The other rookie, Tristan Thompson, had a great night with 14 points in 17 minutes as he was active in all phases of the game. The kid is a gamer and he’s opening up some eyes.
Here are some more thoughts:
Omri Casspi wasn’t very impressive in his Cavs debut with only 2 points on 0-4 shooting.
The Cavs need scoring, but Antawn Jamison was forcing up too many bricks from the outside.
Alonzo Gee continues to look great. The kid has a ton of energy and he’s a scorer. I wouldn’t be surprised if he fights his way past Casspi into the starting lineup at some point, or becomes the main scoring option off the bench.
I like seeing some more aggressiveness out of Anthony Parker. He has a nice shot and might be able to take on more of the scoring load.
It still blows me away that some Cavs fans think Anderson Varejao is overrated. He hustles like nobody else!
It’s a year for learning, so hopefully we’ll see some nice progress from Irving and the rest of the team over the course of the season.
Head Coach Byron Scott just announced that Kyrie Irving will be the starter tonight as the Cavs open the season against the Toronto Raptors. Scott said he wanted Irving to get his playing time with the veterans to speed his development, and Ramon Sessions can lend his experience to the youngsters in the second unit.
The Kyrie Irving era begins tonight!
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