PRESEASON GAMES WITH BERNIE HAS BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF SOME OF MY SEASONS

I created this blog after the first preseason game last season.  This is the first content I have ever posted here.  And ironically enough it may be the last...

Oh no I'm not stopping now, but I am considering changing to a more ambiguous Cleveland Sports Memes site very soon.  But that is not why I am posting this today.

Yesterday I received news that Bernie Kosar had been relieved of his duties as color commentator for Browns preseason broadcasts.  Bernie had become a staple of the preseason.  To be honest who better to be there for fans when hope is still high, than the last QB to have any real success in Cleveland?

The thing about Bernie that made him unique was his tremendous insight into the game.  Nearly every play, Bernie would give his reads on the defenses that were shown.  It was nice to see the game through the eyes of someone who knew what the players should be looking for.  And when it was done, as a fan you felt like you had a better understanding of the strategies being employed by both sides.

Bernie also had a knack for letting you know his exact feelings on a particular player.  His main focus was ususally on QBs and WRs.  Good ones would earn Bernie's praise, but if you weren't so good Bernie usually had a few zingers for you.  And Bernie hadn't had much reason to be very complimentary of the Browns for his career as broadcaster.  But that is what made Bernie great, his honesty.

He also added a fair share of humor to his calls as well. One of his best gags was countering his harsh criticism by being over complimentary to any Miami Hurricanes that would be in the game, which was always funny.  It didn't matter where Ken Dorsey threw a ball, he WAS the future.

Overall, he usually made a meaningless game quite fun.  And looking back on some of our bleaker seasons, Bernie in the preseason was really the highlight of the whole year.  With Bernie there you learned and you laughed.  What more could you ask for?

Then came the 2013 preseason opener vs. the St.Louis Rams.  This was a bizarre game because the Browns came out hot, and looked like a well oiled unit versus the Rams that game.  And the Rams countered with some particularly embarrassing Wide Receiver play.  Bernie recognized the struggles and gave the unit a fairly good tongue lashing throughout the game.  Then at the end of the game when the Rams put QB Kellen Clemens into the game, Bernie saved his biggest zingers yet.  Bernie had remembered Clemens from his time as a Jets backup and wasn't impressed.  Even quipping after a Jim Donovan story that Clemens had met the pope saying, "Bless me father for I have sinned, I have to watch him the whole 4th quarter."

While Bernie was in rare form that game, most fans saw it as a successful opener.  While under most circumstances this would have been another forgettable preseason game, this one created some buzz.  The NFL Network will replay all preseason games over the following week.  They generally use the home team's local broadcast, which in this case was the WKYC broadcast with Jim and Bernie.  The game caught the attention of national sports writer Peter King.

Peter King didn't stop with Bernie bashing last year, he was a leading figure in the "Trade Josh Gordon to New England for a 4th round pick", that went on before the trade deadline

Peter King then brought the attention to his friend Jeff Fischer, who coached the Rams.  Fischer was not happy with what Bernie had said about his team.  King fueled the fire, by quoting Kosar's commentary on his twitter page, using his voice to get the ear of the Browns front office.  Bernie was quickly reprimanded and was asked to apologize.

Bernie commented on the incident repeatedly over the other three games.  He stayed away from his usual harsh analysis, and finished out the preseason giving his usual good insights without incident.

Then came the news that Bernie was fired form his position.  Many people began blasting Bernie's personal life as a reason for the reason for his termination.  I refuse to comment on Bernie's personal life because I don't know Bernie personally, and have no idea.  But I do know that regardless of the reason for the termination, it all began with Peter King's comments.

And while I will agree Bernie isn't exactly a "professional quality" broadcaster, he was unique and original.  However in the end, the Peter King clones of the media demand cookie cutter, positive reporting. Hell even ESPN has Jon Gruden loving EVERYBODY right now.  And in the end those people won, and it is ridiculous and sad.

So sadly the Browns have given in and hired former Cincinnatti Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers DB, Solomon Wilcots.  I don't recall Solomon being a huge friend of the Dawg Pound in his broadcast career as well.  And that just sucks.  

So Jimmy bad move, why don't you put Solomon in the box with Jim Donovan , and let Bernie read defenses.  I hope that maybe as the season draws closer we can start a #FreeBernie movement.  I really hope that the right people complain and maybe we can get Bernie back on the air.

    

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3-1 is a Pretty Good Preseason Record, But it Won't Matter a Bit September 8th

As much as I would love to be able say that the Cleveland Browns 3-1 record, and the Pittsburgh Steelers 0-4 record could just carry over into the regular season could just carry over into the regular season, it won't.  September 8th the games start counting for real, and there will be no more questions of how many quarters to play anyone.

The true question today is who is going to be on the Browns come tonight at 6pm.  All rosters are required to be cut to the final 53 spots and quite a lot could happen in a short period of time.  It is my belief that the Browns will be on the prowl for a free agent running back and possibly some help at offensive guard within the free agent ranks.

Today is probably the toughest day to be a pro football player because it is the day that your job might not be safe.  Best of luck to all deserving prospects on final cutdown day.

Wipe the Slate Clean, Preseason is Officially Over

The Browns finished off the preseason squeaking out an 18-16 win in the final preseason game.  While the outcome of this one really didn't matter, what did matter was the production of the guys that are fighting for those last precious roster spots.

With roster cuts due by Saturday afternoon, the most meaningless game of the season will be the last for potentially two dozen Browns players.  And what a bizarre game it was.  First, both kickers on the roster were hurt leaving kicking duties to punter Spencer Lanning.  This led the Browns to mostly go for two point conversions and not try field goals.  Yet in the end Lanning drilled a 40 yard field goal.  Secondly, Jason Campbell has the flu, so Brian Hoyer went the distance at Quarterback, which is almost unheard of in a preseason game, but I don't think we are going to sign another QB for the flu so we didn't have much choice.  Hoyer threw for a respectable 307 yards with a touchdown.  But he didn't get much help from Josh Gordon and David Nelson on a couple poorly thrown balls for interceptions.

But CBM's pick for the player of the night was Tori Gurley.  Gurley showed some flash with 3 catches for 56 yards.  At 6'4" with descent speed Gurley is a dark horse for a roster spot.  Particularly with David Nelson still showing some rust after missing a year with a torn ACL and Gordon's upcoming suspension.    

Trash the Opponent Thursday: The Chicago Bears

When the Cleveland Browns interviewed Marc Trestman for the head coaching job this offseason it was already a tough time.  I believe that Jimmy Haslam was so certain that Chip Kelly would take the job that I'm not sure that there was much thought to who else they may have to interview.

Once I heard that Trestman was a candidate I really thought that the job was going to be his.  His resume is actually quite good.  He was Bernie Kosar's quarterback coach in Miami, and spend a good bit of time running offenses all over the NFL.  This includes a stint with the Browns where he was reunited with Kosar.  He is best known for his work with quarterbacks, and with Brandon Weeden still learning his trade as a pro I thought Trestman was the type of coach the Browns were looking for.

The issue is that Trestman has spent the past five seasons as the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL.  When the word hit that the Browns were looking to the CFL for a coach the panic began to set in.  Although Trestman was also quite successful in his time north of the border as well.

All of Chicago's eyes will be on their new coach tonight as the preseason wraps up.  I wish Marc Trestman all the luck in the world... just not tonight.  Lets hope we can feel good about passing on him.

Owen Marecic Majored in Biology at Stanford, I Hope He Still Remembers What He Learned

Yesterday the sad tale that was Owen Marecic's Cleveland Browns career came to an end.  Marecic was drafted in the 4th round of the 2010 NFL draft, in hopes that he could become a versatile threat at fullback in Pat Shurmur's west coast offense.  Instead he may have had one of the most comical careers in NFL history.

He almost instantly struggled in the NFL game.  He was a below average blocker for a fullback, but he was picked up to be a viable option in the passing game which also wasn't going well.  Hoping that a year under his belt would help his game, Marecic was targeted 4 times early in the season only to drop each and every pass.  Soon tight end Alex Smith was placed at fullback just to keep Marecic off the field.  Marecic's lone highlight of the 2013 preseason came when he made a diving (more like flopping) catch, and then took about four minutes to realize that he was untouched and he could get up before being tackled well short of a first down.

Owen may be a nice kid, but here at Cleveland Browns Memes we don't have to be nice.  We haven't been this relieved to see a player leave this team since that Michigan piece of trash Braylon Edwards got shipped to football purgatory in New York.  Even so, at least Braylon caught a small percentage of passes that hit him in the hands.

It Has Been a Rough Week For Many of Our Old Friends

With rosters capped at 75 starting today at 4pm, and then 53 starting Saturday at 6pm it is becoming nervous time for many guys on the roster bubble for their respective teams.  It's already been a tough preseason for many of our old friends of the orange and brown.

Most notably was Sunday's release of Joshua Cribbs, the longtime Cleveland Brown kick returner by the Oakland Raiders.  I think the move shows how devalued the position of kick returner has become in today's NFL.

Colt McCoy also restructured his contract with the 49ers in order to either make his stock more appealing, or raise his trade value.  Mohammed Massaquoi was released by the Jaguars, then found himself where no football player wants to end up... the New York Jets.  And Peyton Hillis seems to be tumbling off the Buccaneer depth chart.  Perhaps Mr. Hillis should have actually tried to be a football player in 2011.    

Uh-Oh First Big Cut Day is Tomorrow

Well Tuesday at 4pm is the deadline for NFL teams to cut their rosters from 90 down to 75.  This marks the end of NFL dreams for many players doing their best to impress the coaching staffs.  With such a dismal performance by the Browns in the "Dress Rehearsal" game this past weekend, many players missed out on their last chances at playing time.

It's already been a rough weekend for some former Browns.  Most notably Joshua Cribbs was handed his walking papers by the Oakland Raiders, leaving his future in the league up in the air.  Also Colt McCoy was asked to take a paycut by the San Francisco 49ers in order to save his roster spot.

Regardless it will be a bad weekend for many young aspiring pro football players .

If This Was a Dress Rehearsal For a Play, It Would Be Cancelled: Colts 27 - Browns 6

The NFL Preseason is one of those terrible things that lingers for a long, agonizing month.  Usually by the third game of the preseason all hopes and dreams of a miracle Cleveland Browns run has been all but dashed.  But this team really showed a lot of promise in it's first two exhibitions, leaving Saturday night's game vs. the Colts an affair with some promise.

Instead the Browns came out in their dress rehearsal looking more like the Browns of last year.  Cleveland's defense looked over matched against the battery of Andrew Luck and Reggie Wayne.  Wayne who had 7 catches and over 70 yards in limited action, looked like he may have been invisible to Browns defenders.  It was certainly the first time that I have seen the Ray Horton defense out coached this preseason.

Unfortunately the offense wasn't any better.  After moving the ball in their opening drive, a Joe Thomas holding call stalled the drive.  After the stall it could not be restarted.  Browns starters played deep into the third quarter due to the fact that it couldn't keep itself on the field for more than three plays at a time.  Indy's defense was all over any attempts to throw the ball down the field.  Forcing the Browns into an offense that looked unfortunately familiar.

Trash the Opponent Thursday: The Indianapolis Colts

The Cleveland Browns will face off against the Indianapolis Colts this Saturday at 7:00pm.  This is the third preseason game, so this is the one that is being hailed at the "dress rehearsal."  This is considered the most important of the preseason matchups due to the large number of snaps that each of the first stringers will see.  Most of the veterans will be likely shut down until the regular season after tonight.

To me this is the game that if the Browns look solid in, will really raise my opinion of what to expect this season.  While I know that preseason isn't a great barometer for what to expect, it is nice to have seen the Browns first stringers outplay other team's first units so far.  Which brings me to the Colts.

While I have been pleasantly surprised that I haven't had to be very mean to my beloved Browns, it just makes it worse.  As on Thursdays I plan on having a bit of fun at our opponent's expense.  Today's target will be these Colts.

First off the Colts are coming off a 11-5 season, in which they were actually significantly outscored.  This has never happened before in the NFL.  What that stat means is that they never beat anyone convincingly last season.  And what do you need to win close games in the NFL?  You guessed it a little bit of Luck, which happens to be the name of their quarterback.

Andrew Luck was likely the most touted quarterback to come out of college since Peyton Manning.  For nearly three years NFL scouts have been salivating for this kid to make it to the pros.  Luck really had a lot of Luck in his first year, finding ways to squeak by opponents.  But eventually winning ugly goes away and in my opinion I think the 11 win season of a year ago was a bit of a fluke.  But after seeing Andrew Luck's first touchdown in week two of this preseason I can see that Luck is contagious.  I hope it runs out on Saturday.      

Ndamukong Suh Isn't the Guy I Want To See This Preseason

In 2010 things were looking up.  Jake Delhomme looked like he may have some adequate passes left in him early in the preseason, then we went to Detroit.  Ndamukong Suh proved that just because he is well spoken and articulate off the field, doesn't mean he isn't a dirty piece of crap on it.  He spent his time on field successfully attempting to injure the new Browns starter.  Had Suh's display of filthy dirty football been done versus Tom Brady, Roger Goodell would have bypassed the fines and immediately called for Suh's execution.  But since it was the Browns they slapped Suh on the wrist, and we went about our business losing as usual.

All I have to say is that if Suh attempts any crap tonight I hope the Browns have good enough sense to make him pay.

Bernie's Apology

I'm sorry Bernie Kosar spent a career being told he wasn't fast enough, his technique was flawed, and he wasn't a good enough athlete.  Ultimately Bill Belichick threw him away citing Bernie's "diminishing skills," for his departure.  Bernie doesn't owe anybody anything.

Frankly the Browns haven't given Bernie many opportunities to focus his ire onto our opponents since he began announcing preseason games.  However last Thursday Jeff Fisher's Rams looked far inferior to the Browns.  Bernie may have apologized, but he still thinks your receivers and your receiver coach sucks.  And he doesn't think very highly of Kellen Clemens.  And that you will have to deal with.