Flashback: Cavs vs Celtics 10/27/09

Here's a few thoughts as I look back on that game.

- The Cavs came out fired up, to say the least. Early 14 point lead, they were cruising. Then, just like the playoffs last year, they slowed down. The other team, in this case Boston, started hitting open 3's and the Cavs fell behind. Is it our defensive scheme? Are they making adjustments and the Cavs aren't?

- I will have to check the box score, but I felt like Z played more minutes than Shaq.

- I've already seen enough of Z and Shaq being on the floor together.
- Z really seems to be even slower than he was in the playoffs last year. Not a good sign considering this was the first game of the year.

- I hate Rasheed Wallace. I hated him 100% last year and hate him 200% this year since he's wearing a Celtics jersey.

- Ray Allen still has a sweet stroke. They don't call him Jesus Shuttlesworth for nothing.

- Boobie Gibson's play, or lack there of, reminds me how vital Delonte West is to our bench.
- Part of me wishes that LeBron would've taken D-West under his wing this summer instead of Hickson.

- Speaking of Hickson, the guy seems to always be flailing in the air, grabbing at air and coming down with air. GRAB THE BALL, JJ.

- Jamario Moon has hops.

- If you're going for an 'easy lay up' and LeBron is within 103 feet behind you, lay down and play dead. Hell, stop - drop - and roll if you have to. The man is going to make a poster out of you. You will end up on Sportscenter. Good morning, Rondo.

- Granted he's coming off of an injury last season, but Kevin Garnett can't jump. I'm sure he'll get his legs under him, but he looked like a shell of his former self last night. His team did come out on top, however.

- Marquis Daniels looks like he's straight out of Grand Theft Auto. He and Delonte can ride bikes together.

- When Shaq threw Garnett down yesterday, you could tell it hurt. Garnett got up and pounded his chest if as to prove he's a warrior. He got up very slowly. Like an old man that fell on the Bocce court. It hurt. I wish Shaq would've done it more.

- The Cavs should really sign Antonio Daniels. Cut Coby Karl and get Daniels in. He can surely run that offense better than Boobie, and he surely isn't as soft.

- Anthony Parker can play. I like what he brings to the floor and I think he's going to be a great signing by the Cavs.

- Charles Barkley is a joke. Complete joke. Untied shoes? White shoes with a black suit? Plus, you can't understand half the stuff he's saying. He wants to be a GM one day? JOKE.

- LeBron can hit shots from anywhere. Literally, anywhere.

- Game 1 of the season felt like a Playoff Game. That only means one thing; we are in for a long, fun season!

Fugetaboudit! It's a Mangini!

That's what we Browns fans can say every time Derek "Generic" Anderson steps onto the field as the team's starting quarterback, every time Generic Anderson throws a wild pass or interception, every time Generic Anderson gets sacked and fumbles the ball, and every time the Browns lose a game that Generic Anderson quarterbacks.

"Fugetaboudit! It's a Mangini!"

Yes, this guy is generic in every sense of the term. He's a poor man's Brett Favre. Big arm with wild tendencies. Only he rarely ever has his moments of glory.

Take away the very lucky (and streaky) year of 2007 when the Browns had the league's softest schedule, and Derek Anderson wouldn't even be playing in the NFL in 2009. He be an afterthought. But the Browns exist. So he is still here. Haunting us in our dreams.

So it begs the question: Why on Earth is Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini sticking with Derek Anderson as the team's starting quarterback, and not switching back to Brady Quinn? It's almost like Mangini is waiting for a 2007 Week 1 (Bengals game) miracle to happen just so that he can say, "I told you so!"

Sure, fans really hate it when there is a quarterback controversy and they lose confidence in their head coach when he switches back-and-forth. Coaches don't like doing it either. It makes them look as though they haven't a clue how to effectively do their jobs.

But in this case - the case of Anderson vs. Quinn - any sound football mind in Mangini's current situation would be absolutely bonkers not to make the switch back to Quinn.

But for whatever reason, Mangini just won't budge. He's like a kid who was just told that Santa Claus doesn't exist and starts crying, refusing to listen and let reality sink in. He says it has nothing to do with the $11 million in incentives Quinn would be eligible for if he plays in 70 percent of the team's offensive plays in 2009.

So if that is not the case, then what is?

Quinn was benched after just 10 quarters as a starter. In those 2 1/2 games, Quinn faced the No. 23 (Vikings), No. 2 (Broncos) and No. 15 (Ravens) overall defenses.

Over that span he completed 60.8 percent of his passes for 400 yards, with 1 TD and 3 INTs. He was sacked 10 times and had passer ratings in those three games of 74.1, 58.7 and 42.7.

Bad numbers, sure. There's no doubt about that. But put those numbers up against Anderson's in his three most recent games, vs. the No. 27 (Bills), No. 17 (Steelers) and No. 3 (Packers) overall defenses.

Similar-type defenses, statistically. But far worse numbers.

Over these three games for Anderson, he completed just 32.9 percent of his passes for 244 yards, with 1 TD and 3 INTs. He was sacked five times and had passer ratings of 15.1, 51.0 and 36.4.

Additionally, Anderson fumbled the ball four times in those games compared with Quinn's two.

The teams Quinn played against are a combined 15-4. In the last three games during which Anderson was at the helm, the opponents' combined record was 12-8. Overall, tougher competition for Quinn.

Quinn has done the equivalent of going 0-for-4 with two groundouts, a flyout and a strikeout (swinging), while Anderson has gone 0-for-4 with four strikeouts (all looking). At least Quinn has gotten the bat on the ball.

Quinn has definitely outplayed Anderson this year. And that says a lot based on the quality competition he's faced and the little experience he has.

Coming into his starting role this year, Anderson had 27 starts under his belt. Quinn had just three coming into 2009. So even though this was his 3rd year in the NFL, Quinn is a rookie as far as field commander experience goes. Anderson is a veteran, playing like a bad rookie.

So why Mangini won't make the switch back to Quinn is going to remain a huge question mark.

And do I even need to mention that Anderson was drafted by the Ravens of all teams? For Pete's sake! Go a step further than benching this guy and cut him already.

And until that happens, whenever my friends and co-workers poke fun at me for being a Browns fan, all I can really say is, "Fugetaboudit! It's a Mangini!"

Browns actually won!!??

Yes, the Cleveland Browns pulled out a victory yesterday, despite setting a franchise low in passing yards.

The previous record was 38 yards in 1953, and the Browns offense was dead set on breaking records, and ended with 22 yards of passing offense!

Derrick Anderson starred as JaMarcus Russell in the game, going 2-17. Not a typo.

Myself and Minniti Thumb counted 6 blatant drops by the Browns, but I've read a few reports that say the Browns had a total of 9 dropped passes yesterday. 9. Unreal. If that's the case then DA coul'dve been 11-17.

Guys that blatantly dropped passes, from my account, were; Robert Royal, Brian Robiskie, Chansi Stuckey (who we got for Braylon Edwards), Jerome Harrison and Mohamed Massaquoi.

The Browns won 6-3 on a pair of field goals by Rent-A-Kicker, Billy Cundiff.

The Browns defense, however, looked good. Our defensive backs have been above and beyond, and Shaun Rogers is playing like an All Pro the last two weeks. He was an absolute beast again yesterday in Buffalo.

The bright spot yesterday was simply the Cleveland Browns Special Teams. That entire unit deserves a game ball. Seriously. Dave Zastudil was outstanding. We had them pinned inside the two yard line at least two times, maybe a few more.

Between the Special Teams and the Defensive Backs + Rogers, the Browns do have a few things to build on. The offense, however, is in serious need of some help. Brady Quinn wasn't getting it done, the wideouts can't catch anything thrown by Anderson, so what are we to do? Jamal Lewis looked good, gaining over 100 yards, but part of that could be that the Bills defense sucks, and they lose 2-3 starters during the game yesterday.

What is wrong with our passing game? Can it be some weird jinx that our wideouts simply can't catch a ball? Is it something that DA is doing? Does he put some weird Ninja Spin on the pigskin, rendering it uncatchable? I'm not sure what it is, but if I'm the Head Coach, I'm spending today trying to figure it out. Hell, call up Bernie. Get his input. Yes, I'm serious.

Are you kidding me?

As per my usual lunch ritual, I warmed up some grub and then went to CNNSI.com to do some reading. I'm a big fan of the Truth and Rumors section but always peruse the headlines.

What I saw today made my lunch taste no so good, really fast.

In consecutive order, three headlines in a row:

Browns bench Quinn, will start Anderson at QB

Disappointing season dooms Wedge in Cleveland

FanHouse: The six best, worst NFL organizations

I'll give you a *(!@#$ guess as who was voted the next to WORST NFL Organization out there? That's right, the lonely Cleveland Browns.

Three headlines. In. A. Row. They could've added Delonte West's remake of the popular video game, Grand Theft Auto, where he strapped himself with three loaded guns and drove a 3 wheel motorcycle at damaging speeds.

At least they spared us that, right?

Now, as if it weren't bad enough that the Browns were voted the next to WORST NFL Organization out there, guess what TWO other teams were in the top 3?

None other than the hated Pittsburgh Steelers (#2) and the Baltimore Ravens (#3). Our biggest rival and the city that stole our team and organization? I mean, what gives? Steelers, as much as I've always hated them, have always been a ship to envy. They draft well, they play well, and they hire well. We haven't seen them hire a ton, but when they have, they've made the right calls.

As for the Browns? Here's what CNNSI had to say about them;

31. Cleveland: Why did Randy Lerner jump so quickly to hire Mangini, who treats his players like high school kids? The Browns are are 54-110 since returning to the NFL in 1999. Enough said.

Good question...damn good question. I'll admit, I wasn't anti Mangini. I guess I also didn't realize how high on his horse the guy was.

Think about this: The Jets didn't make the playoffs with Mangini last season. He was then FIRED. He had a Hall of Fame Quarterback by the name of Brett Favre and a solid team around him.

The Jets FIRED him. They hired a new coach and drafted a ROOKIE quarterback by the name of Mark Sanchez. They are 3-0.

The Browns are 0-3 and the laughing stock of the NFL. Hell, the Lions won last week. THE LIONS WON LAST WEEK! I just typed that. Twice. Had to be sure it was correct.

Here's what was said about the other teams...thugs.

2. Pittsburgh: Continuity means three coaches over 40 years, with a record six Super Bowl wins. Dan Rooney, his son Art and the rest of the front office has hired superbly and drafted well. They know luck plays a part -- if the Giants hadn't been able to trade for Eli Manning, they would have drafted Ben Roethlisberger and maybe the Steelers wouldn't have won two titles in four years. But they get premier players with low picks and develop talent -- when it doesn't gel at first, it still seems to work in the long-run, like with James Harrison, cut and re-signed a bunch of times until he developed into the league's most dangerous pass rusher.

3. Baltimore: One title this decade and little change at the top, other than the dismissal of Brian Billick after the 2007 season. Who replaced him? John Harbaugh, who fans didn't know and wasn't on anyone's "hot list.'' Record so far: 16-6. The continuity comes from Ozzie Newsome, who has been running the personnel operation since 1996 after going straight from a Hall of Fame career on the field to the front office. Twenty-five teams passed on Ray Lewis before Newsome took him and 23 passed on Ed Reed. Joe Flacco looks like the next great QB (if Matt Ryan isn't already it).

Awesome, huh? As if we didn't hate both of them enough as it is. That being said, it's hard to argue with anything they typed above, it really is.

Back to my lunch.