Thoughts after Cowboy opener.

Let's all try to keep in mind it's a process, after all.

A year ago at roughly this time, the Cleveland Browns lost miserably, as they always seem to do on Opening Day, with it abundantly clear nothing substantial existed for them at the QB position. The next day, they dealt away the game-one starter and entrusted the job to an unknown named Derek Anderson.

Serious questions existed elsewhere in the lineup, as well. A sizeable number of sacks allowed to Pittsburgh in that contest left concerns about a once-again rebuilt OL. WR Braylon Edwards, the third-overall selection in GM Phil Savage's first draft class (2005), was still moreso known for his drops, immaturity and pretty-boy profiling. Young TE Kellen Winslow, Jr., similarly, was another more recognized for unfulfilled potential, compromised by a stream of career-threatening injuries that seemed certain to conspire against his ever fully emerging.

The manner in which Pittsburgh again exposed and dismantled Head Coach Romeo Crennel's ballclub that day shrouded 2007 hopes before they'd ever had a chance to sprout.

That Browns' club rebounded, however, to win 10 of its next 15, coming within a few fateful plays of qualifying for the AFC playoffs, much to the relief of several other contenders who wanted no part of what was quickly developing into one of the sport's premier offensive units.

Rookie OLT Joe Thomas, free-agent OLG Eric Steinbach,  ORG Ryan Tucker---who'd moved inside from tackle---and holdover starters Hank Fraley and Kevin Shaffer, himself a transplant from LT to Ryan's old job, melded suddenly into a solid front wall, affording Anderson superb pass protection and rebounding RB Jamal Lewis repeated running lanes through which he attained a seasonal rushing mark exceeded in club history only by those belonging to the immortal Jim Brown.

Edwards and Winslow joined Anderson, Thomas and kick-returner Joshua Cribbs on the post-season Pro Bowl squad, each having performed outstandingly during what remained of that '07 campaign begun so unceremoniously.

It was off such promise television networks awarded the Browns five nationally-televised appearances, while "experts" from across the country were identifying the team as one to watch as an up-and-comer for '08. So promising were things along the North Coast that the NFL decided Cleveland should be the place for the illustrious Dallas Cowboys to commence their 2008 season.

Dallas, a 13-3 outfit in '07, disappointed by losing immediately in the post-season to eventual World Champions New York, deepening its thirst and sharpening its focus and commitment heading into this season. It would require a healthy Cleveland contingent hitting on all cylinders to give the Cowboy club a run for its money on Opening Day 2008.

Alas, that game is now history. Cleveland was none of those things when Dallas dominated convincingly, holding itself back mercifully from scoring well into the 40's. Cleveland mustered but 10 points and scarsely 200 total yards, while the celebrated Cowboys scored 28, totalled 487 yards, possessed the ball for 37:29, achieved 30 first downs, had five drives in excess of 69 yards, averaged ten yards per pass attempt, converted 8-for-11 on third down and featured three receivers with at least five catches for 82 yards. Star Dallas QB Tony Romo was 24 for 32 passing within a secure pocket from which he patiently scanned the field and picked apart Cleveland's defenseless defense.

From the Cleveland perspective, it was neither pretty nor appreciated. Disgust quickly replaced optimism throughout Browns' Nation. Fans are ashamed they once subscribed in support of the organization. Everyone associated with the franchise is once again an idiot, incompetent and infuriating.

Indeed, there were a wealth of bad signs, woeful showings and distressing developments.

But lost---or at least dismissed---in so much of the analysis is awareness that what took the field for the home team was not the assemblage upon which so much of the upside for '08 was predicated.

That is not so much excuse as it is explanation. It is wholly unfair to omit acknowledgement of that reality.

Because the players representing the Seal Brown and Burnt Orange are human beings, that reality cannot be denigrated. Human beings know when they are going into a challenge under-manned and over-matched. It affects them on some level, human as they are.

Sure, an argument is already developing in the mind of the reader, something to the effect of: "These guys are highly-paid professionals. They worked all off-season long to prepare for a formidable foe and laid a raunchy egg in front of all of America, humiliating themselves and all of us rooting for them. We're pissed!"

Such is the right of the fan. Such is the right of the armchair athlete, the rooting reactionary, the mortified misanthropes. Their opinions and perspectives are no less valid than this man's.

But Cleveland simply is not on the same level as are the Dallas Cowboys, most assuredly not without all of its weaponry healthy, partcipating, polished and prepared. The Browns were not at full strength on Sunday and they were predictably overwhelmed, overmatched and overrun. That they ultimately appeared to surrender, to roll over, to yield embarrassingly easily should not be interpreted as a final judgment as to what this outfit is yet capable of.

Just as 2007's opener nonetheless led to astonishing progress, so too might this one. It's referred to in the business as part of the process.

Cleveland is not what Cleveland is projected to become without Cribbs, Tucker, the synchronized passing efficiency that can be Anderson-Edwards-Winslow, the able support of Joe Jurevicius, Donte Stallworth and the others likewise unavailable to an outfit that needs all the able-bodied assistance it can manage: Kris Griffin, Rex Hadnot, Martin Rucker, Brodney Pool, et al.

Dallas, conversely, was nearly at full strength, further fortified by enticing newcomers Zach Thomas, Adam Jones, Felix Jones, Tashard Choice, Michael Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick, et al. What was already a remarkable gathering of all-star talent has only gotten better, more focused and more determined to optimize what is arguably the NFL's premier personnel. They were ready to play, ready to show and ready to roll over a still-developing Cleveland club.

Whereas Dallas is ready to reap what has been sown during its extended process, Cleveland is still involved heavily with nurturing its.

No one should be quite as shocked as they are letting on. An upset was possible, just as anything seems to be. But it was not likely. Cleveland is a yet-flawed outfit with conspicuous deficiencies most any fool can detect and recite.  All of those marked shortcomings were on full display yesterday. What was not was all of its assets.

Crennel called it an afternoon of missed opportunities. He was probably thinking of the dropped snap that abbreviated an encouraging opening drive. The misfortune of a dropped interception at a critical moment. The numerous dropped passes, most belonging to Edwards, who hadn't participated in full-squad practices in several weeks. In fact, only two of the 11 passes directed at Edwards, the club's foremost playmaker, met with success. (He was remarkably invisible.)

Lewis accurately assessed that the club looked as if it hadn't played together in two weeks.

Free safety Michael Adams, thrust into fulltime duty due to the injury absence of Pool, succinctly summed-up what was so apparent to everyone insofar as the defense was concerned: "We couldn't get off the field."

The guess is the team knew it was handcuffed by circumstances. It fought until it was exhausted and until it was pointless to resist. There is only so much human beings can do, after all. Especially when being pummelled relentlessly by a gifted Dallas offensive arsenal.

What is amazing is the oblivious hypocrisy of fans who long ago gave themselves permission to give up on mastering skills much less demanding than those of professional football excellence---such as spelling and punctuation---but feel righteous in holding the athletes to impossibly higher standards.

But I digress.

At any rate, there is also humanity apparent in the conduct of Cleveland's decision-makers. The fourth-quarter FG decision, though not integral to the outcome, was indefensible, as is the franchise's 1-9 record at the start of NFL seasons---all involving home games, no less. The current head coach is 0-for-4 now.

Some might point also at the Stallworth signing, as thusfar the handsomely-compensated veteran free agent has contributed nothing aside from his spiking of Edwards in a playful post-practice race, accounting for much of what was off yesterday. On top of that, Donte himself pulled up lame in pre-game, missing what was to be his debut and further decimating prospects.

What can't be denied is much of what was witnessed is testimony to the cost of mis-drafting. No playmaker exists at all on the defensive side of the ball. There is nothing in the way of a pass rush, nor has there been for quite some time. Savage has conducted three drafts on behalf of the Browns and has three times taken an ILB, though none has yet to manifest as a run-stuffer. Moreoever, he's had publicized mid-round misses at CB, WR and OLB; so, all three positions remain dubiously manned, at least from a depth perspective.

Rather than to contribute to an atmosphere of criticism, however, energy instead will be devoted to rectification.

A return to health and normal practice routines will remedy much of what went wrong in the Cowboy opener. The precautions doubtlessly taken to preserve some of the impaired for the more-important divisional contests that immediately await---Pittsburgh followed by Baltimore and Cincinnati, respectively---should pay dividends, for example.

What figures to remain, however, are those aforementioned now-chronic deficiencies, as well as the unfortunate tendencies toward the self-inflicted wounds. There were no turnovers committed by the Browns in yesterday's game, but there were those missed opportunities to which Crennel alluded and there has been a tendency to create needless long-yardage challenges through mindless penalties, some of which materialized again Sunday. Last year, the club was impressively able to transcend such undermining, but this schedule is much tougher.

In keeping with the theme that this club is still involved with maturation, development and "the process," these tendencies must decrease, if not disappear, before the team can regularly compete with the likes of the Cowboys, Giants, Steelers, Chargers, Patriots, Colts, et al.

Meanwhile, the roster could sure use another Carl Banks. In all the years during which the Browns have employed the 3-4 defensive alignment, Banks remains the prototype at strongside OLB. No one else battled the TE, strung out the sweep, stuffed the off-tackle play, essentially closed-down all business contemplated on his edge of proceedings. A Willie McGinest in his prime would be nice; but that is also no longer possible.

Similarly, it would be superb if Banks could bring back Pepper Johnson with him, too, to excel in Cleveland once again as they had earlier for the defensive genius now recognized in Bill Belichick. Alas, that can't happen either.

So, Savage is left to make due as best he can with what does remain available at these two critical 3-4 posts. It is yet weeks until the trade deadline. Some clubs can already be recognized as also-rans, outfits more interested in getting younger and in reconstruction. Washington's Redskins are one such club and, as it happens, they possess two intriguing defensive pieces/leaders in OLB Marcus Washington and ILB London Fletcher, the latter a Cleveland St. Joseph's and John Carroll product.

Phil should bite the bullet and secure them both, sacrificing a few of the draftees in whom he'd previously entrusted confidence but from whom he's gotten too little return. Production such as they've generated can be found in common candidates down the road, when finally the age on Washington and Fletcher determine the end of their shelf lives.

In the meantime, as the next step in the process, Savage needs to complete his unit defensively with requisite personnel. That which was apparent yesterday cannot entirely be attributed to injury, discontinuity, timing, chemistry, whatever. Some of it is experience, surely. Some of it is inadequate/insufficient talent, too.

A greater defensive presence must be installed, not only in athleticism, but also in attitude. Something must be done about discouraging invasions between the numbers, especially be TEs, as well as about the off-tackle success teams have against the Cleveland D.

Intimidators and playmakers are totally absent from Savage's back eight. Another CB is needed, certainly, but so is a thumper at safety, to go with the two mentioned voids that persist under Phil's regime at LB. John Lynch, though aged and declining, might be worth investigating for the backend. Michael Doss, the Canton McKinley product who also toiled under current DC Mel Tucker at OSU, is another possibility, especially given the concussion concerns swirling around Pool.

Ideally, Phil can find a player who can range and cover as well as tackle, but, minimally, he needs someone who can and will dissuade both receivers and ballcarriers from finding yardage, comfort and safety in the heart of the Browns' secondary.

What is stunning to perceive is the volume of highly-drafted defensive depth Dallas boasts, while Cleveland has yet to field a solid eleven on that side of the ball.

I guess it is all part of the process.  

For many of us, patience with the process is difficult to sustain.

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Yesterday's openers contained more than a few remarkable outcomes. Carolina's road victory at San Diego, particularly coming as it did without access to its offensive playmaker, WR Steve Smith, was one. KC coming within a dropped TD of pushing NE into OT, is another, one heavily-influenced by the season-ending knee injury sustained by MVP QB Tom Brady. Tennessee again handling Jax in an opener is a third, though AtL and Phila also showed stunning production.

CB Travis Fisher's showing, at least during Lions' "highlights," should have Leigh Bodden in a starting role very soon. Is there any secondary in football that tackles less well than Detroit's?

What will NE do at QB without Brady? KC should cash in on what was shown by vet backup QB Damon Huard by sending him back to NE for a helpful draft pick or two. It is the Chiefs who should be exploiting Chris Simms' availability, as now-injured Brodie Croyle has never suggested he can be an NFL starter. Daunte Culpepper, Joey Harrington, Aaron Brooks, Quinn Gray and Jared Lorenzen are other on-the-street passers Head Coach Herm Edwards and GM Carl Peterson might consider.

The other shoe in the Rudi Johnson release may drop this week. It could be Covington, Ky. native and former MVP RB Shaun Alexander will resurface in River City. Like the other prominent free-agent RB's, Travis Henry and Cedric Benson, Alexander is a must-start runner, since he brings nothing to the club as a special teams player. None brings much to the passing game either. Tatum and Mike Bell, both of whom had their best play in Denver, join Artose Pinner  and Ron Dayne among others available as seasoned RBs.  

Some roster adjustments occur each week, but this week could signal more than most, as NFL vet contracts are essentially guaranteed if the player is on an opening-day roster. With that contingency avoided....   Maybe this is the week Browns' coaches get their wish for a vet wideout like Joe Horn to absorb what had been Jurevicius' role. Joe was surely missed yesterday, by the way, when DA searched for options to help him improve on what turned out to be a 3-for-8 rate on third down.

Now that the roster is set

Never having been above bragging on myself, I must say I was quite pleased with the relative accuracy of my August 22 final Cleveland Browns' 2008 regular-season roster projections. Check for yourself and, with any objectivity, you'll likely be similarly impressed.

The only outright miss was vet OLB Shantee Orr, though a few guys I'd projected for the DEV were actually carried on the final varsity roster. The injury to OL Lennie Friedman could not have been foreseen, though I openly speculated one of the vet interior reserves---Friedman, Seth McKinney or Rex Hadnot---might not survive the cutdown.

For a variety of reasons, the composition of the two rosters figures to change a few times in the early weeks, possibly leaving room for more inaccuracies, as well as for the realization of a few alterations I'd called for that have yet to materialize. That they have not left available varsity spots for a few of those I'd earmarked for the DEV.

In keeping with another recent entry, the one that discussed Browns' birthdays, close examination of the ultimate roster revealed another quirky oddity. Each of the non-active WRs under club control---Joe Jurevicius (PUP), Kevin Kasper (IR), Steve Sanders and Lance Leggett (both on DEV)---have that alliterative initial thing going on. The first letter of their first names match the first letter of their last names. Syndric Steptoe is a fifth WR with the distinction.

When all the OL under Cleveland's control are considered, it is somewhat stunning to realize the Browns are four-deep with interior players (centers and guards) but barely two-deep at tackle---and that only because Ryan Tucker is both a starter at guard and a backup at tackle. This makes all the more regrettable that rookie undrafted free agent James Lee was lost on waivers to Tampa Bay, presumably while an attempt was being made to slip him through to the practice squad.

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Those unaware might find the re-done presentation of The Sporting News magazine especially interesting. This week's edition, dated September 1, 2008, introduces the altered format. (In fact, the mag is going bi-weekly, meaning publications arrive 14 days apart henceforth.)

There are many reasons justifying giving it a look, one of which is its ranking of the NFL's top 101 players. For a change, the Browns are well represented.

One of those highly-rated is an OG Seattle has to be kicking itself for allowing to leave at a time it instead invested heavily to retain RB Shaun Alexander. That was a blunder I'd panned at the time, saying it would be one the Hawks would rue soon thereafter.

Alexander is out of the game, but Steve Hutchinson is the game's eighth-rated asset, thereby its top-overall OL.

Similarly, Denver CB Champ Bailey has apparently slipped enough to be considered only third-best at his position, 46th overall. But the guy for whom he was exchanged, now-Washington RB Clinton Portis, deservedly is nowhere to be found on the list.  And to think there were some who thought the 'Skins might be getting the better of that transaction.

One of these days, NFL "experts" will wise up to the disposability of most RBs, especially when compared to hard-to-find excellence at other positions.

Two springs ago, there was debate between Wisconsin OLT Joe Thomas and Oklahoma RB Adrian Peterson for the Browns as the third-overall draft selection. Thomas became a Brown and the club would've drafted 22nd the following spring, instead, owing to its resultant 10-win campaign.

Joe may be slotted at #48 by TSN, whereas Peterson is at nine; but where might AD be without Hutchinson blocking for him, as he'd done to make Alexander rich and prominent?

Peterson may become an all-timer, but he'll not have the longevity of Thomas, who shows all the traits of an elite blindside protector, the kind who plays 12-15 seasons and makes lesser-talented runners either passable or into stars, while simultaneously enabling every other offensive player.

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Before completely leaving the concept of rating outstanding talents, consider the now-lengthy list of quite-stellar Browns' players. Without deliberating too extensively as to whom deserves mention ahead of another, Thomas, Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow, Jr., Eric Steinbach, Jamal Lewis, Shaun Rogers, Derek Anderson, Sean Jones, Tucker, Corey Williams, Kamerion Wimbley, Eric Wright, Josh Cribbs, Lawrence Vickers, Jurevicius and specialists Phil Dawson, Dave Zastudil and Ryan Pontbriand comprise a remarkably large nucleus on a club that not long ago was a laughingstock.

GM Phil Savage is not flawless---Who among us, after all, is?---but he's a helluva lot better than Butch Davis, Dwight Clark and Carmen Policy when it comes to creating viable NFL rosters. Can it even be believed Davis preferred Gerard Warren to LaDainian Tomlinson---even if the latter is a RB?

It's not as if Davis weren't offered help, either. Years ago, this space strongly urged him to raid the Buffalo Bills' DEV for an Arkansas TE who was being converted to OT. Butch's club was losing with regularity and players were dropping like flies, opening roster spots every week. All he had to do was offer one of those spots to a developmental athlete with uncommon athleticism and serious upside to steal him away for his western New York employer.

Had he listened, it might've been he who was credited with "finding" TSN's now-12th rated NFL talent, Jason Peters.

Talk of an 18-game schedule.

Supposedly, it is already on the agenda for the next installment of collective bargaining between the NFL players' union and ownership that the regular season will henceforth consist of 18 games, with presumably two being dropped from the pre-season allotment.

Should this come to pass, and certainly season-ticket holders being gouged for full admission prices to fairly meaningless glorified scrimmages have to hope so, fans can expect more than a few minor adjustments to how the league does business, particularly insofar as how it prepares for the games that matter.

Currently, there are OTAs and there is mini-camp, all in preparation for training camp, during which the current body of the exhibition season occurs. Since the primary purpose of the exhibitions is to help clubs test and uncover hopefuls for the bottom of their rosters, one might expect, somewhat in lieu of the two sacrificed pre-season contests, an extension of training camp (at the opening end) for training camp invitees.

In other words, before the vet core is asked to report and participate, the fledglings and marginal candidates would square-off in something of a pre-pre-season period highlighted by at least one scrimmage against another club's roster of wannabees. Maybe this lasts ten days before the vets report.

This would not only allow the organizations to thoroughly audition their prospective incoming classes, but it would help answer franchise desires for expanded training camp rosters, currently capped at 80 players. Some who participate in the pre-pre-season portion do not survive for the veteran portion.

While it is reasonable for many to question where all this additional personnel is going to come from---especially in a league that seems annually to be short of things like QBs, CBs and OLTs---keep in mind NFL Europa has been disbanded and there will always be an amazingly large population of young men interested in possibly drawing an NFL salary.

Many of these are currently masquerading as collegiate student-athletes, cluttering the institutions of higher learning with bodies that have no business whatsoever in a university classroom. (But that is the subject of someone else's column.) 

Additionally, the sport might be well served to provide for its membership an additional bye week, while discontinuing the rotational system now in place. What is meant is that the owners should break their season into thirds, with two bye weeks after each half-dozen games played. This, too, is proposed with the expectation that injuries might be lessened.

What is more, this plan would permit clubs to IR individuals for six-game stints, rather than for what now amounts to a fully-wasted 16 games. Currently, only those unhealthy enough to ever participate in a single preseason practice have a shot at so limited a disabled stint, commonly known as the six-week Physically-Unable-to-Perform designation (PUP).

Someone able to play at the start of camp, injured in the first third of the 18-game season, might only be disabled for the second-third, the middle six contests, only to return for the stretch six, for example. This type of injury- rehabbing flexibility would also be good for the league, its coaches and teams, as well as for those players otherwise feeling pressured to rush back from rehab so as to avoid having to be IR-ed for a full year.

It has been because of IR abuses that the options have become so limited; but this ever-evolving sport and its braintrust should be able to monitor itself well enough that things are both enlightened and equitable. (Wishful thinking warning.)

Then again, this is the same collection of idiots that somehow manages to lead clubs completely unprepared for injuries to their first- and second-string QBs, annually having to resort to a thinly-manned scrap heap of rejects to see themselves through what remains of an NFL schedule. Imagine what an additional two games will do to those outfits!

One would think that, by now, the NFL would have an intelligent system in place to provide for the preparation, rehabbing and development of erstwhile quarterbacking.

For that, it has long been proposed that league offices mandate each club continually employs a minimum of four QBs, one being a free DEV designee.

In brief, so profitable and successful an enterprise as is the NFL should do all it can to protect clubs from themselves, their endless greed and their under-developed sense of foresight and vision. This entry has been created to help them with that. And it comes at the price those multi-millionairres appreciate most off all. It's free, donated by a tax payer. 

More Browns' birthday nonsense

Those of us with nothing consequential in our heads and much too much time on our hands, occassionally find ourselves examining birthdates on team depth charts.

Heck, one year I charted the birthdates of every MLB starting pitcher, just to see if I could perceive some correlation between style/reputation and a hurler's astrological sign. What I found was Scorpios tended to complete their games with greater regularity---but that was a long time ago, when guys like Ferguson Jenkins, Gaylord Perry, Bob Gibson, Jim Palmer and Tom Seaver were still performing. Aries were often aces.

I also found that Pisces tended to corner the market on athletes with the power-speed combination, while it was the Gemini who tended to have unfulfilled potential. Maybe that is why so many of us are sports journalists.

That Karl Malone, Barry Bonds and Walter Payton were all born within a day of one another is another good one, personifying the Leo's heart and ego. It is expected most know by now of the birthday sharings of Jim Brown/Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods/LeBron James and the consecutive days thing with Henry Aaron and Babe Ruth. If I'm not mistaken, Hanford Dixon and Frank Minniefield were also consecutive-days guys, while Clay Matthews and Ozzie Newsome shared not only the distinction of being 1978 number-one picks of the Browns, but their March 15th birthdates, as well.

There are remarkable "coincidences" throughout the calendar year, making those Sports Birthday calendars great gift items for your beloved fan friends. (My birthday can be whatever day your gift arrives.)

Anyway, today being NFL cut day and all, I began to contemplate whether anyone affiliated with the Cleveland club would be getting bad news on his birthday. It was then I noticed Jamal Lewis and Brandon McDonald celebrate anniversaries of their births today, numbers 29 and 23, respectively. With young OLT Cliff Louis having already been subtracted---his birthday was two days ago, by the way, the day after FB Charles Ali's---Lewis and McDonald now also appear consecutively on the club's alphabetized roster.

Adding to that type of oddity, Syndric Steptoe, Joe Thomas and Travis Thomas also appear successively on that list, with birthdates occurring in close proximity. All are in the first week of December. The WR is on the sixth; the OLT on the fourth; the rookie RB on the third. Each is exactly 23. (Brrr! That sent a chill down my spine.)

How 'bout that WRs Joe Jurevicius, Kevin Kasper and Steve Sanders all share December 23rd, a day also belonging to vet ILB Andra Davis? Similarly, Texas-born OL Ryan Tucker and Seth McKinney, the duo that manned the RG position last season, were born on June 12, a date they have in common with former Browns' WRs Andre Davis and Frisman Jackson, as well as with PD sports columnist Terry Pluto and rookie wideout Paul Hubbard. Josh Cribbs precedes them by three days, the same figure by which Derek Anderson trails.

Another peculiarity involves the number of DL celebrating last week: Alex Hall, Brian Schaefering, Shaun Smith and Corey Williams. Hall and Williams shared the 17th, with Smith's on the 19th and Schaefering the next day.

In the early '90s, the then-contending Tribe was replete with young Gemini talent born between the 24th and 31st of May: Julian Tavarez, Manny Ramirez, Jose Mesa, Kenny Lofton---each a unique and specific personality---are a few that come to mind. This year's Browns demonstrate a similar proclivity.

First-year OLB Chase Ortiz is somewhat before that window, having been born on May 22, but Brodney Pool (24th), Beau Bell (26th), Kris Griffin (27th), Shantee Orr (28th) and AJ Davis (29th) align within it precisely. Note all are defenders and most are LBs. Griffin and Orr, in fact, are the same age, too, and key to the club's special teams, as Bell is also expected to become.

Utterly fascinating, ain't it?!

There are more, but my eyes are glossing over, as I expect are yours. See for yourselves what Kellen Winslow, Jr., Eric Wright, Ahtyba Rubin and Efrem Hill share, if you dare.

With three exhibitions lost

People are going to believe as they wish to believe, especially fans, as the word is a derivative of fanatic. Passion and subjectivity are inherent to being a fan and are not synonymous with the type of calm objectivity typifying journalists, analysts or commentators---though even they obscure that line from time to time.

This is not to say the 2008 Cleveland Browns are a team without concerns, though their 0-3 preseason record is also not cause for panic or the over-reaction of frantic desperation.

A few things are lost each year at this time, some far more relevant than the meaningless exhibitions themselves. That the purpose of these games is to iron-out wrinkes caused by an off-season of relative inactivity is one such thing. That they are primarily about auditioning NFL hopefuls is another. Those who clamor about the quality of the play or the absence of sustaining entertainment are missing those points. There are many committing those errors each week, countless many who should know better.

Exhibitions are for assistant coaches, scouts, GMs and personnel fanatics eager to see what the very bottom of a club's depth chart is capable (or not) of doing. It is about watching the performances of hundreds of young men who are nearly at the end of their professional football careers, guys who will be washing cars, bagging groceries, stocking shelves, driving trucks and delivery vans or trying to sell someone something in the very near future.

As if anyone who has persevered through all 12 quarters of Browns' football this August needs to be reminded.

There are as many who can't play the game properly as can. Other than making money for the already well fed owners who don't give a damn about most of us---as evidenced by their insistence upon requiring full admission to these glorified scrimmages attests---these are exercises in futility for anyone in pursuit of quality viewing comparable to what will commence this year for most clubs on September 7.

Just as there are some among us who love to bitch simply for the power surge it envigorates within us, there will be many  who will cling to the disdain, disgust and demoralizing disheartening a late-summer loss communicates to whomever loses sight of the proper perspective.

That is, after all, their right. Some of us just want to be miserable.

"The coach is a bungling idiot and must be canned. The GM is not doing his job. Talent must be found ASAP. The squad sucks, can't tackle, won't block, lacks speed, is old, got fat, turned soft, became complacent, arrogant, over-rated, etc." These are the common thoughts of those mis-led by their own mistaken expectations.

Woe is us! Ready the ledges; they're about to get crowded with fair-weather fans and reactionaries.

Some are already focusing on the 2009 draft, when the club is certain to be among the first to pick. "We're so awful I'm embarrassed to be a fan, to be affiliated, to wear my colors or to hang my flag in the picture window. How could I have been so stupid to believe in these guys? I had a feeling they'd disappoint me as soon as I started to buy into those losers!"

We all know folks like that, even calling a few of them friends. We roll our eyes over those who can't roll with the losses incurred during meaningless exhibition games that so often preclude even those slightly dinged.

No game-planning is done. No specific match-ups are exploited. Only those coaches and organizations grasping at some semblance of respectability put much stock in the outcomes---at least among those actually being paid to care. Those with the most roster jobs available are often the ones with the most intense fires. Those most needing to make impressions are the most rabid.

I guess it is simply part of the dysfunctional human condition to fret about everything, to contemplate the Apocalypse as soon as clouds appear, to rush to the basement with the flashlights, canned good and a tweety-bird.

If the sky were falling, it's a certainty someone on the team would drop it, fumble it or allow it to be intercepted. "That damn so-and-so! I never liked that guy!"

Oh well.

This all being said, it is disconcerting to see an OL that had been such a resounding strength appear ordinary against oppositional defenses. The pass rush remains merely a rumor, as does the concept of pass coverage. The other teams' quarterbacks are looking awfully impressive against the Brown and Orange, while our guys are floundering unspectacularly. No-name runners are gashing us with regularity. The regular season starts difficultly and the Browns characteristically lose their openers, anyway. "This is a helluva way to prepare then!"

Calm yourselves. Maybe the earth will part and swallow the entire metropolitan area when Dallas comes to town. But it's too early to worry about that right now. Trust the braintrust. Believe for just a few more weeks in the heroes thought weeks ago to be on the verge of greatness. Bide your time and enjoy what is left of summer. The real games start soon enough. With 16 weeks of action scheduled, there'll be plenty of time and opportunity to curse your fate, damn your team and wish ill upon the coaches.

For now, try to hold your tongue and your water. Let the roster cuts proceed, the final exhibition occur and the ultimate configuration to take shape. It's still a bit early for widespread panic. Save your impatience for your children, who'd hardly recognize you without it.

It's the preseason, folks.