Frownie Bytes

I agree with loyal Cleveland Frowns reader Big Dood, who said, “I think you’re due for a sports post now.” Currently in the works is an essay on why Roger Clemens is the most sympathetic figure in sports today. The piece will be titled “You Would Too” as in when Biggie Smalls said “you should too, if you knew, what this game would do to you.” Until then, some thoughts on the recent trades and free agent signings by the Browns and Cavs:

It was a busy week for the Browns, who signed quarterback Derek Anderson to a three-year deal and former Patriots receiver Donte Stallworth for seven years, and added defensive linemen Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams via a pair of trades. These moves in total demonstrate that GM Phil Savage knows that football teams win by controlling the line of scrimmage. As Marla Ridenour points out in today’s Beacon Journal, the Browns realized terrific results with last season’s offensive line upgrade, and hope for the same on the other side of the ball in 2008. Savage candidly proclaimed that Rogers and Williams will help the Browns more than any of the defensive linemen likely to be available with the draft picks that the Browns traded away. Time will tell if he is correct, but at the very least, both of the new defensive linemen will help some; as their performance for their previous teams was by all accounts better than any the Browns received from anyone on their d-line last season.

The primary area of concern with the new linemen is with Rogers’ character. According to Ridenour, Rogers has tremendous physical ability, but “his attitude, consistency and conditioning have often been questioned. He never speaks to the media. He once jokingly said at the Lions' complex, 'Cut me. I'm a cancer.' Last June, he allegedly groped a woman at a strip club. He served a four-game league suspension in 2006 for taking a banned dietary supplement and underwent knee surgery.” We have reason to be optimistic that Rogers won’t be nearly as much trouble in Cleveland. As Coach Romeo Crennel points out, “a lot of people need motivation to be at their best, and that’s part of coaching.” Further, the tone of any organization is set at the top. It can be argued that the Lions have the most incompetent managers of any team in recent NFL history, and that a change of scenery and better leadership in Cleveland will provide Rogers an environment in which he is more likely to settle down off the field, and thrive on it.

That the Browns did not overcommit to Derek Anderson further demonstrates that Savage understands the tremendous influence that the guys in the trenches have on the performance of the skill position players. A three year deal with $10 million guaranteed for Anderson is eminently reasonable and is nowhere close to the ridiculous deals like Matt Schaub’s that Anderson was pointing to as comparable to what he deserved. This gives Quinn another year to develop as an NFL quarterback, provides the Browns security in case of an injury, and creates a healthy competition for the Browns starting job. Anderson is no dummy. He almost certainly could have signed a longer term deal with more money elsewhere, but wherever he landed he was highly unlikely to end up on a team with as much offensive talent as the Browns. If he were to end up on another team it might easily have been proven that Anderson is much closer to a mediocre quarterback than a Pro Bowl quarterback. Of course, people can change. There’s a chance that Anderson gets hungry, realizes what’s at stake and what’s at his disposal, and elevates his game to another level next season. In any event, with Anderson and Quinn, the Browns are surely stronger at the quarterback position than they would have been with Quinn and whoever would have replaced Anderson.

One commentator has noted that the Anderson signing leaves the Browns with “one paranoid starter and one sulking backup,” a situation that could “throw a wrench” into the Browns ascent. But this signing will only play out in a negative way if the Browns are indecisive as to the results of what should be a healthy competition between the two quarterbacks. One last thing to consider regarding Anderson is that Savage likely realizes that Anderson’s value is generally overinflated, and for this reason is a trading chip that is more valuable than the late first and third round picks that the Browns would have received if they lost him in free agency. The Browns can get more for Anderson now that he’s signed to a relatively inexpensive three-year deal.

Donte Stallworth is a first-round talent with 1,000+ yard potential, and, coupled with Braylon Edwards gives the Browns a pair of deep threats who could end up in the end zone on any given play. Joe Jurevicius is a solid possession receiver, but does not have Stallworth’s game breaking potential. The concern with Stallworth is injury risk.

On the subject of injury risk, we’ll have to be patient in evaluating last week’s Cavs trade because injuries have kept the team from playing with all of its pieces in place. In addition to Ilgauskas and Boobie Gibson, who are both currently out with injuries, LeBron has been plagued with an ankle issue, Varejao has had problems, and Gooden and Hughes both missed significant time before being traded to the Bulls. At what point do we have to ask, who the hell is training these guys? The Cavs are one LeBron injury away from being a D-League squad, and LeBron’s duck-toed gait is a good recipe for future long term back problems. The obvious solution here is yoga. For now I will say that for all of the attention that athletes generally pay to their musculature, they pay shockingly little attention to the bones, tendons and ligaments that provide the underlying structure to this musculature. This will be a subject of a future post about Cleveland Frowns favorite, Kelvim Escobar. Stay tuned.