Are Browns Fans Too Impatient?

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

After going 0-3 to start the season, Eric Mangini urged Cleveland Browns fans to remain patient with the "process."

With a new coaching staff implemented, as well as practically half the team, obviously it should take some time before things start to click.

But are Browns fans being impatient about this "process?"

Well, we are in our 10th year since our rebirth into the NFL, and we are sitting at one more win than we were in our 1999 season at this point in the season. 

We have one more TD than we had in our 1999 season at this point. 

We are averaging 2.1 points per game less on offense in these last six games (11.5 avg. points per game) than our year-end average in 1999 (13.6 avg. points per game). 

We are allowing 29.4 more yards on defense in these last six games (407.3 avg. yards per game) than our year-end average in 1999 (377.9 avg. yards per game). Both of these stats are/were dead last in the NFL.

We are allowing 2.6 less points per game in these last six games (24.7 avg. points per game) than our year-end average in 1999 (27.3 avg. points per game).

These are just a few of the many horrific stats we have accomplished this year in comparison to our expansion (rebirth) year.

So far we have witnessed two of our high-profile offensive players being traded for draft picks and low profile players, making us second to last in total offensive yards per game and second to last in total passing offensive yards per game (makes sense being that both those players contributed to the passing game).

We have also witnessed a quarterback benched after two-and-a-half games of play, who statistically has played better than the quarterback who has three-and-a-half games of play and will be starting this Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.

Brady Quinn has completed over 60 percent of his passes for 400 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions with a QB rating of 62.9. Derek Anderson has completed less than 45 percent of his passes for 506 yards with two touchdowns and six interceptions with a QB rating of 41.7 (worst in the NFL).

We have a head coach who has accused other coaches of cheating and was eventually fined for cheating himself. He also feels it necessary to fine our players $1,700 for not paying for a $2 bottle of water.

This man also showed how much of a TEAM person he is by having his rookies take a 10-hour bus ride to his charity while he took a plane ride (great bonding experience, coach—for the players anyway).

In my own opinion, I feel that WE Cleveland Browns fans have a right to be impatient with this so-called "process." Right now we are witnessing a team that is arguably worse than our 1999 expansion team. We have a coach who would rather stir up trouble with his players with outrageous fines and showing absolutely no love for a TEAM environment than win football games. 

I'm a realistic Browns fan. I wasn't expecting our team to be great this year. I saw it as a rebuilding year, but with at least some effort. I don't see making our team predominantly worse than we were last year a success.

We were horrible last year, but not 1999 expansion team horrible. We had a few kinks that needed to be worked out, but not a complete engine rebuild. I was very optimistic about Mangini in the beginning, but it is quite clear at this point that he has no idea what he's doing and will be lucky to make it to the end of the 2009 season.

All I can say is, Browns fans, hold strong. One day we'll have a team worth cheering for. It might be another 10 years, but all we have to do is be "patient," right?

Yeah right.

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