Where for Art Thou, Romeo Crennel?

At the end of the 2007 season, everybody loved Romeo.  How could he do so much better in one year?  Wow, this guy is the real deal!  Just give him a few years with his players, and watch.  Super Bowl, baby!

I know I was drinking the Crennel Kool-Aid most of last season.  But less than a month into the 2008 campaign, we may be seeing his true colors...again.

His downfall started with poor clock management.  In both the Dallas and Pittsburgh games, Crennel mismanaged his timeouts at the end of half and the end of the game.  Sure, that alone may not have won both or either of the games, but it certainly could not have hurt.

Crennel has never managed a game well. During his tenure he has rarely challenged effectively and his decisions on when to take his timeouts are questionable at best.

His legend grew in the first games as well, as he decided to go for field goals in situations that did not require a field goal.  Specifically, in the Steelers game: when you are down 10-3, you need a touchdown to tie, two-point conversion to win.

But getting three points, making it 10-6, still requires a touchdown, and you would have to give the ball back to an offense that has run all over you in the previous 50+ minutes of the game.

Why not take a shot on fourth down, and have a real chance to win the game, not a 70-yard drive in 22 seconds with no timeouts?  Silly man.

His debacle has only been accelerated by the lousiness of his defensive units.  For a coach who was the defensive genius behind the Patriots dynasty, how come Cleveland's defense stinks, still?  You can't blame it all on lack of talent and injuries. Those things can affect any team, and the good coaches overcome it.

Romeo "hand-picked" Todd Grantham, and then Mel Tucker, but we still are talking about a unit that is ranking 23rd in total defense right now, and 25th against the run.  With an offense as anemic as they are this year (last in the NFL in total yards), that spells 0-16 season to me, in a year that had "experts" picking them as a dark horse for the Super Bowl.  Can we say "the Browns are on the clock"?

The only silver lining to this season is that we will see in the next few weeks what Romeo is really made of, or we will see him pack his bags.  The popular choice for his successor has been and will continue to be Bill Cowher, but I am not so sure that Bill wants this headache.  So, Romeo, here's your chance to earn that $4 million extension, and prove to Cleveland, and the world, that you are a good coach!

Yet, we keep the faith. Go Browns!