Flacco's Deal & The Chief's Steal

Hey Brown's fan...Be honest...Did you really think Raven's quarterback Joe Flacco was going to fly the coop? Why would the dirty birds in Baltimore let their franchise thrower leave without saying goodbye? "The Wizard of OZ," Raven's CEO Ozzie Newsome worked his magic again, by making "Super Joe" Flacco the highest paid quarterback in football. But wait...Alex Smith, 49ers back-up quarterback was still out there and could be had without giving up a first round pick. The Browns were once again a day late and a dollar short as Andy Reed and the Kansas City Chiefs scooped him up for what looks to be a couple of second round draft picks. My gut tells me that Smith will execute Reed's offense to perfection and help lead the Chiefs back to the playoffs. Where does all that leave our beloved Brownies? Well here are our options...

1. Trade for an experienced quarterback...Remember Jake Delhomme and Jeff Garcia? Do you really want to see Arizona's Kevin Kolb, or Seattle's one game wonder Matt Flynn take the helm? My sources tell me Miami's Matt Moore is a likely candidate to not compete, but hold the clipboard for the Brown and Orange this season. 
2. Draft a QB in the upcoming NFL draft...Can you say The University of West Virginia's Geno Smith? Before you applaud this one, young Geno could play like a couple other Smith's I remember not so long ago, Troy or worse yet Akili Smith. Last year at this time we were willing to play like malarkey for Barkley. This year the So. Cal. QB will be lucky to be chosen in the second round.   
3. Stay with our second year 29 year old signal caller Brandon Weeden... We stayed with Colt McCoy a second season which proved to be a disaster. Sure a new head coach, new offense, and new OC, could be just what the doctor ordered for our geriatric field general, but on the other hand, shouldn't a new head coach with an offensive mind be able to select a quarterback that he personally is comfortable with? 

Flacco, or to a lesser extent Smith would have given the Browns instant respect and credibility within our division. The ground game would have opened up and our young receivers would have had an opportunity to catch the ball from a successful quarterback with playoff experience. I'm afraid that until the team gets the quarterback position correct, they will continue to watch the Steelers, Ravens, and Bengals fight it out for dominance in the the AFC's Central Division. When it comes to throwing in Cleveland...lets hope this year it's not just the towel!     

Super Bowl XLVII...The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Rooting for no one in particular, I sat down in my favorite easy chair along with my four year old grandson Robert and watched this year's Super Bowl contest between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. Just prior to the big game I learned that Robert's favorite color was gold, therefor he was going to cheer on the 49ers. The Ravens already had one Super Bowl trophy and were looking to add another one against the young gold prospectors from San Fran.The team who the ageless Tony Bennett refers to as, "The City by the Bay," were looking to add a ring to their other hand. You see, they already owned five precious championship rings thanks to guys like Montana, Young, Rice, Craig, Lott, and a pretty good coach named Bill Walsh, and were preparing to be sized up for another. Breaking down the game I felt the MVP trophy should have gone to the Raven's "Jack of all trades," Jacoby Jones. His two electrifying plays that went for touchdowns broke the backs of the 49ers and sent them reeling. The Houston Texan's castoff played lights out! After his 107 yard scamper to begin the second half, I could hear the late "Dandy Don" Meredith singing..."Turn out the lights...The parties over." Shortly thereafter the lights did go out in the not so Super-Dome. I'm not saying quarterback Joe Flacco didn't have a great game, but it was Jones that 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh had no answer for. I felt that another receiver, Randy Moss who's playing days were over awhile ago, gathered more moss than footballs. He just couldn't get open. Randy was just being Randy, unaggressive for balls that were not served up to him on a gold platter. I don't expect him to be back next year for the 49ers, but he may show up at next year's Superbowl doing commercials for "PAM" nonstick cooking spray. The referring in this game was pretty ugly. Of course, isn't that the way the season started? No calls, bad calls, cat calls. Where were the replacement referees when you need them?  Kudos go out to the women of Super Bowl XLVII. Jennifer Hudson accompanied by the children from Sandy Hook Elementary School brought a tear to my eye with their rendition of, "America The Beautiful." Alecia Keyes played and sang a most respectful "National Anthem." And then there was Beyonce. I was delighted not to have to watch another "Geritol" group the likes of...The Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, or Aerosmith. She hit the field at halftime harder than an Ed Reed blast on poor 49ers' tight-end Vernon Davis. Upon watching the snowstorm of purple and yellow confetti at the conclusion of the game, and seeing Raven's players creating snow angels in the mess, Robert advised me, "My new favorite color is purple grandpa." With that, we proceeded to finish off our bag of "Rolled-Gold pretzels!