Cleveland Browns thoughts:
The Browns have won two in a row! Yes, I know the second win was at the terrible Kansas City Chiefs, but when you are the Browns a win is a win, especially on the road. Now they sit at 3-11 and are pretty much locked into the #5 pick in the draft. That actually in some ways is better than the #1 pick because of salary cap ramifications and the pressure on the top pick. However, it probably mean Ndamukong Suh will not play in Cleveland.
Joshua Cribbs-- What can you say about the man? SI's Don Banks said he is the closest thing in the NFL to a one-man team, Peyton Manning included. That sounds about right. They guy can do it all. He even leads the team in special team tackles. Obviously, he should and will get the contract he has so long desired. I'm not a religious person, but it is cool his initials are J.C.! Sunday he had his seventh and eighth career kickoff returns (100 and 103 yards, respectively) for touchdowns against a Chiefs team that had not allowed a return longer than 37 yards this season to become the all-time NFL leader...in five seasons! Among the names he passed are Dante Hall, Mel Gray, Ollie Matson and Gale Sayers. That's saying something.
Does this man walk on water like another J.C.?
Jerome Harrison-- When Harrison was a senior at Washington State in 2005, he led all of Division I with a school-record 1,900 yards rushing. The knock on him was his size and blocking ability, despite his accomplishments coming in a major conference like the Pac-10.
Before this season, his best game was 80 yards on just three carries in a Monday night win last year at Buffalo, the last Browns win of the year. Heck, in that game he had a 72-yard touchdown run, which was the last RB touchdown for the Browns until last week! He had 121 yards in week four this season at CIN, but then disappeared to the bench with highs of just 10 carries and 35 yards since. So what happened vs. KC? He only goes and breaks Jim Brown's 1961 Browns single-game rushing mark of 237 with 286 yards on 34 carries, the third-best rushing day in NFL history! Ummm...I think the Browns should use him a little more in the coming weeks.
Harrison had a big day despite being a little guy
Mike Holmgren-- So, it looks like Mike Holmgren is going to take the Browns football "czar" spot that has been long discussed. I guess full control of a franchise and a 10-year, $50 million contract can win a guy over even with his family and house in Seattle. The thing that worries me is I think he wants to coach in addition to his player personnel duties. Not many have been successful doing this. They usually are a great coach or a great personnel guy, but not both. Butch Davis couldn't do it in Cleveland. Mike Shanahan was fired in Denver not because of his coaching, but because of some terrible player moves. Even Bill Belichick had guys like Scott Pioli and other advisors to assist his control of the Patriots. Holmgren has done both before, but it takes away from one another. But I get the feeling he has that coaching itch. I'm not saying Eric Mangini is the answer, but I do like how the players are still playing hard for him and they have a few wins despite very little skill-position talent. We'll see what happens this week. Stay tuned.
Butch Davis looked like this a lot while with the Browns.
Two Dynasties:
Penn State women's volleyball-- In case you didn't see it, and most probably didn't, Penn State's women's volleyball team won their third consecutive national title on Saturday vs. Texas, rallying from down two-sets-to-none to win the final three sets. That brought their absurd winning streak to 102 matches! They played 217 sets in the first 100 games of the streak and went 210-7 in those sets. Just giving a little credit in my little world of the blogosphere.
Don't mess with these Lions!
Mount Union football-- The Mount Union Purple Raiders lost to Wisconsin-Whitewater on Saturday in the Division III title game. The two teams are far-and-away the class of the division, having played the last five years in the Stagg Bowl with Mount Union leading 3-2.
Here's some mind-blowing numbers to consider if you think a place like USC or Florida State's 15-year run are amazing:
- Head Coach Larry Kehres just finished his 24th season and has a 289-22-3 (.929) record with 20 Ohio Athletic Conference titles and 10 national titles in the last 17 seasons.
- Since 1990, they have made 19 playoff appearances and are 259-12-1 (.956) with 10 national titles.
- Since 2000, they are 139-5 (.965). Of the five losses, three have come in the national title game, one in the semifinals and just one has come in the regular season (Ohio Northern, 21-14 in 2005)!
- They also have had 55- and 54-game winning streaks during the dynasty. Just thought I'd shed some light on a 2,200 person school in little Alliance, Ohio.
Larry Kehres may be the best coach in college football
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