The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Haden’s bark better than bite this summer
In Jeff Schudel’s view, Joe Haden wasn’t the same player in training camp as he has been in the past. Plus, thoughts on the Cavs and Isaiah Thomas and the Indians in September.
The Browns gave up 36 touchdown passes last season. After a month of training camp and three preseason games this summer, they decided Joe Haden, even a healthy Joe Haden, wasn’t good enough anymore to make the secondary better.
Haden played tentatively in practice and in games. Whether that was because he was concerned about reinjuring the groin muscles that sabotaged him in 2016 or because, despite his bravado, he has lost confidence in his ability doesn’t matter.
Haden gave receivers bigger cushions than he ever did when he was a Pro Bowl player in 2013 and 2014. He was an excellent tackler in those years and in the seasons prior to the notoriety that comes from being in the Pro Bowl. He would use his arms to take down the receiver or running back instead of just using his shoulder to knock the guy down the way most defensive backs maddeningly do so.
Executive Vice President Sashi Brown made the decision to cut Haden, but he would not have done something so bold without the blessing of head coach Hue Jackson, who would not have given that blessing without involving defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. More than likely, Williams was the first to say he didn’t view Haden as an elite cornerback. Williams has no ties or loyalty to Haden from seasons past.
“Joe gave everything he had for the Cleveland Browns and that’s all you can ask for as a coach,” Jackson said in a statement. “He was a leader on and off the field. I wish him all the best as he continues his career.”
So now the Browns’ starting cornerbacks are rejects from their former teams — Jamar Taylor (Dolphins) and Jason McCourty (Titans). Briean Boddy-Calhoun (Jaguars) will start the season opener against the Steelers on Sept. 10 if McCourty doesn’t. Boddy-Calhoun is making $540,000 this year, or roughly $10.5 million less than the Browns would have paid Haden. Haden still counts $3.2 million against the Browns’ salary cap this year and next.
The fact Haden quickly signed with the Steelers for three years and $27 million doesn’t necessarily mean the Browns used poor judgment. It just means the Steelers’ secondary is a bigger mess than the one Williams is trying to piece together.
“This isn’t about whether Joe Haden can recapture his elite form,” Joe Starkey wrote in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It’s about whether he’s an upgrade on Ross Cockrell and Cody Sensabaugh, and unless he shows up in a body cast, I believe he is. Give the Steelers credit. Just not too much.”
The Steelers are satisfied with left cornerback Artie Burns, but are shaky on the right side and hope Haden is an upgrade over Cockrell, who currently is listed as the starting right cornerback.
Haden was great with Browns fans. He enjoyed being part of the Cleveland community and I suspect the Browns releasing him won’t change his loyalty to the Cavaliers. If he shows up at Quicken Loans Arena on Jan. 15 when the Cavs host the Warriors, and if the cameras show his smiling face on the Humungotron, Cleveland fans for the first time in history might actually cheer a Pittsburgh Steeler.
• Brown deserves credit for wrangling a fifthround draft pick from the Chiefs for Cameron Erving, the jack of no trades, master of none either, offensive lineman chosen 19th overall in the 2015 draft by former general manager Ray Farmer.
Erving was a sieve at center last year. He started the 2017 training camp competing with Shon Coleman for the starting job at right tackle. He was a disaster there and quickly proved he is incapable of backing up Joe Thomas at left tackle.
Erving probably would have been swept out the door on Sept. 2 when rosters are cut to 53, so to get a fifth-round pick for him next year is a bonus.
• I’ve been told the contracts for preseason television announcers Mike Patrick (play-by-play) and Solomon Wilcots (analyst) expired with the end of the Browns-Bears game Aug. 31 in Chicago. Here’s hoping the contracts are not renewed. A first-year graduate from a broadcasting school would have been more knowledgeable than Patrick. Wilcots added no insight. Every time he opened his mouth he made me miss Bernie Kosar’s analysis more.
Save Thomas for January
The blockbuster trade sending guard Kyrie Irving to the Celtics for guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and a 2018 firstround pick of the Brooklyn Nets was completed on Aug. 30 when the Celtics agreed to add a 2020 second-round pick acquired from Miami in the deal.
Now the question becomes when Thomas will be ready to play, because his injured hip is what held the trade up for a week in the first place.
“I am not damaged,” Thomas told ESPN. “Maybe I’m not going to be back as soon this season as everyone wants me to be, but I’m going to be back, and I’m going to be the same player again.”
Cavaliers training camp opens on Sept. 25. The first regular season game is Oct. 17 at The Q against the Celtics.
There is no reason for the Cavaliers to rush Thomas into playing before he’s healthy, and if that takes the first two months of the season, or even into January, so be it. The bigger concern is Thomas trying to return too quickly so he can cash in on a big contract with the Cavaliers or another team next summer. The Cavs might have to rein him in.
You can count on Thomas complaining if his minutes are restricted early in his return because he will see that as affecting his chances for a better contract. He can make up for that with a dynamic effort in the playoffs.
Smooth sailing for Tribe?
The Indians went 19-9 in August playing against teams contending for a wild-card spot or the division lead. They began September by sweeping a daynight doubleheader from the Tigers and are 78-56, with 28 games left in the regular season, heading into Sept. 2. They have an eight-game lead over second-place Minnesota in the A.L. Central.
According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, the Indians have the easiest schedule of all the contenders down the stretch. Their opponents have a combined winning percentage of .465. The Twins at 70-64 have the best record among their remaining opponents. The Indians play 16 of their final 22 games at Progressive Field, where they are 36-29.
The home record isn’t cause for celebration, considering they were 53-28 at home in 2016, but the Indians were 21-24 at home in 2017 when the All-Star break began, so they are 15-5 at Progressive Field in the second half.
The Indians are 2 1/2 games behind Houston (entering Sept. 2) for the best record in the American League, which would mean having home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs if they finish better than the Astros.
Of course, Indians manager Terry Francona isn’t thinking that way. He won’t breathe easy about the Central Division until the Tribe has a six-game lead with five games to play.
I didn’t know that
… until I read my Snapple bottle cap.
Fires spread faster uphill than downhill. ... A great white shark can go up to three months between meals. ... The Statue of Liberty features seven points in her crown — one for each continent. ... A hummingbird’s heart beats 1,400 times a minute. ... The temperature of the sun can reach 15 million degrees Fahrenheit.
Reach Schudel at JSchudel@NewsHerald.com. On Twitter: @jsproinsider