THE NCP TALK THIS WEEK'S BROWNS GAME AND MANZ-ELF'S FIRST START

What was up with last week’s loss?

K-Dubs, the Soldier:  Last week’s 25-24 loss to the Colts was really demoralizing.  In the closing minutes, Andrew Luck drove his team 90 yards, hitting T.Y. Hilton with a game-winning touchdown pass from 1 yard out with 32 seconds.  That drive sucked all the life out of a defense that played tough all afternoon.  The Browns held one of the league’s best offenses to well below its average output and scored two defensive touchdowns.  The loss, though, hung on the offense and its inability to move the ball, particularly in the second half, and capitalize on scoring opportunities.  In fact, a 23-yard interception return by rookie cornerback Justin Gilbert gave the Browns a two-touchdown lead early in the third quarter, Brian Hoyer and company could manage just three three-and-outs, gaining just 12 yards, in that quarter.  The loss appears to have marked the end of Hoyer’s run as the quarterback for his hometown team, as rookie Johnny Manziel is set to start this week.  And although Hoyer has played terribly for the last month or so, as a long-suffering Browns fan, I appreciate that he leaves with a winning record. 

What’s our take on the QB situation?

Big $:  Brian Hoyer must be having one of the most “WTF” months in American sports history. Only a month ago he was truly living his dream. I’m not talking about some general American dream like home ownership or paying off his student loans, I’m talking about closing your eyes and waking up the lead singer of Led Zeppelin type stuff.  He was the starting QB of his hometown team and coming off a dismantling of the in-state rival Bengals. Fast forward a few week’s,  insert Stoner McCamo car, subtract any sort of arm accuracy and not only has #6 been relieved of his starting duties, he is being run out of town. I rarely feel sympathy for professional athletes,  but that has to smart.

That brings us to Browns fans new favorite son, the mischievous Johnny Manziel. I don’t know if any phenomenon has confused me more than Mr. Football’s popularity in the 216. First, if Johnny maintained the same persona but changed skin color I’d expect his fan base would be slashed considerably (but that’s a debate for a different time and place). Second, this town’s fan base is the same group who had their hearts set a flutter by a letter that opened with, “In Northeast Ohio, everything is earned, nothing is gained...” in July.  A few months later, that value has been shelved in order to embrace the diminutive Snicker slinger. His entitlement  has been on full display since the August 2013 S.I. article that painted him as a petulant punk. Since that time a myriad of events have occurred that could only serve to further this deep character flaw. From saving his plunging draft stock by hooking fellow entitled southern D-bag, Jimmy Haslam, with the uber lame “wreck this league” text to being handed an NFL starting job through the failure of his predecessor I can’t imagine Johnny has done much maturing over the last 16 months. As much as I believe his lack of stature will hinder him I believe he will eventually be undone by his personal and mental make up.

K-Dubs, the Soldier:  I think Hoyer was given every opportunity to tighten his grip on the quarterback job, but he blew it.  I think the losses to Buffalo and the Colts really harmed any playoff chances this team had, and Hoyer’s flaws were key reasons the team lost those games.  I was pulling for him, but it is time to see what Manziel can do.  I would feel the same way about any quarterback the Browns drafted in the first round.  That said, I also don’t understand the Manziel-mania, will never call him Johnny Football, and hate when he does the “makin’ money” gesture after scoring garbage time touchdowns.  If he can play well and win, I’ll be happy, but I didn’t ask Santa for a No. 2 Browns jersey for Christmas.

Who would you like to start LeBron in place of this week?

K-Dubs, the Soldier:  Last week also marked the last game for kicker Billy Cundiff, who was waived after a very inconsistent season.  Cundiff had missed five kicks in the last five games, including one last week that was the difference in the team’s one-point loss to the Colts.  To replace him, the Browns signed Garrett Hartley, who was waived by the Lions earlier this year because he was inconsistent.  I am not sure that LeBron can kick, but I give him the start here this week.

Big $- For the 2nd straight week I’m starting LeBron at QB, mainly due to my disdain for Manziel.

What are your thoughts for this week’s game against the 8-4-1 Bengals?

Big$:  Although it’s possible that Johnny may enjoy some early success due to the change of pace he provides, I believe that Marvin Lewis should be fired if he can’t devise a game plan to confuse the playbook novice at opposing QB.  Bengals 34 Browns 16

K-Dubs, the Soldier:  The big story this week is that Manziel is making his first career start.  He did lead a touchdown drive against the Bills two weeks ago when he came in to relieve an ineffectual Hoyer, but that was against a defense playing a soft zone while icing its big lead.  So it is hard for me to predict just how he will do and how the offense will perform, especially with receivers Miles Austin out and Josh Gordon not playing up to his potential.  The Bengals, though, are playing without top linebacker Vontaze Burfict, and they gave up 543 yards last week to the Steelers in a 42-21 home loss; and 193 of those yards came on the ground.  Also, the Browns dominated the Bengals in their first meeting, forcing quarterback Andy Dalton into a historically bad performance.  And the Browns defense is playing even better now than it was then.  All things considered, picking a winner in this one is like handicapping the Kentucky Derby, but I am calling for a Browns victory 21-17.

THIS DATE IN ROCK N ROLL HISTORY - BADFINGER RELEASES STRAIGHT UP BY SCOTT CARR

December 13, 1971 - Badfinger: Straight Up is released.

Released on The Beatles Apple record label, Straight Up is the third album released by Badfinger and the follow up to the previous years breakthrough album No Dice, which contained the hit "No Matter What" and the original version of "Without You," a song that would be covered by Harry Nilsson on his album Nilsson Schmilsson in 1971 and become one of the biggest selling rock songs of the era.

Technically, Straight Up is the third album by the band but the second to feature the classic line-up of Pete Ham, Tom Evans, Joey Molland and Mike Gibbins. The first album to be released under the Badfinger name was Magic Christian Music in early 1970, that album was comprised of three new songs produced by Paul McCartney, including the McCartney-penned "Come and Get It" which became a top ten hit for the band in the US and UK. The rest of Magic Christian Music featured remixed version of seven other songs that were recorded by the band when they were known as The Iveys. The Iveys were the first band to be signed to The Beatles Apple label and their name would be changed to Badfinger, which was inspired by The Beatles song "Bad Finger Boogie" that later became "With A Little Help From My Friends." 

With Straight Up Badfinger continued to evolve and create a sound of their own. Being so closely associated with The Beatles had made it tough for the band to achieve their own identity. Initially the band recorded twelve songs in early 1971 that they thought would be the follow up album to No Dice but those tracks were rejected by Apple Records and George Harrison was brought in to oversee the project. Harrison would end up working on four new tracks with the band that would eventually make their way onto Straight Up, but Harrison was unable to complete work on the album because of other commitments, including The Concert For Bangladesh. Harrison told the band he could not finish the project but invited them to perform with him at the Concert For Bangladesh in August. With Harrison out of the picture.....Todd Rundgren stepped in to complete the sessions for Straight Up. Rundgren mixed the entire album and received production credit for eight of the albums twelve songs, with Harrison getting credit for the remaining four songs.

            George Harrison with Pete Ham

Day After Day single

Listening to Straight Up you would never guess that there were so many obstacles in the way of making such a great record. It comes off as a very focused and cohesive collection of songs with strong performances from the band. Loaded with power-pop harmonies and hooks.....Badfinger managed to make a near-perfect album with Straight Up. Two singles were released from the album - "Day After Day" and "Baby Blue" - both written by Pete Ham. "Day After Day" came from the George Harrison sessions and features George on slide guitar along with Pete Ham. It would become the highest charting single for the band in the US. "Baby Blue" followed and would be the group's last top twenty single, peaking at No.14 on the Billboard charts. "Baby Blue" had a big resurgence in popularity when it was featured in a recent episode of AMC's Breaking Bad, becoming a top-selling song on iTunes following the airing of the episode. Elsewhere on Straight Up you will find many other standout tracks, including Pete Hams "Name of the Game," "Take It All" and "Perfection." Bassist Tom Evans would also contribute some of his best material, with the songs "Money," "Flying" and "It's Over."  Likewise Joey Molland had a strong showing with the songs "Sweet Tuesday Morning," "Suitcase," "I'd Die Babe" and the albums most rocking tune "Sometimes."

Sadly Straight Up would be Badfinger's commercial peak and the band would make one more album for Apple Records before leaving to sign with Warner Brothers. A series of tragic events would follow and bring this line-up of Badfinger to an end with the release of the album Wish You Were Here in 1974. Wish You Were Here is considered by many Badfinger fans to be the bands best work since Straight Up, but unfortunately it was too little too late and the band was drowning in a myriad of bad business decisions and lawsuits.  Basically the band was completely broke, had been all but shut down by their legal problems and could not continue. Guitarist Pete Ham committed suicide in April of 1975, followed by the suicide of bassist Tom Evans in 1983. Drummer Mike Gibbins died in 2005. Joey Molland is the only surviving member of Badfinger and still tours and performs the music of Badfinger.  

I highly recommend watching VH1's Behind The Music on Badfinger if you are unfamiliar with their career, it truly is the most tragic story in rock history........

Scott Carr is a guitarist who plays in the Columbus, OH  bands Radio Tramps and Returning April. Scott is also an avid collector of vinyl records and works at Lost Weekend Records. So...if you are looking for Scott....you'll either find him in a dimly lit bar playing his guitar or in a record store digging for the holy grail.

Note: Lyrics below From Wiki: "Day After Day" is a song recorded by the rock/pop band Badfinger for inclusion on their 1971 album, Straight Up. The song was written and sung by Pete Ham and produced by George Harrison, who plays some of the slide guitar parts of the song along with Ham.

For best Badfinger Discussion - the real story Facebook - Badfinger (public group) Best website - http://www.badfingerlibrary.com (Rob Stawinski is sitting in for Mike in this video) Badfinger finished recording its third album with Geoff Emerick as producer; however the album was rejected by Apple.

http://www.badfingerlibrary.com - http://www.peteham.net https://www.facebook.com/pages/BadfingerThe-Iveys/294346940651268 http://www.twitter.com/Badfinger_Offcl Classic song from awesome Legendary British band. Apple Records, Paul McCartney signed them. Pete Ham was a huge loss - died by suicide, played on All Things Must Pass, Bangladesh concert, wrote Day After Day, Without You, Baby Blue, Name Of The Game, Lonely You

Letra: (Sin Errores) Ahí viene el sol, Ahí viene el sol, Y digo: está todo bien. Mi pequeña, Ah sido un largo, frío y solitario invierno. Mi pequeña, Parece como si hubiera durado años. Ya llega el sol, Ya llega el sol, Y digo: está todo bien.

new Pete Ham CD's - http://www.peteham.net To part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU9OwAEEDmk From Wiki: Badfinger originated with a band out of Swansea, South Wales in 1961 called The Panthers. The Panthers' featured lineup contained Pete Ham (lead guitar), Ron Griffiths (bass guitar), Roy Anderson (drums), and David 'Dai' Jenkins (guitar).

Badfinger were a British rock band that originally consisted of Pete Ham, Mike Gibbins, Tom Evans and Joey Molland. The band evolved from an earlier group called The Iveys that was formed in 1961 by Ham, Ron Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales.

Uploaded by Damian Szkatuła on 2009-10-28.

Baver’s Buckeye Bag 12/12/14

Baver’s Buckeye Bag 12/12/14

Embarrassing the Badgers

I started following Ohio State football closely in 1979, Art Schlichter’s sophomore year, when the Bucks went 11-0 in the regular season….I wasn’t very old.  In 35 years, I have not witnessed anything like what we saw Saturday night in Lucas Oil Stadium.  Ohio State, a 4-point dog that couldn’t stop the run in November, shuts down the top rushing attack in the nation in route to a 59-0 spanking of Wisconsin?  The same Buckeye team that struggled with Michigan and Indiana in their previous two games?  The same Buckeye team that lost their Heisman candidate quarterback the week before?  Never would I have dreamed the Buckeyes would have rolled the Badgers like they did.

When it’s all said and done, I am guessing that many will consider Urban Meyer the greatest motivator they ever saw coach the game of football.  I mean, that 2006 Buckeye team was by far the best in the country, right?  They weren’t going to lose in the title game, let alone get blown out, right?  The Buckeyes ended up being no match for Meyer’s Gators that night in Glendale, just like the Badgers were no match for Ohio State Saturday night in Indianapolis.

No JT?  No problem.  Enter Cardale Jones.  It turns out Cardale had put in hours of extra work after practice with the receivers all season long.  The work paid off.  Everyone knew he had the NFL arm, but I don’t think many thought his first start would be anything like it was Saturday night in Indy.

Wisconsin was simply no match for Ohio State in any phase of the game.  On offense, the Buckeye O-line had their way with the Badger front four and Wisconsin had no answer for Ezekiel Elliott or the new Cardale-to-Devin Smith hookup.  On the other side of the ball, Joel Stave looked like a high school QB against the revved up Buckeye defense.  And Wisky Heisman candidate Melvin Gordon could muster only 2.9 yards a carry.  Pure domination.

Enjoy it – we will probably never again see a Buckeye team put a beat down on a quality team like the one we witnessed this past weekend.

Getting In

In the end, the Committee probably got it right with the four teams that made the playoff.  The credit ends there.  Ranking TCU third in the December 3rd poll and then ranking them sixth in the December 7th poll after a 55-3 win is preposterous.  And an undefeated Florida State team being ranked third, with no other undefeated teams?  Ridiculous.  The Noles deserved the top slot and the Committee deserves all the criticism they are getting.

I do think TCU’s argument was just about as strong as Ohio State’s, and think Baylor had a pretty strong argument as well.  Who played the tougher schedule, OSU or TCU?  That depends on what SOS measure you are using, so it’s hard to say.  I think the Bucks deserve the nod over TCU with the Ohio State’s 59-0 romp over Wisky, while TCU avoided playing in a conference title game.  Would I still take OSU over TCU were I not a Buckeye fan?  Maybe, maybe not.  And would the Bucks have gotten in had they won by (say) a score of 31-17?  We’ll never know.

A Quick Look Ahead to Bama

This will be the first time that Urban has had to face an opponent that is more talented than his team since he arrived at OSU three years ago.  With Sparty and Wisky, Urban got his team sky high to beat teams that ultimately had less talent than Ohio State.  So, this is uncharted waters.  Containing Amari Cooper is going to be quite the task, not to mention the other individual matchup problems the Bucks face.

But as we saw with the upset victories over Sparty and Wisky (OSU’s top two opponents), underestimating Urban Meyer is not a wise thing to do.  This is not a title game, but it has me thinking about the last three Nat’l Title games OSU played in, and how much the winning team’s D-lines dominated in those games.  The dominant performance by the Buckeye OSU D-line helped the Bucks upset the Canes in the ’02 title game, while the Florida and LSU D-lines man-handled the Buckeye O-lines in the ’06 and ’07 title games, respectively.  Last I checked, this is a pretty dominating Ohio State D-line.  And when they are motivated, there is no offensive line in the country that can match up with them.

For now, I will just say that I think the 9 ½ point line is too high, and I expect the Buckeyes to hang tough in this game, at a bare minimum.  This is a very good Alabama team, but not quite on par with some of Saban’s other Bama teams.  It may not matter….they may be the best team in the country anyway, but we will see.  More on the matchup later this month.

--Brent Baver

Meet the New Browns, Same as the Old Browns..NCP explores Cleveland's 2014 stretch run..

First things first, KW's bat phone went off at about 11:38pm last night. He muttered something about a committee needing help and disappeared. So needless to say I (Big $) am flying solo today.

For weeks, we here at North Coast Posse headquarters have been awaiting the Browns to choose a path laid out for them at the 2014 crossroads. It appears that they have settled on the road most travelled, aka the plop and fizzle. After gifting us with some hope and excitement throughout the fall, the Browns enter winter with their playoff hopes fading faster than a Marty Mcfly polaroid. A mixture of luck, opposing coaching blunders and a steady diet of NFC south teams helped build a false sense of confidence about this rebuilding 4-12 team from 2013. I myself was not immune to the excitement, but after watching the dismantling the Bills laid on them last week, I have returned to focusing on the draft and "next year" ,which are much more common activities for a Browns fan come December.

As for the QB controversy at hand, its no secret that the last few weeks have been hard on us card carrying members of the "Hoyer's Warriors". Poor decision making, noodle arm throws and inaccuracy are near impossible traits for an NFL QB to overcome and Brian has come down with terminal case of all 3. I'm able to admit that my allegiance to #6 is fully rooted in the city listed on his birth certificate and I wont apologize for that. I remember the Bernie era, and there is no doubt that it was enhanced by him being a Northeast Ohio guy who bled Brown and Orange from childhood. I wanted so badly for us to relive that through Hoyer, but I think the bottom has started to fall out. This is not to discount the monumental losses of Mack and Cameron, but at this point the Browns brass are going to have a hard time offering Brian starter money moving forward while keeping a #1 pick off the field. Brian will probably end this season on the bench and seek to be reunited his former coach in Houston come 2015. I for one will be the first one in line for some Texans gear if that comes to pass.

With that said, my message to the Johnny Jam Boogie contingent is "Not so fast my friends." The Vet/1st round draft pick QB controversy is a story as old as time (Kitna-Palmer, Brees- Rivers etc.) The twist in this story is just how poorly the Veteran (Hoyer) has played over the last 3-4 weeks and how little traction the 1st round pick (Johnny) has gained. In most cases the veteran keeps the upstart off his heels through solid play. In this case, Hoyer has left the door wide open and Johnny has played a whopping 2 series in garbage time. This says as much about where Johnny currently stands as it does about Hoyer's performance. A closer look at Johnny's TD drive against the Bills shows that it can be chalked up to a change of pace against a defense who knew the game was out of reach. Its clear that Johnny has not wowed any of the coaching staff or team veterans with his commitment to his playbook or practice. This would be a problem for a 6 foot 5 guy with a rocket and pro style offense history.  For a guy who is built like Paul Reiser and didn't even use a playbook in college, its a deathblow.

In summary, I personally don't think the QB of the future is on the current roster. Is it too early to champion the "Bring Cardale Home!" campaign?

In keeping with that theme, I have decided to start Lebron at Quarterback this week. That way we get the flashy media hype and hometown hero story rolled into one.  He can keep the spot warm for 12gauge.

My prediction this week, to steal a line from the great Clubber Lang, is PAIN. Browns are set to get a taste of a team hungry to make its playoff push. Colts 31 Browns 6. However I also predict that Trent Richardson will continue to suck, if only we could of capitalized on that fleecing.

(Follow along and share in the NCP's misery on twitter throughout the game @northcoastposse )

TCU Nerds Better Prep for a Course in Football Economics 101. OSU Wins and Gets In by Colin Gawel

IF, Ohio State defeats Wisconsin in a semi-impressive fashion tonight at the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis, the Buckeyes will make the four-team college football playoff and Horned Frogs will be relegated to a - ahem - "less visible" bowl appearance. You heard me. If everybody wins out, the Buckeyes slide into the last spot and FSU jumps to #3.

"But, TCU is is currently number 3? And they killed Iowa State today? And their strength of schedule…"

Yeah, yeah, numbers, numbers, eye test, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…..

Yeah, I've got a a number for you: 261,587- TCU total football attendance.

Texas Christian University coached by good old "what's his name," featuring "I've never heard of him" and "who is that guy?" only has an enrollment of 8,200 students who seem more inclined to study than to attend football games. In fact, the lack of fan support has been so noticeable that the media has been covering it. Check this out  or  this picture  or even this

In contrast, The Ohio State University football machine drew over 740,000 fans in the same season. Almost a HALF MILLION more butts in the seats. And those tickets require a much more serious financial commitment. Face value for the 2014 Michigan game was $150 for a single ducat. And that was the worst seat in the house. 

Meanwhile, back wherever TCU plays, you can purchase a SEASON TICKET for $250. That's right, every game for a grand total of just $250. And that is the "Championship Level" which I assume means you aren't jammed into the end zone bleachers.

Let's cut to the chase. The reason ESPN and the College Football powers got rid of that pesky computer ranking and put humans back in charge is because computers don't factor in the most important number of all: the numbers that starts with a dollar sign. The next time big college football turns down big money it will be the first time. In a long time. There is just no way on God's Green Earth that if OSU is a viable candidate it will be left out of the first ever final-four football playoff. The Bucks have too many fans, too famous of a coach and it's too important to keep all those Midwestern TV sets tuned into the games to keep advertisers happy that their money was well spent.

And with the possibility of a team winning and playing another travel game just one week later for all the marbles, I can only imagine the various Bowl committees will be pressing for schools with the biggest and most dedicated fan bases to fill all those seats and purchase all those plane tickets. TCU would be a huge financial drag on this, the very first season of the new four team playoff. 

There has been a lot of chatter about who comprises the playoff selection committee and how they will avoid a conflict of interest situation among the various conferences and teams. However, the most important committee members have not been mentioned up to this point. They have no conflict of interest. They are the men behind the curtain and they only show up at the very end of the very last selection meeting. It is the ESPN/ABC head of programming and the director of advertising sales. They will walk in, ask to look at the playoff  list, take out a red marker and make a slash through TCU and circle OSU with a smiley face next to it.  

Mark it down. If the Buckeyes win tonight and look decent doing it the Buckeyes will be playing on New Year's Day. - Colin Gawel

Colin Gawel created Pencilstorm at Colin's Coffee, plays in the band Watershed and wrote the story "Lebron James Will Return to Cleveland" back in June 2013. So doubt him at your own risk.

Baver's Picks and Colin's College Football Questions 12/5/14

1) Give us an update on your picks to date and what games and lines do you find interesting this week?

26-17-1….pretty good year.  Since I have been dialed in with Florida State (with them and against them), I will say take the Noles giving the 4 pts against Ga Tech.  The comical Committee rankings will piss the Noles off and I think they beat Ga Tech by double digits.  Next, take the dogs against the #1 and #2 Committee ranked teams.  Arizona is getting 14.5 tonight against Oregon and Mizzou is getting 14.5 (as well) against Bama tomorrow.  I think both Oregon and Bama likely win (outright), but just think both lines are too high.  Mizzou is playing much better football as of late and Arizona is a good football team – period, not to mention the Cats being 2-0 against the Ducks in their last two meetings.

2) Next man up. Is Cardale ready for his moment under the dome? What do you expect the OSU offense to do differently with JT unable to play?

Is Cardale ready?  Yes and no.  I don’t think he will be fazed by the so called “moment” other than maybe a few butterflies on his 1st set of downs.  But Jones has no experience other than mop up action….and it is going to be a fairly big downgrade from JT to Cardale.  What will OSU do differently?  I think they will first try to be conservative and see what happens.  You will still see plenty of called QB runs with Cardale being a solid runner.  Meyer and Herman will then likely find that they have to open it up because Wisconsin is going to put points on the board.

3) Big backs have been jamming the ball down our throats with uncomfortable regularity for the past two months. How did we get so thin on the D-line and can we still win this game if Gordon gashes us for 200 yards?

Combo of reasons for the thin D-line: You lose big time talent in Noah Spence, Jamal Marcus and Se’Von Pittman because of off-the-field issues.  Tommy Schutt, Michael Hill and Donovan Munger are not living up to expectations.  And Joel Hale, Billy Price and Chase Farris were all moved from the D-line to the O-line.  I think the Bucks can give up 150 yds to Gordon and still potentially win, but if you are talking 200-plus, it’ll be very difficult to beat Wisky without the Buckeye D or special teams scoring at least once. 

4) Assuming we win and look good, you mean to tell me that TCU, with an enrollment of 8,200 is going to make the final playoff and OSU stays home? In the golden age of money football I have a hard time seeing that happen. Can you imagine the ratings with OSU in the final four?

If the top 5 teams (including OSU) win, it’s going to be close between TCU and Ohio State.  With Florida State currently 4th in the rankings, any credibility this Committee may have had is gone.  So, who knows?  I still think they could move both Florida State and Ohio State ahead of TCU should they both win.  But we will see.  Yes…the mighty dollar is still in play, which is why I would not rule out OSU leapfrogging TCU if the Bucks beat Wisky.  And you will see at least one top five team fall this weekend.

5) Assuming the top five all win this weekend, who would you put in your final four?

This is how I think they “should” be ranked if the top five teams each win: 1) Fla St 2) Bama 3) Oregon 4) Ohio State.  But, I can see both sides of an OSU vs TCU argument.