The dirty birds never filled the void left in my heart after Cleveland got jobbed by the league. The Browns are a proud team, with a pedigreed past and an increasingly bright future. During the days when our rivalry mattered, they were different than Ravens games are now. Sure, we hung effigy’s of their quarterback along their bus route, but it was part of the pageantry rather than any deep sense of dislike. That’s not the case with the Ravens. We pay lip service to one another, but there is a lot of animosity in our new relationship with the former Browns.

But back in Cleveland, they’ve got a QB who can be an excellent game manager, they’ve got a running back who looks like he’s got a few good years in him, and their defense has its bright moments. While there’s a lot of room for improvement in all three phases, this is a team with a lot of potential as well.

As much as Pittsburgh has been defined by its defense, the Chin, a former defensive player himself, has actually defined his work by sticking to the power run game, winning time of possession, and fielding a fresh defense all day long. I think that plan, vigorously applied, could work in Cleveland.

So while I’d hate to see the Chin stalking opposite our sideline twice a year, I really think Cleveland, and especially the long-suffering Cleveland fans (who continue to sell out the stadium despite their terrible on-field product), deserve a better coach than Mangina, someone who has the authority to change the culture back to an expectation of winning any given game.

Don’t play conservative – I’m looking at you BA and your play calling. Go out and play like your lives depend on it. Because they do. We need that first round bye to get everyone healthy.

I can’t begrudge him a big payday but I wish he’d remain commentator, too. As I noted, big famous coaches don’t usually recapture the same magic (although Parcells and Holmgren hardly failed) and I would prefer the last memory of Cowher the coach being guy who finally won the Lombardi here than some overpaid schmuck who lost in the AFC divisionals with the Texans two years in a row.