Has Davis lost the team?

It's a valid question. The honeymoon is long over, and he's just about lost me. I've yet to hear even one deposed ex-Brown speak kindly of him. Actually, most everyone seems to have the same feeling -- they don't understand what Davis is doing. Davis' press conferences are often an exercise in denial or, at best, wishful thinking. I appreciate his optimism, but it doesn't even seem like the players believe it anymore.

And so to this week -- how will the team react? The defense was embarassed beyond belief and now face a long week of practice -- but things will get ugly if they don't respect the coach leading those practices. Davi's decision to jettison his linebacker corp looks bad now, though in truth the unbelievably dissappointing D-line and secondary aren't playing any better. And yet it is the pathetic offense that is the most shocking. Holcomb looks worse than Couch. Green is running tentatively. Jamel White seems out of sync. The receivers haven't done anything. And on and on. It's amazing because this offense should be fantastic.

What do we know about last week? That the Browns were cocky for no apparent reason. KJ trash talking? C'mon. We know that the team was stunned -- STUNNED! -- to again be faced with a cover-2 scheme. That is so lame!!! In cace anyone hasn't noticed, "Cover-2" is a base zone defense, nothing fancy. The only way you can be shut down against a cover-2 is if the defensive players are far more talented than the offensive. Maybe you can make that case vs. the Ravens but certainly not the Colts. It's inexcusable, really, and the blame falls squarely on Davis. Same with the defense -- everyone knew the Ravens would have to run the ball to win; why not load up against the run? Why not give Boller downfield and out patterns and make him beat you? Again, there's no one else to blame except Davis and the coaching staff. Now we have a defense that is demoralized and an offense worse than last year. We even get the same quotes from the QB -- "You got to dink and dunk until things open up." If that's the case, end the season right now.

The cure. For the offense, it's the opposite of complicated. If you're gonna get beat, get beat doing what you do best. So pick 5-6 running plays you think the offensive line can run well. Pick 8-10 passing plays. Pick a couple formations. Go to the line of scrimmage and let Holcomb make the call. You might not win, but you will execute. On defense, I don't know everything but I think it is mental -- these players lack focus and drive. How else do you explain why Gerard Warren flat out sucks? Or why there are so many missed tackles? Or how an entire secondary can repeatedly be in the position to get outrun by a running back? I'm sure the players would dispute lacking "focus and drive" but I'd also bet that deep down they know it's true.