Brownie Bits for Browns-Jaguars

The Cleveland Browns host the Jacksonville Jaguars today at Cleveland Browns stadium, in the final game of the regular season for both teams. Here are some Brownie Bits to chew on……..

Cribbs To Get His Due

It has not been made official yet, but according to Josh Cribbs, a contract extension is pretty much a done deal. No details have been made public yet, but if you look at the 4-year $41M contract that Devin Hester got after his dream season in 2007, one can assume that Cribbs’ deal will be in that same ballpark. This first real official move by Holmgren is a slam-dunk. Cribbs is easily the Browns best playmaker, and locking him in for the foreseeable future was and is a no-brainer. Kudos to Holmgren for not making Cribbs wait until after the new CBA is worked out between the NFL and the NFLPA, and hats off to Cribbs for doing the right thing in playing his heart out despite being under-paid, and for not making his contract situation boil over into a distraction…..even though it had been simmering for well over a year.

Two Coaches Could be Coaching Their Last Game With Their Teams

Both the Browns Eric Mangini, and the Jaguars Jack Del Rio could be coaching their final game for their current team, today.

Eric Mangini’s struggles are well documented this season and his future could be tied to his willingness to make some significant changes to his coaching staff. However, the team has played hard the last few weeks, rolling off three wins, so his departure is not nearly as sure as it looked a few weeks ago prior to the Steelers game.

Jack Del Rio is in his seventh season as the head coach of the Jags, and has a 58-56 record overall, including a 1-2 record in the playoffs. After winning his first playoff game a couple seasons ago, Del Rio received a raise and a contract extension that has him signed through 2011. However, the Jaguars are having serious trouble filling seats this season. The teams only sell-out was a couple weeks ago when the AFC leading Colts were in town. However, the economy, the uncertainty of the NFL CBA, and a frugal owner in Leonard Weaver, may allow Del Rio to keep his job. Unlike Browns owner Randy Lerner, who doesn’t let money stand in his way of making changes to his organization (he is presently on the hook for $11M in contract money owed to former coaches and front office execs), the fact that Weaver will have to pay Del Rio $10M over the next two seasons whether Del Rio remains the coach or not, may be enough prevent any coaching change in Jacksonville this off-season.

Running Backs Looking In The Mirror

Jerome Harrison will be looking across the field today and may think he is looking in the mirror when looking at the Jags’ Maurice Jones-Drew…..or at least he hopes he will be. Like Harrison, Jones-Drew is a smaller back than we traditionally see in the NFL, at just 5-7 (Harrison has two inches on him, at 5-9). However, unlike Harrison, Jones-Drew has been the starter all season. Contradicting traditional wisdom that an every-down back has to be big to endure in the NFL, he has been able to shoulder the majority of the workload in Jacksonville this season, after Fred Taylor departed for New England this past off-season. Jones-Drew is presently fifth in the NFL with 1,307 yards, and second in the NFL in rushing TD’s with 15.

Harrison has only started two games in his short career, while Jones-Drew….who was drafted the same year as Harrison….has been a major factor since his first season, and had the same number of starts his rookie season as Harrison has had thus far in his career. So as Harrison watches his fellow Pac 10 alum run against the Browns today, he may actually enjoy any success that Jones-Drew has. Combined with a solid day himself, having two smaller backs run well on the same day, in front of his new boss (Mike Holmgren), can’t hurt his chances of returning next season as the Browns starting running back.

Tags: Eric Mangini, Jack Del Rio, Jerome Harrison, Josh Cribbs, Maurice Jones-Drew