Eric Mangini has made some missteps early in his tenure as the Browns' head coach. In June, he put the rookies on a bus from Cleveland to Hartford, Connecticut to work a football camp (a 10-hour ride) while he opted to hop a plane (not a 10-hour ride). Shockingly, he was derided for that decision. In fact, at the time, the Newark Star-Ledger's Dave Hutchinson, who covered Mangini during his three-year stint as the Jets coach, predicted that he "wouldn't last more than two years," and that "He continues to try to be a mini-Bill Belichick without the resume to back it up."
Now, following the season-ending shoulder injury to wide receiver Syndric Steptoe, Mangini is again the target of criticism. Via the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot:
The agent for ... Steptoe blames his client's season-ending torn labrum (shoulder) on what he said was a last-minute decision by ... Mangini to practice fullspeed in the driving rain Saturday instead of the walk-through that the players thought it was going to be.Cabot adds that the players were in shorts for the practice, and even though it was conducted at "full speed," there was no contact. It's a tough break for Steptoe, particularly since he had a chance to contribute this season, but it's not like Mangini held a full-on, tackle-rific, four-hour practice session the day before the Hall of Fame game.
"The coaches should more carefully weigh the risk of injury in practice decisions,'' said agent Jerome Stanley. "My understanding is that the team was on the field for a walk-through the day before the scrimmage. The walk-through turned into a full practice in a driving rain. Obviously, hindsight gives one a different perspective, but if the practice had stayed a walk-through, Syndric wouldn't be preparing for season-ending surgery right now. The decision produced a bad result for the kid and the team.''
Could the conditions have been better? Yeah, but this is Cleveland. In a few months, rain would be a welcome change from windy, sub-freezing conditions.That Stanley isn't going to ask the NFL Players Association to look into the matter indicates that he understands that, more than anything, this was just a bad break for his client.
Upshot: nobody got a staph infection!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-09-2009 @ 3:35PM
penmancll said...
I agree this was a questionable practice decision by Mangini and it's a shame for Steptoe he got hurt. But don't get overexcited here, Wilson. Steptoe was going to contribute? Not likely. I can name a good eight other passing options on this roster before you even get to Steptoe. I'm not convinced he was even going to make the roster.
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8-09-2009 @ 10:36PM
THE KING said...
Injuries happen all the time, it is after all a physical game. I've never been one to play or practice to avoid injury. Its a tough break and he has to get over it.
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8-10-2009 @ 6:35AM
daveenlakwood said...
Mary Kay Cabot has gone negative on Mangini because she's no longer hand fed stories like she was under Crennel.... Once of her big sources, Shaun Smith, the lazy idiot that blasted fans and said it is what it is was cut cause he was a pure bust. She has been using internet sites for sources, and was basicly busted with their storylines..... the culture of losing in Cleveland is directly linked to the people covering Cleveland Sports, a bunch weak reporters and a few radio hosts that attack the fan base.
You want to change the Cleveland Sports success start dumping the PD reporters covering them, like Tony Grossi, who's Ask Tony column could be written by a 3rd grader, Mary Kay's internet gossip column, and get rid of the radio sports show host that are from arch rivals Denver and Pittsburgh..... only in Cleveland, could two radio hosts be from hated rival cities running their mouths against our fans. Top 5 reasons for 45 year of losing.... 1. Owners 2. Poor Gms and Coaches 3. Cleveland Sports Media 4. The lack of entertainment to draw free agents 5.The fans accepting and supporting bad teams
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8-10-2009 @ 9:06AM
Mike said...
Well, what were you expecting an article on a Cleveland team that actually was about something good? I think not.
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8-13-2009 @ 11:24PM
jerryqwrt said...
some unlucky fan just bought 6 tickets in the middle of the dog pound.I refused to renew my seats.It sure as hades wasn't worth a four hr drive and $50!I agree that the sports writers in the dealer are pure garbage.
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