New faces, familiar problems....

Regardless of the type of organization you are a part of, you can usually find an overarching philosophy which guide's the organization’s decisions. This simple fact holds true just as much in sports as it does in the business world. The New York Yankees, for example, are driven by purchasing power. The moves they make are based on the belief that they can always pay their way through any troubles. If a problem exists, they can and will buy a solution.

The Tampa Bay Rays, meanwhile, are the polar opposite of the Yankee's monetary belief. The Rays believe in developing a core group of young and reasonably priced talent. When that young group grows older and more expensive, they flip those assets for younger, cheaper alternatives.

In the NBA, it seems like all teams are trying to follow the same philosophical path. Namely, try to acquire as many big name stars as possible and ignore the rest of the roster. Some teams have attempted to buck this trend, with none being more successful at it than the San Antonio Spurs. They believed on keeping a core group of guys built around a single centerpiece (in this case, Tim Duncan). The Oklahoma City Thunder are attempting to replicate that model, with Kevin Durant being the focal point there.

And in the NFL, teams follow their own philosophy. For years, the Steelers have built their teams around a tough, stout defense. Their defense has always had an attitude to it, often times coming from a vocal leader (in the current version, no one speaks quite as loud as James Harrison. You can tell how “vocal” Harrison has been on Sunday by the size of the fine he receives on Monday).

If one didn't know any better, one would think that the Cleveland Brown's philosophy is one built on maintaining the status quo. But that's not really true. Things have changed. The front office has been restaffed several times. Coaches have been fired and hired on a seemingly two to three year cycle. And quarterbacks have been shuffled in and out and back in again so many times, it's hard to say who was the most effective.

So no, the Brown's philosophy goes beyond maintaining the present.

Their organization appears to be one built on deja vu; the more things change, the more they seem to remain the same.

For the past several years, they tried to install a 3-4 defense with coaches picked from the infamous Bill Belichick tree. Each iteration failed to stop the run, even though the main benefit of having four linebackers is the ability to stop said run. This year, they reverted to a 4-3 defense and even spent their first two picks on defensive linemen. So far this year....they've failed to stop the run. They have the second worst rushing defense in the league. If not for the St. Louis Rams, they would have the worst.

Despite what you may say about the Browns complete inability to stop even the most mediocre running backs, no portion of a football team has shown a remarkable stagnation than the Browns' offense. Outside of a fluke 2007 season when Derek Anderson made the Pro Bowl (that's worth repeating: Derek Anderson once made a Pro Bowl), the Browns have avoided the end zone as if it was a deadly strain of the flu virus. Although, one could argue that the Browns avoidance of the end zone is a result of their undying love of the field goal. Their dedication to those three points has often reached comedic heights. Regardless of how large the deficit is or how quickly they've been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, the Browns have utterly failed to show any creativity or courage when faced with 4^th down in the red zone. Instead of throwing caution to the wind, they've made it a habit of settling for a field goal.

That was all supposed to change. Offensive-minded Mike Holmgren was hired to oversee the entire Browns' operation. The main goal, though, was to settle on a quarterback and improve the offense. As part of his plan, Eric Mangini was fired and replaced with an offensive coordinator in Pat Shurmur. In firing Mangini, Holmgren defended the Browns' current crops of receivers. He blamed their lack of production on the poor offensive system they were stuck in. To get production from their receivers, Shurmur brought along the West coast offense, designed to move the ball through the air. Perhaps most importantly, the offense was designed to get away from field goals and start scoring touchdowns.

So far, the results have been merely the same. Little ball control. Zero big plays. No touchdowns.

A fair amount of field goals, though.

Things are so bad that you can't even point to the source of the problem. At times, Colt McCoy has looked like a competent quarterback who just needs play-makers around him. Other times, he looks like he'll make a decent backup. And then there are those moments that Browns fans are all too familiar with where you can't help but wonder how he ever made the roster to begin with.

The play calling has also been suspect. The offense seems to focus on short passes to stationary receivers. There's been no bouts of creativity, no outside-the-box thinking in trying to put the players in the best position to receive. There's been no attempt to attack the defense down field. This whole season has been about plain, boring football. It's bad enough that Browns' fans are stuck with another inept team, but they also are forced to watch one that is utterly dull.

In a couple weeks, the Browns will enter yet another off-season where they will evaluate the personnel and the players. The goal goes beyond breaking a losing tradition that has settled in over Cleveland Browns Stadium and shows no signs of moving. Regardless of who is running the show, the Browns always seem to exhibit the same problems as the previous teams. It's important to just once show signs of improvement. The wins will eventually come, but first the organization must find ways to fix the problems that have continually plagued them.

Give the fans something to cheer for, some indication that the issues facing this team will start to be addressed. For a long time now, the fans have demanded a winner. They have protested and expressed their frustrations in the hope that one year, the Browns will field a playoff-caliber team. Sadly, that wish might be too much.

At least for the moment.

It's sad, but the Browns are at the point where a mere touchdown in the first quarter becomes cause for celebration.