The Cleveland Browns are 3-10, but that isn’t stopping head coach Mike Pettine from taking a shot at the San Francisco 49ers.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Pettine suggested the 49ers didn’t show much fight during Sunday’s 24-10 loss to the Browns.
“I thought you saw one team that wanted to be out there and wanted to compete and wanted to win a football game, and I don’t know if I sensed that same attitude from the other side.”
San Francisco coach Jim Tomsula responded, per Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News, denying there was an effort problem.
“There’s nobody that overlooked anybody. That’s very clear. There’s been some (up and down play) and that’s what we have to get away from.”
Ah, yes, the sweet sounds of trash talk from a coach whose team is fighting for the No. 1 selection in the 2016 NFL draft after beating a contender for the top pick.
That’s probably the general reaction to Pettine’s words, but he’s not necessarily wrong. Just because the Browns find themselves in a three-way tie at the bottom of the league standings, the team isn’t simply going through the motions to reach the end of a disappointing year.
However, the same can’t be said for 4-9 San Francisco.
“In nearly every game, the 49ers look completely uninterested to start a game,” Kevin Lynch of the San Francisco Gate said. “Sometimes the 49ers come back after their slow starts but often, like Sunday in Cleveland, they don’t.”
The Browns aren’t a good team, but they’re more appealing than the 49ers and their questionable collective effort.