Really? We're in this position again? We had one of the easiest schedules to start the season and we get two loses against Tampa Bay and Kansas City. I'm sorry, but that's straight up pathetic.
How do you have a lead going into halftime two weeks in a row and then blow it in the second half? From what I've seen these last two weeks after halftime, the answer is halftime adjustments - especially on the offensive end. I don't know what Eric Mangini goes over during halftime, but they can't be as apathetic and complacent on the offensive end anymore. This game was not lost because the usually sure footed Phil Dawson missed a 43 yard field goal at the end of the first half. I wrote in the halftime blurb that Hillis and Harrison each had less than 30 yards. They finished with 35 and 33, respectively. As a team, the Browns had 57 rushing yards in the first half. They finished with 73. You can't win like that in the NFL.
Seneca Wallace had a decent first half - besides the touchdown he threw to the other team which was the difference in the game. And then in the second half he only connected on 5/10 passes for a grand total of 42 yards. Again, you cannot win like that in the NFL. Those are Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson kind of numbers, and that's something I thought we'd be able to avoid when they were traded and released.
Those are numbers that you trace back to the Offensive Coordinator, Brian Daboll because right now the entire Browns running game is pathetic. Kansas City is a team that ranked 30 in the NFL in defense last year (the Browns were 31st...), and it's a team the Browns - especially Jerome Harrison - stomped all over last year during their season-ending four game winning streak. I know they now have Romeo Crenel, who I think is one of the best defensive coordinators to ever coach the game, but there is no excuse to not mustering up at least 100 yards of rushing. I think it's clear that Harrison and Hillis are not clear on their roles and it's affecting both of them in a negative way. Harrison has never had issues with fumbling in his career, and now it seems like he can't stop. I think a little definition would go a long way to helping those guys for the rest of the season.
The defense, on the other hand, has actually played quite well through the first two weeks. Last week they really only had about one broken play where Joe Haden was burned for a touchdown. This week, the defense didn't even let up a touchdown! Had the offense not been so...well...offensive, a touchdown wouldn't have been scored and there would have been one less field goal. And, oh hey, the Browns would've won! It's also worth noting that Matt Cassel was held to 176 yards on 16/28 and threw two interceptions. So I say give some credit to Rob Ryan for keeping his guys prepared, and giving them great defensive schemes tho keep the touchdowns off the board.
The bottom line is simply this - the Browns have two losses when many of us (well, at least me) thought they would have two wins and we've got a really touch stretch ahead with games against Baltimore and Cincinnati in the next two weeks, and then the Falcons, Steelers, Saints (Bye Week), Patriots and Jets. Yeah, I think we could easily go 0-7 in that stretch to push us to 0-9, which was why starting out well in these first two weeks was very important. If we don't win at least a couple of those games, look for the Jon Gruden coaching rumors to start...
Right now it looks like it's going to be a long season, but hang in there Browns fans. Any given Sunday the Browns could turn into the team we hoped they would be in the first two games.
~MAS
Hey Myles! I totally agree with 99% of what you said. It definitely traces back to coaching. However, I don't know if it is Brian Daboll's fault, or could you go even further to say that it's Mangini's fault. In the first half, the offense was able to put up 14 points, and it should have been 17. A touchdown a quarter is enough to win most games, so the offense was solid in the first half in both games. However, I believe that the complacency was not in the playcalling, but rather in the overall attitude of the team. We were unable to hold any momentum at all on offense, and KC was pumped. I don't think that the playcalling changed at all between halves. It was the execution that changed, and that is traced back to "Mangenious."
ReplyDeleteWoah, a comment!! Haha, thanks Mitch. I think you've got a point there with complacency in the attitude of the team, but I also think that we've been totally out coached in the first two games in the second half. I mean, that does start with the head coach, but realistically? Mangini is a defensive coach, that's his thing. It's got to be at least mostly Daboll's responsibility to make sure defenses can't just completely pick us apart in the second half.
ReplyDeleteEither way, this team is really going to have to man up if it's going to win next week at Baltimore...that could get ugly.