How else can you describe what happened at Cleveland Browns Stadium today? The Browns have lost three in a row, and allowed the Baltimore Ravens to clinch a playoff birth with their 20-10 loss today.
I think to say it was ugly would be an understatement. The Browns managed just 280 yards of offense today, and had 4 turnovers - 3 interceptions and a fumble. Colt McCoy had his worst day as a pro, going 15/29 for 149 yards and those three interceptions, earning him a 27.0 QB rating. Yikes. The running game was no better, as Peyton Hillis was game planned against, and only managed 12 carries for 35 yards. I think he was hurt, as Mike Bell was in for a lot of the game, and had 7 carries for 27 yards along with 2 receptions for 48 yards. Also on the receiving end, Chansi Stuckey had 4 catches for 39 yards, many of which coming on a drive that ended in an Ed Reed interception in the 4th quarter.
What's amazing about this game is that the Ravens somehow had less total yards than the Browns with only 258. That's because the Ravens focused on the running game today on the cold shore of Lake Erie and the Browns didn't force Joe Flacco to beat them. In total, the Ravens had 161 yards on the ground, a glaring number that highlights why the Browns sometimes have a tough time getting off fo the field. The ground attack was led by Ray Rice, who had 92 yards on 25 carries. It's nice to note that the Browns didn't allow an individual 100 yard rusher, but I guess that doesn't matter when you allow 161 total, does it?
In the air, Flacco was an efficient 12/19 for 102 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception by Joe Haden, his 6th of the season. No wide receiver had more than 50 yards for the Ravens, with Derrick Mason leading the charge with 4 catches for 50, and Anquan Boldin was held to 2 catches for only 15 yards. Clearly the strength of the Browns team is their passing defense, which has been brought on with the emergence of both Joe Haden and T.J. Ward. It's been nice to see them progress and become great players this season.
So what does all this mean? Well, first off the Browns are 5-10, and have lost double digit games for the 3rd consecutive season, and 7th time in the last 8 years. Yikes. It also doesn't make the case for keeping Eric Mangini any stronger, as the Browns have now lost three in a row. I still think the turning point of the season was when the Browns lost to the Jets in week 10 - to me they just haven't looked the same.
This game was also really poor for Colt McCoy, who didn't make his case stronger to be the Browns quarterback for the long term by not playing well in the cold weather. It's the first time he has looked like a rookie all season, but I really expect him to bounce back and have a better game next week against Pittsburgh.
Try to enjoy the rest of your day and the rest of the Holidays, Browns fans. I'll be back with you next week for the final game of the season as the Steelers come to town.
~MAS
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Browns Halftime Blurb, 12/26 Vs. Ravens
The Browns have looked a little inconsistent so far today. They've made some plays on offense as evidenced by that last drive before the half, but they've also turned the ball over three times, pretty atypical of them. That's clearly not helping out the defense, and the Browns go into the half down 13-10.
I think this is one of the only games where Colt McCoy has looked like a rookie for at least a little bit. I think he sort of shed that on the last drive, but when he threw the second interception to Ed Reed, he clearly read the coverage incorrectly. It's been nice to see the Browns use some trickery with the Wildcat, especially with the touchdown pass from Mohammed Massaquoi to Brian Robiskie. I was pleasantly surprised to see Josh Cribbs being more effective today, I guess his toes must be healing.
If you look at the numbers, the running game is clearly in peril. I guess Peyton Hillis is hurting a little bit as we've seen a lot of Mike Bell. The two have combined for 28 yards on 11 rushes, a 2.5 average. Cribbs has two rushes for 8 yards, and Colt McCoy had a 7 yard scramble towards the end of the half. Passing, McCoy is 8/12 for 70 yards and 2 interceptions, not great numbers. It's worth mentioning again that Robiskie had a fantastic catch in the endzone, and he's seems to be coming on strong in these last couple of weeks.
Defensively, I don't think the Browns have done too bad of a job - it's just been that the offensive turnovers have killed them. The Ravens have scored 10 points off of turnovers, which means to me that the defense is only truly liable for 3 points. That being said, the Ravens running game has done much too well against the Browns today, as Ray Rice has 38 yards on 9 carries, LeRon McClain has 19 yards on 2 carries, and Willis McGahee has 17 yards on 3 carries. Flacco is 8/14 for 56 yards and a TD, pretty good numbers if you're the Browns defense. Also, Anquan Bolden has not dominated the Browns like he did earlier this season as he's been held to 1 catch for 9 yards.
If the Browns don't turn the football over in the second half, they have a real chance to win this game. But I think it's going to take a lot for the Browns to pull this one out as the Ravens do have a lot riding on this game. We'll see what happens.
See you after,
~MAS
I think this is one of the only games where Colt McCoy has looked like a rookie for at least a little bit. I think he sort of shed that on the last drive, but when he threw the second interception to Ed Reed, he clearly read the coverage incorrectly. It's been nice to see the Browns use some trickery with the Wildcat, especially with the touchdown pass from Mohammed Massaquoi to Brian Robiskie. I was pleasantly surprised to see Josh Cribbs being more effective today, I guess his toes must be healing.
If you look at the numbers, the running game is clearly in peril. I guess Peyton Hillis is hurting a little bit as we've seen a lot of Mike Bell. The two have combined for 28 yards on 11 rushes, a 2.5 average. Cribbs has two rushes for 8 yards, and Colt McCoy had a 7 yard scramble towards the end of the half. Passing, McCoy is 8/12 for 70 yards and 2 interceptions, not great numbers. It's worth mentioning again that Robiskie had a fantastic catch in the endzone, and he's seems to be coming on strong in these last couple of weeks.
Defensively, I don't think the Browns have done too bad of a job - it's just been that the offensive turnovers have killed them. The Ravens have scored 10 points off of turnovers, which means to me that the defense is only truly liable for 3 points. That being said, the Ravens running game has done much too well against the Browns today, as Ray Rice has 38 yards on 9 carries, LeRon McClain has 19 yards on 2 carries, and Willis McGahee has 17 yards on 3 carries. Flacco is 8/14 for 56 yards and a TD, pretty good numbers if you're the Browns defense. Also, Anquan Bolden has not dominated the Browns like he did earlier this season as he's been held to 1 catch for 9 yards.
If the Browns don't turn the football over in the second half, they have a real chance to win this game. But I think it's going to take a lot for the Browns to pull this one out as the Ravens do have a lot riding on this game. We'll see what happens.
See you after,
~MAS
Start Me Up - Ravens vs. Browns
I've got a new, sleek, awesomely-wonderful-in-every-way MacBook Pro and this is the first blog coming to you from this fine piece of machinery as the 10-4 Baltimore Ravens come into snowy Cleveland to take on the 5-9 Browns. A lot has been said about the Browns losing two consecutive games to 2-win teams (surprisingly, little by me) and head coach Eric Mangini's chances of keeping his job, but for now the Browns have still got the Mangenius so we'll have to see what they can get done today.
If you go back to the game these two teams played way back week 3 of the season in September, the Browns put up a valiant fight in the loss. They had the lead in the fourth quarter before blowing it when Anquan Boldin caught a 27 yard pass to cap off a touchdown drive, and then Billy Cundiff added a field goal to seal the deal. That game, Seneca Wallace was 18/24 for 141 yards passing and a touchdown, but Peyton Hillis was huge with 144 yards on 22 carries. We've already heard Ray Lewis come out this week to say that's not going to happen again, and I believe him. People just don't run on the Ravens like that two times in one season.
The key to this game on the offensive side will be if we can establish and then maintain balance with the run and pass. Now, I'm pretty sure you could say that with just about every game you come across, because who doesn't want balance in their offensive game plan? But I think it's especially important this week as they are clearly going to be keeping bodies in the box to stop Hillis and at the same time will undoubtedly blitz the heck out of Colt McCoy in clear passing situations. It's going to come down to if the Browns can get enough yards on first and second down to make "Third-and-Manageable" situations, so third-and-three, or third-and-four. If there's ever a third-and-long, look out for the blitzkrieg.
Defensively, the Browns are going to have a tough time dealing with both Ray Rice and Joe Flacco. Both have had solid seasons, with Rice rushing for 1,051 yards and 4 touchdowns, and Flacco throwing for 3,395 and 23 touchdowns, good for a 94.8 rating that's 7th in the NFL (6th if you don't count Tony Romo). Although Rice is widely regarded as one of the best in the league, it's really not because he goes over 100 yards rushing each week - it's the receptions. He has 62 of them for 556 yards and a touchdown so far this season. Last week, the Ravens beat the New Orleans Saints behind Rice's best game of the season as he had 153 yards on 31 carries, 80 yards on 5 receptions, a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown. You add in wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Derrick Mason, who have 813 yards and 718 yards, respectively, and you can see why defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has certainly had his hands full.
The Browns did a nice job defensively during the first three quarters of the Baltimore game earlier this season, and I think a big part of the breakdown was Flacco challenging Eric Wright who just was not up to it. That was before the emergence of Joe Haden, and Wright has since been placed on the Injured Reserve list, so I doubt we'll see Bolden catch 8 passes for 142 yards and 3 TDs again. It would have been really nice to have Scott Fujita back this week for run support, but he has also been placed on that IR, which meas everyone else has to be on their A-game for run support. The Browns cannot afford to let Rice run all over them like they did with Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott last week.
Do I think the Browns can pull out a win today? Well, I certainly hope so. But based on the way this team has played since they lost to the Jets back in week 10, I just don't really see it happening. As an optimist, I hope they do. I hope they can get the win to maybe help Mangini keep his job. Rob Ryan gave the head coach a shining endorsement earlier this week, and said that it would be dumb to blow up everything now. I think he's right about that. But will I predict the Browns to win today?
Nah...The Ravens could be a championship-caliber team, and they're not going to let the Browns play the role of "Spoiler" today.
The Prediction: BAL 30 - CLE 20
See you at the half,
~MAS
If you go back to the game these two teams played way back week 3 of the season in September, the Browns put up a valiant fight in the loss. They had the lead in the fourth quarter before blowing it when Anquan Boldin caught a 27 yard pass to cap off a touchdown drive, and then Billy Cundiff added a field goal to seal the deal. That game, Seneca Wallace was 18/24 for 141 yards passing and a touchdown, but Peyton Hillis was huge with 144 yards on 22 carries. We've already heard Ray Lewis come out this week to say that's not going to happen again, and I believe him. People just don't run on the Ravens like that two times in one season.
The key to this game on the offensive side will be if we can establish and then maintain balance with the run and pass. Now, I'm pretty sure you could say that with just about every game you come across, because who doesn't want balance in their offensive game plan? But I think it's especially important this week as they are clearly going to be keeping bodies in the box to stop Hillis and at the same time will undoubtedly blitz the heck out of Colt McCoy in clear passing situations. It's going to come down to if the Browns can get enough yards on first and second down to make "Third-and-Manageable" situations, so third-and-three, or third-and-four. If there's ever a third-and-long, look out for the blitzkrieg.
Defensively, the Browns are going to have a tough time dealing with both Ray Rice and Joe Flacco. Both have had solid seasons, with Rice rushing for 1,051 yards and 4 touchdowns, and Flacco throwing for 3,395 and 23 touchdowns, good for a 94.8 rating that's 7th in the NFL (6th if you don't count Tony Romo). Although Rice is widely regarded as one of the best in the league, it's really not because he goes over 100 yards rushing each week - it's the receptions. He has 62 of them for 556 yards and a touchdown so far this season. Last week, the Ravens beat the New Orleans Saints behind Rice's best game of the season as he had 153 yards on 31 carries, 80 yards on 5 receptions, a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown. You add in wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Derrick Mason, who have 813 yards and 718 yards, respectively, and you can see why defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has certainly had his hands full.
The Browns did a nice job defensively during the first three quarters of the Baltimore game earlier this season, and I think a big part of the breakdown was Flacco challenging Eric Wright who just was not up to it. That was before the emergence of Joe Haden, and Wright has since been placed on the Injured Reserve list, so I doubt we'll see Bolden catch 8 passes for 142 yards and 3 TDs again. It would have been really nice to have Scott Fujita back this week for run support, but he has also been placed on that IR, which meas everyone else has to be on their A-game for run support. The Browns cannot afford to let Rice run all over them like they did with Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott last week.
Do I think the Browns can pull out a win today? Well, I certainly hope so. But based on the way this team has played since they lost to the Jets back in week 10, I just don't really see it happening. As an optimist, I hope they do. I hope they can get the win to maybe help Mangini keep his job. Rob Ryan gave the head coach a shining endorsement earlier this week, and said that it would be dumb to blow up everything now. I think he's right about that. But will I predict the Browns to win today?
Nah...The Ravens could be a championship-caliber team, and they're not going to let the Browns play the role of "Spoiler" today.
The Prediction: BAL 30 - CLE 20
See you at the half,
~MAS
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Start Me Up - Browns vs. Bengals
Well the Browns travel down to southern Ohio today looking to improve their record to 6-8 as they take on the strug-a-ling 2-11 Cincinnati Bengals.
I don't think this game will by any means be an easy game to win for the team in brown and orange, but, let's be serious, this is a game they not only should win, but have to win in order to save Eric Mangini's job. A lot of people, myself included, were expecting a great win last week against the team ranked dead last in the league against the run, but I think a lack of offensive game plan other than "Peyton Hillis is going to run the ball, sometimes!" prevented that from happening. Hopefully they can get it squared away against a division rival this afternoon.
Offensively, I think the Browns will get back to where they were before losing to Jacksonville with Colt McCoy back as the starting quarterback. I wrote earlier in the week that McCoy seemed to have a better handle on the mid-range passes, and I believe the Browns will get back to more of the bootleg passes that they seemed to run so well with him. Whether or not Peyton Hillis keeps his hands on the football will also be huge today, as Cincinnati has the firepower to take advantage of turnovers, whether they have a 10 game losing streak or not. Also, it would be great if Josh Cribbs is healthy enough to take a bunch of snaps from the wildcat, as the lack of that package since the Jets game has obviously hurt the offense.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Browns are going to have to contain Terrell Owens a lot better than they did in week four when he gashed us for 10 catches and 222 yards and a touchdown. I think the secondary has been much improved since that time with the emergence of Joe Haden, and so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Carson Palmer has thrown for 3187 yards with 21 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, good for a 60% completion percentage and a 78.1 QB rating. This may not sound too bad from our perspective, but it's clearly a disappointment for that team as they thought they would be getting a marquee offense with T.O. and Ochocinco, but that just hasn't happened. They have Cedric Benson at running back, who is having a very average season with 856 yards rushing and six touchdowns, and only 3.5 yards per carry. I think Rob Ryan's crew should be able to handle these guys better than they did in the win in week 4.
I've picked the Browns to win every single one of these "Start Me Up"s that I've done, but I'm going to continue the trend today, if for nothing else than because I like Eric Mangini and I'd like to see him keep his job. Still, the Bengals are a mess of a team right now, and Colt McCoy coming back should give the Browns the shot in the arm they need to look like that team who beat the Saints and Patriots.
The Prediction: CLE 20 - CIN 10
A slight blogging note, I have a final from 2-5 today (I know, who gives a final on a Sunday?!) and so I clearly won't be doing a Halftime Blurb, and nor will I do a postgamer since I won't have seen the game. Check back mid-week to find the wrap up after I've gotten back to CLE and away from all finals.
Go Browns!
~MAS
I don't think this game will by any means be an easy game to win for the team in brown and orange, but, let's be serious, this is a game they not only should win, but have to win in order to save Eric Mangini's job. A lot of people, myself included, were expecting a great win last week against the team ranked dead last in the league against the run, but I think a lack of offensive game plan other than "Peyton Hillis is going to run the ball, sometimes!" prevented that from happening. Hopefully they can get it squared away against a division rival this afternoon.
Offensively, I think the Browns will get back to where they were before losing to Jacksonville with Colt McCoy back as the starting quarterback. I wrote earlier in the week that McCoy seemed to have a better handle on the mid-range passes, and I believe the Browns will get back to more of the bootleg passes that they seemed to run so well with him. Whether or not Peyton Hillis keeps his hands on the football will also be huge today, as Cincinnati has the firepower to take advantage of turnovers, whether they have a 10 game losing streak or not. Also, it would be great if Josh Cribbs is healthy enough to take a bunch of snaps from the wildcat, as the lack of that package since the Jets game has obviously hurt the offense.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Browns are going to have to contain Terrell Owens a lot better than they did in week four when he gashed us for 10 catches and 222 yards and a touchdown. I think the secondary has been much improved since that time with the emergence of Joe Haden, and so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Carson Palmer has thrown for 3187 yards with 21 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, good for a 60% completion percentage and a 78.1 QB rating. This may not sound too bad from our perspective, but it's clearly a disappointment for that team as they thought they would be getting a marquee offense with T.O. and Ochocinco, but that just hasn't happened. They have Cedric Benson at running back, who is having a very average season with 856 yards rushing and six touchdowns, and only 3.5 yards per carry. I think Rob Ryan's crew should be able to handle these guys better than they did in the win in week 4.
I've picked the Browns to win every single one of these "Start Me Up"s that I've done, but I'm going to continue the trend today, if for nothing else than because I like Eric Mangini and I'd like to see him keep his job. Still, the Bengals are a mess of a team right now, and Colt McCoy coming back should give the Browns the shot in the arm they need to look like that team who beat the Saints and Patriots.
The Prediction: CLE 20 - CIN 10
A slight blogging note, I have a final from 2-5 today (I know, who gives a final on a Sunday?!) and so I clearly won't be doing a Halftime Blurb, and nor will I do a postgamer since I won't have seen the game. Check back mid-week to find the wrap up after I've gotten back to CLE and away from all finals.
Go Browns!
~MAS
Friday, December 17, 2010
A Little Late-Week Filler...
Alrightey, there's a lot I'd like to get off my chest and not a lot of time for me to do it, so let's just dive in to this week's version of the Filler...
Is Cliff Lee like LeBron James?
No.
I could stop right there and go onto my second topic now, but I've got too many feelings about it to let it go. This blog post from ESPN reporter Henry Abbott asserts that LeBron James and Cliff Lee are alike because they both went to teams where they could play with the best and presumably win lots of titles. Now, I've told many people why I dislike LeBron James, which is the same reason most other Clevelanders and other displaced Cavs fans dislike him - it's not that he left it's how he left. LeBron had every right to go anywhere he wanted to go and play with anyone with whom he wanted to play. I couldn't care less that he decided to team up with D-Wade and Bosh and that he's the ultimate front-runner. I mean, need I remind you that he was a Yankees and Cowboys fan growing up in Akron? He's just trying to fulfill his lifelong dream of being the front-running team that kids look up to.
But to get back to Lee, yes he signed with the outside-the-box suitor who already had three aces, but he did it in a classy way. I saw the first report that Lee was going to sign with the Phillies and it came from a source inside the Texas Rangers organization - the organization Lee was leaving. This means that either he or his agent picked up the phone, called the Rangers, told them "Thanks for the memories, but no thanks for the new contract," and then went on with his life.
To me, that's the complete opposite of a self-serving, one hour special where a player announces he's "taking his talents" to another team, and has a close adviser inform his former organization of this during the special. What Lee did and how he did it was done the way every professional athlete should handle themselves in a high profile, free-agent situation.
Maybe Lee is being so heralded because he didn't just sell himself to the highest bidder, the (Evil Empire) New York Yankees. Maybe people would like to see the Phillies dominate the league since they're not the Yanks or the Sox (who I think get way too much national television play). Maybe it's just refreshing to see a classy professional athlete in the aftermath of James' "Decision." Besides, it's not like Lee is going to be on the court with four other players every night. A lot of the time whether Lee will win or lose a game will depend on the Phillies offense and bullpen.
So no, Mr. Abbott, we don't think James is a "fraud" because of where he took his talents, it was how he decided to let us all know about it. James and Lee have nothing in common other than the fact that they began their careers in Cleveland, and neither got this city a title.
McCoy is Back
In an extremely out of character move, today Eric Mangini named rookie Browns quarterback Colt McCoy the starter for not only this week's game but for the rest of the season. I guess it's not really a surprise move, as the Browns offense has looked better under McCoy than anyone else whose been under center this year, but Mangini is notorious for playing the "who's going to be the quarterback this week" game.
I am a huge fan of McCoy though, as my eight loyal readers could undoubtedly tell you, and I'm really glad he's going to be back. I think he could potentially save not only Mangini but Brian Daboll's job. I know I'm a harsh critic of Daboll, but McCoy makes that guy look really good compared to the quarterback we saw last week. When McCoy was in the saddle earlier in the year, the coaches repeatedly said that the playbook was not limited. I really don't think they can say that about the last two weeks with Delhomme, as every passing play sort of looks like Daboll is afraid Delhomme will throw an interception. I'm not saying that those fears are unfounded, it's just clear to me that when the rookie is in there his accuracy and sheer ability to make plays opens things up.
Right now, our quarterback situation is sort of like having the teenager drive around grandpa because he's too old to safely drive anymore - and I think that's exactly what we need to do. McCoy has got the keys back to the car, and he can navigate this offense very well with Delhomme in the passenger seat (or in this case, on the sideline) giving the young kid guidance along the way. And if anything happens, Seneca Wallace can come in on the AAA truck and tow the car away - we really don't want Delhomme driving at any cost.
I know I wrote a couple of weeks ago that Delhomme brought the wide receivers dimension into the playbook, but a lot of what we saw from him in the last two weeks were all or nothing - meaning he throws pretty deep, or dumps it off to Peyton Hillis for about a 1 yard gain. What McCoy did well in his starts was get those mid-level throws, the ones that go for maybe 7-10 yards to the tight ends and running backs. Would I like to see more involvement of our wide receivers? Absolutely. But they've got to prove that they can get open before any of that happens.
I'll be back Sunday morning with the Browns Start Me Up as they travel down to southern Ohio to take on the 2-11 CincinnatiBungles Bengals (I've got a lot of nerve, seeing as how we lost to Buffalo last week...). I'll see you then!
~MAS
Is Cliff Lee like LeBron James?
No.
I could stop right there and go onto my second topic now, but I've got too many feelings about it to let it go. This blog post from ESPN reporter Henry Abbott asserts that LeBron James and Cliff Lee are alike because they both went to teams where they could play with the best and presumably win lots of titles. Now, I've told many people why I dislike LeBron James, which is the same reason most other Clevelanders and other displaced Cavs fans dislike him - it's not that he left it's how he left. LeBron had every right to go anywhere he wanted to go and play with anyone with whom he wanted to play. I couldn't care less that he decided to team up with D-Wade and Bosh and that he's the ultimate front-runner. I mean, need I remind you that he was a Yankees and Cowboys fan growing up in Akron? He's just trying to fulfill his lifelong dream of being the front-running team that kids look up to.
But to get back to Lee, yes he signed with the outside-the-box suitor who already had three aces, but he did it in a classy way. I saw the first report that Lee was going to sign with the Phillies and it came from a source inside the Texas Rangers organization - the organization Lee was leaving. This means that either he or his agent picked up the phone, called the Rangers, told them "Thanks for the memories, but no thanks for the new contract," and then went on with his life.
To me, that's the complete opposite of a self-serving, one hour special where a player announces he's "taking his talents" to another team, and has a close adviser inform his former organization of this during the special. What Lee did and how he did it was done the way every professional athlete should handle themselves in a high profile, free-agent situation.
Maybe Lee is being so heralded because he didn't just sell himself to the highest bidder, the (Evil Empire) New York Yankees. Maybe people would like to see the Phillies dominate the league since they're not the Yanks or the Sox (who I think get way too much national television play). Maybe it's just refreshing to see a classy professional athlete in the aftermath of James' "Decision." Besides, it's not like Lee is going to be on the court with four other players every night. A lot of the time whether Lee will win or lose a game will depend on the Phillies offense and bullpen.
So no, Mr. Abbott, we don't think James is a "fraud" because of where he took his talents, it was how he decided to let us all know about it. James and Lee have nothing in common other than the fact that they began their careers in Cleveland, and neither got this city a title.
McCoy is Back
In an extremely out of character move, today Eric Mangini named rookie Browns quarterback Colt McCoy the starter for not only this week's game but for the rest of the season. I guess it's not really a surprise move, as the Browns offense has looked better under McCoy than anyone else whose been under center this year, but Mangini is notorious for playing the "who's going to be the quarterback this week" game.
I am a huge fan of McCoy though, as my eight loyal readers could undoubtedly tell you, and I'm really glad he's going to be back. I think he could potentially save not only Mangini but Brian Daboll's job. I know I'm a harsh critic of Daboll, but McCoy makes that guy look really good compared to the quarterback we saw last week. When McCoy was in the saddle earlier in the year, the coaches repeatedly said that the playbook was not limited. I really don't think they can say that about the last two weeks with Delhomme, as every passing play sort of looks like Daboll is afraid Delhomme will throw an interception. I'm not saying that those fears are unfounded, it's just clear to me that when the rookie is in there his accuracy and sheer ability to make plays opens things up.
Right now, our quarterback situation is sort of like having the teenager drive around grandpa because he's too old to safely drive anymore - and I think that's exactly what we need to do. McCoy has got the keys back to the car, and he can navigate this offense very well with Delhomme in the passenger seat (or in this case, on the sideline) giving the young kid guidance along the way. And if anything happens, Seneca Wallace can come in on the AAA truck and tow the car away - we really don't want Delhomme driving at any cost.
I know I wrote a couple of weeks ago that Delhomme brought the wide receivers dimension into the playbook, but a lot of what we saw from him in the last two weeks were all or nothing - meaning he throws pretty deep, or dumps it off to Peyton Hillis for about a 1 yard gain. What McCoy did well in his starts was get those mid-level throws, the ones that go for maybe 7-10 yards to the tight ends and running backs. Would I like to see more involvement of our wide receivers? Absolutely. But they've got to prove that they can get open before any of that happens.
I'll be back Sunday morning with the Browns Start Me Up as they travel down to southern Ohio to take on the 2-11 Cincinnati
~MAS
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Goodbye to a Cleveland Legend
I know I don't write much about baseball on this blog, but I thought I'd take a little study break in my busy finals week to pay tribute to a true Cleveland legend, "Rapid Robert" Bob Feller, who passed away Wednesday night at the age of 92.
Many people know that Feller was a wonderful pitcher for the Tribe in an era where many players in the league gave up everything that was comfortable to serve their country in World War II. Feller, of course, was one of those in baseball who left the game, successfully served in the Navy and then resumed his prolific career with the Indians.
In this day and age, I honestly cannot fathom anything like that ever happening again. Of course, back then professional athletes were not nearly as overpaid as they are now, and the vast majority of them had other jobs for the off-season so that they could actually "feed their family" (a phrase that has no business ever coming out of the mouth of today's professional athlete). You also had a time where the average able bodied young man was going to go to war, whether they wanted to or not. Still, could you see someone like Cliff Lee or CC Sabathia completely walking away from the sport they love to go serve their country in war? I know I sure can't.
To me, what makes Feller all the more impressive is that when he came back from WWII he resumed his career and was still the same great pitcher. It was like he never left as he led the majors in wins in both '46 and '47 with 26 and 20, respectively. He also pitched 36 - yes 36 - complete games, 10 of those being shutouts, in '46. I think it's amazing his arm didn't fall off as you just don't see those kind of numbers from a pitcher anymore. Then he was part of the rotation that led the Indians to their last World Series victory, going 19-15 with a 3.56 ERA in '48. His last truly amazing season came in '51 when he went 22-8 with a 3.50 ERA, leading the league with his 22 wins and a .733 win percentage.
His number 19 is rightly retired on the rafters ofJacobs Progressive Field, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962, and he still has the most wins in Indians history - he probably will be for a long time to come. He pitched three no hitters, including the only Opening Day no-no in major league history. He led the league in strikeouts 6 times. He was an All-Star 8 times. The list goes on and on, but it just goes to show the impact he had on the Indians.
And not only that, but he continued to be involved with the team, taking in many games from the press box. Anthony Castrovince, former indians.com beat writer, wrote this terrific blog about Feller, which does a much better job of paying tribute than I ever could. But I did want to point out exactly why we should celebrate the life of this Cleveland Legend for what he did on the field.
Rest in peace, Mr. Feller. You will be truly missed.
~MAS
Many people know that Feller was a wonderful pitcher for the Tribe in an era where many players in the league gave up everything that was comfortable to serve their country in World War II. Feller, of course, was one of those in baseball who left the game, successfully served in the Navy and then resumed his prolific career with the Indians.
In this day and age, I honestly cannot fathom anything like that ever happening again. Of course, back then professional athletes were not nearly as overpaid as they are now, and the vast majority of them had other jobs for the off-season so that they could actually "feed their family" (a phrase that has no business ever coming out of the mouth of today's professional athlete). You also had a time where the average able bodied young man was going to go to war, whether they wanted to or not. Still, could you see someone like Cliff Lee or CC Sabathia completely walking away from the sport they love to go serve their country in war? I know I sure can't.
To me, what makes Feller all the more impressive is that when he came back from WWII he resumed his career and was still the same great pitcher. It was like he never left as he led the majors in wins in both '46 and '47 with 26 and 20, respectively. He also pitched 36 - yes 36 - complete games, 10 of those being shutouts, in '46. I think it's amazing his arm didn't fall off as you just don't see those kind of numbers from a pitcher anymore. Then he was part of the rotation that led the Indians to their last World Series victory, going 19-15 with a 3.56 ERA in '48. His last truly amazing season came in '51 when he went 22-8 with a 3.50 ERA, leading the league with his 22 wins and a .733 win percentage.
His number 19 is rightly retired on the rafters of
And not only that, but he continued to be involved with the team, taking in many games from the press box. Anthony Castrovince, former indians.com beat writer, wrote this terrific blog about Feller, which does a much better job of paying tribute than I ever could. But I did want to point out exactly why we should celebrate the life of this Cleveland Legend for what he did on the field.
Rest in peace, Mr. Feller. You will be truly missed.
~MAS
Sunday, December 12, 2010
How do you Lose to a 2-10 Team?
Well, if you're the Cleveland Browns, it's really quite simple. You combine an offensive coordinator who, for whatever reason, refuses to run the ball on first down against the rushing defense rated dead last in the league with a quarterback who used to be a moderately good gunslinger, but now looks like he should be coaching in the league rather than playing, and *bam* you've got a game you easily could have should have won that results in a huge loss.
This is not the first time the Browns have lost a game where they were supposed to win this season, but it has got to be the worst. I'd go as far to say that this is the worst loss of Eric Mangini's career as coach of the Cleveland Browns. That's not to say that he should be fired, but I do know someone who should based on his play calling today...
You know what, I'm going to shift gears and start with something more positive - the Defense. Positive being a relative term, of course, Rob Ryan's crew only gave up 13 points today, and that should be a number that is good enough to win a ballgame. When you're talking about points, all things considered 13 is a pretty good number. The passing defense contained Ryan Fitzpatrick to just 142 passing yards and a touchdown, also pretty good. But what concerns me about the defensive performance is that they gave up a whopping 192 rushing yards. That was led by Fred Jackson, who had 112 yards on 29 carries, then Fitzpatrick who had 49 yards on 4 carries, and rookie CJ Spiller also gashed the Browns for 33 yards on 8 carries. Yikes. Still, the end result was only giving up 13 points, and that really should have been good enough to win the game.
But, of course, it wasn't. This game was so bad, offensively, I'm not even sure where to start. I'll congratulate Peyton Hillis once again for gaining 1000 rushing yards this season, and being the first white running back to do it since 1985, but that's it for the positives. Jake Delhomme's numbers? 12/20 for 86 yards and an interception. Those are Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson kind of numbers, if you ask me. I thought those days were over. You can argue that the interception was not really Delhomme's fault because he got hit as he threw the ball, but guess what? He still fumbled the ball and failed to execute plays time and time again on third down.
When I was watching the game, though, it was almost like Brian Daboll was setting up the offense to fail. When you have the defense lined up against you that's dead last in the run, and you have a big bruising back, you really ought to be running the football the whole game if you know your quarterback is inconsistent. Now, I'm not an offensive coordinator, but I do know that when Colt McCoy was in at quarterback we ran a lot of bootlegs because it appeared to be one of not only his but the offenses strengths. My question is, why did we not run one of them today?
I'll tell you, there were plays today where we lined up and I could just tell that we weren't going to get anything, especially on third down. One of them came with about seven minutes left to go in the fourth quarter when the Browns lined up with third and three and ended up throwing to Robert Royal. Now, someone, anyone, please tell me why oh why in the wide wide world of sports would you throw to Robert Royal on third down and three with the game on the line? Brian Daboll, what are you thinking?!
The Browns had a grand total of five possessions in the second half and did absolutely nothing with them. The two that came in the third quarter were of 5 then 8 plays, and both resulted in punts. In the fourth quarter, it was 3 plays and a fumble, 3 plays and a punt, and 3 plays and an intercepted pass. You're clearly not going to win with that kind of lack in execution of, really, anything.
Obviously this is a frustrating game for the players, the coaches, the organization, the city and the fans. It's back to the drawing board as the Browns will take on the Bengals next week. And as we now know, defeating a 2-win team is not going to be any small task.
See you next week,
~MAS
This is not the first time the Browns have lost a game where they were supposed to win this season, but it has got to be the worst. I'd go as far to say that this is the worst loss of Eric Mangini's career as coach of the Cleveland Browns. That's not to say that he should be fired, but I do know someone who should based on his play calling today...
You know what, I'm going to shift gears and start with something more positive - the Defense. Positive being a relative term, of course, Rob Ryan's crew only gave up 13 points today, and that should be a number that is good enough to win a ballgame. When you're talking about points, all things considered 13 is a pretty good number. The passing defense contained Ryan Fitzpatrick to just 142 passing yards and a touchdown, also pretty good. But what concerns me about the defensive performance is that they gave up a whopping 192 rushing yards. That was led by Fred Jackson, who had 112 yards on 29 carries, then Fitzpatrick who had 49 yards on 4 carries, and rookie CJ Spiller also gashed the Browns for 33 yards on 8 carries. Yikes. Still, the end result was only giving up 13 points, and that really should have been good enough to win the game.
But, of course, it wasn't. This game was so bad, offensively, I'm not even sure where to start. I'll congratulate Peyton Hillis once again for gaining 1000 rushing yards this season, and being the first white running back to do it since 1985, but that's it for the positives. Jake Delhomme's numbers? 12/20 for 86 yards and an interception. Those are Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson kind of numbers, if you ask me. I thought those days were over. You can argue that the interception was not really Delhomme's fault because he got hit as he threw the ball, but guess what? He still fumbled the ball and failed to execute plays time and time again on third down.
When I was watching the game, though, it was almost like Brian Daboll was setting up the offense to fail. When you have the defense lined up against you that's dead last in the run, and you have a big bruising back, you really ought to be running the football the whole game if you know your quarterback is inconsistent. Now, I'm not an offensive coordinator, but I do know that when Colt McCoy was in at quarterback we ran a lot of bootlegs because it appeared to be one of not only his but the offenses strengths. My question is, why did we not run one of them today?
I'll tell you, there were plays today where we lined up and I could just tell that we weren't going to get anything, especially on third down. One of them came with about seven minutes left to go in the fourth quarter when the Browns lined up with third and three and ended up throwing to Robert Royal. Now, someone, anyone, please tell me why oh why in the wide wide world of sports would you throw to Robert Royal on third down and three with the game on the line? Brian Daboll, what are you thinking?!
The Browns had a grand total of five possessions in the second half and did absolutely nothing with them. The two that came in the third quarter were of 5 then 8 plays, and both resulted in punts. In the fourth quarter, it was 3 plays and a fumble, 3 plays and a punt, and 3 plays and an intercepted pass. You're clearly not going to win with that kind of lack in execution of, really, anything.
Obviously this is a frustrating game for the players, the coaches, the organization, the city and the fans. It's back to the drawing board as the Browns will take on the Bengals next week. And as we now know, defeating a 2-win team is not going to be any small task.
See you next week,
~MAS
Browns Halftime Blurb - 12/12 Vs. Bills
I'm not sure what in the world the Browns are doing out there, but right now they're down by a score of 10-6 to the Buffalo Bills.
Here's the deal - the Browns have done moderately-okay on defense, but have just gotten nothing going since they failed to score a touchdown on their first drive of the game. Congratulations must go out to Peyton Hillis for eclipsing the 1000 yard rushing mark on the year, but then he went right out and fumbled the ball away. You always think he's risking that ball when he leaps over defenders, and that time running the ball it looked like he was carrying a loaf of bread home from the store. Just not a good look at all. When you take a look at the numbers, they're not so bad at all as Jake Delhomme is 6/9 for 57 yards, and Hillis has 72 yards on 12 carries. The thing is, 0 touchdowns. We've had two drives end up in the red zone and we've gotten 6 points out of it. This game is not going to go the Browns way if they continue to fail to capitalize on their opportunities near the end zone.
Defensively, the Browns are not doing nearly as well as I thought they would. I'm not sure if I was underrating Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick or what, but I just did not expect him to come out and really play so well against our D. The Browns have got to start stopping the drives earlier, as Buffalo's last two drives have been 14 plays for 89 yards and a TD, and then 9 plays for 63 yards for a field goal. Yikes. Fitzpatrick is 8/13 for 98 yards and a touchdown, and he also has 43 yards rushing! A lot of that is because the Browns have failed to collapse the pocket around him, and have let him break their contain. Matt Roth has been the offender at least twice, and I hope he can make the adjustment for the second half.
If the Browns continue to play as they did in the first half, this game is obviously going to be an incredibly disappointing loss. I'm not trying to discredit anything the Bills did in the first two quarters, but the Browns are definitely the better team in this game. They just have got to start playing like it and soon. See you after,
~MAS
Here's the deal - the Browns have done moderately-okay on defense, but have just gotten nothing going since they failed to score a touchdown on their first drive of the game. Congratulations must go out to Peyton Hillis for eclipsing the 1000 yard rushing mark on the year, but then he went right out and fumbled the ball away. You always think he's risking that ball when he leaps over defenders, and that time running the ball it looked like he was carrying a loaf of bread home from the store. Just not a good look at all. When you take a look at the numbers, they're not so bad at all as Jake Delhomme is 6/9 for 57 yards, and Hillis has 72 yards on 12 carries. The thing is, 0 touchdowns. We've had two drives end up in the red zone and we've gotten 6 points out of it. This game is not going to go the Browns way if they continue to fail to capitalize on their opportunities near the end zone.
Defensively, the Browns are not doing nearly as well as I thought they would. I'm not sure if I was underrating Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick or what, but I just did not expect him to come out and really play so well against our D. The Browns have got to start stopping the drives earlier, as Buffalo's last two drives have been 14 plays for 89 yards and a TD, and then 9 plays for 63 yards for a field goal. Yikes. Fitzpatrick is 8/13 for 98 yards and a touchdown, and he also has 43 yards rushing! A lot of that is because the Browns have failed to collapse the pocket around him, and have let him break their contain. Matt Roth has been the offender at least twice, and I hope he can make the adjustment for the second half.
If the Browns continue to play as they did in the first half, this game is obviously going to be an incredibly disappointing loss. I'm not trying to discredit anything the Bills did in the first two quarters, but the Browns are definitely the better team in this game. They just have got to start playing like it and soon. See you after,
~MAS
Start Me Up - Browns vs. Bills
So clearly I didn't get around to posting some mid-week filler in the last few days (but with two papers to do and finals to study for, can you blame me?) but the Browns take on the Bills today up in snowy Buffalo, New York in what I think should be called the Battle of I-90.
In the last three years, these two teams have met and the Browns have won all three match-ups. In 2007, there was the memorable Snow Bowl game where Phil Dawson hit two clutch field goals in crazy swirling wind, and the Bills snapped a punt over the head of their punter and out of the end zone for a safety. Then there was Romeo Crenel's last victory as coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2008, when Jerome Harrison had a 72 yard run for the Browns last offensive touchdown that year, and Phil Dawson hit a 56 yard field goal with 1:39 left in the game to win. And last year, there was Eric Mangini's first win as the coach of the Browns where the Browns got by on two Billy Cundiff (yeah, bet you forgot about that one, huh? I know I did...) field goals, and Derek Anderson had one of the worst games a Browns QB has ever had going 2/17 for 23 yards and an interception. So what's going to happen today?
Well I think any way you look at it, we'll have a great game. Sure, the Bills petered out last week against the Vikings after playing very well in their previous three games. They first had wins against Detroit and Cincinnati, two teams who are just not doing so well right now, and then took the Pittsburgh into overtime, eventually losing 16-19. They bring a lot of competitive fire to the table, but, in my opinion at least, not too much else.
First off, their run defense is terrible giving up 170.9 yards a game. With the weather conditions predicted to be as Buffalo as ever (meaning really snowy), I think that's a recipe for Peyton Hillis to have a terrific - if not career - kind of game, as long as he can stay away from the fumbles. He will also, in all likelihood, go over the 1000 yard rushing mark for the season as he's sitting on 962 right now.
Jake Delhomme will be the starting QB this afternoon, and I really think Brian Daboll knows that this is going to be a game managing situation for the veteran. The strength of the Bills defense is clearly in the way they defend the pass as they're only allowing 207.2 yards per game - it isn't the best, but it's definitely better than than what they do against the run. Yikes. The offense may or may not have Josh Cribbs back as a wide receiver and in the wildcat, but I'd say chances are more likely that he'll stay just on the kick coverage. At least that's what I think I'd prefer for him until he's closer to 100%. Last week it was clear to me that he was still hurting, as he just looked slow when running with the ball. Hopefully he'll be healthy sooner rather than later, as we could really use his talents for our last three weeks of the season.
But enough about the future, a big key for the Browns winning today will be if their defense can contain Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has really come on to be a productive quarterback this year. Fitzpatrick has thrown for 2384 yards with 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions - pretty solid numbers for a guy who has been a back-up for most of his short career. Fred Jackson (yeah, who?) is their running back, and he's had an alright season with 663 yards on the ground and five rushing touchdowns. As a team, I was surprised to find out that they're averaging more offensive yards per game than the Browns, 312 over 305. Still, I think the Browns will continue to show defensive improvement, and Joe Haden will go for his fifth straight game with an interception. I honestly doubt that he'll get it - if not because of the weather, than because Fitzpatrick studied film this week.
So what's the bottom line today? I think the Browns are going to show that they're over the hump because they're clearly the better team. I don't think we're going to see any of the slop we saw a few weeks ago with the Jaguars and then Panthers, and we'll see a team that's more like the one who took on the Jets, Patriots and Saints and came out 2-1 in that stretch. The Browns have been practicing outside in the cold elements of Cleveland this week and should be well prepared for the conditions at Ralph Wilson Stadium today. So I'm going with the Browns for a great, low scoring December win today.
The Prediction: CLE 17 - BUF 6
See you at the half,
~MAS
(p.s. I'd just like to say that I was very close to being right on my prediction last week, and I was quite right with my "Dawson hits a field goal to win it" call. Go me!)
In the last three years, these two teams have met and the Browns have won all three match-ups. In 2007, there was the memorable Snow Bowl game where Phil Dawson hit two clutch field goals in crazy swirling wind, and the Bills snapped a punt over the head of their punter and out of the end zone for a safety. Then there was Romeo Crenel's last victory as coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2008, when Jerome Harrison had a 72 yard run for the Browns last offensive touchdown that year, and Phil Dawson hit a 56 yard field goal with 1:39 left in the game to win. And last year, there was Eric Mangini's first win as the coach of the Browns where the Browns got by on two Billy Cundiff (yeah, bet you forgot about that one, huh? I know I did...) field goals, and Derek Anderson had one of the worst games a Browns QB has ever had going 2/17 for 23 yards and an interception. So what's going to happen today?
Well I think any way you look at it, we'll have a great game. Sure, the Bills petered out last week against the Vikings after playing very well in their previous three games. They first had wins against Detroit and Cincinnati, two teams who are just not doing so well right now, and then took the Pittsburgh into overtime, eventually losing 16-19. They bring a lot of competitive fire to the table, but, in my opinion at least, not too much else.
First off, their run defense is terrible giving up 170.9 yards a game. With the weather conditions predicted to be as Buffalo as ever (meaning really snowy), I think that's a recipe for Peyton Hillis to have a terrific - if not career - kind of game, as long as he can stay away from the fumbles. He will also, in all likelihood, go over the 1000 yard rushing mark for the season as he's sitting on 962 right now.
Jake Delhomme will be the starting QB this afternoon, and I really think Brian Daboll knows that this is going to be a game managing situation for the veteran. The strength of the Bills defense is clearly in the way they defend the pass as they're only allowing 207.2 yards per game - it isn't the best, but it's definitely better than than what they do against the run. Yikes. The offense may or may not have Josh Cribbs back as a wide receiver and in the wildcat, but I'd say chances are more likely that he'll stay just on the kick coverage. At least that's what I think I'd prefer for him until he's closer to 100%. Last week it was clear to me that he was still hurting, as he just looked slow when running with the ball. Hopefully he'll be healthy sooner rather than later, as we could really use his talents for our last three weeks of the season.
But enough about the future, a big key for the Browns winning today will be if their defense can contain Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has really come on to be a productive quarterback this year. Fitzpatrick has thrown for 2384 yards with 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions - pretty solid numbers for a guy who has been a back-up for most of his short career. Fred Jackson (yeah, who?) is their running back, and he's had an alright season with 663 yards on the ground and five rushing touchdowns. As a team, I was surprised to find out that they're averaging more offensive yards per game than the Browns, 312 over 305. Still, I think the Browns will continue to show defensive improvement, and Joe Haden will go for his fifth straight game with an interception. I honestly doubt that he'll get it - if not because of the weather, than because Fitzpatrick studied film this week.
So what's the bottom line today? I think the Browns are going to show that they're over the hump because they're clearly the better team. I don't think we're going to see any of the slop we saw a few weeks ago with the Jaguars and then Panthers, and we'll see a team that's more like the one who took on the Jets, Patriots and Saints and came out 2-1 in that stretch. The Browns have been practicing outside in the cold elements of Cleveland this week and should be well prepared for the conditions at Ralph Wilson Stadium today. So I'm going with the Browns for a great, low scoring December win today.
The Prediction: CLE 17 - BUF 6
See you at the half,
~MAS
(p.s. I'd just like to say that I was very close to being right on my prediction last week, and I was quite right with my "Dawson hits a field goal to win it" call. Go me!)
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Close Game, Great Win: Browns 13 - Dolphins 10
I have to say that once the Browns gave up the touchdown to the Dolphins early in the fourth quarter, I thought here we go again, the Browns are going to lose yet another game in the fourth quarter. And then it didn't happen! In fact, I'd say this game had the type of ending that we're really used to seeing against Cleveland rather than for Cleveland - an interception that turns into a virtually impossible-for-you-to-lose situation. Either way, the Browns found a way to get the win today in Miami, 13-10.
Jake Delhomme didn't set the world on fire by any means today, and tried so hard to throw a fourth quarter pick six, but he didn't turn the ball over and overall had a good day. That's not to say that I'm giving him a shining endorsement, but he did do everything he needed to do to lead the offense to a win. His final numbers today were 24/34 for 217 yards and a touchdown, good for a QB rating of 97.3. The good thing about those numbers from Delhomme is that you can't say that he only "managed" the game, especially because the rushing game was pretty much a non-factor. Peyton Hillis was the only one to rush the ball today (besides Delhomme's kneel downs at the end of the game) and he had 57 yards on 18 carries, for a 3.2 average. Not great numbers, and like I said in the Halftime Blurb, I think the offensive line's lack of blocking had a lot to do to that.
In terms of the passing game, Ben Watson had a fantastic game, with a career high 10 receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown. Wide Receiver Brian Robiskie didn't have the type of great game I was hoping he'd have, but it was nice to see Brian Daboll key in on the fact that the Dolphins were not covering Watson well at all and take advantage of it. It was also nice to see Mohammed Massaquoi get that 37 yard pass from Delhomme, as we haven't seen a lot of long passes this year.
Defensively the Browns came up big today and I think Rob Ryan is again putting himself on the list of coaching candidates for many teams coming up this off-season. Ryan's gang picked off Michigan graduate Chad Henne 3 times, and only allowed him 174 passing yards and a touchdown, going 16/32. That adds up to a rating of 37.8 - Anderson and Quinn kind of numbers. The two headed rushing attack was also contained as both Brown and Williams were held to 50 and 48 yards, respectively and the team had a total of 114 yards on 32 rushes, an average of 3.6 a carry.
Commentators Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf mentioned this plenty of times during the broadcast, but Joe Haden had an excellent game today with 5 tackles, 4 of them solo, 4 passes defended and one interception - his fourth in four games. I also said this in the Blurb, but he's clearly established himself as a starter on this defense. I think he's also making a good push for defensive rookie of the year, but I won't push it. I'd also like to give a shout out to Shaun Rogers who had a great game today, really dominating the offensive line of the Dolphins. He was around Chad Henne or whoever else had the ball all day and ended up with 3 tackles, all solo, a sack, a QB knockdown, and a tackle for loss. The emergence of nose tackle Ahtyba Rubin has been a great help to the Browns and Rogers, as he is now mostly used on passing downs where he can come in and just obliterate an offensive line.
I think this is a great win for the Browns not only because they played smart football, keeping away from their turnovers and creating them for the other team, but they found a way to win a close game. True, they did it against Carolina last week, but that was more about the kicker missing a field goal rather than the defense creating a stop like they did today. It's a very encouraging sign, and all the more encouraging for Eric Mangini and his staff.
Next week the Browns travel to Buffalo who might be a much better team than their 2-10 record would indicate as they took the Steelers to OT last week and gave Big Ben fits. I'd expect another Snow Bowl as these two teams seem to love to have, and I think it'll be a good game. Until then, enjoy the win Browns fans and check back mid-week for some filler to get you to the weekend. Go Browns!
~MAS
Jake Delhomme didn't set the world on fire by any means today, and tried so hard to throw a fourth quarter pick six, but he didn't turn the ball over and overall had a good day. That's not to say that I'm giving him a shining endorsement, but he did do everything he needed to do to lead the offense to a win. His final numbers today were 24/34 for 217 yards and a touchdown, good for a QB rating of 97.3. The good thing about those numbers from Delhomme is that you can't say that he only "managed" the game, especially because the rushing game was pretty much a non-factor. Peyton Hillis was the only one to rush the ball today (besides Delhomme's kneel downs at the end of the game) and he had 57 yards on 18 carries, for a 3.2 average. Not great numbers, and like I said in the Halftime Blurb, I think the offensive line's lack of blocking had a lot to do to that.
In terms of the passing game, Ben Watson had a fantastic game, with a career high 10 receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown. Wide Receiver Brian Robiskie didn't have the type of great game I was hoping he'd have, but it was nice to see Brian Daboll key in on the fact that the Dolphins were not covering Watson well at all and take advantage of it. It was also nice to see Mohammed Massaquoi get that 37 yard pass from Delhomme, as we haven't seen a lot of long passes this year.
Defensively the Browns came up big today and I think Rob Ryan is again putting himself on the list of coaching candidates for many teams coming up this off-season. Ryan's gang picked off Michigan graduate Chad Henne 3 times, and only allowed him 174 passing yards and a touchdown, going 16/32. That adds up to a rating of 37.8 - Anderson and Quinn kind of numbers. The two headed rushing attack was also contained as both Brown and Williams were held to 50 and 48 yards, respectively and the team had a total of 114 yards on 32 rushes, an average of 3.6 a carry.
Commentators Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf mentioned this plenty of times during the broadcast, but Joe Haden had an excellent game today with 5 tackles, 4 of them solo, 4 passes defended and one interception - his fourth in four games. I also said this in the Blurb, but he's clearly established himself as a starter on this defense. I think he's also making a good push for defensive rookie of the year, but I won't push it. I'd also like to give a shout out to Shaun Rogers who had a great game today, really dominating the offensive line of the Dolphins. He was around Chad Henne or whoever else had the ball all day and ended up with 3 tackles, all solo, a sack, a QB knockdown, and a tackle for loss. The emergence of nose tackle Ahtyba Rubin has been a great help to the Browns and Rogers, as he is now mostly used on passing downs where he can come in and just obliterate an offensive line.
I think this is a great win for the Browns not only because they played smart football, keeping away from their turnovers and creating them for the other team, but they found a way to win a close game. True, they did it against Carolina last week, but that was more about the kicker missing a field goal rather than the defense creating a stop like they did today. It's a very encouraging sign, and all the more encouraging for Eric Mangini and his staff.
Next week the Browns travel to Buffalo who might be a much better team than their 2-10 record would indicate as they took the Steelers to OT last week and gave Big Ben fits. I'd expect another Snow Bowl as these two teams seem to love to have, and I think it'll be a good game. Until then, enjoy the win Browns fans and check back mid-week for some filler to get you to the weekend. Go Browns!
~MAS
Browns Halftime Blurb - 12/5 Vs. Dolphins
So far we've seen a very defensive game out of both teams. That's the polite way of saying that both teams have just had a complete lack of execution on the offensive side of the ball. The Browns were able to capitalize on the Mike Adams interception with a Dawson field goal, and the defense tried to blow it, but thanks to some penalties and poor clock management the game is tied 3-3 after a 60 yard field goal - a Miami Dolphins franchise record.
The offense sputtered throughout the first half led by Jake Delhomme. The running game needs to really get going, as Hillis has only 32 yards in 10 rushes. From what I saw, the offensive line was not executing the running game very well, and on at least one run I saw Ben Watson completely blow his assignment and Hillis was stopped for no gain. Delhomme has not looked great either throwing 11/17 for only 48 yards. Yes folks, that's only 80 yards of offense. Yikes.
Defensively, the Browns have done fairly well getting two interceptions, one of which led to the Browns field goal. Joe Haden has definitely made enough of an impact to keep that starting role, I think, as this is his fourth interception in four games. Otherwise, Shaun Rogers has made a great impact on this game, blocking a field goal early and then sacked Henne late in the second quarter to take the Dolphins out of field goal range. Henne is 8/16 for 100 yards and 2 interceptions, and in the running game, Ricky Williams has 7 rushes for 33 yards, and Ronnie Brown has 8 carries for 31 yards. Those numbers are nothing to write home about.
This game is going really how I felt like it could go. It's a real toss up as to who will come out with the win, but unless Chad Henne all of a sudden gets a strong boost of confidence I would say that the Browns will take control of this one in the second half. Hopefully. Ha, see you after!
~MAS
The offense sputtered throughout the first half led by Jake Delhomme. The running game needs to really get going, as Hillis has only 32 yards in 10 rushes. From what I saw, the offensive line was not executing the running game very well, and on at least one run I saw Ben Watson completely blow his assignment and Hillis was stopped for no gain. Delhomme has not looked great either throwing 11/17 for only 48 yards. Yes folks, that's only 80 yards of offense. Yikes.
Defensively, the Browns have done fairly well getting two interceptions, one of which led to the Browns field goal. Joe Haden has definitely made enough of an impact to keep that starting role, I think, as this is his fourth interception in four games. Otherwise, Shaun Rogers has made a great impact on this game, blocking a field goal early and then sacked Henne late in the second quarter to take the Dolphins out of field goal range. Henne is 8/16 for 100 yards and 2 interceptions, and in the running game, Ricky Williams has 7 rushes for 33 yards, and Ronnie Brown has 8 carries for 31 yards. Those numbers are nothing to write home about.
This game is going really how I felt like it could go. It's a real toss up as to who will come out with the win, but unless Chad Henne all of a sudden gets a strong boost of confidence I would say that the Browns will take control of this one in the second half. Hopefully. Ha, see you after!
~MAS
Start Me Up - Browns vs. Dolphins
So the 4-7 Browns travel to Miami today to take on the 6-5 Dolphins. The Browns have had their struggles on the road as they're 1-4, and the Dolphins have had the same type of struggles at home, as they're 1-4 at Sun Life Stadium. The Browns can virtually take Miami out of the playoff picture with a victory this afternoon, as the Dolphins have to contend with the Jets and Patriots, both of whom are 8-3 (OOPS!) 9-2 and are tied atop the AFC East.
In accordance with the opinions of 75% of the poll on the right side of the page (a whopping 3 of 4 people!), the Browns will start Jake Delhomme. It's going to be close to a game-time decision whether or not rookie Colt McCoy will be the third string quarterback, but I wouldn't hold my breath for that. I think Peyton Hillis could have either a great day or a bad day against the Dolphins defense as they only gave up 16 rushing yards last week to the Raiders, but they're giving up an average of about 104 per game this season. I hope that offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has got a good ground game planned, because a huge key to this game will be if the Browns can stay away from turnovers - something that Delhomme has not done a great job of so far this season.
However, as I've written before, Delhomme does bring a better dimension to the offense in terms of throwing to the wide receivers. That being said, it could be a good day or pretty bad for the passing game as well, since the Dolphins have given up about 200 yards passing per game - a pretty respectable number. It would also be a great time for Brian Robiskie to have a break out game, after catching 7 passes for 50 yards last week.
On the other side of the ball, the defense has to do a much better job than it has the past few weeks if they're going to get the win. Chad Henne is back in his role as starting quarterback, and had a nice game against Oakland last week. This week is going to be big for him to see if he can continue to progress and be the quarterback the Dolphins hope they have. Henne's favorite target, Brandon Marshall, is also back after a hamstring injury has kept him out for a little while. Miami's running game has been strong all season with the two headed monster of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, who combined have 1035 yards on 254 carries, an average of 4.1 yards a carry. Many of the Dolphins skill positions are strong, physical players who can be tough to bring down. Hopefully the Browns have worked on their tackling this week because otherwise it could be another tough day for Rob Ryan's D.
All in all, I think this game is a fairly tough game to call, but I'm going to be optimistic and say that the Browns are going to "Take their talents to South Beach" (I had to) and avenge the loss by our basketball team this week with a late Phil Dawson field goal to win it.
The Prediction: CLE 17 - MIA 14
See you at the half,
~MAS
In accordance with the opinions of 75% of the poll on the right side of the page (a whopping 3 of 4 people!), the Browns will start Jake Delhomme. It's going to be close to a game-time decision whether or not rookie Colt McCoy will be the third string quarterback, but I wouldn't hold my breath for that. I think Peyton Hillis could have either a great day or a bad day against the Dolphins defense as they only gave up 16 rushing yards last week to the Raiders, but they're giving up an average of about 104 per game this season. I hope that offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has got a good ground game planned, because a huge key to this game will be if the Browns can stay away from turnovers - something that Delhomme has not done a great job of so far this season.
However, as I've written before, Delhomme does bring a better dimension to the offense in terms of throwing to the wide receivers. That being said, it could be a good day or pretty bad for the passing game as well, since the Dolphins have given up about 200 yards passing per game - a pretty respectable number. It would also be a great time for Brian Robiskie to have a break out game, after catching 7 passes for 50 yards last week.
On the other side of the ball, the defense has to do a much better job than it has the past few weeks if they're going to get the win. Chad Henne is back in his role as starting quarterback, and had a nice game against Oakland last week. This week is going to be big for him to see if he can continue to progress and be the quarterback the Dolphins hope they have. Henne's favorite target, Brandon Marshall, is also back after a hamstring injury has kept him out for a little while. Miami's running game has been strong all season with the two headed monster of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, who combined have 1035 yards on 254 carries, an average of 4.1 yards a carry. Many of the Dolphins skill positions are strong, physical players who can be tough to bring down. Hopefully the Browns have worked on their tackling this week because otherwise it could be another tough day for Rob Ryan's D.
All in all, I think this game is a fairly tough game to call, but I'm going to be optimistic and say that the Browns are going to "Take their talents to South Beach" (I had to) and avenge the loss by our basketball team this week with a late Phil Dawson field goal to win it.
The Prediction: CLE 17 - MIA 14
See you at the half,
~MAS
Thursday, December 2, 2010
The Return
As a Clevelander, I know I'm predisposed to a whole lot of sports heartbreak. I would like nothing more than for my city to have a professional sports championship. There have been so many times that we've been so close in the last three decades it's ridiculous that all of the teams just never turned the corner. That being said, tonight LeBron James returns to his former home with his 11-8 Heat and everyone seems afraid of what the Cleveland fans are going to do.
I honestly would love to be at The Q tonight. I was there for Game 5 of the playoff series against the Celtics where LeBron arguably quit on his team, and the city itself. I had the privilege of splitting season tickets for the previous three seasons, so I had seen LeBron play a lot of games and I had never seen him that disinterested in what was happening on the floor. It was heartbreaking to watch him look like he couldn't care less about the game he gets millions to play, the game that so many Clevelanders loved to watch him play, the game that he made us believe he would win a Championship.
So I booed him. I booed him along with the many other fans who were at The Q that May night, because I was disgusted and I just had an awful feeling that game was going to be the last time I would see LeBron in a Cavs uniform. My mom was with me at the time and said, "Stop booing him! He'll remember this and then he'll leave!" She was right that he'd leave, but even she admitted she was wrong in her reasoning saying a few weeks ago, "It doesn't matter now, I hate LeBron and I hope he dies!" I'm sure everyone, including my mom (and before you start talking about how women don't know sports, she really does as my interest in sports comes completely from her), can admit that's a little extreme, but it does sum up a lot of the harsh feelings towards LeBron James in Cleveland.
I think it's still important to note that many are not angry with LeBron for leaving, it's how he left. Like anyone needs to be reminded, he made an hour long special to basically take a dump on Cleveland. He didn't let Dan Gilbert know what he was doing until that special had already started. He said that he was "Taking his talents to South Beach." I love ESPN, and I'm very happy that the special raised money for the Boys and Girls Club, but if he wanted to give them some money he couldn't have written a nice fat check? And I find it hard to believe that ESPN should want to support that kind of narcissism - it sets a very dangerous precedent. Of course, I doubt we'll ever see anything like that again.
But the fact still remains that Cleveland's #2 villain (to Art Modell, of course) is returning tonight. The police protection will be high, and millions are going to be tuning in to TNT - which will have its Thursday Night crew inside The Q tonight - to see just exactly what Clevelanders are going to do. As much as I would love to see LeBron realize the mistake he made, I know that's not going to ever publicly happen. So we'll have to settle for booing the absolute heck out of him.
He should know that he will never be welcome back in this town ever again. He should know that the way he left us may eventually be forgiven, but it will never be forgotten. He should know that those seven seasons without ever winning a championship left us with a bitter taste in our mouths, but that we will get our championship without him. Cleveland has too many people who work hard every day for every penny they get to have any respect for a narcissistic pig who simply didn't care.
So, if by chance you're going to the game tonight, cheer for Z when he is introduced, remembering his many years of hard work for our city and the wonderful ad he put out in the Plain Dealer, but boo LeBron like there is no tomorrow. Print out this chant sheet and use it tonight along with the other 20,000 plus fans to make him feel you. Other than that, I believe we'll keep it as classy as we possibly can because we're Cleveland. We survived the entire Browns team leaving and didn't have football for three years. We can certainly survive a self-centered basketball player "taking his talents" elsewhere, move on and end up stronger.
~MAS
I honestly would love to be at The Q tonight. I was there for Game 5 of the playoff series against the Celtics where LeBron arguably quit on his team, and the city itself. I had the privilege of splitting season tickets for the previous three seasons, so I had seen LeBron play a lot of games and I had never seen him that disinterested in what was happening on the floor. It was heartbreaking to watch him look like he couldn't care less about the game he gets millions to play, the game that so many Clevelanders loved to watch him play, the game that he made us believe he would win a Championship.
So I booed him. I booed him along with the many other fans who were at The Q that May night, because I was disgusted and I just had an awful feeling that game was going to be the last time I would see LeBron in a Cavs uniform. My mom was with me at the time and said, "Stop booing him! He'll remember this and then he'll leave!" She was right that he'd leave, but even she admitted she was wrong in her reasoning saying a few weeks ago, "It doesn't matter now, I hate LeBron and I hope he dies!" I'm sure everyone, including my mom (and before you start talking about how women don't know sports, she really does as my interest in sports comes completely from her), can admit that's a little extreme, but it does sum up a lot of the harsh feelings towards LeBron James in Cleveland.
I think it's still important to note that many are not angry with LeBron for leaving, it's how he left. Like anyone needs to be reminded, he made an hour long special to basically take a dump on Cleveland. He didn't let Dan Gilbert know what he was doing until that special had already started. He said that he was "Taking his talents to South Beach." I love ESPN, and I'm very happy that the special raised money for the Boys and Girls Club, but if he wanted to give them some money he couldn't have written a nice fat check? And I find it hard to believe that ESPN should want to support that kind of narcissism - it sets a very dangerous precedent. Of course, I doubt we'll ever see anything like that again.
But the fact still remains that Cleveland's #2 villain (to Art Modell, of course) is returning tonight. The police protection will be high, and millions are going to be tuning in to TNT - which will have its Thursday Night crew inside The Q tonight - to see just exactly what Clevelanders are going to do. As much as I would love to see LeBron realize the mistake he made, I know that's not going to ever publicly happen. So we'll have to settle for booing the absolute heck out of him.
He should know that he will never be welcome back in this town ever again. He should know that the way he left us may eventually be forgiven, but it will never be forgotten. He should know that those seven seasons without ever winning a championship left us with a bitter taste in our mouths, but that we will get our championship without him. Cleveland has too many people who work hard every day for every penny they get to have any respect for a narcissistic pig who simply didn't care.
So, if by chance you're going to the game tonight, cheer for Z when he is introduced, remembering his many years of hard work for our city and the wonderful ad he put out in the Plain Dealer, but boo LeBron like there is no tomorrow. Print out this chant sheet and use it tonight along with the other 20,000 plus fans to make him feel you. Other than that, I believe we'll keep it as classy as we possibly can because we're Cleveland. We survived the entire Browns team leaving and didn't have football for three years. We can certainly survive a self-centered basketball player "taking his talents" elsewhere, move on and end up stronger.
~MAS
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
A Little Late Victory Review & Quarterback Chat
Well, this is clearly a few days late, but my travel back to the great city of New York was unbelievably treacherous and left me way too jaded to get the blog in - especially after missing the entire first half of the Browns 24-23 victory over the Panthers on Sunday. However, I would like to get a little review of the game in and then go on to a couple other things on my mind...
Take the Victory Over the Loss
From what I saw, the Browns tried way too hard to lose their game to arguably the worst team in the NFL. As I alluded to in the intro, I didn't get to see the first half of the game and so my perspective may be a bit skewed, but I think Jake Delhomme looked awful. I don't want to hang the veteran out to dry because he did go 24/35 for 245 yards, but he threw two key interceptions in the second half that allowed Carolina to gain momentum and put them back in the game. Really, the only reason the Browns won that game was because Carolina's kicker, John Kasay, missed the last second field goal. Coach Mangini has said this week that the first interception Delhomme threw was not so bad (and I'll have to take his word for it since I didn't see it), but to me there is no defending the second. Watching the game on my 17-inch-screen laptop with the choppy DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket internet feed, I could tell Delhomme shouldn't have tried to force a late throw along the sideline to Massaquoi. In all of the games he's played so far this season, Delhomme has tried to force throws into places where they just do not belong. He did it against the Buccaneers in the first game of the season, which led to him getting his ankle sprained and the Bucs got a chance to score right before the half as well. He threw an ill-advised pass during the Falcons game where the defensive lineman was able to tip the ball and then make an incredible diving catch. Delhomme has just got to stop making mistakes that a savvy veteran such as himself should not be making.
That being said, who do I think should start at Quarterback this Sunday at Miami? If he was healthy, I'd say Colt McCoy. Seneca Wallace showed a nice ability to run the offense as well when he was starting earlier this season for the injured Delhomme, but he also had a tendency to make ill advised throws when he wasn't making nice plays with his legs. That leaves us with Delhomme, who despite how awful he looked last week was still a heck of a lot better than the now 3rd-string Brady Quinn or the laughing Mr. Hot Head, Derek Anderson.
What Delhomme does give the Browns offense is the added dimension of something many around the league call Wide Receivers. Now I'm not entirely sure what these creatures are, but apparently most teams in the NFL use them quite often to throw passes to - rather than the tight ends and running back. And, this is the most interesting fact of all, we've had some all season! Mohamed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie are the first two that stood out to me from the game against Carolina. How about that...
In all seriousness, Delhomme did help incorporate Massaqoui and Robiskie into the offense where McCoy has just not done that very much when we've seen him play. Robiskie had the best game of his young career - which, if I'm honest, isn't saying much - with 7 catches for 50 yards, and Massaqoui had 4 catches for 52 yards. My argument for Delhomme that goes against Seneca Wallace would be that in the games Wallace started, the only wide receiver who really established a good chemistry with him was Josh Cribbs - and it's starting to look like Cribbs will either be out or at least limited in action this week. It might also have been a little bit of rust that Delhomme needed to shake off in order to really get back into the game.
But This Week...
The Browns are playing a Miami team which had a pretty dominant performance against Oakland, where they held the Raiders to only 16 yards rushing. That being said, it was only on 12 rushing attempts, but still, you're talking about a team which is coming off a fantastic rushing defensive performance with an average of 1.3 yards-per-rush. You've got to think they're going to be amped up to face the bruising Peyton Hillis. Miami has a good team but their recent Quarterback injuries have probably had an impact on their schedule. Bill Parcells undoubtedly did a wonderful job turning around the franchise, and even though he has left his post his mark still remains.
I think the Browns would be wise to stick with a heavy ground attack plan, as Delhomme has revealed himself to be shaky and unreliable (at best) so far this season. Chad Henne is back in the starting saddle, and Brandon Marshall should also be back from his injury this week which could pose a problem for the Browns secondary. I think the Browns will have a good chance to win if the secondary steps up and the rest of the defense remembers how to tackle - which has been a real problem the past few weeks.
Until Sunday, if you're going to the Cavs game tomorrow, give LeQuit a piece of your mind for me.
~MAS
Take the Victory Over the Loss
From what I saw, the Browns tried way too hard to lose their game to arguably the worst team in the NFL. As I alluded to in the intro, I didn't get to see the first half of the game and so my perspective may be a bit skewed, but I think Jake Delhomme looked awful. I don't want to hang the veteran out to dry because he did go 24/35 for 245 yards, but he threw two key interceptions in the second half that allowed Carolina to gain momentum and put them back in the game. Really, the only reason the Browns won that game was because Carolina's kicker, John Kasay, missed the last second field goal. Coach Mangini has said this week that the first interception Delhomme threw was not so bad (and I'll have to take his word for it since I didn't see it), but to me there is no defending the second. Watching the game on my 17-inch-screen laptop with the choppy DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket internet feed, I could tell Delhomme shouldn't have tried to force a late throw along the sideline to Massaquoi. In all of the games he's played so far this season, Delhomme has tried to force throws into places where they just do not belong. He did it against the Buccaneers in the first game of the season, which led to him getting his ankle sprained and the Bucs got a chance to score right before the half as well. He threw an ill-advised pass during the Falcons game where the defensive lineman was able to tip the ball and then make an incredible diving catch. Delhomme has just got to stop making mistakes that a savvy veteran such as himself should not be making.
That being said, who do I think should start at Quarterback this Sunday at Miami? If he was healthy, I'd say Colt McCoy. Seneca Wallace showed a nice ability to run the offense as well when he was starting earlier this season for the injured Delhomme, but he also had a tendency to make ill advised throws when he wasn't making nice plays with his legs. That leaves us with Delhomme, who despite how awful he looked last week was still a heck of a lot better than the now 3rd-string Brady Quinn or the laughing Mr. Hot Head, Derek Anderson.
What Delhomme does give the Browns offense is the added dimension of something many around the league call Wide Receivers. Now I'm not entirely sure what these creatures are, but apparently most teams in the NFL use them quite often to throw passes to - rather than the tight ends and running back. And, this is the most interesting fact of all, we've had some all season! Mohamed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie are the first two that stood out to me from the game against Carolina. How about that...
In all seriousness, Delhomme did help incorporate Massaqoui and Robiskie into the offense where McCoy has just not done that very much when we've seen him play. Robiskie had the best game of his young career - which, if I'm honest, isn't saying much - with 7 catches for 50 yards, and Massaqoui had 4 catches for 52 yards. My argument for Delhomme that goes against Seneca Wallace would be that in the games Wallace started, the only wide receiver who really established a good chemistry with him was Josh Cribbs - and it's starting to look like Cribbs will either be out or at least limited in action this week. It might also have been a little bit of rust that Delhomme needed to shake off in order to really get back into the game.
But This Week...
The Browns are playing a Miami team which had a pretty dominant performance against Oakland, where they held the Raiders to only 16 yards rushing. That being said, it was only on 12 rushing attempts, but still, you're talking about a team which is coming off a fantastic rushing defensive performance with an average of 1.3 yards-per-rush. You've got to think they're going to be amped up to face the bruising Peyton Hillis. Miami has a good team but their recent Quarterback injuries have probably had an impact on their schedule. Bill Parcells undoubtedly did a wonderful job turning around the franchise, and even though he has left his post his mark still remains.
I think the Browns would be wise to stick with a heavy ground attack plan, as Delhomme has revealed himself to be shaky and unreliable (at best) so far this season. Chad Henne is back in the starting saddle, and Brandon Marshall should also be back from his injury this week which could pose a problem for the Browns secondary. I think the Browns will have a good chance to win if the secondary steps up and the rest of the defense remembers how to tackle - which has been a real problem the past few weeks.
Until Sunday, if you're going to the Cavs game tomorrow, give LeQuit a piece of your mind for me.
~MAS
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