Browns Halftime Blurb - 12/24 @ Ravens

I was going to write up a full post but I'm so disgusted with the sequence of events that ended the half, I'll just sum it up in few bullet points because I just...I just can't.

• The Browns are down 17-0. Not 17-3, not 17-7, 17-0. Wow. 
• Peyton Hillis is having a good day running the football with 68 yards on 15 carries—good for 4.5 yard average. I'd like to see him back next season.
• You know how I wrote that "Fire Pat Shurmur" post? Yeah, the clock management he just did at the end of the first half is a fireable offense. If Holmgren was in the building, he should honestly come down from the box, put on a jumpsuit and coach this team during the second half. That's the worst display of clock management I've ever seen in my life, and I watch a whole lot of football.
• I know there's a big talent gap, but it doesn't have to be this bad. Just give a little effort guys, c'mon! 
• Can it get any worse? 

I'll see you after the game. If I make it, that is.
Ugh.
~MAS

Start Me Up - Browns @ Ravens

You know, I completely forgot about coming on this here blog to gloat about how exactly right I was in my predictions in last week's Start Me Up. You know, how I said quarterback Seneca Wallace has a tendency to do stupid things (re: fumbling at the goal line) and another special teams breakdown would lose the game?

Times like those, I'm not particularly happy to be right...but I can't say I'm surprised.

But if you wanted to just see me gloat, you probably wouldn't be here—this is all about Browns versus Ravens. And if you watched the absolute pounding the Dirty Birds gave the Browns a few weeks ago in the Factory of Sadness, you know this one could get very ugly, very fast today.

In case you forgot, Ray Rice ran all over the Browns lowly running defense for 204 yards on 29 carries—good for a 7.0 average. All told, the Browns gave up 290 yards on 55 carries—that's a 5.5 average. If I may, those are awful numbers.

So obviously, the Browns defense definitely has a lot to prove today. Dick Jauron is working with a rag-tag bunch with key players linebacker Scott Fujita and safety T.J. Ward out for the year, but honestly there's no excuse for giving up nearly 300 yards on the ground. The D did a pretty good job last week of containing Beanie Wells and the Cardiñals ground attack, but I don't think anyone is going to confuse Arizona and Baltimore's offense. I don't really think the Browns realistically have a chance, but if the defense can come through like they did versus Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago they can at least keep the game interesting to watch.

But...the problem comes in that we're facing the Ravens defense, led by Ray Lewis and graduate of Ball So Hard University, Terrell Suggs.


If Seneca Wallace and company aren't scared, maybe they should be.

On the other hand, the last time the Browns were in Baltimore, Peyton Hillis ran for 144 yards and a touchdown and Wallace was 18/24 for 141 yards and a touchdown. Last week, Pat Shurmur did a good job coaching these guys up and calling a good game to put the Browns up 17-7 in the third quarter, but then got so incredibly conservative that everything fell apart. Well, that and it was like all of a sudden Arizona remembered that they could play defense and the Browns just had nothing to counter it.

Here's the deal—Shurmur has got to realize that 17 points is usually not enough to win games in the NFL. It's certainly not going to be realistic to ask your defense to hold the Ravens to under 17 points today. It's week 16—it's time to open up the playbook so that we see more than these four plays.

As we saw last week, Seneca Wallace is very capable of leading the team down the field to score touchdowns. Again, Arizona's D is not nearly as good as Baltimore's, but in order for me to believe in this "process" and the "progress," I need to see something real, something sustained on both sides of the ball. The bar is pretty darn low for the defense to show some progress based on the way they crapped out against Baltimore on 12/4, but it has to be done.

The Ravens have got plenty to fight for today including a division title and a chance at the #1 seed in the AFC, so I'd expect that they're going to come out and give us everything they've got. It's going to take a lot to keep us competitive, but stranger things have happened, right?

Maybe, just maybe, the Browns will give us a nice Christmas gift today. But if you think that means I'm picking the Browns, you must not know how much I like to be right.

The Prediction: BAL 17 - CLE 10

I don't think the Browns will come out and surprise the Ravens like they did the Steelers and Cardinals on the first drive again, but the defense will probably surprise us with a good game—until the fourth quarter, that is. Look for a long touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to rookie Torrey Smith to seal the deal today.

Enjoy the game, and I'll see you at the half.
~MAS

Browns Halftime Blurb - 12/18 @ Cardinals

You know what, that was a very nice first half. Anytime the defense can come out and give up just seven points in a half, you've got to consider that a success. You do that in the second half, and it comes out to just 14 points—which should be enough for your offense to win the game. So even though the defense coughed up a big drive at the end of the half, that's why I'm not that upset about the Browns 10-7 halftime lead.

Alright, so the big story was the Browns first offensive drive which led to a touchdown. Did you know: that's the first time the Browns have scored a touchdown on their opening drive the entire season? Ugh. Regardless, yes it was a very nice opening drive. But, then the Browns got the ball on their second possession inside Arizona territory and couldn't even kick a field goal. Things like that infuriate me—you can't just go out, run some good plays and call it progress. You need to sustain it.

We did get that 44 yard field goal on a drive that started at our own 20, and that was great, but Browns should have at least 13 points. No excuse for not scoring when you get the ball in the opponents territory.

One thing I'm very, very happy about is Peyton Hillis running the ball. The man looked like he did last season with five carries for 35 yards on the opening drive—including two for 10+ yards. All told, Hillis had 15 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown in the first half. That's excellent production, considering the lack of run game the Browns have had all year.

Defensively, the team played quite well until the final two minutes, when they allowed John Skelton 'n Co go 65 yards in 1:30 on nine plays to make the score 10-7. Strangely, the Browns have kept the Cardiñals run game pretty quiet, as for a team they have 11 carries for just 29 yards. Beanie Wells hasn't run rampant either, with just six carries for 22 yards. I'll take that.

But it does seem like the Browns have a two-minute defense problem—especially when they're not backed up to the goal line. That's got to get better, because the Cardinals may keep their backs against the wall with the hurry up in the 2nd half, since it worked so well.

Also, on Phil Dawson's 44 yard field goal, someone came clean through what looked like the space between the left guard and left tackle, or the left tackle and tight end. Either way, you can't let a guy come from the inside free like that—it's going to get blocked.

In order to win this game, the Browns are going to have to keep posession of the ball and try to run the clock down as much as possible. And please, Browns, when you get the ball in the opponent's territory, score some freaking points!

No Final Word today—I've got plenty of finals to study for. But, once I get home on Thursday night, look for a bunch of blog posts to come your way as I've got plenty to say about the Indians, Cavs and Browns that I just don't have time to put down right now.

I hope we all enjoy the second half, and have a pleasant week, folks.
~MAS

Start Me Up - Browns @ Cardiñals

It may be an inside joke with some of my high school football buddies, but I seriously enjoy putting the "˜" over the "n" in Cardinals.

But that's not what you're here for, regardless of however I decide to write it, the Browns are in sunny Arizona to play their game today. Who's optimistic?

Well...I am. Sort of. Let's call it cautious optimism.

Seneca Wallace will get the start today as Colt McCoy was still showing signs of a concussion late in the week and hadn't practiced. Colt is hopeful that he'll be able to play next week at Baltimore, but we'll see.

So we've got Seneca, the backup quarterback who made four starts last season. Granted, under Mangini and Daboll, Wallace wasn't running the offense he had become so comfortable with in his seven seasons in Seattle—with most of those being under current Browns President Mike Holmgren. So now that he's back in a comfortable spot with the West Coast offense, what can we expect to see this week?

Well, probably some improvement. Wallace has always been a pretty accurate passer, as his lifetime completion percentage is 60.5 percent. He's also stayed away from interceptions, as he's only thrown 16 compared to 29 career touchdowns. All of that is good news for the Browns, who are playing their very capable backup today.

We've already seen that Wallace can be effective in a pinch. He did it last week against the Steelers—throwing one of the best passes we've seen all year come from a Browns quarterback by leading Evan Moore perfectly on a deep out route to the five yard line. When he made spot starts last year after Jake Delhomme went down with an ankle sprain, we saw how Seneca is very capable of leading a team down the field to score.

My concern is that Wallace is going to do well for a while—say the first half—and then the Cardiñals are going to figure out what Wallace is doing and stop it. We also saw last year that Wallace can make some pretty poor throws or just plain stupid decisions. I believe it was against the Bengals that Wallace tried to throw a screen pass and the cornerback was right there to jump the throw and returned it for a touchdown. The Browns can't afford for Wallace to do that today if they want to win today.

If—but probably when—Seneca does well today, it might have a lot more to do with the fact that Arizona's defense is ranked 21st in the league, and the last three Browns opponents have been ranked in the top 10. It's interesting to note that the Browns are 7th in the league in giving up just 19.5 poins per game, while the Cardinals are 18th at 22.2. Let's hope the law of averages plays out today.

Defensively, the Browns are really going to have their hands full. Yes, we're ranked #2 in passing defense, but when you're 31st in the league in rushing defense by giving up 150 yards per game on the ground who needs to pass? With Larry Fitzgerald's height and all around #beatstmode ability, Joe Haden could have a tough day. And I don't even want to think about the damage former OSU running back Beanie Wells could inflict on the Browns D. If I were Arizona's head coach, Ken Whisenhunt, I'd ground 'n pound with Wells all day long until the Browns prove they can stop it.

Another concern is special teams. It's a darn shame that one of the strongest aspects of this team in years past has boken down so much this year, but especially given rookie Patrick Peterson's ability, I really think the Browns could be in trouble. In his rookie season, Peterson has tied the single season for punt returns for touchdowns with four. And based on this game winner against the Rams a few weeks ago, I could see him breaking the record today against the Browns lousy group.



I believe it was Colt McCoy (or perhaps Joe Thomas) that said once this season that if the Browns play "perfectly" on every play, then they can compete with anybody. But absolutely no team can be perfect on every play. And it's ludicrous to expect that. So based on everything I've said above, here's the bottom line.

The Prediction: ARI 24 - CLE 20.

Seneca Wallace will probably get us in a position to win, but then another special teams breakdown will lose it. It's just the sad reality of this football team right now, but I just don't think good things are in the Cards (ha...ha...) today.

I'll see you at the half,
~MAS

The Final Word - No Offense, No Win and Somebody Needs to be Fired

It's strange but also nice to not have a Browns game today. Nice in that I don't have to worry about feeling bad about the world when they lose, but strange in that I don't have three blog posts to write in succession. However, since I just haven't gotten to it yet, let's just get right to assessing the damage from Thursday's 14-3 loss to Pukesburgh.

And I know who you may be thinking about with the second part of that headline, but to whom I'm actually referring may surprise you.

First off, I think it's important to note just how hard the team played. The effort was definitely there, the hits were hard, and it felt like the Browns really wanted to win. Do they have the talent to beat Pittsburgh right now? Maybe when Roethlisberger is hurt, yes, but as long as the effort is there I find it a lot harder to complain.

Still, it has to be a huge concern when you've got your defense playing at such a high level, and your offense can't really get past midfield—with the exception of the first drive of the game. I also have a lot of concern over Pat Shurmur's ability to manage his personnel, as we had another game where Montario Hardesty runs (poorly) all the time, and Peyton Hillis and Chris Ogbonnaya stand on the sidelines. After the game, Shumur said that Hillis got "dinged up" or something like that, so that's why Hardesty was used so much. Hillis, on the other hand, seemed frustrated by his lack of carries and didn't say anything about being injured.

Stuff like that is going to have to stop if the Browns are going to be a successful football team.

But my biggest concern coming out of this game is everything surrounding quarterback Colt McCoy.

Okay, I've been as big of a McCoy supporter as anyone. People keep saying that McCoy looks like a young Drew Brees, and if that's true, I really don't want to give up on him this early (I'll probably write a more extensive post on this in the coming weeks, stay tuned for it). However, if you watched the kid this week, he made some fairly poor decisions.

Looking at the stat line, 18/35 for 209 yards and two interceptions is just not good enough. Granted, the second interception was thrown after he was clearly concussed (more on that later), but even so, the Browns offense just isn't really making any consistent tangible progress. I say consistent because we went right down the field and probably should've scored a touchdown on the first drive, but nothing happened after that. At all! And yes, we were in the game until the last five-ish minutes, but if you haven't scored a touchdown in the third quarter all year, something is seriously, seriously wrong. Not all of that hinges on the quarterback, obviously, but McCoy is the leader of the offense and he's got to do better. I'm sure he knows that.

But that brings me to this.

When James Harrison hit McCoy, I tweeted out "Oh man, is Colt alive?" because that is how vicious that hit was. I mean, I honestly thought Colt was out cold, much like his father, Brad McCoy, said to the Plain Dealer. But then the fact that Colt came back into the game literally three minutes and 50 seconds after that hit is insanely irresponsable.

Anyone who saw that hit knew that Colt had a concussion. It was a helmet-to-helmet blast. You can even see Alex Smith waving for someone to come over from the sidelines, because it was immediately apparent that Colt was not alright. And to think that the Browns actually checked Colt out in that time is ludicrous. As Brad McCoy said, a high school trainer takes longer than that to evaluate whether or not a player has a concussion. And now this article from the PD's Mary Kay Cabot confirms that the Browns did not "perform the SCAT2 concussion test (sport concussion assessment tool) on the sidelines before they sent him back into the game after two plays."


...Are you freaking kidding me?!


How on God's green earth can you not check the man for a concussion after that hit. How? No wonder they said he wasn't exhibiting signs of a concussion during the game—no one even checked! 


So this is what I was referring to in the headline—whoever didn't check Colt McCoy for a concussion on the sidelines after that hit should be fired. Today. Now. 


Not only could they have cost Colt his career if he had been hit in the head again, but whoever it was probably cost the Browns the game, as Seneca Wallace seemed on, and when Colt came back into the game, everything—including but not limited to the lights inside his head—was off. With the emphasis the NFL has put on player safety in the last couple of seasons, stuff like this cannot happen and someone needs to answer for it.


Look, no matter what happens with James Harrison (who actually said something to the effect of "I thought the hit was legal because he was out of the pocket and is a runner." Again are you freaking kidding me?! The quarterback?! Shut the hell up), or Colt McCoy, or Peyton Hillis, or Pat Shurmur, the Browns just need to get better. They probably can't do much more this season, but if they keep up the effort they displayed last week, they'll at least be watchable for the final three games of the season. 


I'll see you next week,
~MAS

Browns Halftime Blurb - 12/8 @ Steelers

Holy freaking crap, we're actually in this game. Playing moderately well. Against the Steelers.

Pinch me, I must be dreaming.

With Big Ben hurt, we might actually have a chance in this ballgame that's just 7-3, Pukesburgh. Hell, I'll take it.

This game really should be 7-7, or if not 7-0. I know we got the points, but I'm telling you we really should've gone for the touchdown there on 4th down. You're playing the Steelers, you're not a good team, you're not playing for the playoffs—what else do you have to lose, right?

What I can definitely say is that the Browns definitely came to play tonight. The first drive on offense was excellent, and we've seen Colt throw the ball down the field multiple times. So far, Colt is 10/17 for 143 yards and an interception—a very poor decision to throw in the vicinity of Troy Polamalu. The running game hasn't been so bad, but I really would've liked see Peyton Hillis late in the 2nd quarter rather than Montario Hardesty. Every time I watch Hardesty, I feel like he's running into the backs of the linemen. Ogbonnaya and Hillis don't do that, so hopefully we'll see more of them in the 2nd half.

How about the defense though? They had a horrendous first drive, but have cleaned it up and haven't allowed any points since. They even took out Ben Roethlisberger, who is probably out for the game with an ankle injury. As Andy Baskin tweeted, I bet Joe "Turkey" Jones is smiling somewhere. The D also forced two fumbles, which was excellent and really have kept the Browns in this game. D'Qwell Jackson has had a fantastic game so far, with four solo tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery, a tackle for loss and a QB hit, while Jabaal Sheard has also done a nice job forcing pressure on the quarterback in the pocket.

Look, the Browns still have a long way to go on offense, and if they don't figure out a way to start moving the ball, they're not winning this game. Really, I don't think they'll win it anyway, but it at least has been an entertaining game to watch.

I'm not sure if I'll do a Final Word tonight because it's getting a little late and I have a paper to write...So look for one sometime tomorrow.

See you then!
~MAS

Start Me Up - Browns @ Steelers

Show of hands, who thinks the Browns have a snowball's chance in hell of winning tonight?

No one?

Is that crickets I hear?

Yeah, okay, so it was. And You know what, I'm right there with you, Browns fans.

There's plenty on the record about how much I dislike Pat Shurmur, so I don't really have to go much into that. Other than the fact that earlier this week he said that "the most important thing is this is our next game."

Wrong, Shurmur. This is Pittsburgh week. It used to be a rivalry! But as Daryl Ruiter put it this week, all that has gone away.

If I were Shurmur, I would've shown the team this hit from Joe "Turkey" Jones on Terry Bradshaw all week long.

Look, I know that's illegal, but it's still one of the great moments in Browns history. You don't need to go out and kill the other team, but you have to be able to go out there with that kind of passion, that kind of high motor, that kind of fire in your eyes and heart. That's the only way we can beat the Steelers.

What would a W mean tonight? For starters, it would be the first win inside the division for quarterback Colt McCoy, who is so far 0-7 against the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals. That's no good, as obviously you have to beat the teams inside your division in order to make it to the next level in the NFL—it's one of the many strengths of the league. But I think Colt knows this and he's going to do everything he can tonight.

But on this team, with the (lack of) talent around him, in a primetime stage with the Steelers still battling the Ravens for the division lead—damn, is it going to be like climbing Mount Everest.

The good news is that Peyton Hillis is healthy enough to be "active" and if his hamstring doesn't tighten up on him (or get "sore" as Shurmur said it did last week), we could have a running game today. That is, if Mr. Shurmur decides to utilise it. Look, you're not going to beat people if you only give Peyton Hillis two carries in the second half, like he had last week. Yes, that's right, Hillis only had two carries in the second half last week! I know we were down, but there's still no excuse for that.

I know Hardesty is supposed to be playing more tonight as well, but I have absolutely no confidence in that guy. I'm sorry, but when it takes you 33 carries to get just 95 yards against the Seahawks, there's nothing you can hang your hat on. The dude has stone hands too, and with temperatures below freezing, let's just hope Shurmur calls throws his way.

On the other side of the ball, man the defense could have a really, really tough time containing the Steelers passing attack. If there's any matchup I'd like to see, it's Jabaal Sheard versus the Steelers o-line. This is a homecoming of sorts for Sheard, who played college ball at Pitt and is used to the home locker room at Heinz Field. Hopefully he can get some good penetration and strip/sack Ben Roethlisberger (I have the hardest time spelling that name...) like he did last week to Joe Flacco.

Turnovers are definitely going to be a big key to the game. If the Browns can force some and turn them into points, they have a chance at making the game interesting. If, however, the Browns are the ones fumbling and throwing interceptions they're going to dig themselves into a hole they won't even be able to see clearly out of.

Alright, so that was sort of a long intro to what is a pretty obvious prediction, so here goes.

The Prediction: PIT 33 - CLE 10.

As usual, we'll probably score a touchdown in garbage time, but you know what we might be lucky to even do that. If the offensive line doesn't step it up and protect Colt, they really could get him killed this week as we're facing one of the most feared defenders in James Harrison. Ask Mohamed Massaquoi, after a hit from this guy, your career might not be the same.

I'll see you at the half. Hopefully it'll still be a game by then...
~MAS

The Final Word — We Got Spanked, Plain and Simple

As I continue to watch Browns games this year, it's starting to become more and more difficult to justify my Browns fandom. I love football, especially the NFL, and so I watch a whole lot of it—good teams, bad teams, those in-between. 9.23 The Fan Brown beat reporter Daryl Ruiter tweeted out earlier that Josh Cribbs said there's a "big gap" between the talent level of the Browns and their other AFC North opponents. Cribbs may have overstepped by saying that in the heat of the moment right after the 24-10 loss to Ravens, but he's right. So. Incredibly. Right.

And it's not just the AFC North that we have to contend with. I'm not sure how the heck we beat Miami, because I'm telling you, we wouldn't beat them today. And we're certainly nowhere close to the same orbit as the 49ers, Patriots, Saints, and Packers. Hell, even the Giants gave the Packers a great game today. You think we could do that with the horse crap product the Browns are putting on the field right now? 

Yeah, I don't think so either. 

The score today was a whole lot closer than the game actually was. Honestly, I can't think of any better word to use to describe their effort today than "pathetic." And no one can escape this—the offense, defense, special teams or the coaching. There was no positive unit today, and that makes this a complete team loss. 

I don't often think like that when going over a game, but think about it. The Browns were down just 10-0 at the half. They came out, traded punts with the Ravens, before taking the ball down the field and scoring  a field goal on a drive highlighted by a 52 yard pass from Colt McCoy to Peyton Hillis. It was a wheel route, and I guess the Ravens just forgot he was there. And after that, the Browns pretty much got nothing, but they cut into the lead 10-3, and suddenly it felt like a whole new ballgame. 

But then the defense came out and showed their pathetic side by giving up a 67 yard run to Ray Rice on the first play after the kickoff. Are you kidding me?! 

I don't have to tell you how after that, the wind was just completely knocked out of the Browns' sails. 

And so begins our talk of the myriad of problems the Browns had today, the most glaring of which was the Browns (lack of) run defense. They gave up 295 yards on the ground today—204 of them to Ray Rice on 29 carries. Yikes. 

Colt McCoy looked really bad today, going 17/35 on his throws for just 192 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Peyton Hillis didn't look too great either, gaining just 45 yards on 12 carries—but he only carried the ball twice in the second half. Yes, a healthy Hillis only carried the ball two times in the second half, when we came into the third quarter down by just 10 points. 

And that bring me to my newest favorite whipping boy—head coach Pat Shurmur. What the hell was he doing today? Let me be clear, hell yes I still want this guy fired, because he's completely incompetent! 

What have we been saying since week one? The offense lacks creativity. You know how many times Josh Cribbs got the ball in his hands today? A big fat zero! He's a playmaker! You have to put the ball in his hands somehow, someway. Put him at running back and throw it to him in the flat. Screen pass. Reverse. Something!

Now I know Colt didn't execute well, but the fact is that it looks like there are too many three step drop and throws that result in just five yard plays. I found this little gem out today—last year Pat Shurmur's offense in St. Louis averaged 5.9 yards per passing play. This year, it's the same number in Cleveland. 

Can you guess what the Packers and Saints average?

Aaron Rodgers gets a whopping 9.6 yards per play, and Drew Brees (who I think might be playing even better than Rodgers) averages 8.02. Those guys are playing a completely different sport than McCoy and the Browns offense, and it's not going to get any better until the coaches figure out how to maximize the talent we have. 

Look, the bottom line is it was bad today and we've got the Steelers on Thursday (grrrrrrreat...). This team is just nowhere near good enough to compete with the big boys and they proved it today. But none of that is an excuse to just go out and lay down like they did today. 

There's absolutely no excuse for that, and to me, it makes this year's version of the Browns a complete embarrassment to the history, colors and fans of this franchise. 

I'll see you Thursday...

~MAS

Browns Halftime Blurb - 12/5 vs Ravens

Well, what can I say? I figured it would be ugly, but man... The Browns running defense has been nothing short of pathetic as they gave up 158 yards in just two freaking quarters, and allowed the Ravens to take a 10-0 lead into the half.

Yes, the story of the game so far has definitely been the Ravens running game versus the Browns (lack of) running defense. So far, Dick Jauron's crew has successfully made Ray Rice look like the reincarnation of Jim Brown as he has 107 yards on 17 carries. That's 6.3 yards per carry, folks. Disgusting. Ricky Williams has also gotten the best of the Browns D, gaining 43 yards on six carries as the change-up back. There's not much to say other than the Browns are getting completely bowled over. Right now, I think it's at the point where the Ravens could tell the Browns where they're going to run the ball, and the defense still couldn't stop it. You just can't win like that

One defender who I think is having a particularly bad day is Sheldon Brown. Yes, he dropped that easy tip-drill interception, but I always find INTs to be more gravy than anything else. But Brown has also been terrible in coverage, and was just run right over by Ray Rice on the first touchdown. Jayme Mitchell has also been pretty bad today, as the right end has been consistently stood up by the Ravens offensive line en route to the spanking they put on us in the first half.

If there's a silver lining, it's freaking Billy Cundiff. The dude almost missed the extra point on the first touchdown, and the proceeded to miss his next two field goal attempts before he nailed the last one with 13 seconds left to play in the half.

If there's something nice that's happened on offense, it's that Peyton Hillis seems to be healthy and is running the ball with some authority. His longest run of the day so far is just nine yards, but he does have 43 yards on 10 carries—good for a 4.3 average. I'm sort of surprised we didn't see any Montario Hardesty in the first half, but with his calf problems and the field conditions it's probably the best decision.

Colt McCoy has looked pretty bad so far today too, although it's not all his fault. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the offensive line is going to get poor Colt killed out there with their lack of blocking. However, that interception was all on Colt—you just can't stare down a receiver like that. I knew he was throwing the ball over there, and if I were a DB, I could've easily made that pick too.

Honestly, with the way we're getting our natural behinds kicked, this game should probably be something more like 24 or 20 to nothing, but fortunately that's not the case and it looks like the Browns could actually have a chance. Well, that's if they actually figure out how to get their mess together in the second half.

Hopefully Colt will survive the third and fourth quarters, and I'll see you after the game. I promise.
~MAS

Start Me Up - Browns vs Ravens

Alright everyone, I'm back for a full day of regularly scheduled Browns bloggin'. The last few weeks haven't really surprised me—especially the loss at Cincinnati, they're actually a good team, and the Browns are not—but the game today could get ugly. Fast. 

Here's the deal, the Browns offensive line has gotten better in the last couple of weeks, but I don't think they'll be any match for the Ravens front seven. Take a look at how the team in black and purple completely dismantled the 49ers last week and it's easy to see why. That's a team with Frank Gore—a top-tier running back in the NFL—and he only gained 39 yards on 14 carries. Yikes. They sacked quarterback Alex Smith nine times and got 12 more QB hits. They didn't let San Fran into the redzone at all. 

And they did all of that without Ray Lewis!

If Colt McCoy isn't scared...he should be.

McCoy has been sacked 26 times this year and has been knocked down a league leading 64 times. The Ravens D has a league leading 38 sacks and 16 forced fumbles. I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that when you put it all together, it doesn't spell good news for us, Browns fans. 

If their is any silver lining, it's that we should have a full complement of running backs for the first time in months. Peyton Hillis was healthy last week, and I thought he had a pretty productive game (I don't think Shurmur used him very well towards the end of the game...but that's another story/another reason why I don't like our head coach). Montario Hardesty's calf should finally be ready to go, and Chris Ogbonnaya is also available.

It's probably worth noting that in the first game against Baltimore last year, Hillis had 144 yards on 22 carries. Could that happen today? Well, anything's possible, right?

On the defensive side of the ball, I really think we're going to have a tough time stopping Ray Rice. He's another great young running back in this league, as he both runs the ball and catches passes quite well. So far this season he has 722 yards rushing and 54 receptions for 537 yards—good for a total of 1,259 yards from scrimmage. I realize the passing defense has been a strong point for the Browns this season, and Flacco has been somewhat inconsistent, but without both Scott Fujita and TJ Ward, the defense is really going to have its hands full. 

Look, I know the Ravens have had a few let-down games this year, as all of their losses have come to teams who were under .500 at the time of the game, and that quarterback Joe Flacco has been inconsistent, but I just don't see the Ravens coming into Cleveland for a division game and laying an egg. And let's be clear, the only way the Browns are going to win this game is if the Ravens lay an egg. 

Since '08, the Browns have won a game each year that they just have no business winning—the Giants game on Monday Night Football in '08, the Thursday Night game against the Steelers in '09, and the Saints game last year—and that could very well happen today. Any given Sunday, right? That's why you play the game. 

But let's just get to the bottom line.

The Prediction: BAL 31 - CLE 13

We'll probably get that touchdown in garbage time, because it's probably going to be a long day for the Browns offense—and that's with or without Ray Lewis on the field. 

I'll see you at the half.

~MAS

No Blogs Today

I know, I'm a real scrub because I didn't even write something on the Browns win last week, but I'm taking a day off today. I will leave you with a prediction...

CIN 24 - CLE 17

I'm just not thinking it's gonna happen, folks.

Regularly scheduled posts will resume next week!

~MAS

Browns Halftime Blurb - 11/20 vs Jaguars

Well I have to admit, I was very pleasantly surprised that the Browns actually got into the endzone—but with the break they caught on that tipped pass, they really had no excuse. However, Blane Gabbert and Maurice Jones-Drew have done well against the Browns D, and that's why the score is tied at 7 after two quarters of football.

Offensively, Colt McCoy has done some nice work, going 8/13 for 117 yards. 51 of those came on that nice pass to Jordan Norwood, who broke a tackle and sprinted down the field to set up Chris Ogbonnaya's touchdown run. Greg Little also caught a pass for 22 yards. Other than that...well...yawn. Ogbonnaya can't run the ball (again), as he only has 17 yards on nine carries. Booo! Also, no completions to Evan Moore yet.

On the defensive side, Blane Gabbert has presented more problems than probably anticipated as evidenced by his 11/17 for 97 yards first half. He did a great job of putting together their 18 play, 92 yard touchdown drive. Those are the kinds of things that can totally deflate a defense. Other than that, I guess the D has been alright—they've only given up 54 yards on 13 carries to Jones-Drew, a 4.2 average.

Honestly, there isn't much to say about this game. The Browns are still in it because of that ridiculous call on the pass interference review—the ball was definitely tipped. So maybe we'll get a couple good breaks towards the end of the game too. We probably deserve the karma after MJD did the LeBron chalk toss after he scored his touchdown. Booo!

Man this was a short halftime blurb...But I'll see you later for the Final Word.
~MAS

Start Me Up - Browns vs. Jaguars

Alrightey, I've calmed down a bit since last week, but I'm still on the "Fire Pat Shurmur" train. To me, he's inept, he's daft, and he doesn't belong as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

But that's probably a post better saved for sometime later this week when I'm at home and basking in the glow of Thanksgiving Break (!!!). So for now, let's just get right to it with the Browns versus the Jacksonville Jaguars.

There's a lot of speculation surrounding this team as of late—if Jack Del Rio will be their coach after his contract runs out in this upcoming offseason, and whether they'll be the franchise to relocate to LA when that big new stadium opens. All that being said, they're not playing that poorly for a team with a rookie quarterback.

Yes, they have the same record as we do in 3-6, but they beat Baltimore on Monday Night Football. Not a bad gig, if you can do it. What sets this team up for wins like that is their dominant defense. So far they're ranked fourth in overall defense, with their passing D ranked fifth (we're first in that category! How bout that...) and their running D ranked fourteenth. Not bad at all for their defensive coordinator, Mel Tucker. And if that name sounds familiar, it should—he was the secondary coach for the Browns from '05-'07, and the D-coordinator in '08 under Romeo "Mr. Snuggles" Crenel.

So what does that mean for us? Well, I'm no sure it's particularly good news. The offense has been strugg-a-ling as of late, and I honestly don't think Shurmur is the coach that's going to make them get over the hump. I will say this, if they get into the endzone in the first quarter, I think they have a real shot to win. Now, do I think they'll actually do that? No, I really don't. But I've been wrong plenty of times before.

Colt McCoy is going to have to be flawless in order for the Browns to win this game. The Browns don't have a running game, despite what they did last week, and so Colt is going to have to find passing lanes to Watson, Little, Massaquoi (who's back today after his concussion) and Cribbs. Hopefully Evan Moore will find some passes thrown his way too—I don't understand why Shurmur doesn't use that big target more than he does.

The defense is going to have its hands full with Maurice Jones-Drew. The guy is small but extremely powerful and bursts through the line with authority. We're ranked 30th against the run, allowing 142.8 yards per game. If Del Rio is any kind of coach—which I think he is—he's going to pound the ball with MJD all...game...long... and only allow rookie Blane Gabbert to throw when absolutely necessary. That's what I would do against such a poor running defense.

So what do I think is going to happen? Well, I think the Factory of Sadness will once again earn its name. I'm sorry, but Browns D + MJD = Disaster, by my calculations. I think Colt will have another good game, but ultimately playing for field goals—which Shurmur said he'd "go to the wall" with—will probably let us down once again. Boo.

The Prediction: JAC 16 - CLE 12

No touchdowns for the Browns today, and one for the Jags late will seal the deal against the Browns.

I'll see you at the half...
~MAS

The Final Word — Fire Pat Shurmur

Yes, I know we're nine games into his first season. Yes, I know this team has been decimated by injuries. And yes, I know he doesn't go out there and try to kick field goals, but you know what?

Pat Shurmur needs to go.

He is a pathetic excuse for a football coach, and is an embarrassment to the Browns name, colors and the entire history of the franchise.

Fire him. Now.

Before I get into exactly why, I'll give you a small assessment of some aspects of today's disgusting 13-12 loss to the Rams.

Colt McCoy? One of his best games all year. That pass down the field to Greg Little may have been the best throw of his young career as he threw the ball with a tight spiral right into the bread basket on a very windy day.

Chris Ogbonnaya? After he made some adjustments, he wasn't so bad. I really think running backs can be a dime a dozen when you have a good offensive line, and for the most part the o-line didn't have a bad day. After Ogbonnaya got comfortable, I think he had a pretty good game with 19 carries for 90 yards, including a 32 yarder. I'll take it.

Run defense? BOOOO! They were terrible once again, giving up 128 yards to Steven Jackson. They totally got bailed out by the fumble and interception.

Josh Cribbs? Boy that was a costly fumble. But you know what, the defender made a good play while Josh was fighting for more yards. This loss is definitely not his fault.

The trickeration? Loved it, that's what we need in order to be in a position to score points—more creativity.

And the special teams...all I have to say is that none of this special teams B.S. ever happened under Eric  Mangini. Makes you think...

But now we've reached our destination, Mr. Pat Shurmur. Born April 14, 1965, this 46-year-old has been absolutely overwhelmed by the rigors of being both offensive coordinator and head coach of the Browns. And let me say, it's time for him to get the hell out of town.

Look, as much as I liked that trickeration, we still scored zero touchdowns today. Zero. Nada. Zippo. Goose egg. We rarely score points in the first and third quarter, meaning Shurmur never has his team ready to come out and play. And when we have scored points, they're usually field goals! You're not going to win games in this league if you don't play to score touchdowns, you're just not.

Which leads me to why I'm done with this fool. Let's go to the play selection of that series towards the end of the game where the Factory of Sadness earned its name today. After the kickoff went out of bounds which gave the Browns the ball at their own 40, the drive started out quite well. McCoy threw a pass to Little for 11 yards, and then Little ran it for 10 more on an end around. Next was a horse collar penalty, which put the Browns on St. Louis' 18 yard line. The Browns ran it three times, getting a first down and goal on the eight yard line, which was just fine.

But then things just get crazy stupid.

Keep in mind that on first down, there were 3:30+ minutes in the game. So to start off, we run the ball on first down with Ogbonnaya. I can't find too much fault with that, but you can't expect that guy to get into the end zone—everybody knows he stinks. And then—here's the real kicker—we try a handoff to freaking Alex freaking Smith, he fumbles, and Josh Cribbs recovers. I don't usually use caps lock but...WHAT IN THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS WAS SHURMUR THINKING?! Smith had never taken a handoff in the NFL. Never. THAT WAS NOT THE TIME TO START!

To make matters worse, when reporters asked Shurmur about "the thinking" on that play after the game, that idiot got snippy. Don't you get snippy when you clearly don't know who's on the field! That's your own fault, Shrmur. That's the most inexcusable thing I've ever seen on a football field. The game is on the line. You just can't run the ball like that.

But that's when St. Louis took their first time out of the half, with 2:59 left to play.

Alright, so next Shurmur elects to run the ball with Ogbonnaya for a three yard gain, obviously not playing for the touchdown. My question is...why the hell aren't you playing for touchdowns?! C'mon, after that play we called timeout with 2:13 left. You know what that means? Even if Dawson makes the field goal, we're giving the Rams the ball back with 2 minutes left in the game and all they need is a field goal to beat us because the score is 15-13. If you score a touchdown, however, you're up 19-13, and they need at least a touchdown to win. That's huge! I know Sam Bradford isn't Eli Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, but 2 minutes is a long time in an NFL game—especially for a team with two timeouts!

That's why you have to at least try to get the ball into the endzone. Run a little rollout swing pass to Josh Cribbs, and if he's not wide open tell Colt to throw the ball into freaking Lake Erie. It's not that hard, we've seen them run that play all the time. But you cannot just settle for a field goal there, I don't care how automatic Phil Dawson is. And saying, "we were playing to get the points" in the press conference doesn't make it any better.

Look, I know they won't fire Pat Shurmur, but with the piss poor way he's coached this team this year, he doesn't deserve to stay. You have to know who's in the game, and unless time is literally going to expire when you kick the field goal, you have to at least take one shot at the endzone when you're inside the 20.

I've had enough of the daft, inept and all around stupid offensive coaching at the Factory of Sadness.

Time to say goodbye to Shurmur.

I'll see you next week...
~MAS

Browns Halftime Blurb - 11/13 vs Rams

You know what? The Browns really showed me something on that last drive before the half. I know I wasn't particularly optimistic in the Start Me Up, but Colt McCoy's deep ball to Greg Little might've been the best pass of his young career. Still, that 15 yard facemask penalty on Evan Moore was no help, and the Browns are down 10-9.

As I thought, the Browns haven't been able to put the ball in the end zone so far, but they have at least gotten the ball deep into St. Louis territory—more than we could say about the team during the 49ers and Texans games. So far McCoy is 13/19 for 152 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Greg Little has four catches for 67 yards, including that beautiful 51 yard reception at the end of the half.

My problem with the offense is the running backs and the offensive line—big surprise. Of course, part of the issue with the o-line comes from the RBs, but honestly, I didn't realize how bad Chris Ogbonnaya and Thomas Clayton are. I saw at least 2-3 plays where those guys didn't see the hole and were trounced for little to no gain. That's going to be a problem until we get Hillis or Hardesty back, unfortunately. The guard play has been a little bit better today, but Shawn Lauvao had a couple plays where he was just beat badly. That just can't happen.

I did love the creativity with Josh Cribbs in the wildcat, and also that sweet play where McCoy ended up passing to back up QB Seneca Wallace. It's about time we saw something at least a little different out there, even if it is only one play of trickeration. The fact is that with those running backs, it's going to be really hard for the offense to do anything of consequence when its not passing.

The defensive unit has allowed Steven Jackson to run for 71 yards on 13 carries—good for a 5.5 average. Booo! This run defense has to make some adjustments, because that's how they're going to lose. Seriously, if you can't stop the run in the 3rd and 4th quarters, just pack it in because the D is going to be too tired. They did, however, pick off Sam Bradford when the young QB didn't see Scott Fujita and the linebacker tipped the ball up volleyball style and ended up catching it himself. I'll take that, but with the field position we got there, the offense should've turned in a touchdown.

All in all, we're so lucky to have Phil Dawson because that's where those 9 points came from, and kicking field goals today is no easy task with the swirling wind. Dawson really deserves more credit than he gets because he's been on such bad teams.

So what's in store for the second half? Well, the Rams get the ball first, so we'll see if defensive coordinator Dick Jauron made the necessary halftime adjustments to stop Steven Jackson. We'll aslso need to see the Browns cure their third quarter woes on offense if they have any shot of actually winning this game. And by that I mean they need to come out and score a touchdown.

I'll see you after for the Final Word.
~MAS

Start Me Up - Browns vs. Rams

Alright I've got to 'fess up. I didn't do my blog-ly duty last week with the Final Word because...well...I just couldn't bring myself to write a post when I was questioning my Browns fan-dom.

But lo and behold, this video showed up and reminded me why I love the Browns so much.

We all feel this way! We know it's ridiculous, we know it's irrational, we know they just freaking torture us each and every time out, but they're in our blood. And even though Cleveland Browns Stadium is a "factory of sadness" I will always watch the team each and every Sunday.


So now that we've got that out of the way, I've got to say that I'm just not particularly optimistic about our chances. First off, Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty are both still out for this game so you know what that means—no running game. They haven't replaced Jason Pinkston and Shawn Lauvao at the guard positions, so I have no confidence in the offensive line. And to make matters worse Mohamed Massaquoi is most likely out because of his lingering concussion symptoms.

We all know the offense has been unwatchable the last few games, and all those injuries aren't helping matters. There were rumblings of Josh Cribbs maybe doing some more out of the backfield this week, but those rumors were squashed. Maybe because the coaches didn't want Cribbsie giving away the game plan, or maybe because Shurmur really isn't going to use him as a running back.

But I'd say why not? Seriously, the guy ran the Wildcat for the past couple of seasons and averaged 5.9 yards per carry. With the lack of offense, and the heart that Cribbs plays with, why wouldn't you want him involved in every play possible?

Think about it—if you're the opposing defensive coordinator, who else scares you even a little bit on the Browns offense? The "who dat" running backs? Nope. The wide receivers? Sorry Greg Little, but you're still a rookie. And God love Colt McCoy, but with the offensive line trying to kill him by not blocking, nobody is afraid of him either.

So look for Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo to pressure the heck out of McCoy. Spagnuolo's previous job was defensive coordinator of the New York Giants—arguably home of the NFL's best pass rush since 2006. I'm thinking we're going to see a whole lot of McCoy running for his life yet again, and that doesn't bode well for our chances to win.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Browns will be without strong safety TJ Ward for 4-6 weeks with his foot injury. Yeah, that spells "bad news bears" for a team that's 30th defending the run and is playing against a running back in Steven Jackson that's gained 159 and 130 yards on the ground in his last two games. If I'm Rams offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, I'm handing the ball off to Steven Jackson all game long to wear down the Browns D. I think Steven Jackson could definitely get over 200 yards on the ground with that strategy. Can I get an "Uh-oh!" people?

This game could be similar to the Seattle game and come down to field goals. But honestly, I'm thinking the Rams will come in and just run Steven Jackson all over the field, while Sam Bradford just has to make a few key throws to seal the victory over the Browns. And while I'm not happy about it, I'm just not feeling like the Browns are going to be able to muster up any offense with the inept coaching of Pat Shurmur.

We can't get an offensive coordinator in here soon enough.

The Prediction: STL 17 - CLE 9

No touchdowns for the Browns, and who knows where we'd be without Phil Dawson.

I'll see you at the half,
~MAS

Browns Halftime Blurb - 11/6 @ Texans

Turns out I lied—I don't have anything to do for a little while so here's the halftime blurb. And what an ugly half its been with the Texans leading the Browns 24-3 after two quarters of football.

All three aspects of the team have looked bad at one point or another in this quarter—offense, defense and special teams. I don't know about you, but I'm really, really sick of watching this crap. I don't know if it'd be right to fire Shurmur, but he looks completely overwhelmed out there. And it's not just growing pains at this point, it's just regular old fashioned sucking.

I know the Texans are a good team, but Shurmur has got to start planning for defenses to come after his quarterback better. Colt McCoy is running for his freaking life out there, and until he stops, the Browns won't be able to beat anybody. The one thing Shurmur seems to do relatively well is scheme for the 2-minute drill. Why that is, I'm not sure, but you could see it on the last drive before the half. The slant to Evan Moore is exactly what this team needs more of. And plays where Little and McCoy are on completely different pages is what this team needs less of.

I said in the Start Me Up that one of the defenses obstacles would be the offense, but really it's been a lot worse than that. The Browns haven't been able to stop to two headed monster of Ben Tate and Arian Foster all day. The former has four carries for 66 yards, and the latter has 10 for 64. In all, the Texans are averaging 8.8 yards per carry—a ludicrous total. Although I'm sure defensive coordinator Dick Jauron will make some good halftime adjustments, the Texans are going to ground and pound this one out.

But to get back to the offense, Colt McCoy is ___ with an interception, Chris Ogbonnaya has just 20 yards on 10 carries, and the longest run of the day was from newcomer Thomas Clayton for a stunning four yards. Goodness gracious this team looks horrendous on offense, and I'm telling you it starts up front with the awful play from guards Shawn Lavou and Jason Pinkston and tackle Tony Pashos. But when you only get 70 yards in the first half, it's more than that.

Shurmur is the problem.

I'm sure I'll have more on that in the Final Word later today. If there's any reason to watch the second half, look for the defense to come out more ready to play. And if you're a masochist, Colt McCoy might be killed with the shots he's been taking.

See you after the game.
~MAS

Start Me Up - Browns @ Texans

Well here we are again, folks, it's Sunday and we're all about to subject ourselves to three hours of torture at the hands of the Browns. Why do we do it? We love 'em, yeah, but man oh man is this one probably going to be tough to watch.

The Browns go into Houston without Peyton Hillis, Montario Hardesty, and the offense may come back without their dignity. Chris Ogbannaya will make his first start as a Brown against his former team (granted he was on the practice squad, but still), and I'm hoping we can find lightning in a bottle. I actually thought Ogbannaya was the most effective running back the Browns have had watching him in his first couple of games. Perhaps that's because other teams don't have any film on him yet, but it could be because he's talented. Maybe he'll be our Ryan Grant—someone who was on the Giants practice squad and then turned into a very effective runner for the Packers (well...until he was hurt and the Packers won the Super Bowl without him, but that's not important).

In other offensive news, Mohammad Massaquoi is back today. Yay... Look, there is absolutely no offensive weapon that we have that might actually put fear in the hearts and minds of the Texans defense, which is led by one of the best defensive coordinators around in Wade Phillips. He's taken a squad that consistently brought the Texans down and turned it into a 3-4 machine, as they rank third in total defense and fifth in points per game. Look for Colt McCoy to be running around all day long like a chicken with its head cut off with Houston's pass rush and the Browns swiss cheese for an offensive line. Bleh.

Ont the defensive side of the ball, I'm not so worried. Matt Schuab is without his biggest weapon in Andre Johnson, who is out with a hamstring injury (that nobody is questioning...sorry Peyton Hillis). Unfortunately, they've still got one of the league's top rushers in Arian Foster, who is ninth in the NFL with 532 yards and four rushing touchdowns. The biggest problem for the defense is going to be staying off the field, as the offense is probably going to look like poo. Hopefully Dick Jauron has his squad prepared for a long game...

So let's get to the bottom line.

The Prediction: CLE 10 - HOU 20

The defense will keep Houston off the scoreboard for the most part, but Browns turnovers/generally ineffective offense will be the downfall of the Browns today. Maybe I'll be wrong...but don't count on it.

No halftime blurb today, as I've got something to do mid-game, but look for a final word later tonight after I watch the rest of what might be a DVR'd mess.

See you then,
~MAS

The Final Word: No offense, no win

Holmgren, we have a problem. I'm really freaking sick of watching this team week in and week out without any sign of progress—in fact, the offense on this team is horribly regressing. I understand that we were without Hillis and Massaquoi today, and we're playing with a rookie head coach, and what amounts to a rookie quarterback, but at some point I want to see Shurmur start to look like an NFL head coach, and create some successful schemes against another NFL team.

I know I usually go over the stats, but today I think I'm going to move away from that and just rant a little bit. But I reserve the right to change my mind.

First off, the defense is not the problem. Even though they were sort of asleep for the first half, defensive coordinator Dick Jauron made the adjustments, and contained Frank Gore, Alex Smith and the rest of the 49ers offense, giving the Browns offense a chance to come back. When the opposing team only scores 20 points, I think the defense has doen their job. And besides, seven of those points came on the 49ers first drive which started at the Browns 20 after Colt McCoy's fumble.

And what a great segue to the topic I'm burning on—the offense. Okay, we have an offensive-minded head coach. We have a front office with someone who knows the ins and outs of the West Coast offense. We have a young quarterback who showed progress last year and at the beginning of this year. What in the wide, wide world of sports has been happening the past few weeks?

Colt McCoy has looked terrible. I think a lot of that has to do with the piss-poor play of the offensive line, but what's more is that he's just making bad decisions. That interception today? Why in the world would you think it's a good idea to try and throw across your body to a double-covered receiver? Look, it's one thing to try and make something happen, but that is just a dumb decision. I'm tired of hearing how high this guy's football IQ is, and then seeing him go out and make stupid freaking decisions.

But to get back to that offensive line, I am really sick of watching Colt McCoy run for his freaking life all around the field because these guys can't block. I know LG Eric Steinbach was injured for the year, I know RT Tony Pashos injured his ankle and has been playing on it regardless, but these guys are anchored by LT Joe Thomas and C Alex Mack. They. Are. All. Terrible. 


Shawn Lauvao and Jason Pinkston have been disgustingly awful at both guard positions. They consistently don't keep their eyes up and look for the linebackers coming on the blitz in pass protection (my high school coaches would be proud of me for saying that) and they don't have enough 'pop' when they're run blocking. I'm tired of watching these fools make a mockery out of what used to be one of the strongest aspects of this team because the Browns "think they're going to be good starters for a number of years." Please correct me if I'm wrong (which I don't believe I am), but Joe Thomas never struggled like this when he was a young player. No more excuses—this offseason, aside from LT and C, the entire offensive line needs to be replaced. Draft them, sign free agents, trade for them, I really don't care. We just don't have the weapons to compensate for a poor offensive line.

I'm not sure how much of that was game specific, but I feel like they're all true. It's time for Shurmur to start making better schemes, and the line to start executing so that the skill players have a fighting chance of making plays.

Like last week, I'm still pissed off. But next week I'll be home in the CLE to watch our favorite team from the friendly confines of my own couch. I'll see you then.
~MAS

Start Me Up - Browns @ 49ers

I've always thought it was a bit strange that the 49ers ar referred to by the numbers, and not "Forty-Niners," but I suppose that would look a bit strange, huh? In any case, the Browns are in the Bay Area for the second time in three weeks, but this time they face a somewhat surprising 5-1 team in those 49ers.

That 1849 gold rush has nothing on running back Frank Gore, who has been lighting up my fantasy team the league with 541 yards rushing, good for eighth in the league. As good as the defense has been—and it's ranked fourth coming into today's action!—we really haven't faced that great of a offense. It'll be a good test for the young defensive line and the linebacking corps to see how well they can contain him.

But my primary concerns in today's game are the offense and special teams. It's been well documented in the Plain Dealer throughout the week about how 49ers special teams coach Brad Seely was with us the past two seasons under Eric Mangini, how the Browns been C.E.O. of Struggle Inc. when it comes to special teams this year and thus are more than likely going to be crushed in that department. My hope is that we can at least match the Niners special teams unit—make our field goals, and not allow any egregious returns. If we can't, it'll be a huge part of the difference in the game.

Offensively, the Browns have got a whole hell of a lot to prove, because so far they've stunk up the place—especially last week. I realize a win is a win, and the good teams find ways to win, but an offensive performance like last week is not going to beat the 49ers today. It's just not. Right now we're ranked 23rd in offense, and we're going against the Niners 11th ranked defense. Here's the thing, Peyton Hillis may or may not play, and even if he does, who knows how effective he's going to be? (UPDATE: Hillis has been ruled OUT for today's game) Mohammed Massaquoi is out today after suffering a concussion last week, and Ben Watson is questionable with the same injury. Those are our three main weapons for Colt McCoy—a recipe that might cook up disaster for the offense today.

On the other hand, this could be a breakout game for players like Evan Moore, Greg Little and Montario Hardesty. I'd love to see Colt throw the ball on some short, quick, routes to Little, and then maybe a few drag routes over the middle to Moore... It would be extremely encouraging to see the the West Coast offense finally start to gel in the place where it was incepted.

Unfortunately, I have a tough time thinking that's going to happen, so let's get to the bottom line...

The Prediction: CLE 10 - SF 31

I just don't feel like the Browns are going to show the defense that we've been seeing the last few weeks, and with those three offensive weapons out, I don't know that we'll score a touchdown until garbage time. Harbaugh has done a great job so far with that SF team, and I think today they'll push their record to 6-1.

Hopefully I'll be wrong and they'll score a lot of points and shut me up.

Ha, I'll see you at the half!
~MAS

The Final Word: We Got Lucky

Don't be alarmed, I just decided to give the last post in the trio a name. "The Final Word" sounded good enough to me. 


I'm not sure if I've ever been this displeased with a Browns win. Ever. I mean usually even if we win ugly, I feel goo about it. But this? This was just terrible.

6-3 was the final score. I swear, the Indians beat the Mariners today, with Chris Perez getting the save.

You can say, "A win is a win, be happy about it," and on most occasions I'd really agree with you. But today? Not a chance.

The only reason the Browns won today is because Seahawks starting running back Marshawn Lynch hurt his back in pre-game warmups and couldn't play. If Lynch is in the game, I think the Seahawks win. But he didn't so I suppose that's a moot point.

Starting out with the positives, the Defense played extremely well today. They played way better than they should have needed to—it's totally unrealistic to ask your defense to hold the other team to 10 points or less in the NFL. But the guys really got after it, totaling three sacks, two tackles for loss, five passes defended and five QB hits. Those are all quality numbers, and I appreciate that. Combine that with the fact that Charlie Whitehurst was held to 12-30 for just 97 yards, an interception and an abysmal 35.0 QB rating and as a team Seattle was held to just 65 rushing yards, and it's easy to commend the defense for their effort. They are very much the reason why we won the game.

But there are so many more reasons as to why we should've lost. So many that I just can't really appreciate this game. I feel like we're regressing more and more each week, and this week was no exception. Colt McCoy looked like a freaking lost sheep out there on so many of the plays. The Seahawks line and linebackers had him running for his freaking life on some of the blitzes—another sign that Colt just isn't reading them correctly. I watched him miss a very easy throw to a wide open Ben Watson. I watched him make a horrendous decision which led to an interception. I watched him throw into double coverage and almost get intercepted again.

This crap has to stop.

We also have an offensive line problem. The right side was getting blown up all day long. But the problem is, Shurmur doesn't recognize how he needs to help them. Okay, tackle Tony Pashos is rusty, and then RG Shawn Lauvao got hurt, meaning backup guard John Greco had to take his place. These guys obviously didn't get much practice time together, which I saw in the fact that they couldn't get any holes for Montario Hardesty, and got Colt sacked five times, seven tackles for loss and eight QB hits. Disgusting.

But here's my problem with Shurmur. There were a good few plays where he wanted Hardesty to run the ball to the outside. But the thing was, the Seahawks had a defensive end—might've been that super-huge idiot, Red Bryant—outside of tight end Ben Watson. 300+ lbs vs tight end.

Who the hell do you think is going to win that matchup?!

That's what I call a scheme problem. Shurmur isn't putting his players in a position to be successful. If you're going to run outside that guy, you've got to get him reached. You're not going to reach that 300+ lb. lineman with Ben Watson. It's just not going to happen. Ever. You need someone to help out—whether that's another tight end or a pulling guard, it doesn't matter. But you're not going to be able to run the ball like that.

I'll finish with this gem on the offense: we didn't even reach the red zone until about 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Unacceptable.

And another thing, why do I have to complain about special teams again?! The Browns hadn't had a blocked field goal since 2007. 2007!! And they get not just the one from what I believe was about 48 yards, but a second from inside the freaking 20! I can't with that, I just cannot.

For goodness sake, get the special teams under control or I'm seriously going to have a hissy fit. (And you'll all have to read it, cause I'll post it here!)

So we won. And we're 3-3 for the first time since 2007, arguably the best season we've had since 1999.

Will I take the win? Yes.

But I'm still mad as hell, and we're not going to beat any team that doesn't have to completely scrap their game plan like Seattle did today unless Shurmur starts getting this team way better prepared.

I know this team has got a lot of problems, but right now Shurmur is one of them.

Try to enjoy this one more than I am, and I'll see you next week,
~MAS

Browns Halftime Blurb - 10/23 vs Seahawks

Holy crap, the Browns offense is awful. If you didn't know we're playing football, you might say the Indians are playing the Mariners with a measly score like 3-0. The good thing is that the Browns are on top, right?

Yeah, I guess so. But take a look at the stats and...well at least on the offensive side of the ball there just isn't much to see. Colt McCoy has not looked good at all today. His decision making has not come quick enough, and I'm pretty sure there was at least one time where he didn't read a blitz and almost got himself killed before scrambling out of the pocket for a few positive yards. He's 9/18 for 87 yards, but maybe 10-15 of those came on the stupid pass to end the half to new running back Chris Ogbonnaya. But McCoy has got to be more accurate and on point with his throws. There was one third down play early in the game where TE Ben Watson was wide open and McCoy missed him high. That can't happen at this stage of the game.

At least "stone hands" Hardesty came to play a little bit—he caught a nice third down pass for a first down. But he hasn't had much running room as he's gotten just 43 yards on 15 carries—a paltry 2.9 yards per carry.

Defensively, the Browns have played very well, and that's probably been aided by the fact that Marshawn Lynch injured his back in pregame warmups and was thus scratched from the game. Despite their bye week, Seattle came out looking very sloppy and has aided the Browns with their five penalties for 35 yards. That said, the Browns do have three sacks—one each from Chris Gocong and TJ Ward (who also created a fumble with his) and Athyba Rubin combined with Jabaal Sheard for one. The Browns have also gotten to Whitehurst for four other QB hits, a stat I appreciate because it shows we're getting at least some kind of pass rush.

But all that defense won't matter unless the Browns can find a way to score some more points. 3-0 is just not a score that wins a football game—I don't care how bad the teams are. And this Seahawks team really isn't as bad as they showed in the first half.

The Browns get the ball first in the second half, and it's very important that we go right down the field and score. This first drive is really going to be a statement for how the rest of the game is going to go. If the Seahawks force a 3-and-out, look for them to go right down the field and take command of this game.

Honestly, I don't see the Browns winning this one. Pat Shurmur has got some real scheme problems with the right side of the offensive line. They're getting completely overwhelmed and I don't know if he can correct them at halftime.

Hopefully, I'll be wrong. But even if I am, I'm going to have a lot to complain about after this game...

See you then,
~MAS

Start Me Up - Browns vs. Seahawks

A couple of weeks ago, I would've chalked this one up as a game the Browns would win easily. Now? Not so much.

First off, it looks like we're going to be without Peyton Hillis after that hamstring injury PR fiasco that happened last week. Despite the fact that the Browns haven't been running the ball well, when you take away the only player that defenses might fear, it's clearly not a good thing. Montario Hardesty will get his second start of his young career, and the last time he started a game he played pretty well. But that was against the Dolphins—a team that still hasn't won a game. If the Browns are going to win today, they're going to need Hardesty to not only run the ball better, but catch the ball too. He was regarded as a good receiving back, and we need to see that in action since so far he's shown nothing but stone hands.

Speaking of offense, we really need to buck this trend of only starting to play it in the second quarter. The Browns have scored a grand total of 3—yes three—points in five first quarters sof ar this season. That's ridiculous. To me, it speaks volumes about the way head coach Pat Shurmur just hasn't had his team prepared to start the game. I know he's a young, first-time head coach, but there's no excuse for the way the Browns have driven the struggle bus in the first quarter.

Other than that, we'll have to look out for Seattle's no huddle offense. Charlie Whitehurst will probably get the start with Tavaris Jackson out with an injury, and Whiethurst proved to be pretty effective with that offense in Seattle's last game against the Giants. Yes, the Giants struggled in that game and Eli Manning may have thrown it away with his three interceptions, but they won that game.

One thing that plays in the Browns favor with the no-huddle element is that they don't substitute much on defense. I read from Terry Pluto that by and large Dick Jauron stays in his base defense, with the linebackers D'Qwell Jaackson and Scott Fujita playing 90% or more of the snaps, with TJ Ward, Sheldon Brown, Jayme Mitchell, Jabaal Sheard and Athyba Rubin also rarely being out of the game. If Joe Haden is healthy enough to play today, he'll be in there the whole time too. So the point is that even if they go no huddle, it shouldn't mess us up too much. That being said, it'll largely depend on Jackson to make sure the defense gets lined up correctly in those cases, especially with Fujita out this week after suffering a concussion.

Alright, so what's the bottom line today? Well...I just don't have a good feeling about it. No Peyton Hillis. No Scott Fujita. Seahawks coming off of a bye week, and off a great win against the Giants. All those elements seem to spell "Browns will lose" to me...

The Prediction: SEA 24 - CLE 17

It might be a late touchdown that seals it, or Seattle will run Marshawn Lynch all over the field and we'll score in garbage time to make the score look better than it really is, but when it comes down to it, I just don't think the Browns will have the personnel available to win today. It's not even that Seattle is that good, I just think we're that bad.

I hope I'm wrong.

See you at the half,
~MAS

Well...That Wasn't Pretty

Okay, I know I wasn't expecting the Browns to win today but...man. Wow.

First off, the offense was in a word, offensive. This whole "west coast offense" thing is really on my nerves. Case in point—we had the ball on the one yard line. First down and one. What do we do? We throw a freaking play action pass to freaking Alex Smith! We have Peyton Hillis! Run the damn football! Ground 'n Pound!


Maybe that's just not the offense we should expect, but if I'm a head coach—better yet, if I'm an offensive lineman, that's what I want. We need one yard, we should never have to pass the football. Never. And yes, I know we got the touchdown, but that is always going to bother me.

Speaking of having Peyton Hillis...Oh, where to start on this one. What in the wide, wide world of sports are the Browns doing with him right now? We come out in the third quarter down 14-7, this guy is on the sideline without a helmet. Everybody wonders, "WTF is up?!" and the Browns beat writers tweet that the Browns say there's nothing wrong with him, it's a "coaches decision." Then, they tweet that Hillis pulled his hamstring. And about a minute later, he's in the game! Then we hear he was only in there for pass protection, and that he can't actually run the ball. I don't know who is running PR over there for the Browns, but Holmgren seriously needs to decide if this guy needs to be fired or not, because this is way past ridiculous.

If Hillis is hurt, fine, he's hurt. But don't say he's not hurt, then he is hurt, and then put him into the game! That just means you're putting the player at risk if that's true. And this is all happening on Shurmur's watch, and I'm really not his biggest fan right now.

First off, the way he handled Hillis not playing the Miami game is disgusting. Hillis literally lost 10 pounds, had a fever, and I'm sure his throat was killing him. I've had really bad strep throat, it sucks the life out of you. And for Shurmur to go on the podium and say, "It's my understanding that Peyton was sick," is absolutely absurd. He should've said "Peyton was sick and couldn't go, if you'd lost 10 pounds in a week and had a fever, you probably wouldn't be going to work either." I think that's logical, no?

But I digress, the real issue at hand with Shurmur is that his offense right now just can't get a darn thing going. And it's such a shame too, because the defense has played remarkably well. The defensive unit only gave up 10 points today—the other 14 came from horrendous special teams play.

Taking a look at the stats, Colt McCoy threw way too many times yet again today, completing just 21 of his 45 attempts for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns. Why is he passing so much? Well because the Browns refuse to do anything offensively in the first quarter, so they start out down, and then have to pass. Plus, with Hillis being hurt, Hardesty just doesn't seem ready to take the full load of the offense. Oakland's defense was not ranked well at all against the run, and we really should've been able to at least get 100 yards total, but the offensive line couldn't get their reach blocks all day long, meaning there were no outside lanes. The most telling stat of all from the running game? The longest run of the day from a running back was Hardesty for 7—yes just seven—yards. That's never going to be good enough.

The defensive side of the ball continues to impress in some ways, but disappoint in others. They got fairly lucky that Jason Campbell had to come out of the game, because when he was at the helm they really couldn't stop the Raiders on third downs. They did hold Darren McFadden to under 100 yards, with 91 on 20 carries, but all told the Raiders had 40 carries for 151 yards.

But the biggest offender of the day was the special teams unit. I said this in the Halftime Blurb, I believe, but I don't know that we ever had a touchdown return last year under Mangini, and if we did it certainly wasn't often. (Update: According to Terry Pluto, the Browns hadn't had a kickoff returned on them since '08. The longest return was 46 yards in '09, 32 yards last season. I thought I was right about that.) The last couple of years, we did the little things well—very few penalties, and good execution on special teams. I'm really, really missing that right now, especially because Marv Albert was saying the whole game, "Oh, I wonder if they'll fake!" Why didn't Shurmur think that too?

The bottom line? Today the Browns should have come out fresh from the bye week, but instead they came out the same old "let's not play offense in the first quarter" way and they totally stunk. The Raiders didn't even need that extra emotion, because the Browns couldn't move the ball.

But this team is going to have to get a whole lot better, because right now it just seems like each week they're getting worse. And in Cleveland, that's just not going to cut it.

Browns Halftime Blurb - 10/16 @ Raiders

So I know I wasn't very optimistic when I wrote the Start Me Up, but this game has been extremely frustrating so far. I swear, Pat Shurmur has no idea how to use his personnel. And why the hell were there 12 men on the field at the end of that 2nd quarter? Okay. We're only down by one touchdown, as it's just 14-7 Raiders, and we have a shot at this game—especially because backup Kyle Boller is in at QB now for the Raiders. And let me say, he is just as bad as I remember him being in Baltimore.

As for the stats, offensively the Browns have just not looked good. McCoy is 7/16 for 79 yards and a touchdown. Hardesty has 7 carries for 21 yards, Hillis has 6 carries for 14 yards...Nothing good there! Browns have got to establish the run game, but the offensive line has looked so bad trying to reach defenders on Oakland's d-line. It's just not working so far. Little and Cribbs had nice receptions on the touchdown drive, but other than that nothing to write home about.

Defensively, the Browns are (predictibly) having a lot of trouble stopping Darren McFadden. He has 10 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown so far. Before getting injured, Jason Campbell was 6/9 for 52 yards, but he was managing the game well, as he'd also had 2 rushes for 16 yards. They've been going after Dimitri Patterson, and he's held up reasonably well, hasn't given up any huge plays yet. Phil Taylor and Athyba Rubin have been playing very well on the line, with Taylor having 2 tackles for loss, 1 QB hit and 1 sack. I'll take that.

Special teams? Terrible. I can't remember the last time we allowed a touchdown return, but I know it rarely to never happened under Mangini. That's disgusting to me. You work so hard to tie the game up, and then *poof* it's just gone in a flash. That has to be better.

The Browns just didn't look like the better team in the first half. And that can change, especially because Kyle Boller is in. But unless it changes quickly, the Browns are headed for their third loss. Ugh.

See you after.
~MAS

Start Me Up - Browns @ Raiders

Wow, it seems like forever since I wrote a post here, but I guess I've been busy. Plus, the Browns haven't played in two weeks. But now everybody's back in the saddle—including me—and it's time for the only team I truly care about in the NFL to play once again. And I couldn't be happier about it.

However, to be honest, I'm just not feeling too great about this game. I think it's going to be a challenge any time we go all the way out to the west coast, but Oakland has been a pretty darn good team so far this year. Combine that with the fact that it's certainly going to be an emotional day as the Raiders commemorate the death of longtime franchise owner Al Davis, and I just don't think our prospects look very good for a win.

That being said, I think it's going to be a very competitive game, and the Browns will stay in it for the most part. After all, the Raiders are 31st in total defense so far this year giving up 422.4 yards per game—299.6 through the air and 122.8 on the ground, ranking 29th and 22nd, respectively. This is going to be a game where head coach Pat Shurmur has got to get Peyton Hillis going early and often. With all the yards the Raiders give up, it really shouldn't be too much of a problem for Hillis to get 100 yards. It'd be great if we could also get Hardesty enough carries to get around 30 yards too, but beggars can't be choosers, right?

I'm also expecting to see more out of the passing offense. It's not that they've looked terrible, but we've just got to start being more efficient and effective. That's going to come with utilizing receivers that can actually catch well—Massaquoi and Little should get plenty of playing time today for that purpose—and then getting good yards after the catch. That's what the west coast offense is built on, and I'm hoping they got enough good work in during the bye week to get better at them.

Another note for the offense is that I'm expecting that they'll use more Evan Moore—which is a great thing. He's been totally underused in the first four games, and the excuse I've heard is that he hasn't been in as much because he isn't a great blocker. But I don't care about his blocking, that's not why we signed him to an extension. This guy also needs to be involved in the offense early and often, and I'd really like to see him being used as a slot receiver. He is a complete miss-match for linebackers to cover with his speed, and his size also gives him an advantage over small cornerbacks. We've got the weapon, it's time to use it properly.

Defensively, the Browns are definitely going to struggle today. Joe Haden isn't playing with his sprained knee, which means Dimitri Patterson gets the start in his place alongside Sheldon Brown. Brown hasn't played to his normal high level, probably because he's getting a little long in the tooth. But without Haden,  the way Jason Campbell has been airing it out so far this year, the secondary could have a fairly long day. Unfortunately, also the 25th ranking Browns rushing defense is going up against the #2 ranked rushing offense, led by running back Darren McFadden. That could be a big problem.

So what do I really expect today? Well, Alex Mack is going to play, despite not practicing much this week after having an appendectomy just a couple weeks ago. And while that's good news, I don't expect him to play to his usual Pro-Bowl level, so the offensive line will probably struggle. Again. Josh Cribbs also apparently has a knee injury (I believe it's a sprained knee, but I'm not positive), so he might not return kicks. And even if he does he might not be at 100%.

None of that actually answered the question, so let me try that again.

The Prediction: CLE 24 - OAK 30

I think we're going to see quarterback Colt McCoy take another good step in the right direction in terms of his development, but I think the Raiders will really run the table most of the game with their running game. And ultimately, I just don't think the Browns will be able to overcome the emotion that the Raiders will be playing with. That's not to say they won't play well, but there are just too many external factors, if you ask me.

I'll see you at the half!
~MAS

That's What Happens When Play is Sloppy

There really isn't much to say about that Browns loss. Full disclosure—I watched the end of the Lions/Cowboys game instead of the end of the Browns today. And I have no regrets, I'm very happy for the Lions as they've started out 4-0 for the first time since 1980.

But that's not why we're here.

Let me just start by saying whenever your quarterback is passing 61 times—yes, I said sixty-one times—you're probably not going to win the ballgame. Colt McCoy was 40/61 for 350 yards today, with a touchdown and an interception. 350 yards is usually something to marvel at, but today? Whoop-de-freaking-doo, he still looked skiddish in the pocket, as Marv Albert and Rich Gannon continually said in the CBS broadcast.

Pat Shurmur needs to decide what he wants to do with Hardesty and Hillis. I think the Shurmanator wanted to ease Hillis back into the game after being out last week with that illness, but when Hillis proved to be effective, I think he should've bene in the game a lot more when it could've been effective. Hillis only carried the ball 10 times, but he gained 46 yards. Hardesty, on the other hand, carried the ball 7 times for 22 yards. The Browns have got to get 100 yards one of these days (preferably 125+) in order to be an effective offense.

The offensive line had a really, really rough day. If it seemed like Colt McCoy was getting hit all day, you weren't imagining it. McCoy took four sacks, and nine QB hits. Granted, some of that was because McCoy was out of sync and held onto the ball for too long, but the o-line also gave up 4 tackles for loss. Summing that up in a word? Bad.

Also, it seemed like a lot of people had a case of the dropsies today. The highest profile player was of course Hardesty, who looked like he had worse hands than Braylon Edwards today. But in general, the offense just looked like it was totally out of sync. This is something they can really work on in the bye week next week.

Defensively...Oh man, where do I even start. Hasselbeck looked like a Primo quarterback today, going 10/20 for 220 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. True, he completed 50% of his passes, but it seemed like whenever he completed a pass, it was going for a long way.

They also let Chris Johnson get going a little bit, as he carried the ball 23 times for 101 yards. It would've been nice for the Browns to stop him from getting to that plateau, but they honestly weren't doing anything effective today. The D-line was terrible, getting absolutely no pass rush. They had 0—yes that's zero—sacks today, along with just two tackles for loss (both made by Jayme Mitchell) and just one—yes one—measly QB hit, made by Athyba Rubin. Ugh.

The strangest stat of the day? The Browns held the ball for nearly 14 minutes longer than the Titans. But it never mattered, because they just couldn't get the ball into the endzone until garbage time.

I'm not sure what else to make of this, other than I really expected the Browns to come out with more momentum after their 4th quarter comeback victory over the Dolphins.

But then again, I think Tennessee is actually a darn good team. Don't be surprised if they make the playoffs either as the winner of the AFC South or a wildcard. With their defense—and with the Colts Manning-less—they can definitely win that division.

Even without a game next week, don't be surprised if I've got something to say about the Browns. Until then, try to enjoy Monday and the rest of the week.

~MAS

Browns Halftime Blurb - 10/2 vs. Titans

It's safe to say I'm less than impressed with the Browns effort in the first half, as they're down to the Titans  by a score of 21-6. Looks like I was more recklessly optimistic than I thought.

Tackling has not been a problem for the Browns in the first two games, but today it's been terrible. There was the 80 yard touchdown to Cook, where Usama Young missed a tackle, and then just before halftime T.J. Ward also missed a tackle. And there have been two long passing plays, something that I don't think we've seen all year long. What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here?

Hasselbeck is 8/12 passing, with 194 yards and three touchdowns. Are you kidding me?

Besides his 25 yard run, Chris Johnson hasn't been doing much. He has 7 carries for 41 yards, but you take that carry away, he's got 16 yards on 6 carries. But that doesn't matter much if Hasselbeck can throw like he has so far today.

The defensive line hasn't been nearly as noteworthy today, with only 1 tackle for loss and a big zero for quarterback hits. They're not getting any pressure on Hasselbeck at all.

Seriously, what the heck is going on? I mean, I know we're playing a team that can actually do something for the first time this year, but this is just ridiculous. The Browns dominated time of possession, as they had the ball for 19:18 in the first half, while the Titans were held to just 10:42. But again, that doesn't matter if you're down 21-6.

Here's a stat that matters, the Browns are 3-9 on third down, and 0-1 on fourth down. That's not going to win you ball games.

Colt McCoy hasn't been terrible today, but he hasn't been good either. He's 13/20 for 137 yards. Hillis and Hardesty have also been alright, but neither has been effective when we need it the most. Hillis has 8 rushes for 37 yards, and Hardesty has 6 carries for 20 yards, averages of 4.6 and 3.3 respectively.

The offensive line is driving the struggle bus though, as they've let up two sacks, two tackles for loss, and four QB hits. That's not going to get anything done.

So like I said in the Start Me Up, I went with my heart in the prediction. But let me tell you, this team deserved to be booed as they were when they came off the field for the half. What a terrible effort in the first half.

It's going to take something close to a miracle for the Browns to focus up and win this game.

I'll see you after,
~MAS