Well, thanks to DirecTV's Sunday Ticket To Go debacle, I haven't been able to see a lot of the game today. However, from what I did see - which was midway through the second quarter forward - the Browns have been playing a whole lot better.
I was expecting a lot out of this game, but I don't think that's unfair. Offensively, the Browns have done a whole lot better in the 2nd quarter than the first, and defensively, these guys have done a lot better in pressuring rookie (ginger) Andy Dalton. But what is completely unacceptable is the fact that we have 10 penalties. 10 freaking penalties! As I tweeted a littler earlier, say what you want about Eric Mangini, but this team had a lot more discipline last year. At least in this first game.
But taking a look at the stats, Colt McCoy is 8/16 for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns, good for a 114.1 rating. I'll take that in any first half. The running game, however has got to pick it up. Montario Hardesty did a good job in his two carries gaining 12 yards, and Peyton Hillis has 8 carries for 37 yards. But because the Browns O looked so bad in the first quarter, we haven't had enough time to really establish the running game. I'd look for them to do that in the second half.
Defensively, I've been really impressed with D'Qwell Jackson. You want your middle linebacker to be the team's leader in tackles, and so far he has done just that with 6 tackles and a sack in the first half. We have 3 sacks total, and 6 QB hits - all stats I'm pretty happy with. You want to get that rookie QB on the ground as much as possible.
However, Dalton is 10/15 for 81 yards and a touchdown - those stats are too good for a rookie making his first career start in week 1. We're holding the Bengals to 3.1 yards a carry, which is good. Cedric Benson leads the team with 11 carries for 36 yards.
The key to victory in the second half is going to be cutting down on those penalties. 10 in a game is bad, but in a half? That's just disgusting. The Browns are also going to need to create some turnovers, and really take the wind out of Dalton's sails. We've got to bark at him, really welcome him to the NFL. Plus, we've got to score some more touchdowns, preferably a few of the rushing variety. Get the big man, Hillis, going, they can't stop him.
I'll see you after the game, hopefully to celebrate!
~MAS
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