Browns Halftime Blurb - Browns @ Colts

The Browns have surprised me so far today, and I must say I love it. I was really skeptical about the offenses potential today, but they've come through in a big way after an ugly first quarter, out-scoring the Colts 14-6 in the second to lead 14-9 going into the half.

The big thing today was definitely trying to stabilize the offensive line, and the Browns have done that relatively well, but I still think there is a lot of room for improvement. Joe Thomas especially has got to be better against Dwight Freeney. That being said, there's only been one sack and one other QB hit, so that's definitely a positive.

Colt McCoy had a great first half, going 13/17 for 142 yards and a TD. That's a 120.2 rating for those of you who care about those types of things. Mohammed Massaquoi also had a great first half, stepping up with 3 catches for 45 yards—one of which was the key play at the end of the first half to get the Browns to the 1 yard line. Josh Cribbs also had a huge 3rd down play where he caught a quick pass at the line of scrimmage and ran about 10 yards to get a first down.

Speaking of Cribbs, he ignited the first touchdown drive with his 52 yard kickoff return. Watching him so far this year makes me realize so much more that he was just not healthy at all last season. He is really a talented player.

Defensively, the big men on the D-line have been impressive. The combination of Phil Taylor and Athyba Rubin have been good for a combined six tackles, with Rubin having a sack, tackle for loss and a QB hit and Taylor having a pass defended. I'll take that any day of the week. As a unit, they've let the Colts go down the field, but they haven't broken yet as the Colts have only kicked three field goals. I'll take that too.

The key to the second half: play both quarters. Last week we saw the Browns crumble after playing well in the 2nd quarter. If they want to win today, they've got to keep their foot on the gas pedal. We get the ball first, and I'd love to see Cribbs have another great return to ignite this offense. We've got the knife out, it's time to shove it in and twist it.

See you after the game!
~MAS