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
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