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
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