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
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
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
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
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
Sunday, November 13, 2011
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
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
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
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
Sunday, November 6, 2011
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 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
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