Well, what can I say? I figured it would be ugly, but man... The Browns running defense has been nothing short of pathetic as they gave up 158 yards in just two freaking quarters, and allowed the Ravens to take a 10-0 lead into the half.
Yes, the story of the game so far has definitely been the Ravens running game versus the Browns (lack of) running defense. So far, Dick Jauron's crew has successfully made Ray Rice look like the reincarnation of Jim Brown as he has 107 yards on 17 carries. That's 6.3 yards per carry, folks. Disgusting. Ricky Williams has also gotten the best of the Browns D, gaining 43 yards on six carries as the change-up back. There's not much to say other than the Browns are getting completely bowled over. Right now, I think it's at the point where the Ravens could tell the Browns where they're going to run the ball, and the defense still couldn't stop it. You just can't win like that
One defender who I think is having a particularly bad day is Sheldon Brown. Yes, he dropped that easy tip-drill interception, but I always find INTs to be more gravy than anything else. But Brown has also been terrible in coverage, and was just run right over by Ray Rice on the first touchdown. Jayme Mitchell has also been pretty bad today, as the right end has been consistently stood up by the Ravens offensive line en route to the spanking they put on us in the first half.
If there's a silver lining, it's freaking Billy Cundiff. The dude almost missed the extra point on the first touchdown, and the proceeded to miss his next two field goal attempts before he nailed the last one with 13 seconds left to play in the half.
If there's something nice that's happened on offense, it's that Peyton Hillis seems to be healthy and is running the ball with some authority. His longest run of the day so far is just nine yards, but he does have 43 yards on 10 carries—good for a 4.3 average. I'm sort of surprised we didn't see any Montario Hardesty in the first half, but with his calf problems and the field conditions it's probably the best decision.
Colt McCoy has looked pretty bad so far today too, although it's not all his fault. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the offensive line is going to get poor Colt killed out there with their lack of blocking. However, that interception was all on Colt—you just can't stare down a receiver like that. I knew he was throwing the ball over there, and if I were a DB, I could've easily made that pick too.
Honestly, with the way we're getting our natural behinds kicked, this game should probably be something more like 24 or 20 to nothing, but fortunately that's not the case and it looks like the Browns could actually have a chance. Well, that's if they actually figure out how to get their mess together in the second half.
Hopefully Colt will survive the third and fourth quarters, and I'll see you after the game. I promise.
~MAS
Couple thoughts:
ReplyDelete1) Joe Haden is awesome
2) Phil Taylor/Rubin/Sheard seem to be good, but we still can't get consistent pressure on the quarterback or stop the run. Which gets me to my final point
3) We need a good linebacker, because then when we get TJ back, we'll be much better at stopping the run.
So hopefully that addresses some of the issues on defensive side of the ball, and hopefully with our first four draft pics we grab
1) Trent Richardson
2) Luke Kuechly/Teo/Burfict/Hightower (Seems like a great year to be picking a LB)
3) Chase Minnifield
4) A RT
Haden was alright today, but overall the defense was terrible.
ReplyDeleteI think the D-line is the least of our worries, if they could ever find some consistency, I think they'd be alright.
I think they definitely know they need to replace Scott Fujita at linebacker, so they'll definitely be looking there in the draft.
But honestly, I'd take a stud RT over a running back early in the draft—and that includes Richardson. If they'd ever use him correctly, Hillis has shown in the last two games that he can still be effective. If we put a stud RT in there, replaced the horrendous guards, I think we'd be alright.
But I'd totally love Minnifield too, Sheldon Brown is on his last legs.
No RBs please. At least not early. We need a RG, RT, or WR on offense first. It's quite possible that we have two solid RBs next year and I don't think a CJ Spiller type pick makes sense. Plus we could use one of everything on defense (CB, safety, LB, and DE).
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'd try and get another stud cornerback, so we could use TJ W a lot more in run support, and then go offensive line.
However, if Claiborne and Kirkpatrick are gone, why not try and trade down again? We have so many positions to address.