Colt McCoy looking a little defeated. I'm sure "defeated"
is exactly how he felt on Monday
Even if your name is "Colt McCoy," you saw this coming from a mile away.
The first depth charts came out for the Cleveland Browns today, and as Pat Shurmur so eloquently put it, "Brandon Weeden will start the Detroit game, and he'll be our starter going forward here."
Like I said, even if you're McCoy himself, you knew this was coming. Anybody who has attended more than one training camp practice has surely noticed that McCoy doesn't take any snaps with the first team. And that was something the young quarterback seemed to think was important enough to specifically point out to the media as he spoke after practice this afternoon.
"I would like to say that I haven't taken any snaps in walk through or in practice with the first group," McCoy said.
That's right, bud, you sure haven't.
McCoy is a gentleman and a professional. Does he provide material that the media is going to salavate over so they (...we?) can write their (...our?) articles? No he does not.
But to me, that's just fine.
You see, today was the first time McCoy has even voiced any type of frustration to the media over what has happened to the quarterback situation in Cleveland. Okay, so that might have something to do with the fact that it was just the third time all camp he's spoken (when he saw the gathering waiting for him, he said, "You guys wanna talk, huh?"). But even so, McCoy didn't explicitly say he was ticked off because it was obvious he never had a chance.
"Well I thought coming in it would be a competition," he said at one point. And in response to a reporter saying he had a shot at the starting role he quipped, "I did?"
So, yes, he went as close as you can get without going over in terms of did he or didn't he say, "there was no quarterback competition." But he was adamant about the fact that he was still going out to compete and trying to get better everyday.
Unfortunately, the simple fact of the matter is that Brandon Weeden is just better than McCoy. Weeden is bigger and stronger than McCoy. He's been more accurate in practice than McCoy. He has a better ability to throw the ball downfield than McCoy.
And I don't want to sound too politically incorrect with this, but McCoy just looks slow on the field sometimes. When he goes through his reads it's as if someone is counting, "One-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, three-one-thousand..." instead of the "one, two, three, boom" you see when looking at Weeden. It's even apparent during 7-on-7 drills, where there aren't any linemen for McCoy to have to look over. He reads the defense slowly and then has no choice but to go with his checkdown. Watching him in practice has kind of explained the offense last year. McCoy is just slow on the uptake.
In some ways, it pains me to write this because I like McCoy a lot. He's exactly the kind of guy you'd like to date your sister. But that certainly doesn't make him a quality NFL quarterback.
The problem is that McCoy was supposed to be a developmental project. Think about it, when McCoy was originally picked in the third round of the 2010 draft, he was supposed to be the third quarterback behind Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace. He was to hold the clipboard and learn for a few years before potentially competing for the starting job.
Then Delhomme and Wallace both got high ankle sprains in 2010 and that plan got shot to hell.
We all know how the story has turned out for McCoy. Could he use a fresh start? Probably. Will he get that chance? I'm not sure. Both McCoy and Wallace have looked like backups in camp, and this team just isn't big enough for three real quarterbacks. (And if you think Thad Lewis counts, you obviously haven't seen him in practice.)
In the end, I do hope we're able to keep McCoy and send Wallace elsewhere. Heaven knows we could use a good backup for the next few years that's actually going to put the team first, and won't unnecessarily change a play at the end of the first half.
Does Chris Perez really understand what it means to be a
professional athlete? Probably. But does he act like it?
Not at all.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
By now, I'm sure you've all heard about Chris Perez's latest string of Tweets from Sunday night, in which he berated people for Tweeting him more when the Indians lose than when they win.
While Chris Perez has the right to do whatever he wants with his Twitter—including criticizing fans—I don't have to like it. I'm a huge fan of Chris Perez the baseball player. But Chris Perez the person? I'm not so sure.
Allow me to explain—and stay with me on this, I promise you'll see my logic.
A few years ago, I went from attending a Sports Camp to being a junior counselor at the same place in consecutive summers (again, stay with me, I promise it'll pay off). This may or may not have been the best thing in the world for me, but it did mean I knew all of the people I would be working with quite well.
Anyway, one of the Senior Counselors I worked with always had these sayings—like "Safety first, last, and always." Or when someone we didn't know would come on the camp grounds he'd say, "Challenge them!"
But the one saying he'd always bark that stuck with me came whenever I'd make a mistake. He'd say, "You're an All-American, now act like one!"
Now I've never been an All-American at anything in my life before, and I don't anticipate it happening anytime in the near future, but the principle of the mater has always resonated with me.
If you're a high-profile person—a role model, or someone who ought to command respect—then you better act like it. You can't just do whatever the hell you want and act like a jackass. There are standards and practices you must uphold if you want to have the respect that comes with your high profile.
And when I think about those standards and practices, there's one person that comes to mind as the poster boy for proper conduct as a professional athlete.
Colt McCoy.
I was at Browns Training Camp the other day, and after the end of the morning practice McCoy came over to the fans to sign autographs. McCoy obviously had a roller coaster of an offseason, highlighted by Draft Night when he tweeted congratulations to Trent Richardson for being selected by the Browns, and then went silent after the 22nd pick. Wonder why.
But I digress. McCoy came over to the fans, where some were yelling words of encouragement, and others...well, let's just say they weren't so encouraging. I'm not saying that they were being pure unadulterated evil to the guy, but everybody and their grandmother knows McCoy's not going to be the starting quarterback and some fans were making that quite clear.
And yet, McCoy didn't bat an eye. He signed autograph after autograph for a good five to 10 minutes, and while he didn't address the haters, every time McCoy finished signing and fans would give him words of encouragement he'd give a simple, "Thank you, I appreciate your support."
He wasn't brash. He wasn't annoyed with anyone. He simply signed his autograph, expressed his appreciation, and went on his way.
And that is exactly how a professional athlete is supposed to act in my book.
Look, Chris Perez is obviously not the same kind of person as Colt McCoy. If you think Perez wouldn't complain until the cows came home if Vinnie Pestano replaced him as closer of the Indians, you're delusional. McCoy has been nothing but a paragon of class, despite the fact that his father and his brother have done things that really didn't sit so well with the Browns organization.
Oh yeah, and the Browns took a 28 year old to replace him at quarterback, and McCoy still hasn't said boo about it.
This is not to say that I want all professional athletes to just be silent, and only give the canned answers the PR reps train them to give. That's not it at all. I just don't think Perez understands what it means to be a professional athlete.
He doesn't seem to understand that it's just not a good idea to complain about fans when you just got swept by a last place team. He doesn't seme to get that saying "it's baseball" isn't an excuse for being swept when you're supposed to be a contending team. And most of all, he doesn't seem to understand that he's a professional athlete—he's making $4.5 million dollars. Why does it bother him so damn much that people are ticked off after a loss, and don't always praise him after a win?
Hey Don Draper, isn't there something that might make up for the lack of tweets?
Well how about that. I guess that $4.5 million is supposed to count for something.
So, again, Chris Perez the baseball player? Great. Chris Perez the person? I'm not sure I like him so much.
Cause hey, all those things I said he "doesn't understand?" It's way more likely that he understands them just fine and is a jackass about them anyway. And because of that, I don't know that he'll ever really be one of the professional athletes I look up to and admire.
Trent Richardson. Could be the best Browns
RB in a very, very long time.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Why hello there old man!
Brandon Weeden, new Browns QB
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
I've gotta say, this is not what I was expecting out of the Browns today.
Did I want Trent Richardson? Hell yes. Did I think they'd trade up to #3 to get him? Absolutely not. Am I happy they did? 1000% yes. (And that's not a typo.)
Now, Brandon Weeden. With all the WRs still on the board after the end of the first round—including Stephen Hill—this might have been a much better pick than I might have initially thought.
I certainly wasn't expecting Weeden to be taken at #22—I don't think anyone was. (Well, maybe aside from Tom Heckert, Pat Shurmur and Mike Holmgren) But I'll say this, tonight the Browns have gone after exactly who they wanted.
Clearly, the attempt to trade for RGIII wasn't a smokescreen—the Browns have determined Colt McCoy is not a franchise quarterback. I can't blame them for that, especially based on Colt's size and lack of arm strength.
The Plain Dealer's Dennis Manoloff has been campaigning for Weeden to come to Cleveland for a long time now, and this video from ESPN's Sports Science series is a big reason why.
So yeah, Weeden can take out clay pigeons, but what does that have to do with what he does on the field?
Well, for one thing, Weeden beat Andrew Luck, RGIII, and Ryan Tannehill last season. I don't think that's insignificant.
I also don't think it's insignificant that we're replacing a guy who's 6 ft. with a more prototypical quarterback type—6 ft. 4 in. 220 lbs. and a lazer rocket arm.
What's not to like?
I'll be honest—I was totally prepared to go into this season with Colt McCoy as the quarterback with better weapons around him, and then pick a franchise quarterback in the 2013 Draft. Weeden's age (29, when the season opens) means that he must come in and start right away. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if he'll prove to be the best quarterback in the "common era" (since 1999).
I certainly hope he ends up being able to be mentioned in the same conversation with Bernie Kosar.
I wanted to wait until I saw President Mike Holmgren and GM Tom Heckert's press conference to give my assessment of the Browns season, and now that it's over I think I'm ready to have my say.
Obviously, a 4-12 record is not good enough by anyone's standards—and that's something Holmgren said today. The "Big Show" also talked about how he saw progress in many aspects of the team, including the fact that he thinks we started closing the gap between us and the rest of the AFC North teams. In his defense, Holmgren knew that he would be criticized for saying that, but in my humble opinion he should be. The NFL is all about results and "what have you done for me lately." No wins in the division and records of 4-12, 5-11, 5-11 and finally 4-12 in the last four seasons really isn't good enough either.
So that brings me to today's topics, the report card and some awards. I don't think there needs to be much more introduction to a report card than to say I'll be giving different groups of the Browns grades. ...Duh.
Let's just get to it, huh?
Offense
Well, this was a group that had a toughbadawfuldownright pathetic year. If you haven't heard, this team scored just 218 points the entire season. How bad is that? Well, the 1999 Cleveland Browns—yes, the expansion team!—scored 217, and the 2000 Browns scored 161. I'm glad I don't really remember those teams, but honestly there is no reason whatsoever for this team to be on par with the first two years of the "modern era." That's inexcusable. Not that there is some kind of comparison between the Browns and a team that actually plays offense in the NFL, but the Packers scored 560 points this season. The Saints scored 547. Even the 3-13 Vikings scored 340!
Like I said, downright pathetic.
Some other things to think about—the Browns scored 20+ points just twice this year. The first time was against Indy when they won 27-19, the second was when they played at the half-empty Paul Brown Stadium and lost 23-20 to the Bengals.
In five games, the Browns didn't even score a touchdown. That helps to explain the 218 points...
It took the Browns 12 games to finally score a touchdown in the first quarter.
It took until game 14(!!!) for the Browns to score a touchdown in the third quarter. Talk about inexcusable—that means Shurmur just couldn't make good halftime adjustments.
Yes, injuries ravaged the running backs and offensive line (please be healthy next year, Eric Steinbach), but there's no reason the Browns only had four rushing touchdowns and averaged just 3.7 yards per carry. Those ranked dead last and next to last, respectively. Boo!
All told, the Browns ranked 30th in points, and 29th in total offensive yards. Can you guess what grade I'm going to give this unit?
Grade: F
Defense
Okay, obviously the defense had a much better year than O, and I think that's in no small part thanks to coordinator Dick Jauron. I wrote in this post about a year ago when the Browns hired Pat Shurmur that it could take three to five years for the defense to fully convert from the 3-4 back to the 4-3. I will gladly eat some crow on that one—even though we don't exactly have what I would consider an All-Star caliber pass-rush, and our run defense is still awful, the defense was definitely the best unit on this team.
Looking at the numbers, you could really make an argument that despite ranking 30th running defense, the Browns actually had a top 10 all around D.
Stop laughing, I'm serious.
The Browns ranked 2nd in passing D—which could be explained by people running all over us, but hey, ranking 2nd is ranking 2nd. I'll take it.
In terms of yards, the Browns were also in the top 10 as they ranked 10th total defense. Also good.
But what I put the most stock in is the fact that the Browns ranked 5th in points allowed on the season. Yes, just fifth! They gave up just 19.2 points per game, which I think is excellent. (As an aside, two of the top four defenses were Baltimore and Pittsburgh...That's bad news bears.)
Did the Browns get all kinds of turnovers? Well not really interceptions as they only had nine, but they did get 11 fumbles.
But you know what, getting the fundamentals down is a lot of the time the hardest part. If we can make this kind of progress in just one year, I'd expect the defense to get that much better with a couple more pieces. And imagine if they actually had a mediocre offense so that they could get off the field sometimes?
Even though I think the defense did very well, that 30th ranking against the run leaves a bad taste in my mouth. So that's the justification for this...
Grade: B
Special Teams
Honestly, I don't know how in the wide, wide world of sports special teams coach Chris Tabor has not been fired already. Two long snappers, three punters (albeit because of injuries), at least two blocked field goals (one against St. Louis wasn't actually considered a block), and a punt returned for a touchdown. All that, and Josh Cribbs went from one of the best return men to one of the worst, as he ranked 25th in return yards this season.
All that after the Browns routinely ranked in the top five of special teams categories int he past couple of years.
If not for Phil Dawson—who hit seven field goals of 50+ yards, and with all the stupid blocks really only missed one field goal this season—and Brad Maynard—who was excellent punting and had just one touchback on the year, which came in the final game against the Steelers—the special teams unit would surely be getting an F. Instead they get...
Grade: C+
Coaching
By 'coaching' I mean head coach, offensive coordinator (which we don't have...), defensive coordinator and special teams coach. I've said it plenty of times, but I think Shurmur was completely overmatched this season by being both the offensive coordinator and the head coach. There's a reason why 31/32 NFL teams had offensive coordinators this season, even if they didn't call the plays... Just sayin'.
Based on the previous comments on the defense, I honestly don't think we could've had a better defensive coordinator this year. Despite the fact that the run defense was no good, Dick Jauron took a defense in shambles and made it respectable.
You already know how I feel about special teams coach, Tabor, so let's just say that along with Shurmur, he's bringing down the grade here.
Grade: C
Front Office
Now this grade is sort of interesting to me, because it's all about Holmgren and Heckert. Did those two do enough in the offseason to put the Browns in a position to win? Well, on defense the argument can definitely be made for a yes. They drafted Phil Taylor and Jabaal Sheard—two players who will be part of the core of the Browns defensive line for hopefully the next decade. They also locked up key players like Chris Gocong, Athyba Rubin and Joe Thomas with longterm deals. Those things are good.
But they definitely failed to give Colt McCoy any kind of help at the wide receiver position, as I'm still not sure why in the world the Browns refused to sign a veteran wide receiver. The whole PR debacle of Concussion-Gate was also something that really left a bad taste in my mouth for Holmgren—especially the ludicrous, "Don't come to me asking for extra playoff tickets," line.
I'll let Jim Mora handle this one.
Grade: B-
Overall
Well, to be honest, a 4-12 record pretty much speaks for itself, doesn't it? Honestly, 0-6 in the division to boot? I know we're not supposed to be holding the sins of former regimes against Holmgren, Heckert and Shurmur, but you know what? We were supposed to see real, tangible progress in the form of Ws this year—that was the whole idea behind firing Mangini in the first place! But the thing is, I sincerely believe that if Mangini had been the coach of the 2011 Browns, there's no way in the world we would've been 4-12. But that's what we are, and that seriously has to change if Holmgren and Heckert want to justify keeping Shurmur as the head coach of this team for 2013. (...that is, if the world doesn't end before then!)
Grade: D-
So there you have it. I thought about doing some awards for this post, but I thought that might make things run a little too long (thanks for sticking it out this far!), so I'll just give you a little bit more from me to read in the next few days.
That's right guys and gals, keep an eye out for the first ever Myley Awards.
At long last, this Browns season will come to an end today around 7 o'clock. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) I'll be there to see it.
There are a whole lot of aspects of the game that the Browns haven't done well—offense, special teams and running defense to just name a few—but we can get to all of that at a later date, as right now it's time to focus on this New Years Day matchup.
First off, I think it's pretty darn unfortunate that Colt McCoy won't get another shot at going up against the Steelers after James Harrison nearly killed him concussed him over three weeks ago. The fact that McCoy went back into that game without being checked and now still can't play certainly isn't a ringing endorsement of the Browns medical staff either. But as we've seen, Seneca Wallace has the ability to move the ball with the Browns offense. However, with the Steelers having so much to play for—the #1 seed in the AFC could fall to them if enough happens in their favor—I'd expect those guys in black and gold to come after Wallace with all they've got.
Fortunately, Peyton Hillis is healthy and could maybe be effective running the ball. The running back (who I think should definitely be re-signed) gained 112 yards on 24 carries last week against Baltimore, a team known for their staunch running D. The problem is that Hillis has had little to no success against Pittsburgh in his three games with the Browns. He gained just 41 yards on 12 carries in Colt McCoy's first NFL start last year at Heinz Field, then 13 yards on six carries in the final game Eric Mangini coached for the Browns—a humiliating 41-9 loss at the Factory of Sadness—and finally 25 yards on 10 carries a few weeks ago.
So what does all that mean? Well, it sure doesn't spell "s-u-c-c-e-s-s" for the Browns on the surface—especially with Seneca "I think I'm better than I actually am" Wallace at the helm. (I still can't believe he changed a pass to a run at the end of the half against the Ravens. That's inexcusably ridiculous.)
Also not spelling success is the fact that Ben Roethlisberger practiced all week and should be healthy after the Browns almost broke his ankle in Pittsburgh. I'm almost positive the Steelers are going to want to score early and often to bury the Browns so that they can take Big Ben out and rest him—just in case they have to play next week. I'd also look for the Steelers to run the ball like wild men, because the Browns have shown time and time again since '99 that they just can't stop it.
Do I think the Browns will win? Absolutely not. But then again, as I've mentioned in a Start Me Up or two before, there's usually one game that the Browns win out of nowhere. And as much as I've ripped head coach Pat Shurmur this season, he still has his players going out there and fighting each week. Nobody has scored more than 31 points against the Browns—something most teams can't say—and they've only allowed 30+ points twice. If the Browns had any kind of offense, we'd probably be at least 7-9.
But I digress, let's get to the bottom line.
The Prediction: PIT 31 - CLE 13
Phil Dawson will hit two field goals in some blustery conditions, but the Steelers will dominate. They just have way too much to play for so they won't be messing around at all today.
As I said in the intro, I'll actually be in attendance at the Factory of Sadness today, which menas that there won't be a halftime blurb. I know I didn't do one last week, but look for a Final Word to come either sometime tonight or in the near future. And then we'll do a season wrap-up shortly after that.
It may be an inside joke with some of my high school football buddies, but I seriously enjoy putting the "˜" over the "n" in Cardinals.
But that's not what you're here for, regardless of however I decide to write it, the Browns are in sunny Arizona to play their game today. Who's optimistic?
Well...I am. Sort of. Let's call it cautious optimism.
Seneca Wallace will get the start today as Colt McCoy was still showing signs of a concussion late in the week and hadn't practiced. Colt is hopeful that he'll be able to play next week at Baltimore, but we'll see.
So we've got Seneca, the backup quarterback who made four starts last season. Granted, under Mangini and Daboll, Wallace wasn't running the offense he had become so comfortable with in his seven seasons in Seattle—with most of those being under current Browns President Mike Holmgren. So now that he's back in a comfortable spot with the West Coast offense, what can we expect to see this week?
Well, probably some improvement. Wallace has always been a pretty accurate passer, as his lifetime completion percentage is 60.5 percent. He's also stayed away from interceptions, as he's only thrown 16 compared to 29 career touchdowns. All of that is good news for the Browns, who are playing their very capable backup today.
We've already seen that Wallace can be effective in a pinch. He did it last week against the Steelers—throwing one of the best passes we've seen all year come from a Browns quarterback by leading Evan Moore perfectly on a deep out route to the five yard line. When he made spot starts last year after Jake Delhomme went down with an ankle sprain, we saw how Seneca is very capable of leading a team down the field to score.
My concern is that Wallace is going to do well for a while—say the first half—and then the Cardiñals are going to figure out what Wallace is doing and stop it. We also saw last year that Wallace can make some pretty poor throws or just plain stupid decisions. I believe it was against the Bengals that Wallace tried to throw a screen pass and the cornerback was right there to jump the throw and returned it for a touchdown. The Browns can't afford for Wallace to do that today if they want to win today.
If—but probably when—Seneca does well today, it might have a lot more to do with the fact that Arizona's defense is ranked 21st in the league, and the last three Browns opponents have been ranked in the top 10. It's interesting to note that the Browns are 7th in the league in giving up just 19.5 poins per game, while the Cardinals are 18th at 22.2. Let's hope the law of averages plays out today.
Defensively, the Browns are really going to have their hands full. Yes, we're ranked #2 in passing defense, but when you're 31st in the league in rushing defense by giving up 150 yards per game on the ground who needs to pass? With Larry Fitzgerald's height and all around #beatstmode ability, Joe Haden could have a tough day. And I don't even want to think about the damage former OSU running back Beanie Wells could inflict on the Browns D. If I were Arizona's head coach, Ken Whisenhunt, I'd ground 'n pound with Wells all day long until the Browns prove they can stop it.
Another concern is special teams. It's a darn shame that one of the strongest aspects of this team in years past has boken down so much this year, but especially given rookie Patrick Peterson's ability, I really think the Browns could be in trouble. In his rookie season, Peterson has tied the single season for punt returns for touchdowns with four. And based on this game winner against the Rams a few weeks ago, I could see him breaking the record today against the Browns lousy group.
I believe it was Colt McCoy (or perhaps Joe Thomas) that said once this season that if the Browns play "perfectly" on every play, then they can compete with anybody. But absolutely no team can be perfect on every play. And it's ludicrous to expect that. So based on everything I've said above, here's the bottom line.
The Prediction: ARI 24 - CLE 20.
Seneca Wallace will probably get us in a position to win, but then another special teams breakdown will lose it. It's just the sad reality of this football team right now, but I just don't think good things are in the Cards (ha...ha...) today.
It's strange but also nice to not have a Browns game today. Nice in that I don't have to worry about feeling bad about the world when they lose, but strange in that I don't have three blog posts to write in succession. However, since I just haven't gotten to it yet, let's just get right to assessing the damage from Thursday's 14-3 loss to Pukesburgh.
And I know who you may be thinking about with the second part of that headline, but to whom I'm actually referring may surprise you.
First off, I think it's important to note just how hard the team played. The effort was definitely there, the hits were hard, and it felt like the Browns really wanted to win. Do they have the talent to beat Pittsburgh right now? Maybe when Roethlisberger is hurt, yes, but as long as the effort is there I find it a lot harder to complain.
Still, it has to be a huge concern when you've got your defense playing at such a high level, and your offense can't really get past midfield—with the exception of the first drive of the game. I also have a lot of concern over Pat Shurmur's ability to manage his personnel, as we had another game where Montario Hardesty runs (poorly) all the time, and Peyton Hillis and Chris Ogbonnaya stand on the sidelines. After the game, Shumur said that Hillis got "dinged up" or something like that, so that's why Hardesty was used so much. Hillis, on the other hand, seemed frustrated by his lack of carries and didn't say anything about being injured.
Stuff like that is going to have to stop if the Browns are going to be a successful football team.
But my biggest concern coming out of this game is everything surrounding quarterback Colt McCoy.
Okay, I've been as big of a McCoy supporter as anyone. People keep saying that McCoy looks like a young Drew Brees, and if that's true, I really don't want to give up on him this early (I'll probably write a more extensive post on this in the coming weeks, stay tuned for it). However, if you watched the kid this week, he made some fairly poor decisions.
Looking at the stat line, 18/35 for 209 yards and two interceptions is just not good enough. Granted, the second interception was thrown after he was clearly concussed (more on that later), but even so, the Browns offense just isn't really making any consistent tangible progress. I say consistent because we went right down the field and probably should've scored a touchdown on the first drive, but nothing happened after that. At all! And yes, we were in the game until the last five-ish minutes, but if you haven't scored a touchdown in the third quarter all year, something is seriously, seriously wrong. Not all of that hinges on the quarterback, obviously, but McCoy is the leader of the offense and he's got to do better. I'm sure he knows that.
But that brings me to this.
When James Harrison hit McCoy, I tweeted out "Oh man, is Colt alive?" because that is how vicious that hit was. I mean, I honestly thought Colt was out cold, much like his father, Brad McCoy, said to the Plain Dealer. But then the fact that Colt came back into the game literally three minutes and 50 seconds after that hit is insanely irresponsable.
Anyone who saw that hit knew that Colt had a concussion. It was a helmet-to-helmet blast. You can even see Alex Smith waving for someone to come over from the sidelines, because it was immediately apparent that Colt was not alright. And to think that the Browns actually checked Colt out in that time is ludicrous. As Brad McCoy said, a high school trainer takes longer than that to evaluate whether or not a player has a concussion. And now this article from the PD's Mary Kay Cabot confirms that the Browns did not "perform the SCAT2 concussion test (sport concussion assessment tool) on the sidelines before they sent him back into the game after two plays."
...Are you freaking kidding me?!
How on God's green earth can you not check the man for a concussion after that hit. How? No wonder they said he wasn't exhibiting signs of a concussion during the game—no one even checked!
So this is what I was referring to in the headline—whoever didn't check Colt McCoy for a concussion on the sidelines after that hit should be fired. Today. Now.
Not only could they have cost Colt his career if he had been hit in the head again, but whoever it was probably cost the Browns the game, as Seneca Wallace seemed on, and when Colt came back into the game, everything—including but not limited to the lights inside his head—was off. With the emphasis the NFL has put on player safety in the last couple of seasons, stuff like this cannot happen and someone needs to answer for it.
Look, no matter what happens with James Harrison (who actually said something to the effect of "I thought the hit was legal because he was out of the pocket and is a runner." Again are you freaking kidding me?! The quarterback?! Shut the hell up), or Colt McCoy, or Peyton Hillis, or Pat Shurmur, the Browns just need to get better. They probably can't do much more this season, but if they keep up the effort they displayed last week, they'll at least be watchable for the final three games of the season.
Wrong, Shurmur. This is Pittsburgh week. It used to be a rivalry! But as Daryl Ruiter put it this week, all that has gone away.
If I were Shurmur, I would've shown the team this hit from Joe "Turkey" Jones on Terry Bradshaw all week long.
Look, I know that's illegal, but it's still one of the great moments in Browns history. You don't need to go out and kill the other team, but you have to be able to go out there with that kind of passion, that kind of high motor, that kind of fire in your eyes and heart. That's the only way we can beat the Steelers.
What would a W mean tonight? For starters, it would be the first win inside the division for quarterback Colt McCoy, who is so far 0-7 against the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals. That's no good, as obviously you have to beat the teams inside your division in order to make it to the next level in the NFL—it's one of the many strengths of the league. But I think Colt knows this and he's going to do everything he can tonight.
But on this team, with the (lack of) talent around him, in a primetime stage with the Steelers still battling the Ravens for the division lead—damn, is it going to be like climbing Mount Everest.
The good news is that Peyton Hillis is healthy enough to be "active" and if his hamstring doesn't tighten up on him (or get "sore" as Shurmur said it did last week), we could have a running game today. That is, if Mr. Shurmur decides to utilise it. Look, you're not going to beat people if you only give Peyton Hillis two carries in the second half, like he had last week. Yes, that's right, Hillis only had two carries in the second half last week! I know we were down, but there's still no excuse for that.
I know Hardesty is supposed to be playing more tonight as well, but I have absolutely no confidence in that guy. I'm sorry, but when it takes you 33 carries to get just 95 yards against the Seahawks, there's nothing you can hang your hat on. The dude has stone hands too, and with temperatures below freezing, let's just hope Shurmur calls throws his way.
On the other side of the ball, man the defense could have a really, really tough time containing the Steelers passing attack. If there's any matchup I'd like to see, it's Jabaal Sheard versus the Steelers o-line. This is a homecoming of sorts for Sheard, who played college ball at Pitt and is used to the home locker room at Heinz Field. Hopefully he can get some good penetration and strip/sack Ben Roethlisberger (I have the hardest time spelling that name...) like he did last week to Joe Flacco.
Turnovers are definitely going to be a big key to the game. If the Browns can force some and turn them into points, they have a chance at making the game interesting. If, however, the Browns are the ones fumbling and throwing interceptions they're going to dig themselves into a hole they won't even be able to see clearly out of.
Alright, so that was sort of a long intro to what is a pretty obvious prediction, so here goes.
The Prediction: PIT 33 - CLE 10.
As usual, we'll probably score a touchdown in garbage time, but you know what we might be lucky to even do that. If the offensive line doesn't step it up and protect Colt, they really could get him killed this week as we're facing one of the most feared defenders in James Harrison. Ask Mohamed Massaquoi, after a hit from this guy, your career might not be the same.
I'll see you at the half. Hopefully it'll still be a game by then...
~MAS
As I continue to watch Browns games this year, it's starting to become more and more difficult to justify my Browns fandom. I love football, especially the NFL, and so I watch a whole lot of it—good teams, bad teams, those in-between. 9.23 The Fan Brown beat reporter Daryl Ruiter tweeted out earlier that Josh Cribbs said there's a "big gap" between the talent level of the Browns and their other AFC North opponents. Cribbs may have overstepped by saying that in the heat of the moment right after the 24-10 loss to Ravens, but he's right. So. Incredibly. Right.
And it's not just the AFC North that we have to contend with. I'm not sure how the heck we beat Miami, because I'm telling you, we wouldn't beat them today. And we're certainly nowhere close to the same orbit as the 49ers, Patriots, Saints, and Packers. Hell, even the Giants gave the Packers a great game today. You think we could do that with the horse crap product the Browns are putting on the field right now?
Yeah, I don't think so either.
The score today was a whole lot closer than the game actually was. Honestly, I can't think of any better word to use to describe their effort today than "pathetic." And no one can escape this—the offense, defense, special teams or the coaching. There was no positive unit today, and that makes this a complete team loss.
I don't often think like that when going over a game, but think about it. The Browns were down just 10-0 at the half. They came out, traded punts with the Ravens, before taking the ball down the field and scoring a field goal on a drive highlighted by a 52 yard pass from Colt McCoy to Peyton Hillis. It was a wheel route, and I guess the Ravens just forgot he was there. And after that, the Browns pretty much got nothing, but they cut into the lead 10-3, and suddenly it felt like a whole new ballgame.
But then the defense came out and showed their pathetic side by giving up a 67 yard run to Ray Rice on the first play after the kickoff. Are you kidding me?!
I don't have to tell you how after that, the wind was just completely knocked out of the Browns' sails.
And so begins our talk of the myriad of problems the Browns had today, the most glaring of which was the Browns (lack of) run defense. They gave up 295 yards on the ground today—204 of them to Ray Rice on 29 carries. Yikes.
Colt McCoy looked really bad today, going 17/35 on his throws for just 192 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Peyton Hillis didn't look too great either, gaining just 45 yards on 12 carries—but he only carried the ball twice in the second half. Yes, a healthy Hillis only carried the ball two times in the second half, when we came into the third quarter down by just 10 points.
And that bring me to my newest favorite whipping boy—head coach Pat Shurmur. What the hell was he doing today? Let me be clear, hell yes I still want this guy fired, because he's completely incompetent!
What have we been saying since week one? The offense lacks creativity. You know how many times Josh Cribbs got the ball in his hands today? A big fat zero! He's a playmaker! You have to put the ball in his hands somehow, someway. Put him at running back and throw it to him in the flat. Screen pass. Reverse. Something!
Now I know Colt didn't execute well, but the fact is that it looks like there are too many three step drop and throws that result in just five yard plays. I found this little gem out today—last year Pat Shurmur's offense in St. Louis averaged 5.9 yards per passing play. This year, it's the same number in Cleveland.
Can you guess what the Packers and Saints average?
Aaron Rodgers gets a whopping 9.6 yards per play, and Drew Brees (who I think might be playing even better than Rodgers) averages 8.02. Those guys are playing a completely different sport than McCoy and the Browns offense, and it's not going to get any better until the coaches figure out how to maximize the talent we have.
Look, the bottom line is it was bad today and we've got the Steelers on Thursday (grrrrrrreat...). This team is just nowhere near good enough to compete with the big boys and they proved it today. But none of that is an excuse to just go out and lay down like they did today.
There's absolutely no excuse for that, and to me, it makes this year's version of the Browns a complete embarrassment to the history, colors and fans of this franchise.
Alright everyone, I'm back for a full day of regularly scheduled Browns bloggin'. The last few weeks haven't really surprised me—especially the loss at Cincinnati, they're actually a good team, and the Browns are not—but the game today could get ugly. Fast.
Here's the deal, the Browns offensive line has gotten better in the last couple of weeks, but I don't think they'll be any match for the Ravens front seven. Take a look at how the team in black and purple completely dismantled the 49ers last week and it's easy to see why. That's a team with Frank Gore—a top-tier running back in the NFL—and he only gained 39 yards on 14 carries. Yikes. They sacked quarterback Alex Smith nine times and got 12 more QB hits. They didn't let San Fran into the redzone at all.
And they did all of that without Ray Lewis!
If Colt McCoy isn't scared...he should be.
McCoy has been sacked 26 times this year and has been knocked down a league leading 64 times. The Ravens D has a league leading 38 sacks and 16 forced fumbles. I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that when you put it all together, it doesn't spell good news for us, Browns fans.
If their is any silver lining, it's that we should have a full complement of running backs for the first time in months. Peyton Hillis was healthy last week, and I thought he had a pretty productive game (I don't think Shurmur used him very well towards the end of the game...but that's another story/another reason why I don't like our head coach). Montario Hardesty's calf should finally be ready to go, and Chris Ogbonnaya is also available.
It's probably worth noting that in the first game against Baltimore last year, Hillis had 144 yards on 22 carries. Could that happen today? Well, anything's possible, right?
On the defensive side of the ball, I really think we're going to have a tough time stopping Ray Rice. He's another great young running back in this league, as he both runs the ball and catches passes quite well. So far this season he has 722 yards rushing and 54 receptions for 537 yards—good for a total of 1,259 yards from scrimmage. I realize the passing defense has been a strong point for the Browns this season, and Flacco has been somewhat inconsistent, but without both Scott Fujita and TJ Ward, the defense is really going to have its hands full.
Look, I know the Ravens have had a few let-down games this year, as all of their losses have come to teams who were under .500 at the time of the game, and that quarterback Joe Flacco has been inconsistent, but I just don't see the Ravens coming into Cleveland for a division game and laying an egg. And let's be clear, the only way the Browns are going to win this game is if the Ravens lay an egg.
Since '08, the Browns have won a game each year that they just have no business winning—the Giants game on Monday Night Football in '08, the Thursday Night game against the Steelers in '09, and the Saints game last year—and that could very well happen today. Any given Sunday, right? That's why you play the game.
But let's just get to the bottom line.
The Prediction: BAL 31 - CLE 13
We'll probably get that touchdown in garbage time, because it's probably going to be a long day for the Browns offense—and that's with or without Ray Lewis on the field.
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.
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.
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 helpthem. 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 teamsagain?! 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
Holy crap, the Browns offense is awful. If you didn't know we're playing football, you might say the Indians are playing the Mariners with a measly score like 3-0. The good thing is that the Browns are on top, right?
Yeah, I guess so. But take a look at the stats and...well at least on the offensive side of the ball there just isn't much to see. Colt McCoy has not looked good at all today. His decision making has not come quick enough, and I'm pretty sure there was at least one time where he didn't read a blitz and almost got himself killed before scrambling out of the pocket for a few positive yards. He's 9/18 for 87 yards, but maybe 10-15 of those came on the stupid pass to end the half to new running back Chris Ogbonnaya. But McCoy has got to be more accurate and on point with his throws. There was one third down play early in the game where TE Ben Watson was wide open and McCoy missed him high. That can't happen at this stage of the game.
At least "stone hands" Hardesty came to play a little bit—he caught a nice third down pass for a first down. But he hasn't had much running room as he's gotten just 43 yards on 15 carries—a paltry 2.9 yards per carry.
Defensively, the Browns have played very well, and that's probably been aided by the fact that Marshawn Lynch injured his back in pregame warmups and was thus scratched from the game. Despite their bye week, Seattle came out looking very sloppy and has aided the Browns with their five penalties for 35 yards. That said, the Browns do have three sacks—one each from Chris Gocong and TJ Ward (who also created a fumble with his) and Athyba Rubin combined with Jabaal Sheard for one. The Browns have also gotten to Whitehurst for four other QB hits, a stat I appreciate because it shows we're getting at least some kind of pass rush.
But all that defense won't matter unless the Browns can find a way to score some more points. 3-0 is just not a score that wins a football game—I don't care how bad the teams are. And this Seahawks team really isn't as bad as they showed in the first half.
The Browns get the ball first in the second half, and it's very important that we go right down the field and score. This first drive is really going to be a statement for how the rest of the game is going to go. If the Seahawks force a 3-and-out, look for them to go right down the field and take command of this game.
Honestly, I don't see the Browns winning this one. Pat Shurmur has got some real scheme problems with the right side of the offensive line. They're getting completely overwhelmed and I don't know if he can correct them at halftime.
Hopefully, I'll be wrong. But even if I am, I'm going to have a lot to complain about after this game...
A couple of weeks ago, I would've chalked this one up as a game the Browns would win easily. Now? Not so much.
First off, it looks like we're going to be without Peyton Hillis after that hamstring injury PR fiasco that happened last week. Despite the fact that the Browns haven't been running the ball well, when you take away the only player that defenses might fear, it's clearly not a good thing. Montario Hardesty will get his second start of his young career, and the last time he started a game he played pretty well. But that was against the Dolphins—a team that still hasn't won a game. If the Browns are going to win today, they're going to need Hardesty to not only run the ball better, but catch the ball too. He was regarded as a good receiving back, and we need to see that in action since so far he's shown nothing but stone hands.
Speaking of offense, we really need to buck this trend of only starting to play it in the second quarter. The Browns have scored a grand total of 3—yes three—points in five first quarters sof ar this season. That's ridiculous. To me, it speaks volumes about the way head coach Pat Shurmur just hasn't had his team prepared to start the game. I know he's a young, first-time head coach, but there's no excuse for the way the Browns have driven the struggle bus in the first quarter.
Other than that, we'll have to look out for Seattle's no huddle offense. Charlie Whitehurst will probably get the start with Tavaris Jackson out with an injury, and Whiethurst proved to be pretty effective with that offense in Seattle's last game against the Giants. Yes, the Giants struggled in that game and Eli Manning may have thrown it away with his three interceptions, but they won that game.
One thing that plays in the Browns favor with the no-huddle element is that they don't substitute much on defense. I read from Terry Pluto that by and large Dick Jauron stays in his base defense, with the linebackers D'Qwell Jaackson and Scott Fujita playing 90% or more of the snaps, with TJ Ward, Sheldon Brown, Jayme Mitchell, Jabaal Sheard and Athyba Rubin also rarely being out of the game. If Joe Haden is healthy enough to play today, he'll be in there the whole time too. So the point is that even if they go no huddle, it shouldn't mess us up too much. That being said, it'll largely depend on Jackson to make sure the defense gets lined up correctly in those cases, especially with Fujita out this week after suffering a concussion.
Alright, so what's the bottom line today? Well...I just don't have a good feeling about it. No Peyton Hillis. No Scott Fujita. Seahawks coming off of a bye week, and off a great win against the Giants. All those elements seem to spell "Browns will lose" to me...
The Prediction: SEA 24 - CLE 17
It might be a late touchdown that seals it, or Seattle will run Marshawn Lynch all over the field and we'll score in garbage time to make the score look better than it really is, but when it comes down to it, I just don't think the Browns will have the personnel available to win today. It's not even that Seattle is that good, I just think we're that bad.
Okay, I know I wasn't expecting the Browns to win today but...man. Wow.
First off, the offense was in a word, offensive. This whole "west coast offense" thing is really on my nerves. Case in point—we had the ball on the one yard line. First down and one. What do we do? We throw a freaking play action pass to freaking Alex Smith! We have Peyton Hillis! Run the damn football! Ground 'n Pound!
Maybe that's just not the offense we should expect, but if I'm a head coach—better yet, if I'm an offensive lineman, that's what I want. We need one yard, we should never have to pass the football. Never. And yes, I know we got the touchdown, but that is always going to bother me.
Speaking of having Peyton Hillis...Oh, where to start on this one. What in the wide, wide world of sports are the Browns doing with him right now? We come out in the third quarter down 14-7, this guy is on the sideline without a helmet. Everybody wonders, "WTF is up?!" and the Browns beat writers tweet that the Browns say there's nothing wrong with him, it's a "coaches decision." Then, they tweet that Hillis pulled his hamstring. And about a minute later, he's in the game! Then we hear he was only in there for pass protection, and that he can't actually run the ball. I don't know who is running PR over there for the Browns, but Holmgren seriously needs to decide if this guy needs to be fired or not, because this is way past ridiculous.
If Hillis is hurt, fine, he's hurt. But don't say he's not hurt, then he is hurt, and then put him into the game! That just means you're putting the player at risk if that's true. And this is all happening on Shurmur's watch, and I'm really not his biggest fan right now.
First off, the way he handled Hillis not playing the Miami game is disgusting. Hillis literally lost 10 pounds, had a fever, and I'm sure his throat was killing him. I've had really bad strep throat, it sucks the life out of you. And for Shurmur to go on the podium and say, "It's my understanding that Peyton was sick," is absolutely absurd. He should've said "Peyton was sick and couldn't go, if you'd lost 10 pounds in a week and had a fever, you probably wouldn't be going to work either." I think that's logical, no?
But I digress, the real issue at hand with Shurmur is that his offense right now just can't get a darn thing going. And it's such a shame too, because the defense has played remarkably well. The defensive unit only gave up 10 points today—the other 14 came from horrendous special teams play.
Taking a look at the stats, Colt McCoy threw way too many times yet again today, completing just 21 of his 45 attempts for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns. Why is he passing so much? Well because the Browns refuse to do anything offensively in the first quarter, so they start out down, and then have to pass. Plus, with Hillis being hurt, Hardesty just doesn't seem ready to take the full load of the offense. Oakland's defense was not ranked well at all against the run, and we really should've been able to at least get 100 yards total, but the offensive line couldn't get their reach blocks all day long, meaning there were no outside lanes. The most telling stat of all from the running game? The longest run of the day from a running back was Hardesty for 7—yes just seven—yards. That's never going to be good enough.
The defensive side of the ball continues to impress in some ways, but disappoint in others. They got fairly lucky that Jason Campbell had to come out of the game, because when he was at the helm they really couldn't stop the Raiders on third downs. They did hold Darren McFadden to under 100 yards, with 91 on 20 carries, but all told the Raiders had 40 carries for 151 yards.
But the biggest offender of the day was the special teams unit. I said this in the Halftime Blurb, I believe, but I don't know that we ever had a touchdown return last year under Mangini, and if we did it certainly wasn't often. (Update: According to Terry Pluto, the Browns hadn't had a kickoff returned on them since '08. The longest return was 46 yards in '09, 32 yards last season. I thought I was right about that.)The last couple of years, we did the little things well—very few penalties, and good execution on special teams. I'm really, really missing that right now, especially because Marv Albert was saying the whole game, "Oh, I wonder if they'll fake!" Why didn't Shurmur think that too?
The bottom line? Today the Browns should have come out fresh from the bye week, but instead they came out the same old "let's not play offense in the first quarter" way and they totally stunk. The Raiders didn't even need that extra emotion, because the Browns couldn't move the ball.
But this team is going to have to get a whole lot better, because right now it just seems like each week they're getting worse. And in Cleveland, that's just not going to cut it.
So I know I wasn't very optimistic when I wrote the Start Me Up, but this game has been extremely frustrating so far. I swear, Pat Shurmur has no idea how to use his personnel. And why the hell were there 12 men on the field at the end of that 2nd quarter? Okay. We're only down by one touchdown, as it's just 14-7 Raiders, and we have a shot at this game—especially because backup Kyle Boller is in at QB now for the Raiders. And let me say, he is just as bad as I remember him being in Baltimore.
As for the stats, offensively the Browns have just not looked good. McCoy is 7/16 for 79 yards and a touchdown. Hardesty has 7 carries for 21 yards, Hillis has 6 carries for 14 yards...Nothing good there! Browns have got to establish the run game, but the offensive line has looked so bad trying to reach defenders on Oakland's d-line. It's just not working so far. Little and Cribbs had nice receptions on the touchdown drive, but other than that nothing to write home about.
Defensively, the Browns are (predictibly) having a lot of trouble stopping Darren McFadden. He has 10 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown so far. Before getting injured, Jason Campbell was 6/9 for 52 yards, but he was managing the game well, as he'd also had 2 rushes for 16 yards. They've been going after Dimitri Patterson, and he's held up reasonably well, hasn't given up any huge plays yet. Phil Taylor and Athyba Rubin have been playing very well on the line, with Taylor having 2 tackles for loss, 1 QB hit and 1 sack. I'll take that.
Special teams? Terrible. I can't remember the last time we allowed a touchdown return, but I know it rarely to never happened under Mangini. That's disgusting to me. You work so hard to tie the game up, and then *poof* it's just gone in a flash. That has to be better.
The Browns just didn't look like the better team in the first half. And that can change, especially because Kyle Boller is in. But unless it changes quickly, the Browns are headed for their third loss. Ugh.
Wow, it seems like forever since I wrote a post here, but I guess I've been busy. Plus, the Browns haven't played in two weeks. But now everybody's back in the saddle—including me—and it's time for the only team I truly care about in the NFL to play once again. And I couldn't be happier about it.
However, to be honest, I'm just not feeling too great about this game. I think it's going to be a challenge any time we go all the way out to the west coast, but Oakland has been a pretty darn good team so far this year. Combine that with the fact that it's certainly going to be an emotional day as the Raiders commemorate the death of longtime franchise owner Al Davis, and I just don't think our prospects look very good for a win.
That being said, I think it's going to be a very competitive game, and the Browns will stay in it for the most part. After all, the Raiders are 31st in total defense so far this year giving up 422.4 yards per game—299.6 through the air and 122.8 on the ground, ranking 29th and 22nd, respectively. This is going to be a game where head coach Pat Shurmur has got to get Peyton Hillis going early and often. With all the yards the Raiders give up, it really shouldn't be too much of a problem for Hillis to get 100 yards. It'd be great if we could also get Hardesty enough carries to get around 30 yards too, but beggars can't be choosers, right?
I'm also expecting to see more out of the passing offense. It's not that they've looked terrible, but we've just got to start being more efficient and effective. That's going to come with utilizing receivers that can actually catch well—Massaquoi and Little should get plenty of playing time today for that purpose—and then getting good yards after the catch. That's what the west coast offense is built on, and I'm hoping they got enough good work in during the bye week to get better at them.
Another note for the offense is that I'm expecting that they'll use more Evan Moore—which is a great thing. He's been totally underused in the first four games, and the excuse I've heard is that he hasn't been in as much because he isn't a great blocker. But I don't care about his blocking, that's not why we signed him to an extension. This guy also needs to be involved in the offense early and often, and I'd really like to see him being used as a slot receiver. He is a complete miss-match for linebackers to cover with his speed, and his size also gives him an advantage over small cornerbacks. We've got the weapon, it's time to use it properly.
Defensively, the Browns are definitely going to struggle today. Joe Haden isn't playing with his sprained knee, which means Dimitri Patterson gets the start in his place alongside Sheldon Brown. Brown hasn't played to his normal high level, probably because he's getting a little long in the tooth. But without Haden, the way Jason Campbell has been airing it out so far this year, the secondary could have a fairly long day. Unfortunately, also the 25th ranking Browns rushing defense is going up against the #2 ranked rushing offense, led by running back Darren McFadden. That could be a big problem.
So what do I really expect today? Well, Alex Mack is going to play, despite not practicing much this week after having an appendectomy just a couple weeks ago. And while that's good news, I don't expect him to play to his usual Pro-Bowl level, so the offensive line will probably struggle. Again. Josh Cribbs also apparently has a knee injury (I believe it's a sprained knee, but I'm not positive), so he might not return kicks. And even if he does he might not be at 100%.
None of that actually answered the question, so let me try that again.
The Prediction: CLE 24 - OAK 30
I think we're going to see quarterback Colt McCoy take another good step in the right direction in terms of his development, but I think the Raiders will really run the table most of the game with their running game. And ultimately, I just don't think the Browns will be able to overcome the emotion that the Raiders will be playing with. That's not to say they won't play well, but there are just too many external factors, if you ask me.
I can't remember being so excited about a Browns win. And what a win it was.
Can you believe after stinking so much all day, Colt McCoy was able to drive the ball 80 yards in the 2-minute drill to get the Browns a 17-16 lead? And that after being shut down all day Mohammed Massaquoi and Greg Little were able to make beautiful, key catches in order to get the ball down the field? And that Massaquoi made that 14 yard catch in the endzone for the touchdown?
Seriously, that was one of the more impressive wins I think the Browns have had since we got back in '99. All this, plus we've started out a season 2-1 for the first time since 2002—when the Butch Davis Browns lost their first game against the Chiefs, then defeated Cincinnati and Tennessee in their next two games.
It might not even be worth it to take a look at the numbers today, cause who cares, we won?! But Colt McCoy finished the day 19/39 with 210 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. That's 48% completions, and a QB rating of 71.5. Not the McCoy we expect in terms of accuracy, but we won the game because he was accurate when we needed it the most. I'll take it.
Ben Watson was the leading receiver with 5 catches for 64 yards, but Mohammed Massaquoi and Greg Little came up huge in that 2-minute drill, with Little catching 3 passes for 24 yards, and Massaquoi catching 2 for 26, including the game-winning touchdown. If we can get execution like that earlier in the game from those receivers, we'll be in really good business.
The running game was actually pretty decent, despite the loss of Peyton Hillis today. Montario Hardesty did a very nice job filling in, even though he didn't get to 100 yards. He did have 67 yards on 14 carries, good for a 4.8 average. I'll always take that. And now that we've seen Hardesty can produce, I think we'll start to see more of Hillis & Hardesty in the same backfield. If not next week, then for sure after the bye week.
I don't know how he's done it, but Dick Jauron has done a fantastic job early with converting the Browns 3-4 defense into a 4-3. I just remember so many growing pains when we initially switched to the 3-4 under Romeo Crenel that it's really astonishing to me how well the defense has played—especially the defensive line. As a unit, the defense had 5 sacks, 6 tackles for loss, and 8 QB hits. Those are exceptional numbers, and I think we've really got to take our hats off to Jauron for that.
Since I love defense so much, I've just got to highlight the dominance of our defensive line. I'm telling you, Athyba Rubin and Phil Taylor are just a joy to watch stuff the middle. They combined today for 16 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and 2 QB hits. In this 4-3 defense, you want those two guys along with the middle linebacker to have the most tackles, and D'Qwell Jackson led the team with 11 tackles. That's 27 total tackles between those three, the middle core of what could turn out to be fairly dominating defense for the next few years. I'm lovin' it.
Obviously, this is a great end to the weekend and a great start to the week. A comeback win is exactly what this team and city needed to really get behind the Browns again.
And as an aside, I think it's wonderful for football that the Bills and Lions are 3-0, and the Browns are 2-1. How about them apples?!
Enjoy this feeling, and I'll see you next week!
~MAS
Well, so far this game hasn't gone particularly well, but it hasn't been particularly awful either as the Browns are down just 10-7 to the Dolphins.
Offensively, this team needs to start coming out to play in the first quarter. It's ridiculous to me that we take at least a quarter to "warm up" and then we can finally complete some passes and score some points. Quarterback play from McCoy has been erratic, at best. He hasn't been his usual, accurate self, going 5/14 with 73 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the first half. I think Peyton Hillis' absence has consequences for the entire offense, but we've got to be better. Running the ball, Hardesty hasn't been bad so far, with six carries for 25 yards, good for a 4.2 average. We just have to be more consistent with that aspect of the game, as there have been some good runs, but also a few times when we've been stopped behind the line for three & four yard losses. Yikes.
In the passing game, Josh Cribbs obviously had the best catch with that touchdown reception. But an interesting thing is that Massaquoi has been targeted four times, but caught none of them. That's partially to blame on McCoy, but there were at least two of those passes that could've been caught, I think.
Defensively, I think these guys have been their consistent selves so far. Despite the fact that Chad Henne has looked awesome today so far, going 15/19 for 191 yards and a touchdown in the first half, we've held them to just 10 points. I'll take that. In the running game, rookie Daniel Thomas has been a force so far, with 12 carries for 50 yards, good for a 4.2 average. But the defensive line has been quit good, espeially Jayme Mitchell, who has 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass defended and 2 QB hits. That's a great stat line for a game, let alone the first half.
So the key to victory? Get the offense going. We've got to control the clock a little more with the running game, and I'd really like to see McCoy getting back to looking like his accurate self with some nice short, quick passes. This is a winnable game, it's just going to be a matter of if we can get this game under our control or not.
I'll see you after the game, hopefully to celebrate.
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