And with the Browns 41-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, it wasn't a moment too soon. That was the ugliest game the Browns played the entire season and it really couldn't have come for a worse time if you're Eric Mangini, Brian Daboll and Rob Ryan. The former was, of course, fighting for his job today, the latter has is going to be interviewed to be the Panthers head coach. Daboll...well, he was probably going to be fired anyway. But I'm sure each of those coaches would love to have this game erased from their resumés.
To say the game was an offensive mess would be an understatement. We already knew that it was going to be difficult for the Browns to run against the #1 running defense, and #2 defense overall in the NFL, but I thought we'd be able to muster a little bit more than 43 total yards on the ground. Colt McCoy was actually today's leading rusher, with 4 scrambles for 19 yards. Mike Bell had 5 carries for 14 yards, and Peyton Hillis had 6 carries for 13. Just an all around bad day.
In the passing game, McCoy was 20/41 for 209 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Yikes. Tight end Ben Watson was the leading receiver today with 7 receptions for 67 yards. Despite the fact that he played volley ball on his first targeted pass which caused an interception, Watson has really been one of the bright spots of the Cleveland Browns this season, and is clearly a great target for Colt McCoy as he threw to Watson 12 times today. I suppose it's elementary.
It's unfortunate that I have to ask this question again, but why oh why in the wide world of sports is Robert Royal being targeted for passes? He cannot catch! As Terry Pluto wrote in his "Halftime Scribbles" on Cleveland.com, Robert Royal had eleven catches and six drops last year, and this year he had five catches and four drops coming into the game. He is regarded as a blocking tight end, and I'm sure he's great at that. But why is he the one catching the pass on the bootleg down in the endzone? When you have a tight end who is your leading receiver, there's no excuse for putting in the butterfingers who has a reputation for dropping passes, and then drops a touchdown in the endzone. And yes, I'm looking at you, Brian Daboll.
I've been a big fan of Rob Ryan since he came to the Browns from Oakland last season - but this was clearly not his best effort. I think he and his brother Rex, head coach of the New York Jets, are great for football with their frank and outspoken nature, and I sincerely hope that Rob can become a successful head coach someday soon - but for now I would love it if he stayed and helped our Browns defense improve, no matter who our head coach is next year. They didn't show it today but the defense has improved leaps and bounds over where it was when Romeo Crenel was fired after the 2008 season, which means we've got to give credit to Mangini for that too.
I was going to take a look at the offensive numbers for the Steelers today, but the only one you need to know is 41 - the number of points they scored. That tells you enough about what went on.
So now that the season is over, I'm sure we will see in the next few days whether or not Eric Mangini will stay, whether or not Mike Holmgren will take off a suit and coach the team, or if he'll hire someone else. And I'm sure I'll have something to say about it if you want to check back.
Thanks for reading this season, Browns fans, it's been a lot of fun for me.
~MAS
Showing posts with label Rob Ryan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rob Ryan. Show all posts
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
2010 In Cleveland Sports
I'm not sure why I didn't think of this earlier, but I feel like it's worth going back and taking a look at the year that was in the sports world of our fair city with our three teams, and what 2011 might hold for them.
Cavaliers
What a difference a "Decision" makes, huh? Our basketball team has gone from perennial #1 seed in the east to one of the laughing stocks of the entire league. With LeBron James in the '09-'10 NBA season, the Cavs were 61-21 overall, including a 35-6 record at home. They reached the second round of the playoffs before losing to the Boston Celtics in six games, where LeBron either quit because he knew he was going to team up with the other two Amigos in Miami, or straight up choked. Either way, he broke the city's heart when he went on ESPN for his hour long "Decision" special to tell everyone he was "taking his talents to South Beach." Remember, all the "Decision" nonsense came after Cavs owner Dan Gilbert fired Mike Brown at the conclusion of the season, General Manager Danny Ferry resigned, and then Byron Scott was hired as coach and Chris Grant was promoted to GM to try to appease LeBron so that he would stay.
Obviously, none of it worked and people were burning jerseys all over North-East Ohio the night of July 8th.
Now the Cavs are dead last in the east with a record of 8-24. We all know Dan Gilbert is frustrated, as first evidenced by his Comic Sans letter to the fans, and then his tweet after the disgraceful loss to the Heat on December 2nd, but I think Byron Scott has got to be frustrated too. I really thought this team would be good enough to at least contend for a #8 playoff seed, but that's just not going to be the case. It's unfortunate to see a team go down so far so fast, but, as much as I hate to admit it, I guess it just proves how talented LeBron James is on a basketball court. He could really use some work in the PR department, though.
2011? Well, the Cavs better hope they get a nice lottery pick. I'm not particularly a fan of college basketball, so I really couldn't tell you who I think they should draft until I see them in the tournament in March. But our basketball team clearly has a lot of work to do in order to climb out of the same basement where they were locked for so long before LeBron arrived.
Indians
I'm pretty sure nobody thought the Indians would actually contend for anything other than 4th place in the AL Central with Kansas City, and that's exactly what they did. All. Year. Long.
I'm sure the Dolan's would love for it to be winter longer, in order to extend the "Snow Days" promotion that from what I've read has been very successful down at Progressive Field. But that stadium's primary use was downright ugly this year.
The Tribe did end up in 4th place, two games above Kansas City, with a 69-93 record. That's 25 games behind division winner, Minnesota, and also 12 games behind the 3rd place team, Detroit. Nothing like those sobering numbers to tell you just how bad the Indians were.
There were bright spots in the season. Carlos Santana earned a lot of respect for his bat and made some significant strides in his defense behind the plate under the tutelage of Sandy Alomar, before a season-ending knee injury against Boston ended his rookie campaign. Shin-Soo Choo had a great season, hitting .300 with 22 home runs, 90 RBIs, 31 doubles, and 22 stolen bases, then helped his home country, South Korea, win the Asian Games baseball tournament and earned his military exemption. That's good news for both him and the Tribe. Fausto Carmona had a good comeback year, after two terrible seasons of '08 and '09, going 13-14 with a 3.77 ERA in 33 starts. And Chris Perez looked like a real dominant closer, as he saved 23 games this year, first while Kerry Wood was hurt and then after Wood was traded.
However, there was a lot more bad than good during Manny Acta's first season as manager of the Indians. Grady Sizemore had another season ending injury, and now there are questions as to whether he will ever be the same All-Star caliber player he was again. Travis Hafner continued to struggle with his bad shoulder, and only hit .278 with 13 home and 50 RBIs in 118 games. Luis Valbuena took a few steps back at the plate as he struggled all year and finished the season under the Mendoza line with a .193 average. And Matt LaPorta really failed to improve at all as he finished the season with a .221 average, 12 home runs an only 41 RBIs. Very paltry numbers from a corner infielder, especially a first baseman.
It's also worth noting that Chris Antonetti took over the General Managing duties from Mark Shapiro during this offseason, as Shapiro was promoted to team President. This means pretty much nothing, as Antonetti was Shapiro's right hand man as Assistant GM for all of Shapiro's tenure. So if you were looking for a change in general managing style with Antonetti, you're not going to get it.
What might we see from the Indians in 2011? Well, unfortunately, probably a lot more of what we saw in 2010. I'd like to think our offense will be improved with the return of Sizemore and Santana, but I'm not convinced that Sizemore will be healthy the whole year. It will be interesting to see if Carmona can continue to get back to the Ace-like form he had in 2007 when he received votes for the Cy Young award, which then Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia deservedly won.
In speaking of Cy Young winners, I'd like to see the Tribe go after Bartolo Colon for another starting pitcher option. It might just remind people enough about the good 'ol days to put some fans in the seats. Plus, I just don't like watching young guys get shelled every fifth day. It would also be nice if the Indians could sign or trade for a 3rd baseman, because from the little bit of baseball I watched last year I can tell you Jayson Nix is not the bridge to prospect Lonnie Chisenhall at that position.
We'll have to wait until April 1st to see what 2011 will hold for our baseball team, but if the stars align properly, and if we have very few to no injuries (yeah right) then we could potentially contend for 2nd place in the AL Central. Now that is a dangerously optimistic outlook, but hey, that's why they go out and play the games, right? They can always surprise us.
Browns
What to say about those Cleveland Browns... Clearly it's the team I followed the closest this past year, and it's also the sport I know the most about since I played it in high school. That being said, after Mike Holmgren was hired in December of '09, and the Browns finished the season with a four game winning streak, we all expected a sound improvement in the team this year. I think the team is clearly better than last year, where they lost 7 games by at least two touchdowns, but unfortunately their 5-10 record doesn't show that at all.
The Browns had a great draft, headed by their new General Manager Tom Heckert, where they took three players who have emerged as regular starters this season in Joe Haden, T.J. Ward, and Colt McCoy. I think all three have a chance to be Pro Bowlers in the future if the Browns can improve the team enough around them.
Haden has six interceptions on the year, which is the most by a Browns rookie since Anthony Henry led the league with 10 in 2001. Ward has begun to emerge as a feared, hard hitting safety, which is exactly what the Browns need in the AFC North. And to me, Colt McCoy looks like the quarterback the Browns have been searching for since '99. His intangibles are off the charts, and you can tell this son of a high school football coach was born to be a leader.
I think it's been a tale of two teams for the Browns this season - the team of the first 10 weeks, and the team we've seen the last weeks. Sure, I was upset when we lost to the Buccaneers and Chiefs by blowing fourth quarter leads, but who knew those teams were actually good back in weeks one and two? And then we had the memorable back-to-back wins against the Saints and Patriots, and the overtime loss to the Jets where we looked like a real contending team.
However, ever since that loss to the Jets, the Browns just have not looked the same. I don't know if that loss was a shot to their confidence or what, but since then, we were defeated by the Jaguars - a game I believe we should have won. Then we beat arguably the worst team in the league, the Carolina Panthers, by 1 measly point because they missed a field goal at the end of the game. We beat Miami with a lucky break interception at the end of the game by Mike Adams. And then we lost consecutive games to two-win teams, Buffalo and Cincinnati. I just don't think the Browns of weeks 1-10 would have lost those two games based on the way Peyton Hillis was running, and the defense was stopping people from scoring with their confusing formations.
True, the team has suffered with injuries to all three of their quarterbacks, linebacker Scott Fujita, defensive end Robaire Smith, and (maybe they've suffered from losing) Eric Wright, but to me that's no excuse for what a lot of the time seems like a lack of effective offensive game plan.
What's on the table for 2011 with our beloved NFL franchise? Well, a lot of it depends on whether or not the players and owners work out their collective bargaining agreement which will determine whether or not there will be a lockout. There is a lot of speculation that there will be a coaching change, that Jon Gruden will be the next head coach, but I would honestly like to see Eric Mangini and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan stay. Brian Daboll, on the other hand, has got to go, and I would love it if Mangini's good friend and former Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels came in to run our offense.
In terms of draft and free agency needs, the Browns would be wise to pick up an impact wide receiver. Part of the problem with our team now is that they have very few dominant players on either side of the ball. You can never have too many offensive lineman, and I think the Browns could really sure up the right side of the line with a good right tackle so that we never have to see "Open Gate" John St. Clair again.
A lot of this is purely speculation, and Mike Holmgren is going to do what he feels is best for the franchise - which could be coaching the team himself. Either way, I think the Browns are going to be the team that carries us through this decade, much like the Cavs carried us through the last one.
~MAS
Cavaliers
What a difference a "Decision" makes, huh? Our basketball team has gone from perennial #1 seed in the east to one of the laughing stocks of the entire league. With LeBron James in the '09-'10 NBA season, the Cavs were 61-21 overall, including a 35-6 record at home. They reached the second round of the playoffs before losing to the Boston Celtics in six games, where LeBron either quit because he knew he was going to team up with the other two Amigos in Miami, or straight up choked. Either way, he broke the city's heart when he went on ESPN for his hour long "Decision" special to tell everyone he was "taking his talents to South Beach." Remember, all the "Decision" nonsense came after Cavs owner Dan Gilbert fired Mike Brown at the conclusion of the season, General Manager Danny Ferry resigned, and then Byron Scott was hired as coach and Chris Grant was promoted to GM to try to appease LeBron so that he would stay.
Obviously, none of it worked and people were burning jerseys all over North-East Ohio the night of July 8th.
Now the Cavs are dead last in the east with a record of 8-24. We all know Dan Gilbert is frustrated, as first evidenced by his Comic Sans letter to the fans, and then his tweet after the disgraceful loss to the Heat on December 2nd, but I think Byron Scott has got to be frustrated too. I really thought this team would be good enough to at least contend for a #8 playoff seed, but that's just not going to be the case. It's unfortunate to see a team go down so far so fast, but, as much as I hate to admit it, I guess it just proves how talented LeBron James is on a basketball court. He could really use some work in the PR department, though.
2011? Well, the Cavs better hope they get a nice lottery pick. I'm not particularly a fan of college basketball, so I really couldn't tell you who I think they should draft until I see them in the tournament in March. But our basketball team clearly has a lot of work to do in order to climb out of the same basement where they were locked for so long before LeBron arrived.
Indians
I'm pretty sure nobody thought the Indians would actually contend for anything other than 4th place in the AL Central with Kansas City, and that's exactly what they did. All. Year. Long.
I'm sure the Dolan's would love for it to be winter longer, in order to extend the "Snow Days" promotion that from what I've read has been very successful down at Progressive Field. But that stadium's primary use was downright ugly this year.
The Tribe did end up in 4th place, two games above Kansas City, with a 69-93 record. That's 25 games behind division winner, Minnesota, and also 12 games behind the 3rd place team, Detroit. Nothing like those sobering numbers to tell you just how bad the Indians were.
There were bright spots in the season. Carlos Santana earned a lot of respect for his bat and made some significant strides in his defense behind the plate under the tutelage of Sandy Alomar, before a season-ending knee injury against Boston ended his rookie campaign. Shin-Soo Choo had a great season, hitting .300 with 22 home runs, 90 RBIs, 31 doubles, and 22 stolen bases, then helped his home country, South Korea, win the Asian Games baseball tournament and earned his military exemption. That's good news for both him and the Tribe. Fausto Carmona had a good comeback year, after two terrible seasons of '08 and '09, going 13-14 with a 3.77 ERA in 33 starts. And Chris Perez looked like a real dominant closer, as he saved 23 games this year, first while Kerry Wood was hurt and then after Wood was traded.
However, there was a lot more bad than good during Manny Acta's first season as manager of the Indians. Grady Sizemore had another season ending injury, and now there are questions as to whether he will ever be the same All-Star caliber player he was again. Travis Hafner continued to struggle with his bad shoulder, and only hit .278 with 13 home and 50 RBIs in 118 games. Luis Valbuena took a few steps back at the plate as he struggled all year and finished the season under the Mendoza line with a .193 average. And Matt LaPorta really failed to improve at all as he finished the season with a .221 average, 12 home runs an only 41 RBIs. Very paltry numbers from a corner infielder, especially a first baseman.
It's also worth noting that Chris Antonetti took over the General Managing duties from Mark Shapiro during this offseason, as Shapiro was promoted to team President. This means pretty much nothing, as Antonetti was Shapiro's right hand man as Assistant GM for all of Shapiro's tenure. So if you were looking for a change in general managing style with Antonetti, you're not going to get it.
What might we see from the Indians in 2011? Well, unfortunately, probably a lot more of what we saw in 2010. I'd like to think our offense will be improved with the return of Sizemore and Santana, but I'm not convinced that Sizemore will be healthy the whole year. It will be interesting to see if Carmona can continue to get back to the Ace-like form he had in 2007 when he received votes for the Cy Young award, which then Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia deservedly won.
In speaking of Cy Young winners, I'd like to see the Tribe go after Bartolo Colon for another starting pitcher option. It might just remind people enough about the good 'ol days to put some fans in the seats. Plus, I just don't like watching young guys get shelled every fifth day. It would also be nice if the Indians could sign or trade for a 3rd baseman, because from the little bit of baseball I watched last year I can tell you Jayson Nix is not the bridge to prospect Lonnie Chisenhall at that position.
We'll have to wait until April 1st to see what 2011 will hold for our baseball team, but if the stars align properly, and if we have very few to no injuries (yeah right) then we could potentially contend for 2nd place in the AL Central. Now that is a dangerously optimistic outlook, but hey, that's why they go out and play the games, right? They can always surprise us.
Browns
What to say about those Cleveland Browns... Clearly it's the team I followed the closest this past year, and it's also the sport I know the most about since I played it in high school. That being said, after Mike Holmgren was hired in December of '09, and the Browns finished the season with a four game winning streak, we all expected a sound improvement in the team this year. I think the team is clearly better than last year, where they lost 7 games by at least two touchdowns, but unfortunately their 5-10 record doesn't show that at all.
The Browns had a great draft, headed by their new General Manager Tom Heckert, where they took three players who have emerged as regular starters this season in Joe Haden, T.J. Ward, and Colt McCoy. I think all three have a chance to be Pro Bowlers in the future if the Browns can improve the team enough around them.
Haden has six interceptions on the year, which is the most by a Browns rookie since Anthony Henry led the league with 10 in 2001. Ward has begun to emerge as a feared, hard hitting safety, which is exactly what the Browns need in the AFC North. And to me, Colt McCoy looks like the quarterback the Browns have been searching for since '99. His intangibles are off the charts, and you can tell this son of a high school football coach was born to be a leader.
I think it's been a tale of two teams for the Browns this season - the team of the first 10 weeks, and the team we've seen the last weeks. Sure, I was upset when we lost to the Buccaneers and Chiefs by blowing fourth quarter leads, but who knew those teams were actually good back in weeks one and two? And then we had the memorable back-to-back wins against the Saints and Patriots, and the overtime loss to the Jets where we looked like a real contending team.
However, ever since that loss to the Jets, the Browns just have not looked the same. I don't know if that loss was a shot to their confidence or what, but since then, we were defeated by the Jaguars - a game I believe we should have won. Then we beat arguably the worst team in the league, the Carolina Panthers, by 1 measly point because they missed a field goal at the end of the game. We beat Miami with a lucky break interception at the end of the game by Mike Adams. And then we lost consecutive games to two-win teams, Buffalo and Cincinnati. I just don't think the Browns of weeks 1-10 would have lost those two games based on the way Peyton Hillis was running, and the defense was stopping people from scoring with their confusing formations.
True, the team has suffered with injuries to all three of their quarterbacks, linebacker Scott Fujita, defensive end Robaire Smith, and (maybe they've suffered from losing) Eric Wright, but to me that's no excuse for what a lot of the time seems like a lack of effective offensive game plan.
What's on the table for 2011 with our beloved NFL franchise? Well, a lot of it depends on whether or not the players and owners work out their collective bargaining agreement which will determine whether or not there will be a lockout. There is a lot of speculation that there will be a coaching change, that Jon Gruden will be the next head coach, but I would honestly like to see Eric Mangini and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan stay. Brian Daboll, on the other hand, has got to go, and I would love it if Mangini's good friend and former Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels came in to run our offense.
In terms of draft and free agency needs, the Browns would be wise to pick up an impact wide receiver. Part of the problem with our team now is that they have very few dominant players on either side of the ball. You can never have too many offensive lineman, and I think the Browns could really sure up the right side of the line with a good right tackle so that we never have to see "Open Gate" John St. Clair again.
A lot of this is purely speculation, and Mike Holmgren is going to do what he feels is best for the franchise - which could be coaching the team himself. Either way, I think the Browns are going to be the team that carries us through this decade, much like the Cavs carried us through the last one.
~MAS
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Start Me Up - Ravens vs. Browns
I've got a new, sleek, awesomely-wonderful-in-every-way MacBook Pro and this is the first blog coming to you from this fine piece of machinery as the 10-4 Baltimore Ravens come into snowy Cleveland to take on the 5-9 Browns. A lot has been said about the Browns losing two consecutive games to 2-win teams (surprisingly, little by me) and head coach Eric Mangini's chances of keeping his job, but for now the Browns have still got the Mangenius so we'll have to see what they can get done today.
If you go back to the game these two teams played way back week 3 of the season in September, the Browns put up a valiant fight in the loss. They had the lead in the fourth quarter before blowing it when Anquan Boldin caught a 27 yard pass to cap off a touchdown drive, and then Billy Cundiff added a field goal to seal the deal. That game, Seneca Wallace was 18/24 for 141 yards passing and a touchdown, but Peyton Hillis was huge with 144 yards on 22 carries. We've already heard Ray Lewis come out this week to say that's not going to happen again, and I believe him. People just don't run on the Ravens like that two times in one season.
The key to this game on the offensive side will be if we can establish and then maintain balance with the run and pass. Now, I'm pretty sure you could say that with just about every game you come across, because who doesn't want balance in their offensive game plan? But I think it's especially important this week as they are clearly going to be keeping bodies in the box to stop Hillis and at the same time will undoubtedly blitz the heck out of Colt McCoy in clear passing situations. It's going to come down to if the Browns can get enough yards on first and second down to make "Third-and-Manageable" situations, so third-and-three, or third-and-four. If there's ever a third-and-long, look out for the blitzkrieg.
Defensively, the Browns are going to have a tough time dealing with both Ray Rice and Joe Flacco. Both have had solid seasons, with Rice rushing for 1,051 yards and 4 touchdowns, and Flacco throwing for 3,395 and 23 touchdowns, good for a 94.8 rating that's 7th in the NFL (6th if you don't count Tony Romo). Although Rice is widely regarded as one of the best in the league, it's really not because he goes over 100 yards rushing each week - it's the receptions. He has 62 of them for 556 yards and a touchdown so far this season. Last week, the Ravens beat the New Orleans Saints behind Rice's best game of the season as he had 153 yards on 31 carries, 80 yards on 5 receptions, a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown. You add in wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Derrick Mason, who have 813 yards and 718 yards, respectively, and you can see why defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has certainly had his hands full.
The Browns did a nice job defensively during the first three quarters of the Baltimore game earlier this season, and I think a big part of the breakdown was Flacco challenging Eric Wright who just was not up to it. That was before the emergence of Joe Haden, and Wright has since been placed on the Injured Reserve list, so I doubt we'll see Bolden catch 8 passes for 142 yards and 3 TDs again. It would have been really nice to have Scott Fujita back this week for run support, but he has also been placed on that IR, which meas everyone else has to be on their A-game for run support. The Browns cannot afford to let Rice run all over them like they did with Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott last week.
Do I think the Browns can pull out a win today? Well, I certainly hope so. But based on the way this team has played since they lost to the Jets back in week 10, I just don't really see it happening. As an optimist, I hope they do. I hope they can get the win to maybe help Mangini keep his job. Rob Ryan gave the head coach a shining endorsement earlier this week, and said that it would be dumb to blow up everything now. I think he's right about that. But will I predict the Browns to win today?
Nah...The Ravens could be a championship-caliber team, and they're not going to let the Browns play the role of "Spoiler" today.
The Prediction: BAL 30 - CLE 20
See you at the half,
~MAS
If you go back to the game these two teams played way back week 3 of the season in September, the Browns put up a valiant fight in the loss. They had the lead in the fourth quarter before blowing it when Anquan Boldin caught a 27 yard pass to cap off a touchdown drive, and then Billy Cundiff added a field goal to seal the deal. That game, Seneca Wallace was 18/24 for 141 yards passing and a touchdown, but Peyton Hillis was huge with 144 yards on 22 carries. We've already heard Ray Lewis come out this week to say that's not going to happen again, and I believe him. People just don't run on the Ravens like that two times in one season.
The key to this game on the offensive side will be if we can establish and then maintain balance with the run and pass. Now, I'm pretty sure you could say that with just about every game you come across, because who doesn't want balance in their offensive game plan? But I think it's especially important this week as they are clearly going to be keeping bodies in the box to stop Hillis and at the same time will undoubtedly blitz the heck out of Colt McCoy in clear passing situations. It's going to come down to if the Browns can get enough yards on first and second down to make "Third-and-Manageable" situations, so third-and-three, or third-and-four. If there's ever a third-and-long, look out for the blitzkrieg.
Defensively, the Browns are going to have a tough time dealing with both Ray Rice and Joe Flacco. Both have had solid seasons, with Rice rushing for 1,051 yards and 4 touchdowns, and Flacco throwing for 3,395 and 23 touchdowns, good for a 94.8 rating that's 7th in the NFL (6th if you don't count Tony Romo). Although Rice is widely regarded as one of the best in the league, it's really not because he goes over 100 yards rushing each week - it's the receptions. He has 62 of them for 556 yards and a touchdown so far this season. Last week, the Ravens beat the New Orleans Saints behind Rice's best game of the season as he had 153 yards on 31 carries, 80 yards on 5 receptions, a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown. You add in wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Derrick Mason, who have 813 yards and 718 yards, respectively, and you can see why defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has certainly had his hands full.
The Browns did a nice job defensively during the first three quarters of the Baltimore game earlier this season, and I think a big part of the breakdown was Flacco challenging Eric Wright who just was not up to it. That was before the emergence of Joe Haden, and Wright has since been placed on the Injured Reserve list, so I doubt we'll see Bolden catch 8 passes for 142 yards and 3 TDs again. It would have been really nice to have Scott Fujita back this week for run support, but he has also been placed on that IR, which meas everyone else has to be on their A-game for run support. The Browns cannot afford to let Rice run all over them like they did with Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott last week.
Do I think the Browns can pull out a win today? Well, I certainly hope so. But based on the way this team has played since they lost to the Jets back in week 10, I just don't really see it happening. As an optimist, I hope they do. I hope they can get the win to maybe help Mangini keep his job. Rob Ryan gave the head coach a shining endorsement earlier this week, and said that it would be dumb to blow up everything now. I think he's right about that. But will I predict the Browns to win today?
Nah...The Ravens could be a championship-caliber team, and they're not going to let the Browns play the role of "Spoiler" today.
The Prediction: BAL 30 - CLE 20
See you at the half,
~MAS
Sunday, December 12, 2010
How do you Lose to a 2-10 Team?
Well, if you're the Cleveland Browns, it's really quite simple. You combine an offensive coordinator who, for whatever reason, refuses to run the ball on first down against the rushing defense rated dead last in the league with a quarterback who used to be a moderately good gunslinger, but now looks like he should be coaching in the league rather than playing, and *bam* you've got a game you easily could have should have won that results in a huge loss.
This is not the first time the Browns have lost a game where they were supposed to win this season, but it has got to be the worst. I'd go as far to say that this is the worst loss of Eric Mangini's career as coach of the Cleveland Browns. That's not to say that he should be fired, but I do know someone who should based on his play calling today...
You know what, I'm going to shift gears and start with something more positive - the Defense. Positive being a relative term, of course, Rob Ryan's crew only gave up 13 points today, and that should be a number that is good enough to win a ballgame. When you're talking about points, all things considered 13 is a pretty good number. The passing defense contained Ryan Fitzpatrick to just 142 passing yards and a touchdown, also pretty good. But what concerns me about the defensive performance is that they gave up a whopping 192 rushing yards. That was led by Fred Jackson, who had 112 yards on 29 carries, then Fitzpatrick who had 49 yards on 4 carries, and rookie CJ Spiller also gashed the Browns for 33 yards on 8 carries. Yikes. Still, the end result was only giving up 13 points, and that really should have been good enough to win the game.
But, of course, it wasn't. This game was so bad, offensively, I'm not even sure where to start. I'll congratulate Peyton Hillis once again for gaining 1000 rushing yards this season, and being the first white running back to do it since 1985, but that's it for the positives. Jake Delhomme's numbers? 12/20 for 86 yards and an interception. Those are Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson kind of numbers, if you ask me. I thought those days were over. You can argue that the interception was not really Delhomme's fault because he got hit as he threw the ball, but guess what? He still fumbled the ball and failed to execute plays time and time again on third down.
When I was watching the game, though, it was almost like Brian Daboll was setting up the offense to fail. When you have the defense lined up against you that's dead last in the run, and you have a big bruising back, you really ought to be running the football the whole game if you know your quarterback is inconsistent. Now, I'm not an offensive coordinator, but I do know that when Colt McCoy was in at quarterback we ran a lot of bootlegs because it appeared to be one of not only his but the offenses strengths. My question is, why did we not run one of them today?
I'll tell you, there were plays today where we lined up and I could just tell that we weren't going to get anything, especially on third down. One of them came with about seven minutes left to go in the fourth quarter when the Browns lined up with third and three and ended up throwing to Robert Royal. Now, someone, anyone, please tell me why oh why in the wide wide world of sports would you throw to Robert Royal on third down and three with the game on the line? Brian Daboll, what are you thinking?!
The Browns had a grand total of five possessions in the second half and did absolutely nothing with them. The two that came in the third quarter were of 5 then 8 plays, and both resulted in punts. In the fourth quarter, it was 3 plays and a fumble, 3 plays and a punt, and 3 plays and an intercepted pass. You're clearly not going to win with that kind of lack in execution of, really, anything.
Obviously this is a frustrating game for the players, the coaches, the organization, the city and the fans. It's back to the drawing board as the Browns will take on the Bengals next week. And as we now know, defeating a 2-win team is not going to be any small task.
See you next week,
~MAS
This is not the first time the Browns have lost a game where they were supposed to win this season, but it has got to be the worst. I'd go as far to say that this is the worst loss of Eric Mangini's career as coach of the Cleveland Browns. That's not to say that he should be fired, but I do know someone who should based on his play calling today...
You know what, I'm going to shift gears and start with something more positive - the Defense. Positive being a relative term, of course, Rob Ryan's crew only gave up 13 points today, and that should be a number that is good enough to win a ballgame. When you're talking about points, all things considered 13 is a pretty good number. The passing defense contained Ryan Fitzpatrick to just 142 passing yards and a touchdown, also pretty good. But what concerns me about the defensive performance is that they gave up a whopping 192 rushing yards. That was led by Fred Jackson, who had 112 yards on 29 carries, then Fitzpatrick who had 49 yards on 4 carries, and rookie CJ Spiller also gashed the Browns for 33 yards on 8 carries. Yikes. Still, the end result was only giving up 13 points, and that really should have been good enough to win the game.
But, of course, it wasn't. This game was so bad, offensively, I'm not even sure where to start. I'll congratulate Peyton Hillis once again for gaining 1000 rushing yards this season, and being the first white running back to do it since 1985, but that's it for the positives. Jake Delhomme's numbers? 12/20 for 86 yards and an interception. Those are Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson kind of numbers, if you ask me. I thought those days were over. You can argue that the interception was not really Delhomme's fault because he got hit as he threw the ball, but guess what? He still fumbled the ball and failed to execute plays time and time again on third down.
When I was watching the game, though, it was almost like Brian Daboll was setting up the offense to fail. When you have the defense lined up against you that's dead last in the run, and you have a big bruising back, you really ought to be running the football the whole game if you know your quarterback is inconsistent. Now, I'm not an offensive coordinator, but I do know that when Colt McCoy was in at quarterback we ran a lot of bootlegs because it appeared to be one of not only his but the offenses strengths. My question is, why did we not run one of them today?
I'll tell you, there were plays today where we lined up and I could just tell that we weren't going to get anything, especially on third down. One of them came with about seven minutes left to go in the fourth quarter when the Browns lined up with third and three and ended up throwing to Robert Royal. Now, someone, anyone, please tell me why oh why in the wide wide world of sports would you throw to Robert Royal on third down and three with the game on the line? Brian Daboll, what are you thinking?!
The Browns had a grand total of five possessions in the second half and did absolutely nothing with them. The two that came in the third quarter were of 5 then 8 plays, and both resulted in punts. In the fourth quarter, it was 3 plays and a fumble, 3 plays and a punt, and 3 plays and an intercepted pass. You're clearly not going to win with that kind of lack in execution of, really, anything.
Obviously this is a frustrating game for the players, the coaches, the organization, the city and the fans. It's back to the drawing board as the Browns will take on the Bengals next week. And as we now know, defeating a 2-win team is not going to be any small task.
See you next week,
~MAS
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Close Game, Great Win: Browns 13 - Dolphins 10
I have to say that once the Browns gave up the touchdown to the Dolphins early in the fourth quarter, I thought here we go again, the Browns are going to lose yet another game in the fourth quarter. And then it didn't happen! In fact, I'd say this game had the type of ending that we're really used to seeing against Cleveland rather than for Cleveland - an interception that turns into a virtually impossible-for-you-to-lose situation. Either way, the Browns found a way to get the win today in Miami, 13-10.
Jake Delhomme didn't set the world on fire by any means today, and tried so hard to throw a fourth quarter pick six, but he didn't turn the ball over and overall had a good day. That's not to say that I'm giving him a shining endorsement, but he did do everything he needed to do to lead the offense to a win. His final numbers today were 24/34 for 217 yards and a touchdown, good for a QB rating of 97.3. The good thing about those numbers from Delhomme is that you can't say that he only "managed" the game, especially because the rushing game was pretty much a non-factor. Peyton Hillis was the only one to rush the ball today (besides Delhomme's kneel downs at the end of the game) and he had 57 yards on 18 carries, for a 3.2 average. Not great numbers, and like I said in the Halftime Blurb, I think the offensive line's lack of blocking had a lot to do to that.
In terms of the passing game, Ben Watson had a fantastic game, with a career high 10 receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown. Wide Receiver Brian Robiskie didn't have the type of great game I was hoping he'd have, but it was nice to see Brian Daboll key in on the fact that the Dolphins were not covering Watson well at all and take advantage of it. It was also nice to see Mohammed Massaquoi get that 37 yard pass from Delhomme, as we haven't seen a lot of long passes this year.
Defensively the Browns came up big today and I think Rob Ryan is again putting himself on the list of coaching candidates for many teams coming up this off-season. Ryan's gang picked off Michigan graduate Chad Henne 3 times, and only allowed him 174 passing yards and a touchdown, going 16/32. That adds up to a rating of 37.8 - Anderson and Quinn kind of numbers. The two headed rushing attack was also contained as both Brown and Williams were held to 50 and 48 yards, respectively and the team had a total of 114 yards on 32 rushes, an average of 3.6 a carry.
Commentators Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf mentioned this plenty of times during the broadcast, but Joe Haden had an excellent game today with 5 tackles, 4 of them solo, 4 passes defended and one interception - his fourth in four games. I also said this in the Blurb, but he's clearly established himself as a starter on this defense. I think he's also making a good push for defensive rookie of the year, but I won't push it. I'd also like to give a shout out to Shaun Rogers who had a great game today, really dominating the offensive line of the Dolphins. He was around Chad Henne or whoever else had the ball all day and ended up with 3 tackles, all solo, a sack, a QB knockdown, and a tackle for loss. The emergence of nose tackle Ahtyba Rubin has been a great help to the Browns and Rogers, as he is now mostly used on passing downs where he can come in and just obliterate an offensive line.
I think this is a great win for the Browns not only because they played smart football, keeping away from their turnovers and creating them for the other team, but they found a way to win a close game. True, they did it against Carolina last week, but that was more about the kicker missing a field goal rather than the defense creating a stop like they did today. It's a very encouraging sign, and all the more encouraging for Eric Mangini and his staff.
Next week the Browns travel to Buffalo who might be a much better team than their 2-10 record would indicate as they took the Steelers to OT last week and gave Big Ben fits. I'd expect another Snow Bowl as these two teams seem to love to have, and I think it'll be a good game. Until then, enjoy the win Browns fans and check back mid-week for some filler to get you to the weekend. Go Browns!
~MAS
Jake Delhomme didn't set the world on fire by any means today, and tried so hard to throw a fourth quarter pick six, but he didn't turn the ball over and overall had a good day. That's not to say that I'm giving him a shining endorsement, but he did do everything he needed to do to lead the offense to a win. His final numbers today were 24/34 for 217 yards and a touchdown, good for a QB rating of 97.3. The good thing about those numbers from Delhomme is that you can't say that he only "managed" the game, especially because the rushing game was pretty much a non-factor. Peyton Hillis was the only one to rush the ball today (besides Delhomme's kneel downs at the end of the game) and he had 57 yards on 18 carries, for a 3.2 average. Not great numbers, and like I said in the Halftime Blurb, I think the offensive line's lack of blocking had a lot to do to that.
In terms of the passing game, Ben Watson had a fantastic game, with a career high 10 receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown. Wide Receiver Brian Robiskie didn't have the type of great game I was hoping he'd have, but it was nice to see Brian Daboll key in on the fact that the Dolphins were not covering Watson well at all and take advantage of it. It was also nice to see Mohammed Massaquoi get that 37 yard pass from Delhomme, as we haven't seen a lot of long passes this year.
Defensively the Browns came up big today and I think Rob Ryan is again putting himself on the list of coaching candidates for many teams coming up this off-season. Ryan's gang picked off Michigan graduate Chad Henne 3 times, and only allowed him 174 passing yards and a touchdown, going 16/32. That adds up to a rating of 37.8 - Anderson and Quinn kind of numbers. The two headed rushing attack was also contained as both Brown and Williams were held to 50 and 48 yards, respectively and the team had a total of 114 yards on 32 rushes, an average of 3.6 a carry.
Commentators Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf mentioned this plenty of times during the broadcast, but Joe Haden had an excellent game today with 5 tackles, 4 of them solo, 4 passes defended and one interception - his fourth in four games. I also said this in the Blurb, but he's clearly established himself as a starter on this defense. I think he's also making a good push for defensive rookie of the year, but I won't push it. I'd also like to give a shout out to Shaun Rogers who had a great game today, really dominating the offensive line of the Dolphins. He was around Chad Henne or whoever else had the ball all day and ended up with 3 tackles, all solo, a sack, a QB knockdown, and a tackle for loss. The emergence of nose tackle Ahtyba Rubin has been a great help to the Browns and Rogers, as he is now mostly used on passing downs where he can come in and just obliterate an offensive line.
I think this is a great win for the Browns not only because they played smart football, keeping away from their turnovers and creating them for the other team, but they found a way to win a close game. True, they did it against Carolina last week, but that was more about the kicker missing a field goal rather than the defense creating a stop like they did today. It's a very encouraging sign, and all the more encouraging for Eric Mangini and his staff.
Next week the Browns travel to Buffalo who might be a much better team than their 2-10 record would indicate as they took the Steelers to OT last week and gave Big Ben fits. I'd expect another Snow Bowl as these two teams seem to love to have, and I think it'll be a good game. Until then, enjoy the win Browns fans and check back mid-week for some filler to get you to the weekend. Go Browns!
~MAS
Sunday, November 7, 2010
What a Win!
This was one of the best games of Cleveland Browns football I've ever had the privilege to watch. It was a game full of story lines - Mangini vs. Belichick, McCoy's first start at home - and the Browns came out as if they were the 6-1 team and spanked the Patriots to the tune of a 34-14 victory.
There are so many good things to write about this game, but I'm going to focus on Peyton Hillis first. I don't have to tell you how great #40 has been for the Browns, but he had a career day today with over 200 total yards. He rushed for 184 yards on 29 carries and two touchdowns, the longest of those carries a 35 yard touchdown run to seal the game. Hillis also caught 3 passes for 36 yards. When you're talking about the midseason MVP of the Browns, it's got to be this guy. So far he has 644 yards and 8 total touchdowns, 7 of them rushing.
I could gush about Hillis for days, but I'd also like to give some props to rookie Colt McCoy who again managed the offense quite well en route to victory today. His final numbers on the day? 14/19 for 174 yards. Does that set the world on fire? No. But it was exactly the type of performance the Browns needed today.
I feel like everyone is saying this, but I think it's worth repeating - McCoy shows such an incredible amount of poise and determination when he is on the field. Most people just stop with the "poise in the pocket" but I think that the kid simply has a winning personality. You look at the play where he ran 16 yards for a touchdown in this game and, to me, it just shows how much he wants to win. When I look at McCoy playing, he just doesn't seem to panic. He lets the play develop, and if it breaks down, then he'll scramble. Because of his mobility, he extends plays well and can then throw a very accurate pass - as he did today in the red zone throwing a dart to Josh Cribbs for a first down. I don't think the Browns have had a quarterback with this kind of potential since they ruined Tim Couch's career, and they also haven't had such a good game manager since the days of Kelly Holcomb (who's #10 jersey I'm proudly wearing today).
But that's enough about the offense, Rob Ryan's defensive crew yet again came out to play today. They may not have had the same type of special performance that they did against the Saints a couple of weeks ago, but anytime you can hold the Patriots to 14 points you're doing your job well. Tom Brady had a pretty good day on paper, going 19/36 for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns, but a lot of those incompletions had him reeling in frustration. The Browns also forced an interception off of Cleveland native Brian Hoyer in the last 3 minutes of the game to get the ball for the end of the game. But the Browns offensive dominance really helped the defense as evidenced by the measly 68 yards on the ground. I sort of hate to say this, because selfishly I don't want the Browns to lose him, but I think Rob Ryan may be coaching himself onto the short lists of teams that will be searching for a head coach after the season. We'll see about that.
But what's the bottom line today? The Browns dominated an excellent team for an excellent win. I say props to everybody in the Browns organization, especially coach Mangini and coordinators Daboll and Ryan. Next week we've got the Ryan bowl as the Browns take on the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets, who (barely) defeated the Motor City Kitties (a.k.a. Detroit Lions) in OT today. But for now, we've got a lot to celebrate about Browns fans!
~MAS
There are so many good things to write about this game, but I'm going to focus on Peyton Hillis first. I don't have to tell you how great #40 has been for the Browns, but he had a career day today with over 200 total yards. He rushed for 184 yards on 29 carries and two touchdowns, the longest of those carries a 35 yard touchdown run to seal the game. Hillis also caught 3 passes for 36 yards. When you're talking about the midseason MVP of the Browns, it's got to be this guy. So far he has 644 yards and 8 total touchdowns, 7 of them rushing.
I could gush about Hillis for days, but I'd also like to give some props to rookie Colt McCoy who again managed the offense quite well en route to victory today. His final numbers on the day? 14/19 for 174 yards. Does that set the world on fire? No. But it was exactly the type of performance the Browns needed today.
I feel like everyone is saying this, but I think it's worth repeating - McCoy shows such an incredible amount of poise and determination when he is on the field. Most people just stop with the "poise in the pocket" but I think that the kid simply has a winning personality. You look at the play where he ran 16 yards for a touchdown in this game and, to me, it just shows how much he wants to win. When I look at McCoy playing, he just doesn't seem to panic. He lets the play develop, and if it breaks down, then he'll scramble. Because of his mobility, he extends plays well and can then throw a very accurate pass - as he did today in the red zone throwing a dart to Josh Cribbs for a first down. I don't think the Browns have had a quarterback with this kind of potential since they ruined Tim Couch's career, and they also haven't had such a good game manager since the days of Kelly Holcomb (who's #10 jersey I'm proudly wearing today).
But that's enough about the offense, Rob Ryan's defensive crew yet again came out to play today. They may not have had the same type of special performance that they did against the Saints a couple of weeks ago, but anytime you can hold the Patriots to 14 points you're doing your job well. Tom Brady had a pretty good day on paper, going 19/36 for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns, but a lot of those incompletions had him reeling in frustration. The Browns also forced an interception off of Cleveland native Brian Hoyer in the last 3 minutes of the game to get the ball for the end of the game. But the Browns offensive dominance really helped the defense as evidenced by the measly 68 yards on the ground. I sort of hate to say this, because selfishly I don't want the Browns to lose him, but I think Rob Ryan may be coaching himself onto the short lists of teams that will be searching for a head coach after the season. We'll see about that.
But what's the bottom line today? The Browns dominated an excellent team for an excellent win. I say props to everybody in the Browns organization, especially coach Mangini and coordinators Daboll and Ryan. Next week we've got the Ryan bowl as the Browns take on the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets, who (barely) defeated the Motor City Kitties (a.k.a. Detroit Lions) in OT today. But for now, we've got a lot to celebrate about Browns fans!
~MAS
Sunday, September 19, 2010
0-2 and We're in Trouble
Really? We're in this position again? We had one of the easiest schedules to start the season and we get two loses against Tampa Bay and Kansas City. I'm sorry, but that's straight up pathetic.
How do you have a lead going into halftime two weeks in a row and then blow it in the second half? From what I've seen these last two weeks after halftime, the answer is halftime adjustments - especially on the offensive end. I don't know what Eric Mangini goes over during halftime, but they can't be as apathetic and complacent on the offensive end anymore. This game was not lost because the usually sure footed Phil Dawson missed a 43 yard field goal at the end of the first half. I wrote in the halftime blurb that Hillis and Harrison each had less than 30 yards. They finished with 35 and 33, respectively. As a team, the Browns had 57 rushing yards in the first half. They finished with 73. You can't win like that in the NFL.
Seneca Wallace had a decent first half - besides the touchdown he threw to the other team which was the difference in the game. And then in the second half he only connected on 5/10 passes for a grand total of 42 yards. Again, you cannot win like that in the NFL. Those are Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson kind of numbers, and that's something I thought we'd be able to avoid when they were traded and released.
Those are numbers that you trace back to the Offensive Coordinator, Brian Daboll because right now the entire Browns running game is pathetic. Kansas City is a team that ranked 30 in the NFL in defense last year (the Browns were 31st...), and it's a team the Browns - especially Jerome Harrison - stomped all over last year during their season-ending four game winning streak. I know they now have Romeo Crenel, who I think is one of the best defensive coordinators to ever coach the game, but there is no excuse to not mustering up at least 100 yards of rushing. I think it's clear that Harrison and Hillis are not clear on their roles and it's affecting both of them in a negative way. Harrison has never had issues with fumbling in his career, and now it seems like he can't stop. I think a little definition would go a long way to helping those guys for the rest of the season.
The defense, on the other hand, has actually played quite well through the first two weeks. Last week they really only had about one broken play where Joe Haden was burned for a touchdown. This week, the defense didn't even let up a touchdown! Had the offense not been so...well...offensive, a touchdown wouldn't have been scored and there would have been one less field goal. And, oh hey, the Browns would've won! It's also worth noting that Matt Cassel was held to 176 yards on 16/28 and threw two interceptions. So I say give some credit to Rob Ryan for keeping his guys prepared, and giving them great defensive schemes tho keep the touchdowns off the board.
The bottom line is simply this - the Browns have two losses when many of us (well, at least me) thought they would have two wins and we've got a really touch stretch ahead with games against Baltimore and Cincinnati in the next two weeks, and then the Falcons, Steelers, Saints (Bye Week), Patriots and Jets. Yeah, I think we could easily go 0-7 in that stretch to push us to 0-9, which was why starting out well in these first two weeks was very important. If we don't win at least a couple of those games, look for the Jon Gruden coaching rumors to start...
Right now it looks like it's going to be a long season, but hang in there Browns fans. Any given Sunday the Browns could turn into the team we hoped they would be in the first two games.
~MAS
How do you have a lead going into halftime two weeks in a row and then blow it in the second half? From what I've seen these last two weeks after halftime, the answer is halftime adjustments - especially on the offensive end. I don't know what Eric Mangini goes over during halftime, but they can't be as apathetic and complacent on the offensive end anymore. This game was not lost because the usually sure footed Phil Dawson missed a 43 yard field goal at the end of the first half. I wrote in the halftime blurb that Hillis and Harrison each had less than 30 yards. They finished with 35 and 33, respectively. As a team, the Browns had 57 rushing yards in the first half. They finished with 73. You can't win like that in the NFL.
Seneca Wallace had a decent first half - besides the touchdown he threw to the other team which was the difference in the game. And then in the second half he only connected on 5/10 passes for a grand total of 42 yards. Again, you cannot win like that in the NFL. Those are Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson kind of numbers, and that's something I thought we'd be able to avoid when they were traded and released.
Those are numbers that you trace back to the Offensive Coordinator, Brian Daboll because right now the entire Browns running game is pathetic. Kansas City is a team that ranked 30 in the NFL in defense last year (the Browns were 31st...), and it's a team the Browns - especially Jerome Harrison - stomped all over last year during their season-ending four game winning streak. I know they now have Romeo Crenel, who I think is one of the best defensive coordinators to ever coach the game, but there is no excuse to not mustering up at least 100 yards of rushing. I think it's clear that Harrison and Hillis are not clear on their roles and it's affecting both of them in a negative way. Harrison has never had issues with fumbling in his career, and now it seems like he can't stop. I think a little definition would go a long way to helping those guys for the rest of the season.
The defense, on the other hand, has actually played quite well through the first two weeks. Last week they really only had about one broken play where Joe Haden was burned for a touchdown. This week, the defense didn't even let up a touchdown! Had the offense not been so...well...offensive, a touchdown wouldn't have been scored and there would have been one less field goal. And, oh hey, the Browns would've won! It's also worth noting that Matt Cassel was held to 176 yards on 16/28 and threw two interceptions. So I say give some credit to Rob Ryan for keeping his guys prepared, and giving them great defensive schemes tho keep the touchdowns off the board.
The bottom line is simply this - the Browns have two losses when many of us (well, at least me) thought they would have two wins and we've got a really touch stretch ahead with games against Baltimore and Cincinnati in the next two weeks, and then the Falcons, Steelers, Saints (Bye Week), Patriots and Jets. Yeah, I think we could easily go 0-7 in that stretch to push us to 0-9, which was why starting out well in these first two weeks was very important. If we don't win at least a couple of those games, look for the Jon Gruden coaching rumors to start...
Right now it looks like it's going to be a long season, but hang in there Browns fans. Any given Sunday the Browns could turn into the team we hoped they would be in the first two games.
~MAS
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