A Little Late-Week Filler...

Alrightey, there's a lot I'd like to get off my chest and not a lot of time for me to do it, so let's just dive in to this week's version of the Filler...

Is Cliff Lee like LeBron James?
No.

I could stop right there and go onto my second topic now, but I've got too many feelings about it to let it go. This blog post from ESPN reporter Henry Abbott asserts that LeBron James and Cliff Lee are alike because they both went to teams where they could play with the best and presumably win lots of titles. Now, I've told many people why I dislike LeBron James, which is the same reason most other Clevelanders and other displaced Cavs fans dislike him - it's not that he left it's how he left. LeBron had every right to go anywhere he wanted to go and play with anyone with whom he wanted to play. I couldn't care less that he decided to team up with D-Wade and Bosh and that he's the ultimate front-runner. I mean, need I remind you that he was a Yankees and Cowboys fan growing up in Akron? He's just trying to fulfill his lifelong dream of being the front-running team that kids look up to.

But to get back to Lee, yes he signed with the outside-the-box suitor who already had three aces, but he did it in a classy way. I saw the first report that Lee was going to sign with the Phillies and it came from a source inside the Texas Rangers organization - the organization Lee was leaving. This means that either he or his agent picked up the phone, called the Rangers, told them "Thanks for the memories, but no thanks for the new contract," and then went on with his life.

To me, that's the complete opposite of a self-serving, one hour special where a player announces he's "taking his talents" to another team, and has a close adviser inform his former organization of this during the special. What Lee did and how he did it was done the way every professional athlete should handle themselves in a high profile, free-agent situation.

Maybe Lee is being so heralded because he didn't just sell himself to the highest bidder, the (Evil Empire) New York Yankees. Maybe people would like to see the Phillies dominate the league since they're not the Yanks or the Sox (who I think get way too much national television play). Maybe it's just refreshing to see a classy professional athlete in the aftermath of James' "Decision." Besides, it's not like Lee is going to be on the court with four other players every night. A lot of the time whether Lee will win or lose a game will depend on the Phillies offense and bullpen.

So no, Mr. Abbott, we don't think James is a "fraud" because of where he took his talents, it was how he decided to let us all know about it. James and Lee have nothing in common other than the fact that they began their careers in Cleveland, and neither got this city a title.

McCoy is Back
In an extremely out of character move, today Eric Mangini named rookie Browns quarterback Colt McCoy the starter for not only this week's game but for the rest of the season. I guess it's not really a surprise move, as the Browns offense has looked better under McCoy than anyone else whose been under center this year, but Mangini is notorious for playing the "who's going to be the quarterback this week" game.

I am a huge fan of McCoy though, as my eight loyal readers could undoubtedly tell you, and I'm really glad he's going to be back. I think he could potentially save not only Mangini but Brian Daboll's job. I know I'm a harsh critic of Daboll, but McCoy makes that guy look really good compared to the quarterback we saw last week. When McCoy was in the saddle earlier in the year, the coaches repeatedly said that the playbook was not limited. I really don't think they can say that about the last two weeks with Delhomme, as every passing play sort of looks like Daboll is afraid Delhomme will throw an interception. I'm not saying that those fears are unfounded, it's just clear to me that when the rookie is in there his accuracy and sheer ability to make plays opens things up.

Right now, our quarterback situation is sort of like having the teenager drive around grandpa because he's too old to safely drive anymore - and I think that's exactly what we need to do. McCoy has got the keys back to the car, and he can navigate this offense very well with Delhomme in the passenger seat (or in this case, on the sideline) giving the young kid guidance along the way. And if anything happens, Seneca Wallace can come in on the AAA truck and tow the car away - we really don't want Delhomme driving at any cost.

I know I wrote a couple of weeks ago that Delhomme brought the wide receivers dimension into the playbook, but a lot of what we saw from him in the last two weeks were all or nothing - meaning he throws pretty deep, or dumps it off to Peyton Hillis for about a 1 yard gain. What McCoy did well in his starts was get those mid-level throws, the ones that go for maybe 7-10 yards to the tight ends and running backs. Would I like to see more involvement of our wide receivers? Absolutely. But they've got to prove that they can get open before any of that happens.

I'll be back Sunday morning with the Browns Start Me Up as they travel down to southern Ohio to take on the 2-11 Cincinnati Bungles Bengals (I've got a lot of nerve, seeing as how we lost to Buffalo last week...). I'll see you then!

~MAS

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

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

Start Me Up - Browns vs. Dolphins

So the 4-7 Browns travel to Miami today to take on the 6-5 Dolphins. The Browns have had their struggles on the road as they're 1-4, and the Dolphins have had the same type of struggles at home, as they're 1-4 at Sun Life Stadium. The Browns can virtually take Miami out of the playoff picture with a victory this afternoon, as the Dolphins have to contend with the Jets and Patriots, both of whom are 8-3 (OOPS!) 9-2 and are tied atop the AFC East.

In accordance with the opinions of 75% of the poll on the right side of the page (a whopping 3 of 4 people!), the Browns will start Jake Delhomme. It's going to be close to a game-time decision whether or not rookie Colt McCoy will be the third string quarterback, but I wouldn't hold my breath for that. I think Peyton Hillis could have either a great day or a bad day against the Dolphins defense as they only gave up 16 rushing yards last week to the Raiders, but they're giving up an average of about 104 per game this season. I hope that offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has got a good ground game planned, because a huge key to this game will be if the Browns can stay away from turnovers - something that Delhomme has not done a great job of so far this season.

However, as I've written before, Delhomme does bring a better dimension to the offense in terms of throwing to the wide receivers. That being said, it could be a good day or pretty bad for the passing game as well, since the Dolphins have given up about 200 yards passing per game - a pretty respectable number. It would also be a great time for Brian Robiskie to have a break out game, after catching 7 passes for 50 yards last week.

On the other side of the ball, the defense has to do a much better job than it has the past few weeks if they're going to get the win. Chad Henne is back in his role as starting quarterback, and had a nice game against Oakland last week. This week is going to be big for him to see if he can continue to progress and be the quarterback the Dolphins hope they have. Henne's favorite target, Brandon Marshall, is also back after a hamstring injury has kept him out for a little while. Miami's running game has been strong all season with the two headed monster of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, who combined have 1035 yards on 254 carries, an average of 4.1 yards a carry. Many of the Dolphins skill positions are strong, physical players who can be tough to bring down. Hopefully the Browns have worked on their tackling this week because otherwise it could be another tough day for Rob Ryan's D.

All in all, I think this game is a fairly tough game to call, but I'm going to be optimistic and say that the Browns are going to "Take their talents to South Beach" (I had to) and avenge the loss by our basketball team this week with a late Phil Dawson field goal to win it.

The Prediction: CLE 17 - MIA 14

See you at the half,
~MAS

A Little Late Victory Review & Quarterback Chat

Well, this is clearly a few days late, but my travel back to the great city of New York was unbelievably  treacherous and left me way too jaded to get the blog in - especially after missing the entire first half of the Browns 24-23 victory over the Panthers on Sunday. However, I would like to get a little review of the game in and then go on to a couple other things on my mind...

Take the Victory Over the Loss
From what I saw, the Browns tried way too hard to lose their game to arguably the worst team in the NFL. As I alluded to in the intro, I didn't get to see the first half of the game and so my perspective may be a bit skewed, but I think Jake Delhomme looked awful. I don't want to hang the veteran out to dry because he did go 24/35 for 245 yards, but he threw two key interceptions in the second half that allowed Carolina to gain momentum and put them back in the game. Really, the only reason the Browns won that game was because Carolina's kicker, John Kasay, missed the last second field goal. Coach Mangini has said this week that the first interception Delhomme threw was not so bad (and I'll have to take his word for it since I didn't see it), but to me there is no defending the second. Watching the game on my 17-inch-screen laptop with the choppy DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket internet feed, I could tell Delhomme shouldn't have tried to force a late throw along the sideline to Massaquoi. In all of the games he's played so far this season, Delhomme has tried to force throws into places where they just do not belong. He did it against the Buccaneers in the first game of the season, which led to him getting his ankle sprained and the Bucs got a chance to score right before the half as well. He threw an ill-advised pass during the Falcons game where the defensive lineman was able to tip the ball and then make an incredible diving catch. Delhomme has just got to stop making mistakes that a savvy veteran such as himself should not be making.

That being said, who do I think should start at Quarterback this Sunday at Miami? If he was healthy, I'd say Colt McCoy. Seneca Wallace showed a nice ability to run the offense as well when he was starting earlier this season for the injured Delhomme, but he also had a tendency to make ill advised throws when he wasn't making nice plays with his legs. That leaves us with Delhomme, who despite how awful he looked last week was still a heck of a lot better than the now 3rd-string Brady Quinn or the laughing Mr. Hot Head, Derek Anderson.

What Delhomme does give the Browns offense is the added dimension of something many around the league call Wide Receivers. Now I'm not entirely sure what these creatures are, but apparently most teams in the NFL use them quite often to throw passes to - rather than the tight ends and running back. And, this is the most interesting fact of all, we've had some all season! Mohamed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie are the first two that stood out to me from the game against Carolina. How about that...

In all seriousness, Delhomme did help incorporate Massaqoui and Robiskie into the offense where McCoy has just not done that very much when we've seen him play. Robiskie had the best game of his young career - which, if I'm honest, isn't saying much - with 7 catches for 50 yards, and Massaqoui had 4 catches for 52 yards. My argument for Delhomme that goes against Seneca Wallace would be that in the games Wallace started, the only wide receiver who really established a good chemistry with him was Josh Cribbs - and it's starting to look like Cribbs will either be out or at least limited in action this week. It might also have been a little bit of rust that Delhomme needed to shake off in order to really get back into the game.

But This Week...
The Browns are playing a Miami team which had a pretty dominant performance against Oakland, where they held the Raiders to only 16 yards rushing. That being said, it was only on 12 rushing attempts, but still, you're talking about a team which is coming off a fantastic rushing defensive performance with an average of 1.3 yards-per-rush. You've got to think they're going to be amped up to face the bruising Peyton Hillis. Miami has a good team but their recent Quarterback injuries have probably had an impact on their schedule. Bill Parcells undoubtedly did a wonderful job turning around the franchise, and even though he has left his post his mark still remains.

I think the Browns would be wise to stick with a heavy ground attack plan, as Delhomme has revealed himself to be shaky and unreliable (at best) so far this season. Chad Henne is back in the starting saddle, and Brandon Marshall should also be back from his injury this week which could pose a problem for the Browns secondary. I think the Browns will have a good chance to win if the secondary steps up and the rest of the defense remembers how to tackle - which has been a real problem the past few weeks.

Until Sunday, if you're going to the Cavs game tomorrow, give LeQuit a piece of your mind for me.

~MAS

Trades, Injuries and Colt McCoy?

There's a lot going on with the Browns this week, so I figured I'd do a little self-indulging with a midweek blog post.

First off, the Browns traded their former starting running back Jerome Harrison to the Philadelphia Eagles today for another running back, Mike Bell. I was a little surprised when I first read about it but after getting over the initial shock the trade seems to make a lot of sense from the Browns perspective. I've written about it and I've seen Terry Pluto write about it for the Plain Dealer - it just seemed like Harrison was not at all the same running back that put up 286 yards rushing against the Chiefs, and led the Browns offense to winning their last four games last season. It was widely reported that Harrison was unhappy about his role on the team now that Peyton Hillis has taken the bull by the horns in his role as starting running back, and, to me, that was clear by his play on the field. Hopefully there aren't too many hard feelings from Harrison as he parts ways from the Browns organization - though I will say that on some levels it seems like the Browns organization never truly appreciated his talent.

Now Mike Bell comes over from the Eagles where he was probably deemed expendable because of the emergence of their second year running back LeSean McCoy. Bell rejoins linebacker Scott Fujita on the Browns as they were both a part of the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints last season. He's in his fifth season in the NFL after making the Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2006. His most productive seasons were his rookie season and then also last season, where he started three games and had over between 650-700 yards in both seasons. I think it's pretty clear that he's coming here because Browns General Manager Tom Heckert thinks highly of him and it was probably easy to make the deal with Heckert's former team.

There are also a few issues with quarterbacks and their sprained ankles on the Browns this week. According the Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer, Eric Mangini is now leaning towards starting Colt McCoy this week versus the Pittsburgh Steelers because of the high ankle sprains to both Jake Delhomme and Senece Wallace. Needless to say, this is not what Mike Holmgren envisioned for McCoy's first game in the NFL, but it looks like it's going to have to happen. I was really pleased with the way Holmgren came out right after McCoy was drafted to say that the plan for this year was for him to sit, watch and learn, but it really looks like the only smart thing to do is to play the kid at this point.

Look at it this way, McCoy has got some kind of competitive drive. He is the most winning quarterback in college football history, threw for 112 touchdowns, and had a completion percentage of 70.2 in his four years at Texas. He's been in the system, learning, getting reps since training camp and even though he's a rookie, I think he gives the Browns a better chance to win this week than Brett Ratliff. I also don't think it's a good idea to play Seneca Wallace when he's hurt, based on the fact that he needs his mobility and we also saw what happened to Delhomme when he was playing hurt last week.

I (sort of reluctantly) have to say that it's time to play Colt McCoy. Best case scenario? We've got the quarterback we thought we drafted. Worst case? Well...let's not even think about that. Until Sunday, Go Browns!

~MAS

You Can't Win Without a Healthy Quarterback

I'm a little disgusted by the Browns 20-10 loss to the Falcons today, but when I really think about this game I know there's a lot the men in the orange helmets did well today. However, the injuries in this game were just too much for the Browns to overcome today and they really just didn't get anything going in the second half.

Offensively, I've got to start with Jake Delhomme's - to put it politely - less than stellar performance. He was only 13/23 for 97 yards and those two ugly interceptions, one of which was the knife in the stomach from  defensive lineman Kory Biermann who tipped the pass, intercepted it on a diving catch, and then returned it 41 yards for the touchdown. Now, I'm by no means trying to justify Delhomme's poor outing today, but the guy was not the starting quarterback, and apparently for good reason. The guy was clearly not healthy and looked jumpy, skiddish, and all around uncomfortable in the pocket early in the second half. That being said, if he's healthy, which he hasn't been all season, I think he does give the Browns a decent chance to win.

On another hand we have the Browns (lack of) rushing offense today, which was plain old offensive. I don't have to tell you again how much I love Peyton Hillis, but he was also hurting today. This actually created an opportunity for Jerome Harrison to assert himself once again as an important piece of this offense, but he didn't capitalize on it at all. I wrote in the halftime blurb that he was running timidly as William Green used to do, and that continued well into the second half. Harrison only had 6 yards on 6 carries, the longest of which was a 2 yard run.

The fact that Harrison was totally uninterested in running the ball today just put more pressure on Brian Daboll to find ways of moving the ball down the field, which in turn put pressure on Delhomme to win the game all by himself. But I think Harrison also had an egregious mistake on Biermann's interception. When I saw that replay during the game, Bierrman came free, uncontested in his path to the quarterback. But guess who was coming out of the backfield to Biermann's side of the field for a pass? If you guessed Jerome Harrison, you'd be correct. On that play, Harrison has got to do something to break up that path - I don't believe that play lets the defender go totally free. I'm not saying Harrison has to go out and block him, because he was probably the intended target of Delhomme's pass, but he ought to at least chip that defender while he's coming out of the backfield. If that had happened, I don't know that Delhomme would've thrown that interception.

But that's enough about Harrison. I think we've got to once again give Rob Ryan and his defensive squad some props for holding the Falcons to one offensive touchdown and two field goals. The defense really tightened up when it got down there, and the only real mistake they made all day was the 45 yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Roddy White. Though they gave up 165 rushing yards, this game was the first all year that they had a 100 yard rusher against them. And that wouldn't have happened without that brain fart of a 55 yard run for Michael Turner, who ended the day with 140 yards.

I was talking with my best friend Linus just after the game today, and he said something that I really think is true: The Browns are a 1-4 team that could be 5-0. When you look at it they've led 4 of their 5 ballgames in the 4th quarter, but right now this team just cannot finish. Again, today I really think that might have had more to do with injuries than anything else yet this is still a disappointing start to the season. On the flip side of that, I've got to hand it to the coaches because the Browns have been competitive in each and every game so far this season which starts with the schemes. However, the Browns need to get healthy this week and work in practice to eliminate the self-inflicting wound penalties that have killed us all season - especially today. Hopefully either Wallace or Delhomme will be 100% healthy next week, because if not it might be a grim day against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

~MAS

Make Sure You Don't Lose Before You Win

Well that just makes me sick.

Only one time since the Browns returned in 1999 have they won on Opening Day, and I believed, as I'm sure a lot of you did too, that today would be the day where the Browns would usher in the Mike Holmgren Era with a big win on the road in Tampa Bay.

Nope.

Jake Delhomme has brought some stability to the quarterback position, but some of the decisions he made today left me shaking my head. The interception towards the end of the first half was really when the game took a turn for the worse not only for Delhomme but for the entire Browns team. That INT set up a touchdown that made the game 14-10 instead of 14-3 going into the half. What really struck me about the errant pass was how much it looked like Brett Favre - in a bad way. Favre has a reputation for trying to throw passes when he's about to go down for a sack that 85% of the time end up as interceptions (see the pick he threw Thursday night against the Saints), and that is exactly what Delhomme did. What was so frustrating to watch about it wasc the fat that 1 or 2 plays before, Delhomme did the smart thing when no receivers were open and threw the ball away giving off the appearance that he wasn't going to try to be a hero and make a play when there was no play to make. Unfortunately, that wouldn't continue to be the case.

I read this morning in a Plain Dealer article that Eric Mangini talked to his players about making sure they didn't lose the game before they could win it. With three extremely costly turnovers, two interceptions from Delhomme and a lost fumble in the red zone from Peyton Hillis, the Browns basically gave this game away. Don't get me wrong, I loved Hillis the first few times he ran the ball, blowing over defenders like they were nothing, but you cannot fumble in the red zone. When you're driving like that, and you've already had a fumble on the day that the team luckily recovered, you have to protect the football better than that. You just have to. To me, there is no excuse for fumbling more than once in a game. Get that ball high and tight, and then go get some points.

Though they were pretty much overshadowed by the poor second half play, there was a lot of great play by the Browns in the first half of the game. I think that with a good week of practice, the Browns should be able to shake this off and get a good win next week against Kansas City. They've just got to remember to not lose the game before they try to win it.

~MAS