There are few words that come to my mind that are family friendly enough to share about the Browns game. Here are a few though.
Awful. Embarrassing. Terrible. Ugly.
I just feel sick after this one. I mean really, is a win against a very bad Cincinnati franchise too much to ask? The obvious answer to that question is yes, but I mean...wow.
When you look at the stats, this one doesn't exactly look so bad. But I'm telling you, the Browns played one good quarter of football today. And last time I checked, football games last four quarters not one.
I'm sure a lot of analysts are going to talk about AJ Green's touchdown play and say it was the turning point of the game. But I'm going to go earlier than that. The turning point of the game to me was when we had to kick a field goal on our first drive of the second half. On that drive, the Browns didn't even face a 3rd down until we were at the Bengal's 3 yard line. But their secondary made two good plays to save touchdowns on passes to Evan Moore and Josh Cribbs. Granted the Bengals didn't score again until halfway through the 4th quarter, but the Browns offense couldn't put anything together after that.
But about that disgusting play that led to the Bengals touchdown, I blame the coaches for that, not Joe Haden. I don't know why the Browns were still huddled up when Cincinnati was already lined up for the play but, you can't blame one individual player. Besides, if the Browns had scored a touchdown when they should have earlier in the game, and/or capitalized on their good field position then that touchdown wouldn't have been the big momentum shifter it ended up being.
Look, I could go into the stats and things like that but the bottom line is that the Browns have got a heck of a lot of work to do. And you wouldn't think that would've happened, especially with Andy Dalton being taken out after getting injured in the first half, but it did.
For me, this loss goes squarely on the shoulders of Pat Shurmur. He didn't have his guys ready to play for four quarters - it's just that simple to me. Granted they did clean up the penalties with only one in the second half after 10 in the first, this team was undisciplined and failed to execute in key moments.
I don't care how bad Indy looked today, if we continue to play like this we're not beating anybody.
See you next week. Try to enjoy the rest of the day Browns fans. At least the Indians are winning. (Like we actually care...)
~MAS
Showing posts with label Joe Haden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joe Haden. Show all posts
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
A Little Mid-Week Filler...
So when I said on Sunday afternoon that the post-game Browns blog would be late, I didn't actually think it would be this late, but here I am and here it is. Although I"m going to go into a few other hot topics around the NFL, I'll start with the Browns.
Finding Ways to Win Late
I think it's safe to say that's just something the Browns don't exactly know how to do at this point. I'm not trying to take anything away from what they did do on Sunday, because taking the Jets to the final 30 seconds of overtime is an accomplishment in and of itself. Colt McCoy leading the Browns to a 59 yard 10 play drive just to force the overtime is also an accomplishment in and of itself. What I mean is simply that the Browns haven't yet turned the corner from being a competitive team to a good team. I think it's clear that we're the best 3-6 team in the league right now, but I think the Browns have got to continue to try and improve each week. A loss is a loss, right? This league doesn't see "moral victories" as anything more that losses, and losses equate to coaches losing their jobs. I don't think that's the route Mike Holmgren is going to take with Eric Mangini at this point, but it's important that the Browns go out and win these next few games coming up.
One thing about the end of the game that sort of bothered me was the play calling on offense when the Browns got the ball back at the 3 yard line after Joe Haden's interception. Now, I've heard some critical talk about Haden catching the ball instead of just knocking it down to force the Jets to punt, but let's really think about the situation. All Haden is thinking about is getting the ball back for his offense and at that moment, I'd imagine it's really hard to think about anything but securing the ball and making sure the Jets receiver (who happened to be Braylon Edwards) doesn't catch it. I can't have a problem with him making an INT at that point, because that's pure instinct.
What I do have a problem with is the fact that Daboll didn't seem to know what he wanted to do after the Browns got the ball. If you want to pass - which it appeared like they did when McCoy came out firing to Ben Watson down the field - great! If you want to run the clock out or get some space - as they did on the 2nd down inside running play to Peyton Hillis - you really ought to do that on first down. When you do it on second down, and you don't get into 3rd and manageable territory (which I define as 3rd and 4 yards or less) you're really putting yourself into a huge hole, especially given the way the Jets can blitz the crap out of a good offensive line. Obviously, that's exactly what the Jets did and McCoy was wise enough to get out of the endzone before taking a sack.
I really liked most of what the Browns did in this game, and I really think they should have won it. I'm sure we all do. Something my high school football coach, Cliff Walton, told the team once is, "A football game is not won or lost on any one play," and I believe that's true. I say that because I don't think it's fair at all to blame Chansi Stuckey for the loss because he fumbled in overtime. Granted, that was a big play and I think that drive probably would have led to at least a game winning field goal, but think of all the less-than-one-minute possessions the Browns had in the second half where they went 3-and-out. There are so many opportunities to make plays in a football game, that looking at one and saying "That's it!" just doesn't work to me.
That being said, the Browns really need to have a good win this week against the Jaguars. It would be wonderful to see Peyton Hillis run all over them the way Jerome Harrison did in the final game of last season. It would also be great to see Colt McCoy to have a breakout game against a so-so defense. I also think Rob Ryan can put together a good defense to confuse the inconsistent quarterback of the Jags, David Gerrard, although it might be a little more difficult to contain the ever elusive Maurice Jones-Drew. We'll see what happens on Sunday, but I'm thinking it's going to be a big Browns win.
Getting Embarrassed
Several teams got their mess kicked this week in the NFL and ought to be ashamed of themselves. The Kansas City Chiefs, the New York football Giants, and the Washington Redskins all came out and couldn't even put together a competitive game against the Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. I'll sort of let the Redskins off the hook a little bit because the Eagles are a pretty good team, but there's still no way that anyone should lose 59-28, I'm sorry.
The Chiefs and Giants should be ashamed because they let teams who were on a complete down slide kick them around like it was nothing. Sure, Jason Garrett (a University School graduate, for the record) is Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' golden boy coach, but that team is still the most overrated bunch of lugs in the league and the Giants should have been able to handle them at home. The Chiefs let the Broncos, who have also looked awful in their last few games, get out to a 28-0 lead in the first two quarters before they could scrap together a touchdown and a field goal to make it 35-10 going into the half. And then Head Coach of the Chiefs, Todd Haley, refused to shake Head Coach of the Broncos, Josh McDaniels', hand because Haley, as I understand it, didn't like the attitude of the Broncos sideline. Really Todd Haley? If you're that bitter about losing to a division rival like that, maybe you should have had a better game plan. Or how about you just worry about coaching your own team who just got embarrassed by a pretty bad team in your division. Don't do the "I'm not going to shake your hand" high school crap.
But to go back to the Eagles-Redskins game, I think this means Michael Vick is back. All you animal lovers who want to continue to condemn this guy, I'm sorry, but the guy did the time for his crime, and now he's back and better than ever. He completed his first 10 passes and led the Eagles out to a 35-0 lead after the first play of the 2nd quarter. Talk about being embarassed... Vick finished the game 20/28 for 333 yards and 4 touchdowns, passing, and he also ran 8 times for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns. Incidentally, former Brown Jerome Harrison led the Eagles in rushing with 11 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown. (What has Mike Bell done since coming to the Browns, you ask? Well, nothing. But that's exactly what Harrison was going to do, so get over it.) Going back to Vick, he became the first player in NFL history to throw for 300 yards, rush for 50 yards, throw for 4 touchdowns and run for 2 touchdowns in a game.
On the other sideline, Donovan McNabb, fresh off his new five-year $78 million contract extension, with $40 million guaranteed, did not have a good night going 17/31 for 295 yards and 2 touchdowns, but 3 interceptions - all of which came on 3rd down. I'm not entirely sure why in the world the Redskins would sign a guy who is 34 years old and clearly on the downside of his career to a $40 million guaranteed money contract, but maybe they know something about McNabb I don't. Or maybe this is just another one off the famous bad moves that the Redskins are so prone to making over the last decade.
Wow, that was a long post. I'm shocked you actually took the time to read this far. In any case, I'll be back on Sunday for the Browns game. Until then, I'll be in wizard-mode as I'm going to see Harry Potter Thursday night (!!!). See you Sunday,
~MAS
Finding Ways to Win Late
I think it's safe to say that's just something the Browns don't exactly know how to do at this point. I'm not trying to take anything away from what they did do on Sunday, because taking the Jets to the final 30 seconds of overtime is an accomplishment in and of itself. Colt McCoy leading the Browns to a 59 yard 10 play drive just to force the overtime is also an accomplishment in and of itself. What I mean is simply that the Browns haven't yet turned the corner from being a competitive team to a good team. I think it's clear that we're the best 3-6 team in the league right now, but I think the Browns have got to continue to try and improve each week. A loss is a loss, right? This league doesn't see "moral victories" as anything more that losses, and losses equate to coaches losing their jobs. I don't think that's the route Mike Holmgren is going to take with Eric Mangini at this point, but it's important that the Browns go out and win these next few games coming up.
One thing about the end of the game that sort of bothered me was the play calling on offense when the Browns got the ball back at the 3 yard line after Joe Haden's interception. Now, I've heard some critical talk about Haden catching the ball instead of just knocking it down to force the Jets to punt, but let's really think about the situation. All Haden is thinking about is getting the ball back for his offense and at that moment, I'd imagine it's really hard to think about anything but securing the ball and making sure the Jets receiver (who happened to be Braylon Edwards) doesn't catch it. I can't have a problem with him making an INT at that point, because that's pure instinct.
What I do have a problem with is the fact that Daboll didn't seem to know what he wanted to do after the Browns got the ball. If you want to pass - which it appeared like they did when McCoy came out firing to Ben Watson down the field - great! If you want to run the clock out or get some space - as they did on the 2nd down inside running play to Peyton Hillis - you really ought to do that on first down. When you do it on second down, and you don't get into 3rd and manageable territory (which I define as 3rd and 4 yards or less) you're really putting yourself into a huge hole, especially given the way the Jets can blitz the crap out of a good offensive line. Obviously, that's exactly what the Jets did and McCoy was wise enough to get out of the endzone before taking a sack.
I really liked most of what the Browns did in this game, and I really think they should have won it. I'm sure we all do. Something my high school football coach, Cliff Walton, told the team once is, "A football game is not won or lost on any one play," and I believe that's true. I say that because I don't think it's fair at all to blame Chansi Stuckey for the loss because he fumbled in overtime. Granted, that was a big play and I think that drive probably would have led to at least a game winning field goal, but think of all the less-than-one-minute possessions the Browns had in the second half where they went 3-and-out. There are so many opportunities to make plays in a football game, that looking at one and saying "That's it!" just doesn't work to me.
That being said, the Browns really need to have a good win this week against the Jaguars. It would be wonderful to see Peyton Hillis run all over them the way Jerome Harrison did in the final game of last season. It would also be great to see Colt McCoy to have a breakout game against a so-so defense. I also think Rob Ryan can put together a good defense to confuse the inconsistent quarterback of the Jags, David Gerrard, although it might be a little more difficult to contain the ever elusive Maurice Jones-Drew. We'll see what happens on Sunday, but I'm thinking it's going to be a big Browns win.
Getting Embarrassed
Several teams got their mess kicked this week in the NFL and ought to be ashamed of themselves. The Kansas City Chiefs, the New York football Giants, and the Washington Redskins all came out and couldn't even put together a competitive game against the Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. I'll sort of let the Redskins off the hook a little bit because the Eagles are a pretty good team, but there's still no way that anyone should lose 59-28, I'm sorry.
The Chiefs and Giants should be ashamed because they let teams who were on a complete down slide kick them around like it was nothing. Sure, Jason Garrett (a University School graduate, for the record) is Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' golden boy coach, but that team is still the most overrated bunch of lugs in the league and the Giants should have been able to handle them at home. The Chiefs let the Broncos, who have also looked awful in their last few games, get out to a 28-0 lead in the first two quarters before they could scrap together a touchdown and a field goal to make it 35-10 going into the half. And then Head Coach of the Chiefs, Todd Haley, refused to shake Head Coach of the Broncos, Josh McDaniels', hand because Haley, as I understand it, didn't like the attitude of the Broncos sideline. Really Todd Haley? If you're that bitter about losing to a division rival like that, maybe you should have had a better game plan. Or how about you just worry about coaching your own team who just got embarrassed by a pretty bad team in your division. Don't do the "I'm not going to shake your hand" high school crap.
But to go back to the Eagles-Redskins game, I think this means Michael Vick is back. All you animal lovers who want to continue to condemn this guy, I'm sorry, but the guy did the time for his crime, and now he's back and better than ever. He completed his first 10 passes and led the Eagles out to a 35-0 lead after the first play of the 2nd quarter. Talk about being embarassed... Vick finished the game 20/28 for 333 yards and 4 touchdowns, passing, and he also ran 8 times for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns. Incidentally, former Brown Jerome Harrison led the Eagles in rushing with 11 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown. (What has Mike Bell done since coming to the Browns, you ask? Well, nothing. But that's exactly what Harrison was going to do, so get over it.) Going back to Vick, he became the first player in NFL history to throw for 300 yards, rush for 50 yards, throw for 4 touchdowns and run for 2 touchdowns in a game.
On the other sideline, Donovan McNabb, fresh off his new five-year $78 million contract extension, with $40 million guaranteed, did not have a good night going 17/31 for 295 yards and 2 touchdowns, but 3 interceptions - all of which came on 3rd down. I'm not entirely sure why in the world the Redskins would sign a guy who is 34 years old and clearly on the downside of his career to a $40 million guaranteed money contract, but maybe they know something about McNabb I don't. Or maybe this is just another one off the famous bad moves that the Redskins are so prone to making over the last decade.
Wow, that was a long post. I'm shocked you actually took the time to read this far. In any case, I'll be back on Sunday for the Browns game. Until then, I'll be in wizard-mode as I'm going to see Harry Potter Thursday night (!!!). See you Sunday,
~MAS
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