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

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