Red Right 88

A Win Changes (almost) Everything

While Sunday’s win doesn’t change everything for the Browns, it does change a lot.

The team is no longer part of the winless group of Detroit, Carolina, San Francisco and Buffalo. The win also validated that the Browns have been trending upward through the first quarter of the season, despite their 1-3 record.

The win should also help start the process of changing the perception about the team; just look at what wins have done for some of the other teams in the league:

• The Redskins were pathetic Week 1 against Dallas, only gaining 250 yards of offense and putting up two field goals. But a defensive touchdown plus a meltdown by the Cowboys put Washington over the top and launched a multitude of stories about how Donovan McNabb and Mike Shanahan were “winners.”
• The Falcons are sitting at 3-1, but if Garrett Hartley doesn’t shank a kick, and if Nate Clements wasn’t a me-first player, they would be 1-3 and fielding questions about what’s wrong.
• Last week, Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio was supposedly on the “hot seat;” yesterday, Indianapolis drops an interception at the end of the game, Josh Scobee hits a 59-yard field goal, and suddenly the Jaguars are a game out of first place.

One win can change so many perceptions about the team, not just externally but internally as well. The players and coaches keep working every week and, after becoming the first team since the 1954 Packers to lose three games in a row when having a lead in the fourth quarter, finally holding one to a lead and winning a game rewards them for that work and hopefully will give the team confidence going forward.

And good for the coaches for resisting the urge to put Jake Delhomme back under center; giving him another week to heal his ankle was the right call and it would have been the right call even if the Browns had lost. Rushing him back and running the risk of losing him long-term wasn’t worth it.

Even though the Browns were only able to gain 3.3 yards per carry for the game, they were able to run the ball when it counted. After the Bengals scored to cut the lead to 23-20, the Browns went three and out following the usual strange play calling, but after the defense came up big and handed the ball back to the offense, the Browns – after the obligatory odd pass call – were able to run the ball and close out the game.

The biggest run of that final drive was a 24-yard rush around the right side by Peyton Hillis. That play showed what a huge upgrade Tony Pashos is over John St. Clair at right tackle.

So now the Browns – a team that is better than its record indicates – gets ready to face Atlanta – a team that may be worse than its record.

Dare we dream of a winning streak?