Red Right 88

In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the month “October, 2010”

03 Oct 2010

Browns Win! Browns Win!

After three weeks of fighting, working and struggling, the Browns finally broke through on Sunday and pulled out a win against the Bengals – the Browns first win of the season, only their second win at home vs. Cincinnati since 2004 and the Bengals first division loss in nine games.

Even though they were outgained 413 yards to 295, the Browns avoided the mistakes that plagued them in the first three games. The defense was able to put enough pressure on Carson Palmer – four sacks – to overcome two touchdown passes and another rough day from the secondary (the defensive coaches need to fix Eric Wright in a hurry). Peyton Hillis had another 100-yard day and a touchdown, and even Chansi Stuckey got in on the action, catching five passes for 56 yards, doubling his season output.

The Browns earned their first fourth-quarter first down of the season, Mohamed Massaquoi had his weekly reception – for five yards -the team overcame the weekly bizarre play calling on offense, Seneca Wallace managed the game well in his third start of the year and, after the Bengals cut the lead of 23-20, the Browns were able to use up the final five minutes of the game and never allow the Bengals another chance with the ball.

And did we mention the Browns won? We don’t want to over emphasize one win, but this was an important win for the Browns. Not only was it a division win, but it was a win at home and finally rewarded the team for working hard, giving them something tangible to show that they are really making progress.

And it helped them from breaking some kind of ridiculous record. Heading into the game, the Browns were the first team since the 1954 Packers to hold a lead in the fourth quarter of their first three games and end up losing. Those are the kinds of records the team doesn’t need.

And even though they committed another seven penalties, they really didn’t seems to hurt the team. We’ll take the personal foul penalty from T.J. Ward anytime, as that kind of aggressive play will pay dividends down the road as it had the Bengals crying after the game. And if he can deliver a hit like that on Hines Ward in a couple of weeks he’ll get a free pass for the rest of the season.

This team is by no means a finished product, something we are sure to cover this week, and there are still several areas that worry us, but for one week we can bask in a well-deserved win.

Well played lads, well played.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, first win, NFL | Leave a comment
03 Oct 2010

Browns vs. Bengals – Week 4

The Browns reach the quarter mark of the season today at home against the Bengals. The team is looking for its first win of the season and only its second win at home against Cincinnati since 2004.

The Opposition

Cincinnati record: 2-1
Offensive rank: 15th overall/15th passing/18th rushing
Defensive rank: 9th overall/11th passing/13th rushing
All-time record: Browns trail 35-38-0, but lead the series at home with a 21-15 mark
Last meeting in Cleveland: Browns lost, 23-20 in overtime
The line: Browns (+3)

What to Watch For

Cue the broken record: for the Browns to have a chance to win they have to stop with the silly penalties – Ben Watson/Alex Mack personal fouls; Matt Roth’s ridiculous off sides – and stop making that one mistake – Jake Delhomme’s interception at the end of the first half vs. Tampa, Seneca Wallace’s TAINT vs. KC, Wallace’s pitch to no where against Baltimore – that has hurt them through the first three weeks of the season.

The Bengals rank in the middle of the league on offense and defense, but the one area that Browns should be able to exploit is the Bengals run defense. While they rank 13th overall against the rush, they are giving up 4.5 yards per rush, which puts them 23rd in the league.

If the Browns could run the ball last week against Baltimore, they should be able to run on the Bengals. If they can get a lead in the second half again this week, they should be able to control the game with their running attack, which may be even more important today as it is expected to be cold and rainy.

The Browns need to find a way to get pressure on a recently ineffective Carson Palmer. It’s reasonable to expect the secondary – especially Eric Wright – to play better after last week’s debacle in Baltimore. With a week to work on things the secondary should bounce back; if not it could be another long day against Chad Ochocinco (11 career TDs against the Browns) and Terell Owens.

As for who the Browns should/will start at quarterback, unless Jake Delhomme’s ankle is 100 percent, they should sit him out another week. I rather he be fully healthy for the final 12 games than put him back on the field early and have him miss more time – especially since he hasn’t practiced much or at all over the past few weeks.

The Best Browns vs. Cincinnati Game I’ve Ever Seen

The 1988 game, which the Browns won 23-16, to move within one game of the Bengals. Mainly because at one point the crowd was so loud that Cincinnati quarterback was crying to the refs that he couldn’t snap the ball. The Browns also blocked a punt for a touchdown (when was the last time they did that?) and the defense came up big on the goal line multiple times.

Here’s The Plain Dealer’s game story; you can see Tony Grossi’s love affair with the Bengals goes back pretty far. Here’s video of the punt block; this clip of Clarence Weathers highlights what the current crop of Browns receivers lacks: the ability to separate from the defender; and here’s another TD drive just for fun.

The Prediction

The Browns have been hanging tough through the first three weeks of the season but have done just enough to lose. They’ve showed progress – or at least consistency over the first three weeks – while the Bengals have not.

This is the week the work finally pays off and the Browns pick up their first victory of the season.

Posted in Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Week 4 | Leave a comment
03 Oct 2010

Hey ABC – enough with the Big Ten!

Dear ABC/ESPN Family of Networks:

I may live in Ohio, but I don’t care about the Big Ten, other than Ohio State. It’s bad enough that you don’t understand that and force the Big Ten on us week after week. Today it was Wisconsin-Michigan State, rather than Texas-Oklahoma on ABC.

I can sort of deal with that, but why was ESPN blacked out at the same time? Why wasn’t the Texas-Oklahoma game on ESPN? Why did I have to find it on an alternate channel in standard – not Hi-Def?

Then Saturday night, rather than No. 4 Oregon vs. No. 9 Stanford, you gave us Notre Dame-Boston College. I don’t live in Indiana, I don’t live in Boston – I don’t care about these teams. Why are you showing this game in NE Ohio? And, again, instead of putting a much more important game like Stanford-Oregon on ESPN you give us Penn State-Iowa? Seriously? And you put one of the better games of the day on an alternate channel in standard?

What decade are we living in? There’s no excuse for any major sporting event to ever be shown in anything other than hi-definition. And unless Ohio State is involved, I’ll die a happy man if I never have to see another Big Ten game again.

Red Right 88

Posted in Big Ten overload, clueless programming choices | Leave a comment
02 Oct 2010

Week 4 Picks

After a perfect Week 3 pushed into the lead of the 2010 Cheddar Bay Invitational over at Cleveland Frowns, it’s time to keep the magic going.

This week we like:

Pittsburgh (-1) vs. Baltimore

San Diego (-8) vs. Arizona

Atlanta (-7) vs. San Francisco

And the money pick: Army (+5) vs. Temple.

Here’s why:

Saturday along the banks of the Hudson River, the Black Knights of Army host Temple. The game marks Homecoming at West Point, and the first 5,000 fans will receive a bobblehead doll of Heisman trophy winning running back Glenn Davis, Mr. Outside to Doc Blanchard’s Mr. Inside. Army has had this game circled since the start of the season, as it offers an opportunity at payback against the Owls. Last year’s defeat against Temple left Army one game short of its first bowl appearance since 1996. Bobblehead of a legendary player … Homecoming game … marching cadets … payback … and they’re getting points? The lock of the week.

Plus, if you bet against Army then the terrorists win.

Posted in Cheddar Bay, NFL, point spreads | Leave a comment

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