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In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the category “Colt McCoy”

08 Nov 2010

Final Thoughts on the Browns-Patriots

A day later and we’re still enjoying Sunday’s exhibition of Browns football.

“This is how I envision Browns football,” coach Eric Mangini told The Plain Dealer. “First, you learn how to compete. Then you learn how to win. Then you learn how to win consistently. It’s great to see the guys rewarded with victories.”

Mangini was including the coaches when he talked about “the guys” being rewarded with wins. It’s not just the players, the coaches have been putting in the effort all season long to figure out how to get the best of this team and this week it paid off as both sides of the ball performed well.

“This is a lot more fun talking today than it was before,” Mangini told The PD on Monday. “I feel the best for the guys collectively and the coaches collectively because they work. I know I say it a lot, but they work hard, and they care and it means something and it hurts when we lose. Playing in Cleveland means something. The city means something. Being in front of our fans means something, and you want to see them be rewarded for that. You want to reward the fans for their loyalty. You want to be able to give those groups what they deserve. And that’s important.”

The Browns are also starting to get some respect from the national media:

“The last two weeks have convinced me of a few things,” Peter King wrote in his Monday Morning Quarterback column. “One: It would be a mistake to fire the imaginative Mangini and his hungry staff unless the bottom falls out on this team in the next two months. … Two: The Browns aren’t far away from competing every week in their division. Three: Colt McCoy is afraid of nothing, and I think it’s unlikely the Browns will have to spend their first-round draft choice on a quarterback in 2011.

“Belichick’s first-place Patriots were humiliated, 34-14, by the 2-5 Cleveland Browns,” wrote Dan Shaughnessy in The Boston Globe. “On the same acreage where Belichick failed in his first stint as a head coach — in a chess match against the apprentice who turned on him (‘I know it was you, Fredo, you broke my heart’) — Belichick’s team was exposed. The Patriots looked ill-equipped and ill-prepared. They were outplayed in the city where Belichick always will have something to prove. And they were outcoached by Fredo Mangini, a man Belichick despises more than anyone else in football.”

“When Jets head coach Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer examine the Browns’ game film, they’ll notice how many problems (the Browns defense) gave one of the savviest quarterbacks in NFL history,” wrote Tim Graham on ESPN.com. “ESPN Stats & Information charted Cleveland’s amoeba defense, an unusual scheme described as ‘at least five defensive players in the box with one or fewer down linemen.’ It’s difficult for a quarterback to read at the line, creates pass-protection confusion for linemen and clogs passing lanes. The results were persuasive, according to ESPN Stats & Information’s data. Patriots passing versus the amoeba: 3-of-13 for 51 yards, zero touchdowns, one interception and an 11.4 passer rating.”

And as we pointed out yesterday, Colt McCoy is making it very difficult for the coaching staff to go back to Jake Delhomme or Seneca Wallace once they get healthy.

While the coaching staff needs to base the decision on who gives the team the best chance to win, it seems unlikely they will turn to Wallace if he’s healthy, at least this week. With the team playing at home, inserting Wallace in at quarterback would be setting him up for an almost no-win situation – the first mistake and the fans will be on him and calling for McCoy.

But that’s a decision for another day. For now we rejoice in a two-game winning streak and, while the talk of a playoff run is rather premature, things are good again this week in Brownstown.

***

Here’s a look around the web at what everyone else is saying:

The Colt Report: Week Three – Waiting for Next Year

Man, That Was Fun – Waiting for Next Year

Browns Pound Pats – Cleveland Frowns

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, NFL, winning streaks | Leave a comment
08 Nov 2010

Browns release the poison on Patriots

The Browns dominated the Patriots on Sunday and in the process earned what is surely the defining victory of the Eric Mangini era and the final bit of proof for anyone who doubted this team and refused to see the progress it has made.

And in the process maybe, just maybe, the Browns have finally found a quarterback.

Unlike last year’s last-season win against Pittsburgh (aka the most over-rated win in franchise history), Sunday’s win came against a team riding a five-game winning streak and with the best record in the NFL.

The Browns rolled up 404 yards of offense, with 230 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns. They controlled the ball for 38 minutes behind 184 rushing yards and two touchdowns by Peyton Hillis. The offensive line had another solid day, and the right side has settled down since Billy Yates has taken over at right guard and Floyd Womack at right tackle.

For the second game in a row the team pulled out the trick plays, this time a handoff to Chansi Stuckey out of the Wildcat that resulted in Stuckey’s 11-yard touchdown run.

The defense held the Patriots to half their season total in points and, for the second week in a row, more than held its own against a top-flight quarterback. The Browns held the Patriots to just seven points through three quarters and when McCoy ran the ball in from 16 yards to give the Browns a 24-7 lead with about five minutes to go in the third quarter, the game was essentially over.

It was probably the first time both sides of the ball played well in the same game and made it truly a team win.

As for McCoy, he’s making it very difficult for the coaches to stick to The Plan once Seneca Wallace and Jake Delhomme are healthy.

McCoy had no interceptions for the second consecutive week, completed 73 percent of his passes on the day and once again avoided making any stupid plays that could have hurt the Browns.

You can see him getting better and more comfortable each week as he gets more practice time with the first team. And when you factor in that no rookie quarterback in the history of the NFL has made his first three starts against teams of the level of Pittsburgh, New Orleans and New England, it’s slowly starting to look as if the Browns have finally found their quarterback.

As sure as the Browns have made true progress this season – they are now 7-5 in their last 12 games after going 1-11 in the previous 12 – it would be foolish to argue or try to downplay that McCoy has not made progress in the past three games.

Bring on the Jets!

***

If a big Browns win wasn’t enough to make it an extra-special day, Liverpool took it to top-of-the-table Chelsea, notching a 2-0 win over the defending champs behind Fernando Torres’ two goals.

Liverpool’s worst start to a season in more than 50 years had the Reds in the relegation zone last month, but three straight wins have lifted the 18-time champions to ninth. They are in a five-team group with Tottenham Hotspur – who were shocked over the weekend by Bolton – and only two points behind fifth-place Newcastle.

***

Finally, we are only a Pittsburgh cover against the always overrated Cincinnati Bengals Monday night to nail a perfect week in the 2010 Cheddar Bay Invitational at Cleveland Frowns and continue to close the gap on leader jimkanicki.

Posted in Cheddar Bay, Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, defining victory, Fernando Torres, Liverpool | Leave a comment
04 Nov 2010
1 Comment

Colt’s Extended Engagement

With Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace both sitting out practice Wednesday while recovering from ankle injuries, it looks like rookie Colt McCoy will make his third consecutive start – and home debut – at quarterback Sunday against New England.

If McCoy does get the starting nod, his first three games will have come against Pittsburgh (5-2), New Orleans (5-3) and New England (6-1). You would be hard pressed to find a tougher three game stretch to start a career for a rookie quarterback in league history.

For example:

  • Peyton Manning’s first three starts in 1999 came against Buffalo (who finished 11-5 on the year), New England (8-8) and San Diego (8-8)
  • Tom Brady’s first NFL starts game against Indianapolis (6-10), Miami (11-5) and San Diego (5-11)
  • Brett Favre’s first three NFL starts were against the Duluth Eskimos, Canton Bulldogs and Decatur Staleys

Welcome to the NFL kid.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, NFL
02 Nov 2010
2 Comments

The Big Man Speaks

Browns team president Mike Holmgren met with the media today about the team’s season so far and worked to clear up a few important questions.

On the season so far:

“There are some really good things happening and I’m not trying to paint a pretty picture. I think we’re improved over last year and brought in some players that are making some huge contributions. Ultimately, how many games can we win? I was very encouraged by our last win over New Orleans and now, we have to build on that and move forward.”

On whether or not he wants to coach again:

“No, I’m doing OK. Does it sound like I want to coach? The challenge of this is really something for me and I’m enjoying the challenge, but I’d be less than honest if I didn’t say I get fired up watching the games. But I also recognize what I was hired to do. And that’s what I’m trying to do.”

On the future of coach Eric Mangini:

“Wins and losses is not the only criteria. The crummy part of our business is most of the time it’s the main one. The most encouraging thing is we’ve been in most of the games. And we had chances to win the game. It’s also the most discouraging thing because we lost the games.”

Holmgren did make a point to say no decision would be made until after the season.

On the Browns wide receivers:

“Let’s not jump on the receivers too much here. I think they’re better than OK. I think they’re pretty good. It’s just that their numbers haven’t been very good.”

He did say that some of the blame for the poor performance rests on offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s play calling.

And the big one: the quarterback situation:

“As a youngster, (Colt McCoy) probably couldn’t go into two more difficult environments. What I learned from that game is the game itself isn’t too big for him. He handled himself well, made some throws and instilled some confidence in his teammates. It’s not like he had a wealth of experience going into that game.

“I told him, ‘Anybody can come in and play a good football game, so let’s put another one together. While we didn’t throw the ball around that much, I thought he played a really solid football game. I’m looking for how he handles the game. I told him I was proud of him and that he can build on it.”

Just as he did with the question about Mangini, Holmgren preached patience when it comes to making a decision on McCoy as the full-time starter, pointing out it is a moot point as long as Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace are both still injured.

Holmgren shed some light on the decision making that will go into the decision:

“The obvious thing is: If you play a young quarterback, does he give you the best chance to win? Or are you doing it just for the future? That’s kind of crummy, if you’re doing it just for the future. You want to win every game. So that’s the discussion that will take place.”

Add this all up and you get a clear sense of why the current structure of Holmgren as president, Tom Heckert as GM and Mangini as coach has a chance to work out.

You have Holmgren speaking about the team in big picture terms, leaving Heckert and Mangini to do the jobs they were hired to do. Too often last year Mangini was pulled away from preparing the team for the next day to deal with the on-going circus in Berea (some of it was his own doing, but some wasn’t).

While everyone – from the owner down to the fans – would like to see the team’s record be better than 2-5, reading what Holmgren had to say today is a clear indication – along with the improved play on the field this season – that the team is moving in the right direction.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, Mike Holmgren, NFL
27 Oct 2010

Well … Yeah, that’s the Idea

Browns quarterback Seneca Wallace offered his opinion Wednesday regarding who should be the Browns starting quarterback coming out of the bye and for the rest of the season:

“At the end of the day, it comes down to the coaches,” Wallace told The Plain Dealer. “Whoever’s doing the job the best, moving the team, scoring points, making the right decisions, then that should be the guy.”

“This isn’t college,” Wallace also said. “We don’t switch quarterbacks in and out. I think when it comes down to rhythm and gelling together, when you have a quarterback in for one week and then the next week it’s somebody else, that’s not a good situation. You want a guy that’s gonna be in there, be able to move the team and continue to do that week to week.”

Well, obviously you want the player who gives you the best chance to win playing at each position. No argument there. Not really sure why this is becoming an issue, especially during the bye week, but there you go.

The thing is, the person who fits the criteria that Wallace laid out is Wallace himself. Consider that in seven games so far this season:

  • The offense has only scored more than 17 points once – when the Browns put up 23 on Cincinnati with Wallace at quarterback.
  • Wallace has led seven touchdown drives this year; Jake Delhomme and Colt McCoy have led two each; albeit in fewer games.
  • Of Wallace’s seven touchdown drives, five have been longer than 70 yards, a sign that he can keep drives going; Delhomme has no drives longer than 70 yards and McCoy has one.
  • Finally, for what it is worth, Wallace has a quarterback rating of 88.5, McCoy is at 76.5 and Delhomme is at 48.2.

So while it’s been established that the best course of action for the Browns is to return McCoy to the bench once Wallace and/or Delhomme are healthy, it may not be in the team’s best interests to automatically return Delhomme to the starter’s role.

Delhomme looked nice in the preseason, but that was a long time ago and against defenses that more often than not may have not been playing at 100 percent. Plus he’s a 35-year-old player coming off two injuries to his ankle.

But you have to weigh that against the fact that Wallace is a career backup for a reason.

Luckily the Browns have some time as they don’t have a game this week. And, for the most part, the coaching staff has done a much better job this year dealing with personnel decisions.

So, for now, we’re confident that the team will make the right choice when they start preparing next week to face New England.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, NFL, Seneca Wallace | Leave a comment
26 Oct 2010

Final Thoughts on the Browns-Saints

It’s a day later and our head is still spinning from the Browns crazy win over the Saints. We can’t remember the last time the Browns went on the road and left the home team leaving the field with boos ringing in their heads.

We’ve been trying all day to come up with a way to describe Colt McCoy’s first two games and the best we can do is “satisfied.” While not putting up any gaudy stats, McCoy did what you’d want your third-string quarterback to do, plus a little bit more. He didn’t make any major mistakes, never looked in over his head, and left us knowing that if he has to come back into a game this season we won’t be seeing the return of Spergon Wynn, Todd Philcox, Luke McCown, Ken Dorsey or any of the other retreads the Browns have trotted out over the years.

And McCoy was the only rookie quarterback to post a win on Sunday. Sam Bradford only had 126 passing yards in a loss to Tampa Bay, Tim Tebow (Denver) and Jimmy Clausen (Carolina) didn’t even play, and Max Hall (Arizona) was 4-of-16 for 36 yards before leaving the game with an injury.

Having said all that, there’s still no reason for the Browns to deviate from the plan to essentially redshirt McCoy this year. If Seneca Wallace and/or Jake Delhomme are healthy coming out of the bye, or as soon as they are, they should go back to being the top two quarterbacks. The Browns came up with the plan in the preseason after evaluating what’s best for McCoy and the team and we’d hate to see them go away from that in a haste of emotion.

***

Terry Pluto made an interesting point in his Sunday PD column when he pointed out that wide receiver Brian Robiskie was on the field for 48 of 61 snaps against Pittsburgh, but only had two catches for 13 yards. Looking at the tapes, the coaches said Robiskie was not getting open “quick enough.”

Well, that’s what happens when you don’t have NFL-caliber speed. The same can be said for Mohamed Massaquoi. It’s a big part of the reason why the wide receiving group is so poor.

One receiver who does have speed is Carlton Mitchell, but we haven’t seen him yet. He must really be bad in practice if he can’t get on the field with this group, especially when Yamon Figurs can see action – nice trip on his end around – after being picked up during the week.

***

Where was Evan Moore on Sunday?

***

The Browns reportedly released running back James Davis on Monday, replacing him with running back Thomas Clayton off of New England’s practice squad.

If the Browns weren’t going to play Davis it makes sense to release him; no need to have him take up a roster spot. But that leaves the running back position awful thin behind Peyton Hillis and we have to wonder with Hillis’ style of play if he can stay healthy the rest of the way and what it would mean to the running game if he went down.

Maybe Reggie Hodges can be a feature back?

***

For those still wondering why Jerome Harrison’s inability to consistently pick up the blitz was a problem, take a look at the injury to Tony Romo in last night’s Cowboys game. The fullback completely whiffed on the blitz pick up and now Romo’s out 6-8 weeks.

***

Not sure what is going on with the Browns secondary but they are still having communication problems. Could just be growing pains with two rookies seeing significant playing time; could be a bigger problem. Hopefully it’s something the defensive coaches can work out during the extra time with the bye week.

***

Pittsburgh and Baltimore are going to be really tough to beat this year if opposing teams have to beat not only them but also the refs. The call on Ben Rothlisberger’s non-fumble at the goal line was horrible. And in overtime, the Ravens stopped a Buffalo receiver near mid-field and rather than blow the play dead the refs just stood around until the Ravens stripped the ball. If they are not going to call the player down because of forward progress in that spot, what’s the point of having that rule?

***

Finally, while we’d all like it if the Browns record was better than 2-5, it would be very hard for someone to argue that the team is not slowly improving and trending in the right direction.

Since starting 1-11 last year, the Browns have gone 6-5. Compare that to some other teams that the media decided where “up and coming” before the season started:

  • After staring 6-0 last season, Josh McDaniels was hailed as a genius in Denver. Since then the Broncos have gone 4-13, with a 2-9 mark in their last 11 games.
  • Seemingly everyone wanted to crown San Francisco as division champs in the preseason, apparently because Mike Singletary wears a giant cross and has crazy eyes. Yet in their last 11 games the 49ers are only 4-7.
  • The Dolphins were supposed to be challenging for a division crown this year but are only 5-6 over their past 11 games.
  • Even Detroit got some love before the season started despite a 1-10 record through their past 11 games.

So even though it seems like the Browns are sometimes moving at a glacial pace, things are getting turned around.

And come Sunday at 1, there will be a void in NE Ohio with no Browns game because of the bye.

When was the last time we could say that?

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, non-existant wide receivers, tangible progress | Leave a comment
24 Oct 2010
2 Comments

Motier foux in the Big Easy

ESPN’s Bill Simmons once described New Orleans as being the kind of place where you wouldn’t be surprised to see someone turn into a werewolf on Main Street.

After watching the Browns unexpected, unbelievable and utterly bizarre win over the Saints on Sunday, we know exactly what Simmons means.

What would you have said if before the game we told you that:

  • Punter Reggie Hodges would have the Browns longest run from scrimmage – 68 yards?
  • Defensive back Eric Wright would have the longest pass reception – 62 yards?
  • Linebacker David Bowens would have more yards – 94 – and touchdowns – 2 – than the Browns receivers combined?
  • Quarterback Colt McCoy would have as many receptions as Ben Watson, Josh Cribbs, Peyton Hillis and Lawrence Vickers?
  • Peyton Hillis would have a quarterback rating of 118.8?

The answer certainly would not have included the phrase “Browns win 30-10” but that’s exactly what happened.

See what we mean about strange things happening in New Orleans? The only way this could have been any better if today was Halloween.

Defense and wacky plays – especially on special teams – carried the Browns to their first road win of the season.

The Browns intercepted Drew Brees four times – and could have had at least two or three more – sacked him three times and confused him all day long, holding him to a 65.8 rating and forcing him to throw the ball 56 times.

Bowens somehow had two of the interceptions, returning both for touchdowns.

For the first time in a long while the defense actually caught a break.

Leading 10-0 as the first quarter drew to a close, the Browns gave up a 20-yard touchdown pass from Brees to Lance Moore. But offsetting penalties wiped out the score – when does that ever happen for the Browns? – and two plays later Scott Fujita picked off Brees. No telling how things would have gone if the score had held up.

The special teams got in on the fun as well, with Josh Cribbs throwing a pass across the field to Eric Wright on the Saints first punt of the game. Wright took the play 62 yards and the Browns eventually settled for a field goal to open the scoring.

After the Saints cut the lead to 10-3, the Browns gained only two yards in three plays and lined up for a punt. But Reggie Hodges took off with the ball and, looking like Marion Motley in his prime, rumbled 68 yards to set up another Browns field goal.

On the Saints second play after the field goal Bowens grabbed his first interception and returned it 30 yards for the score, putting the Browns up 20-3 and providing the Brown-and-Orange with a solid grip on the game.

Offensively, the Browns were able to average 4.5 yards per rush, with Hillis leading with way with 69 yards and a TD. More importantly, after the Saints cut the lead to 10 with 13 minutes left, the Browns turned to the running game to build a 13-play drive that took more than seven minutes off the clock and effectively ice the game.

McCoy made his second consecutive start and, just like the Pittsburgh game, didn’t do anything to hurt the Browns but also didn’t do anything to make the Browns want to deviate from the plan to let him sit and watch this year.

McCoy’s numbers weren’t great – 9-of-16 for 74 yards – but he didn’t turn the ball over, he never looked overwhelmed, no wrong formations of delay of games on offense, and he generally left us with a good impression. He made some bad throws but he also had some nice throws – primarily a swing pass to Lawrence Vickers that would have gone for a big gain – dropped by receivers.

Overall in his two games McCoy didn’t do anything that left us shaking our heads or hiding our eyes when he was under center. He came in, did the best he could, got some game experience against two very talented and complex defenses, and didn’t embarrass himself or the team.

And, after the bye, it will be time for him to return to the bench and continue working through the learning curve while Jake Delhomme and/or Seneca Wallace take over the offense.

So the Browns head into the bye off their biggest road win in years. While some will look at their 2-5 record (which, seriously, could be 5-2 with a few breaks) and say “Same Old Browns,” this is a team that, after a 1-11 start last year, has gone 6-5 over its last 11 games.

And while that certainly doesn’t mean we should be booking playoff tickets, it means that it would be very hard for someone to argue that this team isn’t making progress.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, David Bowens, NFL, strange things
23 Oct 2010

Browns vs. Saints – Week 7

The 1-5 Browns head to New Orleans trying to make it to the bye week without any more major injuries hitting the team.

The Opposition

New Orleans: 4-2
Offensive rank: 7th overall/4th passing/17th rushing
Defensive rank: 12th overall/12th passing/18th rushing
All-time record: Browns lead 11-4, with a 7-2 mark in New Orleans
The line: Browns +13

What to Watch For

Clearly how Colt McCoy does in his second game as quarterback. He’s had another full week of practice to work with the first team, study film, digest the playbook and try to build on some of the good things he did last week in Pittsburgh.

While Pittsburgh’s defense is more physical, New Orleans presents just as much of a challenge as they like to bring pressure on the quarterback in a variety of ways. If you were going to pick two teams for a rookie quarterback to learn from, the two that McCoy is facing would probably be at or near the top of the list.

How much the Browns can accomplish on offense may depend on how many healthy bodies they can assemble for the game. Mohamed Massaquoi is out and who knows what lingering effect Josh Cribbs will feel this week.

Peyton Hillis’ leg looked better last week, but you never know. If he aggravates the injury the running game falls to Mike Bell and James Davis, which is not an attractive prospect right now.

After putting right tackle Tony Pashos on IR this week, the Browns will also be without John St. Clair (is that a loss?) so the right side of the line could be Floyd Womack and right tackle and either rookie Shaun Lauvao or Billy Yates at right guard.

So, a rebuilt/inexperienced right side of the line in a dome? Sounds like fun.

Defensively, the Browns are going to have their hands full. Drew Brees is the dogs bollocks and wicked accurate. When the blitz comes – and you know it will – if the Browns can’t get to him he’s going to spread the ball around and really pick the team apart. There’s going to be a ton of pressure on the secondary – even more so than in the past few weeks – to hold up under the pressure and make some plays.

The injury bug is striking the defense as well with Robaire Smith going on IR this week, leaving an already thin defensive front hurting.

The Best Browns vs. New Orleans game I’ve Seen

For a team that the Browns have owned through the years, there really isn’t one game that stands out above the others. We’ll have to go with the 2002 game where Kevin Johnson’s two touchdowns – one receiving and one rushing – helped keep the Browns in playoff contention. Here’s The Plain Dealer’s story from that game. Can’t find any video this week.

The Prediction

This team really needs to get to the bye week to re-energize, re-group and get some of these lingering injuries to heal. The Browns have been competitive every week this season and there’s no reason to think that won’t continue today.

Look for the Browns to keep the game close into the second half but for the Saints to pull away. The Browns are just too inexperienced at key spots and too banged up at others this week to realistically expect them to pull out a win on the road against one of the best teams in the NFL.

We’ll take the Saints and the points.

Record on the year: 1-4-1

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, dogs bollocks, NFL | Leave a comment
17 Oct 2010

The Kid is Alright

The Browns dropped their seventh straight game in Pittsburgh on Sunday, but began the process of gathering intel on rookie quarterback Colt McCoy.

McCoy was a respectable 23-of-33 for 281 yards and a quarterback rating of 80.5. He had a nice touchdown pass to Ben Watson and two interceptions, one that looked like it grazed the receiver’s hands and the other on a tipped ball.

More importantly, McCoy never looked overwhelmed on the field. There were no timeouts because he was confused, no delay of game penalties, no problems getting the team in the right formations. He was sacked five times and broke out of the pocket a little early on a few occasions, but there is plenty for Browns fans to by pleased with from his performance.

The only other high point the work of punter Reggie Hodges, who did his best to pin the Steelers down on the day by dropping four punts inside the 20.

On the not-so-good side was the defense, primarily the pass defense. Once again the Browns blitzed to no avail and the secondary was exploited. Eric Wright had another bad day, giving up a touchdown to Hines Ward where Wright made no attempt to tackle Ward after the catch. The secondary overall didn’t have a very good day, although Joe Haden had a nice interception and return in the first quarter.

Someone else said this a few weeks ago and I’d credit them if I remembered who, but it may be time for Rob Ryan to start playing with the defense he has, rather than the one he wants. The blitzing is not working because the secondary can’t match up when the sack doesn’t come through. It seems time for Ryan to realize this and come up with another game plan; being aggressive is great, being stubborn isn’t helping anyone.

The biggest storyline of the day, and one that should get plenty of coverage during the week, is the two illegal helmet-to-helmet hits that James Harrison delivered on Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi in the second quarter, knocking both players out of the game. Both were clearly illegal but the incompetency of the refs meant that Harrison was not penalized for either hit, although he probably should have been thrown out after the second one.

According to an article on NFL.com, in an effort to limit head injuries “the reworded rules prohibit a player from launching himself off the ground and using his helmet to strike a player in a defenseless posture in the head or neck. The old rule only applied to receivers getting hit, but now it will apply to everyone.”

How the refs decided what Harrison did was OK is beyond me. Of course, after the hit on Massaquoi the refs did throw a flag – on Browns center Alex Mack who was penalized for kicking the ball. That’s the kind of day it was for the Browns.

The loss of Cribbs put the Browns at a big disadvantage as it took the Wildcat out of the playbook and took Cribbs out of the return game, which proved costly in one of those “only in Pittsburgh” moments that happen to the Browns.

Trailing 14-3 the Browns forced a Steeler punt. On the kick the Steelers were penalized and had to rekick. Same thing on the second punt attempt. The Steelers were finally able to execute a basic punt play on their third try but Chansi Stuckey – returning punts because Cribbs was out – fumbled the kick, the Steelers recovered and a few plays later scored to make it 21-3 and seal the game.

Of course they did.

So the Browns come home after another hard-fought loss. They are now 1-5 on the season, 6-16 under Eric Mangini and the four-game winning streak to end last season is a distant, distant memory.

And now it’s on to New Orleans, who got healthy quickly against Tampa Bay on Sunday, for what should be the second and final start of McCoy’s rookie season.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, illegal hits, more of the same | Leave a comment
17 Oct 2010

Browns vs. Steelers – Week 6

The Browns return to the house of fun known as Heinz Field on Sunday to take on the Steelers. The Browns are looking for their first road win against Pittsburgh since 2003 with an injured Peyton Hillis and a rookie quarterback, Colt McCoy, making his first NFL start. Should be a hoot.

The Opposition

Pittsburgh’s record: 3-1
Offensive rank: 32nd overall/32nd passing/13th rushing
Defensive rank: 1st overall/8th passing/1st rushing
All-time record: Browns trail 58-56 (21-36 in Pittsburgh)
The line: Browns (+14)

What to Watch For

Colt McCoy makes his NFL debut … on the road … against Pittsburgh … in Ben Rothlisberger’s return from suspension. Hey, you have to start somewhere so why not go all in?

It may not be pretty at times, but it probably won’t be as bad as most are predicting. As long as McCoy remembers to bring his big-boy pants with him he should make it out of the stadium in one piece.

“He’s sharp, he works the field, he knows his progressions, he can throw on the move, he can throw in the pocket and I’m excited for him,” offensive coordinator Brian Daboll told The Plain Dealer. “It’s going to be a tough challenge, no question. He knows this, I know this, everybody knows it.”

And you couldn’t ask for a better learning experience for a young quarterback than to face a defense like Pittsburgh’s. Not only will this game accelerate McCoy’s NFL knowledge, it will give the Browns some valuable insight into McCoy as well.

Finally, there should be very little pressure on McCoy – the Browns are supposed to lose, remember? All the experts say so; McCoy just has to go out and take care of his own business.

The rest of the offense needs to step up and support McCoy, especially the running game. Since the Browns had success running on the Steelers last year out of the Wildcat, will we finally see more than just a token look from that offensive set?

“They just couldn’t stop it,” Josh Cribbs told The Plain Dealer about last year’s success on the ground vs. Pittsburgh. “Our guys were blocking up front pretty good, and we executed better than they did. When teams execute better, it shows. They’re going to be prepared to try to stop it and we’ll go at it until they will.”

Running back Peyton Hillis says he will be 100 percent for the game, and if he can put up 144 rushing yards on Baltimore he should be able do some damage against Pittsburgh.

“There’s no doubt they’re a good defense,” Hillis told The Plain Dealer. “But we’re not looking at (all the stats). They’re human just like we are. They put their pants on one leg at a time and we’ve just got to approach it like that.”

This would be a good week for the special teams to get going as well. Teams are finally not kicking off deep to Cribbs and the only way the Browns will get that to stop is if their up men start making some plays on the returns. If the Steelers kick to the 25-yard-line and the return guys can get the ball out to near midfield, teams will have to start kicking deep again. Maybe this is somewhere that Brian Robiskie can finally show the “talent” that people claim he has; he’s sure not using it in the passing game.

Defensively, the Browns need to do what they did last year against Pittsburgh and bring heat on Rothlisberger. The Steelers are last in the league in rushing, so if the Browns can get them into some third-and-long plays they may be able to force some mistakes.

And if T.J. Ward can deliver a big hit on Hines Ward, the final score may not matter at all.

The Best Browns vs. Pittsburgh road game I’ve Seen

For a series that was exceedingly one-sided for such a long time (the Browns lost in Pittsburgh from 1970 until 1986), there were some tight and memorable games. The Browns loss by four in 1977 and followed that up with consecutive overtime losses in ’78 & ’79. At we’ll never forget the ’89 season opener when the Browns won 51-0.

But the first will always be the best: the 1986 game where the Browns finally broke the Three Rivers jinx, highlighted by Gerald McNeil’s 100-yard kickoff return. You can read The Plain Dealer‘s game story here. We couldn’t find any film clips from that game, but here are clips of McNeil ripping up the Lions from that same season.

The Prediction

The Browns finally realized what they have to do to beat Pittsburgh near the end of the season last year. The Steelers are bullies and they don’t like to be hit. When the Browns finally hit back last year, the Steelers folded and the Browns won.

The Browns also won with Brady Quinn at quarterback and Chris Jennings running the ball. Even with McCoy making his first start, there’s no question the Browns are better at those positions this year. So if they did it last year, why not this time?

OK, it’s probably too much to expect McCoy to play well enough for the Browns to win this game. So much happens on the field and a quarterback has to process so much at game speed that it is impossible to replicate that in practice.

But McCoy can – and should – play well enough to keep the Browns in the game into the fourth quarter just like they’ve done all year long. And while the Browns probably won’t pull out the victory, they should keep the game close enough that it should be save to take the Browns plus the points.

Record on the year: 1-3-1

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, NFL, NFL debut, Week 6 | Leave a comment

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