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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
15 Oct 2010

Week 6 Picks

Another solid five-point week – our third week of five or more points this season – pushed us back to the top of the 2010 Cheddar Bay Invitational over at Cleveland Frowns.

None of this week’s college games really excited me, but here we go anyway:

Ohio State (-4) vs. Wisconsin

NY Giants (-10) vs. Detroit

Tennessee (-3) vs. Jacksonville

And the money pick: San Diego (-8.5) vs. St. Louis

Posted in Cheddar Bay, NFL, point spreads | Leave a comment
10 Oct 2010

The Return of Derek Anderson

The Browns dropped another hard-fought, close game on Sunday to Atlanta – the fourth such loss of the season – and in the process Jake Delhomme came off the bench to deliver his best Derek Anderson impersonation.

Once again, the defense did everything it could to give the Browns a chance to win. They held the Falcons to just 13 points and – just like the Tampa game – gave up just one big play, a 45-yard TD catch by Roddy White where safety Abe Elam decided to double-cover Tony Gonzalez underneath rather than give cornerback Sheldon Brown help over the top on a deep pass.

Other than that, the defense held Matt Ryan to just 187 yards passing, sacked him twice and hit him hard on several occasions. They did give up 140 rushing yards to Michael Turner, including one 55-yard run, but when it mattered held Atlanta out of the end zone except for the White TD.

As for the offense .. oh boy.

After ripping the Ravens and Bengals for big rushing days, the Browns rushing attack struggled to get anything going, picking up just a single first down on the ground. Peyton Hillis repeatedly had to leave the game with some kind of injury; as a result he totaled only 28 yards on the ground but added 49 in the passing game, including a nice TD catch.

When Hillis was out Jerome Harrison continued to prove the end of last season – when he ran for 561 yards over the final three games – was a complete mirage. Harrison ran six times for a total of six yards, bringing his season total to 91 yards. It’s clear why the Browns were hesitant to give him a contract extension.

As bad as the rushing game was, the passing game was even worse after Seneca Wallace left with an injury. Starting in place of Jake Delhomme, Wallace kept the Browns in the game as he was 11-of-15 for 139 yards and a 124 QB rating before getting hurt right before the end of the first half.

Enter Delhomme, who proceeded to give everyone wearing Brown and Orange flashbacks to the days of Derek Anderson.

Simply put, Delhomme was horrible. Whether it was rust from not playing since Week 1 (probable), not being 100 percent healthy (also probable), the offense completely short-circuited under Delhomme, who was beyond ineffective.

Finishing 13-for-23 for 97 yards, a QB rating of 30.5 and two interceptions – one returned for a game-sealing touchdown in the fourth quarter – Delhomme gave the Browns no chance to win this game. He consistently threw into double coverage and once, on a pass to Josh Cribbs in the end zone, into quadruble coverage, in the process looking like a quarterback who’s better days are far, far behind him.

I’ve been watching the Browns, and by extension the NFL, since the mid-’70s and I can’t remember the last time a team had three TAINTs in a five-game stretch, let alone in one season. And yes, the Tampa interception wasn’t officially a TAINT, but for our purposes it was close enough.

The receiving corps didn’t help either, as Brian Robiskie checked in with his weekly one catch for five yards and Mohamed Massaquoi pulled in five catches, but for only 55 yards, furthering the believe that these two are Canadian Football League talent – on a good day – and taking all of us one step closer to making the second round of the 2009 draft a complete void.

Tack on another seven penalties from the Browns and it’s a surprise this game was as close as it was at the end.

Having said all that, it’s clear that Delhomme is still not 100 percent healthy and, even with his experience, not really practicing much over the past three weeks showed. If Wallace hadn’t been injured, Delhomme wouldn’t have even been in the game.

However, it’s a fair question to wonder if Wallace, while probably not a better quarterback than Delhomme, is a better quarterback for this Browns team. He certainly was better today and, while not performing at an Pro Bowl level, has played decently the past three weeks.

Look, as with most weeks the Browns needed to play a perfect game to beat Atlanta. It’s a testament to them that with the injuries and poor offensive performance they were able to still be in the game up until the interception return. We’re still in the disappointed and frustrated stage with this team, rather than the disgusted stage.

But depending on how bad Wallace is injured, the Browns face the prospect of heading to Pittsburgh next week with an immobile Delhomme at less than 100 percent. And if neither Delhomme or Wallace are healthy enough to play, Colt McCoy becomes the only healthy quarterback on the roster.

Not a happy thought to carry us through the week.

Posted in bad quarterback play, Cleveland Browns, NFL, non-existant wide receivers | Leave a comment
09 Oct 2010

Browns vs. Falcons – Week 5

The Browns look to start a winning streak when they host the Falcons in Week 5. Jake Delhomme may be back under center; Peyton Hillis may have a bad wheel and who knows what the team will get from its wide receivers.

The Opposition

Atlanta’s record: 3-1
Offensive rank: 5th overall/10th passing/3rd rushing
Defensive rank: 11th overall/19th passing/11th rushing
All-time record: Cleveland leads 10-2 (5-1 at home)
The line: Browns (+3)

What to Watch For

The Browns continued their upward trend last week and finally walked away from a game with something to show for it – their first win of the season. This is Week 3 of what was believed, in preseason, to be the “killer” portion of their schedule.

But four weeks into the season its time to start adjusting expectations about both the Browns and the Falcons. While their records are flipped, the Browns have been playing better and showing improvement from week to week. The Falcons, on the other hand, are a very soft 3-1, with two of their wins coming from the other teams’ mistakes and the other one coming against the Derek Anderson-led Arizona Cardinals.

So while this is a more winnable game for the Browns that it originally appeared, it certainly won’t be easy, because the Falcons do have talent and doing things the easy way isn’t the Cleveland way.

It will be interesting to see how Rob Ryan handles the defense this week. The Browns have not been able to get any pass rush this year unless they blitz, and when they blitz they still can’t get to the quarterback consistently. Plus the blitzing puts the secondary in a tough spot and they have struggled at times this year.

They double-covered Chad Ochocinco last week and Terrell Owens had a monster day; the Browns won so it worked out, but we’re not sure how many weeks they can pull that one off. It seems likely they will try the same strategy today against Roddy White (32 catches on the season) since the Falcons don’t have a complimentary wide receiver like Owens.

However, with Tony Gonzalez still one of the top tight ends in the league, if the Browns bring a safety on a blitz and Atlanta picks it up, Gonzalez could have an Owens-like day.

Offensively, the Browns may get Jake Delhomme back at quarterback. That’s a plus – not that Seneca Wallace did all that poorly filling-in the past three weeks – but Delhomme’s the starter and he has experience against Atlanta.

The problem lies if the Browns alter the game plan too much if Delhomme comes back. The past three weeks have shown what we’ve known since last season, the Browns are a running team and need to run the ball to have a chance at winning. Hopefully the offense can resist the urge to work in too many chances for Delhomme to “make a play” and, instead, stick with what’s been working.

Coach Eric Mangini addressed that point during one of his press conferences by saying the team isn’t going to force the ball to under-performing wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, and presumably Brian Robiskie; that’s sound thinking and the Browns need to stick to the plan.

If Delhomme returns, we should also see the return of the no-huddle offense that worked so well in the preseason. The Browns have been unable or unwilling to use the no-huddle with Wallace at quarterback, it will be a nice change of pace if they can reincorporate it into the offense.

The Best Browns vs. Falcons Game I’ve Seen

Easily the 2002 game that propelled the Browns into the playoffs. William Green’s 178 yards rushing and two touchdowns, the goal line stand, a win to shockingly put the team into the playoffs. Read The Plain Dealer‘s game story here. Here’s video of Green’s big run.

The Prediction

The improvement the Browns have shown through the first four weeks of the season tilts this game in their favor. Atlanta may be the more talented team on paper, but the Browns are playing better and that will result in their second win of the season.

Record on the year: 1-2-1

Posted in Cleveland Browns, NFL | Leave a comment
08 Oct 2010

Week 5 Picks

After a miserable 1-3 week (the picks were sound, the players just didn’t execute) dropped us a half-point off the lead in the 2010 Cheddar Bay Invitational over at Cleveland Frowns, it’s time to get the magic back.

This week we like:

Boise State (-39) vs. Toledo

Houston (-3) vs. NY Giants

Akron (+17) vs. Kent State

And the money pick: NY Jets (-4) vs. Minnesota.

Posted in Cheddar Bay, NFL, point spreads | Leave a comment
05 Oct 2010
2 Comments

Some Final Thoughts on the Browns Win

Looking back (and ahead) at a few leftover items as the Browns hit the quarter mark of the season following their win against Cincinnati.

  • Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has got quite a conundrum on his hands. Through the first four games, the Browns have shown they can’t put serious pressure on the opposing quarterback unless they blitz – and even then they aren’t always successful. But that heavy blitzing has left the secondary in some tough spots, especially the last two games as the quality of the receivers has gone up considerably. So what to do? If the Browns don’t blitz, the quarterback will have too much time and someone will eventually get open. With four games in the books, hopefully the team has enough data to figure out what’s working and what to shy away from.
  • Speaking of the secondary, the cornerback trio of Sheldon Brown, Joe Haden and Eric Wright have made their presence know each week, both good and bad. And safety T.J. Ward has been a big hit (ha!) so far. But you never seem to hear Abe Elam’s name called during the game. We had to look up his stats to see if he’s even been in the game on a weekly basis. Turns out he’s somehow accumulated 18 tackles on the season.
  • Ward will surely be fined for his hit on Bengals’ receiver Jordan Shipley, and former NFL official Mike Pereira seems to be taking it personally, judging from his comments to The Plain Dealer. “Nobody in the league likes to say that somebody took a cheap shot at somebody. But I’m not in the league,” Pereira said in an interview. “And I think it was a cheap shot and I think he deserves to be hit and he needs to be hit hard. To me, I’d look at the severity of the hit and even the fact that it led to the concussion and this is just my opinion — but I’d start at the $25,000 mark. To me, I’d make it stiff. He needs to learn his lesson. If people say you’re making an example of T.J. Ward, I’d say ‘so be it.’ There’s no place in the game for that stuff.” Of course, he had no problem with the hit on Ben Watson. Look, we don’t want to see anyone injured, and Ward’s hit look in the flow of the game to us. As long as it doesn’t hurt the Browns, if Ward gets a reputation as a hard hitter than can only pay dividends. And if he can put a hit like that on Hines Ward in two weeks, we’ll make the first donation to help pay his fine.
  • With Peyton Hillis emerging as a threat at running back – he’s 8th in the league in rushing and tied for first with four rushing touchdowns – the Browns seem to have embraced their offensive destiny as a running game. And while the playcalling has gotten better, there are still a few times each game where we have to call shenanigans on offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. After Cincy scored to cut the lead to 23-20, the Browns came out throwing rather than trying to run the ball and use the clock. After a three-and-out that took all of 1:10 off the clock, the Bengals had the ball right back. The defense held and, given a second chance to ice the game, Daboll again called for a pass play. After the incomplete pass, he finally fed Hillis the ball to close out the game.
  • It was great to see Chansi Stuckey contribute in the passing game on Sunday, but the Browns are in real trouble with Mohamed Massaquoi, who pulled in his one catch and that was it. It’s clear he’s overmatched right now at the NFL level but there’s not much the Browns can do if they want to sit him. Moving Stuckey to the outside isn’t necessarily a good option and his skills as a slot receiver don’t translate to playing one of the outside positions. And Brian Robiskie can’t even get on the field because of injuries, not that he’s produced when healthy. With each passing week it’s looking more and more like the team has two more second-round busts from last year’s draft.
  • The so-called “brutal schedule” is starting to look a little different as the second quarter of the season gets under way. Atlanta is a soft 3-1 and the same can be said for Jacksonville (2-2). Miami isn’t playing very well right now, Carolina and Buffalo both stink, and the Browns get a (potentially) rusty Ben Roethlisberger in two weeks.

The Browns have been trending upward all season; let’s just hope they didn’t peak with Sunday’s win against the Bengals.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, conundrum, NFL, upward mobility
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
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
29 Sep 2010

All’s quiet on the brown-and-white front

For a team that is 0-3 on the season and 5-14 over its last 19 games, all is refreshingly quiet in Berea.

After three close losses, the Browns are focusing on Sunday’s game vs. Cincinnati, trying to figure how to get not only their first win of the season, but how to beat the Bengals in Cleveland for the first time since 2007 (aka when we didn’t know how horrible Derek Anderson is at quarterback).

For a change other teams are dealing with quarterback issues: Buffalo, Arizona (ha!), and Carolina to name a few. And, for the most part, those media members who are interested in the temperature of the office furniture have moved on to Miami, Jacksonville and San Francisco.

This must be what it’s like to follow a real NFL team, looking ahead to the next game and wondering:

  • How Eric Wright will bounce back?
  • How the Browns will game plan for Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, a particular thorn in the Browns’ side over the years?
  • Can Peyton Hillis have another day like the one he had in Baltimore?
  • Will the wide receiving trio of Mohamed Massaquoi, Brian Robiskie and Chansi Stuckey have more than three catches combined?
  • Can the defense bring some pressure on a declining Carson Palmer?
  • Can the Browns finally hold on to a second-half lead and close out a game?

After more than a decade of distractions, hoo-haa, motorcycle crashes, “teeny, tiny fractures,” debates over which lousy quarterback gives the team the best chance of not being embarrassed and everything else, it’s nice to be able to focus on football for a change.

This is something we could get used to around here.

Now about that 0-3 record …

Posted in Cleveland Browns, hot seats, NFL, quarterback debates | Leave a comment
25 Sep 2010

Browns vs. Ravens – Week 3

The Browns travel to Baltimore to hang out with Avon, Stringer, Wee-Bey and the gang, and to take on the Ravens in an attempt to avoid their fourth 0-3 start in the past five years.

The Opposition

Baltimore record: 1-1
Offensive rank: 25th overall/21st passing/26th rushing
Defensive rank: 2nd overall/2nd passing/13th rushing
All-time record: Browns trail 7-15-0, with a 3-8-0 mark in Baltimore
Last meeting in Baltimore: Browns lost, 34-3
The line: Browns (+10.5)

What to Watch For

After failing to score in the second half in their first two games, it will be interesting to see what the Browns can do offensively against Baltimore. The Ravens are only giving up 12 points a game, have been difficult to run against and have yet to give up a touchdown.

“You get into a third and long situation against this team and it’s really, really hard to pick up,” offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said in his Friday press conference. “You have got to stay on track and get some positive plays. You have got to understand that you’re going in there and you’re going to get some negative plays, but you’ve got to try to stay on track with this team and keep pounding it, keep hitting the completions and keep moving. When you get a chance to hit your shot, you hit it. They’re tough.”

One thing that could play into the Browns’ hands is that it looks like they will be without Jake Delhomme again this week as well as Brian Robiskie, which weakens an already soft receiving group. If the team can’t pass it will be forced to run, which the Browns should be doing anyway.

In addition, it looks like the offense will remember Josh Cribbs, as they plan to give him more opportunities out of the Flash package. Opposing teams can work to limit Cribbs in the kicking game, but they can’t do anything about the Browns giving him the ball on offense, except try and stop him. “I think more touches for Josh would be a good thing,” Daboll said in the understatement of the season so far.

Having a mobile Seneca Wallace at quarterback can’t hurt, either, as the Ravens will surely bring pressure defensively, especially against the John St. Clair and Floyd Womack on the Browns right side of the offensive line.

Defensively, the Browns have to hope Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco continues his poor play. The Ravens have only scored 10 points in each of their first two games, and Flacco threw four interceptions last week against Cincinnati. The Browns secondary will be tested this week; hopefully the front seven can get some pressure on Flacco and help out T.J. Ward, Joe Haden and Sheldon Brown.

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

Easily the 2007 game in Baltimore where Phil Dawson tied the game at the end of regulation and then won it in overtime. Seems more like 30 years ago rather than just three.

Here’s the Plain Dealer’s game story. Video from the game is available here.

The Prediction

It’s hard to see a way for the Browns to win this game based on how they’ve played the first two weeks. Certainly they won’t have a chance if they don’t score in the second half.

If they can force multiple turnovers, control the clock, get a defensive score and a special teams score, then they may have a chance. If not, we could be giving the NFL Sunday Ticket a good workout.

Posted in Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, NFL, Sunday Ticket | Leave a comment

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