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In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the category “Sunday Ticket”

07 Dec 2010

Final Thoughts on the Browns & Week 13

Still relishing the Browns road victory against the Dolphins on Monday and so, so glad Nolan Carroll dropped that ball.

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Joe Haden continues to show why he was the seventh pick in the draft in April. He had another interception on Sunday – his fourth consecutive game with a pick – five tackles and broke up four passes, the biggest when he knocked the ball away from Miami’s Brian Hartline in the end zone.

“They kept throwing it. I have no idea (why),” Haden told The Chronicle-Telegram. “I thought after I broke up the first two that they weren’t going to throw two more. But I just feel like every play I go out there, I have to be ready for them to come at me, so I have to be on top of my game every play.

“One of my strengths is the deep ball, just staying on top and being able to make a play on the ball. So they just kept trying and I just kept knocking it down.”

Coach Eric Mangini talked about Haden’s tackling ability in his Monday press conference:

“What I really liked about Joe’s game last week is probably different than what I’m sure you’d think, the way he tackled,” Mangini said. “That was a real strength of his in college and I he did an excellent job of that I thought last game. There were plays there where a missed tackle, the ball would have gone for a long way. Ronnie Brown on the screen, if Joe doesn’t make that play, he’s going for a long way. It was an open field tackle, one-on-one against Ronnie Brown, that’s hard to do.

“Those yards he saved aren’t a measurable stat, but it’s significant. I think that he’s playing with a lot of confidence, which is good. He has a much, much higher understanding of what we are trying to do, defensively, in terms of scheme.”

“The last quarter of the season he’s playing lights out,” David Bowens told The Plain Dealer. “They tested him a few times and Joe held his own. Not only that, but in the tackling game, he supported well.”

Good thing Browns GM Tom Heckert and the coaching staff didn’t fall for the nonsense about Haden being “too slow.”

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While any Browns win is a good win, the lads at Waiting For Next Year came up with some disturbing numbers from the game yesterday:

The Browns ran 11 first down plays in the (first) half, one of which was a kneel down at the end of the quarter. So of those 10 plays, exactly 1 went for more than 3 yards. (That was a 13 yard rumble by Hillis on the first play of the second possession.) Here are the results from first down in that half- 0, 13, 2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 0, 3, 0 for an average of 2.2 yards on first down.

Those numbers go a long way toward explaining why the Browns were just 2-of-14 on third downs against Miami. The Browns can’t win too many games with that kind of non-production on first down. It will be interesting to see what kind of adjustments offensive coordinator Brian Daboll can make over the last quarter of the season.

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It wouldn’t be another week in Brownstown without a nonsensical story about the future of coach Eric Mangini – and this one is better than most.

Jon Gruden’s son, Deuce Gruden II, says the old man will leave the ESPN broadcast booth in another year to take over the as coach of the Browns.

Or maybe he’ll wind up in San Francisco. Little Deuce wasn’t really sure.

We’ll forget for a moment how absurd all this is; we’re just glad to read a story that attributes the comments to someone other than “unnamed sources.”

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It seems more likely that the Grudens would be looking at Denver, where Josh McDaniels is out as Broncos coach.

A year after being all the rage following an 6-0 start, McDaniels went 5-17 in a shocking flameout.

At least he hung around long enough to send Peyton Hillis to the Browns.

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I know they aren’t getting much love, but we liked the Packers throwback uniforms from yesterday. And we absolutely loved the Buccaneers throwbacks.

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And while we’re on the subject of things we love, we can’t say enough about the NFL Sunday Ticket on DirecTV. While watching the Browns yesterday we were able to keep tabs on the Chicago-Detroit game that we had action on; watch the Bengals bungle their way into another loss against New Orleans; and see our money pick come through when Atlanta beat Tampa.

Life is good sometimes.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Joe Haden, Jon Gruden, NFL, Sunday Ticket | 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
06 Jul 2010

Who Needs Two?

Terry Pluto had an interesting item in his Sunday PD column: the Browns are having trouble selling tickets:

Once upon a time, the Browns had a waiting list for season tickets. No more. … When the Browns returned in 1999, it was a civic movement to sell tickets and luxury suites to support the expansion franchise. Many of those deals were for 10 years. They have expired. In the meantime, the Browns have the NFL’s second-worst record (after Detroit) since 1999. … At their peak following the return, the Browns sold more than 61,000 season tickets. That was a few years ago. They dropped below 55,000 last year. While the Browns are confident they will sell enough tickets for every home game to avoid a TV blackout, it’s obvious they are working hard for new customers.

That’s not good, but it’s also not surprising. For much of the past decade, it seemed like all the team had to do was hang a sign that read “Game Today” outside Cleveland Browns Stadium and the game would sell out. But fans of a certain generation can easily remember a time when the only home game that sold out was the annual tilt with Pittsburgh.

Now, after a decade of despair on the field, the team is feeling the bite at the box office. Certainly, last year’s dismal effort, which included coach Eric Mangini’s inability to pick a quarterback, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s amateur playcalling, a 1-11 start and the most over-rated victory in franchise history, have taken its toll on the paying public. The economy and the success of the Cavs have also been a major drain on ticket-buying customers.

The off-season hiring of Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert has helped the team regain some credibility with its fanbase, and the team is now reaching out to fans for help:

The Browns want to hear from fans about what they can do better on game days, with tickets, etc. Please, don’t write, “Win more games.” Don’t send suggestions about coaching, quarterbacks, etc. This is an attempt to connect with fans about how the Browns can improve on the business side. E-mail: suggestions@clevelandbrowns.com

It will be interesting to see what steps the team takes to improve the gameday experience. It seems likely they will follow the model of the Cavs, filling every stoppage in play with non-stop noise, which is something we’ve never understood. As a fan, you are there to see the game, that’s the most important thing. And the more successful the team plays, the less you need all the extra nonsense.

Even as the Browns continue their slow march back to respectability, they will face a problem all teams are facing: how to combat the experience of watching the game at home, which is better than it has ever been?

With the growth of large flatscreen TVs, games in HD, the NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone Channel, it’s really difficult to actually attend a game in person. At home, you don’t have to sit through endless TV timeouts, you just switch to another game. Big play? You get multiple replays. Bad weather? Not a problem. You don’t have to miss the late afternoon game while driving home. And over-priced, low-quality food and beer are not a problem at home.

Sidebar: How is it, with a growing number of microbreweries in NE Ohio and the esteemed Great Lakes Brewery right in town, the stadium concessions offer Bud, Bud Light and Coors Light? We wouldn’t drink that if we were paid.

You do lose the communal aspect and atmosphere that is an important part of many fans’ lives by watching the games at home, but if you have a big enough group over to watch the game you can replicate the experience.

It definitely makes it a tougher ticket to sell, even if you can put a winning team on the field. It’s good to know the Browns are taking the extra step to try and keep the fans engaged.

Now about that quarterback situation …

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Great Lakes Brewery, NFL, Sunday Ticket | Leave a comment

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