Open Thread: Browns at Jacksonville Jaguars
October 26, 2008NBA Blogger Previews – Southest Division
October 27, 2008In case you were wondering, I am being slightly facetious with the titles of these posts. I don’t actually think that they are particularly witty. It is all part my philosophy that blogs should provide something different from traditional news media even if we sometimes long for their access to teams and editing quality.
Anyway, on to the Browns game which was the perfect example of the Browns, really. My wife moved to Cleveland from Chicago but grew up in Indianapolis, so she is a Colts fan. It has taken her quite a while to understand that that game felt like a loss up until the moment that final pass hit the ground. As Browns fans with a 6 point lead and the other team throwing into the end zone, we kind of just assume the Browns are going to lose. It is strange to her because victory isn’t glorious for Browns fans until the next day. On Sundays if the Browns win it is relief, mostly. But yesterday, the Browns did come out on top. On with the bullets.
- After the Browns first drive where Vickers and DA collided to miss on 3rd and short, I was cursing my TV and wondering just how long this day was going to be. Come on. Did anyone out there think anything good could follow a miscue between the two guys who played hand slap games on the field last week?
- Jamal Lewis has got to be the MVP of this team so far this season. Well, maybe other than Phil Dawson. Anyway, Lewis didn’t have a spectacular day by looking at the box score. 20 carries for 80 yards seems pretty pedestrian at first glance. On top of that, Lewis dropped one of DA’s screen passes. Still, having watched the game we know just how amazing Jamal Lewis was. Jamal Lewis scored a touchdown and also had runs of 19 yards, 12 yards, and then had three runs of 6, 5 and 11 yards on the Phil Dawson field goal drive.
- Speaking of that drive, Syndric Steptoe made a play like we saw him do in the pre-season. He caught the ball across the middle, stayed elusive and broke it out for 53 yards. It was a heck of a play by Steptoe and a good pass by Derek Anderson.
- Yes, the Browns were unable to score a touchdown after being 1st and goal from the 1 yard line. If it had been John Madden football, I totally would have kept that clock running and then punched it in on 3rd down, but this isn’t video game football. I thought the Browns’ play selection was actually pretty good and gutsy. The Browns didn’t execute, but other than scoring a touchdown it is a lose/lose proposition for the offensive coordinator. If he runs it three times and they miss, then people ask, “Why didn’t you run play action?” Then if you run once and pass twice people say, “You were on the 1. Punch it in!” In this case he tried to punch it in and then gave DA, Braylon Edwards and Charles Ali chances to put it in. They just didn’t execute.
- Another big play was Steve Heiden’s catch. On 4th and 1 the Browns ran play action and let their big tight end leak out and he made the Jags pay with a 51 yard reception. The pass was a little high, but actually had pretty good touch and Heiden pulled it in rather easily before getting caught from behind at the Jax 2 yard line. Heiden finished the day as Cleveland’s receiving yards leader with 73.
- Holy cow. I haven’t talked defense yet. Rushing defense was really good yesterday. Consider that Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor were a combined 20 carries for 53 yards.
- Garrard snuck out of the backfield for 59 yards on the other hand. That wasn’t so good.
- The Browns’ new M.O. is that they don’t get to the QB until he is all vulnerable after the pass has left his hand. I wonder if any team makes the QB pay the way the Browns do the split second after the ball is delivered? I hope the Browns don’t get a rep in league circles, because those flags will start to fly at alarming rates as ref crews will start to focus on that with the Browns.
- Terry Cousin gives up plays every time he is on the field. I don’t think I have noticed a single nice play that he has made all year. I know he is just an emergency pickup type of player, but is he really the best option? He kills the Browns whenever he touches the field. The Browns need to find a new scheme or any other player to try.
- The Browns stopping Greg Jones on 4th and 1 was the biggest play of the day for the Browns’ defense, other than the last play of the game. It set up the field goal that allowed the Browns to go up 17-7 at halftime. It also allowed the Browns to put two scores together unanswered. Those are huge confidence and momentum builders, obviously.
- Oh wait. That wasn’t the biggest defensive play of the game. (See, I tricked you.) The biggest defensive play of the game was Big Shaun Rogers blocking a Josh Scobee field goal and then recovering it. I don’t want to jinx it, but who is the Shaun Rogers with the rep for quitting and not trying hard?
- Josh Cribbs and the special teams unit should be commended for forcing that fumble and coming up with the ball. The Browns didn’t move the ball much after that, but it still set up Dawson’s 42 yarder which ended up being HUGE. If the Browns are only up by three at the end, they wouldn’t have been able to just hang in the endzone to swat the ball down.
Alright, I am sure that isn’t a complete rundown, but it is all I thought of for right now. After a week of negativity involving Kellen Winslow, the Browns go out and pull out a tough victory over Jacksonville. Again, in Winslow’s absence the Browns tight ends were a big part of the storyline in a good way. And while we are very divided on the Kellen Winslow saga, one thing we can say for sure. The Browns are truly bigger than one player. Unless that one player is Derek Anderson and he is killing them. Luckily for the Browns on Sunday, the helpful not harmful Derek Anderson showed up to deliver the ball relatively efficiently and accurately.
Which DA shows up next week is anyone’s guess. If Kellen Winslow is there next week and, coincidentally, the bad DA shows up against Baltimore, will your eyebrows go up? I never used to believe in “addition by subtraction” very much, but I might have to change my position.
28 Comments
“As Browns fans with a 6 point lead and the other team throwing into the end zone, we kind of just assume the Browns are going to lose.”
Yup. Buddies were betting who would get beat, Cousins across the middle or Wright missing a tackle.
not enough shawn rogers imo.
He was the mvp! 8 solo tackles, a sack and a blocked fg…he single handedly shut down the jags running game!
“If Kellen Winslow is there next week and, coincidentally, the bad DA shows up against Baltimore, will your eyebrows go up?”
Hahahahaha.
Um, no.
DA did just enough to win. He got lucky that his fumble was recovered by Thomas and that his INT was called back due to offsides. He doesn;t need to be greadt for the Browns to win, he just needs to not suck
The sooner they can get Adams back, the better. T.C. is horrible, and it pains me to watch him get smoked.
Two thoughts:
Shaun Rogers was amazing, but I am borderline worried about him keeling over – it looked like he got fatter as the game went on? How is that possible? But as long as he performs he gets my props… Nobody who busts his tail to block kicks like him is a malcontent… Thanks Detroit!
Eric Wright is the worst tackler on the Browns, go to the tape and watch him try to “help” on the Matt Jones catch on the final drive… Wright needs to man up a bit and realize B-Mac is our #1 right now…
@ Rock
Why not? I am not going to get into the whole thing all over again this week, but it does baffle me that it is completely beyond possible in your mind that K2 is more disruptive than helpful. Sure, it could be coincidental and anecdotal, but then again, it might not be. I will admit that I don’t know for sure, but I am also not willing to admit it is an impossibility.
“If Kellen Winslow is there next week and, coincidentally, the bad DA shows up against Baltimore, will your eyebrows go up?”
My eyebrows went up with this game actually.
Really, I think it’s probably just a coincidence. But I couldn’t help but wonder if this was only a coincidence.
Ever since week 1 I have sat with my friend, watched the game and complained about how bad Cousin really is. He is ALWAYS the guy chasing the receiver down from behind because he gets beat on every single crossing and slant route their is. I can’t take it anymore. Where is that Travis Daniels kid, at least until Mike Adams can play Nickel.
Rogers is amazing, our LB’s besides Jackson are just terrible. Wimbley can’t tackle at all, Willie is old and Andra is Andra.
DA hasn’t turned the ball over very much at all in the past 4 games. Look at his numbers and look at Jason Campbell’s from the past 4 games and I know they will look very similar, Campbell did just put up 328 passing yards though on Detroit but only 1 TD.
Why isn’t Matt Jones double covered on the last drive of the game? It was obvious he was using height to his advantage over B-Mac, Maybe we should make Sunshine the MVP of the game for that breakup at the end.
Good Win tonight, IF we can beat Baltimore next Sunday then we may just have a season on our hands gentleman.
So what do you do with the guy (K2)? You have to start him this week right? I mean, Heiden is having a better year…… If the position were QB we’d be crying to bench him. What do you guys think the coaches (Crennel in particular should do)? Myself, I’m unsure. All I know is that the running game has been better when Heiden is in as well (he’s blocking hard). hmmmmm
From the WTF? Department:
On SI.com they have the “Morning Jolt” feature – it has their “Must See Video” with caption “The NFL’s toughest kicker?” – showing Scobee tackle Cribbs and then perform his shove antic…
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/extramustard/specials/morning_jolt/2008/10/27/morning.jolt/index.html
Not suprisingly, they don’t show video of Scobee acting like a big va-geesh when his kick got blocked and he tried to kick the ball out of bounds instead of fall on it…
“In case you were wondering, I am being slightly facetious with the titles of these posts. I don’t actually think that they are particularly witty.”
Oh. I thought it was witty – alliteration is fun and “jettisoned” is a great word.
@ bridgecrosser –
Pumping sausages through the oxygen mask might make him fatter as the game goes on.
In response to Jose, Why not put feelers out in the off-season and see what someone would offer us for K2. Possibly get a 1st rounder? I mean he is great but it would be interesting to see what we could get.
He is a pro bowl tight end, BUT, look at the production out of Heiden. With the power running of Jamal we need our TE’s to stay on the LOS and block. We would be better off with a true #2 receiver.
What do you think?
Rogers is amazing. I would love to see him wrestle a bear. Although it may unfair for the bear.
Maybe the Browns could get 2 first round picks for Heiden since he actually makes a team better. Why would any team give up anything for a player (Winslow) who makes you worse?
I also would like to see Rogers wrestle a bear. That would make for a good Pay Per View event.
I would pay to see DA wrestle a bear as well! 🙂
(Just kidding DA, I don’t wish you harm, just wish you were not in the starting lineup)
…we kind of just assume the Browns are going to lose…
Agreed. When Jax fumbled that kick-off, I thought to myself, Why are you making this more painful by delaying the inevitable?
…who is the Shaun Rogers with the rep for quitting and not trying hard?…
Players who take plays off, surely take field goals off. Shaun Rogers, did not take that play off.
Woof, woof.
Was anyone else in total agony watching Romeo NOT run the ball with 4 min. left?
I can’t believe they called so many passing plays on the last two drives. Why give Jaxville an extra possesion AND 2 time outs?
we’re 1 game out of the wildcard? lol?
Go redskins next week!
Lets relax on the Winslow makes the team worse thinking. I would love to see him split out wide as our 3rd WR and on the field at the same time with Heiden.
My biggest compliment for DA this week is that he didn’t lock on to Braylon the entire game
@ S-Dub – I agree with pretty much everything you said. Especially the point on Cousin – that dude should not be on the field.
Here are a few additional points about the Browns:
1) I think it’s obvious at this point that this team’s success is completely dependent on the play at QB. Anderson has had 1 great game (NYG), 1 good game (JAX), 2 average games (PIT, CIN) and 2 awful games (BAL, WAS). When DA just plays AVERAGE, the Browns are 3-1.
Given how important QB play is to the Browns success, I don’t think the Browns should have to settle for such inconsistency at that position. Even though I was originally in favor of DA starting, I’m off the DA bandwagon and am not drinking the Kool Aid because of his decent performance yesterday. If this team is going to be consistently successful, you’ve got to put in BQ to see what he’s made of.
2) The defense on this team is really improving. Rogers is an absolute beast, and despite the fact that we are down both Smiths on the D-Line, the interior run defense yesterday was the best all season. I also thought that Tucker dialed up the blitzes at very nice times. It was good to see Brodney get some pressure on Gerrard towards the end of the game. Having Jones back in there healthy is also paying dividends, though I don’t think he’s 100% given the amount Sorensen has been on the field. I expect this unit to keep improving as it gets healthier. If we could get some consistent linebacker play, this could actually be a top 10 defense. That will probably come next year however.
3) Heiden has been a beast in K2’s absence and Anderson clearly feels more comfortable when he’s in the game. With K2’s expected return against BAL this Sunday what not keep Heiden in the same amount of snaps that he was in the JAX game? I think the Browns game plan for next week has to include LOTS of 2 TE sets with Heiden blocking or chipping at the line before going out for a route. Use Winslow in the slot on 3rd down and keep K2 as a second tight end even on running plays to keep BAL’s defense guessing. To me, Heiden’s success while K2 is out is less about K2 being a problem, and more about Heiden being under-utilized. He’s a very good player and should be on the field a lot.
4) Where was Harrison in this game? I think I saw him on the field for maybe 3 snaps. I don’t understand what the coaching staff sees in Jason Wright. I know he plays hard, but he doesn’t do any one thing particularly well. Harrison offers you a dynamic change of a pace as a running back, and is a real big play threat as a pass catcher. He needs to be on the field almost every third down.
5) I’ve been really down on RAC all season, and I still think that the Browns need to make a head coaching change at the end of the season regardless of how the record turns out, but I will give credit where credit is due. This was probably RAC’s best game as the Browns’ head coach. He kept the team’s eye on the prize during a tumultuous week and both the offensive and defensive game plans were solid. The Browns also played their cleanest, least penalized game of the season, including NO penalties on offense and no stupid time outs used with the play clock running down. Also not to be overlooked was RAC’s decision to go for it on 4th down at the Browns 48 in the 2nd quarter. That was a move you’d expect to see out of Del Rio not RAC. If they hadn’t made it, we might have been questioning him, but I liked the aggressive attitude. The play call was also brillant and well executed by DA and Heiden. I thought that play really was the turning point in the game.
6) So the Browns get a good win, now the hard part – following it up with another good performance. And what better time for the Browns to get one that at home against those filthy Ravens? Lose and all the hard work the last three weeks is for naught. Win and you’re 4-4 and the season is reborn (especially if PIT loses too). The crowd will be pumped up and ready to go – will the Browns?
I have a confession to make:
I player Maurice Jones-Drew, David Gerrard, and the Jacksonville defense on my fantasy team this week.
Thank God I also had Steve Smith in.
So, if Steve Heiden is such an awesome and complete TE, why not move K2 to WR? Have him line up as the 2nd WR and move Stallworth to WR 3?
JJ is not coming back this year – as much as we all want him to try.
and this idea would be an upgrade over steptoe.
Dinkins and/or Rucker could play when they go to 2 TE sets.
Seriously, use K2 like cribs, and harrison, have 3 guys that can do a lot of different things. Line up K2 at fullback, cribs at qb, and DA wrestling a bear, and move guys all over the place. get crazy. have lewis and K2 block while cribs hands off to harrison.
@ Jewpants
lol
Steve Heiden is going to be 33 years old next year… Let’s not start talking about him as a cog to our team. Great scrappy, tough, team-oriented guy. But he’s also old and has had a balky back… not that K2 is a model of health… ahem.
@ Ron Burgandy – oxygen/sausage mask must explain it….
Chud – try a Play-fake on first down at the one. Please. Just once.