Dan Gilbert Shows No Remorse For His Criticism of LeBron James
September 20, 2010While We’re Waiting… Braylon Arrested, LaPorta Struggling and Holmgren’s Honeymoon
September 21, 2010
I told you we would have more about the Browns whether you liked it or not. Believe it or not, there is statistical proof available to show just how badly the Browns’ offense played in the second half. Apparently no matter what we do, it will turn into a raging debate about how hot Mangini and Daboll’s seats are. I will just remind everyone that this is a complex game. There are no easy answers. I will remind you that when Maurice Carthon was fired had his resignation accepted the Browns were scoring an average of 14.67 points per game while going 1-5. After he was fired, the record was 3-7 the rest of the way as the Browns averaged 14.7 points per game. Do I regret the firing of Maurice Carthon mid-season? Not even a little. He should have been fired prior to that season starting. Anyway, on with the numbers.
The Browns ran the ball for 73 yards on 26 carries for a 2.8 yard average. At halftime that number was 57 yards on 19 attempts for a 3 yard average. In the first half, Peyton Hillis ran the ball 6 times for 34 yards. That is a four yard average and includes an average killing 1 yard touchdown run meaning that Hillis was even more effective than his yard per carry average would indicate. At the end of the game he had run the ball 8 times for 35 yards.
Meanwhile, Jerome Harrison had 11 carries for 28 yards in the first half and finished the game with 16 carries for 33 yards. Maybe at halftime the Browns should have decided to come out in the second half with the guy who was more productive carrying the ball rather than pump up Jerome Harrison’s attempts to start the second half? Harrison ran three out of the first six plays, and four if you count the pass to him. I like Jerome Harrison and I know what he is capable of after watching him a year ago. Still, after Harrison failed to gain any traction on the Browns’ first drive (not to mention the first half,) they went straight back to him on interior runs on first and second down from their own 20 yard line with a one point lead during the second drive of the second half.
Harrison goes five yards in two plays and finally the Browns go to Peyton Hillis with less than three minutes to go in the third quarter. Hillis converts on a 7 yard pass play on 3rd and 5. He then runs for 7 more yards on first down. The drive is stalled on a Vickers holding penalty during Seneca Wallace’s first down run. The Browns go incomplete to Cribbs, Hillis commits a false start penalty and then gets 8 yards on a checkdown reception on 3rd and 18. The Browns had adjusted and made some decent calls here. Seneca Wallace makes a nice play, but Vickers and Hillis kill the drive with penalties.
It is series like this that make the game so complex. Up until that point, the playcalling seemed wrong and the Browns had come out of halftime with a bad plan choosing Harrison over Hillis. All wasn’t lost though and they seemingly adjusted. Then when they had the right personnel on the field and might be getting something accomplished the players shot themselves in the foot with poor execution. Can you honestly blame Mangini and Daboll that Hillis and Vickers put the Browns in 3rd and 18? Do you think Hillis and Vickers think it is the coach’s fault? Anyway, after that, there is no play in the playbook that gets you 3rd and 18 a high percentage of the time. There is no play of this magnitude especially when you don’t have a true #1 receiver on your roster.
On a positive note, the Browns seemed to be looking for Ben Watson after his big first half of 4 catches and 62 yards. Unfortunately they didn’t find him and he finished the game with that same number of catches and yards. I do think they tried to hit him, but it was in the face of increased pressure on the QB and probably an increased focus by the Chiefs on knowing where Watson was. I would have to study video to be sure, but that is my suspicion. The Browns were smart to target Evan Moore who had a good look at a Seneca Wallace pass before he got laid out and knocked out of the game some 15 yards down the field if I remember correctly.
After the Browns finally yielded the lead 16-14 the Chiefs out-performed a pass heavy Browns team. Joe Thomas commits a holding penalty that Seneca Wallace contributed to by breaking the pocket that Thomas had contained. That put the Browns in 2nd and 20 and they eventually punted. Their last attempt with 3:41 remaining was unlikely at best after Wallace took a sack on 2nd and 6.
In summary, I would say Mangini and Daboll chose poorly between Harrison and Hillis to start the second half. I would also call them out for not attempting a screen pass in the second half that I can remember. Finally, Mangini and Daboll have already acknowledged that they should have probably gotten the ball to Josh Cribbs at some point in the second half via wildcat. He had one carry in the first half and none in the second half. Again, we know that the Browns’ offense isn’t an unstoppable juggernaut with All-Pro players all over the field. With a smart gameplan and better execution the Browns can still find ways to compete and win some games this year. There are no easy solutions and simply putting Daboll’s head on a pike in Berea won’t fix the Browns’ issues. The players need to execute their part of the plan better too by not committing stupid penalties.
18 Comments
execute the 2nd half offense? I’m in favor of that.
Decent post. I’m not sure a failure to give Hillis 2 more of Harrison’s carries would have made a very big difference, but it might have helped.
Also, I believe there were two screen passes in the second half that were completed (one to Harrison on the first drive of the half, and one to Hillis on the second — I think at least one and maybe both of those were screens), and it looked like one of Wallace’s roll-out/throw out of bounds later in the half could have been on a screen that was covered.
Bernie was just on Reghi and Roda and this is an accurate paraphrase of what he said:
“It’s impossible to trick or outscheme an opponent for more than one half in the NFL. At some point you have to be able to man up and beat somebody … . You’re going to have a really hard time if you don’t have a receiver who can consistently make plays in one-on-one coverage. … We’re not good enough to make mistakes and then come back and dial up another play.”
Makes loads and loads of sense.
Well said Craig. Very well said. Bottom line: The Browns are not talented enough to overcome coaching blunders and drive killing penalties. One of the two MUST get fixed to have any chance to win this year.
If this team can’t get a win by “manning up” against TB and KC, then its going 0-16. What we’re saying is that we are so lacking of talent that after first half gimmicks are adjusted for, we can’t hang with the worst of the league. Yikes…
I give my support to holgrem and the coaching staff 100% for this season, I will not call for anyone’s head and I will be cheerleading for them all season long. They have the makings of a legit team, but we’re at least 2 years off from contention. Let them get some more pieces (a #1 reciever, a #1 QB, an o-line, some pass rushers), and if they can’t convert those pieces into a winning season next year, then I’ll be screaming bloody murder. This year I’m fine with just seeing what pieces we really have on the team.
Im still a big advocate of running more. 30+ passes is not the way they will win. Harrison disapointed me last game. He did not look like the back of last year. Power running. sorry for being a repeating record but this is how they need to win. Let Vickers lead the way for Hillis or Harrison.
there is an easy answer … the sooner you fire Mangini …. the faster we are on the road to recovery … he has always sucked … 4 wins against lousy teams … I would fire Holmgren for keeping him .. The Clowns are at it again
I don’t think one wildcat/flash/cyclone play here or there will do it. They need to get into a rhythm. They need to run an entire series with that package.
The offensive play calling is offensive. Get rid of Daboll now.
You neglected to mention that both Harrison and Hillis are putting the ball on the ground with frightening regularity so far this season. Couple that with pick six’s by two different QB’s in consecutive weeks and it is clear what the problem is. These guys don’t value the ball enough. I don’t know if they are trying to do too much or just being careless but I DO know this… With a D that has only given up one TD in two games.. if we don’t turn the ball over we are 2 – 0. Play calling isn’t the problem. Penalties are a problem… but are insignificant in comparison to the turn overs.
Hold on to the damn rock!
Penalties aside, the offensive play calling sucks when we need it the most. When I think of Brian Daboll I don’t think ‘good offensive coordinator’. Either you have it or you don’t. Daboll has shown a myriad of poor choices all last season, and this season when the chips are down. Face it: he sucks and isn’t showing nearly enough improvement or cerebral ability. While he’s not the sole reason for losses, getting a better offensive coordinator would help this team lot. I for one would like to see his head roll.
I always come back to Rice and the 49’s. You know he’s gonna run a slant. Its not a surprise. And still, you cant stop it. He got open. Our receivers aren’t open enough. No matter how you play call if you don’t execute you don’t succeed. Every missed play messes up the next play. If you fail on the slant it doesn’t open up things for the out etc etc. We are moving in the right direction. Every year its new players ,new administration, new playbook. we have to ride this out or it will never change. If you look it good teams they have little change year to year. If we have the right people in place( I believe we do) then give it time. Change a few mistakes and we are talking playoffs lol
I was really hoping to avoid conversations about Daboll being in over his head but it’s pretty evident that he has no business being an O-Coordinator on an NFL team. Second game in a row where the defense came out with adjustments that flat out shut down the Brown’s scheme.
Here’s the next logical question: Our next seven games are brutal in every sense of the word (Bal, Cin, Atl, Pit, NO, Bye, NE, NYJ). We’ll probably win one that we shouldn’t (we shouldn’t win any) but what happens to the coaching staff when we’re 0-7 going into the bye week?
I just don’t understand why they attempt runs up the middle with Harrison when they see him be affective on runs to the edge especially when they have Hillis in there punishing people up the middle. Even when the play blows up Hillis is still getting a couple yards. Am I not seeing this right? I don’t blame Mangini and Daboll for poorly performing players I blame Daboll for seemingly having no clue as to what the strengths of his players are. I’d like to blame Mangini but I’m not convinced he’s got anything to do with the offense.
Why does it seem that Daboll has a set of plays and he’s going to run those plays with whoever is in regardless of their strengths and weaknesses? Didn’t feel like Wallace was put into a pocket passer’s position when he should have been treated as a moving QB? Bootleg it, run the option (even though “it doesn’t work” in the NFL), let him make the defense nervous with scrambles.
Get your WRs into short routes, quick routes, jerky intricate stuff. You brought them all in for their intellegence, right? They are not speeding anyone down the field.
Why are we STILL not having Vickers in the backfield every play? He can run block, pass block and catch the ball well. Hell, he can even toss a decent pass!
you want a wildcat? How about Cribbs behind this truck of a guy? How about a Vickers-led QB sweep w/Wallace?
We would not be giving away an obvious run call like we do now, having him come in just to run block.
Play this guy, PLEASE.
I’m not sure what Gil Haskens role is, but I have to believe part of his job is to help the inexperienced Daboll with his play calling. Since it is widely accepted that Haskens has a brilliant offensive mind, how can we jump on Daboll for following the advice of Haskens? When neither the running or the passing plays work, what are you going to do? Mix in the penalties, fumbles, and interceptions and it makes it even tougher. We all want to believe that it’s the coaches fault, because it is much quicker and easier to replace the coach than to replace the existing players with better ones.
I generally give most of the credit for the success of the offense to the QB and the offensive line. Therefore I have to place most of the blame in these two areas as well. The last 4 games of 2009 showed how dominant our offensive line can be. Teams new we were going to run and they couldn’t stop us. Any decent back would have gained big yards behind that kind of line play. What happened to those guys? Obviously the injuries to the right side have hurt. But the left side doesn’t seem to be playing as well either. So far this year they are the ones being dominated, and IMO that is the biggest problem with the offense. The QB situation is what it is, and hopefully will improve along with the O-line when they become healthy again.
Patience is the word for Browns fans.
I don’t understand the point of hiring someone to help our offensive coordinator call plays. If our offensive coordinator needs that much help, then he shouldn’t be our offensive coordinator.
Good points made by many of the posters above, but I’m curious about J-Dub’s question: How should Holmgren handle a 0-7 start? Frowns, you and I have previously disagreed about the coaching staff in the past. I’m not trying to incite an argument here…I’m genuinely curious about your opinion. What, if anything, should be done if this team is winless halfway through the season? I know we need to be patient, but we should also have some indication that we are moving in the right direction. If we aren’t improving, then our patience is misplaced.
BAJ22,
I think part of the probnlem is we haven’t defined our offense as “We are a _______ style of offense.” Once we insert the descriptor, and ADOPT it, we’ll be much more solid.
We have a “blow ’em up” FB, a power RB, a and limited WR skills.
Why we haven’t firmly and unequivocally said :”We are a power run team, stop us.”, I don’t know.