NFL Rumors: Bills cut RB Fred Jackson; Browns interested?
August 31, 2015Barrett, Miller among six Buckeye captains for 2015
August 31, 2015The Browns will eventually figure out that their offense cannot survive on bread alone, bread being that very basic run and short passing game that is the forte of conservative “game manager” quarterbacks. You could legitimately ask if the Browns really needed any long passes to score and to win on Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But you could also ask, if not during the final exhibition game for the regulars, then when?
To be fair, we couch potatoes don’t know what plays were called. Maybe some long patterns were run and were simply not open. It’s difficult to tell with TV’s fondness for closeups, even on replays.
We know there are some deep pass patterns in the Browns playbook, because they’ve run some of them in practice, but it wasn’t until late in the third quarter we saw one against Tampa Bay. Thaddeus Lewis, standing strong against the rush, took a hit as he threw a beautiful sideline pass to Josh Lenz, hitting him in stride for a 48-yard gain.
In all, McCown and Lewis connected on passes to a whopping 13 different receivers, the longest, by far, being the 48-yarder to Lenz. Otherwise the longest pass plays were 11, 13, and 9 yards. McCown was 17-for-23 for 117 yards and two TDs. Lewis was 4-for-5 for 66 yards. Both had QB ratings over 100 in this lopsided game.
The Browns also ran the ball rather effectively. Including the yardage gained by McCown and Lewis, the Browns had 34 rushes for 119 yards. Overall, the Browns‘ offense netted exactly 300 yards with zero turnovers.
The Buccaneers are rebuilding. Their offensive line is a major weakness but that’s no reason to belittle the job of the Browns’ defense against Tampa Bay. Except for the one drive on a shortened field that resulted in a touchdown run by Doug Martin, the Browns handled the Buccaneers’ offense in the manner good defenses should handle, well, let us say, not-so-good offenses. They held the Bucs to only 73 yards on the ground and had six sacks for 50 yards in losses.
Tampa Bay netted a total of only 177 yards for the game.
Josh McCown’s answers to most questions shows him to be one of the most well-mannered athletes of this modern era. After the game he was asked if it felt particularly good to play so well against his former team. He didn’t take the bait, saying most players put on different uniforms during their careers and that it is the relationships a player establishes over the years that matter most, so he was just glad to see his former teammates.
However!
During live action, McCown played like he was in a do or die playoff game. For a tall, lanky quarterback, the man can move pretty well, but after all these years of experience in the NFL what could have possessed him to drive, head and shoulders first, rather than slide, feet first, on two important scrambles? Perhaps inspired by such determination from McCown, Thaddeus Lewis, two plays after that 48-yard pass to Lenz, scrambled out of the pocket and dove (head and shoulders first) into the end zone for a touchdown. Gentlemen! Control yourselves!
Consciously or not, both McCown and Lewis must feel they have something to prove to the cynics and doubters around them. They have been dissed and disregarded for pretty much their entire careers, for two main reasons: They’ve both played on some awful teams, and neither is a media darling. They have reason to have a chip on their shoulders, even if they wear it under their pads.
For McCown, the snide narrative going into the game against his former team was that he would be trying to throw his first touchdown pass at Raymond James Stadium. Playing for the Browns Saturday night, he threw two in a little over half a game. Had he still been playing behind that awful Buccaneer line, he’d probably still be looking for his first.
Thad Lewis, for his part, looks like the quickest, most mobile QB on the Browns’ roster. His game looks like it would be very compatible with the style of play the Browns have designed for Johnny Manziel. And after Saturday night’s game, which included that beautiful long pass to Lenz, the former Duke quarterback would surely like the opportunity to try it on again.
Play-by-play announcer Mike Patrick may have best expressed the dilemma that many good quarterback prospects face when entering the NFL when speaking of Jameis Winston. He was clearly the top QB prospect in the 2015 NFL draft after an outstanding college career and a Heisman Trophy. His reward? Getting drafted by the worst team in the NFL. What will he accomplish — what can he accomplish — unless Tampa Bay builds a better team around him? In the short run, Buccaneer fans are all aflutter with the fact that they drafted the highly touted Winston. In the long run, unless Tampa Bay can construct a better team, overall, what will he be able to do in 2015 and beyond that Josh McCown, in 2014, could not?
Tim Couch knows all about that dilemma, both the long and the short of it.
7 Comments
Bowe showed me a lot…like why he failed to record a single TD last season in KC. Ugh! As for Winston I don’t feel bad for him at all. However, he shouldn’t have been starting from day 1. This is the problem with the modern day NFL they put these unprepared college kids right into a starting position in an attempt to justify the selection. Instead all it does is make the selection and decision to rush the kid look worse then letting him learn from the sideline. The Browns learned this the hard way. Again. Unfortunately for them Manziel is the guy they are learning with and he’s not the answer.
I’d like to see Winston behind our O-line.
I’m not a Winston fan but between his line and his running backs TB didn’t do him justice. At least he has Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson. They are no Bowe I know but still. 😉
Perhaps the whining talk show hosts can now see why McCown was 1-10 last year and stating a QB’s record makes no sense without commenting on the other 21 gents on the field. Also those people whose mantra is, “it’s all about the quarterback” can see that it’s kinda also about the O line that facilitates the QB’s play. Behind the Bucs line Johnny Unitas plays two games and then goes back to school and becomes a pharmacist.
Uh…I’d like to know what this “get-rich-quick” THING is doing HERE. Go Browns or go home.
New to the Internet, eh?
Never seen something like that in “comments”………but maybe I’ve been spending too much time on facebook and not enough in commenting.