Video: Johnny Manziel signs fan’s t-shirt, $100 bill
December 14, 2015Buckeyes Roundball Roundup: Soaring over Air Force, devoured by UConn Huskies
December 14, 2015The Cleveland Browns defeated the San Francisco 49ers 24-10 on Sunday in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score indicated. The Browns dominated the 49ers. The line of scrimmage, open space, decision-making, time of possession, and game-breaking plays all decidedly favored the Browns. If not for two turnovers, then the score would have more properly conveyed the absolute dejected state the team from the Bay area must have felt on the long plane ride home from Cleveland.1
But, I ask you: Who are these freaking guys who suited up in the orange jerseys and brown pants on Sunday? And, where have they been all season?
The easy narrative is the team rallied around Johnny Manziel. Fresh off of his two-game suspension hidden as a demotion for partying and lying over the bye week, Manziel was sharp. Completing more than two-thirds of his passes for just under nine yards per attempt is a good way for a quarterback to play. Channeling the frustration of an interception to focus on eviscerating the opponent through the remainder of the game helps too. But Manziel did his best to kill that narrative when he said, “[I] can’t give enough credit to the O-line up front. That offensive performance today was solely on them.”
Another easy narrative would be to give credit to the offensive line (as Johnny did there) finally living up to the preseason promise and in-season proclamations by the likes of Pro Football Focus as one of the best groups in the NFL. Whether it was giving Isaiah Crowell the room to bust off two 50-plus yard scampers or the push in short yardage that allowed the Crow to demand pizza Lunchables be thrown on the field twice from one and three yards out (that means two rushing touchdowns, for those not in the know), the big guys up front did their job all afternoon. Crowell and Duke Johnson rushed for 215 yards on over six yards per rush. Crowell was certainly appreciative as he noted, “The offensive line did a great job, and the receivers were blocking downfield. It was all great.”
Joe Thomas, Austin Pasztor, Alex Mack, John Greco, and Mitchell Schwartz all held their ground in pass protection, too. If not for them, then Manziel’s numbers would not have been so sterling. Thomas, the elder statesman, summed up the day rather eloquently in saying, “I think we’re pretty happy with the results.” The main question running through Browns fans minds today is, Where has that been all season?
Speaking of a seasonal absence suddenly being found in abundance, did anyone happen to notice a transformation on defense?
Armonty Bryant (two sacks), Nate Orchard (two sacks), Desmond Bryant (one and a half sacks), Christian Kirksey (one sack), Jordan Poyer (one sack), Donte Whitner (one sack), and Xavier Cooper (half sack) all took turns plastering Blaine Gabbert in the backfield of the 49ers. For one Sunday, a defense without a semblance of a pass rush was dominant in that particular aspect. “I thought our pass rush was – I don’t know the last time the Browns had nine sacks.” Pettine said after the game, not realizing the team had just tied a franchise record. “That’s a credit to that group and the pass rush plan (defensive line coach) Anthony Weaver put together for those guys, and they went out and executed.”
The run defense still allowed Browns castoff Shaun Draughn over four yards a carry (well above his previous 3.3-yard clip), but the run defense deficiency is sufficiently masked when the opposing quarterback is constantly under duress and losing yardage on pass plays.
Again, where has this play been all season?
How about this for a narrative: The Browns were frustrated and angry and finally let off steam by putting things together and taking out their anger on a bad team traveling across country. “The hunger has been building in us.” Desmond Bryant said. “Every time we’ve gone out and not gotten the result that we wanted, the hunger has grown more and more, and we finally got the job done.”
So let’s attempt to figure out why the Browns were dominant on Sunday and enjoy a rare win. It sure beats trying to figure out why the Browns had been dominated the previous several weeks.
- Good to see a team from the Californian Bay head home from Ohio with their heads hung low. Your turn in June, Cavs? [↩]
41 Comments
I think a big part of it was that the offensive line finally wasn’t awful. There were holes in the running game that I don’t think we’ve seen all year. Pass protection has been there most of the year and it was there again today. It was like, “oh weird! this is how football is supposed to look.”
Defensively, I don’t know? Maybe the Niners are just that bad?
Umm, the easiest narrative would be that the 49ers might be just as much hot garbage as the Browns, playing their second straight road game with long travel and time change.
I don’t mean to take anything away from the fact that the Browns dominated *anyone*, but I refuse to put any future player development stock into this performance given the crap level of opponent.
(Yep, this team has finally killed my spirits.)
http://49.media.tumblr.com/bc332d9e46f2d2c5d8d4bad0cbabe934/tumblr_nfixbr7Dr81rziwwco1_400.gif
The Browns on defense against the Niners
http://i.imgur.com/STcRW6c.gif
The Browns on offense against the niners
http://i.imgur.com/sTANVn3.gif
I’m not going to get too worked up about our accomplishments here.
You beat me to it, the 49ers are an unholy conflagration of a dumpster fire. Still it was fun to see what football could look like if our team was good.
Oh, yes, I agree. But, this 49er team had been competitive against good teams the past month. The Browns? Notsomuch.
And, my 48 hours of enjoying the win is not yet over. I’m not ready to be fully rational yet 🙂
You can enjoy it though, right? Most people thought we were the kid in those videos before Sunday.
🙂
I think the most likely answer can be found on NFL.com under team stats. Image 1 is their defensive ranking, image 2 is their offense.
Bode, you’re still Brownsdrunk! The team you woke up next to isn’t the most beautiful in the world.
We still are against a non-dumpster-fire team…
I can absolutely enjoy it. I just wish it didn’t cause so many folks to jump to conclusions when it comes to anything beyond one game. But this is Cleveland sports we are talking about here, so…
Do you have that backwards? Scoring 24.2 a game and giving up 14.5 would be a good thing. Maybe it’s just Disqus being Disqus and putting things out of order.
If we would have lost, people would have been saying the Browns are horrible. But we won, so people are saying that the Browns are horrible. Sounds about right.
Could be, they are the 3rd worst defense and the worst offense in the league.
Oh, I realize the Browns are not a good team. Much like the Tennessee game, this one will be an outlier on the season. Still, I want to bask in it for a moment before getting all cynical.
The team had the frustration build up and let off the steam. Doesn’t mean they can sustain it. Still, better than the alternative.
There’s all the fact that we were 2-10 with a coach and front office that might be on its way out. This team easily could have given up. If they did, I don’t think people would blame them. Instead, they actually looked like they wanted to play. And considering all the injuries and new guys stuck into the lineup, it felt like we played above our talent level rather than below.
“Thomas, the elder statesman, summed up the day rather eloquently in saying, ‘I think we’re pretty happy with the results.’”
http://memecrunch.com/meme/90SQM/you-damn-right-sister/image.gif?w=400&c=1
They are who we thought they were!
Had my first pizza lunchable this weekend largely due to the hoopla about Crow. Not the worst thing I have ever had, but you would have to eat 5 of them to get a decent meal.
I think they are both sorted by yards per game. Not pts.
What’s with all the castigating of dumpster fires? Think about it: A dumpster fire means less waste in the landfill. This is a good thing. And the fire is completely contained to a manageable location. We need a new metaphor.
So . . . what you’re saying is the Browns are Dwight Howard.
In that they seem like they should be better than they are and that they regularly disappoint, yes.
You are forgetting about the toxic pollution in the smoke that just wafts in the breeze across all of NEO.
Isn’t that tomato sauce on a ritz cracker?
Thank you.
4 little pita discs prob 3 inch diameter, 3 peps per disc
That’s just “ambience.”
Seriously. Their D line was horrendous. I noticed several times players seemed to just be standing there instead of rushing. Maybe part of that is due to having to respect Johnny’s ability to scramble (as Brady pointed out on SEVERAL occasions), but I think they have possibly given up more than the Browns did last week.
Anyone see the videos of Haden dunking at a gym? So much for that concussion.
All part of the concussion protocol, I’m sure.
A tipped over post-concert port o potty?
Doesn’t roll of the tongue, and is difficult to type quickly, but let’s go with it.
Haha. Well, their target audience is elementary students.
Is that Luke Jackson?
http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/164/files/2014/08/LJ121613.jpg
I’ve always wondered what happened to him.
Actually no, I haven’t. I have worked hard to purge Luke Jackson from my memory. But seriously, that could very well be him that Dwight is dominating there. The resemblance is astounding.
To be fair, that conclusion wasn’t really dependent upon the game yesterday.
good read MG … we’d better enjoy it. off to seattle next week. i’m hoping for a “mangini-type finish” where everyone rallies together & finishes strong. at seattle , at KC & finish at home against pitt will be tough … let’s see what we got.
and no , draughn did not tear-it-up against us as much as i thought he would.
he had an all-right game, but respect you putting the comment here based on our discussion last week.
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