Browns/Steelers Game Notes
I’m filling in for Craig this week. Here are my notes from the Browns game.
First off, this wasn’t a complete embarrassment. (How’s that for low expectations?) The Browns came to play at the very least, and that’s better than we’ve seen at times in this dreadful stretch. I felt that the defense played pretty hard and was fairly effective for most of the first half. Consider this- the Steelers had the ball for 22 of the 30 minutes in that first half. The Josh Cribbs return for a touchdown didn’t do any favors for the defense. Pittsburgh had just finished a long drive and suddenly found themselves back on the field.
Question- why in the world does Tusnik get the start over Alex Hall? I can’t come up with any kind of rational reason. Sure, he played for Mangini before, but not under Ryan. That move kind of puzzles me.
Here’s another defensive question for you- why is Shaun Rogers 12 yards down the field in pass coverage? Yes, I understand the concept of the zone blitz. It was sort of ironic that as the announcers are talking about Ryan “molding his defense to fit the personnel” Shaun Rogers drops back in pass coverage. The Browns had stacked 7 men on the line in an effort to confuse Pittsburgh on who was coming on the pass rush. They wound up sending only 3. And Shaun Rogers wasn’t one of those three? Are we out-thinking ourselves just a little there?
Until we learn to cover the Tight End, we will continue to give up more than 20 points a game to decent teams. Heath Miller looked like a hall of famer in this one. By the way, he isn’t. And sorry Ben, he isn’t the best all around TE in the league right now.
This may be slightly nit-picky, but our defensive line is lining up too far off the ball. They are giving up a yard and a half easily on most plays. Sure, that extra cushion helps a defender gain momentum and set up a move on a pass rush, but on a running play it sets the offense up for an easy block and an extra yard right from the start.
Scott sent me a note begging me to mention Brandon McDonald’s awful tackling. No need to beg Scott. It was atrocious. You can’t hit a back like Parker or Mendenhall up around the shoulder and expect to bring them down. And how many times do you get a free shot on Ben Roethlisberger? Don’t you have to deliver some kind of hit when that comes around? Saddest part is that McDonald actually ended up with a sack after whiffing on Ben and scurrying to eventually get him.
A final defensive note- whoever has the responsibility to cover the flats needs drug out in the street and shot. One thing I’ve learned coaching against the spread is that you have to play aggressive against the bubble screens and flare outs. Mike Adams, Brodney Pool and Brandon McDonald I’m looking at you.
There. And that was the unit I was fairly happy with.
Offensively I liked what we did (mostly) with the wildcat package. Primarily I liked it because we got our best playmakers (Cribbs and Harrison) the ball with our best blockers (Thomas and Steinbach) out in front of them. Cribbs and Harrison both were aggressive and fast. Then there was Jamal Lewis. Lewis should not be on the field when the wildcat formation is used. You are doing the other team a favor by giving Lewis the ball up the middle when they are already packing the line of scrimmage. My goal as a defensive coordinator would be to get Cribbs to hand off to Lewis.
Speaking of people that shouldn’t be in the wildcat package, why does Anderson stay on the field? It’s not like we are running some sort of no-huddle or soft huddle that we are trying to catch the other team off guard with the wrong personnel. Anderson split wide is a waste. There is no danger that he is going to make a play, and the guy “covering” him is free to loosen up and be ready to support another play. And you certainly aren’t going to run at Anderson expecting him to make a block. We’re kind of tipping our hand by leaving him out there. The interception was just a bad decision. At least they showed they are willing to let Cribbs throw out of it.
Alright. Here it is. If you’ve read darn near anything I’ve written on the Browns this year you know that it is coming. John St. Clair is a turnstile in pads. On three occasions (THREE!) He allowed an outside rusher to come around him untouched so that he could double team the defensive tackle with the guard. All three led to big hits. Both of Timmons’ sacks came this way, as did Derek Anderson’s fumbles. On two other plays St. Clair was pushed backwards into Anderson’s face as he threw. Let’s end the experiment shall we?
The quick pitch play to Harrison with Thomas leading was beautiful. Wish we would have run it more than once.
What can you say about the dropped passes? I was glad that one of the announcers finally said something about the velocity that Anderson throws the short passes. The difference between a good quarterback with a rocket arm and a terrible quarterback with a rocket arm is knowing when to throw hard and when to take something off the ball. Not every drop was Anderson’s fault obviously. The interception at the goal line was typical DA. You have to expect 1 or 2 plays like that a game if you are going to start Anderson. Is it worth it?
I’m kind of done with Jamal Lewis. He just isn’t going to be feature back material when the Browns are ready to contend (for even a .500 record) assuming he is even good enough to do that now. He doesn’t seem to have that burst anymore that used to get him past the first wave of tacklers. Given the situation with the line and a need to see who can play that position going forward, why give him half the carries anymore?
The bottom line is that we do not have the personnel to match up with the Steelers. Big surprise I know. So that’s it. I’m sure you’ll have some things I missed.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:46 am
You hit on a lot of good things. Wright and McDonald are for sure up there for the WORST tacklers in NFL. All do is throw there body at the ball carrier and feel as though they dont need to wrap up anyone. I just dont get it, do the coaches not tell them this or teach them at practice or when watching film? or is it that Wright and McDonald just dont listen? There was at least 3 times in the game today that I saw those 2 not wrapping anyone up and it allowed the steelers to gain at least 3 to 5 yards more. Mangina needs to start teaching fundamentals before we start doing anything else.
Also, how about that 4th and 1 play when the steelers were a few inches short and the ref still gave them the call. It was such a BS call!! take a look
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/First-down-Eh-close-enough-Hard-to-explain-th?urn=nfl,196646
October 19th, 2009 at 1:16 am
Off topic, but just as depressing:
Cliff Lee: 8IP, 3H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 10K, and 1 for 3.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:16 am
The secondary has been a huge huge liability for the past three plus years and nobody has ever done much of anything to fix it. We haven’t had anyone formidable back there since Bodden.
About the wildcat- by leaving Anderson on the field you can pitch it to him and keep the threat of the deep pass.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:17 am
When do the Cavs start for real?
October 19th, 2009 at 1:20 am
Yeah thanks for commenting on McDonald. It helped make me feel I am not alone in my thinking. The play in the 3rd quarter where he gave up on bringing Walker down near the goal line was beyond infuriating. I just don’t understand how you keep sending him out there. At this point give Francies a shot. He is bigger, stronger, faster, and if we know one thing about him from the preseason it is that he likes to hit people. I would argue that his tackling was his strongest skill. At this point it can’t get any worse. You know you can’t stop the run or pass meaning opponents will consistently get down field so you might as well have someone down there willing to at least try to bring the ball carrier down.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:22 am
“All [they] do is throw their body at the ball carrier and feel as though they don’t need to wrap up anyone.”
The problem is, that style of tackling works fine in practice.
My bullet point
-Furrey missed a golden opportunity to give Hines Ward a taste of his own medicine on the deep interception and he passed on the chance to turn his lights out. I don’t care if it carries a penalty, this is Pittspuke. Very disappointing.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:24 am
@hansolo1
Don’t forget CC’s performance the other night. On a not-so-depressing note the Jets lost to Buffalo, Sanchez tossed 5 ints, and Braylon caught I think 1 pass for 8yds. I have to say that brought a smile to my face.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:30 am
I don’t think CC had the chance to go 1 for 3…but I bet he probably would have. Sigh….
October 19th, 2009 at 1:50 am
Rick, I agree with about everything you said. Good analysis on this one.
That “1st Down” might have been the worst call in the NFL. I can’t believe that they called that a first. it was clearly away from the pole.
McDonald is so much worse at tackling then Wright. Wright makes plays tackling sometimes, but I dont know if Ive ever seen McDonald bring a guy down by himself. I would not be upset to see Adams getting more playtime opposite of Wright from now on. Heck, set Furrey up on D some more, he’s not doing anything on offense.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:15 am
I lament about ex-Tribe starting pitchers and pine for a professional display of athletics (aka, the Cavs), because this Cleveland football team is really not worth watching…..at all…not even for determining the 2nd WR, the starting QB, the FS (whether it’s Furrey or whoever), and who should start at CB. We either have a bunch of really bad players, really bad coaches, or a perfect combination of both. My vote is for the latter.
I am sorry to write this, but as I was watching 6 different games going on, whilst focusing on the Browns, all I see is professional football teams either moving the ball or making a big stop. Simple things like screen plays look so easy. Or a defensive stop on 3rd and 8. I see none of that on the Browns. There is not a single player on this team who is recognizable by any NFL fan outside those of us who follow the team (and nerdy fantasy types). After 10 years of this crap, I officially disown this team. Go Chargers.
AND GO CAVS.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:33 am
I d do take pleasure in the fact that both Edwards and Winslow have yet to win a game.
@#10 Why the Chargers. They are almost as dysfunctional as the Browns. There are some fun teams to watch this year. Watch a Saints game, it does not resemble anything we have been subjected to.
October 19th, 2009 at 6:39 am
@ hansolo1 — Chargers, really? If I were going to disown the Browns, I would at least pick a solid team.
October 19th, 2009 at 6:48 am
Regarding the wildcat formation – the Browns have to leave Anderson on the field because of a NFL rule that has been around for years. By rule, if you remove your starting QB to bring in a player who is not listed as a QB on the depth chart (i.e. an emergency quarterback), then your starting QB is not allowed to return to the game. Hence, DA has to be on the field somewhere when the wildcat is used or he can’t play the rest of the game (I know, I know… a lot of Browns fans would not necessarily see that as a disadvantage).
Even back in the 90’s, the Steelers would line up Neil O’Donnell at WR when Kordell Stewart lined up under center (back when he was “Slash” and not the starting QB yet) because of this rule.
October 19th, 2009 at 7:22 am
Again, not a single mention of Brian Daboll. Unbelievable.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:02 am
Well, from the post and the comments, it seems that we all finally agree that there is no QB controversy anymore. It goes without saying –but I’ll say it anyway — that Derek Anderson has no business taking any more snaps for the Browns. He is one of the worst, if not the worst, QB in the league. He is a turnover machine and he has zero play-making abilities.
I believe it was Albert Einstein who said, “The definition of insanity is to keep starting Derek Anderson and hoping he’ll pay well.”
BTW, it’s nice to see that Braylon has infected the Jets with his loser karma.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:02 am
I’ve found it’s best to adopt a second team in addition to the Browns; it makes Sundays more enjoyable. I picked one in the NFC so that when the Browns get good again (please?) I won’t have too many conflicts between teams on Sunday (though if the Browns are good, I don’t see how I could have a conflict anyway; I’m a Browns fan first). The point of all this is that, instead of being devastated by yet another Steelers loss, I spent most of yesterday excited by the Saints dismantling of the Giants. Seriously, guys. You should try this.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:36 am
@ 13- Are you sure thats correct, because I didn’t see Henne on the field on MNF with the dolphins. I think its only if the 3rd string QB comes in the the starter cannot, but I do not know this for sure.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:48 am
@14, what exactly is there to say about Daboll. “Boy, he’s really having trouble scoring points with the likes of Derek Anderson, Jamal Lewis, Brian Robiskie, and Greg Estandia as his playmakers.”
I’m not a fan of this coaching staff (other than Rob Ryan who has fantastic sauce . . . and that’s good enough for me) but even I recognize that it isn’t fair to judge guys based on coaching a roster full of practice squad players.
Maybe next year after we’ve drafted 5 more David Veikunes and a few more Brian Robiskies or Chaun Thompsons, we can fairly evaluate the men at the controls.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:50 am
@ 17 – Per ESPN.com, Pat White is listed on the Dolphin’s depth chart as the #2 quarterback. That is why they are allowed to remove Henne from the game to use their wildcat formation.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:57 am
I know White is the #2, but I dont think they have anyone under their QB listed. They usually have Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. I think they might have had 4 RBs on the field once during MNF.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:07 am
“The league allows each team to have 45 active players each week. If no more than two of those players are quarterbacks, the team may designate a 46th player as its emergency third quarterback. If that player enters the game prior to the fourth quarter, then the first two quarterbacks on the roster are prohibited from returning to the game at any position at any time.”
http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2009/08/24/emergency-qb-rule-could-complicate-vick-pat-white-situations/
October 19th, 2009 at 9:08 am
I’m glad they mentioned DA putting too much velocity on the short passes as well. A lot of the “drops” are caused by that. You can’t put the same mustard on the ball on a 7 yard route as you do on a 25 yard streak.
I wish we had an option that wasn’t McDonald. He’s still a CB project, it seems. When we bench him, he seems to come back better – so I’m all for doing that now.
and finally, lol @ Rogers in pass coverage.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:38 am
@ bobby – Henne was out on the flank when he was in. When he wasn’t Pat White was in the game and lined up in the formation. It was a combination of both – when White wasn’t on the field, Henne was.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Jamal Lewis has trouble getting past the first wave of defenders because as he goes by they can just reach out and grab onto the huge fork sticking out of his back.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Isis should listen to the Matthew Sweet song called “Write Your Own Song”.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:18 am
Derek Anderson has a lower QB rating than JaMarcus Russell. I find this disturbing.
October 19th, 2009 at 10:59 am
The guy that is the Head Coach of the CLEVELAND BROWNS set up Brady Quinn to fail after 2 1/2 games. He sat him down and that was against Minnesota, Baltimore and Denver. DA has always been a one year wonder and a joke. Quinn should have gotten the nod the day he was drafted. The Browns organization needs to sell the team and then replace the all so fired up redicuilous coach where he holds dull, boring, press conferences every week. We need a fired up coach. The coach talked about our wonderful victory against the Bills spare me. Jamal Lewis is washed up and that started 2 years ago, Get those hungry backs in the game. The defensive backs are so far off the ball they might as well be sitting in the stands with the fans! Cleveland’s draft choices over the years have been a disaster, let the fans draft the players!! We could go on and on about the wonderful draft choices we have made since Paul Warfield. We are equal to the Redskins, VERY POOR OWNERSHIP!!
October 19th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Shaun Rogers can dunk a basketball (serious). He is very athletic and surprisingly quick on his feet, I can see him in pass coverage when needed. Actually lets just clone him and replace our entire secondary with Shaun Rogers’ I guarantee we wouldn’t have any more missed tackles and the games would be much funnier.
Glad you brought up Brandon McDonald, for two seasons now i’ve been saying he is one is one of the worst tacklers i’ve ever seen play a professional game of football, and thats just the tip of the iceberg. Why hasn’t anything been done to address the glaring problems with our secondary?
October 19th, 2009 at 11:48 am
@13 Jamie… The link you posted contradicted your argument concerning the 1st and 2nd string QBs not being able to re-enter the game if Cribbs took the snaps & they left the field.
Cribbs is not listed as an emergency 3rd Qb. He is on the roster as a WR/KR and he plays all game long. The rule you cited prevents the emergency QB – the 46th active player – from even entering the game, not just taking the snap. This is why Brad Smith for the Jets is listed at WR. This is why Ronnie Brown can take snaps in the Dolphins Wildcat and Henne CAN leave the field and re-enter later int he game. Pat White is the Dolphins #2 QB, so this rule doesn’t apply to him.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
“I’m glad they mentioned DA putting too much velocity on the short passes as well. A lot of the “drops” are caused by that. You can’t put the same mustard on the ball on a 7 yard route as you do on a 25 yard streak.”
I can’t believe people are blaming DA for some of those drops today. He did NOT throw too hard on the short routes, and on one of them he specifically lobbed it real soft and it was till a drop. This is the NFL. Brett Farve and Tomy Brady throw twice as hard at their receivers on short down plays than DA does. He’s not a great starting quarterback but don’t just make stupid stuff up because you don’t like him and you think somehow replacing him will make a difference. It won’t.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
@29 – Yep, you’re right, that article contradicted what I was saying. It focused on the third quarterback being the 46th player and not one of the other 45 active players.
I cannot find anything to online to back this up, so I could be wrong, but I thought that someone actually listed as a QB on the depth chart has to be on the field (special teams plays aside) or else it’s a penalty, and the starting quarterback cannot return to the game.
If that’s not the reason, then someone please provide a better explanation for why DA was on the field as a WR on every single play that Cribbs took the snap.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
@30: You’re wrong. Some of the drops are legit. A lot are DA’s fault (poorly thrown).
We can all debate this however long we want, but when no receiver on the field can catch the ball, the chances are better that it’s the fault of the person throwing the ball.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Okay, just look at the stats for Anderson and Quinn. First of all, the person with the strong arm would probably average more yards per attempt, correct? Well that person is Brady Quinn (look at nfl.com’s stats for both). It is sick that Quinn leads in every category except touchdowns thrown and he played against three of the best defenses in the league. He didn’t have the play calls to throw deep. All of the routes were <10 yards, how do you expect him to every throw deep? Anderson is a joke of a QB and should be traded for a 6th round pick or a bag of donuts, whichever we can get first.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Quinn will never be a regular starter in the NFL again. Let it go.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Did I say again. Oops.
Quinn will never be a regular starter in the NFL.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
#26, 15 drops in two weeks tend to hurt a QB rating.
October 19th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
@myself: I stand corrected.
Mangini said today the reason that DA lined up at WR was to give the defense less time to react to the formation.
“He said one of the reasons was the defense only has 16 seconds to respond after teams break the huddle, as opposed to the 45 seconds after a play.”
“(The quarterback) doesn’t need to be on the field, so you can do it however you want to do it,” Mangini said. “When you break the huddle at 16 seconds, it’s different than doing it with 45 seconds.”
http://cle.scout.com/2/910833.html