Browns Lose In Torturous Fashion to Lions 38-37
Written By: Craig | Category: Cleveland Browns | Comments: 51
AP Photo/Paul Sancya
I’ve said it once and I will say it again. I do not believe in curses. Today’s loss to the Lions gave me one of those moments in life where I had a choice. I could either spend the rest of the day with beer drowning in my sorrows, or I could go running and try and work out some of the aggression. I chose a lumbering jog for about a half hour. There is nothing else to do after a game like that. It had all the same pain as Dwayne Rudd tossing his helmet and giving the Chiefs another shot to hit a game-winning field goal. Dwayne Rudd, thy name is Hank Poteat, who was called for pass interference on the last play of regulation, which gave Detroit one more untimed play.
It might seem like a good time to second-guess Eric Mangini too. He called timeout as Daunte Culpepper moved toward the line of scrimmage for that untimed play. By calling that timeout, Mangini allowed an injured Matthew Stafford to grimace his way back onto the field for the final fateful play. That kind of criticism is wasted. If Mangini doesn’t call timeout and Culpepper strikes gold, then we are all calling Mangini stupid for not using a timeout to set up the defense. A cold Daunte Culpepper and an injured Matthew Stafford are about six of one and a half dozen of the other. If you want to criticize Mangini, I suggest you look toward that strange series of plays at the end of the first half. Mangini went for it with a fake field goal, got the first down and then… kicked the field goal from closer. I guess he was hoping Mike Furrey would be wide open for a touchdown, but in the end, it seemed all too silly.
Brady Quinn had a great game today because he had time to throw the ball. Four touchdowns and 304 yards on a 21-33 day is pretty good. Then again, if Quinn and the offense had been able to answer those 21 unanswered points a little earlier and more often, they might have had a better time holding that 21 point lead that they had early in the game. The Browns crushed the lions in time of possession, won the turnover battle and were over 50% on third down efficiency going 10-19 on the day. The Browns were also 2-2 on fourth down. And somehow they still managed to lose the game.
The Browns defense had a pretty rough day. The Lions couldn’t rush the ball really. Kevin Smith rushed 12 times for 45 yards. So, the Lions screen-passed the Browns to death. Kevin Smith had 4 catches for an astonishing 104 yards. The Lions’ other weapon, Calvin Johnson, caught 7 for 161 yards. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think I might have decided to let anyone but Calvin Johnson beat me today, if I were the Browns. Kevin Smith can kill you too, but as long as you aren’t worried about the running play, you might want to alleviate the passing game as it relates to their #1 receiver.
Instead of eeking out a six point victory and talking about Brady Quinn, Mo Massoquai’s 115 yards catching, Cribbs’ TD catch, and Stuckey’s bomb TD, I have to sit here and talk about another loss in the vein of Dwayne Rudd’s embarrassment. Instead of talking about some decent runs and receptions by Jennings, I get to talk about Jamal Lewis’ 3.1 yard average and how the Browns should have benched him instead of Jerome Harrison. I don’t care if Harrison can’t block effectively yet. (Fingers in ears screaming…) Jamal Lewis is officially Willie McGinest / Ted Washington. There is no point in playing him ever again in a Browns uniform. I WANTED TO SEE JEROME HARRISON ON TURF INSIDE THE DOME. (Unplugs ears.) See, the negative things I have to get into because a couple of plays went the wrong way at the end of the game?
Finally, a message to all the out-of-towners who want to snipe at the Browns or even be nice and offer their condolences. Nobody around here cares about your pity. Don’t look us in the eye right now. Just ignore us and move along. Pity doesn’t help us, it only makes us worse. It is all I can do to not want to break things in my immediate vicinity. The wrong look from an outsider or the wrong word of “support” in our darkest hour has the potential to get you killed. I don’t think I can be held accountable for my actions after that game. You might want to laugh, but if it is in the wrong company, it could be your final giggle.
I don’t believe in curses. I don’t believe in curses. I don’t believe in curses…
(I am sure I will have a more rational view of everything tomorrow when I accept the beat-down existence that is the Cleveland Browns.)
Author: CraigLyndall
Craig Lyndall has been writing about all the Cleveland sports teams at WaitingForNextYear since September 2008. When he isn't, you can find him selling insurance or playing music. Follow WFNYCraig on Twitter.Craig Lyndall has written 338 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
Draft picks…
Wow. A win makes Mangini look good, a loss makes him look bad…I’ll take the loss, and hopefully his departure for next year.
Honestly, I wasn’t that upset. This was a 1-8 team. Does another loss really hurt you that much at this point? They showed offensive improvement which is great. Although the D took 2 steps back, but at least we scored some TD’s. Baby steps. Baby steps.
Before the game, I was thinking rationally that winning would be nice to show that the team isn’t the absolute, no-question worst. I was also thinking that it wouldn’t be bad to lose, so that we lock up the #1 overall pick. Thanks for proving me wrong, Browns, by losing in heartbreaking fashion and showing that even if we can outplay the Lions for THE ENTIRE SIXTY MINUTES OF THE GAME WE CAN STILL LOSE.
I was afraid of getting thrown out of the bar for screaming “holy ****” repeatedly after the first and second long passes were caught.
Given the implications of the team losing (namely canning Mangini, Daboll et al) I’ll take a competitive loss as a major win for this franchise. Thankfully I didn’t watch it, but understand your frustrations Craig. With losses like this layered upon the heap of sad embarrassing failures this year, doesn’t this just confirm that a total overhaul is necessary?
How about Jennings dropping a for sure TD before the rest of the plays followed at the end of the 1st half? I can’t fathom why Harrison isnt playing. Maybe Mangini benched him because he said he doesnt know why hes not getting carries? I agree Jamal needs to be done. I can’t stand watching him know we are going now where, and he doesnt do anything to help us win now. just an ugly game. I would rather win a few and not get stuck with the #1 guy… but maybe this way we can be sure we get an impact guy..
I meant #1 money to go with it.. not a #1 guy.
@#3
Baby steps, JJ? Really? These baby steps we’re seeing here might get us to the playoffs somewhere in the 2020’s. Scratch that…2030’s. We just lost the Detroit Lions. It’s completely unacceptable. How many times to we need to rebuild this team? Seriously. We are off course here, and need to start with the coach. I’m not saying it’s all his fault…but when respect is gone by the team and the entire city….when you’re a joke….it’s time make some changes. We need to believe again….and people just don’t believe in this guy (myself included).
Could not disagree more about the timeout comment. The issue is not the qb, rather the fact that Detroit was in disarray at that time. We gave them time to gather their thoughts and decide on a play. All we had to do was line up in short yardage defense, which certainly doesn’t call for a timeout.
@#2 That’s just the thing. The only win that would make Mangini look good is an over-powerfully dominating one. You know…the one they were set up to accomplish in the first quarter. A game, under these conditions, is a loose/loose situation.
Also, I am unwilling to accept anyone’s assessment that states “we made improvement in…_____.” or “we showed signs of promise at…___.” You can not use a forum such as this freak of a game to gauge ANYTHING! Bad or Good. The whole thing is about as meaningful as a preseason game.
After watching the Steelers throw away a perfectly winnable game I switched over to see if I could catch the end of the browns hoping they lost and it would cheer me up a bit. I havent laughed that hard since September 8, 2002. Thank you Browns your turned my frown upside down.
I was there. Hilarious football.
Fire everyone hire anyone lets do it again.
@8
My point was who cares!!! This team is awful!!! How can this loss make you feel any worse/better?!?! We all know its wrong and we deserve better! BUT none of YOU can change any of it! I was trying to find some joy in a whole lot of pain. It’s just football.
Well… Peter King just put the loss squarely on Mangini calling timeout allowing Stafford to reenter the game. Thanks Peter. That helped. Your contacts are as amazing as ever. Go drink some coffee and complain about all the traveling you do for tomorrow’s column.
How about the pass play out of the two minute warning that stopped the clock w/ 1:57 left? You run the ball there, you can run the clock down to at least 1:17, use your last time out and punt. Detroit gets the ball deep in their own territory with about 1:10 or less to go. Makes a big difference when they needed an untimed down at the end of the game to score.
Cheer up everyone. Phil Dawson now has a higher QB rating than Derek Anderson. That’s the kind of “progress” this team can build on.
My emotions are completely different. Im just happy we scored a TD. And the second one was just icing on the cake.
I was glad to see Terry Pluto call for Daboll’s head, kind of call for Ryan’s head, and that means indirectly calling for Mangini’s head too. At least SOMEONE over at the PD has the balls enough to state the obvious. Grossi and Cabot are a joke.
How about Mo Mass running a crisp route? Woulda helped.
I just saw the final minute of the Bengals’ choke job in Oakland. I feel much better now.
Eff Cincitucky.
Wake me when the nightmare’s over.
Draft pick! Draft pick! Draft pick! (which we’ll trade, but still!)
Also, if BQ can play half this well against competent defenses, we might not have to waste another 1st rounder on a QB this year!
Good news all around!!
if only we would have won today we could have made up ground on cincy/pitt/bal since they all lost…
//sarcasim
The loss sucks, but it’s not any more/less embarrassing than the other 8, so whatever…I’m more happy to watch the rest of the division lose than I am upset with our loss, and that speaks volumes
Who knew Dawson was a lefty? Nice rotation, too.
Towards the end of the game, I told my buddy I wouldn’t be happy until I saw 4 zeros on the clock. Turns out even the Browns can find a way to lose when they’re winning with no time left.
My dream:
Holmgrem as GM
Weis as OC
Ryan as DC
and, drum roll please…………Mike Zimmer, HC.
Thank you very much. I’ll be here all night.
@ 12/Al
I hope something horrible happens to you
The Browns looked like a real NFL team today. I actually had something to cheer for. Brady looked like a real NFL qb and Daboll called some pass plays past the 1st down marker. Yes I wanted to cry when we lost this game but how can you say we took a step back? Our D is absolutely decimated by injuries, no matter the system, you cannot get pressure on the qb with our linebackers right now.
This game gave me confidence that we need to be patient. Brady may still be the guy and even Jennings is a bright spot because Lewis is obviously done as a competent rb in this league. Now we have 3 straight weeks to show if we can be competitive against a good team. Lets go Browns.
@30: Myopia is a wonderful thing.
@ 16 You are totally right – They should have run on the third down before that punt. Then Detroit probably doesn’t have enough time to dink and dunk down the field – but knowing the Browns, they probably still would have lost it.
@30- Our offense maybe looked like it deserved to be in the NFL… but we are so good that when the offense looks good, the D could get roasted by St. Eds (and like the majority of the season, when the O couldnt score against St. Eds, our D looks like it is pretty solid).
@16 I was saying the exact same thing. That made me more mad than the timeout he took after the pass interference call. I still really can’t believe we lost…
Brady Quinn is our future.
At least the world will be over on 12-21-2012 so we don’t have to deal with these heartbreaking losses anymore. We only have to put up with them for a few more years.
On a more realistic note, the Browns should bring in Bill Parcels. He said he is getting bored in Miami, and Bill does something that not a lot of people can do, he REBUILDS a footbal team to their true potential. We need someone to just come in and blow up the whole thing, new name, new logo, new colors, and especially new coaches. We need to start over, there is no way we can win with the Cleveland Curse.
Ohio is a place for football. Cleveland just opted out.
Today I am saddened. I am SO fed up, disgusted, disappointed. I am without a doubt one of the most dedicated and unashamed Browns fans in Canton, Ohio. 24/7/365. I CAN NOT TAKE ANYMORE OF THIS!!!! I am done this year! There are 150 day, 15 hours and 55 minutes until the 2010 NFL draft. I will reconsider my relationship with the team then…IF ManJerkOff is gone!!! My heart is truly broken….AGAIN.
Christina, come in from the ledge. WE showed promise on offense and we still lost the game. in my opinion, that’s a win-win. give me draft position and good effort on the field.
the Browns SHOULD trade down and amass even more picks for 2011 when there should be a stud RB to take high. they can save the salary and be in a “good” spot for the next draft. we need a lockdown corner and a stud RB. and of course everything else…
well, they’ve done it to me, I didn’t care if they won or lost watching this game. I also don’t feel it’s “good” (or draft picks) b/c they lost due to a higher draft pick. We’ve messed up almost all of our high draft picks, too.
Their putridity has gotten me to a point where I don’t care anymore.
That’s bad news, Mr. Lerner…
I did not see the end of the game because my DVR mercifully ran out of space, but Mangini does at least one thing in every game that would get any coach in the NFL fired. Why is he still the coach of this team? What pictures does he have of Randy Lerner?
“Brady Quinn had a great game today because he had time to throw the ball. Four touchdowns and 304 yards on a 21-33 day is pretty good. Then again, if Quinn and the offense had been able to answer those 21 unanswered points a little earlier and more often, they might have had a better time holding that 21 point lead that they had early in the game.”
For Pete’s sake, the DEFENSE did what it’s done all year-and you even suggest that BQ could have done anything MORE? If Quinn had been able to answer those 21 earlier and more often? Talk about grudgingly extracting teeth to give the man some credit-sheesh. How about if the DEFENSE had held off the generous 21 point lead? Cmon.
For those who continually make baseless claims about BQ before he’s had a chance to play……….OBSERVE.
Now I’ve got that feeling once again
I can’t explain, you would not understand
This is not how I am.
I… have become comfortably numb.
I… have become comfortably numb.
its what the D has done all year isis? I dont think so… the D has been decently good this year until this disaster of a game, considering the offense it had dealt with through most the year (this game is different). Its ok though, just spew off anything that makes you feel right.
“Why is he still the coach of this team? What pictures does he have of Randy Lerner?”
Pictures? I’m thinking a copy of Randy’s IQ test.
“give me draft position and good effort on the field. the Browns SHOULD trade down and amass even more picks for 2011″
I don’t even want to think draft if these are the morons that will be making the picks.
With 11 draft picks, they’ll have the opportunity to set this franchise back another good five years. Zero confidence in their ability to draft. Regime change, now!
MoMass is a poor man’s Darius Heyward-Bey…The guy has obvious talent, but he doesn’t try, has weak hands, and runs weak routes. Yeah, I know I’m saying this after he had a great statistical day.
OBSERVE OBSERVE OBSERVE. Observe Isis picking and choosing other comments to rip on instead of you know talking about the game. Hey remember you ripped all our draft picks? Massoquai looked pretty good yesterday didn’t he? Alex Mack is playing well too. I will give you some props about your points on the offense though, Quinn and the offense did all they could. But I also agree with Bobby saying the defense had an awful game but looking at the season as a whole they have done OK. Maybe you should OBSERVE for once.
Under normal circumstances, this loss would have been hard to take. Yesterday, I was not only expecting it, I barely cared. As others have said, I’m just numb to this team at this point. The whole thing is going to be blown up again by Holmgren or whoever they bring in over the off-season, so it’s tough to care about how Mangini handles the rest of the season. Literally the only thing I care about is whether Quinn can develop into at least a competent QB as that will hopefully save the Browns from wasting their high first round pick on a QB.
Hey, did anyone here think that the Browns would actually win the Superbowl this year? Anyone? Me neither. Let’s everyone take a deep breath, realize that this is a rebuilding year and be happy the Browns actually had a chance to win it yesterday (unlike weeks prior).
Am I frustrated with the team? Of course… and we all are. But I’m optimistic that the Browns are showing signs of life. They showed that they have some fight in them. I can also think of 5-6 moments that, if it had gone the other way, could have easily changed the outcome of the game. Had the Browns won, I like to think that we’d all be showing some reserved enthusiasm, but enthusiasm non the less.
Deep breaths everyone. If your loyalty to the Browns is dependent upon who is the coach, owner, starting QB, etc… then I say this team is not for you. This is going to take some time to turn around, but I’m happy to say that I do see progress.
- blinded by loyalty
I am very happy with yesterday’s game. I would have been happier if they’d won, but they finally showed that they belong in the NFL. I know it was against the Lions, but hey, it could have turned out like the Buffalo game, where both teams stunk, and the Browns won because they stunk less.
They need to keep Mangini, give BQ a chance to succeed for the rest of the season, sign a couple quality free agents, and we will develop into a respectable franchise.