May 20, 2013

Browns receiving corps ranked fourth in their division by Jamison Hensley

May 8, 2013 by 25 Comments

Jamison Hensley of ESPN is ranking all the position groups in the AFC North and he has decided where they all fall when it comes to receivers. The Cleveland Browns, despite a recent trade for Devone Bess and despite the exit of Anquan Boldin from Baltimore, are last in Hensley’s mind. The Steelers take the top spot and the Bengals with the league’s very best receiver, A.J. Green, finish second.

The Browns feel more comfortable with their receivers after watching what Josh Gordon and Greg Little did last season. But you don’t know if Cleveland’s top two receivers are going to reach their potential this season because they have a combined three seasons of NFL experience. Gordon flashed big-play ability and Little showed signs of developing into a complementary No. 2 target. The Browns have more established depth than the Ravens after trading for Davone Bess and signing David Nelson. Bess will prove valuable on third down. Travis Benjamin provides speed on the outside. This group will be even better next season.

There’s no doubting that the Browns receivers have a lot to prove, but it still seems a little bit odd that the Ravens could be ranked ahead of them without Anquan Boldin. Torrey Smith is a dynamic, young receiver who I definitely think is on an upward career arc, but he’s only entering his third season in the NFL. He’s caught nearly 50 balls in two straight years. He’s covered 841 yards and 855 yards while catching seven and eight TDs. All that being said, he accomplished that playing with Joe Flacco and alongside Anquan Boldin.

We’ll obviously see how it all plays out on the field this year, but Gordon didn’t start the entire season for the Browns and had 50 catches for 805 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie with no established veteran anywhere to be found on the Browns roster. Greg Little added 53 catches for 647 yards and four TDs as he seemed to get over his butter fingers in the second half of the season. The Browns also add Davone Bess who caught 61 balls a year ago for 778 yards from rookie QB Ryan Tannehill.

[Related: Browns thoughts on Armonty Bryant, Jimmy Haslam’s apology and Garrett Gilkey]

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NFL News: Former Browns tight end Alex Smith to visit Bengals

April 10, 2013 by 9 Comments

Adam Caplan reports that the Bengals are on the trail of former Cleveland Browns tight end Alex Smith.

The summation for Alex Smith’s time in Cleveland for me is probably that he was better than I ever thought he would be. Nobody will ever forget the time the Browns handed the ball off to him, but I think most put that on Shurmur. In the end, Smith was a high energy player for the Browns with a zeal for blocking and better hands than many of us expected.

In the end, Smith played 28 games for the Browns receiving 28 passes for 184 yards and 1 TD. The Browns currently have five tight ends on the official roster in Jordan Cameron, Gary Barnidge, Kellen Davis, Dan Gronkowski, and Brad Smelley. It wouldn’t surprise most if the Browns took another tight end in the draft.

[Related: Raiders sign former Browns safety Usama Young]

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Marvin Lewis: Chudzinski inheriting a better football team

February 23, 2013 by 1 Comment

Offseason division gesturing is a common thing in the NFL world, especially in the vaunted AFC North that has won several championships and placed at least two playoff teams for most of the last decade.

Because of that, it was a bit of a surprise to see Marvin Lewis’ comments about the Browns and Rob Chudzinski yesterday. These comments made their way via Lewis’ most recent press conference with the Cincinnati media. Let’s take a look:

(Thoughts on the Browns) - “They are inheriting a much better football team. They’ve done a nice job over the last couple of years of the addition of guys through the draft and watching them grow. Rob (Chudzinski) has been a productive guy as a coordinator. His coordinators are experienced.

Mike Lombardi has had great experience in the NFL, Joe Banner. They have put together a group of people that have been successful and you come together and bring some ideas together. They are a much better football team than what their record showed. It was a team that was improving. In my mind they were going in the right direction. We have a tough division and have to play great football.”

So yes, Lewis doesn’t say anything too controversial and was fairly diplomatic in his comments. But still, comments like these are always appreciated in Cleveland.

My favorite part here? The fact that the nicest thing Lewis could think of with Lombardi and Banner is just that they have “great experience.” Nothing about great “success” or that they are good people. But that only fuels the fire for the Cleveland conspiracy side of things. … Overall, this was just some nice Browns talk being heard from the opposite corner of the state.

[Related: NFL News: Chudzinski “excited” about Weeden, still needs to see more]

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Browns Survey Results: 57% of Browns fans expected a win

October 14, 2012 by 2 Comments

The Cleveland Browns got a win on Sunday and 57% of Browns fans who filled out our survey expected them to win. And then, of those 57%, the expected spread was seven points. That’s not all bad as the Browns won by ten 34-24. Of those who predicted victory, the average Browns score was 27 points. So the Browns actually out-performed even the optimists’ expectations by a Phil Dawson field goal.

Overall, Browns fans predicted that the Bengals would score 24 points and that the Browns would score 23. Tough to be more split than that. Now for the rest of the guesses.

First up? Sacks. Nailed it. Weeden was sacked twice and the majority of you thought he would be sacked twice.

[Read more...]

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Hardesty has big day filling in for Richardson

October 14, 2012 by 10 Comments

Montario Hardesty hadn’t seen any action at all this season until Sunday’s win against the Bengals. He also scored his first regular season NFL TD in the win.

Hardesty carried the ball 15 times for 56 yards with a 14-yard long. He also had a catch for nine yards. It’s the third highest rushing yard total of Hardesty’s brief career. He had 95 yards against Seattle and 67 against Miami a year ago.

Hardesty might not have a chance to top his 2012 debut as Trent Richardson seemed confident he’ll play next weekend in Indianapolis.

[Related:Browns “Winn!” Top Bengals 34-24]

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NFL News: Trent Richardson injures “flank”

October 14, 2012 by 2 Comments

Fantasy news… Browns news… NFL news… Bad news…

Trent Richardson departed the Cleveland Browns’ first victory over the Bengals with an injury to his “flank.” Most assume this means his side, and could even be his ribs. He missed big chunks of the second half of the game after appearing tentative attacking the hole.

Montario Hardesty filled in for the Browns. There is no word on the severity of Richardson’s injury yet.

[Related: Browns Winn! Top Bengals 34-24]

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Browns “Winn!” Top Bengals 34-24

October 14, 2012 by 25 Comments

Victory Formation!

The biggest heroes of the game for me were Emmanuel Stephens and Sheldon Brown. Sheldon Brown pick-sixed Andy Dalton with a 27-17 Browns lead to make the score 34-17. The Bengals scored on a long drive to bring it to 34-24 and were driving again when Emmanuel Stephens strip-sacked Dalton. Billy Winn took a fat-boy-jog with the ball into Bengals territory. The Browns couldn’t decisively put the game away, but after a punt and some prevent, the Browns finally came out on top 34-24. If there are no moral victories, there are no moral losses either. It wasn’t all pretty, but the Browns faced the odds and came out on top for the first time this season (and in a very long time in general.)

The Browns led for the entire fourth quarter after scoring on the first play on a Montario Hardesty run for one yard to make it 20-14. The fourth quarter also featured the drive of the game, and probably the season so far. [Read more...]

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Browns Open Thread: Week 6 vs. Bengals

October 14, 2012 by 47 Comments

The Browns (0-5) look to collect their first win of the season today as they host divisional rival Cincinnati (3-2). While the Bengals haven’t been that bullet-proof this season, this looks like a stretch based on their dynamic playmakers on both sides of the ball.

Follow along with all of the action here at WFNY. Yours truly will be attending the game cheering on the Brownies, so hopefully they can finally crack the egg in the wins column this afternoon.

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While We’re Waiting … Browns Hope for First Win, Dion Waiters’ Improvement, Ubaldo Jimenez’s 2012

October 14, 2012 by 3 Comments

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

I sensationally agree with all of these points about the Brownies: “So the Browns keep losing. The Cincinnati Bengals are coming up in Week Six and they’re not nearly as bad as fans hope they are. As we’re accustomed to, our anti-heroes are finding creative and exhilarating ways to lose, yet the fans who have spent fourteen years saying ‘I just wish they were competitive’ are now complaining even harder about losing (side note: did you really expect the Browns to beat the New York Giants? Really? If yes, why? How? Don’t be dumb.).

But from a fan’s standpoint, what now? You’re upset, sure. You’re a little disappointed, of course. Do we chalk this season up as a failure? Do we complain about virtually everything we can think of? Do we continue to act like the front office enjoys losing? If we do that, I’m going to hate all of you. A lot.” [Kevin Nye/Dawg Pound Daily] [Read more...]

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NFL News: 92.3 The Fan Reporting that TJ Ward Did Not Practice Today

October 13, 2012 by 1 Comment

There’s been some confusion on Twitter this early afternoon about the practice status of Browns safety TJ Ward.

Initially, Joe Lull of 92.3 The Fan threw this bombshell out on the Internet in saying Ward had an unexcused absence this morning:

Will Burge of ESPN Cleveland, along with several other writers, then followed up with information from Browns PR saying that Ward was indeed there today:

So Lull has edited his initial tweet, now saying that Ward did not participate, and asserting that 92.3 The Fan is sticking by this report:

I’m sure we’ll have more — hopefully concrete — information later in the day on this report. Even though Ward hasn’t been the most impressive player during his third NFL season, any potential for him missing time would be very detrimental because of how banged-up this defense already is.

[Related: Bengals vs. Browns 2 – Reader Survey]

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While We’re Waiting … Trent Richardson’s Impact, Joe Haden’s Return, Buckeyes Face Hoosiers

October 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

A nice feature on the impact of a certain new tailback for the Browns: “Lost in the drama surrounding the Cleveland Browns’ 0-5 start and head coach Pat Shurmur’s daily struggle with the local media is the fact that running back Trent Richardson is having himself a great start to the season. This comes after undergoing arthroscopic surgery during training camp, putting everyone on edge as to whether he would be worthy of the No. 3 overall pick.

So far, he certainly has been. Through five games, Richardson has rushed for 303 yards, good enough for 16th in the league. He has also scored four touchdowns, which ties him for second in the NFL among running backs. Richardson’s real value, though, comes from his presence in the passing game, where he has 20 catches for 169 yards (and another touchdown tacked on). His 20 catches ranks him third among running backs, while his 169 yards puts him fourth.” [Steve DiMatteo/Dawgs By Nature]

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Pics: What happened on D’Qwell Jackson’s unnecessary roughness penalty?

September 17, 2012 by 10 Comments

Editor’s note: Let me just say how much I like D’Qwell Jackson as a player. This is the second post in two days that is seemingly picking on him, and I don’t mean to do that. 

There was some mystery surrounding a penalty in which the TV broadcast didn’t do a good job of going back to show you what happened. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was wrapped up and sacked, and then all of a sudden there was an unnecessary roughness call on linebacker D’Qwell Jackson.

What happened was away from the ball.

So that’s what happened. D’Qwell saw an opportunity to put a crushing shot on Bengals tight end Jermaine Gresham. Whether the call was just or not, Jackson certainly laid Gresham out, but as you can see it is within the first five yards so contact should be allowed. Not so sure just how much or what kind of contact constitutes a personal foul, but the replacement refs certainly thought it was a problem as Jackson was flagged for fifteen.

[Related: Could D’Qwell Jackson’s Hit On Armon Binns Draw Scrutiny?]

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Cleveland Browns Game 2: Winners and Losers

September 17, 2012 by 84 Comments

Who caught your eye? Did someone stand out? Who blew it? That’s what were interested in this morning. Winners and losers.

The Browns fell to the Bengals, but looked better- at least offensively. Let’s get it started…

LOSER: Joe Haden. This will likely be a four week inclusion. Haden put his teammates in a tough spot. I certainly wouldn’t insist the Browns win that game with Haden in the line-up. But you can’t doubt they would have been better.

WINNER: Trent Richardson. Obvious pick here, but no less worthy. Richardson had some of his Alabama explosiveness this week. Thank goodness. Not a huge fan of the sideways somersault into the end zone, but I am a huge fan of the effort after the catch to get into the end zone. 109 yards rushing and 36 yards receiving with two scores. Well done. Whew. [Read more...]

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Could D’Qwell Jackson’s Hit On Armon Binns Draw Scrutiny?

September 16, 2012 by 8 Comments

D’Qwell Jackson put a heck of a pop on Bengals receiver Armon Binns during the second quarter of Sunday’s loss. Binns was attempting to make a catch and Jackson came in and stunned him badly with a shot into the chest. Instant reaction was that Jackson (despite not being penalized) could very well receive a fine for that hit.

Former NFL official and FOX TV employee Mike Pereira disagreed with this assessment via Twitter.

I’ll be the first one to take an expert’s word on things and I do recognize Pereira as an authority to be sure. Even still, I’m not so sure that I totally agree with his conclusion.

The reason that I thought Jackson was going to be under a microscope for the hit is because the player was seemingly defenseless, and it appeared to me that Jackson effectively launched himself in an upward manner into the receiver. Whether or not he led with his helmet is up for debate and I think it might be subject to discipline.

I might be wrong, but I’m trying my best to keep up with the new NFL. We’ll all be better off when we all (players and commentators included) understand the rules completely and totally. And no, I’m not rooting for Jackson to lose money. I’m just looking to understand all the rules as they continue to morph and change.

The NFL used this language to “clarify” the defenseless player rules a year ago.

(b) Prohibited contact against a player who is in a defenseless posture is:
(1) Forcibly hitting the defenseless player’s head or neck area with the helmet, facemask, forearm, or shoulder, regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him; and
(2) Lowering the head and making forcible contact with the top/crown or forehead/”hairline” parts of the helmet against any part of the defenseless player’s body.

[Related: Trent Richardson, Peyton Hillis and Watchable Football]

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Box Score: Browns 27, Bengals 34

September 16, 2012 by 7 Comments

Incredible improvements were on display Sunday in Cincinnati for the Browns offense. Trent Richardson put up monster numbers and Cleveland scored more points than all but one of their 2011 games.

Yet, the Bengals were in control throughout and led coast to coast. The Browns secondary looked suspect at best without Joe Haden and the solid second-half offense was just too little too late. In the meanwhile, Brandon Weeden set a franchise rookie passing record with 322 yards in a single game.

Scoring Summary

1st QuarterCLE – CIN
13:13 Cincinnati BengalsCIN TD Reggie Hodges punt. Adam Jones returned punt for 81 yards (Mike Nugent made PAT) 0 – 7
9:01 Cleveland BrownsCLE FG Phil Dawson kicked a 50-yard field goal 3 – 7
2nd QuarterCLE – CIN
10:27 Cincinnati BengalsCIN TD Andy Dalton passed to A.J. Green to the right for 10 yard gain (Mike Nugent made PAT) 3 – 14
8:05 Cleveland BrownsCLE TD Trent Richardson rushed to the right for 32 yard gain (Phil Dawsonmade PAT) 10 – 14
4:45 Cincinnati BengalsCIN FG Mike Nugent kicked a 39-yard field goal 10 – 17
3rd QuarterCLE – CIN
11:58 Cincinnati BengalsCIN TD Andy Dalton passed to Brandon Tate to the right for 44 yard gain (Mike Nugent made PAT) 10 – 24
0:07 Cleveland BrownsCLE TD Brandon Weeden passed to Trent Richardson to the left for 23 yard gain (Phil Dawson made PAT) 17 – 24
4th QuarterCLE – CIN
10:44 Cincinnati BengalsCIN TD Andy Dalton passed to Andrew Hawkins to the right for 50 yard gain (Mike Nugent made PAT) 17 – 31
7:11 Cleveland BrownsCLE TD Brandon Weeden passed to Greg Little down the middle for 24 yard gain (Phil Dawson made PAT) 24 – 31
2:09 Cincinnati BengalsCIN FG Mike Nugent kicked a 37-yard field goal 24 – 34
0:20 Cleveland BrownsCLE FG Phil Dawson kicked a 25-yard field goal 27 – 34

Passing

Cleveland Browns Comp Att Yds Pct Y/A Sack YdsL TD Int Rating
Brandon Weeden(notes) 26 37 322 70.3 8.7 2 13 2 0 114.9
Cincinnati Bengals Comp Att Yds Pct Y/A Sack YdsL TD Int Rating
Andy Dalton(notes) 24 31 318 77.4 10.3 6 23 3 1 128.2

Rushing

Cleveland Browns Rush Yds Avg Lng TD FumL
Trent Richardson(notes) 19 109 5.7 32 1 0
Travis Benjamin(notes) 2 15 7.5 13 0 0
Brandon Weeden(notes) 2 6 3.0 4 0 0
Cincinnati Bengals Rush Yds Avg Lng TD FumL
BenJarvus Green-Ellis(notes) 21 75 3.6 19 0 0
Andy Dalton(notes) 3 4 1.3 3 0 0
Cedric Peerman(notes) 1 1 1.0 1 0 0

Receiving

Cleveland Browns Rec Yds Avg Lng TD FumL
Mohamed Massaquoi(notes) 5 90 18.0 22 0 0
Chris Ogbonnaya(notes) 6 73 12.2 21 0 1
Greg Little(notes) 5 57 11.4 24 1 0
Trent Richardson(notes) 4 36 9.0 23 1 0
Alex Smith(notes) 3 30 10.0 17 0 0
Benjamin Watson(notes) 1 27 27.0 27 0 0
Josh Gordon(notes) 1 5 5.0 5 0 0
Joshua Cribbs(notes) 1 4 4.0 4 0 0
Cincinnati Bengals Rec Yds Avg Lng TD FumL
Brandon Tate(notes) 3 71 23.7 44 1 0
Armon Binns(notes) 5 66 13.2 20 0 0
A.J. Green(notes) 7 58 8.3 12 1 0
Andrew Hawkins(notes) 2 56 28.0 50 1 0
Jermaine Gresham(notes) 4 37 9.3 22 0 0
BenJarvus Green-Ellis(notes) 3 30 10.0 12 0 0

Kicking

Cleveland Browns XPM XPA FGM FGA Lng Pct Pts
Phil Dawson(notes) 3 3 2 2 50 100.0 9
Cincinnati Bengals XPM XPA FGM FGA Lng Pct Pts
Mike Nugent(notes) 4 4 2 2 39 100.0 10

Punting

Cleveland Browns Punt Avg Blk In20 TB
Reggie Hodges(notes) 4 46.5 0 0 0
Cincinnati Bengals Punt Avg Blk In20 TB
Kevin Huber(notes) 3 42.0 0 3 0

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Despite improved offense, Browns lose to Bengals 34-27

September 16, 2012 by 18 Comments

The Browns ran into a Bengals team with some good offensive playmakers, and ultimately couldn’t stay out of their own way to win it. The three big storylines of the Browns game today will be special teams, replacement defensive backs and penalties even though it could have been Brandon Weeden and Trent Richardson. Unfortunately, the Browns weren’t able to overcome their mistakes on special teams and defense.

Special teams cost the Browns a gut-punching 81 yard TD to Adam (not Pacman) Jones in the first quarter. It was a foretelling play as Browns players missed arm tackles left and right. It would be indicative of what we would see all day from the Browns’ secondary.

Say what you want about Sheldon Brown (and many of his naysayers feel free) but the Browns missed him. Brown was active, but didn’t see the field a week after a neck stinger. Combine that with the high profile suspension of Joe Haden and the Browns secondary was forced to test its young depth. While I’m not giving up hope on young guys like Trevin Wade and Buster Skrine, there’s no doubting that they hurt the team today. A.J. Green, Andrew Hawkins and Brandon Tate all made the Browns defense look silly at times.

Lastly, penalties just crushed the Browns. False starts, holds, offsides on key plays and by cornerbacks, etc. cost the Browns over 100 yards on 10 penalties. That’s absolutely ridiculous.  [Read more...]

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Browns vs. Bengals: WFNY Readers Predict 24-20 Loss

September 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Last week WFNY readers predicted a 27-16 loss to the Eagles. The end results were closer than that. This week WFNY readers weighed in and predicted a 24-20 loss. Maybe that pessimism will be correct again, or maybe this close score is just enough optimism to think the Browns might just win this first road test of 2012 in the Battle of Ohio. Here are the rest of the poll results.

[Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting … Changing Browns Opinions, Indians Blame, Buckeyes Play California

September 15, 2012 by 2 Comments

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

How would we all be reacting now if just the Browns had held on Sunday? “While Browns offensive coordinator Brad Childress was being grilled – for the umpteenth time – Thursday during his weekly 15-minute media availability about quarterback Brandon Weeden’s high throws in last Sunday’s 17-16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, he stopped for a moment and made sense of it all. ‘You know, if we had won the game, we wouldn’t be talking about all this,’ he said. ‘The things that don’t go well are masked when you win.’ Of all things that were said by Childress and Browns defensive coordinator Dick Jauron during his media availability a few minutes earlier – even of all the things that were asked of the two men by reporters – what Childress uttered made the most sense.” [Steve King/SportsTimeOhio]

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[Read more...]

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Bengals place linebacker Thomas Howard on IR with ACL tear

September 14, 2012 by 4 Comments

We never wish injuries on anyone in the NFL, but it is a part of the game and as Browns fans know all too well, it changes the action each and every Sunday. That disclaimer in mind, Thomas Howard’s injury is a big blow to the Bengals defense ahead of the matchup this weekend with the Browns. The Bengals re-signed Roddrick Muckelroy, who was one of the team’s final cuts leading up to the season.

“It was an unfortunate thing anytime a player like Thomas, a young talent, gets hurt. You have to move on. It’s a freak thing that happens but we were lucky to get Muckelroy back here this morning and get going from there,” head coach Marvin Lewis said.

You’d always prefer to have your best players beat their best players, but that isn’t a choice you get to make unless you’re playing Madden. As 92.3 The Fan’s Adam the Bull (Bengals fan) points out, this could potentially make the game easier for the Browns running attack that struggled a week ago against the Eagles.

[Related: Browns vs. Bengals – Reader Survey]

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Browns vs. Bengals – Reader Survey

September 14, 2012 by 2 Comments

Last week Browns fans predicted a 27-16 loss to the Eagles and got a lot of things wrong. Now that you’ve seen the team and you’ve also (likely) seen the Bengals get pounded by the Ravens, we’ll see how you do. Results will be posted before game time.

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