...a tradition of hope, passion, and misery
I noticed an OBR thread linked on Reddit today that wondered if Brandon Weeden called his own play when he fired a laser to Travis Benjamin over the top for a 69-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of the loss to the Redskins.
The prior play, Trent Richardson missed an assignment that allowed Brandon Weeden to get blindsided violently. Weeden’s helmet came flying off and the assumption is that the audio wasn’t working.
The Cleveland Browns site didn’t include this quote in their summary of player quotes, but Tom Reed of the Plain Dealer certainly noticed it. Trent Richardson seems to be indicating that his two rushes in the second half weren’t a part of the original plan, but instead an unfortunate deviation.
“We [were] ready for the game,” Richardson said. “I think we’ve just got a game plan, and the game plan we had at the beginning of the game, I think we should’ve stuck with it. But we didn’t stick with the game plan and we tried to go do some other stuff, and the outcome came in a different way.”
Some other stuff, indeed. We’ll have to wait and see if any of the reporters ask Shurmur about that tomorrow.
[Related: Browns pounded by Cousins, Redskins in home finale]
Trent Richardson had a few choice words about the way the team played today in Cleveland. He kept it respectful and said a lot of the right things, but you have to wonder if just maybe he questions the gameplan that saw him carry the ball only twice in the second half of a game.
(On if he was surprised by the way this game went after the team played so well the past three weeks)- “It’s very surprising. The way we game planned for the whole week, we thought it was going to be a good outcome, but you’ve got games where some outrageous stuff happens. Today, we let ourselves down and we let the whole city of Cleveland down. Everybody, especially season ticket holders, I feel bad for them and I want to say as a man, I just want to come to them and apologize. This was the last home game. We were supposed to go out with a blast. It was a big ball game for us and we didn’t do what we were supposed to do.”
[Related: Browns pounded by Cousins, Redskins in home finale]
Trent Richardson scored two rushing touchdowns in the first half of the Browns game against the Redskins. The first gave him his 10th to break the record and the 11th padded his lead and gave the Browns a 14-10 halftime lead.
Richardson’s 10th pushed him past Eric Metcalf and Browns legend Jim Brown.
[Related: Browns Rookie Record Report]
The Cleveland Browns have listed rookie RB Trent Richardson as probable for Sunday’s game, due to an illness. There’s no word on what illness hit Richardson, who has been dinged up all season, but he is expected to play.
On Friday, #Browns RB Trent Richardson was listed as probable (chest/rib/finger). Team just sent update saying he’s also ill. Still probable
— Nate Ulrich (@NateUlrichABJ) December 15, 2012
The Browns face the Redskins at 1:00pm on Sunday in Cleveland Browns Stadium.
[Related: Redskins vs Browns Reader Survey]
You may recall last week I discussed the possibility of a historic first for the Browns’ trio of rookie skill position players. It is possible that the Browns could end up with a rookie QB who throws for 3,000 yards, a rookie RB that rushes for 1,000 yards and a rookie WR with 1,000 yards receiving.
But before we get into the accomplishments of the trio, it should be pointed out that several rookies are starting and contributing for the Browns at a high level. The Browns are first in the NFL in rookie starts at 72. The next closest team is Tampa Bay with 44.
Brandon Weeden eclipsed the 3,000 yard mark on Sunday. He now has 3,037 yards. This is the most ever by a Browns rookie QB. Since the Browns returned in 1999, they have only had two quarterbacks throw for 3,000 yards. Tim Couch (3,040 in 2001) and Derek Anderson (3,787 in 2007) are the two marks Weeden will try to pass next. He has 3 games to do it. [Read more...]
Before anyone could question or critique any facets of his team’s most recent victory, Cleveland Browns head coach Pat Shurmur lobbed the criticism upon himself. Visibly upset, Shurmur stated that he was “pissed” at himself for not handing the ball to reserve running back Montario Hardesty. Given the frequency of scoring drives over the course of the last two seasons, picking nits seems superfluous. But when it came to the team’s second-half drive which tacked on seven additional points, Shurmur pulled no punches when it came to himself.
Hardesty had, once again, provided substantial relief for Trent Richardson, hitting holes that were barely existent, providing bursts and extending drives. Looking every bit like the player Tom Heckert thought he was acquiring when he traded back into the second round in 2010, Hardesty amassed a team-high rushing total in just 10 carries. But it was his play during the end of the third quarter which will be the talk of the town as the team heads into it’s home stretch.
Who caught your eye? Did someone stand out? Who blew it? That’s what were interested in this morning. Winners and losers.
Three wins in a row. A team growing in confidence. There are no losers today. Ok, almost no losers.
WINNER: Travis Benjamin. Which might just make Josh Cribbs the defaut loser. Not simply because Benjamin returned a punt for a score, but because Browns fans saw him return a score. Benjamin is faster. If he can show he has moves and vision on top of it, Cribbs may very well be looking for that next contract somewhere else next season. [Read more...]
I’ve been waiting for the Browns to have a convincing victory from beginning to end, and I think this one suffices as the Browns defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 30-7. Three wins in a row too, if you need them. Yes, the Browns started the game in a 7-0 hole after the first play from scrimmage after deferring, but that terrifying play was all the Chiefs could do all day to score. Brady Quinn, Peyton Hillis and Romeo Crennel didn’t get to exact any revenge for any various reasons they might have had, instead proving once and for all why the Browns need not regret the departures of any of the three of them.
There’s no such thing as a perfect game in the NFL and I’m sure there will be some detractors even as the Browns beat a bad team at home by more than three touchdowns. Sure, the Chiefs dropped a couple interceptions, Montario Hardesty put the ball on the ground and the Browns were far from perfect in the red zone. Those things matter so much less when the Browns win so big. It’s the benefit of the big win and the Browns deserve it to a large extent. [Read more...]
The Browns possess their first winning streak of the year heading into Sunday’s matchup vs. Kansas City. Cleveland has won two in a row, and four out of their last seven.
The Brownies are 6.5 point favorites against the 2-12 Chiefs. The Chiefs have been the NFL’s worst team, but played their best game in a 27-21 win last week over Carolina. [Read more...]
For the younger guys that haven’t started winning yet in the NFL, we’re just getting our confidence up in the league. For the vets, they are just like, ‘We’ve got to keep going. We can’t get satisfied with it.’ That’s one thing we’re trying to learn as a rookie group, that we can’t get satisfied with it. For us, we’ve just got to keep on trucking. [...] It’s always nice to talk about victories no matter what. If it’s an ugly win or a bad win, no matter it’s always good to talk about victories. We’ve still got a lot to conquer and stuff like that. We’ve still got a lot of goals to reach. We’re still going and we’re still trying to get to where we want to be. We haven’t gotten there yet, we’ve still got a lot to put together, but we know we’re on the right page.
– Cleveland Browns running back Trent Richardson, Wednesday, discussing what it is like to finally be able to talk about wins. The Browns, with their win in Oakland this past Sunday, won consecutive games for the first time since September of 2011.
[Related: Tom Heckert’s future may rest in his own hands]
The Cleveland Browns’ new TV show “Road Tested” premiered last night on the Travel Channel and I have no idea if it was a good show or not. I know for a fact that I was riveted and couldn’t take my eyes off of it, but in terms of targeted programming there are very few programs that could be targeted any better toward me as a viewer. I’m left mostly thinking the show has potential, but needs to reign in its chaos just a little bit.
In fairness to the pilot episode of “Road Tested” there was a whole lot of ground to cover. In its inaugural episode the producers apparently wanted to introduce the audience to the Cleveland Browns and catch them up to the ownership change and where they are as a team today. The show is meant to give an inside look into preparing for a game and all the things that go on during the week. By nature that process is multi-faceted and chaotic, especially when the grounds crew is faced with hurricane Sandy remnants in field preparation.
Phil Dawson got tons of time in the first episode. We got an inside look on what it takes to prepare a kicking ball. We saw the world’s biggest shoe closet with various planting shoes and kicking shoes. We got an inside look at a couple of Texas families at a steakhouse when the Dawson’s and their kids went out with Colt McCoy and his wife. More on Dawson later. [Read more...]
After what seemed like years of spending high draft picks on the defensive side of the ball, the Browns focused on the offense this past April. RB Trent Richardson came off the board first, a pick higher than the Browns even had going into the draft. At number twenty-two in the first round the Browns grabbed QB Brandon Weeden. RT Mitchell Schwartz was the pick in round number two, and speedy WR Travis Benjamin went to the Browns in the fourth round.
Then in mid-July, the Browns surprised many by giving up a second round selection in 2013 to take WR Josh Gordon in the supplemental draft. Reviews on that selection were mixed at best, with most figuring Gordon wouldn’t contribute much if anything in 2012.
By the time training camp was a week old, it became obvious that Brandon Weeden was going to get the nod at QB to start the season, and Trent Richardson would certainly be the feature back so long as he was able to recover his knee injury in time. With a little bit of luck, the Browns would have found their leading QB and RB for the season and beyond in the draft.
Now twelve games into the season, the Browns have a trio of rookie skill position players on the verge of doing something historic. [Read more...]
The NFL really doesn’t seem to care a lot about the lives of fantasy football “owners.” How else can you explain the multiple teams that seem to run the ball almost exclusively without exclusivity? Running by committee is a clichéd statement around the NFL, but the committee has pretty much completely avoided Cleveland since 1999. Even when it seemed like the Browns had accidentally found their way into two running backs with breakout performances by Jerome Harrison and Peyton Hillis, it seemed that the Browns could never find a way to mix and match the opportunities for both backs. Yesterday with Montario Hardesty and Trent Richardson, it seemed like the beginnings of something that might just take hold if the Browns’ coaching staff trusts in it.
I made a Twitter joke after Montario Hardesty sat with one carry for 19 yards for an extended period of time. Hardesty came in on the first drive of the game for the Browns and followed up Trent Richardson’s nine yard gain with a much speedier 19 yard run around the left side. The joke, of course, was what the Vegas odds were that Montario Hardesty would complete the game with one carry for 19 yards. My joke was almost completely based in truth. After Hardesty’s 19-yard run in the first quarter, he didn’t receive another carry until giving Trent Richardson a break in the fourth quarter. What a break it was.
“Just win baby!” The famous words of deceased Raiders head honcho Al Davis rang so very true in Oakland today as the Browns faced the silver and black. It wasn’t a pretty game. The rain held off, but the field was mucky just the same. The Browns had some big plays including long passes to Mohamed Massaquoi and a 44-yard TD to Josh Gordon. The Browns also turned the ball over via two ugly, early rising fastballs from Brandon Weeden who was wild early. On the Raiders side, I couldn’t tell you how many balls were dropped by Raider receivers, but it was a noticeably high amount. In the end, the Browns had what felt like one of their better offensive games of the season as they won 20-17.
The Browns ended an ugly 12-game road losing streak. Phil Dawson also ended a not-so-ugly streak as he couldn’t escape the ugly Oakland turf. His impressive consecutive field goal streak was ended at 29. Rather than bemoan the end of the streak, it’s much more important to realize just how impressive Dawson has been. The field goal attempt that ultimately missed was a high snap on bad turf and was ultimately blocked as well. Even in missing his first out of thirty attempts, Dawson didn’t go down easily with a common shank.
The game wasn’t even really as close as the final three point margin. The Raiders had one big play to score a touchdown for 64-yards to Rob Streater over Buster Skrine. The Raiders added a 17-yarder to tight end Brandon Meyers with one second on the game clock, but it was already pretty much over, although not before some tense moments. [Read more...]
This afternoon, a pair of 3-8 teams will square off in Oakland. The Browns are fresh off their 8 forced turnover effort against the Steelers that snapped a 2-game losing streak, while the Raiders lost big to the Bengals 34-10 to extend their losing skid to 4 games. Heavy rain has hit the Oakland area over the last couple days, so field conditions are expected to have a palpable effect on this game. Here’s three things I think the Browns need to take care of if they hope to take home a win from the west coast.
1. Win the turnover battle – In the five games that the Browns have won the turnover battle (8th in turnover margin in the league), they are 3-2, including the last minute losses to Indianapolis and Philadelphia. Likewise, Oakland is 1-8 when they don’t win the turnover battle (25th in turnover margin). This is an opportunistic defense that has playmakers at every level now. While the eight turnovers last week won’t soon be duplicated, it’s not a stretch to think the Browns can find a way to pick off two Carson Palmer passes. The Raiders are pass-heavy, and Carson has thrown 12 interceptions this season. With Joe Haden in the defensive backfield, the Browns are now 3-3. Can they push over the. 500 mark with him? [Read more...]
It ended with a coffin corner. A punt. A lawn dart of a kick that plummeted back to the earth, landing on the three-yard line before bouncing immediately out of bounds. Punts are often assimilated with failure, but on this day it was anything but.
With the Pittsburgh Steelers out of timeouts, having used them with the Browns decidedly pinned back in their own territory, the team that had seemingly found a way to win throughout recent history 1 was left with nothing but a valiant attempt at trickeration — wide receiver Mike Wallace heaving a lateral across the field as time expired, making Charlie Batch jealous of such unbridled accuracy, all with a flick of a gloved wrist. But it ended. The Cleveland Browns victorious, holding on to a six-point lead through the entire fourth quarter.
This, as it’s called in the business, is knowing how to win. It’s an ideal that has largely escaped the Cleveland Browns for much of the last decade and has assuredly not been prevalent amidst the late-game collapses that have been imagery accompanying the Pat Shurmur chapter of Encyclopedia Browntanica.
“We’ve just got to find a way to finish,” Shurmur said last Monday. ”We have a whole locker room full of winners. This whole organization is full of winners, we’ve just got to put it all together and do it.”
It? Done.
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There were no mixed feelings about the result, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t a whole host of things to talk about as the Browns beat the Steelers this Sunday. Scott and Craig opened the mics on Sunday night to break it all down.
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So how do you feel about the Browns beating the Steelers? It certainly feels better than the alternative. The Browns defense was dominant against a non-quarterback in Charlie Batch, but they also crushed the entire corps of Steeler running backs. Four fumbles lost and five if you count the one that happened on the last “razzle dazzle” attempt by the Steelers. In all the Browns won the turnover battle either seven or eight to one depending on that last one. Even given all that, a relatively healthy Browns team could only muster a 20-14 victory at home, but it was a victory over the Steelers. Yes, it was Charlie Batch, but nobody ever thought twice when the Steelers beat up banged up Browns underdogs over the years.
No, this wasn’t one of those real feel-good wins. This was more like the wins of a year ago where the Browns beat up on really bad teams with really bad quarterbacks. Although maybe it’s a bit better than that because the Browns did beat plenty of otherwise reputable running backs with a hard-nosed attitude and an ability to really stack the box and dare Charlie Batch to beat them with his duck-delivering arm. [Read more...]
Today, as a special version of While We’re Waiting, I wanted to go team-by-team as I share what I’m thankful for here in November 2012. For more WFNY thanks, stay tuned at 10 a.m.
Cleveland Cavaliers
I’m thankful for a very pleasant Thanksgiving Eve surprise in new Cavs point guard Jeremy Pargo: “Pargo’s 28 points was surprising enough, but it was doubly impressive considering that he was matched up against Jrue Holiday, who is one of the better point guard defenders in the NBA. Pargo had no trouble getting his shot, though, as he shot 11-19 from the field and 4-8 from three. He also added four assists and five rebounds.” [Jordan Sargent/SB Nation Cleveland] [Read more...]
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