Jerome Harrison, Joshua Cribbs Run Into History and Over Chiefs 41-34

Browns Backers, “banner” is defined as “anything regarded or displayed as a symbol of principles.”   

Somewhere, Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown is smiling like a proud father after Jerome Harrison’s epic 286-yard, three-touchdown rampage in the middle of the American heartland, and fantasy football owners EVERYWHERE are kicking themselves for not picking him up. I can most certainly relate to the latter.  

There has been so much made in the media recently about embattled head coach Eric Mangini and his team’s poor play on the field, as well as the imminent hiring of former Seattle Seahawks GM Mike Holmgren and his plans to possibly fire the head coach.  

In Mangini’s defense, he has had very little to work with. After coming in this past year and remodeling the private resort known as Club Romeo by bringing in a whole new staff, along with former Jets players, the new GM can make an easy case for letting Mangini go. 

If the Browns continue to play with the effort and authority they did in Kansas City, then Mangini may not have to worry about packing up just yet.  

If I were Randy Lerner, I would get Joshua Cribbs’ agent on the phone today and begin talks for a new contract. After returning two kickoff returns of 100 and 103 yards as well as setting a new NFL kickoff return record, let’s just say that Cribbs has all the leverage in any contract negotiations.   

With the Browns winning their second game in a row and improving to 3-11, the team can continue to build on their epic win over Pittsburgh and think about getting better in the offseason. 

I’ve always liked Jerome Harrison, and to see him have a historic breakout game and break Jim Brown’s record in a Browns uniform is pretty amazing.

Harrison’s 286-yard performance is the third highest single-game total, after Adrian Peterson’s 296-yard effort against Chicago and then-Ravens RB Jamal Lewis’ 295 against Cleveland.  

The Browns have a rich and storied tradition of great running backs and kick returners ranging from Jim Brown, Marion Motley, and Gerald “The Ice Cube” McNeil, to Eric Metcalf. With their truly special performances today, both Jerome Harrison and Joshua Cribbs have now joined an elite and very special vanguard.  

Here We Go Brownies, Here We Go!

Dawgfather.  

P.S. Sources are confirming that Holmgren has accepted the Browns offer to become the new GM/football czar.

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Bears Beat Browns 30-6: DA Should Stand For Disgustingly Awful

Browns Backers,

Horrid: “extremely unpleasant or disagreeable.”

For the Cleveland Browns, it would only seem fitting that on a day the Chicago Bears honor a man known as “Sweetness,” the Browns would provide their own homage to being sour.  

With the Browns getting stomped in Chicago 30-7, you have to wonder how much lower the Browns can sink. How much more garbage must Browns fans be treated to such a display of utterly pathetic football quickly becoming the NFL “standard” of embarrassing? 

There are not enough words to describe the Browns’ latest “peformance,” other than it was total crap. And you really want to know why fans want to boycott the Monday Night Game?  

You have a totally clueless head coach and poster-boy snitch in Eric Mangini and the WORST offensive coordinator in NFL history in Brian Daboll—who should be fired sometime during the bye week or at least relived of his play-calling duties. How did the Browns come to hire Daboll when more experienced coordinators, such as Brian Schottenheimer, Mike Martz, or even Josh McDaniels, were available?  

The only bright spot on the coaching staff is defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, whose attacking defense has reinvigorated the Browns’  pass,  specifically ILB/DE Kamerion Wimbley, who is on pace to match his career-high in sacks.   

Don’t even get me started on the one-trick flash-in-the-pan artist known as Derek Anderson, who is making Ryan Leaf look like Sammy Baugh. Through three games he has the worst QB rating in the league at 40.6.

And just when you thought he couldn’t do any worse, he did. Anderson would finish the game with a QB rating of 10.5. DA should now stand for Disgustingly Awful. 

The only difference between Raiders QB Jamarcus Russell and Derek Anderson is Anderson has a Pro Bowl, albeit as an alternate, on his glorious resume. I don’t know what spark he thought he may have seen in Anderson, but it may have been a mere flicker. 

The only thing I can honestly say in Anderson’s defense is his receivers continue to drop the few balls he does throw that are not too low or behind them.

Anderson is listed as 6’6″, yet he manages to have balls deflected at the line of scrimmage. It makes one wonder if someone has pointed this out to him at Oregon State or even here in Cleveland, but it’s bewildering why this flaw in his throwing mechanics were never addressed.  

The fact of the matter is, the Browns are beyond horrid and hope at 1-7 . The early-season hope of Brady Quinn saving the Browns has about as much momentum as Thomas the Tank Engine. Watching this train-wreck of a team every Sunday is about as exciting as a snail trying to cross the Audubon only to see it get squashed by a 18-wheeler.    

Will the Browns switch back to Quinn during the bye? Yes 

Will it help them? No. 

In my opinion, Quinn was not given a fair shot in being evaluated and developed, maybe Savage was right after all.  

Only In Cleveland.

Dawgfather. http://roberts-rant.blogspot.com

 

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Browns Drop Balls, Lose 12th Straight To Steelers, 27-14

Browns Backers,   

drop—”to let or cause to fall”.

The classic cliche of football being a game of inches is indeed true, and in the case of the Browns game in Pittsburgh, the controversial spot of a ball that was clearly short of a first down can be used as a microcosm as to how this season is going. 

But for once, you can’t say that the Steelers dominated Cleveland in its 12th straight win in this so-called “rivalry” in name only, Cleveland just simply dropped the ball.     

Make no mistake, the Browns played horrid in their latest loss to Pittsburgh, the defense did allow Roethlisberger to carve them up like a brown and orange turkey for his second-career 400 yard game.

The Browns were outgained 543-197, and yet Cleveland was within striking distance of the Super Bowl champions well into the third quarter. But as for all things Cleveland, the Browns let opportunities slip away.   

Browns WR’s have now dropped 14 passes in two games, including six today, which will make any quarterback look bad, not just Derek Anderson, so Browns fans should lay off of him for this week at least focus trading Stuckey back to New York for some draft picks.   

Joshua Cribbs continued to haunt the Steelers as he ran a punt return back for a 98 yard TD and running some “Wildcat” plays, which kept the Steelers off-balance. 

This game clearly brought into focus the main difference between The Steelers and Browns is one thing: EXECUTION. 

The CBS announcers said it best: The Steelers make plays for their QB, and the Browns don’t.

Regardless, if it is Quinn, or Anderson under center, the Browns will never be able to compete until their receiver’s make big plays downfield. 

Whether it is for a clutch third-down conversion, or even a big 25-yard touchdown reception, the Browns needs to make big plays in the passing game. 

Roethlisberger is having a MVP-like season because he has two great receiver’s in Ward and Holmes who make plays for him down field, as witnessed today, and while Anderson had another sub-par performance, it is not his fault that his receivers have a sudden case of Edwards syndrome.   

Until the Browns receivers can learn to catch, it will not matter if Anderson, or Quinn is throwing them the ball, because like this season, the Browns will let it slip through their fingers.

And that is something that not even Paul Anderson can take away. 

Only in Cleveland!

Dawgfather.

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Browns’ 6-3 Win Is a Classic Example of How Not to Run an NFL Offense 10

Browns Backers, 

bungle: “to perform or work clumsily or inadequately”    

If there was a case study on NFL offense, one would study legendary coaches such as Paul Brown or Vince Lombardi.

If there was a modern thesis of how to run a NFL Offense, then one would study Sid Gillman, Billy Walsh, or even Don Coryell.

Today’s 6-3 win by the Browns in Buffalo took the Browns off the winless schneid, but may have further shown that Eric Mangini and Brian Daboll will never be confused as offensive wizards.     

I’m not sure if the Cleveland coaching staff didn’t want to chance throwing into the stiff winds that were swirling around in Ralph Wilson Stadium, or they are worried about Derek’s Anderson’s little “interception” problem. 

But clearly the Browns were adamant about establishing and sticking to the run, and for once, their plan actually worked in helping them snap their second-worst losing streak in team history.  

Browns running back, Jamal Lewis looks like he still has a little left in him, as he rushed for 117 yards in his first game back from a hamstring injury. It was clear that he isn’t about to hand his job to Jerome Harrison just yet.  

If I’m a Browns fan, I would send Dave Zastudil and Billy Cundiff a complimentary bucket of ice for all the punts that pinned Buffalo deep all game and refer them both to a good podiatrist.    

Both quarterbacks stunk it up on the field and while Buffalo quarterback, Trent Edwards was able to make some throws downfield, he was “stifled” by the Browns defense that continues to let opposing QB’s scramble at will, one of which brought back a chilling Palmer-style run.  

As for Derek Anderson, just when you thought he could build from his positive performance against Cincinnati, he becomes the first QB since the NFL-AFL merger to win an NFL game with a ZERO QB rating in the second half.

Anderson completed one pass for seven yards in nine attempts and one interception, and yet he is not as bad as former Bears QB Rex Grossman, who in 2006 had a QB rating of 1.3 in a Bears 23-13 win over the Vikings. 

Maybe Anderson and Viking QB Gary Capuzzo, who has the lowest QB rating ever of ZERO to win a game, can compare notes. 

This “performance” was not “ugly” or even “beautiful,” because it would be a insult to both words by themselves but at the end of the day when your team ships off a ball-dropping diva to Gotham and the NFL decides to investigate your team over a little issue about a running back separating his shoulder for not practicing in pads.

Your starting QB tosses only TWO passes in a game and you win! A win is a win!

Only in Cleveland!

Dawgfather

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Braylon Edwards Gets Traded To Jets, Browns Say Good Riddance!

Browns Backers,

headache—an annoying or bothersome person, situation, activity, etc. 

To quote my girlfriend when we both found out about Braylon Edward’s being traded to the Jets, “Good riddance!”  

Don’t get me wrong, I was a fan of Edwards back in his Pro Bowl year of 2007, when he had 80 catches for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns.

But when you drop wide-open balls in games and punch a member of a mega-icon’s entourage in a state in which you claim to hate and think people boo you because you went to the rival university up north, then it’s time to go.  

It wouldn’t surprise me if Edwards’ last incident as a Brown (punching Edward Givens in a Cleveland nightclub) helped Browns’ management pull the trigger in trading him to the New York Jets for WR Chansi Stuckey, LB Jason Trusnik, and two draft picks. 

Edwards, in his fifth season, has 10 receptions for 139 yards, but was held to no catches for the first time in his career in the winless Browns’ 23-20 overtime loss to Cincinnati on Sunday.  

This move is a win for the Browns in three ways.

(1) They don’t have to worry about re-signing Edwards or seeing him walk for nothing. I applaud the bold preemptive move in getting something in return with Stuckey. 

(2) The Browns will begin to showcase Mohammaed Massaqoui more and even elevate him to the No. 1 spot. After his 148-yard performance, it wouldn’t come as a shock if he emerges as the Browns new go-to guy.   

(3) The Browns do not have to tolerate or put up with Edwards’ mental lapses such as drops and unexpected brain cramps. He leads the league in drops since last year and if he thinks that Cleveland fans hate him for what school he went to and dropping balls, then he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in New York.

One drop in a clutch game will have him in the crosshairs on Page Six faster than he can yell, “Taxi!”

Let’s just hope he tangles with a member of Derek Jeter’s posse.

Bye bye, Braylon! Don’t let the ball hit the ground on you’re way out!

-Dawgfather

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Palmer, Bengals Escape Cleveland, Browns Lose 23-30 in OT

Browns Backers, 

slip – “to get away or free oneself from; escape (a pursuer, restraint, leash, etc.)” 

In a game in which the Browns offense may have finally found a spark of life, it was the defense that once again flat-lined.

The question that remains is that at 0-4, will the Browns 2009 season need to call a coroner? 

With their first win withing their grasp, Bengals QB, Carson Palmer manged to not only slip out of the grasp of the Browns, but also help keep the Browns first win out of reach.  

Make no mistake about this latest loss, the Browns looked a lot more competitive and played tough and hard for a full 60 minutes. 

Browns QB, Derek Anderson, yes THAT Derek Anderson, who is the bane of every Browns fan moved the team down the field and led them to a 17-14 lead well into the third quarter by running for a TD and finding TE Steve Heiden on one. He threw for 269 yards along with one INT. 

Second round draft pick, WR Mohammed Massaqoui had a breakout game, catching a career best 148 yards, and looking like the new No. 2 Browns receiver in the process with some nice smooth catches. Massaqoui managed to keep fellow Browns WR, Braylon Edwards, without a catch.

Browns running back, James Harrison would gallop for 121 yards including some tough inside runs; and it would be a crime to not mention PR/KR Joshua Cribbs, as he would compile 223 yards of total offense and constantly set up the Browns with good field position. 

So you have to wonder how the Browns, with this sudden offensive eruption after being dormant for so long; and managed to rally from a 14-0 deficit; are 0-4, their worst record since coming back in 1999.

I will first give Rob Ryan and his defense some credit, for playing a tough and hard game, highlighted by Shaun Rogers blocking two FG’s and even getting some production from Kamerion Wimbley and Corey Williams. 

But once again, the defense would fold like a cheap hand in Texas Hold-Em and allow a game-deciding score in the second half.

Except that this time it was in overtime. 

Make no mistake, Mangini showed some serious cojones in benching Quinn and starting Anderson. He did this despite the unanimously negative Cleveland backlash in benching the hometown hero, Quinn. Since, even Brain Daboll ditched his offensive courdinator’s instruction manual for once.

Anderson played confident, spread the ball around and didn’t throw an INT.

This team must now learn to finish a game and play a full and complete 60 minutes of football.  

If the offensive output and tough-as-nails defense can continue the way it did today, then I am confident in saying Cleveland is indeed heading in the right direction.   

A spark may have been lit after all.

Dawgs Die Hard!

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2007 Redux? Turning to Anderson Will Not Help Browns Inept Offense

Browns Backers,

redux–”brought back; resurgent”   

You have to wonder who is the most hated man in Cleveland sports right now?

Is it the reclusive part-time billionaire owner, Randy Lerner for his invisible style of ownership, Eric Mangini for his wannabe Edgar Hoover CIA style super-secrecy or is it the outcast who took the starting QB job from Brady Quinn, Derek Anderson?

Because if I had to choose one it is Derek Anderson and just when you think the Browns can continue to live up to their “dysfunctional” reputation they go ahead and do this, can you wonder why every Browns fan is on the edge of anger and frustration.

The Browns are a lot like Eric “E” Murphy from my favorite show, “Entourage”, a perennial underdog you cannot help but pull for and while E doesn’t have the beauty of Vincent Chase, the hip street-smarts of Turtle or the big bother toughness of Johnny Drama The Browns—like E—cannot seem to let go of Anderson, who much like Sloan is nothing but a tease at times, and just when the Browns think they have it figured out with Quinn they go back to Anderson!

The question is will the results be the same for E/Sloan and they are for the Browns and Anderson

While I am an Anderson fan, I think the Browns need to stick with Quinn and at least see what we have in him because we all know what Anderson has and the whole league knows what DA can and cannot do.

I think the real culprit behind the bad start for the Browns isn’t the offensive line, or the schedule or even the fact our defense cannot stop a worm. It is Brian Daboll.

This is what the Browns get for hiring a no-name to coach a NFL offense with no experience, can you say Maurice Carthon all over again as Daboll’s playcalling has all but handcuffed Quinn and prevented him from letting him play to his full potential.

Turning to Anderson will not help the lowest ranked overall offense in the NFL score points, and having the worst ranked QB in Anderson since last year—he has the lowest QB rating of 62.6 for a minimum of 150 attempts—isn’t going help the Browns. Quinn has the third worst QB rating of 64.9 percent.

The funny thing is that there was another ballyhooed, Ohio-born QB who beat out Anderson in training camp, who went out and lost a game in a eerily similar fashion, the same way Quinn did and was then traded, and Anderson played his first game as Browns starter against? You guessed it– Cincinnati!

Anderson would ride that game to the Pro Bowl and a 10-5 record as a starter.

Can Anderson do it again versus the same team in the same stadium in similar circumstances? For Mangini’s sake, that spark he saw in Anderson had better be more than just a brief flicker.

Only in Cleveland!

Dawgfather.

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QB Circus Is Back In Town, Ravens Rip Browns 34-3

Browns Backers,  

sorry – ” wretched, poor, useless, or pitiful ”  

Bradford, Tebow or McCoy?

If you just got through watching the 34-3 massacre in Baltimore, you cannot help but wonder. Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson looked and played like Dumb and Dumber. They simply are not cutting it.

With four interceptions tossed by both of them it would not surprise me to see third-stringer, Brett Ratliff play. The Browns are now officially the new Detroit Lions of 2009.  

Once again, the Browns were completely blown out in front of our very eyes. It’s getting to the point where fans will no longer care, or they will walk away from this sad excuse for a team.

The Browns are the poster boy for confusion and dysfunction, and when Quinn was yanked for the equally inept and anemic Derek Anderson, it was all over.

Quinn would finish 6-for-8 for 34 yards and one INT.  

Derek Anderson didn’t do much better in relieving Quinn by tossing three INT and just missing a fourth pick.

The Browns have completely fumbled away this season and may have set themselves back ANOTHER five years in their handling of the QB spot.  

This team cannot score, pass, or defend. Cribbs is a marked man, Edwards is getting double-teamed, and the defense gets run over and treated like a construction cone.

The sad and cold realty is that yanking Quinn, who was not helped at all by his offensive line or Daboll’s play-calling, for an even less effective Derek Anderson doesn’t make the offensive issues go away. This can only damage the team’s fragile chemistry and defeated locker room.  

The sooner the Browns find a QB and stick with him, the better they will be. They will not have to worry about hoping to score a TD, or have unwanted headlines such as fining one of your own players $1,701 for not paying the hotel bill for a $3 bottle of water.   

I’ve never been a fan in the hiring of Mangini from the start. I have also always felt that Lerner is a clueless and soccer-loving owner. Both of them dropped the ball in not naming a starter during training camp. Instead they put this team and its fickle and impatient, yet passionate fan base thru the wringer with their incompetence and lack of football savvy.    

The Browns still have the Bengals and Steelers twice and a potentially embarrassing Monday night game with the Ravens up in Cleveland.

Unfortunately, this season is already lost before it began. This will be another sad year for the Cleveland Browns.

Later,

Dawgfather

 

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Quinn Stumbles in 34-20 Loss To Vikings

Browns Backers,  

stumble—”to make a slip, mistake, or blunder”  

Browns fans finally got their wish in seeing Brady Quinn start, too bad that it was more of an audition for NFL Follies.   

During one play in the game the ball slipped out of Quinn’s hands only to be recovered for the Vikings—let’s just hope he plays more like the Browns golden boy savior than Garo Yepremian did in Super Bowl VII.  

At least the Browns scored an offensive TD for the first time since last November and Joshua Cribbs showed Browns’ management how you negotiate a contract with his seventh career punt return for a touchdown.   

With Quinn playing tentatively for much of the game thanks to a conservative game plan instituted by Mangini and Brian Daboll, you have to wonder where the offense went as other than TE Robert Royal, RB Jamal Lewis, and WR/KR Joshua Cribbs, the rest were missing in action.

The Browns seemed to be playing more against Brad Childress’ challenges than against his team. One challenge resulted in overturning a TD pass to WR Braylon Edwards after he was pushed out on a pass interference call. 

I would be remiss if I said that the bright spot of the game was the “attacking defense” promised by former Oakland Raiders defensive coordinator, Rob Ryan. The defense sacked Brett Favre four times, including one by Kamerion Wimbley, and managed to keep Favre in check while holding RB Adrian Peterson to 25 yards in the first half.

Then the 3rd quarter began.    

Peterson broke loose on a punishing 64 yard touchdown that included a stiff arm slam of Eric Wright, would finish the game with 185 yards, three touchdowns, and most importantly showed that the Browns are not even in their galaxy in terms of talent.  

Quinn would finish 20-of-31 for 205 yards, with one fumble and one interception that looked, dare I say, very Anderson like.

I’m not sure if there was a miscommunication on the route, but the ball looked like it was underthrown, and while Quinn tried to engineer plays out of the shotgun, what was with all the delayed-hand off calls?  

I can understand in trying to keep the Vikings honest in attempting to neutralize their defense but the inside handoffs and draws were not fooling the Vikings. Memo to Brian Daboll—use some playaction! 

Now I don’t want to rile up the Brady Bunch, but it will not be long before the rest of the league sees Quinn for what he is and that he cannot threaten NFL defenses. In this game you saw Minnesota bringing eight in the box and daring Quinn to beat them by throwing deep.  

Quinn may be the Golden Boy in the eyes of many, but on this day he looked like cheap varnish. 

 

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Cleveland Browns Need to Stop Adrian Peterson to Win Against Minnesota Vikings

Browns Backers,  

schism—”division or disunion, esp. into mutually opposed parties”       

One would never guess that the Minnesota Vikings were theologically astute when they alluded to the fact that there was a “schism” among players in their locker room, in their support for QB’s Tavaris Jackson and long-time NFC nemesis from their arch rival, Brett Favre.  

You can’t help but wonder if it will ever be along the lines of the “Great Schism” that split the Catholic Church in the 11th century, but you can always guess. 

As the Browns prepare for the home opener against the Vikings, who can be considered a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The Vikings have the guile of a legend in QB Brett Favre, the top overall player in the NFL in RB Adrian Peterson, and the defensive line tandem known as the “Williams Wall”; that may give the Great Wall of China a run for it’s money.  

For the Browns to have chance of winning, they must stop All-World RB Adrian Peterson, and that will be a tall order for a defense that had a tough time stopping a run of diarrhea, ranking bottom in run defense.  

With the Browns focused squarely on stopping Peterson, this will open up the passing game for Favre to attack the Browns defense. Look for rookie WR Percy Harvin to gash the secondary with some clutch down-field catches.  

For the Browns to win they will need three things: (1) Come out aggressively with Quinn, (2) Keep the Vikings defense honest with play-action, and (3) Feed off the crowd.  

In coming out aggressive with Quinn, Daboll will need to throw multiple screens to Davis, Lewis, and Cribbs to keep DE Jaron Allen and the Williams Wall honest. Don’t be surprised to see Quinn test the suspect Vikings secondary with a couple of shots down field. 

Expect Quinn to throw safe underneath check-down passes and extend plays by being using his mobility outside of the pocket. WR Mike Furrey will be his “safety blanket” on third down plays and tight spots when the protection breaks down.  

The last thing the Browns will need to do is feed off the energy of the home crowd, Browns fans everywhere have been waiting to see their future savior QB on the field.

The Browns must keep the Vikings under pressure with long drives utilizing dink-and-dunk passes. This will eat up the clock and tire the Viking’s defense, allowing Quinn to be in position to land the knockout blow.  

Prediction: Browns 27, Vikings 24   

GO BROWNS!

Dawgfather

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