Browns vs. Ravens Gameday Thread

by ChrisPokorny on Dec 17, 2006 11:40 AM EST in General News Comment 6 comments

With Orpheus Roye, Brian Russell, and D'Qwell Jackson finished for the season, today's game could spell disaster against the Baltimore Ravens and the rushing attack of Jamal Lewis. Lewis really hasn't had too much success against us since his record-breaking type of days several years ago, but as we've seen in recent weeks, our defense just seems "dead". Despite our offensive woes last week, the Browns still have some potency on offense under Derek Anderson. It's easy to say that all we need to do is correct our dropped passes, but if the Browns didn't make those mistakes at Pittsburgh, we would've at least been competitive. There are several things I want to see in this game, and that would include wide receiver Travis Wilson ahead of Dennis Northcutt. Unfortunately, based on yesterday's reports, it probably won't happen...

OFFENSE

Category	Browns	Ravens
Points Scored	16.0 (30th)	21.2 (12th)
Passing	188.8 (21st)	210.2 (15th)
Rushing	80.7 (30th)	98.5 (27th)
Total Offense (yards)	269.5 (29th)	308.7 (21st)

DEFENSE

Category	Browns	Ravens
Points Scored	22.5 (23rd)	13.0 (1st)
Passing	209.7 (16th)	187.8 (6th)
Rushing	144.9 (30th)	80.3 (2nd)
Total Defense (yards)	354.6 (30th)	268.1 (1st)

	Quarterback Here is a very interesting statistic: Steve McNair has not been intercepted or sacked in his past three games. That is an amazing feat to accomplish, and it just shows how much more polished the Ravens offensive line is than the Browns. Derek Anderson has given us some hope over his past two appearances, as he looks to upset his former team in this one. The Ravens claimed that they knocked Anderson around in practice when he was on their team, and that could be the case this Sunday. Anderson will get rid of the ball quickly, but any tipped pass will result in an interception this time around.
	Running Back Reuben Droughns, Jason Wright, Jerome Harrison, or whoever we throw in the backfield will have no shot against the Ravens defense. Heck, I'd have my doubts about running against the Colts defense (OK, maybe we would do fine against them...). The Ravens aren't a dominating rushing team anymore, but Jamal Lewis has gotten gradually stronger as the season has moved on. Lewis simply doesn't have enough speed to do a whole lot, and that's what beats the Browns: speed. When a running back takes forever to get to the line, we have usually been able to overcome power. Still, the Ravens clearly have the advantage here.
	Receiver Usually, I've been ranking the Browns receivers above the opposition, including the last time we faced Baltimore. Over the season, McNair has actually developed some chemistry with Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, and Todd Heap. Anderson has done the same with Joe Jurevicius during his past two starts, but the production by Kellen Winslow has gone down tremendously as of late. The drops continue to be the arch enemy of the Browns, as Braylon can't hang on to it when he gets hit, and Dennis Northcutt is missing his wide open targets. I still believe the Browns have more talent here, but in terms of execution, Baltimore excels.
	Offensive Line I think the statistic of McNair not being sacked in three games spells the Ravens offensive line in itself. The Browns offensive line has actually kept Anderson clean since he's been in the game, and have picked up blitzes well. On the same note, Anderson also deserves credit for that by making much quicker reads than Charlie Frye ever did. Our running game can't create any penetration whatsoever, unless moving backwards counts as penetration.
	Defensive Line Orpheus Roye is finished for the year, and we've seen how bad the combination of Ted Washington, Simon Fraser, and Alvin McKinley has been. None of them can get close to a quarterback during a game, and that is really killing us when our linebackers attempt to blitz, only to get smothered. We can only dream of having the Ravens defensive line and depth - they create pressure, plug the line, drop into coverage - of course we wouldn't know, since we haven't had a defensive line since returning to the league.
	Linebacker Of our three defensive injuries, losing Jackson is the one that really won't affect us too much. I'm not knocking Jackson by any means, but he was a rookie that was still learning the game. He never made any game-changing plays, and I'm confident that Leon Williams being in there won't make too much of a difference. In this game, we'll get to see a linebacker I'd love the Browns to get - Adalius Thomas. Maybe he can show Andra Davis how to tackle someone before they are five yards down the field.
	Secondary The buzz involving Mel Tucker and the Browns secondary has worn down, showing that injuries eventually catch up to you. The Browns secondary has not put on a good showing for weeks now, and Leigh Bodden's ankle will not be close to 100% as long as he keeps playing this season. The Ravens secondary is so dangerous with Ed Reed and Chris McAllister; it's a shame that the guy we got from them (Gary Baxter) is injured more times than not.
	Special Teams Phil Dawson has missed two field goals that could've been critical over the past three weeks: once against the Bengals, and last week against the Steelers. If he knocks those kicks through, we could've had some momentum heading into the respective half. Joshua Cribbs is still explosive on special teams, and the Ravens are without returner B.J. Sams.

FINAL PREDICTION: Baltimore Ravens 24, Cleveland Browns 20.
I hope that I'm not exaggerating the score too much, because the Ravens should clearly win this game. I have faith in Cleveland responding after last week's disaster, but we are physically overmatched. Although I gave the Browns 20 points, I see there being an 11-point differential for most of the game, with Cleveland scoring a late touchdown to make the game seem closer than it really was.

This is the official gameday thread for today's game. Any comments you would like to make before, during, or after the game should be placed into this thread. Enjoy the game, and GO BROWNS!

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Re: Browns vs. Ravens Gameday Thread

The Cleveland Browns have declared SS Ben Emanuel, QB Charlie Frye, OG Fred Matua, OL Isaac Sowells, RB Jerome Harrison, OG Joe Andruzzi, DL Orien Harris inactive for Week 15.

Finally, Travis Wilson is active! So is Dennis Northcutt, so hopefully we have Northcutt take punt returns while Wilson replaces him as our fourth receiver. I'd see no sense in only using Wilson on special teams.

by ChrisPokorny on Dec 17, 2006 12:50 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re: Browns vs. Ravens Gameday Thread

Dear Charlie Frye,
Thank you so much for these last several months. They've been really sweet, and you are a really great guy. But I think that we'd be better off just staying friends. Besides, I've met this great new guy named Derek, and we just really click.

by jdudas on Dec 17, 2006 3:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re: Browns vs. Ravens Gameday Thread

lol...

Anderson didn't have his best game today, but did enough to keep us competitive. During that string where he completed about 13 in a row, he was outstanding. The same goes for his two-minute drill.

Chaun Thompson and Leon Williams looked like a better combination than Andra Davis and D'Qwell Jackson.

When we actually get a respective defensive line, maybe the referees will actually call it when Wimbley gets held.

by ChrisPokorny on Dec 17, 2006 5:05 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re: Browns vs. Ravens Gameday Thread

Agreed; Anderson just seems so much more comfortable with the speed of the game than does Frye. He also seems to do a much better job feeling the pressure - an essential trait for this offensive line.

by jdudas on Dec 17, 2006 7:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Browns vs. Ravens Gameday Thread

By the way, tack another horrible day in challenging on the board for Romeo. There was no question whatsoever that the catch would stand to Mark Clayton.

Earlier in the game, when Todd Heap made a catch as the first quarter came to a close, I was screaming for Romeo to challenge the catch. I rewound my tape of the game during the commercial break, and saw that the ball touched the ground as Heap came down with the catch. I was expecting CBS to come back and say "during the break, the Browns challenge the play". Instead, I see the Ravens running a play...ugh...

The replay was fast, so I'm not 100% sure it would've been overturned. However, it would've been a heck of a lot better than the challenges Romeo has made all season long.

It's almost like he feels "we only challenge plays based on the big impact they have on a game. Even if the catch was five feet away from the sideline, we'll challenge it without looking at the replay just to see if we get lucky".

I would understand the challenge if we challenged wisely earlier in the game.

by ChrisPokorny on Dec 17, 2006 9:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re: Browns vs. Ravens Gameday Thread

In case Savage needs help, here is how you fire a coach after 2 years.

Bob Bowlsby, 12/4/06, 2 days after the last game of the season (when the second season is as bad as or worse than the first season), firing Walt Harris after 2 years of a 5-year contract (even though the team suffered many injuries and had little depth):

"Let me first say that I appreciate the work and dedication of coach Harris on behalf of Stanford University," said Bowlsby. "It is unfortunate that things played out the way they did. In some measure, the change in leadership is not fair to coach Harris. But, given the situation, it is my opinion that we have to start anew and identify new leadership."

Of course, Bowlsby is new and Savage hired Crennel. Savage should be looking to the future and not trying to justify his past personnel decisions.

by palcal on Dec 18, 2006 12:23 AM EST reply actions 0 recs