CLEVELAND BROWNS (0-2) | WEEK 2 | DENVER BRONCOS (2-0) | |||
VS. | |||||
6 | 27 |
After the Browns' effort against the Broncos this past Sunday, one thought popped into my mind: What the hell was that?
There are teams who simply don't have the talent to win regularly, but then there are teams who have some of the right pieces to the puzzle and are lacking a good gameplan on offense. That's where the Browns are stuck right now, which is quite discouraging considering the change I expected from the new regime. Sure, growing pains are to be expected, but I'd rather see the offense take some shots than...than...well, quite frankly, I don't know how to describe the non-existent gameplan that Brian Daboll seems to be using.
WEEK 2 - CLEVELAND BROWNS VS. DENVER BRONCOS (GENERAL THOUGHTS)
- Goat of the Game - Brian Daboll: I thought about giving it to Brady Quinn again, but I'll take a rarity for me and give it to a coach. I liked the formations that Daboll was using in the preseason to keep defenses off balanced, along with how we were keeping defenses on their toes with the number of screen plays we were running. Now, the talent utilization isn't there, and neither is the gameplan. Examples to follow below.
- Using Joshua Cribbs: What was Cribbs' strength as a receiver supposed to be? Catching the ball quickly in stride and using his momentum, like he does on a kick return, to burst through the defense. Instead, we saw Cribbs get the ball over and over again on comeback routes short of a first-down marker. That's what Mike Furrey is for (*assuming he goes beyond the marker). Also, what happened to the Wildcat formation? What are we doing, reverting to the stubbornness of the Romeo Crennel days already?
- Involving Mohamed Massaquoi: Isn't there a reason we drafted two receivers in the second round of this year's draft? I was under the impression that it was because we needed receivers desperately. And yet, we see that Massaquoi doesn't get a catch, and Brian Robiskie isn't even active. The reviews on both men weren't outstanding during training camp, but surely they should be receiving more reps. We need better route runners, and at least Massaquoi can provide that.
- Harrison as a Receiver: So far, I would've never guessed that Eric Mangini ever managed Leon Washington in New York, because the past two weeks, neither James Davis nor Jerome Harrison have been used enough as a receiver out of the backfield.
- What HAVE We Seen? We've seen a lot of runs up the middle to Jamal Lewis, resulting in longer third downs. We've seen a lot of third-down and long throws go short of the first-down marker. We've seen Brady Quinn hold onto the ball too long in certain situations, resulting in a sack. We've also seen Quinn move away from the pocket too quickly, resulting in a negative play more times than not. In other words, what we've seen is a complete mess. In the next few weeks, we'll see how good of a coach we have to do anything he can to clean that mess up.
- Right Tackle Isn't Cutting It: For the first half of a game, RT John St. Clair is doing a decent job. But when we fall behind and are forced to pass, teams are having a field day against him. St. Clair allowed Elvis Dumervil to have four sacks against Quinn in the second half, with three of them coming in the fourth quarter. That came after I had been laughing at the Packers for giving up five sacks to Bengals DE Antwan Odom. St. Clair wasn't wanted by the Bears for a reason, and we're seeing it. Get well, Ryan Tucker.
- Special Teams Fumble: Our special teams unit did a much better job this week in coverage. On the first kickoff, Blake Costanzo forced and recovered a fumble that set our offense up with its only viable threat of the game. Phil Dawson and Dave Zastudil each had a solid day performing their respective duties.
- Defensive Effort: Our defensive effort was much less impressive against the Broncos than it was against the Vikings. Nonetheless, in the first half, thanks to two missed field goals, Denver only had 13 points heading into the third quarter. We were just one score away from tying the game, but the final result appears in the books as a three-touchdown blowout. That's what makes the lack of a gameplan on offense ever-the-more frustrating -- simple execution, and who knows how things could've changed in our favor.
- Mack's Shotgun Snaps: We've seen too many snaps from rookie center Alex Mack be errant, and it cost us against the Broncos, setting Denver up for their only first-half touchdown.
- The Nickel Backs: Right now, it appears that Hank Poteat is our nickel back. I supported the release of Roderick Hood only if that meant we were committed to giving Coye Francies more playing time. Poteat was burned several times by Brandon Stokley, often on third-and-long situations.
- Quiet Play from Pool: Doesn't it seem like Brodney Pool's name hasn't even been mentioned the past two weeks? I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or a good thing. I remain pleased with Abram Elam, but again, I'd like to see how these guys play when our offense actually gives them a lead to work with.
- Edwards' Success: Another reason to be discouraged by our lack of success on offense? Braylon Edwards has not had issues hauling in the football the past two weeks and seems to be focused. That was supposed to be our problem last year; what's our excuse now?
- Won't Say It: I won't say it. I'm wondering about it, but I won't say it. That something has to do with our quarterback situation. It's only fair to give a player some live game-action to grow.
- Converting Third Downs: The Browns only converted 3/14 of their third downs. That's a very good way to get our defense back on the field, especially in the second half of a game. We're not like the Colts, who can have the ball for 14 minutes and still have their offensive playmakers put up Pro Bowl stats.
- Usally Don't Diss Them...: ...but the CBS announcers were pretty bad for our contest on Sunday. At the start of the game, Steve called Bill by the name "Bob", only to say shortly after that, "opps, sorry about that, I meant Bill!" That's a sure sign of chemistry right from the get-go. Eric Wright is widely known as one of the top 5 cornerbacks in football too, if you didn't notice.
- Gum Chewing: Was that the same piece of gum that Mangini was chewing the whole game?
- Getting Pressure: How discouraging is it to see Rex Ryan go to the Jets and light up Tom Brady with unbelievable pressure the entire game? The Browns still brought more pressure against Denver than they would have last year, but the plays did not result in any sacks. There were a few ducks that could've been picked with more luck being on our side.
- McDonald's Redemption: There was a play late in the game that Brandon McDonald took the wrong approach on, but overall he didn't seem at all fazed by last year's collapse. His interception that was out of bounds in the end zone was a great play, even if it didn't stand.
- Brownies: I guess Steve Heiden isn't a part of our gameplan either...Jamal Lewis looked good early on, and I blame his lack of success on the gameplan...had the Ravens lost Sunday, we might have been playing for the division lead this Sunday.
My optimism is down heading into the Ravens game this week. With my expectations tamed, perhaps I won't feel so surprised if we get blown out again.
Here is the roll call of who participated in the game thread, with emily522 having the most to say...
Roll Call: ChrisPokorny, Brownsyup, theW0LF, cleveland teamer, emily522, L Train, doggrad87, ejruiz, kwoog, Rocland, BradyQuinnisBeast, woodsmeister, Simmsinns, Buckeye Brad, JustBob, RelapsingDawgCatcher, SpecialBrownie, elsandito, Monsters of the Midway, kentuckybronco, kjc, BringBackKosar, DisplacedBuckeye, Dawgs Bite Back, Bumblyjack, irish1083, themadlibs, mrich, Mocking Dan, Chief WaDrew, rockybrown, DaytonDogg, Jamals6082, BLAZER_FAN_199, JulioBernazard, fwembt, Dawgger, portland, oregon, Brownie's Year, Dawg Nuts, Riverboat Sam, dmbshn41, Overlord1976, skipkirk, Rod Grimes, ericwright11, ukcatfan29, Michael Jay, The Brown Note, VABrownsFan, ELGee, Les Fleurs Du Mal, Pruitt, gahnki, Roger Dorn, athensdawg2, Juannieboy, Denarchy, dragon43078, math_geek, Elway4Prez, realmccoy, Bernie19Kosar, McGeorge
Total Users: 64
Total Posts: 889
Total Threads: 1
Name | # of Posts |
---|---|
emily522 | 132 |
Jamals6082 | 83 |
DaytonDogg | 62 |
ChrisPokorny | 48 |
DisplacedBuckeye | 41 |
dmbshn41 | 40 |
BringBackKosar | 40 |
Simmsinns | 39 |
Dawgger | 39 |
Brownie's Year | 32 |
Michael Jay | 27 |
woodsmeister | 26 |
irish1083 | 26 |
Bumblyjack | 24 |
Dawg Nuts | 20 |
BLAZER_FAN_199 | 17 |
RelapsingDawgCatcher | 14 |
Roger Dorn | 11 |
kwoog | 11 |
JulioBernazard | 10 |
Rod Grimes | 8 |
ejruiz | 8 |
BradyQuinnisBeast | 8 |
skipkirk | 7 |
ukcatfan29 | 7 |
athensdawg2 | 7 |
fwembt | 6 |
Pruitt | 6 |
Overlord1976 | 6 |
kentuckybronco | 5 |
kjc | 5 |
SpecialBrownie | 5 |
Brownsyup | 5 |
ELGee | 5 |
Juannieboy | 5 |
portland, oregon | 4 |
theW0LF | 4 |
elsandito | 4 |
themadlibs | 4 |
Les Fleurs Du Mal | 3 |
JustBob | 3 |
VABrownsFan | 2 |
McGeorge | 2 |
realmccoy | 2 |
Dawgs Bite Back | 2 |
ericwright11 | 2 |
cleveland teamer | 2 |
Monsters of the Midway | 2 |
Elway4Prez | 2 |
Chief WaDrew | 2 |
Bernie19Kosar | 1 |
dragon43078 | 1 |
Denarchy | 1 |
math_geek | 1 |
doggrad87 | 1 |
Mocking Dan | 1 |
mrich | 1 |
Buckeye Brad | 1 |
rockybrown | 1 |
Rocland | 1 |
The Brown Note | 1 |
L Train | 1 |
Riverboat Sam | 1 |
gahnki | 1 |