So, I went to another Browns game yesterday with the anticipation that they were going to win. I told anyone who would listen that the players weren't just blowing smoke when they said they were "relieved" to have Carthon gone from the building, and that they felt Jeff Davidson could actually do something with the offense.
The Jets defense is really terrible, I told people. We're going to run the ball on them, you'll see. We haven't been losing because of our defense, and if the offense can get some things going, it will make the defense even better, I told them.
At the end of the day, 20-13: Browns. And it really wasn't that close.
I have no delusions that the Browns suddenly became a great team; the Jets were just HORRIBLE yesterday. If they hadn't busted off the kick return for a TD and our kicker didn't somehow miss a 26 yard kick, the final score of that game would have been 23-6, which is about how it looked. And the Browns made absolutely NO effort to do anything on offense the entire fourth quarter, or who knows what the score could have been.
The guys I was with yesterday were enamored with how bad Chad Pennington looked and how bad the Jets defense looked. Until we started simply running into the line to kill the clock, Droughns was hitting at about 5 yards a carry and Winslow was dominating their linebackers. From our offense, that's a sign your defense is in trouble.
In summary, the Jets are GOD AWFULLY BAD. How they're 4-4 (other than beating a lot of CRAPPY teams) is beyond me.
BUT, also, the Browns had a GOOD game plan, stuck to it, and executed it. To a man, all of the players said as much, and from what audio I heard of post-game comments, they truly meant it. They believe in this team and in each other, and they are actually motivated to play for Davidson.
The best thing about leaving that game was that we had won, and the Steelers lost to the freakin' Raiders. That pretty much made everyone's day.
All of this having been said, (as the title of the blog entry would indicate) I hardly think the Browns will be making a playoff run anytime soon this season. Their remaining schedule (as with their previous games played schedule) is BRUTAL. 9 games in 9 weeks, and only a few of them winnable. Observe:
@Chargers (league's #1 defense, and a guy by the name of "Tomlinson")
@Falcons (looking very good at the moment)
Steelers (struggling, and hopefully Browns players would like to get a little 41-0 payback)
Bengals (could be interesting at home, but they have too much on offense)
Chiefs (their offense looks to be as good as ever at this point with LJ)
@Steelers (probably can't knock off the Steelers on the road, no matter how bad they're playing)
@Ravens (ditto, though they're playing a bit better than the Steelers)
Buccaneers (games in the cold are never kind to Tampa Bay, and they are far from their late 90's/early 00's form)
@Texans (just not a great team, probably packed in by this point in the year)
I could see us winning three of those, maybe (Steelers at home, Bucs at home, Texans on the road). And that doesn't even factor in the number of life-threatening and limb-mangling injuries our team will no doubt suffer over the rest of the year.
So, prognosis is for 5-11 at best, I think. Record-wise, not an improvement from last year. But, with the injuries the Browns have had and against that schedule, to go 5-11 and have made a change on offense will be progress, albeit slim.
And, when you consider that they looked like they were heading for 1-15 after the Broncos loss, 5-11 looks damn rosey by comparison.
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5 comments:
I can't believe you didn't mention the fact that Dawson shanking that kick, gave us a legitimate shot at catching a K-ball. Well, at least until we were man handled by much larger guys than us that sat around us.
Plenty to like defensively on Sunday, yes, but that very last offensive possession of ours was W.R.O.N.G. Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong FUCKING WRONG.
We run the ball up the gut on 2 and long and THEN AGAIN on 3rd and long, essentially guaranteeing the Jets the ball in favorable field position with plenty of time AND timeouts. We needed a single first down to ensure victory, and we did exactly fuck-all to get one. Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong. Romeo is a terrible game day coach, and that sort of thing never goes away.
Completely toothless. Kinda ruined the whole game for me.
In response to Steve and the offensive playcalling in the 4th on Sunday...
At this point, I would rather put the pressure on Zastudil and the defense to make a stop as opposed to letting Charlie Frye throw an important pass in the 4th quarter.
The Browns should test Frye out in the 4th when they are losing and it doesn't really matter if Frye throws yet another interception and not when one of his "questionable" throws could cost the Browns the game.
I'll admit I wasn't happy about the predictability of the play-calling (nor was anyone in the stadium), but I agree with LK in that the Browns HAD to win that game.
Frye threw one of his worst all-time passes from his own end zone earlier in the game that was picked off, and he actually had pretty good protection on the play.
I don't know if I wanted to see what he would have done with the Jets pinning their ears back KNOWING they have to come after him to get the ball back.
His field vision (or lack thereof) and "clutch" play (or anti-clutch) thus far this season doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence.
After the short pass to Winslow on 3rd in a previous drive didn't net a first down (a play that was essentially nullified by a personal foul anyway) everyone in the stadium knew that was the last time he was passing the ball.
It's all moot anyway. The Chargers, even without Merriman, are going to destroy us.
count me in as a 'if you're in a position where Frye doesn't have to throw a ball in the 4th quarter, don't let him' guy. with his career (which isn't all that long) stats/qb rating in the 4th, keep the ball on the ground.
especially since the Jets discovered that our line really does suck in the 2nd half.
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