Week 9 - 2014 - Tampa Bay

 

At the halfway point of the 2014 football season, the Cleveland Browns are 5-3.  That is their best record at this point since 2007, and they are about 2 plays away from being 7-1, which is amazing.  Their first year head coach has handled himself well, the starting quarterback has a 2.5 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio, and they've weathered losing 3 Pro Bowl players for portions of the season.  The worst case scenario is that they are 5-5 and in the playoff hunt when they get Josh Gordon back from suspension.  Be happy my friends.

The Browns beat Tampa Bay at home on another beautiful fall afternoon, 22-17.  The schedule stiffens up soon, and so will the wind, so the Browns need to find their footing on offense, suffering again from the inability to grind the ball on the ground against the Bucs.  However they pillow fought their way through 3 games against the bottom feeders of the NFL in the Jaguars, Raiders, and Buccaneers, going 2-1 and seemingly playing down to their competition in each.  Now the real challenges come, starting with the Bengals on Thursday in a huge game. 

Tampa Bay is not very good, but neither is Oakland and neither is Jacksonville.  Winning is winning and the Browns won.  The offense didn't have it's best day.  The defense was pretty good all things considered.  And the special teams was really good.

This offense is built on the running game.  It's hard to look pretty when you're offense is based on running the ball but you can't effectively run the ball.  It is easy to point to the loss of Alex Mack as the reason the Browns can't run, but it is more than that.  Yes, Mack's injury hurts, especially since replacement Nick McDonald had a ROUGH game.  Gerald McCoy was dominant, and is an awesome player.  But there are other problems, starting with the fact that Ben Tate isn't very good.  He has no explosiveness.  In the past three games, he has 41 carries for 65 yards.  That is AWFUL.  Isaiah Crowell has 8 carries over those three games, including NONE against Tampa Bay.  There has been no explanation given for Crowell's lack of action, but it makes little sense.  It's possible that the fumbles against the Steelers have something to do with it but I'm not sure.  Terrance West had a solid game.  The best the running game looked this season was with West in the lead with Crowell coming off the bench.  The worst it has looked has been in the past 3 games, with Tate as the lead back.  The other problem is that teams are stacking the box against the run and making Brian Hoyer beat them.  Hoyer is best operating off play action, and in order to run play action you have to run the ball.  To Shanahan's credit despite the ineffectiveness of the running game he has not gone away from it, but the best way to defense the Browns is to load up the box on first and second down and make Hoyer beat you on 3rd and long.  And teams are trying to do just that.

To Hoyer's credit, in spite of some spells of inaccuracy, he has been able to do that in the past two games.  Geez the guy doesn't look pretty doing it all the time but he's 6-1 at home as a starter.  He was missing a Pro Bowl tight end in Jordan Cameron and an All Pro wideout in Josh Gordon.  And I admittedly get frustrated watching at times but again it's a results business and Hoyer has gotten it done.  Taylor Gabriel is developing into a really nice player.  Hawkins is tough, and Miles Austin has been a pretty good free agent signing.  Hoyer is the first Browns quarterback to have over 200 yards passing in the first eight games since Brian Sipe. 

The defense has not faced a murder's row of offenses in the past 3 weeks, but they have been much improved since the start of the season.  Joe Haden has looked the part of shutdown cornerback the past few games.  Des Bryant had a really nice game against Tampa, and Paul Kruger has been outstanding really the whole season.  Whitner and Gipson seem to be the perfect safeties for Pettine's defense.  It seems like it takes a series or two for the defense to settle in, but they are starting to force turnovers and turnovers win football games.  They are still missing an interior pass rusher, and maybe when Phil Taylor gets healthy he can help.  I really thought the Browns defensive line would dominate this game, especially with that bum Oniel Cousins starting for the Buccaneers, but they turned it on when they needed to.  Tampa only managed 17 rushing yards in the second half, and when the defense needed to make a stop with the game on the line they did.  One thing you can say for Coach Pettine is that these are games that previous versions of the Browns would have lost.  Pettine has them not making the critical mistake, and that is important especially against lesser teams.

Even the special teams got in on the party, with an amazing blocked field goal by Billy Winn and a critical punt block by Craig Robertson.  Both those plays were huge, it really is amazing the impact good special teams has on a game.  That's why I'm so critical of Tabor.  Bad special teams play loses games, and good special teams play wins them.  Tabor had his guys going on Sunday, and the Browns won. 

So halfway through the season the Browns are right in the middle of it.  They are 5-3.  Mind you that they've won 5 or less games in the previous five seasons.  They'll be getting their stud wide receiver back.  The coach is clearly still learning on the job but has done a pretty good job all and all.  And say what you will about Hoyer, but he wins games.  So enjoy this victory Monday, Cleveland.  Be happy.  There have been way too many lost games and lost seasons not to be.


Random gifs

GRONK LEGEND

Backup Buckeye quarterback huge hit dot gif

This funny lady tho

Bonus pic everyone at IU should run out and get that Fuchs jersey

Week 6 - 2014 - Steelers

You could feel it in the air.  The excitement had been building all week.  The weather was perfect.  The most important game since 1999 they said.  But with the Browns, there's always that feeling.  That feeling that the other shoe is about to drop.  And why shouldn't we be nervous?  Ben Roethlisberger was 18-1 against the Browns.  The Steelers had won 27 of the past 32 meetings since 1999, including that awful playoff loss in 2003.  We've seen just about everything go wrong that could go wrong, we've been let down before.  So yeah, with the excitement of the game there was that nervousness that accompanies any hope for these Browns.  But not this Sunday, not these Browns.  This day was Cleveland's.  This day belonged to the Browns.  And it wasn't a nailbiter.  There was no last minute heartbreak in the offing.  Nope.  This day, the Browns took the fight to their old nemesis, the bully that had beaten them up and down over and over.  They took the fight to them and kicked their asses.  The Steelers, with their aging stars, their suspect defense, their sex predator quarterback, turned tail and ran back down the turnpike after a thorough beating.  AND IT WAS AWESOME.  The Browns whooped the Steelers 31-10 in front of the home crowd.

It was a big win.  It was in the division and it was a home game.  So yeah it would have been important if it was Baltimore or Cincinnati.  But this was a big one psychologically.  The Browns, as discussed before about Baltimore, needed to beat Pittsburgh to announce that they aren't a punching bag anymore.  That the trash that had been going on for the past 15 years wasn't going to happen again.  They failed that test against Baltimore.  They found a way to lose.  But Sunday they had a mulligan, got a redo.  Another opportunity to announce their legitimacy.  And they took full advantage.  This wasn't the win in the freezing cold in a lost season under Eric Mangini.  This wasn't the escape against Charlie Batch when they forced 8 turnovers and barely managed a victory.  This was a legit big game victory against their rival.  They dominated up front on offense.  They found ways to get off the field on defense.  And they played mistake free special teams.  And that my friends will win a lot of football games.

The Steelers plan was clear from the beginning.  They were going to run the ball and wear down a thin defensive front that was missing some key players.  The plan looked like it was going to work for the first quarter.  But the bend but don't break Browns held the Steelers to a field goal made and a field goal botched, and then the offense got going, and they never looked back.  The Browns scored on three straight drives in the second quarter, and Pittsburgh never recovered.  Brian Hoyer had perhaps the best 8-17, 217 yard 1 TD performance I've seen in my lifetime.  He was completely in command of the offense.  His pass to Jordan Cameron on the second Browns touchdown was a thing of beauty.  Just enough air to get it over the oft out of position Troy Polamalu and just out of the reach of Cortez Allen.  It was a beaut.  He was outstanding.  Brian Hoyer is better than I ever thought he could be, and I'm really glad to be wrong about him.  He's now 6-2 as a Browns starter.

Kyle Shanahan called another gem of a game.  The success of the running game makes play action passing incredibly effective.  And the Browns had success running the ball.  They averaged 4.2 yards per rush on their 38 runs, but that average is brought down by a fourth quarter where they were just running out the clock.  Ben Tate and Isaiah Crowell ran hard behind an offensive line that is as good as any offensive line in the NFL.  Losing Alex Mack will hurt.  A lot.  I will admit I've been hard on old Alex.  But he is really great in this scheme and his injury is going to hurt.  It's clear by the reaction to the injury how respected he is by his teammates.  But they were still able to run the ball after his injury, and that is part scheme and part running back talent on this team.  Crowell needs to hold onto the football but he and Tate played very well.  And lets be honest the Steelers defense is not that good.  In the 6 quarters against Pittsburgh after that abysmal first half in the opener the Browns have outscored the Steelers 55-13.  That is not a fluke.  That is one team being better than the other.

Defensively this was the best the Browns have played all year.  They had multiple contributors missing and were still able to limit what the Steelers were able to do.  They bottled up LeVeon Bell, and mostly contained Antonio Brown.  They seemed to dial the pressure down a bit, which helped take some heat off Haden and Skrine, both of whom played pretty good football.  The strategy seemed similar to the Saints game, giving up a little on the ground and playing more coverage.  But the best thing the defense did was tackle, they tackled better than they have all season.  There were not too many free yards for the Steelers, they earned what they got which wasn't much.  And not for nothing but Todd Haley is an idiot.  I have no idea why he would run the ball on first and second downs, get into third and short, and pass, but hey...

But this was a team win.  The whole team seemed to play well, they beat the Steelers in just about every facet of the game.  And what matters is that they are now 3-2, with an extremely soft next few games.  They have a chance to make some noise in the AFC.  And man will this offense look nice with Josh Gordon, and that day is coming.  But the biggest takeaway from this win is that they are finally a better team than the Steelers.  This is the beginning of the Browns time, the Steelers time has past.  And those frontrunning fairweather fans know it.  There seemed to be a lot less black and gold in the crowd than usual.  And they made the sad walk this time, marching out to joyful barking.  This Browns team took a big step, and it was awesome.


Random gifs

Poor Purdue

Jeremy Hill busted out the Ickey Shuffle and it was awesome

Rodgers hit em with the Kosar special fake spike (ask Marino it was Kosar's idea)

Bonus pic umm buddy are you seriously taking a picture of that cheerleaders ass on the sideline like a creep?  Yeah you are......

Preseason Game 1

I hate the NFL Preseason, it's an incredible tease.  However, it's football, and football kicks ass, and garbage football is better than no football, so FOOTBALL.

It's hard to know what exactly to takeaway from exhibition football games, even ones with Johnny MFing Football making his debut, but here's what I gleaned from the Browns 13-12 loss to the Lions in the famed GLC, the greatest of all meaningless preseason football games.

Sorry Brian Hoyer fans, but this will be Johnny's team, and soon.  We all know what Brian Hoyer is.  He's the girl next door.  Somewhat attractive, nice, friendly, easy to like.  Johnny Manziel is the stunner, the beauty queen.  Supercharged, smokin hot.  There's a chance he'll break your heart, but if you have the beauty queen you don't take out the girl next door. 

Hoyer had some decent moments, as he should as a 6 year vet in a preseason game with Josh Gordon to throw to and two pro bowl linemen in front of him.  He wasn't pressured.  He still doesn't look like he fully trusts his knee to me, but he looked exactly as he should, maybe a little better coming of the ACL tear.  And that's not to say that's a bad thing.  With the trash I've had to watch at quarterback the past few years I'd take it.  But Hoyer has a problem - Manziel can do things that Hoyer can't, and (probably soon, based on the rate he's supposedly picking up the offense) can do everything Hoyer can.

Manziel has plenty to learn, and was still pretty quick to take off when his primary read was covered, but it was tough to gauge with the trash playing offensive line in front of him.  Everything looked disjointed while he was in, and he was still able to move the ball.  (CATCH THE GD BALL WILLIE SNEAD)  He showed a live arm, quick feet, and after a couple of hits, figured out to slide and get out of bounds on two separate runs.  The game will slow down for him.  It will be his team soon though.

Manziel needs some time with the ones, with the starting o-line in front of him, to fully evaluate his comfort level within the offense.  But rest assured Brian Hoyer, Johnny's coming for you, and soon.

Speaking of the second team offensive line, they are terrible.  The problem in the NFL is that there are more roster spots around the league than there are good linemen to fill them.  Offensive line depth is an issue with most teams for that reason.  It's hard to find good linemen. 

At running back, you have to like watching Ben Tate see the hole and hit the hole.  Terrance West had some decent runs as well.  The Browns look to be in pretty good shape with those two.  Dion Lewis fumbled, and probably won't be on the final roster.  Edwin Baker or Chris Ogbonnaya should fight it out for the third running back spot.  MarQueis Gray is above average at fullback, a decent pass catcher who at least gives you that option off play action.

The wideouts dropped way too many passes, across the board.  Miles Austin and Josh Gordon both should have caught big passes from Hoyer.  Willie Snead and Jonathan Krause may have played their way off the roster.  Charles Johnson is an intriguing prospect who is worth watching more as the preseason goes on.  It should be noted that Jordan Cameron, Nate Burleson, and Travis Benjamin all didn't play.  I'm a big Andrew Hawkins fan.  I think he's going to be very good in this offense.  Gary Barnidge stinks.  But these guys need to catch the ball.

Defensively, the line is stacked.  Armonty Bryant is a stud, he's going to be hard to keep off the field.  With Rubin on the nose and Taylor, Winn, Des Bryant, Hughes, Kitchen the Browns are in really good shape.

Paul Kruger just does nothing for me, he did his classic hesitate, then slam into a blocker move a couple times and it was as ineffective as it always is.  Sheard and Mingo should be out there.  Robertson and Kirksey are going to battle it out to see who starts next to Dansby, both guys played pretty well.  Depth at linebacker is a concern, Tank Carder was embarrassing himself out there.  I'm rooting for you Justin Staples.

Come back soon Tashaun Gipson, I do not want to see Jordan Poyer as my starting free safety.  And welcome to the NFL Pierre Desir, you aren't at Lindenwood anymore.  He's clearly a work in progress.  It would have been nice to see Justin Gilbert out there.

I would have like to see what guys like Connor Shaw and Isaiah Crowell could do, but it's possible that the Browns are going to hold them back to sneak them on their practice squad and don't want to give other teams a look at them.

Also, NFL officiating still SUCKS.  And so does Soloman Wilcots GIVE ME BACK MY BERNIE!!!!!!!!!

The best thing that happened in this game is that no one got injured.

All and all it was a typical Browns game, a bunch of field goals until they find a way to lose in the end.  But Manziel is coming, and so are touchdowns and playoffs and excitement.  Hey it's early but we can dream, right?