Week 16 - 2013

In six days, the Browns will give us the greatest gift of all.  They will end this nightmare season.  They will more than likely end it in the top 5 of the draft, with an extra first rounder.  They will enter the greatest season for Browns fans, the offseason.  They will hopefully draft a quarterback early, and a wide receiver, and a running back.  Because pretty much everyone they have at those positions stinks, outside of Josh Gordon.  Jason Campbell, you stink.  Brandon Weeden will be gone.  I'm rooting for Brian Hoyer, but there is no way they don't draft a quarterback.  Early.  Greg Little has to be one of the worst wide receivers in the league.  He is so terrible.  Devone Bess is dealing with "personal issues", which must be eased with reggae music and smoking blunts.  I dealt with a lot of personal issues in college.  The revolving door at running back needs to stop, although the commitment to the pass by this coaching staff, despite the awful level of quarterback play, may make that position essentially obsolete.  There will be sweeping changes, no doubt.

I don't even really want to recap the game.  I did watch it, not that closely.  I've seen this same game over and over this year.  Mediocre opponent, dropped passes, red zone inefficiency, inability to get off the field on third down, AWFUL quarterback play, etc etc etc.  But I'm happy that they lost.  Yes I am.  I don't care anymore.  This team will be awful until they get even decent play from the quarterback position.  Until then, it just doesn't matter. 

I tend to believe that this year the plan was always not to win.  I've said it before, they aren't trying to lose but they aren't trying that hard to win.  They were going to use this year to evaluate the offense while (presumably) trying to build a young aggressive defense.  There is upside on the defensive side of the ball.  The offense will look very different next season.  And it needs to.  Because it's getting painful to watch.

Assuming they lose next week, the Browns will have a top 5 pick.  They should be able to use the other picks they have to move up if needed to get a quarterback.  How does a first round of Manziel and Marquise Lee sound?  Or a move to the top of the draft for Bridgewater?  Derek Carr was underwhelming against USC, but the offense Fresno runs is absolute trash.  Blake Bortles?  Maybe.  The point is there will be a new signal caller next season and until they find a good quarterback they should draft one in the first round every year.  Because it doesn't matter in the NFL anymore unless you have one.  4-12 is likely.  I'm ready for this season to be over.  Merry Christmas.

Also, I know some people like them, but the brown pants are awful.  Orange, or white, please.  Look like crap, play like crap.


Random gifs

Stay sneaky Colorado State

Nobody ever wants to high five Tom Brady

Derp Flynn Derpy Derp

Bonus cool pic December football

Week 9 - 2013

Dear Jason Campbell -

I'm sorry.  I'm sorry I lumped you in the same category as Brandon Weeden.  It was an honest mistake.  I just didn't know.  I'm really sorry.  You just played a great football game.  You played through pain all game after Haloti Ngata's giant body tried to smash your insides, making throws and moving the pocket with your legs.  You completed 23 out of your 35 passes, for 262 yards and 3 touchdowns.  You didn't have a turnover for a second straight week.  You are the reason the Browns won.  You are the first Browns quarterback since 2007 to beat the Ravens, and I hate the Ravens.  It was glorious.  You outplayed the Super Bowl MVP, Joe Flacco.  So thank you, and I'm sorry.  And tell Devone Bess I'm super sorry for being super mean to him, too.  He played great.  And War Damn Eagle from my Auburn folk.

Love Eric.


Seriously though I was wrong about Jason Campbell.  I really didn't think it mattered who the quarterback was after Brian Hoyer was injured.  But clearly it matters.  Jason Campbell played a fantastic football game on Sunday, leading the Browns to their first win over the Ravens since 2007, breaking the streak of 11 straight losses.  That is insane.  The last time the Browns beat the Ravens Josh Gordon was a junior in high school.  Joe Thomas was a rookie.  Romeo Crennel was the coach.  Goodness that is almost unfathomable in today's NFL.  The 24-18 victory also marks the first time the Browns have defeated Joe Flacco and John Harbaugh.  Lookout NFL here come the Browns!

The Browns are now 4-1 when Campbell or Hoyer have started, 0-4 when Brandon Weeden started. 


His offensive weapons certainly helped him out this week.  Devone Bess, that's what we've been expecting.  What a great bounce back game for him, catching two of Campbell's touchdowns.  He only caught 3 passes, but two were on fourth down.  He made the play of the game when he came back and secured Campbell's pass on fourth and one late in the game.  That's what we've been waiting for from him.  And seriously what the hell Greg Little?  Why can't you play like that every week?  Little was everywhere, snaring passes in traffic and showing some speed after the catch.  Of course he had two personal foul penalties, but screw the Ravens after 11 straight losses it was good to see some swagger and attitude.  The Browns were the better, more talented team.  Offensively, defensively, and on special teams.  And I'm really starting to love Rob Chudzinski.  I love the aggressiveness, going for it on 4th and 1 early in the game and converting for the touchdown, and late in the game to secure the victory.

Defensively, the Browns were really good.  Baltimore couldn't run the ball.  They couldn't really protect Flacco, although he made some plays with his feet.  The defensive front got great pressure, from just about everybody.  Armonty Bryant looks like he's going to be a pretty good player.  He certainly looks the part with those long arms and seems to use his hands well when pass rushing.  He appears to be a pretty good find by Banner and Lombardi.  Phil Taylor, Desmond Bryant, and Ahtyba Rubin are fun to watch.  Joe Haden got his first interception of the season.  TJ Ward is playing at a Pro-Bowl level.  Ray Horton's defense really is fun to watch, they are fast and swarming and everything I want from a defense.  I still think they're a couple players away from being really really great, but I do love watching them.  The Ravens had two weeks to get a gameplan put together coming off the bye, and the Browns stymied them pretty good.  It was Harbaugh's first loss coming off of a bye. 

The one thing I'll say is that they had the Ravens in third and long almost the entire game and allowed them to convert 7 out of 16 times.  That's not terrible but I think they're good enough to get off the field more frequently.  And again seems like nitpicking here but on offense they need to run to the left.  All game they ran right and got stuffed.  Joe Thomas is really good, maybe they should run behind him.

So here we are again.  When I convince myself that this team is going to lose, and that it is better for them to lose, they suck me back in.  They are 4-5 and have a bye week, then Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.  They certainly have a chance to get back into the race in the AFC North, and again this game proves that with pretty good play from the quarterback, this team is pretty good.  Just how good we will find out here in the second half of the season.  After the roller coaster ride the first nine games have been, I'm sure it will be interesting.


Random gifs

A "Michigan Man" everybody

 

 

Creepy

Justin Blackmon you idiot

Week 8 - 2013

Detmer.  Couch.  Pederson.  Wynn.  Holcomb.  Garcia.  McCown.  Dilfer.  Frye.  Anderson.  Quinn.  Dorsey.  Gradkowski.  Delhomme.  Wallace.  McCoy.  Weeden.  Lewis.  Hoyer.  Campbell.

There are your twenty starting quarterbacks of the Cleveland Browns since they returned in 1999.  I've seen the jersey with all the names, but actually typing it out is stunning.  What a world class collection of never were's and never should have beens.  Jason Campbell started against the Chiefs at Arrowhead on Sunday, losing 23-17.  Jason Campbell makes 20 starting quarterbacks in the past 14 seasons.  Jason Campbell wasn't terrible, Jason Campbell was better than some names on that list, and Jason Campbell may end up starting every game for the rest of the season.  When the clock runs out on the 2013 season, the main priority will be to find quarterback 21, and have him be the long term solution that this franchise has been lacking.

It's a difficult thing, watching your team and knowing that despite being only halfway through the season the best thing for them would be to lose.  Even with the knowledge and understanding that it is not in the Browns best interest to win anymore games, I cannot help but root for them, to get excited, to want to see them victorious.  I am a Browns fan, one who has seen a tremendous amount of losing in my lifetime.  So yeah, I wanted the Browns to win on Sunday, when they had an opportunity to do so.  But ultimately it's another loss, and another step closer to a franchise quarterback.  This is going to be the way I soothe myself after these games, by continually telling myself that this is true.  It is the truth.  But DAMMIT the Chiefs aren't as good as their record, Alex Smith is terrible, and the Browns should have won.  What the hell Devone Bess???  *Exhales*.

Jason Campbell played okay.  He did not do anything to lose the game.  I think it's fair to say he played better than Brandon Weeden would have.  He found Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron, his two best playmakers.  He got rid of the ball.  He played a decent game, but that's what he is - a decent quarterback.  He is not the quarterback of the future, he's the next in line until that franchise quarterback is found.  The performances by Hoyer and now Campbell prove two things.  One, that Brandon Weeden is pretty awful.  And two, that if this team had a good quarterback, it would make some noise. 

The game itself started miserably, both for the offense and the defense.  It was an admirable job by the coaching staff to both slow down the Chiefs and get the offense going after falling behind 13-0 and then 20-7.  Ray Horton's defense played a great second half and the Browns were in a position to win the game.  Norv and Chud pulled out the flea flicker to revitalize a stagnant offense.  They were able to get back in the game.  However it wasn't enough.  Devone Bess (more like Devone Worse AMIRITE) was absolutely awful.  Not only did he fumble away a punt that would have put the Browns near midfield down only three points, he also dropped 3 passes, none more important than the fourth down play in the 4th quarter with the game on the line.  What a horrible game from a player that was supposed to stabilize the wide receiver position.  But ultimately the Browns lost, which is the best thing for the Browns.  And that sucks but it is the truth. 

It is going to be a rough final 8 games I have a feeling, but in the end it is what is best for the future of the franchise.  I'm going to be writing that a lot I have a feeling.

A final takeaway from this game is that Josh Gordon is the best player on the Browns offense, and trading him for a second round pick is lunacy.  Here's another list - Kevin Johnson, Quincy Morgan, Dennis Northcutt, Brian Robiskie, Mohammed Massaquoi, Greg Little.  Those are the second round receivers that have been drafted by this team since '99.  AWFUL.  All of Gordon's 8 career touchdowns have come from 20 yards or more.  He is one of the most talented wide receivers I've ever seen in a Browns uniform, and he's only 22 years old.  But because he's one strike away from a one year ban, they are going to trade him for pennies on the dollar?  Instead of putting a program in place and throwing all the resources they have to work with him?  I just don't get it.  Maybe it will happen, maybe it won't.  Either way it will be a relief when the trade deadline has passed.  I'd still trade Greg Little for a bag of footballs.


Random gifs

I love Dez and I hate Romo so I get it

 

TBDBITL

 

 

Sus girl shaking

 

 





Week 12

The will to conquer is the first condition of victory.

That is one of my favorite quotes, and applies perfectly to football.  On the first Sunday in December, the Browns imposed their will against the Raiders, and won their second straight game, 20-17.  The win was their first on the road since last September, breaking a 12 game road losing streak.  It also marked their first winning streak since winning two in a row against the Colts and Dolphins last September as well. 

For the second straight week, the Browns were the more physical team.  They smacked around the Raiders, and are becoming heavyweight sluggers.  I've been as critical of Pat Shurmur as anyone, but it is hard to argue with the fact that this team is starting to come together and playing extremely hard every week.  Improvement is evident both from an individual standpoint as well as from a team standpoint.  Weeden looks better.  Richardson looks better.  Josh Gordon, Greg Little, and Jordan Cameron all look better.  Montario Hardesty is running with a purpose.  And the defense is playing at a high level, noticeably better since Joe Haden and Phil Taylor, the team's last two defensive first round picks, in 2010 and 2011, have been back.  Even guys like Tashaun Gipson and Eric Hagg and Juqua Parker contributed to the win.  The Browns may be on the cusp of turning a corner, something I never thought I'd write about this season.

The Browns came out and dominated a Raiders team that they were expected to beat.  Following a Raiders punt on their opening possession, the Browns moved the ball on their first possession before Weeden overthrew Watson for an interception.  They allowed the Raiders to gain a couple first downs before getting the ball back and driving down the field for a field goal.  They mixed in Richardson and used some short passes on the drive, and Weeden looked comfortable with the plan early.  I honestly thought Shurmur had a good gameplan in this one. 

They led 3-0, and after forcing the Raiders to go three and out on their next possession, Weeden found Little for 18 yards and then dropped a pretty pass into Gordon on a go route for a 44 yard touchdown.  Gordon blew by the one on one coverage and looks more and more like an absolute steal in the supplemental draft.  Browns led 10-0, and looked on their way to a easy win.  This team doesn't do things the easy way, though.  After the teams traded three and outs, they allowed the Raiders to move down the field and Janikowski banged home a 51 yard field goal.  The Raiders appeared to catch the Browns off guard with a no huddle attack, but the Browns limited the damage.

Cleveland had a chance to add some more points, they got the ball back with about 4 and a half minutes left in the half, and moved the ball down the field before Weeden underthrew Josh Gordon, who again had gotten behind his man, and the pass was picked off.  Weeden was pressured on the play and it appeared he couldn't get enough on the ball.  Oakland moved the ball but Janikowski missed a 61 yarder at the end of the half.  Somewhat frustrating, Browns dominated the game but only had a 7 point lead to show for it and only 10 on the scoreboard. 

The Browns took the opening kick of the third quarter and did two things out of the ordinary.  Following a couple of Richardson runs for a first down, Ben Watson was called for a holding penalty.  Normally that would affect both team and coach, but they were able to gain 18 yards back and faced a 4th and 2 from the Oakland 42 yard line.  And Shurmur actually went for it!!  And they converted, gaining 21 yards after Weeden stepped up in the pocket and found a wide open Richardson.  Shurmur showed faith in his team (finally) and the team answered the bell.  That is a true sign of the progress we hear so much about.  Predictably though, they did have to settle for a field goal by Dawson, his 29th in a row.  13-3 Browns.

The Raiders continued their no huddle attack and moved the ball down the field, before a Juqua Parker sack knocked them out of field goal range.  Following the punt, Weeden hit Gordon for 20 yards and then stood in the face of the pass rush and hit Mohammed Massaquoi streaking across the middle of the field for a huge 54 yard gain aided by a GREAT block by Greg Little.  Greg Little made it easy for people to criticize him early this season, but he had turned himself around and has been outstanding these last few games.  He's a great blocker and hasn't dropped a pass in weeks.  Kudos to him and the coaches for sticking with him when idiots like me were calling for him to get benched. 

Following the big play, some of the problems with Shurmur reappeared.  They had to burn a timeout immediately after the big gain, then appeared to play for a Dawson field goal, which was partially blocked.  That ended his made field goal streak at 29, but that guy should have a place in the Browns ring of honor and should make the Pro Bowl.  He's the best in the league.

Momentum shifted following the field goal block and it looked like the Browns may let another one get away.  Palmer hit Rod Streater, who had broken away from Buster Skrine, for a 64 yard touchdown, making it 13-10.  A bad decision to bring the ball out from the endline by Josh Cribbs had the Browns backed up at the 9 yard line, and following 2 tipped passes, the Browns called their second timeout.  On a huge 3rd and 9 play Weeden again stared down the pressure and found Greg Little across the middle for a first down.  That was a huge conversion, and gave the offense some room to operate.  The drive stalled following a Weeden sack and the Browns had to punt.  Buster Skrine gave Oakland 15 free yards on a kick catch interference and again, things looked dire.

Oakland used their no huddle attack to move the ball down the field before Palmer threw the ball directly to Sheldon Brown, who had good coverage on the play and made the interception at the 6 yard line.  Sheldon Brown played an outstanding game, probably his best in years, at least since he's been a Brown.

Then, the Browns embarked on a grown up, man's game drive.  14 plays, 94 yards, 6:04 taken off the clock with Oakland burning all three of their timeouts in the process.  They ran, threw, and took advantage of Oakland mistakes.  They converted a 3rd and 3 on a pass to Gordon.  They overcame a lousy spot on a quarterback sneak on a 3rd an 1.  (Sidenote Coach Shurmur - if you're going to call timeout you may as well challenge the play, you lose the timeout if you don't win).  On the 4th and 1 following that play, the Browns offensive line rewarded their coach's confidence in them by decimating the Raiders at the point of attack for an easy conversion on the Weeden sneak.  They threw 23 yards to Cameron on the next play, ran the ball a couple times, and drew Oakland offsides on a 3rd and 1 before Richardson pounded the ball into the endzone for a 20-10 lead.  The Raiders scored in garbage time to make the final score Browns 20, Raiders 17.

It was a big time drive for both the coaches and the players.  It's important that the players know that the coaching staff trusts them to execute in tough situations, and important that the coaches know the players can do it.  The Browns are learning how to win, as is Pat Shurmur.  They've lost enough of these games that they needed that to know they can win them, too.  I don't care who the opponent was.  They need to win games, and they did.  2 in a row, with a chance to come home and get another one against the Chiefs, who have been generally awful all season.  If the Browns maintain the will to conquer that they've had the past few games, they should be able to close the season out strong and possibly give new owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner some tough decisions to make regarding the futures of Heckert, Shurmur, and Weeden.


Gif of the Week

All Nebraska/Wisconsin this week

Taylor Martinez - horrible QB, hellava runner

Huge block. Should not have been a penalty.  But DAMN.

Oakland Pig fan is my new favorite

This is pretty good stuff Mike Polk

http://fox8.com/2012/12/02/mike-polk-pat-shurmur-press-conference/

Week 4

The best part about the Browns playing on Thursday is that I don't have to wait until Sunday to get pissed off watching the Browns.  The prospects of writing a blog on an 0-16 team are strangely exciting, and it's looking more and more possible with each passing week.  I hate the Ravens.  I hate them so much.  I just feel like they're a representation of everything the Browns should be, from the fact that it was our team first, to the fact that we passed on three of their best players in the draft, namely Ed Reed, Haloti Ngata, and now Torrey Smith (for William Green, Kam Wimbley, and Greg Little).  Damn it all.  Anyways...

Here are the two problems with the Browns that I think make the biggest differences in these games (except for all the other problems with the Browns).  One, that we have a worse head coach than the other team EVERY SINGLE WEEK.  Seriously name a head coach worse than ours.  You can't.  Two, there is no accountability, with the players or the coaches.

I already wrote about the struggles our coach has game planning here.  This week, his team didn't go three and out on their first series.  They didn't turn the ball over.  They didn't look woefully unprepared to play.  These things are positives. 

However it was a 9-7 game at halftime.  Of course, Baltimore made adjustments at halftime, while Shurmur and the Browns celebrated the progress they'd made in the first half and how hard they battled.  So Baltimore marched down the field and scored, making it 16-7, in the rain.  After halftime, Trent Richardson, the Browns best and some would say only weapon, got 4 rushes.  FOUR.  They threw 27 passes.  This is not the 2001 Ravens.  They can be run on.  I'll say Brandon Weeden looked pretty good, but he'd better learn how to look off his primary receiver or he's going to throw a lot of pick sixes.  But really, 4 rushes to Richardson in the second half of a close road game in lousy weather?  5 rushes total in the half?  C'mon Shurmur.  Our coach lost the idiot battle to Cam Cameron (who also loves ignoring his best offensive player) nearly an impossible task.

Also, for the second week in a row, we get the ball with a minute left in the half (after calling timeout to save time) and run the ball on our first play.  IDIOTIC.  It's like our coach is scared to even think about being aggressive.  Shurmur.

Again, the recap of this game is short and simple.  We played well enough on offense to keep it close but we can't make a play when we need to.  We played well enough on defense but committed a stupid penalty with 4 minutes left (yeah you Buster) that cost us getting the ball back with more time for a chance to win.  We ignore our best offensive player for long stretches of the game.  Phil Dawson is the only chance we have to win games this year.

But sadly we played pretty well on offense, defense, and special teams and still lost by 7.  It's gonna be a long year.

But it's the lack of accountability that makes me the most angry about this team.  I'm not saying go out and fire everybody, or bench everybody for making a mistake now and again.  But I'm sick of seeing this team make the same damn mistakes every week.  Last year, we led the league in drops.  If we're not first this season we've got to be close.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.  Why the hell do we expect Greg Little to start catching the ball now?  Or any of these guys?  Is it time to hold someone accountable?  These guys are lucky I'm not the GM, because I'd fire the receivers coach yesterday.  And Greg Little would be inactive for at least a month, if not longer.  He wouldn't see the field until I thought he was going to be able to get through a game without a drop.  He's killing this team.

Where the hell is Josh Gordon?  Was he this far behind from a development standpoint, or is it a coaching issue? 

Except for Phil Dawson, who is phenomenal, our special teams is below average.  Reggie Hodges has been horrible all season.  Our coverage units were adequate this week at least, but have been awful for most of the season.  Someone should go, probably Hodges first.  Accountability.

And Alex Mack just stinks.  I don't watch coaches tape but I can see he is awful in real time.  I honestly think there are 20-25 starting centers that are better than him in the NFL.  I can't frigging believe we took that guy in the first round over the son of a Browns legend.  Thanks Mangini you dummy.

We're staring 0-5 in the face next week, when we're at the Giants, and then maybe have a shot at a win or two when we're home against Cincinnati and at Indy.  Jimmy Haslam should take over as sometime around then, and we should see if the new owner believes in "progress" and "battling" or accountability fairly quickly. 


I hated this by the way.  Glad Cribbs is okay.

Week 2

It's a bit sad, really, that expectations for the Browns are so low that we as fans are satisfied with a loss to the Bengals.  Maybe satisfied is not the right word, but the feeling I get is that the performance of the Browns on Sunday was adequate in the eyes of many fans.  It has gotten so bad around here that a 34-27 loss is seen as acceptable.  Progress, according to our coach.  Progress is defined as forward or onward movement toward a destination.  I guess by definition, then, Shurmur is correct when he states his satisfaction with the progress that the Browns (at least offensively) made on Sunday.  The team, especially the quarterback and the offensive line, looked markedly better.  However the destination, which in the NFL is probably considered the playoffs, still seems as far away as it did last week to me.  The team is still winless, and it's going to be awfully difficult to "progress" towards the playoffs without winning a game.

Teams breaking in a new quarterback, running back, right tackle, and two new wide receivers generally don't win a lot of games.  That's understood in this town right now.  After last season, hell my expectations were just that the games would be watchable, which Sunday's loss to the Bengals certainly was.  But at some point this team and these players have to make the little plays that win football games, regardless of youth or inexperience.  It's simple, fundamental things that lose games.  All things being equal, if LJ Fort makes the interception that hits him in the hands against Philadelphia in the closing minutes, the Browns beat the Eagles.  I'm not putting the loss on him, that's not my intent.  But that one simple, fundamental play ultimately was the difference between a win and a loss.  And while I tried to focus on the positives last week, this week I won't.  I'm sick of seeing this team lose when the opportunities are there for them to win.  Playing well enough to lose a close game just doesn't do it for me anymore, this team has to start pulling out a few of those types of games.


The mistakes started early in this one, when they gave up an 80 yard punt return to Pac Man Jones.  Since Chris Tabor took over as special teams coach, a span of 18 regular season games, the Browns have allowed two punt returns for touchdowns and one kick return for touchdown, not to mention the fake field goal TD they gave up last year to Oakland.  That's 4 special teams touchdowns against the Browns in 18 games.  That is why this team consistently loses football games.  In the two seasons prior to Tabor's arrival, they gave up zero.  Giving teams points on special teams when you are a team that struggles to score points and/or stop people (depending on the week), is absolutely unforgivable.  There were at least 6 missed tackles on the return, including Johnathan Bademosi (who made the team for his special teams work in the preseason), Kaluka Maiava, Christian Yount (hard to fault the longsnapper), Eric Hagg, Craig Robertson, and Alex Smith.  Chris Ogbonnaya gave chase at the end as well.  He was active and Brandon Jackson was not (??) because Shurmur said he could help on special teams.  The Browns never dug out of this hole, and ultimately it was the difference in the game.

The mistakes were not limited to the special teams, defensively they made plenty.  Dimitri Patterson, a cornerback, actually lined up offsides twice.  Two times.  Absolutely inexcusable.  He also played 15 yards off of AJ Green on the Bengals second touchdown, a curious move seeing that the Bengals were on the 10 yard line.  Green caught it, slipped the tackle, touchdown.  Buster Skrine was given the start over Sheldon Brown, who was active but played one snap.  Shurmur said that Brown was fine after the game, that they just opted to go with Skrine.  If Buster Skrine is a better option than Sheldon Brown at cornerback, then Sheldon Brown is probably ready to be put out to pasture, because Skrine was victimized pretty regularly and was called for a 37 yard pass interference penalty.  It would've been much worse for Buster had Dalton not overthrown two long passes into the endzone.  Eric Hagg was also torched on a long touchdown reception, and has done nothing to justify the hype he was getting in training camp. 

Cincinnati's final touchdown came when Andy Dalton slipped the pocket and found Andrew Hawkins, who slithered through the Browns defense for a 50 yard score.  Ugh.


The defense failed to stop the Bengals when they needed to at the end of the game, letting the Bengals run off nearly 5 minutes before kicking a field goal to essentially seal the game.  The Browns committed a penalty on a 3rd and 1 early in the drive, giving the Bengals a first down, and Jermaine Gresham made a crazy juggling catch to extend the drive and get them into field goal range.  One play can change the outcome of a game, and it may have been that catch by Gresham.  It was a hellava play.

Yes, Joe Haden was missed, but it is what it is.  It has to be next man up.  That's how it is in the NFL.

In total, the Browns committed 10 penalties for 103 yards, compared to 6 for 54 for the Bengals.  Ogbonnaya also fumbled near midfield when they were building some momentum in the second quarter.  Not. Good.

Hard to complain much about the offense, especially after how they looked last week.  Brandon Weeden looked like an NFL quarterback.  The offensive line played much much better.  Trent Richardson looked like an all-pro running back, powering through tackles, showing burst to the outside, and catching the ball well in the passing game.  Both of his touchdowns were things of beauty.  We haven't had a player of his caliber on offense around here in a long time.

From a clean pocket Weeden should be deadly as he builds a rapport with his receivers, but he showed the ability to stand in the face of the rush and deliver the ball with strength and accuracy.  That was extremely encouraging.  The touchdown pass to Little was a rocket put on the money.  He looked far more comfortable, as did all the rookies, and they should continue to improve as the season goes on.  By the way Greg Little does NOT care what you think.

The growth from week 1 to week 2 was exponential from an offensive point of view, and that's the reason fans of the team feel better today than they do about most losses.  But they still lost the game, despite a 300 yard passing game from their quarterback and a 100 yard game from their running back.  It's still a loss.  It's still little things that should be easily cleaned up that cost this team games.  Whether it's coaching or the players or both, there has to be some accountability.  They're still 0-2, which means they ultimately have a lot more "progress" to make, hopefully starting this week against the Bills.



Random sports gifs:

This was nasty

And I love this guy.  NO.