Baltimore at Cleveland

8:30 PM ET, November 16, 2009
Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, OH
ESPN

Ah, it's that time of the week again. The point of this preview is to get you all excited for Monday Night Football. I mean outside of WWE Raw, I don't think there's a greater tradition on Monday Nights. This Monday, we have the match-up of the Baltimore Ravens (4-4) vs. the Cleveland Browns (1-7).

 

Now I know what your initial reaction might be when you see this game on paper: R.I.P. Browns.

 

I get that. At 1-7, respect will not come the way of the Cleveland Browns, whose season is all but done with eight games left to play. And when I mean done, I mean no chance for AFC North contention, let alone a playoff berth.

 

That being said, there are some positives and key storylines that will make this game a heck of a lot more enjoyable for you, the viewers.

 

The Quarterbacks:

 

Derek Anderson Brady Quinn Joe Flacco

NFL.com

 

The Cleveland Browns have been horrible at quarterback for a while now. Derek Anderson had one great year in 2007 (29 TD, 19 INT) and then proceeded to fall so far off the NFL map statistically that it made Browns fans' heads explode.

 

Two years after his “flash in the pan” season, Anderson is enjoying the year 2009 with 681 passing yards, two touchdowns, nine interceptions, and an abysmal 36.2 quarterback rating. Where's Tim Couch when you need 'im?

 

On the other side of Cleveland's spectrum comes another quarterback, former Notre Dame standout Brady Quinn—a once-heralded savior of the Browns, now floundering.

 

Now don't be quick to throw Quinn under the bus just yet. Since 2007, he's only played in eight regular season games.

 

Yes, the stats are not that impressive: 972 passing yards, three touchdowns, five interceptions, and a career QB rating of 64.1. On the surface, it's easy to say “Brady sucks,” but think about this.

 

Brady Quinn got hurt last year when he finally started. This year, he was named the guy , only to be yanked by the world's most-controlling-coach-who-gets-nowhere, I mean, Eric Mangini, early in the season after a couple bad outings.

 

Really?

 

Well, needless to say, “Mangenius” looked like a dope for putting Anderson back in the helm and now has gone back to Quinn.

 

So why should we care?

 

Brady Quinn was a standout at Notre Dame. He's a great athlete and if you haven't noticed, he's probably the most muscular/shredded/oh-my-God-I-didn't-know-he-was-THAT-jacked quarterback in the entire league. That should say something about how he's committed to getting better each day—at least physically.

 

Monday night is his chance to shine and exploit a Baltimore defense that's not nearly as good as they used to be.

 

Now on to Baltimore's Joe Flacco. Many say he should have been Rookie of the Year last season, given the fact that he led his team to the AFC Championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, while the actual winner of the award, Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan, was one and done in the postseason.

 

No matter the recipient of awards, Flacco proved his worth in 2008 and has improved by leaps and bounds in 2009.

 

Last season, my New Jersey friend from Audubon (where ever the hell that is) had the following stats: 2,971 passing yards, 14 TD, 12 INT, and a QB rating of 80.3.

 

Now enter 2009 in just eight games played: 2,044 passing yards, 12 TD, and 7 INT. He's on pace for over 3,000 passing yards and more than 14 TD.

 

Not bad for the 6'6” sophomore, who seems cooler than a cucumber at times.

 

Unfortunately for him, some in the general NFL audience may not care about Flacco or by golly, have even heard of him (Yes, I used golly. Shut up.)

 

This is Flacco's chance to show people that Matt Ryan, Chad Henne, and other young quarterbacks that he is one of the premiere players in the league.

 

Heck, it can be a coming out party for him in front of a national audience. Maybe when the game's over people will say “He's no Brady or Manning, but he can get there.”

 

 

 

Offense/Defense

 

Okay, the Browns are dead last in defense and second-to-last in offense (only ranking higher than the Oakland Raiders). The Ravens are 11th in offense and 12th in defense. But don't go crazy just yet.

 

If Quinn is indeed the spark the Browns need, then this could turn into a fun game, with two young quarterbacks looking to outshine each other.

 

Defensively, look for the Ravens to make an example out of Quinn and receiver/returner/runner/everything-else-man Josh Cribbs.

 

Jamal Lewis

Jamal Lewis

If for no other reason, you should watch this game to see Browns running back Jamal Lewis play against his old team one last time. Lewis, who spent his first six seasons with Baltimore, announced last week that he would retire at the end of this season.

 

He is currently 21st all-time in rushing yards with 10,456—7,801 of them (including the second-highest single season rushing record of 2,066 yards in 2006) came wearing the Ravens' purple and black.

 

He was also the youngest player back in 2001, to win a Super Bowl title (via the Ravens' Super Bowl XXXV victory over the New York Giants).

 


Al Tielemans/SI

 

And even though Lewis has been dismal this season with only 349 rushing yards with no touchdowns, remember he has been hampered by injuries, bad coaching, and the Browns' offensive woes.

 

But you can forget that on Monday night. Even with an ankle injury, Lewis plans to play.

 

In every season of his career (excluding this one), he has rushed for over 900 yards. I think he still has something left in the tank—at least for this game, given the extra motivation it will provide.

 

 

 

The Bottom Line

 

See, this game won't be THAT bad, if not bad at all. It might make for a hard-hitting and unexpectedly spectacular clash between two AFC North rivals for all their marbles. For Baltimore, winning this game is imperative to stay alive in the crowded AFC Wild Card hunt.

 

For Cleveland, this is a great game to utilize as a measuring stick to see where they are at this season and more importantly—the future.

 

Enjoy your Monday night!

 

 

 

 

Fred "The F-Bomb" Richani is a columnist for The Sports Courier , 411Mania.com , and everythingyntk.com . Richani founded The Sports Courier in 2009. His work has been featured on CBS Sportsline , Pro Wrestling Torch , GOOGLE News , and USAToday.com .

He has also interviewed Platinum-selling bands Blue October and OneRepublic . Richani currently resides in Freehold, N.J., just an hour from New York City and Philadelphia.