After a great 2007 season, high hopes are streaming around Lake Erie.
The Browns are returning everyone that played a key role in last year's 10-6 run that just missed the playoffs. Plus, they added some big names that are supposed to push them over the edge to greatness.
It breaks my heart to inform everyone that the Browns are going to suck yet again and there is plenty of reasoning to back that up.
1) Defense (or lack there of)
The defense is a joke. They were 10-6 last year, even though the defense was 30th in the league. They gave up 360 yards per game!
They brought in Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers to try and solidify the line, which gave up 4.5 yards every time the opposing team carried the ball. Even if they can stop the run, the secondary gave up 29 touchdowns last year.
As much as I love Sean Jones, he can't cover anyone. He just comes up and makes hits and big plays. Second-year corner Eric Wright is supposed to be a shut down corner in the future, but right now he couldn't cover his bed.
Last night's pass interference on the Giant's second possession made me almost throw my dinner plate at the television. It would take an act of God for this defense to help the Browns get to the playoffs this year.
2) Derek Anderson
Oh yes, he made it to the Pro Bowl last year. But take a close look at what he did in tight situations.
The Cincinnati game at their place last year was an on-going joke with interceptions being the punch line. The Bengals literally tried to give us that game and let us go on to the playoffs, but Anderson was throwing to the orange and black jerseys instead of orange and brown. I actually remember turning the channel in the third quarter to watch Cash Cab, the best game show on T.V., because I knew they wouldn't win the game.
Yes, he threw 29 touchdowns, but that goes along with the 19 interceptions and the 56.5 completion percentage (28th). He should thank Jamal Lewis for revamping his career and allowing Derek to throw the ball down field because teams had to respect the run. His biggest flaw is when he wants a receiver, he stares him down. It's obvious. It's sickening. Bra-dy, Bra-dy!
3) Penalties
This team has no discipline. They showed it last night in a preseason game that they couldn't stay away from commiting penalties that cost them big time.
These weren't just five-yard false start penalties either. They had 10 penalties for 128 yards! No one respects Romeo Crennel, and because of that they will continue to shoot themselves in the foot due with dumb penalties.
4) History
Every year they do well, they follow it up by totally sucking.
In 2002, they backed their way into the playoffs only to blow a lead (22 points in the fourth quarter to win by three) to the hated Steelers and be knocked out in the first round.
I was on a plane on our way back from Tempe and still celebrating a Buckeye National Championship over Miami and thought, "It's alright because Ohio State won and the Browns will be back next year."
Kelly Holcomb threw for 429 yards, and it looked as if he was the answer and Tim Couch was a name of the past. So what went down in 2003? 5-11. Second worst record in the league. 2004? 4-12.
I didn't think a preseason football game could make anyone mad. It means nothing, the backups usually play most of the game, and teams aren't really running their full offenses because they don't want to give away game plans.
Last night I was fuming. I marched upstairs, cussing the whole way, and locked myself in my room because I didn't want to talk to anyone. They should have just quit the game. If they are going to play like that on prime time television, then they are going to be pretty pathetic because they have five scheduled with the possibility of a sixth with Indy on November 30.
Oh well. After 22 years, I'm used to it. I thought the brown pants looked decent (could use an orange stripe up the sides), Brady Quinn looked great, and the Buckeyes open in 11 days.
I guess it could be worse.
20 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Dustin Haley 10 months ago
I'm not hitting the panic button... yet.
While I pretty much hated everything I saw from the Browns in the first quarter, it is just a pre season game. I know, I know, anything we can say to make ourselves feel better about the situation, but maybe it's a good thing this happend (less the injuries). Perhaps we got all the asinine penalties out of the way. A little gut check to keep the hype from exploding our ego's could be just what we need.
To the defense's credit, it didn't seem we opened up the playbook much (I'm sure was deliberate). We were pretty soft on those recievers.
However, one thing did disturb me, Corey Williams looked pretty distrought sitting on the sideline on one shot, he then walked up to Shaun Rogers and seemed to say "I can't do it alone. Man up, you're a football player." Shaun didn't seem to reply. I hope that "general soreness" doesn't become an issue with him.
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Jeff Smirnoff 10 months ago
Man up and come out of your room. This may be the best thing to happen this team. They have been hearing all off-season about how good they are and how far they are going to go and just got their ass kicked by a far superior team. Maybe, just maybe, they will collectively realize that they might not be as good as they think they are.
It is concerning, yes, very. It is just pre-season, yes. The way this team will perform is somewhere in the middle of thsoe two statements.
The defense is a definite concern. They generate no pass rush despite their highly touted additions and the secondary is so young and thin it's scary. The linebackers look slow again. Without Shaun Rogers it is tough to evaluate them but right now they stink.
DA did look awful but had no time. Quinn went 3 and out in his only series versus the Giants' 1st team D. How Quinn perfroms Saturday versus the Detroit 1st team defense will be his first test against a starting defense. I give DA a pass, for now.
The penalties are inexcusable but fixable. I have faith this can get sorted out.
You obviously too young to appreciate the true Browns' history. Not the last 15 years of BS that the national media and Steelers fans try and sell.
Take a deep breath, get off the ledge, be a man and more importantly be a Browns fan.
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Matt Madrid 10 months ago
Actually, I've discussed Browns history with many players you would call the best in franchise history. I also can remember what they used to be like in the late 80's early 90's. Metcalf up the middle was worse than dropping an F bomb in my house. Age plays no roll in how I look at the Browns and their history. So before you accuse me of not being a man or a Browns fan, I probably have more knowledge of in depth history than you.
Thanks for the comment though.
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David Michaels 10 months ago
Why is everyone so willing to give DA a "pass."
It is time to wake up and realize the guy is a career backup. He will throw 22 TDs, 20 INTs and have a 54% completion percentage. That's what he's gonna give you.
Brady Quinn has shown plenty of potential in the limited opportunities he's received. I am confident he will be the better quarterback and have a better career and I hope that it is here with the Browns.
DA does lock on receives. He does make risky throws that 1 - get intercepted and 2 - will get our receivers injured.
Whyy aren't you willing to give Quinn a "pass" on the three-and-out series and look at what he has done. Quinn is the future.
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David Michaels 10 months ago
Why is everyone willing to give DA a "pass."
If you REALLY want DA, you're going to get 22 TDS, 20 INTs, a 54% completion percentage, 72.0 QB rating and mediocrity.
Anderson regressed steadily through the year and made the Pro Bowl because nobody wanted to go.
Why aren't you willing to give Quinn a "pass" on the three-and-out since he had to come in and deviate from the original planned entry?
Quinn has progressed, shown athleticism. Remember last year against SF, he came in cold off the bench, led the team down field and should have had a TD if Winslow had held on to a pass that hit him in the numbers.
Quinn is going to have the longer and better professional career and I hope it is right here.
Face it, DA might be the "now" but Brady Quinn is the "future."
Judging from DA's regression last year and performance, the future might be sooner than DA fans think.
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Jeff Smirnoff 10 months ago
If you are going to storm up to your room and condemn the Browns to sucking after one pre-season game then yes, I am going to question your man/fan-hood.
Browns fans have to be tough and persevere, it's been a rough 20+ years. It getting old to hear the old "woe is me" from Cleveland fans. We need to suck it up, gorw a pair and demand more from management.
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Matt Madrid 10 months ago
I guess you have all the answers and sounds like you never get upset when your favorite team gets embarassed. Maybe we should get you in the front office since you know exactly what the Browns need to do. Fans like you are the one's that make a team look bad because it's "just a game".
And just a thought... I don't know any honorable man would urinate on someone's grave. Maybe you shouldn't worry about me being and man and figure it out for yourself.
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Dustin Haley 10 months ago
Actually, from what I've seen from Jeff since joining the B/R, he's probably one of the most educated Browns history fan i know. He's right, your statements about history do only reflect the last decade or so.
David,
Selling DA over Quinn as a starter over one season and one preseason game is ridiculous as buying unproven and less experienced Quinn based off of one drive, against SF no less. While most agree with your statement that DA is "now" and Quinn is the "future", myself included, feeling too strongly about either QB right now is propostorous.
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Jeff Smirnoff 10 months ago
Oh, I was very upset, Matthew. I just choose to keep it in perspective and not pout about it.
By no means do I have all the answers nor know "exactly what to do".
Guess what, it is just a game, but it doesn't mean we should not be passionate about it and demand better from the players, coaches and management. It also means we shouldn't abandon/condemn the team with one bad, embarrassing PRE-SEASON loss.
And, for the record, the urinating on Modell's grave is a joke, and a pretty damn funny one at that.
I am tired of this comment war. It is beneath both of us.
Keep writing. I am looking for contributors for a Browns roundtable during the season if you are interested.
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Matt Madrid 10 months ago
Actually, Matt is the full first name... and sports is what really creates pouting for people over 12 years old. If you didn't have a team to pout about then you aren't a true fan. Yea it's just a game, but it's a game obviously you and I and many others put feelings into. If you didn't you wouldn't be a fan this long.
If I were to abandon the Browns because of disapointment I would have when I was 9 months old and John Elway made our defense look worse than last nights.
The urinatin on the grave is humorous, don't know you or read you enough to know that was a joke. There are people out there that would actually do it because they are scum.
I'm not questioning your Browns history knowldege like Dustin seems to be bringing into this... all I'm saying is that I've heard stories and talked to people that have played for and been in those locker rooms when this stuff happened. I went to the same high school as Bernie and he would routinely come back and talk to our baseball team since he was a standout himself in his day. That's just one of the heart's that have been truly broken.
I never wanted this to be a comment war, but to come on the article I wrote and tell me to be a man and grow a sack is pretty obnoxious. If this is what your roundtable will be like I think I'll pass.
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Jeff Smirnoff 10 months ago
The "be a man comment" was more a cliche than a criticism of your actual manhood. My apologies.
Many Browns fans seem to take the "Only in Cleveland" persona to the extreme, I am not saying you are, and it is sickening. All Browns fans, myself included, need to grow up and stop feeling sorry for oursleves.
I will cross you off the list as potential contributors.
Peace.
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Matt Coan 10 months ago
I am still not sure what the love affair has always been with Romeo Crennel and the Browns. You can't give him credit for anything that happened last year because last year was all offense. Romeo Crennel is a defensive genius remember?? Look how awesome the Browns defense has been since he installed his weirdo iteration of the 3-4 which doesn't seem to involve filling gaps. No matter how much I watch the Browns play defense I find myself asking the same question over and over again "How does that happen if we have 4 linebackers out there!!??". I think Romeo Crennel could be considered a McDonald's Dollar Menu Genius, maybe a Wendy's frosty Guru, but a "Defensive football Genius??" NO. In that case I am a "Special Teams Genius" if we are just going to be handing out accolades. And why do we need to have a defensive scheme that nobody else in the league knows? Every time we try to go out and get a player there is always like an 8 1/2 year learning curve before they understand how "The 3-4 defense really works". These men can barely dress themselves. Why do we need to be throwing these complex defenses out there. Maybe nobody else uses our particular 3-4 style because it sucks??
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David-S Serdinak 10 months ago
Of course they looked terrible. I'm NOT an Anderson fan. I think it was a giant mistake giving him that money for a one-year performance with Quinn on the bench. He was valuable after last season but won't be after this one. Between the salary cap and need for secondary help, the Brown's can't afford a multi-millionaire carrying the clipboard. As a longtime Brown's fan, I'm used to crushing disappointment! The schedule and lack of a secondary will bring us down to earth quick. Let's see Quinn with the first team offense!
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Dustin Haley 10 months ago
B-Mac and Eazy were left out to dry in man coverage last night. It seemed Wright was expecting help when it wasn't there, but that should take care of itself before the season starts. Let's not get too excited about our secondary yet. However Ty Law and Dyson are still out in FA.
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Jeff Smirnoff 10 months ago
Dustin, I heard they may have been leaving them in single coverage to test their limits. Don't know if that's true of not but it certainly did not work. That's an understatement.
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Ryan J. 10 months ago
I'm not worried about this team at all. I expect a bit of a letdown from last season, but I still think they will win nine games and that will be enough to win the division (as long as they split with the Steelers, which I think they will).
Look, at times I'm guilty of getting caught in this type of a "woe is us" Cleveland attitude, too, but I'm not ready to throw in the towel on this year's Browns just because of 1.5 quarters of ugly preseason football. Everything that could have gone wrong last night, did go wrong. Let's let this team play some regular season football before we get angry. Right now, they're still 0-0 like everyone else in the league.
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David-S Serdinak 10 months ago
Nope, I'm not giving up but I just think it's going to be a tough season. I SURE hope I'm wrong. I can't help seeing what I'm looking at, though. Does anyone REALLY believe that Anderson's a pro-bowl quarterback? He does have a great group of receivers but he has shortcomings....He pulls DBs to his receivers with his eyes and he thinks he can thread needles that he can't. He's going to throw interceptions; it's his style of play. The secondary's youth is compounded by their lack of size. This could be compensated for with a pass rush but I see a run-stopping D-line. If I'm to be optimistic, I'll say that the receivers can make-up for a lot of things...that Anderson will throw enough great passes to offset his bad ones.....that Cribbs and the special teams will spend all season giving the Browns great field position and the defense will still stuff the run even with an extra DB on the field. If all this happens and they beat Cinci and Baltimore twice...........
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Jerry Desaulniers 10 months ago
Matt your story was good and excited some Browns fans! Good writing excites people, period. I'm a Browns fan and agree with you about DA, but don't agree with most of your other viewpoints in this article. But I rank this article high because you displayed balls writing an article that would excite Browns fans. Anybody could write a feel good article with no contraversy, you did the opposite. Now my rebuttal, watch the Game against the Lions. The Lions are a team prone to a good preseason as they are heavy on the hitting in practice. The Browns got a late start by almost missing the first game due to lightining and played like they were not awakened yet, and they were not. The game Saturday will be different, the Browns Defensive unit will look good and the O-Line will be awake. But I'm afraid Brady Quinn will not be in full form yet as he has been toting a clipboard for way too long. But I hope he shows enough to open the discussion as to who is the starter? In short, Thank You for your articles it's a privelede to read them!
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Dustin Haley 10 months ago
I don't understand why anyone won't give DA a learning curve. Last year was his first year as a starter. Even Peyton Manning threw for 56.7%, 26 TD's, and 28 INT's his first season.
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Scott Miles 10 months ago
You got it, Dustin. How many quarterbacks made the Pro Bowl in their first year as a starter? Not too many, I can guarantee that. If Anderson was a first round pick and Quinn the sixth rounder, everyone would be pulling for him and not Quinn. As they say, the most popular QB in Cleveland is the backup...well, maybe with Bernie and Otto Graham being the lone exceptions.
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