Looking Back on Detroit Lions Vs. Cleveland Browns , Aug. 22

Browns fans now can take one collective step back from the ledge because we finally scored a touchdown.

First of all, congratulations to Derek Anderson and Jamal Lewis for the drive that brought our offense its first six-point score since Nov. 17. I always give credit where credit is due, and they came through Saturday night.

But I caution everyone not to read too much into that touchdown drive for several reasons, the primary reason being Anderson didn’t actually throw a touchdown pass.

Anderson did look improved over last week, while Lewis looked very slow and wasn’t hitting the holes before they closed up.

This is very worrisome, and I expect Lewis’ carries this year will be dwindling, unless he somehow finds a way to rejuvenate his aging legs.

Rookie James Davis made his case for making the team with an 81-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. He’s been ripping off these kinds of long runs in camp, so it was nice to see him step up during a game.

If Davis can do this during the regular season, you could see a major shift in responsibility should Lewis’ production continue to diminish. You can’t bench that kind of talent, assuming Davis is the real thing.

Anderson’s passer rating was torpedoed by an interception that, to be completely fair, was tipped by the receiver. However, Anderson has never been known for his accuracy, and that also has to be pointed out.

Josh Cribbs just made his case for a new contract a whole lot stronger. Two run backs for touchdowns (one negated by a penalty) would be enough to categorize Saturday night as a good game for Cribbs, but then he caught a 20-yard pass to top it off.

The defense looked better, but Detroit quarterback Matt Stafford was making mistakes and not reading the defenses properly. However, the Browns were doing a good job of stopping the run, and that was encouraging.

Braylon Edwards had one good catch, but showed complete lack of awareness on a sideline throw during the first drive. He’s been in the league too long to be making those kinds of mistakes.

It’s one thing to tiptoe the sideline and just not be able to pull the ball in, but he wasn’t even attempting to keep the ball in bounds.

Brady Quinn looked pretty good in his limited time on the field, but once again rookie offensive coordinator Brian Daboll hampered things with questionable play calling.

With a third-and-long, Daboll called for a screen pass that a high school defense could read and react to.

Like last week’s backwards pass on third down, Daboll keeps falling into the trap a lot of rookie OC’s fall into: trying too many trick plays in unnecessary situations in order to prove...I don’t know what he wants to prove, but I wish he’d stop it.

Quinn did have a nice pass to Mike Furrey wiped out by penalty. While it didn’t count, the performance should still count in the quarterback contest.

Despite Anderson’s improved performance, it won’t last, and Mangini shouldn’t be lulled into a false sense of confidence in regards to Anderson.

Anderson always has shown flashes of brilliance followed by long stretches of suck. It is what it is, and you just have to trust the process.

That process brought Cleveland a win Saturday night, and while wins and losses are meaningless in August, this team was a winner where it counted this week.

I’m not saying there aren’t any flaws, or that we still don’t have gargantuan hills to climb before it’s done, but the Lions game was a good step in the right direction.

Still, I’m very happy right now with the coaching staff, all things considered. Mangini and the rest of his staff took last week’s debacle and used it to make the team better.

The team that took the field against Detroit had focus, made tackles, and generally looked like something I haven’t seen out of Berea in quite some time: a professional football team.

How about that?