Baby Steps For The Cleveland Browns Against The Bengals

There are no such things as “moral victories” in the NFL…but the Cleveland Browns finally played competitively and have something to build on.

Carson Palmer, and the rest of the Cincinnati Bengals, put together a long opening touchdown drive to open the game and at the end of regulation. Those two drives, and a fumble by Jerome Harrison that was returned for a touchdown, ultimately did the Browns in.

However, in the spaces in between, the Browns coaching staff, offensive unit, defensive unit, and special teams were all worthy of at least a pat on the back for their play.

Special Teams

I do not think it's necessary to tell Browns' fans that Joshua Cribbs is just a special player. There may have been faster return men in the NFL over the years, but there have been none that have the combination of speed, vision, and ridiculous strength that he possesses.

Cribbs finished the day with an astounding 223 return yards. If there are game balls to be given out in a loss—he gets mine.

On top of Cribbs, the coverage units gave the Browns great field position all game, blocked a field goal (Shawn Rogers’ 11th of his career), and forced a fumble on a kick return. Game balls all around to the Special Teams.

Offensive Line Play

The much maligned offensive line gave up two sacks on the day, which has to be applauded given that the team threw the ball 48 times. Not only did they keep Derek Anderson relatively clean, they paved the way for Jerome Harrison’s 121 rushing yards.

It is amazing how good the offensive line can look when the quarterback is making his reads, and getting the ball out of his hands on time. It's only one game, but with Anderson under center over the last two seasons, the offensive line has surrendered much fewer sacks per game.

Brian Daboll

Early in the game, Daboll made a couple of head-scratching decisions, including calling for a slow-developing flea flicker on first down and ten. Daboll must have missed the film session showing the tendency of the Bengals defense to blitz on first down.

On the other hand, Daboll did a fine job of keeping the Bengals on their heels, and mixing up his play-calling. The Browns also threw a nice wrinkle into the offensive scheme with a lot of pre-snap movement, especially with the tight ends.

Daboll also did a solid job of utilizing Cribbs, and Mohammed Massaquoi for the day. He put Cribbs in the slot receiver role where he is better equipped to handle safeties and nickelbacks, and split Massaquoi wide to take advantage of his ability to stretch the field.

One particular well-designed play that should be pointed out, was something that didn’t even result in a completion…but was a great play-call none-the-less. The play involved using Cribbs as a decoy on a wide receiver screen, and then taking a shot downfield to Braylon Edwards.

The Browns did a better job as a whole of executing the offense, which certainly makes an offensive coordinator's duties easier. When the offense actually converts a few first downs, the offensive coordinator suddenly doesn’t look so bad.

Running Back

A costly fumble in the first quarter dampened a pretty good day from Jerome Harrison, who finished with 121 yards on 29 carries, and 5 catches for 33 yards.

Harrison showed he is capable of making plays when given the opportunity—something Browns fans knew all of last year.

However, the Browns are still short in the running game. When it came right down to it, the Browns could have used a grind-it-out back to run some clock down when they held the lead mid-fourth quarter.

They rolled the dice with the roster before the season ever started by relying on thirty-something Jamal Lewis to be healthy all year. The fourth quarter of this game showed exactly why it was mistake not to go out and get another running back that could pound the game to a conclusion.

Defense/Defensive Coordinator

Hats off to defensive coordinator Rob Ryan for the job he did against Carson Palmer, and the Bengals.

This team is clearly under-manned, as was evidenced in the first, and last drives of regulation (along with the last overtime drive). But, he confused Palmer for most of the game with his multiple-defensive back scheme.

Using safety Mike Adams, and wide receiver Mike Furrey, at cornerback ended up keeping the Browns in this game. Brodney Pool played a monster game at safety as well.

Eric Wright, Shawn Rogers, Eric Barton, D’Qwell Jackson, and Kamerion Wimbley all played inspiring football. The defense as a unit never quit, even after the offense failed them early in the game.

Derek Anderson

Overall DA played a fine game. He delivered the ball quickly, and hit receivers in their breaks. In fact, he was delivering the ball so quickly that some of the receivers looked surprised that they were getting the ball on time. Braylon Edwards, Mike Furrey, Jerome Harrison, and Robert Royal all dropped catchable balls.

The team’s third-down conversion rate improved drastically with Anderson under center. They converted seven of 20 third/fourth downs, and actually ended the game with more first downs than the Bengals.

Anderson led the team to 395 total yards, and he finished the day with 269 yards passing. The four scoring drives were the most by the Browns all season, and the 395 total yards were almost double the seasons’ average.

Anderson still has trouble with the old adage, “Live to play another day.” On one play, he nearly had a screen pass intercepted when he should have thrown the ball away. And instead of settling for a field goal later in the game, he forced a pass on third and long that was intercepted in the end zone.

He did, however, learn from his mistake on the ensuing drive. Again faced with the same scenario, he made the correct play by throwing the ball out of reach of the defender in the end zone which resulted in an incompletion. In that same drive, he ate the ball on fourth and one, and ran it in for what was then the go-ahead touchdown.

The beneficiary of Anderson's ability to get the ball down the field was Mohammed Massaquoi. Massaquoi finished the game with eight catches for 148 yards.

The one thing the Browns' coaching staff most certainly learned, was that Massaquoi can stretch a defense, and is not afraid to catch the ball in traffic. It looks like the Browns have finally found themselves a legitimate number two receiver.

Eric Mangini

Head coach Eric Mangini should be given some credit as well. After the way the Browns were humiliated in the first three games, this team could have easily quit on him.

Instead, it looks like the team closed ranks, and ignored the visceral attacks of the media and the fans.

Using Furrey at defensive back brought back shades of his use of Troy Brown during his assistant coaching days with the Super Bowl Champion Patriots.

Starting Mike Adams also lit a fire under Brandon McDonald. McDonald ended up playing well when he was on the field—even showing up in the run game.

Starting Derek Anderson, in hindsight, turned out to be the right call. The offense badly needed a spark, and Mangini was not afraid to make the tough decision, even though he knew he would be roasted by the hometown fans.

After Braylon Edwards lost his cool, Mangini pulled him aside and got the message through that it is ok to protect your teammate (RB Jerome Harrison), but you cannot lose your head at such a crucial time in the game. Under former coach Romeo Crennel, Edwards might still be ranting and raving on the sidelines.

Twice Mangini made the “right” call during game management situations.

Down 14-0 late in the first half, his decision to go for it on fourth and goal was the right call. If the Browns were going to get back into the game, they had to score a touchdown at that point.

The decision to throw instead of run was also the right call given the teams’ inability to punch it in with the run game, especially with Jamal Lewis unavailable.

After a big return put the Browns in scoring position mid-fourth quarter, the Browns put themselves in a bad third and 16 situation. Rather than risking taking points off the board, Mangini protected the ball, and settled for the field goal that extended the lead.

Mangini has rightfully taken abuse from the fans for some of the decisions he has made early this year. But, he should be commended for rallying the troops, and getting them ready to play this week.

The fans of this town cannot be expected to settle for “respectable” losses week after week, nor should the players or coaching staff consider this a win.

But in the face of what could have been a total collapse, the Browns took some baby steps today.