Ravens-Browns: Why the 16-0 Final Is Not Surprising

What can be said about the 2009 edition of the Cleveland Browns that hasn’t already been said?

Head coach Eric Mangini is sticking with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. As a result, the Browns once again failed to score any points in a 16-0 defeat.

To give credit where credit is due, the Browns did throw some new formations out there and looked like they might be able to accomplish something, but the bottom line is this team is still calling bad plays that are over before the ball is snapped.

Daboll, despite having no playmakers on offense, continues to call for screen passes on third and long. This assumes there will be a Yards After Catch component to the play.

When you have five receivers, and none of them catch balls on a regular basis, this is what’s commonly called “flawed thinking.”

Brady Quinn’s final stat line was slightly better than Derek Anderson’s has been over the last few weeks, 13-31 for 99 yards and two interceptions, but that’s like saying the SUV with the smashed up front end isn’t quite as wrecked as the Smartcar, which has disintegrated into a million pieces all over the road.

Either way, the car is totaled and you have to get a new one. At least the people in the SUV were able to walk away from the crash. The guy in the Smartcar is looking for his arm amongst the wreckage.

Quinn didn’t do anything last night to get anyone excited, but when the offensive coordinator doesn’t call for a long pass until the final minute of the game, there are problems all over the place.

Mangini said after the game the pass rush eliminated some deep ball plays, but with the amount of dink and dunk pass plays being called, what did he expect?

A high school defensive coordinator could tear apart this Browns offense.

Even worse, the Browns best playmaker, Joshua Cribbs, got carted off the field after the final play and is rumored to have a concussion. While the merits of the final play can be argued, the game is called football and these things happen.

On that note, don’t shed a tear for Terrell Suggs limping off the field after a low blow from Quinn after an interception. Suggs has knocked plenty of people out of the game in his career; he needs to keep his mouth shut.

Then there was the ticky-tack low blow call on Joe Flacco, which only shows the league needs to re-evaluate what game they’re in charge of. These kinds of penalties are unnecessary and are ruining the game.

Just put the quarterbacks out there in a dress if that’s the way they want to play the game.

The defense once again looked much better than the stat line would indicate, but a great effort was again wasted.

Not much else to say, the 2009 Browns just aren’t very good. They don’t play well, they aren’t coached well, and as a result, they’re 1-8.