Cleveland Browns: Random Observations From Preseason Week 1

As most true fans are probably already aware, the Cleveland Browns opened their 2010 preseason with a 27-24 win against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. It was a widely anticipated match-up for several reasons. This was the unveiling of the new look Browns since Mike Holmgren took over the front office during the offseason.

The Browns were also debuting a revamped offense led by Jake Delhomme, whom many a fan have been quite skeptical of. It was also the debut of the revamped defensive backfield versus an extremely potent Packer passing attack. Finally, this was the NFL debut for highly touted rookie quarterback Colt McCoy. These are my observations from the game. Hope you enjoy!

Jake Delhomme looked fantastic, albeit for all of about five minutes.

Delhomme went 6/7 and 66 yards on the games opening drive, which was capped by a Jerome Harrison touchdown. The Browns drove down the field seemingly at will. What was surprising is that they did it throwing the ball. They converted a pair of third downs as well as a fourth and short, all through the air. The puzzling thing was that after this drive, the Browns sat Delhomme in favor of Seneca Wallace. Meanwhile, his counterpart Aaron Rodgers played for nearly the entire first half. Methinks a certain supposed Super Bowl contender may have been a bit embarrassed.

The wide receivers looked solid

Mohammed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie both had 3 grabs in limited time. Massaquoi gained 36 yards and had a key fourth down conversion. Robiskie gained 32 yards and caught a very nice touchdown pass on some nice improvisation from Seneca Wallace. Tight end Ben Watson made a very nice move on linebacker A.J. Hawk for his only reception that went for 20 yards, and another touchdown from Seneca Wallace.

Evan Moore made a couple of nice receptions, and Peyton Hillis looked very good in the screen game. We didn't get to see too much out of the receivers on the bubble as the quarterbacking after Wallace left much to be desired. All in all though, I saw no reason that this can't be an effective unit this year, which is a pleasant surprise indeed.

The secondary still has a ways to go

The Browns spent their first two draft picks and brought in free agent Sheldon Brown to bolster their secondary this offseason, but last night Aaron Rogers picked them apart at will. Rogers finished 12/13 for 159 yards and a touchdown for a rating of 143.3. In fairness, Rogers has made many an NFL secondary look foolish, but I'm sure that this was not what Eric Mangini and Rob Ryan were hoping to see.

With a few exceptions, the coverage wasn't bad, Rogers just put the ball in the right spot. One very encouraging thing was the play of rookie safety TJ Ward. Though he was beat on a 25 yard touchdown pass, he was in position and nearly made the play. Give him another year and he will make that play. After that, he was all over the field making plays and layin' the wood. He finished with 7 tackles and 1 hit on the QB.

Colt McCoy has a very long way to go if he is to be the future

McCoy looked bad. Really, really, really, really, bad. McCoy finished 5/10 for 25 yards and 2 Interceptions and a dismal QB rating of 16.7. Worse than the numbers, McCoy failed the eye test miserably. He looked like he didn't belong there, against the third string defense.

You could really see his oft-criticized lack of arm strength, especially on his two interceptions. He did however make a couple of nifty runs for first downs. Maybe we can convert him into a Julian Edelman type slot receiver (I'm just kiddin'). Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying he can't ever get there. But it's gonna take a while and it ain't gonna be easy. Let's just hope this is a good learning experience for him.

Players who stood out

• Marcus Benard: Benard played very well. He led the team with 8 tackles, had 1 sack, and 1 tackle for loss. I suspect that he may well start getting a look with the first team defense.
• TJ Ward: I already mentioned the way he played earlier. He was all over the field and always around the ball. He definitely showed that he has the talent to start at free safety.
• Peyton Hillis: He didn't do much running the ball, but he looked very good in the screen game. Did anyone else notice the guns on that dude?
• Brian Robiskie: He didn't overwhelm, but he looked solid. He did drop one pass he could have caught, but he ran a nice route and caught a touchdown pass. He's definitely miles ahead of last season.
• Clifton Geathers: Geathers played late in the game and had 2 tackles and had 1 hit on the QB. Granted, he was playing against the practice squad, but he was disruptive and looked strong.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this was a somewhat surprisingly successful beginning to the 2010 season. The Browns beat a team that I personally have picked to make it to the Super Bowl this year. Even better yet, our first team outplayed them more than the score indicates, as it took a comeback from their scrubs to make it a pretty close game.

Delhomme looked fantastic. Wallace looked like what he is: A very solid back-up. The running game wasn't overwhelming, but it was obvious early that Mangini and Daboll were committed to the passing game. 

Maybe the biggest surprise to me is that it seems that most of our questions remain on defense. One thing that our defense did do better though was make the big plays. That's one thing that's been missing of late. I was very encouraged by this performance and can't wait to see what progress we make next week against the St. Louis Rams.