CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns have arrived. After years of rebuilding and acquiring top-level talent through the draft, the team has turned the corner. The convincing win against Pittsburgh moves Cleveland's record to 3-2, with three upcoming games versus opponents with a combined record of 1-16. On a week when the Dallas Cowboys, "America's Team," went into Seattle and beat the reigning Super Bowl champs, Peter King led his column with the Brian Hoyer-led Browns. Other national writers have penned pieces about Cleveland needing to make a decision on Hoyer, who is set to hit free agency following the season. A historic comeback against the Tennessee Titans was one thing. But gaining national attention takes a little bit more than squeaking out a win against one of the worst teams in the league. It takes a statement win against Pittsburgh and the Browns outplayed and outcoached the Steelers in every way, leading to the Browns becoming the topic of conversation around the NFL. Here is what they are saying nationally following Cleveland's latest win: Monday Morning Quarterback's Peter King writes that the Browns are no longer an opponent's Homecoming game. "When Pettine looked around the postgame locker room, loud music blaring, he took it in and felt grateful. 'There's no drug like that, no money you can pay to get that feeling. It is special, and we will appreciate it.'" It wasn't so long ago (actually, about a month) that the Browns were everyone's idea of a good Homecoming game. So Pettine's not going to get cocky, and his players shouldn't either. But if you thought LeBron coming home was going to be the only bit of good Cleveland sports news this year, it looks like you'd be wrong." Don Banks from Sports Illustrated believes the best is yet to come for the Browns. "This is going to take some getting used to, the reality that it's mid-October and the Cleveland Browns are relevant. And for real. That wasn't just another win the resurgent Browns registered over the rival Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday afternoon at Cleveland's FirstEnergy Stadium. That was a total domination, to the tune of 31-10. It was an emphatic statement of arrival for a team that is gaining legitimacy and confidence by the week. Six weeks into the regular season, the Browns (3-2) are over .500 for the first time, riding a two-game winning streak and starting to look like a team that will be in every game it plays this season. And the best is yet to come for Mike Pettine's resilient and resourceful team." John Breech from CBSSports.com hands out weekly grades and the Browns get the highest grade of the week "The Browns decided to emphasize their running game against Pittsburgh, which ended up being a smart decision because the Steelers had no answers for Ben Tate and Isaiah Crowell. The two backs combined for 155 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries. Brian Hoyer practically had the day off, only throwing 17 passes. Grade: A+." USA Today had its takeaways from the Browns' win over the Steelers, including Jordan Cameron being the key player. "Cameron finished with 3 catches for 102 yards, which aren't interesting numbers until you consider how much Hoyer spreads the ball around. He threw 17 passes and targeted seven players; Cameron had five passes thrown his way. Hoyer will need a go-to receiver moving forward." ESPN.com's John Clayton says the Browns showed him and the Steelers a lot as one of the key points in his Last Call column. "Sunday was a milestone for Browns fans and the Browns franchise. After six weeks, the Browns are a better team than the rival Steelers. They have a better record (3-2 to 3-3) and the Browns are playing much better football. They dominated the Steelers Sunday 31-10. The most defining comment was made by Keisel after the game. He said the Browns were the best team the Steelers had played all season. If that's true, Keisel is saying the Browns are better than Carolina and Baltimore, two respected teams on the Steelers' schedule." CBSSports.com's NFL Insider Pat Kirwan says Brian Hoyer's price tag keeps going up. "During the summer, there was a reported proposal from Brian Hoyer's agent to extend the quarterback's deal with the Browns. It seemed to be a solid backup deal with some escalators if Hoyer was the starter and experienced success. The Browns weren't interested then, but may be wishing they jumped at it because Hoyer is becoming more expensive with each game. It really doesn't matter Hoyer only threw for 217 yards and a TD this week; he just beat the Steelers at home in front of 67,431 screaming fans and over the past two seasons is 6-3 as the starter with 13 TD passes and only five interceptions. Cleveland is 3-2 and Hoyer soon is going to expect a deal in the $8 million to $10 million a year range from Cleveland, or some other team will be willing to give it to him." Jason LaCanfora of CBSSports.com has his weekly reminder for the Browns to try to lock up Hoyer as well. "This is the weekly segment of this column where I remind you the Browns better pick up the phone and call Brian Hoyer's agent, quickly, before he further drives up his price and perhaps eventually just opts to see what the market will offer him." ESPN.com's Pat McManamon gives his game ball to Cameron this week after he finished with more than 100 yards. "The tight end gave the team's offense a jump-start after it had minus-8 yards in the first quarter. Cameron's 42-yard reception set up the Browns' first touchdown. Then he made a lovely catch-and-run on a 51-yard score that gave the Browns a 14-3 lead. At that point, the Browns needed someone to give them a spark, and after a Steelers botched field goal, Cameron did just that."
Such a pessimist Duff (or you just can't count).... that's three in a row when you factor in 2016!!! *YAHOO*
No they faced a team that had no preparation or consistent game plan which was evident throughout the game....they ran the same play twice to the TE but switched the formation and both guys were WIDE open...unprepared is what I wuld call it not a prevent defense
I mentioned it at the end of last season that the Browns could have won 10 games or more with just average QB play. Well now they are getting above average QB play, and I think the whole world knows now that the Browns can play with anybody....No doubt still some learning curves. We flat out gave it away in Baltimore. But watch out for Cleveland now... I know of my rep for being overly optimistic at times lol, but I'm just sayin...WHY NOT CLEVELAND? You can just feel the confidence that surrounds this team...Hoyer is now 6-3 as starter here, and this team believes in him. I think Pettine and Hoyer will keep em focused through these supposedly soft games....They won't overlook anybody. This is a team on the rise and getting better each week... When you dominate in the trenches against a football team that historically has always dominated you in the trenches, i guess it does set you up for a classic "over-reaction Monday". lol!. But i don't care. That's a fans privy. I'm not exactly sure where to slot Cleveland in the AFC rankings, but IMO they are solidly inside the top 5 and trending up...
Guys... you should read this one, too. Posted at 4:09, so I don't even think the game was technically over yet: The only thing I love more than that phenomenal example of Pittsburgh grammar is watching their fans give up on this aging, dinosaur of a team. Magical.
This is the biggest thing to me... not only do we need to go 3-0 over the next three weeks, we need to do it in a convincing fashion. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 100-9 and we'll be able to start talking "turning a corner".
Report: Browns Believe Armonty Bryant Tore ACL 5 hours ago The last thing the Cleveland Browns need is another injured defensive lineman, but it sounds like they will be without defensive end Armonty Bryant for the rest of the season. Ian Rapoport reports that when the results of Bryant's MRI come back, the Browns are expecting to hear that Bryant tore his ACL.
Stooler fans on suicide watch *SHADES* . we should help them out as we have LOTS of experience with crappy teams .
Kirk Cousins played so well in his first two games this season that coach Jay Gruden was open to the possibility of Cousins keeping the starting job in Washington even after Robert Griffin III returns. Cousins has played so badly since then that there?s talk in Washington of benching him for third-stringer Colt McCoy. Brian Mitchell, who played in Washington for 10 seasons and is now a commentator, said on Comcast SportsNet?s post-game show that benching Cousins would make a lot of sense right now. ?I think we have to hold Kirk to the same standard we held Robert to. And if Kirk Cousins can?t get the job done, then there?s another quarterback sitting there,? Mitchell said, via Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post. ?Colt McCoy is the next guy out there. I don?t see what the problem would be. The problem would be that McCoy, who was the Browns? starter in 2010 and 2011, has done nothing to make anyone think he?s a competent NFL quarterback. Unfortunately, neither has Cousins: Washington has lost four straight games, and Cousins? three-interception fourth quarter on Sunday doomed any chance the team had of beating the Cardinals. Cousins now has two different three-interception quarters this season; Griffin has never thrown three interceptions in a game. Benching Cousins for McCoy probably isn?t something Gruden would consider. But Gruden is also probably no longer considering keeping Cousins at the helm once Griffin heals. If nothing else, Cousins has removed any doubt that there shouldn?t be a quarterback controversy in Washington, unless it?s a controversy about whether Cousins or McCoy is next on the depth chart after RG3.
oh i see....so even with the obvious stuff we can see with our own eyes, a thorough beatdown of the Steelers, a top ranked QB, The NFL's 2nd ranked rushing attack, a winning record through week 6, and many national pundits calling us a contender right now, we can't even talk "turning a corner" yet? lol! C'mon SA...Obviously this team is turning a corner. Everybody was talking about the Browns today. From Peter King to Chris Mortenson , the theme of the day was, "Cleveland is for real.".... If you don't want to talk about it, that's up to you. But the rest of the world was talking about the Browns today....If that's not "turning a corner" for this franchise, I don't know what is...
I'm not belittling your post in the least TD..I actually gave it a thumbs up if you must know... However, The World has been talking about the Browns since May 8th, 2014 approximately 11:00pm...
touche' Irish but of course I meant people were talking about the Browns as a serious AFCN contender......not just talking about them because they happened to draft a popular player.
Are you certain Hoyer didn't kick it into a new gear and work twice as hard beginning May 9th when he woke up and realized there was someone that will threaten his livelihood? I'm not... Are you certain the veterans on this team weren't convinced just a little more the day that player was taken that this franchise is serious about taking this team to the next level and that also made them take it to another level? I'm not... Are you certain that player is not the next step in this master plan of getting this franchise to the highest level? I'm not... ...alas, none of that matters today...All that matters today is that the Browns are superior to the Steelers in almost every aspect in the present...and we have the Jaguars next on the chopping board.
