It is my deepest wish that the post Pittsburgh letdown, was a lesson well learned. I am still riding high on the incredibly dominant TEAM performance last night. As for "smelling themselves", two things: #1 learn from their last let down, and #2 Thursday Night makes them a national story, but Sunday and it will all melt away as other games and stories take over, and they won't be getting constant attention, and can get back to business. Pettine has done a lot of things right this year. #1 Under massive national pressure to keep Johnny Football front and canter, he named Hoyer the starter in time to allow Hoyer and this team to learn the O together, iwth a steady hand at the helm. #2 Mack goes down, and after the embarassing loss names McEonald the center, knowing he had a couple of weeks to struggle, before it got serious. Brilliant! #3 He stashes Crowell away for a week, allowing the team to be sure of having at least one RB who was unhurt and fresh on short week. Maybe I'm overinflating it, but he's looking pretty sharp to me, and Hoyer has helped make that true. Anybody want to argue we'd be here or better with Johnny at the trigger? Maybe, but I wouldn't want to bet on it, and neither did Pettine. I have been starved for a "win now" approach, and this team has it. I don't know if it's Pettine, Haslam, Hoyer, or the staff, or simply all of the above, but I like it.
Confucius is a very wise man. My Brown envy continues. Big win for an up and comer. I hope my Jets can help your ascension in the North this weekend.
Watching the national talking heads: Browns...........? Dalton's demise was the whole story. Numerous belittling comments about who the Browns are, Hoyer "we know he's not that good" / Browns did nothing special, etc....... Good! while it galls me how they so easily dismiss what has been achieved in Cleveland, I prefer it to the typical media overreaction when they beat Pittsburgh, and the way it seemed to make the team think they were "all that". I think this team needs to keep their noses to the grindstone, and not getting a lot of attention helps keep their focus on the task at hand. I believe we have a playoff team, because the team is no longer learning what they have to do, but are doing it. That is especially true of the D. It gets continually overlooked, but the O coming out of the gate as strong as they did is still the most remarkable thing they've done this year. Amazing. So as the attrition of players started to happen, and the O bogged down, looking ordinary, the D started to "get it", and kept us in it, so the O only had to make a few plays to gain a W. The softer part of the schedule certainly helped. Getting 3 teams that were "beatable" allowed the line to perform below average and still have a chance to win, allowed the D's second tier to get experience without facing elite competition, and in the end all of those beckup guys are now experienced, and if/when called on won't be wide eyed, but will know what to do. Yes, we did get a favorable early schedule, but without a "franchise QB" and missing the NFL's #1 reciever, our won TE out or at less than full strength, therefore starting a group of recievers who couldn't be named by anyone but their parents, we set about becoming a team. So the second half is tougher. So are we as a team. No argument can be made to the contrary, and as the next couplle weeks pass, we should expect to have two of those "know weapns" back. This could be the recipe for a magical season, a playoff berth, maybe more. I know the Hoyer thing still makes a lot of us uncomfortable, but while he's been in the league, he hasn't logged a lot of playing time, and IMO keeps getting better. You may argue that isn't true, after the 3 softies games, but Hoyer doesn't play in a vaccum either, and our line play was weak then, as evidenced by the loss of what had been our strength: running the ball. If we are going to pin Hoyer's performance purely on his own skill set, then are we also accusing our RBs, all of them of also having less talent than they showed earlier. OK it's a slow Saturday, and I'm rambling. Go Browns !!!
I think it starts with having an owner that's passionate about football...His immediate hires were sad, but at least he realized it quickly...Gotta give him credit for the team he has in place now. Ray Farmer, Mike Pettine, Brian Hoyer, Kyle Shanahan, these are all obvious keys to the Browns' turnaround, and they all deserve their share of the credit... Clearly not a coincidence that the Browns finally got good at the QB position and it's translating in the W column....To me, that's the most important thing. But it really feels like the entire organization has improved throughout. Coaches, front office, ownership, players, the stadium, the mascot, the hot dogs....EVERYTHING. It's all better.
Yeah, what's that saying? Success has a million fathers Failure is an orphan. It all looks better, tastes better, sounds better, with a little "winning".
?Yeah, to the outside world we believe we opened eyes, but inside our organization and inside our meeting rooms and inside our team this was one of our goals,? Donte Whitner said. BEREA, Ohio?The Browns 24-3 thrashing of the Cincinnati Bengals might have come as a surprise to the national television audience, but to the players wearing the brown and orange it didn?t come as a surprise. ?Yeah, to the outside world we believe we opened eyes, but inside our organization and inside our meeting rooms and inside our team this was one of our goals,? Donte Whitner said. ?When you set goals, you expect to reach them, especially when you work extremely hard to reach those goals. We?re not surprised, but yeah, maybe we did open up a few eyes outside of our building.? Mike Pettine said he thinks what he and his coaching staff are teaching, the players are buying in. ?I just think it just further cements what we?re building,? Pettine said. ?I know (Thursday night?s win) came as a surprise to people outside, but it didn?t come as a surprise to us. I just think it was a great boost for our confidence. ?As I said (after the game), this is a tight group, and they play hard,? he said. ?They play hard for each other. That?s when you know that you?re headed in the right direction when you?re guys play that way.? Whitner said he can?t put a value on how big the win was for the team. ?It?s huge,? Whitner said. ?Any time in the National Football League when you step on the field, you want to have that confidence and you want to step on the field knowing that you?re going to win that football game. I think a win like last night on a national stage in the fashion in which we won the football game ? I think you can only breed confidence from that.? Whitner wasn?t afraid to mention the word ?playoffs? with seven games to go. ?We understand that the teams that make it to the playoffs and win and advance are the teams that get hot in November and get hot at the right time,? he said. ?We just want to get hot at the right time, and last night was a good start to that.? Notebook No Updates on Injured: Mike Pettine didn?t update any injuries coming out of the Bengals game. He was asked about C Nick McDonald, who was seen in a walking boot. Pettine said it was something with his calf, but it was ?more precautionary, than anything.? He had no updates on DL Phil Taylor (knee) or any other possible injuries. He said he hadn?t met with trainer Joe Shaheen yet. He said he?d update the injury situation on Tuesday when the team returns to practice. Quick Hitters: The team?s 21-point victory was the club?s largest road win since a 42-14 win at the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 26, 1993? The 21-point win tied for the team?s largest division win since the formation of the AFC North in 2002. The Browns also beat the Steelers by 21 points (31-10) earlier this season on Oct. 12?The win snapped a 14-game stretch in which the Bengals had not lost at home. Cincinnati was 13-0-1 at home entering the game?The Browns have now won three consecutive games for the first time since Week 3-5 in 2013.
Monday leftovers (Saturday edition) If you watched the Browns? 24-3 victory over the Bengals very closely Thursday night in Cincinnati, you saw in many respects a microcosm of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. That Ravens team, which left Cleveland and relocated in Baltimore just four years previously, won the Super Bowl that season by developing and then sticking with a proven winning formula that ultimately landed the Vince Lombardi trophy. They won games by playing stifling and opportunistic defense that placed a premium on turnovers, combined with an offense led by a solid running game and a quarterback who played mistake-free football. Their special teams also were very special. With the exception of the special teams aspect of the game, the Browns used that formula to totally dominate the Bengals on national television. It was thorough, painless and a distinct pleasure to watch for Browns Nation. The defense staggered the Cincinnati offense, creating four turnovers and making Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton look like a college freshman. The offense churned out 170 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, while quarterback Brian Hoyer played yet another mistake-free game The 2000 Ravens featured running back Jamal Lewis, quarterback Trent Dilfer and a truculent defense led by future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis. Dilfer, who took over at quarterback in mid-season, was not spectacular. He didn?t have to be with a terrific running game. All coach Brian Billick wanted the terribly inconsistent Dilfer to do was manage the game. Don?t worry about bombing the opposition. Take care of the ball. Do not turn it over. That?s exactly what he did all the way through the rout of the New York Giants in the 2001 Super Bowl. And now with the Cleveland running game apparently back in early-season form following dismal performances against Jacksonville, Oakland and Tampa Bay, Hoyer once again can concentrate on playing the kind of football that best suits his talents. The fact he has thrown only four interceptions in 275 attempts is solid evidence that he places a premium value on protecting the football. That?s one pick every 68.75 throws. He threw half of them in the Tampa Bay victory last Sunday. To put that in perspective, Hoyer last season threw three interceptions in three games before tearing his ACL. Against the Bengals, he had what one would call an impressive game. His numbers, 198 yards and no touchdowns, didn?t make anyone sit up, take notice and rave. Until, that is, you broke down their importance to the greater cause. He kept drives going with clutch plays. Sometimes, gaudy quarterback numbers can be deceiving. So can more modest figures. That clearly was the case here. Taking care of the ball is just as important as compiling impressive numbers. The Bengals victory was just one 60-minute exercise in the proper way to play and win a football game. But it at least proved the Browns have it in them to put forth such a total effort, considering they didn?t come even close to it in the first eight games of the season. The offense, playing mostly in come-from-behind mode, carried the club in the first five games because the defense performed in sieve-like fashion. Opposing teams ran and passed with such efficiency, it sometimes looked as though the Cleveland defense wasn?t on the field. In the last couple of games, actually more like the last six quarters, the Browns? defense has shown definite signs of finally grasping the Mike Pettine system, something he talked about when he won the job as head coach. And now that the offense has reemerged from its funk against three of the worst teams in the National Football League, all the right parts appear to be falling into the right places. If nothing else, the manner in which the Browns attacked the Bengals on both sides of the ball proves an aggressive nature resides at 76 Lou Groza Blvd. The fact it revealed itself in what can arguably be called the most important game of the season to date harbors hope for the club?s first post-season action since 2002. Please do not confuse this as suggesting these Browns are just like those Ravens. That would be absurd. Again, it was only one game. The Ravens did it all the way to the Super Bowl. The immediate aspirations of these Browns are not as lofty as the Super Bowl. At least not realistically. Carving out a 6-3 record at this point of the season is lofty enough. But now that they know they can hang with the big boys, we are on the verge of finding out just how far they can take this journey. * * * So what did go right with the running game against the Bengals? After averaging just 52 yards a game in the last three games and going up against a solid Cincinnati defensive line, how did the Browns gouge out 170 yards on the ground? The offensive line fired out all evening. They beat the Bengals off the ball on just about every snap. No one had a bad game. Center Nick McDonald had a particularly solid game. Manhandled by Tampa Bay?s Gerald McCoy the previous week in his debut as the Cleveland pivot, McDonald?s improvement was the main factor in the offensive line?s comeback. He was solid on all his snaps and combined with guards John Greco and Joel Bitonio to provide adequate running lanes for running backs Ben Tate, Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell. Of the 52 running plays, 39 were between the tackles. McDonald was especially effective down near the Cincinnati goal line as the Browns scored on all three goal-to-go situations. On the first, Tate peeled off McDonald?s block on the first offensive series of the game to score from four yards out. This is not to say there is not a falloff in the quality of play at center with All-Pro Alex Mack out for the season. There is because Mack is that good. But at least McDonald, in his first two games, has shown the falloff is not as dramatic as initially believed. * * * Bengals rookie running back Jeremy Hill took the loss particularly hard. It played tricks with his thought process. In his mind, the Bengals lost the game rather than the Browns winning it. Being a gracious loser is not his forte. ?Those guys, they?re not so good,? he said following the game. ?It was on us. We gave them the game. They didn?t go anything special. We just gave them the game. They just sat back with coverage the whole (game). We?ll play them again and see what happens. ?We were embarrassed. It?s pathetic. I had a fumble and you can?t do that. They didn?t do anything special. We just couldn?t get it done.? He?s right about two things. The Bengals were embarrassed. And it was pathetic. He just couldn?t bring himself to credit the Browns. * * * To their credit, the Bengals did not blame the loss on injuries to five significant contributors. Missing were linebackers Vontaze Burfict and Rey Maualuga, cornerback Leon Hall, running back Giovani Bernard and offensive tackle Andre Smith. Marshall Newhouse, Smith?s replacement, was eaten alive by Cleveland linebacker Paul Kruger. The Browns also played without two of Hoyer?s favorite targets: Andrew Hawkins and Jordan Cameron. Not to mention Josh Gordon and Mack. * * * Old friend Greg Little had a memorable night. The ex-Browns wide receiver, who bad-mouthed Pettine in the days leading up to the game, had an eight-yard reception in garbage time, dropped a pass and was flagged 15 yards for head-butting Cleveland cornerback K?Waun Williams following an incompletion. Earlier in the week, he said, ?Hopefully, I make (the Browns) pay? for cutting him. He?s not good enough to do that. It?s only a matter of time before the Bengals find that out. * * * Strong safety Donte Whitner, who has become the team?s emotional and spiritual leader, put it best after the game with regard to the difference between this team and those that preceded it: ?We?re not the old Cleveland Browns,? he declared. * * * The strong winds down in Cincinnati seemed to affect Dalton much more than Hoyer. Several of the Cincinnati quarterback?s sideline throws were high and landed out of bounds after being caught by gusts of that wind. Because of the breeze and the reemergence of the running game, the Browns played it conservatively in the second half, although it owned just a 14-3 lead. Hoyer threw only seven passes in the final 30 minutes, but completed five for 79 yards. The ground game was performing so well and the defense kept hammering away at the Cincinnati offense, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan dialed up runs on the last 11 plays from scrimmage. * * * Notebook: Jim Nantz, who provided the play-by-play for the NFL Network, couldn?t resist complimenting his old buddy Mike Lombardi, the most hated man in Cleveland on two occasions, for bringing Hoyer to the Browns. He doesn?t understand why the former Browns general manager is so disliked. . . . Pettine modestly labeled the Cincinnati victory ?a huge confidence boost.? . . . The Cleveland defense has turned the ball over to the offense on 12 occasions in the last four games. . . . Of the Bengals? 14 drives, half lasted four plays or less with only three lasting longer than six plays. Included were five three-and-outs. Posted by Rich Passan
Watching the Jets / Pittsburgh game here in the NY market, and figured NY would play "all out" and take plenty of risks, especially on D. So far they own a 17 pt lead and just made the pick to deny Pitt an oppty score. Loving it, but in my mind anything less than a 21 point lead is 0 to 0. Gotta thnk Pitt is smelling itself, going to play the lowly Jets, and frankly they won't need their best game to beat NY, so Go Jets !
Bluez, How you doing man? I thought I would be bored today with no Browns game but NY whipping the chit out of Pukesburg is doing the trick.
I said it to Mano and I said it on the Ravens board, Pittsburgh isn't a good road team this year. Outside of the Panthers game, they've scored 6, 10, and 10 on the road and are currently sitting at 6. Congrats Browns fans. You're first in the league pending a huge breakdown by the Jets
I am sore as hell but on the mend here . I will be in and out as setting on my puter chair isn't the most comfortable thing fitst place sounds pretty good huh *DRINK*
Lots of positive news from Browntown to cheer you up Bluez. I need to put in in writing myself, to believe it: Browns #1 in the division. God that felt good
