From contenders to pretenders Remember how the Browns felt when they traveled down to Cincinnati 10 days ago and dismantled the Bengals? Remember how good they looked in the process? Nothing went right for the Bengals and just about everything fell into place for the Browns, who bullied their intra-state rivals the entire game. Well now they know how the Bengals felt back then after the Houston Texans rolled into Cleveland Sunday and played bully for the better part of 60 minutes en route to an astonishingly easy 23-7 victory. They beat up on the Browns on both sides of the ball, shattering their three-game winning streak and putting an end to a three-game victory streak at home. The first-place Browns looked much more like the cellar-dwellers they have been for most of this century. The Texans, who have split six road games this season, were never seriously threatened. It was disappointing from a Cleveland perspective on many different levels, not the least of which was to actually look as though they were completely prepared for the Texans. They weren?t close. The trenches belonged solely to the Texans. If the offensive line was not blasting the Cleveland defensive line four and five yards off the ball in the running game, it threw up an almost impenetrable wall around quarterback Ryan Mallett. It all made quarterbacking his first full game in the National Football League look easy. The Cleveland defense, which lost linebackers Karlos Dansby and defensive lineman Jabaal Sheard to injuries, once again resembled a swinging gate through which the Houston running game sauntered with relative ease. The Texans ran for 213 yards (not a misprint). Rookie Alfred Blue, starting for the injured Arian Foster, ran for 156 yards of that real estate, nearly half after contact. Tackling the ball carrier seems to be a foreign act for the Cleveland defense this season. The Houston offensive line also provided a clean pocket for Mallett. At the end of the game, he had the cleanest uniform for the Texans. No need to place that jersey in the laundry basket. The only time he left his feet was to sit on the bench between possessions. The Browns, blanked in the sack department, were officially credited with two hits (not seen by these eyes) on Mallett, who looked much more like a seasoned veteran than one making his starting debut as a professional. He displayed a quick release, was decisive with his reads, made no glaring mistakes (unless you call Joe Haden?s interception of a deflected pass a mistake), rarely missed his open targets, looked comfortable (too comfortable) displaying his big arm and seemed in total control in the battle of Tom Brady backups. Brian Hoyer, on the other hand, was inconsistent all afternoon for the Browns, who fell into a third-place tie with the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North at 6-4. How can that be, you say, when he threw for 330 yards? It took 50 passes to achieve that misleading statistic. That?s how. Yes, he was victimized by several drops, but most of his throws were either off target, late or not thrown with enough velocity. He struggled with his rhythm the entire game. The none-too-pleased fans, expecting much more from their first-place team, let him have it in the fourth quarter. The Houston defensive line blunted just about every Cleveland attempt to start its offense. J. J. Watt proved again he is at least the best player on defense in the National Football League if not maybe the best player period. The man did it all. Registered had three tackles for loss, had a strip sack, recovered a fumble, caused a fumble and caught the touchdown pass that put the Texans on the scoreboard in the opening quarter. Forget his two second-quarter roughing-the-kicker penalties, one of which was marginal at best. The man was a force. The Browns took advantage of the second roughing call, scoring their only points of the afternoon on a 32-yard strike to Andrew Hawkins to draw even at 7-7 with 8:58 left in the second quarter. Most of the afternoon, Houston defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel wisely lined up Watt opposite Cleveland offensive right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, who had a nightmarish game. When Watt lined up against left tackle Joe Thomas, which wasn?t often enough to suit Browns fans, he was relatively silent. The Browns, who never owned the lead, played from behind once the Texans grabbed a 14-7 lead with 23 seconds left in the first half on a 20-yard strike from Mallett to tight end Garrett Graham, who broke a tackle at the 4-yard line. As the game wore on, fans patiently waited for another of those dramatic fourth-quarter comebacks by the Browns after the Texans made it a two-score game on a Randy Bullock field goal in the third quarter. But the real dagger was plunged by the Texans early in the fourth quarter, a not-so-subtle indication there was no way the Browns were going to win this one. Call it brazen, call it ballsy, call it a testosterone rush. Call it anything you want. It turned out to be a microcosm of the game for both teams. A Houston drive stalled at the Cleveland 38-yard line with 12:45 left in regulation. Too long for a Bullock field goal ? he missed one in the third quarter from 52 yards ? and too short a field for punter Shane Lechler. What to do, what to do. Initially, Bullock and the field goal unit went onto the field. Then Texans coach Bill O?Brien called a timeout. Why punt, he must have figured, when my guys are beating up on their guys? That makes no sense. Let?s play some big boy football. So he yanked Bullock and sent Mallett back on the field with his offense for the fourth-and-3 play as if to challenge the Browns to ?stop us if you can. We don?t think you can.? And they didn?t as Mallett drilled a bullet to Andre Johnson for a 10-yard gain against tight coverage by Haden. The Texans got only three points (on Bullock?s second field goal) out of possession six plays later, but they took three more valuable minutes off the clock. Ball game. On this mid-November afternoon, a time of the NFL season when contenders and pretenders separate themselves from the pack as the playoffs loom in the distance, the Browns appear to have revealed themselves as pretenders after enjoying a week in the former category. Not that the Texans are close to contender class, but the Browns played like anything but a first-place team Sunday when the opposite was the goal. Posted by Rich Passan
For all the ebb and flow, it's the play in the trenches that matters. CLEVELAND, Ohio - It was a drowsy early afternoon in Cleveland?s First Energy Stadium. A drab Sunday, but the cold was unnoticed by the Browns rabid fans, who showed up early to tailgate and were in their seats to watch their unexpected first-place team by kick-off. The fans were there, the noise was loud, and two football teams were in the house. The energy, however, was not. A tepid first quarter left the Texans ahead of the Browns 7?0, as first-time starting quarterback Ryan Mallet looked annoyingly competent and J.J. Watt looked unstoppable. The Browns, meanwhile, had come out flat. The sleepy start was enervating, sucking the life out of the initially boisterous crowd. The OBR chat room started to discuss whether we were watching a ?let-down game?. In the second quarter, as the Browns prepared to punt yet again, defensive juggernaut J.J. Watt again roared through the overmatched right side of the Browns offensive line, zeroing in on recently-engaged Browns punter Spencer Lanning. Watt missed blocking the punt by a thin margin, and then fell into Lanning, providing an unexpected first down to the Browns via a ?roughing the punter? infraction. And we got a glimpse of why football is such a beautiful game. Suddenly, the drowsy Browns flipped the switch on offense, sending a shockwave through the crowd. Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer hit a 23-yard deep pass to Taylor Gabriel. Isaiah Crowell blasted two runs for another first down. And then Hoyer fired a quick pass to Andrew Hawkins, in space, who leapt over a Texans player, and carried the ball into the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown reception. Boom. Just like that. Tie game, 7?7. The crowd, lulled into quietness by the team?s lethargic first-quarter play, explodes. This is one of the things that make football such a beautiful game. Emotions, both on the field and in the stands, can change in a moment. Even when a team looks to be at its lowest, something can always happen. Cause, effect. Action, reaction. Even the dullest of performances can snap around in an instant. The question on Sunday was whether the Browns new-found spark would continue. It did not. Isaiah Crowell, a player fans and some in the media have been pleading with the team?s coaches to play, continues to display electric promise matched only by his tendency towards mishaps. With slightly over two minutes to play in the first half, the Browns were driving towards the Dawg Pound and Texans end zone. The drive was highlighted by an improbable play where Brian Hoyer dropped the ball, fell to one knee, stood back up and, not hassled for once, casually surveyed the field for an open receiver. He found one, as TE Jim Dray slipped downfield. Hoyer hit him for a 30 yard pass play. Another fourteen-yard pass to Taylor Gabriel pushed the ball to the Houston 30, where the team reeled off another ten yards on the ground. Now at the Texans 20, Hoyer handed the ball off to Crowell, who was immediately roughhoused by the Texans line and lost the ball which is recovered by Watt. And so the switch is flipped again. An energized Texans offense took the ball and - helped immeasurably by a negligible pass rush by the Browns defense - drove for a touchdown just prior to the half, taking a 14?7 lead which would prove to be all they would need. Action, reaction. It works for both teams. Sometimes what looks to observers like lethargy is just a team getting beat. This is especially true if the dominance is buried in the scrum of line play. Browns fans saw it a lot in the reborn team's expansion years. The Browns just looked slow compared to their opposition, a situation which is translate into believing that the team is not trying, or is ?flat?. Sunday, the Browns suffered injuries in the front seven to Karlos Dansby, Billy Winn, and Jabaal Sheard, all of whom walked off the field with their arms draped over the shoulders of helpers. While Winn returned, the results were unchanged. For all the cries in cyberspace to give Johnny Manziel a chance, the game wasn?t lost at the quarterback position, but just in front of it: Mallett had time to throw. Hoyer did not. Sometimes this game is just as simple as that. The Browns 23?7 loss to the Houston Texans Sunday was just one of those games. The Browns lost in the trenches and weren?t able to make up for that with big plays or turnovers. The game ebbed and flowed, one team would briefly grab the momentum and then it would swing back. But, in the end, the Texans were simply a better team, with a dominating defensive line that Cleveland couldn?t handle. As disappointed as Browns fans might be to lose their one-week grip on first place, the game itself remains as wonderful as ever. Because one week from today, the Browns will be on the field again, as will playmakers Josh Gordon and (hopefully) Jordan Cameron. And, bang, just like that, things can turn around.
A blonde driving a car became lost in a snowstorm. She didn't panic however, because she remembered what her dad had once told her. "If you ever get stuck in a snowstorm, just wait for a snow plow to come by and follow it." Sure enough, pretty soon a snow plow came by, and she started to follow it. She followed the plow for about forty-five minutes. Finally the driver of the truck got out and asked her what she was doing. And she explained that her dad had told her if she ever got stuck in a snow storm, to follow a plow. The driver nodded and said, "Well, I'm done with the Wal-Mart parking lot, do you want to follow me over to Best Buy now?"
Patterns.... The Browns have only had two blowout victories this season. The Browns have only attempted less than 25 passes twice this season. (Both in the blowout victories) The Browns TWO most pass attempt games came immediately following each of these low pass attempt games. Both of these high pass attempt games, big losses to low competition teams.... HOWEVER, following the last debacle, came a 3 game win streak, so let's all hope the patterns continue.. Anyone else willing to take a blowout loss to a weaker team in order to get to a 3 game win streak?
Irish I don't know . yesterday HURT . they got smacked in the mouth at HOME and had no answer for it . I cant handle watching them getting smacked in the mouth like that . if it means three wins in a row ..maybe but don't get smacked in the mouth like puzzies and not have any retort *WASSUP*
Tony?s Take on the Browns? 23-7 loss to the Houston Texans Offense: No matter how you frame it, 30 incompletions are a lot of missed throws. Brian Hoyer explained some of them by saying he threw the ball away to avoid sacks. There were also about five drops. But 30 misfires? I?m not sure I?ve ever seen that many in a game. Hoyer had 25 incompletions in Jacksonville. Aside from that, the lasting image of this effort was the offensive line getting collectively, thoroughly whupped. The running game had six attempts stopped for losses. Two of those came on Ben Tate?s only two carries. Isaiah Crowell drew the surprise starting assignment and averaged 2.0 if you subtract a 35-yard run. He also lost a fumble. In fact, subtracting the big run left the Browns with 23 carries for 23 yards. Bottom line: Three of 15 on third downs. Defense: Joe Haden said the unit came out flat. Desmond Bryant said the Browns weren't prepared the right way. How do you explain those things? The Browns certainly were deflated by the loss of linebacker Karlos Dansby in the second quarter. But by then they already were getting gashed by the interior of the Texans? run blockers. Rookie reserve back Alfred Blue had an out-of-the-blue day with 156 rushing yards on 36 attempts. The running game allowed Ryan Mallett to stay in a fast-paced, no-huddle mode most of the day, something the Browns could not get him out of. Bottom line: Subtrating four QB kneel-downs ? 50 rushes for 216 yards. Special teams: The best thing they did was get the punter leveled for two roughing calls. There were: one missed field goal from 38 yards; two bad snaps, one that sailed over the punter?s head; one fumbled kickoff return (ruled down by contact), and one holding call to nullify a 104-yard kickoff return. The flags on that one flew soon as returner Marlon Moore crossed his own 10-yard line. Travis Benjamin handled all the punt returns and officially wound up with one return for seven yards and one fair catch. Every time the Browns lose a game, this unit has a hand in it. Bottom line: Cue the Benny Hill Show theme music. Coaching: They seemed helpless to scheme away from one man wrecking crew J.J. Watt. Would more no-huddle have helped? It also might have helped Brian Hoyer find some rhythm in his game. The decision to start Isaiah Crowell was greeted by Crowell?s legions of fans with applause. By the end of day, people were wondering if Terrance West, coming off a strong game in Cincinnati, or Ben Tate, inspired against his former team, would have been more appropriate choices. And on defense, they couldn?t disrupt Ryan Mallett out of his no-huddle element. Bottom line: New fires sprouting on defense.
Good News: We had a whole ten days to savor sole possession of 1st place in the AFC North. Bad News: The NFL decided years ago to schedule ten or more games. Good News: Who would have thought that the Browns would be at 6-4-0 after week 11? Bad News: Half of those 6 wins came against teams that have, so far, won only 4 games (4-25-0). Good News: Even in the early losses to Pit & Bal, this team showed the ability to play as a team. Bad News: The Browns lack depth at critical positions to overcome injury or sub-par performance.
Man, I hate to use this card, but injuries sure as hell are playing a part in this... Any team to win consistently into the second half of the season needs depth on their team...This team had depth and have lost it rather quickly. We have injuries piling up that I cannot believe the management isn't trying harder to shore up on the defensive side of the ball..While they continue to carry ELEVEN DBs, they only have 13 players to cover the front 7..Yes, that's 11 players to cover 4-5 positions, while carrying 13 to cover 7... Of the 3 lineman, the trenches which are the foundation of the defense, we have 5 guys to cover those spots...FIVE guys to rotate in would be bad enough, but dealing with injuries, it sets this defense up to fail. If I was an offensive coordinator and I knew you had 5 guys to rotate on the line, and Rubin, Winn and Bryant all have battled injuries I would pound that rock until my team was 3 scores behind. Wear them down and have your way the rest of the game... I REALLY hope that Christian Kirksey shows me exactly what I hope he can be...He will be the new leader of that LB corps if Dansby must lose significant time...Otherwise, we now have a major, MAJOR, hole in the defense, which we may not be capable of covering up. Robertson has played better this year, but I think that reflected on playing next to Dansby. The tandem of Kirksey and Robertson, with Carder giving them rest does not make me all warm and cozy. This team needs to start scoring early and often to give their defense a reasonable chance.
Speaking Monday, Browns coach Mike Pettine said OLB Jabaal Sheard (foot) could be done for the season. Any time a coach admits a player is probably done, they're almost certainly done. It's a blow for the Browns, who are suddenly very banged up on defense. Sheard could be sent to injured reserve as early as this week. Pettine said Barkevious Mingo will see the biggest uptick in snaps in Sheard's absence.
Browns coach Mike Pettine expects ILB Karlos Dansby (knee) to be sidelined "upwards of a month." Pettine "doesn't know" if Dansby could eventually require surgery. He's reportedly dealing with a sprained MCL. There's definitely a chance Dansby has played his final down this season. It wouldn't be surprising if he ended up on injured reserve, perhaps even this week.
The Browns welcomed wide receiver Josh Gordon back to the team on Monday, but quarterback Brian Hoyer doesn?t want to put too much pressure on Gordon as he returns to the field after a 10-game suspension. Hoyer said that he doesn?t want there to be ?crazy expectations? for what Gordon?s arrival will mean to the offense because of the catching up that Gordon will have to do after such an extended layoff. ?We all know what Josh is capable of, but let?s not put all this pressure on him to be the savior,? Hoyer said, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. ?We all have to be better on offense. We all have to be more consistent.? Hoyer said he trusted the coaching staff would have a good plan in place for Gordon, but coach Mike Pettine didn?t share any of what that plan might be during his Monday press conference. He said they?d see where Gordon is during the week and then make a call on his participation. ?To me it comes down to functioning within the structure of the offense. We will be very smart,? Pettine said, via Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal. The Browns will be in Atlanta in Week 12 and they need every win they can get to stay in a crowded AFC playoff race. If Gordon?s anywhere close to full speed, he should be a big part of trying to get those wins but Hoyer?s right that he isn?t going to save things all by himself.
It isb't the record that is troubling, cause with 6 to go we still control our own fate. The problem is the loss of so many D linemen, and of course the loss of Mack at center. As for yesterday's debacle: I like Pettine, but C'mon man! His team wasn't ready. The D plan was flawed (a rookie QB who doesn't get hit is unforgiveable), Special teams contributed nicely... to Houston's effort. WTF? OK, so the doesn't have the horses to pull the wagon, so no more suffocating D. The one glimmer of hope is the return of Gordon, and therein lies the seed of what needs to happen. We now have to be Offense first! I hated our mix of run/pass yesterday. While the runing game was not breaking down any walls (and it was walls they were running into), there is still the need to run, and to convince the opponent you are serious about doing it. This game wasn't out of reach until mid 4th quarter, yet we passed 50 times!!!! Hoyer missed some, recievers dropped some, but ultimately they were no more successful than the running game, so why give up on it? I was shocked to see Crowell given the #1 role, not because he isn't the most gifted runnie ( he is), but because he hasn't learned ball security yet and we were playing against a team that creates turnovers regularly, and sure enough he created the "game changing" play by fumbling. That represented a 9 to 14 point turnaround in the game. Had we simply earned one more frst down, we could have kicked a FG, or gasp a TD, and gotten off the field leaving Houston with mere seconds to work with, and then start the second half with the ball again. Woulda, coulda, Iknow, but Crowell losing the football wasn't unpredictable, so I question that call. 6 left. Do we embrace the "O first" philosophy, or ask our beleaguered D to continue to carry the torch? I think the Hoyers have to accept and rise to the challenge, now as the D did while we experimented with the O line. Earn that contract Brian, whether here or elsewhere, and go Win some games with the O taking the lead.
I'm telling you guys I thought I knew a lot about football and sports in general before I signed up here at the lounge. Some of my buddies who are sports nuts are having these same conversations on facebook threads. They are surprised that I know so much inside type stuff and draft prep. I tell them I learned a lot of it here on mud n cleats with you guy's. I even told them to come and check it out. They will like the threads we have. The conversations and the closeness of the group considering its an internet site. So to all of you I would say thank you! The conversations we are having now are about Hoyer and the defensive line. The topic about Hoyer is does he deserve to be given that contract he wants. If so then what do you do with JF. My thoughts on this is Johnny has to play sometime in this season. We have to know if he can play and lead this team. Winning or losing. I feel Hoyer deserves a spot on the roster but as a backup. He has earned that. Some agree and some don't. The other topic is that defensive line. We are in an agreement that this group has to get better. FA and draft. One of the other things is RT Schwartz. Many of them dont like him. They either want to draft or sign a RG or RT. But a lot of the things I tell them I get from here. Any way lets right the ship and Go Browns, GORDON IS BACK!!!!!!!
Els, I feel the same about our loungers. Great group of people, lots of knowledge, humor, and comraderie,... a family of sorts, with dysfunctional parts too. Imagine Thanksgiving with this group............
I'll tell ya what me and my friends were talkin about Sunday....How much happier we'd all be if the Browns had just done the blatantly obvious and grabbed a WR in the first couple rounds last may. smh...ALL those rookie WR's are kickin ass it seems. Watkins, Evans, Cooks, Beckham, Mathews, Bryant, Adams and I know I'm forgetting a couple more........Point is, It would have been hard for Farmer to miss, and it was an obvious need.... Mingo and Gilbert are not contributing at the level they need to be based on how much the Browns invested...Not only that, but I'm not really even seeing flashes of the players I thought they'd be.... ...and I need to quit spouting about the greatness of Brian Hoyer....That's twice now that I've jumped in on Sunday morning and touted our QB as the next best thing...just before Jacksonville, and again yesterday.....my apologies. It won't happen again...
BTW GOAT... Congrats on the big win Sunday. Your Rams took down one of the giants!! Put a string together and you can get back in this playoff race!
I feel like we should all be spilling our guts over vodka, (or drink of choice)... But, that's why we all keep coming back. I know most of you don't agree with most of what I think, but it's still like a family coming in here every day to get the other side of the argument, to either dispel what I think or strengthen it. I go to a couple of other boards, but the camaraderie isn't there like it is here. It's like sitting around the dinner table at Thanksgiving and every one in the family has an opinion...
