For the third straight week, an NFL game has provided the avenue for protest regarding violent encounters between police and private citizens. Via The Big Lead, Browns receiver Andrew Hawkins entered Sunday?s game at Cleveland wearing over his game jersey a T-shirt that said ?Justice for Tamir Rice and John Crawford III.? Rice, 12, was shot and killed by Cleveland police last month while brandishing a toy gun. Crawford was shot and killed by police while carrying an air gun inside a Dayton, Ohio-area Wal-Mart in August. Cleveland Police Patrolman Union President Jeff Follmer issued the following statement: ?It?s pretty pathetic when athletes think they know the law. They should stick to what they know best on the field. The Cleveland Police protect and serve the Browns stadium and the Browns organization owes us an apology.? Other players have not been fined by the NFL or their teams for, in the case of several Rams players, the ?Hand?s Up, Don?t Shoot? gesture during pregame introductions or, in the case of Lions running back Reggie Bush and Rams guard Davin Joseph, displaying ?I Can?t Breathe? on their gear. (The former was a reference to Michael Brown, who was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri; the latter referred to Eric Garner, who was choked by police in Staten Island.) Hawkins? case is a bit different. During pregame introductions, he wore a T-shirt over his uniform. While that may not be enough to provoke a fine, there?s a vague line that a player could cross at some point, forcing the NFL to act. If, for example, a player displays a conspicuous, written message on the field during a game, the NFL may have no choice.
Manziel failed to live up to the overwhelming hype surrounding his debut as the AFC North-leading Bengals (9-4-1) built a 20-point halftime lead and rolled to their fourth straight road win. CLEVELAND (AP) -- Woe, Johnny, woe. Johnny Manziel spent his first NFL start being chased and taunted by Cincinnati defenders as the Bengals rudely welcomed the hyped rookie quarterback to the league with a 30-0 demolition of the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Manziel failed to live up to the overwhelming hype surrounding his debut as the AFC North-leading Bengals (9-4-1) built a 20-point halftime lead and rolled to their fourth straight road win. Bengals rookie Jeremy Hill rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns, backing up his postgame trash talk of the Browns following a loss to them last month. Manziel, promoted over the slumping Brian Hoyer to spark the Browns (7-7), finished 10 of 18 for 80 yards and two interceptions. He was sacked three times, under pressure all afternoon and had Bengals players imitating his signature "money-rubbing" gesture more than once. The Bengals overwhelmed the Browns on the field and in the boxscore, recording their first shutout since Dec. 21, 2008 -- in Cleveland. Cincinnati had 347 yards to Cleveland's 107. The Bengals picked up 24 first downs to five for the Browns, who went just 1 of 10 on third down. Mike Nugent kicked two 44-yard field goals and added a 34-yarder for the Bengals, who turned a day of promise and potential for the Browns into Cleveland's worst nightmare. Manziel didn't look ready for the big stage, panicking in the pocket and failing to deliver any of the magic that made him a college football star. Johnny Football has some work to do. The Bengals put together a complete game to strengthen their grip on the division. They set the tone with a time-consuming, 81-yard touchdown drive to start the game and atoned for a 24-3 loss last month when they were dominated at home by the Browns and Hoyer. Cincinnati led 20-0 at halftime, and spent the next two quarters making sure Manziel never got comfortable. The shutout capped a week in which Manziel was called a "midget" by Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, a comment that shows professionals aren't ready to let him come in and "wreck the league" like he boasted he would do before the Browns selected him with the No. 22 overall pick. The Browns were blanked for the first time since a 16-0 loss to Baltimore in 2009. Manziel's first half couldn't have gone much worse. With Cincinnati's defense bent on stopping Manziel, the Browns didn't move the ball, committed costly penalties and the 22-year-old quarterback made several rookie mistakes. He was intercepted twice and was lucky that a third pick was nullified by a penalty. The Browns managed just 58 total yards in the first half and their best scoring chance ended when Manziel scrambled and forced a pass to the end zone that was intercepted by Adam "Pacman" Jones. Cleveland had just four first downs, two of them coming on penalties against the Bengals defense. Cincinnati linebacker Rey Maualuga was whistled for taunting after he batted down one of the quarterback's passes and followed it up by getting in Manziel's face. Hill gave the Browns motivation with his postgame comments after last month's loss, saying "they're probably worse than I thought" despite Cleveland's dominant performance. Hill carried the ball on the game's first plays and gave the Bengals a 7-0 lead with his 2-yard TD run. After Nugent kicked a 44-yarder to make it 10-0, Hill scored again, breaking several tackles on a 16-yard run to make it 17-0 early in the second quarter. Hill tried to celebrate by leaping into the stands, but was turned back by a Browns fan wearing a Joe Haden jersey. It was one of Cleveland's best stops of the first 30 minutes. The Browns lost star cornerback Joe Haden with a shoulder injury and rookie corner Justin Gilbert went out with a concussion.
A thorough knockout Ugly doesn?t even begin to describe what happened to the Browns Sunday afternoon in the home finale of the 2014 season. In fact, there probably is no word in the English language that adequately and properly describes what took place between the hours of 1 o?clock and 4 o?clock. To say the Cincinnati Bengals dominated the Browns in the second meeting of the Battle of Ohio this season would be a huge understatement. So would manhandled. The Bengals, embarrassed at home by the Browns on a Thursday night in early November in front of a national television audience, administered a massive dose of revenge, pulverizing them at will all afternoon. The 30-0 final in no way indicates how thorough the Bengals eviscerated their in-state rivals. They did to the Browns what the Browns did to them all those weeks ago . . . and then some. Just about every move the Browns tried on offense failed miserably and made Johnny Manziel?s starting debut a nightmare. The defense had few answers for a Bengals offense that was the antithesis of what it saw down in Cincinnati. It started early with the Bengals taking 7:07 off the clock on the opening drive, rookie Jeremy Hill scoring the first of his two touchdowns from two yards out to climax a 14-play, 81-yard drive. It ended with the Bengals, moving the ball another 86 yards with ridiculous ease on their final drive of the day in the final quarter, knocking another 8:44 off the clock, again in 14 plays, with third-string running back Rex Burkhead adding to the embarrassment from 10 yards out. That?s 167 yards of real estate that produced 14 points in 28 plays and burned nearly 16 minutes in time of possession. To put that in perspective, the Browns gained 107 net yards total and ran only 38 plays in 21 minutes of possession time. In between those long Cincinnati possessions, the Browns looked worse on offense than an expansion team playing its first exhibition game. They were at best inept and colossally clueless at worst. The first-place Bengals arrived at the ballpark ready to play a football game, prepared to the hilt to avenge their embarrassing loss to the Browns at home. The Browns, now buried in the AFC North cellar, arrived at the ballpark ready to do anything but. It was as though they took the Bengals for granted in this one the same way the Bengals took them for granted in the first game. The Bengals Sunday were the epitome of precision on offense and played defense with a snarl. Everything seemed to work for them. Nothing worked for Cleveland. Why? Because the Bengals physically abused them all afternoon. The Bengals slapped them around and they took it. It was as complete a game as could possibly be played in an NFL game. The game plan on both sides of the ball was carried out to perfection. The Browns cooperated by playing submissive football. To give you some idea of how absolutely dominant the Bengals were, consider the following: The Browns recorded a puny five first downs (two less than the number of Spencer Lanning punts). Two were gained by penalty. Only three first downs the normal way in 10 possessions is not just embarrassing, it?s almost unheard of. The Browns ran only four plays in Cincinnati territory all afternoon. They all came as part of a 10-play, 51-yard drive that ended with the first of Manziel?s two interceptions (a third was wiped out by a Cincinnati penalty), Adam Jones stepping in front of Taylor Gabriel at the goal line to make the pick. Only one other drive lasted longer than three plays (six for 26 yards) and that ended with a Lanning punt. That?s it. That?s the sum and substance of the positive Browns? yardage on this afternoon. Just two possessions lasted more than three plays. That?s right. Seven three-and-outs in nine drives, not including the brief final one with just seconds to play. Take a bow, coaching staff. It was truly a Factory of Sadness for Manziel and an offense that should be ashamed of its performance. Nothing went right for the rookie quarterback with the national media looking on in his much-anticipated debut game. He was awful. But he had plenty of company. The overrated Cleveland offensive line gave him shaky pass protection. He was sacked three times and harassed on almost every dropback. And there was very little room for Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West to run. It was as though the Bengals had stolen the Browns? playbook and knew exactly what was going to unfold on every play on both sides of the ball. The Cincinnati offense bullied the Cleveland defense mercilessly and relentlessly. No matter how many times the Bengals ran a counter play, the Browns couldn?t stop it. Hill picked up most of his yards on the play, which sees the backside offensive tackle and guard pull and lead the play on the opposite side of the formation. The running back takes one step either way, then counters and follows his blockers. Hill, who belittled the Cleveland defense following the first game, backed up his words with a 25-carry, 148-yard afternoon and the two scores after being held to 55 yards in the first game. ?They were worse than I thought to be honest with you,? he said then and proved himself correct this time around. Giovani Bernard shredded the Cleveland defense for 79 more yards on the ground and 24 through the air as the Cincinnati ground game compiled 244 yards. Now the cry will come that coach Mike Pettine, looking for any spark to revitalize his team, should never have benched Brian Hoyer for Manziel. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Browns were a team heading nowhere with Hoyer in charge and it was about time for the coaching staff to find out what they had in Manziel. But they never expected this. As it turned out, they couldn?t have picked a worse weekend to find out. That doesn?t mean Manziel will resume his seat on the bench and Hoyer thrown a lifeline. Not with a three-game losing streak and all hopes for the playoffs extinguished. Right now, the Browns are playing probably the worst offensive football in the entire NFL. It?s safe to say it can?t get any worse than this from an offensive standpoint. Can?t imagine anything worse than what the fans were forced to witness against the Bengals. Hoyer is not the future of this team. Manziel is. He needs to play out the season. If he is not starting next Sunday in Carolina against the Panthers, then the problem with the Browns does not lie with the players. Posted by Rich Passan
Here's some to get started Bluez... Don't know if there is enough to go around after yesterday :! :! :!
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- ESPN analyst Merrill Hoge blasted Johnny Manziel again after his 30-0 rout by the Bengals, this time calling for the job of whoever drafted him. For the record, that would be Browns general manager Ray Farmer -- although several in the organization had input. "As I've said before, it's going to be a quick exit and it's unfortunate, because whoever drafted him in Cleveland, they need to be fired,'' Hoge said on a postgame show. "Because it's unfair to the kid. He has sixth-round talent but first-round hype, and you draft him there and now regardless of what happens from here on out, he will be expected to play like a first-rounder and that's unfair to him. "He doesn't have the skill set to withstand that expectation and that's not his fault, it's the Cleveland Browns' for drafting him that high.'' Hoge went on to reiterate what he said before the draft: that Manziel has bust written all over him. The rookie completed 10-of-18 attempts for 80 yards in his starting debut, with no touchdowns and two interceptions for a 27.3 rating. "He's limited with his arm, he's limited with his overall understanding of the structure and here's the thing that's going to hurt him more than anything: his one strong, major overriding instinct to run,'' said Hoge. "It won him a Heisman. It's what he gets rewarded for. It's what he does best, it's what he trusts. "You'll never break that. To teach him and for him to learn, have all of those things he couldn't do today, it's just an uphill battle. It's never going to happen.'' Manziel ran five times for 13 yards and was sacked three times. He'll also start next week in Carolina as the Browns evaluate him for the future. "The thing that stood out about him that really stood out is that he didn't play within structure,'' said Hoge. "Understanding where it's going, route concepts, and how you're breaking down a defense. He really struggled against zone concepts. "And he doesn't have a strong arm. You can see there's no velocity on the ball. Some of the Bengals' interceptions. ...they're so late in getting there. Today he tried to do something he's unfamiliar with. He tried to play in structure. But because he doesn't understand structure, it was a disaster for him. They're limited in what they can do with him because he has no pocket feel.'' In an interview in September on Pittsburgh radio station WDVE-FM, Hoge said of Manziel's "wreck this league" draft comments, "It told you, too, that he's a juvenile punk. He was like that, and he's still like that.'' He predicted a hasty exit for Manziel from the NFL, similar to that of Tebow. "This will be the saddest, quickest ending we have seen in quite some time," Hoge said then. "It'll be like a Tim Tebow (situation)." Manziel was aware of Hoge's remarks back then, but unfazed. "Stuff pops up on my phone and I happened to see something," Manziel said before the opener. "He's been in the opposite corner of me for a while now, so all I can really do is go out and try to prove him wrong. He's entitled to every bit of his opinion." Hoge, who criticized Manziel's arm after watching some preseason tape, doesn't think the former Texas A&M product will be successful in the NFL. "When I was doing the draft and I was going through and studying him, I actually got done and it was the first time other than Tim Tebow came out and I was like, 'God, there is nothing ? nothing that he does ? that transitions to the National Football League.' "There's not one skill set that he had that you're like, 'Gosh, he's a first-rounder.' Really, nothing." Browns coach Mike Pettine discounted Hoge's opinion back in September. "Where did he play?'' Pettine said. "I just know that in the age that we're in of sensationalism, a lot of times people that want to be heard have to make bold statements in order to bring attention to themselves. I think that's something that's a regular occurrence in this league."
Sky dog from NGS / LNU put that on my FB page last night . he did that after he told me he started Manziel in one of his FFB Leagues ..OUCH ..He lost that game . then we went at it over Bama / Buckeye game ..he is a huge BAMA fan .. BAMA Going down ..I hope . Gooo Buckeyes !
It wasn?t the prettiest outing you?ll ever see, but the Panthers got the win they needed against the Buccaneers on Sunday. They now have a 5-8-1 record and control of first place in the NFC South pending the result of the Saints? Monday night game in Chicago, a result that looks all the better for coming with Derek Anderson piloting the offense days after Cam Newton suffered a back injury in a car accident. Newton sustained two transverse process fractures and a similar injury kept Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo out of one game earlier this year, but it will be a little while before coach Ron Rivera makes any decisions about who will start in Week 16. ?I?m not making any decisions until I get the opportunity to watch him on the football field, listen to what the trainers and doctors have to tell me, and then we will make our decision,? Rivera said, via the Associated Press. ?But to make any judgment right now would be premature and would be a mistake.? The Panthers host the Browns next Sunday before wrapping up the season in Atlanta in a game that could wind up being the finale for the entire regular season if the NFC South still hangs in the balance. this could be a good rebound game for the Browns defense ..if they can stop the run we all know that Anderception will toss a few up ..if we can STOP THE RUN ..They got smacked in the mouth yesterday and that pisses me off more than the lack of offense which was offensive . it starts and stops up front . we need mean nasty linemen on both sides of the ball .
Week 15 LosersJohnny Manziel and hope in Cleveland. All along, Manziel held out the prospect of the big surprise, the quarterback to ride in on the steed to save the franchise. Now everyone in Cleveland is thinking, ?We should have listened to Merril Hoge.? The 30-0 loss to Cincinnati was deflating in so many ways, but if you didn?t see Mike Pettine?s postgame press conference, and you want to get really depressed, give it a look. It?s got to be on YouTube, or on the Browns? website. Pettine was heartbroken, which I am sure mirrored the emotion of his city. It?s another wait-till-next-year situation in Cleveland, and a cautionary tale for Manziel: Get to work. Nothing is going to be handed to you. Become a student of the game. It?s too early to write Manziel off. (Really? One game is too soon?) He has some gifts. But they can only be developed through hard work. ... Coaches of the Week Paul Guenther, defensive coordinator, Cincinnati. The. night before the game, Guenther showed his troops tape of Johnny Manziel?s loss against LSU last year, when pressure from the left and super-containment doomed Manziel in a lopsided loss. That?s one of things the Bengals did well in suffocating Manziel in his first NFL start. For the game, Cincinnati held Cleveland to a stunning 107 total yards. For the Bengals to beat Cleveland 30-0, on the road, after losing to them a month ago by 21 at home is amazing. Give Guenther props for digging deep and finding a logical solution to playing a new quarterback: study who played him the best the last time he struggled.
Johnny Manziel played terribly Sunday. Anyone who watched a snap of the Cleveland Browns' performance of sadness in a 30-0 shutdown by the Cincinnati Bengals knows it. Manziel took blame for a terrible 27.3 passer rating and historically low QBR rating. However, former 13-year NFL cornerback Eric Davis placed the blame elsewhere Monday morning on NFL Network's NFL AM. "Mike Pettine's decision to put him in is one of the worst coaching decisions of the last decade," Davis said. "You have a team that you said you put another guy, (Brian) Hoyer, in place because he was the guy that gave you the best chance to win. Your team is still in the hunt for a playoff spot, and you decide because of his play, that OK now as opposed to coaching this guy up who you said gave you the best chance, you're gonna blame it on him, pull him out and you put this guy in? Who you've been telling me all year long, you've been telling the press he's not ready, and you put him out there? "That's why I said last week, if I were a veteran player on that team, I would have been upset, because you told me you quit on our season by putting him in. That's what you did. You quit on everything that we had done as a team, not Brian Hoyer, but what the team had done. That was a horrible coaching decision, so I can't blame it all on Johnny Manziel because Johnny Manziel wasn't ready to play. You know how I know? Mike Pettine told me so. That's how I know." Manziel certainly didn't look ready Sunday, making too many college throws and pitiful reads. However, Pettine's decision was made after weeks of watching Hoyer flounder. With a shot at the playoffs woefully hindered after a Week 14 loss, the coach -- who has overachieved this season -- gambled the rookie could push them to a winning streak. He lost. Hindsight is biased. Had Pettine stuck with Hoyer and gotten blown out Sunday, the coach would have been blasted for not seeing what his rookie could offer. Maybe Johnny Football isn't ready. But ready or not, he'll finish the last two games, as the Browns need to evaluate their first-round pick in real games. The latest Around The NFL Podcast recaps every Sunday game from Week 15 and discusses all the playoff implications. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
Apparently Eric Davis hasn't seen one play executed by Hoyer in his last 5-6 starts. Hoyer had a good third + of a season to get "coached up" and all he did was go belly up and stink worse each weak. And after 13 weeks, I agreed with Pettine to put the kid in cause Hoyer sure as hell wasn't going to get us there. Ready or not, putting Manziel in to start was not "quitting on the season" as Davis puts it. It was more of a quitting on Hoyer because he was progressively sucking worse each and every week. So, Eric Davis, if you're reading this, bite me!!!!! Pull your head from out your arse before you blather on unintelligently about a team you know nothing about.
