What are you People Talking About?

1: The Browns reportedly offered three firsts and a second for RGIII.  Were they supposed to offer another first rounder?  Toss in 6 players?  They tried and couldn't get him!  What the hell is the matter with you?

2: Other teams DID want TRich enough to jump ahead of the Browns and nab him.  Alfred Morris?  Alfred Morris was overlooked by 31 other personel guys, and didn't play in a flak jacket with broken ribs all season!

3: Wilson?  NAME ANY scout, GM, or coach who thought this guy could ever even start in the NFL!

4: Now TJ WARD was a reach?  Hughes is a bust?  The same Hughes who is, as a rookie, an integral part of the DT rotation?

5: Haden sucks because a 6'5" reciever burned him last week?  Because he doesn't have many interceptions?  Five weeks out of six he all but shuts down the opponent's best reciever, but now he sucks?

6: You're calling sixth and seventh- rounders who didn't pan out "busts"?  Are you retarded?  Enough said.

7: Pinkston and Luavao both start.  They're not great and can't pull, but can't you see where they were drafted?  Because this is Cleveland, if the GM doesn't find elite players in the later rounds, he sucks.  You think Ozzie Newsome bats over .300 on those, you...?

8: The Browns did not expect to contend this season, and wanted to develop their young talent.  Free agency is for contenders.  Old free agents cost cap-space and prevent young guys from getting reps.  They can't get a rebuilding team into the playoffs, and stifle it's progress.

All the same, Heckert was in the hunt for Indi's Garcon and other YOUNGER free agents, but couldn't land them.  Had the new management been smart enough to keep Heckert, he would have used free agency more next season, because the young core of talent that he'd built will have the experience to contend.

DDUUUHHHH!

Instead of comparing Heckert to God or your 20/20 hindsite, compare him to other humans who do the same job and didn't have a damn crystal ball!

Say no to John Gruden.  His teams faded fast after he won a Super Bowl with Tony Dungy's team.  Jay might be ok though--I don't know.

Kyle Shanahan I like.  His dad never won a Superbowl without Elway, but his teams were always competitive and usually contended no matter what talent he had or didn't have.  When they got RGIII, they were smart enough to adapt to him and let him do what he does best while learning the other stuff.

Kyle is my personal favorite, even though the Shanahans run a different offensive system.  If they're stuck with Weeden, they'll adapt somewhat to him and help the transition.

Here's a longshot for ya: Marty Schottenheimer's kid!  (He's way more creative and aggressive on offense, and wouldn't you expect him to be as prepared/disciplined?)  Back to Kyle:

Kyle's not an ideal fit for the current offensive line, because they love zone-blocking.  The outside and middle of this line are okay, but none of the guards on this roster are quick enough.  But then, you can adapt here, as well, and the Shanahans seem smart/creative enough to be so flexible.

For that matter, Weeden is a better fit for the preferred Shanahan system, which uses more vertical routes and isn't as complex.

As for GM, as I've said, Heckert is a top five guy (and I doubt that anybody on NFL Radio would debate that.  Only Barstool GM's in Cleveland could disagree, and I have to side with people not on the waiting list for brains).  Teams will fight over him.

It'll be okay if they can get another top five guy.  Maybe from the Ravens, Falcons, or Stoolers.

The Browns will now draft sixth overall, with no second round pick.  If you color Gordon as that pick--which he literally is--you must also credit Heckert with getting a first round talent in the second round, and a year early.  The dude now has a full season of NFL experience under his belt, too!

None of the quarterbacks in this draft rate that pick, but the best of them will be gone by the third round.  And then, you don't draft a quarterback just to draft him.

I personally doubt that Weeden can be a playoff quarterback, but I know I could be wrong.  He might just come back next season much improved.  His holding the ball while overlooking open recievers is the scariest thing I see...I mean, can you fix something like that?

Vs. the Stoolers, Thad Lewis marched them up and down the field.  He got rid of the damn ball!

Grossi pointed out that none of his passes went over 16 or 17 yards, but that's how the West Coast is supposed to work.  Lewis has worked in the same system since he came to the league, and merely ran the offense the right way.

Maybe he doesn't have a big arm, but this game didn't say anything about that.  Tony needs to take out some old Montana/Young tapes, or maybe even some more recent Rogers tapes, and look for those long bombs there.

I like Lewis so far.  But he's a West Coast guy, and who knows if he'll fit into the new regime?

Oh well.  I look foreward to the offseason...guess I'm just sick.

TRich and RG3

I've sure read some dumb comments recently.  Trent Richardson is a bust?

For most of the season, every team the Browns have played have made stopping this guy a priority.  You attack the combination of a superior running back and a rookie quarterback by overloading the offensive line and sending extra guys.

The running back has to stay there to protect the quarterback if it's a pass--and face it: It was almost always a run anyway, so the extra inside rushers raced him to the handoff and got a hat on him before he could take two steps with the ball.

This is after he recovers from knee surgery and before he tears rib cartilage.

Nor has he healed.  As I said when he was injured, you need to NOT MOVE for several weeks for that injury to heal.  I can't blame Richardson for playing through the pain, but I do blame Shurmer for letting him.

I understand: Shurmer doesn't want to be fired, and Richardson hurt or not is very reliable and expecially good at catching passes.  There are lingering concerns about Hardesty's ball security, and he's not as good a reciever.

But Shurmer has ridden him into the ground.  No rookie running back is ever prepared to touch the ball as many times as TRich has in his first NFL season.  They work out like maniacs, but for whatever reason, no amount of conditioning can give them the neccessary endurance until they've actually played one full season.

So I think that right now TRich is simply tired.  Once he has a chance to heal  and has a full offseason, he'll be scary.

RG3 won't play today.  Apparantly some teams allow their players to heal.

I love RG:  This idiot comes out bashing him for not being black enough, and he asks the guy to define what he means by "one of us".  Why is it so important for these clowns to not simply be americans?  Why is a guy who works hard and earns the american dream a Tom unless he...what...talks about how he was oppressed?  Demands more free stuff?  Talks like an ignorant jailbird?

I can't miss that the guy is black, ok?  I just don't CARE!

Anyway, I like Kurt Cousins too, but not as much.  Because he's white.  Kidding.

Updated W/L prediction: 8-8.

Fritz's Nephew

Remember Bill Belichick when he was here?  Remember "We could have had Cowher!"?  Remember the worst coach in football?

You wore me down.  I quit defending him in the old Browns' final season, when the team seemed to regress.  I didn't know at the time that the players had known before we did that the team was moving.

Of course, that was BB101.  BB101 was a control-freak who didn't just do his job, but also those of his assistant coaches.  BB101 had film-study OCD and changed the game plan three or four times leading up to games.  He worked 18 hours a day.  He hovered over everybody.

His work ethic was awesome, and he was a genius.  He wasn't ready to be a Head Coach.  Being a Head Coach made him a Head Case.

BB102 is much more like Bill Parcells, his mentor.  He delegates authority to the best, smartest assistant coaches he can find.  He is the General and lets his Colonels and Captains do their jobs once they have their orders.

Sure, he's got Tom Brady!  But see how Brady himself is a coach?  See how he LETS Brady be Brady?  Note how he actually traded elite quarterback Drew Bledsoe to hand the reigns over to the inexperienced sixth-rounder after one pretty good season?

This whole thing with Shurmer sounds familiar.  "I say we haing 'im!"

His ultraconservatism in the red zone vs. the Ratbirds drove me nuts.  He didn't guarantee a bunch of field goals.  He made touchdowns much much more unlikely.  I wanted him fired.

But in the three subsequent games, he's done a great job.  He's better now!  The offense has been balanced, and not predictable.  He's even gone for it on fourth down!  He's PASSED on fourth-and-inches!  Not that being a compulsive gambler makes you a good coach or anything--but Shurmer has demonstrated adaptability and versatility in his gameplanning and playcalling.

Many fans seem oblivious to this.  This is because they're still repeating what they were saying five weeks ago.  Some don't even know what they're saying means, because they're repeating something somebody else said.   Most people also hate to change their minds, once their minds are made up.  It's like accepting defeat or something for them.

I was wrong!  Shurmer (so far) looks like a keeper who is improving!  See?  It's easy!  Everybody is wrong sometimes!  Nobody is perfect!  Admit it!  Say it!  "I was wrong!"

The youngest team in football is making fewer mistakes, and all along were competitive with teams full of veterans; contending, playoff teams.  Developing the young players and being competitive has always been a Shurmer positive.  The ONLY issue with Shurmer, really, was his playcalling.  You want to fire him now, just when his only weakness is disappearing?

And even his playcalling suckdom was overstated.  I was seeing red after the Ravens game, but in most of the other games I saw, the losses were more about dropped passes, interceptions, and blown blocks and referees than bad playcalls.

People were bashing him for sending TRich up the middle--for running on first down for crying out loud!  Yeah, 50% of the time, I can tell in advance if it's a pass or a run, and if I can tell...

Maybe the best thing he's done is to protect Weeden as much as possible.  That's WHY you run and dink-pass a lot-to protect a rookie quarterback.

He's not perfect, of course.  He's run TRich into the ground.  TRich is  conditioned to play a college season.  They can work out all they want, but every college running back starting in the NFL for the first season is not ready to carry the load for sixteen games.  That includes Adrian Peterson.

"Dancing"?  I can't say because I didn't see the KC game, but I strongly suspect that he's lost his explosion because his legs are dead.

Let's see if vs Washington Hardesty gets more carries.  And why not that guy with the name that starts with "O"?

But then, expecting Shurmer to be as smart as ME is probably setting the bar too high...

The New Shurmer

I like this guy!

First off, it's easy to bash anybody's playcalling.  You wait to see what happens, and if it doesn't work, it was stupid.  Another method is the Obvious method.  You must always run up the middle on first down.  Another is the Predictably Unpredictable method: You must always pass on first down.

Then there's the They'll Never See This Coming method: You must always do the opposite of the obvious.

Most bashers mix-and-match all these methods play-by-play, but merely as reasons why the unsuccessful play was stupid.

I'm not bashing the bashers or anything, because I was bashing Shurmer's playcalling too.  For me, it was the getting inside Dawson's range and shutting down everything but the run to make sure nothing bad could happen.  This guaranteed us a bunch of field goals and no touchdowns.

But some of the bashing is coming from asylums.  Like, you never pass the ball on first down!  Or you must go 50/50 pass and run on first, regardless of the defense, their front, etc.

The new Pat, however, is aggressive and opportunistic.

The Browns have a big offensive line that can move people inside--whether they know it's coming or not.  Whether they like it or not.  So he's been going for it more on fourth and inches.  Like when the referees screwed Weeden out of his first down on third-and-inches with a bad spot?  They went for it on fourth with the same play.  I guess the center and guards were angry, because they blew it up and Weeds accidentally got around two yards.

But the point is, Shurmer DID call the play.

When they get into the red zone, now he lets Weeden take shots at the end zone rather than handing (or dumping) it off to TRich 3 times and then kicking a field goal (after the entire defense ignores everybody else and converges on the overworked rookie running back because they know he's going to get the ball no matter what every single time).

When Weeden threw a stupid interception, Shurmer didn't immediately delete all intermediate and deep passes from the game plan.  NOW, you just never know when Weeden will try to wooden-stake you.

How 'bout going for it on fourth and a couple feet and PASSING?  Most wait for the end of that play and then decide if it was stupid or not.  But more than a few can't handle not running no matter what in that situation.  I am proud to say that I like the guts and wouldn't have bashed it if it hadn't worked.

That's a wooden-stake play, as certainly as any long bomb.  The whole defense is all over the line of scrimmage.  The linemen are diving for penetration, so it's very hard for them to get back up and muster a pass-rush.  No reciever can be double-covered at all because the safeties must think run first.

Any reception here could go all the way, as the reciever is already behind most of the defenders.

Field position matters as well.  Had the fourth-and-inches pass failed, the opponent simply takes over on downs with good, but not great, field position.  About the same as a punt-and-return.  Risk/Reward--I love it.

Part of this is Weeden.  He has apparantly won more confidence from Shurmer in these situations.

Vs. the Raiders, I thought he was inconsistant, and was frustrated as hell with him.  Then I find out he'd thrown for 364 yards--and then there was that last crunch-time TD-drive.  He kept his cool and handled it like a veteran.

I figure this must be like one of those college games where these defensive coordinators bragged about how they'd beat his team by getting more pressure in his face.  He threw for something like 360 and 450 yards in those games, too.

I see his issue now.  He has to have his feet set.  When he does, he's accurate as hell.  But when he's on the move, he's mediocre.  This can be worked on, but not during a season.

But I digress: In my amateur opinion, Shurmer's last two games have featured some really good playcalling--and game management too.  Two penalties in LA? They're disciplined.  Even Little catches everything now.

We'll see what happens the rest of the way, but I have to give Shurmer a fair chance of keeping his job, whether the permabashers like it or not.

How bout that Josh Gordon?  Nice move, Tom!  Yeah most of the guys on NFL Radio thought a next year's second-rounder was too much to pay for a guy who'd hardly played in college and had been in trouble.  But Tom doesn't listen to that stuff.

Part of that criticism was based on the assumption that the Browns would again draft at or near the top of the draft because they would suck even worse than they did last season.  (I still find this inexplicable.  How can you assume that a team this young, in the second year of new offensive and defensive systems, would regress? That's just insane!)

Heckert all along was probably expecting six or more wins.

Now look at that Gordon move!  He's already passed up Gregg Little and MoMass!  The rawest, most inexperienced rookie wide-out in football is a touchdown machine who just had his first 100-yard game.  Can you imagine what this guy will be like coming back from a full off-season with that experience under his belt?

You saw on that 44-yard touchdown what I mentioned before: Once he gets behind a guy, it's over.

Commentors who declare Heckert a goner already are clueless.  Yes, it is possible that they'll fire him--but it would be pretty stupid, and I don't think Haslam is stupid.

Browns Were the More Talented Team

The guys on NFL Radio haven't been as bad as usual with the Squealer-worship, and it's even beginning to dawn on some of them that the Browns have some talent.

Adam Schein, of course, blames the Big Benless Steelers.

I sat next to a group of Steeler fans during most of the game (before finally locating a chapter of Browns Backers in the same place).

First of all, they were pretty nice people and really knew football.  Having said that, I was just plain disoriented to hear--during a Browns/Steelers game--these guys complaining about the officiating.  No need to elaborate, right?

I wanted to tell this guy: "The reason for all the holding calls is that the Browns defensive line overmatches the Stoolers' offensive line and they ARE holding."

And it's true.  In fact, the Browns offensive and defensive lines both dominated, and the reason they dominated was because they are more talented.  Certainly Mike Adams will get better, and Castillo will help a lot when he returns, but all this will do is make it closer.

With the return of the Rubin/Taylor tandem (and the ability to keep at least one of them on the field for most downs), the defensive line is suddenly one of the best in the NFL.  While there is no superstar passrusher, they bring pressure evenly from both sides and the middle, and everybody gets sacks.

It extends to the front seven.  Everybody (except one moron) loves D'Qwell Jackson, but the young undrafted outside 'backers that Heckert dug up are really becoming excellent players in all downs.

The broken-record MM's repeat that the Browns need linebackers, but they don't. If you are saying a "passrushing" linebacker, please stop.  This is a 4-3, and needs REAL linebackers.

Sure, nothing is ever perfect, so a real QB-killing weakside starting DE or a super-fast linebacker would help, but these are "wants", not "needs".

TJ Ward has really become a force at safety, too.

And the turnovers?  No, it wasn't the Steelers' just giving it up.  It was the Browns' taking it.  Schein and Tomlin can't seem to get this, but Rich Gannon (who has finally watched a couple games) is talking about an up-and-coming team that is finally putting it together.  He said they physicly beat up the Steelers and took the ball with hard, jarring hits.

I was personally frustrated by Weeden holding the ball forever, and then throwing it away.  Terry Pluto seems to have seen something different, as he credits Weeden with getting rid of the ball quickly.  I think I'm right and Terry is wrong this time.

Tony Grossi blames the coaches for turning a gunslinger into Captain Checkdown. That might have merit, too.  For whatever reason, he seems afraid to go deep.  I hope it's just a phase.

Gannon and Miller defended him strongly, pointing out the specific defenses he has faced.  Others have compared his stats to those of highly regarded quarterbacks vs. the same defenses, and made me think that my expectations for any rookie quarterback have been unreasonable.

The overall offense is now balanced.  The wide recievers, including Little, have stopped dropping passes.  Weeden is hitting all of them, spreading the ball around.

I still wish that Shurmer wasn't oblivious to the fact that TRich is a rookie accustomed to much shorter seasons, and that if he's not given some rest here and there his legs will die and he'll indeed be ordinary for the last few games--if he isn't HURT again.

I know that Hardesty has put the ball on the ground in the past, but repeat that he never had this issue in college, and should be given a shot to take some reps off TRich.

But I've now gone from negative to neutral on Shurmer overall.  Continuity is important, so you've got to grade on a curve here.

A few things about playing in the mud that I don't think people get:

1: It's much harder on cornerbacks and safeties than on big recievers like Little and Gordon.  The big reciever's weight gives them better traction so that they can cut without slipping.  The smaller defender trying to react to the cut has to tippy-toe around to keep from falling down.  They also can't be bumping or getting in the way because they can more easily get decked.

2: Bigger is better in the trenches.

3: It's harder to bring pressure on the quarterback, except with inside blitzes.

The Browns should throw the ball!

They're 1.5 point dogs.  I don't get it.

What Haslam Might Be Thinking

1: We'll need to complete that list of Head Coach candidates.  I can't believe this guy stops throwing inside the twenty.  If by the third time I knew they wouldn't try for the end zone, the Ravens did too.  He calls it conservative, but it looks timid to me.

The new guy doesn't have to be "proven" like the mantra says.  Cowher was an assistant, and so was Tomlin.  We just have to vet the candidates thoroughly.

"Proven" guys might want all the power, and I doubt that any of them could pick talent as well as Heckert.  Parcells won't come back.  I'd like to keep Jauron if I can, and keep the same system so we don't mess Weeden up...speaking of which

2: This Weeden guy is driving me crazy.  I've got to allow for his inexperience, but I just don't know.  Sometimes he looks as good as the best, but that Ravens game was atrocious.  Well, we can wait and see.  With the start he had, we can see if he gets more consistant the rest of this season.

On the other hand, he's pretty old.  Might need to draft another guy high even if we decide Weeden's the man.

I read some of the fans lobbying for McCoy, but he just doesn't have the same kind of arm, and that's a cieling on what he can do.  I saw this with Pennington and some other guys--good but not great.  All the Superbowl quarterbacks for several years had strong arms.

We'd have some flexibility if we draft one.  We could take a Tannehill type or something, and bring him along slowly.

3: I'd like to keep Heckert.  Everybody talks about all the young talent on this team, and Heckert did that almost exclusively through the draft.  I really liked that Gordon for next year's second-rounder move!  That kid is scary, and he'll come in next season way ahead of the rest of his draft class!  I'll take that deal every time!

4: I know Weeden was terrible vs the Ravens, but he still did enough to win against an elite team.  I blame Shurmer for that.  I like him, but the playcalling was predictable and too conservative.  The Steelers until recently had a dominating defense, but since Big Ben's first Superbowl, they've attacked through the air and done very well.

A good coach doesn't lean that hard on even a very good defense by "making sure" of field goals.  They take their shots at the end zone, and with those tight ends and Gordon, Weeden can make it happen as often as not.  I'm not a football guy, but obviously even the best defenses can get worn down, and when you jump ahead they can't run as much.

5: I heard this clown on NFL Radio saying close games don't mean anything, but they obviously do.  They mean that this team can go toe-to-toe with elite teams.  They've lost in the end because they don't expect to win yet, and those veterans on the other side do.

And they save their dirty tricks for prime-time.  Some rookie blocks the wrong guy, the quarterback's nervous and puts too much on the ball, some veteran reciever outsmarts a young cornerback...

No, the close games mean they have the talent to get there.

6: Besides inexperience, what's keeping them from turning the close losses into wins?  Yeah--I think it's the playcalling.  I like how Shurmer has shaped everybody up and got them playing well, but...could I let him stay and force a hand-picked playcaller on him?  He'd have to accept it...but it could undermine him.  No, probably got to replace him.

7: Seven more games.  I'm sitting pretty.  Let's just watch it play out.  Another good draft, and this time some impact free agents, and we should be ready to challenge for the division if there's not too much disruption and a big system change...I mean if Weeden progresses...

Dear Memorex Moron:

I know you use different names when you ask Tony Grossi questions, but I can always tell it's you.  Only you could stick to your preconceptions, regardless of what happens in front of your eyes.

Your mind was made up about Brandon Weeden as soon as he displaced your Dreamboat Colt McCoy.  Nothing he has done or will do will change your alleged thinking.

The offense sucked against the Eagles in game one, then was up and down for the next several games, and in the last two has started clicking on all cylinders.  To you, it's the same as it was in game one.

Why else would you talk about Weeden under/overthrowing recievers "constantly"?  And the not reacting well to pressure thing?  That comes from an article you read before training camp even started.  He's screwed up some, but the screw-ups usually weren't caused by pressure.  Overall, he's performed well under pressure.

You fixate on buzzwords.  Your word of the week is "identity".  You ask Tony what is the offense's "identity".  Is it Weeden throwing "ad infinitum", or is it TRich running?

For you, it just can't be both.  But it is all of the above.  The Browns offensive identity is a balanced attack.  Extremely balanced, in fact.  TRich runs inside and catches passes too.  Not just dumpoffs, but downfield passes.  Weeden hits every part of the field from sideline-to-sideline and from scrimmage to the goal line.

This sunday, the Colts defense has to decide who it's going to stop.  Last week, the Jets ran all over them.  The kneejerk plan from local commentators is that the Browns should run the ball.  That's obvious.  It's also obvious to the Colts.

Normally they'd try to kitchen-sink the backfield, trying to keep TRich in to pass block or to beat him to the handoff, but Freeney is out, and Mathis isn't 100%.  They'll still be agressive and try for inside pressure.

They'll be aggressive and try to stop the run first.  They'll expect the Browns to try to run them over like the Jets did.

ANY NFL defense can stop the run if they commit to it.  They use more tacklers than there are blockers.  They run-blitze, and submarine.  That's why every week I hear people saying "these guys can't stop the run so this team should run", and more often than not the run gets stuffed if the opponent does the obvious.

One thing that will always work is play-action.  Oh yeah: "RUUNN!!!" Ok hold the blocker back, raise head, look for the ball oh SHIT it's a pass and I'm stopped dead ok try to bat it down--

Massequoi and Benjamin are back, upgrading the recievers.  MoMass has proven to objective observers that he is even more reliable than he was as a rookie.  The tight ends seem to be semi-healthy all at once for a change.  Gordon has emerged as a terrifying deep threat, as well as dangerous on crosses and slants.

Weeden should have time and has many weapons now.  While Rich Gannon was sleeping (and Adam Schein was comatose), the Browns recieving corps has rapidly evolved into a very competitive crew (improving game-by-game).

Once the Colts see that the Browns aren't doing the obvious and pull the safeties back to stop Gordon from scoring another touchdown, THEN run.  Hit them where they aint!

What about Andrew Luck?  Well, he's doing a great job for a rookie with average/young recievers.  The Browns have to be careful to contain him, because he can run like a fast tight end and do major damage scrambling.

Some clod asked "where would the Browns be if they'd signed Reggie Wayne"?  Well, they might be 2-4 instead of 1-5, and your next question should be "where would Cooper or Norwood be?".  Fortunately, the Browns have Joe Haden, and Wayne is just one guy.

But he's a mere mortal.  Weeden, despite his week one debacle, has completed over 60% of his passes.  He's thrown more picks (I think), but is starting to pile up touchdowns.  Right now, he might even be the better QB of the two.

The Browns defense should be aggressive.  Vs. the super-mobile Vick, Jauron blitzed corners and safeties from the edge a lot.  That was cool, because it came with built-in containment.  Vick was chased to the short side of the field, where it was too conjested for him to try to run it.

For Luck, the same blitzes from the strong side would chase him to his left, making it harder for the right-hander to throw.

With the Browns new rotation of defensive tackles, it's been hard for teams to maintain a pocket.  Hughes bull-rushes and Winn sheds and penetrates, and the Colts offensive line has not performed very well.

This team was winless last season after being contenders with Peyton Manning, but if you think this is the same team from two seasons ago, come out of your cave.  Peyton's wide recievers are gone, and so are a bunch of other guys.  This is a rebuilding team, and it's behind even the Cleveland Browns.

Go position-by-position, and the Browns have better talent nearly everywhere.  Go ahead-you'll see.

It's impressive that they came from behind and knocked off the Packers, for sure. Clay Matthews aside, the Packers defense isn't nearly as good as it's offense.  In the real world, it might not be as good as the Browns' defense!

Oh, I hear that snickering.  I can see the eye-rolling.  You're prejudiced.  You're not objective.  OFFENSE took the Packers to the Superbowl two seasons ago.  The Packers' defense is pretty average!  Ask yourself why you reacted like that.  Are YOU a Memorex Moron too?

The Browns should KILL the Colts!  Even the Packers' OFFENSE can't run the ball as well as the Browns' can, and isn't as balanced!  Quit the eye-rolling--it's a fact.

You and your hero-worship!  Ray Lewis's backup is probably better than he is!  Weeden is just as good as Luck right now!  Polumalu has never been the same since he got injured the first time!  Kosar DID have diminished skills ever since he got his elbow tore up!  Take off the excrement-colored glasses!

YOU STAND CORRECTED.

As the Stomach Turns

Adam Schein remains convinced that Joe Banner will fire everybody.  Schein is no fan of Tom Heckert.  He is unimpressed with his personnel moves, except for Richardson, Weeden, Cameron, Gordon, Taylor, Haden, Ward...well there are several more stipulations--but other than that, Adam says Heckert has done a terrible job.

He cites the w/l record.  I mean, any good personnel guy would have had this team contending for the Superbowl by year three.  No excuses like new coaches or no offseason with new offensive and defensive systems-it's all Heckert's fault!

Adam hears Clevelanders talk about how close they've come vs. elite teams and says "I don't even know what that means".  Yes, this is a difficult concept.  Adam, it means that they have the talent to match up with those teams, but not the experience to close out a game.  Adam--were you born and then started walking right away?  Didn't you crawl around til you were four or so?  DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

I mean, Heckert has mostly skipped the veteran free agent market.  If the Browns had had another vedderrunn wide reciever, they might even be 2-4 by now, and could have dumped some dead weight, like Josh Cooper or Norwood!  And how much better would Josh Gordon be if he was able to sit on the bench for his first season, and learn how to run correct routes and catch from the venerable Plaxico Burress or somebody?

Can't you just see Plaxico on the sidelines with Little and Gordon: "See you put this hand here, and this hand here, and the ball goes here--"?

Shein and Rich Gannon agree that Heckert is gone, because they heard somewhere that he and Banner "don't get along".  I don't know what happened, but it sounds really serious, like Heckert parking in Banner's parking space or something.  Or perhaps he disagreed with him once.

Yeah, you've got to be buds with everybody, or it can't work.  A guy can be the best at what he does, but if he's not your bud, you've got to fire him.  That's business 101.

Fortunately, per Heckert and Banner both, they like eachother fine.  That's why the title of this is "As the Stomach Turns".  The press is always looking for something to write a soap opera about, whether it's true or not.

And Gannon still can't mention Weeden without also mentioning his young recievers.  Just now he said he really likes Weeden.  This time he was actually able to NAME a couple of the recievers!  That's great progress for Rich!  He tossed in Schwartze, who he likes too.  Wow!

My guess is that in the real world Shurmer is on the hot seat, but Heckert is not.  It's not just the high round picks, but the undrafteds and low ones.  The Gordon move?  Like I said, if he has first-round talent, then he's worth next year's second, even if he doesn't play as a rookie.  As it is, look at what they got!

Cooper (2 critical 3rd down catches vs Bengals), Norwood (9 catches vs. the Giants): undrafted.  Roberts: undrafted.  Hughes and Winn--do they look like dumb picks now?

What round was Benjamin drafted in?  Seems like a pretty good deal!  Remember Hardesty?  Well yeah ok I thought that was dumb myself, but look at what he did to the Bengals!

Marecic?  Ok you got me there, but this season he got Smelley!  And anyway, NOBODY bats a thousand!  Ground control to Utopians: Heckert is as good as it gets.

Unlike many of you, I'm rooting for Shurmer.  His playcalling has now started chafing on me, too, but this youngest team is making steady progress, getting better each week.  I also like that along with trying to run people over, they go deep as often as they can.

They'd better beat the Colts.  I don't want to read or hear anything coming out of Cleveland (or from Schein) if they don't.

Gannon and Schein picked the Colts.  Skipping Schein's default pick, Gannon picks the team that he feels has more stability.  He cited the new ownership.  He also mentioned the Colts' defense, which was embarrassed last week-getting run over. I guess this means they will stop TRich and Hardesty cold?  Because they just made up their mind?  And that Weeden can't take advantage of a stacked box?

But I respect an ex-Superbowl MVP, even if he avoids Browns game-tapes whenever possible.  Unlike Adam, he at least thought about it for a few seconds.

Thanks for Hardesty, Gordon, Cooper, and Weeden, Tom Heckert

Yeah we shoulda god a vedderrunn recievverr.  Yeah that makes sense.  Rent a geezer for a no-shot rebuilding season and kick Norwood or Cooper to the curb.  Skip Gordon, right?  Brilliant.  Fire Heckert-genius!!!

Some of the posters I read either watched the wrong game, or else the wrong team in the right game.  I think the majority of Weeden's passes came off play-fakes.  It worked brilliantly, too!  They were so scared of T-Rich, and then Hardesty, that the pass-rush froze, and some of the recievers were open by a mile.

It will keep working, too, even when defenses expect it.  They still don't know it won't be a handoff, and unless they gamble or have a clear view of the exchange or fake they simply can't over-commit to a pass-rush.  More experienced DB's react better in coverage, but passrushers can't.

Gordon proved that the last game wasn't a fluke.  The Browns now have a blue-chip deep threat/number one--who can catch the damn ball!!!

Dalton did get too much time at times, and did throw for a ton of yards.  A big chunk of that came on a huge catch-and-run by that huge tight end, and then after they'd fallen behind and abandoned the (unsuccessful/stuffed) run.

TJ Ward is good, not great.  Usama Young is fast and a hitter, but totally blew that tackle, and knocked another tackler off him.  Kolonich says he takes bad angles.  Maybe Hagg is ready to resume starting.  HE can tackle!

Why are you surprised that the young linebackers are so good?  I mean, I told you a long time ago, right?  Now it's beginning to start to occur to others that maybe Fujita should back up.  Welcome to Commonsenseville!

Unfortunately, Fujita's neck injury probably spells the end for him.  He's too old to come back from that.  And it is unfortunate, because he is a leader and a great teacher for the young guys.  Fortunately for me, though, he's a marxist so I don't feel so bad.

Next up: the Colts.  Another beatable team!  Weeden will be jazzed to face Luck.  He thrives on this stuff.  I'm sure that secretly he's thinking about showing everybody he's as good or better.

I admit that I don't think so...I'd love to have Luck or RG3 here, but Weeden is for sure in their class.  He's not as mobile, but has the arm, touch, and accuracy.  He can beat either of them.  He HAS beaten both.

How 'bout Hardesty?  I told you that if he's healthy he's an excellent back.  He just hasn't been able to stay healthy, and has fumbled too much in the past.

I've had TRich's injury.  I can see why he was ineffective after it happened, and am impressed by his toughness trying to play with it because it HHUUURRRTTTS!!!

I really hope they don't let him rush back too soon.  It absolutely won't be healed in a week and every tackler will target it.  Flack jackets restrict movement and don't prevent the ribs from compressing anyway.  Don't let him make it worse.

I love the play on which Cameron fell down on purpose in order to get Crocker off him.  Ok ok maybe not, but maybe they should fall down on purpose once in awhile!

Anyway, that was great because it showed how quickly Weeden can improvise; how quickly he spotted and attacked the weakness.

The whole team now seems to be thinking a lot less.  They've mastered the system and read automaticly.

This offense never hesitates to go for the marbles, either.  It's balanced and tough.

They should beat the Colts.

I Saw Good Stuff

The biggest difference between the Superbowl champs and the youngest team in the NFL was experience.  Not talent.  The upstart put the champ on his heels early, but he clinched and survived.  He waited for the upstart to make mistakes.  And he did.

This is why boxing managers don't put talented rookies in with contenders out of the gate.  Too bad there aren't any tomato cans in the NFL.

It really hurt the Browns a lot to lose both Jackson and Patterson, too.

Anyway, what I saw was Weeden connecting with Gordon for huge plays, and with Norwood for nine completions.  Shurmer/Childress now have some elbow room if Braylon Little keeps dropping a third of his passes (like the one that went right through his hands.  I'm starting to wonder if he doesn't have a neurological or vision issue).

The blocking on Richardson's 15-yard TD was textbook.  That's exactly how it's supposed to work.  Richardson was never touched.  Any back on the roster could have scored.

Weeden's picks were inexcusable, as he admitted.  But comparisons of him to D. Anderson are laughable.  DA had a history of interceptions in college, whereas Weeden was fairly efficient.  DA was a veteran backup before he ever got to Cleveland.  Weeden is still an unschooled rookie.  DA had trouble with accuracy and touch on short passes.  Weeden is a complete passer.

They have a real shot against the Bengals.  Jackson has returned, and so has Haden.  Too bad Patterson won't.  But at least with Haden on Green, the safeties will have more flexibility in coverage, so they might be able to reduce the damage the other recievers do, and slow down the run a little more.

The Bengals defense isn't as strong as other defenses they've faced, and the offense should be able to move the ball.  I think of Schwartze now with some games under his belt, fresh off neutralizing two awesome passrushers, Gordon already looking like the scary guy I thought it would take another offseason to see, Cameron emerging, and what Weeden did to them last time.

Updated W/L prediction: 11-5.

"No Moral Victories...oyy..."

First I'll refer to Terry Pluto's article, and tell you he's right, as usual.  If you expected a team with 15 rookies, many of whome started including the quarterback, to beat the Baltimore Ravens, you are or should be institutionalized.

If you are demanding even a winning record this season "or else", you should never supervise anybody else, including children.

Braylon Little's drops directly prevented the Browns from beating the Eagles and the Ravens; two elite teams considered candidates for the Superbowl.  He did more damage in the other games, and it's possible he cost the Browns one of those, as well.

Cutting him would be an idiotic overreaction, and even benching him could be problematic.  After all, he does get open, and has made some plays.  His replacement would have to match his productivity.

Benjamin shows promise.  Weeden hasn't worked with him as much, and has been a tad short on the deep throws to him.  Travis being such a little shrimp, he can't out-leap or overpower anybody, and has a limited reach.  Throwing to him (or Norwood) deep, Weeden needs exceptional timing and accuracy.

Josh Gordon is still learning, but is a much bigger target who seems to have good hands.  He's a long strider and will never be very sudden out of his breaks, and, like Benjamin, is still getting used to the West Coast system.

Weeden has worked with Massequoi and Little much more than with any of the aforementioned guys, none of whome has proven much yet.  But all I can say is, I hope there is workable way for Shurmer to park Braylon Little's choke-handed ass on the bench, at least for awhile.

Because Weeden did everything he could to win two or three games.  His passes were on the money.  Even when he was downright horrible, as he was in Philly, he hit Little in a microscopic window on the four yard line, and it bounced off him and into Philly's hands.

Thursday night was Boomer Esiason's first view of Weeden, and he loved him.  He threw passes that few NFL quarterbacks can throw.  Boomer even blamed the interception on Shurmer or Childress.  In Boomer's opinion, when you throw across the field on third and long, you're asking for trouble.  Defenders are waiting to jump that route, and Weeden is a rookie who probably won't recognize that yet.

Rich Gannon and Jim Miller agree with Boomer.  The Browns finally have a stud quarterback.

That doesn't matter to Adam Schein, who argued with Miller about it, insisting that the Browns are the worst team in football.  He considers close games vs. elite teams just an excuse.  He cites a culture of losing.

Here, the blind squirrel is right.  But as Miller pointed out, the way to overcome that is for them to win a game.  Adam mentions Richardson, Weeden, Jauron, the defense (leaving out Thomas Mack Schwartze Jackson Haden Ward Sheard etc.), and finishes with it's just the worst team in football period.  He doesn't believe the Browns will ever win a game this season.

This level of ignorance is profound.  The Browns had the Eagles and Ravens beaten, and one player prevented both wins.  Adam believes that Little will never make those catches.  That Gordon will never make them either.

What team do the Browns play this season that's as good as the Ravens or the Eagles?

The three ex-quarterbacks, Pat Kirwin, and most other analysts now see the Browns as a young and rising team.  Some still expect a 1-15 or 3-13 record, but as Kirwin explains, how many years have they sucked?  Nobody will believe it until they have already won.  Even then, he said, they'll never give the Browns credit for it.  They'll say the other team had a bad game.

That's hard for me to swallow not because I'm a Browns fan, but because I used to be an intelligence analyst, and this is irrational.

Like Terry Pluto, I was heartened by the Browns road performance against the Ravens.  They're using Richardson like they once used Earnest Byner.  Quick passes to him on the perimeter to get him in space.  I'd been waiting for that.  Richardson is bigger, faster, and more elusive than Byner, and that's scary.

Weeden is getting his feet under him.  He was as bad as I'd ever seen a QB be in his first game, but after that he's been getting better.  Sure, he backslid a little vs the Bills, but you could see that he was working his way through it.  That was more about the Bills getting quick heat on him than it was his fault.

How bout that Billy Winn?  I knew the guy was a sleeper, but he exceeded my expectations.  The guy was all over the place!  Oh, man, wait til Phil Taylor returns to that rotation!

I wasn't able to watch the game, but I bet the Ravens tried to get a center or guard on Jackson, and couldn't handle the rookie man-on-man.  This is great.  that's what Taylor did, except Taylor can beat double-teams too.

Buster Skrine looked better.  A guy his size can only do so much vs. Anqwan Boldin.  The defense got heat on Flacco and slowed Rice down.  The Ravens had to blitze to create pressure, and Weeden burned them a few times--a significant sign of progress.

I'm not too worried about Norwood's drops.  He was reliable as hell all of last season with McCoy and Wallace.  He's hardly worked with Weeden at all, and his last real game was last season.  Unlike Braylon Little, he'll be fine.

Losing Massequoi will, but shouldn't be, ignored.  MoMass was, as I told you he would be, the Browns most reliable wide reciever.  Also, as I told you, he can make big plays.  Finally, as I told you, when he's healthy he's pretty damn good.

Too bad he pulls a hammy at the exact time that I as coach would bench Braylon Little.  He might not be able to do that now.

But maybe yes.  Maybe Gordon is ready.  He's showed some great signs in limitted playing time.

I'd personally make that move right now, and use the longer week to get Weeden all the practice reps with Gordon and company I could.

I've completed my analysis of the latest information a little early this week, and am updating my win/loss prediction to 12-4.

That Sucked BUT

The Bills are an underrated young team similar to the Bengals.  They played a great game.

Oh, the Browns still should have won, yeah.  But without even looking, I know that a lot of fans will be calling for everybody's head, and to launch yet another rebuild in perhaps the toughest division in football.

After his great performance against the Bengals, all the MM's immediately forgot that Weeden is a rookie.  320 yards and 2 TD's became what they expected and demanded every week.

This week was a reality check, and here's a news flash: The Browns have a rookie quarterback.

Nor is he to blame for this loss.  Certainly he helped with his two late interceptions, but for most of the game, he played pretty well.

Those who wanted McCoy to start cited all the drops last season as one reason.  It wasn't his fault.  But now, they don't want to say the same thing, with five drops in one game.  Wide-open, big-play, inexcusable drops for big gains and maybe touchdowns.

The recievers took points off the board.

Prior to the fourth quarter, Weeden's throwing mistakes were microscopic.  The long bomb to Benjamin on the sidelines was no more than one yard short, forcing Benjamin to slow down and let the beaten cornerback catch up for the deflection. He likewise missed Gordon by inches on a crossing pattern.

His accuracy with Massequoi and Little was better.  He's worked with them longer; they're the starters, and they're veterans.  See the pattern here DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

Richardson didn't have a bad day.  The offensive line had a bad day.  The Bills have a great defensive line and stacked the front.

There was no double-coverage.  Shurmer was determined to pound the ball.  His playcalling has been questioned before, and I've defended him.  Now I agree with Pluto: When something's not working, try something else.

Another issue with Weeden: For much of the game, he held the ball too long.  The line did it's job passblocking more often than not, but Weeden couldn't find a target.  Was that on Weeden, or the recievers?  I lean towards the recievers.

The passing game was functional with Rodney Massequoifield, but when he went down, it got worse.  Gordon and Benjamin are rookies, and they're still learning.

Little has no excuses, which is why Shurmer finally came down hard on him.  The easy pass he dropped was huge.  Nobody was anywhere close to him.  He's a converted running back and he had so much space--he had five vertical yards in front of him before any defender could get close enough to threaten him!  He would have, at the very least, nailed down a field goal!

The defensive front four got heat on Fitzpatrick, but in addition to being mobile, he also got rid of the ball quickly.  Jauron had seven in coverage most of the game, and (you don't have to like this) they did pretty well vs. the pass (after those first two damn TD's).  Fitzpatrick was just exceptionally quick and accurate.

They sucked against the run.  This was partly over-pursuit and disciplinary breakdowns, but also partly the D-Line getting pushed around and interior linemen locking up the linebackers.  They just got outplayed.

Well, now it's the Ravens...

Updated prediction: 13-3.

Fan Expertise

I got lucky here in Columbus.  Found a bar run by a Browns fan.  I checked it out last night and will watch the game there today.

Thing is, in as many sentences, he came out with three or four things I disagreed with.  I know a lot of fans share his opinions, so I will here attempt once again to enlighten the reactionary:

1: Colt McCoy could have won the Philly game.

I agree.

2: Weeden should have been yanked from the game.

Wrong.  Right here, after game one, I personally expected Weeden to fail and be replaced by McCoy after a few more games.  But I understood management's commitment to give the TWENTY EIGHT YEAR OLD rookie as much real experience as possible before pulling the plug on him.

This is not about finishing third instead of fourth in the AFC North this season.  This is about contending for the Superbowl next season.  No, not two seasons from now.  Next season.

They believe that because of Weeden's stronger arm and performances against the best college teams, he can do more than Colt McCoy.  We may or may not agree, but this is why you don't put a short leash on Weeden.

3: McCoy has great accuracy on deep passes and excels when throwing on the run.  Weeden is inaccurate and made some of the same mistakes in game two as in game one.

Now here, this guy sounds like an Obamabot.  He's seeing what he wants to see.  Like me, he started out as a big McCoy fan.  Unlike me, he committed to him and stopped really thinking.

McCoy can't throw low-trajectory darts into small windows like Weeden can.  On these throws, his balls get to the reciever faster than Colt's.  The defensive backs have less time to react and close on the reciever, so the reciever has a better chance of making catches without interference, and going somewhere with the ball.

McCoy in season one excelled while scrambling, but, for whatever reason, did badly while scrambling last season.  It seemed to me like he couldn't find an open reciever, and when he did, he missed.

I repeat that with all the drops, Hillis, Momass, and Watson down more than up...and Little dropping every fifth pass--Colt's "regression" had more to do with the new system and literally everybody else than with him.  I repeat that McCoy IS (not just can be but IS) a good starting quarterback with upside left.

But Weeden threatens every part of the field, and DOES have a much stronger arm than McCoy does.

3: It was idotic to dump Hillis.

I sort of agree, but don't know the whole story.  The notion that it was because he didn't show up and give the rest of his team the flue when he was puking his guts out and would have sucked, or even that he got married on a wednesday, had much to do with it.  Soap Opera and "Survivor" fans just shouldn't watch or report on football.

One legitimate issue with Hillis was that he was getting hurt a lot.  As awesome as the guy was, the fact is that the only way defenders could get him down was to attack his legs.

I myself loved the guy, and felt that they certainly should have added a few bucks to the KC offer, BUT fully expected him to be injured, again and again.  And then, the fumbles.  Really, some people go overboard with that, but he did fumble more than he should have.

Finally, he could make some pretty big plays, but wasn't a home-run hitter.

4: They're using Richardson wrong.  They should get him the ball outside.

Right/wrong.  The Browns rebuilding hasn't been (read couldn't be in the real world) perfect.  Mack is a better drive-blocker than most centers, but isn't as good in space.  Pinkston, despite trimming down to 305, remains more of a right guard than a left guard--he's not really quick enough to pull to the outside.

The Browns are working with what they have in a man-blocking scheme.  Richardson is quick to the hole and can break tackles, and the offensive line is better at just ramming defenders back than at getting cute, and they certainly should be able to get tough inside yards with Richardson.

Moreover, inside runs wear a defense down.  They let the linemen be the aggressors and force the defenders to react.

This offense must threaten the inside run.  If Richardson didn't go up the gut at least half the time, the defense could blanket the intermediate middle of the field and stop the slants and crosses.  Play-action could never work.  Defensive tackles could sell out and shoot gaps, rather than worrying about Richardson sneaking around them.

The guy didn't mention this, but I will--(and thank you Terry Pluto for digging the useful stats up): Shurmer has been running on first down at least three out of four times.  Predictably.  This is GOOD.

In the first game, it rarely worked.  In game two, it worked well.  The Bengals were looking for it, but it didn't matter.  Richardson got some yards, and I think the worst result was second and eight or nine.  More often, it was second and five or six.  The defense had no way of knowing what came next.

Smashmouth wears a defense down, and think about it: If you're a defender and you know and prepare to stop what's coming, and still fail, what does it do to you?  If you lose your battle when it's just plain brute force, how do you feel about that?

Ok I think the Browns will beat Buffalo, and have updated my win/loss prediction to 14-2.

Signs of Life

1: Sans Joe Haden and Sheldon Brown, Dick Jauron opted for a conservative (soft) coverage scheme intended to force short passes and prevent big plays.  Patterson and Skrine did screw up, but it wasn't a matter of coverage, but poor angles and missed tackles.

They were lining up as many as twelve yards upfield, forcing Green and company to come to them.  They were supposed to close on the recievers while the ball was in the air and try to force a breakup or at least nail them where they caught it.  The receptions were schematicly ceded.

2: Trent Richardson might or might not have been rusty in week one, but his poor showing was due to an aggressive, stacked, swarming Philly defense and poor blocking.

In Cinci, Weeden improved, forcing Cinci to pull back and cover all parts of the field.  Even the deep underthrow to Travis Benjamin out of the gate was a factor.  It said "He's not afraid.  He'll go for the throat.  No short leash. That made me nervous".

Amidst all the hype surrounding Richardson, I wasn't sure how good he really was.  The highlight tapes I saw of him were certainly impressive, but so were those of the other top backs.

After last sunday, it looks to me like Heckert made absolutely the right move.

One thing that separates him from most of the others is his ability to get open and catch the ball.  We saw that, didn't we?  Marvin Lewis compared him to Jamal Lewis, and that's pretty cool, but Richardson is much more elusive and I think a little faster.

3: Rich Gannon still can't talk about the Browns without first mentioning the bad recievers.  For Rich, Josh Gordon and Travis Benjamin don't exist at all, Massequoi  's  leading reciever performance (with 16 YPC) doesn't register, and Little is a permadropper who will never get better.  Even 320 passing yards didn't make a dent in his made-up mind.

In reality, to date the '12 recieving corps has been pretty average, but not even that bad.

Sure, they looked horrible against the Eagles, but much of that was Weeden, and the offense's inability to run the ball.  Probably, all Rich Gannon probably looked at was Little's inexcusable drop on the Eagles four yard line.  Gannon is an expert on all of last year's playoff teams.  He'll sleep through Bills vs. Browns.  Front-runner.

As Gordon improves and works more with Weeden, as Benjamin gets more reps, and IF Little quits dropping passes (no drops last sunday--I think!!), they'll be pretty damn good THIS season.

4: The front four are generating pressure, but Jauron is mixing in blitzes, and the blitzes all seem to work.  Against the Eagles, he sent safeties and corners off the edge, and vs. the Bengals he sent Jackson up the gut.  Jauron is one smart cookie!

The Bills scare me because of CJ Spiller, who is tailor-made to run all over this defense.  This defense can slow down a big back, but a jitterbug can really screw it up.  This is more due to the tendancy of young players to over-pursue and open cutback lanes than to any lack of speed or talent.  They can be disciplined 3 times and contain the little sucker, but all he needs is for one guy to sell out too early, and all bets are off.

However, Jackson is their main recieving threat, without much of a complement.  Despite what happened to him last week, Buster Skrine can actually cover this guy, as long as the Jauron's defense gets on Fitz early and often.

The Browns front four (front eight, really), are making enemy quarterbacks miserable.  They're bull-rushing and penetrating.  Maybe they can force Spiller to dance around back there and give the rest of the defense a chance to converge.  Maybe they can beat him to the handoff.

He's going to make some big plays, for sure, but if they can offset those with some negative ones, and beat the crap out of Fitzpatrick, they can stifle this offense enough to win.

The Browns offense is now balanced in a way it hasn't been for several years.  While slants and crosses dominate, they'll attack any part of the field at any time.  In week three, the timing should be improved.

Jordon Cameron could get some time if Alex Smith is held out, and Josh Gordon might start getting on the same page with Weeden.

Last week, Weeden barely missed Gordon more than once.  You can see how close they are.  Bearing this out, Massequoi is his current favorite, Little is there for the ball, and Alex Smith too.  He's worked with these guys more, as Watson has been held out with injuries.

This is very encouraging.  Weeden shows a clear pattern of synching with his recievers fairly quickly.  Gordon could take a little longer since he's learning on the job.

The Bills have a truly scary big-play offense, and a decent defense, but the Browns can and should win this game!

The problem is, young teams find ways to lose.  They get close, but don't close.  Until Weeden or Richardson get that last touchdown, or somebody that last interception to end the game, it's still just a project.

As Marty said, winning is a habit.  They have to close one before they start truly expecting to win.

Maybe this is the week.

Joe Twelvepack's Keys to the Game

I've been reading some analyses on the Browns and realized I can do just as good as those people, so here goes:

1: Tell Brandon Weeden to stop throwing interceptions and getting stripped.  When this happens, the defense gets the ball, which makes it hard for the offense to score.  It also gives the other teams's offense a chance to score.

2: Tell Gregg Little to stop deflecting passes to the defense on the four yard line.  Because the Browns didn't have the ball any more, they couldn't kick a field goal or score a touchdown, which is bad.

3: Tell Trent Richardson to stop getting stuffed by half the defense.

4: Tell the offensive line to stop letting half the defense converge on Trent Richardson at the line of scrimmage.

5: Make Travis Benjamin taller.

6: Tell Joe Haden to stop getting suspended.

7: Tell D'Qwell Jackson to intercept and return more passes for touchdowns.

8: Tell Pat Shurmer to stop calling plays which require the quarterback to throw interceptions, the running back to get stuffed, and the recievers to drop the ball.  Everybody knows that's not a good way to win a football game.

George Armstrong Weeden

Wowzers!  I don't think I've ever seen a quarterback play that bad!  Not Anderson, or Quinn, or Spurgeon Wynn, and certainly not McCoy!

Every writer is quick to whip out the cliches: It wasn't all his fault.  Well yeah, there are ten other guys, but I want to point out that none of them were throwing the ball, okay?

Little helped a lot by letting a ball bounce of his neck and get intercepted on the Eagles four freaking four yard line (on the money in a tight window, I need to mention).  The offensive line made their contribution by getting stonewalled by the Eagles on runs.  Don't look at Richardson on this!  He had nowhere to go!  He can only break one or two tackles at a time, for crying out loud!  No push!  No gaps!  Adrian Peterson would have been stuffed the same way.  Or Jim Brown.

But Weeden was just absolutely horrible.

HOWEVER, Shurmer was right to stick with him.  I do feel that McCoy would have won, but then I kept thinking that Weeden would get his head out.  I kept remembering that this was Weeden's first-ever real NFL game.

Most importantly, they have made a commitment to Weeden, and believe in him.  They knew there would be growing pains, and had resolved in advance to stick with him.  If they yank him in the first game, now there's a real controversy, especially if Colt wins.

They believe that Weeden's stronger arm and accuracy deep threatens the entire field in a way that McCoy can't.  They believe that Weeden will be better in the long run, and they have to stick with him, at least for a couple more games, to give him the chance to get better under fire.

They might be wrong.  I don't pretend to know.  But I give Shurmer credit for sticking to his guns.

Rich Gannon said that no quarterback would do much with this offense.  Okay I'm sick of Rich Gannon, ex-Superbowl MVP or not.  They just got Josh Gordon, Trent Richardson, and--I won't recite the whole list, but if you go by talent, it's at every position, in the trenches and at the skill positions.

Duh...no quarterback could dump it off to Richardson or hit Watson or Cameron or even Smith in the seam or Gordon deep or crossing and oh yeah who's that Massaquoi guy?  Bullcrap Rich Gannon do your damn homework.

Armani Tumor said Weeden should have been yanked, because guys in the locker room would be wondering if the goal really was to win.  He said it's hard to play for a team that you know isn't trying to win right now.

He might be right, but I wonder if players are really that shallow:  Isn't their common goal to win a Superbowl, or at least a Division Title?  Does Armani really think the Browns players are dumb enough to think they have a shot at that this season?  That they can't comprehend that an experienced Weeden might give them a better shot at it when it's within reach?

If the players are that dumb, we really are in trouble!  How could somebody that dumb run a correct route, or pick up the right passrusher?

The topic on NFL Radio all week was how rusty Micheal Vick was, and how the Eagles should have run the ball more.  Many statements began with "Give the Browns defense credit, but..."

Skip the "but" dammit.  Why are they so damn determined not to give the Browns any credit?  Ask them about Dick Jauron, and they'll tell you he's great!  But his defense last week just sort of lucked out, because the Eagles offense just sort of had a bad day.

No, Browns defenders (especially TJ Ward and cornerbacks) spent more time in the Philly backfield than Shady McCoy did.  They covered well, and beat the snot out of Vick.

I'll admit that the Browns offense was as bad as any offense I've ever seen.  Why won't these "objective" guys admit that the Browns defense is pretty damn good? Do you see the negative bias here?

The linebackers especially are looking shockingly good.  LJ Fort and Robertson are still just puppies, and played great, just like in preseason!   See how well they covered, compared to Scott Fujita?  Did you notice how they were actually close to  the reciever?

Pat Kirwin last week talked about how important Fujita was in the Browns nickle and dime packages.  Pat knows his stuff, so I've got to assume that Fujita has indeed been on the field in those situations.  These must have been the times when I saw every tight end he faced catching passes two steps ahead of him.

I need to tell Pat that he might be on the field, but he's not important if he can't cover anymore.  But then, Pat thinks Ray Lewis is stiil great, and the Stoolers will be fine no matter what.

The Bengals just got stomped by the Ratbirds.  Based on this game, I won't change my mind about the Bengals being the better team yet, but I was impressed.

Ross Tucker, even before that game, slapped me awake about the age of their defense.  While Reed and Lewis are indeed old and decrepid, they're the only two over thirty!  I was full of crap.  I was too lazy to do my homework and relied too much on gossip.  My bad.  Ross Tucker is a great analyst.  Thanks.

Also I knew that Flacco was a very good quarterback, but didn't expect him to be THAT good.

Anyway, Dalton will get rid of the ball quicker than Vick did, and the Browns defense might not look as good as it did vs. the Eagles.  Haden won't play, and covering AJ Green will be tough.

Weeden and the offensive line can't possibly be as bad as they were last week, so they have a chance.  But that's all I can say.  A chance.

In re the offensive line, one analysis I read said that they released from their blocks too soon on runs.  Everybody wanted to freeze the guy they initially blocked and get downfield linebacker/safety-hunting.  They "left too early" and their first targets were able to launch and dive behind them to get a piece of Richardson.

I hope that's right, because it's easily correctable.  Get Richardson the first couple yards, and let him worry about the rest.

The ideal West Coast offensive line has a Fanika-type left guard who can pull and excels in space.  The Browns don't have that.  Pinkston has lost weight and has good feet, but is still more of a man-blocker.  They're trying to work with that.

This offense will not be like other West Coast offenses in several ways.  It needs to run with authority, and that's much more important with a rookie quarterback than it will be later.

Weeden will get better, of course.  How much better, or how quickly, is a mystery.  But if, by the third or fourth game, he's not at least adequate, they'll have to consider giving Colt a fair shot.

And that wouldn't bother me a bit.

Guys without strong arms: Montana, Young, Sipe, Pennington, Orton, Nelson, Stabler...

Art Modell

Ever since Uncle Artie allowed Head Coach Bill Belichick to replace Bernie Kosar, you couldn't tune in a sports talk show without hearing him bashed.  And I'm talking about deep, profound hatred.  It was like he'd sold out to the KGB.  Like he was a child molester.

It was disgusting, especially since Bernie Kosar DID have diminished skills, and had ever since having his right elbow injured in Kansas City.  Moreover, Kosar's offensive line was being bashed relentlessly...nevermind that most of the sacks Kosar took were over five seconds after he'd taken the snap.

It was emotional; irrational-insane.  They hoped Modell would die soon.  Modell was incompetant.  The worst owner in history.  A traitor.  And idiot.

Meanwhile, the Indians and Cavaliers got new facilities.  Municipal stadium was built on a landfill.  Methane percolated up through the soil when in rained.  The plumbing leaked.  Grass couldn't be kept alive, so they used green paint.

The Democratic city fathers refused to help Modell as they had the Cavs and Indians.  For years.

Art Modell was colorblind, and pioneered integration.  Before Jim Brown, there was Marion Motley.  Most of the other owners were shocked.

Art Modell bailed out the Cleveland Clinic.  Without him, it would have been gone before most of you ever heard of it.  He was generous to a fault, giving away way too much of his money to various charities.

By the time he finally threw up his hands and took the Baltimore deal, he was in real trouble.

It's true: He HAD NO CHOICE.

If you want to burn somebody in effigy, why not the sports media and city government who FORCED him to move the team?

You're a lynch mob.  You need an easy, simple target.  Your mind is made up and that's that.  I'm from Cleveland, and you embarrass me.

Art Modell was a good person, who always tried to do the right thing.  And he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

Objectivity and the AFC North

On NFL Radio, the consensus among those who actually know what they're talking about is that the winner in the AFC North is between Stoolers and the Ratbirds.

They naturally attach extra weight to the quarterbacks, but also overweight history and heros.  Yes, the smartest guys in football are guilty of emotional thinking.  I believe this time I've got them, right in their own back yard.

The BENGALS are the team to beat in the AFC Central, and there's a real good chance that the Browns will help them out by beating these two teams at least once each.

1: Andy Dalton was a rookie last season, and that offense used less than half it's playbook.  Dalton should take a big leap between his first and second seasons, whereas Flacco is late in his growth curve and Big Ben might even begin to decline.  Ben has been hurt a lot, and:

2: The Stoolers offensive line has been a sore spot for awhile.  This season, they drafted Mike Adams and David DeCastro to fix it.  Well, DeCastro is on IR, and Mike Tomlin proved that he's NOT smarter than just about everybody else in the NFL by trying to make Adams an NFL LEFT tackle.  NOT.

3: Ed Reed, Saint Ray Lewis, Casey Hampton, Brett Kiesel, Troy Polumalu, Ike Taylor, Ryan Clark, Cheapshot Harrison, Larry Foote, Anquan Boldin, Bryan McKinnie, and Matt Birk are all OLD.  Many have been beat up; notably Polumalu.  In the REAL world, you can't marry NAMES, because players DO decline physicly, and these two teams are declining.

Now, Pat Kirwin would be quick to point out to me that these two franchises are famous for finding and developing young players who are ready to step in, and tend to do great (you know, like Heckert?).  BUT, these teams are hitting critical mass, and they're not going to replace all these guys all at once.  Eventually, all the lower draft picks catch up, and a team fades.

Next, he'd point out guys like Ngata and Pouncy, who are in their primes. But why not MOST of the Bengals roster?

4: The two best running backs in the division play for Cleveland and Baltimore (so stipulated).  But the Bengals have a strong rushing attack, too.  The Stoolers have problems with (typicly) overrated and injured talent, and mediocre blocking.  Because of Tomlin's failed attempt to make a right tackle into a left tackle and DeCastro going down, that won't change, and might even get worse.

They'll have to pass a lot.  Everybody knows it.  That's bad.

5: In addition to their defensive stars going over the hill, the Ravens lost their top passrusher for at least most of the season to injury.  And Harbaugh doesn't DARE replace either of his old icons, even as it becomes clear that he should.  He might get lynched!

OK--Reed is still dangerous, because he's so smart, devious, and sneaky.  But he won't be as good as ever.  Nope.  And my favorite part of the Browns vs. the Ravens is Ray Lewis on his back.

I believe that the Browns had the best draft in this division, but I can't fight those who'd say the Bengals out-did them.  They got arguably the second-best cornerback in this draft (Kirkpatrick), a very good starting guard in Zietler, a solid defensive lineman, a good reciever in Sanu to help complement Green, among other things.

6: Adam Schein reluctantly conceded that the Browns might win one game.  When asked who they might beat, he picked the Bengals.

I rest my case.

The Young and the Restless

Some of the comments I've read have been making me wonder how anybody could be that dumb and still be semi-literate.

I want to ask Judge mental and the other barstool GM's which vedderrunn menntorrzzz should have been brought onto this 4-12 team to bump which young players onto the streets.

Who should be brought in to make sure that Jordon Cameron, Josh Gordon, Travis Benjamin, John Hughes, James Micheal Johnson etc. never get a chance to play?  How do you develop a young player by keeping him on the bench?  For that matter, which veterans were even available that were better than any of these guys?

And why?  You are the same goobers who are throwing tantrums over this team probably finishing in the basement again this season.  So what would a few overpriced geezers do?  Get them closer to almost third place?  What's your point?

And I have to insert this: Don't say "three years" anymore, ok?  It won't take another three years.  Why would it?  Heckert's first rookie class is entering its third seasons this year!  How long do you think it takes for a player to develop?  Another suggestion: Quit posting.  I feel dumber just reading that crap!

Anyway, you clowns need to pick your poison.  Which is more important: Talent, or experience?

How does a young guy get experience, and develop into a veteran?  By sitting on the bench?  By getting CUT?

Would you like the Cleveland Browns to be like the Eagles, Stoolers, Ratbirds, Ravens?  Then shut the hell up, because Heckert is building his team the way those teams were built!

And quit bashing Shurmer's playcalling based on PRESEASON for crying out loud! Can't you even wait for the first real game?

STICK A FORK IN YOURSELF, YOU'RE DONE (and stand corrected).

Corrections

1: At the time Tom Heckert signed Scott Fujita, he was a pretty good 4-3 OLB with the Superbowl Saints.  At this time, the Browns ran a 3-4, and Fujita projected to be a better fit for that system.  Heckert signed Fujita partly because of the defensive system.

Fujita was also signed for his experience, intelligence, and leadership, to a young team.  His salary was higher than it might have been, because at the time nobody wanted to play in Cleveland.

2: This is Dick Jauron's defense.  In Jauron's ideal defense, the defensive tackles are big and strong, but the rest of the front seven are ideally quick/fast above all. Frostee Rucker is sort of a bonus which Jauron can adapt to, but Benard is a better fit.

ALL of the rookie and second-year linebackers on this team are better fits for THIS  defense than Fujita---who is on his last legs and on this planet probably won't start anymore.

I'm really encouraged by the first two games.  Not because the Browns first team beat the crap out of Green Bay's scrubs, but because of the improvement shown between game one and game two.

Weeden was much better, Gordon was like night and day, and the defense swarmed the run the way it was designed to.

Guys like Sims, the safety, really showed up.  In general, we are just now seeing why it would be idiotic to fire Tom Heckert, as undrafted and practice squad players are beginning to emerge as potential starters.  Anybody can find good players in the first couple rounds, but Heckert finds them everywhere, including in grocery stores.

This game against the Eagles isn't meaningless, obviously.  The fact that both teams will play vanilla is GOOD, because strength, speed, and execution should prevail.  This contest will be an excellent test for these young guys, because it's reduced to physical domination, especially in the trenches.

Blahblah it's only preseason blahblah the Superbowl Colts were 0-4 blahblah but they seem "together" and way ahead of schedule.

The fact that Adam Schein calls this the worst team in football is the most encouraging thing of all.  I had thought 6-10 to 8-8, but maybe I should upgrade that.

Judge Mental

I just got an email from my swamp-dwelling friend Judge Mental.  It said "Browns suck."

At least he's more eloquent than Adam Schein, who says the Browns are the worst team in football, and could go 0-16.

Adam and the Judge are entitled to their opinions, and I don't take a game seriously enough to get mad at them over it.  I would just never want either of them as a GM.

Schein is extreme in everything, and chronicly overstates and generalizes.  Recently, he lumped Tom Heckert in with everybody else in the organization as people who "need to go".  Adam isn't impressed by Heckert at all.

D'Qwell Jackson, Joe Thomas, Mohammad Massequoi, (I think) Alex Smith, and Brian Scheffering are the only players that remain from the roster Heckert inheritted.  (I'm probably wrong, I haven't checked).

Heckert's first draft was for Mangini's offense and his 3-4 defense.  He drafted Haden, Mack, McCoy, TJ Ward, Hardesty, Luavao, and Maiava.  He acquired Scott Fujita, Ben Watson, and Seneca Wallace.  He got Peyton Hillis and a draft pick for Brady Quinn, and signed Jordon Norwood.

Conventionally, you don't really judge a draft until after the third year, but I guess this is an emergency, so...

Joe Haden: Shut-down starter, still improving.  All-Pro calibre.
Alex Mack: Easily one of the three or four best centers in the AFC.
Ward: Above average starter.
Hardesty: Recovered from injury, now proving Heckert right.  Were it not for Richardson, he'd be the starter and do well.
Luavao: Starting right guard.  Not great, still inconsistant, but decent and improving.
Maaiva: Depth player currently starting.  He can't get bigger, unfortunately, but has great range and does a decent job.  Hybrid suited for nickle and dime defenses.
Jordon Norwood: In a truly surprising scenario, fighting for a roster spot after being the Browns most reliable reciever last season.
Colt McCoy: He was a Holmgren pick in the third round.  After showing promise as a rookie, last season he spent running for his life and having passes dropped.  So far this preseason, he has predictably mastered the complex West Coast offense and predictably outperforms everybody else.
He should be retained as the primary backup quarterback, and as such would be one of the best in the NFL.

That's five starters and three quality depth-players, all of whom are still on their steepest growth curves.  I've omitted Watson, Fujita, Sheldon Brown, and Gocong among others, but these were Heckert moves as well.  All of them starters.

Heckert stubbornly (and wisely) refused to sign overpriced old one-year free agents in order to retain and cultivate young players, and is building a quality team which will remain intact, and last awhile.

If anything, Heckert seems to have improved since this amazing first draft.  While Luavao is still spotty, Pinkston has emerged as a very solid starter.  Taylor is a wrecking crew, Sheard a QB-killer, Cameron has predictably turned into a dangerous pass-catching tight end, Schwartze an insta-starter with upside, Benjamin is surprising everybody but Heckert himself, and Josh Gordon has already shown flashes of lethality.

I told you about Trevin Wade.  Pundits are talking about his taking over the nickel slot.  Short term, that's accurate, but Wade has the ability to take over for the aging Sheldon Brown this season.

It's irrational, and maybe insane, to bash Tom Heckert.  In all, thirteen to fifteen of his draft picks will start this season.  Those from his first draft only now have the experience of veterans, and young players will make mistakes.  Any objective analyst factors youth and inexperience in.  Anybody who can think straight understands that this team won't actually contend until 2013, but recognizes all the young talent that Heckert found.

Adam Schein and the Judge might cite wide reciever as a reason for the Browns being the worst team in the NFL.  They have to ignore the greater range of Weeden, the predictable progress of second-year Gregg Little, the promise of Travis Benjamin, the flashes that Josh Gordon has already shown, and the return of Massequoi to his solid, productive form.

Schein being Schein, he'd no doubt argue with me over the offensive line being among the best in the NFL.  He'd say they're average.  He'd be full of crap as usual.

He'd grudgingly concede that the tight ends are above average, that Richardson is a stud, and that Weeden has great talent...and I'd ask him does that offense sound like the worst in the NFL?

He'd say yes.  Like I said, irrational.

What about the defense, with four new defensive linemen, rapidly emerging back end players, quicker/faster young linebackers...on a defense which ranked tenth last season?

Adam would point at the linebackers and question their talent.  Adam assumes everybody sucks until he hears somebody who knows what he's talking about say otherwise.  These linebackers, except for D'Qwell Jackson, aren't elite by any means, but just gave the Green Bay Packers hell.  This secondary should be one of the best in the NFL, and the defensive line, especially when Taylor returns, should catch up to them this season.

Does that sound like the worst defense in the NFL?

Yes, says Adam and the Judge.

Adam points to their tough schedule and dares anyone to find any wins.  Fair enough.  That's exactly what he said before the 10-6 season.  Nothing he saw during that whole season changed his mind.  He kept predicting that the Browns would lose the rest of their games.

For Adam, the Ravens losing their best player and their other key players putting one foot in the retirement home are irrelevant.  Lacking forsight or insight, he can't imagine any team being any worse than it was last season, unless it's the Cleveland Browns.

But as we all know, players get old, leave in free agency, salary caps get unsupportable, stars get injured, and for every team that improves, another declines.

The Browns will beat some of those teams, and sneak up on one or two of the better ones.

Because of their youth and inexperience, especially at quarterback, the 2012 Browns can't be ranked in the top 20 or anything, but the worst team?  Really?

YOU STAND CORRECTED.

The First Preseason Game

I had to copy/paste this first:

The Browns sucked. One thing that I can,t stand is the stupid announcers like Greg Brinda and the others who would take Richardson a millions times...also idiot Kenny Roda another non-football player. Plus,Roda is the one that talk against Jim Brown...Jim Brown stated we might as well put Richardson in the HOF before he play a down...I did not miss practice.. nor games...Last, we need a middle linebacker, move Deqwell, our offensive line still suck and Weeden going to get killed so hand on to Colt...we will need four quarterbacks, the young lineman are good, but the receivers can't block...those are the keys...God Bless....

User ID:http://connect.advance.net/user/lakotawolf/index.html

User IP:

No comment on that.

I wasn't able to either watch or listen to this game, and am getting my info from the usual sources.  I will insert the standard Yoda cliches here: It's meaningless, preseason, let's not jumpblahblahblah.

Now, based on this, Weeden is a bust?  Wow, that sure didn't take long!

But seriously, this is Weeden being Weeden.  He's 28 and used to Pro sports.  This game doesn't count and he feels secure, so he's still pushing the envelope.  He's still trying to see what he can/can't get away with going deep, and by the way training his recievers.

After nearly every other quarterback valiantly (and falsely) takes the blame for every pick, I love how Weeden openly talks about miscommunication and honestly explains what went wrong.  "I thought he would do this, but he did that".  You notice how nobody is accusing him of throwing his teammates under the bus?

And you need to try to begin to start to comprehend this: The recievers are young as well, and they are also making mistakes DO YOU UNDERSTAND?

Colt McCoy and Thaddeus Lewis have been here in this system, and are already familiar with most of the recievers.  Moreover, they're fighting for their futures, and won't take as many chances.

And I even suspect that Weeden feels that if he ends up on the bench, so be it.  He's going to do it his way.  I remain confident that he and his recievers will work the bugs out, and when the games really count, he'll play it safer.

I was pleased but not surprised to hear how well Colt McCoy did.  I do believe that  if I'm wrong about Weeden, he will start.

I was surprised with Thaddeus Lewis, although I shouldn't have been.  Holmgren and Heckert know what they're doing, and held onto this kid for a reason.

In more than one article I read, Seneca Wallace was being credited with what Lewis did.  In reality, Wallace was just okay, and should be the guy who gets the walking papers.  McCoy is now the veteran, and Lewis the project.

MoMass insists that he was fine.  I hope his removal was indeed precautionary, because if he gets one more concussion, he should be demoted.  Concussions become more and more likely with each incident, and you can't have a starting WR with a glass jaw.  But I'll take his word for it for now, and he is a massively underrated player.

Yes, he is.

I'm not worried about Mitchell Schwartze.  He's a rookie too.

In re the o-line, is seems immaterial to the critics that the Lions sport possibly the best defensive line in the NFL.  They're going to give every offensive line hell.

Apparently the defensive line was pushed around too, and that's not good.  Detroit's O-line is pretty good, but not that good.  However, my glass remains half-full: They started both Winn and Hughes, and somebody else I never heard of at right DE.  3/4ths of the starters and Benard didn't play, and both DT's were rookies!

I don't agree that it's urgent to sign a linebacker off waivers.  Fujita will be good for running downs and depth after his suspension, Jackson didn't play, JMJ is a rookie still learning, and there are two more young no-names making a good impression (who no doubt made some rookie mistakes). 

The entire team couldn't be rebuilt in three years, and they want to keep the young guys with upside.

Jordon Cameron didn't surprise me, and I hope he's okay.  Everyone has Ben Watson starting no matter what, but he is getting up there in years, and that's not a foregone conclusion with me.  It's not clear to me right now how well Cameron is blocking, but he's now also bigger than Watson, and if he blocks well, he could take over, or at least take reps off him to keep him fresh.  (Note: I really like Watson and don't believe he's done yet).

I'm not worried about a rookie wide reciever who didn't play last season, and who has dead legs, not catching a pass.  Josh Gordon isn't in football shape right now and will need some time.  Nothing to see here.

I'm thrilled about Travis Benjamin.  In addition to not getting carted off on a stretcher, he really kicked butt!  Remember Dennis Northcutt?  Faster.  Remember Keenan McCardell?  Faster.  Remember the Ice Cube McNiel?  Bigger.  He got open and he caught it in a real game, and that's looking good.

I respectfully disagree with the great Terry Pluto about the Browns still needing more speed.  They don't play many games on turf, Gordon has dead legs for now, there's Benjamin, Little's speed is massively underrated, Richardson has really good RB speed, and all of the tight ends, including Alex Smith, have above average or exceptional speed...with Smelley tossed in for good measure.

Jordon Norwood, if he's able to stick around, is nearly as fast as Benjamin, too.  What the hell--even Massequoi clocks under 4.5!

Finally, the only defensive statistic that matters is scoring.  

It is true that teams with leads on the Browns last season did try to run the clock out on the ground, which made the pass defense look better than it was.  This might also have given the scoring defense an extra boost.  

On the other hand, all those runs wore last year's defense down, and the pass defense consistantly stopped enemy offenses on third and longs, and even when passes were thrown in to keep them honest.

This season it looks like depth and quality at safety is upgraded, young cornerbacks are coming on strong, and there are FOUR new defensive linemen.  Detroit ran them over, yeah.  They might not be great against the run at all this season, either.  I just think that when they get healthier and the young guys get more reps, they'll improve run defense over last season.

I conclude with this: I think the Browns won it late because our young guys were better than theirs.