The Sky is Falling Again.

This time I'm writing before I read anything anyone else wrote.  This is what really happened:

Weeden started out shaky.  He screwed up with the first interception.  This was a pass that he would throw with his coach's approval had Gordon been the reciever.  Yes, into double coverage.  Gordon would have had it, probably for a touchdown.

He'd been throwing it in practice, and probably couldn't help trying it with Benjamin.  He lofted the ball and dropped it right in the middle of the bracket, exactly where Gordon would have reached up and grabbed it.

Except it was to a guy who is a full half a foot shorter.

Still, Solomon Wilcotts criticized Benjamin for not fighting for the ball.  He felt that even though he's a shrimp, he could have jumped and got a hand on the ball to prevent the interception.

Solly is an ex-safety, you know.

Weeden started out shaky.  That was a mistake--due to who the target was.  Perfect, perfect throw--but a mistake.

Then he threw behind Cameron.  It went off Cameron's hands for a pick.  That was a bad throw.  Not because it was too hard, for crying out loud, but because it was behind him.  It was inaccuracy, not touch.  Weeden has great touch.

By design, that's a hard pass because it's meant to reach Cameron before the defenders can react to it; so that he gets it with room to turn upfield and run a few yards before they can close on him.

Yeah, Weeden blew that one, too.  Okay. And then he got behind and started getting creamed.  But this is where I sat up and noticed:  He was scrambling around, throwing it away, but--

He completed one pass off his back foot.  Then he threw another that somebody dropped while he was running for the sidelines.  He couldn't do that stuff last season!  If his feet weren't planted, he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn!  Turner (or somebody) has taught him how to walk and chew gum at the same time!

He was fighting through it, delivering under pressure and after being sacked and beat up.  Except nobody was there to recieve the package.  That is, they dropped it.  Everybody dropped passes.  

But listen to me!  Watch the game again!  I'm telling you, okay the first quarter or so was on Weeden.  Okay he was screwing up again.  But then he got better.  HE was doing as well as anybody could with the heat he was taking, but now his teammates were letting him down.

Another interception.  Perfect pass!  Dead on!  Deflected by the reciever and I'm hearing people bashing Weeden for it!  

That's what really happened.  I still can't say that Weeden will be Da Man, but I saw smart throws and accuracy.  He did NOT wilt under pressure!  It was NOT his fault!  

So I do feel better about him.  Astronomically better about him than about the right guard.  Could Gilkey do worse?  I doubt it!  Give the kid a chance, Chud!

So they didn't run later.  As Bernie Kosar explained in the simplest words he could use, and talking real slow, they were putting eight men in the box and the Browns were now behind.  They needed to pass.

The Browns don't have a powerful offensive line.  It's normally better in pass-protection, and the run-blocking is more finesse than power.  This team can't run against eight man fronts unless it uses two tight ends and blocks with both of them.

The stacked front opened up passing lanes as it was supposed to, but they threw the kitchen sink into the backfield, and recievers started dropping balls.

Schwartze is a really good right tackle, but was overmatched here, just like every other right tackle in the NFL.  That damn right guard might as well not have been on the damn field, so he had zero help.

Barnidge screwed up more than once, not bothering to chip the DE before going out for a pass.

You know when a tackle expects somebody to bump a guy toward the inside, he sets up for it so he can hammer him and make him stand still.  When the chip doesn't happen, the guy runs right around him.  He has to dive at him and maybe try to get away with holding him, because he's already lost a step against a guy that can run circles around him.  Literally.

When he does this, he opens up a huge, gaping gap beween himself and the (bad) right guard, just too good for the linebacker or safety to resist shooting through.

^(*)&^T$!!!it was the right side of the offensive line, Weeden early and the recievers late, and they had to pass more as the game progressed, they got behind, and they found the freaking Wall of China in front of them!

Say they sucked.  Say they're bad.  But just please, please, if you have no idea why, just stop talking after you say it.