HE CAUGHT IT WITH HIS ASS!!

 

Or was it?......

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD1Cl1L8WFQ

I give the Browns a lot of credit for the way they never gave up yesterday.  The team showed some heart.

 

I thought every group played decently to very good.... except the LBs.  Do we even have any LBs on the field?  They are not very noticeable.  Mingo is a bust (as I predicted he would be).  Dansby's best days are behind him.  I think he is really just there to collect a paycheck at this point.  Kruger has disappointed this season.  It doesn't seem like Kirksey has progressed.  We might've been better off keeping DQ52 and Sheard.  GIven the lack of production from the starters, I'd like to see some of the backups get some more play..... Orchard, Carder, Pullard(?).  They can't do much worse.

Dansby definitely looks old. Kirksey looked decent at the start of the season but has fallen off. Carder did play (some on defense, but mostly on special teams) and he was bad on both. Kruger needs to be used in pass rush like has was last year and had a near-Pro Bowl year. This year, he's being misused in coverage. Solomon has been hurt. Orchard is still learning. Mingo would do well to learn how to play a hybrid safety/LB role to save his career. Robertson would be fine as a backup. The fact that he's been a starter shows how weak our LBs are. So does that fact that Whitner is the Browns leading tackler -- which is saying a lot considering how many tackles he's missed! You never want one of your safeties to be the team's leading tackler. It means the DLs and LBs are playing the roll of turnstiles.

 

BTW, I liked your postgame video, Hts121:

https://twitter.com/MarronMatt/status/653315149961424896/video/1

Very funny, KJP. But I haven't worn my Braylon jersey in weeks. Seroiusly though, how the heck do ya get out of that culdesac??

Seroiusly though, how the heck do ya get out of that culdesac??

 

You don't. That's explains why people in the newer suburbs never leave their suburbs. Because they can't.

I give the Browns a lot of credit for the way they never gave up yesterday.  The team showed some heart.

 

I had a good feeling when despite how poorly they played they were only down 5 at the half.  It seems like in the NFL if you outplay a team early but don't translate it into a big lead, more often than not you lose.

Josh McCown named AFC offensive player of the week. When was the last time a Browns QB was AFC offensive player of the week?? Maybe Derek Anderson or Tim Couch?

^ Josh Gordon?

 

edit: Oops you said QB. It was just a guess anyway. After looking online it doesn't look he won those few weeks he put up historic numbers.

^ Josh Gordon?

 

Josh wasn't a QB.

Crap...

 

Browns OLB Scott Solomon Out for Season; Club Claims Safety Don Jones: The Browns have placed Scott Solomon on the… http://dlvr.it/CRs4f1

I went to the game this weekend with 3 other Browns fans, all decked out in our gear. Interestingly the Baltimore fans were very friendly to us, though we were in more expensive seats which = a less rowdy crowd. We only had one Baltimore fan say "Cleveland sucks" as she was walking by, at the end of the overtime.

 

They all were leaving during our final possession. My friends and I thought they were way too confident the Ravens would lose, and that they hadn't watched the Browns play enough.  :-D

 

M&T Bank Stadium was cool - they have a lot of brick which showed a little more personality than the Browns or Bengals stadiums. They had crab cakes and pit beef and other mid-atlantic staples available at the concession stand.

 

Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to wander around Baltimore and look at the rowhouses and marble steps, though we did spend the majority of the weekend in DC which was cool.

^ nice report. we were thinking about going down there since i had monday off. now i wish i would have gone!

I was actually in no way expecting we would win. I had to work Monday and we were hitting the road right after the game, so the whole weekend I kept telling my friends "if they are losing in the middle of the fourth quarter let's hit the road!" Of course it went to overtime, then we sat in traffic for an hour after the game, and we didn't get back until very late. I took a few hours off in the morning, but it was worth it.

Coaches owe the team an apology. This one is on them. Leaving 4 points on the field by passing up the early FG and not kicking the extra point, trying to outsmart everybody. Defense played their asses off, offense played well enough to win. Like my father use to say 'Stupid Browns'!

The defense was the culprit again, allowing Denver to rush for double their season average.  Also absolutely no pressure on Manning whatsoever all game.  And despite some key drops by Denver, they still had two 100 yard receivers.

 

The offense played well enough to win against the NFL's #1 D.  Denver had given up 3 passing TD's through five games and McCown had 2 in one game.

 

The 2-point conversion was a head-scratcher.

I have no issue with going for 2 at that point in the game.  In hindsight, it looks bad, but was the right call at the time IMO and probably in line with that chart most NFL head coaches keep on the sideline to guide them in their decision.  We scored a TD to go up by one.  That late in the game, odds are it won't matter whether you are up by 1 or up by 2..... either way, a FG wins it for Denver.  On the other hand, if we made the 2 pt conversion, then we go up by 3 and Denver needs a FG to tie.  And all this hindsight assumes kicking the PAT would have automatically been the winning points.  Not true.  Denver would've just gone for 2 the next time they scored a TD to tie it.

 

As for their play, I thought they did fairly well.  Denver is a tough team.  They are undefeated for a reason.  But our pass rush is monumentally disappointing considering the investment, both $$ an draft picks, we've made in improving that aspect of our defense, only to see it become more and more ineffective.  There were several plays yesterday I saw them rush 6 or 7 without any success.  Those failures reverberate through the defense, most notably putting immense pressure on the DBs to stick with the WRs for an unreasonable length of time.

Not hindsight. I wasn't for going for 2 as they were trying it. I tweeted yesterday that it showed a lack of trust by Pettine in his defense. And I kept repeating that the Browns should have been in a victory formation with a minute left.

 

But the Browns don't do the little things to win. There's no attention to detail. They've always been "close to winning" but rarely do thanks to stupid, mindless mistakes. That also goes to drafting smart, high-character talent -- which the Browns don't do.

It certainly is hindsight.  And, my bad, my recollection was a bit off.  We went up by 4 with that TD.  So you can kick the PAT and go up by 5 or you can go for 2 and be up by two FGs.  Assuming did kick the PAT, then when the Broncos scored on their next possession, they would've followed the chart and went for 2 to go up by 3 and, assuming they converted (my money's on Peyton in that situation) same result would've occurred with Coons game tying FG at the end of regulation.

 

It has nothing to do with trusting your defense and everything to do with best practices.

 

http://theredzone.org/Features/TwoPointConversionChart.aspx

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8230f221/article/conversion-confusion-when-going-for-two-wait-til-the-fourth

 

There are certainly a lot of armchair, Monday morning QBs who will second guess the decision.  But in no instance can you say that definitively lost us the game.  Certainly not moreso than the inability to capitalize on Mingo's OT interception which gave us the ball in Denver territory with a chance to win it.

 

So my opinion of an action as it's happening is hindsight? OK...

No.  Not your opinion as it's happening.  But it is hindsight to conclude that we would've been in victory formation on the final drive had we gone for the PAT.  That's not a conclusion you can make with any certainty for the reasons I stated above.

Except I am blessed with clairvoyance to see the outcomes based on the actions I prefer people to take. :) In reality, what I tweeted about are the likely outcomes. Denver probably wouldn't have converted a 2-pointer either. When you don't play the odds, you usually lose. Guess what, the Browns lost. See how smart I am??

I don't see how you get to those odds.  I provided two links above which say you go for 2 in that situation, based on the odds and especially in the 4th quarter.  I'm not saying those charts constitute scripture on the subject, but they do follow fairly sound and accepted reasoning.

Never mind. It's not worth debating. The ultimate odds are the Browns would lose.

 

http://theredzone.org/Features/TwoPointConversionChart.aspx

 

 

That chart is almost always correct when used late in the 4th quarter. Going up 5 has no benefit over going up 4 99% of the time. Going up 6 has a huge benefit over 5, even more so this year given the added chance of a missed/blocked PAT.

It's easy to look at specific instances of where one thing could have made the game go one way or the other, like a missed 2-pt conversion, or an uncapitalized turnover in Bronco territory.  But really I think it's more instructive to look at the consistent issues with a team.  How many games can we expect to win with a defense that has all the run-stopping capability of wet tissue paper?

Everyone remember that 12 men on the field penalty?

 

Yeah....total team loss summed up perfectly right there.

^ good example -- yeah the game was basically a wash stat-wise in all categories. and what little i saw of it it appeared that way. so it sure was all about the details like that. at least it wasn't a disaster or anything. plenty to build on with respect to the coaching this time. at best/as usual.

I've never been a big fan of the 3-4 defense and particularly not for this team.  I don't think we have the personnel to run it.  Mingo is a perfect example of wasted personnel in a 3-4 scheme.  Sure, he made a play yesterday, but he is largely ineffective in his role as a pass coverage OLB.  We simply don't have the LBs to run a 3-4 and it keeps some of our better players (particularly interior DL) on the bench for large chunks of the game.

I like a 3-4 but I agree that we don't have the right personnel for it.  Supposedly, offenses are so pass-heavy these days that it keeps nickel and dime packages on the field and requires 4 down linemen more often than not.  But if that's the case, why not just stick with the 4 on every play, especially when it suits your roster?

Just had a depressing realization.  I'm sitting here watching the Ravens/Cards game and hoping the Ravens lose by virtue of them being in the same division as the Browns.  And then it hit me....what the h*ll does it matter?  There is a nearly 0% chance we're going to the playoffs.  I always come to that realization, but it sucks that it's happened in week 7.  That is all.

Just had a depressing realization.  I'm sitting here watching the Ravens/Cards game and hoping the Ravens lose by virtue of them being in the same division as the Browns.  And then it hit me....what the h*ll does it matter?  There is a nearly 0% chance we're going to the playoffs.  I always come to that realization, but it sucks that it's happened in week 7.  That is all.

 

The Browns are still undefeated in the division.

 

Silver lining?

The Browns are still undefeated in the division.

 

Silver lining?

 

Crinkled-up-aluminum-foil-with-remnants-of-left-over-Chinese-food lining.

Just had a depressing realization.  I'm sitting here watching the Ravens/Cards game and hoping the Ravens lose by virtue of them being in the same division as the Browns.  And then it hit me....what the h*ll does it matter?  There is a nearly 0% chance we're going to the playoffs.  I always come to that realization, but it sucks that it's happened in week 7.  That is all.

 

I hoped the Rats lost just because they are the Rats LOL.

 

Lots of comments online about Josh crashing into the wall, apparently by people who never attempted to run on a hard surface in cleats.  St. Louis is catching a break.  That is a very dangerous layout.  If it was a superstar the media would be giving birth to porcupines.  Breech.

 

Except of course for Gronk.  The area would be closed due to the broken wall.

I'm going to root on my Bengals against the Browns Thursday night.  Any updates out of Cleveland on Haden and Whitner's status for the game? 

^ Doesn't matter.

You guys always play us tough. I have no doubt Thursday will be any different.

I'm going to root on my Bengals against the Browns Thursday night.  Any updates out of Cleveland on Haden and Whitner's status for the game? 

 

They're probably drooling somewhere, unaware that there's even a game.

 

I think the level of apathy for the Browns is reaching Rome Crennel era depths, even though this team is way better than back then, even at a lowly 2-7.

 

I now have friends who actively root for the team to lose (as long as Haslem owns them) and met another guy who made a convincing argument as to why he made the painful, nearly unthinkable transition from lifelong CLE to PIT fan.

I'd rather not have a team than become a steelers fan.  There are a lot of people who like to jump on the bandwagon. All of sudden I'm meeting a lot of Seahawk fans. I have no respect for frontrunners. Lol.

I'd rather not have a team than become a steelers fan.  There are a lot of people who like to jump on the bandwagon. All of sudden I'm meeting a lot of Seahawk fans. I have no respect for frontrunners. Lol.

 

My question was "why not the Packers or someone else?" He wanted a team that was close enough to see home games. He started out by rooting against "the enemy." But then he got turned lol. The Steelers, he said, had stable ownership, stable coaching staff, a winning culture, blue collar, were competitive every year...basically everything he hoped the Browns should have been before the NFL decided to help destroy the franchise.

If you could trade the Browns for an NHL and MLS team, would you do it?

Probably not. The NFL is set up for parity and eventually the browns are going to figure it out and when they do its going to be a lot of fun. The Bengals offer us hope. They were really bad for 15-20 years. Now, they're stable and draft really well.

I'm going to root on my Bengals against the Browns Thursday night.  Any updates out of Cleveland on Haden and Whitner's status for the game? 

 

They're probably drooling somewhere, unaware that there's even a game.

 

I think the level of apathy for the Browns is reaching Rome Crennel era depths, even though this team is way better than back then, even at a lowly 2-7.

 

I now have friends who actively root for the team to lose (as long as Haslem owns them) and met another guy who made a convincing argument as to why he made the painful, nearly unthinkable transition from lifelong CLE to PIT fan.

 

That's as unthinkable as what Jenner did....

^ Marry into the Kardashian family?

Ewww that guy is gross. I cannot stand "Fan of the NFL" types that can do something like that.

^I expect a tough game no matter who the Browns are missing.  AFC North games are such that anyone can win at any time. 

If you could trade the Browns for an NHL and MLS team, would you do it?

 

No. But if I had to get rid of the Browns in order to develop the stadium site northward to the water's edge with a Toronto-like waterfront (yet with buildings that are more alive at street level), I would actually prefer that.

If you could trade the Browns for an NHL and MLS team, would you do it?

 

If the Chargers move, which seems an inevitability now, I thought I'd put allegiance behind my #2 team: Cleveland.

 

Then I thought about it for a bit. What kind of masochist purposely decides that the Cleveland Browns are their favorite team?

 

Nope. I've seen enough bad football to last two lifetimes. I am much more likely to go into NFL hate mode at that point, and get more into MLS and NHL. And of course the Cavs....thank God for the Cavs.

Ewww that guy is gross. I cannot stand "Fan of the NFL" types that can do something like that.

 

That's a euphemism for "front runner".

 

I'll let fantasy football determine my second, third favorite teams etc.  But not the first.

We won the division:

 

http://www2.tsn.ca/bardown/Story.aspx?Study%2Bshows%2Bthe%2Bmost%2Bintoxicated%2BNFL%2Bfanbases%2Bon%2Bgame%2Bdays&id=564752

Todd Jones at the Columbus Dispatch had an interesting assessment yesterday: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2015/11/05/1105-bengals-browns.html