Scott Raab on not investing in the Browns, Wild Card Tribe, and the writing environment – WFNY Podcast – 2013-09-23
September 23, 2013Mixed Emotions After A Browns Win
September 23, 2013Who caught your eye? Did someone stand out? Who blew it? That’s what were interested in this morning. Winners and losers.
What do we have here? A win? Four touchdowns in one game? Pace yourselves there Cleveland, don’t want to score all your points in one week.
WINNER: Rush defense. I have to start there because above everything else, this might have been the most impressive thing about Sunday’s game. The Browns were a top ranked unit against the rush coming into the game, but many were expecting them to be exposed against Adrian Peterson, the best back in the game. Instead the team held the reigning NFL MVP to 88 yards on 25 carries. Well done gentlemen. It has been an eternity since the Browns were stout against the run.
WINNER: Rob Chudzinski. His first win as Cleveland’s head coach. This was no small task. Given the events of last week, that locker room could have gone south quickly. Congrats on pulling out all the stops to get the W. Trick plays, going for it on fourth down, going with Hoyer over Campbell- all gutsy calls.
WINNER: Josh Gordon. Wow. Was that the best performance by a WR since the Browns returned? Probably not statistically, but as for injecting life into a team no doubt about it.
Gordon was targeted 19 times in the game. There’s a reason for that. He was getting separation from defenders, which we haven’t seen much of, and he was getting yards after the catch which is another thing we haven’t seen much of the last two weeks.
LOSER: Greg Little. Three catches for 19 yards. He was targeted another five times. The chances of Little getting his starting job back soon are pretty slim.
WINNER: Spencer Lanning. Special teams players are the stuff of legend in Cleveland. Lanning may be writing his own chapter. First the TD pass to Cameron, then he steps in to be the place kicker just like he did against Chicago in the preseason. I’m sure nobody was happier that the Browns scored the final touchdown and his kick was an extra point instead of a game tying field goal.
Your turn. Who gets your gameball? Who would have been the goat?
76 Comments
I’m all for a secret volunteer society to tip that Thome statue over every freakin week. And I like Thome. But fans need to make a statement against facile nostalgia ploys by bad owners. I’ll let the younger ones climb up in the Q rafters every week and let the Nate Thurmond and Bingo Smith jerseys fall.
I’m all for a secret volunteer society to tip that Thome statue over every freakin week. And I like Thome. But fans need to make a statement against facile nostalgia ploys by bad owners. I’ll let the younger ones climb up in the Q rafters every week and let the Nate Thurmond and Bingo Smith jerseys fall.
I’ll head up that clandestine effort. But you didn’t hear if from me. Wink, wink. Nod, nod.
I’ll head up that clandestine effort. But you didn’t hear if from me. Wink, wink. Nod, nod.
And boy, is he ever responsible for those other two. Yuck.
And boy, is he ever responsible for those other two. Yuck.
can’t there be shared accountability? My football world has grays, Mr. Owen. Winning QBs don’t get the b &w glossy treatment.
can’t there be shared accountability? My football world has grays, Mr. Owen. Winning QBs don’t get the b &w glossy treatment.
He could probably do the drop kick
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_kick
if I had the time to go and chart all of the QBs and figure out all of their throws (as I hope our team does), then I would agree. there can be much better/valid statistics if you do so.
I’m a dealer in gray areas (and even some grey areas). It’s how I pay my mortgage and buy Mrs. Owen pretty little baubles. Indeed, what I am proposing is to add some richer gray hues to those grays that already exist. To say that Hoyer had 3 INTs is to say “BLACK!” (or “WHITE,” as the case may be). I am suggesting that Hoyer’s 3rd INT was “eh, dark ghost gray.”
For faceguard DPI without contacting receiver, see link, specifically #3. High school rules – assume same in NFL.
http://www.d9sports.com/20072008/Football/Officials/PassInterference.htm
Well get on it, man!
I go back to my point though: good luck faceguarding a NFL WR without any contact.
actually, maybe the NFL changed their “no physical contact necessary” rule after a playoff controversy in app. 2000-2001. See http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111017200825AAmnwQT.
Hey, mgbode, I’m busy, and was led to believe you’re the site fact-checker.
Thanks buddy!
And he probably did and I’m probably overreacting a bit, even as much as I’m trying not to. But in general, even when the Browns won games with Weeden, I’ve always felt he lacked poise in the pocket. For any and all of Hoyer’s shortcomings, I thought he looked remarkably poised.
Anyway, it’s just 1 game, and who knows if he ever has a game as good as even that one again. But for one day, he reminded us what football can look like with even a mediocre QB, something Weeden has not been for a very long time.
Yeah, I agree with you both. I can see the comparison, and it’s fine. Like I said, this does nothing to fix the Browns’ QB situation, but it does show us that they don’t HAVE to go back to Weeden when he’s healthy. Hoyer might be a more watchable stop gap.
It’s the Gordon impact.
I agree. IF the rumors of the Browns being desperate to trade Gordon are true, I’m going to be pretty upset with that. I was one of the few WFNY guys who liked the Richardson trade, but I don’t see any reason to trade Gordon unless you can get similar value as you got for Richardson.
For all his off field faults, Gordon at least produces on the field.
I agree. IF the rumors of the Browns being desperate to trade Gordon are true, I’m going to be pretty upset with that. I was one of the few WFNY guys who liked the Richardson trade, but I don’t see any reason to trade Gordon unless you can get similar value as you got for Richardson.
For all his off field faults, Gordon at least produces on the field.
Definitely a huge part of it. Gordon is really, really good.
Definitely a huge part of it. Gordon is really, really good.
Winner: Mingo – His speed and motor remind me of Dwight Freeney. Did you see what happened on his sack? The right tackle cut block him and dropped him to the ground, and in one move he slid and jumped back up so that he never even really lost momentum. Offensive tackles should have nightmares thinking about having to block that guy. QBs must feel like they’re 20 feet from a junkyard dog being let off the chain… putting things in front of him to slow him down won’t do much, eventually Mingo’s going to get to you.
Especially, on the first one: can it be face-guarding if Skrine wasn’t even guarding? The TE was clearly wide open for a few seconds while Christian Ponder didn’t throw the ball for some reason. Skrine lucked out and tipped it away on a recovery, I’m not sure one would actually call it “face-guarding.”
Am I the only one that is noticing that Joe Haden is completely shutting down whomever he is covering? How is it I don’t see him listed as a winner or mentioned? He is playing lights out.
Winners:
QB Protection: first two games we couldn’t stop the pass rush. We did much better this game.
Jordan Cameron: 3 TD’s. Including a very impressive one in the corner and a game winner. This guy is legit.
Brian Hoyer: his first start as a Brown, he was shaky, but still led us to a victory. That’s all that matters.
Buster Skrine: he gets dogged a lot, but made a few very impressive plays in this one. Not bad Buster.
Barkevious Mingo: Two games, two sacks. So far, so good
Browns Fans: a win is a win. this could have been a dud of a game, but we played hard and that was the most rewarding moment for Browns fans since beating the Steelers last season.
CLEVELAND INDIANS: ROLL TRIBE. GREAT SWEEP TRIBE.