Browns waive running back Ben Tate
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November 18, 2014The Cleveland Browns’ ten-day stay atop the AFC North ended with a 16-point loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday. The loss was the Browns second at home this season, and dropped them a half game out of first place. WFNY takes a look past the 23-7 scoreline and goes behind the box score.
30 – Brian Hoyer had his least efficient game of the season against Houston, chucking up a franchise record thirty incompletions. Hoyer never seemed to find his rhythm against a Texans’ pass defense that ranks second to last in the league. The thirty incompletions were inflated due to the Browns needing lots of points in a hurry late in the game, but the fact of it is Hoyer was just bad against Houston. Much will be made of the pressure Hoyer was under all day long, which is accurate, but on dropbacks without any pressure the Browns’ quarterback was a measly 18-36. Hoyer was missing the timing throws which have led to his success this season, on several occasions throwing passes to the sub 6-foot Gabriel and Hawkins that could have been completed if the receivers were 6-foot 3. Hoyer’s lone interception took away a chance at three points, and he dodged another big bullet having a potential interception for a touchdown dropped.
44% – Hoyer was under pressure on almost half of his drop backs, with the Texans’ front putting heat on the Browns’ quarterback 44% of the time. Hoyer struggled when not under pressure, but was disastrous under duress, completing just 2-14 of his passes for 38 yards. Against Cincinnati Hoyer was pressured only four times, and although he was pressured 14 times the week prior vs. Tampa, Hoyer completed passes on six of those occasions including a touchdown. Every quarterback is going to be more successful when he doesn’t have J.J. Watt up in his face, but the ones who can handle the pressure and continue to churn out positive plays in the face of a rush are the ones who can win you playoff games.
3 – Speaking of pressure, the Browns defense couldn’t sniff any on Ryan Mallet who was making his NFL debut. Mallet may as well have been slinging passes from a recliner all day long as the Browns only affected three of his thirty drop backs. A widely accepted belief among Browns’ fans leading up to the game was that there was no way that Michigan reject, Mallet, could beat the Browns in his first NFL start, but give a guy with a strong arm unlimited time to read the field and he’ll make you pay. Mallet was of course aided by the Texans’ gashing ground attack, keeping Paul Kruger and Jabaal Sheard back on their heels, and allowing Houston’s tackles Derek Newton and Duane Brown to completely neutralize the Browns’ rush.
54 – The Texans ran the ball an NFL season high 54 times, breaking the mark the Browns set the week before in Cincinnati with 52. In the NFL, they say the two things that travel are a good defense and a running game, and the Texans brought both to First Energy Stadium. Rookie sixth-round pick Alfred Blue ran through wide open holes and bounced off tacklers on his way to a career high 136 yards on 36 carries. Blue’s backfield mate Jonathan Grimes added 54 yards on 13 carries to punish the Cleveland defense for over 200 yards on the ground. It’s very hard to win football games when your opponents bully you on the ground like that.
22 – Pinned back inside their own 35-yard line with the game slipping away at the end of the third quarter, and another drive stalled on fourth down, long snapper Chirstian Yount snapped the ball over the head of punter Spencer Lanning. What looked like an utter catastrophe turned into one of the best plays a Brown made all game as Lanning somehow scooped up the loose ball, rolled to his left and miraculously got off a 22-yard rugby-style boot, avoiding a turnover inside the Browns’ redzone and giving the Texans the ball on the other side of midfield. The next possession the Browns defense held Houston to a field goal, keeping the the Texans’ lead within two scores, but without Lanning’s punt odds are that Houston would have scored a touchdown, moving the lead to three scores and effectively ending the game.
30 – Yards given to the Browns by J.J. Watt on his two roughing the punter penalties. At the end of the day the yards didn’t matter, and the plays just enhanced the madman persona that Watt employs. Browns’ punter Spencer Lanning suggested following the game that Watt wasn’t even going for the ball on the two plays, stating “he just inflicts pain”. I’ve never seen a player impact a game the way Watt did on Sunday, giving the Browns first downs on those tone setting penalties, forcing a fumble, recovering another, nearly blocking the missed Billy Cundiff field goal, and topping it all off with Gronk-esque touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone. I don’t care if this is a quarterback league, J.J. Watt is the MVP of the NFL.
10 – It was only a ten yard penalty, but the holding call on Marlon Moore’s 104-yard kickoff return for a touchdown changed the game. Moore’s return would have quickly swung momentum in the Browns favor and made it a one score game with still more than nine minutes of football to play. Few things are worse than seeing an early flag thrown on a return and then watching the return team block and run their tails off, celebrate a touchdown, and then have to march it all the way back.
2 – The number of knees Brian Hoyer dropped to after suffering a vicious hit courtesy of Brian Cushing. Cushing drove his helmet right into the chest and under the chin of Brian Hoyer after the Browns quarterback misfired a ball to Gary Barnidge. Following the play, Hoyer rolled on the ground in obvious extreme discomfort, prompting teammates to motion to the sidelines for help. Hoyer pulled himself together, stood up for a brief second, then dropped back to two knees as if he’d been shot. It was clear Brian Hoyer was not right, and at first glance looked as if the signal caller was concussed. Johnny Manziel was ready to take the field, but Hoyer rose back to his feet, stayed in the game, and then delivered two of the best throws he’d make all day. After the game Hoyer squashed any fears of a serious injury saying that Cushing had simply knocked the wind out of him. Regardless of what happened, give Hoyer credit for dusting himself off and continuing to fight.
33 – The Browns have been outscored by 33 points to the putrid AFC South this season. In those three contests, Cleveland has allowed over 180 yards a game on the ground to the likes of ball carriers Denard Robinson, Alfred Blue, Shonn Greene and Jake Locker. All things considered it’s better to lose games vs. the AFC South than the AFC North, but the Browns have missed some big opportunities to take advantage of a favorable schedule. The Browns host the Indianapolis Colts in Week 14.
Photos Coutesy of Grant Thompson/WFNY