Charlie Frye and the Browns’ offense kept mistakes to a minimum yesterday and the result was a 17-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Frye threw the short pass accurately, offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson rolled him out a few times, and the QB fired the ball out of bounds when necessary. It was an efficient, although somewhat conversative performance on offense, but it produced a triumph, albeit with a great deal of help from a rapidly improving defense.
The Falcons came into the game as the leading rushing team in the NFL, and the Crennel/Grantham defense held them to more than 70 yards below their average. Stopping Warrick Dunn allowing the Brownies to drop into zones which nullified Michael Vick’s passing effectiveness. Of course, Vick’s receivers didn’t help him by dropping numerous passes including one that would have been a touchdown by Ashley Lelie. Vick did have two long runs, but overall the defense stopped him from making big plays. Safeties Sean Jones and Brodney Pool were seemingly all over the field, with both making interceptions (although Pool should have just knocked the ball down).
Kellen Winslow made two big catches on offense, both with him being split out against cornerbacks. The second, which set up the Browns only points in the second half, was incredible. The running game was inconsistent, but the offense played ball control with a conservative yet effective game plan, particularly in the first half.
The other thing in the game that stood out was the officiating, which was below standards. The unnecessary roughness call on Orpheus Roye was terrible. When a guy like Vick has the ball, he is a running back. If Roye had given the Falcons’ QB a forearm behind the line of scrimmage, it should be a penalty. When the QB crosses the line of scrimmage, he’s a running back! It wasn’t a heinous shot, and it shouldn’t have drawn a flag.
The other bad call was in favor of the Browns. When you look up safety in the dictionary, it would show the Falcons’ Rod Coleman’s sack of Charlie Frye in the end zone. I don’t care where Frye’s "forward progress" was, he was sacked in the end zone. Why are NFL officials so afraid to call a safety? If you watch enough games, you know the zebras don’t want to call a safety. Change the rule or start making the correct call. Cleveland got a huge break here.
The Steelers also won keeping the defending champs tied with the Browns at 3-6 going into next week’s tilt on the lakefront. Has anyone noticed the Bengals’ collapse, by the way? They are now just a game ahead of Cleveland and Pittsburgh in the AFC North. Sunday’s game seems anti-climatic right now considering the Steelers record and the fact that the big game in the state will be Saturday in Columbus. The Browns are 2-1 in their "new" season, and they could win two straight for the first time since 2003 with a home game victory against the black and gold.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 