Another Game, Another 30 Points

There is an old football saying that offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships.  I don’t want to rain on the parade the Cleveland Browns are throwing for their fans, but the defense is the reason it is difficult to get too excited about the brown and orange this morning.  However, the people who buy the ducats have something to look forward to each week, the tremendous show that is the offense of the Browns.  It was another week, another scintillating offense performance in Sunday’s 33-30 overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks. 

The one positive point you can make about the defense is coordinator Todd Grantham is doing a good job of making adjustments at halftime.  A week ago against the Rams, St. Louis scored 17 points in the first half and only 3 after the intermission.  Yesterday, the Seahawks put 21 first half points up on the board, and then were held to three Josh Brown field goals in the second half.  They also improved against the run, as Seattle gained just over 100 yards on the ground, but the pass defense had problems, allowing over 300 yards through the air.

The Browns’ offense has got to be a challenge for the opposition.  The Seahawks decided to concentrate on stopping Braylon Edwards, so Kellen Winslow, who caught 11 passes, burned them for 125 yards in quite possibly his best performance as a pro.  If the defense tries to take away both playmakers in the passing game, then they are susceptible to Jamal Lewis’ powerful runs.  We know the Steelers have a good defense, so it will be interesting to see how they try to stop the Browns.  It could provide a blueprint for the rest of the teams remaining on the schedule.

On a day when Lewis saw his single game rushing record bested by Vikings’ rookie Adrian Peterson, he scored four rushing touchdowns, one short of Jim Brown’s club record of five set in 1959.  He also was a factor in the passing game, grabbing four passes including one in overtime that set up Phil Dawson’s game winning field goal.  He provided the tough yards when needed, and it was great that even with all of the success the team had throwing the ball, Rob Chudzinski did not ignore the running game.

Of course, you have to give the offensive line credit as well.  Derek Anderson threw 49 times yesterday and was not sacked once.  Giving the quarterback time to throw allows the receivers to get open.  We see that against the Browns’ defense every week.  Even the best cover men can’t cover receivers forever.  Joe Thomas, Eric Steinbach, Hank Fraley, Sean McKinney, and Ryan Tucker/Kevin Shaffer can’t get enough credit for the turn around off the offense.  And don’t discount Anderson’s ability to get rid of the ball on time as well.

There is no question the Cleveland Browns are in the playoff hunt.  However, the next two games should tell the story.  Coming up are tough road games against the Steelers and Ravens.  I think the Browns are a vastly different team than the one who lost the opener to Pittsburgh.  But, can they slow down the Steeler running game at all?  If they can, they have a chance to go into Heinz Field and pull the upset.  I have confidence that the Browns will score more than the lone touchdown they got on September 9^th.

JD