Comment on Browns Game: Yech!

I don’t think I would want to be a Cleveland Browns player when practice resumes Wednesday in Berea.  Romeo Crennel is probably ready to work them like dogs after last night’s disappointing and embarrassing display in the first quarter of last night’s 37-34 loss to the New York Giants in NFL pre-season play.  The scores and results of these games are meaningless, but the style of play had to be upsetting to a coach who is looking to make the playoffs this year.

Maybe it was the curse of the brown pants, but the Browns came out in the first quarter and laid a gigantic egg.  They took a 3-0 lead on a 56-yard field goal by Phil Dawson before the roof caved in.  Eric Wright was beaten for two touchdown passes by Domenik Hixon, a former Akron Zip, and also contributed a pass interference penalty.  In fact, the brown and orange were penalized six times for 98 yards in the first quarter!  Couple that with special teams errors such as Dave Zastudil punting the ball off his up blocker for a safety, and the resulting free kick that was returned for a TD by Hixon, and you have a game reminiscent of last year’s opener against the Steelers.

The offense was no better.  The Giants won the Super Bowl by putting pressure on the quarterback, and they did so again last night, as they were in Derek Anderson’s face the entire quarter.  In fact, Anderson left the game early in the second quarter with a possible concussion.  Jamal Lewis fumbled a handoff near the goal line that was returned 95 yards for another NY touchdown.  It was an ugly performance.  However, remember this…it didn’t count.  It was meaningless.

Of course, you don’t want your team to commit six penalties in one quarter, you don’t want to turn the ball over, and you don’t want to make special teams errors.  Guys who will not be on the final 53-man roster made some of these errors, particularly the special teams mistakes.  In the big picture, this game provided a slap in the face to a team that might have been reading its press clippings.  It gives Crennel plenty to focus on before this Saturday’s game against Detroit.

There were a couple of good things that occurred in last night’s loss.  Syndric Steptoe had a long kickoff return, and scored a touchdown on a backwards pass from Brady Quinn in the second quarter.  Quinn also shook off the dink and dunk attack he was accused of after the Jets’ game, by throwing the ball downfield often.  However, Quinn did not have to contend with the Giants starting defensive line, which harassed Anderson while he was in the game.

The Cleveland Browns now have an objective for this weeks’ game against the Lions.  Get back to basics.  It would be one thing if the first team was horrible in the pre-season opener, but they weren’t.  They laid an egg last night, and the worst thing about it was the whole country got to see it.  Thank goodness the Olympics provided an alternative.  If Saturday’s game goes that way, then it’s time to worry.  For now, it’s a teaching tool for the coaching staff to remind the squad not to ever let that happen again.

JD