The best thing to say about yesterday’s 20-12 victory by the Cleveland Browns over the Cincinnati Bengals is that it showed there is a delineation between football teams that are mediocre and ones that are horrible. Without QB Carson Palmer playing for the Bengals, the Browns still struggled trailing 6-3 through three quarters before finally putting together a drive and taking advantage of a couple of turnovers to put 17 points on the board in the final stanza.
It was definitely not a win to get all excited about.
However, it is difficult for a team on a losing streak to regain that winning feeling. If nothing else, Romeo Crennel’s crew got that back after dropping all four pre-season games and their first three regular season contests. Perhaps with a bye week to heal some of the injured players, and the good feeling of a victory, this football team can regroup before taking on the Giants in two weeks.
It was a little puzzling that the coach did not change quarterbacks after a lackluster first half by Derek Anderson, and when Anderson threw an interception on the second possession of the second half, I thought for sure we would see Brady Quinn. But, DA pulled it together the next time the Browns got the ball, and drove them to a touchdown. This after it appeared WR Braylon Edwards berated him on the sidelines after the pick. This is a problem.
Someone in the organization needs to tell Edwards to shut up. He is taking on the diva-like personalities of guys like Chad Johnson and Terrell Owens without the production. Here is something else to ponder: Neither of those guys has won a Super Bowl. After Edwards’ sideline tirade, Anderson tried to force a pass into double coverage that was picked off. Fortunately, the Bengals were offside on the play. Was a force a coincidence or was it an effort to placate Edwards? Regardless, if Braylon Edwards can’t focus on the team winning, he needs to be somewhere else in 2009.
Defensively, the team played well, but how much of that was the result of Palmer not playing. The defense stopped the run, but they were able to load up to stop Chris Perry because there was no real threat of a passing game. They did sack the quarterback three times, but two of those came with Cincinnati is serious catch up mode late in the game. No one knows what the result of that game would have been if Carson Palmer had played, and it’s difficult to get excited about the defense because Palmer sat out.
The penalty problems also have to be resolved. Nine more occurred yesterday, many of them needless at best. Edwards received a personal foul that was unnecessary and added to his increasing petulant personality. The defense received four more penalties for lining up in the neutral zone, which is occurring on a regular basis. This team cannot beat quality teams if they keep making stupid mistakes.
Don’t get me wrong. A win is better than the alternative. However, the Browns and the coaching staff cannot be satisfied with a game where the team struggled to beat a bad Cincinnati team without its All Pro quarterback. There is a long way to go and plenty of improvement is needed before taking on the Super Bowl champion Giants two weeks from tonight. The Browns still have not shown they are a good football team.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 