same as the old Browns (my apologies to Pete Townshend).
Yes, it was one pre-season game, but if I were one of the Cleveland Browns, I would be ready for a whole lot of running on Monday, following the team’s 17-0 blanking at the hands of the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night. The game certainly didn’t give fans much reason to believe anything is different than the ’08 version of the brown and orange.
Brady Quinn drew the starting assignment at quarterback, and the best thing you can say about him is he wasn’t Derek Anderson. Actually, Quinn did use his first drive to put the team in field goal range, but after Phil Dawson made the attempt, Hank Fraley was called for holding, and the subsequent try went wide. Thus, a scoreless drive for the former Notre Dame signal caller.
Derek Anderson drew the next two series, and faced significant pressure from the Packers. However, he was fortunate he didn’t give up a pick six when he locked on a receiver, and then threw an interception on the next series when he was hit while throwing. He surely didn’t give Eric Mangini any reason to pick him over Quinn as the starter.
The third QB, Brett Ratliff, played the entire second half, and didn’t distinguish himself, throwing two more to Packer defenders, making it four pick offs for the evening.
Jamal Lewis didn’t look any better than last season, and Braylon Edwards dropped a touchdown pass from Quinn right before halftime when he jumped for a ball that he didn’t need to leave his feet for. Quinn tried to force the ball into coverage on the next play and he suffered an interception as well, leaving no Browns’ QB unscathed.
The only bright spots on offense were veteran Mike Furrey, who converted two third down passes from Quinn into first downs, and Josh Cribbs who ran a reverse for a good gain, and caught a slant from Quinn for 22 yards before halftime.
The defense was victimized when Abram Elam got caught peeking into the backfield on a touchdown pass to Donald Driver, and in the second half was out-muscled by Green Bay as Akron native Tyrell Sutton gained almost 100 yards rushing. The lack of physicality had to be galling to Mangini and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.
It is fair to point out that all pro NT Shaun Rogers did not play for Cleveland, as Ahtyba Rubin got most of the playing time in the middle of the defensive line.
The one defensive standout was rookie Coye Francies, who had an interception, and a bone jarring tackle of Sutton on a short run in the fourth quarter. Eric Wright defended a couple of passes, and DE Robaire Smith pressured Green Bay backup QB Matt Flynn and batted a pass back into Flynn’s hands. Flynn turned the play into a gain, which shows how the evening went for Cleveland.
With the Browns coming home for the Lions next weekend, there is plenty of room for improvement for Mangini’s troops. This game could have been played at the end of the 2008 season with pretty much the same result.
For Derek Anderson, the pressure is squarely on him. Another performance like last night will mean that the coach will have no choice but to start Brady Quinn against Minnesota on September 13th. Hey, at least Quinn guided the team to a first down during his work on Saturday.
The first exhibition game had to be the worst case scenario for Mangini. Getting ready for a lot of running in Berea on Monday after the film is looked at.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 