Browns Score, Still Lose

It is said that good teams find a way to win, and bad teams find a way to lose. Yesterday’s 38-37 loss to the Detroit Lions should eliminate any doubt that people may have had that the Cleveland Browns are a bad football team.

The Browns had a 24-3 lead in the first quarter and still dropped to 1-9 with a loss on the last play of the game. The defense had been playing hard and had been semi-productive, but rookie QB Matthew Stafford shreded them like tissue paper, firing an NFL rookie record five touchdowns in the contest.

It was an indictment of Eric Mangini’s draft legacy that two of his second round picks were inactive for the game (Brian Robiskie and David Veikune) and so was one of six round picks, CB Coye Francies. Mangini went in favor of experience against Detroit, and of course, it came back to bite him when veteran DB Hank Poteat interfered with Brent Johnson in the end zone on what should have been the last play of a win.

Poteat should be released today for this incredible mistake. In fact, why did Poteat have his back to the play considering Johnson was in the back of the end zone? He couldn’t have gone any deeper. The pass was not even close to him. It was such a bad play that the official couldn’t overlook it. If a young player had made this error, it would be a little understandable, but Poteat has been around for a while.

At what point will people lose their jobs with this football team? Brandon McDonald didn’t start after he turned a short pass into a big play last week, but he played anyway.

Also inactive was RB Jerome Harrison, who rushed for 100 yards this season in a game against Cincinnati. The coach wants to look at rookie Chris Jennings, but why take carries away from Harrison, who is one of the few players the team has on offense who can make plays? Jamal Lewis has been a great player, but it’s time for the coaching staff to look at guys who might be with the team next season.

As for the game, Brady Quinn played well, but remember he was playing against a team that has won just two games in their last 26 contests. He did throw the ball downfield which has been one of the raps against him. He also didn’t make any mistakes, throwing no interceptions on the day. He needs to show he can play this way against better teams, but the play calling has to be a little more aggressive against better teams.

The Browns ran for 131 yards yesterday, and Lewis gained 75 of them although it took him 24 carries to do so. Lewis shows no ability to bounce runs to the outside and can’t accelerate through holes anymore. At this point in his career he is more of a fullback than running back. This should be the last game he receives this many carries in a game.

Defensively, after several games the unit spent keeping the brown and orange in the game, Rob Ryan’s guys were a sieve. Stafford threw for 416 yards, and did so even though the Lions couldn’t run the ball, getting just 57 yards on the ground. On Detroit’s first play, he threw a screen pass to RB Kevin Smith, who had no one within 20 yards of him when he caught the ball. On a screen pass! The play went for 64 yards and set up a field goal. It didn’t get any better from there.

DB’s Eric Wright and Brodney Pool made good plays to get interceptions, but those plays were few and far between. When Ryan dialed up the blitz, Stafford found the hot receiver. They had a 21 point lead in the first quarter, and blew it before halftime. They played a little better in the second half, even recording a safety, but they gave up the big game at the end of the game. The offense finally scored some points, and the defense let the team down.

Mangini is being criticized for throwing the ball on 3rd and five on the team’s last possession, but it wasn’t the wrong decision to me. If the pass is completed, the game is over. I wish the coaching staff showed this kind of aggressiveness on offense more often.

However, what was the coach thinking at the end of the first half. He was lucky that Phil Dawson kicked the field goal to give the Browns a three point lead, because Mangini eschewed a 47 yard attempt to go for it on fourth down, which they converted, and then had Dawson pass for a first down later in the drive. Had either move backfired, Cleveland would have had nothing to show for the drive.

Maybe Dawson’s leg is still bothering him a bit and that’s why they didn’t attempt the first field goal. But the pass by the kicker was a reckless move. They were in the kickers’ range and the Browns were lucky Mike Furrey got out of bounds to stop the clock.

Next week, the Browns will play a team likely headed for the playoffs in the Cincinnati Bengals. If the offense shows life again, there will be some optimism, and certainly the defense has to play better than they did yesterday. It’s good that the Browns scored points yesterday, just remember that the Lions are a team who ranks in the bottom five in the league, just like the Browns.

Browns Score, Still Lose

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