Eric Mangini did not have the look of a victorious coach, instead he had the look of a survivor.
He survived a horrific four play stretch by his starting quarterback, which turned an eight point halftime lead into a one point game. He survived a game in which his team lost the turnover battle, 3 to 1. He survived another screen pass against his defense that turned into a 48 yard gain, and a 24 yard pass with 12 seconds remaining to put his opponent into a makeable field goal situation.
He survived a game in which the Browns almost turned a certain victory into a defeat by arguably the worst team in the NFL.
It is tough to get excited about beating the Carolina Panthers by one point when kicker John Kasay’s 42 yard attempt hit the left upright.
However, Mangini did survive and the Browns improved to 4-7 on the season with a 24-23 triumph.
The Browns’ coaching staff has tried to protect rookie QB Colt McCoy by playing it safe at times on offense. It turns out that they really need to protect the veteran, Jake Delhomme.
In a terrible four play stretch which started at the end of the first half, Delhomme had the following results: fumble recovered by one of his offensive linemen, threw an interception which resulted in the first missed field goal by Kasay, a running play, and then a pick six by Captain Munnerlyn to cut a once 14 point lead to just one.
There is no question that the offense became very conservative until Cleveland lost the lead with 7:04 left in the game on Kasay’s 43 yard field goal, as Mangini and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll didn’t want anymore mistakes.
The funny thing is the quarterback who seems to be most careful with the pigskin is the guy Mangini has the most worry about, his rookie signal caller.
This staff has totally mismanaged the most important position on the field. Granted, McCoy was hurt and couldn’t play, but the guy the staff should have turned to was Seneca Wallace, who was playing very well before he sprained his ankle.
By the way, the interception return for a TD was the second for Delhomme this season in just three games, and he had a third where the interceptor was tackled inside the five yard line. Yikes!
The Cleveland offense was led once again by RB Peyton Hillis, who gained 131 yards on 26 carries, and caught six passes for 63 more yards. Brian Robiskie emerged to have the best game of his young career, grabbing seven passes for 50 yards.
Evan Moore caught two passes for 18 yards, but fumbled inside the five late in the first half. However, he drew a pass interference penalty on the Browns’ first touchdown drive. He should still be more involved in the passing attack.
Defensively, Abe Elam had two of the three sacks the brown and orange had on Panthers’ rookie Jimmy Clausen, and CB Joe Haden acquitted himself very well in his first start, getting his third pick of the season, one which should have sealed the deal with less than two minutes remaining.
But, the offense played it safe with three runs up the middle and couldn’t use up the clock, which led to the Panthers getting the ball with 59 seconds remaining. On a 3rd and 10 at the Carolina 16, the defense allowed a play reminiscent of last week’s short pass and run by Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew, as Mike Goodson took a short pass and rambled through the defense for 32 yards, giving the Panthers a shot to pull out a win.
The defense simply has to make a play there.
In the end, the Browns, like their coach survived. It should have been so much easier than that.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 