Browns’ Front Office Keeps Looking Toward “Next Year”

If you are a fan of the Cleveland Browns, you must also be a fan of the movie Groundhog Day, because you should be used to seeing the same thing day after day after day.

Yes, you did have a brief ray of sunshine watching local product Brian Hoyer win his first two starts, and the Thursday night win against Buffalo actually gave the Browns a winning record after five contests.

But Hoyer got hurt, and it is back to the weekly crapfest on Sunday afternoons.

Seemingly, no one in the front office cares because they are focused on the 2014 season and the almighty NFL draft. Their confidence in that process is probably higher than it has any right to be.

No team, let us repeat, no team, hits on every one of their draft choices.

The Browns have turned into the sign seen in various bars: “Free Drinks Tomorrow!” That’s the mantra in Berea every year: We’ll Be Good Next Year.

Except that so far, next year never comes.

They traded Trent Richardson after the second game of the year for a first round pick in next May’s selection process.

While Richardson has shown to be an average running back at best, and getting a first round pick has to be considered a win, it still left a gaping hole in the running game.

Defenses don’t have to respect the running game when playing Cleveland. That makes it tough on the quarterback. There has to be better players out there than 32-year-old Willis McGahee.

Chris Ogbonnaya is never going to be compared to Jim Brown or Barry Sanders, but he did have some decent games in 2011, gaining 334 yards in 11 games with 4.6 yards per carry average. Why not give him the ball 15-20 times per game?

Because he’s miscast on this roster as a fullback.

Why not bring in a legitimate fullback and let Ogbonnaya get more carries? Because the Browns are going to be good…next year.

After Hoyer was injured against the Bills, management didn’t go out and get another quarterback. If they had, the newcomer would have already spent two weeks learning the offense and would be an option to play perhaps as soon as after the bye week.

What if Jason Campbell plays poorly after replacing Brandon Weeden? What alternatives do Rob Chudzinski and Norv Turner have? They can’t possibly go back to Weeden for a third time.

However, there is no alternative on the current roster.

Once again, that’s because the management is focused on 2014, not this season.

Browns’ fans have suffered through fifteen seasons of failure and shouldn’t have to endure any more. Granted, it’s not the current regime’s fault for the past, but they should be cognizant that the fans base is getting disenchanted.

They shouldn’t make moves that could handicap real progress being made down the road. But there are players who could be brought in to play and contribute without salary caps implications.

This front office is clearly putting all of its eggs into picking several impact players in next year’s draft.

However, what is their plan if that fails? Another three year rebuilding plan? The coaches are trying to win every game. It would be nice if management helped them do anything within reason to facilitate putting games in the win column.

Browns Lost This One in First Quarter

If you want to defeat a quality football team on the road, you have to get off to a good start.

With that in mind, the Cleveland Browns lost today’s game to the Green Bay Packers in the first eight minutes of the first quarter.

The Browns have lost two straight and fall to 3-4 on the season with a 31-13 loss at Lambeau Field.

On Cleveland’s first drive, QB Brandon Weeden threw two incomplete passes, the second one on third and nine, sailing at least five yards over Greg Little’s head. It wasn’t even close.

Green Bay fumbled the resulting punt, but Cleveland couldn’t come up with it.

The Packers drove the 40 yards in just four plays, the last one a pass to Jermichael Finley for 10 yards and a touchdown when three Brown defenders had a chance to tackle the Green Bay TE, but failed to do so.

On the next drive, Weeden airmailed another throw to Davone Bess on third down, but a roughing the kicker penalty gave Cleveland a second chance.

After a nice throw and catch for 19 yards to Greg Little, the Browns had a fourth and one at the Packer 37, and Weeden threw an interception on a sideline pass to Bess that was short of the target.

Eleven plays and almost six minutes later, Eddie Lacy scored on a one-yard run giving the Pack a 14-0 advantage.

The Browns could have left Wisconsin right then and there, because this game was basically over.

From that point on, the Cleveland offense resembled the Pat Shurmur version, with runs that went nowhere mixed in with a dink and dunk passing attack.

The Browns gained just 216 yards for the entire contest, with a woeful average gain per pass play of three yards. Weeden hit on just 17 of 42 throws for a paltry 147 yards. He was also sacked three times.

The Cleveland offense gained just 83 yards on the ground, with Willis McGahee leading the way with 39 yards on 11 carries.

Either Green Bay did an exceptional job of shutting down WR Josh Gordon, or Weeden didn’t look his way because he caught only two passes for 21 yards.

A better guess is that it was pounded into Weeden’s head all week to get rid of the ball quicker, so he went with a ton of checkdown throws.

We understand that coach Rob Chudzinski and offensive coordinator Norv Turner think Weeden can play at this level, but that may be their coaching egos talking. They have to look at the results and consider some sort of change.

Also, we understand the front office wants to find their “franchise” quarterback in the next spring’s draft, but they should also realize the Cleveland fan base is tired of watching a non-productive offense once again.

Weeden did remember that Jordan Cameron was on the roster, hitting him seven times, but for just 55 yards.

You hate to keep going back to talking about Brian Hoyer, but he showed this offense does have some weapons, particularly Gordon and Cameron, with a splash of Travis Benjamin.

Those weapons are not being utilized by the current starting quarterback.

By the way, Thaddeus Lewis, disposed of by the current front office, hit 21 of 32 throws for 202 yards in leading the Buffalo Bills to a win in Miami. After last year’s game against the Steelers, why would you just release him?

We bring this up because apparently the staff isn’t going to use Jason Campbell no matter what.

Once again, we use the theory of not being able to do any worse. Could Campbell play worse than Weeden did today? Perhaps, but it couldn’t be that much worse.

Next week, the Browns have another tough test, traveling to Kansas City to take on the undefeated Chiefs.

If the offense has indeed reverted to checkdown city, it will be difficult to win another game this season.

Maybe Joe Banner and Michael Lombardi secretly don’t care that much about that.

Analyzing the SEC

Growing up, you always recognize the toughest kid in the class. Nobody challenges him.

But you always hear stories about the guy either in the neighborhood next to yours or two schools away. If you think you’re tough guy is strong, wait until you get a load of the guy at your school’s rival. That dude is really tough.

The kid you haven’t met yet is the SEC in college football.

No matter what conference you are playing in, any SEC team could come in and run roughshod over your conference.

However, is it really true?

The crown jewel of the SEC is defending national champion Alabama, currently sitting at #1 in the country. Their signature non-conference win was against Virginia Tech, who currently sits at 6-1 and is in first place in the ACC Coastal DIvision. Of course, the ACC is more known as a basketball school.

The Hokies haven’t really defeated anyone of note, so no one knows exactly how good they are.

So, ‘Bama isn’t playing a very strong schedule to this date.

If the Crimson Tide is the lead dog in the SEC, LSU has to be #1A. The Tigers are 6-1, with a loss against Georgia. Their big non-conference win was against the Horned Frogs of TCU. who are sitting at 3-3 and in sixth place in the poorly named Big 12.

Auburn is 6-1 as well with their loss coming to Louisiana State. They have beaten Arkansas State, Western Carolina, and Washington State, a 4-3 team in the PAC 12.

Texas A & M, led by Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, lost to Alabama, and sports non-conference wins against Rice, Sam Houston State, and SMU. Rice is 4-2 on the season, but they aren’t going to a BCS Bowl game.

South Carolina was a top ten team coming into 2013, but a loss to Georgia ruined their dreams of an undefeated season. They’ve won the only game they have played outside of the SEC, defeated Central Florida by three points (28-25).

We don’t want to short change Missouri, the only other SEC team that is undefeated (along with Alabama). Their non-conference wins are against noted college football powers Murray State, Toledo, Indiana, and apparently associate SEC member Arkansas State.

Two other top flight SEC members, Georgia and Florida have played strong out of conference foes, Georgia playing Clemson and the Gators playing Miami of Florida. In both cases, the Southeastern Conference school lost.

This is not to take away from the seven straight National Championships won by SEC schools, but how do we know they are good this year? Because of reputation? We are saying that the only highly ranking out of conference game the SEC has won this year is against VIrginia Tech.

We are also not saying that other highly ranked universities have played difficult schedules, We can certainly point to Ohio State’s slate and see a lot of cupcakes.

People point to Alabama’s thrilling win over Texas A & M for example, but how good are the Aggies? As we’ve pointed out, they haven’t defeated anyone strong outside of the SEC.

And certainly the losses to Clemson and Miami don’t support the dominance of the SEC.

Come December and January, the SEC will have success in bowl games and once again proclaim their dominance even though a large percentage of those games are played in their backyards, and other schools who have to build their teams to play in bad weather will come south to play them.

The SEC might be college football’s best conference, but we say beating up on each other doesn’t support what the SEC hype machine spits out.

The Browns’ QB Dilemma

After Brandon Weeden’s infamous flip that resulted in the interception that clinched the Lions’ win over the Browns on Sunday, it seems the only people who still have confidence in the quarterback is the Browns’ coaching staff.

Most media members, including ex-coaches and ex-players are advocating replacing Weeden with Jason Campbell, a serviceable veteran at best.

Even if Campbell eliminated the “dumb” plays that occurred last Sunday, it would be worth seeing him under center rather that Weeden, who doesn’t seemed to have progressed from his rookie season.

However, Rob Chudzinski announced that Weeden would start this Sunday against Green Bay.

What that means is the coach and his staff feel the former Oklahoma State star is better than Campbell and any other passer currently not on an NFL roster.

When you think about that for a minute, you realize it’s probably true.

Or does the front office not really care about this season, and that’s why they aren’t doing anything. If that’s true, that’s a disservice to every Browns fan in the country.

Especially since the team is 3-3 and is only one game out of first place in a division that is proving to be mediocre at best.

There were a lot of people (us included) who felt the Browns were giving up on the season when they traded Trent Richardson to Indianapolis. Three straight wins changed the opinions of the fans, but was the management impressed.

Of course, some of that optimism came with the play of Brian Hoyer, who orchestrated a comeback win against the Vikings and led the team to a victory over the Bengals.

Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi have stated they want to get a “franchise” quarterback in the draft, and the first round pick acquired in the Richardson deal gives them the assets to do just that.

But do they?

It will be difficult if the Browns win six or seven games, which is very possible, and Indianapolis win their division, which is also very possible now that the Houston Texans seem to have gone into the toilet.

Outside of the Giants, who have Eli Manning, or the Steelers, with Ben Roethlisberger, what other team that would currently pick in the top five wouldn’t want to take one of the top quarterbacks available in next spring’s draft?

Jacksonville, regarded as the NFL’s worst team will almost certainly take Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater with the top pick. Tampa Bay, another winless squad, will also be looking for a QB after letting Josh Freeman go.

Among the one win teams thus far, besides Pittsburgh, Washington and Atlanta wouldn’t be looking for new signal callers, but they also aren’t likely to stay at the bottom of the standings for the balance of the season.

Add to this Phil Simms’ opinion that there is no top-tier quarterbacks available next spring. ESPN’s Mike Golic said he thinks Bridgewater will be a good NFL player, but he’s not on the level of Andrew Luck.

If those guys are right, it means the quarterback derby in the ’14 Draft will be a crapshoot. You may get Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers or you may get Ryan Leaf or Akili Smith.

So, the Browns should do what they can to win and make the playoffs while they have a chance. And they have a chance this year.

If they believe Weeden is their best chance to win, he should play. If not, then give Campbell, a guy with a proven track record, a shot.

The 2013 season should be most important, not 2014.

Weeden Didn’t Help, But Coaching Staff Deserves Some Blame

We live in the Cleveland, Ohio area.

As a result, there is no doubt many people will put all of the blame for today’s 31-17 Browns loss to the Detroit Lions on QB Brandon Weeden.

Certainly, Weeden’s ill-advised flip under pressure in the fourth quarter that turned into an interception by DeAndre Levy killed any chance Cleveland had of extending its winning streak to four games.

However, remember this. The Browns were leading 17-7 at halftime, and were outscored 24-0 in the second half.

Now recall that Rob Chudzinski’s squad were winning the opening game loss to Miami at halftime and were also winning at Baltimore in game #2. In both contests, the Browns were totally outclassed after halftime and it happened again today.

Whatever adjustments these opponents made during intermission were effective and the Browns’ coaching staff was unable to come up with an antidote for those changes.

You would think the coaching staff would have enough experience to be able to counter what the opposition throws at them, but in the three losses the Browns have suffered this season, that hasn’t been the case.

At halftime, the offense was running the football effectively, although they were aided by WR Travis Benjamin’s 45-yard run off a reverse. Still, Willis McGahee was averaging over four yards per carry and Chris Ogbannaya was also running effectively.

In the second half, Norv Turner’s squad ran the ball just five times.

One thing we can say for sure about Brandon Weeden. He cannot be effective running an attack in which the entire burden is on him, If he is to have success, it has to be as a result of a multidimensional offense.

He struggled in his first two starts when the Browns stopped running in the second half, and he had problems last year when Pat Shurmur ignored the running game.

Remember, the Browns were leading at halftime. They continued to lead the game until 10 minutes were remaining in the game.

After Detroit scored early in the second half to cut the Cleveland lead to 17-14, Turner called two pass plays and another end around.

The Browns intercepted a Matthew Stafford pass on the next possession, ran on first down and then called two more pass plays. That was the last running play of the game and it came late in the third quarter.

They didn’t run it at all in the fourth quarter despite being down by seven points or less for most of the quarter.

Defensively, Ray Horton’s crew couldn’t handle the shift in offensive strategy by Detroit to run most everything through Reggie Bush. Bush either carried our was the intended receiver 15 plays in the second half, and the Browns couldn’t contain him.

And when they did, Stafford found TE Joseph Fauria for three touchdown passes.

Another problem that reared its ugly head was the third down efficiency both on offense and defense. The defense couldn’t get off the field, allowing Detroit to convert on 8 of 14 opportunities, while on offense, Cleveland was stopped nine times in 14 chances.

Stafford’s array on throwing angles also did not allow the Cleveland defense to get its normal amount of sacks, as he went down just once, with Craig Robertson doing the honors.

And we have to point out (as usual), the horrible officiating in the game. LB Quentin Groves was flagged for a personal foul hitting Stafford in the fourth quarter in what appeared to be a legal hit.

And a sideline call on the reception by Greg Little was challenged by Chudzinski and no definitely replay was shown to home viewers even though it appeared Little dragged his second foot in.

The Lions probably helped with their looking for a flag on pretty much every non-successful offensive play.

Now it’s on to Green Bay for what figures to be a very tough game against the Packers, but the Browns are still just a game behind the Bengals and are still tied with the Ravens who lost today.

Here’s hoping for a better game from the coaching staff next week.

Why the Disdain for Weeden?

Even though the Cleveland Browns are sitting in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC North, and they are currently on a three game winning streak, you can sense thoughts of gloom and doom among the team’s fans.

Why? Because Brandon Weeden is back as the starting quarterback, replacing the people’s choice, hometown hero Brian Hoyer.

We know about Weeden’s weaknesses. He holds the ball too long, he locks in on his receivers, he’s a statue in the pocket. These things were particularly noticeable after watching Hoyer play in wins against the Vikings and Bengals.

Still, it really was the second year player from Oklahoma State that guided Rob Chudzinski’s team to a win over the Bills eight days ago. And although the special teams and defense put up 14 points in the contest, and Travis Benjamin’s first long punt return led to a field goal, Weeden still was a part of drives that put 20 points on the scoreboard.

And we understand he was terrible in the first two games of the season, losses to Miami and Baltimore. Both of those teams have the same record as the Browns, by the way.

However, sometimes young quarterbacks (in terms of experience) benefit from watching on the sidelines and viewing how another guy handles it, and when they get a second chance at the job, they are better prepared to handle it.

Remember, Weeden was thrown in there as a rookie, without a lot of preseason time, and was expected to perform well right out of the gate. Also, we was running an offense that he was both ill-suited for, and was told not to make any mistakes.

Heck, his own coach frightened him with his constant talk about Ed Reed before a game against the Ravens a year ago.

Part of Weeden’s problem was the success of other passers taken in the same draft class. No one confused the Browns’ choice with Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and even Ryan Tannehill before the draft, and Russell Wilson was picked in the third round.

They all have had some or a lot of success in the NFL. Weeden’s career so far pales in comparison.

Luck is likely this generation’s Peyton Manning. Barring an injury, he could be the next great signal caller in the league.

Wilson had the league’s third best running game on his side. He only threw 405 passes on the season.

Griffin’s Redskins had the best rushing attack in the league. He threw 393 passes in 2012.

Tannehill had a similar passer rating as Weeden (76.9 for the Dolphins’ QB compared to 72.6 for the Browns’ passer), with a 58.3 completion percentage, 12 TDs and 13 interceptions.

Weeden threw 14 touchdowns and 17 picks. He threw 517 passes and missed the last game of the season. That’s over 100 more throws than Wilson and Griffin. Clearly, there was a much greater burden on Weeden than those two.

This isn’t to say Weeden is going to be great or even an average NFL quarterback. It is the point out that the Redskins and Seahawks gave their rookie quarterbacks a much easier starting point than Pat Shurmur did.

Besides, Weeden isn’t horrific. He’s not Ken Dorsey, Charlie Frye, Trent Dilfer, or Doug Pederson.

Those are all guys Browns’ fans have been forced to watch in the last 15 years.

RIght now, the path Brandon Weeden’s career takes is in his hands. Can he take what he learned by watching Hoyer and make it apart of his own game?

If he doesn’t, he will likely carve out a tenure in the league as a back up.

It’s still unfair to portray him as a guy who can’t play in the NFL this soon.

Optimism for Cavs Should Be Guarded

Tonight, the 2013-14 edition of the Cleveland Cavaliers will debut tonight at Quicken Loans Arena when the wine and gold take on the Milwaukee Bucks.

There is a lot of optimism regarding the team this season, with many national experts picking the Cavs to make the playoffs for the first time since LeBron James went to Miami.

Is this optimism warranted?

You can make arguments both ways.

The first concern would be the injury factor. Three key members of the squad have had problems staying on the court over the last three years: Kyrie Irving, Anderson Varejao, and newcomer Andrew Bynum.

If all three can play 60 or more games, Mike Brown’s team will be in great shape. But that’s a huge “if”.

Bynum and Varejao, along with Tristan Thompson, who we feel will be much improved, and Tyler Zeller will provide a formidable frontcourt combination.

However, the first two players mentioned can’t be counted on to stay healthy.

We said over the off-season that the Cavaliers needed to proceed as if Bynum would not play one minute this season. They needed to continue to build as if he wasn’t going to play.

Perhaps reducing Varejao’s minutes will help him stay on the court. Even if Bynum can’t play, Thompson and Zeller can handle the post, and first round draft pick Anthony Bennett and free agent signee Earl Clark can split time at the four spot as well.

However, if both big men are out, does the wine and gold have enough at the key rebounding positions?

In the backcourt, Irving has shown he can be one of the most dynamic players in the NBA, but he has missed significant time in each of his first two seasons with injuries. Perhaps this will be overcome as the former first overall pick gets stronger with age.

If he misses a lot of time this year, he could get the “injury prone” rap that no one wants.

Last year, when Shaun Livingston came in from Washington on Christmas Day, he brought veteran leadership for the guards. He has moved on, and in his place, GM Chris Grant signed Jarrett Jack as a free agent.

Jack will bring that same leadership and he has a proven history of putting the ball in the basket, scoring 13.0 points per game last season and 15.6 per contest the year before that.

The veteran is a true combo guard, playing the point when Irving is on the bench and playing off guard when Irving is on the floor.

Along with Dion Waiters, the Cavaliers will have a solid three guard rotation most nights. That is if Irving can stay healthy.

One thing can be said with certainty for this year’s squad. They will be better defensively; Brown will make sure of that.

Because of that, no longer will the Cavs lose huge leads down the stretch. The coaching staff will make sure that everybody makes an effort when the opponents have the basketball. That alone will lead to more victories.

If Irving, Varejao, and Bynum can stay on the court for most of the season, the Cavaliers will definitely be much improved.

However, none of those three can be counted on for durability until they prove otherwise.

Until this is proven, the Cavs will have to be viewed through jaundiced eyes.

What Should Tribe Do With Starters in ’14?

Baseball had a slight rebirth in Cleveland over the past two weeks.

Jason Giambi’s home run, which turned a defeat into a win on September 25th, awoke interest in a team fighting for a playoff spot, and for the next week, sports fans on the North Coast were wondering what was going on with the Indians.

The loss on Wednesday night that eliminated the Tribe has fans talking about next year, even in the midst of a Browns’ three game winning streak.

So, ownership, looking for a spark in fan interest the past few years, can’t blow it this off-season. They have to keep that interest alive over the winter and have people looking forward to spring training in late February/early March.

It should start with getting single game tickets on sale on Black Friday, the first huge shopping day of the Christmas season. We understand the push is to sell season tickets, not you have to give people the opportunity to get tickets while the 2013 season is fresh in their minds.

And, the front office needs to continue to improve the ballclub.

We understand (and we have said this before) that the Indians cannot have a $100 million payroll. They probably need to be around the mid $80 million range.

Still, that is possible. Heck, the Tribe did it this year, and teams like Tampa and Oakland do it on a more frequent basis that the Tribe has.

The biggest decision for GM Chris Antonetti is what to do about the pitching staff, with Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir eligible to free agency. Jimenez and the Tribe have a mutual option at $8 million for next season, which the right-hander will certainly turndown.

We’ve gone back and forth on what Antonetti should do, and is both parties would agree to pick up the option that would be fine. However, in reality, Jimenez could draw three and four-year offers at more than $10 million per season. If that’s the case, the Indians need to look elsewhere.

There is just too much of a risk. Cleveland is not the type of franchise that can handle a long-term deal where the player is not producing at a high level.

The fact is this: Jimenez spent 14 months in an Indian uniform and had an ERA under 4.00 in less than half of those months (6). With the complexity of his mechanics, what if Ubaldo goes back to the type of pitcher he was for most of his career with the Tribe?

That’s too big of a risk for this franchise.

Now, if he wants to discuss a two-year deal, that is something that could be done without hampering the long-term future of the organization.

Remember, Justin Masterson is a free agent at the end of the ’14 campaign and he should be a higher priority than Jimenez.

Kazmir will be looking for a big payday too, as well he should since he was on the baseball scrapheap last year. Still, he should come at a lower cost and fewer years than Jimenez.

And since the Indians rescued him from the independent league, perhaps he will have some loyalty toward Francona and Mickey Calloway. Maybe a three-year deal at $6-7 million could get it done.

Remember, Danny Salazar should be in the rotation from day one in 2014, and the Tribe still has Corey Kluber and Zach McAllister as starters. If Trevor Bauer can get straightened out, he could be in the mix as well.

And you could get another low risk, high reward type signing on a one year deal for a pitcher trying to re-establish his career. Although Brett Myers didn’t help like he was supposed to, the signing was a good one. It was for one year, and when he didn’t work out, the Tribe just said goodbye.

It wouldn’t hurt to do that again with a different pitcher.

There is an old saying in baseball that you can’t have too much pitching. The Indians can’t get caught short, but they can’t put the future in jeopardy either.

Browns Win and Lose On Same Night

The Cleveland Browns have seemed to be in a state of chaos for the last 15 years.

Just as they seemed to find a diamond in the rough at quarterback in local boy Brian Hoyer, who led them to two consecutive victories, something happens to end the era of good feeling for Browns’ supporters.

Hoyer went down with a knee injury late in the first quarter and is out for the season, and coach Rob Chudzinski is forced to go back to Brandon Weeden, who wasn’t very popular with the faithful when he went into the game.

However, the contrast was very telling. Seeing Hoyer play at the beginning of the game served a stark contrast to the former first round pick.

Quite simply, Hoyer makes quicker decisions and gets rid of the ball faster, which makes the offensive line look better.

Here’s hoping Weeden can learn from the Cleveland native and can translate those things into his game. He admitted he must do that after the 37-24 win, which raises the Browns’ record to 3-2 on the season.

Weeden made some good throws last night, particularly two long bombs to Greg Little and Josh Gordon, with the latter grabbing a 37-yard touchdown strike after the throw to Little just two plays earlier.

One thing that helped Weeden was that the Browns didn’t abandon the running game at any point in the contest. Willis McGahee carried the ball 26 times last night. In the second year man’s first two starts this season, Cleveland ran the ball less than 20 times in the entire game.

Weeden will need to improve if the Browns are going to continue to win football games. He has to develop an internal alarm clock in his head that tells him to get rid of the football after three seconds.

Everyone will talk about the quarterback situation, but the real story of last night was Travis Benjamin, who set a franchise record for most punt return yardage, including a 79-yard return to give the Browns a 17-10 advantage.

Benjamin also had a 57-yard return, which set up a Billy Cundiff field goal earlier.

Once again, the defense did the job. Yes, Buffalo had 155 yards rushing, becoming the first team to reach the century mark against them this season, but 54 of those came on a touchdown run by C. J. Spiller. The balance of the 101 yards came on 30 attempts.

Yes, we know that counts, but what it does mean is that for a majority of the game, Buffalo could not run the football.

The pressure was also there, with Ray Horton’s defense getting four more sacks, and from four different players, most notably rookie DE Armonty Bryant, who recorded his first NFL sack.

And the defense also put the game away on S T.J. Ward’s interception return for a touchdown.

Cleveland gave up 24 points, but the first seven were a result of a horrible pass interference call on Joe Haden on the Bills’ first play of the game.

We have said it before; the NFL simply has to change the penalty for this infraction to 15 yards. On the play in question, there was just as much contact initiated by the receiver. Why penalize only the defense?

The Browns, winners of three straight, have some extra time off before the Lions visit a week from Sunday.

The season is back in the hands of Brandon Weeden, and he must show a lot of improvement if Chudzinski’s boys are to continue their winning streak.

Tribe Bats Just Couldn’t Come Through.

The Cleveland Indians were a hot ball club coming into tonight’s wild card game against Tampa Bay, winning 10 in a row and going 21-6 in the month of September.

This is more evidence that baseball is a funny game.

The 4-0 loss that eliminated Cleveland came down to the Rays taking advantage of their chances and the Indians not being able to go so.

After a dominant first two innings, Danny Salazar gave up a leadoff home run to famed humanitarian Delmon Young, and after that, the young flamethrower lost his ability to get guys to swing and miss.

He escaped the third allowing just the one run, but Desmond Jennings’ double down the leftfield line with two outs in the 4th gave the Rays a 3-0 lead.

After that, the Indians had threats in pretty much every frame after that, but couldn’t push a run across.

In the fourth, with bases loaded and one out, Asdrubal Cabrera hit into a double play.

In the fifth, the Indians had runners on first and third with no one out, and Michael Bourn struck out, Nick Swisher hit into a fielders’ choice, and Jason Kipnis hit a comebacker to the mound to end that threat.

In the seventh, one out singles by Yan Gomes and Lonnie Chisenhall, who had three hits on the night, went for naught when Bourn flew out and Swisher fanned again.

All in all, Cleveland collected nine hits on the night, and couldn’t push a run across.

That’s the nature of baseball though. Sometimes, you get the big hits and sometimes you don’t. The Indians just picked a bad night to be on the wrong side of that statement.

To be sure, many of the national pundits will bring up Terry Francona’s team’s record against teams with an above .500 record as a reason for the loss and say the Tribe didn’t deserve to make the playoffs.

That’s a load of crap. Cleveland won 92 games this season. If any other team had won that many contests, the same people would have clamored to add another wild card so teams with that kind of record can advance to the playoffs.

For those who want to question the decision to start the rookie, Salazar, in this game, keep in mind the Indians still had a chance to win this game until a couple of defensive miscues gave the Rays a fourth run in the top of the ninth.

Salazar, and the guys who followed him, Mark Rzepczynski, the seemingly always reliable Bryan Shaw, Justin Masterson, Cody Allen, and Joe Smith pitched well enough to give the offense a shot. They simply couldn’t get the big base knock.

You can’t win any games when you don’t score a run, and although they hit the ball fairly hard tonight, no one crossed home plate.

Tampa manager Joe Maddon said before the game that his team catches a lot of line drives, and they certainly lived up to their skipper’s prediction.

We will discuss the Indians’ future at a later time, but there is no question the 2013 season was a huge step forward for the Indians. Here’s hoping they build on it over the long winter.