Browns Need Coach, Not System

Now that the dust has settled regarding the firings of the Cleveland Browns head coach and general manager, it is time to look at what kind of coach Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner should be looking for.

The early speculation has the Browns intrigued by Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who has been in charge of an NFL team before, and is a former defensive coordinator with Cleveland in the Bill Belichick regime.

Reportedly, Banner is in Arizona this week to interview Oregon coach Chip Kelly, an offensive guru who runs a spread option type of offense. However, Kelly has never coached at the NFL level.

It would be nice if Haslam and Banner at least kicked the tires on former Bears’ coach Lovie Smith, who has coached in a Super Bowl and whose team went 10-6 this season, and Ken Whisenhunt, who took the Cardinals to the Super Bowl a few years ago.

However, what the Browns really need is a coach. They need a man to come in, look at the talent available and put together a system or game plan that emphasizes the strengths of that talent.

And this isn’t talking solely about Brandon Weeden either. They need to get the most out of Trent Richardson, a young receiving corps, an offensive line with three high draft choices, and a defense that has a good base because of a young, talented line.

So a switch to a 3-4 scheme would involve getting new personnel, which would likely mean a process taking more than one off-season.

If Kelly can do that, great. The same with Saban, Smith, or Whisenhunt.

What cannot happen is another delay of a couple of years waiting for the new coach to bring in players who fit his style of play or system. This is no time for patience, nor is it time to overhaul a roster because a coach wants to bring in his guys.

There can be no more delays in putting together a winning team.

Not after what we saw this year in which Indianapolis went from two wins to the playoffs. The Rams went from two wins to seven. The Vikings and Redskins each made the playoffs after winning three and five games respectively in 2011.

It can be done.

That should be the focus of the interviewing process conducted by Haslam and Banner. Can the coach be adaptable or does he have to play a certain way with a certain system?

Coaches can have a preferred way to win games, particularly offensively, but look at the job John Fox did in Denver last season. He tried to win with a conventional offense, but it wasn’t working, so he went with Tim Tebow and a system that showed off his strengths.

It probably wouldn’t have worked for the long haul, but it did for one season.

Remember also that Belichick went 11-5 with Matt Cassell playing QB for an injured Tom Brady.

The great coaches in the NFL adapt and change based on the talent they have, and from the press conference, it seems that’s the kind of coach the Browns want to hire.

The beef with Pat Shurmur was he was married to the west coast offense even though Weeden and Richardson would have been better in a different kind of attack.

They want someone who will be here for the long haul. Someone that will have long-term success.

The Cleveland Browns need to hire a coach this time. Not a system that the rest of the NFL will catch up to in two years, but a man who can lead and get the most out of his players.

Hopefully, they will find that guy.

If Lewis Plays, Have Some Fun

There is no question that coaches speak their own language. Over the years in Cleveland we have been subject to a few of the great practitioners of “coach speak”.

From Pat Shurmur’s “battling Browns” to Eric Wedge’s “grinding Indians”, we have listened to some of the best people who can say a lot and tell you nothing.

Politicians have nothing on these guys.

The entire Indians’ front office does a tremendous job of trying to confuse its fan base as to what is going on with the organization. They talk much the way Fortune 500 corporations do, instead of conversing in baseball talk.

With Pat Shurmur likely preparing for his last game as Cleveland Browns head coach, he came up with a doozy when talking about his probable starting quarterback this Sunday, third stringer Thaddeus Lewis.

Shurmur said the offense would have to be pared back if Lewis has to go against the Steelers.

First, the obvious question would be “can they really pare back the offense even more?” What would happen? Every play would be a run up the middle?

Further examination though, would show that if Lewis doesn’t know the offense at this point, why does he still have a job?

Lewis has been with Shurmur longer than either of the other two QB’s, rookie Brandon Weeden, and Colt McCoy, who has worked with Shurmur for two years.

Lewis was with the Rams in Shurmur’s last year as offensive coordinator. In fact, the head coach’s high regard for him is the reason he is with the Browns.

He also went to Duke University, one of the nation’s finer institutes of higher learning. So, it’s not like Lewis is some kid just out of high school and barely got good enough grades to graduate.

The last reason to roll your eyes on the coach’s comment is that his football team is 5-10 and going nowhere. He should be calling every gadget play in the playbook this weekend because there literally is nothing to lose.

So why not let Lewis play with reckless abandon and let the chips fall where they may? If he throws five interceptions and completes less than 40% of his throws, who cares?

We will then know that he can’t play in the NFL.

On the other hand, he may do very well. There isn’t a high probability of that, but you never know.

Heck, Shurmur had a front row seat for an NFL team letting a passer with little experience just play when the Redskins did just that with rookie Kirk Cousins.

Certainly, Washington didn’t button up their attack for that game and there was far more on the line for the ‘Skins on that day than there will be for the Browns in week 17.

This is not to say that Lewis’ inexperience will cause him to make mistakes. No doubt Steelers’ defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau will dial up all kinds of disguises for his schemes to confuse someone playing their first NFL game.

But it speaks to Shurmur’s innate move toward conservative football that he wants to pare down the offense in a meaningless game. He’s been reluctant to let Weeden call audibles and really only used gadget plays against arguably the worst team in the league, Kansas City.

The coach is rare in that he’s an offensive coach, but he plays not to lose. Hopefully, the Browns next coach will try to win football games instead of avoiding defeat.

Browns Play Inferior Foe and Dominate

Bet everyone was nervous after the first play of today’s Browns game?

In a game the Browns were supposed to win, their fans and players received a cold slap in the face when Kansas City RB Jamaal Charles ran 80 yards for a touchdown on the game’s first snap.

Whatever momentum the Chiefs had ended on their second possession when Ryan Succop hit the upright on a 26-yard field goal attempt.

From there on, it was a Cleveland rout as the Browns won their third straight, beating Kansas City 30-7 at Cleveland Browns’ Stadium. It was a game against an inferior opponent, and Pat Shurmur’s team did what they were supposed to do. They won.

After the Charles’ run, Dick Jauron’s defense allowed just 230 total yards, 100 of them rushing, sacked Brady Quinn five times and held Kansas City scoreless in what turned into a blowout victory.

It gave Shurmur the rare opportunity to take QB Brandon Weeden and RB Trent Richardson off the field in the team’s last series.

After the missed field goal, the Browns moved the football down the field until they got to the Chiefs’ 20, when they went into conservative mode once again and settled for the Phil Dawson field goal, the 300th of his illustrious career.

After another defensive stop, Cleveland took the lead for good when they shifted punt returns from Josh Cribbs to Travis Benjamin taking the latter off the KC gunner. The resulting confusion resulted in a club record 93 yard return by Benjamin, which undoubtedly will start debate as to who should return punts from now on.

Such is life as a Browns’ fan. Even in victory, there will be second guessing.

Of course, we are no exception.

It was curious that Shurmur and his coaching staff used so many gimmick plays against the Chiefs, arguably one of the NFL’s worst teams. Perhaps he was giving the last three opponents something to think about.

Besides the punt return, the Browns dusted off the “wildcat” portion of their playbook, running Josh Cribbs twice for 15 yards, using a double reverse to Benjamin for 15 more yards, and running WR Greg Little out of the backfield for 17 yards.

Isn’t the purpose of these plays to trick your opponents? And if so, why the need to fool a poor football team.

Why didn’t Shurmur use these types of plays against the Ravens, Cowboys, or Giants? Wouldn’t they have served more of the purpose in those games?

Anyway, enough nit-picking.

Here are some other thoughts from a victory that gave Cleveland more wins than they had all of last season.

RB Montario Hardesty led the Browns in rushing with 52 yards in 10 attempts. However, he showed fans why he is best used as a change of pace back, as we dropped another wide open pass (after a nice run), and fumbled near the goal line.

Those are the problems, besides injuries, that have plagued Hardesty throughout his time with the Browns.

Josh Gordon continues to look more and more like a legitimate #1 receiver with eight catches for 86 yards. Gordon and Little, who continues to impress, were unstoppable on slants all day long. The Browns looked for a lot of deep routes in the first half for some reason, because the slant at anytime.

And Weeden is developing a chemistry with both. He completed 17 passes on the day, but to only five different receivers. You can tell that the quarterback wants to get the ball to Gordon whenever possible.

Another positive about this football team is its growing depth, particularly on defense. The five sacks on the day were by six different players. Rookie free agent S Tashaun Gipson had his first interception.

This is big because in the past, the Browns season ended as soon as injuries took a toll on the roster. Granted, Cleveland is relatively healthy, but they also have some talent in reserve.

Next week is the last home game of the season with Robert Griffin III and the Redskins coming in (although Griffin left today’s game with an injured knee). A win would give the Browns a 5-3 home record, four wins in a row, a 6-3 mark after losing their first five contests, and two victories more than in 2011.

At last, it is progress that shows in the win column.

Winning Streak, but Offense Still Leaves Points On Field

The dates were September 26-29 of this year. That’s more than two months ago.

What is significant about those dates? It was the last time a Cleveland major league sports team won consecutive games, and it was the Indians.

However, right now, the Cleveland Browns have a two game winning streak, as they defeated the Oakland Raiders 20-17 on the road to raise their record to 4-8 for the season.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t any anxious moments along the way.

After taking a 13-3 lead with 9:51 remaining in the third quarter, and dominating the game, things took a turn when Phil Dawson had his attempt at a 30th straight made field goal blocked. Instead of taking a 16-3 advantage, the Browns had just a field goal lead after Carson Palmer hit Rod Streater for 64 yards a little over a minute later.

When the next Cleveland drive stalled, the Raiders were on the attack. Going without a huddle, Palmer started peppering the Browns’ secondary moving the ball down the field with ease.

Then the game turned back toward Pat Shurmur’s team when CB Sheldon Brown picked off a deep throw. It was the veteran second straight game with a pick.

Given new life, the offense moved in for the kill. QB Brandon Weeden hit his tight end often in moving the Browns 94 yards in 14 plays, chewing up over six minutes, climaxing with a Trent Richardson three yard run to put the game away.

Weeden hit Benjamin Watson with passes of 22 and 7 yards, and hit Jordan Cameron for 23 more yards on the drive.

And the Browns came home with their first road win since September of last season against the Peyton Manning-less Indianapolis Colts.

Until that last drive though, it looked like the offense was going to have another week where their seeming affection for the field goal was going to do them in. And once again, even in victory, the Browns did not score 21 points.

This was the 60th game that Shurmur has been the offensive coordinator or head coach and his teams have scored over 2o points just seven times. His offense doesn’t score enough in today’s NFL.

The offense gained 475 yards and punted the ball away only twice. The Raiders came into the game giving up points by the bushel full, but Cleveland only scored 20 today.

The Browns averaged 9.5 yards per pass play and a little over four yards per run. They could have scored almost 30 points the way they moved the football, but they didn’t.

To be fair, if Dawson hadn’t had his field goal partially blocked, Cleveland would have scored 23 points today. And Weeden threw two interceptions, both deep in Oakland territory, which stopped drive which should have resulted in points.

Still, how many times have you seen the attack go ultra conservative when they get close. Even on the last touchdown, the last four plays were all runs.

Weeden did throw for 364 yards, his third game of the season over the 300 yard mark, and had a touchdown throw of 44 yards to fellow rookie Josh Gordon, who caught six tosses for 116 yards. He’s looking more and more like a #1 receiver.

Watson also had a productive day, catching six throws for 80 yards, and Greg Little had four receptions for 48 yards and had a crushing block on a 54 yard catch and run by Mohammad Massaquoi.

Richardson (20 carries for 72 yards) and Montario Hardesty (5 rushes for 39 yards) ran the ball well.

It was mistakes by the quarterback and the conservative nature of the coaching staff that allowed this game to be close at all.

Take the second drive by the Browns which resulted in a Dawson field goal. Cleveland had a third and four from the OAK 21, and called a flat pass to Richardson, on which he was tackled for a loss.

It’s no problem getting the ball to Richardson, but why not throw a five yard pattern to get the first down. It’s clear Shurmur doesn’t have confidence in Weeden’s ball security, especially after he throws an interception.

Now the Browns come home to take on the 2-10 Chiefs, who won an emotional game against Carolina today after the tragedy of yesterday. It will be another game where Cleveland will be favored.

It’s a chance to win three in a row, and also to surpass last year’s victory total. For once, progress could be shown in the win column.

Browns Dominated 1st Half Except for Scoreboard.

Another game, another loss today for the Cleveland Browns who fell to 2-8 with a 23-20 loss in overtime to the Dallas Cowboys in Jerry Jones’ football palace.

Yes, the Browns played well once again. Heck, they dominated the first half leading 13-0 going into the intermission.

Actually, that’s where the game was lost, because Cleveland should have led 21-0 at that point in the game, but they missed opportunities once again.

Defensively, the Cowboys offensive line couldn’t handle the Browns front seven, and they forced Tony Romo into bad throw after bad throw.

In the second half, the Dallas QB got into a rhythm, and the Cleveland secondary, minus starting cornerback Joe Haden couldn’t stop the Cowboy passing attack.

Still, after a Josh Cribbs punt return and a resulting horse collar tackle penalty, the Browns took the lead 20-17 with a little over a minute to play on Benjamin Watson’s second TD of the day, a 17 yard strike from Brandon Weeden.

But Romo drove the Cowboys right down the field, aided by two big penalties, an unsportsmanlike conduct call on S T.J. Ward and a pass interference call on CB Sheldon Brown for 35 yards.

One change the NFL needs to make is making pass interference a 15 yard maximum call. There shouldn’t be any penalty, especially a judgment call that results in that much yardage.

Dallas had the ball inside the Browns’ 10, but had to settle for a game tying field goal by Dan Bailey.

In overtime, Dallas ran 14 plays with just three runs, as they obviously decided they couldn’t run the ball against Dick Jauron’s defense. The Browns ran three play too…total.

That was kind of the story of the game, especially in the second half.

After the Browns first drive after halftime in which they ran 11 plays, moving 41 yards, their next two drives were three and outs, the one following that lasted just four snaps after a Weeden fumble. Dallas had the football pretty much all the time from 10 minutes left in the third quarter until five minutes remaining in the game.

The offense didn’t do its part to give the defense some valuable rest.

In the first half, Weeden, who would up 20 for 35 and 210 yards was erratic with his accuracy. He missed a wide open Josh Cooper on the drive that led to Phil Dawson’s first field goal, and was high and wide

A Watson dropped pass led to another field goal instead of a touchdown in the first half.

Trent Richardson didn’t break any long gains, but he and Montario Hardesty did total 118 yards on the ground, and Richardson added 49 more catching the ball.

Josh Gordon was productive again with five catches for 53 yards and Greg Little did well too, making three grabs.

Despite some predictions of Weeden having difficulty with the Cowboys pressure, he had plenty of time to throw for the most part, getting sacked just twice.

On the other side, Cleveland got to Romo seven times, with eight different players accounting for the plays. However, the absence of Haden once again hurt the Browns as WRs Dez Bryant and Miles Austin combined for 18 receptions and several pass interference or holding penalties.

It seems trite to say the Browns are the best 2-8 team in the NFL, mostly because there aren’t many teams with just two wins.

Still, it is disappointing that Pat Shurmur can’t put more games in the win column, especially because other teams with similar records last year and won more games.

For whatever reason, the play calling for the Browns gets very conservative when they get near the red zone. Why? That’s a question for the coaching staff.

Unfortunately, that lack of aggressiveness will likely cost the staff their jobs at the end of the season.

This season will likely be dubbed, “Close, but no wins”.

This Week, The Dropped Pass Helps Browns

For the Cleveland Browns, it was die by the dropped pass last week, and live by the dropped pass today.

When you play a lot of close games, things like that can decide a football game.

Today, the Browns were the beneficiaries of San Diego WR Robert Meachem dropping a wide open throw from QB Philip Rivers early in the third quarter that would have given the Chargers a 10-7 lead. Since the Browns punted on every possession except their first, it likely would have put another one in the loss column for Cleveland.

Last week, of course, WR Josh Gordon dropped a perfect strike from Brandon Weeden that would have put Pat Shurmur’s crew up 20-17 in the fourth quarter. So, guess karma evened out today.

Besides the defense, which held San Diego to just two field goals on a truly miserable weather day, the star of the game was rookie RB Trent Richardson.

Many in the media implored the Browns to let the third overall pick in the draft sit out today and next week so he could heal his ribs through the bye week, and the coach kept telling everyone that T-Rich was getting better and better.

Score one in Shurmur’s column.

Richardson ran for a career high 122 yards in 24 carries, one of which resulted in the game’s only touchdown, a 26-yard jaunt in the first quarter. He also caught one pass for 12 more yards.

Besides the score, his fifth of the year, Richardson was featured in the key drive of the second half for the Browns, the one that changed the field position in the fourth quarter.

On a 3rd and 6 from the Cleveland 7, the rookie caught a pass in the flat for 12 yards allowing the Browns to have some breathing room and keep the football. After a pass to TE Benjamin Watson gained 14, three more carries for the former Alabama RB picked up 21 more yards.

That put the brown and orange at midfield, and when the Chargers finally stopped the Browns, it was Cleveland that was able to pin San Diego back to their own 15, making them go quite a way for a game winning field goal.

The Bolts’ moved to the Browns’ 44, but four straight incomplete passes later, Cleveland celebrated their second win of the year.

The game was very even statistically, with San Diego out gaining the Browns by 15 yards for the game. The Chargers committed the only turnover of the contest, but it didn’t figure in the scoring.

Again, the conditions on the field, steady rain and wind, made it difficult to generate a lot of offense, at least that’s what Shurmur said after the game, and we have no reason not to believe him.

A couple of other thought on the game…

One, why not throw the flat pass to Richardson more often? It seems to gain 10-12 yards every time is it used, and it gets T-Rich in the open field a little bit. That said, it was called at the perfect time today.

Second, Montario Hardesty showed why he can’t be counted on as he fumbled late in the fourth quarter after Richardson carried on three straight plays. You simply cannot lose the ball in that situation, and the coaching staff had to lose a little confidence in him going forward. This was the same problem he had during the pre-season.

And third, Josh Gordon looks like a #1 wide receiver in the making. He was held out of the end zone for the first time in four weeks, but caught three passes for 46 yards, including a big 26 yard catch and run in the second half.

Next week, another divisional game is on the docket with the Ravens visiting. They are coming off a bye week, a badly needed one after a hammering by the Texans and injuries to several key defenders.

The Browns continue to show improvement. Even at 2-6, they are getting better each and every week. That bodes well for rest of this season.

Is Browns Win a Sign of Things to Come?

At least for one week, the doomsayers among the Cleveland Brown fan base will be quieted.

No talk about how Colt McCoy would be doing better than Brandon Weeden if he got the chance, no talk about how Tom Heckert’s drafts are overrated, and no talk about going 0-16 for the season.

The Browns snapped their losing streak at 11 with a 34-24 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at home. It also snaps a losing streak within the AFC North and it marked consecutive weeks that the offense put up more than 21 points.

After several weeks where the Browns looked like a team getting close to a victory, they finally played solid football in all phases for four quarters and came away with a win.

And they were balanced offensively too. Shurmur’s crew ran the ball 34 times and threw 29 passes, which is close to the 50/50 ratio you want to have offensively. However, if you would have been told Montario Hardesty would lead Cleveland in rushing before the game, you probably would have thought of an 0-6 record.

Hardesty came in when Trent Richardson hurt his ribs, and displayed a burst into holes that he didn’t show in the preseason, gaining 56 yards in 15 carries. He also scored his first professional touchdown to give the Browns a lead they would never lose at 20-14.

Rookie WR Josh Gordon showed that he might just be the go to receiver Cleveland has needed for a while, hauling in three Weeden throws for 99 yards, including a 71 yard hookup in the first half. It’s the second straight week Gordon has scored on a pass play of over 60 yards.

That the kind of quick play strike capabilities today’s NFL offenses have.

Weeden completed 17 of 29 passes for 231 yards with two TDs and one interception off a pass that was deflected at the line of scrimmage. Another solid game for the rookie who seems to get more and more confident every week.

He even got to use his former college teammate WR Josh Cooper, who caught two passes in the first half for 39 yards. He displayed the good hands that he was noted for when he signed with the Browns.

Defensively, the presence of Joe Haden, who returned from a four game suspension, seemed to make a huge difference.

He had an interception, one of three by Bengals’ QB Andy Dalton, and there was a stretch from the beginning of the second half into the fourth quarter where Dick Jauron’s guys totally shutdown the Cincinnati offense.

They made big plays as well. Sheldon Brown got a touchdown on an interception which gave Cleveland a commanding lead at 34-17, and any Bengal hopes for a comeback were dashed when Emanuel Stephens strip sacked Dalton inside the Browns’ 20 late in the fourth quarter, and another rookie DT Billy Winn picked it up and ran 30 yards to seal the deal.

Perhaps the biggest play of the game, however, belonged to a guy who has been the symbol of the Browns over the past few years. Josh Cribbs’ punt return of 60 yards in the third quarter seemed to spark an offense that hadn’t had a first down since early in the second quarter.

Cribbs may have lost a step, but he’s still among the AFC leaders in both kickoff and punt returns, and also had two tackles on special teams as well. He’s still a difference maker with the ball in his hands.

So, with a win under their belt, Shurmur’s squad will look to build on today’s momentum against Indianapolis next week.

Today’s win showed that progress is being made on the field. Most people thought the Browns would be a better team at the end of the season than the beginning. They have the opportunity to start a winning streak next Sunday.

Browns Need Offense? Give it to Richardson

After most Browns’ losses, we bemoan the inability of the team to run the ball and defense the opponents’ running game.

That is usually a recipe for defeats, even in today’s pass happy NFL.

That’s why it is time for coach Pat Shurmur and offensive coordinator Brad Childress to get more touches for RB Trent Richardson.

The third overall draft pick last spring, the rookie from Alabama gives the teams playing the Browns someone to account for when Cleveland has the ball.

Finally!

After Richardson’s game against Cincinnati, in which he ran for 109 yards in 19 carries, the defensive coordinators in the Browns’ last two games (vs. Buffalo and Baltimore) have put eight men in the box, daring Brandon Weeden to throw the football.

That has led to the rookie quarterback throwing the football an average of 40 times per game, a total far too high for a player getting his first NFL experience.

It is time to give Richardson more of a load for several reasons. Right now, he’s averaging a little less than 20 touches per game. That number needs to get closer to 30.

And it doesn’t have to be 30 runs, it can be 24 carries and catching six passes out of the backfield, getting T-Rich in space.

First, he’s the best skill player the Browns have. With the receivers dropping Weeden’s throws at an alarming rate (a continuation of last season’s problems for Colt McCoy), getting the ball to your biggest weapon needs to be a priority.

Second, the life of an NFL running back is around four seasons.

True, some guys last longer than that, and can remain effective for up to seven or eight seasons, but for the most part, Richardson will have about five years of playing at a very high level, and the Browns should take advantage of using him before the rigors of the NFL take a toll on him.

Naysayers might say it is dumb to run into eight and nine man fronts, and by and large that is true.

However, it is still a matter of execution. If every team thought like that, then running backs like Arien Foster, Ray Rice, and Frank Gore, just to name a few, would be obsolete.

Shurmur and Childress shouldn’t bang their collective heads against a brick wall, but they can’t forget about getting the ball in the biggest weapon’s hands.

If an opponent stacks that line of scrimmage to stop the run, that doesn’t mean your quarterback should be throwing 45-50 passes per game.

And even if you aren’t handing off to the rookie, you can still get him the ball in space by throwing it to him out of the backfield.

This much is clear, the offense shouldn’t ignore him.

In fact, after four games, it’s time for Shurmur and Childress to know who can make plays (and who can’t) and try to get the ball in those players hands as much as possible.

That requires creativity on the coach’s part and that may just be the rub.

Let’s face it, the Cleveland offense may not be vanilla, but it certainly isn’t rocky road either. It tends to be a bit predictable.

This is an area that needs improvement, and it starts by getting the ball in the hands of Trent Richardson more often.

Browns Can’t “Catch” a Win

There are no moral victories in the NFL, and as Bill Parcells once said, you are what your record says you are.

The Cleveland Browns are 0-4 on the season, and need a win in the worst way because they have to be frustrated with having a chance to win a football game and not being able to do so.

Last night in Baltimore, the Browns made one huge mistake, an interception by Brandon Weeden that Cary Williams returned 63 yards for a touchdown, and it cost them in a 23-16 loss.

That makes 10 consecutive losses for Pat Shurmur’s crew, accumulated over two seasons.

However, the area that stood out in the contest was the play of the Ravens’ wide receivers, particularly Anquan Boldin, who hauled in 9 passes for 131 yards, many of them contorting his body in different shapes to catch the ball.

Browns’ receivers? Not so much.

The same problem that haunted Colt McCoy last season, is plaguing Weeden as well. He isn’t able to throw the football and catch it downfield as well.

Trailing 23-13 in the fourth quarter, Weeden fired a pass down the middle to Greg Little in the end zone, a play that would have cut the Baltimore advantage to just three points with more than 12 minutes to play. Little had it go through his hands.

It wasn’t a routine play, but it was one that Ravens’ passer Joe Flacco’s receivers were making all night long. But, Little couldn’t come up with it.

It wasn’t the only ball dropped by Cleveland receivers during the game, simply the biggest.

Jordan Norwood, inactive for the first three games, saw his first action last night and dropped at least two passes. Not a good way to make sure you’ll get more playing time.

Despite all the drops, Weeden wound up 25 of 52 for 320 yards (his second 300 yard passing game in four weeks, Colt McCoy has one). He stood in the pocket and made strong throws most of the night. Even though he’s becoming a lightning rod like all Cleveland quarterbacks, he’s developing nicely.

Trent Richardson was impressive too, even though he had just 14 carries for 47 yards. He caught four more balls for 57 more yards.

Richardson is definitely a player defensive coordinators are planning for. Baltimore made its first priority to account for the rookie. When was the last time the Browns had a player like that.

The difference in the game was the Ravens’ wide receivers. They caught the ball and made plays, while the Browns’ pass catchers didn’t.

Defensively, Dick Jauron’s crew played valiantly. LB Craig Robertson, an undrafted free agent, continues to impress, intercepting a Flacco throw in the end zone, and making open field tackles on Ray Rice a couple of times.

The defense also put a lot of pressure on Flacco, sacking him four times. The line play was thought to be a question mark coming into the year, but they are getting to the quarterback frequently, and most of the time with four rushers.

And what can you say about Phil Dawson, who kicked three field goals of over 50 yards. If the Browns were contending for the playoffs, Dawson would most certainly get the Pro Bowl nod he richly deserves.

It hasn’t showed up in the standings yet, but this is definitely a better football team than last year’s squad.

Still, Shurmur and offensive coordinator Brad Childress need to put more points on the board. They’ve only scored more than 20 points once this season, and that doesn’t get it done in today’s NFL.

In fact, in the 52 games Shurmur has been the offensive coordinator (with the Rams) or head coach, his teams have scored more than 20 points just six times. It’s a disturbing trend.

Perhaps they could score more with receivers that hold on to the ball.

The Losing Keeps Continuing for the Browns

The Cleveland Browns were not ready for what the Buffalo Bills had in store for them this afternoon, and Pat Shurmur’s crew was quickly down 14-0 before the first quarter ended.

It was a hole they couldn’t dig all of the way out of, and the Browns fell to 0-3 with a 24-14 loss at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Cleveland did have chances, but they fell back into their old habits, their usual way of defeat. That is they couldn’t run the ball, and the couldn’t stop the run.

The Browns caught a break when the NFL’s leading rusher, C. J. Spiller had to leave the game in the first quarter with a possible separated shoulder. Spiller had already taken a screen pass 32 yards for a touchdown to give Buffalo a 14-0 lead with the contest not quite 10 minutes old.

But Tashard Choice, the Bills third string running back, ran for 91 yards on 20 carries, as the visitors ran for more than 100 more than the home team’s total.

Trent Richardson gained just 27 yards for the game on 12 carries.

However, Buffalo came into the game with the intention of taking the rookie from Alabama away from Shurmur and offensive coordinator Brad Childress. At least the Browns can now say they have someone the defense has to respect.

That opened up the passing game for Brandon Weeden, and until the last two possessions of the game, he took advantage of it.

After his 22-yard touchdown pass to yet another rookie, WR Travis Benjamin late in the third quarter, Cleveland was very much in this game, trailing by only three at 17-14.

That was as close as they would come.

The Browns forced a three and out on the next Bills’ possession, but the offense couldn’t capitalize after picking up one first down, and gave Buffalo the ball back, and on the first play Choice slashed through the defense for 22 yards.

The defense had one more opportunity to hold the visitors to a field goal, but gave up an 11 yard gain on a bubble screen on third and nine. The Bills scored two plays later and the game was basically over.

After that, Cleveland made mistake after mistake with Weeden throwing two interceptions and a key holding penalty on C Alex Mack ending drives.

Another problem was wide receivers dropping passes. Greg Little dropped one near the end of the first half with at least 15 yards of real estate in front of him. It could have put Cleveland in a position to get a field goal heading into the locker room, closing the gap to 14-10.

And Benjamin dropped one on a 3rd and 19 with a lot of room in front of him in the third quarter.

Weeden finished hitting on 27 of 43 throws for 237 yards, with the TD toss and two interceptions. His longest completion was a bubble screen to Josh Cribbs for 24 yards, a play that wasn’t used again.

Say what you will about Cribbs, and his shortcomings at wide receiver, but when he’s on the field, he makes plays offensively.

Weeden’s only other completion over 20 yards was the touchdown pass. Other than that, he became a dink and dunk passer, taking what the Bills gave him. This is typical of the Shurmur offense.

Remember that Shurmur’s attack doesn’t score many points.

In his two years as St. Louis’ offensive coordinator, the Rams scored more than 20 points just four times. Last year, running the Browns’ attack, Cleveland scored over that mark just once.

After last week, that means the Shurmur offense has scored more than 20 points just six times in 51 games. That won’t win you too many contests in today’s NFL.

Until his young team can put up at least 21 points on a weekly basis, the Browns aren’t going to be successful.

The Browns have a short week with a divisional game against the Ravens on Thursday night, staring 0-4 right in the face.

When teams don’t win occasionally they forget how to win. That’s something the Browns have to overcome. They don’t do the little things that translate into wins. New owner to be, Jimmy Haslam can’t be impressed by what he sees.