NFL  > Cleveland Browns  > Holy Crap We Lost!!
August 22, 2010, 09:28 AM
Just as it's always a big deal when you beat Green Bay at Green Bay, it's always a big deal when you lose to Saint Louis. Especially a Saint Louis team that wasn't even trying that hard to win last night. But several of the Browns decided to be super generous. Here are the more troubling aspects of what occurred.

6 turnovers! You play in Cleveland, you HAVE to play in rough weather. Saint Louis dealt with the conditions better and they're a dome team. Hold on to the football. 9 of the Rams 19 points came off turnovers. The one plus is that Jake Delhomme did not self destruct after his first turnover in a Browns uniform. Instead he lead the team back with 10 unanswered points which should have been 13 but they went for it on 4th down deep in Rams territory. Lesson, protect the ball applies to the coaching staff as well as the team. Those 3 points we passed on turned out to be the difference maker.

Zero turnovers and few sacks for the Browns D. The Browns were always on the verge of a sack or a takeaway but never came up with the play. St. Louis on the other hand, despite getting pummeled for most of the game in every other statistic, came away with the big plays when they needed them. This is a big problem especially on D where we're looking to make a big improvement over last year. We looked way more physical this time around, but the difference between being an average D and a good one is the ability to make those big plays in the clutch.

Okay the above problems can be explained as pre-seaon sloppiness that will be worked out over the next few weeks. But here are things that are troubling no matter how you look at it.

The WR position is THIN. After Massaquoi, Robiskie, and Cribbs there is a gaping hole. Carlton Mitchell looks like a bust who may not make the team, Steptoe is making too many mistakes, and no one else is doing anything. Unlike the O Line which had several projected players missing, this was pretty much it for the Browns wideouts. Hopefully our depth at running back and TE will make up for it but you have to be concerned.

Where is Monterio Hardesty? We know what Jerome can do (last night aside) Peyton Hillis looks like a beast, Vickers is brutal, James Davis is showing us what we missed last year, but we spent a lot to get Hardesty and we need to see some production.

Colt McCoy followed up a bad performance in Green Bay with a worse one in Cleveland. Still too early to bail on the kid but he's looking like a guy who needs at least a year on the bench. At the very least he should be holding kicks for Dawson just to get him some experience and justify his roster spot. Before pre-season's over I'd give him just one series with the first team O Line and receivers just to get him a little confidence.
August 22, 2010  09:32 AM ET

Fear not my friend its only preseason.

Comment #2 has been removed
August 22, 2010  12:55 PM ET
QUOTE(#2):

"Colt McCoy followed up a bad performance in Green Bay with a worse one in Cleveland. Still too early to bail on the kid but he's looking like a guy who needs at least a year on the bench."I think Bradford would benefit from extended clipboard duty as well. Nothing wrong with that. Both teams need to be patient with their future stars.

Agreed.
As of late, Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan might be exceptions....Romo warmed the bench for 3 or so years before he was unleashed. Now he is one of the better QB's in the game. Certain kids can play immediately depending on the system in place, and their intangibles.
Remember Big Ben his rookie season? He basically handed the ball off to the Bus, with some occasional dump offs and rare 20-30 yard passes. The rest is history.
Also see A. Rodgers from Green Bay. A few years behind you know who...and he is now in the elite QB class of today.
I'm hoping the approach of hurry up and wait works well for Kolb and my Eagles. That west coast system is not rookie friendly. Kolb has been the clipboard king for 3 years, now he gets his shot. Hope he makes the best of it.

August 24, 2010  07:17 AM ET

I know it's early, but Colt reminded me of Brady Quinn. The good thing about the situation is that Colt is approaching preseason game #3, and BQ is on team #2 in SEASON #4. I agree with you on letting him see some time with the first team offensive line. It'd be nice to see what he would do if he wasn't scrambling two steps into a three step drop.

WR makes me very nervous, too. Without Massaquoi (who should really a number two WR at this point in his career) Cleveland WRs couldn't get open down the field and looked very stale in the first quarter. Stuckey made some nice runs after the catch, but that still doesn't scare a defense or open things up longer plays. Yeah, the weather sucked but there's no dome over Cleveland Browns Stadium. Get out the buckets of water for those footballs and leave the sprinklers on; it's time to work on holding onto the rock.

August 24, 2010  10:18 AM ET

It's ok your only the Rams first victim in a line of many to come this year. Mostly because nobody expects us to be as good as we are going to be.

 
August 24, 2010  01:23 PM ET

Optimistic first post....they only have one way to go after a 1-15 season a year ago. If they can keep the secondary healthy, they should have a better year. Not a great year, but a better one.

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