The Browns' offensive line was in bad enough
shape even before Sunday. The last thing it needed was to lose its best player.
Yet that's what happened in Sunday's 10-7 loss to
the New York Jets when right tackle Ryan Tucker was lost for the season with a
torn medial collateral ligament and partially torn meniscus in his left knee.
Tucker had arthroscopic surgery last Tuesday.
"It really is disappointing, especially at this
time," Tucker said. "We're struggling right now offensively. I want to be in
there with those guys. I want to be in there to help. Unfortunately, I'm not
going to be able to."
Tucker was hurt when another player fell into his
leg on a 4-yard gain by Lee Suggs.
"(Losing) Tucker's going to hurt us," tight end
Aaron Shea said. "Tucker's the anchor of the line. I think `Tuck' is one of the
best tackles in the game."
Browns coach Butch Davis said Tucker was playing
as well as he'd ever seen him.
"I think if you ask him, he'd say the game had
really started to slow down for him," Davis said. "For a tackle, that's really a
benchmark.
"On a winning football team, he is probably under
legitimate consideration for the Pro Bowl. There are people who will argue how
can a 3-7 team have anyone deserving of the Pro Bowl. But sometimes, it's
possible."
Tucker's loss means the Browns have to replace
the right side of the line. Two weeks ago, Kelvin Garmon was lost for the season
with torn knee ligaments.
It's unclear how the line will be configured
after Tucker's injury for Sunday's game at Cincinnati.
Joaquin Gonzalez, a natural tackle who started at
right guard against the Jets, moved to Tucker's spot against the Jets. Enoch DeMar and Paul Zukauskas played guard.
REPORT CARD VS. JETS
PASSING OFFENSE: D -- Jeff Garcia did as
well as he could considering the protection around him was typically awful. He
somehow wasn't sacked, but that's only because he found a way to get rid of the
ball before hitting the ground. That left him exposed to awkward landings, and
it caught up to him when he strained his right shoulder on a hit by Shaun Ellis.
Garcia's replacement, Kelly Holcomb, was awful. He completed only 4 of 10 passes
for 32 yards, half of which came on one completion. The Holcomb who won the
starting job in 2003 is nowhere to be found. It doesn't help that Holcomb is far
less mobile than Garcia because the line gets beat on a regular basis.
RUSHING OFFENSE: D - The statistics aren't
dismal. Lee Suggs and William Green combined for 94 yards in 25 carries. Green
had a 21-yard run on Cleveland's only touchdown drive. But the running game
again lacked consistency. Too often, the blocking broke down and the runners
were hit behind the line and had to lunge to make positive yardage. The Browns
tried to use a change of pace by giving the ball to receiver Dennis Northcutt on
reverses. He gained 4 yards one time and managed 1 yard the other. The line, as
usual, deserves most of the blame. Left guard Enoch DeMar was benched for Paul
Zukauskas, then had to re-enter the game when right tackle Ryan Tucker got hurt.
PASS DEFENSE: B - The Browns did an
excellent job getting to Quincy Carter early. They sacked him six times, five in
the first half. Linebacker Chaun Thompson had two sacks. Carter threw for only
116 yards, and Earl Little intercepted his first pass of the season. But the
pass defense failed when it had to come up big. Anthony Henry failed to keep
Justin McCareins from lunging forward for a critical third-down conversion on
the Jets' winning touchdown drive. Cornerback Daylon McCutcheon, battling turf
toe, allowed Santana Moss to beat him for a 13-yard gain. McCareins then eluded
a tackle by Michael Lehan on a short swing pass he turned into an 11-yard
touchdown.
RUSH DEFENSE: C-minus - As with the pass
defense, it was good until it needed to be. The Browns allowed only 86 yards in
the first three quarters, then allowed 71 in the final 15 minutes. Early in the
game, the Browns did a good job swarming Curtis Martin. But then Martin and
LaMont Jordan found plenty of running room on the touchdown drive. That
continued when the Browns needed a stop to get one more chance to pull out the
victory. But the Jets ran for two first downs to run out the clock.
SPECIAL TEAMS: D-plus - If not for a
52-yard kickoff return by Richard Alston and a 16-yard punt return average by
Dennis Northcutt, this phase would be a disaster. Phil Dawson missed field goals
of 42 and 34 yards, snapping a 27-kick streak, and also booted a kickoff out of
bounds. Derrick Frost failed twice pin the Jets in with punts, driving them far
into the end zone for his first two touchbacks of the season.
COACHING: C-minus - The Browns had a sound
defensive game plan - to blitz Quincy Carter. But beyond that, there's not much
to credit. The Browns again lacked imagination on offense and have not found a
way to protect the quarterback. Afterward, Butch Davis seemed almost to throw up
his hands and say the fortunes of his team won't improve until the fates somehow
turn around. With the injuries and overall lack of talent, that's unlikely to
happen - and Davis' own fate hangs in the balance.