Good day, Browns fans!
After back-to-back performances that featured losses to poor teams, the
Browns played a good game in tough weather conditions and knocked off the
Titans. In many ways, the Titans are a mirror image of the Browns, and for a
change, it was the opponent leaving plays on the field. That’s not to say the
Browns played a perfect game, but they did make the plays needed to win. Let’s
examine the details.
Offense
After three rough games, Trent Dilfer bounced back and played pretty well. I
was both surprised and impressed that the Browns threw deep on the rookie
cornerbacks of the Titans, and Dilfer made some of those plays against a pretty
tough wind. Dilfer was solid and made some deeper throws, though he did get a
good deal of “run after catch” similar to the game at Green Bay. Dilfer
contributed to another fumble on a botched exchange with Reuben Droughns. The
lone interception came on a harmless Hail Mary play at the end of the first
half. Dilfer showed some of the veteran leadership we saw in the games before
the bye week. While seeing Charlie Frye play sometime the season is probably a
forgone conclusion at this point, Dilfer did enough to hang onto the job for
now.
Reuben Droughns is a warrior. After a week dominated by talk of off the field
problems, Droughns had a fantastic game. He racked up 116 yards on 20 carries
despite fighting through leg cramps. In addition, Droughns also caught passes
totaling over 70 yards. Once again, he fought for tough inside yards, but he was
also able to cutback and pick up some big yards. My favorite had to be the
25-yard gain on third down and 16, something I thought only happened to the
Browns. Jason Wright, the youngster from Northwestern, had a nice game, scoring
his first NFL touchdown. I loved the way he bulled through a tackler on that
play. Terrelle Smith played and had three touches, including a failed fourth
down “first man through” play. But, Smith earned applause from the fans by
bowling over a Titan defender on a swing pass.
The receivers have struggled the past three games, but in this one, they came
up with some big plays. After newspaper stories where he questioned his usage,
Dennis Northcutt had a good game. He had a 58-yard touchdown early, added two
more catches, and also had a huge 31-yard run off a reverse. Antonio Bryant also
got in the act and came up with three big catches. The Browns tried to get the
ball to Braylon Edwards several times, but he only managed to catch one pass for
two yards. Edwards lined up incorrectly more than once and is still making
rookie mistakes. If he wants more playing time, he needs to cut down the mental
mistakes.
This was a disappointing game for the tight ends. Aaron Shea didn’t play
much. Steve Heiden had a miserable game. He was called for illegal motion twice,
and his holding penalty wiped out a field goal that would have put the Browns up
23-14 with 40 seconds to go. Instead, Dawson had to kick an extra 10 yards into
the wind, and predictably, the kick was no good. That allowed the Titans new
life, and it nearly cost the Browns the game. To top it off, Heiden dropped a
pass.
I had said earlier in the year that the offensive line sets the tone for the
entire offense, and that was true in this game. The line played its best game in
several weeks, allowing no sacks and opening up great running lanes most of the
time. I though Jeff Faine stood out as having a monster game, especially
downfield, but the Browns in general were able to get blockers out in front of
plays. Cosey Coleman left with a twisted knee, but for the second week in a row,
backup Mike Pucillo came in and did a very solid job. The line has struggled the
last few weeks, and thus, the offense has struggled. In this game, the line did
a great job and set the tone for a win.
After getting 325 yards last week, the Browns managed over 400 yards of
offense this week. Some things are getting better, but the Browns continue to
struggle in the red zone and 20 points seems like far too few for a 400-yard
performance.
Defense
The “bend but don’t break” defense was at it again. Although they allowed
more than a single touchdown for the first time in six games, the defense
managed to come up with a stop when needed. I am encouraged that the 3-4 scheme
is looks as if it is becoming more natural for some players
The defensive line probably had its strongest game of the year. Orpheus Roye
and Alvin McKinley made plays. Nick Eason and Ethan Kelley contributed as well.
Even Jason Fisk managed to eat up some blocks. In general, the lineman held the
point of attack better than in previous games and even managed to make plays
themselves. While McNair did not get tons of pressure, he was hurried at times.
The Titans’ run game hurt the Browns front at times, but the defense is showing
some marginal improvement against the run and the Browns got four tackles for
loss on running plays. He is nicked up, but the Browns still did a nice job of
containing McNair and not allowing him to run.
Kenard Lang had his best game as a linebacker in this one. He harassed McNair
often, forcing him to throw inaccurately. Chaun Thompson faded a bit after last
week’s game, but still made some impact. Andra Davis had some nice plays, but I
felt overall, he was still struggling with knowing where to be in the 3-4 scheme
and once again was not shedding blocks. Matt Stewart is not a Pro Bowl player,
but his knowledge of the 3-4 scheme has been helpful. Ben Taylor, though praised
by some, I thought had a minimal impact in this game.
The secondary played pretty well. The corners were matched up with
inexperienced Titan receivers. All of the guys the Titans had active at WR were
rookies. That put some stress on the safeties to cover the tight ends. While the
Browns had to know this was going to be a big part of the game plan, I felt they
could have done a better job containing the tight ends. In particular, the
Titans touchdown to Erron Kinney right before halftime hurt. But, I felt the
starting corners, Daylon McCutcheon and Leigh Bodden played very well. Chris Crocker and Brian Russell played better than in some recent games, though
Crocker got turned around at least once. Brodney Pool seems to be coming on more
and more each week. He had some nice coverage in this game.
While the defense is becoming more consistent, they are still struggling at
times with the 3-4. The problem in this game was that the Titans offense, and in
particular, their wide receivers, simply blew the game, and while I give the
defense credit for a solid performance, many times the Titans stopped
themselves, especially on third down.
Special Teams
After last week’s debacle and many calling for his head, Kyle Richardson had
a much better game this time. He boomed some punts, especially into the wind,
and pinned the Titans inside the 20 three times. Richardson even made a saving
special teams tackle. Josh Cribbs got into the act as both a punt and kickoff
return man. Dennis Northcutt had a 30-yard punt return wiped out by yet another
penalty. That probably ended up being nearly a 50-yard swing in field position.
The coverage teams had another tough week. A big kickoff return allowed the
Titans to tie the game just before halftime. Kickoff coverage was also poor,
allowing decent running lanes for the Titans nearly every time. The Titans tried
not one but two fake punts in the game. First they ran the ball and picked up
the first down, but a holding penalty saved the Browns. The second time,
Hentrich tried a pass but threw low and the ball hit the ground. Had the Titans
executed on those plays, both would have caught the Browns napping. Add to the
mix the missed field goal thanks to Heiden’s holding, and this unit put the
Browns in bad situations all day. It has struggled all season.
Coaching
Let’s start with some play calling issues. On both of the first two
possessions, the Browns ended up in a third and two. Both times the Browns went
to an empty backfield look, and both plays failed. I can live with throwing on
third and short, but the empty backfield screams “pass”. Why tell the opponent
what you are going to do in that situation? With no threat of a run, it really
hurts the ability to convert. While I wanted the Browns to run in those
situations, they did run on some short yardage plays including going on fourth
down near midfield late in the third quarter. The struggles in those situations
made me wonder if this is why we see so many passes in third and short
situations – that although the teams seems to run well, it just isn’t ready to
get the tough yard. Part of the problem is using everyone but Reuben Droughns in
that situation when Droughns has shown he can get the tough yard (remember the
Colts game?). The Browns always seem to go to William Green, Terelle Smith, and
now Jason Wright in these situations.
Despite this criticism, I like the creativity and unpredictability, even if
Maurice Carthon is trying too hard to fool the opponent sometimes. If the Browns
could execute in more of these situations, this offense might be looking pretty
decent at this point.
I liked seeing Romeo fired up after some Browns mistakes. Crennell was very
angry after the fumbled exchange, and he ran onto the field to call a timeout at
the end of the first half. It was the most fire I’d seen from him this year, and
I loved it!
While the win was sweet, and in my estimation, this was just the third decent
game of the season by the Browns (the others: Green Bay and Indy), let’s
remember that the Titans are struggling. In many cases, dropped passes, bad
blocking, and missed opportunities by the Titans did more to hand the game to
the Browns than the Browns did to win it. A better team would capitalize on poor
coverage or bad run defense by the Browns. In so many ways, the Titans are a
mirror image of the Browns.
At 3-5, the Browns are probably about where they ought to be in terms of
record. The Browns probably should have beaten the Lions and Titans, and
considering both games were lost by just three points, two plays might be the
difference between 3-5 and 5-3. But, the bottom line is, neither play got made.
This team is still a work in progress and unfortunately, it will more often find
ways to lose than ways to win. Remind yourself as the Browns continue to lose
winnable games that these are classes in the School of Hard Knocks and that the
mistakes made now will pay dividends later.
Looking Ahead
Depending on how things go in Pittsburgh, the Charlie Frye era will probably
begin soon. While the Browns looked more loose than they have been in some time,
it’s hard to imagine them going into Heinz Field and knocking off the Steelers.
However, as the 2003 game pointed out, the games aren’t played on paper and who
knows? Once again, Frye will not rescue the season, but playing him will allow
the Browns to evaluate him under game conditions. It will also allow Frye to
make some rookie mistakes in a season that isn’t going anywhere otherwise. At
least fans can feel good that the team is investing in its future.
Meanwhile, the defense is slowly coming around despite some serious talent
deficits. There may be a few more players that can be part of the puzzle in 2006
than it may have appeared even a few weeks ago. Considering the personnel,
Crennell and Todd Grantham are doing an amazing job with this group.
And Finally…
I really enjoyed watching this game with Steve Hodge and members of the
Westerville Browns Backers.
A great friend and Browns fan, David Perry, had a sudden illness over the
weekend and is currently hospitalized. Get well soon, David!
The season is short, bark hard!