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| T. Rich's 1st NFL career TD, example the somersault. |
One costly mistake on special teams, and the Browns find themselves starting out the season at 0-2. The Browns failed to cover the 1st punt of the game, and saw Adam "Pac-Man, Theres no way I deserve to still be playing in the NFL" Jones race 81-yards for the punt return touchdown, giving the Bengals an early 7-0 lead. The Browns, gave up too many big plays on the day, and like always seemed to be fighting an up hill battle all afternoon. Falling behind 14 to 3, the Browns cut the halftime score to 17 to 10. In the 2nd half, as the Bengals kept scoring, I kept thinking "Wheres that so-called outstanding defense from a week ago"? It's another frustrating defeat, and theres no such thing as a morale victory (although the Browns have collected a lot of those over the years) in the NFL. I hate just "being in the game(s)", because frankly the Browns had chances to win the 1st two games of this season and failed to do so. This current roster is young, and I've said it now for the past two weeks, as a whole this Browns team doesn't know how to win ballgames. Till they find a way to, it's looking like another long fall season up in Cleveland for my beloved Brownies. #fireshurmur
Yes! Brandon Weeden & Co. are not as bad as they showed in the teams Week 1 loss to the Eagles. After a slow start, (another 50-yard Phil Dawson FG!!!) the offense at times during the game didn't look half bad. I knew we were in trouble when the Bengals got to 24....31 points, cause this unit at this time can't put up that many points. However, I was pleased that they were able to match scores with the Bengals in the 2nd half and ended up scoring 27 points on the day (a season-high a season ago, ironically, Week 2 @ Indy). Weeden threw for a rookie franchise record 322 yards to go along with two touchdowns, and didn't throw a single INT. T. Rich, had his coming out party in the NFL, with a total of two scores and accounting for over 140 yards of offense. The receives actually showed some good signs, as the Browns finally went down the field vertically. In the end, it wasn't enough and they were still troubled with costly penalties and inconsistent play. I'd like to see how this unit develops over the season, Sunday afternoon was a step in the right direction.
Defense:
Wow! A bad weekend for the Buckeyes and Browns defensively. After watching this unit get after Michael Vick & Co., holding them to 17 points, I had some hope for this unit. Those dreams were dashed after the Bengals game. All be it, we were playing with three future/soon-to-be car salesman in the defensive backfield, we didn't get to Dalton as much as I was hoping for and only forced ONE turnover. It's disappointing to see a performance like yesterday's one, and know you were without your two starting CB's. It was a laugh out loud joke, how pathetic that secondary was. For most of the game, they were giving way too much ground to the Bengals receives, and when they did press, Mr. Green & Co. just sprinted past 'em. Too many big plays, gotta eliminate the big play factor. I never thought I would miss Joe Haden & Sheldon Brown, as much as I did during this game. Things don't get any better as this unit in the upcoming weeks will face some quality QB/WR units, and will be without Haden still for another three games.
Next Week:
The Browns (0-2) turn their attention to the Buffalo Bills (1-1), who come to town for a Week 3 matchup in Cleveland up on the lake. I'll let you in on my thoughts for the game, in this weeks Boomer Report, later this week.
