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| Despite rushing for 105 yards, T-Rich & the Browns offense, were unable to find the end zone vs. the Ravens D. |
It's frustrating to watch the Browns settle for not one, not two, not three, but FIVE FG's in their 10-point loss to the Baltimore Ravens (6-2) this afternoon. The lose is the 10th straight against the Ravens. The Browns had great field position all afternoon, and had a number of solid plays, but were unable to find the end zone, despite getting into the Ravens redone FIVE TIMES. Phil Dawson, who might be at the tail end of a potential Hall of Fame career (at least in terms of the Browns franchise, haha), has been the Browns offense the past 14 seasons. The professional kicker, with his five FG's on the day, has made 23 consecutive field goals. Again, another winnable game into the 4th quarter, this youthful Browns squad continues to struggle to find ways to close out games "WINNING PLAYS". The Browns (2-7) now are on their bye week, and then travel down to Dallas, to face the Cowboys in two weeks. Hang in there Browns fans, someday, it might not be as bad to be a fan of this organization, ha. #FIRESHURMUR
Offense:
Are you kidding me? Five "red zone" trips and you come away with 15 points (5 FG's). It's not even a disappointment anymore, its a joke. Even when they do score a touchdown, it gets called back due to a Browns penalty (which they were flagged for two times in this game). T-Rich, again is becoming the highlight of this offensive unit, rushing for another 105 yards (his 2nd straight, 100-yard game), became just the 2nd rookie RB to do that against a Ravens defense. Seriously, in the two games against the Ravens this season, the Browns settled for EIGHT FIELD GOALS, and only scored one touchdown. Like I've been saying for years now, "you lose games, kicking field goals". Starting rookie QB Brandon Weeden, struggled on the afternoon, after showing some progress the past couple games, made a few bad decisions and threw two INT's. I mean, how many times did he check it down to a TE or RB, on the day. Some plays it seemed like that was his 1st option. He missed a couple receivers and looked to take a couple steps back in this one, very disappointing for a 29-year old. Again, for the 6th time this season (9 games) the Browns could not reach the 20-point mark. One more thing, when it's 3rd and 1, don't drop back and pass the ball, RUN IT DOWN THEIR THROATS! And don't go for it on 4th down on your OWN 30 yard line. FIRE SHURMUR over the bye week, please.
Defense:
Well, the 2nd & 3rd quarter performance from this unit was outstanding, the 1st and 4th quarter not so much. Again, the Browns came out flat (again) in the opening period and gave up two quick scores to the Ravens to fall behind 14-0. However, the Browns seemed to really frustrate Ravens' Joe Flacco in the middle two quarters, as the Ravens had five straight 3 and out's. In the money quarter, the Browns defense were unable to help out their offense and gave up a late GW score, with their inability to come up with a "winning play". Their were a couple times in this game, that Browns DB's had chances to pick-off Flacco passes, but saw the football bounce off their hands. Positive note, DT Phil Taylor made his season debut, and it will be interesting to see what sort of impact he has the remaining season, as he gets back into game sharpe, after coming back from a chest injury, that had him out to this point. I won't be upset, if the Browns used all of their 2013 draft picks on the defensive side of the ball, to replace some of the guys we throw out there now, IM TALKIN TO YOU SHELDON BROWN!
Next Week:
The Browns (2-7) enter their bye week, losing their first 7 of 9 games, yet had been showing some signs of life in recent weeks. The Browns hope the week off will be good, as they come back off their bye week, with a game vs. the Cowboys down in Dallas in two weeks.
