The Pain is the Same

Taking the Eagles to the limit and losing, the Browns at least reminded everyone why we watch the games. In a game like yesterday there are a lot of what-ifs floating around, but they're almost not worth considering. It really, really sucks to lose out on what would have been a huge victory.

Garcia proved his mettle. TO -- what a player, what an a$$hole. McNabb kept posing questions of the Browns defense they couldn't answer. Shea and Heiden have picked up the slack. Those two kickoff fumbles were killers. Green looked awesome in the first half. Suggs too. It's kind of amazing the Browns hung with them in the second half as Philly could stack the run and the Browns had no receivers. Terrell Smith is the best Cleveland football player since Eric Turner.

Browns Wanted Porter?

If so, I'm not sure how I would have felt about that. Porter is an okay guy, but he's also shown he can't get open when he's the #1 guy. And he always seemed less athletic than he should be, being good on deep routes but not a guy who can take a ball away from a defender. But it's not Porter than matters -- but the Browns preference maybe alters my perception of Bryant cause it suggests he is less ready to contribute than I had thought.

Early Verdict

..on the Morgan for Bryant trade -- Browns win pretty big in this deal, at least before any games are played. And personally, this is perhapst he absolute best possible deal the Browns could have made because I loathe Quincy Morgan and think the dude has hurt the team as much as he's helped it. And to get a dude like Bryant who's easily got as much talent, well all the the Browns' trades should be like this one.

But it should also be obvous that whomever you get in exchange for the deeply flawed Morgan is also going to be flawed himself, and Bryant fits that bill. He's been in Parcell's doghouse for a while after displaying a seriously poor attitude about being removed from the starting lineup. And in many ways his career has paralleled Morgan's in its unattained potential. So Bryant is no sure thing. Here are the reasons this is a great deal anyway:

1. Bryant catches the ball much better. While Morgan can also make the tough catch, Bryant is better as executing the routine.
   
2. Route running. Everything I've read says he'll fight to get open, and that he can make the quick catch. Morgan just sucked in these areas. Our team needs receivers who can run a short pattern and catch a quick pass from a three-step drop. Bryant can do that and he can be an effective weapon this way.
   
3. He's younger. 4 years in fact. Even if he's not a world beater, that's a significant difference in the NFL.
   
4. He's more highly thought of by NFL defenses. Morgan didn't scare anyone, except Browns fans.
   
5. Morgan was that dude "Leon" from those beer commercials. Bryant's baggage is perhaps of the more attractive type -- competitiveness. Maybet his is wishful thinking here, but I'd rather take my chances with a guy who gets enraged when he's not on the field than a guy he loafs it while he is.
   
6. The trade indicates Butch Davis can trade away one of his one draft picks.
   
7. The trade indicates Butch Davis can get value for a player that doesn't belong on the team.
   
8. The trade indicates Butch Davis is willing to make a bold move. Hell, maybe Morgan does turn out to be the better player. Even if that's the case, I'm happy to see the Browns make an aggressive move and we'll have to se how it turns out.

FInally, will Bryant play much against the Eagles on Sunday? I think he'll play more than most newspeople are suggesting. Wil he make a big impact? I'm thinking 4 catches, 50 yards. Back later in the week...

Morgan Shipped Out, A Bryant Comes In

I love the fact we have rid ourselves of Quincy Morgan. He was the worst receiver in Cleveland since Andre Rison. I'm not sure Bryant will amount to much, but at least there's some potential, possibly a lot. We'll see.

Smacking the Bengals

There were the usualy mistakes on offense -- 4 turnovers in the first half -- but the Browns have proved that, given enough chances, they'll do some damage. Today they did more than usual. I give most of the credit to the defense, who could have dealt a shutout had the Bengals not been set up with sweet field position a few times. But the offensive line deserves a lot of credit too. They kept the heat off Garcia and opened enough holes for William Green to be effective on the ground. Finally Garcia -- he had a mixed game I thought, and ultimately deserved to be the offensive MVP. Two very ugly interception and another fumbled snap may have derailed the Browns against a better opponent, but Garcia kept being aggressive and it paid off on huge plays to Andre Davis, Northcutt, and Suggs. It was a fun game to watch for Browns fans.

Some notes:
- It was a bit surprising to see William Green outrun Suggs. Suggs, in fact, looked a little slower than usual today and his fumble may have had him second guessing.
- What a nice game for Aaron Shea. Left for dead this offseason by a lot of fans (me included), Shea was a big weapon catching a huge TD and having another great catch and run called back by penalty.
- Robert Griffth got beat in coverage again for a TD. I don't know what the exact coverage was but from my seat it looked like Schobel was Griffith's guy, and Griffith was very late getting to him.
- Terrell Smith was a monster.
- I don't know if the Bengals o-line is really bad or if our d-line is really good. But one of those things, or a combination of them, is defintely true.
- It's hard not to have questions still about this offense. Garcia is not going to succeed as a pocket passer but can obviously make things happen in the right situation. That will work against lesser teams, but probably not against the better ones. Next week vs. Philadelphia will be a huge test.
- The Browns won because I didn't predict a victory.

Abysmal

Wow, the Browns have no idea what is going on when playing offense, Earl Little appears to believe that whatever he says on the radio ("We'll be focused.") must apply on gameday, and Terry Robiskie has now not only bought a house on the edge of a cliff he appears to be heading towards a cliff himself right now. I guess you could look for some modest bright signs in today's game but that just seems foolish. The Brown got obliterated, outplayed and outcoached, again and again. There's no redeeming value.

Pick The Browns

I am picking the Browns over the Steelers. Besides not thinking the Steelers are that good (kind of like the Browns, I guess), I'm not buying that Stalye will be able to play his usual number of downs. And Bettis isn't the running back that will burn the Browns. So it will be up to Roethleisberger (who I like) and Ward (who is good) to beat the Browns. They'll get theirs but will it be enough?

Once again it will come down to how well the Browns can execute offensively, and once again there seems to be nowhere to go but up. Hell, one of these weeks even Morgan is gonna have a big game, right? But seriously, with Suggs back and a Davis/Northcutt due I think it's reasonable to expect some visible progress. And though the Steelers are decent upfront I think a guy like Andre Davis can be in position to make some plays.

Browns win 24-20

I've been wrong every week so far.... no this week though. No way! Hehe.

Staying Alive

What a relief it was to scratch out a win over the Redskins. Whereas a loss would have meant a very long and unlikely road back into contention, a win keeps the Browns in the hunt for at least another 2 weeks. And a win @PIT this week pits them into a tie for first in competitive AFC North. I'll take that.

The defense is obviously carrying the team. No, they aren't dominant but they don't give too much away (unless Robert Griffith is trying to play the pass on a deep ball) and they've been great against the run so far. One of the big preseason assumptions can be considered true -- last year's defense is showing up in 2004, and that is a good thing. I'd also note that it was nice to see Chaun Thompson getting much playing time and making some plays. I wonder if he'll become an impact player or not.

Offense, well, it is still UGLY, and it is mostly exhasperating to watch. But there are still some good fundamental parts. Garcia, for as much as he's getting dumped on, has made some plays and, in the two wins, not given the ball away. And when he's forced into a situation when he must be aggressive, he's done pretty well. There is definitely hope with Garcia. Getting Suggs back was probably the difference against WAS. and he is probably the key goinbg forward. Yes, the offensive line has to play well. And Northcutt and Davis have to consistently get open (I've given up on Morgan doing anything consistently, except perhaps being lazy). But it is Suggs who will have to lead the way, who will make defenses account for him, who will open up things for Garcia and maybe even William Green. I've got some cautious optimism that the offense will improve to the level of respectability necessary to hang around .500 for a while, and frankly that's all I'm hoping for right now.