Written by Chris Hutchison

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Well, at least they didn't embarrass themselves.

Yes, I know this is a point of view which I am supposed to find abhorrent.  "How sad it is when we find solace in losing but not getting blown out!" the Knights of Self-Righteousness tell us.  "This is a losing culture!  The only mission is to win, and if you don't win, you fail!"

Well, yes... in the end, winning is the goal.  And to take that to its logical conclusion, winning the Super Bowl is the ultimate goal.

In order for a team to achieve that ultimate goal, they have to learn, they have to grow, they have to progress.  It doesn't happen overnight.

So while a loss provides nothing in and of itself towards reaching that goal, progress in a loss does.

Let's be clear - the Browns Offense has played better this year (against Cincy).  The Browns Defense has played better this year (against Philly).  Yet this is the first game this year where both sides looked somewhat unrepugnant - OK, fine, decent - in the same contest.

If not for an alarming plethora of drops and the inability of any Corner to cover any Ravens Receiver, they very well could've won this game.  It just seemed so unfair - every time Joe Flacco threw the ball up, his Receiver was making some fine play to pull the ball in, but every time Brandon Weeden threw the ball, his Receiver was seeing how small an "O" he could make with his hands that allowed the ball to fly right through without actually touching it.

The Browns Offense was again slow to start the game - probably under the unbearable burden of Pat Shurmur's "scripted" plays - but the Defense was more solid this week, holding the Ravens to several punts and an INT in the End Zone by Craig Robertson after Josh Cribbs fumbled while getting knocked da frack out on a Punt Return. 

But this is still a Secondary that features Sheldon Brown, Buster Skrine, and Dimitri Patterson, so it was only a matter of time before they started giving up passing yards in chunks, resulting in a TD pass to Torrey Smith.

It wasn't until about 6:30 left in the 1st Half that the Browns finally converted a 3rd down, and it opened the flood gates for a 11 play, 94 yard TD drive right before Half to cut the score to 9-7 (Ravens botched an extra point and got a FG).  That drive included a beautiful 43 yard throw and catch from Weeden to Greg Little, who proved on the play that he is truly a reincarnation of Braylon Edwards - he'll make the tough catches out of instinct, but he's dropping everything else.

In the 2nd Half, the Ravens, and in particular Anquan Boldin, began to own the Cleveland Corners, and in particular Dimitri Patterson, which manifested itself in a 89 yard TD drive to start the 3rd.  Up 16-7, it felt like Baltimore might pull away and make this the laugher everyone expected it to be.  But thanks to Phil Dawson and his magic leg (three 50+ yard FG's), the Browns were able to hang in there and were poised to take a lead with the ball around midfield down 16-10.

Then Weeden made his Typical Rookie Mistake, throwing an out pattern a little too late and a little too far to the inside, and bingo!  Pick 6.  23-10.

One would assume that would be Game Over, but the Defense held just enough for Cleveland to hang around and move the score to 23-16 (let's at least give kudos to the Browns Run D).  Still, with just 4:30 left in the game, it looked like the Ravens were going to safely run out the clock.  They punted and left the Browns 90 yards from a tying TD with just a minute left and no time outs, which in the first 3 games would've been the cue for Weeden to go ahead and toss a pick right away to get the drama over with.

But this time he didn't.  This time he drove the team quickly into Baltimore territory.  This time he stepped up under pressure, directing Receivers, and threw a pass to Jordan Norwood that would've been the tying score had Ed Reed not barely nicked it away at the last second (assuming Norwood caught it, which is a questionable assumption).  This time he got a couple more shots at the EZ as time expired.  This time he got much closer to the clutch play that will finally propel this team over the cusp to victory.

Maybe next time he gets it done.

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Stats

Time of Possession:  BAL - 33:03, CLE - 26:57

Total Yards:  BAL - 438, CLE - 357

Net Yards Passing:  BAL - 337, CLE - 314

Net Yards Rushing:  BAL - 101, CLE - 43

First Downs:  BAL - 23, CLE - 20

Turnovers Forced:  BAL – 2, CLE - 1

Sacks:  CLE - 4, BAL - 1

Final Score:  Baltimore 23, Cleveland 16

What this and Weeden's 52 attempts tell me is that the Browns are giving up on the run way too early.  I have said that if teams are stacking the line then you have to pass out of it, but the Ravens weren't.  Trent Richardson's runs were fairly effective.  14 rushes (47 yards) by him simply isn't enough.  Not even close.

Oh, and the Browns are earning their 27th ranked Defense (31st against the pass).

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Game Balls

Phil Dawson – Three 50+ yard FG's gets you honors every time.

Billy Winn – So far, Rookie of the Year on this team.  5 solo tackles, penetration, pressure on the QB, this guy has been a huge resume stuffer for Tom Heckert so far.

 

Ahtyba Rubin – A very athletic sack, 6 tackles, just a solid player.

 

Jabaal Sheard – Almost gave him a Hall of Shame for stopping in the middle of a play to complain to a Ref that he was getting held, but he made up for it finding his groove and getting pretty consistent pressure on Flacco, including his first sack.

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Honorable Mention

Craig Robertson – Why didn't he get a Game Ball, you ask?  Well, he got stiff-armed to the ground by Ray Rice and overran enough plays that it negated his excellent interception and several key tackles.  This guy is fast and has good playmaking potential, he just has to get the experience to not make mistakes and he'll be a solid NFL starter.

Josh Cribbs – Showed that at least HE can catch a football before getting brutally knocked out of the game.  It feels weird to say this, but I think at this point that Cribbs is more important to the WR corps than he is to the return game.  I'd still give him Kickoff Return duty, but I'd let Norwood or Benjamin take over Punt Returns and save Cribbs for Offense.

John Hughes – With Winn, Rubin, Phil Taylor, and this guy, the Browns DT spot is good for a few years now.

Run Defense – Yeah, they gave up 101 yards, but their ability to shut it down "enough" kept them in the game.

Johnson Bademosi – Excellent Special Teams tackle in the 1st Quarter.

Trent Richardson – Does the most with the opportunities he receives.

My Boy Blue – I watched the game with him and promised him this honor when he correctly predicted a 94 yard TD drive when there was no damn reason to predict such a thing.

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Hall of Shame

Screen Pass Defense – They weren't as bad against it this week as last, but it still seems like every time a team uses it they are shocked like they didn't think that was allowed.

Buster Skrine – Not as bad as the last couple games, maybe he's starting to learn how to play with the big boys, but certainly not good enough yet to not get taken advantage of.

 

Joe Thomas – Deserves to have his Pro Bowl streak end this year.

 

Travis Benjamin – 2 plays in particular stand out:  1) Kickoff return, runs ball out to 10, sees a bunch of players coming at him, turns 90 degrees to his right and runs straight out of bounds and 2) catches ball over middle, runs a few yards, sees someone coming to hit him, so he flops onto the ground.  I like the dimension you bring, Travis, and I know you're l'il.  But this is football.  You're gonna have to learn to take a hit.

 

Jordan Cameron – 2 drops.

Jordan Norwood – 4 drops.  To think I was happy that you would play.

Mitchell Schwartz – When he got beat, giving up the only sack of the day - on a 3 man rush, no less - my audio note was NSFW.

Reggie Hodges – I'm not sure this is the same Reggie Hodges from 2 years ago.  Someone check his fingerprints and dental work.

Alex Mack – Did a not-awesome job against Haloti Ngata.

Paddy O'Shurmur – That's 10 losses in a row there, Pat.  But I'm giving you this for getting yourself a 15 yard Unsportsmanlike penalty.  Not sure your Offense needs further challenges.

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Just Shoot Yourself

Greg Little – Drops more balls than puberty.

Dimitri Patterson – No matter where he was, no matter who he was guarding, he was getting beat.  Also dropped an INT with about 10 minutes left in the game that might've changed everything.

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Regarding The Drops

I'm not sure how many drops the Browns' Receivers officially had, so I decided to determine it myself.

Here's my definition of a drop:  The ball hits the Receiver in the hands and it's not a catch.

Very simple.

Now, there are drops that are flat-out drops and drops where the catch would be difficult due to a poor throw or the defender interfering.  I categorize these as Bad Drops and Should've Been Caught.

Both should be caught.  It's not like these guys are getting paid with rice cakes.  If the ball hits both your hands, you should haul it in.  That's your job.  But certainly some drops are more understandable than others.

Here they are:

1. 1Q, 13:57 left, 1st and 10.  Greg Little - would've been a 15 yard completion.  Ball hit him right in the gut near the sideline.  Bad Drop.

2. 1Q, 7:43 left, 3rd and 12.  Jordan Cameron - 10 yards.  Pass was high, but it went through his hands.  Should've Been Caught.

3. 1Q, 2:18 left, 1st and 20.  Greg Little - 9 yards.  A little high, but went right between his hands, almost untouched.  Bad Drop.

4. 2Q, 12:53 left, 1st and 10.  Travis Benjamin - 5 yards.  Not a good pass, low, but hit Benji in the hands.  Should've Been Caught.

5. 2Q, 9:14 left, 2nd and 7.  Jordan Cameron - 5 yards.  A little behind him, but not a real difficult catch.  Bad Drop.

6. 2Q, :47 left, 2nd and 7.  Jordan Norwood - 5 yards.  Seemed to actually catch the ball over the middle, but had it knocked out his hands by a defender before he could make a football move.  Bad Drop.

7. 3Q, 7:05 left, 2nd and 8.  Jordan Norwood - 31 yards.  Deep over the middle near the goal line, had it in his hands but Webb poked at it and he couldn't hold on.  If he did, it's probably a TD.  Should've Been Caught.

8. 3Q, 7:00 left, 3rd and 8.  Jordan Norwood - 10 yards.  A little high, but just bounced right off his mitts.  Bad Drop.

9. 3Q, 2:03 left, 1st and 10.  Travis Benjamin - 17 yards.  Definitely high, he had to leap to get it, but it did hit both hands.  Should've Been Caught.

10. 4Q, 4:40 left, 3rd and 14.  Greg Little - 34 yards.  A little high maybe, but that's the kind of catch you would criticize a Junior High player for dropping.  And it was a sure TD.  15+After the game, Little said, "I just have to come down with it. It’s a tough catch and I don’t even know how to categorize it."  I do.  Bad Drop.

11. 4Q, :56 left, 1st and 10.  Jordan Norwood - 17 yards.  He slipped a little bit as he was trying to catch it, sliding to the ground.  Bad Drop.

OK, so for those of you counting at home, that's 7 Bad Drops and 4 Should've Been Caughts, for a nice ugly total of 11.  Now, if you disputed the 4 SBC's, that's still 7 passes that I don't know how you categorize as anything but a Drop.

That is AWFUL.

That's 4 drops for Norwood, 3 for Little, and 2 for both Cameron and Benjamin.

That is HEINOUS.

That's 158 yards worth of drops.

That is WRETCHED.

Brandon Weeden was 25 of 52 for 320 yards and 1 pick.  Now I know it's not really practical to do this since what happened afterwards was affected by the drops, but if all those drops had been catches, his stat line would be 36 of 52 (69%) for 478 yards, 2 TD's, and 1 INT for a rating of 102.88.

That... sigh...

It's a sad state of affairs when you find yourself saying "Hurry back, Meh Mass and Josh Cribbs!"

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Regarding Weeden Progress

With 4:45 left in the game, Brandon Weeden demonstrated the single greatest attribute a QB needs to possess in order to become a good NFL player, an attribute that not one single Browns QB since The Return has shown the ability to do.

The Ravens came on a full blitz, leaving their Corners one-on-one with the WR's.  Teams have been doing this to Cleveland for YEARS, stacking the line, smashing towards the QB and daring him to beat them deep.  And they haven't been able to do it.

So when Baltimore did it for the umpteenth time of the night and Weeden stood in and threw a perfect strike 34 yards to Greg Little for a TD (had Little not butchered the ball like a Festivus hog), it was the most impressive thing I've seen from the Rookie so far.

Teams will look at that and be just a little bit more wary of sending the house.  Which can do nothing but open up other aspects of the offense.

It goes without saying that Weeds hasn't shocked and awed the world so far, but after that atrocious first game, he's shown clear progress.  Each week, he looks a little bit more composed, a little bit more accurate.  He still makes mistakes (like the Pick 6).  He still looks uncomfortable in the pocket at times, he still locks on to his primary Receiver too much, and he still holds the ball too long.  His decisions need to be made quicker, and he needs to work on going through his progressions to stop missing seeing wide open guys down the field (on the rare occasion that happens).

But I've already stopped expecting each pass to be nowhere near where it should be (like I did with him in the first game, like I did with Colt McCoy, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn... you know the drill).  It probably won't be caught, but it will at least be where the Receiver can touch it.

Dude has two 300 yard passing games in his first four, two being as many as Colt McCoy, Blaine Gabbert, and Jake Locker combined in 44 career games.  This does not a great QB make, but it also shows where certain ceilings are.

I've read a lot about how Weeden's age means he needs to succeed/win right NOW or he'll have to be replaced.  This is a lot of hysteria.  He's 28, not 38.  In 2 years, going into his 3rd season, he'll be 30.  That is still younger than or the same age as these current NFL QB's:  Tom Brady (35), Drew Brees (33), Eli Manning (31), Peyton Manning (36), Tony Romo (32), Ben Roethlisberger (30), Matt Schaub (32), Mike Vick (32), Phillip Rivers (30), Matt Cassel (30), and Carson Palmer (32).

If, by his 3rd season, he hasn't shown enough progression to be a legitimate threat, then maybe it's time for a change.  But that shit needs to get stowed for the rest of the year. 

We don't have anyone waiting in the wings that has the potential to be a solid NFL QB, and there isn't anyone in the draft enticing enough to jump at.  There are no Lucks or RG3's in the 2013 class, there's mediocre overrated talents like Geno Smith and Matt "Jimmy Clausen" Barkley.

At 0-4 and with a Dead Coach Walking, watching for progression from key players like Weeden is really all there is to look forward to.

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Regarding Whatever

***This game starred what are sure to be 2 future actors.  First, on a Punt Return, Jacoby Jones signaled for a Fair Catch, then got barely nudged by Johnson Bademosi.  He stood there for a second, then realized he needed to sell it better, so he fell over.  15 yards Fair Catch Interference.

Then what should've been the last play of the game, after the 4th and 10 Hail Mary fell to the ground, Paul Kruger gave a little shove to Joe Thomas, who flopped like he was in the NBA.  15 yard Personal Foul, game extended one more play. 

***The Browns are a very impressive 2nd in the NFL in sacks (13)!  Sure, they have an extra game over everyone else, but they were tied for 6th going into the game, and, well, any small triumph one can muster...

***They're also tied for 2nd in the NFL with 6 INT's.  And that's about the only Defensive categories we'll be wanting to get into.

***Travis Benjamin is a weapon, but not the type that should ever be in a starting role.  As a starter, he is matched against starting Corners, and that is not the best way to use him, no matter what WR's are active.  Putting him in a starting role not only wastes a starting WR spot but also wastes him.  With his size and speed, you want to move him around, try to get him into optimal matchups.  Even if you think he's not as polished at this juncture, you should move Gordon into the 2nd starting role opposite Greg Little after Cribbs went out to keep Benji free.

***End of the 1st Half.  Browns take a time out after a 3rd down stop to preserve clock.  They get the ball back with a minute left at their own 20, then run Chris Ogbannaya for a 2 yard loss.  Baltimore takes a time out, obviously trying to get the ball back since Cleveland was already nice enough to refuse to let the Half tick away.  So Weeden throws the ball to Og for a 5 yard gain, making it 3rd and 7, and then the BROWNS take a time out.  52 seconds left, 3rd down, own 23... what, trying to save the Ravens a time out?

Then to further help out, they throw a pass which is incomplete, stopping the clock yet again.

The enigma that is the Shurminator.

***My eyes might be deceiving me, but it appeared that Steve Biscotti, owner of the Ravens, was wearing mascara while on the sidelines.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.

***I am ecstatic to see the Regular Refs return, if for no other reason than it ending the completely overblown Replacement Ref media lynching.  Now they get to move onto something else that will be the "Big Story" in the NFL.

***The Cabin in the Woods was high quality entertainment and well worth a viewing.  Just don't go in expecting a standard horror movie.  Ain't nothin' like that.

***Interesting excerpt from GQ regarding the best show ever made, Cheers:

Kurt Vonnegut (from a 1991 interview): I would rather have written Cheers than anything I've written.

Steinkellner: We thought, "Let's get [Vonnegut] to write an episode!" Then the whole discussion came up: "But what if it sucks? We can't re-write it!"

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Next Up

New York Giants  (2-1). 

This is the last week that Haden will be out, and unfortunately it's against Eli Manning, Victor Cruz, and Hakeem Nicks.  The Giants are not a great running team, but they can pass it like nobody's bidness when they put their minds to it, and that is not the Browns strong suit.

Now, the Browns should be able to score on New York.  Their D Line is good, but they are decimated in the secondary by injury, so you can throw on them.  But if I have to choose one QB against a depleted secondary, it would be Eli.

Giants 31, Browns 24.