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Browns Browns Archive The Weekend Wrap
Written by Brian McPeek

Brian McPeek
Another weekend, and more pain for Cleveland sports fans. Peeks is sick and tired of it, and the tone with which he's been forced to write The Weekend Wrap. He hits on the debacle against the Ravens, talks about how badly this town needs the Cavaliers to lift us out of these doldrums, and also recaps what was a very interesting weekend in college football despite a bye week for the Bucks.

DAja Blew 

You might think this column would be an easy one to write given that each weekend it seems to be the same results from our sports teams. Hell, you could probably cut and paste any column that followed a rotten Cleveland sports weekend to get an accurate description of the most recent gut-wrenching loss. 

Especially in regard to the Cleveland Browns. 

But it isn't easy.  It's hard to come up with a way to explain the exact same thing every week without getting ridiculously redundant. For example, following this weekend's mind-numbing 37-27 loss at home to a crappy Baltimore Ravens club led by a rookie QB who was playing in hostile territory without his top running I could talk about; 

  • A consistently rotten starting QB who continues to treat short throws, swing passes and dump offs like he was trying to knock stuffed ducks off a shelf at the carnival. A sniveling wreck of an athlete who is reduced to ashes by the slightest hint of pressure and adversity. A quarterback who rises to the challenge of being down by three points with more than two minutes left and with good field position by throwing a simple screen pass right into the midsection of a 6'3" 260lb linebacker who is wearing a purple helmet. 
  • A loudmouthed, stone-handed "premier wide receiver" who drops almost as many passes as he catches. On Sunday Braylon Edwards dropped what might have been the best throw of the day made by his quivering, puddle in his pants quarterback at a seminal moment in the game.  It would have just been about an 80 yard touchdown that would have turned momentum and altered the course of the rest of the ballgame. No big deal.
  • A coach on the sideline who is unable to make any type of decision or adjustment and who looks like he's standing in a burning building wondering if he should pull the fire alarm or just see if the fire burns itself out. A coach who steadfastly refuses to believe he should grab the nearest hose and see what happens, instead choosing to remain expressionless on the sideline while the flames nip at his feet.
That's why I'm glad this weekend that not only were the three primary characters back and in form this past Sunday, but that they were joined by countless other teammates and accessories who contributed to an avoidable loss. 

It was nice to see the club stick together in what was truly a team effort.  

Punter Dave Zastudil shanked a punt early that nearly went backward and that set up the Ravens with terrific field position, made even better when a penalty was thrown on top of it. 

Donte Stallworth was again unable to go. Rumors abound that he was undergoing a hysterectomy. All I know is he's been more inactive than a fat man after a pie eating contest. Take your time and make sure you're A-OK Donte. No need to stress yourself over a football game. Syndric Steptoe and Steve Sanders appreciate the game checks and the fact they're building valuable pension time in your absence. 

Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald took turns getting flamed and roasted at various times Sunday afternoon. I especially liked the arm full of air Wright got on an attempted tackle late in the game.  

Ray Rice also got loose against the Browns defense for 154 yards on just 21 carries. Nothing like eliminating the running game and forcing an inexperienced rookie QB to throw the football under some pressure. He'd have faced a more difficult run trying to get his gate at the airport.

There's more bad news for the Browns too. There's only three days until the next ballgame against Denver on national television. That means fans won't as easily forget the egg that was laid Sunday. I would hope such a forward thinking organization as the Browns might beef up security as well as introduce the just the special teams unit (return team only please) on Thursday night. There's the potential for ugly Thursday. And that's even before the first DA throw goes careening off his back's helmet or Braylon's hands. 
 
C'mon Cavs 

Ya gotta make it happen. 

Especially after the misery we've been forced to endure from a disappointing Indians club and after what we've seen from the Browns. 

It's been slow going to start of the '08- '09 campaign though. Much of that is owed to a difficult couple games on the early schedule as well as the fact Mo Williams is still feeling his way around a new club and new cast of teammates.  

The Cavs got a win Thursday against a woeful Charlotte ball club. That win was sandwiched by an opening night loss to the Celtics and a Saturday night loss in New Orleans. 

Personally I've liked what I've seen from Williams and the offense in spurts thus far. Williams pushes the ball, can get to the basket and is willing to take some big shots. If he continues to develop some chemistry with LeBron James this offense could evolve into a difficult one to defend. 
 
Down the Stretch 

Yet another change at the top of the polls after this weekend in college football.  

Alabama is now wearing the bullseye at the top of the polls while Texas Tech climbs to #2 after their epic last second win against Texas Saturday night in Lubbock. Penn State, Florida and Texas round out the top 5 spots in the polls with the BCS rankings pending. 

Some great drama on Saturday as numerous games went down to the wire. One that didn't was the much hyped Florida-Georgia match up Saturday afternoon in Jacksonville. Florida just completely wiped the field with Georgia a year after being embarrassed by Georgia in the ‘Excessive Celebration' Game. Florida coach Urban Meyer may have issued a gag order to his team in regard to discussing last year's game but he clearly remembered it himself. Meyer called two timeouts in the last minute of a blowout win just to run a couple more plays and send a personal message to Georgia coach Mark Richt.  

Great drama on Saturday. And the Gators are lurking and ready for one of three remaining unbeatens to fall. 

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