Written by Chris Hutchison

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Week 9 – Cleveland vs New England

The famous German philosopher Immanuel Kant once wrote:  "Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play."

Which has nothing to do with the exhilaration we must feel in BrownsWorld after that rousing victory.  Being philosophy, it probably has nothing to do with anything.  It sounds like it should mean something, but I read it, and I think "This crap makes no sense"... and there's our segue.

The 2010 season also makes no sense.  Another lost year has suddenly, inexplicably, been turned into the most encouraging campaign since The Return.  Yes, more encouraging than 2002, when, even during a Playoff run, the Browns supposed Franchise QB (Tim Couch) was proven False.  Yes, more encouraging than 2007, when the Browns beat only one team with a winning record and a paper tiger team with its paper tiger QB (Derek Anderson) was exposed at the end of the season.

The final record may not reflect it, and many things could still go wrong, but, as of today, the future is bright.  So bright.  And something about shades.

The main reason for the uncanny enthusiasm is the existence of a possibly real, bona fide Franchise QB.  The controversy is over.  The debate is over.  There's really nothing left to discuss.  Colt McCoy is the best option for this team.  Now, tomorrow, for the rest of the year.

Mangini can claim that Colt is "making the decision harder".  Who you trying to fool, ace?  No one's buyin' that jive.  Honestly, you trot Seneca Wallace or Jake Delhomme out there on Sunday and you will have just burned the hell out of all the goodwill you've spent the last year and a half banking.  I know you wanna play your little head games, but Rex Ryan is in no way dumb enough to buy it.  It's a waste of time.

You beat two Super Bowl contenders handily in consecutive contests, you get some pub.  You unearth a diamond in the rough fantasy-god Running Back like Peyton Hillis, you get some pub.  Your brand-name rookie QB comes in and looks like a seasoned pro, you get some pub.

Suddenly, the Jets-Browns game is one of the marquis contests of Week 10.  Rob Ryan vs. Rex Ryan.  Eric Mangini vs. His Old Team.  Braylon Edwards vs. Ohio.  The Cleveland Browns vs. The Same Old Result.

We're now looking at the biggest game in Cleveland since the Buffalo game in late 2007 (which ain't saying much, but that shouldn't downplay the importance). 

A win, and the Browns are 4-5, including 4-3 in their 7 game gauntlet, having won 3 in a row versus teams that are all major contenders, their only losses to teams with winning records (28-12 combined), and looking at a remaining schedule dotted with games that they will probably be favored in.

A loss, and, well, you're 3-6 and everyone outside of Cleveland can forget about you again.  You can still have a good season, sure, but you'll have no real playoff hopes and the rest of the contests will be mostly developmental for 2011.

The Jets game is certainly not life or death.  But it's the biggest one of the season, and the idea of what the rest of this season could be like should the Browns take it... it makes me spastic just thinking about it.

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Game Recap

The Browns got the ball first and put together a decent drive (Peyton Hillis hurdled some dude), working their way to a Phil Dawson FG.  New England totally botched the following kickoff - one guy waived fair catch, then let it go over his head, where Sammie Morris muffed it, giving the Browns the ball deep in Patriot territory.  Colt McCoy threw a jump ball to Evan Moore (a pre-determined jump ball, which is much better than a random jump ball) down to the 2, and Hillis banged it in from there (blowing up some dude).  Browns 10, Patriots 0.

The Defense held Tom Brady to a 3 and Out, and Cleveland looked on the verge of blowing the game open after converting a 4th and 1 when Hillis fumbled after a long gain to the NE 36.  But, shockingly, the Browns were able to minimize the damage by forcing another quick punt.

The teams traded possessions until the Pats finally mounted their first drive of note when they switched to a Hurry-up Offense in the 2nd Quarter to prevent Cleveland substitutions (it worked for New Orleans 2 weeks ago as well).  After converting a 4th and 1 at the 24, Brady threw a TD pass (sort of) to Aaron Hernandez, who made a beautiful leaping catch after the ball ricocheted off a well-covered NE TE Rob Gronkowski.  Browns 10, Patriots 7.

Here's where the old Browns would fold.  But not the Colt McCoy-led Browns.  He led them on a brisk 60 yard drive, converting two 3rd Down passes, capped by a 11 yard TD run by Chansi Stuckey on a trick play called the "Brownie", where Josh Cribbs lined up under Center with Stuckey next to him, the Linemen all standing and looking confused, and Cribbs taking the quick snap and secretly handing the ball to Stuckey while dashing right, leaving Chansi to wait... wait... wait... GO!  Student body left, Patriots don't know what the hell is going on, Chansi dives for the pylon... Touchdown.  Browns 17, Patriots 7.

New England drove the ball again via Hurry-up, looking to narrow the deficit just before Half, but Gronkowski caught the ball at about the 6, was hit and held up, and Abe Elam wisely latched onto the ball and ripped it from Gronko's grasp.  A huge play to deny the Pats any points as they went to the locker rooms.

I feared that the Patriots had found their Offensive rhythm at the end of the 1st Half, but their first drive of the 2nd was stopped, and the Browns went to work with a heavy dose of Hillis mixed with a dash of very nice McCoy passes.  On 1st and 15 at the NE 16, Colt dropped back, didn't find what he was looking for, scrambled to his left and turned it up towards the End Zone.  He would've gotten caught, but Cribbs just lit up the poor dude at the last second and Colt was able to dive for the pylon and get it.  The rout was on.  Browns 24, Patriots 7.

The Pats responded by doing nothing, so the Browns got the ball back and went on another long, impressive, time-consuming drive that dug into the 4th Quarter and produced another FG.  By that point, down 20 with just over 10 minutes left, it didn't look good for Dr. Mumbles and Mr. Wonderful.  They did manage another TD, however, converting on a 4th and 10 (pass interference in the End Zone) and cutting the lead to not-as-comfortable-as-I'd-like-it-to-be 13 with 6:37 left.  Browns 27, Patriots 14.

You knew what was coming next.  The Patriots knew it too - they just couldn't do anything about it.  Yep, a heaping spoonful of Hillis.  NE's D Line just wanted to crawl into a dark place and hide at the juncture, and Hillis ran the ball 6 straight times, including the last one, a 35 yard sprint up the right sideline (outrunning some dude) to put the cherry on top of his 184 yard, 2 TD sundae.  Game over.  Browns 34, Patriots 14.

With just over 2 minutes left, Belichick raised the proverbial white flag, putting Brian Hoyer into the contest for Brady.  He was gracious enough to throw a pick to pad Eric Wright's stats.

Final:  Browns 34, Patriots 14.

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Conclusion

Time of Possession:  Cleveland – 38:08, New England – 21:52

Total Yards:  Cleveland – 404, New England - 283

First Downs:  Cleveland - 22, New England – 19

And it wasn't even that close.

The numbers don't lie - that was a total domination.  The Time of Possession is particularly telling - if you control the ball for nearly 40 minutes, you'll win almost every time.

(I think.  I didn't do the research.)

It also shows me, at least, that the Patriots were soft, just as I suspected.  They have a HoF Coach and a HoF QB, and that keeps them in most contests, not to mention the fact that they win a couple just from the Patriot "aura".  But they would not enjoy a season in the AFC North, and their talent level is on serious decline.

Maybe it's best not to give guys like Bill Belichick and Eric Mangini (and let's throw Josh McDaniels into that mix too) personnel powers.  They seem to be so obsessed with getting "their" guys that they ignore other aspects of a player's game.

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Gameballs

Peyton Hillis – Welcome to the Holiday Season's #1 Best-Selling jersey.  Love the facemask.

Chris Gocong - Seems that every week a different member of the LB Corps steps up.  This is part of the concept that, as individuals, there are no stars, but, as a whole, they can certainly be effective.

Colt McCoy - Continues to amaze me.  It's not like he's wowing the world statistically, but have you seen this team managed better on Offense - ever - since 1999?  Example - Colt's best throw of the day?  1st Quarter, up 10, 3rd and 12 at the NE 44, McCoy rolls left out of trouble, looks, looks, looks, and then throws the ball out of bounds just as he gets nailed from behind.  Pass Rush awareness, decision making... you just know Derek Anderson throws that into triple coverage or fumbles when he gets hit from his blind side.

Brian Daboll - Don't look up, pigs are flying.  Under fire all season, you could easily see how excited Daboll was at the Offensive success.  Two calls in particular impressed the hell out of me:  the Stuckey "Brownie" play and the 4th Down play where the team shifted from a power formation to a spread and had Colt wait just long enough to get the D thinking he was just trying to draw them Offsides before snapping it and running the sneak.  I'm not sure if the dynamics of that play were more Daboll or McCoy, but that was just brilliant conception/execution.

Eric Mangini - Could be emerging from the hurricane all the stronger for surviving.

Offensive Line - When Porkchop Womack moves to RT, this is one of the best Run-Blocking lines in all the NFL.

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Honorable Mention

Abe Elam – The strip of the Patriots TE and the 2 just before Halftime was a great heads-up play.

Mo Massaquoi – We have a WR sighting, folks.  That was a shoelace catch on McCoy's first throw, and important to establishing the tone early.  Could've been a totally different game had he dropped it.

Mike Adams – In on at least 2 or 3 breakups.  Guys like Adams have been getting a lot more PT in the last couple weeks in the extravagant schemes Ryan has been producing.

The Defense – Not a dominating performance, but shut the Pats Run game down and confused the bejeezus out of Tom Brady.

Chansi Stuckey – Getting more and more productive as the season goes on.

Blake Costanzo – Nice fake cramp there during the Patriots last TD drive.  It didn't quite work, but it was a good idea, trying to slow down the NE Hurry-Up.

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Wall of Shame

No One - There's a first for everything.

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Two things happened within the last week that may drastically change the landscape of Cleveland Browns football within the next year:

1. The Dallas Cowboys fired Wade Phillips, opening up a very desirable Head Coaching position.

2. Mike Holmgren seemed to somewhat express a desire to return to the sidelines.

Now, it may or may not have been Holmgren's intention to boot Mangini at the end of the season and take over himself, but it now looks like there is a distinct possibility that Mangini will have won himself into an un-fireable status.  ESPN was discussing all the possible 2011 coaching openings, and they didn't mention Cleveland, not even as a possibility.

Undoubtedly, it is a possibility.  But it would have to take a massive meltdown, and I just don't see that happening.  If this team didn't quit on Mangini last year at 1-11, it won't quit on him now.

The locker room has come to a wary acceptance of Mangini's ways, and it appears a majority of the fan base is drinking the kool-ade now too.  As long as Holmgren/Heckert handle the front office stuff and Mangini just coaches, there seems to be a general sense of support from NEO.

Knowing this, if Holmgren does want to return to coaching, he'd have to do it somewhere else.  He'd have to beg out of his contract (or trade it) so he could take a job in Dallas or wherever.  This might be a distinct possibility.

I guess the question is:  How huge of a negative effect does that have on the Browns?

One could argue it would be huge, that Holmgren is the glue that holds it all together, that losing him causes the Browns to lose that sense of legitimacy they were just starting to develop.

One could also argue that Tom Heckert makes the major personnel decisions, that Holmgren is basically a figurehead, and just bestowing some of Holmgren's powers on Heckert would not overly change the current structure (provided Heckert and Mangini continue to work well together).  Maybe Heckert just takes over Holmgren's spot and installs one of "his" guys as de facto GM.  Maybe the effects of change are more muted than the reactionaries might think.

I think it's hard to even pretend like losing Holmgren would be a good thing.  But would it be a just a drawback, or a major blow?

Similarly, I don't think we should count out the prospect of Rob Ryan leaving for one of these jobs, including the one in Dallas.  The Ryan name holds a lot of water in the NFL right now, and if the Browns' solid but not-overwhelmingly-talented Defense continues to confound future Hall of Fame QB's, Rob will get interviews on his merits alone.

Obviously, losing a Defensive Coordinator hurts, but the amount of pain is, once again, dependent upon who replaces him.  There's no reason some understudy of his couldn't fill his shoes admirably.  But there's also no guarantee that said understudy won't bomb.

Change is inevitable, I suppose, and good teams just roll right through.  But I wish we could better establish the "good" aspect before the change begins.

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I owe an apology to Mr. McCoy.

In the Preseason, watching your underwhelming performances and realizing your limited ceiling, I must admit that I seriously wavered in my confidence that you could ever by anything other than a career backup.  You have to understand, I - we all - have been jaded by failures past.  And not just those in Cleveland Browns uniforms, oh Krishna no.  The Road to Failure is paved with Big Name College QB's.  A much higher percentage are busts than booms.

But, from what I've seen so far, you have two things which are essential to NFL success:  Accuracy and Leadership.

Your 3rd game was your best by far (and the first two were still notable).  But considering the situation and the opposition, going 14 for 19 - NO INCOMPLETIONS IN THE 2ND HALF - for a 101.6 QB rating, was fantabulous.

The book is still way out on you, and we have yet to see how the December winds of Lake Erie treat your arm, but so far your combo of skills and the just plain It-factor has made your debut the most impressive I've seen in Cleveland since - dare I say it? - a dude named Bernie.

I dare, I dare.

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I owe an apology to Mr. Hillis.

I have maintained that, while solid, Peyton Hillis is not a Franchise RB.  I still believe that he's not a long-term Franchise answer, solely because his running style lends itself to injuries and probably a short shelf-life.  But, right now, while he's healthy, he certainly is capable of carrying the load for a quality team.

I betcha Bill Belichick right now would give his spleen and one of his sons for a Hillis.

And you think Josh McDaniels has heard about it in Denver?  According to the Denver Post (at least the poll), the Hillis and 2 picks for Brady Quinn trade is the worst in team history.

Just look at the precipitous drop in execution between Hillis and, well, every other Running Back that's had a carry for the Browns this season.  Harrison was awful in comparison.  Davis, expendable.  Bell, useless.

As much credit as the O Line should get in Hillis' rise to fame, Peyton himself deserves a chunk of the kudos.  He's big and he runs hard, so he breaks a lot of tackles and literally blows Defenders backwards.  But he's also fast - he hits the hole while it's still open and can outrun Linebackers and even D Backs.  He's agile - his spin moves get him tons of extra yards, not to mention just randomly hurdling people every once in a while.  And that's without even mentioning his almost unlimited capacity as a catcher of the ball.

Yeah, you combine all that, and you've got one of the top Backs in the NFL.

Like I said, I think his style gives him a narrow window of success, much like a Christian Okoye or Natrone Means.  But, assuming Montario Hardesty can stay healthy and is what they think he is (and, given the success of Heckert's other picks so far, I'll not be quick to doubt his judgment), pairing him and Hillis in a RB-by-Committee may not only form a LETHAL 1-2 punch, but extend the career of a guy that has the potential to be one of the Cleveland's Players of Legend.

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I did notice during the game that Mangini had a huge hankin' hunk of chaw in his cheek.  At first, I thought he had just tucked a small egg between his cheek and gum, but the subsequent brown spittle proved it was more than a wad of tissue jammed in his mouth.

Hey, I get it.  You're stressed.  You need your nicotine fix, and society (not to mention anti-smoking laws) won't allow you to be chaining heaters on the sidelines.

But I was kinda surprised you didn't take out the hunk before crossing the field to meet Belichick.  Or at least wipe the spit from your mouth with your right hand just before the shake.

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It appears that Revis Island has returned now that Darrelle Revis is back healthy.

The Cleveland Browns might be one of the few teams that are immune to Revis Island.

So you're going to totally take away our #1 Receiver?  Oh no, how will we ever win without the massive production we usually receive from Mo Massaquoi?

I mean, no disrespect to Mo Mass (who I think has some value), but he means nowhere NEAR as much to the Browns Offense as, say, a Calvin Johnson does.  So just tell Mo:  "Mo, don't even bother running a route.  Just hit Revis as hard as you can every single snap.  Hit him 'til he cries."

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Right after the Jets' exhilarating victory over the vaunted Lions of Detroit last week, ex-Brown Braylon Edwards immediately tweeted:

"And before I take off and forget, all you Cleveland Browns fans, 17 is coming back and you better bring ya damn popcorn."

Oooooooo!  Braylon Edwards!  Scary!

Yeah, don't worry Braylon.  I'm bringing my popcorn.

 

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Next Up

New York Jets (6-2). 

I gotta tell ya, sports fans, I don't have as good a feeling about this one as I did the last 2.  Are the Jets beatable?  Oh, hells yeah.  Before the season, I predicted there were 2 vastly overrated teams - Cincy and the Jets.  Turns out I was right about the Bengals, and I don't think I was miles off with New York.  Sure, they're 6-2, but they were lucky as shit to win last week against Detroit, not to mention a couple weeks ago against a miserable Denver team.  It's not hard to see a reality where the J-E-T-S are 3-5 too.

That's just projecting, however.  With a rejuvenated LaDainian Tomlinson and a physical style of play, the Jets are good.  And that physical style will match up well with the Browns physical style, I think.  Mark Sanchez isn't all that, but he isn't horrible either.  Their Receiving corps is pretty decent, even with Edwards not knowing how to run any route but a fly.  He catches one of those every 4 weeks or so, so you have to cover him.

Not to mention that their Defense is more comparable to the Steelers than the Saints or Patriots, and Pittsburgh was able to effectively shut the Run Game down.  If the Jets do that (which they can), then the Browns will have a real hard time winning.

Just look at the rankings:

NYJ NFL Rankings:  Offense 12th (4th Rush, 20th Pass), Defense 6th (4th Rush, 18th Pass).

CLE NFL Rankings:  Offense 25th (13th Rush, 25th Pass), Defense 21st (15th Rush, 25th Pass).

The Jets and Browns seem to have the same philosophies, the same strengths... it's just that the Jets are a little better everywhere.

So, I prepare myself for the pain, the pain I've known so well over the years, the pain I thought I was immune to but will now sear like a branding iron to the eye because I've allowed myself to believe again.  It will be close, it will be low-scoring, and it will be frustrating.  The Browns will have every chance to win it, but...

Jets 13, Browns 10.

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Thing That I Dislike More Than Aaron Goldhammer

Access Hollywood

So, I turn on the TV the other night, and it's stuck on the station which I had left it the night before (which was NBC for the Sunday Night game).  I started looking around for the DirecTV remote, which, between my kids, my future wife, and my impending Alzheimer's is in a different spot every day.

There I was, searching for a remote most assuredly hidden by gnomes, and I hear Access Hollywood come on in the background.  Now, I'd rather wear boxers made of tinfoil than watch Gossip-Mag crap like that, so I started looking around quicker, but I still heard some of it anyway.

"Tonight, an exclusive interview with Michael Jackson's children and what they think about their father's plastic surgery!" - The screen shows some punk kid saying telling us how difficult his father's life could be.

"Ack!"  I cry, looking desperately on top of the entertainment center and under the coffee table - the usual places.

"Also, Bristol Palin's heartbreak." - The screen shows some bimbo wiping away tears and telling us how difficult her life can be.

"Guh!" I mutter, getting frantic now.  Where is that damn thing!  I will DIE unless I find it immediately!

"And Madonna speaks out, tackling the hidden crisis of bullying." - The screen shows some bimbo with a very serious look on her face telling us how difficult her kids' lives can be.

"Bah!" I scream, jumping over the coffee table and turning the TV off manually.  I pant, sweating, glancing around the room as if for demons.  That was close.  I almost heard enough to make my head freakin' explode.  Literally.  I'm talking brain chunks on the ceiling.

Finally... there you are, you little bastard.  Hidden behind the couch cushion again, I see.  Yes, I change the channel to 212 BEFORE I turn the TV back on, thereby sparing myself further exposure to Mind Radiation. 

Gotta remember never to leave it on that channel when I go to bed ever again.