Written by Chris Hutchison

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Preseason Week 1 – Green Bay at Cleveland

 

No, that's not what I was expecting either. 

I too expected misery, ineptitude, and disarray. I too expected to see the Offense confused and inefficient. I too expected the Defense to give up about half a hundo points. 

As the Browns move to the West Coast Offense, we can look (longingly) to the 2010 Green Bay Packers as the best example of this scheme working to perfection. But to hope that this 2011 Cleveland team could mirror that kind of productivity - what with the 3 whole weeks of installation time and the questionable talent across the board - would be foolish at best. 

But that's what it ended up doing, at least with Colt McCoy at the helm. 

Shockingly unexpected. 

Yes, I realize it's just the Preseason. Yes, I realize that Green Bay was playing vanilla D, and that the 2nd TD drive came against backups. 

But watching as many Preseason games as possible this weekend taught me that vanilla Defenses and 2nd stringers are still trying as hard as they can to win, and the fact that this is still the Fake Season doesn't mean your Offense can't still look incredibly inept (see: Bengals, Cincinnati). 

At the absolute minimum, this kind of performance can at least "fool" the Browns into believing that they are Offensively competent, and belief can go a long damn way in the NFL.

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 Game Recap 

This is now a thing of the past. I'm going to assume that you watched the game from now on.

Final: Browns 27, Packers 17.

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Conclusion

 Time of Possession: Green Bay – 31:47, Cleveland – 28:13

Total Yards: Cleveland – 364, Green Bay - 341

Yards Passing: Green Bay – 263, Cleveland - 240

Yards Rushing: Cleveland – 124, Green Bay - 78

First Downs: Green Bay - 22, Cleveland – 18

Turnovers Forced: Green Bay - 2, Cleveland – 1

Sacks: Cleveland – 5, Green Bay - 1

 This tells me that the game was pretty evenly matched - which is exactly what it was. This wasn't a contest like last year's Saints game where the Browns got some breaks and then held on for dear life against a clearly superior opponent that was having a bad day. This contest looked like 2 teams that might split a 10 game series.

 But let us also remember that this was a Fake Season game. I don't for the life of me think that the Regular Season Browns would be able to go toe-to-toe with the Regular Season Packers.

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Gameballs

 Colt McCoy – In just over a Quarter, Colt went 9 for 10, 135 yards, 1 TD. Extrapolate that (generously) over a game, and you get 36 for 40, 540 yards, and 4 TD's. That would work OK for me.

 Brandon Jackson – Looks to be a solid addition and a huge upgrade over the backups we had last year. Quick, runs decently, and catches the ball well.  If the Browns can get anything out of Hardesty, they will actually have a sweet backfield.

 Titus Brown – A lot of people have been giving him this for the fumble recovery for the TD. However, he didn't create that play. I'm giving him this for his multiple solid tackles and the fact that he puts Dr. Teeth to shame.

 Matt Flynn – Aaron Rodgers is clearly one of the NFL elite, but Flynn will be starting for some team in 2012. He was sharp, even under some decent pressure, hitting Receivers with Rodgers/McCoy-like precision. If I were, say, Cincy, I'd be calling the Packers up to see what it would take to pry Flynn away for my version of the WCO. Lucky for us, Mike Brown won't do that.

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 Honorable Mention

 Ben Watson – Starting 2011 off just like he left 2010.

 Jordan Norwood – Shifty, quick, runs well after the catch. Appears valuable as both a Returner and a Receiver (3 catches for 36 yards). Likely will be one of the 6 WR's to make the cut.

 Brian Smith – This undrafted rookie is the one who was really responsible for Titus Brown's TD, causing the fumble with a killer hit on Graham Harrell.

 Armond Smith – 10 rushes for 41 yards in a situation where everyone on the planet knew he was going to run. Another undrafted rookie that might have a decent shot to make the team.

 Auston English – Sure, it was against 3rd stringers, but you can only play against the guys on the field, and he did well rushing the QB from the RDE, ending the game with authori-tye with the sack/fumble.

 Pat Shumur – 1-0 as a Head Coach, 1-0 on successful challenges. Keep it up, Paddy.

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 Wall of Shame

 WKYC Camera Crew – Flat-out missed 2 TD passes and screwed up a FG kick as well. Ladies and Gentlemen, what you do is follow the ball with your camera. It's not like we're choreographing the opening shot of Touch of Evil here.

 Sheldon Brown – Aaron Rodgers systematically avoided Joe Haden, which means that he picked on poor Sheldon.

 Derreck Robinson – I thought it was interesting that the staff moved Robinson - a DT last year - to DE, especially since Robinson's best quality was penetration (not run stuffing). And it may yet pay off, especially with the lack of depth at End. But 2 offsides penalties is not the way to win the coaches' hearts.

 Eric Gordon – Had to look up who the hell that #57 was whose only play of note was getting juked out of his jock.

 Backup D Line – Far too often I noticed them getting blown back. Not particularly strong and not particularly quick.

 Brian Daboll – I know he's gone, but it just doesn't feel right not giving him a WoS.

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Regarding The 2011 Draft Picks

If you are as dead-set on building your team around youth and the draft as the Browns seemingly are (see: 2011 Free Agent Signings, Lack Thereof), then you'd better hit on an inordinate percentage of your picks. Tom Heckert did that last year, scoring on Joe Haden, TJ Ward, Shawn Lauvao, and Colt McCoy (Carlton Mitchell and Montario Hardesty are still way up in the air).

Using last year as a benchmark, the Browns will need four 2011 draftees to become integral pieces on this team. Here's how they did:

Phil Taylor - didn't play too long, but was easily noticeable on one GB running play, blowing up the middle and drawing a Holding call on the Center, who had to grab in order to stop Taylor from tackling the RB for a loss.

Jabaal Sheard - Also didn't play very many downs, but did get in on a Jayme Mitchell sack against the 2nd team GB Offense. I didn't notice him getting much penetration otherwise.

Greg Little - Had a couple of nice catches (2 for 20), but the play of the game for him came on a Seneca Wallace run where he just lit up some poor Packer Defender. Effort of that kind is a positive sign.

Jordan Cameron - Had one catch for 6 yards and was generally invisible. Methinks that this season will be a training year for Cameron.

Owen Marecic - He dropped a short pass (really, a lateral, and then just stood there, not comprehending that it should have been ruled a fumble) and made a play on Special Teams, but didn't really make a difference in the game. This will change as the season rolls on, though. The Browns have no other choice in the matter.

Buster Skrine - Very intriguing. He's aggressive, breaking up several passes. A little too aggressive in one instance, getting nailed on a Pass Interference. And watching the tiny Skrine bounce off the GB Fullback Kuhn was amusing, but at least he had the guts to stick his head and there to attempt the tackle. Bust A Screen is my official Adopt-A-Rookie and should see the field plenty as the dime CB. The way he attacks the ball/receiver is reminiscent of a CB from last season's draft class.

Jason Pinkston - I kept watching him, trying to see what kind of impact he would have, but he generally did just ah-ite... neither giving ground or significantly gaining it. He was part of the O Line that basically ran out the clock at the end of the game.

Eric Hagg - He was hurt and sat out, so I don't really remember him making any plays in the game.

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Regarding the New Kickoff Rule

With the rule change that has kickoffs from the 35 rather than the 30 now, the first several Preseason games featured multitudes of kneeldowns. Josh Cribbs revealed his displeasure, then commanded that no one shalt kneel, no matter how deep in the End Zone one catcheth the ball.

As Josh commands, so it is.

No one knelt. Kickoffs that would have been guaranteed touchbacks last year, caught 6, 7, 8 yards deep in the End Zone, were brought out with abandon. And very few of them resulted in being returned short of the 20.

Now, we don't know what the policy will be during the games that count. Teams may opt to be safe and kneel, and, if so, then I dislike the new rule. However, if teams stick with this return-it-no-matter-what policy, then I am all for it. A good return can still make it out of the pack, but the 20-25 yard line seems to be more the norm. Exceptional efforts should be rewarded, but I was getting good and sick of the average starting field position being the 40 yard line (as it seemed last year).

Plus, I'm sure there will be some interesting directional kickoffs when the Regular Season kicks in.

In all honesty, this new situation makes the Kickoff Return more like a Punt Return, and the players with greater Punt Return skills (little, shifty, fast dudes) might be more successful. Which, unfortunately, doesn't necessarily fit Mr. Cribbs, who needs a little room to get going and has always been a superior Kick Returner.

I can easily see Cribbs taking on a larger Offensive role this year... in exchange for being - gasp! - replaced as Kickoff Returner.

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Regarding the Defense

This will likely be a work in progress all year. I generally feel that the D will be OK... so long as no one gets hurt. And I mean no one. You start dipping into that shallow pool of reserves and you're in trouble (which is why I've been complaining about Heckert not obtaining more veteran backups from the Free Agency market).

The depth probably isn't as bad as I initially feared. It's not like the 2nd and 3rd units got manhandled by Green Bay's 2nd and 3rd units. Honestly, against a team as deep as Green Bay (especially at the skill positions - the Packers are just sick deep at WR, TE, and QB), their performance was rather impressive. But I just can't buy it (yet).

Another issue with the Defense will be their ability to mount a consistent pass rush. Sheard and Mitchell had their moments (Mitchell's sack was encouraging), but I can't count on them to generate regular pressure on the QB until I see it. Dick Jauron seemed pretty aggressive in his playcalling against Green Bay, and will likely have to bring plenty of blitzes throughout the season in an attempt to put the passer on his asser.

But that leaves the DB's on islands, and good QB's like Rodgers can pick that apart to death.

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Regarding the Quarterbacks

The Colt McCoy Inadequate Arm Strength argument is really losing steam with me. When he's been healthy the last 2 seasons, he has shown more than enough zip to go with his accuracy and touch. A performance like that makes you think that maybe the Browns have finally hit on a competent starting QB... which means he's destined to be derailed by injury. If you're a QB in Cleveland, either you suck or you die.

Which would be a darn shame, dagnab it, since he looks much sharper at this point than Seneca Wallace. Wallace is not without his virtues, but the Offense clearly looks much better under Colt's direction. Seneca just lacks the touch and accuracy that McCoy has. Wallace has by far the stronger arm, but that likely will be a zero factor in the WCO.

And from Colt's postgame comments:

There were some good things, there really were. What I was preaching to those guys on the sidelines during the second half and in the locker room tonight was, ‘hey, we did a good job but don’t pat yourself on the back because it is just the first preseason game.’ We’ve got a long ways to go, a lot of work to do but it is good to know that we can come out here and be pretty comfortable from the start.”

You can say what you want about Colt's physical abilities, but one thing I don't think you can (logically) question is his football IQ and his leadership abilities.  I mean, it's just heavenly to read this (probably what he considers standard) response to a question about the passes to Ben Watson on the 2nd TD drive:

“I mentioned earlier that any time the team plays the man-to-man tonight, whether it is two high safeties or one high safety, you’ve got to find a way to get your tight ends the ball. On top of that, it gets those linebackers pretty tired. They’ve got to run with those guys (tight ends). We see it every day in practice, (Scott) Fujita and D’Qwell (Jackson) are dead dog tired after practice because the tight ends are running everywhere. I felt like I had some matchups early, getting into the game and seeing what they (Green Bay) were doing. The first pass to Ben (Watson) was the third read in the progression. I’m alerted from the snap. I was trying to get the ball to (Joshua) Cribbs outside but the corner sat hard so I reset and found him (Watson) in the window. On the next play, we just ran a vertical game and Ben beat his guy off the line. I just had to move the safety with my eyes and he (Watson) made a nice catch. Those are just things that, as we move forward, all of us have to be on the same page to grow. Tonight, we started off pretty well.”

That's like looking up Bridget Wilson-Sampras' skirt.

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Regarding Scalded Dogs

If you haven't read this LA Times article regarding Colt McCoy, it centered around how McCoy is faring well now after the initial "mistreatment" he "suffered" at Eric Mangini's hands. Here's an excerpt:

"Last year presented a lot of challenges outside of football," McCoy said, choosing his words carefully. "It was different than anything I've ever been a part of."

Although he largely allowed Mangini to coach without peering over his shoulder, Holmgren did announce at the beginning of last season that McCoy probably wouldn't play. The Browns treated the rookie as such and did not allow him to take a snap with the No. 1 offense until it was absolutely necessary — in the run-up to the Week 6 game at Pittsburgh, when they were forced to start their third-stringer.

McCoy said many of his teammates barely knew who he was at that point "other than the guy who stood on the sideline and got yelled at for just standing there."

Even now, the residue from that experience lingers. He said he quietly cringes like a scalded dog when he makes a mistake in practice, waiting for the hellfire of criticism to come.

"One of the things out here is when I make a mistake, I get so fearful to do anything because I'm afraid of what's going to happen," he said. "If I throw a ball and try to squeeze one in, I'm like [wincing], 'Uh.' I'm hesitant to just turn around. That's not how it should be. If you start playing scared, you can't play."

OK, couple things:

1. Mr. Writer, I'm sure Colt enjoys your categorizing him as "cringing like a scalded dog". And the word you're looking for is "scolded". "Scalded" dogs do more than cringe.

2. Mr. McCoy, I don't ever want to hear this whiny twaddle from you ever again. Coaches are hard on players sometimes. This is the NFL, the real world. Sometimes people are dicks. Deal with it and keep it to yourself. If you need to complain, that's what family, friends, and therapists are for. You talking publicly about being "scared" will not help your league-wide perception. Shut it.

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Regarding Whatever

***For the 4th year in a row, the Browns have defeated the defending Super Bowl Champs.

***Mr. DeAngelo Smith... when a ball is tipped like that (TD pass right before Half), you go ahead and feel free to tackle the guy you're guarding. Can't just let him catch that noise in your kitchen unmolested.

***Don't be that guy that drafts Peyton Hillis in the 1st Round. Brandon Jackson is gonna take some of his reps, as well as Montario Hardesty (if he ever sees the field). Some more reps are gonna be taken by the West Coast Offense, which often uses short passes as run plays. Hillis' run last year was magical (I had him, I know), but it is highly unlikely he duplicates it.

***When Joe Haden and TJ Ward make tackles, you know it's them without even seeing their name or number.

***If he were just a little bit faster, Brian Schaefering would be a helluva player. He always seems to get good penetration, but just doesn't have the quicks to finish it.

***Here's the transcript from Pat Shurmur's postgame presser.  It is not good.  It rather makes Eric Manigni's press conferences seem good.  But he does use the word "good" a lot.  14 times in 12 paragraphs, to be exact, which I guess is good.

***Jarrett Brown, you simply CANNOT make that pass (that was picked off), especially so deep in your own territory. Awful decision.

***That being said, I don't understand the coaches clipping his wings after that. Yes, I get it that they were trying to run out the clock by keeping it on the ground, but this is the Fake Season, people. If you win or lose, not a huge deal. But getting Brown some pass plays in live action - priceless. He only threw one pass on that final drive (only 2 passes all night), and it was a little dump off. Rather a waste of a training opportunity.

***Carlton Mitchell needed finger surgery after getting it caught in a jersey during practice. This will sideline him for some time, likely landing him on the PUP (which would mean he couldn't play until after Week 6). At this point, another lost year for Mitchell might add up to a lost career. Here's hoping he makes a quality comeback.

***I also wouldn't be shocked to see the Browns PUP Montario Hardesty. Hardesty says they're just being cautious. The Browns say they're just being cautious. But dude hasn't practiced in weeks. WEEKS. That's more than caution.

I can easily see a scenario where their "caution" puts Hardesty on the PUP so they can keep a Armond Smith or Quinn Porter just a little bit longer.

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Next Up

Detroit Lions (Fake 1-0).

I will not stoop to scout a team for a Fake Season game. Let's just say that the Lions have a ton of talent on their team now and will be serious contenders if they can just stay healthy. Which, having already lost their likely starting RB for the year with an Achilles' tear, doesn't seem likely.

At least we're not Detroit.  We're not Detroit!

Lions 21, Browns 13.

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 Person I Like Aaron Goldhammer More Than

 Batshit Crazy Potential Candidates for Elected Positions

 

I promised to keep politics out of this article, and I shall continue to attempt to do this. If you choose to assume that this person whom I shall eternally despise - who makes me gag every time I hear her (or his) insipid voice - is somehow involved in politics, that is your prerogative. I will neither confirm nor deny your suspicions. Just remember that you're the one that brought politics into this conversation, not me. I loathe this individual on a personal level.