Written by Chris Hutchison

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Come November, a young man's fancy turns from the frustrating losses of the present and dreams of April.

Football is not supposed to work this way - where your playoff hopes don't outlast the Fall leaves and the Spring's NFL Draft is truly the Gateway to Better Days, days which ceaselessly turn to gray as yet another dreary November rolls in.

But this is not another Ode to Misery, another nod to the Circle Jerk of Despair, standing around their Cookie of Righteous Indignation.  No, this is merely the acknowledgment of what was likely inevitable this season.  Losses stop hurting so much as they begin to cement better draft position, and the next 7 games will go a long way to answering some pressing question (whether or not those answers are that, yes, we have additional holes, that's another story).

Yes, that is if you can stomach meaningless late season beatdowns by the Steelers and Ravens.  Not an easy task, I agree.

So I'm not as torqued about this loss as I probably should be.  Yeah, Paddy Shurmur is making me shake my head, but I kind of like the fact that he's getting to experience getting grilled right off the bat, and that he seems to at least be learning from his mistakes (just sucks that he keeps making new and different ones).  I'm stuck with him for I'd estimate 23 more games - at least - so I should at least be fair and watch to see if maybe he's not as hopeless as he seems.

I like the fact that Paddy's starting to get pissy with the local media, that he's standing up for himself.

And the Offense certainly looked better, maybe the best it has since Indy.  Much more creative, much more effective... I know the common theme is that the Rams' Defense is "turrible", but they beat the hell out of Drew Brees and the Saints just a couple weeks ago, and that Offense is just a little better than Cleveland's.

So too am I encouraged by Colt McCoy looking almost competent in this game.  I'm not canceling my QB draft plans or anything, but he looked a lot sharper than he has since the beginning of the season.  Maybe he's finally getting it.  Maybe it's finally slowing down for him.  Maybe the Offense, like an alcoholic, has finally reached rock bottom and is now (glacially) on its way to recovery.

Shurmur seems a little slow on the uptake, but he does at least listen to suggestion.  He broke out a double-reverse pass to a backup QB, a bomb, a few end arounds, and a couple stabs at the Golden Flash.  None of these are shocking innovations, but they show that he finally gets that he needs to sprinkle in some of the unordinary to help his Offense to bridge the vast gap between here and what he envisions the WCO to look like.

Let's say Phil hits that FG.  Do we go home that much happier?  Would the radio waves and message boards be bitching-free?  I doubt it.

What does 4-5 get you that 3-6 doesn't?  Respect?  Don't be naive.  An outside shot at the playoffs?  You gotta be high.  Confidence?  Maybe, but that's fleeting in the NFL.

A chance at a .500 record, something to build on?  Well, possibly, but not likely with the murderer's row that is coming.  4-5 just allows you to finish the season 5-11 instead of 4-12.  To me, there is little difference between the 2 when it comes to "something to build on".  But there is a big difference in draft position.

You may claim that it's sad that this is my attitude, that I shouldn't have to think these thoughts immediately following October each year.

Yeah, well, steak and cocaine shouldn't be bad for you, but they are.

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Stats

Time of Possession:  CLE - 32:27, STL - 27:33

Total Yards:  CLE - 335, STL - 281

Yards Passing:  CLE - 209, STL - 148

Yards Rushing:  STL - 133, CLE - 126

First Downs:  STL - 17, CLE - 16

Turnovers Forced:  CLE - 2, STL – 1

Sacks:  STL – 2, CLE - 1

Final Score:  St. Louis 13, Cleveland 12

Outrushed again?  Shocking.  Although I must admit that it didn't really feel like Steven Jackson was racking up 128 yards.

Outside of letting yet another RB go over a bill, the Defense had a solid game.  Sam Bradford isn't elite yet (and may never be), but he's solid, and ("The Browns Are Too Talented To Need A WR Like") Brandon Lloyd is tough, but the Rams only managed 148 yards passing - most of it in the 1st Half.

This game was clearly one the Browns played well enough to win.  The stat this week that sunk them is called Points Per Red Zone Trip: STL - 4.33 (3 trips), CLE - 3 (4 trips).

In case you were wondering, 3 is not a good number for this new, made-up stat.

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Game Balls

Phil Dawson - It cracked me up that the crowd chanted "MVP every time he took the field.  I cannot blame him for the last kick - there was plenty of blame to go around elsewhere - but he did nail 4 other kicks in a tricky wind.  He IS the MVP.

D'Qwell Jackson - 8 more tackles, many of them "either DQ gets him or he goes another 20 yards" types.  I really hope they find a way to keep him.

Greg Little - Hasn't quite become the playmaker that Julio Jones is yet, but is growing into that #1 (for now) WR role with 94 all purpose yards, including that 52 yard bomb which was by far the Browns prettiest Offensive play of the year.  That trade-down with Atlanta is going to look great in a year or two, especially if the Falcons continue to be mediocre. 

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Honorable Mention

Chris Ogbonnaya - The Great and Powerful Og is never gonna be an elite Back in this league, but he's certainly got some value and should be part of the rotation even after Hillis & Hardesty come back.  90 yards on 19 carries (4.74 per) isn't too shabby.

Chris Gocong - The forced fumble/fumble recovery deal was a helluva play and saved at least 3 points.

Phil Taylor - Strong at the end, making several plays including sacking Bradford to stop the Rams when they got down to the 9 in the 4th Quarter.

Offensive Line - Colt had enough time to throw, and there were holes for the running game.  Now let's see if they can actually make it 2 in a row.

Josh Cribbs - Yes, that fumble was bad, thus the reason he don't get no Game Ball.  Everything else he did was good.

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Wall of Shame

Joe Haden - I know.  It pains me to put him here.  He wasn't even all that bad, just less good than he usually is on that one TD drive.  Brandon Lloyd seemed to give him some problems that bigger WR's don't.  He also flat-dropped an INT.

Run Defense - Shabby.

Jabaal Sheard - This is for one play: Getting completely fooled and chasing the wrong guy on a busted play Bradford run early in the 3rd.  He easily could be off of this list if he did anything else that day that made me know he was alive.

Sheldon Brown - Had a nice olé non-tackle on Steven Jackson.

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Regarding The Shumurator

Despite giving some props to Shurmur above for getting a little creative, I still feel he needs quite a bit of evolution before he can be considered a Homo sapien in modern NFL playcalling.  I get that he doesn't have all the weapons at his disposal that other guys might have and that he's following the epically coach-esque fallback plan of "don't make mistakes, keep it close, try to win in the end".  But his play calling in the Red Zone was just infuriating on Sunday.

The Red Zone drives:

1st and 10, STL 18 - Clayton runs for 1, short pass to Clayton for 3, incomplete pass into double coverage to Jordan Cameron in the end zone (really the only shot into the end zone the whole game), FG.

1st and 10, STL 10 - Ball batted down, pass into end zone for Evan Moore incomplete, stupid Offensive Facemask penalty, FG (true, they had to, the Half was ending).

1st and 10, STL 15 - Run to right for nothing, run up gut for 4, check down pass to Og for 2, FG.

1st and 10, STL 19 - Og run for 3, Og run for 5, Marecic run for 3 (good run too), first down, Og loses 1, fumbled handoff to Alex Smith, Og for 3, FG blocked/bad-snapped/kicked-snap/shanked.

Nary even a shot at the end zone those last 2 drives, only 2 in 19 red zone plays.

Paddy summed it up this way:

"I'd do it again that way because I think you can run the football in the end zone as well.  We were having some success with some of the schemes we were running and making yards with the backs we had in the game. Just because you run the ball doesn't mean you're giving up.

 

"There are reasons for [running the ball there]. The clock runs. You shorten the game.  [The Rams] took a timeout because [they] wanted to preserve time.

 

"I'll go to the well lining up to kick the field goal, making them use timeouts and leaving them nearing two minutes to try to drive and beat us. I'll do that again.

 

"You can score on a run play just as well as on a pass play. I was not trying to not score, OK? What I was trying to do was run the ball and score, and if we didn't, the advantage to doing that was the clock was running, we were forcing them to use their timeouts. If we didn't get the touchdown, then we were in position to kick a field goal and go ahead and that's what I was trying to do.

 

"The defense was playing extremely well. I felt confident that if we kicked the field goal and went ahead, then we'd have an outstanding chance to win the football game."

I know he says that he called runs thinking they might score AND run down the clock, but I doubt that he's naive enough to truly believe that.  I'm of the mind that he thought they might score OR they'd run down the clock, and running down the clock and kicking a FG was a sure way to take the lead and leave yourself in a defensible "those run plays were designed to score Touchdowns" position.

It's also a losing position, and I don't want a Head Coach that doesn't Play the Game to Win the Game.

(You don't play it just to play it.)

I have lukewarm feelings of non-dislike for the Browns' Defense, but I don't think it's yet at a point where you feel comfortable with a 2 point lead.  It's not like those epic run plays burned out too much of the clock - they had 2:10 and a 2 minute warning left.  They wouldn't even have to start running sideline routes to get into FG range with that much time in their pocket.

Now, up by 6 (or 7) with 2:10 left... you feel much better about that.

I feel a little bad for the guy since everyone whines that he's passing the ball too much, but then when he goes conservative ball-control, they whine that he didn't pass enough.  But he so much as admitted he didn't have faith in the Offense not to flork it up.  In a meaningless game.  When they were doing as well Offensively as they have all season.

It's just... I hate to say it... cowardly.

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Regarding Handoffs

On that final ill-fated drive, Shumur called a run play to the Fullback on 2nd down from the 7 yard line.  Problem was, Owen Marecic had left a couple plays earlier with an ouchie, so Alex Smith - who later admitted to never taking a handoff in his life - got the call.

How oh how did he fumble it?

When asked how that unfortunate Alex Smith-handoff marriage came to pass, Shurmur explained:

"I knew who was in the game, and I chose not to stop the play... Partly because I couldn't get to an official and then I couldn't get to Colt to communicate [because the helmet radio was cut off by then]. Alex knew he was getting the ball and Colt knew he was giving it to him and they're football players. You run a lot of plays in the game that the backup has to execute that he may not have done... Alex knew he was getting the ball.  They did it all right except for the exchange."

That's like saying "I don't know how we hit that tree.  My 6 year old knew he was driving me home from the bar.  He did it all right except the brakes."

That... might... not... be... the... spot... to... assume... shit.

You either get out of that play or take a Time Out to ask Alex "Hey, I know you've never done it in practice, but have you ever taken a handoff before in life?"  That easily could've cost the game.  If STL had recovered that fumble, that mistake (and it was a mistake) would've blown up like the Death Star.

Instead the Browns recover it and we get to focus on the multi-tiered error that was the routine 22 yard FG attempt.

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Regarding Chasing April

If you're figuring the Browns get that strength-of-schedule tiebreaker that determines draft position for teams with the same record, it looks like they'd be picking #6 if the draft were today.

Yes, 3 straight losses moves you down the list pretty quick.  They could probably move as high as #2 if they lose out (and, no, I'm not hoping for that).

Sigh... so close to Andrew Luck, yet so far away.  You might as well staple a horseshoe to his head right now.

After Luck, here are the Top prospects according to NFL Draftscout.com:

Matt Barkley - QB - USC

Matt Kalil - OT - USC

Justin Blackmon - WR - OK State

Trent Richardson - RB - Alabama

Alshon Jeffery - WR - South Carolina

Quinton Coples - DE - North Carolina

Zach Brown - OLB - North Carolina

Jonathan Martin - OT - Stanford

David DeCastro - G - Stanford

So... which of those positions DON'T we need?

(And why does NC always have so many top pro prospects and they can never field a decent team?)

As of now, Cleveland needs a RT, RG, LG, WR, RB, QB, DE, LB (at least one), CB, and S.  I'm going to go ahead and assume the Browns will be more active in Free Agency this year (go ahead, insert snide comment here), and maybe some of the young guys will develop as the season progresses or during the offseason.  But that'll still probably only cover a few positions starter-wise.

Tony Pashos is more done than the NBA season, but a Kalil could replace him Day One.  Kalil is a LT at USC, but has the size and power to play RT in the NFL, and also provides you with a great backup should anything ever happen to Joe Thomas (Allah forbid).

We're still a playmaker short at Receiver, and Blackmon is certainly that.  Dude is a monster, reminds me a lot of Calvin Johnson.  That would certainly quiet down the "Colt just needs more weapons" crowd.

I'm not a huge fan of Barkley, but if you don't have a Franchise QB, you need one.

And with Peyton Hillis as good as gone, an elite back like Richardson would sure help the Offense.

But maybe we continue on the mission for an elite D.  Why not pick up a troubled-but-talented (is there any other kind at UNC?) Pass Rusher like Coples or a high-ceiling LB like Brown?

It's hard for these guys not to be a hit since the Browns will be drafting so high and they need so many things, but the First Rounders this year are really enticing.

And we get 2 of them.

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Regarding Execution

I know most of you have been following the PSU scandal(s) as closely as I have, so there's no need for me to recap it and what a messed-up cult-like world they must live in up in Happy Valley (even sounds like where a cult would live).

I listened to the Jerry Sandusky interview last night, and that dude is as guilty as sin.  As if the numerous and damning allegations weren't enough, he comes on the air and sounds as believable and sympathetic as a Nazi war criminal.

Yeah, yeah, "fair trial", "innocent until proven guilty", etc., yada yada... this one isn't hard.  The fact that he's still out there, available to provide his lawyer with names so that they can find/coerce these victims, is somewhat incomprehensible.  But that's our judicial system, where justice can see clearly and what it likes seeing most is money.

But "justice" will be done eventually in this case, no matter how much the courts try to prevent that.  Should he be found guilty, he'll go to jail where pedophiles notoriously don't fare so well (quoth Bud White from LA Confidential - "You know what they do to kiddie rapers in San Quentin, don't you?").

Should he be found innocent, someone will take matters into their own hands and Jack Ruby his ass.  (Unless he fakes his death to hide out with DA Ray Gricar)

Basically, he's a dead man - which is as it should be.  You do what he did (I ain't using the word "allegedly"; to paraphrase Bob Costas "where there's that much smoke, there's gotta be fire") and you should get offed.  Block, neck, axe, head, basket.  End of story.

I still hold out hope that he realizes this eventuality himself and saves the taxpayers and the media a lot of time and money by doing the job himself.  There are many ways to accomplish the task, but I would recommend he go with the shotgun-in-mouth technique - efficient, thorough, sufficiently nasty enough to sate the public bloodlust.

But you just know he doesn't have the conscience to get that done.

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Regarding Whatever

***Why does this team never look ready to start a game?  Even on Defense, they usually give up their big yardage early before finally figuring out what they're doing.  Ill Preparation.

***Hand in hand with that - this was the first game all season where they had the lead after the 1st Quarter.

***Jim Mora Jr. during Sunday's broadcast:  Pat [Shurmur] is doing a great job... he's an excellent play caller...

Guessing he doesn't live in Cleveland.

***Thomas Clayton is useless.  2 carries for -2 yards.  I'm still calling for Armond Smith - he might've been equally useless, but at least he would've been change-of-pace useless.

***Hey, NBA, while you're at the utter destruction of your brand, go ahead and roll back the number of teams to 20 (top 4 in each league get in the Playoffs) and roll back the number of Regular Season games to 40.  There's not enough top end talent right now, and there's not a good way to keep them from banding together.  Plus, there is nothing in Sport more meaningless than the NBA Regular Season.  Shorten that bitch, please.

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Next Up

Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6).

Ah, my Rams 13, Browns 9 prediction from last week turned out to be sadly accurate, so I'd rush out and put money on what I say.  I won't, but I don't trust myself as much as you should.

The Browns are still the #1 ranked Pass Defense (#6 overall), but as we've seen so many times, stats can lie.  I'm not really badmouthing their Pass D - it's not #1 overall by accident - but they still could use a guy or two that can put more pressure on the passer and good QB's can still tear them apart.

Fortunately, they do not play a good QB this week.  Blaine Gabbert sucks.  Yes, yes, I know, he's highly touted and just needs time.  It's just that most of the guys that fail my eye test end up being what I thought they were, and I didn't think much of Gabbert coming out anyway.

Plus, the Jags have garbage at the WR spots.

But JAX does have a strong Defense and the one thing that Cleveland does not - a top tier Running Back.  Mo Jones-Drew should continue the string of 100-yard rushers and will be the difference between the 2 offensively-challenged units.

Part of me wants to say that the Browns will continue their Offensive development this week, but I just can't get myself to believe it.  I lie a lot, especially to myself.

Jaguars 17, Browns 6.