@ClevelandFrowns nails it again.

[TheBestPlayersPlay]

Thought I'd give Pete some love for nailing it as usual.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Battered Browns Drop a Frustratingly Close One to Falcons

For folks with a realistic view of the magnitude of the rebuilding job that was before Eric Mangini and later Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert when they arrived in Cleveland, there's really not a whole lot to say about yesterday's loss to the Falcons. It was another gutty performance by an outmanned Browns unit that stayed in the game for four quarters against an excellent football team. An outmanned Browns unit that might have seen a much better outcome had a few plays gone differently. Progress continues apace.

Which isn't to say we don't have some specific questions about what happened yesterday. Like, what's Ben Watson getting paid $4 million a year for ($6.35 million guaranteed) if it's not to catch balls like this?

This was on 1st-and-10 with the Browns at the Falcons' 44 on the drive after Atlanta had taken a 13-10 third-quarter lead. A catch here would have put the Browns in field goal range at Atlanta's 32 with a new set of downs. Instead, 2nd-and-10 becomes 3rd-and-10 when Jerome Harrison dances at a hole to trip over Eric Steinbach, and a punt ensues.

Watson also jumped for a false start in the 2nd quarter to turn a 3rd-and-2 into an unconverted 3rd-and-7. He's the team's highest paid pass-catcher. What can you say?

The Watson incompletion above might not have mattered if Josh Cribbs and Jake Delhomme could have closed the gap here by a few inches for what could have been a touchdown pass, or at least gotten the Browns down to the Atlanta 20. If either of these plays are converted, we're probably talking about at least a tie game and potentially a much different ending and Monday morning narrative about Delhomme.

On the missed bomb to Cribbs, we're at least glad to see that it was there, and that Delhomme saw the same to let it fly. It's easy enough to look at the different stat lines of Delhomme and Seneca Wallace. It's harder to see how many times Wallace checks down or pulls up without throwing the ball at all.

Like on this first quarter sack where Wallace held the ball for a solid four seconds to get tackled for a six-yard loss to make 1st-and-10 into 2nd-and-16 (later 3rd-and-19 thanks to a Tony Pashos false start). Note the Browns receiver coming open up the left sideline (upper right corner of the screen). No luck for him (or us) here. Probably because, as we learned from Tony Grossi yesterday, "Wallace is uncomfortable throwing to his left" (which is why the Browns lined Massaquoi on the right side of the field yesterday, according to Grossi).


If Grossi knows this about Wallace, the odds are good that the Falcons know too. And it becomes less of a puzzle as to why Wallace has been a backup quarterback for his seven-year NFL career.

As for Delhomme, he wasn't playing at 100% and wasn't expecting to be thrown into the fire yesterday, which couldn't have helped. Yet still, with Wallace only leading one first-half drive longer than 24 yards (six drives of 18, 21, 5, 56 (TD), 3, and 24 yards), it's hard to say Delhomme did much worse (five drives of 22 (FG), 33, 6, 27, and 62 yards).

And if Watson or Cribbs comes up with one of those catches earlier, maybe we're playing with a lead, or at least not in a position for the tipped screen returned by Kroy Biermann for the nail-in-the-coffin touchdown.

The guy made a play. Really tough one. Delhomme needs to get more under that. Maybe next time Vickers should think about getting a chip on the end?

Anyway, these Falcons are as good as any team we've seen this season, extremely balanced on each side of the ball. Their front seven might be the best we'll see all season, especially the front four led by John Abraham who gave Joe Thomas fits yesterday. Hard to ask for a better tuneup for the Steelers next week. Unfortunately injuries to Delhomme and Wallace have put a major damper on the prospects there, but hopefully the defense continues to improve on yesterday's for-the-most-part excellent showing. We were especially glad to see a pass rush generated without a blitz yesterday, because the Steelers offensive line isn't as good as Atlanta's.

Huge game next week in Pittsburgh. Quarterback injuries aside, there'd be no reason to think the Browns couldn't come away with a win. Which again, is progress, as boring and frustrating as it can be.

----------

It's understood that it's challenging to write about a rebuilding football team, but a whole column to second-guess a decision not to burn a timeout on a play that had literally no chance of being overturned is just sad.

We'll keep doing our best to stay focused on what's important here.

We'll be back later for Monday Night Football. Hope everyone's week gets off to a decent start.Labels: 2010 NFL, Browns, Eric Mangini, Jake Delhomme, NFL, Peyton Hillis, Seneca Wallace


posted by Cleveland Frowns at 11:54 AM 4 Comments Links to this post

[hiwaygal]

I like that article!

It's nice to see some positives from someone outside of our little group.

From my perspective, this guy has no more credibility than some of the guys here, but I liked his spin on this one!

Well done!

[Greythan]

Interesting take.

All I can think about today is how I have one simple wish: no changes in President, GM, or Head Coach going into next year. This team is putting it all out there on Sunday's and I like the notion of stability.

[Shep]

I'd keep the defense but overhaul the passing game: coaches, system, and players. The OL, RB, and TE positions look strong enough to support that.

WCO, Kolb, and A.J.

[Greythan]

I'll take a team built around the power running game that can effectively pass the football. (Which we really can't right now.)

I don't think a WCO focused offense (i.e., pass sets up the run) will work.

This is the AFC North after all. There's a reason Baltimore and Pittsburgh goes to the playoffs every year: strong defense and a good running game.

[hiwaygal]

Originally Posted by Greythan

Interesting take.

All I can think about today is how I have one simple wish: no changes in President, GM, or Head Coach going into next year. This team is putting it all out there on Sunday's and I like the notion of stability.

Originally Posted by Greythan

I'll take a team built around the power running game that can effectively pass the football. (Which we really can't right now.)

I don't think a WCO focused offense (i.e., pass sets up the run) will work.

This is the AFC North after all. There's a reason Baltimore and Pittsburgh goes to the playoffs every year: strong defense and a good running game.

after reading your posts Grey...all I can think is:

YouTube - Mercenaries 2 - Oh No You Didn't! (loop)

[Masters]

For every if, and, or but in that article you could do the exact same thing for ATL and that game gets a lot uglier quickly. I coud say if ATL didnt' get all pass happy in their first two drives, when they were clearly running right over the Browns, both of those drives result in at least FGs. Every game has missed plays for both teams. That game was not as close as the score board indicated and clearly CLE has issues with its defensive game plan and it's offensive game plan. Not to mention the weaknesses that still exist in personal, but that has improved. This team is a ways away from being good, and I really don't believe either coordinator on staff today is going to help this team become better.

[hiwaygal]

oops...this wasn't s'posed to be after Masters post...it was s'posed to be after mine

[damajuki]

I love Frowny. He writes well. And he's smart. And reasonable.

I also love how he relentlessly mocks the Cleveland old-guard media. They deserve it. We do better than they do with analysis with far less access.

What I like best is how he is specific in his points regarding missed opportunities. It is important stuff to consider just HOW different the whole game could be with a few key moments. He's good at IDing the key moments.

[Legacy Fan]

If Frownie is going to target Watson as our "highest paid pass catcher" why not target Delhomme also as our "highest paid pass thrower."

Because, if we're being nitpicky - right now, we're trying to win football games with a half-priced*, but 10 year older Derek Anderson.


*Still overpaid at $7mil.

I just don't understand the blind 'defend at all costs' of Jake Delhomme. I also don't understand the blind attack at all costs of JDH either, but yeesh.
Our offense is Peyton Hillis. You can't run Jerome Harrison (or a busted-ass Jamal Lewis) the same way you run #40, Dbs.

[Enigmatic Evil]

I don't think it's defend at all costs, its just that we knew he was hurt out there, and we knew Delhomme probably shouldn't have been playing. It's that simple.

Great points brought up about Watson, we brought him in to make plays and he seems to draw a penalty at least every single game, am I wrong about this or just taking crazy pills? That's what it seems to me. He needs to be more diciplined, we need more from him!

I have been so disappointed with Jerome Harrison. A player I lobbied for and defended righteously during the off season has been a continuous non-factor. What happened? I mean, not even a spark, not even a solid run. It seems like when he gets the ball he gets stuffed. He's stutter stepping, trying to make plays rather than taking what's given to him. We need more consistency out of him if he wants more playing time.

I'm starting to see why he rode the bench behind Jamal Lewis, it's because they're similar backs. Harrison lacks Lewis' experience and instincts, who cares if he's the faster back. It's quickly apparent to me that he's not as effective.

Its simple why we all bust Dabolls chops. Its easy!

[samoth]

Like I already said in another thread, our WRs are not a problem. They were open all day, but Wallace and Delhomme barely even tried to find them. It was downright laughable seeing Massaquoi and Robiskie burn ATL's backfield only for our quarterbacks to give up too quickly to yet another checkdown. I'm not saying either is an all-pro, and the position could certainly be improved, but they are not as "bad" as advertised by a long-shot.

It didn't help that our best RB only got 10 carries (mostly in the second half!!!) and that Harrison got 6 carries ALL UP THE MIDDLE. Hello Daboll, play to his strengths and get him out in space. Anyway, they knew Hillis was hurting and they still barely used Cribbs as the wildcat QB to create plays and take pressure off him. Delhomme was limping from his first play onward, and it was obvious from my seat in the dawgpound that he could barely bend to take the handoff correctly.

This team really needs a QB. Delhomme is done, Wallace is a good backup but not a good starter, and McCoy is unproven. I'm hoping he can make some things happen, but our next 3 games are against Pittsburgh, New Orleans and New England, so I doubt it.