What I saw out there today vs Buffalo:

[Enigmatic Evil]

This is not a thread to place blame deserving, scapegoat, or otherwise. If you want to trash on players or coaches of the team, do it in another thread please.

This is merely for observations. Purely and simple. If you want to voice your observations please contribute here. I would like to see what the other fans who watched the game saw, rather than who we want to place our frustrations on.

Here's what I saw in today's game versus the Bills...

- Hillis' fumbles demoralized the team early:

We started out hot that first drive and that attempted hurdle by Hillis was dumb, plain and simple and I think it crushed his confidence with the ball a little bit. His fumbles later in the game didn't help matters. I am hoping he'll watch the tape and be careful not to be so careless in the next game.

- Delhomme's fumble was avoidable but that wasn't his fault, he got rushed from the blind side. Period:

That rookie DE mauled our O-Line today. He was all over the place making plays. That challenge fumble was bullshit as it was OBVIOUS that Delhomme was attempting a pass but regardless, that was one of the many instances worked against us today.

- Complete inability to move the football by the offense. Put that on the personnel AND the coach:

Jake did not look well out there and our offense was downright terrible. Hillis still had over 100 yards on the ground despite a billion fumbles. Delhomme had a meager 86 yards in what could only be described as a Brady Quinn-esque performance. His longest pass was a 34 yard strike to MoMass, over 1/3rd of his production in one pass. FIVE fumbles on offense to boot... just disgusting.

- Our D played well, well enough to keep this game within a TD's reach but again, the ineptitude of the offense failed to capitalize on that opportunity:

Our D played a solid game, kept Buffalo's offense honest but they couldn't make the big stops when we needed them to and the offensive ineptitude kept the D on the field and they looked exhausted out there by the fourth quarter.

- Mangini's classic scowl... :

Instead of seeing a little of this:
(A little bit of energy)

All we really saw was this:

There he stood on the sideline, arms folded, with a look on his face pretty much every fan who watched the game could empathize with. The whole second half of the game he wore this look like a badge of honor. I'm NOT going to bash Mangini. I trust he gave the team an ear full after the game and will work the team hard during the next week as we head into the next game. I will be interested to see how the team bounces back from this game and it will go a long way in painting Mangini's future with the team.

- Rob Ryan had a similar scowl for most of the game:

Our D was servicable but Ryan did not look pleased on the sidelines and with good reason. Our D failed to make the big plays when we needed them to and they were on the field a good portion of the game. In another thread, another poster illustrated the time of possession difference, 36:10 versus 23:50. Our D is as responsible for this as our terrible offense because when Buffalo needed the first downs they seemed to get them.

- Fans will make excuses but the reality is this loss falls on EVERYONE. Coaches and Team:

This was simply put the worst effort of the season and the worst game we've played all year. Much, much worse than the Carolina game, and I know the backlash will be hard but the blame doesn't deserve to be placed on one coach, or one player. This was the whole team that earned the loss and anyone who watched the game can attest to that. What I am looking to see now is how we bounce back and play next week in Cinci.

[DirtyDawg]

It is very true and reasonable that the blame should be spread everywhere.

But I can't remember a season where so many single plays had such a negative affect on a team.

- The pick-6 Delhomme threw against Tampa Bay just let the air out of the Browns right before the half. I don't care that it was before half-time, that play basically lost the game.

- The Hillis fumble also early in that game crushed the Browns momentum.

- The same could probably be said about the pick-6 Wallace threw the next week vs. KC

- The Chansi Stuckey fumble and resulting loss to the Jets was killer, and the team was deflated for the next week in Jacksonville.

- The Hillis fumble vs. Buffalo today - who knows what would happen if we converted on that early drive and took at 10-0 lead?

- Down just 3 against ATL, Delhomme was sack/fumbled and that was returned for a TD. That ruined that tight game.

- The poor play against Jones-Drew in Jacksonville could probably be put on this list at the end of the game.

You could probably throw in the Delhomme pick-6 and the following poor tackling on the Mike Goodson play with like 15 seconds left if the panthers actually made the field goal.

Big plays on big mistakes killing this team. Absolutely killing them. And they rarely make any either.

[Neo]

Originally Posted by Enigmatic Evil

- Hillis' fumbles demoralized the team early:

I know how much Cleveland fans love Hillis but I have to be honest, I was never fully on the Peyton Hillis bandwagon. He scares the shit out of me when he leaves his feet (LIKE HE DID TODAY) and his fumbles are very concerning to me. He has given this team a legit running threat but his style of play can also hurt us too. I look at Hillis as a double edged sword, one that can kill the other team, and one that can kill us too. I love what Hillis brings to the team but I am all for bringing someone in that can either help split carries or challange him for the starting job. He really needs to work on securing the ball and we still need to bring in someone to help carry the load even if he does get the fumbling problem worked out.

[nickers]

What I saw out there was bullshit...a team that got outcoached and outplayed and no excuses for it.

[OzDawg]

Originally Posted by nickers

What I saw out there was bullshit...a team that got outcoached and outplayed and no excuses for it.

I agree. so, who would you recommend as the HC, OC, and DC.?
second, who would you shit can and who would you get to take us to stardom? (and how would you get them)

we might as well start planning now!

[Jax Dawg]

I knew after the opening drive when Hillis couldn't punch it in and they decided to kick the 19 yard FG instead of going for it on 4th and inches this lack of "killer" mentality would kill us today. On the ensuing offensive play after the Bills turnover instead of going PA pass deep for a "killer" TD we hand off again for like the tenth time in a row and after a decent gain Hillis fumbles it right back. Good teams have that "killer" mentality and go for the jugular, we act like patsies instead of stepping on their throats. This team needs a pair of balls!

[Masters]

Jax, that is so true. Time and time again when the D get's a turn over the O doesn't even attempt to go for the kill shot. You need to attempt that kill shot as the momentum has just swung your way. I know, I know, CLE lacks play makers. But you can dial up a PA pass with Cribbs streaking down the side line and take a shot at it. You don't even have to complete it to get the point and affect across to the other team. Instead after a turn over CLE goes into it's conservative shell on O.

[Enigmatic Evil]

When you play tentatively as a team that displays to the opponent that you doubt yourself. Buffalo smelled that like a shark to blood and they played so aggressively against us after that first quarter they didn't give us the breathing room to try and recover and what opportunities we did have to try and change the tide, we did not capitalize on. I think both Masters and Jax are on to something, we didn't even show the will to TRY and change the tide. That's pathetic.

[nickers]

Originally Posted by Enigmatic Evil

When you play tentatively as a team that displays to the opponent that you doubt yourself. Buffalo smelled that like a shark to blood and they played so aggressively against us after that first quarter they didn't give us the breathing room to try and recover and what opportunities we did have to try and change the tide, we did not capitalize on. I think both Masters and Jax are on to something, we didn't even show the will to TRY and change the tide. That's pathetic.

I agree EE and to Me it doesnt bode well for EM or Dumboll.

[Greythan]

What I saw on our first drive looked like a team trying to impose its will on the opponent. That's a good thing. Up until..... you settle for the FG. I think a play action pass on first or second down would have been the "smart" call. It looked like Daboll wanted the rushing TD as a statement which I understand, but the risk of 3 straight runs is that you get stuffed and LOSE momentum.

That's what happened and we never truly recovered.

[TheBestPlayersPlay]

Originally Posted by Jax Dawg

Good teams have that "killer" mentality and go for the jugular, we act like patsies instead of stepping on their throats.

We don't have a good team, nor did any of us (that I know of) expect that we would have one this season.


When McCoy & Fujita, the QBs of our offense & defense went down, I stated it would be tough to win any games the rest of the season, or until they were healthy.

I personally think we'll still hit the 7 win mark ...maybe, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if we lose out, and I don't understand why anyone else would be.

Our team is what we thought it would be, with the pleasant surprise of them scratching & clawing to stay in almost every game, even when over-matched.

This pitch-fork crowd after every game we lose is flippin pathetic.

[OconRecon]

1. I agree that fumble isn't totally on Delhomme, but most successful QB's have a 6th sense about when a pocket is collapsing. McCoy has already shown this.

2. I do not like Tressel/Mangini ball. There is a time for it, like in the 4th Q of the Patriots game. But I much prefer the "let's go out an win this thing" mentality. Dabol was great (yeah, I said it) for the Saints and Patriots game. He threw everything he had at it, and we all liked it. In the Bills game, it seemed like he set out in burn-the-clock mode from the get-go. Boring and ineffective. I'm not watching football to better myself, rather I'm looking for entertainment. I'd rather go 8-8 with constant shoot-outs than solid 10-6 type of wins. Zzzzzzz. We should have been Wildcat-ing, Wallace-ing, play action-ing, etc.

3. This should be a wake up call for Hillis. He has to fix this problem. Plain and simple.

I'm still reserving judgement for when McCoy gets back and the last 3 games. Until then, this is all flibbity-floo.