Hello everyone,
I was unable to watch the Browns game live, but I ended up recording it on my DVR. I came away with a few observations from the Browns 20-12 victory over the Bengals.
Jamal Lewis still has it. This guy impressed me both on and off the field during this game. He set the tone early in the game. In the first drive he had a couple of big runs that set us up for a field goal. Lewis never went down on first contact, and he just kept his feet moving. Throughout the game he ran hard and tired out the Bengals D. Along with his tough running (24 carries for 79 yards and a TD) , he caught 2 passes for 15 yards. Also, in the third quarter, after the Braylon Edwards was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty, it seemed that Derek Anderson got in his face about it, and Braylon seemed to be jawing back. Jamal got in the middle of both of them, grabbed both their jerseys and tried to calm them down. I thought this was a great example of veteran leadership by Lewis. Both Anderson and Edwards are 25 years old, and they still have some learning to do in the NFL, and I thought that Lewis did a good job of acting as a mediator to these young talents.
This Defense is not that bad. I know the Bengals did not have their starting QB in Carson Palmer, but they still had Chad Johnson, TJ Houshmanzadeh, Chris Perry, and Ben Utecht. The D did a great job of stopping the run. D'Qwell Jackson, and Brandon McDonald both had great plays where they stopped the run in the backfield. We did not let the Bengals get that big gain on the ground. Our front 7 seemed to get good penetration up front. The Bengals starting running back Chris Perry was held to 28 yards on 12 carries. The previous three games he averaged 60 yards per game. Our secondary also played well in that Eric Wright made some good plays, especially in the first half where had a good pass deflection and a great interception. He should have done a better job of holding on to the ball during the INT return. Mike Adams played a good game, he had an INT, a sack, and a fumble recovery. I also liked the fact that we were sending more guys to blitz from our secondary. It was a smart idea to pressure an inexperienced QB, this resulted in 3 sacks. Shaun Rogers continues to play well as he added a sack and continued to put pressure on their offense. Kamerion Wimbley finally recorded his first sack, so hopefully he can break out of the slump he has been in for the last few months. I was particularly impressed with our tackling. We did not let the Bengals break away from big plays, and we did a great job of wrapping up the opposition. Alex Hall definitely looks like a keeper. He pressured the QB, forced a fumble, and had a sack. Not bad for a rookie 7th round rounder who was drafted out of D III school St. Augustine's. The unit finally seemed to play as a whole, and they did not let the big play happen.
We still look kind of sloppy. In the first half, Derek Anderson did not look good at all. We ran the ball more, but in the times that we did throw, we still did not do a good job of getting passes out to our receivers. He continued to throw passes in double coverage, or passes at the receivers feet. After the INT in the 2nd half, Anderson seemed to make better passes. He threw a good TD pass to Braylon, and he went 6 for 7 for 46 yards. I feel that he had more poise in the pocket, and he did not make the dumb mistakes he usually does. Also, I attribute the better play to the offensive line. They had their best game in my mind in that we allowed 1 sack all game, and ran for 134 yards. When the offensive line plays well, it benefits DA in a few ways. One, the run does better, so opposing defenses must account for both the run and pass. This takes pressure off DA to make big plays when the run is taken away, as opposed to having a good running game, which allows him to do more. Another benefit is that DA has more time in the pocket. When DA does not feel rushed he seems to make better passes and he does not make dumb throws. He won't lock on a receiver, and he can scan the field for an open receiver with more time. Overall, I feel that DA played a little above average game. The Browns still had a few penalties in the game (9 of them for 52 yards), turnovers (Eric Wright Fumble, DA INT), and it took them a long time to finally get in the flow of the game (We didn't score a TD till the 4th quarter).
The Browns still have some quirks to work out in practice. I feel that this team can get much better with practice, or they can just fall right back on their faces and be a below-average squad. We have the talent to do well, we just have to play disciplined, and smart. Our coaches need to continue to use Jerome Harrison more in the offense. I was glad to see him used, but he can be used even more because he only had 4 carries, and he was thrown to a few times. Alex Hall should continue to play more, and the coaches should concentrate on throwing the ball deep down the field. This will open up the whole field for our offense and make us a very potent offensive squad. DA has a make or break week vs the Giants. I say this because if he does not play well, the season will probably be a wash, and there will be an incentive to see what Brady Quinn will do. DA did not wow anyone with his performance, but he definitely should not lose his job over this game either. With a bye week coming up, some of our key offensive players should get healthy (Donte Stallworth, Ryan Tucker, maybe Joe Jurevicus) . The D should continue to pressure and confuse offenses in the trenches, and they should send more blitzes to force turnovers. The Browns have a huge game vs the Giants, and I hope they pull out a victory. A win vs. the defending Super Bowl Champs can go a long way to building confidence in this team, and taking us in the right direction for this season.
Well, I have to go back to studying for my Accounting exam. Wish me luck, I am going to need it! Hopefully sometime this coming week (Tuesday or Wed.) I can write about the Indians and my thoughts on the season, and the upcoming offseason. Thank you for reading, and I would love to hear your thoughts. Leave me a comment, and go Cleveland!
-Raz
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
To be or not to be? DA vs Brady and others
After the dissapointing loss that the Browns encounter on Sunday against the Ravens, every Browns fan seems to be calling for the heads of Romeo Crennell and Derek Anderson. Before I get to the DA vs Brady question, I will take a look at Romeo.
While I am not a big fan of Romeo Crennell, I do like him for a couple of reasons. One, the players respect him well. You do not hear too many stories of mutiny in the locker room or players getting arrested. Back when we had Butch Davis, you had scuffles between players such as William Green and Kevin Johnson, veterans like Ross Verba calling out the coaches, and a very non-disciplined team doing dumb things such as throwing off a helmet before a game ends.
Another reason why I like Romeo is he has done somewhat of a good job of scouting, and using talent that he has had. While most of the credit should go to GM Phil Savage, Romeo does have a say in what players come in and out. We have had some pretty solid draft picks under Savage/Crennell. This includes linebackers Kamerion Wimbley, D'Qwell Jackson, Leon Williams, running back Jerome Harrison, special teams ace Josh Cribbs, wide reciever Braylon Edwards, quarterback Derek Anderson, offensive tackle Joe Thomas, and safety Brodney Pool. While these guys are not bone fide Pro Bowlers, they are a pretty solid group of players. Romeo probably was not responsible for bringing all these guys in, but I am sure he had a hand in scouting, and he has done a solid job of coaching them. Last year we had 5 Pro Bowlers, and only one of them was not from the Savage/Crennell regime (Kellen Winslow Jr.), so obviously we have done a good job of upgrading our talent base, and we have used our players in a productive way.
Now that the good has been established, we have to show the cons of Romeo's coaching tenure. I feel that with the current controversy that we have between DA and Brady is one that is not good. Romeo should have learned his lesson from Week 1 in 2007 when he decided to flip a coin before the game to decide the starter for the game vs. Pittsburgh. We all saw how well that played out. What I did like was that he was very quick to a decision in getting Charlie Frye out of here a couple days later. Romeo needs to set the precedent of who his QB is going to be. Romeo seems to lack decision making skills. His gaffe of not calling a timeout before the 2nd quarter vs. Pittsburgh really killed us. Going for a field goal when you are down 28-7 in the fourth quarter is also pretty dumb. He should have gone for it on 4th down in the 4th quarter vs. Pittsburgh. If you get the TD the game is tied and your defense can get a stop. By kicking a field goal you NEED a stop, along with a TD to win the game. Romeo seems to take the safe route with his calls, and he needs to learn that this team played its best when we threw the ball down the field and attacked defenses.
Another problem I have with Romeo is that he is too nice of a head coach. I have only see Romeo yell at his players on the sidelines 2 or 3 times. When we make mistakes he just has a blank stare on the sidelines. During press conferences he usually says that we either made too many mistakes, or just played poorly. He should be calling out his players to do better and light their fires. A bad coach is one who calls his players out but does not motivate them to do well. A great coach is one who can call his players out, tell them what they are doing wrong, fix it in practice, and see a better result on the field. His players seem to be too comfortable on the field, and they do not seem like they are ready to make big plays happen. He does not seem to like the challenge of the pressure that big games bring, as he has not beaten the Steelers in his tenure, and the team lost a critical game vs the Bengals last year that cost us the playoffs. After going 10-6 last year, the Browns were poised to make a playoff run and many analyst's predicated that they would win the AFC North, but this has not happened. We have great expectations for this team, and we seem to have buckled under the pressure. I make this sound very simple, and I am sure there is more too it, but Romeo needs to start being more aggressive with his players, and coaching style.
We are in the 4th week of our season and we are 0-3. We are taking on a Cincinnati team who barely lost to the Super Bowl champion NY Giants. They will be full of confidence knowing that they hung with one of the best teams in the NFL. Their QB Carson Palmer and WR TJ Houshmanzadeh seem to have broken out of their slump as Carson threw for 286 yds, and Housh caught for over 100 yds at a TD. The Bengals have an offensive arsenal that is bound to explode any week, and if theres a week where they can do it, it will be against the young and ineffective Browns secondary. Palmer and Housh, along with Chris Perry, Chad Ocho Cinco, and Chris Henry are too good to be sputtering on offense. Add this with the fact that Josh Cribbs, Eric Steinbach, Jamal Lewis, Donte Stallworth, and Sean Jones are all battling injuries, the Browns really need some stability going into this game, especially from the QB position. Heres what I would do:
Bench DA, and start Brady Quinn. Do this because DA seems to have lost his confidence, and he looks very tentative and slow throwing the ball. I get nervous every time he throws the ball because every time he throws, the ball is thrown near 2-3 defenders. He does not seem to do a good job of finding receivers in single coverage. This might not all be his fault because 2 of his 3 top receivers are hurt. Syndric Steptoe, who is a 7th round pick is our 2nd receiver. He has very little experience in the NFL. Also, his receivers have dropped a lot of passes, especially Braylon Edwards. Still, DA threw a crucial INT to Ed Reed that really killed us. In this Pittsburgh game this year, he could not get us in the endzone, and when we got down the field he threw another crucial INT to Troy Polamalu before the first half ended. He seems to lack consistency, he is either really on, throwing the ball down the field and moving the chains, or he is really off, going 4 drives and throwing 2-3 INT in the process. This was evidenced last year in the Cincinnati, Arizona, and Oakland away games where he just downright horrible for stretches in those games and he threw a combined 8 INTs in those games compared to 5 TD's. (Remember too that those 3 teams last year had a combined record of 19-29)
By bringing in Quinn, we will have a QB that defenses have not really seen before. He is mobile in the pocket, and he can keep plays alive better than DA can. He is a more accurate passer, and he does not make the dumb mistake of throwing into double coverage as much as DA does. I base this off of preseason games, and while preseason games are not the best indicator of performance, they are a showcase of what Quinn can do. Also, Brady seems to have more command in the huddle and he looks and sounds more like a General on the field. When you hear DA in an interview, he seems to have either been drinking, or he is just nervous. Rarely do you seem him getting in the faces of his teammates going crazy. Quinn is someone who is well versed in interviews, and he seeks to take charge in the huddle with his teammates. I feel that Quinn's intangibles, along with his mobility and decision making abilities make him a better choice for a spark than DA and his strong arm and experience.
Play Jerome Harrison more. I am not saying give this guy 20 carries a game, but give him 10-12 carries, along with 4-5 throws a game. He can be the "lightning" to Jamal Lewis' "thunder". He is a great change of pace back who demonstrated his agility, and moves against the Steelers and Ravens. Our only TD in the Ravens game was a screen pass that went to Harrison and he ran past their defense. The second best offensive play we have had all year was the long run that Harrison had vs. the Steelers. While Lewis is pounding and tiring defenses out, Harrison can get the long 10-12 yard gains by using his agility to knock defenses out.
Blitz our corners more, along with Alex Hall. In the Pittsburgh and Baltimore games, we saw a little bit more blitzing from the Browns D. In the Pittsburgh game I thought we did a solid job of getting to Big Ben. In the Baltimore game when we blitzed our corners, we forced some incomplete passes from Joe Flacco. Also, the Browns should use Alex Hall more. He seems to be a very athletic LB. He got his first career sack and he had 7 tackles vs. Pittsburgh. He was in on many plays and he seems to be adjusting well. I feel that if we pressure the QB more, the less pressure our secondary will feel. We will either be forcing the opposing QB to throw a bad or errant pass, or we will be sacking him.
Now while this is not going to guarantee us a win vs the Bengals, I feel that if Quinn plays mistake free football, gets the ball in the hands of Edwards, Harrison, K2, and Lewis, the Browns can win. If the D can get some pressure on Palmer and force him to make mistakes (which he has, he threw 20 INT's last year, good for a tie for first in the NFL), the Browns can put themselves in a great position to win.
In conclusion, the Browns have had numerous problems outside of Romeo's and DA's control. The injuries have really hurt this team, and they really need the continuity of playing together. Also, we have played 2 very good teams in Dallas and Pittsburgh, and we played Pittsburgh pretty damn well. But the mistakes, lack of confidence, and leadership from Derek Anderson are just too costly to have on a team with this much talent. Romeo needs to make his choice on who is starter is going to be, and he needs to mix up his play calling a little more by blitzing more on D, and throwing the long ball on O. By bringing in Quinn, you are trying to spark your anemic offense, and you have a QB who won't make as many mistakes. I do believe the Browns season is salvageable but it is going to take hard work, personnel changes, and this damn injury bug to go away. We will see how the team plays and reacts this week vs Cincinnati. Until then, go Browns and thanks for reading!
-Raz
P.S. I apologize for writing so much, I have a lot on my mind and I don't like making statements without backing them up with some sort of evidence.
While I am not a big fan of Romeo Crennell, I do like him for a couple of reasons. One, the players respect him well. You do not hear too many stories of mutiny in the locker room or players getting arrested. Back when we had Butch Davis, you had scuffles between players such as William Green and Kevin Johnson, veterans like Ross Verba calling out the coaches, and a very non-disciplined team doing dumb things such as throwing off a helmet before a game ends.
Another reason why I like Romeo is he has done somewhat of a good job of scouting, and using talent that he has had. While most of the credit should go to GM Phil Savage, Romeo does have a say in what players come in and out. We have had some pretty solid draft picks under Savage/Crennell. This includes linebackers Kamerion Wimbley, D'Qwell Jackson, Leon Williams, running back Jerome Harrison, special teams ace Josh Cribbs, wide reciever Braylon Edwards, quarterback Derek Anderson, offensive tackle Joe Thomas, and safety Brodney Pool. While these guys are not bone fide Pro Bowlers, they are a pretty solid group of players. Romeo probably was not responsible for bringing all these guys in, but I am sure he had a hand in scouting, and he has done a solid job of coaching them. Last year we had 5 Pro Bowlers, and only one of them was not from the Savage/Crennell regime (Kellen Winslow Jr.), so obviously we have done a good job of upgrading our talent base, and we have used our players in a productive way.
Now that the good has been established, we have to show the cons of Romeo's coaching tenure. I feel that with the current controversy that we have between DA and Brady is one that is not good. Romeo should have learned his lesson from Week 1 in 2007 when he decided to flip a coin before the game to decide the starter for the game vs. Pittsburgh. We all saw how well that played out. What I did like was that he was very quick to a decision in getting Charlie Frye out of here a couple days later. Romeo needs to set the precedent of who his QB is going to be. Romeo seems to lack decision making skills. His gaffe of not calling a timeout before the 2nd quarter vs. Pittsburgh really killed us. Going for a field goal when you are down 28-7 in the fourth quarter is also pretty dumb. He should have gone for it on 4th down in the 4th quarter vs. Pittsburgh. If you get the TD the game is tied and your defense can get a stop. By kicking a field goal you NEED a stop, along with a TD to win the game. Romeo seems to take the safe route with his calls, and he needs to learn that this team played its best when we threw the ball down the field and attacked defenses.
Another problem I have with Romeo is that he is too nice of a head coach. I have only see Romeo yell at his players on the sidelines 2 or 3 times. When we make mistakes he just has a blank stare on the sidelines. During press conferences he usually says that we either made too many mistakes, or just played poorly. He should be calling out his players to do better and light their fires. A bad coach is one who calls his players out but does not motivate them to do well. A great coach is one who can call his players out, tell them what they are doing wrong, fix it in practice, and see a better result on the field. His players seem to be too comfortable on the field, and they do not seem like they are ready to make big plays happen. He does not seem to like the challenge of the pressure that big games bring, as he has not beaten the Steelers in his tenure, and the team lost a critical game vs the Bengals last year that cost us the playoffs. After going 10-6 last year, the Browns were poised to make a playoff run and many analyst's predicated that they would win the AFC North, but this has not happened. We have great expectations for this team, and we seem to have buckled under the pressure. I make this sound very simple, and I am sure there is more too it, but Romeo needs to start being more aggressive with his players, and coaching style.
We are in the 4th week of our season and we are 0-3. We are taking on a Cincinnati team who barely lost to the Super Bowl champion NY Giants. They will be full of confidence knowing that they hung with one of the best teams in the NFL. Their QB Carson Palmer and WR TJ Houshmanzadeh seem to have broken out of their slump as Carson threw for 286 yds, and Housh caught for over 100 yds at a TD. The Bengals have an offensive arsenal that is bound to explode any week, and if theres a week where they can do it, it will be against the young and ineffective Browns secondary. Palmer and Housh, along with Chris Perry, Chad Ocho Cinco, and Chris Henry are too good to be sputtering on offense. Add this with the fact that Josh Cribbs, Eric Steinbach, Jamal Lewis, Donte Stallworth, and Sean Jones are all battling injuries, the Browns really need some stability going into this game, especially from the QB position. Heres what I would do:
Bench DA, and start Brady Quinn. Do this because DA seems to have lost his confidence, and he looks very tentative and slow throwing the ball. I get nervous every time he throws the ball because every time he throws, the ball is thrown near 2-3 defenders. He does not seem to do a good job of finding receivers in single coverage. This might not all be his fault because 2 of his 3 top receivers are hurt. Syndric Steptoe, who is a 7th round pick is our 2nd receiver. He has very little experience in the NFL. Also, his receivers have dropped a lot of passes, especially Braylon Edwards. Still, DA threw a crucial INT to Ed Reed that really killed us. In this Pittsburgh game this year, he could not get us in the endzone, and when we got down the field he threw another crucial INT to Troy Polamalu before the first half ended. He seems to lack consistency, he is either really on, throwing the ball down the field and moving the chains, or he is really off, going 4 drives and throwing 2-3 INT in the process. This was evidenced last year in the Cincinnati, Arizona, and Oakland away games where he just downright horrible for stretches in those games and he threw a combined 8 INTs in those games compared to 5 TD's. (Remember too that those 3 teams last year had a combined record of 19-29)
By bringing in Quinn, we will have a QB that defenses have not really seen before. He is mobile in the pocket, and he can keep plays alive better than DA can. He is a more accurate passer, and he does not make the dumb mistake of throwing into double coverage as much as DA does. I base this off of preseason games, and while preseason games are not the best indicator of performance, they are a showcase of what Quinn can do. Also, Brady seems to have more command in the huddle and he looks and sounds more like a General on the field. When you hear DA in an interview, he seems to have either been drinking, or he is just nervous. Rarely do you seem him getting in the faces of his teammates going crazy. Quinn is someone who is well versed in interviews, and he seeks to take charge in the huddle with his teammates. I feel that Quinn's intangibles, along with his mobility and decision making abilities make him a better choice for a spark than DA and his strong arm and experience.
Play Jerome Harrison more. I am not saying give this guy 20 carries a game, but give him 10-12 carries, along with 4-5 throws a game. He can be the "lightning" to Jamal Lewis' "thunder". He is a great change of pace back who demonstrated his agility, and moves against the Steelers and Ravens. Our only TD in the Ravens game was a screen pass that went to Harrison and he ran past their defense. The second best offensive play we have had all year was the long run that Harrison had vs. the Steelers. While Lewis is pounding and tiring defenses out, Harrison can get the long 10-12 yard gains by using his agility to knock defenses out.
Blitz our corners more, along with Alex Hall. In the Pittsburgh and Baltimore games, we saw a little bit more blitzing from the Browns D. In the Pittsburgh game I thought we did a solid job of getting to Big Ben. In the Baltimore game when we blitzed our corners, we forced some incomplete passes from Joe Flacco. Also, the Browns should use Alex Hall more. He seems to be a very athletic LB. He got his first career sack and he had 7 tackles vs. Pittsburgh. He was in on many plays and he seems to be adjusting well. I feel that if we pressure the QB more, the less pressure our secondary will feel. We will either be forcing the opposing QB to throw a bad or errant pass, or we will be sacking him.
Now while this is not going to guarantee us a win vs the Bengals, I feel that if Quinn plays mistake free football, gets the ball in the hands of Edwards, Harrison, K2, and Lewis, the Browns can win. If the D can get some pressure on Palmer and force him to make mistakes (which he has, he threw 20 INT's last year, good for a tie for first in the NFL), the Browns can put themselves in a great position to win.
In conclusion, the Browns have had numerous problems outside of Romeo's and DA's control. The injuries have really hurt this team, and they really need the continuity of playing together. Also, we have played 2 very good teams in Dallas and Pittsburgh, and we played Pittsburgh pretty damn well. But the mistakes, lack of confidence, and leadership from Derek Anderson are just too costly to have on a team with this much talent. Romeo needs to make his choice on who is starter is going to be, and he needs to mix up his play calling a little more by blitzing more on D, and throwing the long ball on O. By bringing in Quinn, you are trying to spark your anemic offense, and you have a QB who won't make as many mistakes. I do believe the Browns season is salvageable but it is going to take hard work, personnel changes, and this damn injury bug to go away. We will see how the team plays and reacts this week vs Cincinnati. Until then, go Browns and thanks for reading!
-Raz
P.S. I apologize for writing so much, I have a lot on my mind and I don't like making statements without backing them up with some sort of evidence.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
The Debut
Why hello everyone. My name is Raz Pounardjian and this is the first time I have ever written a blog. I was born on June 18th 1988 in Cleveland Ohio. I am a junior at John Carroll University. One of the many loves in my life is sports. I truly enjoy all Cleveland sports, this includes the Cleveland Browns, Indians, and Cavaliers. Also, I am a big fan of the Cleveland State Vikings basketball team. Aside from Cleveland Sports, I root for the UCLA Bruins basketball team. Some of my favorite athletes include: Shannon Stewart, LeBron James, Steve Prefontaine, Rafael Betancourt, Ben Wallace, Kevin Love, Allen Iverson, John Wooden, Michael Beasley, J'Nathon Bullock, Victor Morris, Jim Brown, Ted Ginn Jr., Chris Douglas Roberts, Josh Cribbs, and Kellen Winslow Jr. There are many others but I probably have forgotten about them now.
The reason why I decided to start writing a blog is because I would like to increase the exposure of Cleveland Sports on the internet. Also, I host a radio program on WJCU 88.7 FM, and I talk lots of sports on my show. I want to put these thoughts on the web for everyone to read. I will try to give equal time to all Cleveland teams on my blog. For those of you who are OSU fans, I apologize. I probably won't write about them, unless there is a big game or an interesting story coming out. When I decide to write on a specific team, I hope to give the actual story, along with the implications and any opinions I may have on the matter. When reading through my blogs, I am sure you will begin to notice the types of players I like, and the types of players I don't like. My intentions are not to just call out players and criticize them, but to see why they are playing they way they are.
The first actual story will hopefully be posted within the coming week. I want to thank all of you who read this first blog, and I hope you will not only read, but contribute with your thoughts.
-Raz
The reason why I decided to start writing a blog is because I would like to increase the exposure of Cleveland Sports on the internet. Also, I host a radio program on WJCU 88.7 FM, and I talk lots of sports on my show. I want to put these thoughts on the web for everyone to read. I will try to give equal time to all Cleveland teams on my blog. For those of you who are OSU fans, I apologize. I probably won't write about them, unless there is a big game or an interesting story coming out. When I decide to write on a specific team, I hope to give the actual story, along with the implications and any opinions I may have on the matter. When reading through my blogs, I am sure you will begin to notice the types of players I like, and the types of players I don't like. My intentions are not to just call out players and criticize them, but to see why they are playing they way they are.
The first actual story will hopefully be posted within the coming week. I want to thank all of you who read this first blog, and I hope you will not only read, but contribute with your thoughts.
-Raz
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)