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Browns Fall in Final Game

It was a solid defensive performance, but the offense didn’t show up against the Steelers.  In the final game of the year, Cleveland made it close but ultimately lost 13-9 after a hail mary pass to end the game could not be completed.  It was a similar story for the 4-12 Browns who’s great pass defense kept them in the game, but their inept offense never really gave them a chance.

The Browns held a battered Roethlisberger to just 221 yards passing with no touchdowns.  It was the rush defense that struggled once again, despite the Steerers losing Mendenhall early to what some believe is a torn ACL.  Redman took over as the feature back and ran for 91 yards and the only touchdown of the game for either team.  The Steelers ended up running for over 160 yards as a team.

Seneca Wallace did not perform well in his third start of the year.  He completed just 16 of 41 passes for 177 yards, no TDs and an INT.  He was able to scramble for 44 yards, which actually led the team.  That is more of a hit on Hillis than anything, as he could only manage a meager 30 rushing yards on 10 carries.  This team will not win through the air, but it was clear that they didn’t think the running game would work against the stout Pittsburgh rush defense.

Greg Little was held without a catch on 5 targets.  It was poor ending to a promising rookie season for Little, who ended up with over 700 yards receiving.  He had his ups and downs, but he has emerged as the number one target on this team.  Josh Cribbs ended up the leading receiver with 7 catches for 91 yards.  He had probably his best year as a pass catcher, finishing for over 500 yards.  He may be a bigger part of the offense next year, depending largely on what happens in the offseason.

It should be an interesting offseason for the Browns who have a lot of questions to answer.  They have some holes, obviously in the run defense and the passing game.  They also have a top first round picks, including the 4th overall pick.  There second one will come down to where Atlanta finishes in the playoffs.  Everyone in the world thinks Andrew Luck is going first overall to the Colts, but after that it becomes more of  a question mark.  The Browns can go a number of ways, with the next top players including CB Morris Claiborne, OT Matt Kalil, WR Justin Blackmon, and QB Robert Griffin III.  Of course, the Browns two best players are Haden and Thomas, so they likely are hoping one of the two offensive play makers fall to them.  It will be interesting to see if Holmgren will give up on McCoy so early, but if Griffin is there, I think he will be the pick without a doubt.  Blackmon would be a great consolation prize and would give this offense some serious fire power along with Little.

The running back situation has to be decided as well.  Hillis won’t be under contract, but I would be surprised if the Browns don’t ultimately re-sign him.  He clashed with management earlier this year about a contract extension, but he lost a lot of leverage when he couldn’t stay on the field this year.  He ended up with just one 100 yard outing, which won’t exactly wow potential suitors in the free agent field.  Of course the Browns don’t have much leverage either.  They drafted Montario Hardesty  in 2010 with the expectation that he would ultimately become the lead back.  He can’t even stay on the field, so there is no way the Browns would be ready to hand him the starting reigns.  I think the most likely scenario will be Hillis signing a short deal, one or two years, that will allow him to prove he is healthy and effective.  Then he can seek that big contract next offseason.  Cleveland could go another way as well.  If they have had enough of Peyton, they could seek out a free agent to compete with Hardesty, or take Trent Richardson who should be available at there 4th overall pick.  There is a lot of talent at RB in this draft, so it won’t be surprising to see them take one with their second first round pick also.

 

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spacer 360 News | Ben King | spacer January 2, 2012 6:53 pm | spacer Comments (0)

Browns Fall Again

The Browns played their final away game of the season on Sunday, and just like most of the other ones, they lost.  The Ravens went off to a 20-0 lead early in the third quarter before allowing Cleveland to make it close with a final score of 20-14.  Joshua Cribbs scored first for the Browns with an 84 yard punt return.  Seneca Wallace made it a one score game after he connected to Evan Moore for an 8 yard score.  Cleveland would have received the ball with nearly two minutes left of the clock to make one final push for a win, but an unacceptable encroachment penalty allowed the Ravens to get a first down on a fourth and short.  They kneeled out the clock to take the victory.

I mentioned how Seneca Wallace had the chance to prove his worthiness as a starter in this game.  He didn’t exactly embarrass himself out there against one of the top defenses in the league, but didn’t exactly separate himself from Colt McCoy.  He finished with a typical line that Colt has produced this year, finishing with 147 yards, one score and an INT.  Wallace may have a chance to compete for a starting job next year, but no outside competition is brought in, Colt McCoy will likely be the favorite to start.  Another big story going into the offseason will be what the Browns decide to do with Peyton Hillis.  He had his best game of the season with 112 rushing yards on 24 carries.  However, it has been much of a lost season for Hillis who struggled to stay healthy, and has been ineffective much of the time when playing.  He also fought with management earlier this year about a contract extension.  His best bet may be to stay in Cleveland, however, as he certainly did not do much to earn a long term deal.  Helping his case to stay a Brown is the lack of offensive talent currently on the roster.  Hardesty has been even less effective and healthy, so Cleveland would be smart to keep Hillis around.

Little was the leading receiver, but didn’t have an incredible game.  He had 4 catches on 12 targets for 40 yards.  He now has over 60 catches and over 700 yards on the season.  A very impressive rookie season for Little, who has already emerged as the top target in the passing game.

The Browns lost their last 5 games, and 8 of their last 9.  It certainly has been a disappointing season for Cleveland, but growing pains were somewhat expected.  There was definitely higher expectations for some players, and more progress from players such as McCoy, Hillis, and Hardesty would have been made things much better for fans.  They will try to end on a high note and take out the Steelers at home this Sunday.

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spacer 360 News | Ben King | spacer December 29, 2011 3:26 am | spacer Comments (0)

4th Quarter Collapse

For three quarters of football, Cleveland was playing some of the best football they have all year.  Seneca Wallace, making his first start of the year, filled in for Colt McCoy very well, in fact probably better than Colt himself.  Wallace threw for 226 yards, ran for 21 yards, and threw a touchdown.  He fumbled once, but all in all he gave this Browns offense I nice jump start.  The 17 points they scored was more than they had scored in their previous two games.   The offense has struggled mightily this year, they have only scored more than two touchdowns once all year.  Part of that has to do with injuries, some of it has to do with McCoy.  There are only two games left in the season, but it will be interesting for the future to see who plays in each.  In a short week it seems unlikely that McCoy will be cleared to play this week against Baltimore, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him shut down for the season to get a better look at Wallace.  Either way it is likely that the Browns will have a top ten pick in a QB rich class.  Luck will be off the board, but guys like Matt Barkley, Robert Griffin III, and Landry Jones all me be available when the Browns pick.

Another big reason the offense has struggled all season was the lack of a running game.  Injuries have kept Hillis and Hardesty on the shelf for much of the season.  Hillis had one of his more productive games of the season in this game, rushing just one yard shy of the 100 mark on 26 carries.  Hillis as a workhorse is what this team needs.  Of course there is no guarantee Hillis will be back in a Cleveland uniform next year.  Of course Montario Hardesty hasn’t exactly shown he can even stay healthy enough to hold onto a starting role.  At least the WR position has a little certainty going into next season.  Greg Little is emerging as the top threat at the position and seems to have a solid connection with Wallace.  In one catch, Little almost had his career high in yardage.  In the third quarter the rookie was on the receiving end of a 76 yard score.  He ended up with 131 yards on 5 catches, for a career game.  This gave the Browns a 10 point lead.

The 4th quarter was all Cardinals though, as John Skelton spread open the field and started connected with all of this receivers.  He ended up with 313 yards in the air, and 3 different Cardinal receivers had 60+ yards.  10 unanswered points in the 4th led to OT, which led to a 22 yard game winning chip shot by Jay Feely.  So next game is at Baltimore, which will be a big test for Seneca Wallace.  If he plays well, he could play himself into serious consideration for the starting role in 2012.  Baltimore is coming off a blowout loss to San Diego.  They are looking to hold onto the AFC North Division lead, so they aren’t likely to slip up very much.  The last time the two met, Baltimore dominated the game through the run.  Ray Rice had a career high 204 yards rushing against the porous Browns defense.  Expect more of the same on Saturday unless they suddenly found a way to slow down the Pro Bowl back.

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spacer 360 News | Ben King | spacer December 21, 2011 3:38 am | spacer Comments (0)

Ben Returns to Beat Browns

It looked as if Roethlisberger would be knocked out of the game in the 2nd quarter after a high ankle sprain that looked a lot worse.  However, he came back in the 2nd half to lead the Steelers over their division rival Browns.  Cleveland’s Quarterback was also knocked out for a point.  He took a punishing hit from James Harrison which was flagged for helmet to helmet.  It appeared as though Colt McCoy may have sustained a concussion, but he came back just a few plays later.  Perhaps that was not the best move for either McCoy or the Browns.  McCoy couldn’t recall the finish of the game the next day but Brown fans sure do.  He came back and immediately was flagged for intentional grounding.  He did one worse on the next drive as he threw an INT in the end zone.  It wasn’t an impressive performance from the second year QB who couldn’t escape the Steelers punishing attack.  He was sacked 3 times and took 7 QB hits.  This can help explain him completing just over half of his passes for 209 yards and 2 interceptions.  The Browns never found the end zone.

Not surprisingly, the Browns couldn’t run the ball on Pittsburgh.  Despite having Hillis and Hardesty in the mix, they each managed just over 20 yards.  It was actually Chris Ogbonnaya who led the team in rushing, and he did it on just two carries.  He had a 28 yard run on a third and long that surprisingly extended the drive.  Cleveland’s run defense had one its better performances of the year.  They kept Mendenhall from having a huge game, especially with Big Ben struggling through an injury.  Statistically speaking, Roethlisberger didn’t seem hampered by the injury.  He completed 16 of 21 for 280 yards and 2 touchdowns.  He connected with Antonio Brown in the 4th quarter on a play where Joe Haden slipped.  He allowed Brown to go down 79 yards for a score to give the Steelers a 14-3 lead that ended up as the final score.

This was the third straight loss for Cleveland and 6th in their last 7 games.  They face the Cardinals in Arizona next week, which is no easy task.  Arizona is now 6-7 and are playing there best football all year.  They have won 3 straight, 5 of 6 and are coming off wins over Dallas and San Francisco.  Kevin Kolb was forced out early in last game, but John Skelton performed great in a relief role.  Arizona doesn’t excel at anything, but they have been playing much better defense of late.  If Beanie Wells is healthy, expect a heavy dose.  Cleveland’s rough stretch at the end of the season will continue Sunday.

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spacer 360 News | Ben King | spacer December 12, 2011 4:37 pm | spacer Comments (0)

Ravens Run Over Browns

Earlier in the year, the Ravens had a pass happy attack that lead to many critiquing their offensive game plan.  Unfortunately for the Browns, the Ravens decided to run the ball all day long.  Cleveland kept close for a while, but never seemed to have a chance in this one.  They simply could not stop Ray Rice and the Ravens running attack.  Rice finished with a career high 204 yards on 29 carries, and even Ricky Williams had his best game as a Raven running for 76 yards.  Flacco was held to a mediocre 158 passing yards, but it didn’t matter the way they were running the ball.

As for Cleveland’s offense, the only guy that really came to play was Peyton Hillis.  He didn’t exactly blow anybody out of the water, but finished with nearly 100 yards of total offense.  He had 45 yards on 12 carries, but with Cleveland trailing much of the game, Hillis wasn’t given enough carries to truly breakout.  He also had a 52 yard reception on a blow defensive play where he was left absolutely wide open.  That one catch was good enough to lead any receiver of either team in yards.  Colt McCoy completed just under half of his passes for 192 yards.  He had one touchdown towards the very end of the game with it out of line, and added one interception to rookie Jimmy Smith.  Evan Moore was the recipient of the touchdown pass, his 3rd of the season.

Things really got out of hand when Lardarius Webb took a punt 68 yards back for a score.  Before that, the Browns were still in striking distance, but with just under 7 minutes left and down by 3 scores, there wasn’t much hope left after the special teams score. Final score was 24-10.

With the loss, the Browns fall to 4-8 on the season and officially guarantee a record of .500 or  below once again.  They have lost 5 of their last 6 and 7 of their last 9.  Certainly a rough stretch after a promising start.  To make matters worse, Hillis aggravated his hip in this game, and is a question mark for next week.  This offense works best with an effective running game and with the constant injuries to Hillis and Hardesty, the offense just hasn’t been able to get going.  On the bright side, the Browns currently have the best pass defense in terms of yardage.  Of course they have the second worst rushing defense which is easy to game plan for.  The Ravens effectively kept the ball out of Flacco’s hands and allowed the running game to run all day long.

Things don’t get any easier next week, on a short week they travel to Pittsburgh to play on Thursday.  The Steelers are 9-3 and are tied for first in the AFC North. Surprisingly, they haven’t faced off against Pittsburgh this year, so they will have the pleasure of facing them twice in the last 4 weeks.  It is the same old Steelers, with a dominating rushing defense, fierce pass rush, and a run heavy offense.  If anything, the rushing has been off for them this year.  Mendenhall has had a disappointing season thus far, so there has been more pressure on Big Ben’s shoulders.  Of course, just as any other season, Ben has been dealing with injuries.  The latest, a broken thumb on his throwing hand.  It didn’t effect at all last week as the Steelers torched the Bengals.  He may have a little more trouble this week against the Browns number one pass defense. If the Browns can slow down Mendenhall, they might be able to keep this one close.  Both teams have very good defenses, and the lower the score, the better for the Browns.  I don’t see Colt McCoy having a career day, so keep it on the ground and hope for the best.  Like I said last week against the Ravens, the Browns always play the Steelers hard.  I wouldn’t discount them in this game, but it will be a challenge.

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spacer 360 News | Ben King | spacer December 6, 2011 3:41 am | spacer Comments (0)

Cleveland Blows Ten Point Lead

It was a tale of two halves for Cleveland, as they went into halftime nursing a 17-7 lead.  They maintained a ten point lead late in the third before Cincy came storming back.  The first drive worked to perfection for the Browns, ending on a 24 yard strike from Colt McCoy to Jordan Norwood.  It was somewhat of a breakout game for Norwood who ended up as the leading receiver with 4 catches and 65 yards.  Greg Little managed 5 catches for 57 yards and touchdown himself for the first of his career.  He also had some costly drops, including one for a first down on the second to last drive and the game tied.  The Browns actually had a chance to take the lead in the 4th quarter, but Phil Dawson couldn’t hit a 48 yard field goal.  The Bengals followed with a drive that was highlighted by a 51 yard bomb from Andy Dalton to AJ Green in the rookie connection.

One of the biggest stories of the game came from the return of Peyton Hillis.  Montario Hardesty was expected to return as well but did not have a single carry.  Chris Ogbonnaya took only 3 carries which may mean I can finally stop having to spell his name.  McCoy struggled for much of the game against a strong Bengals defense.  He completed less than half of his passes for only 151 yards.  He had the two scores, but also threw an interception which led to a Bengals field goal.  Defensively the Browns continued to struggle mightily against the run.  Cedric Benson acted as the workhorse and finished with 106 yards and a score.  Dalton wasn’t a problem for much of the game, but a couple of big plays led to a very solid day of work.  He had 270 yards and touchdown pass that helped get the Bengals back into the game.  After missing last week, AJ Green came back in a big way, compiling 110 yards on only 3 catches.  That is the true definition of a big play receiver.

The Browns fell to 1-4 on the road and 4-7 on the season.  They have a tough challenge next week with a home game against Baltimore.  The Ravens are coming off a big win over San Francisco and sit atop the AFC North with an 8-3 record.  They surprisingly have struggled the most running the ball ranking 26th in the league.  Joe Flacco is also leading the league in fumbles, and is certainly prone to turning the ball over.  Future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis has missed the last two games and seems a decent bet to miss another.  This should open up the middle of the field a bit and with the Browns running game finally getting healthy this could be a big key for Cleveland.  Hillis ran all over the Ravens last year and that was with Lewis in the lineup.  Cleveland usually plays Baltimore very close, so I expect another close contest this Sunday.  Turnovers could ultimately be the key to who wins this game.

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spacer 360 News | Ben King | spacer November 28, 2011 10:53 pm | spacer Comments (0)

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