Year End Goals

Here are my goals for the rest of the season:

> Don't lose any more guys for the 07 season. We already have two starters gone for next year (Baxter & Bentley). Lets not add to the list.

> If Frye's hand is OK, I say let him play. With a little fire under him, he may pull something new out. And if/when he starts to dance like Jeff Garcia, pull the plug and put Derek Anderson back in.

> Win out. Not for pride, but for the draft. I hate drafting in the top 5. You overpay, and you "have" to pick players despite your needs. Nobody is gonna pretend that WR was our number one need in 2005, but we were practically forced to pick Braylon Edwards because he was (or seemed) the best talent on the board. Lower down, not only do you pay less, but you also have the luxury of picking more for need than for "talent". If we win out, we would be drafting somewhere between 5 and 13.

> Audition DBs for next year. Yeah, Holly made some bad plays last week. Kind of gives you an idea why he was a free agent this past spring. But, rather than continue to drop guys to help Holly, I say challenge him. Give him man coverage, blitz the QB, and see what our DBs can handle. Will he give up a big play or two? Maybe. But it will help us decide if we're desperate for another corner for next year.

But it must be the coach

I have nothing to say about the Browns.

But I did want to make a quick observation. Pro Bowl rosters came out today (they call it the 2007 Pro Bowl, but that confuses me since the players are earning their spots based on the 2006 season). As expected, the list is devoid of Browns.

Now, far be it from me to give the Pro Bowl any undue creedence. But, here is an interesting chart of the number of Pro Bowl picks by team over the last 4 years (my apologies if this doesn't post legibly). I will allow the chart to speak for itself.

Scapegoat of the week

Sorry for the lack of posting. But what is there to say about a crap game like the one the Browns played against Pittsburgh? Not much, apparently, because the lull has been apparent around Browns-bloggerdom.

Just to get some quick hit thoughts out before we move on to the Ravens:
- Yeah, I gave Crennel a pass on not showing up against the Bengals. But its starting to wear on my patience. As Peter King pointed out (yeah, I know, but this time his sound-bite agrees with me), the Browns have more talent than they showed against Pittsburgh.
- On the other hand, do we really have the talent? A lotta that loss rests on the shoulders of players not doing well. Yeah, you want the coach to be able to get them ready, but some guys are, though gifted athletes, bums who just can't hack it. How many of those guys are holding us down?
- On that note, I nominate my scapegoat: Dennis effin Northcutt. Tell me, why does this sad excuse for a receiver still get downs? Why do we have a 3rd round draft pick, Travis Wilson, "The Best Receiver in the Draft", sitting inactive?
- I know, Romeo is a player's coach, as opposed to Butch Davis who loved nothing better than picking one player as a scapegoat when his whole team stunk. So if Dennis is gettin' it, its behind closed doors. But then, why does he still take the field?
- I'll wait till next year to call Edwards a bust.
- I have no opinion on Derek Anderson vs. Charlie Frye. Who cares who's tossin it? A Peyton Manning ball can bounce off of Northcutt's hands just as easily as a Charlie Frye pass.

Cowher's last stand?

This could be our last time facing Bill Cowher.

Not much to say about this game, as it was just 18 days ago that we last played Pittsburgh. The big difference is that the Steelers are down Hines Ward, and we're up Leigh Bodden, so Pittsburgh won't be nearly as effective if they go into the spread formation. Of course, we also have Derek Anderson starting for us, so thats a HUGE unknown.

So, to prepare for the game, I would like to invite you all to intone a prayer with me:

Oh ye football gods on high, and little baby Jesus,
Thou most loyal and suffering fans,
Those who doth bleed Brown and Orange, verily beseech ye:

Shine thy graces upon the army of Crennel,
and smote with great anger the cursed Steelers!

Might our offerings of spilt beer and burnt Couch Jerseys
suplicate thy spirits' thirsts,
so that thou might take pleasure in the Browns.

Let the balls bounce our way.
Let the tipped passes end up in our hands.
Let the injuries be draped in black and yellow.

Great gods, and little baby Jesus, lead thy Browns to victory!

Michael Vick of the AFC North?

I don't have much to say about Sunday's win that hasn't already been said.

Before the game started, one of my buddies asked who the Browns' back-up QB was, and I couldn't think of Derek Anderson's name. I think that I'll probably remember it for at least the rest of this season.

Its impressive that he led us to a comeback and a win. But, he benefitted from some very impressive offensive line play. Frye was benefitting from the same offensive line play before he went down. I'm glad that we'll get to see a little more of Mr. Anderson, but, just like everyone else that I've read, I wouldn't be ready to say he's earned anything more than a stronger hold on the back-up job.

Its hard to single out any hurculean efforts from this game. Pretty much everyone on offense contributed. I think that the first screen to Jason Wright was the perfect representative play for this game: Well executed play, with some very big contributions by key players (Anderson, Jason Wright, Cosey Coleman, and Joe Jurivicis).

I liked the play calling. I hope we see some more of those screens during the Pittsburgh game.

As has also been said by others: This game should be a VERY clear sign that Romeo Crennel has not "Lost" the team.

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With the game winding down to the last seconds, I had some scary flash backs to the game, and even the play, that gave this blog its name. On the Chief's last throw down field before going to OT, we were only one Dwayne Rudd away from giving the game away.

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Looking ahead for this short week, I see that the Steelers are already down Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu. Geez, thats a real shame. I was looking forward to a now healthy Leigh Bodden shutting down Ward. I guess he'll just have to shut someone else down, instead.

Also surprised Jason Wright was starting over Kevin Mack

I don't have time to do a full post about the Browns' great win over the Chiefs, but I wanted to get this up before ESPN realizes its mistake.

As of 9:30 this morning, ESPN.com's "Last Call" has this thoughtful blurb from John Clayton:

• The loss of Charlie Frye with a possible broken right wrist is a big blow. He had made progress this season and he certainly had established a good throwing relationship with tight end Kellen Winslow and wide receiver Braylon Edwards. It's interesting that the Browns went to Derek Anderson instead of veteran Kelly Holcomb, and it's pretty wise. At 4-8, it's better to test young players. Even if they find no break in the right wrist of Frye, Anderson will probably get the start against the Steelers because there will be little practice time before the Thursday game.

John, its not really that interesting. In fact, it would have been downright shocking if it had been Holcomb instead of Derek Anderson, seeing as Kelly Holcomb hasn't been in a Browns uniform since 2004.