Cleveland Browns: Thoughts After Loss to Steelers

by Jerod Morris

Some thoughts after watching the Cleveland Browns lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers tonight 10-6.

1)    Ben Roethlisberger is really tough, and really good.  He played tonight with a separated shoulder and the Browns (especially Shaun Rogers) knocked him pretty good a few times.  Obviously his stats were not overwhelming, as the game was played in pretty strong winds and occasional rain, but he made big plays when he needed to.  Ben Roethlisberger did what it took to win, and that is the first line of the job description of any quarterback.  Obviously, I must eat a little bit of crow for the article I wrote a few weeks back claiming (tongue-in-check…I swear!) that Derek Anderson is the best QB in the AFC, but at least after today we know one thing: Carson Palmer is definitely third!

2)    The Browns offense just is not clicking yet.  Derek Anderson looked very hesitant in the first half, and was guiding the ball more than he was throwing it.  He looked much better in the second half, but we could not finish drives.  We needed to get into the endzone and all of our drives stalled before we could even get into the redzone.  I think Derek Anderson will get better as the offense gets their timing back.  Remember, very few of the starters played together after the preseason debacle against the Giants.  Derek had a concussion, Braylon got hurt, Jurevicius and Stallworth were out, etc.  The Browns had a rhythm, timing, and swagger going on offense last year.  I think they can get it back, and it needs to happen quickly.

3)    Braylon Edwards must be better.  I still believe that he is the key to the Browns season.  He dropped a few passes in the first half, and a few times he did not seem to be running very crisp routes. He needed to get inside of Polamalu on the one slant, for instance.  We need Braylon making big plays to open up the middle of the field for Kellen Winslow and ease the box for Jamal Lewis.  This is especially imperative without another receiver who threatens the defense.  (Synrick Steptoe has a great name, but no one is rolling coverages to his side of the field.)

4)    The decision making of Derek Anderson and the offensive coaches left me scratching my head tonight.  Why didn’t we throw the ball to Kellen when we got close to the endzone at the end of the first half?  Kellen Winslow came to play tonight, and despite his one drop he made a number of outstanding catches.  In hindsight, that was the biggest play of the game and Derek threw into a crowd to…Syndrick Steptoe.  Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow are the money players in this offense.  The ball needed to go in their direction.  Apparently, Kellen was screaming as the team went into the locker room at halftime.  I don’t blame him.  I was too.

5)    Why not give the ball to Jerome Harrison more?  He had the most exciting play of the ball game when he took a short pass for 30 yards in the second half, making a number of Steelers defenders miss.  He is a great change of pace for Jamal Lewis, and I think we could have gotten him the ball in space more tonight.  Jamal has never had success against Pittsburgh, and while he ran hard tonight, he was not able to get past the initial surge.  I think Jerome Harrison could have made a few plays and kept the defense off balance a little more.  Hopefully he will get more touches in the coming weeks.

6)    Shaun Rogers is a beast.  He was very disruptive tonight and showed the Browns gave so much to get him.  When he is wreaking havoc, he makes our linebackers and secondary much more effective.  The defense did some good things tonight, but…

7)    We need to make big, game-changing plays when they occur.  It seems like every NFL game that is competitive (as tonight’s was) comes down to 3-4 plays that can swing the game.  The long pass that went through Brandon McDonald’s hands and into Santonio Holmes’ for a big gain was one.  The kickoff that bounced around and went out of bounds that Jerome Harrison could not come up with was another.  And of course, we could not stop Pittsburgh from getting first downs on their final drive.  If one of those plays is made, the Browns may win tonight’s game.  Someone on the defense has to step up and be a play-maker in key situations.  I think that guy is Brandon McDonald, but he misses his opportunity tonight.

All in all, tonight’s game was very disappointing, but there were some positives.  Yes, we are 0-2 and have lost two straight home games.  And no, the schedule does not ease up with two division games on the road coming up.  Luckily, they are against a Baltimore team with a rookie QB and a Cincinnati team that looks like a mess.  If we can steal two victories on the road, it will make these first two losses a little more palatable.  And there are reasons to think that things will get better.  The offense will get its timing down, Joshua Cribbs will get healthier (he absolutely did not have the same burst or cutting ability tonight coming back from his ankle injury) and the defense showed signs of shoring itself up somewhat.

This season began with great promise, and no one wanted to be sitting at 0-2.  But we have played two really good teams and have not had all of our bullets loaded in the gun.  There is a part of me that is hoping Kellen Winslow goes off after the game, either privately or to the media, and that it shakes the team up a bit.  The Browns need to get their swagger back and go into Baltimore next week knowing that they are the more talented and experienced team.  Hopefully the offense can step up and break out against a solid D and gain the confidence we will need to compete with the solid teams we play week after week during the balance of our very tough schedule.

I am not backing off of my prediction for 9-7 and a playoff spot, but obviously if Pittsburgh keeps on winning that may not win the division.  However, San Diego is 0-2, Jacksonville is 0-2, New England has an inexperienced QB, Tenneessee is starting Kerry Collins, Indianapolis looks vulnerable…so the AFC is wide open.

If the Browns get it turned around, and quick, there is still hope that the great expectations of 2008 can be realized for the Cleveland Browns.

Tags: afc north, ben roethlisberger, braylon edwards, Cleveland Browns, derek anderson, jamal lewis, kellen winslow, NFL, pittsburgh steelers

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