Cleveland Browns Lose | Kellen Winslow Upset - Braylon Edwards Drops Passes

(For the latest on Kellen Winslow’s current spat with Browns’ management, visit the Cleveland Browns news page or read the post specifically regarding Kellen Winslow being upset, and Romeo Crennel’s reaction.)

What a bummer.

The Cleveland Browns lost to the Washington Redskins today 14-11. It was a game they could have won. Ryan Russell detailed some of the things that went wrong in today’s loss. I will chime in here with a few thoughts of my own.

Let me start of with the high point of the game, for me anyway — and when I say high point, I mean unexpected smile during a moment of serene disappointment. After watching the final drive on my iPhone (I had to leave the Browns Backers early to catch my brother’s basketball game…the lost too) and seeing “Incomplete Pass, Incomplete Pass, Incomplete Pass, Missed Field Goal” as the final four entries, I texted our very own Ryan Russell, a huge Ohio State fan. Here was the exchange:

Me: “What happened on the last three passes?”

Ryan: “Braylon showed his true colors: maize and blue”

My first reaction was a moment of ambivalence as to whether I should smash my phone into the bench I was sitting on or guffaw uncontrollably. I decided to text the only positive thing I could think of about the Browns at that moment: “I want an Eric Wright jersey.”

Eric Wright was one of the major bright spots today, and has been all season long. When the Washington Redskins were successful through the air (like on the touchdown to Santana Moss) did you notice who was chasing Moss? Terry Cousins. This has been a theme all year. But Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald again played well today. And Eric Wright made the play of the game (for the Browns anyway) when he stripped Clinton Portis late in the 4th quarter to give the Browns new life after they had blown it in the redzone just minutes before.

I do not think it is hyperbole to say that we are witnessing the emergence of one of the next great play-making cornerbacks in the NFL in Eric Wright this season. Game after game he makes key plays for the Browns. And Brandon McDonald is not far behind.

Other positives: Joshua Cribbs made some plays today, which is nice to see; although we’re all still waiting for the electric return man to reemerge. The defense gave up plenty of yards on the ground today, but held the Redskins to only 14 points. Coming in, if you had said we’d only give up 14, I’d have bet you anything that we’d win. Jamal Lewis had another solid game, as did Jerome Harrison in (why? why? why?) extremely limited action.

That about does it for the positives.

Now onto a few of the more negative observations from today’s game, highlighted by the Cleveland Browns two primary “superstars”: Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow.

How many key drops did Braylon Edwards have today? I lost count when it got to 100. I’m kidding, obviously; but seriously Braylon. Where is your head? Everyone looked at the Monday nighter against the Giants as Braylon Edwards’ coming-out party this season. He was back from the (stupid and self-inflicted) injury he suffered in the preseason and ready to be the offensive leader he was last year. Sadly, I’m beginning to think the Giants game may be the anomaly. We all know that Braylon Edwards is too talented to keep playing this poorly — but at some point we have to wonder exactly where his focus is. Braylon, the Browns needs you to be one of the best players on the field to be successful. When you play like one of the worst, we lose winnable road games to good teams 14-11.

Derek Anderson — I don’t know what to say. His receivers let him down with dropped with dropped passes, but no one who watched the game can honestly say he played well. Derek just can’t seem to find his confidence consistently and threw a few balls that made everyone at the Browns Backers today scratch their heads. It’s unfortunate that all of the goodwill from the Giants game, at least with respect to the offense, was eroded today. The problem is that we all thought the offense we saw against the Giants would be what we saw today and for the rest of the season. Today, however, we saw the Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards that we’ve seen all season: listless, unfocused, and out of sync. The season is coming very close to being over in regards to postseason play. Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards have to play like they did against the Giants, and never again like they played today against the Redskins. A solid defensive effort and a lot of tough running by Jamal Lewis was wasted by poor accuracy and decision-making from the quarterback and incomprehensible drops from Braylon Edwards.

Braylon Edwards admitted after the game that the struggles early led to frustration and a lack of focus on his part. He also, rightly, admitted that this Browns team counts on him to block those frustrations out and play Pro Bowl-caliber football. Is anyone else sick and tired of listening to Braylon Edwards talk and ready for him to start backing it up with consistent focus on the field? I am. I like Braylon Edwards, and I think he is a much better player than he has shown through six games this season. But it is hard to defend Braylon when his play on the field has been so subpar, and so beneath his abilities.

And finally, let’s deal with the little Kellen Winslow situation that cropped up after the game. According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain-Dealer, Kellen Winslow popped off in the locker room regarding frustration with the Cleveland Browns front office, and specifically General Manager Phil Savage. You can read the story here. Kellen Winslow returned from his mysterious injury today, and apparently the rumors of Kellen dealing with some sort of swelling in his man region were somewhat blown out of proportion or misleading.

I am going to put on my rose-colored, eternal-Browns-optimist glasses right now and chalk this up to frustration. As with Braylon, I really like Kellen Winslow. I wore his damn jersey today, wanting nothing more than to see Kellen make a triumphant return to the field and lead the Browns to victory, shutting up all the stupid whispers I heard on the Internet last week that the Browns might be better off without Kellen Winslow, like the Giants were without Jeremy Shockey last year. And besides, if what Kellen Winslow is saying is true then I can understand some of his frustration.

Here is the problem: both Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow want new contracts. This is not a news flash to anyone who follows the Browns. Well, ostensibly they want to paid among the highest earners at their positions; and with such salaries come responsibilities. Top-dollar players are leaders who make clutch catches when their team is driving to tie or win a huge game on the road. Top-dollar players are also leaders who understand that there is a time and a place for everything, and when your team has just lost a tough game that dropped them to 2-4, it is probably not the right time to be airing your frustrations through the media. How about a private conversation with Phil Savage if you are frustrated? Or just bite your tongue and not immediately pile onto the misery of a heart-breaking defeat?

Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow did not act like team leaders today. When your two best and most talented players are admittedly not focused and seemingly more focused on off-field issues than the obvious on-field problems, it is hard to get a sinking ship steered back in a positive direction.

Romeo Crennel, Jamal Lewis, Willie McGinest, Phil Savage…someone is going to have to step up this week and pull this team together. The season is not over at 2-4 — it is simply teetering on the brink. We were 3-3 last year and rallied to finish 7-3. A 7-3 finish this year puts us right at my preseason prediction of 9-7, and could still very well be good enough for a playoff spot in an AFC that has a tremendous amount of parity.

But the margin for error is now pretty much gone. The hopes for a playoff spot are not — they just rest in the hands of two players, Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow, who need to focus more on the name printed on the front of the jersey and not the one printed on the back of it.

Damnit today was frustrating. But I’ve not lost hope; I’m just tightening my grip on what little of it is left.

[tags]cleveland browns, braylon edwards, kellen winslow, nfl, football[/tags]

Tags: braylon edwards, Cleveland Browns, football, kellen winslow, NFL

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