Before we begin, what do you think will happen tomorrow night? (I don’t want you to be influenced by negativity and prediction):
Loading ...
Now onto the preview…
You may have noticed that I have not posted about the Cleveland Browns much lately. I went on a little run there where I was posting about the Browns every other day it seemed, still hungover with the memories of 2007 and perhaps still even a little bit drunk with optimism about the prospects for 2008. Browns fans everywhere were ready to give up on the 2008 season…and then we spanked the Giants. Things looked bleak again after the Redskins loss and subsequent Kellen Winslow fiasco…and then we beat Jacksonville on the road.
Sitting at 3-4, with 
a chance to take care of Baltimore at home, the well of hope seemed to be once again springing eternal Cleveland. Hell, when we were beating Baltimore by two touchdowns, 4-4 seemed inevitable and thoughts of the playoffs seemed realistic.
Then the f**king wheels fell off. (Excuse my censored french…but the thought of the Baltimore game makes me sick to my stomach.)
We all know what happened after that. We dropped two straight turds at home, in front of loyal fans who just want something to be excited about, and then had to listen all week to players accusing eachother of quitting and coaches making empty defenses, and blah, blah, blah.
The Browns helmet has always looked like a big ‘ol piece of doo-doo with a facemask and chin strap. For the last two weeks, the helmet has doubled as perfect mascot for the kind of crap football being played in Cleveland.
I’ve been accused of being the Browns’ Mr. Positivity. Well guess what — if you came to this post looking for positivity, you can click somewhere else right now. I have purposely not posted because I’ve been waiting to find something positive to say. There has been nothing. There still is nothing.
So it’s time for an all-out rant, in hopes that I can get it out of my system and try to enjoy tomorrow night’s game. Here we go, starting my biggest gripe first.
FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY, WHY IN GOD’S NAME IS JEROME HARRISON NOT GETTING MORE TOUCHES!!!!!!!!
Nothing has frustrated me more, or the Browns fans I talk to, than this. Just look at the numbers (or, more importantly, watch the damn games): 17 rushes for 127 yards, a 7.5 yard average. 6 catches for 82 yards, a 13.7 yard average. The Broncos game was a microcosm of the Browns season in so many ways, and the usage of Jerome Harrison is no exception. On one drive, Jerome Harrison carried 4 times for over 40 yards. He was gashing Denver play after play. Guess how many rushes he got after that? Not a one.
Honestly, I’d like to print out Jerome Harrison’s stats and mail them to Rob Chudzinski. Maybe he doesn’t realize? Should we give him that benefit of the doubt? Umm…no. He’s the damn offensive coordinator. And the most consistent offensive player he has all year has been relegated to 23 touches. Awesome. Perfect. I want to punch something.
No chemistry, no leadership, and no togetherness
Make any apologies you want. Teams with chemistry…I should say, organizations with chemistry do not have the following things happen:
- Star players calling out the GM and organization in the press
- Veteran stars saying the GM did not contact them while they were in hospital
- Players calling other players out for quitting
- Players publicly saying coaches and management are making things up about injuries
- Blowing double-digit second half leads
- Benching QBs that received contract extensions in the offseason
- Supposed superstar players dropping every other pass thrown their way
- Die hard fans wasting their Sunday night posting a pissed off rant because their team has already matched their loss total from last season.
You know what, I think that last one about covered everything. We’ve discussed ad nauseum on the website all of the many internal problems the Browns have faced this year. Just typing that out made me want to wretch and I don’t want to talk about it anymore. We’re 3-6 and anyone can make whatever apologies they want to make, and talk about how close games have been, and how we should have won this game or that game — well guess what, we didn’t. And now it will take a miracle to even get into playoff contention. I’m nowhere close to being ready to predict a miracle, but I will hazard an attempt at predicting tomorrow night’s game.
Buffalo will win.
Damnit, I can’t do it. The Browns will win.
True story…I just went on Wikipedia to find out all the all-time Monday night football records for Cleveland and Buffalo. I thought for sure that Buffalo’s would be better than Cleveland’s and that it would back up my selection. Well, I was proven wrong. The Browns are 14-12 all-time on Monday night, including the win this year against the Giants. The Bills are 17-21 all-time on Monday night. I will take this unexpected result as a sign that perhaps my gut feeling heading into this game is wrong.
Fine, so what are some reasons why the Browns will then?
It’s Monday night, so Braylon will probably show up
Nothing sets you up better for a career after football than sterling performances on a nationals stage. Braylon hasn’t exactly tried to hide the fact that he is already trying to position himself for life after football, so I expect him to have extra focus tomorrow night — you know, the kind that allows you to tr
anscend the game and make amazing plays like catching quick slants or bombs when you are behind your defender when the throws are right in your hands. Seriously. I would not be shocked if Braylon has 6-7 catches and triple digits yards. Brady Quinn is not going to make a living beating people deep, but he might hit Braylon once tomorrow night on a bomb. And Braylon will be sure to catch it — Hollywood might be watching.
Jerome Harrison will be a bigger part of the gameplan
Ha! Yeah right. Next reason.
Pride has to take over at some point and will you to a victory
We haven’t seen much Browns pride since the Jacksonville game, which now seems like it was six months ago. At the end of the day though, these guys are professionals and they are prideful men who have to sick of all the negativity. Perhaps going into a hostile environment away from the home fans can actually ease the pressure on this team. I know that sounds ironic, but it could be true. Buffalo has played like crap the last three weeks and is quickly falling out of the AFC East race. Their fans will be restless, and maybe their sphincters will tighten up in crunch time at home like the Browns’ did. Either way, I expect to see more fight out of the Browns tomorrow night than we’ve seen the last two games.
Buffalo only averages 90 yards rushing a game
So maybe…just maybe…the Browns won’t get gashed all night on the ground. Of course, the problem against Denver was that we couldn’t stop the pass. Well, both Josh Reed and James Hardy are dinged up. If we can keep Lee Evans in front of us, we might be able to contain their passing game. This defense was very solid before the Baltimore game. If that defense can show up, the Browns have a chance.
Joshua Cribbs
We have him. No other team does. It is the single biggest advantage we have going into every game. If the Browns win, Joshua Cribbs will be a big reason why.
Okay, time for a score prediction. My gut is still telling me to pick Buffalo, that the Browns have not earned my blind faith anymore, and that my credibility could take another hit if I pick them to win and they leave us all disappointed again.
But screw it, the Browns are like a drug. Really, why I else would I have returned to writing about them, and pick them to win if it were not for some sort of irrational addiction-like feeling compelling me to do so.
I say we get two TDs and four Phil Dawson field goals. Buffalo has the ball late, is driving to win the game, and Eric Wright channels his Monday night excellence to get a pick and seal the win.
Browns 26 | Bills 24
I swear, and I mean this: if the Browns fail me tomorrow night, and make me feel like an idiot for not trusting my gut feeling that they are going to lose tomorrow, I’m not picking them to win again all season.
Well, that was fun. I’m going to go stick a fork in my eye and dream about about a sports world that doesn’t so closely resemble hell, and in which it is actually legitimate to have confidence in your favorite team. Please Cleveland, try to at least fool me into thinking that is possible here in this world tomorrow night.
(To read another preview of tonight’s game, head over to The Nosebleeds NFL blog. Good stuff.)
[tags]cleveland browns, nfl, monday night football[/tags]
Editor’s Note: AJ Kaufman’s weekly MNF coverage on MSF is sponsored by Sadler’s Smokehouse, a producer of premium pit smoked meats that are best described by Sadler’s slogan: Legendary since 1948.
