Browns – Cardinals Observations

It's Simple -3 Is Bad
I am a simple man, remember? I learned a long time ago if you lose the turnover battle in football, you usually lose the game. The Browns were -3 in turnovers today against the Cardinals. Ballgame. They (Browns)are not good enough to overcome that kind of turnover disadvantage.

Undisciplined
The Bodden kick, the Poole late hit and the Frazier head butt didn’t help the cause either. Again, this is far from a finished product and penalties of this type, especially on the road, usually leads to an L.

DA
He had another early meltdown with three early turnovers – one of which was returned for a score. Anderson rebounded and played well in the second half, but the damage was done. Unfortunately, this has happened several times this year on the road to DA.

Here is this week’s lesson boys and girls – outstanding players play well everywhere while average & role players usually play well at home, when within their comfort zone, but they tend to be inconsistent/struggle on the road. I don’t have the stats in front of me – but I would wager a fairly large sum that Anderson’s numbers are much better when playing within the vicinity of the dog pound than after taking a flight.

PICK 6
I wonder what the stats are, in terms of wins and losses in the NFL, when a quarterback throws a pick returned for a touchdown. I can’t imagine the teams that have done that have a good winning percentage.

Back of the Playbook Time
Kudos for the offensive trickery that resulted in Cribbs finding Winslow for the two-point conversion. We have been calling for Cribbs to be used in short yardage and goal line situations for a while now. He has to be accounted for when he’s behind center or in the shotgun. The funky look gives the defense something to think about. Good.

Short Yardage Adjustment
I was also pleased with the early third and one call that involved faking it to the fullback up the gut and pitching to #31 around the edge. Obviously, “Chud” adjusted from last week’s inadequacies on short yardage calls. An adjustment was needed and made successfully. That’s just one more sign “Chud” needs to be kept – regardless of the price in the off-season. He will be one of the game’s most sought-after assistant coaches for head coaching jobs this coming off-season.

Defensive Woes
A passing team, Arizona, marched right down the field running the ball down the Browns’ throats on the final drive, resulting in a field goal. Don’t let the goal line stand fool you, that was ugly to watch. If you can’t stop the Cardinals’ running game with the game on the line, who can you stop? On that drive, I heard K. Wimbley's name called for the only time all day. His regression as a player in year #2 has had a domino effect on the rest of this defense. If he isn't making big plays, who is? The answer is no one - at least not on a regular basis.

Braylon
I can’t seem to go a week without an observation or two on “the freak” known as Braylon Edwards. He had an excellent game today, but I would like to know what defense the Cardinals were in on his side of the field. On several occasions, he was allowed to run free and catch the ball downfield with no defender even in the picture after the catch. Today, Arizona gave new meaning to “cushion” in their coverage scheme.

Secondly, when DA threw one at BE’s knees on the Browns’ last possession, Edwards gestured to DA that he needed to bring it up a bit. I’m sure Anderson appreciated the advice. Perhaps on his (Edward’s) next drop, likely to occur between 4 & 7 p.m. next Sunday, Anderson will return the favor by making a cradle gesture. No, I think not. Anderson seems like he's too mature for that. I can’t say the same for BE however. I can't remember ever seeing that gesture from Largent, Joiner, Monk, Rice, etc...Or even from Slaughter, Langhorne, Brennan and company.

It's a different era - I know. But I don't have to like it and will remind you when something is, as a wise man once said, "bush."

No Wideouts
The Browns have caught numerous breaks this fall when it comes to the opposition’s health, including the Cardinals having to play most of the second half without their #1 & #2 receivers today. Imagine how Browns’ fans would whine if Winslow and Edwards were out of the line-up for any length of time?

Special Teams
I thought the Cardinals’ special teams outplayed the Browns’ special teams today. Josh Cribbs had as nice punt return late, but his fumble was costly. We will give him one mulligan - it’s his first fumble and we have already stated he might be their MVP this year so far.

Replay Gift
I though Edwards was touched by the safety flying by on his touchdown grab. The replay official saw it the other way. As for the game’s final play, they got it right. I hope none of you disagree. If you do, you are a true homer and shouldn’t be reading this column. I don’t want morons (average fans) here. They don’t have the brain capacity to comprehend the copy. I detest the average fan and some day I will tell you why.

K2
He needs to stop complaining to the officials about being held up/grabbed downfield. How else are they going to cover him? More importantly, if the officials are paying attention, he won't be allowed to push off as much either. Just adjust and beat the man K2. By the way, that was a great decision by DA to go to Winslow on the Browns' last play. You go to your best player with the game on the line. And it almost worked.

Final Thoughts
This loss is not a stunner. Coming in, both teams had talent on offense and lousy defensive units. Their QB played better than ours for the most part, and their special teams outplayed the Browns special teams slightly. It happens.

The Browns needed one of these two on the road in back to back weeks when looking at the big picture. Look at it in baseball/basketball terms - it's like opening a five game series away from home in games #1 & #2. You need to get one and hold serve in your building. Obviously, next week’s game against the lowly Jets becomes crucial. Again, the scheduling gods are shinning brightly on the Browns.

If they don’t lose the turnover battle and get back to dominating special teams’ play, like they have most of the season, they should come home with a W in Gotham and in good shape with three to go.