Wednesday, September 25, 2013

View from the Dawg Pound, Game 3



I chose to view yet another road game from a real neighborhood place, a good local joint with sexy bartenders, great wings, cheap beer, and more than a few football experts. The Nice Place CafĂ© on the Parma Seven Hills border is that type of place. Football is king there in the fall, you can always get in on some sort of square game, they have a huge 33 pool, and there is always more than one game on the many TV’s.

Lenny is the owner, and Karen (pictured above) is the Sunday afternoon bartender.  They both looked glum when I showed up right before kickoff. Karen said, “Half the regulars aren’t here.” Lenny added, “Two weeks ago for a home game we had standing room only. Today the place is half filled.” I made some calls to friends around the city who I know were out and about watching the game, and I heard the same things from them. Favorite watering holes around town were less than filled for the game.

Was it a reaction to the Richardson trade? Another 0-2 start? What ever it was those who stayed away missed it, as the Browns gave us the most entertaining game in several seasons as they came from behind to beat the Vikings 31-27 on the road.

Not to say the Browns showed their ugly side. Once again they were leading at halftime 24-17, only to go scoreless until late in the game, finding themselves behind 27-24.

But after throwing several ugly second half interceptions, Brian Hoyer rallied the team and lead them on a game winning drive as time was running out, hitting Cameron Jordan with a seven yard touchdown pass with 2:30 left for the win.

The game was filled with heroes. Besides Hoyer with three touchdown passes, there was Josh Gordon having a huge afternoon with 10 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown; Cameron with 6 catches for 66 yards and three touchdowns; and unlikely hero punter Spencer Lanning who, besides punting five times, threw a touchdown pass on a fake field goal and subbing for injured kicker Billy Cundiff kicked an extra point.

It was an afternoon when the team went for the win from the beginning, with a successful fake punt, a strong attacking defense, and an offense that scored four touchdowns.

And now for a week fans can enjoy a win, and a week were the Browns are not last in the standings as the Steelers are floundering at 0-3. They head into a stretch of three home games in a row, Cinci this Sunday, the Bills the following Thursday, and the Lions the weekend after that. Is there a chance of the team coming out of that stretch at 3-3?

We are probably in the beginnings with having a quarterback controversy; with Hoyer being the fan favorite and Weedon haven’t yet to play with Josh Gordon.

I’m enjoying the win, but do have some immediate concerns about the Browns offense. Without a legit running game, and there was none against a weak Vikings team, defenses with work on stopping Cameron and Gordon. You can’t count on trick plays every week, and the Browns showed all that they had against Minnesota.

And the team and its fans still have the cloud of the Richardson trade hanging over it. The best quote of the afternoon came from my buddy Woz, a long time season ticket holder who regularly watches the away games at the Nice Place. “Just once I’d like to see a new regime come to town and admit that the previous regime left some good players. I hope this Richardson trade is the end of it.”  And I couldn’t agree with him more.

Besides the questions at quarterback and running back, can Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron keep it up? Can the offensive line return to peak form, not what we saw in the first two games? Can the defense keep improving? Is it just me or is Buster Skrine growing into a pretty decent corner?

The Browns still have a lot of holes to fill, but as I look around the NFL so do a lot of other teams. The first two games were very winnable, the Browns let both of them slip away and they did not have Josh Gordon for either. After starting out 0-2, finishing with 6 or 7 wins and beating the Steelers at least once would appease the fan base and make things look rosy for the future. Let’s hope that it happens.

The Browns don’t have an away game for almost a month, so the next three blogs will come direct from the second row of the Dawg Pound. But looking for the future, we are open for any suggestions for where to watch road games, whether with a Browns Backers club or in a neighborhood place somewhere in Greater Cleveland. Email me at cielec@hotmail.com with any suggestions.

Greg Cielec
Season Ticket Holder, Section 20 Row B.


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