It took less than 24 hours for Cleveland sports fans to get
rid of the pain of the Tribe’s Wednesday night Wild Card loss to the Rays, as
the Browns came up with a big home 37-24 win against the Buffalo Bills Thursday
on national TV. The highlights of the evening were many, and included great
plays on offense, defense, and special teams.
The big plays in the game included a 57 yard punt return by
Travis Benjamin in the first quarter to set up the Browns’ first field goal; a
79 yard punt return by Benjamin at the end of the second quarter for a
touchdown (it was vintage Dawg Pound circa 1989 when Benjamin finished off his
TD by diving into the first row of section 120); three catches by previously
unreliable Greg Little; a nice second quarter drive for their first touchdown
that featured a nice mix of passes and Willis McGahee runs; a Weedon to Gordon
downfield home run; and T.J. Ward’s 44 yard pick six that sealed the victory
late in the fourth quarter.
And lost in all the big plays was the work of Taushaun
Gipson and Buster Shrike. They continue to improve and are turning into solid
pros.
The game will probably be remembered for both quarterbacks
getting hurt, especially for the Browns Brian Hoyer being lost for the
season. I had a good view of both
injuries when they happened, and TV replays back this up, that no one was to
blame for the injuries except the quarterbacks. Hoyer’s injury was a result of
a very bad slide on his part, which left his knee at a bad angle when he got
hit. E.J. Manual’s injury was the result of staying in bounds when he should
have ran out of bounds. Neither quarterback was a victim of a cheap shot.
Like many fans, I feel awful about Hoyer. However, emotions
aside, deep down the coach in me keeps telling me the big secret, that Brian
Hoyer is not the answer as the starting quarterback for the Browns. As a
backup, as a spark coming off the bench, I still feel he has a career in the
NFL.
I know I’m in the minority, but Hoyer is not the answer. I
love the kid and rooted for him, but he can’t throw deep. That is why New
England kept Ryan Mallett over him, and that is why he didn’t stick with the
Cardinals. The NFL is a downfield passing league, and to win championships, you
must be able to pass downfield. Hoyer just doesn’t have the arm to throw the
deep ball consistently. Weedon’s third quarter touchdown pass to Gordon, and
the one before it to Little that set it up, showed what Weedon can do that
Hoyer can’t. Attack the whole field with a passing game.
The conundrum for the Browns is this: Weedon has the arm to
throw deep, but hasn’t showed the other skills consistently that Hoyer has. The
ability to move around a bit, to have a nice touch on short passes, to get rid
of the bowl in time. But I would say this; this season is about Brandon Weedon
and whether he can be a championship level quarterback in the NFL.
Mike Lombardi has been much maligned in the media since
arriving back in Cleveland as GM; however, he must be given credit for bringing
Hoyer aboard. He was just what the team needed when Weedon went down with a
thumb injury. Also give him credit for Desmond Bryant and Paul Kruger on
defense, both have been solid additions.
Before the game we did not do the usual tailgating, but
instead spent sometime bar hopping in the Warehouse District. I really enjoyed
standing on the patio outside Panini’s on West Sixth, people watching and
taking in all the fans heading to the game. We then headed to Brownstown, the
new fan area on the north side of the stadium. What a pleasant surprise this
turned out to be, as we hung out on their patio over looking the lake, and
sharing a very delicious barbeque chicken sandwich. My only complaint is that
there are not enough places to sit down; they need some tables and chairs on
their patio.
My biggest question of the whole Browns experience from
Thursday is this: what’s with this “na na na” song they play after each Browns
score? I can’t here most of it, I don’t recognize the melody (and neither do
the people around me in the Dawg Pound), and why are the playing it in the
first place? Just wondering. I’m still not a big fan of all the pomp and
circumstances before the game, and really wish they would get rid of the smoke
and flames. It’s all stuff I’ve seen in other stadiums, why don’t they come up
with something original?
Some big games coming up, the Browns will be the underdog in
the next five. Let’s hope they can pull an upset or two. Down the road there
are still games against the Jaguars, Jets, and two against the Steelers you got
to feel optimistic about. Does this team have enough to make a playoff run?
See you next Sunday against the Lions.
Greg Cielec
Section 120, Row B, Seats 3 and 4.
No comments:
Post a Comment