View From the Dawg Pound, Week 13

I thought it was going to be the best Sunday of the season. I’m sitting in the back room of the Nice Place Café in Parma, sitting amongst friends in front of two giant screen TVs. On one it looks like the Dolphins were going to hang in and beat the Steelers on one screen, and it looks like the Browns had the Patriots.

And then it happened. But this time it wasn’t the Browns fault. Sure, they didn’t recover the onside kick and they are going to live with that. But the roughing penalty on the Patriots second last touchdown, and the pass interference call that set up the Patriots winning touchdown, were both bad calls. Bad calls that came at crunch time in a great game that hurt a team that ended up losing that was playing their butts off. The refs did not bring their A game.

For those of you who think the Browns are going to be saved by a franchise quarterback in the next draft…Jason Campbell played good enough to win today, just as Brandon Weeden played good enough last week to win. Maybe there are more important immediate needs, especially since there is not an obvious fore sure bet at quarterback in the draft. That will come the year after next, when Jamies Winston is eligible for the draft. Sure, draft a quarterback, but don’t bet the farm on it. Find a running back, get at least two more quality receivers, find another threat at tight end, and get another quality defensive back.  But let’s worry about al that stuff in the off-season…

What could have the Browns done differently? Get touchdowns instead of field goals. The Browns had two chances to score touchdowns and go up 14-0 early in the game, instead they went up 6-0.  Besides that, it is hard to find fault. They were on the road, against a quarterback who is very good and because of who he is usually gets all the calls, and they played as well as they could.

And all the mouthpieces in the national media are crowing about the great Tom Brady. And, yes, he has been very good for a very long time, but if it wasn’t for help from the referees it would not have happened this time. And it has been ten years since the Patriots have won a Super Bowl, and it is not going to happen this year. They are very similar to the Steelers, an aging team that has not replaced their departed talent with guys just as good, with a stud quarterback who will keep them in games and beat 4-8 teams like the Browns. But just like the Browns, on Super Bowl Sunday they will be watching and not playing.

Once again after a loss I still feel very good about the Browns. It is hard to keep saying to keep the faith, but the team is close to being good. What they need to do is show their fans how good the future could be by winning a couple of more games down the stretch, starting with the last home game this Sunday against the Bears.