From the purely aesthetic point of view there was very little beauty in the Browns win over the Raiders last Sunday. The defense had its moments and the offense spent most of the game trying to find itself in the Browns 23-13 win over the winless Raiders.
The Browns spent most of the game
clinging to three field goals that weren’t touchdowns, and you just felt that
was going to come back and haunt them. Late in the third quarter just when it
looked like that was exactly what was going to happen, a great hit by Dante
Witner led to Joe Haden swiping an air born fumble and returning it 34 yards.
Four plays later the Browns scored their first touchdown and went ahead by two
scores and never looked back.
The game wasn’t all ugliness for
the Browns. Paul Kruger and Joe Haden did great things on defense. Tashaun Gipson
showed once again why he will be All Pro this season. Justin Gilbert showed
flashes of why he was a number one pick.
And even Barkevious Mingo, yes, that Barkevious, played enough to say he
contributed. I still don’t see why he was a first round pick, but credit the
Browns’ coaches for trying to get the most out of his height and quickness. On
offense, you have to wonder were the Browns would be without their over
achieving undersized receivers. Andrew Hawkins and Taylor Gabriel make catches
in traffic and aren’t afraid to go across the middle. They both made big plays
against the Raiders.
The game ended with some big
questions left unanswered. When and if the offensive line will jell in the rest
of this post Alex Mack season?
When will Jordan Cameron return after leaving the game with a concussion
in the second quarter? Will the Browns ever play a complete special teams game?
And, oh yes, what is the long-term solution at quarterback? Brian Hoyer had
another so-so day, including several incomplete passes that could have been
interceptions. I am pretty confident that the Browns will go to camp next
summer with both current QB’s on the roster. Sooner or later Johnny Manziel has
to show what he can do, either to prove he’s the quarterback of the future, or
to showcase him to other teams.
But for now the team is trying to
prove it deserves a playoff sport, and it’s one game at a time and Tampa is
next on the agenda. Ugly or not, I think we will all take another win as the
schedule will take a turn into a more challenging direction in the weeks to
come.
It was another beautiful late fall day
on the lakefront. The late 4:25 start put the crowd in a bit of a laid back
mood. Even when the sun went down over the lake in the west it still remained
pleasant and comfortable. We took advantage of the weather to once again visit
friends tailgating at sights to the west of the stadium. We crossed paths with
Sam Rutigliano and Don Cockroft visiting fans, signing hats and t-shirts and
copies of Cockroft’s book about the Kardiac Kids of 1980. The weather was of
the kind you know you must enjoy, because despite the fact we have had
beautiful Browns Sundays, you know ugly weather is coming sooner and later and
the gray days of winter will soon be upon us.
One last thought about the Oakland
game…I’ve loved the Raiders uniforms since I started watching football in the
Sixties as a small boy. The Raiders of today aren’t very good, but their
uniforms still say class and remind you of when the Raiders were still the
Raiders. The Packers, the Giants since they went back to their classic uniforms,
the Chargers in their powder blues, the Cowboys, all of those teams whose
uniforms have remained mostly unchanged over the years give off a aura of class
about them. And it’s not just a football thing, think of the Yankees, Red Sox,
Dodgers, Giants, and Cardinals in baseball; the Lakers, Celtics, and Spurs in
basketball; the Canadians, Maple Leafs, Black Hawks, and Rangers in hockey. Even
when one of the teams is down, their uniforms give them a touch of respect. The Browns have been on that list too,
since the team’s beginnings. But that will soon end. New uniforms from the
team’s partner Nike are promised for next year. Filled with gray and pewter and
stripes and who knows what else I’m sure. And when sports fans turn on the TV
and see those uniforms they for the first time will say, who the hell is that?
Instead of saying, Oh look, the Browns are on TV. Just something to think
about.
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