BROWNS SPUTTERING OFFENSE

By: Coach

And the Browns blow another one.

Leading 27-13 with 1:10 to go in the 3rd quarter, the Ravens scored 24 unanswered points over the final 16 minutes of the game.

Go Browns. Instead of improving to 4-4, we dropped to 3-5.

Allow me to play Devil's Advocate for a minute. Let's say the Browns hold on to beat the Ravens yesterday and the Steelers lose to the Redskins tonight. The AFC North standings would have been:

Pittsburgh 5-3 -
Cleveland 4-4 1 back
Baltimore 4-4 1 back
Cincinnati 1-8 4.5 back

We'd be right where we need to be in correcting that despicable 0-3 start to the season. Instead, the Browns lost and as our luck will more than likely have it, the Steelers will gain another game over us with a win over the 'Skins. And the standings will be:

Pittsburgh 6-2 -
Baltimore 5-3 1 back
Cleveland 3-5 3 back
Cincinnati 1-8 5.5 back

If you comb over the box score from yesterday's game you will see that Anderson completed 17 passes. Nine of those were to Edwards (4 recpt, 86 yds rec, 1 TD) and Winslow (5 recpt, 64 yds rec).

With these two marquee players clicking like they were over the first three quarters, why not throw to them when the game is on the line and potentially slipping away?

Part of the problem with the Browns' ugly 4th quarter performance yesterday was play calling. But the other issue was the fact that Anderson's field vision was subpar – as is always the case lately it seems.

Take a look at this play calling and Anderson's target receivers as the game was winding down yesterday:

The Browns ran the ball during that span eight times for 23 yards (Lewis 13, Anderson 8 and Wright 2). There was even one instance when we were losing and it was 2nd and 11, and Anderson handed off to Lewis for a 3-yard gain, leaving us with a 3rd and 8.

The Browns passed 12 times during the Ravens comeback. Anderson completed only 3 of those passes for 21 yards. He was picked off once (the one that was returned for a score). Of his 12 passes with the game on the line, look at who he targeted:


PLAYER TARGET RECPT YDS
Steptoe 3 1 3
Edwards 3 0 0
Wright 2 1 12
Sanders 2 0 0
Winslow 1 1 6
Harrison 1 0 0

Twelve pass attempts while trying to win the game, and Anderson was 1-for-4 throwing to his playmakers, generating a whole 6 yards.

The Browns lost yesterday's game because they felt as though 27 points against the Ravens was enough. It wasn't. And when the Ravens started clicking over the final 16-plus minutes, the Browns were playing to protect a lead and run the clock instead of playing to put more points on the board.

And when the Ravens had a 37-27 lead, it was too late. The offense was out of sync and the role players were relied upon too heavily.

Maybe now the light will be seen by BB Romeo and he will realize just how mediocre and inconsistent Anderson really is, and Quinn will get a shot under center.

BROWNS AND THE ELUSIVE 3-GAME WINNING STREAK
The last time the Browns had a 3-game winning streak was last season. The three teams they BARELY beat: Miami (41-31), St. Louis (27-20) and Seattle (33-30, OT).

Last 3-game win streak prior to that? Try seven years ago. It was weeks 2-4 of the 2001 season, when the Browns beat: Detroit (24-14), Jacksonville (23-14) and San Diego (20-16).

OHIO STATE HAVING NO SO BAD A SEASON: JUST LOOK AT MICHIGAN
So how spoiled are we to think that Ohio State is having an "off" year, considering they are 7-2 and ranked No. 11 in the BCS?

Our two losses came against No. 7 USC (7-1) and No. 3 Penn State (9-0). That ain't so bad. Sure, the Buckeyes don't beat up and score on teams like they used to in the late 90s. But heck, they are still strong title contender most years. And when Ohio State is not competing for a title, they still usually end up in the Top 10.

Take a gander at their final AP ranking over the last seven years compared to Michigan:

YEAR OSU UM
2002 1 9
2003 4 6
2004 20 14
2005 4 NR
2006 2 8
2007 5 18
*2008 12 NR
*currently

Look at how Michigan is doing this year and be grateful we are not in their shoes. The Wolverines are sitting pretty low at 2-7. They've lost to Utah and Toledo this year! One of their wins came against Miami (Ohio) and that score was only 16-6!

You would have to go back to 1897 to find the last Ohio State team that lost at least 7 games. In 1988, the Buckeyes had 7 games in which they did not win, but finished 4-6-1. The 1897 team finished 1-8.