Like the late, great Hal Lebovitz used to stay at the start of his News-Herald columns, "A little bit of this, a little bit of that ... "The Browns have had a fourth-quarter lead in all three games this season, but are 0-3 for the third straight season and the fourth time in five years.
At least we didn't grow up in Detroit.
There were some bright spots in Sunday's 24-17 loss in Baltimore. But I'm not so sure the Browns had a really good game as much as the Ravens defense played a really bad one.
TOUGH SCHEDULE
Whatever the case, the Browns are 0-3 and could just as easily be the shock of the league at 3-0 if they had the ability to play the second half the same way they play in the first half.
Sitting at 0-3 is a major cause for concern. Especially when you consider the Browns have two very difficult stretches in their schedule this season.
The first stretch already started with the loss at Baltimore. But the next six games are going to be brutal. We can only hope for some magic and for certain things to just start clicking defensively. Here's a list of who we face:
Game 4 - Bengals (in Cleveland)
Game 5 - Falcons (in Cleveland)
Game 6 - at Steelers
Game 7 - at Saints
Game 8 - Patriots (in Cleveland)
Game 9 - Jets (in Cleveland)
If the Browns don't upset the Bengals or Falcons, they could be entering their next four-game stretch at 0-9. This relatively easy four-game stretch includes:
Game 10 - at Jaguars
Game 11 - Panthers (in Cleveland, Thanksgiving weekend)
Game 12 - at Dolphins
Game 13 - at Bills
Then the season closes with three difficult divisional games. These games might be more difficult than the first time the Browns face these teams, as I am sure the Division and Wild Card spots will be on the line for these three:
Game 14 - at Bengals
Game 15 - Ravens (in Cleveland, day after Christmas)
Game 16 - Steelers (in Cleveland, day after New Year's)
Looking at that schedule, on paper the Browns are underdogs in all but one game: at Buffalo on Dec. 12. But that game, whether in Cleveland or Buffalo, has historically been a cold, slow-paced, fumble-fest in the snow that could go either way depending on which team gets the breaks that day. Remember Dec. 16, 2007, the Browns were hosting the Bills at Cleveland Browns Stadium, going into the game 9-5 against a 7-7 Bills team. Browns won 8-0. One safety and two field goals by Phil Dawson, one of which was booted 49 yards in blizzard conditions. Fun fact to remember heading into this game: Buffalo, NY has an average temp of 36 in December. Their average snowfall for December is 25.4 inches. The number of days it snows in December on average is 15. Keep your fingers crossed for a whiteout!
OUR QUARTERBACK SITUATION BLOWS
Jake Delhomme? Seneca Wallace? Riiiiiight. Both QBs suck. Sure, they are professional quarterbacks with jobs. But compared to all other QBs in the league, they suck. When I watch Browns highlights each week I ask myself, "When are the Browns going to put a QB1 onto the field that can single-handedly win some football games?" You know, if Colt McCoy doesn't get some experience this year, he will suck in 2011. He'll be making rookie mistakes like Tim Couch and Brady Quinn did. The only question is does McCoy have what it takes to learn from his mistakes? He's definitely a smart, NFL prototype quarterback with a strong, accurate arm, quick release and good pocket presence.
I think he'll be a good QB. The question is: Will he ever be a good QB in orange and brown - because, you know, the Browns are notorious for demoting and trading quarterbacks after a few bad passes and some tough losses.
O-LINE
Alex Mack (6'4", 311 lbs.) and Joe Thomas (6'6", 312 lbs.) have been lights out. Thomas was drafted 2007, 1st round, 3rd pick. Mack was drafted 2009, 1st round, 21st pick. Probably our two best draft picks since the 1999 return.
Something you may have not known. I once had the opportunity to meet and speak with Mack for about 5 minutes at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Mack was drafted on Saturday, April 25, 2009. The following day I had a flight from Cleveland to Norfolk. I was leaving the area and returning home after MANcation 2009 in Hocking Hills. As I walk toward security, I see this fairly large dude wearing a white polo and some khaki shorts with a Browns hat turned around backwards like Ken Griffey. I look at him standing in front of me in line and I'm thinking, "Dude's a Brown. His face looks familiar." Then it hit me! He was drafted the day before. I'd just seen him on TV at the MANcabin. So I say, "Excuse me sir, weren't you just drafted by the Browns?" He turns and replies, "Yeah, Alex Mack," sticks out his hand to shake, "how are ya." So I shake his hand and go on to explain how I'm a big Browns fan and how we were excited to have him because we needed some more stability on the offensive line. He tells me that he flew in as soon as he got the news and how he was pumped to be playing with Joe Thomas, etc. He spent that Saturday evening and Sunday morning meeting people, and was about to fly back out to California to make preparations to move to Cleveland.
HILLIS OVER HARRISON?
I say yes. Peyton Hillis has rushed for 220 yards and 3 TDs on a 5.6 yards per carry average. The 24-year-old is a battle-tested beast. He not only knows how to run- and pass-block, but he's that one guy opponents on the defense do everything in their power to avoid when someone else has the ball. At a rock-solid 6'2", 250 lbs., the guy pops chinstraps.
And the more (or less, actually) I see of Jerome Harrison this year, the more I think last season was a fluke. In the five games Harrison was the Browns' featured back in 2009, he topped 100 yards four times. In those five starts he had 151 carries for 734 yards (4.9 per carry) and 5 TDs. Now with his recent thigh injury (and injuries in previous seasons), you have to start questioning his durability. He's only had 19 touches this year (16 rushes and 3 receptions) and he's already broke. Hillis had more than that (22 rushes, 7 receptions) against the Ravens defense. Then again, Harrison is five inches shorter and 45 pounds lighter than Hillis, and probably hangs out in the Flats after hours more than he should.
CRIBBS HAVING ANOTHER ALL-PRO YEAR
In terms of returning kicks, we all knew what we were getting with Josh Cribbs - the best in the game and perhaps the best in NFL history.
But what we were looking for with that pay increase for the 2010 season was for Cribbs to play more of a major role in the offense. And so far he has.
Cribbs is currently the Browns' leading receiver with 10 receptions for 143 yards and 1 TD. That's like one game for an elite wideout. Ten receptions over three games surely aren't enough. Heck, he's only been targeted 15 times (an average of 5 per game). At any rate, this is a step in the right direction. In addition to his receiving yardage, Cribbs has amassed 9 passing yards, 32 rushing yards, 112 kick return yards and 34 yards on punt returns.
Check out this list of Cribbs' total yards since joining the league out of Kent State:
2005 - 14 games ... 1,106 yards (79.0 per game)
2006 - 16 games ... 1,647 yards (102.9 per game)
2007 - 16 games ... 2,312 yards (144.5 per game)
2008 - 15 games ... 1,531 yards (102.1 per game)
2009 - 16 games ... 2,528 yards (158.0 per game)
2010 - 3 games ... 330 yards (110.0 per game)
He's just heating up. Dude is consistent. Get him the rock!
DEFENSE
As far as the defense is concerned, the Browns are in the middle of the pack right now, which is good considering how shaky the offense has been. Typically teams with bad offenses and are prone to 3-and-outs have horrible defensive statistics because the defense is tired and always on the field.
The Browns overall defense is 16th. Rushing defense is 20th. Passing defense is 12th.
When it comes to pressuring the quarterback the Browns are 23rd in sacks with just 4. Guess which team is ranked 3rd? Packers, with 10. And wouldn't you know it, Clay Matthews Jr. is leading the league with 6.0 sacks. He had 10 sacks as a rookie last season. The Browns had an opportunity to draft Matthews in 2009, and that would have been off-the-charts crazy considering his father played as an All-Pro linebacker with the Browns during the glory years under Sam Rutigliano and Marty Schottenheimer. Now, the Browns did get Mack in the first round, ahead of Matthews in 2009, and you can't argue with that. The offensive line is important and the Browns needed some fixes in that area more so than they did at linebacker - at that point. But other than Mack, the Browns screwed up their 2009 draft.
THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW
When the Browns used to know how to draft players out of college, they were good. During the Rutigliano (1978-1984) and Schottenheimer (1984-1988) years - which spanned 11 seasons - the Browns were 91-77 (.542 win%), had four seasons of at least 10 wins, and made the playoffs six times.
In the 11 years since the Browns rejoined the NFL in 1999 (plus the three games from this season), the Browns are 59-120 (.329 win%), with one season of at least 10 wins, and made the playoffs one time.
There have been roughly 70 draft picks made by the Browns since 1999 and only a few of these players have amounted to anything in a Browns uniform.
Hopefully the Mike Holmgren years will be similar to the Rutigliano-Schottenheimer years, and the tiny snowball at the bottom of the hill can eventually build into a large snowball and make it all the way to the top, collecting all the pieces it needs along the way. I'm sick and tired of our snowball making it halfway before being squashed by the Bengals, Ravens and Steelers, then having to start all over again. And I'm sick of starting out 0-3.
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