Crennel (unfortunately) Speaks...

Crennel says he doesn't think his players quit on Thursday night
Associated Press

BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns coach Romeo Crennel says he felt insulted by comments by some of his players that teammates quit in last week's loss to Denver. After the Broncos scored 21 points in the fourth quarter for a 34-30 win on Thursday, Browns running back Jamal Lewis accused some unnamed players of quitting. Lewis' sentiments were supported earlier this week by return specialist Joshua Cribbs. A displeased Crennel said he didn't think his players quit and any perception that they did was a poor reflection on him. Crennel spoke with his team Wednesday about focusing on next Monday's game against Buffalo. The Browns (3-6) have been one of the AFC's biggest disappointments after winning 10 games last season.

Salty's Thoughts: Romeo better be right, otherwise, he better be filling out applications ASAP. ps: sweet hair.

A chat with little Bernie ...

LITTLE BERNIE: Hi Coach.  I want to send you a letter because my dad reeded me your story when I was eating Cookie Crisp this morning."

COACH: Good to hear from you, Bernie.  It's refreshing to hear that there are still fathers out there who read the Sports page to their kids over breakfast.  As a side note, Cookie Crisp is a quality cereal.  Good to know you are keeping it real.

BERNIE: I was happy to hear that you thought Romeo the Browns coach would finally realize how inconsistent medeo core Derick Anderson is.  Im American and Americans love turkey.

COACH: It was only a matter of time before the front office decided to make the change at quarterback.  I was wondering why it's taken so long for a few weeks now.  I just don't understand how the media say this is a bad move, considering Quinn has sat on the sidelines for 24 regular season games.  Is it a good move when he's had 25 or more regular season games as a backup under his belt?  I mean, 24 games seems like enough time to learn the system and it is about time they start the guy they drafted with a 1st round pick, isn't it?

BERNIE: I like Brady Quinn because he is new and I think his name sounds like the quarterback who wins Super Bowls all the time.  He must be good.  More good than Derek Anderson who always throws passes to the other team.  My Dad says that Derek Anderson completes more passes to the ground than he does to the Browns players.  Is that true?

COACH: You and I both hope that Quinn can bring at least one Super Bowl victory to the City of Cleveland over his career.  If only he can be as good as Tom Brady ... well, that probably won't happen considering that Tom Brady is arguably the most clutch big game quarterback ever to play in the NFL.  And yes, Derek Anderson DOES throw more incompletions than completions.

BERNIE: Have you ever farted?

COACH: I've had my fair share.  In some people, such as myself, it is a talent you acquire with age.  Don't worry, farts are normal and you'll enjoy making headlines and clearing rooms in the future.

BERNIE: Will the Browns make it to the playoffs this year because my Dad and I don't think they will make it.

COACH: No.  The Browns won't make the playoffs this year.  They are 3-5 right now.  You'd have to guess that an AFC team will need to be 9-7 to make the playoffs.  The Browns would have to finish 6-2 to achieve that record.  Just look at the upcoming schedule.  Probably not gonna be 6-2 in the final 8 games.  And if for some reason an 8-8 team in the AFC can snatch up a Wild Card spot, the Browns would still have to finish 5-3.  That is possible, but an 8-8 playoff team is a longshot.

BERNIE: If the Browns won't make the playoffs, then why should I watch them and why should my Dad get excited about watching them for the rest of the year?

COACH: The new hype and excitement for the 2008 Browns is Brady Quinn.  There is a good chance the Browns won't make the playoffs.  But you have to keep in mind that Derek Anderson led the Browns to a 3-5 start.  Can Quinn muster up more than 3 wins in the Browns final 8 games?  That is the question.  It will be fun and exciting watching the young phenom take the reigns of a struggling offense and see what he can do with it.  Can he help turn the team around or not?  That is the question.  Sure, there will be some growing pains and that is expected.  But we must look at the little things.  How many times will Quinn be sacked compared to the rate at which Anderson was going down?  Can Quinn keep the INTs down?  Can he keep his completion percentage up?  If he can do all these things, then the move to bench Anderson and start Quinn was a good one because at the very least he can use the remainder of 2008 to prepare for 2009.  This is a young team and the sooner Quinn is under center doing the little things that Anderson could not do, the better the Browns will be in 2009 and beyond.

BERNIE: Thanks Coach, for making me happy again.  I'll watch the Browns with my dad and we will be happy.  I'll eat my chips and drink my juice and my dad will be happy with his beers.

COACH: One day, Bernie, and you too will be drinking those beers with your pops, enjoying the Browns on Sundays.  Just stick by them when they are down and you will love them that much more when they are up.  Trust me.

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.

Four ways to improve the Browns

October 2, 2008 12:00 PM

Posted by ESPN.com's James Walker

A quarter way into the season, the Cleveland Browns (1-3) and Cincinnati Bengals (0-4) have dug themselves a deep hole to get back to respectability. So the AFC North edition of the Blog Network wants to help to prevent 2008 from being a very long season.

First, let's look at four things the Browns could do to improve:

1. Gain composure

We put this up first, because it's the foundation of everything it's going to take to improve. The Browns are not a mentally strong team right now. Even in victory we see careless mistakes. We notice arguing on the sideline. There's a lack of focus that's getting in the way of consistently playing winning football. This group need to tighten up over the bye week and really hone in on the task at hand.

2. Stick to the running game

The Browns improved to 5-0 on Sunday when Jamal Lewis gets 25 carries or more. Hang this stat up in the locker room and on the door of offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski's office. Give Lewis a chance. Sure, he's battling ankle and hamstring ailments, but Lewis is one of the few players who can be counted on every week. Backup Jerome Harrison can be used more as well.

3. Continue pressuring the quarterback

Something happened with Carson Palmer's injury last week. It suddenly gave the Browns the confidence to bring the wolves on backup Ryan Fitzpatrick and they registered three sacks. Learn from that and don't just do it against backups. Even the really good signal callers don't enjoy being hit in the mouth. The constant pressure even helped young cornerbacks Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald play more aggressively, knowing the pressure was on.

4. Get healthy

We're not too fond of the injury excuse here at the AFC North version of the Blog Network. It's the NFL and every team has them, so we'll keep this brief. The Browns need key players like receiver Donte' Stallworth (quad), guard Ryan Tucker (hip), safety Sean Jones (knee) and possibly Joe Jurevicius (knee) back in the lineup.

Up next: Four ways to improve the Cincinnati Bengals.

- Salty's Take: nobody should waste their time "improving" the Bengals. You want my 4 ways to start?

1. Get rid of Chad Johnson.

2. Get rid of Chad Johnson.

3. Get rid of Chad Johnson.

4. Get rid of Chad Johnson.

The guy is a cancer. You don't win with bad attitudes.

Link.