This post will feature some thoughts on the Browns 34-20 loss to the Minnesota Vikings after reviewing the tape after getting some badly needed rest yesterday morning.
I'll try to get the look back at the Seahawks win over the Rams later today.
The Cleveland Browns caught some breaks early and were able to hang with the Vikings for the first half as they trotted into the locker room with a 13-10 lead and thinking they had controlled Adrian Peterson.
What they didn't know was Peterson was dehydrated and barely able to function for the half.
Well, an IV allowed Peterson to step into the phone booth and become Superman,roll over the helpless Brown defense in the second half and take away any hope of an upset win.....
Brownie Bits
1) I am a huge fan of Adrian Peterson,I made a fantasy football trade,while he played for Oklahoma in order to make sure he was on my team when the rap on him was durability,so I have a small bias.
However,Adrian Peterson may be the most complete running back since Jim Brown.
There may have been faster backs,shiftier backs and backs with more power,but I feel pretty comfortable in saying that he is the most complete since Brown and with a little more time,maybe even the best since Brown period.
And that covers a ton of great backs..
2) The Browns were overmatched by the Vikings and this was an expected defeat,but considering that next weeks opponent (Denver) needed a miracle to defeat the Bengals,we should have a decent handle on whether this is 6-10 team or a 3-13 team after the trip to the Mile High City.
3) Once again,the Browns best player is Joshua Cribbs.Cribbs scored the Browns only meaningful touchdown on a punt return and saw plenty of action on offense as well,but he could have used better in the offense.
How so?Glad you asked.....
4) I know the Wildcat (or Single Wing) is the NFL version of the chocolate brown leisure suit right now,but when you consistently run the same damn play out of the formation-you aren't tricking anyone!!!
I screamed about this with Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini is doing the same thing,Throw one pass with Cribbs out of this and you will open SO MUCH ground on future plays,then you really have teams confused!
Not to mention teams see Cribbs in the backfield and play him to run,which is exactly what Cleveland did twice inside the Viking ten and ignored two wide open receivers that would have been a touchdown instead settling for a field goal.
If you are just going to run Cribbs out of the formation,then it is just another running play.
5) The Browns did manage to break their long touchdown drought in the fourth
quarter with a meaningless score,but when your top offensive threat turns out to be Robert Royal (4 catches,60 yards and the TD),it could be a long season offensively.Brady Quinn makes one read and then looks for the tight end,which would have worked brilliantly with the departed Kellen Winslow,but not so much with pedestrian Royal...
6) Speaking of Quinn,not impressed.
Most of his passing yards came in garbage time and his Garo Yepremian like pass/fumble was a total joke.
I am not saying Derek Anderson is any better,mind you,but Quinn's opener was not encouraging to me..
7) Jamal Lewis ran reasonably well ( 57 yards on 11 carries) against one of the top run defenses in the league and gives me some hope that he can be at least average this season.
He may have to be,considering Jerome Harrison is still on the shelf and James Davis being injured in the Viking game...
8) Braylon Edwards caught only one ball and had a touchdown taken away (good call,I thought) and generally was a non-factor,but his grab on the non-TD was phenomenal.
Just goes to show that Edwards has the talent when motivated,which he seldom is...
9) The Browns rookie pass catchers were a non factor as Mohammed Massquoi caught one pass for 18 yards on the last drive,while Brian Robiskie had nothing on the stat sheet.
If these two are the future,let's see more of them and less of Mike Furrey.
10) The Browns were able to put some pressure on Brett Favre with four sacks and give defensive coordinator Rob Ryan credit for being aggressive and creative in figuring ways out to press Favre,but the second half was not as effective.
Ryan is going to have to mix things up from week to week to best utilize his less than stellar talent base..
11) The tackling was improved until the last Peterson TD run in which he bum rushed over what seemed to be half the stadium,but the Browns defended only one pass on the game (Eric Wright).
That is not going to cut it when you play more pass oriented teams.
12) If I could pick one play that showed the NFL's feelings about the Browns,I would pick Adrian Petersons' last TD run where he broke Brandon McDonald and Eric Wright's tackle attempts and then tossed McDonald's second attempt aside with a dismissive shove.
That play was like a stern school principal dismissing a miscreant from his office and that much like Cleveland's attempt to defeat top teams...
13) Finally,this was not a total disaster.
Sure,there were bad points in the game,but those were expected.
Next week is going to be an interesting game as both the Browns and Broncos are similar teams.
New coaches,new quarterbacks and not excessively talented.
This is a winnable game on the road for Cleveland and could be a valuable building block with a win.....
Photo Credits
Peterson,Quinn:Mark Duncan-AP Photo
Royal:Tony Dejak-AP Photo
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