So in that spirit,I'll toss a few thoughts in and consider things caught up as I want to work on a feature post for either tonight or tomorrow before I return to work.
Brownie Bits
1) Colt McCoy looked a little more like a rookie quarterback against the Ravens than in his past starts,but no matter how he played against Baltimore or next Sunday against Pittsburgh,the experience of both playing good defenses and in less than perfect weather can do nothing but prepare McCoy for the full time starting position.
2) McCoy's picks were not all great decisions,but especially on one of them,Mohamed Massaquoi just let Ed Reed go up and take the ball.
I like my receivers to get in there and battle for the ball-Massaquoi didn't.
3) One main reason that Eric Mangini and his sycophant Brian Daboll might be fired this time next week is the constant playing for field goals.
The Browns had plenty of time near the end of the first half to punch a TD in that would have given them the lead,but instead poor clock management allowed them to score just three points.
Mangini was quoted as saying "We didn't want Baltimore to have the ball with any time left to score".
Well,I'll take a 14-13 lead with thirty seconds to go over being down 13-10 and its halftime any time that you want me to choose.
Any other choice is just dumb.
4) The onside kick to start the second half was one of those calls that get kudos when it works and head scratches when it doesn't.
I cannot hammer them for taking a risk,but I will question why that was worth the risk (giving Baltimore great field position),but yet giving Baltimore the ball in their own territory was not deemed worthy of the gamble of attempting to score a touchdown.
5) Ed Reed was the Brown Killer on this day with two picks and a rib crunching hit early in the game on Peyton Hillis that rendered Hillis less than effective (35 yards) for the game.
For all of the media hullabaloo about the overrated "Murderin" Ray Lewis,Ed Reed is the one player on the powerful Baltimore defense that is essential to their success.
I don't have to like Reed being a former Miami Hurricane and Raven,but he might be the best safety of his time and yes,that includes Troy Polamalu.
6) I didn't like seeing Reed having success,but I did laugh seeing him leap out of his sideline jacket with it on fire.
The first thing I thought of was the old NBA JAM game for the Sega Genesis with the announcer screaming-"HE'S ON FIRE"!!!!
7) Joe Thomas was the only Brown voted to the Pro Bowl and I thought Thomas had a bit of a down season compared to his first few campaigns.
Sometimes these things are decided by reputation and the old adage usually comes true that you make your first Pro Bowl the year after you should...
8) Joe Haden grabbed his sixth pick of the season in the loss.
Had Haden started all season,he might have had a shot at defensive rookie of the year,which will likely go to Detroit's Ndomikong Suh.
Hell Raisers
Very few notes from the two losses,which I saw the beginnings of but not the complete version of either game due to work commitments.
Take those two losses off the table and the only real news is the recall of winger Vladmir Zharkov from Albany along with the assignment of Brian Rolston to Albany and placed Rolston on re-entry waivers.
Teams that claim Rolston now would share the cap hit of the contract at a 50/50 rate with the Devils instead of absorbing the entire contract of the 37 year old Rolston.
Rolston's effort wasn't in question,but his skills are declining and the time is right for both parties to attempt to movc on.
Zharkov didn't score a goal last season in New Jersey,but I thought he played well and could have been placed on the team this year without many questions.
Zharkov was the leading scorer for Albany thus far with 18 points with seven goals and eleven assists...
Photo Credit:Ben De Soto-Radical Eats
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