Baltimore led 20-0 until late in the third quarter when Josh Cribbs took a Raven punt 84 yards for a touchdown.Seneca Wallace's fourth quarter pass to Evan Moore for a six yard touchdown pulled the Browns to within six,but a late drive was stopped on downs in Baltimore territory and Phil Taylor jumped offsides on a fourth and two that allowed Baltimore to run out the clock.
Peyton Hillis ran for 115 yards for about the only real offense for Cleveland on the day.
The 4-11 Browns wrap up the season next week against Pittsburgh by Lake Erie...
Brownie Bits
1) I am sure today's post will sound negative,but I do not see tons to be positive about.
First,lets address the first drive of the game.
Peyton Hillis is in fine form and the Ravens cannot stop him.
It is third and one on the Baltimore 30.
Remember early in the season on a similar drive that screams HILLIS,where Pat Shurmur got too cute for his own good and called a pitch play to a guy that was not even on the team in a few weeks?
Well,Pat Shurmur Take two as the Browns do not even play action,they call a pass,which is promptly picked off.
I would have been surprised,if I did not figure that this was a WCO special coming up,where the coach has to show everyone how much smarter he is than the opposition....
2) Seneca Wallace takes the blame for the run play at the end of the first half,which resulted in zero points inside the Ravens five as the clock ran out.
Sure,the play might not have been Shurmur's choice for that time,but the disorganized group of players and their response are still Shurmur's responsibility...
In any event,Seneca Wallace is always talked about as such a great backup with his experience,shouldn't that experience have enabled him to think twice about a run play with no timeouts and audible to a pass???
3) Phil Taylor's jumping offsides on a final fourth and two and handing the game to Baltimore is inexcusable.
All the players had to know that Baltimore was trying to get the Browns to jump and worst case for them was an extra five yards to play with for the punt.
Considering the situation (no timeouts),Taylor's mistake cannot be excused...
4) Rich Gannon about drove me nuts in this game as I counted at least four times that Gannon claimed that "Pat Shurmur was one of the best play callers in the NFL".
I have seen every game and have seen no evidence of such prowess...
5) Second strong game in a row for Peyton Hillis,this time against one of the leagues best run defenses that was geared to stop him.
I still think Cleveland should try to bring Hillis back,although he may price himself out of their range,but keeping Hillis would lessen the need for a running back that would not put the total burden on the brittle Montario Hardesty to stay healthy...
6) Biggest issue with playcalling? Same as it was last season with Brian Daboll.
It seems like every critical third/fourth down always starts with a pass well short of the first down markers.
This might be overcome with better receivers,but not with what Cleveland has now.
The Browns cannot get away with throwing 1 yard passes when they need five yards,their personnel just does not fit that type of playcalling....
7) Sheldon Brown has been less than stellar this season,but credit is due on his fourth quarter interception in the end zone.Brown had Lee Evans covered perfectly....
8) Joe Haden is still a fine CB,but his play has dropped over the last month.
The pass interference penalty that cost the Browns 60 yards in the first quarter (and eventual TD) was on Mike Adams,but it was Haden at fault,for he was beaten badly on the play...
9) I was starting to think Josh Cribbs might have been past his prime in the return game,but his return yesterday was enough to make me think that perhaps his nagging injuries really are at fault for a less than dazzling season.
Cribbs and his returns are such a huge part of the team that something big is missing when his play is off mark.
10) My need list for next season?
On offense-in no particular order-Right Tackle,Wide Receiver and Quarterback (Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin would do quite nicely)
On defense-Defensive End (A quality end with Jabaal Sheard,Ahtyba Rubin and Phil Taylor would be very strong),Linebacker (preferably a pass rusher),Cornerback ( Need to see someone other than the shopworn Sheldon Brown) and a playmaking safety to go with the punishing hitting of T.J. Ward...
11) Teams to root for next week-Colts and Jaguars play each other and no matter which wins helps the Browns.A Colt win would give the number one to the Rams,who might deal the pick since they have Sam Bradford,A Jaguar win leaps the Browns over them in the draft.
Root for the 49ers to beat the Rams as that would keep the Rams in either the first or second slot and root for the Vikings to beat the Bears,as that would move the Browns up a slot.
Assuming the Browns lose to Pittsburgh,they are guaranteed to pick between the third and fifth pick in the draft....
Photo Credit-Larry French-Getty Images
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