Cody Kessler threw for 203 yards and a 12 yard touchdown pass to Terrelle Pryor late in the first half for the only Browns touchdown.
The now 0-9 Browns travel to Baltimore to play the Ravens on Thursday night....
Brownie Bits
1) Cody Kessler didn't throw an interception,but took another beating against the Dallas rush,especially in the second half.
Kessler just seems to take too much time getting the ball out and as a result takes shots that he shouldn't.
Getting rid of the football sooner needs to be the first thing that Kessler needs to work on in the off season....
2) The Browns defense was its usual awful self,but nothing said more about this day than the inability to cover the Cowboy tight ends.
The aging Jason Witten finished with 135 yards and a touchdown receiving with backup Gavin Escobar grabbing another Dak Prescott touchdown toss.
Tight end coverage is often on the linebackers and Witten took advantage (at least I hope) of Jamie Collins being new to what the Browns do as Collins allowed Witten to roll out to the flat alone.
Collins might have been expecting some help from a safety that he didn't get on the play,but that was just one of eight Witten catches...
3) The other interesting issue came in the first period when Cameron Erving was ejected for fighting with Dallas's David Irving..
The funny thing was that might have been the most contact that Cameron Erving made with a defensive lineman all season...
4) The two minute drive late in the first half that finished with the only Cleveland touchdown was about the only offensive highlight for the Browns.
For one drive,Cody Kessler had some time to throw,showed some poise and got some things done.
It was one of the rare highlights of the day..
5) Corey Coleman made his return to the lineup from a broken hand and had little impact with three catches for 41 yards.
Much of that is due to the lack of time that Cody Kessler to find anyone other than emergency checkdowns,but I'm sure Hue Jackson hoped for a little more in the return of his top draft choice...
6) Jamie Collins looked a little lost in pass coverage in his Cleveland debut,but finished with five tackles,just missed a sack and did take down Ezekiel Elliott down for a loss.
Collins might have his occasional struggles against Baltimore Thursday night with the short week,but I expect a big game when he has ten days to digest the playbook and coverages against Pittsburgh on the 20th..
7) Much of the publicity during the week was the Ezekiel Elliott return to Ohio.
Elliott finished with 92 yards,two scores and spent the fourth quarter on the bench with the Dallas win long secure.
Elliott is a great back and he would have given Cleveland fans a thrill or two this season had he wound up a Brown (They could have had him at 2),but considering the line and team talent,Cleveland would still be winless or one win at most...
8) I must admit I didn't have Dak Prescott at the top of my draft board.
I liked his arm,but I had him scoped as another spread offense quarterback (he ran the spread at Mississippi State) and was doubtful of being a guy to build around.
I'm not saying Prescott is a franchise level quarterback yet,but he fits what Dallas is running-great line,great runner and pound the ball..
9) Some of the issues that we have noted through this season are talent related,but some of just dumb play cannot be excused.
Just as lining up offsides as the Browns did three times,two of them by Xavier Cooper.
I can understand players jumping offsides in anticipating a snap,but lining up that way?
Is it that hard to look down at the line?
Fundamentals,people!!
10) The Browns are 0-9 and 1-19 in their last 20.
Do I see things getting better not for a while and I'm driving the lovely Cherie to work and listening to the NFL channel on Sirius (Bleech) and a caller calls into Jason Taylor and talks Browns.
First thing out of his mouth is "One player won't do it-they can trade down and get more players".
I'm not saying that is a totally bad idea,but not this time.
This mess was partially created by trading down and to be fair not hitting on those picks,but passing on players that could have built this team.
I have a feeling that this anxiety isn't going away anytime soon...
No comments:
Post a Comment