Monday, October 26, 2015

Sad in St.Louis,Browns anemic in 24-6 loss

Before I start,I'm not sure if I'll be doing a blog post on the Buckeyes rout of Rutgers.
Depends on the time allotted for me.
My good friends at Verizon are coming to fix the phones today (thank the lord that it hasn't affected the internet) and it will depend on how that goes.
If it is a quick (and quiet) repair,I'll do a Football weekend in Ohio and cover both games on the podcast.
If it is a loud and long job,I may hammer out a short post....


The Cleveland Browns played a lifeless and listless game in their worst performance of the season (maybe the Jets game was arguably worse) in their possibly final visit to the Edward Jones Dome in St.Louis and slunk out of Missouri with a 24-6 loss to the Rams.
Josh McCown threw for 270 yards without an interception,but fumbled twice under a vicious Rams pass rush and Gary Barnidge grabbed six passes for 101 yards to lead an offense that failed to reach the end zone.
Travis Coons connected on both of his field goal attempts to account for all the Browns scores and the only bright spots of the afternoon.
The now 2-5 Browns host Arizona next Sunday.

Brownie Bits

1) I picked the Rams as my possible surprise team in the NFC and it could happen,if they can get anything out of Nick Foles at quarterback.
I haven't seen a team with talent like the Rams on the D-Line this season and I think they are one receiving threat away from being a real NFC contender..

2) Todd Gurley.
I've been high on him since I first saw him at Georgia and made the statement that he is the most
talented back to hit the NFL since Adrian Peterson.
Gurley finished with 128 yards and two scores on just 19 carries.
This is a runner that can hit the smallest holes like a 5'8 scat back and run you over like a power back.
Gurley will be the gold standard in running backs as soon as the end of this season...

3) One more word on the Rams.
Only 35,000 people in St.Louis for the game and knowing the threats to move back to Los Angeles-I can't blame fans that have had one football team leave town (Cardinals) not come out at NFL prices.
Being a Suns fan and seeing threats constantly arrive,I've seen in person the affects that can have on attendance.
This whole Los Angeles mess is more of a mess every day....

4) Josh McCown wasn't great,but he wasn't awful either.
McCown only threw six incompletions and it isn't his fault that his receiver (Taylor Gabriel) fumbled a pass that turned into a scoop and score.
McCown did fumble twice,but anyone would taking the shots that he was in the pocket on Sunday.
The worst thing he did was whatever that was (slip,bang fall,etc) against the wall at EJS,banging a shoulder and almost hitting the ground.
McCown was injured late and may not be able to play against Arizona.

5) I'm surprised to see the vitriol against Joe Thomas.
Thomas did commit penalties,but he dominated Robert Quinn,an excellent pass rusher, to the point of Quinn having no statistics for the game.
I know this because Quinn is my fantasy defensive lineman and his numbers are usually strong.
Want to knock the offensive line in this game?
I'm on board and with five false starts and four holding penalties,there isn't much to dispute,but Thomas controlled Quinn and that's a top notch effort.

6) A team "Built on the running game" continued to plod like bugs in the mud.
Take away Josh McCown running for his life for 21 yards and Robert Turbin's 22 yard run (his other runs added eight yards combined) and you have a grand total of 39 yards.
Barf.

7)  Another 100 yard game for Gary Barnidge and another great catch.
Barnidge became the fourth Browns tight end to have three 100 yard games in a season.
Only Milt Morin (4) has more,but I bet Barnidge gets to that point....

8) I know I have talked about the Browns not having top notch receivers,but the lack of size is often a factor as well.
The stature of Travis Benjamin,Taylor Gabriel etc can (and often does) lend itself to fumbles by bigger defenders as seen by Gabriel's first quarter fumble.
There is a place for smaller receivers,but having all (or most) of them being smaller lends itself to turnovers...

9) The defense just gives up plays in huge parcels and it makes a huge difference.
Todd Gurley alone gashed them for five runs over 12 yards with one of 48.
The secondary allowed a pass play of 41 yards among others.
Such a disappointment.

10) Another bad day for the draft class.
Danny Shelton had zero tackles,Cameron Erving hit the field and got called for a holding penalty.
Duke Johnson caught seven passes,but looks to be overmatched in the run game and the rest (Nate Orchard,Xavier Cooper and Ibreheim Campbell) were nondescript at best.

11) Finally,things are on the slide.
I'm sure a win might come unexpectedly,but remember both Browns wins came over teams with just one win each as of this writing.
I don't see one game that I give the Browns a chance to favored in (or even a pickem game) until San Francisco at home in December.
Look out...

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