Browns edged by Lions, 38-37

The Cleveland Browns jumped out to a 24-7 lead only to blow it on the final play of the game in a heartbreaking, 38-37 loss to the Detroit Lions.

The Browns had the lead with just minutes to play and appeared to stop the Lions when time ran out, but a pass interference penalty gave Detroit one final play.

The result was a touchdown pass in the end zone, and the corresponding extra point giving the Browns their toughest loss to swallow on the season.

The loss ruined what was by far the best day of quarterback Brady Quinn’s career. Quinn looked like a completely different player than Monday night, when he wasn’t allowed to throw the ball more than five yards.

The Browns let Quinn loose, and he rewarded them with three touchdown passes. At least there was something positive to come out of the loss.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 6:18 pm by steve

Browns Lose on Last Second Stafford TD, 38-37

The lowly, bumbling Browns simply needed a team equally as lowly and bumbling to put on a true offensive display.

The Browns met the Detroit Lions on Sunday in a game that threatened to turn the clock back on football 50 years. Instead, the game only turned the clock back on both teams’ defenses, as Matthew Stafford of the Lions and Brady Quinn of the Browns opened up an aerial salvo in a 38-37 win by the Lions.

The Lions were saved by a last-second pass interference call on a Hail Mary against the Browns.

“Once the quarterback rotated out of the pocket and they were in the end zone, you try to force the receiver out of bounds,” linebacker Hank Poteat said. “That’s what I tried to do.”

But the real game-breaking decision came from coach Eric Mangini, who called a timeout after the pass interference call. Stafford, who had thrown four TDs on the day at that point, had just left the game with a shoulder injury, and was replaced by Daunte Culpepper.

Mangini’s timeout gave Stafford a chance to regain composure for one more play… where he hit TE Brandon Pettigrew for a 1-yard TD and the game-winning score.

“It was more a function of wanting to make sure we had the right personnel and we wanted to take a look at what they were going to do,” Mangini said. “We had the timeout so at that point I thought it was a good idea to use it, look at it, and get the guys in spots we thought they needed to be in.”

On a bright note, Quinn had a career day, shattering all his previous records. He finished 21-of-33 for 304 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions – entering the game, he only had thrown three touchdowns in his entire NFL career.

“We had plenty opportunities and at the end we just couldn’t close it out,” Cleveland coach Eric Mangini said. “I’m disappointed for them and I’m sick about the outcome.”

Monday, November 23, 2009 at 6:50 pm by bryan

Browns shut out by Ravens, 16-0

The Cleveland Browns looked like the worst team in the NFL in a 16-0 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Give the Browns defense a lot of credit for showing up, playing hard and frustrating the Ravens for much of the night.

It’s just too bad they didn’t get any help at all from an anemic offense that didn’t even try to move the ball down the field.

The Browns spent much of the night throwing two-yard passes and running plays out of the Wildcat formation.

Cleveland plays Detroit next week, and sadly the Lions would seem to be heavy favorites in that game.

Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 6:07 pm by steve

LeBron James’ 2010 Destination: The NFL?

With his hometown team arguably the worst in the NFL, Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James had some thoughts about his own ability to help the franchise.

“If I put all my time and commitment into it, if I dedicated myself to the game of football, I could be really good,” James said before the Cavs faced the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night . “No matter what team I was on.”

James isn’t completely blowing hot air – he was an All-Ohio wide receiver at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. James decided to give up football after his junior year to focus on basketball, partially due to a broken finger he sustained during football.

That doesn’t prevent him from believing that he could provide the Browns a versatile, legitimate offensive threat, a hybrid wide receiver/tight end like Tony Gonzalez or Antonio Gates. It wouldn’t be unprecedented, as Gates, who’s listed at 6-foot-4, 250 lbs, played basketball and not football in college.

“They’re not always lined up next to the tackle,” James said. “Sometimes they go against strong safeties and linebackers. It’s tough to match up with those guys because they’re so athletic.”

It was suggested since LeBron declared for the NBA immediately after high school, that he may still have college eligibility for football. One big hurdle: the $90 million shoe contract he signed with Nike, which would eliminate his status as an amateur.

What if I gave it all back?” he joked.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 7:10 pm by bryan

Cribbs Injury Gives Mangini Second Thoughts on Final Play

Down 16-0 Monday night to the Baltimore Ravens, the Cleveland Browns ran a hook-and-ladder play involving wide receiver/kick returner Joshua Cribbs that resulted in Cribbs being carted off the field on a stretcher after a vicious hit from defensive end Dwan Edwards. Now, given the injury, coach Eric Mangini is having second thoughts about his final play-call from Monday.

“In retrospect, I would probably do it differently if I had to do it again,” Mangini said Tuesday. “You don’t want anybody to get hurt on any play.”

Cribbs was taken to a local hospital after the game, where he underwent tests for several hours. Mangini told reporters that Cribbs did not suffer a concussion, and he’s hopeful that Cribbs could return Sunday when the Browns play the Lions in Detroit.

Mangini has been ripped in the media the past few days for his final call, with media pundits suggesting that he shouldn’t have been running a gadget play with the game out of reach. Mangini defended himself Tuesday, suggesting that he called a normal pass play and Cribbs’ creativity took over.

“Josh kind of improvised at the end there,” he said. “We were trying to move the football.”

One person who certainly didn’t agree with the play was Cribbs’ agent.

“This was avoidable,” said Cribbs’ agent, J.R. Rickerts, who has been trying to negotiate a contract extension for Cribbs since the offeseason. “I don’t know if that was the play that was called or if Josh was ad libbing out there, but we could have minimized the risk.”

at 7:08 pm by bryan

NFLPA Investigating Mangini’s Practices

The Associated Press reported Monday that the NFL Players Association is wants to set up a meeting with Cleveland Browns players this week to discuss the practices held by coach Eric Mangini.

The union wants to look into the procedures Mangini has established in practice, due to concerns about health and safety, according to the source.

Two young Browns players have suffered season-ending injuries in post-practice drills called “opportunity periods,” where rookies and undrafted free agents have the chance to run through drills and impress the coaching staff. Defensive end Keith Grennan hurt his knee last week during one of these drills, and rookie RB James Davis went on injured reserve after injuring his shoulder in an “opportunity period” last month.

The league investigated Davis’ injury and determined that Mangini had done nothing wrong, amidst initial reports that Davis was injured while not wearing pads, and being tackled by someone who was wearing pads. NFL officials interviewed Browns’ players, coaches, and staff when reviewing Davis’ injury.

The NFL might want to examine Mangini’s coaching decisions while they’re at it. He left kick returner/wide receiver Josh Cribbs (arguably the Browns’ most dangerous weapon) on the field for the last play of the game against the Baltimore Ravens last night, despite the Browns being down 16-0. Cribbs caught a pass from Brady Quinn, lateraled it to TE Robert Royal, then was nearly beheaded by a Ravens’ defensive end and had to be taken off the field on a stretcher.

at 12:02 am by bryan

Browns Pounded by Ravens on MNF, 16-0

As former coach-turned-announcer Jon Gruden said on Monday night, “If the Baltimore Ravens were wearing throwback jerseys… they’d be the Cleveland Browns!”

Monday night provided the Browns a revenge game against the city that took their original team in the 1990’s, but true to late-2000’s Browns form, they stuttered and stumbled through another game, losing 16-0 to the Ravens.

Coach Eric Mangini made the executive decision before the game to replace struggling QB Derek Anderson with third-year pro Brady Quinn, to determine whether Quinn could be the future of the Browns’ franchise. If his performance last night was any indication… God help the Browns if he’s their future franchise QB. Quinn finished 13-of-31 for 99 yards and two interceptions.

The Browns got nothing going offensively all game, although their defense managed to hold Baltimore scoreless in the first half (in a rare bright spot for this team).

The Brownies also lost arguably their best player, as wide receiver/kick returner Josh Cribbs had to be carted off the field with an injury following the game’s last play. Cribbs caught a pass from Quinn and lateraled to TE Robert Royal, but defensive end Dwon Jackson nearly knocked Cribbs’ head off when he turned around.

Coach Mangini said that Cribbs had feeling in all of his body parts as he left the stadium for the hospital.

at 12:00 am by bryan

WR Cribbs Carted Off Field

The 2009-10 season for the Cleveland Browns has been one giant season to forget.

Now, it’s gotten even worse, as receiver/kick returner Josh Cribbs was carted off the field last night after the last play of the Browns’ 16-0 loss to the Ravens on Monday Night Football.

Cribbs, the Browns’ most dangerous offensive weapon and one of the most feared kick returners in the league, caught a pass from QB Brady Quinn on the final play of the game (which leads to the question: why was he in the game on the last play, down two scores?), lateraled to TE Robert Royal, and was immediately plowed near midfield by defensive end Dwan Edwards.

Cribbs remained down on the field, with players from both teams knelt around him.

Cleveland trainers attended to Cribbs, before strapping him to a stretcher and driving him to the locker room. An ambulance took Cribbs to the hospital for further testing, where he was expected to remain overnight.

Browns coach Eric Mangini said Cribbs had feeling in all parts of his body as he left the stadium on Monday night.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 11:58 pm by bryan

Mangini Defends Practices, Coaching Style

A day after RB Jamal Lewis questioned the style of his practices, coach Eric Mangini defended his coaching style to the media.

Lewis claimed that Mangini’s practice style – where players often conduct 2 ½ - 3 hour practices during the week – was contributing to the lack of wins that the Browns players generated on Sunday.

Mangini doesn’t appear sold.

“I feel good about the way we practice, the time we practice,” Mangini said Friday. “Two hours of work on the field is a very reasonable time.”

The coach said that he and Lewis had a conversation on Thursday after his publicized rants, although Mangini would not speak about details of the conversation. He did, however, stress that he rarely runs the players to more than two hours of practice daily.

“That’s the facts, that’s the reality of it,” he said. “Two hours a day, two hours a day. Less on Friday.”

Mangini also defended the Browns “opportunity sessions,” where undrafted players and rookies have the ability to impress coaches after practice by running drills. This comes after a report on Thursday that DE Keith Grennan suffered a season-ending injury after practice, during an “opportunity drill,” becoming the second player this season to have his season ended during one of these drills (the Browns lost RB James Davis earlier this year). Yet Mangini swears by these sessions, claiming that he learned the technique from his mentor, Bill Belichick.

“I believe in this fundamentally,” Mangini said. “Over time, so many guys have benefited from it. I think it increases the possibility of success.”

Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 12:29 am by bryan

Browns Player Hurt in ‘Opportunity Drill’

On the same day that RB Jamal Lewis questioned coach Eric Mangini’s practice style, Browns practice squad player Keith Grennan ruptured his patellar tendon during an “opportunity drill,” the second-such season-ending injury stemming from the drills this season.

Mangini holds “opportunity drills” after practice, where practice squad players and rookies are given an extra chance to impress coaches.

Earlier this season, backup running back James Davis sustained a season-ending injury to his shoulder during opportunity drills. ESPN.com reported that Davis was not wearing pads during the drill, although Mangini and the Browns vehemently denied those claims (and have been since cleared by the league).

“I’ve been part of this everywhere I’ve been,” Mangini said then. “Usually the rookies stay out, the young guys stay out. Often times, other guys will stay out if they want to. It’s not limited to those guys, other people are welcome too, but it’s nice because it gives them really focused attention. It’s designed to help them have the best chance to bump up.”

Mangini notes that he learned the technique of “opportunity drills” from New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, citing Patriots QB Tom Brady as an example of someone who once was put into a position to succeed because of the drills. Browns linebacker Marcus Benard, a practice squad player, recently earned a spot on the 53-man roster after he impressed Mangini during one of these sessions.

Some Browns believe that Mangini ran the “opportunity drills” on Thursday out of anger, in response to Lewis’ critical comments. Lewis believes that the length and intensity of Mangini’s practices may be contributing to the lack of wins the Browns have generated on Sundays this season.

at 12:20 am by bryan