Though it means nothing, I am required by football law to point out I was 7-0 in my Opening Drive predictions for week 17. Woot. Multiple teams lost because they did not keep their starters in while one NFC East leader got railed on. Now, onto the last week of the regular season with this edition of the Final Drive!
Cleveland Browns
4 January 2010
20 November 2009
(1-8) Cleveland Browns at (1-8) Detroit Lions
This is the 2009 Suck Bowl Rebuilding Bowl. AKA the only game where the Lions should be healthy favorites all season. Say what you want about Detroit, they can put up some points with Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. I'm not sure Cleveland is even aware that scoring six points at once is possible. The best part about the game is that one of these teams will reach two victories. (Though how classic and awesome would a tie be?
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2 November 2009
It wasn’t pretty, but I’ll take it. The Bears put down the Cleveland Browns by a final score of 30-6 Sunday at Soldier Field. While a 24-point win against a number of other teams would have been memorable, that margin wasn’t enough for Bears fans who wanted to see domination like they saw in Cincinnati. Instead, they saw Lovie Smith’s squad do little more than take advantage of Cleveland’s never-ending mistakes.
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31 October 2009
Unfortunately, the Bears have nothing to be sure about after a 45-10 embarrassment at the hands of Carson Palmer and the Cincinnati Bengals. Facing another AFC North opponent, the Bears desperately need a victory to keep pace in the NFC North. A loss to one of the worst teams in football wouldn’t exactly help their league standing either.
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18 October 2009
(1-4) Cleveland Browns at (3-2) Pittsburgh Steelers
Is Brady Quinn being traded? Is that why his house is up for sale? Who cares? The Browns suck and will continue to be awful as long as Eric Mangini keeps trading away their best players. “I want to run a ball control offense, so I’ll have Derek Anderson as my starter! Going 2 for 17 is efficient enough for me!” He needs to stop, just like Cleveland’s winning streak will on Sunday. Pittsburgh should lay the wood to these streaking Browns.
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13 October 2009
(1-4) Cleveland Browns 6
(1-4) Buffalo Bills 3
Ugliest. Game. Ever. Derek Anderson goes 2 for 13 in a WIN. Mangini should have stuck with Brady Quinn. In Buffalo, things could be even worse after signing T.O. in the offseason. Dick Jauron will lose his job during this season. You can almost lock it in.
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5 October 2009
Braylon Edwards and his posse apparently are rolling Cleveland looking for LeBron and his posse? What is going on here? Braylon Edwards, king of the drop and the one year wonder season, decided that he was ALLEGEDLY going to throw a punch at one of LeBron's friends. And, I want to be honest here, I've made Rocky references my entire life.. but Braylon really can throw a punch like Rocky and even Ivan Drago. Rumor out of Cleveland.. and even around the NFL is that Braylon's hands are made of stone, literally. LeBron's friend basically got lit up with a brick to the face. That had to hurt a little bit.
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2 October 2009
Cincinnati Bengals (2-1) at Cleveland Browns (0-3)
Can you imagine the Bengals sitting in the driver’s seat in the AFC North at 3-1? Since they’re facing off against the offensively-challenged Browns, that’s becoming an extremely likely scenario. I don’t think anyone in Cincinnati could have imagined a better start in their zaniest dreams. Great job to Marvin Lewis and a defense that has been rightfully much-maligned over the years. Carson Palmer is as close to 100% as we’ve seen since his injury. Cleveland is still awful. Sorry. The players hate Eric Mangini and he can't stand firm on a quarterback for more than six minutes. Derek Anderson may be starting this week, but I don't think Brady Quinn will stay on the sidelines all season.
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28 September 2009
(3-0) Baltimore Ravens 34
(0-3) Cleveland Browns 3
Baltimore could be the best team in the league. Cleveland could have the worst offense in the league. The crazy part came when Eric Mangini benched Brady Quinn in the second half for Derek Anderson only to see Anderson throw three interceptions. Stick with Quinn.
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15 September 2009
Minnesota Vikings 34, Cleveland Browns 20
For Brad Childress’ sake, this should be the formula for every Vikings game this season. All Favre has to do is throw a downfield pass every now and again in between hand-offs to Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. Short accurate passes to Viking playmakers will keep this offense balanced.
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10 September 2009
Minnesota Vikings at Cleveland Browns
Cleveland’s own quarterback drama will be outweighed by the incoming team’s signal-caller. Brett Favre on the Vikings will be a never-ending story until it well… finally ends. But who knows when that will be? With a stout defense anchored by Kevin and Pat Williams (who apparently will not be suspended), all Favre has to do is not make mistakes. Handing off to Adrian Peterson is the best recipe for his success. His experience and threat of downfield passing could be enough to get the Vikings to the postseason.
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4 September 2009
If you were watching last night’s Bears 26-23 preseason victory over the Browns trying to catch a glimpse of your favorite Bears, I hope you didn’t blink.
After a Zack Bowman interception on the first play from scrimmage, Jay Cutler took the field and handed off to back-up running back Kevin Jones six times, leading to a Robbie Gould field goal. Matt Forte didn't even play. After those first seven plays, it was scrub time.
Continue reading "Bears Answer Few Questions in Victory Over Browns"
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25 April 2009
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25 December 2008
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23 November 2008
Overall Record: 15-13
Last Week: 3-1
1) Houston Texans @ Cleveland Browns
Two disappointments this season go at it here. The Houston Texans who have had quarterback troubles all season with Matt Schaub going down in Minnesota a few weeks backs to bad decision making by back-up Sage Rosenfels. There's a lot wrong with this team. You can't point a finger on just one thing, there's multiple holes in the Texans offense/defense. The Browns have had similar problems. Quarterback Brady Quinn is slated to start despite suffering a broken finger in Monday Night's game at Buffalo. Both teams (Texans 8-8, Browns 10-6 last season) were expected to reach if not exceed last season's record, etc. Onto the actual game between the two: I see the game being relatively close, but the Texans just don't play well on the road and when they do play well...they don't usually finish. I see the Browns winning a 'squeaker'.
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19 November 2008
Cleveland Browns 29, Buffalo Bills 27
At 4-6, the Browns would have to go on a significant tear in order to play in the post-season. Keeping that in mind, beating the Bills on Monday night is a step in the right direction. Having given up double digit leads in the fourth quarter of their last two outings, the Browns looked ready to collapse again as the Bills surged late. Luckily, Brady Quinn calmly led his team to a down the field to set up Phil Dawson for a 56-yard field goal. After the Bills missed on a 47-yard attempt with 38 seconds remaining, Cleveland has momentarily saved its season.
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13 November 2008
Cleveland Browns (3-6) at Buffalo Bills (5-4)
In week eleven, the term “must-win” is now open for use, and the Browns know it. Starting Brady Quinn was supposed to spark this team, but all the talk of players quitting during the game can’t help morale. Cleveland is ripe for the picking, so if they can’t put together a winning streak, they can only blame themselves. Romeo Crennel will certainly be on the hot seat if their season ends without a game in January.
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12 November 2008
Denver Broncos 34, Cleveland Browns 30
With San Diego barely edging out Kansas City, the Denver Broncos needed this game to stay on top of the unimpressive AFC West. Jay Cutler regained some confidence with 441 yards and three touchdowns in the comeback win. Denver’s defense hasn’t improved, but if their offense is reignited they should have no problem staying ahead of the Chargers.
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6 November 2008
Denver Broncos (4-4) at Cleveland Browns (3-5)
The Brady Quinn era begins tonight. It’s a strange decision to say the least, as Quinn has only had a day and a half worth of practice for his debut. Luckily, he gets to shine in front of the Cleveland faithful by playing against one of the worst defenses in the league. Now we’ll see how much Derek Anderson was to blame for Cleveland’s woes, or if it was his supporting cast that hasn’t come through. Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow, and Jamal Lewis are the Browns’ top playmakers, yet they haven’t made any plays this season. They better step it up, or Brady Quinn’s arrival won’t save them.
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2 November 2008
Baltimore Ravens (4-3) at Cleveland Browns (3-4)
Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco certainly hasn’t lit up the league with his play, but he has kept his mistakes to a minimum for the most part. Last week he even caught a 43-yard pass from back-up quarterback Troy Smith. Flacco has his Ravens at an impressive 4-3 and ready to gain ground on the AFC North leading Steelers, who face the Redskins in Washington. If Baltimore can take care of business, they could be sitting pretty tied with the Steelers in first place with another meeting to come in week fifteen.
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18 October 2008
Cleveland Browns (2-3) at Washington Redskins (4-2)
Each team is coming off strange outcomes in their last games, which were thought to be locks. Cleveland handed it to the Giants, while Washington laid an egg versus St. Louis. The Browns put themselves back in position to make a run at the AFC North since Pittsburgh took their bye in week six. On offense, Braylon Edwards racked up yardage off of crisp Derek Anderson passes. The real surprise was the Cleveland defense, as they snagged three interceptions off of Eli Manning. They’ll need the same focus to stop Jason Campbell and the ‘Skins.
Posted by Joe Anello | 1 comment
15 October 2008
Cleveland Browns 35, New York Giants 14
Ending the shock-fest that was week six in the NFL,
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4 October 2008
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27 September 2008
Cleveland Browns (0-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (0-3)
Last week we had the Pennsylvania Bowl in the NFL, featuring two great teams. It’s too bad for Ohio that both of their teams are just plain bad. Each of these squads is looking to step on the other as they climb out of the trash heap of winless teams. If Derek Anderson is going to hold off the Brady Quinn chants, he’ll have to beat the hapless Bengals. He won’t be able to do it alone though, as Braylon Edwards needs to stop dropping every ball that comes his way. Cincinnati isn’t looking to be pushed over either, as they offered stuff opposition to the Super Bowl Champ New York Giants last week, forcing overtime. Carson Palmer will be hungry in this game, and a Palmer-led offense can put up 40 on any given Sunday.
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15 September 2008
I’ve heard of “playing not to lose”…but thanks to last night’s awkward decision by head coach Romeo Crennel, I’ve also seen “playing not to win.” How else can you really explain his call to kick a field goal late in last night’s game versus the Steelers when his team trailed by seven? Fourth and seven or not, you have to go for the first down there, if not for the touchdown. What do you have to lose if you fail? The situations remain the same, regardless of turning the ball over or kicking the field goal. The Browns would have either turned the ball over on downs at the thirty or kicked off after a field goal which would’ve probably given the Steelers possession between the 20 and 30 yard lines. Either way, the Browns would still need a defensive three and out to regain possession and then they’d STILL need a touchdown!
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But where was Madden and Michaels? Silent.
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Beating the Cleveland Browns never gets old. For those Browns fans who have lost count, that's 10 consecutive victories for the good guys over the bad guys.
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13 September 2008
Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0) at Cleveland Browns (0-1)
After Pittsburgh’s demolishing of Houston last week, many experts jumped on their bandwagon to front the AFC. Just as many leapt off Cleveland’s, due to Dallas flexing their muscle. Even with the Browns’ new defensive acquisitions, look for Pittsburgh to pound at them with the run and keep Ben in the high teens for pass attempts. Derek Anderson must right the passing game with down-field plays to Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow.
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19 July 2008
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14 March 2008
Continue reading "Browns No Longer Committed to Sucking; ..."
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11 February 2008
This has been a dream season for Cleveland Browns’ fans. After watching a putrid product on the field for years, Browns’ fans were treated to high scoring, competitive football every weekend this season. The city embraced the “Believeland” moniker, and NFL pundits have openly stated that the Browns are the surprise of the NFL this season.
Continue reading "The Problem with Derek Anderson (December ..."
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On Sunday, the Cleveland Browns will play their most important game in five years. Not since 2002 when the Browns beat the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17 to advance to the post-season has a game of this magnitude been within reach.
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On Sunday, the Browns beat the Houston Texans to the score of 27-17. Afterwards, on such Cleveland sports programs like “Browns Redzone,” fans called in to voice their anxiety about the quarterback situation.
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Continue reading "Braylon Edwards Becoming a Star (Written ..."
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March 30, 2007
There is a lot of debate surrounding the Cleveland Browns and their No.3 selection in next month's NFL Draft.
Should they solidify their offensive line and select Wisconsin left tackle Joe Thomas? Might the team give up on quarterback Charlie Frye after just two seasons and select LSU standout JaMarcus Russell or Notre Dame's Brady Quinn? Could the Browns bolster their receiving corps by selecting the incredible wideout from Georgia Tech, Calvin Johnson?
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7 February 2008
By: Jason Sarney
Now that Super Bowl XLII is in the books, thankfully, the fans of the other 30 NFL teams can finally put 100% of their attention on April’s College Draft. For the Miami fans that are still pulling themselves out of the gutter, me included, we can look at 2007 in only one way…a blessing in disguise.
Posted by Jason Sarney | 2 comments
7 January 2008
Although they just barely missed the Cleveland Browns should definitely be proud of their 2007 NFL season.
They had Derek Anderson prove that he can be a top ten quarterback. Something great to know when you have first round pick Brady Quinn waiting in the wings. His breakout coincided with the play of Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow. While the latter was already a known commodity, Braylon really needed to show that he deserved the status that comes with being the number three overall draft pick a few years back.
Posted by Jeff Chlebus | No comments yet
19 December 2007
Alright so it’s no secret that no one REALLY watches the NFL Pro Bowl. You’d think that the thought of Brett Favre faking the handoff to Adrian Peterson then tossing to Terrell Owens would be enough. Or maybe even people would tune in to see the dream combo of Tom Brady throwing deep downfield to Randy Moss. Oh wait, that’s the Patriots…dammit. But I can’t find one person who actually watches the game. And I know several NFL fans.
Posted by Jeff Chlebus | 1 comment
16 December 2007
It was an ugly win, but important nevertheless. Not only did it get the Browns closer to the NFL postseason, but also it showed that they are learning how to win the tough games.
You’d think that a team from Buffalo would be ready for a snow-filled game, but the Bills didn’t seem like it at all. They were essentially embarrassing to watch, almost as bad were the Bills fans that came to the sports bar wearing Buffalo Sabres jerseys…really. But more importantly, the Browns came away with the win in turbulent weather. And if the increasingly realistic Browns playoffs hopes come to fruition, they will need to be ready to play in adverse conditions like they did today.
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