Injuries, inconsistency plague Browns once again
Football Betting Lines
12/20/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns lost another game this past Sunday. That should have come as no surprise, considering they were facing a very good Baltimore Ravens squad on the road.
Romeo Crennel's troops displayed grit, fighting back from an early 14-point deficit to even the score with a pair of Derek Anderson touchdown passes, and executed reasonably well in a number of phases. In the end, however, Baltimore's talent and ability to take advantage of Cleveland's injury-riddled defense propelled the playoff-bound Ravens to a hard-fought 27-17 victory.
The Browns played with four regulars - end Orpheus Roye, linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, cornerback Gary Baxter and free safety Brian Russell - out for the season on the defensive side of the ball. And while the playing field was leveled somewhat when Ravens quarterback Steve McNair was forced to leave early on with an injured hand, Cleveland's shorthanded state of a unit that wasn't deep to begin with helped make Kyle Boller, the much-maligned former No. 1 pick, temporarily look like the star somebody in the Baltimore organization wrongfully envisioned.
For a brief moment, the Browns actually looked like the team steamrolling its way into the playoffs instead of the Ravens. Anderson, the relatively unknown backup pressed into service three weeks ago, brilliantly orchestrated an eight-play, 84-yard drive against one of the NFL's most feared defenses midway through the third quarter. And when he delivered a 14-yard scoring strike to Braylon Edwards to cap the series, Cleveland suddenly was dead even with the AFC North champs.
Unfortunately, the Browns played like a 4-10 team headed nowhere the rest of the way. Less than a minute after Edwards' score, Ravens' rookie receiver Demetrius Williams blew past two defenders and hauled in Boller's deep pass for a 77-yard touchdown. Three plays later, Anderson was intercepted by Chris McAllister, and failed to move the offense over the remainder of the day.
"There are usually a couple of key plays in a game that determine whether you win or lose," said Browns linebacker Kamerion Wimbley. "When those plays came up, they made the plays and we couldn't get it done."
Wimbley's remarks were referring to Sunday's game, but they could just as easily be attributed to a host of others over the course of this season. The Browns also failed to seal the deal against the Ravens back in September, blowing an 11-point lead heading into the fourth quarter and losing 15-14 on a last-second Matt Stover field goal. Cleveland also failed to maintain a sizeable late margin during a four-point defeat to hated Pittsburgh last month.
If the Browns manage to win those games, we'd be discussing a .500 team apparently headed in the right direction instead of a franchise seemingly stuck in neutral.
SOMETHING TO PROVE
Anderson was selected by Baltimore in the sixth round of the 2005, and began last season as the Ravens' No. 3 quarterback before being cut loose by the organization in September. The 23-year-old certainly did some good things in his second career start, accumulating 223 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23-of-32 passing and completing 13 straight throws at one point. He also threw two costly interceptions, however, one of which was turned into a short Jamal Lewis touchdown run in the first quarter.
"He played decent, but in his effort to try to make some plays there are some things he could do better," said Crennel. "But I thought he was calm. He wasn't overly excited about the possibility of going back and playing his old team."
Anderson's play has begun to stir talk of a quarterback controversy in Cleveland, where injured starter Charlie Frye has been underwhelming at times but is still regarded by the organization as its long-term answer. Anderson has produced a solid quarterback rating of 85.0 in his three appearances, compared to a 72.0 for Frye, who has also thrown 16 interceptions in his 12 starts this year.
It looks like Anderson may get another opportunity to state his case, as Frye is still hampered by an injured right wrist and may not be available again for this Sunday's game with Tampa Bay.
JACKSON LATEST CASUALTY
Jackson is the most recent Cleveland defensive starter to be placed on injured reserve, as the rookie linebacker decided to undergo toe surgery after hurting himself in the team's Week 14 loss at Pittsburgh. The second-round draft choice had started each of the Browns' first 13 games and ranks second on the team with 93 tackles.
Leon Williams, who was picked two rounds behind Jackson in last April's draft, made his first career start on Sunday. The former Miami star was in on 11 stops and also forced a fumble.
"I thought he came in and a nice job," said Crennel of Williams. "He made plays and made tackles. He didn't have mental errors."
SHUT OUT
Cleveland failed to win any of its games against fellow AFC North foes this season, marking the first time since the Browns entered the NFL in 1950 that the franchise has not won an intradivisional matchup. Cleveland didn't fare much better against its rivals during last year's 6-10 campaign, going 1-5 in division play. The lone victory came against the Ravens.
BAY OF PIGS
The Browns play their final home game of the season this Sunday against the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that hasn't won on the road yet in 2006. The Bucs came close last Sunday, however, taking NFC power Chicago into overtime before suffering a gut-wrenching 34-31 loss.
Cleveland has been quite successful in its limited meetings with Tampa Bay, having won five of the six previous encounters. The Browns have also taken both games with the Buccaneers as the host team.
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Online Sportsbook Football Betting
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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