Browns 27 Texans 17

The following are my thoughts on today's win over the Texans:

1. Derek Anderson had another outstanding start today. He did throw the one pick which we have come to expect. But the fact is he is winning and gives us the big play capability we have been looking for. I do love the fact that he isn't afraid to make a tough throw and he seems to relish the opportunity to do so.



2. Jamal Lewis had a great day and he really punished the Texans defenders with his aggressive, downhill running style. It was nice to finally be able to run the ball at the end of the game to milk the clock and not have to rely as much on the passing game.



3. Braylon and especially K2 had great games today. Winslow made a lot of great catches in traffic. We as fans have really come to expect Winslow and Edwards get a 100 yards in receiving every game.



4. The defense as a whole had its best game of the year today. We finally saw corners with excellent coverage as well as constant pressure on the quarterback. Its amazing how much better the defense and the defensive backfield look when we get constant pressure on the quarterback.



5. I know their were times that we didn't get to Schaub but at least for the most part we made him at least move his feet in the pocket.



6. Brandon McDonald had a breakthrough game tonight and if he continues his solid play you could see him making Leigh Bodden a permanent nickel back in the future. It also lets Eric Wright recover from his knee injury and not force the Browns to rush him back into the lineup before he is fully recovered.



7. Can CBS please tune down the volume on Gus Johnson's microphone about 10 notches please.



8. I must give props to Nick Sorenson for a great game on special teams, he made two great tackles and nicely grabbed the onside kick to salt away the victory. The guy looks like someone from the munilot we found tossing around the football in the parking lot and gave him a uniform. Honestly, though if we see too many drops out of Tim Carter, why not make Sorenson a wide out.



9. I thought the most important play in the game was the D'Qwell Jackson interception because at that time the Browns were down 7 and the Texans were driving for another score. It was great to see D'Qwell back on the field again.



10. Looking ahead to next week's game against the Cardinals is a game that really scares me. Its not that the Cardinals are a juggernaut or anything but I have seen a lot of teams (i.e Philadelphia Eagles) riding a wave of momentum go out to Arizona and lay an egg. This game will tell a lot about the makeup of the team, cause this game does have trap written all over it.



11. The one good thing about playing the Cardinals is that they are fresh off a demoralizing loss and someone you want to get on early.

My 4 game balls go to

1. Kellen Winslow



2. Brandon McDonald



3. Brodney Pool



4. Nick Sorenson

Browns 33 Ravens 30

Here are my thoughts on Sunday's thrilling overtime win over the Ravens:

1. Derek Anderson bounced back from the Pittsburgh game with a solid effort. He did throw a pick that was returned for a touchdown, but ran the offense very effectively. Like I have mentioned in previous weeks the big thing with DA is that at the end of the game he always gets his team down the field and gives them a chance to win the game. His best play was in the fourth quarter shrugging off a defensive lineman and throwing a 15 yard completion to Braylon Edwards that set up the tying field goal.


2. Jamal Lewis responded and had a solid effort against his former team. I do like the intensity he brings and even though he did get a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for spiking the ball on the Ravens sideline, I think this is something that will endure him to the fans who all would love to do that to the Ratbird sideline.


3. The defense seems to have found the fountain of youth with a day of six sacks against Baltimore.


4. If you asked me to name a defensive MVP for the team this year I would have to go with Robaire Smith. He has been excellent in run defense and leads the team with four sacks. Phil Savage should be lauded for an excellent signing. The thing I like about Robaire is that he goes out and does his job and you don't have to worry about him doing something stupid or undisciplined.


5. The Eric Wright loss will hurt the defense. He was really coming into his own and was excellent in run support. Preliminary indications say he will be out 2-3 weeks. While he has improved every week it seems that Leigh Bodden has gotten worse week by week.


6. Brandon McDonald has played well in his limited reps. I would like to see him come in as the nickel corner which I think he would do the job at.


7. The following is the biggest understatement of the year. Josh Cribbs is a beast. He is the best special teams player in the NFL. As a returner the thing that he does the best is always goes north and south and you rarely see him put the team in a bad situation. He also caused a fumble in coverage. The rest of the mainstream media is finally taking notice to the type of player he is.


8. The best thing about the win was seeing pompous Brian Billick out coached and then seeing him cry in a press conference and on the field after the officials got the call right.


9. I think if the Browns make the playoffs this year we all owe a beer to Pete Morelli and his crew.


10. With the win and the Steelers loss the division title is still attainable but were going to have to run the table and hope that Pittsburgh loses to Jacksonville and New England.

My game balls go to:

1. Pete Morelli and his crew.

2. Josh Cribbs

3. Kellen Winslow

Steelers 31 Browns 28

The following are my thoughts on today's loss against Pittsburgh:

1. Derek Anderson had his worse start of the year today. He started out strong but really was shaky in the second half throwing behind receivers. He should get credit for still finding a way to give his team a chance at the end of the game to tie with a field goal.




2. I give credit to Braylon for making a tremendous catch in the end zone for a touchdown, but if he wants to be the player he says he can be he needs to have more than just one catch. K2 and Jurevicius came to play but sadly Edwards didn't. I do realize he isn't throwing the ball but I just think he should be able to get more than one catch.




3. I give Romeo credit for having the team ready to play at the onset of the game and they look fired up and ready to go. But the two timeout fiasco in the 4th quarter was a huge blunder. Look at it this way, if he doesn't waste those timeouts we get the ball back with around 2 minutes instead of 1:10 left in the game.




4. More infuriating is after the game he had no explanation for it, he just described the situation. I really think if Romeo would just say I screwed up and say put the blame on me for that, the fans would at least not be as hard on him. He needs to and will be held accountable for this.



5. The only problem I really had with the game plan on offense was that I thought it would have been nice to see Jason Wright get a few carries to see if he could give a change of pace and get some yards on the ground.



6. The biggest reason for the collapse in the second half was that we only ran about 16 plays and it tired the defense out.



7. To me the biggest turning point in the game was the Lewis fumble, because at that point the Steelers offense was sputtering. Also, that is really where the Browns started to struggle on defense.


8. I have ripped the defense in past weeks, but I do believe they deserve credit for getting more pressure than they had in the past few weeks. One thing that bothers me does Kamerion Wimbley know more than one pass rush move to get to the quarterback. Lineman are intelligent and pick up on this.


9. While analyzing the schedule if we want to win the division we really have to win out and even that might not be enough. But on the wild card chase our remaining opponents have a 23-39 won/loss record while Jacksonville's remaining opponents have a 33-28 record and Tennessee's opponents record is 27-34.


10. I really believe playing Baltimore is good for the Browns in that their should not be much of a lingering factor in this loss because were playing a team we hate just as much. This is a game where you want to get on them early because their liable to pack it in pretty quickly, but look to see Kyle Boller at quarterback on Sunday for the Rats.

My 3 goathorns go to:

1. Jamal Lewis: His turnover changed the game.


2. Roemo Crennel: His mismanagement of timeouts cost the team a chance of winning in overtime.


3. Braylon Edwards: Need more than one catch out of your big play receiver.

Browns 33 Seahawks 30

The following are my thoughts on Sunday's thrilling overtime win over Seattle:

1. Derek Anderson had another solid game. I think this was his best game so far since he put 33 points up against a very good defense and he picked apart that defense when they were expecting passes to be coming. There were some runs mixed in but the Seahawk defense was playing pass coverage much of the second half. He did throw a pick but it really wasn't his fault the defensive lineman just mad a great play. He did a great job of taking what the defense gave him and checked down numerous times.


2. Jamal Lewis had a big day with his 4 touchdowns, but the even bigger play was his reception on a screen pass in overtime that but the Browns in position to win the game. As this team evolves in the coming years I think you could groom Jamal Lewis into a Bettis type role. I think his contributions behind closed doors have also helped this team immeasurably.


3. Kellen Winslow had probably the best game of his young career. He played eerily similar to the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State in that the opposition knew he was going to get the ball, but had no way to stop him.


4. The defense gave up plenty of yardage but didn't let the Seahawks in the end zone in the second half. They aren't playing great but they are playing well enough to keep the team in the game until the offense catches fire. But like Tony Grossi said in years past the defense would play great for 58 minutes and lose it in the last 2 minutes, but now they are playing below average for 58 minutes and winning the game in the last 2 minutes.


5. Seeing that we cant get any pressure, I really think our game plan against Pittsburgh should be to keep the quarterback in the pocket and make him beat us from their.


6. The defense really didn't give up the big play so that is progress in that regard as well.


7. I really think it is about time to extend the contract of Romeo and give him that security that he deserves.