Say Goodbye to Romeo
What a great Thursday night game between the Broncos and Browns. It re-affirms my belief that you never know when you are going to see one of the best games of the year, and that you don't need quality teams to produce it. Bears-Broncos in Week 12 was near the top of my list from last season and featured to sub-.500 teams. Like last night, it more or less ended the season of one team. Here are a few thoughts on the Browns after their loss.
1. That's it for Romeo Crennel in Cleveland. You can't lose that game when the Broncos have no defense or running game. It wouldn't shock me if the firing happened before the end of the season, but it would surprise me if Crennel was back next season. He's failed to improve their defense.
2. Great effort by Brady Quinn, although I didn't expect anything less. He was ranked tenth. He made good decisions, bought time in the pocket, and was calm. I was impressed how well he knew the offense. All great signs, but he'll have to face a real NFL defense soon. Even Tyler Thigpen threw for 280 and 2 in his second NFL start if the matchup is right. The only thing Quinn didn't do is throw the ball down the field. Which doesn't help...
3. Braylon Edwards was a total non-factor in the game. (1 catch, 15 yards). He's not playing with confidence and the drops are in his head. The move to Quinn hurts Edwards quite a bit. The one thing Anderson did consistently well was throw the deep ball. Quinn will eventually, but Edwards isn't going to bounce back to top-ten status this year.
4. Kellen Winslow, on the other hand, should benefit from Quinn's ascension. That was his first game over 70 yards all season. Quinn is already better at the short stuff than Derek Anderson and should throw more to his tight end. It's been a frustrating season for Winslow, but he's set up to close strong. Winslow was taking his killer fourth quarter drop and fumble very hard after the game.
5. Underwhelming effort by Jamal Lewis. Teams crowd him inside and he can't bounce it. I've seen good efforts by Lewis this year, but this wasn't one of them. He's due a $4 million roster bonus in March. Not sure the Browns will pay that.
Comments
any play in the denver backfield?
Posted by: JD | November 7, 2008 11:16 AM
The play is "avoid like the plague" (I thought this was obvious by now)
1) There's no healthy talent there
2) Their line is subpar at best
3) Their defense will force DEN to throw almost every down
Posted by: Paul | November 7, 2008 11:23 AM
So you're saying having Cutler in every league might be a good thing?
Posted by: Juggs | November 7, 2008 11:27 AM
certainly not a bad thing
Posted by: scott | November 7, 2008 11:34 AM
deep league (obviously) and a Denver RB has done well in most weeks. Question is whether Pope or Ryan is any good (or Hollis)
Posted by: JD | November 7, 2008 11:35 AM
How is that one of the best games of the year? Those were two of the worst defensive displays of all time. Not that I'm complaining - I had Royal and Edwards dressed, and am glad one of them went off - but still, it's hardly one of the best games. It looked like a CFL game to be honest.
Quinn overthrew Edwards early, I wouldn't call those drops, and then failed to look for him much after that. They need to hit him on the slant more to get the ball in his hands.
Posted by: Mike | November 7, 2008 12:41 PM
As an official representative of the CFL Anti-defamation league I take exception to the comment that this week's Broncos/Browns game "looked like a CFL game". This game was not indicative of the brand of football played North of the border. With the wider and longer field, spacious endzones and motion allowed by offensive players prior to the snap of the ball, the CFL tends to be a higher scoring game than the NFL. This does not mean teams can not play defense in the CFL!
The Broncos/Browns game was more akin to an Arena League game.
Oh, I should point out the other main difference between the CFL and the NFL is our balls are bigger.
I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.
Posted by: CdnFan | November 7, 2008 12:57 PM