Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
The Cleveland Browns weathered the storm. The Buffalo Bills did not. It was really that simple as the Browns moved one step closer to a Wild Card playoff berth and kept their AFC North Division title hopes alive with an ugly 8-0 win over the Bills in almost constant blizzard conditions this afternoon at Cleveland Stadium.
I would like to say that the snow storm prevented these teams from doing what they would normally do, thus affecting an “honest outcome” in this game. And to an extent, that is true. But the fact …read more

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
Cleveland Browns fans are still buzzing over the final play of a 27-21 loss to Arizona yesterday. Many felt that Kellen Winslow Jr.’s leaping catch just outside of the endzone (which was an amazing catch by the way) should have been called a force-out when he collided with AZ DBs Antrel Rolle and Oliver Celestin, thus counting the score and tying the game. Even NBC Sports’ Cris Collinsworth said he felt the Browns were robbed of the victory when officials ruled Jr. out-of-bounds. I beg to differ. I hate the force-out rule, anyway. …read more

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
I guess Romeo Crennel knew what he was doing after all. A week ago, after stinking up Cleveland Browns stadium in an embarrassing 34-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, I felt there was no other sensible choice for the Browns’ head coach except to start Brady Quinn at quarterback. “Ultimately, the Cleveland Browns are just wasting their time until they get Brady Quinn into the starting lineup,” I said. It looked like it was going to be another forgettable season in Cleveland. Why not let Brady take his lumps and get some experience? …read more

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
Ultimately, the Cleveland Browns are just wasting their time until they get Brady Quinn into the starting lineup. That was pretty evident today as they lost their season-opener — at home — to arch rival Pittsburgh, 34-7. Yes, it was every bit as ugly as the score indicated. Charlie Frye started the game for Cleveland. He finished 4 of 10 for 34 yards and a pick. Derek Anderson replaced him and went 13 of 28 for 184 yards with a TD and an INT. But their season will be a waste of time …read more

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
Cleveland Browns rookie QB Brady Quinn looked sharp in his preseason debut against the Detroit Lions last night. After missing 11 days of training camp, Brady had a lot of catching up to do. He didn’t play in the first preseason game. And although he entered this game late in the 4th quarter, he nearly rallied the Browns to victory with two late touchdown passes. His final stats were 13-of-20 for 155 yards in the final 9:20. Before Browns’ fans get too excited, though, we must remember a couple things:

Brady was playing with …read more

“Pro Days” are usually the final testing ground for a pro prospect to showcase his talents for interested NFL parties. With the Combine over and a “controlled environment” in-place, it’s usually the best-case scenario for a player to either solidify his rep or create one in the process. Ohio State’s Pro Day today showcased such names as Troy Smith, Anthony Gonzalez, Doug Datish, Antonio Pittman and David Patterson (Ted Ginn was still nursing a bad wheel). These are guys who are pretty much guaranteed to be signed by an NFL team soon. They were solidifying their rep. But teammate Roy …read more