First and 10: Topsy has become turvy, or something like that

First and 10

1)      I think I've got this season figured out. This Sunday in Jacksonville the Browns come up with a stirring win. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh loses to the Giants and lo and behold the Browns are two back heading back home and the fans are back on the hook until the next painfully loss. The reason? If there's one thing consistent about this year, it's that it's going to be inconsistent. So when we think we have the Browns figured out and they're going to get it going, they'll do what they did in Washington last weekend – leave a real clunker on the field. That's what they did, really. They took an axle from an old Chevy, a rusty old one, a real heavy one, and they just dropped it with a huge thud in the middle of the field. On about the 30-yard-line. So when we think they're going good, they'll leave an axle on the field. When we write them off, they'll come back and do enough to win a game and get us thinking maybe the old Chevy can be driveable again. It's just going to be that kind of season.

2)      There's no defending Derek Anderson's play in that loss. He was erratic, wild and willy-nilly. That being said – the time to get the outrage ready is now – he got little or no help from his receivers. Braylon Edwards dropped four passes (that's four). He also misread a blitz late and cost his team a big play and an incompletion. And I will maintain until someone proves otherwise that he should have kept going on the third-down pass that was incomplete prior to Phil Dawson's missed field goal. Earlier in the game, Kellen Winslow turned an out into and out-and-up. Problem was Anderson threw the out, and his pass went to a lovely area of the grass. That's seven plays. Seven is a lot of plays. And when combined with the other wild throws Anderson had, those seven bad plays made for a really bad day in the passing game.

3)      I think Ryan Tucker should be the league's MVP. I mean, Tucker played against New York and the Browns looked like a different team. Tucker didn't play against Washington and we saw what happened. League MVP. That's him.

4)      The Browns do not sound like they feel like they can depend on Tucker. From the sound of things, he might not be a Cleveland Brown after this season.

5)      Same with Kellen Winslow. This is just a guess on my part, but I think his comments after the game might have led to his ticket being punched to play elsewhere in 2009. At least the reservation is made. Winslow had some very pointed remarks, and pointed remarks usually don't go over very well with this team and its front office. Among them was Winslow's disappointment that after again contracting staph, he never heard from GM Phil Savage. It would seem like Winslow's request to hear from the GM is not unreasonable. Nor was Winslow's anger that he again had contracted staph. There's still a lot of murmuring that he may have had something more staph, but those are just murmurs and until anything else is confirmed officially I'm assuming Winslow contracted another staph infection. That being said, Winslow's timing was really odd. After a game, when he'd practiced for two days, he decides to blow up. And after a tough loss at that. It came off as selfish, though maybe Winslow was like that guy in "Network" — mad as hell and he just couldn't take it anymore. He seemed pretty clear-headed as he spoke, and it was not a tirade. It was just … odd timing.

6)      By the way, I'm still waiting for Clinton Portis to actually score a touchdown. To … like … cross the goal-line on that short run he had the other day.

7)      How does a 6-foot-5 quarterback have so many passes batted down at the line of scrimmage? Two reasons: First is release point. Anderson tends to drop his release point at times, which brings his throws lower and/or downhill. Second is that he stares at one guy too long. This could be because it takes time for the play to develop, or because he's … well … he's staring at one guy too long.

8)      The Terry Cousin/nickel back experiment? Not going real well.

9)      Why hasn't Brady Quinn played? Well I go back to how he must look in practice. If Quinn were really lighting it up (to use a Butch Davis phrase) in practice, he might have forced his way on the field by now. Second, the Browns firmly believe that once that change is made, it's made for good. That there is no turning back. That's why they traded Charlie Frye a year ago. They didn't think keeping him around as a backup after he'd been a starter would help him. The thinking goes that if they move to Quinn, they will lose Anderson. And if Quinn struggles, they have lost both. Me, I disagree with that thinking a little. If a guy loses his job there's no law written saying he can't win it back. It would not be pretty with two quarterbacks wanting to play, but if using both helps the team win … why not?

10)   Can this season be saved? Not if the Browns don't get their heads together. And not if they don't beat Jacksonville. And not if they don't avoid shockingly bad first halves like they played in Washington. I've been rather vocal about the quality of play being so poor in the NFL lately. That first half is going to be my evidence. Anyone says, "It's not that bad," I say: "First half, at Washington." Just look at the tape. "First half, at Washington." I may use that phrase to sign off the newsletter until things change, and to be the farewell of any letters written. Have a politician calling you? Just tell them, "First half, at Washington." It should cover most anything. If the credit card company calls about the bill being late, I'm merely saying, "First half, at Washington." I think they'll understand.

You're an Idiot

Apparently Randy Alexander  wanted Alan to be happy.

He e-mailed with this simple subject line: "You Are An Idiot!" He wrote nothing else.

Clean. Succint. To the point.

Nicely handled, right down to the exclamation mark.

Three and Out

Dear Pat,

The Derek Anderson era, regime, experiment, whatever you want to call it, has to end. He is just too inconsistent for the Browns to have any hope of being competitive on a weekly basis. How can the coaches come up with a game plan when they have no idea which Anderson will show up? He's like a basketball player who averages 15 points a game and you think it's OK, but when you look closer you see he does it by scoring 28 points one game and 2 points the next. And has he shown the coaches any indication that this will ever change?

I hate to blame this all on one person, but his extremes are just too much. If he could just be an average QB on his off days, the team could still have some success. But that's not the case and I don't see any reason to think things will change.

Brady Quinn may turn out to not be the answer, but it's time to find out. The season is shot – again – before Halloween. Better to start the rebuilding now rather than waiting until next year.

Thomas Moore

Stow

Dear Thomas,

After Washington it's hard to argue your point, but I think the Browns are going to ride Anderson until the playoffs are officially out of the picture.

The only thing I'll say is that since 1999 I've seen a lot of quarterbacks forced into games too soon. It ruined them. If the season is going to be a stinker anyway, allowing Quinn to learn while he watches isn't going to hurt him. Then again, if Quinn could save the season …

Whew.

Can anyone figure this out?

First half, at Washington.

Dear Pat,

My 10-year-old daughter said, "Look Dad, the Browns have Sharpies too; they put their numbers on their helmets so they wouldn't mix them up."

I think the numbers look great.  Let's keeps them. We can sell the brown pants and buy everybody a sharpie.  Maybe the League will let them draw Jack-o-lanterns for Halloween week.

Great call by the equipment man.

Dan Gibbons

St. George Utah

Dear Dan,

The numbers for the Giants game were a throwback to older (and better) days. I thought they looked like someone used electric tape for the numbers, like we'd do as kids. But on further reflection, your daughter is probably right. Sharpies it was.

It's interesting. When the Browns come on at our house, my 12-year-old looks at the TV and asks: Are they losing yet?

Dear Pat,

The Browns finally lost a game that I didn't watch. I'm glad that's over and I can begin watching again.  The question is, why would I?

Observation about Derek Anderson.  He doesn't seem able to handle any expectation of success.  Two years ago in camp he had an open competition with Charlie Frye, and looked pretty bad.  He stunk it up in preseason as well.  After the opener against the Steelers, Frye was traded and there were no expectations of success.   Anderson came in and did great…until a spot in the playoffs started to look like a reality.  Then his performance dropped off.

This year in camp, he's already gotten a contract extension and expectations are high.  He didn't seem to distinguish himself in camp and had a lousy preseason, and continued his undistinguished performance into the regular season.  No more expectations of greatness, and they aren't even expected to even give the giants any competition.  So Monday night he looks like an all pro again.

Go into Washington with renewed expectations and lay another egg.

He's not the only human being like this.  I can go out and shoot low to mid 90s at a golf course.  Did it during practice rounds the past couple of weeks at a course that I play fairly regularly.  Saturday was the club championship.  I couldn't handle my own expectations and ended up shooting 15 strokes higher.

My point is not to compare myself to an NFL type athlete; it's to say that some people handle the pressure to perform better than others.  And it least in that respect, I seem to be Derek Anderson's equal.

As for Braylon Edwards…he's from Michigan, and (with the possible exception of Tom Brady) Wolverines have always talked a better game than they could play.  Braylon is the epitome of that.

Sorry to be so long-winded.  I'm looking forward to playing golf for fun again without the expectations of performing well in competition.

John Brodie

Galt, CA

Dear John,

Readers should know that the previous two weeks John wrote to say what he was doing instead of watching the Browns. They won, so he theorized it was his decision not to watch them that changed their luck.

Alas, what is there to blame it on now?

This is a very interesting theory on Anderson. I think he got very little help Sunday, but his play was also very poor. Your theory that he can't handle the expectations might have some merit. If that becomes the thinking around the league, his career as a starter could be over in a hurry.

First half, at Washington.

Finally, in the online comments Jab wrote: "Rake Leaves. Go to the Cider Mill. Stop wasting your time with this Mom and Pop Shop Team." I'd add adopting the Steelers, but I tried that once and it didn't go over too well. Instead I'll say these other options if you, like Jab and John, are too frustrated to watch: Rotate the tires on the car, open a kickboxing school or watch endless DVDs of the singing of Jerry Vale. But remember that in this topsy-turvy season, the Browns should win on Sunday in Jacksonville. Will it be a good game? First half, at Washington.

(Want to be recognized in "Three and Out"? It's a rare treat. Comment here or send an e-mail to pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com, and put "First and 10" in the subject line.