Well, Ireland's appeal was denied. Wrongfully, I might add. FIFA is a bunch of FOOFAs who don't know POOPa about sportsmanship and proper play. So Ireland suffers.

This other appeal, though, should be heard.

I really see no reason why Baltimore's Dwan Edwards should be fined for hitting Josh Cribbs while he was running downfield to try to make a tackle.

Cribbs agreed, saying: "It's football. Just as he hit me, I could've hit him blocking for my guy. It happened during the play between the whistles. They have rules in place to protect players, but I don't think it was intentional at all."

Josh Cribbs' agent said he was furious that the Browns had Cribbs in the game for the last play against Baltimore.

How's that again?

Cribbs is a football player, and he plays when there are plays called for him.

Besides, if Cribbs is not on the field someone else has to take his place (the Browns only put 10 on the field when the other team is about to score a touchdown).

Is it OK for the other guy to be at risk but not Cribbs?

I still question the play call, but implying that Cribbs is sacred at that point and someone else can be sacrificed is simply inappropriate.

Well  … the players are saying that the Browns coaches did not call the last play in the loss to Baltimore the other night. The one that sent Josh Cribbs to the hospital. They said the call came on the field, with Brady Quinn and Cribbs creating something on the fly.

Always good to know that the players on the field are thinking as clearly as the braintrust, eh?

Except it doesn't add up.

Cribbs caught the pass and looked for the lateral. Jerome Harrison started to run right behind Cribbs with his hand, calling for the ball. Robert Royal caught the lateral and looked for another.

It looked every bit like a called play.

Too, if it wasn't, why were the Browns throwing deep passes the previous two plays?

They treated that final series as if they were down five, not 16. Two deep throws and a hook-and-lateral. Seems like a team trying to score as if the game is still on the line.

One insider even told me that Brady Quinn threw the two deep balls out of bounds intentionally. That he knew the calls were ridiculous, so he heaved them OB.

It's always something, isn't it?

Meanwhile, this is what Steve Young had to say on ESPN about the Browns:

“I was part of a team like this in 1986 when I was with Tampa Bay. I remember thinking to myself when I got really depressed, 'Maybe I should go to law school. Maybe I should do something else.' It reminds me of what’s going on with the Browns. You can not say enough about the disaster that is happening in Cleveland right now.”

From the Ravens, as reported by the AP (tho many were present in the locker room when the statements were made):

Ray Lewis on whether Quinn's hit on Terrell Suggs was a cheap shot: "Heck yeah, it was a cheap shot When you're running down and you're looking at the quarterback going at somebody's knees who doesn't even have the ball … I want to see if he gets the same fine I got or even higher. Now this man is out four or five weeks because of some baloney like that."

Check.

Ravens veteran defensive lineman Trevor Pryce on the play call that led to Cribbs' injury: ""With five seconds left in the game, and you're down 16-0, to throw a hook-and-lateral, what's the point of that? I'm not trying to question their coaching, it's none of my business. But you see what the result was. You do a hook-and-lateral play with a whole bunch of guys that are big and run fast, people are running around crazy and someone is going to get hurt."

 Check.

Finally, from Dwan Edwards, who hit Cribbs: "I was just hustling to the ball. He had just pitched it and I reacted. … I consider myself a hustle player and I tried to hustle and make a play — not let them get a score."

Guess we got those issues straightened out.

The Browns looked woeful again in losing to Baltimore. Still think the coach deserves another year?

But … the game ended bizarrely, with Josh Cribbs on the ground after having been run into by Dwan Edwards on one of those goofy lateral plays.

This hit did not appear intentional. Edwards was running to get into the play and ran headlong into Cribbs and appeared to catch Cribbs in the throat. He lay on the ground for several moments before being taken off on a cart and board. Coach Eric Mangini said Cribbs had feeling in his body and that he was taken off on a cart for precautionary reasons.

You almost wonder why the Browns ran that play, and if the injury was as much their own fault for running it in that situation. It started with three seconds left, and the Browns were down 16. Even had they scored the Browns would have gotten nothing for it but a loss. Running it did nothing but put players at risk, and Cribbs took the shot. It was an unnecessary call, and the result was an unnecessary injury.

The Ravens, though, will be plenty steamed about Brady Quinn throwing himself at the knees of standout defensive end Terrell Suggs during an interception return in the third quarter. Chris Carr was returning a pass Quinn intercepted when Quinn threw himself at Suggs' knees when Suggs was not looking. The Pro Bowler wound up leaving the game with a sprained knee and could miss several more weeks.

To his credit, Quinn apologized to Suggs and the Ravens. But the damage was done. This will not go over well in Baltimore, nor should it go over well in New York when fines are assessed this week. Quinn acted like he was blocking Suggs — and Baltimore had the ball.

LATE ADDITION: Said Robert Royal of Cribbs: "He was cracking jokes down there, so that was a good sign. He was waving his limbs. We don't know the extent of the injury, but at the same time we think he will be all right."

Josh Cribbs, when asked what he'd say to those who say Braylon Edwards was bad for the team: “I disagree. He’s a threat and that’s why teams double covered him every game. That is why teams account for him on the football field. If he wasn’t a good player they wouldn’t put a safety over top, underneath him in coverage. He has played his heart out every time he stepped on the field. I don’t have anything but good things to say about his effort.”

Other players in the locker room did not seem happy with the trade, either.

We shall now see how Mohammed Massaquoi does without Edwards opposite him.

Josh Cribbs and his agent are still making noise about his contract.

I was all set to write in tomorrow's Beacon Journal that the Browns lost to Tennesese because they only gave Josh Cribbs the ball seven times at quarterback.

Then I saw the stats. Set aside Cribbs' six runs, and the Browns ran 13 times for 11 yards. The Titans ran for 235 yards. Pitiful. Just pitiful. On both sides of the ball.

There is an axiom in the NFL that was true back in the days of Bronko Nagurski, and it's true through Marion Motley and Jim Brown and today: In the NFL, teams that run the ball and stop the run win the games. The corollary, of course, is that teams that ask their third quarterback to throw the ball 43 times because they can't run the ball will almost always lose the game.

The Tennessee Titans are the 2008 embodiment of this axiom. They run the ball and they win. They also stop the run with a defense that flies around and plays with an aggression that the Browns lack.

The team that is the reverse embodiment of the axiom is the Browns. They are giving up a pathetic 145 yards rushing per game, and running for 100 yards. Over time, these numbers will cost a team, and clearly they cost the Browns Sunday. Cribbs could have run more often from the "flash" formation (named after his college alma mater, Kent State), but not enough to overcome 235 yards by Tennessee. He could have thrown seven or eight more passes, but that would not have been enough to overcome the Titans power offense.

Tennessee simply is better. It has more talent, and it knows what it wants to do with the talent. Romeo Crennel surely can be second-guessed for playing cautious, and the second-guesses are justified. Trying Cribbs more could not have been worse. Heck, I'd have gone lights out with Cribbs the way Chris Palmer did against Philadelphia in 1999 when he had Kevin Johnson passing and Dennis Northcutt running. But if you remember that game, the Browns still lost. Everyone was happy that they tried something, but they still lost.

And they lost because they did not have the talent on the field to compete. Just like the Browns on Sunday did not have the talent on the field to compete. The most glaring piece missing Sunday: A third quarterback signed in case he needed to play (like the Titans' Chris Simms) as opposed to a third quarterback signed to be a mentor and semi-assistant coach (Ken Dorsey). Dorsey is an amazingly nice and good person, but he's simply not a viable quarterback.

But then again the Browns run defense is not a viable run defense – less you consider 145 yards per game "viable." And the pass rush is lacking. And the depth at receiver is problematic. And the secondary has issues. And, as the season goes on, the offensive line is becoming a bit more of a question mark.

Crennel's cautious approach didn't help the cause much on Sunday, but the bottom line is the talent differential between the two teams was what determined the outcome – exacerbated by the fact the Titans were using the guy who started the season as the backup QB and the Browns were using No. 3.

Tennessee simply is better.

This really does not bode well for Monday night's game in Philadelphia, does it?

First and 10

1)      Derek Anderson asked if we were on crack when someone suggested to him that Josh Cribbs play quarterback for the Browns this Sunday in Tennessee. Ahem. For the record, crack has never once been the drug of choice on my kitchen table. And to be quite frank, anyone who followed Kent State when Cribbs was there knows the guy can flat out play. He might not be the prototype NFL quarterback, but in the situation the Browns find themselves they may need to find something new and unique.

2)      Cribbs might not be ready to run a full set of the "game plan," but he sure can be ready to run 20 or 25 plays. And they don't all have to be runs. To this point, every time Cribbs lines up in the "wildcat" he's run the ball. Or handed off. Pretty much the same play every time. And it's gone nowhere. It's time to expand his responsibilities and try something different and clever.

3)      Here's the thing with a lot of NFL coaches: They go by what a guy is supposed to do. A quarterback is supposed to be tall with a strong arm so he can throw the "out." He's not supposed to run, because the other guys are supposed to be bigger and faster. And he's supposed to spend hours and hours watching film and studying breakdowns both at work and at home. In fact, he's not supposed to have a home life, because he's supposed to spend it all studying and thinking about nothing but football. That way when he gets on the field he'll be programmed to do nothing but what he's been told to do. Eliminate athletic ability, instincts and the ability to react … just do what you've been "coached up" to do.

4)      This is not to make fun of the coaches, now. The Browns have some excellent ones who work hard and do all possible – if fans could see the looks of anguish on their faces after these last couple games they might tone down the anger a bit – to win games. There are several coaches on the Browns staff I would like on mine were anyone stupid enough to hire me. But difficult times call for a different approach and a different thought. And this is one of them.

5)      Start Ken Dorsey, of course. Let him take the first few snaps. Perhaps he can get into a rhythm, and perhaps the defense can play like it did against the Colts and keep the Browns in the game. But use Cribbs as well. Let him run, let him throw, let him improvise and let him be a football player. If the Browns are smart about it, it can work. And anyone who watched Cribbs play at Kent State is aware how well it can work. For crying out loud, try something.

6)      As for those who have commented on this crog or e-mailed to say the Browns should not play Cribbs to protect him from injury, I say this: Poppycock! Yes, that's a word you don't see too often, just like you hardly ever hear "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" played on the radio. Guys sign contracts to play the game. It's what they do. They practice and prepare to compete on Sunday. If there's a guy in the locker room who does not want to play in the game on Sunday, he shouldn't have a signed contract.

7)      Someone needs to explain to me how Sage Rosenfels can look so calm and poised in the pocket against the Browns one week and then how Peyton Manning can look so confused the next. Isn't one a future Hall of Famer?

8)      Honest question: Is there an NFL game right now you'd set aside time to watch? Think of the Thanksgiving games. I gotta think Sunday's Dolphins-Rams game had the TIVOs working overtime.

9)      Is there a much bigger free agent bust than Donte Stallworth? Yes, he has the potential to turn things around in future years, but this year … wow.

10)   That Bengals-Browns season finale should be a tough ticket to come by. Of course at some point in the third quarter, the Browns will announce 73-thousand-whatever "tickets distributed for today's game" in the press box. As opposed to actual attendance, because of course stating how many people actually showed for the game might indicate the number of people who did not come. Because of course when anyone is at the game they can't see the empty seats. Heck with it … let's look for one bright side for Sunday. In 2001, Ken Dorsey had an outstanding season for the University of Miami. His offensive coordinator that season was Rob Chudzinski. So if anyone knows Dorsey well and what plays he can run and what plays he can't, it's the guy calling plays for the Browns now. Call me nuts, but I've gone from thinking the Browns have no chance on Sunday to thinking if they are smart with their use of Dorsey and clever with their use of Cribbs, they might just pull off an upset.

Three and Out

Dear Pat,

A couple of points about your Monday article — www.ohio.com/sports/mcmanamon/35298334.html

Let me ask you, what is Rob Chudzinski supposed to do?  If he doesn't run it enough, Lewis complains.  If he doesn't pass it enough, Winslow complains.  And everybody complains to the press who are just giddy to get a story about how someone is not happy.

Let's talk about the running game.  Having seen the Browns on TV every game this year (and this game in person), haven't you or somebody notice that Lewis is not hitting the holes the line gives for him because he's just too slow?  But if Harrison or Wright are put in too many plays, Lewis will start to complain to the press.

As far Shaffer is concerned, is it Savage or Crennel's fault that Tucker was hurt the whole year?  Pro-Bowl right tackles don't grow on trees do they?

And as far as the loss on Sunday, if Steve Heiden makes the catch for a first down, the fumble/touchdown play (what came the play after) doesn't happen.  Did Marla or yourself write an article about that? Or the illegal procedure play he also had?

I just want the press to be fair. I think it's a fair criticism that Crennel has not melded the offense to buy into a "team concept" in which, whatever the game plan is that day, the team buys into it. If that mean Winslow gets twenty passes, he gets twenty passes. I think it's a fair criticism that Savage has missed with draft picks (Travis Wilson comes to mind) and personnel moves (Donte Stallworth).

I guess the question Marla and yourself have to ask is, "If Lerner implements Marla's ‘Plan A' or ‘Plan B,' do you really think we're going to win the Super Bowl in 2009?"  Didn't we have the same conversation back in 2005 during Butch Davis' last year?  Oh, and I forgot, the owner needs to sell the team now right?

Thanks for reading my email.

Pete Podnar

Hobart, Indiana

Dear Pete,

Thanks for writing your e-mail.

I'll go in reverse order. Quite frankly, I had forgotten about Heiden's drop. Because everyone will drop one now and then. It's when the drops and mistakes keep happening, especially at key situations, that they become bigger issues. I think that's what you have found with Braylon Edwards (drops) and Winslow (pass interference penalties and the key plays against Denver).

Shaffer is not anyone's fault, it's just that he was the guy who was involved in a key play. Guys can be bull rushed, I get that. And when a smaller guy bull rushes a big guy the way Robert Mathis did to Shaffer, the smaller guy also has leverage. Mistakes happen, but it's our job to write about them. To his credit, Shaffer "manned up" after the game and talked about it.

Regarding Jamal Lewis, I have started to wonder the past couple games. When a back loses it, it goes in a hurry. But I also thought the same thing about Lewis at times last year. He's the kind of guy a team needs to keep using. The first quarter the gains might be two, three yards, but when he keeps pounding the defense those gains are six, seven, 12 yards in the fourth quarter – provided the team is winning.

As to all the guys complaining and the team concept, you may have hit a key point. When guys are more interested in their numbers the team suffers. If guys are interested in winning, the team benefits. That's why character and maturity are considerations as important as talent when selecting players.

Good e-mail.

Dear Pat,

I agree – the Browns should give Cribbs a chance at quarterback.  Like he could do worse than throw passes to someone's feet from less than ten yards away.

I'm curious about the charge that fans cheered when DA got hurt.  I've heard from people at the game that they didn't cheer when he got hurt, they cheered when he got up and was coming off the field.  But I wasn't at the game and the TV announcers never said anything about fans cheering the injury.

What's your take on that?

John Brodie

Galt, CA

Dear John,

I know that Anderson talked about this after the game, but I have to be honest and say I did not notice derisive cheers or boos when he got hurt. If anything, I thought the crowd showed respect. They cheered as he left the field, and many stood. It seemed to be part the traditional show of respect for an injured player and part recognition that they may have been seeing the last of Anderson, and they appreciated his efforts for the Browns.

That was my take at least.

Dear Pat,

With 12 games behind us, this is late to be asking this but I wonder how many yards receiving Braylon Edwards would have if he actually received instead of waved at the ball as it falls to the ground?

I can't forget the air guitar celebration when he finally caught one …

Eddie Vidmar

Dear Eddie,

That air guitar thing was quite a sight, wasn't it?

As to your question, I'm not sure where to find the exact stat, but I did go to footballoustiders.com to check Edwards' performance through their unique stats.

Edwards ranks 74^th in the league in DYAR (Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement). This values the player's performance compared to the average, so Edwards is well below average.

He is 68^th in DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average). This represents a player's value, per play, compared to the average receiver.

All this means he's well below average in his performance.

Edwards is 10^th in the league with 106 passes thrown his way. He's caught 42, dropped 16 (first in the league) and not caught 64 (also the highest number in the league).

Talk about wasting some amazing talent …

Dear Pat,

Even with this disappointing season becoming more absurd every day, there are still a few things that Browns fans can be thankful for:

*The name on the door is still Cleveland – not Cincinnati or Detroit.

*Since 1999 the Browns have as many playoff wins as the Dallas Cowboys.

*None of the Browns have accidentally shot themselves with their own guns.

I know it's not much, but being a Cleveland fan means having to find joy where you can.

Thomas Moore

Stow, Ohio

Dear Thomas,

Ho ho ho!

It's just amazing to me that more of us don't shoot ourselves with our own guns, but perhaps we're just lucky.

(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)

]]> http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/2008/12/02/first-and-10-why-not-cribbs-at-qb/feed/ 15 http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/2008/09/28/browns-win-but-boy-was-that-ugly/ http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/2008/09/28/browns-win-but-boy-was-that-ugly/#comments Sun, 28 Sep 2008 22:41:51 +0000 Pat McManamon http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/?p=576

At one point during the Browns oh-so-exciting win over the Bengals, an e-mailer sent a colleague a note in the press box that watching that game was like "watching a cactus grow."

Boy was it.

The Browns did not play well in their win, but they won, and that's what they needed. Boy did they. Because a loss to an 0-and-3 team with its backup quarterback playing would have been catastrophic and, yes, time to ponder what to do with the stadium once the team was disbanded.

There were silly penalties, silly mistakes, silly Putty and silliness in general, but there was a win.

"All games aren't going to be pretty," Braylon Edwards said. "There's not going to be 30 or 40 points scored or DA throws for 400 yards. You fight until the whistle blows and that's what we did."

In Edwards' case, he once fought until after the whistle blew, with a ridiculous block late in a play that drew a penalty. But he fought, catching the go-ahead touchdown and then celebrating it with some air-guitar routine before dancing off the field and into the locker room with both arms raised as if he had caught 18 passes for 371 yards. This illustrates two things: Edwards still doesn't really "get it," and the relief that the Browns felt from just winning was enormous.

"We don't care how it looks, how it gets done, we want to put Ws in the column," Edwards said. "The more Ws we get the better chance we have of being what everybody knows we can be."

In all honesty, we're still not sure what the Browns can be yet. We may think they have a chance at the playoffs, but they have a tough run of Giants on Monday night followed by a road game in Washington followed by a road game in Jacksonville. That's three tough games. But at least the Browns can go into those games off a win. Because even if it's an ugly win, it's at least a win.

Some thoughts -

–Romeo Crennel finally detailed that Donte Stallworth's injury was projected as a 2 1/2 -to-4 week injury, and that Stallworth is returning in that time frame. Too, Eric Steinbach said he never had a separated shoulder, just a shoulder sprain.

–The Browns again put Joshua Cribbs in the backfield. He took a shotgun snap and ran. The Bengals pretty much stuffed the play. One of these times the Browns need to have Cribbs throw, because everyone is expecting Cribbs to throw.

–After Derek Anderson went 4-for-10 for 27 yards in the first half, I'd have made the switch to Brady Quinn to start the second half. Romeo Crennel didn't. And finally his players backed him up by coming through after one of his decisions.

–How best to describe this game? Buffoonery. Lots of buffoonery.

–The Browns exulted at running the ball, but Jamal Lewis gained just 43 yards on 19 carries after gaining 36 on his first six.

–At times I really wonder what ever happened to the quality of NFL football. The play that qualifies as professional really is lacking. I know. The Browns won.

A couple quotes:

Derek Anderson on Romeo Crennel not pulling him: "I'm never going to quit on him. I'm going to put in the work and keep fighting no matter the situation."

Anderson: "It was obviously a frustrating week. To go 0-and-3 in games we had a chance in and the expectations we put on ourselves, it's frustrating. During the week we had a good Wednesday practice. Thursday got better. Friday was good. I thought guys mentally were helping each other in practice. You could tell that the attitude of everybody had changed. Not that it was bad before, but things were starting to come together for us."

Mike Adams on Carson Palmer not playing: "I was looking for two picks and I only got one. I needed Carson Palmer."

Joshua Cribbs: "It almost put tears in my eyes to see us play as a team – a complete team."

Ya know … there's really nothing to add to that.