Too little, too late as Browns lose to Redskins, 14-11

I think it was Paul Brown that said, “You can’t start playing in the 4th quarter.”  No.  Well, maybe it was me.

The Browns looked horrible once again on Sunday evening in Washington.  The Browns had an unimpressive 64 yards in the first half.  They gained one yard on their first possession of the 2nd half.  Dropped passes, and Derek Anderson’s inaccuracy are the main culprits in another dismal offensive performance.

Pro Bowl receiver Braylon Edwards must have had a large bowl of Orville Redenbacher’s Extra Butter popcorn on the sideline, as he dropped at least 4 passes that were catchable.  Last week, the Browns were shooting themselves in the foot with penalties and Sunday, it was a poor passing game.

Luckily, the defense kept them in the game and allowed them to have a chance to win at the end.

In the fourth quarter, the Browns got to the Redskins 1 yardline, with over 7 minutes remaining.  They were unable to convert 1st and goal from the 1 for any points.  London Fletcher dove over the entire line to wrap up Jamal Lewis on 1st down.  Charles Ali caught a pass before being devoured (or deflowered as a man next to me misunderstood the announcer to say, lol) by Fletcher on 2nd down.  It would not be good to get deflowered on national TV.  DA made a horrible decision to throw to a double covered Jason Wright on 3rd down.  At the time, the score was 14-3 and a field goal would have made it a one possession game.  I can’t say Crennel made the wrong decision, but it was definitely gutsy to expect a TD at this point.  All 6 foot 6 inches of Derek Anderson threw the ball right into one of the high flying lineman of the Redskins to snuff out any chance of scoring there.  Prior to the play, I thought that putting Cribbs in as QB, a fake handoff up the middle, and a keeper around the end may have caught them off guard.  I still believe that.

The defense took to the field to stop the mighty Redskins.  A great play by Eric Wright caused a Clinton Portis fumble and the Browns gained possession at the Washington 29 with over five and half minutes to play.  A few plays later, Joshua Cribbs found the endzone on a 1 yard pass.  Braylon Edwards caught the 2 point conversion and the Browns were back in business with two and a half minutes left.

Once again, the defense rose up and stopped the running attack of Clinton Portis and forced a punt to the Cleveland 29 with 2 minutes left.  There went my prediction of a Joshua Cribbs TD on a return this day.  The Browns heroically drove to the Washington 36, only to have Pro Bowler, Braylon Edwards, drop a pass that was right in his hands.  Did I mention he was a Pro Bowler.  Maybe he should consider a career in the PBA!  The catch would have set up Phil Dawson for a 35-40 yard field goal.  Instead he was kicking a career long 54 yarder from the right hash.  He had plenty of leg, but the kick never curved in.  It just continued going straight.  Browns lose, 14-11.

I can’t give enough credit to a tired defense for hanging tough and stopping the Redskins for most of the game.  I knew it wouldn’t be long before they got tired and Portis and Rock Cartwright would run all over them.  Don’t you wish Rock Cartwright was on your team.  Great name.  Fortunately, the offense got enough spark, late in the game, to allow the defense to get rest and rejuvenate.

You also had to feel bad for Joshua Cribbs.  We all saw him get hammered on that pass play were he was separated from the ball, and all of the air in his lungs, by Charles Rogers.  I saw him drag himself off the ground after getting hammered by 2 Redskins on a punt by the Browns as well.  He dropped right back to the ground afterward.  They were keying on him during special teams plays and I am sure he’ll be feeling it for the next few days.  Don’t worry Josh, you’ll get your chance at redemption.

The new season, according to Pro Bowler, Braylon Edwards, is starting to look a lot like the old season.  Maybe we need a bye week between each game.

Go BROWNS!

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Last post (s) by Tom Kuhman

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