The Battle of Lake Erie

On Monday NIght the Cleveland Browns took their game into Buffalo in a battle of teams that both very desperately needed a win.

The Bills opened their season 4-0, then 5-1, and seemed to be on pace to win the division with ease, especially given Tom Brady’s injury.  Then they lost to Miami.  And the New York Jets.  And the New England Patriots.  Going into Monday’s game they were 5-4 and behind both the Jets and the Patriots in the division.  This game was win or find themseles in a deep hole.

The Browns on the other hand were already in that hole.  After being a popular AFC North pick (and even Super Bowl pick) the Browns have been one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL.  In the previous two games (against Baltimore and Denver) the Browns gave up thirteen point halftime leads and lost; only the second team in NFL history to do so.

Well, the Browns won.  It was hardly a satisfying victory though.  When a team gives you four turnovers and you are winnng 13-0 there is no reason your victory should ever be in jeopardy.  It took a field goal that went Wide Right (sorry Bills fans) for the Browns to hang on to the victory.

The Browns were up 13-0 and appeared to be on easy street, except the Bills put together a tough drive making it 13-7.  A few field goals later the score was up to 16-13.  It was then that Browns running back Jerome Harrison broke a 72 yard touchdown run, opening up a 23-13 lead.  In the bag, right?  Never with anything from Cleveland.  Ever.  The following kickoff Bills special team man Leodis Mckelvin took a kickoff return back for 98 yards, putting the score to 23-20.  The Browns got another chance off of a Buffalo fumble but yet again could only manage a field goal bringing the game to 26-20.

For the third time in a row the Browns victory was in the hand of the defense, and they failed.  The Bills scored a touchdown giving them a 27-26 victory with three minute left on the clock.  Brady made a couple of passes and got within kicker Phil Dawson’s field goal range, but just within it.   Good thing he is the 5th all time in NFL History in terms of completion percentage.  The 56 yard field goal was perfect, putting the Browns up 29-27.

The Browns then had to do something that had worked to the Bills advantage all game:  Kickoff.  The squib kick was returned to around the 45 yardline and the first pass of the drive Trent Edwards completed for a pick up into field goal range.  The following three plays were conservative runs, and on fourth down the Bills settled for the 48 yard field goal.  Wide right.

In going wide right it put the Bills in a much worse position for making the playoffs and gave the Browns some hope that they still can.  Either way, no team is feeling especially good right now.  Neither’s playoff hopes are overly large, but a win is a win for Romeo’s squad.

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

Browns Head Coach Romeo Crennel

Taking a look at this past weekends slew of football games, there are three teams that have something in common.  Minnesota, Cleveland, and San Diego would all tell you they could have won and should have won.  All three of these teams had very high expectations coming into this season and all three are now 0-2 after coming oh so close to being 1-1.

First let’s look at the team who legitimately should have won:  San Diego (video highlights are posted below).  With time running out Denver was down by 7.  As they approached the end zone, quarterback Jay Cutler stepped back to throw a pass and the ball slipped out of his away from his body.  There was no contact and it did not go toward the line of scrimmage, much less in front of it.   The play was whistled dead after the ball hit the ground, being ruled an incomplete pass, despite the fact that it was undisputably a fumble; this is made doubly painful by the fact that San Diego had successfully recovered it, thus clinching the W.  San Diego was unable to challenge the clearly incorrectly called play and Denver scored a touchdown followed by the game winning two-point conversion.  This loss that should never have happened is especially troubling for a disappointing Chargers team.  San Diego is now 0-2 and in last place in their division, a division that does not seem quite as securely theirs.  The Denver Broncos are now 2-0 with both victories coming over division opponents.  Pressure is mounting on San Diego and they will be hardpressed to overtake Denver unless they start winning soon. 

Cleveland is another team on this list.  Division opponent and hated rival Pittsburgh came to town on Sunday evening and pulled out with a 10-6 victory over the reeling Browns.  This game very well could have (and from a Cleveland perspective, should have) gone the other way.  As time expired in the first half the Browns drove the ball all the way down into the Pittsburgh ten yard line.  With about 10 seconds left and 3rd and short coming up, Romeo Crennel, the Browns’ head coach, did not call a time out.  Instead, confused, Derek Anderson ran a QB sneak for the first down (since he could not spike the ball to stop the clock).  The problem was that took so much time that there was only 8 seconds left.  Down by 7, the Browns did not want to settle for a field goal, but 8 seconds is barely enough time to run a play and kick a field goal if need be.  They tried the play and in the rush Derek Anderson threw an interception as time ran out, leaving the Browns down 7-0 at halftime.  This intermixed with many drops by Braylon Edwards, another inteception by Anderson, a lackluster run game, and a questionable 4th quarter field goal, the Browns practically handed the Steelers a win.  The Browns are now 0-2 in the division and battle Baltimore this week followed by Cincinnati the following week; both games are road games, division games, and must-win games.

The Minnesota Vikings are another team that let a game slip away from them.  On Minnesota’s first five possessions of the game they crossed midfield into Colts territory.  All they had to show for that feat was five field goals, aka, all their points.  Adrian Peterson was dominant, as usual, but the terrible passing game did them in.  In fact, it was so bad that it was recently announced that Tavaris Jackson will no longer be the starting quarterback, instead, backup QB Gus Frerotte will.  A quarterback controversy going into week three of the regular season is not something any team wants, but if the passing game does not improve do not expect Minnesota to win many games this season.  Next weekend the Vikings take on the Panthers, a team that has beaten teams better than Minnesota this season, so it will not be easy pickings.

What To Watch

This upcoming weekend of sports should be fantastic.  Here are a few games you won’t want to miss.

Ohio State University vs. Univiersity of Southern California

This game is the biggest football game of the college schedule.  Number 1 Ranked USC takes on Number 5 Ranked Ohio State.  The biggest question at this point is the status of Beanie Wells, one of the most potent running backs in the game.  He was hurt in week one during OSU’s whomping of Youngstown.  His presence could very well make this game for Ohio State.  USC is favored to win, but I have faith in my Buckeyes.  Regardless, a game of this magnitude is NOT something you will want to miss.

Networking:  Saturday at 8PM EST on ABC

New England Patriots vs. New York Jets

Division Opponents.  New Quarterbacks.  Coaches who hate eachothers guts.  What’s not to look forward to in this game?  The relationship between Bill Bellicek and Eric Mangini have been a bit strained since Mangini left the Patriots for the Jets and turned his old boss in for cheating at the beginning of last season.  If you think Bill has forgotten about that, think again.  I’m sure the Jets and their fans haven’t forgotten the thumping the Patriots have been routinely giving them either.  Before the prolific season ending injury to Tom Brady,  I would have told you the Pats would definitely win.  Now I’m only going to say they will probably win.  Bret Favre has the obvious edge over Matt Cassel and the fact that they are playing in New York could push the Jets to an unexpected victory, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.  The Jets won last week and Bret Favre was Bret Favre, but nonetheless they didn’t prove much topping the lowly Miami Dolphins.  Despite losing Brady, the Pats still have a good team.  Their defense is fantastic, their running game solid, and Randy Ross can turn a bad pass into a TD any day.  This game should prove a good test for the Jets abilities this season.

Networking:  Sunday at 4:15 PM EST on CBS

Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

This is, in my opinion, the greatest rivalry in the NFL.  It has history, it has hatred, and it has consistancy.  It doesn’t matter how one sided the rivalry is (and its been one sided almost throughout its duration) these teams and these cities hate eachother.  I grew up in Cleveland and live in Western PA now; believe me, we hate eachother.  The rivalry is even more potent now that the Browns are legitimate condendors for the AFC North crown.  Though both teams had high expectations coming into this year, they are coming off of very different week ones.  The Steelers looked almost perfect, destroying the Texans in Pittsburgh last week.  The Browns looked very vulnerable, giving up nearly 500 yards to the Dallas Cowboys in Cleveland.  Look for Willie Parker to have a pretty big day, but if the Browns find a way to contain him then it could turn into an upset.  The Browns have lost nine straight to the Steelers and only one once in the last sixteen games against them.  Browns fans and players are ravenous for revenge.  The overally series record is dead even:  Both teams have won 55 regular season games against eachother.  Emotions will run high and the dawg pound will be going nuts, so I am dubbing this the NFL Sunday game of the week.

Networking:  Sunday at 8 PM EST on NBC

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys

This game is the Monday Night game for a reason.  These are two of the best (if not THE best) teams in the NFC.  I’d bet my bottom dollar that one of these two teams will represent the NFC in the playoffs.  On top of that, they are division opponentst.  On top of that (as if all that wasn’t enough) there’s the business about Terrell Owens.  The City of Brotherly Love doesn’t quite live up to its name when it comes to TO and would love to see him lose at home.  It would also make quite the statement.  This is going to be a slugfest between two of the best teams in the league – should be VERY fun.

Networking:  Monday at 8:30 PM EST on ESPN

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

After week on of the NFL season has come to a close, let’s take a look at who was good, who was bad, and who was really bad:

The Good

Dallas Cowboys:  Hands down the most talented team in the NFL, and with the addition of Adam Jones they only got better.  Though I was not thrilled, they shut down an explosive Browns offense, holding them to a measly ten points.  Marion Barber ran all over an improved defensive line (until he left the game) and Tony Romo looked like he was playing against the practice squad.  The passing game looked good, though its hard to judge when playing such a poor pass defense.  No doubt the team to beat in the NFC, and really the entire NFL.

Tennessee Titans:  The offense looked strong against a very physical Jacksonville team, particularly rushing.  The defense looked even stronger, putting forth seven sacks of Vinc Young and shutting down the running game, holding them to 31 total yards rushing.  Young left the game and is expected to be out two to four weeks, which will obviously hurt.  Good thing they got that division win early.

Pittsburgh Steelers:  As much as I hate to admit, the black and gold looked very strong as they destroyed a decent Houston Texan team.  Big Ben looked dominant, even more so did Willie Parker.  The defense looked pretty good overall, holding the Texans to 71 yard rushing, but giving up 202 yard through the air.  With Tom Brady sitting on the sideline, this is the team to beat in the AFC.

Philadelphia Eagles:  I’m hesitant to say that the Eagles did a great job on Sunday only because they played a team that ESPN recently ranked as the worst in the NFL (and rightfully so).  Regardless, they held the Rams to three points and did not give up a single third down conversion (which is impressively good for the Eagles and impressively bad for the Rams).  McNabb looked as strong as ever, throwing for 361 yards.  Brian Westbrook looked solid as well.  This may be the team closest to rivaling the Cowboys.

The Bad

New England Patriots:  What’s there to say?  The Pats lost Tom Brady and with it any hopes of returning to the Super Bowl.  They may still make the playoffs – their defense is solid, Maroni is a solid running back, and really Matt Cassel didn’t do all bad – 13/18 for 152 yards and one touchdown (zero interceptions) is decent, but nowhere near the level that should be expected when the Kansas City Chiefs come to Foxborough.  There is hope for the Patriots (largely due to a very weak division), but barely squeaking by the Chiefs at home is not a good start.

St. Louis Rams:  The Rams got spanked.  Big time.  And while it is true that they got spanked by one of the better teams in the NFL, it was by an absurd amount.  Only scoring three points isn’t near as pathetic as going 0/11 on third down conversions.  At least nobody expected them to be good…

The Ugly

The Detroit Lions:  The Detroit Lions should be ashamed of themselves right now.  They lost to the Atlanta Falcons.  I repeat – the Atlanta Falcons.  Rookie Quarterback.  New coach.  This team was supposed to be as bad as Miami was last year.  All this isn’t to downplay the Falcons.  They played a ballsy game.  The Lions have no excuse though.

Cincinnati Bengals:  This team should be so much better than they are.  Chad “Ochocinco” is one of the best wide receivers in the league. Carson Palmer is one of the best quarter backs in the league.  That combination alone should give them a chance to win more ballgames than they do.  This week they lost to the Baltimore Ravens.  The Ravens were one of the worst teams in the league last year (in fact they were the only team the lowly Dolphins beat).  Cincinnati should have been able to pull this one out, but just like in past seasons they are not living up to the talent level they have.