Author: John Blake (Page 6 of 68)

The Browns survived a last-minute Jets comeback and held on for a 20-13 win, their second of the season. Throughout the week, players said the team was going to put a stronger emphasis on the running game now that Jeff Davidson is the OC. Droughns carried the ball 33 times for 125 yards and a touchdown as the Browns pounded away at the Jets. Kellen Winslow led Browns receivers with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.

The Jets came in with the worst run defense in the league so it’s hard to effectively analyze whether or that was the reason Droughns had a big day. However, I do believe a victory the game after Carthon left was no coincidence. While it didn’t seem like the Browns offense changed all that much (other than lining up Braylon in the backfield) under Davidson, the execution was much better. It seems that the players are more relaxed and comfortable with Davidson calling plays and that is looking to translate into better performance on the field.

I do disagree, however, with the play selection towards the end of the game when the Browns continued to run the ball instead of being aggressive and looking for a first down. I’ve never been a fan of conservative play-calling in the fourth quarter. It just keeps the opposition in the game and gives them an opportunity to win.

This should come as no surprise considering how he was carted off the field on Sunday. From the moment he was on the field for an extended period of time you knew it wasn’t good news.

Browns cornerback Gary Baxter will miss the remainder of the 2006 season after suffering an injury to his left patellar tendon, head coach Romeo Crennel announced Monday.

Crennel also said there’s a possibility Baxter suffered a patellar tendon injury in his right knee as well.

First LeCharles, now Baxter. You have got to be kidding me, injuries to both knees? Poor Baxter, anything he does he gets hurt and he just hasn’t been able to stay on the field. A guy who had never gotten injured at Baltimore comes to Cleveland and has had serious season-ending injuries for two seasons straight now. Anyone still don’t believe in the Cleveland curse?

Romeo Crennel has no plans to fire or demote offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon despite a struggling offensive unit. While he did say he might try to incorporate more of his own input into certain gameday calls, Romeo believes that it is going to have to be a team effort, coaches and players included, to get this thing turned around.

Crennel said all of the offensive coaches will continue to have input in the game plan.

“When they leave the meeting room, we want them to feel good about and to be on board with the plan,” he said.

However, the one thing that will be different is Crennel’s hands-on involvement with the offense as the week of practice goes along, and, more importantly, in the games.

“Some of that will be presence in the meetings, overriding plays if I need to, or calling a play if I have a feel for it,” Crennel said. “I’m going to insure that we follow the game plan to give us the best chance.”

Crennel on his feelings towards the coaching staff.

“I told them that I have confidence in every one of them. By working together, we can get this thing straightened out. That is what I believe. I may be crazy, stupid or naive, but that’s what I believe.

“I think I have good coaches. I have good kids on the team, I believe in them, and I’m going to give them a chance to do their job. We will try doing the things we do well and keep doing them in order to develop some consistency to win games.”

Now that we’ve all had a chance to rest and take a break from the Browns for a week, what do you all think about the outlook of the Browns for the rest of the season?

The bye week came at a good time and gave the entire team a chance to evaluate themselves and refocus before things had a chance of really spinning out of control. Let’s hope Romeo and crew have done everything in their power to fix the offensive woes because that has obviously been the area which has plagued us the most. That being said, don’t expect things to magically change overnight, either. The Browns have had a chance now to rethink some of their strategies but it’s hard to imagine them going out against Denver and completely turning it on. We are still in the middle of the building process whether you want to believe it or not and it’s going to take time.

The bye week also gave the team a chance to get healthy. Bodden and Baxter should be back to finally solidify our corner position and hopefully McGinest has healed from his calf injury.