Author: Tim Russo (Page 33 of 89)

Mary Kay Cabot in today’s Braylon Edwards story is the story, clearly taking advantage of a young kid who’s having a frustrating year on a bad team, who most certainly would otherwise have not gone down this road but for the fact that Mary Kay is trying to make news.

Browns top pick Braylon Edwards finally said it: Just give me the darn ball.

That’s the only quote I’m taking from the story because he flaps his lips so damn much in this PD interview, it’s impossible to take anything out of it that stands out. He just goes off. And off. And off. And off. He’s like T.O. in training.

And yeah, he finally just “said” it, as if it popped out in a vacuum involuntarily like a belch, and Mary Kay just happened to be there with a tape recorder. Read the story. Mary Kay Cabot clearly is just baiting the kid, sticking a tape recorder in front of his face, hoping he’ll just keep the verbal diarrhea flowing enough to get her story to the front page above the fold of the PD sports section. She places her questions to Braylon in the story without quotes, as if questions fall out of thin air for Braylon, (“Edwards was asked…” really!?!?) as if she isn’t actually creating the story herself, making news rather than covering it. Every question is leading her interviewee all the way, like some cocaine dealer who knows she’s dispensing an addictive drug, i.e. the undivided attention of the media, and she just drips it out, drop by tantalizing drop, until Braylon is flapping his mouth completely out of control.

I like Braylon Edwards, I think he’ll be a weapon in the Browns offense for a long time, and he’s probably the best athlete on this team already. But he should SHUT. HIS. MOUTH. And as for Mary Kay, nice touch. You tryin’ to create another T.O? That’ll get you on ESPN’s Around The Horn, won’t it? When the sports media wrings its hands over these spoiled brats in professional sports, they need to take a long hard look in the mirror…this is precisely how they are created.

Trent Dilfer has calibrated his quality of play almost perfectly. He keeps doing just enough to keep himself from getting canned, but stinks just enough to lose a lot of games. His numbers yesterday really don’t look all that bad. 17-34, 253 yards, 1 TD, 1 pick. But he missed key throws at key points, especially the wide open Braylon Edwards post that would have made the score 14-0.

And of course, it just keeps the Charlie Frye drumbeat going.

Just one of them from the ABJ.

Browns receiver Braylon Edwards had knifed between two defenders on a skinny post. Nothing except well-worn sod separated Edwards and the end zone about 60 yards away. It was late in the first quarter and the Browns already owned a surprising 7-0 lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night. All quarterback Trent Dilfer needed was a strike. In baseball parlance, he threw a 98-mph fastball to the screen. The pass sailed past Edwards’ outstretched hands.

There were several of these moments last night, including Northcutt’s drop near the end of the half. Story of the Browns for the last, oh, 12 years?

This is gonna be tough. The Cavs start at 6 pm, the Browns start at 8 pm. What’s a sports blogger to do? I just hope the Cavs put away the Magic by kickoff.

PRE-GAME TAKE – Tempted to think this will be close, because there’s no Roethlisberger, but the Steelers can run the ball better than just about anybody, and they usually do even better than that against the Browns, and that has been a weak spot on this Browns team. I think the Steelers roll.

NEVER MIND – CAVS IN OVERTIME – HOLD ON, WILL START LIVEBLOG AFTER CAVS GAME.

9.53 1st – Browns score TD on first drive – Browns 7, Steelers 0 – Great drive, great play on a deep pass by Bryant. Nice 2d & goal run by Droughns.

CAVS LEAD IN OT 106-99 WITH 16 SECONDS LEFT. They should win this one. Huge game. Donyell Marshall hits a 3 to get them to OT. Incredible. Final is 108-100, Cavs win. Greatness.

7.22 1st – Browns 7, Steelers 0 – Steelers just drive down the field like the Browns aren’t even there. Was there a 2nd down in that drive? 20 yard TD pass to Heinz Ward, McCutcheon got a hand on it, Ward caught it going out of bounds. Are they reviewing it?

Crennel challenges it, looks to me to be incomplete on the replay…McCutcheon is hurt. How’d that happen? He got kneed in the belly by Ward. Here comes the ref…..NO CATCH.

6.07 1st – BROWNS HOLD ‘EM ON 4TH AND INCHES ON QB SNEAK. What a turnaround.

Dilfer misses a shot to take 14-0 lead by overcooking a pass to a wide open Braylon Edwards on a slant. Punt.

3.02 1st – Nice defensive series, Steelers go 3 & out, punt to the Browns 1 yard line. Yikes.

END OF 1st – Browns 7, Steelers 0. Wow. Browns look pumped for this game. Early defensive nonexistence saved by official review. Great 4th down stop. Droughns looks as good as ever.

13.00 2nd – Browns punt after Dilfer gets tagged on 3rd down running out of the pocket. Almost wanted him to get hurt, so Frye comes in. Didn’t mean that.

8.20 2nd – Browns 7, Steelers 7 – Browns allow what might have been the worst deep ball ever thrown in the NFL this year to go for a big gain. Then it’s all Bettis.

2.11 2nd – Steelers 10, Browns 7 – Whole sequence begins with a Northcutt drop on 3rd down (keep complaining about playing time, big fella), which leads to a punt, which leads to a long drive for a 42 yard FG. Enough with the Hines Ward tributes already.

2 MINUTE WARNING – Browns start about 10 yard line. I’m constantly reminded why I don’t watch ESPN Sunday night football. Theisman is the biggest idiot in the broadcast booth. They constantly snip at each other like a bunch of cat fighting cheerleaders fighting over who gets to sleep with the place kicker.

LOVELY. Theisman says, “This is where you’ll see how good Trent Dilfer is.” Dilfer promptly fails to see a rusher coming right at him, gets hit as he throws, ball flys in the air, is picked off.

0.06 2nd – Steelers 17, Browns 7 – QB sneak after a 2 minute drill that went way too smoothly. Ugh.

HALFTIME – Steelers 17, Browns 7 – TIM’s TAKE? Browns are not good enough to miss opportunities like they’ve missed in this half. Northcutt’s drop was huge. Dilfer is being Dilfer. Hate this broadcast team. Idiots.

13.19 3rd – Steelers 24, Browns 7 – Reverse-option-throw-thingy from Randel El to Ward. Getting ugly. Maddox replacing Batch (hurt his hand) briefly gave me some hope. Briefly.

9.00 3rd – Another Northcutt drop on 3rd down ends another drive & results in another Browns punt. Keep flappin’ your mouth, why don’t ya.

3.28 3rd – Facemask penalty erases the inevitable Maddox pick. We can’t even let Maddox give us a pick.

0.41 3rd – IS ESPN BEING PAID TO PUMP UP DILFER? The idiots in the booth are astonishing. After Dilfer turns around Antonio Bryant, making him reach back for a ball thrown behind him, Bryant gets drilled, fumbles, Steelers recover deep in Browns territory, and Mike Patrick goes “The Steelers [sic] receivers are really hurting Trent Dilfer.” How about the BROWNS QB STINKS.

END OF 3RD – Steelers 24, Browns 7 – TIM’s TAKE? I really want to go to bed.

14.48 4th – Steelers 27, Browns 7 – FG after Maddox fails to complete any passes. Why they threw the ball at all is somewhat confusing. Whatever. At least the Cavs won tonight. In OT no less.

11.42 4th – Steelers take over on downs near 20 yard line. Endless apologia for Dilfer – Mike Patrick again says Edwards should have caught a ball that was clearly thrown out of bounds and uncatchable, it’s a fucking miracle Edwards got up high enough to put a hand on it.

4.23 4th – BLOCKED FG, BROWNS TD. Steelers 27, Browns 14. Taunteth me not, O football gods.

4.20 4th – onside kick ends up Steelers ball at Browns 30 yard line. That’s more like it.

2 MINUTE WARNING – Thank god. Did I mention the Cavs won in overtime?

Steelers score a TD on 4th & goal out of the 2 min. warning. That one’s gonna be remembered. Not a good idea to run up the score fellas. Steelers 34, Browns 14. I don’t think I’ll be the only one who’s gonna remember that one.

0.21 4th qtr – Browns get deep into Steelers territory after a near pick – how Palomalu missed that hand delivered Dilfer pass, I don’t know. From 1st and goal at the 9 yard line, Dilfer proceeds to air mail 3 throws in a row right out of the end zone, then drills Bryant for a TD on 4th down in garbage time. Steelers 34, Browns 21.