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The Cleveland Browns continue to show signs of progress as a team, but Maurice Carthon’s puzzling play calling is quietly frustrating the players. This is the second time Cleveland had a third and short deep in the opponent’s territory at a critical point in the game and not given the ball to 1,000 rusher Reuben Droughns.

The first time, the Browns ran a sweep with rookie fullback Lawrence Vickers and were stopped short. Yesterday, Carthon went deep into his bag of tricks and ran an option to run or pass with Vickers. He chose to pass and came up empty.

The players have respectfully not commented on the horrible play calling, but you get the feeling that something has to give. Kellen Winslow is a talented tight end that is a determined to win and will only stay quiet for so long. This team has talent and I can’t help but think that a good offensive coordinator could have produced at least one more victory this season.

At 6’5″, wide receiver Joe Jurevicius ordinarily is not tough to spot on a football field. Unless he’s in a Browns uniform. After Week 5, he has caught just 6 passes. Granted, one of them was for a touchdown and he has been bothered by bad ribs. A poor offensive line doesn’t help matters much either. Without time, Charlie Frye can’t throw to anybody. Some of the blame can arguably be placed on the line but there’s really no excuse for not getting Jurevicius involved in the offense more. Yet another mistake by much-hated Maurice Carthon.

For whatever reason, the Browns continue to try to get the ball to Dennis Northcutt, who continues to drop passes. Carthon and the offense hardly is even looking in Joe’s direction. After seeing Jurevicius catch the fade route for a touchdown against the Raiders, I was partly in a sense of shock. I almost forgot he was still on our team. Here’s a guy who caught 10 touchdowns last season with the Seahawks. Reuben Droughns and Jerome Harrison each have more receptions this season than Jurevicius. Terry Pluto comments on, among other things, #84’s lack of presence in the offense.

Forget cloning the fullbacks and put wide receiver Joe Jurevicius on the field more often. The guy was good enough to be a regular for the Seattle Seahawks, catching 10 touchdown passes for a team that went to the Super Bowl.

But he has been behind Dennis Northcutt in the past two games.

Don’t even ask why… it’s sort of like the fullback option pass.

You want a couple of inches for a first down? Throw the ball to Jurevicius. He’s 6-foot-5, 232 pounds. He catches nearly everything he touches.

Even the diplomatic Frye said they need to involve Jurevicius more into the offense. Most fans were saying the same thing Sunday.

Numerous times during the Carolina game, I couldn’t help but notice Jurevicius being given a 10-yard cushion on a few occasions. Just throw the ball right to him right after the snap and let him pick up some yards. Same goes for every other Browns receiver. If you see a large cushion being given by the defender, throw it to them right away the way Jake Delhomme utilized Steve Smith. It’s almost an easy 5 yards. Force the defense to tighten up the coverage and set them up for the deep ball. With Carthon at this point, I can only shake my head at his boneheaded offensive philosophy.

Offensively, the game started out promising with the Browns marching down the field for a field on their first possession. However, a quick Carolina interception return for a touchdown off the hands of Dennis Northcutt was the turning point. The Panthers took hold of the momentum and never looked back, beating the Browns 20-12 Sunday afternoon.

The Panthers’ front four, especially Julius Peppers, disrupted the Browns and put pressure on Charlie Frye for most of the day. The offensive line also committed some key holding penalties that kept the Browns from getting into any sort of offensive rythym. Joshua Cribbs gave the team a spark with a couple of big returns but the Browns unfortunately had to settle for field goals.