Browns put the smack down on 'Bankrupt City'; WIN 24-6

I remember a friend of mine telling a story about his college roommate being left at the altar a few years back on his wedding day. My immediate response was, “I can’t even imagine…”. Thinking back to that moment now, I feel like maybe I can relate. In a way, the Browns left us all at the altar in 1999. Tower City was outfitted with a clock that counted down every single second to kickoff. There were banners everywhere; on roadside billboards, sides of buses, the local malls, and of course on every local TV station. I spent hundreds of dollars on new Browns merchandise. I told all my friends about how much this moment meant to me and why this was so monumental for the city of Cleveland. However, from the time Phil Dawson kicked that first ball of the tee, it’s been nothing but disappointment and regret. 

Now, I’m not trying to blow the Browns recent success way out of proportion here but one thing is clear… we finally have a team worth watching in Cleveland. We probably won't win the Super Bowl, a playoff game, or even a complete series against a division rival, but WE WILL be competitive in every game we play this year. 

Let’s take a look back at the Browns 24-6 win over the Lions and discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good –

Brandon Weeden – His statline through the first two games is now 18-25 for 229 yards, 3 TD's, and 0 INTS. His passer rating is greater than 130! Probably the most impressive part of what Weeden accomplished last night is the fact that he played so well with high expectations on him. To me, Weeden’s ability to manage expectations and grow his skill set is a direct reflection of what Norv Turner brings to the table. While Weeden was impressive, he still needs improvement in two areas. He continues to stare receivers down though, once again, it didn’t cost him any interceptions. He also threw a couple of bad passes into the flats, missing the running back twice. Those check downs have to be completed going forward. 

Trent Richardson – Trent was finally able to get into a preseason game. If you recall, he missed the entire preseason last year trying to get healthy for opening day. Now, I wasn’t overly impressed with any one thing that Trent did. However, as a whole, I thought he looked great. He ran hard, he found his block, he pass protected well, and he looked fast. He was also able to get right back up after getting ‘Polar Popped’ by Suh. (For those who watched from home like me were subjected to 50+ Circle K ‘Polar Pop’ commercials last night… I’ve decided to make it into a verb for my articles going forward) I’m no longer concerned about this guy. He will continue to be a playmaker for us on offense.

Jordan Cameron – Jordan must have been sick and tired of answering questions about the ball that bounced off his facemask last week because he was nothing short of incredible this week. His 2 TD catches were impressive, but on one play, Weeden threw a perfect ball between the linebackers and defensive backs which left Cameron with a tough play. Cameron climbed the ladder and went way up for the grab, yielding a first down and a nice chunk of the field. Cameron will go as Weeden goes and vice versa. I’m really excited to see just how good Cameron can be this year.

The Defense – Last week, I said I wasn’t impressed with any one thing that happened on the defensive side of the ball. This week however, is a different story. Mathew Stafford is no joke and even though he didn’t have Megatron to throw to, he was having a hard time doing anything. Why? Our defensive line was putting all sorts of pressure on him, linebackers were coming out of nowhere, and when he was able to get a pass off, it was getting knocked down by Haden, Owens, or Skrine. The single biggest play from Detroit was a screen pass to Reggie Bush that went for roughly 15 yards. Other than that, it was lights out defense.

The Bad –

Injury Bug – This time of year is usually run by the Canadian Soldier or ‘midges’ as some call them. However, there was a different type of bug running around First Energy Stadium last night… the injury bug. After escaping week 1 with no injuries, week two brought a handful of them. Jason Pinkston, filling in for Luvao who is recovering from a high ankle sprain, seems to have suffered one of his own ankle sprains last night. After finally coming back from a blood clot in his lung (last year) he was finally getting back into the swing of things before one of his own lineman was rolled up on his ankle. Barkevious Mingo was also sidelined with an injury to his ribs. I didn’t see it, but rib injuries are never good. Remember Trent last year? Let’s hope it’s more of the bruised variety than the broken variety. Finally, Bogotay, competing to be our starting kicker went out with a pulled groin. This after blasting his first two kickoff attempts out of the back of the endzone. This injury is really concerning given that kicking has everything to do with using your groin muscle. Looks like Shayne Graham just won the job by default.

The Ugly –

The Streaker – Come on man… what are you doing? It’s only preseason! Put your clothes back on! If you can’t handle your Miller Lite then you should probably just stay home. None the less, you were the only thing worth tweeting about in the 2nd half when the game became meaningless. Thanks for that I guess.