GaryPinC

Got to hand it to the offensive coaches for cleaning things up during the bye week. Linemen were actually moving their feet and giving up ground to maintain their pass protection. Pocket was narrower but intact. Previously, seems like the o-linemen stopped moving their feet when they made contact with defensive player. Didn't seem like too many missed assignments/penalties either. Almost mid-season and things are coming together nicely on offense. If George Edwards stops changing their defensive systems perhaps the defense will improve also. I took hope from the fact that they made some important stops late in the game. Careful. Joe Thomas has made his share of mistakes this year, let's judge Bell after he tops out.

4 turnovers also played a role in all this. As we approach the mid-season the offensive line and offense is starting to get on the same page and come together. While the defense was at times infuriating, they did come up with some important stops especially late in the game. One of the things about the defense that's bothered me is that they switched their system so quickly after the Miami game. Hopefully, there's some consistency and we'll see some further improvement in the next few games. A week or so ago Chan Gailey mentioned 2 of their young linebackers are making good progress so we might get some help at that position. At least that's what I'm praying

The key point in all this is that NFL players are aiming for the upper collar bone/head in their technique. That is what needs to change, whether you alter/remove the helmet or not. Even if these players wanted to do the "missile launch" tackle if they altered their angle so that they were aiming for the mid-chest things would be better. I think they'd have a better chance of dislodging the ball, too. But I agree with others that only removing the face mask would make things worse.

I wasn't impressed with Mallet's failure against Alabama. Top 3 QB should be able to win the big game. But, I'll warm up to him again if he does it in bowl game. Saw Locker play a bit against Oregon State. Had a lot of poise, good decision making, spread the ball around and threw it well. Good feel for the pocket especially because Washington's line didn't look very good. Seemed to get the ball out quickly but throwing motion seemed a bit odd. Overall impressed but it was only one game. Haven't watched Luck play yet.

The minute a guy gets knocked out of the game by helmet to helmet contact the one who initiated it should be tossed also, then weigh further suspension after the game. Suspensions should certainly be done, but that kind of hit in a game leads to an unfair advantage for the other team. Harrison lowered his head and totally went headfirst into Cribbs. No penalty, but you could use replay to toss him out. Then he comes back later and knocks out their #1 receiver Massaquoi (though he wasn't leading with his head as much). What good does it do a team like Cleveland to suspend a Harrison after the game when he's just taken out 2 of your top playmakers?

I think everyone (including the sports writers) was pleasantly surprised by his performance yesterday and want to see him again. He had his mistakes but really had the look of a franchise quarterback. Took a lot of sacks and hits but still kept his poise and really led the team. Confidence is rising that Colt may be the real deal. He's at minimum a capable backup right now. He should get the start vs New Orleans this week so we'll see how he does. Be interesting to see if the Browns try and move Delhomme.

Being here in Cleveland and having to watch many of their games, they may have a lousy record but they are far from a lousy team. They have shown the ability to execute well in every game they played but definitely have mistakes and critical lapses in the second half. They're actually exciting to watch and are starting to remind me of the 87 Bills. The foundation is clearly in place with the Browns, and it started with the previous regime, which makes Buffalo's current situation all the more depressing.

Rookie QB, 1st game on the road against Pittsburgh, plus you lose Cribbs and Massaquoi. I was very impressed with his poise and leadership. Colt got roughed up and it didn't seems to faze him. Bailed out a bit at the beginning of the game but he got much more comfortable throughout. Good throwing and leadership, good feel for the pocket. A couple mistakes but you expect that. Overall a great debut and Cleveland may have finally found themselves a QB IMO. We'll see, he'll get at least one more start. After that, it'll be interesting to see what they do with him. Congrats to Colt. On another note, if they NFL wants to get serious about the helmet to helmet contact I think any time it happens and the player on offense gets knocked out the defensive guy who did it should be thrown out. Really amazing the LB Harrison wasn't penalized on the Cribbs hit. Replays showed the guy lowered his head and led with the helmet. Then he comes back and does it on Massaquoi.

Seems about right to me, though I'd say last 4-7 games. One thing to consider is how the rest of the players on the offense would feel about making a switch at QB right now? I would guess most of the players on the team are frustrated by what's going on so you've had a players-only meeting and lots of talk about how players need to step up their game. This offense is struggling to find some consistancy and rhythm but shows signs of improvement since Fitzy took over. Put Brohm in vs Baltimore and would the offense really go all out for him or come in resigned to the loss? Also, I still feel it's unfair to put Brohm in right now with the state of our offense. Putting a very green and unsettled quarterback into an unsettled offense seems pointless to me.

He certainly was pretty bad but in no danger of being cut. McCoy was Mike Holmgren's personal draft choice to groom over time and it's a safe bet Colt will make the roster at least the next 2 seasons. The "may get cut" rumor was blind speculation by a Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter.

Unfortunately for him, it's out of necessity not because he's ready. Colt looked pretty bad this preseason, Browns fans can only hope he's progressed rapidly since then. Really a shame because IMO Cleveland is really on the verge of becoming a decent team in this league. Hopefully Colt doesn't get obliterated out there and Seneca Wallace gets back quickly. It'll be rough if Peyton Hillis can't play either.

Agree with you, but he needs to focus on trying to be an 3-4 OLB. Right now our defense system has little stability and the D is also playing horribly. Coaches need to give up using him as a down lineman, keep him in space and committed to OLB in a 3-4. Can't see playing him right now because how do you get into a comfort zone and learn to play in a defense like ours? Hopefully later in the season. And then every down, not just passing downs.

+1 This is exactly it. At best latter half of the season before plugging Brohm in. Even if you believe he has potential, why get him killed trying to adjust to the pace of a live NFL game? Get the offense on solid ground first.

I watched the Brady Quinn experiment here in Cleveland and to me, he went from a guy who was struggling to master the NFL offense to a guy (in his last few games) who seemed to finally understand it but was overthrowing the ball and highly inaccurate. To me, he still may have some potential as an NFL quarterback but do you really want to give up something to get him? If he gets cut he might be worth a look though.

I started to think it was coaching but now I really don't know. There's been enough talk over the last couple years about players not executing, coaching is not the problem etc. Now you hear it some more this year and I wonder if some players on this defense are just punching the timecard. Certainly part of it is the talent level of the defense but I suspect there's more to it than that. We'll see.

Maybe the reverse is true and Sully wrote his column after 6 PM.

You do realize it's the job of the scouts to do in-depth analysis and research on all this "talent"? Seems like GM's and coaches only get significant exposure to the draft class at the senior bowls and combines, I would guess they rely a lot on the scouting reports, as they should. It's easy to look at the history of poor drafting in the early rounds and blame it on the coaches/GM making the final decision, but I doubt they pulled decisions like Maybin, Whitner and the others from way down on the scouts' depth chart. At least part of the blame lies from the scouting department's inability to properly rank this talent. And after 10 years of different decision makers not being able to consistantly draft talent, you've got to wonder about the ability of the scouting department. Troup and Carrington are lucky if they both dress for a game, let alone get on the field more than a handful of plays. IMO, our scouting department can consistantly identify legitimate DB talent. Other than that, I've not been impressed.

I think Lee's happy to collect a paycheck and doesn't care that much about winning. He seldom gets the ball so he seldom gets hit, hey he should retire in pretty good shape!

Have to agree, watched most of the 1st half, Kelsay made a couple tackles but also got run by on one play and was completely turned towards the sideline on the other. The guy seems to have zero awareness where the football is until it's right next to him and sometimes he can get his hands on the guy, most times not. Huge waste of money.

Trent's biggest problem is he has no "feel" for the NFL game. He only throws to guys wide open, he does not let the receiver patterns develop and he's not one to trust a receiver to make a play. A big part of being an NFL quarterback is reading the defense, knowing the patterns your guys will run, and putting the ball to a spot where there's a gap in the defense your guy will be moving into when he completes his pattern. One of the more telling aspects about his approach was about a week or so ago he was asked if he would prefer to call his own plays or adjustments. He said something to the effect of "No, I'd rather have the planned play and a list of checks given to me". After all the crappy offensive play he's endured over the years, his lack of desire to call his own plays spoke volumes about his leadership abilities and lack of feel for the game. He's suffered enough here, and I do wish the best for him. But he was a big problem with the offense's execution (certainly not the only one though). CG and multiple receivers all but came out and fingered the QB, so we can now try and improve the offense instead of just treading water. Even if TE somehow does become a good NFL QB, I don't think it would ever have happened here.

I also don't understand why they didn't put him on the PS in the first place(at the start of the season). I realize we had 3 QB's already but none are very impressive, so if CG really liked Brown why not put him on the PS just in case? He'd have been learning the offense better instead of sitting around and trying out for other teams. I support how they handled Trent, they had to give him one last chance and they quickly cut bait, but I'm not too impressed with their actions concerning Levi.

Bill Walsh liked him and the Bills have been traditionally incompetent w/ regards to coaching and front office, so someone will give him a look. Even if Trent goes to a team with a decent o-line and gains some confidence, the minute he gets hit hard he'll revert back to the QB we all know. Good luck to him and the team that grabs him.

The willingness to release TE at minimum means they're comfortable with Brohm as a backup. Keep Fitz in there until at least mid season and let the offense continue to come together than get Brohm in there.

Don't forget to include 1987. I know their record ended up 7-8 but that was the year you could see it starting to come together and that they were on the cusp of becoming a really good team. At season's end the rest of the league knew it too. I enjoy that year almost as much as the rest.

Really? Doesn't sound like it: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2010/09/laywer-for-mike-leach-says-coach-is-not-a-candidate-for-new-mexico-job/1