NFL 2009-10 Season

Browns Win 4 in a Row: End of Season Thoughts

An amazing end of the season to a utterly disappointing start. Hope & optimism are suddenly abound in Cleveland and our future looks promising once again!

This 4 game streak is our longest win streak since 1994, our first since our rebirth in '99. This is also the first time since 2004 that we've had a 100+ yard rusher in 3 consecutive games.

Our backs combined for 214 yards on Sunday (127 for Harrison). Our newly found gem, Jerome Harrison's 561 rushing yards over the final three weeks of the season were the second most since 1960. Also, and amazingly enough, during the final 3 weeks our QB's didn't throw over 100 yards! What we did to spark the streak was to resort back to vintage Cleveland Brown football by excelling in the run and playing stout defense. Jim Brown and Clay Matthews would be proud.

Since Week 12, this team has seemed to have turned the page. That was the week we lost to Detroit on a last second desperation heave in the end-zone. The following week, we lost to San Diego by 3 points. After that? Four straight wins to close out the season. The streak could've very easily have been 6 instead of 4.

It's clear, despite the adversity of major injuries and the distractions at the beginning of the year that something is finally syncing in. The guys on both sides of the ball are finally buying into the system. It would be a shame to not see Eric Mangini finish what we all see starting to take place. What he's done to turn around some of the worst football I've seen at the beginning of the season is nothing short of a miracle.

But alas, this is an inpatient business. While I'm sick and tired of regime changes and I think nothing effects a team more than coaching changes, I am confident in the hands of Mike Holmgren. I just hope he gets this right.

Here's to an exciting offseason and ELEVEN draft picks!

Go Browns!
 
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Final thoughts on my Raiders.....

THE GOOD:

There is tons of talent on this team. Murphy and Schillens could be very good WR at the pro level. They have excellent work habits and you could clearly see the QBs looking for them. Zach Miller is one of the most underrated TE in the league. IF he had a REAL QB throwing to him, he would be putting PRO BOWL numbers. We have the best kickers in the league. And THAT is the main reason the Raiders were not very good. When your kickers has so much "on the job training" as our kickers have....that mean you have NO OFFENSE. The tademn of Michael Bush, Darren McFadden and Justin Fargus is the best in the NFL(notice I mentioned a 3-headed monster and not a 2 headed monster).

THE BAD:

QB position from a starting stand point was terrible UNTIL Gradkoswki took over. Do I think the Raiders should dump Russell...yes and no. He should more than likely never start another Raider game again UNLESS they are playing Denver IN Denver. He is undefeated at Mile High. The signing of Losman is a good signing, smart signing and a win-win situation. The DT position has been a problem since 2005. I am hoping this can be addressed in the upcoming draft.

And THE UGLY:

The offensive line has been ALL three this year: Good, Bad AND Ugly. The Raiders had TONS of injuries and all sorts of OL players playing out of place. That mean only one thing....there is no depth there. THAT HAS to be addressed, if not, it will not matter WHO plays QB, he will be running for his life!

All in all, the team did well considering the injuries and the atrocious QB play in general. Clearly you saw that once a ball control QB was placed at the starting helm, the Raiders were a MUCH better team and a much more competative team. Are they a player away from being a playoff team, ONLY if we had the OL of the 1990s Buffalo Bills and Jim Kelly at QB. But they are not too far away. I think, HOPE, that they will retain Cable. Did he make some mistakes...? YES. Is he a terrible coach...? NO. The team responded well to him on more occassions than not. Quite honestly, the Raiders offense constantly brought knives to a gun fight. ALOT of their wins were not due to their offense, cause they had none...but to their defense.

Grading:

EFFORT: B+(some games, they were nowhere to be found...Giants, Jets, Texans, Redskins....and some games, they looked like a playoff team fighting for their lives.....Steelers, both Charger games, Eagles, Bengals, Broncos and both Chief games)

Coaching: C+. See above.

Talent:

See "the Good, the Bad and the Ugly".
 
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Final thoughts on my Raiders.....

THE GOOD:

There is tons of talent on this team. Murphy and Schillens we be very good WR at the pro level. They have excellent work habits and you could clearly see the QBs looking for them. Zach Miller is one of the most underrated TE in the league. IF he had a REAL QB throwing to him, he would be putting PRO BOWL numbers. We have the best kickers in the league. And THAT is the main reason the Raiders were not very good. When your kickers has so much "on the job training" as our kickers have....that mean you have NO OFFENSE. The tademn of Michael Bush, Darren McFadden and Justin Fargus is the best in the NFL(notice I mentioned a 3-headed monster and not a 2 headed monster).

Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice would like to speak to you in the Principal's office! :D
 
Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice would like to speak to you in the Principal's office! :D

I agree, there's a couple packages of RBs I'd take over the Raiders, especially given the play calling in Oakland. Way too often Bush is sent on sweeps and they send McFadden up the middle into contact. Makes little sense.
 
Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice would like to speak to you in the Principal's office! :D

I don't know, considering the fact that the Raiders 3 headed monster had on injured for half the season and that they were only 402 yards less and almost averaged the same amount of yards makes it pretty even.

total yards.... Cowboys = 2103 Raiders = 1701
total rushing plays... Cowboys = 436 Raiders = 401
average yard per carry... Cowboys = 4.7 Raiders = 4.2

...and that is with a banged up offensive line where the entire lined played together all of 2 games.
 
Carolina has the best tandem in the league, 2 1100yd+ rushers. Oakland's best rusher has just half of one of their backs.

I can't believe Jamaal Charles hit 1000 yards on less than 200 carries, that's an NFL record. He was a starter for less than half the season.

Even crazier is Chris Johnson was able to keep up that same pace all season, both backs had 5.9 ypc.
 
I don't know, considering the fact that the Raiders 3 headed monster had on injured for half the season and that they were only 402 yards less and almost averaged the same amount of yards makes it pretty even.

total yards.... Cowboys = 2103 Raiders = 1701
total rushing plays... Cowboys = 436 Raiders = 401
average yard per carry... Cowboys = 4.7 Raiders = 4.2

...and that is with a banged up offensive line where the entire lined played together all of 2 games.
If you just consider the stats of the 3 RBs from the teams' rushing stats it becomes even more evident who's better. The Cowboys' 2nd back is better than Oakland's best and the Cowboys third back averages more than 2 yards per carry more than Oakland's third and has no lost fumbles this year:
Code:
NAME	        ATT	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	FUM	LST
Michael Bush	123	589	4.8	60	3	1	1
Justin Fargas	129	491	3.8	35	3	1	0
Darren McFadden	104	357	3.4	28	1	4	3
TOTAL	        356	1437	4.0				

Marion Barber	214	932	4.4	35	7	1	1
Felix Jones	116	685	5.9	56	3	2	1
Tashard Choice	64	349	5.5	66	3	0	0
TOTAL	        394	1966	4.99
 
Mangini Reminds Me of the Movie: Hoosiers!

Seriously, I can't help but think about the movie Hoosiers when I think about the current situation with Mangini.

In Hoosiers, Gene Hackman's character starts out and does some things that are perceived as outrageous. He asks players to leave who aren't going to give 100%. He won't let them shoot in the early practices. He breaks them down to fundamentals.

The early results are terrible to the outside viewer. So terrible that they think he is a clown and want him fired. Over time however, and when his best player decides to play, the results are amazing.

It feels a little bit like that with Mangini. He got rid of the malconents in Winslow and Edwards. He focused on fundamentals; reducing penalties, preperation, etc.

The early results are awful. In fact, through the first 2/3 of the season, people thought this would be the worst Browns team of all time. It was beyond dismal.

Then things changed in December. First of all, the players started to execute. His best player, Jerome Harrison, stepped up at the end of the season (after finally buying into practice and preperation) and suddenly the results have been great.

For the first time since the return, I feel like the team has an identity and a gameplan.

I hope that like "Hoosiers", the players and fans stand up for Mangini and it builds toward something greater.

I play, Coach stays. He goes, I go! - Jimmy Chitwood (Hoosiers)
 
An amazing end of the season to a utterly disappointing start. Hope & optimism are suddenly abound in Cleveland and our future looks promising once again!

This 4 game streak is our longest win streak since 1994, our first since our rebirth in '99. This is also the first time since 2004 that we've had a 100+ yard rusher in 3 consecutive games.

Our backs combined for 214 yards on Sunday (127 for Harrison). Our newly found gem, Jerome Harrison's 561 rushing yards over the final three weeks of the season were the second most since 1960. Also, and amazingly enough, during the final 3 weeks our QB's didn't throw over 100 yards! What we did to spark the streak was to resort back to vintage Cleveland Brown football by excelling in the run and playing stout defense. Jim Brown and Clay Matthews would be proud.

Since Week 12, this team has seemed to have turned the page. That was the week we lost to Detroit on a last second desperation heave in the end-zone. The following week, we lost to San Diego by 3 points. After that? Four straight wins to close out the season. The streak could've very easily have been 6 instead of 4.

It's clear, despite the adversity of major injuries and the distractions at the beginning of the year that something is finally syncing in. The guys on both sides of the ball are finally buying into the system. It would be a shame to not see Eric Mangini finish what we all see starting to take place. What he's done to turn around some of the worst football I've seen at the beginning of the season is nothing short of a miracle.

But alas, this is an inpatient business. While I'm sick and tired of regime changes and I think nothing effects a team more than coaching changes, I am confident in the hands of Mike Holmgren. I just hope he gets this right.

Here's to an exciting offseason and ELEVEN draft picks!

Go Browns!

Matt, you go up and down like a Yo-yo. You are going to shorten your life reacting like this.;)
 
Hey Skyhi, I'm going to wrap up the whole Braylon Edwards scoreboard thing for you:

Cleveland - No playoffs

Braylon Edwards - Playoffs

:D


Sandra
 
Hey Skyhi, I'm going to wrap up the whole Braylon Edwards scoreboard thing for you:

Cleveland - No playoffs

Braylon Edwards - Playoffs

:D


Sandra

Apples to oranges "senorita from Ohio" :)

Here's a better look at the impact...

Browns w/ Braylon: 0-4

Browns w/out Braylon: 5-7

PS, since you were off in paradise with your newly found love, I'll update you. Jim Caldwell and Marvin Lewis had more to do with the Jets making the playoffs than Braylon freaking Edwards. Harumph!!!
 
Apples to oranges "senorita from Ohio" :)

Here's a better look at the impact...

Browns w/ Braylon: 0-4

Browns w/out Braylon: 5-7

PS, since you were off in paradise with your newly found love, I'll update you. Jim Caldwell and Marvin Lewis had more to do with the Jets making the playoffs than Braylon freaking Edwards. Harumph!!!

:p

Newly found? I've been working on this guy for a long time! :D

But remember, they don't ask how, they only ask how many. And the how many is, for this year:

Cleveland - No Playoffs

Braylon Edwards - Playoffs

;)


Sandra
 

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