Edward Stefanyak's Cleveland Browns fan blog

1. The Steelers rarely embarrass themselves...in public, on the field, in front of the press. And, if a player or employee embarrasses the organization, someone shows them the door. The Browns embarrass themselves...often. Since 1964, we let Jim Brown get away, we showed Bernie Kosar the door, saw Art Model moved the Browns to Baltimore, have a coaching and upper management carousel, have Staph infections galore, and have poor play on the football field. (Add more embarrassing moments here.)

2. The Steelers hire good coaches, and those coaches hire good assistants. Yes, every coach makes some poor decisions, but for the most part...can you argue with Coach Noll and Coach Cowher? Both won a Super Bowl. As far as Mike Tomlin, give him some time. The Browns never even made it to a Super Bowl, let alone win one. (Find a shooting star, and make a wish.)

Continue reading "Cleveland Browns: Why I Hate the Steelers..."

W 29-27. I want to feel good about this win, but I don't. I have mixed feelings.

The Good: Brady Quinn didn't have a great game, but he's learning on the job. Not every win will be pretty. However, the offense did what it needed to do...just to get the win. I like seeing more of Jerome Harrison in the backfield. Every now and then, we need a change of pace. That's why Harrison and Cribbs need to be involved more on offense. Same ole, same old makes the Browns too predictable. Fans get tired of RUN, RUN, Incomplete PASS, and PUNT. Hey Chud, keep the defense guessing!

The Bad: Once again, we blew a 13 point lead. Our tackling is pathetic. What happened to Andra Davis? Yes, he made an interception, but overall, he struggled. The DBs forgot how to tackle. At times, we look afraid to tackle. Is it the defensive scheme? Or, do our LBs and DBs just stink? Is it the defensive game plan? Or, are our LBs and DBs just that slow? ESPN analyst, Jaws, said that the Browns blitz 50% of the time on passing downs. He's a great analyst, and I know that he watches a lot of tape. Unfortunately, from my point of view, it seems like we never blitz, and when we do blitz, everyone knows. We don't hide it very well, or we don't execute very well. Anyway you look at it, that was a pathetic defensive showing against the Bills. What will Steve Slaton do against us this coming Sunday?

Continue reading "Cleveland Browns: Almost Blowing Another One...This Time Against the Bills"

I'm sitting here, watching the Browns Red Zone and the word, "Quit" is the early topic. According to DL, Shaun Smith, no one is quitting. In the locker room, guys are still loose and joking around. The comments that were made by Josh Cribbs and Jamal Lewis were corrected or revamped. However, all is not well. Shaun Smith openly said on the show that their are some things that he cannot talk about. Needless to say, we know that one comment still hurts the locker room. The Browns have some DIVAS. When Jamal Lewis said that some of our players need to leave their egos at the door, he was right. Jamal has a SB ring; he knows what it takes to compete at a high level, he knows what it takes to win, and he knows what it takes to get through some rough times. Nonetheless, the players should follow his example on the field.

Continue reading "Cleveland Browns: To Quit or Not to Quit"

Once again, we blew a lead, and this time we lost to the Broncos 34-30.

The Positives: Brady Quinn looked good, and right now it looks like we have a QB. I was impressed with his play. For those of you who didn't watch the game, it wasn't BQ's fault for the loss. K2 made some crucial errors in the second half after having an amazing first half. Anyway, BQ spread the ball around, committed no turnovers, and avoided pressure to make plays. Another positive is that our offense put up some points, all three RBs were productive in some way, shape, or form, and Josh Cribbs gave us nice field position with just about every return. Even with Steinback and Tucker out, our "O" line opened some holes and did a good job pass blocking.

The Truth: We played against a weak team, the Broncos. Due to injuries, their defense is weak and they have no running game. Now, the Browns have a week and a half to prepare for the Bills. Next Monday night, we travel to Buffalo. Then we could see BQ against a tough team, one that has a stingy defense.

Continue reading "Cleveland Browns: Broncos Come Back to Win"

Many of us prayed for help after this game. We blew a 14 point lead. Yes, we were winning 27-13 with about 6 minutes to go, and we blew the lead. It was awful, just awful. And truthfully, DA wasn't that bad in the first half. But, with about 6 minutes to go in the 3rd, DA was ineffective, Braylon forgot how to catch a ball, and our defense broke down. We needed AAA, and it came today.

Many fans were calling for DA's head, and their cries were heard. The Browns will start Brady Quinn this Thursday in Cleveland against the Broncos. Thank God, Elway is no longer the QB. Yes, I remember those years: The Drive, The Fumble, and The Blowout. ESPN Classic likes to play 2 out of the 3 games at least once a year, and it's still painful to watch. Nevertheless, this is a different Bronco team, one that doesn't play defense. Furthermore, they don't have a healthy RB, unless you are counting on one of their young RBs, Ryan Torain. I'm not sure if Selvin Young is even healthy enough to play. Needless to say, this should be another instant classic. (Add your own joke here.)

Continue reading "Cleveland Browns: A Raven Sweep"

Well, I was pretty excited to hear that the Raven secondary is banged up, thinking that the Browns' offense would have a field day. And why not--we're at home!

Then, I saw our injury report. Ryan Tucker is out for the year. Vickers and Stallworth are out for this game. What? Stallworth out again? Yes. Furthermore, Jurevicious is also out for the year. It's time for Steptoe to step up. (No pun intended.)

What does this mean? Well, there are no excuses. We have a chance to even up our record with a win. Like every game, our success rests on the shoulders of our "O" and "D" lines. Remember our last game against the Ravens--we were in control of that game the entire first half. Then, it happened. DA made some bad throws, we forgot how to catch a football, and our offense couldn't move the ball. We lost 28-10 after leading 10-7 at half. But, this is a new game. Let's make some history.

Continue reading "Cleveland Browns: Let's Grill the Ravens...I heard it tastes like chicken."

Nice. A victory.

Say what you want, but I think that the Jaguars are a quality opponent. Like many good teams in the NFL this year, the Jaguars have a mediocre record. Many good teams are 3-4, 3-5, or 4-3. Obviously, many teams are struggling, not just the Browns. Browns' fans just need to take things one game at a time. If you're not happy with that, focus on your fantasy team. Then, you could mold your own dynasty. Consequently, you will only have yourself to blame when things go bad.

Inconsistencies: Once again, inconsistencies on both sides of the ball make the game interesting. It wasn't the penalties this time, but the play calling, the difficulties of scoring TDs in the red zone, and the lack of QB pressure. It all hurts, and at times, it's painful to watch. Nevertheless, I watched every minute. Afterwards, it's entertaining to tune in to Bruce Drennan on STO, especially after losses.

Continue reading "Cleveland Browns: A much-needed win vs. the Jags"

Wow. No one looks good after this "misunderstanding." I guess it depends on what side you take--Kellen Winslow or the Cleveland Browns.

On one hand, the Browns organization told K2 to be quiet. Don't tell anyone about the staff infection. According to Romeo Crennel, the organization didn't even notify the rest of the team. That looks awful, especially since other players in recent years have acquired this same infection. Really, what's going on here? According to RC, the organization has taken several steps to avoid the problem of staff infections. Really?

Now, on the other hand, it seems like K2 ran to the media. According to some of the sports writers in Cleveland, K2 is a tough guy to find/interview. However, in this case, K2 couldn't wait to say his piece. Maybe he should have kept it in house...maybe he could have worded things differently. I don't know, but it's definately a distraction. Shouldn't we be focusing on the Jaguars?

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Feeling pretty good about our Monday night win against the Giants, I felt like we could compete against the Redskins. And then I woke up.

The Offense: Ryan Tucker didn't play, some of the offense didn't show up, and we couldn't move the ball. At one point, I think DA was 3-21 passing. At half time, Portis had more yards than the entire Browns' offense. It was pathetic. From a football stand point, the game was tough to watch, unless you like to watch the punters. Furthermore, DA couldn't throw the ball into an ocean. And when DA was somewhat accurate, Braylon Edwards forgot how to catch a ball. The inconsistencies reminded me of Pop Warner football or poorly-coached high school football.

The Defense: It's tough to bash the defense because it's difficult to be competitive when you're on the field most of the game. Eventually, fatigue sets in. Call it what you want...fatigue, disappointment because the offense doesn't move or hold on to the ball, losing confidence in the game plan, other players, or coaches...it all sucks. When the ship is sailing smoothly, everyone is happy. However, when rough water hinders our goal, some of us quit. Some players fail to shed off blocks, others tackle too high, and some look overmatched. I'm tired of the excuses. Excuses are like butt holes. Everyone has them, and they both stink. We were lucky to only lose 14-11.

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Okay, it's Thursday, and Kellen Winslow still has not practiced. This worries me. Furthermore, it's an undisclosed injury, one that Kellen doesn't want people to know about, leading me to believe that it's affecting the private parts. Some believe that he still might play against the Redskins.

Speaking of the Cleveland TEs, they have been getting a lot of praise. Yes, I'm talking about Steve Heiden and Darnell Dinkins. Hopefully, the Redskins will forget about our TEs, just like the Giants did. Needless to say, I'm not banking on it. If you're looking for a TE for your FF team this week, why not pick up Heiden?

Speaking of FF, is it time to play D.A.? I hope so. I'm hoping that the whole offense starts to pick up. For that to happen, we need Ryan Tucker to play. Unfortunately, Tucker didn't practice on Wednesday because of a knee injury. Kevin Shaffer could step in, but his practice time is limited due to a concussion. Also, Sean Jones's practice time is limited. If you didn't know, he is recooping from knee surgery.

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