Dave Nestoff's Cleveland Browns fan blog

Romeo?

Whether it's ridiculously poor clock management, odd non-gambles on fourth down or shifting the blame where it doesn't belong, coach Crennel has made a mess out of the beginning of this season. Who would've thought that by week 3, the hot seat would have been hotter than it was before last season, Crennel's third as coach of the Browns.

If nothing more, the first three weeks have shown the surprise in Cleveland's breakthrough in 2007 was bigger than the breakthrough itself. But there's no more riding the coattails of that it.

Comeback routes?

The passing game looks absolutely oblivious, as well as success-proof. It's a shame the blame is being shifted to the quarterback. Derek Anderson, when given the time to throw, and the opportunity to throw deep, has looked good. Injuries, Braylon Edwards and weak play-calling from the vaunted 'Chud' have not shed the light very well on D.A.'s cannon arm and improved accuracy. Sure, everybody likes the slant route, but it's not always going to work if the defense is looking for it, and/or the receivers are scared to go over the middle. A little better usage of the comeback routes would definitely prove a way to get some more first downs, as well as give our faster receivers chances to make plays.

Continue reading "Wherefore art thou..."

Well, kids, what did we learn today?

1. I learned that defensive lineman can be called for holding!

2. I learned that playing against Brandon McDonald is like a slap in the face!

3. I learned that even if you try really, reallllly hard, three points isn't equal to seven!

Of course, week 1 leaves us with some questions. But it also answered some. Here's what we can really learn from 48 minutes of sometimes sloppy, sometimes sleek play against the Dallas Cowboys.

America's Team has the best offense in the National Football League, maybe even before karma got back at Tom Brady for all the times his name SHOULDN'T have been on the Injury report. While the Browns defense certainly isn't anything to be envious of, the Cowboys pretty much had their way with them. The only thing the offensive line didn't do right was a couple of holding penalties. Felix Jones is certainly valuable, and Tony Romo has one of the best arms in the league. At the very least, Cleveland's D can take heart in the fact that only gave up 28 points to them despite not having some of our better players. And we made Romo's chin bleed. He's a big boy, he can (obviously) handle it.

Continue reading "If you're a giver-upper, feel free to give up now"

Looking at the Browns Web site, which I do when I want to find things to talk about regarding the Browns, the day's fan poll caught my eye.

The question was: What is Sunday's most important matchup?

Now to restrict the endless possibility of things, as well as put this into context, the question refers to this weekend's Browns-'Boys match-up.

Now two of the four possible choices left me feeling extremely uncomfortable. Needless to say, both occured on the defensive side of the ball (if you're a Browns fan)...

MLB Andre Davis vs. RB Marion Barber and CBs Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald vs. WRs Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton.

How's that for intimidating?

And would you believe that, of the 1700 voters who'd thrown in their two cents, 80% said it would be the cornerback/receiver matchup that would be most important.

Continue reading "Chilling"

What happened? I was at a fantasy draft, I missed the game. Oh. 0-4 huh?

Well, looking at the box, there's some good and some bad. For starters Brady Quinn looked a little more on track. I'd call 7 of 9 a pretty productive day, and the Bears first team defense is never a slouch (Urlacher, Briggs, Vasher and Tillman all played). And you know, complain as you will, Quinn actually held his own this preseason.

I can't understand where all the griping about Brady is coming in. He looks more ready than most quarterbacks who've never started a game. In the last three games of the preseason, he went 28 of 45 on his passing attempts, which my desktop calculator tells me is %62. Sure it's not Pro-Bowl caliber, but it's productive. And in weeks two and three, Quinn went for over 100 yards. IAll we should really ask is that he put the ball in the end zone a little more, but that shouldn't be much of a problem with a healthy Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow.

Continue reading "Cream of the Flop"