Week 4- Bengals @ Browns
Cleveland 23
Cincinnati 20
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
Cleveland FG: Phil Dawson 30 yards
Second Quarter
Cleveland TD: Seneca Wallace pass to Evan Moore for 24 yards
Cincinnati FG: Mike Nugent 24 yards
Cincinnati TD: Carson Palmer pass to Terrell Owens for 78 yards
Cleveland FG: Phil Dawson 31 yards
Third Quarter
Cleveland TD: Peyton Hillis rushed for 1 yard
Cleveland FG: Phil Dawson 22 yards
Cincinnati FG: Mike Nugent 25 yards
Forth Quarter
Cincinnati TD: Carson Palmer passed to Brian Leonard for 3 yards.
Important Stats
Seneca Wallace 18-30, 184, 1 TD, 1 INT
Peyton Hillis 27 rushes, 102 yards, 1 TD
Matt Roth 5 tackles, 2 sacks
Joe Haden and TJ Ward 6 tackles each
Decisive Play: Matt Roth sacked Carson Palmer on 3rd down with about 5 minutes remaining in the game forcing a Cincinnati punt.
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The most important thing is that the Browns beat the Bengals. That's what the NFL is all about. Just win the damn game.
The offense played well yesterday and the play calling wasn't bad either. It certainly wasn't an offensive juggernaut, but the offense was effective and largely avoided three and outs.
Seneca Wallace has been solid as a starting quarterback and yesterday was no exception. He didn't put up amazing numbers*. He didn't even complete a pass following the first drive of the second half. What he did do was not lose the game and provided enough of a passing threat to make the offense effective. That is something Brady Quinn never did. Derek Anderson couldn't do that either**.
Peyton Hillis continues to beast. Can you believe we got this guy for Brady Quinn?
Suck on that, Broncos.
The Browns lack any threat from the receiver position. Massaquoi has been a non-factor since week one. As much as everyone wishes it wasn't true, Josh Cribbs is not that great of a receiver. He is a vertical threat, but still has a lot of development to go if he wants to be considered a true number one receiving option. A bright spot was Stuckey. He caught balls and gained yards after the catch. I'd like to say this position is offseason priority numero uno, but man... the front seven still needs some help.
The defense looked alright yesterday. They did manage to get a lot of stops and came up big late. The corners***(mostly Eric Wright****) didn't look great and got torched by T.O. The biggest thing yesterday was the ability to pressure Palmer. I have said and will continue to say that is the most important thing in the NFL. Pressuring the QB is probably the single best way to make your defense look good.
I want to address the hit TJ Ward gave Jordan Shipley in the Endzone. A lot of people are making it seem like TJ Ward is cheap player for that hit. I disagree. It was a penalty and I don't dispute that. He probably deserves to fined too. The thing is, that was a critical play and he wanted to make sure the receiver won't catch it, so he made sure to rock Shipley. He wasn't aiming for the head and frankly Shipley lowered his head prior to the hit. Another thing I think people miss is that in the NFL, the players are similar in height, so on occasion there will be helmet to helmet or shoulder pad to helmet contact and the defensive player isn't trying to do anything malicious; it is just a product of the game.
Browns Win! Browns Win! Browns Win!
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Checking my preseason prediction
Week 1- @Tampa Bay W Actual Result: L
Week 2- Kansas City W Actual Result: L
Week 3- @Baltimore L Actual Result: L
Week 4- Cincinnati L Actual Result: W
Week 5- Atlanta L
Week 6- @ Pittsburgh W*
Week 7- @New Orleans L
Week 8- Bye
Week 9- New England L
Week 10- NY Jets L
Week 11- @Jacksonville W
Week 12- Carolina W
Week 13- @Miami W
Week 14- @Buffalo W
Week 15- @Cincinnati L
Week 16- Baltimore L
Week 17- Pittsburgh L
Overall Record: 7-9*(1-5)* Current Record: 1-3
*Under the assumption that Roethlisberger will actually have serve his entire suspension.
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I know I promised new parts to this post last week, but well I'm backing off of that. I don't know what to think of a lot of what is going on in the NFL this season, so I'm going to wait a few more weeks and hopefully I'll have some clarity.
Thanks for reading and please comment.
-Michael
*They may seem amazing compared to some of the number Quinn put up last year.
**Most of the time
***I'm not counting Joe Haden. I hope he gets the start next week over Wright
****By mostly, I mean almost entirely. Sheldon Brown got beat on the big play, but Eric Wright had a ton of Fails again this week.
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