Dawg Pound Daily » 2011 » October

Cleveland Browns Offense Continues to Be a Horror Show

Steve DiMatteo — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:34:49 +0000

You would be forgiven for thinking that the Cleveland Browns offense has been celebrating Halloween all season, as it remains a truly terrifying display week after week. After Sunday’s 20-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the disturbing trend of ineffective, bland offensive showings by the offense (in keeping with the tradition of previous seasons, which is a nightmare all its own), the Browns are in need of some major retooling.

After Sunday’s game, the Browns now sit with the 28th overall offense in the NFL, ahead of the likes of the Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, St. Louis Rams, and Jacksonville Jaguars. Two of those teams are starting rookie quarterbacks and, as of Sunday, the other two were without the quarterbacks who started their respective seasons.

Here are a few terrifying stats:

The Browns average 15.3 points per game (28th)
They average 92.4 rush yards per game (29th)
The passing stats are deceiving, as the Browns are constantly thrown into must-pass situations (i.e. being down at the end of a game). That being said, they average 218.1 yards per game. (20th)
All included, the Browns average 306 yards per game (25th)

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Defense Keeps Team in Game, but Browns Still Fall 20-10 to 49ers

Steve DiMatteo — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 05:05:46 +0000

The Cleveland Browns lost to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday to a score of 20-10, though it had the early potential to develop into a full-blown beatdown. The team once again has the defense to thank that it did not turn out that way, as it overcame an uncharacteristic poor first half to clamp down on the 49ers offense and give the Browns a chance to come back from a 17-0 deficit.

Colt McCoy and the offense struggled once again, failing to put together much of anything in terms of a drive until late in the fourth quarter. Watching every series has become an agonizing and predictable sequence for Browns fans, which certainly doesn’t help their play on the field. And this was a game that really exposed the conservative play calling. Despite the fact that the Browns were somehow 6-14 on third down, too often were the Browns throwing behind the line of scrimmage on third-and-short situations.

It’s understandable that the Browns’ receivers may not be able to get much separation, but the Browns are making it much harder on themselves than they need to. Opening up the playbook earlier than, say, late in the fourth quarter, will solve a lot of the maddening dink and dunk plays that we’ve become accustomed to.

It’s starting to feel like the same thing could be written about every single Browns game – that the defense played strong but the offense couldn’t overcome its own issues. At this rate, it doesn’t seem like that will change anytime soon.

Here are some more notes following the Browns’ loss in San Francisco:

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Defense Keeps Team in Game, but Browns Still Fall 20-10 to 49ers - Dawg Pound Daily - Dawg Pound Daily - A Cleveland Browns Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.

A Look at the San Francisco 49ers With Eric Melendez of Niner Noise

Steve DiMatteo — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:35:26 +0000

The Cleveland Browns face a tough task on the road this afternoon, as they go against the San Francisco 49ers without running back Peyton Hillis. Lucky for them, they have a dominating defense that should keep them in the game. Should that happen, Colt McCoy and the offense will need to step up and make a few big plays to pull off the upset.

To get a closer look at the match-up, we talked with Eric Melendez of Niner Noise.

1. How surprised are you really that the 49ers are 5-1?

The 49ers faithful are really surprised by the 5-1 start and we love seeing our team at the top of the NFC West. We knew Jim Harbaugh was going to be the coach that made the 49ers good again but we did not expect the turnaround to happen this season.

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A Look at the San Francisco 49ers With Eric Melendez of Niner Noise - Dawg Pound Daily - Dawg Pound Daily - A Cleveland Browns Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.