Browns Vs Raiders: Five Reasons For Optimism
The Cleveland Browns take on the Oakland Raiders in a 4PM game today. The Raiders are 0 – 6, have already fired their coach and have looked like the worst team in the NFL. The Browns are 3 – 3 coming off a terrible loss to the previously winless Jacksonville Jaguars.
Today’s game could get ugly, in a number of ways, but here are five reasons for optimism for Browns Vs Raiders:
Learned Their Lesson
The Browns went into Jacksonville with a mindset that they were just going to dominate the game. They got dominated. While they spoke all week about not taking the game for granted and taking the Jags serious, their actions showed they did not. Instead they looked like a team that just expected things to go right for them. As if they thought they could just flip a switch and dominate.
That didn’t happen but the young team has learned a lesson and shouldn’t take anything about this game for granted. In Browns Vs Raiders the team that wants it the most should be the Browns. That will go a long way to winning the game as they are also the more talented team. If the Browns learned their lesson last week, this week’s game should go just fine. I am optimistic that they did.
Raiders Rush Defense
The Oakland Raiders rush defense is terrible, 29th in the league. Last week the Browns struggled to get their run game going which in turn created problems for their passing game. While nothing can be taken for granted, the Browns should be able to run the ball today.
The coaching staff’s recent, and somewhat misguided, quotes about wanting one of the running backs to seize the featured role in the offense also should help. While it is tough for backs to get into a rhythm when they are constantly being yanked off the field, expect one of them to have an explosive day in trying to take the main job.
Raiders Rushing “Attack”
While the Raiders rush defense is bad, somehow their own running game is worse. As in worst in the league. While the Raiders employ Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew their name value doesn’t match-up with their on the field talent. Both have struggled with injuries throughout their careers and now hope to split carries to get the run game started.
The Browns are likely to try to stop the run early to force the Raiders to throw the ball with rookie QB Derek Carr. While Carr has shown signs that he could be the Raiders QB of the future he still has a ton of development needed. Expect the Browns defense to throw irregular blitzes and coverages Carr’s way to try to force the rookie into mistakes. They can do that because of the poor running game of the Raiders.
Raiders Late Night Fun
Twitter is often a place for pointless information, sometimes a place for interesting discussion and often a place we go to get to information we want. Last night, while watching the far to close Buckeyes win (J.J. Bosa/Joey Watt dominated that game huh?), this tweet came across my timeline:
Browns should be good tomorrow just saw a bunch of Raiders players out downtown
— Shane Kline-Ruminski (@Skr_TNBA) October 26, 2014
The accuracy of the tweet could be called into question, but I would rather just find it interesting and funny. If the Raiders were indeed out late, that tweet was sent around 9:30 PM, it would be interesting for a number of reasons. First it means they may not get the rest that they need after finding all the great places to have fun in Cleveland. Second it means they may not be taking this game, or their season, very seriously. Third it means their internal clocks are set on west coast time and even though this game isn’t until 4PM they could still have a ton of adjusting to do.
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Dawg Pound
This is a home game and this season has proven how valuable the Dawg Pound can be. While last week likely put a damper on things just a bit, expect to hear the Dawg Pound loud and lively for Browns Vs Raiders. The fans have had a big influence on opposing offenses in home games so far; forcing timeouts, penalties and mis-communication.
Today’s later start to the game will likely lead to fans having more fun before they get in the game. While that could get out of control it could also lead to very loud obnoxious fans. Cleveland has always had great fans but they haven’t always had the loudest. The combination of the team on the field and all of the things the Browns have done to engage the fans in the stands has really worked wonders. The Dawg Pound can be the Browns’ Best Friend today.
What reasons do you have to be optimistic today?