Cleveland Browns (2008 Season)

[osugrad21]

Canton

Browns inside the game
Monday, September 15, 2008
BY STEVE DOERSCHUK AND TODD PORTER
STEVE.DOERSCHUK@CANTONREPCOM
TODD [email protected]

THEY LOST IT HERE

The Browns came away with another Romeo Crennel moral victory, but not one that counts in the standings. With 3:21 to play, Crennel sent kicker Phil Dawson on the field for a 38-yard field goal. Dawson nailed it. But it did no good. Cleveland still trailed 10-6 and would need a touchdown, not to mention a defensive stop to make the field goal call work. Let's do the math in our heads here. Seven yards for a first down and a new set of downs to score a TD, or a meaningless field goal, switch possessions and keep your fingers crossed there's still time on the clock and field position in your favor. Huh? Crennel kicked a field goal against Dallas last week, too. It meant as much as Sunday night's kick did.

THEY said it

"There's nothing wrong with it. We've played two pretty damned good teams in the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys."

QB Derek Anderson on what's wrong with an offense that was one of the most prolific in the league last season scoring just one TD in eight quarters

"We screwed it up."

Head Coach Romeo Crennel on the turnovers, penalties and botched plays the Browns made

PLAYER OF THE GAME

This was a tough call between Ben Roethlisberger and Fast Willie Parker. But Parker's running at the end of the game sealed the win and did not allow the Cleveland offense back on the field. Parker ran the ball 28 times for 105 yards. He hit seams at crucial points in the game for the Steelers.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

The X-factor in Sunday's Browns game
Monday, September 15, 2008
BY STEVE DOERSCHUK

A hidden factor in Sunday night's game:

BACKGROUND Pittsburgh is supposed to be loaded with weapons, giving Ben Roethlisberger the option to spread the ball around on the run and the pass. The Steelers even spent a Round 1 pick on an extra running back, Rashard Mendenhall.

THE TWIST Three of the Steelers accounted for 38 of their 43 touches on offense. Willie Parker ran 28 times for 105 yards, with Mendenhall not getting a single carry. Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward combined for 10 of Roethlisberger's 12 completions. Efficiency among a few men was the rule of the day.
Cont...

 

[paddio]

Wow...I don't think I could have had a worse football weekend. The Buckeyes get smoked by USC and then the Browns lose a tough fought game to the Steelers. I really thought this was a must win for the Browns and to lose the way we did just sucks big time.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Steelers 10 Browns 6
Failed strategy
Crennel's late-half decisions hurt Browns in loss
Monday, September 15, 2008 3:10 AM
By Aaron Portzline


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

David Richard | Associated Press
Browns running back Jamal Lewis runs into a wall of Steelers defenders, including James Farrior, center, and Larry Foote.



CLEVELAND -- The swirling wind and rain in Cleveland Browns Stadium last night was strong enough to blow yard markers onto the field and full cups of beer out of patrons' hands.
But the elements would have a hard time washing away the stench of an 0-2 start to the season for the Browns.
A 10-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, fueled by two curious decisions by Browns coach Romeo Crennel, puts Cleveland in a very difficult spot only two weeks into the season.
"We've played two pretty damn good teams," quarterback Derek Anderson snapped. "There's nothing wrong with us. Nothing different from last year."
But this is the year the Browns were supposed to not only make the playoffs but challenge the Steelers in the AFC North.

Continued.....

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

Wow...I don't think I could have had a worse football weekend. The Buckeyes get smoked by USC and then the Browns lose a tough fought game to the Steelers. I really thought this was a must win for the Browns and to lose the way we did just sucks big time.

I can top this...
My high school (Hoban) lost to its Archrival (St V-M)
My local high school in Jersey lost to an archrival
Akron U got peeled
Rutgers sucked a big one
then throw in these two...
and I had a whale of a football weekend

 

[Crashcup]

Lord have mercy. Will it ever end?

 

[LitlBuck]

Roberto Smith Achilles injury

Cleveland.com


Cleveland Browns DE Smith has Achilles injury
by Mary Kay Cabot
Monday September 15, 2008, 12:32 PM

Browns defensive end Robaire Smith suffered an injury to his left Achilles in Sunday night's 10-6 loss to PIttsburgh and could be out an extended period of time.

Coach Romeo Crennel did not know the severity of the injury during his noon press conference today. Smith will undergo further exams. If it's ruptured, he'll undergo surgery and miss the rest of the season.

It would be a huge blow to the Browns, who have already lost LB Antwan Peek and DB Davin Holly for the season with knee injuries.

I will only anticipate the worst and expect it will be a torn:( Achilles and he will be out for the year. Hopefully, Shuan Smith will be able to pick it up for him and play some good DE the rest of the year. Problem is he does not like playing that position because that's what he played when he was at Cincinnati and that's one of the reasons he came to Cleveland.

 

[paddio]

Dam that really sicks if Robaire is out for the year. I like S Smith, but it really cuts into our depth

 

[Buckeneye]

I didn't agree with the call for the FG in the 4th, but that 4th and 1 in punt in the 3rd after Jamal started finding running room was dumb. We were gaining some momentum and I thought we very well could have picked it up.

 

[NFBuck]

Welcome back to reality.

 

[osugrad21]

DDN

Browns confident they'll overcome rough start

By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer
BEREA, Ohio ? The head coach is under attack for some questionable decisions and clock management. The star wide receiver has as many drops as catches. The high-powered offense has scored one touchdown in eight quarters. The defense just lost another starter to a serious injury.
Other than that, the Cleveland Browns are doing fine.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Robaire Smith ruptures Achilles', out for season

by Mary Kay Cabot Monday September 15, 2008, 8:33 PM


Mark Duncan/Associated PressRobaire Smith had five tackles in the first two games of this season before rupturing his left Achilles' tendon Sunday night against Pittsburgh.

The season of expectations is quickly devolving into a season of operations. As if losing to the Steelers, 10-6, Sunday night and dropping to 0-2 wasn't bad enough, the Browns lost starting defensive end Robaire Smith for the season with a ruptured left Achilles tendon, his agent, Mike Harrison, told The Plain Dealer on Monday night.
Harrison said team doctors informed him of the rupture after Smith underwent an MRI on Monday. A source said Smith probably will undergo surgery soon and be placed on injured reserve.
"That's tough [losing Smith]," said linebacker D'Qwell Jackson. "You can't replace Robaire Smith. He's an animal inside. He doesn't take a lot of crap from anybody on that field, whether it's practice or in the game. But this happens every year and you've got to be ready for it. Romeo preaches it all the time, 'backups, when you're called upon you've got to be ready to do your job.'"

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Browns Insider: Zastudil gave team a leg up with booming punts despite Sunday's gales

by Mary Kay Cabot Monday September 15, 2008, 8:15 PM


David I. Andersen/Plain Dealer file photoDave Zastudil had a career game in the blustery winds that buffeted both the Browns and Steelers at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Sunday night. "It was the best game I've ever had," he said.
It's usually not a good sign when the first player the coach mentions the next day in his post-game presser is the punter. But in this case, the punter really did deserve to be mentioned first.
Despite howling 60 mph winds and sheets of rain, Dave Zastudil booted the performance of a lifetime during a 10-6 loss to the Steelers.
Zastudil, a Bay Village native, had five punts for 265 yards for a 53.0 average and 52.8 net average, both career bests According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Zastudil's net average is a team record -- dating back to 1970 when opposing return yards were first recorded by the NFL.
Of his five punts, four were over 50 yards, including efforts of 59 and 58 yards.

"It was the best game I've ever had," said Zastudil, who struggled much of last season with a back injury. "It was very difficult. The wind was swirling, it was gusting at a lot times. You were just hoping to get out there when the wind was calming down a little bit."

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

With season at the brink, Crennel must stand tall

by Terry Pluto Monday September 15, 2008, 6:42 PM


The next two weeks are the most important of Romeo Crennel's coaching career.
If the Browns are to have any chance of making the playoffs, they have to win this week in Baltimore and the following week at Cincinnati. Yes, they are must games, a phrase some of the Browns coaches probably hated when Phil Savage attached it to what became Sunday's 10-6 loss to Pittsburgh.
The general manager didn't mean the season was over in Week 2 if they failed to beat Pittsburgh -- but until the Browns beat the Steelers at least once in a season, they probably will never make the playoffs. That's not putting extra pressure on the team, it's just stating the obvious.
The losing streak against Pittsburgh is now 10, Crennel is 0-7. And the Browns are 0-2.
Nothing good about any of that.

For the season finale in Pittsburgh on Dec. 28 to mean anything, they need to win the next two games. That's two conference games on the road which would make them 2-2 at the bye week -- and more importantly, 2-1 in the division.


If not ... let's not even think about it. Crennel has to rally his team. He needs to call them together and say (again if necessary) that there has been too much talk in Berea about injuries. He needs to remind some players who want new contracts that the team has had only one "decent" (his favorite word) season, and they have yet to make the playoffs. He has to stress the coaches will push the players to fill the holes of the missing starters -- and good teams don't fold when some players are hurt.
Yes, losing Donte Stallworth to a pulled quad muscle before the Dallas game was a setback. But Stallworth had nothing to do with the Browns' passive game plan on defense -- or Crennel's seemingly timid decision to go for a field goal rather than the end zone early in the fourth quarter when they were behind, 28-7.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Crennel defends kicking decision 'I wouldn't change.' Robaire Smith hurt
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008
BEREA: Browns fans are in an uproar over kicking or not kicking field goals, clock management, stupid penalties, the disappearance of the offense and coach Romeo Crennel's apparent inability to get a handle on it all.
Meanwhile, another starter was presumably lost for the season.
Crennel announced that defensive end Robaire Smith suffered an injury to his left Achilles tendon in Sunday night's 10-6 loss to the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers.
Crennel did not know whether Smith, a nine-year veteran, would need surgery or give an estimate of how long he would be out. But Crennel did acknowledge: ''For a big man an Achilles is a tough thing to deal with. We'll see how severe it is and make some decisions from there.''
In the court of public opinion, Crennel was getting roasted Monday for the way the Browns handled the end of the first half and the game's final 3:21.
At the end of the second quarter, Crennel skipped a field-goal try from the Steelers' 11 with eight seconds remaining, and quarterback Derek Anderson failed to throw the ball into the end zone. His pass for receiver Syndric Steptoe was intercepted by strong safety Troy Polamalu at the 3.
Cont...