My thoughts on the game today.
The offense was terrible, obviously. And I mean everybody - Weeden, Richardson, Little, the line. And Owen Marecic might be the worst player in the NFL - dropped a crucial pass at the end of the first half, and didn't block anybody all game. The only player who looked like he belonged on an NFL offense was, believe it or not, Josh Gordon - the kid will be a stud someday.
Despite giving up a lot of yards, the defense played at a championship level today, and made Vick look almost as bad as Weeden. Lots of pressure, and Vick clearly could not handle it. The only time that the defense looked bad was at the end on the first half, when they went soft and gave up the late touchdown. I hate to waste such an outstanding performance on a loss.
L.J. Fort played a great game, especially for a rookie free agent, and he could have been an instant legend if he had held on to that would-be interception at the end of the game.
When your defense creates five turnovers and your opponent commits 12 penalties for 110 yards, you have to find a way to win the game.
Pat Shurmur is simply awful. He will not survive Jimmy Haslam.
Colt McCoy fans - give it up. We've seen what he can do - and more importantly what he can't do - and he is not the answer. If you want to win 4 to 6 games a year, then start Colt McCoy, because 6 wins is his ceiling. Weeden looked terrible today, but we don't know what his ceiling is. Give him a year to figure it out. Several great quarterbacks were crappy early in their careers - Troy Aikman (0-11 as a starter; 9 TD, 18 INT); Peyton Manning (3-13 with a league-leading 28 interceptions); Eli Manning (1-6 record as a starter, 6 TD, 9 INT); Drew Brees (reserve his first season, 10-17 record during next two seasons, with 28 TD, 31 INT); Aaron Rodgers (rode the bench for three seasons, 6-10 in first year as the starter); Terry Bradshaw (during his first two seasons, 8-13 record as a starter, 19 TD, 46 INT); Joe Namath (during his first two years, 8-11-3 record as a starter, 37 TD, 42 INT); even our own Bernie Kosar started slow (4-6 record as starter with 7 TD, 8 INT). Now I'm certainly not saying the Weeden will eventually morph into the next Manning or Aikman, but just remember that not every great quarterback had success early on. If Weeden hasn't shown marked improvement by the end of the season, then it will be time to move on - but NOT with Colt McCoy.
Worst custom jersey seen in the stands: "King James 23". That loser was never a Browns fan.
Best custom jersey seen in the stands: "Haslam $ (instead of a number)"
