Eh, not exactly, but a nice win nonetheless. The ups and downs were both on display.
This win is being described in headlines as a big comeback victory, but that inaccurately implies the Raiders were really taking it to the Browns early on. That is only partially true. The Raiders came out much more aggressive and hitting harder. It looked like the Browns weren't going to match the intensity of the game, and as a result the Raiders got some good plays / fortunate breaks. Also, the offense was out of sync too and it looked to me like Frye had a hard time getting going. But as bad as it got, there wasn't a sense of panic. You didn't see players showing a lot of frustration. And even me, a currently cynical fan, was only partially disgusted. Because the Browns are a better team, and there was a lot of time to play.
Midway through the second quarter things got on track and settled down. The Browns offense moved the ball consistently, if not always fantastically. The defense more of less controlled the game, even after Leigh Bodden left with an ankle injury. And the Browns came back and had made it a game with relative ease.
Later on the Browns had to make the kin og big plays that win games -- tough first downs, nice gains on first and second down, the timely sack, controlling the line of scrimmage. The Browns were better in all these areas in the second half, and that's why they won.
Thoughts:
- The best part of this performance was the solid play by the offensive and defensive lines.
- The o-line didn't dominate, but caused a lot of movement. Sometimes Droughns had nowhere to run. Sometimes he had sizable holes. Much of the time Oakland defenders were coming aggressively but not squarely. And that's where Droughns picked up a lot of yards and turned short gains into decent 4-5 pick-ups.
- The d-line on the other hand was very active. Washington filled up space. And Roye and McKinley both made more plays that you'd expect a 3-4 lineman to make. That's partly a result of a less-than-stellar Raiders o-line, but it's nice to see the Browns dominate lesser competition.
- Andrew Walter didn't play poorly. But he was dead once the Browns settled down. Overall, however, he looked a little better than your typical "making-his-first-start" guy.
- Droughns did not have a great game. But don't discount his ability to get a few yards even when running in heavy traffic. That is huge. And he wore down the defense too, something we haven't seem much of in the last six years.
- Winslow was, somewhat suprisingly, not a major force. But he made a difference and damn does he look good when he catches a little out pattern and run through or around two guys to pick up a first down. Got a TD too. I think he is the #1 fantasy TE in just about any scoring format right now. If he keeps this up, he could be looking at a Pro-Bowl season.
- Braylon seemed like he lost focus occasionally. This looks like it's just going to be the way he is. Still a playmaker though.
- It was flat-out great to see Jurevicius make an impact. The TD catch was great, as was another nice out pattern for a first down. He holds the promise of really defining the look of this offense and, when he's played, he's looking like the perfect type of WR for Frye -- a guy he runs good routes and had good hands, and is gonna be open when Frye has to move in the pocket.
- Harrison doesn't look nearly as good in regular-season speed. He had a nice catch+run, but on the ground he seemed overwhelmed. Hopefully that will change with more experience. For now it's pretty obvious why Jason Wright would start over him whenever Droughns is unavailable.
- Props to Ralph Brown. He didn't get beat even once that I can recall.
- Props to Darren (Devon?) Holly too.
- Sean Jones is looking really good. He might not be in the class of some of the best NFL safeties, but he shows the promise to get into the discussion one day. He really seems to be playing confidently and aggressively.
- Cribbs had two big kickoff returns. The guy has really blossomed as a kick returner, which is a much different role than that of punt returner.
- The punt return by Northcutt was the most impressive. I'm sure he's bummed he got tackled by the kicker but I think he took it as far as he could.
- That end zone pick by Frye was horrible, obviously. I'd rail on him but it was clear Frye knew it too, immediately. I don't think we'll see that happen again.
- The Raiders picked up a lot of yards on the ground, but most came on two long runs. In the second half, there was nowhere to go. That's probably the difference in the game because it wasn't like Walter was going to carry them.
- Randy Moss might as well be in Siberia.
- Bodden's status is unclear now. That would be a killer blow but at least Holly and Brown seem to be more comfortable now. We are going to learn a lot about Antonio Perkins I think.
- Don't look now, but Charlie Frye is a top 10, if not top 5, fantasy QB so far thanks to 3 running TDs and now 3 TDs in this game. I wouldn't count on it keeping up, but he's now a pretty good start when you need a bye-week replacement or feel like taking a gamble.
- Mosre fantasy -- It looks like Edwards' good statistical start might suffer with Jurevicius back. That's a good thing for the Browns, at least. Droughns has been dissappointing with few yards and no TDs. I think that will continue, though he'll be better than in the first month. The Browns are just not going to rack up big rushing numbers because defenses will key on it every week.
The verdict to me? The Browns pay a price by not coming out and establishing their tempo. They've struggled with that in each of the first four games. But the last two weeks they got it going in the second quarter, and this time it carried them to a win. That's nice, but it still suggests we've got a ways to go. Certainly the Browns will have to put together 4 decent quarters of football to beat Carolina (which is, by the way, a winnable game if they generate a pass rush). We'll see. By winning this game the Browns kept some momentum going and still have a shot at making this a productive season. For this week, you have to be happy with that. A good performance vs. the Panthers, even in a loss, would be even more significant.
Also, the Browns left points on the field. That's either a cause for concern or a promise that better things are to come. I think it's generally promising, though disconcerting.
NFL notes:
- I'm not suprised by the Bears, not much anyway. We knew they had some decent offensive players, and now Grossman is giving them a decent QB threat. With that defense, the offense's job is pretty easy (see Kyle Ortion '05). And have ou seen that schedule? They should win all their games in the second month too.
- I like Steve McNair. He's the difference for the Ravens this year. But that said, man the Ravens look like crap on offense. They ought to be 2-2 at this point. These early season wins mean a lot too, so they have to be feeling very fortunate and liking their playoff chances now. But that running game looks terrible, and the passing game has been downright lucky to have not turned the ball over about 5 times these past two weeks.
- I like the Rams. They are going to be on the roller coaster, but they do have a decent defense that could grow into a very solid unit. We'll see. But on offense they will be formidable as long as they get the right mix of passing vs. Steven Jackson.
- The Dolphins, predictably, suck. This was not hard to see coming, despite the fact that every major sportswriter has been lavishing praise on Nick Saban. God knows why.
- Carolina, next week's opponent, is finding it's way, and Steve Smith and Jake Delhomme are coming around. What looks most dangerous to me is the ground game with Foster and Williams, both of which could be killer.
- Marques Colston, the guy I commented as being unknown a month ago, looks utterly fantstic. He's big, reasonably fast, and has great hands. He's not a great route-runner yet but he's still able to get open consistently. Guy looks like he could be a real star. I shouldn't bother making the comparison, but he kind of reminds me of TO in his early days.
- I still like the Chargers despite the loss in Baltimore. Phillip Rivers, while he didn't have a good game, seems like a solid QB to me. And the Chargers will be in the mix down the stretch.
- Peter King describes the Bengals inactivatng Chris Henry as, "a warning shot fired across Marvin Lewis' bow." Huh? It could also be accurately described as, "something Marvin Lewis should get used to doing."