Meh. 5/10. Zero excitement after watching that. Where was Ahmad? Where was the music and fire blowing out of the Q’s scoreboard? No bellowing “From Akron St. Vincent St. Mary High School?” No player handshakes? By far the only good part is hearing Kyrie, Kevin Love, and Lebron’s names in the same player intros together. The tone of this made it seem like it was 2010/2011 and the Cavs were losing 26 straight and trotting out Ryan Hollins, Antawn Jamison, Ramon Sessions, Alonzo Gee, and Anthony Parker onto the floor. Wow. That almost hurt to type.
See, Ahmad agrees:
@KingJames I'll give you a better intro on opening night than the NBA2K announcer LOL!! Graphics is pretty live though!
For the first time in 10 years, your Cleveland Browns are 1-0 at home. Can’t go 15-1 if you don’t go 1-1. No Josh Gordon, no Jordan Cameron, no Ben Tate, no Mingo, no problem. Hey, Rob Ryan your hair is stupid and your defense sucks. Who dat.
And some tailgating bros getting drunk on swans. Love these guys.
Pregame intros were on point
Miles Austin got the scoring started
On a few plays the Browns had 7 DBs on the field. 7. Hey Drew, say hello to Tashaun Gipson
Johnny Manziel came in and had 2 of the most exciting handoffs I’ve ever seen. His breathtaking incomplete pass to Ray Agnew was also a thing of beauty.
Browns unveil @JManziel2 package. He runs in. Hands it off. Runs out. And there was much rejoicing.
Helluva win for the Brownies. I don’t think I’ve ever seen FirstEnergy Stadium rocking like it was on Sunday. The defense stepped up when it had to and the offense did their job. While I was very critical of Hoyer throughout the game he definitely showed some stones on that last drive. Feels good. Ravens, you’re next.
Game balls: Brian Hoyer, Paul Kruger, Tashaun Gipson, Andrew Hawkins, Billy Cundiff
Both teams come into Sunday at 0-1 looking for their first win. The Saints have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations while the Browns are still trying to find their identity and not be last in the AFC North. New Orleans lost 37-34 at Atlanta in overtime and allowed Matt Ryan and the Falcons to pile up 568 yards of offense while Matty Ice threw for a career high 448 yards. The Browns are coming off a 30-27 loss to the Steelers which saw them down 27-3 at halftime, rally to tie the game 27-27 in the 4th quarter, only to lose 30-27 on a last second field goal.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
Which Browns team shows up?
Do the Browns come out and get behind big early? Or do they play like they did in the second half vs. Pittsburgh? If the Browns spot Drew Brees and the Saints 14+ points I don’t see any way they win this game or even make it competitive. It will be imperative to keep the game close and/or get out to an early lead.
Our rookie Running Back tandem
Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell impressed last weekend in their first NFL game with West gaining 100 yards and Tha Crow finding paydirt twice. I expect the Browns to lean heavily on the running game this week to milk the clock and keep the high flying Saints offense on the sidelines.
The Saints on the road
If this game was at the Super Dome the Saints win by at least 2 scores. In games on the road in September, Sean Payton and the Saints have a winning percentage of 43%. I don’t know why, but on an outdoor grass playing surface on the road the Saints are a completely different team.
Who the FUCK is going to guard Jimmy Graham?
Aside from the Patriots last year, no one in the NFL has figured out how to cover Jimmy Graham. Do you put a corner on him and sacrifice your coverage down the field? Or do you stick a linebacker or safety on him and just pray they keep up with him? Chris Kirksey was lauded for his coverage ability when the Browns drafted him in May, expect him to get most of the coverage duties. Considering everything Graham can do on the football field, I think he’s the best athlete in the NFL. Maybe Whitner can lay a big hit on him at the beginning of the game so he thinks twice about going over the middle.
Hopefully we see a lot of this out of Whitner
But we don’t end up seeing this
Will Travis Benjamin stop being soft on kickoff and punt returns?
In last week’s game Travis kinda looked like a giant baby out there returning punts. Fair catching when no one was around him and running out of bounds before he got a first down on a reverse. If he bitches out this week I hope Mike Pettine turns to Justin Gilbert and lets the rook get a chance to make a play.
What can we expect to see out of Swagger?
Expect Swagger to come out fired up while he makes his first appearance in front of the loudest and rowdiest crowd of the season. We’ll see how he handles the pressure. My guess is he passes with flying colors. The dude is unflappable.
Prediction: Browns 27 Saints 23. The game goes OVER 48 and the Browns cover the 7 point spread (It’s still early in the season so my optimism is still high. I doubt I actually pick the Browns to lose till around week 8 when we’re 1-7)
Bottlegate 