Well. Alright. We knew coming into the game that the Browns would have to be nearly perfect and Andy Dalton would have to revert to his “Primetime Dalton” form. Unfortunately neither of those things happened and the Browns got beat like a drum while Andy Dalton played very well. The writing was on the wall and like the idiot I am, I talked myself into thinking the Browns could pull off a win (I’ll do this every game, mind you)… Short week after getting embarrassed by the Cardinals in the second half on Sunday, Johnny Manziel under center, not much time to prepare, playing an undefeated Bengals team on the road, injuries, etc etc. Thursday night games favor the team that’s better and the Bengals are just a better football team than the Browns.
Hope you took Cincinnati in your survivor pool.
Let’s look at the game tape.
Jim Brown gave us a little history about our once proud franchise
Johnny showing love to our servicemen before the game
Joel Bitonio might want to fast forward this one when the o-line is in the film room. Woof.
Vontaze Burfict proved he’s a mega tough guy when he took out a camera
Randy Starks made the best play he’s made as a Brown so far… but then got called for taunting. He also jumped offsides on a crucial 4th down that led to a Bengals touchdown. Not the best series (game/season) for Mr. Starks.
Flushed out of the pocket. Runs right. Throws lasers for 6. Impressive 92 yard scoring drive from Johnny before the first half ended.
And he mixed some LeBron + Cristiano Ronaldo to create the hottest celebration we’ve seen a Cleveland athlete do in some time
And Tony Grossi was wrong per usual
Tha half ended and the Browns went into the locker room trailing 14-10. Not a bad first half for the Browns offense and not a terrible effort from the Browns defense. That’s it, right? The game is over? We’ll just pretend the second half didn’t happen and pretend like second half adjustments don’t exist and coaches don’t have to make them. Yeah, let’s do that.
Hey Leon Hall, you just got ran over by a Mack truck
Prime example why Joe Thomas is the best. Even his opponents respect the hell out of him enough to seek him out and say “sorry”
Nice to see Dwayne Bowe awake on the sidelines
The wide receivers… they showed up.
Tramon Williams bit HARD on a double move by a tight end. Knew this was a TD right when Dalton was mid pump fake.
https://twitter.com/TheCauldron/status/662478264011776000
The Bengals ran a reverse. Pretty sure most of us non-NFLers learned how to defend this play in high school but I digress.
Second half Browns highlights!!
Couple quick thoughts
- The decision/inability to not get Duke Johnson involved in the past 2 second halves is absolutely mind boggling.
- The Browns attempted one run with a running back in the second half. Nice. That’s the recipe for your young quarterback to succeed.
- Danny Shelton? He showed up again.
- I never want to see Armonty Bryant cover a team’s starting wide receiver for as long as I live.
- Do the Browns have a soft defense? Through 9 games I can count on one hand how many hard hits they’ve had. There’s not one player in our front 7 who an opposing team would look at and think “we’ve gotta run away from that guy.”
- Really concerning when the Browns offensive line gives up a sack to a three man rush
- Jim O’Neil doesn’t deserve to have this job.
- Dwayne Bowe sighting! Don’t let Dwayne Bowe get hot! If you had “Week 9” in your “When will Dwayne Bowe catch his first pass with the Browns,” you win.
- Hey wide receivers, CATCH THE FUCKING BALL
- Also, receivers over 5’11 would be so cool right now
- I think too much is being made about Mike Pettine’s comments before halftime. Obviously he’s not sabotaging his quarterback on purpose by forcing him to play in the pocket. But c’mon, Mike. Turn the kid loose a little more. If you want to win, let Johnny spin.
- With his job on the line, Mike Pettine has been leery to hand the keys to the franchise over to Johnny Manziel… unfortunately for Mike Pettine, Johnny Manziel may be the only one who can keep Pett’s job.
I’ll let Marshall Faulk play us out
https://twitter.com/Bottlegate/status/662486211404111872/video/1
Bottlegate 