Displaced Cleveland Fan

These are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting.

In a much anticipated game that lived up to all the hype, the Indianapolis Colts beat the New England Patriots in the final seconds, 35-34. With the win, the Colts improve to 9-0 and are two games ahead of the next closest team in the AFC in the race for home field advantage in the playoffs.

It looked like the Patriots were going to hand the Colts their first loss of the season. Early in the 4th quarter they scored a touchdown to go up 31-14. Peyton Manning led the Colts back and cut the lead to six points after a touchdown with 2:23 remaining. The Patriots next possession defies all logic.

The Colts, by holding the Patriots offense and using their time outs, left New England with a 4th and 2 on the Colts’ 28 yard line with 2:08 to play. Common sense says you punt in this situation. Inexplicably, Patriots coach Bill Belichick decides to go for it. On the 4th down play, Tom Brady completed the pass, but his receiver was tackled just short of the first down line. This gave the Colts the ball inside the 30 yard line. It took Manning just four plays to get into the end zone, connecting with Reggie Wayne for the winning score with 13 seconds left.

For as much of a football genius Belichick is supposed to be, he sure made a bonehead call here that cost New England the game.
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Apparently, the list of things I wanted to see in the Browns’ final preseason game was vastly different than that of head coach Eric Mangini.

I wanted to see a clear starting QB emerge. Brett Ratliff got the start. Neither Brady Quinn nor Derek Anderson played.

I wanted to see a focused Braylon Edwards playing like a legitimate #1 WR. He too did not play.

I wanted to see a solid running game. The team’s leading rusher was Chris Jennings.

I wanted to see Shaun Rogers on the field. He wasn’t even in uniform.
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The Browns play their final preseason game tonight against Chicago. This will be the last game before the regular season kicks off against Minnesota on the 13th. So what would I like to see in this game?

One QB emerge as the clear starter. This QB battle has gone on way too long. Either Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson has to step up and prove they have the ability to lead this team. Right now, I believe Quinn is potentially the better QB. But he needs to remove all doubt and show everyone what he can do.
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After a surprising 2007 season in which the Browns finished 10-6 and narrowly missed the playoffs, many were expecting the team to build off of that. Some were predicting that Cleveland would be a serious threat in the playoffs. Even Browns fans had reason to be (cautiously) optimistic.

But a combination of poor coaching, poor front office management, poor on-field performance, and injuries resulted in an abysmal 2008 season.
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This season can not end soon enough.

I think the best course of action right now is for the Browns to forfeit their remaining 3 games, blow everything up, and just start over. There is nothing good that can come out of the last 3 games. Not after today.
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Can it get any worse for the Browns?

The Browns were playing host to the Houston Texans on Sunday. This is the Houston team that came in with a 3-7 record, 8 consecutive road losses, and had backup Sage Rosenfels starting at QB. Great chance to pick up a home win in the middle of an already disappointing season. And what do the Browns do? They play like the Michigan Wolverines.
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It has been reported that Brady Quinn has replaced Derek Anderson as the Browns’ starting QB. He will start Thursday against Denver.
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