Just as it’s nice to hang on to the afterglow of a victory, it’s tough to let go of a loss. The anticlimax is especially pronounced for an Opening Day home game that resulted in such lackluster play. While the last thing we need is another full-fledged autopsy of last Sunday’s corpse, here are a few stray strands of thought that still leave me fit to be tied.
Kevin Shaffer’s holding penalty did not cost us a touchdown. Let’s make this clear. The left tackle got beat on the play. He held to protect his quarterback. Without that hold, Frye does not get that ball downfield to Braylon. So you can blame Shaffer for not withstanding the pass rush, but it is absolutely vital — for this edition of the Browns especially — that the quarterback survive to run another play.
Each of the other three penalties was more costly than Shaffer’s:
- D’Qwell being downfield early on punt coverage netted 40 yards of difference in field position and, more importantly, muted a momentum-changing, gang-tackling negative return for Reggie Bush.
- Cosey Coleman’s hold on the fourth-down conversion to JJ directly caused a change of possession because the Browns were then forced to punt.
- Northcutt’s hold downfield spoiled the Browns’ longest run of the day. After this 19-yard Droughns carry was negated in the third quarter, the Browns called exactly one running play the rest of the game.
With just over ten minutes left in the game and the Saints up by two, the officials ruled that Joe Horn completed a 20-yard catch for a first down at the Browns’ 40. I wish I had a replay, but as I recall, it was a twisting, one-armed effort that appeared to hit the turf. Granted, the Browns had already burned a timeout, but this was certainly a more than worthy challenge. Keeping the ball at the NO 40 rather than the Browns 40 is a huge swing in field position at that point in the game. Plus, even if the play were upheld, the Browns’ defense would have had the benefit of resting and regrouping during the timeout. Instead, the play turned out to be the longest gain in an 11-play drive that ended in a field goal, requiring the Browns to score a late touchdown, rather than field goal, to rally to victory. The two early pitchouts to Vickers were baffling, but this (in)decision drove me nuts.
There have been some pretty forgettable players named Brown to suit up in brown and orange since The Return — Bobby, Dee, James, and of course Lomas, Orlando, and Courtney, but this Ralph fellow? He makes me want to … well … it’s too easy. Just Lord help us. Anyone else want to underestimate the importance of Daylon McCutcheon?
Just how much of a deflating downer was this game? Two facts. Neither team gained more than 20 yards on any offensive play. Both of the Browns’ two-minute drives ended in turnovers. Enough said.
