It can’t be the Browns’ worst season if they beat Pittsburgh.
Three games remain before we can say where the 2009 Mangini weenies will rank alongside 1975, 1990, 1995, and the six teams winning five or fewer games in the latest decade. Could they still be the worst squad in the Browns’ long history?
Nah.
This win changed that.
We ran and stopped the run.
We made very few mistakes, in turnovers, sacks, blown coverages. Connecting with the wideouts was challenging, but the Browns never gave away the field position with a gaffe.
Josh Cribbs amply showed why he’s not only one of football’s best ever returners, but also one of the sports most exciting and likable players. We’ve known that for five years now, and in terms of the Browns pantheon, I put him right up there in the Dub Jones, Bobby Mitchell, Eric Metcalf neighborhood. With five more healthy years as a Brown, he would deserve consideration as one of the team’s top 10 players in history. He’s already the MVP of the “new” era, hands-down.
It was Rob Ryan’s defense and not Dick LeBeau’s that was more consistent and creative.
The Browns just played harder. Harder than the Steelers, and harder than they’ve played all year.
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In games they have won, the 2009 Browns have more QB sacks on defense than completed passes on offense.
The Browns have not won a game in which they have allowed a touchdown since Nov. 17, 2008.
Cribbs now is #2 in Browns rushing yardage this season, leapfrogging Jerome Harrison. Gaining 305 yards at a clip of 7.3 per, he already has the highest total for any Browns #2 rusher since 2004.
Career QB rating: Quinn 69.2, Anderson 69.6. The six other Cleveland QBs to start openers since 1999 all had better ratings here.
Still scratching my head at Mangini accepting the holding penalty that gave Pittsburgh 3rd and 18 rather than 4th and 8 at the CLE 34. It worked out because the back dropped the checkdown, but really?? With the Steelers down 7, under 12 minutes to go, declining the penalty almost forces them to go for it, giving you a bigger upside if they don’t convert. Pushing them back gives them an extra chance to either make something happen or pin you deep.
Gameballs to Cribbs, Alex Mack, Eric Wright, and Corey Williams.
Will this game become the signature win, marking the (delayed) launch of the Mangini Era of tough, smart, mistake-free football, capable of vanquishing even foe most foul? Or will it merely serve as the high-water mark for a mismanaged team due for new and better leadership? We’ll see, but whatever it was, it was a fine and rare sight to behold.
