Sep
22
Written by:
LarryMac
9/22/2009 11:04 AM
After Peyton Hillis fumbled away the opening kickoff for the Broncos, the Cleveland Browns did what they've done best since last season - they cashed in the prime field position for a field goal. That 3-0 early start would be their last lead of the game as the Broncos dominated every facet of the game the rest of the way.
Both defenses put on solid performances through the first half. The Browns defense stopped the Broncos in their own territory on the ensuing drive only to see Brady Quinn fumble it back to them at the Browns' 10 yard line on a botched snap. Three plays later the Broncos held a 7-3 lead. The Browns immediately drove 51 yards to set up another field goal and cut the lead to 7-6. For the remaining moments of the first quarter and all of the second, the teams traded punts with Denver missing a field goal along the way.
The Browns, again, fell apart in the second half. Elvis Dumervil tied a Broncos franchise record with four sacks in the game (all in the second half) and the Browns would turn the ball over two more times as the Broncos pulled away with two fourth quarter touchdowns.
The Browns looked beat long before they were beaten. The defense spent too much time on the field and in the end it showed as the Broncos rushed for 186 yards, with over half of that (including a 45 yard touchdown run by Correll Buckhalter) coming in the fourth quarter. The offensive line gave up all four sacks in the second half as Quinn continued to spend too much time waiting in the pocket.
There were some growing pains - rookie Alex Mack looked extremely uncomfortable, particularly in the shotgun - but a lot of bad scheming and execution. The Josh Cribbs experiment isn't working on offense and Brady Quinn isn't convincing anybody that he's the answer at quarterback (his QB rating is currently 28th among active QBs). The mix of receivers isn't giving any of them the reps that a group of young players need - particularly since all concerned were looking at this as a rebuilding season. The future is NOT now - most fans knew that going into the season and were fine with it. This is a work in progress, but please start to show us some progress.
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