Sunday, August 12, 2007

A few observations from the first preseason game

Quarterbacks:

Charlie Frye looked really, really good.... until he made two costly plays. One wasn't completely his fault (the lateral that got returned for a TD) but the other one was (taking a sack/scrambling inside the 10 with 12 seconds left in the half and no timeouts. Not good). I like Frye a lot and I'm in his camp, but I'm starting to wonder if these big mistakes are something you can coach out of... It sucks, because Frye made a lot of good decisions throughout the first half (scrambling.... in order to pass? Wah?)

Derek Anderson didn't really impress me either. Both QB's dealt with drops, but Anderson simply missed guys. It seemed like whenever he made a good throw, he immediately followed it up with a terrible one. He almost got picked off a few times and didn't seem to handle the blitz too well.

Joe Thomas: some good, some bad. When he wasn't being called for holding, Thomas looked really good. Problem was, he was called for holding a few times. Overall, the o-line looked vastly improved- QB's had time to throw and running backs had holes. It was god damn beautiful.

The running backs looked pretty good. Both Lewis and Wright run down hill and into people, while Harrison skips around. They all looked pretty solid running the football.... but they all missed picking up some blitzes.

The defense was solid. Honestly, the defense dominated the entire game, no matter which unit was in there. I suspect that Wimbley will have a big year- that man is a beast. Eric Wright made a few nice plays as well- this could very well be the best secondary that the Browns have had since their return (I know, bold statement, right? Better than the Robert Griffith years? No way!)

Coaching... meh. I know it's preseason and all, but the Browns had, what, 4 redzone opportunities and didn't get a touchdown out of any of 'em. It's actually worse than that- the Browns had multiple plays inside the 20 and didn't once throw a pass into the endzone (or even make an attempt). I know it's preseason and that Edwards and Winslow played a combined 5 seconds, but still. Take a shot.

To end on a lighter note: I saw a commercial for Sports Time Ohio's "Morning Coffee" (which has all the articles from TheClevelandFan.com- which I write for, sometimes, when I actually have something to say).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The defense is going to keep the Browns in a lot of games this year, particularly the play of the linebackers and secondary.

Wimbley ... to see a player that good in a Browns uniform, I almost get choked up. I agree with the Kosar assessment on TV last night that if the Browns can find another pass rusher worth a damn to put on the other side, Wimbley might have a 20-sack season.

Winning games is entirely going to be a matter of whether the offense can score enough points -- which is to say, anything beyond field goals.

Figure this: The Browns' defense dominated the Chiefs' offense at just about every turn, final drive the exception. But the Browns still almost lost the game and had to get bailed out by a kickoff return that almost certainly wouldn't happen against Pittsburgh.

My question is this: If Frye and Anderson go the entire preseason without leading the offense on a single touchdown drive (or maybe one), does Dorsey or Quinn enter the picture for the starting job? Dorsey looked nearly as good as the coin-flip boys (and probably better than Anderson), and Quinn's workload will get ramped way up starting this week.

The Browns need answers on offense, otherwise they're going to waste a lot of great efforts by the defense.

Ben said...

The final drive doesn't really matter (obviously), but the earlier defensive stands were telling. The Browns got pretty consistent pressure on the QB and their DBs were all over the place.

I can't comment on Dorsey, cause I went to go shower during the start of the second half (hoping to make it back to see Quinn).

Again, I like Frye and I'd like to see him win the job (I'm a Frye Guy. Har!)but those big mistakes are going to cost him. Which is a shame, because I thought he looked really really good otherwise.

Anonymous said...

Frye or DA simply are not legitimate starting NFL QBs. Frye's inadequacies are magnified in the red zone where the field is shortened. Also, I really question the guy's arm strength.

That being said, there is no way Quinn should begin the year as the starter, even if he was better than Frye (which I doubt will be the case at least for a few months). Savage knew what he was getting into when he didn't bring in a vet QB and drafted Brady. He had to envision a rough season ahead.

We're gonna be hurting at QB all year, unless Frye really improves in a short time.