The Browns played pretty bad on Saturday night, there's no doubt about that. But hey, it's the preseason. The games don't count, right? Of course not. But that doesn't mean the team doesn't deserve to be graded by the fans.
Offense
Offensive Line - The O-line didn't play great, but they weren't horrible either. There were a few holes on pass protection, but for the most part the QBs were protected. Run-blocking, though, was a different story.
Grade: C-
Tight Ends - Aaron Walker led the team in receiving, with three catches for 48 yards. Decent numbers for a tight end, terrible numbers for a team's leading receiver.
Grade: C
Wide Receivers - Braylon had, let me see here ... oh yes, ZERO catches and one HUGE DROPPED PASS ... in the end zone. Way to bounce back from last season.
Grade: C
Running Backs - The Browns gained 59 whole yards on the ground, and 29 of those didn't even come from a running back. Nope, that 29 yards came from utility man Josh Cribbs on just one carry. Jamal Lewis had 17 yards on seven carries. Running game needs A LOT of improvement.
Grade: D
Quarterbacks - In the quarterback derby, Brady Quinn got the start and rotated series with Derek Anderson. Neither was outstanding, but the edge goes to Quinn as Anderson was pretty much a non-factor. Quinn was at least able to sustain two drives into the red zone, although both resulted in no points (thanks Braylon). He was 7-of-11, while Anderson was 0-2. Both QBs threw one INT each. Ratliff, who played the rest of the game in relief, went 7-of-13 for 84 yards and threw 2 INTs.
Grade: C-
Summary - Not a great showing, not great at all. I think they'll show improvement next week and, as soon as the starting QB is settled (ahem ... Quinn), they'll be able to adjust to his leadership and work together as a cohesive, dynamic unit (I can only hope).
Overall Grade: C-
Defense
Defensive Line - Showed decent penetration on the first handful of plays, but then it broke down. The Packers were able to rack up 230 yards of rushing. Lots of improvement is needed.
Grade: C-
Linebackers - D'Qwell Jackson led the team with seven tackles (sounds similar to last season) and Wimbley looked to be always chasing down runners who got through the Swiss cheese D-line. Overall though, this unit still needs to work harder.
Grade: C
Safeties & Corners - It could have been worse. Much worse, as we know from watching games last season. Donald Driver's 53-yard touchdown catch reminded Browns fans everywhere of some horrible secondary breakdowns from last season.
Grade: D
Summary - Hey, at least the defense didn't cause us to lose by blowing a big lead, as we'd seen them do repeatedly last year. Still, though, they need to figure out how to stop the run AND the deep ball. I'm not asking too much, am I?
Overall Grade: C-
Special Teams, Coaches and Intangibles
Special Teams - Dawson made his first field goal attempt, but missed the retry after a penalty negated it. Cribbs was a non-factor in returning, which can be accredited to the new wedge rules that Kosar and Donovan kept talking about.
Grade: C
Coaches - Hard to put a grade here just yet. No big communications breakdowns to speak of, and it being the first preseason game and all, it's simply too hard to evaluate Mangini and hist staff just yet.
Grade: Incomplete
Intangibles - The uniforms were horrible, putrid and inexcusable. There is no reason, whatsoever, why the Browns should ever wear those brown pants. Terrible
Grade: F
Yes, the Browns lost again, failed to score any points and at times looked about 10 steps behind the Packers. But, save for those retched pants, I didn't give out any Fs. After all, it's the first preseason game (I have to keep telling myself that, or I'll be a wreck by the time the season starts).
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