Week 1 Grades

It may be cliché, but to say you must play all four quarters in order to win a football game truly describes the Browns 34-20 loss to Minnesota. As I mentioned yesterday, it was a tale of two halves — one good, one bad — for the Browns. Unfortunately, the bad half out-weighed the good half.

I tried my best to stay positive this off-season, and I’m not giving in to the eternally pessimistic Browns attitude yet, but it’s becoming more difficult to stay up beat.

Honestly, though, the Browns finished 4-12 last year, fired both the head coach and GM, and pretty much declared it rebuilding time … again. Kinda makes it hard for a fan to find positives to focus on, but I’ve tried.

I’ve tried my best to support Mangini during the off-season, convinced Quinn would be the starter and that the whole QB competition would pay off — I bought in to Mangini’s attitude of “competition breeds excellence.” Clearly, though, Quinn would have greatly benefited from the experience that comes from taking consistent snaps with the first team.

I supported Mangini’s attitude of keeping his decisions close to the vest, not letting the media in on his plans — and I still do. I want to let him do his job. Whether I agree with his tactics or not, I have to support him and let him do his job the way he wants to do it.

It’s too early — way, way too early — to crucify Mangini. He did what he thought was best. He’s the coach and he was hired to make decisions. Sunday’s loss is not the end of the world. It was only one game — Mangini’s first game as head coach of the Cleveland Browns. It wouldn’t be fair to judge him already. And, it wouldn’t be fair to judge Quinn already based on that one game.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I can’t grade them — and the rest of the team — on Sunday’s loss to the Vikings.

Offense
Offensive Line — Quinn had decent protection. Not great, but decent. It could have been much worse, had it not been for Joe Thomas. Thomas was matched up against sack-machine Jared Allen, who he handled just fine. Allen made just one tackle all day. Rookie center Alex Mack also held his own for most of the day against nose tackle Pat Williams.
Grade: B

Tight Ends — Robert Royal led all receivers with four catches for 60 yards and caught the Browns first offensive TD since last November. If he keeps that up, I may not miss Winslow as much as I thought I would.
Grade: B+

Wide Receivers — There was some definite miscommunication between Quinn and the receivers (ahem, Braylon) on which routes were supposed to be run. Maybe it was Quinn’s fault or maybe it was the receivers’. All I know is, this is why it’s important for the starting QB to take reps in practice with the first team.
Grade: C+

Running Backs — Jamal Lewis had just 57 yards rushing on 11 carries. Not too good. Of course, the Viking do have one of the best run-defenses in the NFL. Lewis also caught the ball three times for 47 yards. Rookie James Davis, who was in a minor car accident Saturday morning, was a non-factor with his five rushing yards on four carries.
Grade: C-

Quarterbacks — Quinn posted a QB rating of 74.1, completing 21-of-35 passes for 205 yards, with a TD, an INT and a fumble. Not great numbers, but not terrible either. I expect him only to get better as he’ll now have full-time reps with the first team in practice each week.
Grade: C

Summary — Two first-half drives resulted in points, but they were only field goals, not TDs. A total collapse in the third quarter allowed the Vikings to get ahead unanswered. A fourth-quarter TD drive may have been too little, too late and during “garbage time,” but at least it got the “no offensive TDs since Nov. 2008” monkey off the team’s back.
Overall Grade: C-

Defense
Defensive Line — Despite sitting out the entire preseason with a foot injury, Pro-Bowl tackle Shaun Rogers did play Sunday and recorded five tackles (two for a loss) including a sack. His presence was felt mostly in the first half, when Adrian Peterson was held to just 25 yards rushing.
Grade: C+

Linebackers — D’Qwell Jackson led the team in tackles with 10 and newcomer Eric Barton added eight, including one for a loss which, as my brother pointed out during the game, is probably more than Andra Davis had all last season. Kamerion Wimbley had three tackles, including a sack.
Grade: B-

Safeties & Corners — Abram Elam, Brodney Pool and Brandon McDonald combined for 18 tackles and two sacks. Brett Favre didn’t have too many passing yards, but then with Peterson gaining yards at will, he didn’t have to.
Grade: C

Summary — They held tough for most of the game, sacked Favre four times and forced the Vikings to punt six times. But, Peterson still had 180 yards rushing. Clearly, there are some holes that need fixing.
Grade: C-

Coaching\Special Teams
Special Teams — Josh Cribbs had 207 return yards (punt and kick) and a TD. You can’t really ask for much more from a return specialist, but I will: Please, Mr. Cribbs, learn to take a touchback every once in a while. Even if the Browns were ahead 13-10 at the half, they still lost the field position battle in the first half.
Grade: B

Coaching — I question the conservative play calling and I definitely disagree with the Wildcat Offense formation on the goal line. I think that’s a situation that could have resulted in seven points if the real offense was in the game. The penalties were atrocious — 8 for 66 yards. That’s a direct reflection of the coaching. Now that the games count, we’ll see if Mangini’s methods during training camp were hit or miss.
Grade: C-

Intangibles — I must say, as much as I dislike most announcers and as much as I dislike Brian Billick as a coach, he was fantastic in the booth Sunday. He really lent some good insight into the game. For instance, when he explained why Braylon’s catch didn’t count after it was reviewed, I understood the reasoning and accepted it.
Grade: B

Summary
The Browns lost, and that’s the bottom line. I’m realistic, and I’m not expecting a Super Bowl season or even the playoffs this season. But, I do expect to see improvement each and every week.

I also expect the Browns to be competitive for four quarters each game and cut down on mental mistakes. They played OK for one half, and bad for the other. I’ve tried my best to be positive, and I’ll continue to do so.

Yes, I'm aware my grades seem a bit higher than one might expect. As I said, I'm trying to stay positive and focus on the good things I saw Sunday. Sure, they lost, but there were some good things on which to build. Overall Grade: C

Go Browns!

---