The Browns Blew Into Philadelphia And Lost To The Eagles 24-14

This game showed the Browns have a ways to go. The offense was a no-show, which brings us to the next glaring observation and an obvious problem.  The Bowns offense is in trouble against a team that knows how to play the West Coast offense. With that having been said, all of this preseason stuff is like watching the Weather Channel predict the track of Hurricane Irene. It changes day by day, hour by hour. At times it is pretty laughable and sometimes pathetic. Nobody knows exactly where it is going, until it goes there.

Colt McCoy threw his first interception of the preseason and couldn't put the ball across the goal line. The Eagle defense kept him out of sinc. The running game wasn't much of a help, but with the preseason nearing an end they were being shuffled in and out like a bad hand of five card stud. At least, Hillis is back into the mix. Now it is up to him as to what impact he may have. No stand out among the wide receivers in this one, except maybe Robiskie. The only two scores came late in the game on passes to Alex Smith and Chris Matthews. Joshua Cribbs was out with an injury and will remain out. That is an ouch.

The Browns may have lost, but the defense didn't look that bad. Two Eagle touchdowns came from quarterback runs and another off a short screen pass. A glaring weakness that needs to be looked at very seriously so future opponents can't exploit it.  The Browns Phil Taylor forced a fumble out of Vick on the Eagles 18 early in the game, but the Browns offense couldn't put the ball in for a score and the field goal attempt was blocked.

Where are the Browns going? The various prediction models show the possible track the Browns may take. It will change month by month, week by week. It may get pretty laughable and sometimes pathetic. You won't know where the Browns are going until they go there. So stay tuned, not to the Weather Channel, which turns people into zombies, and watch the Browns to see where they will go. My prediction, I will let you know.

Week 17 NFL Picks-Will A losing Record Go To The Playoffs

Garrard was looking like a winner after he scampered 20 yds into the end zone taking the game into overtime, but alittle over a minute into the extra quarter he threw an inexcusable lame duck right into the hands of washington's Kevin Barnes that ended up on the Jag's 14, loser. I wrote that Peyton Manning should run with the ball and sure enough he did. It was the strangest thing to watch. What was even stranger? The fact that he slid to the ground just two yards from a score. Go figure. With the Jags loss the Colts are division winners. The Jets, having long used up their nine lives, suffered another loss at the hands of the Bears in a shoot out, but are still barely breathing thanks to the Jags. Baltimore whipped the Browns and can only hope the Browns can whip the Steelers this week. Chuckle, chuckle. Drew Brees over came two early interceptions and out lasted the Falcons in Atlanta. Michael Vick showed he was human afterall as the Vikings lashed the Eagles.

The final week of regular season has arrived. The playoff picture is much more clearer. New England has peaked at the right time and look strong going into the playoffs with home field advantage. Miami this Sunday will only be a warm up for the Patriots, but it is crucial they maintain their edge with a bye the first week of playoffs. Atlanta, barring any unforeseen occurrence, should have no problem with Carolina. New Orleans is hosting Tampa Bay, which favors the Saints if Brees can stay away from making the crucial mistakes that nearly did him in against the Falcons, but was able to overcome, fortunately. Tennessee is weak against the pass, which plays into the Colts strength, the Peyton Manning led offense. It was fun seeing Peyton run with the ball, something entirely unexpected, certainly by his opponents. Chicago at Green Bay should prove to be a bruising divisional game with nothing on the line except pride. Aaron Rodgers stuff will be tested against the Bears defense and vica versa.

There are four divisions undecided going into this week. Two of them are the AFC North and the big one, the NFC West, battle of the losing records. Pittsburgh at Cleveland, Cincinnati at Baltimore, and St. Louis at Seattle are the games of the week and winner will take all. Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu is listed as unlikely to play and with him out the Steelers are a different team. Colt McCoy was very shacky against Baltimore's defense and Hillis took some hits that left him ineffective. The Browns need to get Joshua Cribbs back into the game to increase their chances of pulling off a surprise at home, no matter how remote that appears to be at present. Sunday's weather doesn't look to be a factor other than cold. If the Browns can control the run and break up the Roethlisberger to Wallace combination their chances will increase. Good luck with that Cleveland.

Baltimore needs to be on their toes with Cincinnati, a lesson learned by the flatfooted Chargers. The Ravens defense can hold the Bengals offense in check, but their offense behind Flacco will have to excercise ball control to keep it out of Palmer's hands. That is where Ray Rice comes in. If Rice has a good game it will balance out Flacco, who is more than capable of moving his team through the air. The "Old cleveland Browns" will be pulling for a "New Cleveland Browns" victory over the Steelers. It's a strange world we live in.

Everyone will be watching St. Louis take on Seattle. If Seattle wins they will take the division with a losing record. If St. Louis wins they will have an 8-8 record going into the playoffs. Matt Hasselbeck is injured and is unlikely to start, which means Charlie Whitehurst is in, but Hasselbeck says not to count him out yet. The Seahawks have been clobbered the past three games. The Rams advantage is Steven Jackson. Sam Bradford is a mover and the Seahawks defense gives up alot of points. Bradford needs to stay away from mistakes and it will be a wrap. Anyways, neither team looks to go far in the playoffs.

 

SUN, JAN 2 TIME (ET)

Carolina 15 at 24 Atlanta 1:00 PM FOX W

Georgia Dome

Pittsburgh 28 at Cleveland 21 1:00 PM CBS W

Cleveland Browns Stadium

Minnesota 24 at Detroit 25 1:00 PM FOX W

Ford Field

Oakland 23 at Kansas City 21 1:00 PM CBS  W

Arrowhead Stadium

Miami 18 at New England 34 1:00 PM CBS W

Gillette Stadium

Tampa Bay 20 at New Orleans 30 1:00 PM FOX L

Superdome

Buffalo 27 at NY Jets 28 1:00 PM CBS W

New Meadowlands Stadium

Cincinnati 20 at Baltimore 24 1:00 PM CBS W

M&T Bank Stadium

Jacksonville 23 at Houston 20 4:15 PM CBS L

Reliant Stadium

NY Giants 27 at Washington 18 4:15 PM FOX W

FedEx Field

Dallas 23 at Philadelphia 30 4:15 PM FOX L

Lincoln Financial Field

Arizona 21 at San Francisco 20 4:15 PM FOX L

Candlestick Park

Chicago 24 at Green Bay 27 4:15 PM FOX W

Lambeau Field

Tennessee 17 at Indianapolis 36 4:15 PM CBS W

Lucas Oil Stadium

San Diego 27 at Denver 20 4:15 PM CBS W

Invesco Field at Mile High

St. Louis 23 at Seattle 24 8:20 PM NBC W

Qwest F

Week 15 NFL Picks-It's Beginning To Look Alot Like The NFL

Is there some deep cosmic connection between the Metrodome roof collapsing and Brett Favre's consecutive game streak at 297 coming to an end? Remind's me of the scene from "Back to the Future" when the clocktower was struck by lightning sending Fox back to the future. If not, it certainly was a fitting graphic representation of the Vikings season that began with such high expectations. It has been a Bizzaro World in the NFL this year. As I analyze the season up to this point, I have to say the Cleveland Browns have played a significant role in shaping its destiny. Since suffering embarrasing losses to the Browns, New Orleans and New England have been on fire and look unstoppable, particuliarly the Patriots whose leader is the greatly despised ex-Browns coach Bill Belichick. Thank you cards are in order. Going into the stretch, the Browns can have a signicant impact on their own division, playing their final games against the Ravens and the Steelers. Win or lose, they're in a position to make or break either team. How's that for irony.

I was 11-5 in Week 14, not bad considering what happened to Minnesota and Green Bay. Without Favre, the Vikings didn't score a touchdown and without Rodgers, the Packers are offenseless. The Packers are playing New England, who have been destroying their opponents as of lately. Aaron Rodgers is iffy and if he does play could take a beating at the hands of the Patriots, and if he doesn't the team will take a beating. They can't afford to lose another one with Chicago a game up. It's a dilemma. Minnesota is playing Chicago. Tough luck Green Bay, it's not looking fortuitous. Washington plays Dallas. This will be the battle for not being at the bottom. Both teams are coming off stinging losses. This will be a good game, two division rivals going at it. Dallas is much improved and anything can happen with McNabb. Washington doesn't have a defense and Dallas is weak against the pass. The perfect scenario. San Diego plays Thursday against San Francisco. A must win for the Chargers.

The games of the week are Philadelphia at NY Giants, New Orleans at Baltimore, and NY Jets at Pittsburgh. They say Michael Vick's weakness is when he is forced to the right, but I saw something different in the game against Chicago. When the play was designed to go right, Vick was deadly accurate. The Giants defense is tough on the pass and quarterbacks. It will be interesting to see how they handle Vick. Both teams are even in the run department. The Giants offense has sputtered all season, but Philadelphia's defense hasn't handled the run well. New Orleans has scored over 30 points in each of their last five games. Both New Orleans and Baltimore are up against the wall in their divisions. It's going to be the Saints offense against the Ravens defense, winner take all. Takeaways or the lack of them will decide the game for Baltimore. Which brings us to the Jets and Pittsburgh. The Jets have used up their nine lives, its do or die. The Steelers have an ace-in-the-hole called Polamalu. The Jets are going to have to dip into their trip bag of tricks to survive this one.

THU, DEC 16 TIME (ET)

San Francisco 15 at San Diego 34 8:20 PM NFL W 

Qualcomm Stadium

SUN, DEC 19 TIME (ET)

Cleveland 21 at Cincinnati 27 1:00 PM CBS W

Paul Brown Stadium

Washington 23 at Dallas 27 1:00 PM FOX W

Cowboys Stadium

Houston 27 at Tennessee 17 1:00 PM CBS L

LP Field

Jacksonville 24 at Indianapolis 30 1:00 PM CBS W 

Lucas Oil Stadium

Kansas City 27 at St. Louis 24 1:00 PM CBS W

Edward Jones Dome

Buffalo 23 at Miami 26 1:00 PM CBS L

Sun Life Stadium

Detroit 23 at Tampa Bay 24 1:00 PM FOX L

Raymond James Stadium

Arizona 23 at Carolina 14 1:00 PM FOX L

Bank of America Stadium

New Orleans 27 at Baltimore 24 1:00 PM FOX L 

M&T Bank Stadium

Philadelphia 28 at NY Giants 24 1:00 PM FOX W

New Meadowlands Stadium

Atlanta 30 at Seattle 21 4:05 PM FOX W

Qwest Field

NY Jets 20 at Pittsburgh 27 4:15 PM CBS L 

Heinz Field

Denver at Oakland 4:15 PM CBS W

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Green Bay 15 at New England 34 8:20 PM NBC W

Gillette Stadium

MON, DEC 20 TIME (ET)

Chicago 24 at Minnesota 18 8:30 PM W 

Mall of America Field