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Community campaign collecting donations for Haiti victims
Texas company buys vast gas resources
Zips nip Chipps with late barrage
Boys basketball: Buchtel 89, Garfield 62
Council OKs grant to bring jobs to Green
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Man admits stealing TV from Akron home
Blogs:
First Bell - On Education:
No City of Akron basketball tonight
Pets:
Pet telethon re-airs
The Heldenfiles:
Chipmunks "Squeakquel" on DVD/BD March 30
Akron Zips:
Late surge gives Zips ugly road win
Tribe Matters:
Blogmail response on Hafner
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth's contract terminated
Balanced Ledger:
QB in Browns future: another mock draft
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – February 9
Cleveland Cavaliers:
NBA Power Rankings from Around the Internet
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
Varsity Letters:
Garfield at Buchtel basketball
All Da King's Men:
Palin At The Tea Party Convention
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Republican Pre-Conditions
Akron Law Café:
Law, Love and Chocolate
Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
Sound Check:
Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
OFCCP Report
Akron Gamer:
Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 06:08 p.m. EDT, Aug 24, 2008
DETROIT: Let the hand wringing officially begin.
With Saturday's 26-6 loss to the Detroit Lions, the Browns will have to address the fact that they have some problems on both sides of the ball.
It's not a situation that can be chalked up to the preseason. The third preseason game is usually the one that serves as the tuneup for starters before the regular season.
With the Browns looking more like lambs being led to the slaughter at the past two exhibition contests, the Dallas Cowboys are looming large in a Sept. 7 season opener that, for the most part, will be televised nationally.
Coach Romeo Crennel said it succinctly postgame Saturday night when he was asked whether there were any bright spots in the game: ''No.''
You'd be hard pressed to find anything positive in the team's performance the last two preseason games, including the 37-34 mugging by the New York Giants that wasn't as close as the final score would indicate.
Concern? That might be at the top of the Browns list, given the expectations that Cleveland's fans had after the team missed the playoffs by a whisker last year with a 10-6 record.
''After the first game we lost in the preseason, I had concern and the next game we lost and we lost this one,'' Crennel said after Saturday's drubbing by the Lions. ''Every time we lose, I'm concerned, because if you're losing, you're generally not playing the way you need to play to win the game, so we haven't done that. ''
And they should be worried. Although the first-team offense opened the preseason with a decent outing against the New York Jets, points have been a struggle since. The first-half gaffes in the Giants game looked like an episode of the old television show Foul-Ups, Bleeps & Blunders. And Saturday's game against the Lions? Per Crennel, there were no bright spots.
Playing Saturday without the likes of the injured Braylon Edwards, Jamal Lewis and quarterback Derek Anderson on offense and safeties Sean Jones and Brodney Pool on defense gives the team an excuse for a subpar performance; Crennel would have none of that.
''Some guys will talk about the guys who did not make the trip and did not play, but [on] the other side, we had guys who didn't play as well, so you can't use that as an excuse,'' he said. ''We didn't play well enough. Hopefully, we'll get some of those guys back and this team understands that everybody has to be at their best and play their best game for us to have a chance.''
The teammates of those rather large contributors are counting on them to return in time for the regular season in a little under two weeks.
''I think that there are a lot of big pieces still missing again with Jamal and Braylon being out,'' defensive lineman Shaun Rogers said. ''I think those guys are very much so impact players on this team and when they get back, hopefully they can shake the rust off pretty quickly and come back and try to contribute.''
However, it could very well be that the Browns' problems extend beyond missing key players. In the Giants and Lions games, a theme emerged — speedy defensive lines could pin their ears back and just go after the quarterback without a lot of resistance. The Giants knocked Anderson out of that game and the Lions, smelling fresh meat, went after Brady Quinn against the starting offensive line as if they were after a last meal. They didn't register a single sack, but they pressured Quinn plenty.
In addition, the Browns' secondary has looked suspect at best, and with little depth behind the starters, that remains a problem area for the team.
Wide receiver Donte Stallworth, who left the New England Patriots to sign a seven-year, $35 million deal with the Browns during the offseason, agrees there are problems, but he maintains his optimism.
''We're playing the Cowboys in two weeks, so I'm concerned. Not a whole lot, but at the same time, we got guys together, working together and there's been some injuries and stuff like that and there are certain guys who have to step in. We've got a ways to go. It starts tomorrow in the classroom watching the film and seeing things we have to get corrected. That's the good thing about camp and preseason: There's time.''
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/sportsblitz/.
DETROIT: Let the hand wringing officially begin.
With Saturday's 26-6 loss to the Detroit Lions, the Browns will have to address the fact that they have some problems on both sides of the ball.
It's not a situation that can be chalked up to the preseason. The third preseason game is usually the one that serves as the tuneup for starters before the regular season.
With the Browns looking more like lambs being led to the slaughter at the past two exhibition contests, the Dallas Cowboys are looming large in a Sept. 7 season opener that, for the most part, will be televised nationally.
Coach Romeo Crennel said it succinctly postgame Saturday night when he was asked whether there were any bright spots in the game: ''No.''
You'd be hard pressed to find anything positive in the team's performance the last two preseason games, including the 37-34 mugging by the New York Giants that wasn't as close as the final score would indicate.
Concern? That might be at the top of the Browns list, given the expectations that Cleveland's fans had after the team missed the playoffs by a whisker last year with a 10-6 record.
''After the first game we lost in the preseason, I had concern and the next game we lost and we lost this one,'' Crennel said after Saturday's drubbing by the Lions. ''Every time we lose, I'm concerned, because if you're losing, you're generally not playing the way you need to play to win the game, so we haven't done that. ''
And they should be worried. Although the first-team offense opened the preseason with a decent outing against the New York Jets, points have been a struggle since. The first-half gaffes in the Giants game looked like an episode of the old television show Foul-Ups, Bleeps & Blunders. And Saturday's game against the Lions? Per Crennel, there were no bright spots.
Playing Saturday without the likes of the injured Braylon Edwards, Jamal Lewis and quarterback Derek Anderson on offense and safeties Sean Jones and Brodney Pool on defense gives the team an excuse for a subpar performance; Crennel would have none of that.
''Some guys will talk about the guys who did not make the trip and did not play, but [on] the other side, we had guys who didn't play as well, so you can't use that as an excuse,'' he said. ''We didn't play well enough. Hopefully, we'll get some of those guys back and this team understands that everybody has to be at their best and play their best game for us to have a chance.''
The teammates of those rather large contributors are counting on them to return in time for the regular season in a little under two weeks.
''I think that there are a lot of big pieces still missing again with Jamal and Braylon being out,'' defensive lineman Shaun Rogers said. ''I think those guys are very much so impact players on this team and when they get back, hopefully they can shake the rust off pretty quickly and come back and try to contribute.''
However, it could very well be that the Browns' problems extend beyond missing key players. In the Giants and Lions games, a theme emerged — speedy defensive lines could pin their ears back and just go after the quarterback without a lot of resistance. The Giants knocked Anderson out of that game and the Lions, smelling fresh meat, went after Brady Quinn against the starting offensive line as if they were after a last meal. They didn't register a single sack, but they pressured Quinn plenty.
In addition, the Browns' secondary has looked suspect at best, and with little depth behind the starters, that remains a problem area for the team.
Wide receiver Donte Stallworth, who left the New England Patriots to sign a seven-year, $35 million deal with the Browns during the offseason, agrees there are problems, but he maintains his optimism.
''We're playing the Cowboys in two weeks, so I'm concerned. Not a whole lot, but at the same time, we got guys together, working together and there's been some injuries and stuff like that and there are certain guys who have to step in. We've got a ways to go. It starts tomorrow in the classroom watching the film and seeing things we have to get corrected. That's the good thing about camp and preseason: There's time.''
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/sportsblitz/.
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