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Browns' victory is a bit miraculous, inexplicable
Published on Monday, Sep 17, 2007
A search of the Internet reveals the origin of the phrase ''with bells on.''
This search also will tell you where the phrase ''OK'' came from. And it will tell where ''you'' and humans came from though the answers might be the same.
It also will answer more metaphysical questions, such as where life came from (Adam and Eve?) and where God came from (like to see the research on that one).
Nowhere, though, does this vast and wide Internet provide an answer to this fundamental question: Where in the heck did that Browns win come from Sunday?
Some things, apparently, are beyond the realm of the mortal.
Like how a team puts a 51-point effort together, with a 300-yard passer, a 200-yard runner and two 100-yard receivers.
That combination had never happened in Browns history.
It happened Sunday with Derek Anderson making the fourth start of his career after he did not start the season opener because, well, never mind.
All anyone can offer are theories and thoughts on this inexplicable game, a game that, for one week, makes everyone feel a little bit better about the area's professional football team.
First a word of caution, because this win does not fix everything.
Had the Cincinnati Bengals' defense not decided to stay home and study the recent congressional testimony of Gen. David Petraeus, the Browns easily would have (or could have) been blown out.
This defense? Well, it best improve.
Yes, Cincinnati makes a lot of defenses look bad, but in two games the Browns have given up 79 points, 39.5 per game, which isn't bad for one half of an NBA game. The two opponents have gained 896 yards, 343 rushing and 553 passing.
Ah, there is a silver lining, though, and that is that the Giants are giving up 40 points per game, which means someone is worse.
Still, it's probably safe to assume the offense will not score 51 every game, so tightening up the defense might be a good idea.
Sunday's offensive effort? That could best be studied via an Internet site with the headline: ''Exhausting the mundanely possible: the inexplicable in pursuit of the miraculous mysticism vs. skepticism.''
Whatever that means.
This Browns game was a bit miraculous, and it did turn inexplicable, which leaves us explaining it as mundanely as possible.
The Browns might attribute the win to that team meeting a week ago, when players talked about being loose and ''having fun.''
Interesting.
It's always fun to win. Not winning is not fun. Mundane stuff there.
You might hear a bit down the road about this flag thing. ''Picking up the flag.'' It revolves around the mystical thought that if one Browns player drops a flag, a teammate should help him out and pick it up. Thus, ''picking up the flag'' became a bit of a rallying point for sticking together, though it was not welcomed when officials picked up the flag on Chad Johnson's facemask call.
This win came from the Browns finally playing like a football team, and finally putting together offensive pieces that have not been put together like this before. It started with Anderson, who quite frankly gave no indication with his preseason play that this kind of game was coming.
The Browns privately felt Anderson got a raw deal in the public eye in the preseason, that he didn't play as bad as everyone thought. The bottom line is that the team wanted him to take the quarterback job and he didn't, which left the Browns starting Charlie Frye in the opener.
That didn't go too well.
The offense in the second game with Anderson, however, was as good as the first game was bad.
Things worked. Finally.
''A division win. Yaaaay,'' coach Romeo Crennel said at the start of his postgame news conference.
Crennel was joking, but the relief he felt had to be tangible. The man who says he is judged by wins and losses won his second division game. He's not ready for Canton yet he's still 12 games below .500 for his career but if the team does not believe in its coach, it does not play that way Sunday. If the Browns did not believe in Crennel, they would pack it in.
Same for Rob Chudzinski's offense and the quarterbacks, coached by Rip Scherer. If the players don't believe in what they're being taught, they don't play that way. ''Every day's not going to be like this one,'' General Manager Phil Savage cautioned.
No, Anderson won't throw 75 touchdown passes and Jamal Lewis won't run for 3,200 yards. But what this win could do is bring a sense of normalcy to the team allow the players simply to practice and prepare and compete like, well, like most normal NFL teams do.
''We live close to Cedar Point and it's been a roller coaster,'' Savage said. ''Maybe things will somewhat settle down now and we can focus and play solid football and give ourselves a chance to win.''
Agreed.
Except for one small quibble: A roller coaster can be explained.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/.
A search of the Internet reveals the origin of the phrase ''with bells on.''
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