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Browns capture first victory of season by messing up less than Bengals
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Monday, Sep 29, 2008
CINCINNATI: Through three quarters, Ohio's battle of the winless was so dull that one writer messaged from home it was like watching a cactus grow.
Then the Browns awoke and finished with a frenzy of big plays, escaping Cincinnati with a 20-12 victory that staved off what could have been a bye week of enormous change.
The final 15 minutes stirred memories of 2007, when Derek Anderson knew how to throw touchdown passes and Braylon Edwards remembered how to pull them in, when Jamal Lewis ran like a bull and defenders tackled like bruisers.
''We didn't score a lot of points, but we had attitude,'' Edwards said. ''We played physical and hard all game. Every play, somebody was getting knocked down or getting in their face. We established our presence on that field today. That definitely was a step in the right direction. To beat the Giants and the Dallas Cowboys of the world, we have to have attitude, and that comes with physicality.''
The Browns (1-3) next host the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants (3-0) on Oct. 13.
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis scratched starting quarterback Carson Palmer on Saturday night, when a right elbow injury worsened. Lewis said it was a precautionary move that overruled the quarterback's wishes. But with Harvard graduate Ryan Fitzpatrick at the controls, the Bengals led 6-3 after three quarters in a penalty-plagued mess.
Then Anderson threw a 4-yard scoring pass to Edwards. The Browns ran the same play to the other side of the end zone after Edwards failed to get both feet inbounds seconds before.
''Anything we wanted to do, we could have,'' Edwards said. ''Jamal was getting 4, 5, 6 yards. We were open. The line was doing some good things.
''Things are not always going to be peachy-keen. We're not always going to have 100 yards a quarter. There are going to be turnovers. The thing is how you respond in adverse situations and we responded.''
With 12:58 to go, linebacker Kamerion Wimbley forced Bengals running back Chris Perry to fumble, and safety Mike Adams recovered at the Bengals' 24. That set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Lewis that built the lead to 17-6. The drive was kept alive when left tackle Joe Thomas emerged from a massive pile with the recovery of an Anderson fumble.
''I was dropping back into coverage and saw it was a run up the middle,'' Wimbley said. ''I had a clean shot. We took note that these guys put the ball on the ground if you're able to deliver a blow. It was a solid hit, and Mike Adams came up with the ball. Great awareness on his part.''
After Fitzpatrick hit Chad Johnson with a 4-yard touchdown pass to cut the gap to 17-12, the Bengals' 2-point conversion try was thwarted by safety Nick Sorensen's blitz, forcing a Fitzpatrick incompletion.
Rookie linebacker Alex Hall supplied the capper with 2:04 remaining, sacking Fitzpatrick and forcing a fumble that Corey Williams recovered at the Cincinnati 19.
''It feels real good. The best feeling was winning the game,'' Hall said. ''A lot of guys made big plays, my play was just one of many.''
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/.
CINCINNATI: Through three quarters, Ohio's battle of the winless was so dull that one writer messaged from home it was like watching a cactus grow.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Posted 04:06 AM, 09/29/2008
oh well, at least they're not in last place...yet
Wadsworth, OH
Posted 06:31 AM, 09/29/2008
One win down. Four or five more to go. That's the reality folks. The Browns are a 6-10 team at best this year. The fact that they had problems with Cincinnati speaks volumes about what a lousy team this is.
newport, NC
Posted 07:04 AM, 09/29/2008
Edwards is still a 'PUNK"!!! LOW CLASS, NO CLASS.. He is having trouble catching a cold....Will be so happy when JOE "J" comes back. NOW there is a CLASS ACT!!!
Posted 07:38 AM, 09/29/2008
if cincinnati beats cleveland in the rematch and both teams end up 1-15, who gets the #1 draft pick? just thinking too much.
Posted 07:57 AM, 09/29/2008
Don't get excited about this win. They beat a bad team that had injuries on defense and without their starting quarterback. The many mistakes that the Browns made can be attributed to discipline; the Browns have very little discipline. Don't expect major improvement until key members of upper management are changed and a new head coach is in place.
Posted 08:03 AM, 09/29/2008
It was nice to see the offense starting to click at the end of the game. Hope it continues.
Posted 08:12 AM, 09/29/2008
Lets see, I am taking a lot of heat for my coaching and the fact I do not have enough leadership skilss to make a quarterback change, so we will run the ball to hide DA's decisions and then when we win everything will be okay. I believe RAC has a personality clash with BQ because if he did not make a change at halftime he never will as long as he is at the helm. He needs to go! Another horrible performance by RAC, the Browns and DA
Posted 08:30 AM, 09/29/2008
Painful...
Tallmadge, OH
Posted 08:32 AM, 09/29/2008
Even in victory, they looked awful bad yesterday. It doesn't look good for this season. Fire Crennel and start BQ then hire Bill Cowher in the offseason.
Posted 08:49 AM, 09/29/2008
Let's start positive - we saw a little bit more of a pass rush than in the first three games. BUT....this is still horrible football and you have to wonder of the outcome if Palmer had been in the game. My concern now is that a horrible win like this gives Crennel some credibility and we delay what obviously needs to happen. Romeo needs to go - sooner rather than later. BQ needs to take the helm and learn by spending game time under center. Could DA really start for any other team in the league?
Posted 08:59 AM, 09/29/2008
I've seen high school teams play better than that. What has to happen before Crennel puts Quinn in?
Posted 11:02 AM, 09/29/2008
"Anything we wanted to do, we could have," Edwards said. Hoo-haw! That's the funniest thing I've read this month! He needs to appear on SNL soon. As in before he's out of the NFL.
Posted 11:05 AM, 09/29/2008
If Quinn would have started, Browns win 45-19. We all know Eric Clapton;'s knickname, right? How about modifying it for DA. Henceforth, Anderson is to be referred to as 'ol Sloe Foot!
Akron, OH
Posted 11:31 AM, 09/29/2008
Lets be reallistic. It wasn't a win, it was a non-loss.
Posted 11:48 AM, 09/29/2008
Nick you are so right. It was a non-loss. I don't know what is more disturbing - Crennel saying this gets the monkey off their back (what? does this mean 1-3 is meeting expectations?) or Edwards celebrating after finally getting a TD in a miserable season. The fact that Brady Quinn did not get time in this crappy game is inexcusable.
Ravenna, OH
Posted 12:29 PM, 09/29/2008
I can guarantee that they won't lose next week!!
Wooster, Oh
Posted 02:37 PM, 09/29/2008
Quinn is the starter next year if not by the end of this season. That'll be enough development and you don't pay someone this much to sit.
Posted 06:44 PM, 09/29/2008
At the expense of being called an Idiot....I think the Defense is noticeably better...How about you guys. How come every time Harrison makes a nice play they jerk him out? Why doesn't he play more?
Posted 08:56 PM, 09/29/2008
Roy, not sure why Harrison doesn't get more time other than to quote Chud: if Harrison is in, Lewis is out. It seems that Chud doesnt think it's legal to put them both in the backfield at once. As to the defense, I would say they are definitely improved. The stats don't necessarily show it, but the stats don't differentiate between a defense that gets 5-8 minute breaks from a good offense and those that are constantly coming back out on the field after their offense goes 3-and-out. Initially it was all Rogers, but Adams and Hall are stepping up a bit, and the defensive calls are getting a bit more aggressive. If Rogers can keep guys occupied in the middle and offenses start worrying about Hall, maybe Wimbley will finally get into the pass rush game.
