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Crennel doesn't ask Quinn to warm up
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist
Published on Monday, Sep 29, 2008
CINCINNATI: There's winning football.
And there are football wins.
The Browns won Sunday, beating an undermanned Cincinnati Bengals team. But the Browns did not play winning football at Paul Brown Stadium.
Still, the sense of relief that permeated the team was nearly overwhelming.
Emotion was etched into just about every face, from the coach to the quarterback to the offensive line to the running back to the crack security force to the equipment guys.
Alka-Seltzer never provided more relief than that motley victory provided these Browns.
Heading into the bye week, the Browns can get their breath, regain their balance and point to the Monday night game Oct. 13 against the New York Giants.
But if games were scored by Olympic diving judges, the Browns would have had many tenths deducted. The Bengals, too. This was a game that was professional in name only.
There were stupid penalties, interceptions, more silly penalties, wasted timeouts, poor passes, an interception fumbled back to the offensive team, silly penalties and some basic inept play.
Put it this way: The Browns had to scramble and claw to beat a team led by a backup quarterback from the Ivy League. The Bengals did not have Carson Palmer, but the game was in doubt for quite a long time.
If that's not winning ugly, then Paul Newman was not an American hero.
At halftime, it looked like Derek Anderson was ready to be gonged.
He had thrown for all of 27 yards in the first two quarters, completing 4-of-10 passes.
He started the third quarter with an interception at the Bengals' 12-yard line, and a three-and-out marred by another ridiculous penalty by Braylon Edwards.
At that point, it seemed the time had arrived to pick up the phone and make the call to the bullpen. It obviously crossed coach Romeo Crennel's mind.
But Crennel remained steadfast, patient and consistent. He never even asked Brady Quinn to warm up, though the thought crossed his mind.
''I decided to give [Anderson] another chance,'' Crennel said of his quarterback following the interception. ''He took advantage of it.''
Anderson and the Browns responded with an 80-yard touchdown drive that ended with Anderson throwing a touchdown to Edwards, who made a one-handed snag worthy of his ability.
He overdid the celebration with an air guitar routine on one knee — Why did the Dallas Cowboys' Terrell Owens get flagged for going to the ground and Edwards did not? — but at least he scored.
At last, Crennel's players did something on the field to support his decision.
But to Jamal Lewis, there was never a need to consider a change.
''D.A. is not the problem here,'' he said.
Better to state that he was not the only problem, but Lewis commands respect by the way he plays and approaches the game.
''This is D.A.'s show,'' he said. ''We're riding D.A. Nobody is turning their back on D.A.''
Clearly D.A. is important here.
Heading to the bye and the Giants game, the questions about whether D.A. will sit for B.Q. can be shelved. Whether it's on the QT or in OT, D.A. is the team's QB.
That's what a win does for a team.
But as far as wins go, this one was a pile of dead raccoons on the side of the road.
It was a walking advertisement for TV Land and Grizzly Adams reruns.
Joshua Cribbs said the Browns played as a team, which, he said, ''almost put tears in my eyes.''
The only ones crying should have been the people who gave up their afternoon to watch.
Why a high school team can line up properly and not be offside when the pros can't is less explicable than the Big Bang Theory.
And let's not ignore the fact that had the Browns lost the game to a backup quarterback, they would have lost to a team with a backup quarterback, a near unforgivable sin for an alleged NFL team.
Let's also not ignore the fact that after halftime the Browns outscored the Bengals 17-6, that they came up with a touchdown drive when they needed it, and that several players fought through pain to keep playing.
Kevin Shaffer and Shaun Smith both played with casts on their hand. Eric Steinbach fought through a shoulder problem to help the running game get going. Kellen Winslow had to leave the game and go to the locker room briefly, only to return, go right back in and make a key catch.
The Browns won ugly, but they won with perseverance, persistence and patience.
When it was over, Lewis said the win was something to build on.
''Something to get us going,'' he said. ''These last three weeks was not us.''
Perhaps not, but we also best hope that Sunday was not the real Browns either.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/.
CINCINNATI: There's winning football.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Alliance, Oh
Posted 07:09 AM, 09/29/2008
Romeo Crennel is the worst head coach in the NFL! His team is not prepared or disciplined enough to win and they AGAIN this year will be lucky to escape the basement! He has 10 wins in 1 year because they played a weak schedule! At the end of this year, he'll have 25 for 5 years! Now that's a coach we should keep!
Posted 07:20 AM, 09/29/2008
All the negative comments about the Browns, even after a big win. All wins are big. Cleveland writers and fans don't understand football and have bad attitudes { a psychologist once told me, it is a superior attitude, not good anywhere anytime] In the Cleveland area, lets get humble and reassess our attitudes, we really have to play football like Pittsburg does...which says a one point victory is the same as a 21 point victory....get it Clevelanders...get off your high horses.. And Crennel is a good coach, so you don't have to fire him...
Posted 07:23 AM, 09/29/2008
I remember the good old days when, if you told someone you were from Cleveland, they would make a crack about burning rivers, Dennis Kucinich or the school system. For the last decade, though, all they ever mention -- and in a not very comlimentary way -- are the buffoons who own, manage and coach the once proud Cleveland Browns. As dumb a businessman and disloyal to the area as Art Modell was, at least he put a product on the field that didn't make you cringe with embarrassment. The decision making behind this team makes one yearn for the genius of the Ted Stepien era.
Posted 08:33 AM, 09/29/2008
Hey Peter . Pittsburgh has a superior attitude & it seems to work pretty well for them.
Posted 08:36 AM, 09/29/2008
How about you write about the football game and leave out your ridiculous analogies and half-witted jokes. We get the picture, you think the Browns suck. Now get this picture, I think your writing sucks. This is the last time I read one of your high school paper articles.
Posted 08:36 AM, 09/29/2008
To answer your stupid question, Paul Newman was a liberal blowhard-not an American hero. The only difference between him and Michael Moore was better genes.
Posted 09:15 AM, 09/29/2008
Response to Ryan: the Browns head coach sucks. How many other PROFESSIONAL football teams get penalized MULTIPLE times for being offside on defense? The lack of discipline comes from only one source...
Posted 09:17 AM, 09/29/2008
I had to double check and make sure I wasn't at Pennsylvania.com. Maybe Patrick McManamon should apply for a job there since he likes to bad mouth the Browns. You cant just let us be happy that they won? I expected more from the Beacon Journal.
Posted 10:23 AM, 09/29/2008
A win is a win! Good thing Quinn wasn't in there. We would have lost for sure!!! That was a game against a rival and judging from his college career he didn't know how to win those games! You don't just come back from 3 weeks of dismal play and all of a sudden you're superstars. They're doing it the right way. One play at a time. This was huge for the Browns offense and their confidence. They play better as underdogs. Their defense is looking better and better as well! We have a bye and then will be back home w/ Stallworth and that's when the fun begins for defenses trying to now cover two recievers instead of one(Braylon). Which means they'll have to pick their poison, as we'll have 3 legitimate recievers in Stallworth, Edwards and Winslow. And then Jurevicious should be back week 7. Despite what Pat thinks abot DA being our man, I think Jamal Lewis and Romeo Crennel know their team better than Pat McManamon. DA just needed to shake off the funk that media personnel like McManamon throw on him on a daily basis. You'll see good ol' Pat McManamon jumping on the Browns bandwagon after we start winning a few and getting back on track...After bigger and more successful people in the media start to give us our props. DOH!!!
Stow, OH
Posted 11:15 AM, 09/29/2008
Did any of you actually watch that game yesterday ?They beat a 0-3 team that had to play a rookie back up !Their pass rushing is sub par at best and DA still only had ,what 27 yrds.at halftime ?All Romeo did yesterday by not starting Quinn and letting him get comfortable at QB was guarantee us a serious butt kicking against the Giants in 2 weeks.Watch how many times ole lead shoes gets sacked on Monday night. To watch them line up off sides so often and claim it was a great win is asinine.
Posted 11:23 AM, 09/29/2008
Frederick - excellent post! Bring back the Teddy Bears! NOT.
John - Thanks for the sarcasm! I smiled all the way through your words above, knowing that no sane person who follows the Browns closely would write such sugar-coated crapola. Your tongue MUST be stuck in your cheek this morning!
akron, OH
Posted 11:28 AM, 09/29/2008
A win of any kind is great to me,but without any doubt to me it is time to turn to the future.turn the reins over to Quinn.He is more mentally cable to deal with the up and down emotions to be a QB for the browns.I rather have a QB who can create when the protection is not there.Two examples:Bengals kept drives alive because the QB was mobile,and look was happen to the buckeyes with the addition with Pryor factor.
Posted 11:35 AM, 09/29/2008
Rest of the way with DA - Browns finish 4-12.
Rest of the way with BQ - Browns finish 7-9.
I can't imagine how Quinn is managing to handle all of this with the poise he's demonstrating. Quite a classy guy. I'd be going nuts by now!
The Browns will lose the next 3 games, be 1-6, and Crennell will be terminated. Quinn will start in game 8 against Baltimore. Guess this is all planned in order to acquire higher draft choices, and to allow Quinn to play through the end of this season under minimal pressure in meaningless games. What a plan!
Stow, OH
Posted 11:35 AM, 09/29/2008
To sit there and say that was a great win is truely asinine. They barely beat a horrible team that (except for their brief flirtation with fame in the 80s ) maybe the worst franchise in football .The great DA could only muster 27 yards by halftime !Cincy had barely a pass rush ,lousy returns and a rookie QB !After watching them stumble off sides all day and think they are ready to compete against the elite in this league is truely amazing .
Posted 11:44 AM, 09/29/2008
Anybody who thinks this game was a step in the right direction is nuts. They won only because Cincy did not have Carson Palmer. And the fact that Crennel did not even warm Quinn up is just another indictment of his terrible judgment. When will we give Brady Quinn a chance to see whether or not he is a good NFL QB. When his is on another team? This was the perfect chance. And please, spare me the self-righteous testimony of jail bird jamal lewis.
Tallmadge, OH
Posted 01:18 PM, 09/29/2008
I guess Browns fans get to watch the STEELERS in the playoffs again this season. Crennel is worthless fat Coach, and DA a worthless QB.
Posted 01:31 PM, 09/29/2008
This was from Peter King's colum on SI.com: f. "We've got our swagger back,'' Derek Anderson said over the cell last night. You got a win, Derek. I see no swagger. The Browns have led me to subscribe to this old saying: "What is worse than love or hate?" Indifference.
Posted 01:51 PM, 09/29/2008
I am glad the Browns finally won a game, and hope they will win more. I also think Crennel, Anderson, and Quinn need to look for jobs elsewhere. The writing is on the wall for all.
akron, oh
Posted 01:54 PM, 09/29/2008
to Pat and the rest of you mental midget fair weather fans, (to call you fans is a strech) in the words of Riz~ come to goodyear heights i will kick your @#$. My God people we are not even 2 games out of first. after the bye we get joey j back and you will see how important he was, along with some other guys then please don't post
Posted 04:56 PM, 09/29/2008
Mr.Mcmanamon, I am glad the browns won, your continued insults of our team is enough. Why don't you lay off and start doing your job, it's really disgusting every week to read your work, that's what stinks!
Posted 06:41 PM, 09/29/2008
Big Mike 34 Had Palmer played today Would we be 1-3 or 0-4 I think the latter. Since every fan called for CHUD to run more He did...Still no creativity and why did we have to tell him what to do.... In fact if he had really been listening he would team up both Lewis and Harrison in the backfield to threaten both the inside and Outside..Lewis would benefit from Harrison posing a threat on the outside Loosening up the middle a little...Anderson (or hopefully Quinn) would benefit because it is difficult to protect inside and outside and pass rush... Chud just does not have the Creativity to be an offensive Coordinator....I am starting to long for Carthon (sic)
cuyahoga falls, oh
Posted 06:44 PM, 09/29/2008
john paul newman did more beneficial things for the world to make us proud he grew up down the road than you'll ever even dream about for yourself. a limited brain with no real knowledge or imagination is all you are and all you will ever be: pure tripe thrown at dead man...ridiculously stagnant and embarrassing whereever you dwell or come from. no wonder your parents gave you a name synonamous with a toilet.
Posted 07:52 PM, 09/29/2008
Yes, the Browns are playing bad football right now. A win is just that, a WIN! Granted there is A LOT of room for improvement but they won!!!!!!! Would you rather have them loose? C`mon readers... get a grip. To Glenda. next time you feel like making a stupid comment like that, STOP!
Posted 08:38 PM, 09/29/2008
Let's be honest and realistic: we are all (or mostly all) on this sight because we love the Browns. That said, if you (like me) had hopes of playoffs this year, what you saw on Sunday CANNOT leave you with those same hopes heading into the playoffs. I still have hope, but it dwindled a little more, even in victory, and those of you cheering simply for the win, I understand... by the same token, watching DA try to put it back together as though these were preseason games is disheartening. Can we not agree that Browns are in a similar situation to the Giants a few years ago, when Kurt Warner was benched in favor of Eli (at the expense of a winning record and a playoff chance!) so that the Giants could prepare him to lead the team the following year. We all see the results. The schedule is rough, and I don't see what else is there to lose. Again, this is not a cynical view or the "we suck" rant of a loser fan. The ultimate goal is a Super Bowl; as the Browns stand now, does this team resemble a possible Super Bowl team to ANYBODY in here?
Akron, OH
Posted 07:35 AM, 09/30/2008
In my opinion, one good thing comes from this win. DA will have to take the pounding against the Giants in a couple weeks rather than BQ. Its nice to know that Romeo will stick with him until the end, so there is very little risk of BQ getting a serious injury against a vastly superior team. To the posters who believe Romeo is a fat idiot, being fat has little to do with being an ineffective coach. His ineffectiveness has more to do with the poor decision making skills and lack of discipline.
Posted 07:43 AM, 09/30/2008
The Browns are better than one sports team playing in one pathetic display of ineptitude and probably a backroom deal in the commish's office. To think that the Tigers actually 'played' that game last night is ridiculous. With no NY team in the mix this year, I'm sure the MLB dealmakers are going for the next largest market. I predict ChiSox over the Twins tonight and only because the FedEx guy showed up with the loot on time. NO ONE should take this as comparing Romeo to Jim Leyland!
Posted 01:58 PM, 09/30/2008
I guess they didn't like what I said so it wasn't posted. Anyways - to the Steeler fan - you may be in the playoffs but that's as far as you'll go.
somewhere near you, OH
Posted 08:47 PM, 09/30/2008
When life give you lemons, make lemonaide. To all you upset clowns fans, if you'd just concentrate on finding and enjoying the obvious humor in their mistakes and losses, you'd feel MUCH better. The games are much more enjoyable to watch when you look at them with the perspective of wanting to see just how bad they can play instead of fooling yourself thinking they can actually win. Try it just ONCE, I guarantee you'll be a convert.
Des Moines, IA
Posted 10:13 AM, 10/04/2008
The writer and you other fools...er...fans are really ridiculous. Who cares how they won? Did they not win the game against a team on its home turf? Did said team also take the Super Bowl champs into overtime before losing?
If the Browns are being crucified for winning "ugly", then I wonder what the Giants' fans are saying about how they won against the Bengals.
