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Pet telethon re-airs
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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
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Five local gridders to play in Big33
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 Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 05:16 p.m. EDT, Oct 31, 2009
1. Return specialists.
Save the refrigerator/bathroom breaks for when the Browns' offense is on the field because the Chicago Bears' Devin Hester and Johnny Knox and the Browns' Joshua Cribbs should put on a show on special teams.
Hester and Cribbs are chasing Brian Mitchell's NFL record of 13 kick returns for touchdowns. Hester has 11 (12 including playoffs, which do not count in the NFL record book) and Cribbs has eight, including two this season.
Now a starting receiver, Hester stands sixth in the league with a 12.9 average on punt returns. Cribbs, whose role on offense has mostly come in the Wildcat, leads the league with a 16.4 average on punt returns and stands fourth in kickoff returns with 28.9.
Knox, a fifth-round pick from Abilene Christian, ranks third in the league in kickoff returns with a 29.0 average, including a 102-yard touchdown.
Cribbs said he's inspired by Hester, a two-time Pro Bowler who burst onto the scene in 2006 with seven returns for touchdowns, including playoffs and a 108-yard return of a missed field goal.
''He's knocked down a lot of doors for the return game and special team players and is now becoming an outstanding offensive player,'' said Cribbs, who met Hester at the 2007 Pro Bowl. ''He's letting coaches know that special teams players can be core players.
''With him on the other side, it's like a best-of-the-best [matchup]. He's an awesome returner. I'm trying to chase him. His stats, scoring-wise, are above mine. He's just an awesome receiver.''
Hester has made great strides in his second season as a wide receiver. He leads the Bears with 28 catches for 373 yards and has 15 catches in the past two games (more than the Browns' entire receiving corps in the same span).
2. Perfect storm for Bears?
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has completed 20 passes of 20 or more yards this season, which has been the Achilles' heel of the Browns' defense, especially the past two weeks against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers. For the season, the Browns have surrendered 33 plays of 20-plus yards (including runs). Receiver Earl Bennett leads the Bears with seven receptions of 20-plus; Hester has six; Knox, three; and tight ends Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen, two each.
Cutler has been erratic in his first season with the Bears, with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, but he's on pace for a franchise-record 3,872 passing yards.
Bears coach Lovie Smith seems to be looking forward to facing the Browns, Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers before a Sunday night game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
''Right now we're a 3-3 ballclub and that's how we've played,'' Smith said. ''I'm just looking forward to this next stretch coming up. They don't give out championships in October. Hopefully, we can limit the amount of interceptions and get some takeaways.''
3. Forte finds form?
Packers running back Ryan Grant was having an average season until he faced the Browns, gashing them for 148 yards (5.5 average) and a touchdown. The Browns' run defense has allowed only two 100-yard rushers — Grant and the Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson (180 yards, three touchdowns) — but still ranks 31st in the league in run defense because most foes have used multiple backs.
That's good news for the Bears' Matt Forte, who finished seventh in the league in rushing (1,238 yards) as a rookie and third in yards from scrimmage (1,715). Forte has gained 318 yards (3.5 per carry, down from 3.9 a year ago) and has added 22 catches for 154 yards after catching 63 passes a year ago.
''I really liked Matt Forte coming out and that translated into pro football,'' Browns coach Eric Mangini said. ''He has the ability to dig it out and get inside, but he's also shown the ability to get to an edge and create some big plays. I know his average isn't what it was, but he still hit the 61-yarder [against the Detroit Lions] and he has the ability to do that at any point.''
According to NFL game statistics, opponents are making hay running at the Browns' inside linebackers, Eric Barton and D'Qwell Jackson/Kaluka Maiava. Last week, Maiava replaced Jackson, who is out for the season after pectoral surgery, but Mangini hinted that might not be the case this week.
4. A Browns' rushing TD?
The Browns have gone 13 games without a touchdown by a running back. Their lone one on the ground this year was a 1-yarder from quarterback Derek Anderson against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bears' rushing defense ranks 18th in the league and is missing star linebacker Brian Urlacher, out for the season after dislocating his wrist in the season opener. Perhaps running back Jamal Lewis can break the Browns' dubious streak.
5. Kamerion Wimbley.
The Browns' outside linebacker looked to be returning to his 2006 rookie form with four sacks in the first five games, then was sent home before the Steelers game with the flu and was still feeling its effects last week. Wimbley will not always get to the passer, but the Browns' rush is virtually nonexistent without him.
Prediction: Bears 28-21. Ridenour's record: 7-0.
— Marla Ridenour
1. Return specialists.
Save the refrigerator/bathroom breaks for when the Browns' offense is on the field because the Chicago Bears' Devin Hester and Johnny Knox and the Browns' Joshua Cribbs should put on a show on special teams.
Hester and Cribbs are chasing Brian Mitchell's NFL record of 13 kick returns for touchdowns. Hester has 11 (12 including playoffs, which do not count in the NFL record book) and Cribbs has eight, including two this season.
Now a starting receiver, Hester stands sixth in the league with a 12.9 average on punt returns. Cribbs, whose role on offense has mostly come in the Wildcat, leads the league with a 16.4 average on punt returns and stands fourth in kickoff returns with 28.9.
Knox, a fifth-round pick from Abilene Christian, ranks third in the league in kickoff returns with a 29.0 average, including a 102-yard touchdown.
Cribbs said he's inspired by Hester, a two-time Pro Bowler who burst onto the scene in 2006 with seven returns for touchdowns, including playoffs and a 108-yard return of a missed field goal.
''He's knocked down a lot of doors for the return game and special team players and is now becoming an outstanding offensive player,'' said Cribbs, who met Hester at the 2007 Pro Bowl. ''He's letting coaches know that special teams players can be core players.
''With him on the other side, it's like a best-of-the-best [matchup]. He's an awesome returner. I'm trying to chase him. His stats, scoring-wise, are above mine. He's just an awesome receiver.''
Hester has made great strides in his second season as a wide receiver. He leads the Bears with 28 catches for 373 yards and has 15 catches in the past two games (more than the Browns' entire receiving corps in the same span).
2. Perfect storm for Bears?
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has completed 20 passes of 20 or more yards this season, which has been the Achilles' heel of the Browns' defense, especially the past two weeks against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers. For the season, the Browns have surrendered 33 plays of 20-plus yards (including runs). Receiver Earl Bennett leads the Bears with seven receptions of 20-plus; Hester has six; Knox, three; and tight ends Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen, two each.
Cutler has been erratic in his first season with the Bears, with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, but he's on pace for a franchise-record 3,872 passing yards.
Bears coach Lovie Smith seems to be looking forward to facing the Browns, Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers before a Sunday night game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
''Right now we're a 3-3 ballclub and that's how we've played,'' Smith said. ''I'm just looking forward to this next stretch coming up. They don't give out championships in October. Hopefully, we can limit the amount of interceptions and get some takeaways.''
3. Forte finds form?
Packers running back Ryan Grant was having an average season until he faced the Browns, gashing them for 148 yards (5.5 average) and a touchdown. The Browns' run defense has allowed only two 100-yard rushers — Grant and the Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson (180 yards, three touchdowns) — but still ranks 31st in the league in run defense because most foes have used multiple backs.
That's good news for the Bears' Matt Forte, who finished seventh in the league in rushing (1,238 yards) as a rookie and third in yards from scrimmage (1,715). Forte has gained 318 yards (3.5 per carry, down from 3.9 a year ago) and has added 22 catches for 154 yards after catching 63 passes a year ago.
''I really liked Matt Forte coming out and that translated into pro football,'' Browns coach Eric Mangini said. ''He has the ability to dig it out and get inside, but he's also shown the ability to get to an edge and create some big plays. I know his average isn't what it was, but he still hit the 61-yarder [against the Detroit Lions] and he has the ability to do that at any point.''
According to NFL game statistics, opponents are making hay running at the Browns' inside linebackers, Eric Barton and D'Qwell Jackson/Kaluka Maiava. Last week, Maiava replaced Jackson, who is out for the season after pectoral surgery, but Mangini hinted that might not be the case this week.
4. A Browns' rushing TD?
The Browns have gone 13 games without a touchdown by a running back. Their lone one on the ground this year was a 1-yarder from quarterback Derek Anderson against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bears' rushing defense ranks 18th in the league and is missing star linebacker Brian Urlacher, out for the season after dislocating his wrist in the season opener. Perhaps running back Jamal Lewis can break the Browns' dubious streak.
5. Kamerion Wimbley.
The Browns' outside linebacker looked to be returning to his 2006 rookie form with four sacks in the first five games, then was sent home before the Steelers game with the flu and was still feeling its effects last week. Wimbley will not always get to the passer, but the Browns' rush is virtually nonexistent without him.
Prediction: Bears 28-21. Ridenour's record: 7-0.
— Marla Ridenour
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Paradise, Oh
Posted 05:57 PM, 10/31/2009
Sorry, but I'm not gonna watch. There isn't even one thing I want to watch on the Browns.
Akron, Oh
Posted 07:57 PM, 10/31/2009
It could have some worth while comic relief value.
hazzard, nc
Posted 07:59 PM, 10/31/2009
there is going to be only one thing to watch and thats the Browns gettin there behinds kicked!!!
clinton, oh
Posted 08:37 PM, 10/31/2009
But yet everybody reads every article on the Browns and some continue to feel compelled to comment.
Every Cleveland Browns fan will watch or listen or wear the TV remotes batteries down, flipping to the game for periodic scoring updates, in between reruns
of Andy Griffith Hogans Heroes or whatever else
tickles their fancy.
And if they are up in the fourth quarter they will probably be the most tuned in NFL game in Ohio
hazzard, nc
Posted 01:15 AM, 11/01/2009
because most browns fans by the fourth quarter are so drunk they dont care and the brady bunch is over....
Anti-Politically Correct & Anti-GOP, OH
Posted 08:02 AM, 11/01/2009
I think I'll watch the Lions & Rams on Direct TV. More TD's will be scored in that game.
akron, oh
Posted 10:40 AM, 11/01/2009
5 things to watch:
1) the worst quarterback in the history of the NFL
2) An awful defense
3) Browns fans leaving early
4) Drunken Bear's fans taunting our crappy team
5) Me, changing the channel
Pearland, TX
Posted 11:57 AM, 11/01/2009
Cutler vs. Anderson
who will throw most INTs??
two gunslingers who can't hit the broadside of a barn. Should be interesting..
clinton, oh
Posted 04:02 PM, 11/01/2009
Wow
It 3:57 PM Gameday
I am starting to enjoy the I love Lucy reruns again.
Somebodies head has got to roll after this one!!!
And yes my Remotes batteries are dead.
But mostly because I was avoiding Channel Nine not searching for it.
