Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
Big Papa;938855; said:Agree, freezing happens, and happens all the time. But this waiting until the very last second to make sure that the opposing team has to kick twice, is not nearly as frequent.
BuckeyeMike80;938862; said:It's been happening in college since they allowed the coaches to call TO from the sideline and it's done the same in the NFL (although that rule hasn't been in effect as long)....
It wasn't like Dawson hit a 55 yarder after the TO was called. Hell i don't think he could hit a 55 yarder without a hurricane behind him.
But a 40 yarder is supposed to be everything but automatic in the NFL.
RAIDERS 26, BROWNS 24
Cleveland Browns lose to Oakland Raiders
Monday, September 24, 2007 Tony Grossi
Plain Dealer Reporter
Oakland, Calif.- Snap, spot, thud!
And so it went, another try by the Browns to win two games in a row, swatted like a bug on a windshield.
Phil Dawson's second 40-yard field-goal kick on the last play of the game was blocked by Raiders defensive end Tommy Kelly, preserving a 26-24 Browns loss to previously winless Oakland.
"It was loud," Steve Heiden, the right wing on the Browns' field-goal team, said of the thunderous block.
The Raiders, who had lost 11 in a row over two seasons, took advantage of the NFL timeout rule passed in 2004 that cost them a win against Denver the week before.
As the Browns lined up for the field goal, Oakland coach Lane Kiffin informed an official from the bench that he wanted a timeout just before Dawson tried his kick. Unaware, the Browns executed the play, and Dawson nailed the kick.
Continued....
SCIRBBLES IN MY NOTEBOOK
Browns miss out on this winnable game
Monday, September 24, 2007 Terry Pluto
Plain Dealer Columnist
Oakland, Calif.- The Browns can talk about the blocked field goal, about the passive defense, about the missed changes on offense. But they still should have won this game. Oakland played like a team that had lost 11 in a row dating back to 2006, a team that was 15-51 since 2003. At the end of the game, Oakland was a team waiting for something to go wrong, waiting to lose - yet, the Browns couldn't come up with a single big play when it mattered.
Here's how bad it's been for Oakland - when it finally scored a TD in the second quarter, it was the Raiders' first TD in the first half in their past seven games. The fans were booing starting quarterback Josh McCown harshly. All the Browns had to do was score early, shut down the Raiders a few times, and they would have owned this game. But they were emotionally flat in the first half, except for the relentless Josh Cribbs and his 99-yard kickoff return for a TD.
It was disturbing to hear coach Romeo Crennel first talk about how poorly his team played, then add, "We tried to muster up some energy at the end." This should have been a game where passion flowed from the opening kickoff. The Browns were coming off a 51-45 victory over Cincinnati. They had a chance to win two in a row for the first time since 2003. Yet, they seemed like a team unprepared for the noise - guard Seth McKinney jumped offsides twice in the first quarter, and Eric Steinbach also was flagged for the same violation. They seemed confused a few times lining up and had to burn a timeout.
Continued....
Losses cast shadow on Browns coach Romeo Crennel's defensive reputation
Monday, September 24, 2007 Bud Shaw
Plain Dealer Columnist
Oakland- Imagine if Ro meo Crennel weren't so well liked in the locker room. As it is, this team seems to have his back in much the same way Brutus had Caesar's.
Imagine if he weren't a defensive expert. Could the Browns possibly give up more rushing yards, let more receivers run behind them, miss more tackles, allow any more third-and-23 screen passes to move the chains when they absolutely have to get a stop?
What Crennel called "par for the course around here" - Oakland's LaMont Jordan joining Cincinnati's Rudi Johnson and Pittsburgh's Willie Parker in trampling Crennel's defense for 100-plus yards Sunday - is utterly damning given his background.
Continued....
Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson inconsistent
Monday, September 24, 2007 Mary Kay Cabot
Plain Dealer Reporter
Oakland, Calif.- Browns quarterback Derek Anderson showed flashes of being the reigning AFC Offensive Player of the Week that he was, but they came too late for the Browns to climb out of their 26-24 black hole against the Raiders.
"I struggled," said a visibly upset Anderson. "I've got to be better for us to win, point blank. There's no two ways about it. I made poor decisions. It hurts."
The buzzword for Anderson since he burst onto the scene last season has been "inconsistent." One day, he'll take what the defense gives him. The next, he'll give the defense what it wants to take - namely, the ball.
Continued.....
BROWNS INSIDER
Wright might be replaced at cornerback
Monday, September 24, 2007 Mary Kay Cabot
Plain Dealer Reporter
Oakland, Calif. -- Browns rookie cornerback Eric Wright might have to take a step back and learn a few things from the sidelines for a while.
A very testy Romeo Crennel had harsh words for the defense in general and for Wright in particular. Wright gave up a 41-yard TD pass to Ronald Curry after letting the receiver get behind him deep.
"You try to get him deeper, for one, and if you've got other people to look at, maybe you try to take a look at other people -- if they don't stay back and do their job," said Crennel.
Continued.....
Cribbs' patience pays off with TD
Monday, September 24, 2007 Terry Pluto
Plain Dealer Columnist
Oakland, Calif.- Just wait, that's what Josh Cribbs kept telling himself.
Just wait for the moment to come, for the ball to be in his hands. Just wait for the first quarter to end, for the wind to switch from whipping into his face to blowing at his back.
That's what happened in the second quarter of the Browns' 26-24 loss at Oakland on Sunday.
Oakland's kicker is Sebastian Janikowski, who came into the day having 7 of 9 kickoffs booted so deep they could not be returned. He had two more in first quarter.
Then, the teams changed end zones. Then, Cribbs' heart beat a little faster, his hope raised a little higher.
"I don't care how good he is, he won't kick this one out of the end zone," said Cribbs to teammates. "Not with this wind, so be ready."
Continued....
Every churn of a coach and every new QB that goes with it stymies the organization for a few more years....This loss just took this organization to an all time new low....
OSUBasketballJunkie;939007; said:The outcome was not what we wanted obviously, but there were some positives in this game.......they did show some resolve to continue to fight back from a 16 point deficit. We have some issues at quarterback and defensive line that will need to be addressed but I wouldn't term this loss as an all time new low.......now if we were shut out by Oakland and they dominated us, well my opinion may have changed....I see some steps but still some very serious problems with the team and it starts with the head coach.
Cribbs' patience pays off with TD
Monday, September 24, 2007 Terry Pluto
Plain Dealer Columnist
Oakland, Calif.- Just wait, that's what Josh Cribbs kept telling himself.
Just wait for the moment to come, for the ball to be in his hands. Just wait for the first quarter to end, for the wind to switch from whipping into his face to blowing at his back.
That's what happened in the second quarter of the Browns' 26-24 loss at Oakland on Sunday.
Oakland's kicker is Sebastian Janikowski, who came into the day having 7 of 9 kickoffs booted so deep they could not be returned. He had two more in first quarter.
Then, the teams changed end zones. Then, Cribbs' heart beat a little faster, his hope raised a little higher.
"I don't care how good he is, he won't kick this one out of the end zone," said Cribbs to teammates. "Not with this wind, so be ready."
Continued....