Raiders 20, Browns 16

I don't know why, but Tony Rizzo's classic 2010 Browns rant immediately comes to mind after a game like this. I can't forget his classic line when he was blowing a gasket after one of many losses that year.

"This team is crap. It's been crap for years. It's Groundhog Day. We haven't had a playmaker on offense in five years, and I'm sick of it!"

I would share the link to it, but this is a family-friendly website. But I'm sure it's still up on YouTube somewhere in the far-reaches of cyberspace if you want to watch it.

But one other rant that is more family-friendly will never go out of style. Watch this if you need to. I did. And I still get a laugh out of it all these years later. It's good therapy for any bad day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRBDMMVctu8

Mike Polk is a legend. And I had the honor of bumping into him when I was a college student at Kent State when this was posted for all the world to see. He's a cool guy, and I would highly recommend going to any of his shows since he still does standup comedy. He deserves the support.

But now that I've taken a deep breath, let's go through the anatomy of another infuriating Browns loss. These hurt. It's like ripping a Band-Aid off. Sometimes you just have to do it. So here goes...

No Defense

There were many things that went horribly wrong today. But I view this one as the bedrock of everything else. If the defense had actually played like they did last season, the other things wouldn't have been so magnified. And the Browns may have even won this game. But I saw so many things that made me cuss a blue streak!

Most importantly, the Browns surrendered 152 yards rushing. 5.2 yards per carry. If that's bad enough, here's where it gets worse: The Raiders were the worst rushing team in the NFL through three games, and averaged 51 yards per game.

The Browns gave up THREE TIMES as many rushing yards. The defense routinely found themselves either getting gashed for big plays on the ground, or they were letting Vegas routinely get anywhere from 4-5 yards per carry on first down.

I don't care how great of a defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is supposed to be, and how talented our guys are supposed to be on that side of the football. When you let an offense routinely get that kind of yardage on first down, it makes it so much easier for them to keep the chains moving.

Good and great defenses routinely put offenses into second and long, and third and long situations, and get off the field. The Browns did that a lot last year. but it was nowhere to be found today.

They just played flat, uninspired football on defense. They had no passion, energy or intensity. And if you don't have these three things in spades, you will lose. Football is an inherently emotional, passionate game. That's how it's meant to be played. Champions play it that way! Always!

The Raiders ran all over Cleveland today, and made me see shades of Joe Woods and his "defense." This unit was softer than the Pillsbury Doughboy. Good lord!

Miscues, Miscues, Miscues

Penalties, drops and botched snaps. Oh my!

There were too many of these to go through them all. But a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on Alex Wright, a dropped pass by Amari Cooper that turned into an interception, and a holding call on backup center Nick Harris, led to a 17-point swing. That was the "unholy trinity of mistakes" today.

I personally think the holding call on Harris was junk, and it wiped out what would have been the go-ahead touchdown to Amari Cooper. But if a team executes better and as cleanly as they can, it never comes down to a controversial call like that.

I'll go on the record as saying I think the ref got it wrong. I think he messed up. I don't think it was holding. But the Browns should've never counted on a no-call in the first place. They just played like crap, and paid for it dearly. The holding call was just the turd in the punchbowl. The exclamation point on a comedy of errors.

Still Waiting on Watson

Does anyone know where Deshaun Watson is? We sold the farm for him, but he still hasn't showed up in Cleveland now for over two years. I'm beginning to think he's running late.

All sarcasm aside, I don't know who this imposter is, but I don't like him. He did still get sacked three times today. But he had more opportunities this week than last week, and still sucked. He went 24-32 for 176 yards, a TD and a pick.

Minus a couple big plays, the Browns offense was never really any threat to the Raiders. The Dawgs were toothless, and they were led by a guy who looked timid, scared, and like he was disinterested.

And again, he was laughing after the interception that should have been a catch by Amari Cooper. I don't know what's wrong with this guy. I sometimes laugh out of nervousness in bad or nerve-wracking situations. Maybe he does the same thing? But it just irritates me to no end when I see that!

I'm also reminded of another thing when I see players laughing or smiling during or after a loss. I would react just like Billy Beane did if I was part of the coaching staff or front office for the Browns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyyGgcRqrhs

I'm a competitor. I'm passionate. I'm fiery. I want to WIN! And I'm tired of seeing these kinds of things, while I wait for my team to finally get there!

Chalk this frustration up to my Irish temper or something, I don't know. But I've always been extremely competitive. I compete in everything. Board games, card games, videogames, you name it.

For those who know me, I am a friendly, easygoing guy most of the time.

But when I compete at something, I become a different person. I grow an edge. I flip a switch. I aim to win, and bust my butt to do so. If I compete, and I'm not in there to win, what's the point?

I don't think like some billionaire sports owners do. I don't care about state-of-the-art scoreboards or a new stadium. I don't care about cool new uniforms that are based on ones from 1946. I care about winning.

I care if this team actually PLAYS like those teams from the 40s, 50s, 60s and 80s. Those teams didn't care what they were wearing. All they did was win. They competed for and won division and league Championships. And they had good ownership and coaching to help them get there! I just hope I consistently live to see today's Browns do that!

Up Next

I always try to be the eternal optimist. But I'm not looking forward to these next two games. Next week the Browns travel to DC to take on the Washington Commanders, who are a surprising 3-1 after they beat the Cardinals 42-14. Then they have Philly on the road, who's likely going to be out for blood after getting smacked by Baker Mayfield and the Bucs today.

I knew the Browns had the toughest schedule in the league. But they're arguably making things tougher not by losing to the teams they're playing, but by making so many dumb mistakes. If they played clean, disciplined, hard-hitting football, they could beat anybody. But I don't know if that will happen at any point this year. I have serious doubts.

Whenever you're frustrated or angry, go back to these posts and reread them for a good laugh. Or a reminder that you're not alone. I take these losses just as hard as anybody. It's irritating, comical, and sometimes flat out frustrating. But I go through it with all of you. Thanks for reading these.

Hang in there, Dawg Pound.

Statistical Leaders

Deshaun Watson: 24-32, 176 yards, TD, INT

Jerome Ford: 10 carries, 58 yards

Jerry Jeudy: 6 receptions, 72 yards

Sources

ESPN

RolloTomasi 86 YouTube Channel

clevelandthundercat YouTube Channel

Picture Credit

raiders.com