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When: Sun. 12/18
4:15 pm EST
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Televised: Sun.
12/18
4:15 pm EST (DirecTV Sunday Ticket Ch. 713)
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Satellite Radio: Sun.
12/18
4:15 pm EST (SIRIUS Radio - Ch. 93)
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Setup
Overview
Browns' Last Game
Meet the
Browns
Cardinals Roster
Browns vs. Cardinals Matchups
Final Word
Setup:
The Cards are playing for pride
and the remotest possibility they can make the playoffs. In doing
so, they're playing well (especially the defense) and have won 6
of their last 7. Cleveland is 4 & 9 and just trying to get better.
They've lost 6 of their last 7 games (and their last 3).
Overview
One way to look at it is that this is a
rebuilding year for the Browns as young QB Colt McCoy becomes
acclimated to life as a pro. Browns made it to 3 & 3 before losing
3-straight to go to 3 & 6. They then beat the Jags to go 4 & 6,
but lost three straight to the Bengals, Ravens and Steelers to
wind up where they are today at 4 & 9. According to PFF
ratings, the Browns are ranked #23 overall (which isn't good until
you realize the Cards are ranked #26).
Browns'
Last Game
They lost to the Steelers
14 to 3. A review of the play-by-play suggests a typical AFC-North
conservatively -played struggle for field position marked by
injuries, challenged plays and turnovers; during which Cleveland
failed to capitalize on an atypical Pittsburgh "bad hair day." It
was a 3 - 4 point game either way - from the opening drive all the
way to the final 3:11, with both teams boloing on opportunities to
score TD's and steal the contest. (Take away that final TD
completion to Brown - after Haden had slipped and fallen - and you
had a 7 - 3 "pitchers dual" which could have gone either way.
First Quarter
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Cribbs returned the KO to the Cleveland
22. McCoy took his team to the Steeler 1-yard line in 9 plays
but had to settle for a 20-yard Dawson FG. Key plays in the
drive were a 33-yard completion from McCoy to T Taylor and a
25-yard deep completion to Cribbs. Browns 3 -
Steelers 0.
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TPittsburgh returned the KO to their own
27. A 22 yard completion to M Wallace and an illegal hands
flag on Sheard helped move the ball on the Brown 47. A 22-yard
gain by Wallace on an end-around helped set up an 11-yard TD
completion to Cotcherie. Steelers 7 - Browns 3.
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Touchback on the KO. Browns ran
three straight running plays (Hillis and Cribbs) before an
illegal receiver downfield flag disrupted the drive and
Cleveland punted from their own 42. O-O-B on the Steeler 10. A
20-yard completion with a roughing the passer penalty tacked
on moved the ball to the Steeler 46 as the quarter ended.
1st Quarter Score:
Steelers 7 - Browns 3.
Second Quarter
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(Call this the "Hot Potato Quarter"). Two
plays after moving to the Cleveland 21, HInes Ward fumbled
after catching a Big Ben pass. Cleveland recovered on their
own 15. A 13-yard run by Cribbs helped move the Browns to
their own 28, but McCoy's pass intended for Moore was picked
off by Polamalu. Pittsburgh ball on the Cleveland 10. Two
plays later, Pittsburgh gave the ball right back when Jackson
recovdered a Heath Miller fumble. Cleveland ball on their own
9. A 17-yard pass to Little helped Cleveland get out of poor
field position, but a roughness call on Watson pushed them
right back to their own 17. But a 28-yard run by Ogbonnaya up
the middle out of a Wildcat moved the Browns to the Steeler
49, but McCoy got sacked on 3rd & 4 and Cleveland punted. Ball
was downed on the Steeler 5. Four plays later, Roethlisberger
was sacked by Paxon and left the game.
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Pittsburgh had to punt from their own 20.
It was returned to the Cleveland 48; but the Browns went 3 &
out and its punt went O-O-B at the Pittsburgh 7 with 3:35 left
in the half. Batch in for Ben. Pittsburgh (staying pretty much
on the ground for the rest of the half). On a rare passing
play, Batch was sacked by D Jackson and contributed to a
Steeler 3 & out. Pittsburgh punted from their own 8. Punt was
muffed but recovered by Norwood. There was an illegal touching
flag on Pittsburgh during the return. Cleveland ball at the
Steeler 43 with 2:59 left. Nada. Browns went 3 & out.
Maynard's punt from Steeler 40 only went 19 yards and was
downed at the Steeler 21 with 1:58 left. A holding call
helped force Pittsburgh into a 3 & out. Cleveland downed the
punt at the ir own 44 but McCoy got sacked on the final play
of the quarter. First Half Score: Steelers 7 - Browns
3. .
Third Quarter
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A reverse on the opening 2H KO
didn't work and Pittsburgh started from their own 7.
Roethlisberger returned. Four of Pittsburgh's first 5 plays
were runs by Mendenhall. In fact, 7 of their first 9 plays
were running plays as they just plugged on up the field to the
Cleveland 30 before a holding call killed the drive. Their
punt was fair-caught at the Cleveland 10. The Browns used 5:41
and 12 plays to reach the Pittsburgh 45 and punt. (A false
start flag at the 43 didn't help). Punt went O-O-B at the
Pittsburgh 10. Roethilsberger mixed runs and
short passes to move to the Brown 41 in 6 plays as the quarter
ended. Third Quarter Score: Steelers 7 - Browns 3.
Fourth Quarter
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A 27 yard completion to Brown and a
24-yard completion to Wallace put the ball on the Brown 2-yard
line, but 4 straight shots of Mendenhall failed and the Browns
took over on their own 1-yard line. Browns went 3 & out and
punted from their own 5. Ball was fair -caught by Steelers at
the Cleveland 38. An offensive holding flag was followed by an
interception on a deep pass by Adams, who returned it to the
Cleveland 44.
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7:10 left in the game. On the third
play of the possession, McCoy was injured after a
controversial hit by Harrison. (Roughing penalty omoved the
ball to the Steeler 19. Wallace managed to get Cleveland to
the Pittsburgh 5. McCoy re-entered the game. A grounding call
moved the ball back to the Steeler 16. On the next play,
McCoy's pass intended for Massaquois was interecepted in the
end zone. 3:11 left too play. Instead of staying on the ground
to run out the clock, two plays, Roethlisberger threw a short
pass to Brown who ran 79 yards for a Pittsburgh TD.
Steelers 14 - Browns 3.
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2:52 left. KO was returned to the
Cleveland 16. McCoy mixed short passes with a couple of
penalties on Pittsburgh (for defensive holding and offsides)
and an interception reversal to move to the Steeler 33 in 12
plays where- on 4th & 1 with 0:07 on the clock - McCoy got
sacked and time ran out. Final Score:
Steelers 14 - Browns 3.
Meaningful Game Stats
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McCoy had very (early) Skelton and Kolb
newbie stats, completing 18 for 35 and 209 yards, 2 TD's and
no interceptions.
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RB by Committee resulted in 25 rushing yards
by Hillis, 24 by Hardesty and 31 (on 2 carries) by
Ogbonnaya.
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Six Brown receivers gained from between 19
and 55 yards on 2 - 4 completions. Longest gain was for 33
yards (by E Moore who led the team with 4 catches).
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Jackson and Paxon had one sack apiece.
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Jackson led all tacklers with 13 followed by
M Adams (10), Gocong (8) and Haden (8)
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Pass to Run Ratio - 39 passing plays/30
rushing plays.
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Brown QB's were sacked three times/Brown
pass rushers were credited with 2 sacks.
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McCoy was picked off twice/Adams'
interception was the only Brown take-away.
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Cleveland recovered 2 fumbles/gave up no
fumbles.
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Browns won the time of possession battle
32:18 o 27:42
Meet the Browns
They're young and in the midst of a remake.
They play in a tough, physical division. They seem to like a lot
of Stanford guys.
Quarterbacks
12 McCoy, Colt
QB 6-1 215 25 2 Texas
06 Wallace, Seneca
QB 5-11 205 31 9 Iowa State
09 Lewis, Thaddeus
QB 6-2 200 24 1 Duke
Evaluation
Young McCoy (concussion) is listed as
"out." for Sunday (He was rated negatively
overall, as a passer and as a runner. He seems to be experiencing
the same learning curve that Skelton and Kolb are going through at
the same time). He will be replaced by the more mobile but less
productive Wallace (considered by many Arizona fans as a "Cardinal
Killer."
Running Backs
40 Hillis, Peyton
RB 6-2 250 25 4 Arkansas
31 Hardesty, Montario
RB 6-0 225 24 2 Tennessee
25 Ogbonnaya, Chris
RB 6-0 225 25 2 Texas
48 Marecic, Owen
FB 6-0 245 23 R Stanford
Evaluation
Hillis has positive
ratings, overall, as a receiver and as a runner. Hardesty and
Ogbonnaya rate negatively overall as runners and as pass blockers.
Wide Receivers
15 Little, Greg
WR 6-2 220 22 R North Carolina
10 Norwood, Jordan
WR 5-11 180 25 1 Penn State
18
Mitchell, Carlton
WR 6-3 215 23 2 South Florida
11 Massaquoi, Mohamed
WR 6-2 207 25 3 Georgia
16
Cribbs, Joshua
WR 6-1 215 28 7 Kent State
Evaluation
Little gets most of the
snaps. Massaquoi and Cribbs split duty on the other side. Little
and Massaquois have negative ratings overall and as receivers, but
Cribbs rates on the plus-side.. Most experienced WR is
a former RB (Cribbs). None of the other guys have more than
3-years of experience.
Tight
Ends
82 Watson, Benjamin
TE 6-3 255 30 8 Georgia
89
Moore, Evan
TE 6-6 250 26 3 Stanford
81
Smith, Alex
TE 6-4 258 29 7 Stanford
84 Cameron, Jordan
TE 6-5 245 23 R USC
Evaluation
Watson has been placed on IR. (He was rated a good pass blocker but
deficient as a receiver, run blocker and overall). Moore and Smith
had split the #2 TE responsibility - Smith rates negative
overall but Moore has positive ratings overall and as a receiver.
Offensive Line
73 Thomas, Joe
LT 6-6 312 27 5 Wisconsin
62 Pinkston, Jason
LG 6-4 305 24 R Pittsburgh
75 Hicks, Artis
OL 6-4 325 33 10 Memphis
55 Mack, Alex
C 6-4 311 26 3 California
60 Vallos, Steve
OL 6-3 310 27 5 Wake Forest
66
Lauvao, Shawn
RG 6-3 315 24 2 Arizona State
77 Greco, John
OL 6-4 315 26 4 Toledo
79 Pashos, Tony
RT 6-6 325 31 9 Illinois
72 Cousins, Oniel
OL 6-4 315 27 4 Texas-El Paso
Evaluation:
Pashos and Lauvao remain listed a "questionable" for
Sunday. (Darnell should be boosted by that). Thomas is arguably the best LT in the NFL and
understandably has high positive ratings. Mack and Pashos have
decent ratings - overall and as pass blockers. Pinkston.
Lauvao, Cousins and Hicks all rate negatively overall and as pass
blockers.
Defensive Line
97 Sheard, Jabaal
LDE 6-2 255 22 R Pittsburgh
94 English, Auston
DL 6-3 250 24 1 Oklahoma
98 Taylor, Phillip
DT 6-3 335 23 R Baylor
69 Paxson, Scott
DL 6-4 290 28 2 Penn State
67 Tripp, Kiante
DT 6-6 276 24 R Georgia
71 Rubin, Ahtyba
DT 6-2 330 25 4 Iowa State
70 Sanford, Brian
DL 6-2 280 24 2 Temple
92 Mitchell, Jayme RDE 6-6 285 27 6 Mississippi
91 Schaefering, Brian
DL 6-4 295 28 2 Lindenwood
Evaluation
:
Sheard (a rook) and Rubin have strong positive ratings
across the board. It looks like Sheard (who was injured) will
play. Taylor can pass rush but is weak vs,. the run
and negative overall. Mitchell, Paxon, Mitchell and English are
weak pass rushers (though Paxon did pick up a sack vs. Steelers).
Mitchell is solid vs, the run. Their two starting
DT's (Taylor and Rubin) are huge run-stuffers at 335 lbs.
Linebacker
51 Gocong, Chris
SLB 6-2 263 28 6 Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
90 Spears, Quinton
LB 6-4 234 23 R Prarie View A&M
52 Jackson, D'Qwell
MLB 6-0 240 28 6 Maryland
59 Brown, Titus
LB 6-3 250 25 2 Mississippi State
56 Maiava, Kaluka
WLB 6-0 229 24 3 USC
54 Jacobs, Benjamin
LB 6-4 243 23 R Fresno State
Evaluation
Scott Fujita was injured and replaced by Kaluka.
Jackson had a terrific game vs. Pittsburgh. He has very good
rating overall plus positives vs. the run and in pass coverage.
Gocong appears to be a liability - overall, vs, the run and in
pass coverage. Kaluka in a briefer number of appearances, is
rating slightly positive overall and vs. the run.
Secondary
23 Haden, Joe
LCB 5-11 190 22 2 Florida
22 Skrine, Buster
DB 5-9 185 22 R Tennessee-Chattanooga
24 Brown, Sheldon
RCB 5-10 200 32 10 South Carolina
21 Patterson, Dimitri
DB 5-10 200 28 5 Tuskegee
34 Dockery, James
DB 6-1 185 23 R Oregon State
20 Adams, Mike
FS 5-11 200 30 8 Delaware
28 Young, Usama
DB 6-0 200 26 5 Kent State
43 Ward, T. J.
SS 5-10 200 25 2 Oregon
41
Ventrone, Ray
DB 5-10 200 29 6 Villanova
27 Hagg, Eric
DB 6-1 205 22 R Nebraska
Evaluation:
Haden has excellent ratings overall and in pass coverage.
He does have negative rating for being penalized (probably
interference and defensive holding vs. his opponent's #1
receiver). Brown is a cagey 10 yr. veteran who is in Negative City
overall, in coverage and in run support. Starting FS Adams (from
now on to be known as the Browns Mike Adams as opposed to the
Cardinals' Michael Adams) is weak overall and vs. the run but
pretty good in coverage. SS Ward is tough vs. the run as is
Young (who unfortunately is a bit weak in coverage).
Special Teams
04 Dawson, Phil
K 5-11 200 36 13 Texas
07 Maynard, Brad
P/H 6-1 188 37 15 Ball State
57 Yount, Christian
LS 6-3 256 23 R UCLA
16 Cribbs, Joshua
KR/PR/WR 6-1 215 28 7 Kent State
Evaluation:
Both Dawson and Maynard have positive overall ratings. Dawson is
making 80% of his FG attempts, but will occasionally miss both
chip shots and longer attempts.
Maynard (who has been around since Otto Graham) has a very
respectable 36.6 net yardage punting average. Cribbs is a genuine
danger in the return game, but Browns have had no TD's on punt or
kickoff returns thus far this season. Cribb's is averaging 26.2
yards per KO return and almost 10 yards per punt return.
Coaches
Pat Shurmer
Head Coach
No Offensive Coordinator (They split up the duties)
Dick Jauron Defensive Coordinator
Chris Tabor Special Teams Coordinator
Evaluation:
Shurmer appears to be rebuilding his football team. Like the
Cardinals, they appear to be dividing the offensive play-calling
and other coaching duties. Jauron (a Yale grad) is highly
experienced and a well-regarded former coach of the Bills. I don't
know anything about Tabor.
Cardinal Roster
Overall
After a disasterous start, the
Cards have started to win the close ones for a change, and have
won 5 of their last 6 games. They've done so via a combination of
big plays on offense and special teams and a defense that has
tightened up considerably and played consistently well after the
mid-season point. You get the feeling now, that
the team as a whole is getting used to playing from behind and
having confidence that it can
come back to win. (You can't teach this; he team has to feel it.
By Position
QB - 4 Kolb, 19
Skelton, 02 Bartel
After a decent (if not spectacular) return to beat Dallas,
Kolb was kicked in the head after being sacked (& coughing up
the football). He left the game and was replaced by Skelton who
wound up with a 90.0+ passer rating and three TD passes to
(overcome a couple of interceptions and) beat the Niners. The
conspiracy theory part of me wonders out loud whether Kolb was
held out less due to concussion symptoms and more because of
Wiz's unwritten rule that "if you don't protect the ball, you will
sit." It's unclear which of the two QB's will start vs. Cleveland
Sunday.
RB - 26, Wells,
36
Stephens-Howling (KR/PR),
29 C Taylor, 46 A. Smith
The Cardinal running attack has proved that,
under the right circumstances, it can be effective (witness
Beanie's 228 yards two weeks ago along with LSH's game winner off
a busted screen pass vs. Dallas). But it's more a matter of
"taking what the defense than it is a "we'll run it when we feel
like it" approach to running the football. RB
Alfonso Smith and Chester Taylor (who looks better and better)
provide much needed depth.
FB - 35 Sherman
Sherman is back from injury.
He's a throwback FB who still seems a tad rusty.
WR -
85 Doucet , 12
Roberts, 17 Stuckey, xx J Johnson
WR -11 Fitzgerald, 14 S Williams,
89 Sampson
Fitz had a spectacular day vs. SF. It seems as though:
when Skelton plays, Roberts shines and Doucet struggles, but it's
vice versa when Kolb is back there (i.e. Doucet heats up and
Roberts fades). We haven't seen much of
Williams, Stuckey or Sampson all season and the Cards brought up
Jaymar Johnson from the practice squad (for some unknown reason). .
TE -
86
Heap, 87 King,
84 Housler,
81 Dray,
This unit continues to be banged up and a
bit inconsistent (i.e. not catching the tough balls and taking too
many penalties) but at least Heap is back and young Housler should
see more action. King's consistent
presence has helped stabilize things
at TE.
LT- 75 L Brown, 73 Bridges
LG-
71 Colledge,
OC- 63Sendlein
RG-
70 Hadnot (C), 76
Lutui
RT
72 Keith,
74 Batiste
We continue to struggle badly at OT (though
give credit for this unit for providing sufficient time in the 2H
of recent games to enable Kolb or Skelton to make enough plays to
enable us to come back from behind). Still, Brown, Keith and Bridges all rank
close dead last among OT's. Colledge, Hadnot and
Sendlein rank somewhat better, though Colledge takes more
penalties than we'd like.
DE - 93 Campbell,
96 Talley
NT -
98
Eason, 79 Carter
DT - 90 Dockett,
91 Holliday
Campbell continues to play at a dominating
level withDockett right behind them. Carter and Williams have
stabilized things inside, and the Cardinal run defense (especially
in the red zone) has been increasingly stingy. Holiday
continues to provide veteran leadership and backup stability.
WLB - 50 Schofield,
55 Porter,
ILB
51
Lenon,
52 Bradley
ILB-
558 D Washington,
56 Walker,
SLB
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94 Acho, 53
Haggans,
The youngsters - Washington, Acho and Schofield
- continue to impress. It's not just that they're making key
plays, it's that they're playing at a high level consistently game
after game. Some onlookers feel
Washington is our best defensive player. Bradley is beginning to make his presence felt
- especially in coverage..
RCB -
21 Peterson,
31
Marshall
LCB-
20 Jefferson,
27 Adams,
32 Lindsay
SS- 24 Wilson,
41 Abdullah,
40
Tillman
FS-49
Rash Johnson,
37 Celestine,
25 Rhodes,
You see improvement each week from the four
corners (Peterson, Marshall, Jefferson and Adams) both in
technique and the way they play Ray Horton's complex defensive
schemes.
A-Dub continues to overcome his earlier injury and
make more key plays each week. I especially like the way he'll
read a key, leave his primary area of responsibility and zoom up
into the opposing backfield to blow up a roll-out or a a screen. Johnson has admirably filled in for the injured
Kerry Rhodes (who may return to action sooner not later) but lacks
Kerry's playmaking dazzle.
K-04
Feely
P- 09 Zastudil
H -
09
Zastudil
LS-
82 Leach
KR -
37Stephens-Howling, 20 Jefferson
PR -
21
Peterson
Feely hasn't had to do
much of late, but has been solid. Zastudil's long distance punting
saved us vs. Dallas, but his directional punting (or lack thereof)
almost allowed Ted Ginn Jr to beat us last week vs. SF. Peterson
(4 TD's on punt returns) has now reached a point where everyone
expects him to score a TD every time the football is anywhere in
his area.
Browns
vs. Cards Matchups
Roster-wise, this should be our easiest game of the season, going
up against a backup QB with average receivers, a spotty offensive
line and only Hillis to worry about on defense with a few
weaknesses to exploit on defense (notably at one corner and one
safety and spotty talent vs. the run.
Cleveland Passing Attack
vs. Cardinal
Pass Defense
McCoy (concussion) has been declared "out" for Sunday and will
be replaced with Cardinal
killer, Seneca Wallace - who gives Cleveland a Michael Vick
capability.
He'll be throwing mainly to Massaquois,
Little, Cribbs and Watson and one of the RB's out of the
backfield.
Cardinal pass rushers should (5 sacks each of
the past two weeks) should have an interesting time vs. suspect
Brown pass blockers, but in Wallace, we will need to employ
different rules of engagement (i.e.
Michael Vick Rules) - i.e. gap discipline, don't overrun the
target when blitzing, outsidecontain etc. We'll probably assign
different
spies on different plays to contain Wallace. Logically, it would
make sense for Cleveland to employ a lot of roll-outs off play
action hand-offs and fakes to Hillis and his backup RB's. Cards
have to make certain that, in their zeal to chase Wallace, they
don't get gashed up the middle on running plays.
Just a guess, but I suspect the Cards have more
quality pass defenders (in Peterson, Marshall, Jefferson and The
Cardinals Mike Adams) than Wallace has in receiving options.
Cleveland
Running Attack vs.
Cardinal Run Defense
The biggest threat posed by
the Cleveland offense can be found in their ability to play
"smashmouth" behind the running of Peyton Hillis. And note that
last week Ogbonnaya scorched the Steelers once or twice from a
direct-snap (Wildcat) type formation.
The Cardinals have been "tough enough" vs. the run in recent weeks
(meaning that we may give up more yards than the stat guys feel
desirable but also can be stout vs. the run when the outcome of
the game depends on our stopping them).
Run defense is very much a matter of attitude. Of late the
Cardinals' attitude in this area has been outstanding, but they
must be careful not to let their guard down or more physical teams
like the Browns will blacktop them early and often.
Cardinal Passing Attack
vs.
Cleveland
Pass Defense
Kolb
or Skelton? Dunno, but our guess is that we'll exercise a degree
of caution over Kolb's concussion symptoms and start Skelton. Both
QB's have a history of starting slow but making adjustments in the
2H good enough to pull out close games. The way the overall
matchups look, this may be one of those games where all we have to
do is play conservatively, keep mistakes (especially turnovers) to
a minimum, take a few shots when they appear and just let
our favorable matchups prevail.
In Fitz, Doucet, Roberts, Heap and LSH, we have
more receiving options than the Browns have quality cover guys.
But then there's the issue of suspect Cardinal pass blocking. I
hope the Millers will pull pages out of the playbook which stress
high percentage passes and minimize the potential number of times
our QB's can get cold-cocked and put the ball up for grabs (either
via fumbles or interceptions). Special attention should be paid by
Sendlein, Colledge and Hadnot to the Browns' inside pass rush
(from the 2 DT's (Taylor and Rubin), Paxon and their MLB
(Jackson).
Cardinal
Running Attack vs. Cleveland
Run Defense
Cards should definitely try to establish their run game, but I
doubt they're going to be very effective running inside the
tackles into 335 lb Taylor and Rubin. A better approach may be via
tosses and sweeps to the perimeter and screens to our RB's out of
the backfield. This may not be Beanie's week to shine, but The
Howler and Chester Taylor could have huge days.
Special Teams
Both teams can be effective in the return game (the Browns
with Cribbs and the Cards with LSH and Peterson). We're both solid
in the kicking game, but I'd give the edge to Maynard over
Zastudil in the punting area - directionally and with regard to
total yardage and hang-time consistency.
Coaching
HI don't know much about Shurmer.
Final Word
If there was ever a proof-positive example of
why you should play one game at a time, focus on excellence on
every assignment and don't concern yourself with such mundane
things as potential playoff spots or how your team matches up with
their opponent on paper - it would be this one. The matchups look
good - which only means that if every member of this Cardinal
football team puts his nose to the grindstone and plays his butt
off, everything else will take care of itself. But lose focus - if
only for a second - and see how quickly the football gods turn on
you.
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