BL Predicts: Browns vs Steelers

This years Browns team has shown the importance of experience in the NFL.   Time and time again, our Browns have lost close games as veteran laden opponents seize key moments and our young Browns did not.  Against the Steelers this week, we face an opponent who is severely weakened by injury.   Our young team today has enough talent to beat the Steelers.  Motivation hasn't been a problem for the Browns this year but what has hurt the Browns is lack of production in key moments, especially on offense.    Having confidence in a few key plays that can produce yards in a critical moment.    Today against the Steelers is a test of character and this team has shown character all season long.



BL Predicts:   Our offense today will step up and execute in key moments and the Browns will finally win a game we deserve to win.   If the Steelers were at full strength it would be another story but today the Steelers are short handed.  It should be a day the Browns can build on.

Browns 24
Steelers 10

The BL are 6-4 year to date.

BL Predicts: Week 10 - Browns vs Cowboys

It's that time of season where the Brown Log looks to drive up it's won loss record in predicting the outcome of Browns games.  If we'd only predict the team to lose every week we'd be 7-2 right now, but as good Clevelanders, optimism must win out from time to time, hence our 5-4 record year to date.

In our last loss against the Ravens, Coach Pat Shurmur showed his inexperience by his slow decision making at key moments in the game, which resulted in several very bad play calls in key moments.   Shurmur is cutting his teeth in this his first head coaching assignment at any level and it shows.   Shurmur has also shown the ability in the past to grow from the school of hard knocks so I don't expect to see confusion on the field against the Cowboys when it comes to play calling.   However I wouldn't be surprised to see some other issue rear it's ugly head today.

Fact is that the Cowboys are at home, against a Browns team that will have an injured Joe Haden, perhaps on the field, but maybe not.

BL Predicts:

Cowboys 21
Browns 13

BL Predicts: Bye week

This week is a bye week so Browns backers across the nation can rejoice, because at the end of the day we will not have racked up yet another L

BL boldly Predicts:  The Browns will not lose today!

BL Predicts: Game 9 vs Baltimore

The Browns were forced to run the ball more than they passed the ball last week vs the Chargers due to the bad weather.  Lo and behold, we won the game!  This week Cleveland faces a motivated but banged up Ravens team.   I look for the Browns to keep on running their way to another home victory.

BL Predicts:
Browns 19
Ravens 13

The Brown Log are 5-3 year to date in predicting the winner of Browns games.

BL Predicts: Game 8 vs Chargers

There is optimism building amongst Brown's fans after the fantastic performance last week by Brandon Weeden against the Colts.  The Browns lost that game due to a dropped pass late in the game but Weeden was on fire all day long.   There is however a flaw in the belief that Weeden has "come of age".  The Colts were coming off an embarrassing loss to the NY Jets in which the Jets ground game ran up 252 yards rushing and were determined not to let this happen against the Browns.  Hence Indianapolis dared the Browns to pass by stacking up to stop the run.   The Colts mediocre defense did in fact stymie the Browns rushing game but this opened the door for the Browns to throw.

There is no doubt that Weeden is improving but in the school of hard knocks, let's not hand him a PhD just yet.   He still has some lessons to learn and this week he'll be facing a top ranked defense that is far superior to what he faced last week.   The Chargers defense has only surrendered 137 points this year, one of the best defenses in the AFC.

While the Browns are playing at home, that is counterbalanced by the fact that the Chargers are fresh, coming off a bye week.   

The Browns will likely struggle to run the ball the first 5-6 times they try, which will cause Pat Shurmur to completely drop the running game as he has all season long.   With the pressure on Weeden against a really good Chargers defense, look for Weeden to make a key mistake or two.   This will likely lead to loss number 7 on the year.  

BL Predicts 

Chargers   31

Browns     16

The Brown Log are 5-2 year to date in predicting the winner of Browns games.      

I wonder what Jimmy Haslam has on his mind?

Fister takes a line drive to the head and stays in the game.

And they say football is a dangerous game:

Working your way up the ranks

When speaking of coaches and their job security, fans can be unbelievably cruel. We are after all discussing a man's job and how he supports his family, it's serious stuff worthy of more than knee jerk reactions. Head coaches are well paid hence they're fodder for us fans, but I wonder how many of us could handle the pressure if our own jobs were micro focused on by hundreds of thousands of people. It would not be easy believe me if Terry Pluto were writing in depth analysis every Monday picking apart Bob Johnson's ability to sell widgets.

Pat Shurmur looks to be in very serious jeopardy of losing his job as head coach of the Browns and while that may well be the right decision it still hurts because Shurmur is clearly strong in character and intelligence. Those are rare attributes.

What surprises me though is that Shurmur was given the Brown's head coaching job in spite of his never actually having been a head coach at any level. Experience, or the school of hard knocks, that really builds your depth in any occupation. It's too bad Shurmur is cutting his teeth at the highest level, where every decision is under a microscope. Perhaps the true error was Mike Holmgren's for hiring Shurmur in the first place, and secondly for not paying a lot more attention to Shurmur to help him learn the ropes. Judging from afar, many of Shurmur's errors are the result of his not being decisive. That is a condition we all suffer from when we lack experience.

The end result is that Shurmur, in spite of his potential, is likely going to have to wait a very long time before he will ever have another head coaching opportunity in the NFL.

BL Live blog: Indy's 12th man

There is no way Indy was going to run a play on 4th and 1. But Billy Winn stepped up for Indy and jumped offsides. Unbelievable mistake, perhaps a game changer. Bad coaching? Yes

BL Live Blog: coin toss

On the road when you win the coin toss, take the ball. Bad decision, 7-0 Colts.

BL Predicts: Week 7 vs the Colts

It's interesting to point out that in spite of the fact that the Browns are 1-5, they actually find themselves only 2 games out of the wild card chase.   If the regular season ended today, a 3-3 team would be the wild card and we all know our Browns are 1-5 so we are "in the hunt".  Do we really believe this Browns team is playoff caliber?  Maybe not, but it's nice to dream a bit.                

Predicting a road game is difficult for a Browns fan because you have to recognize that the home team historically wins 58% of the time in the NFL.  Then you have to remove your emotion, we all hope our Browns are turning the corner after a miserable 0-5 start.   Last week against the Bengals there were new signs of life.  For starters, in pre game drills I noted that Brandon Weeden now goes through visual progressions even as he practices throws before a game.   On the 71 yard touchdown to Gordon, it appeared that the Cincinnati defender was several steps behind because Weeden looked him off.   Weeden is taking the steps needed to get better and that's reassuring.

I also noticed that Pat Shurmur had his team scrimmage before the game.  Like Woody Hayes of old,  Shurmur stood in the middle of this scrimmage looking for clues into how the strong wind affected the passing and kicking game and what he saw was that in spite of the wind, Weeden was able to throw accurately and Dawson was able to get the ball through the crossbars.  This extra bit of preparation gave Shurmur the confidence he needed during the game to make the right play calls and it shows he's open to change and more importantly he's getting better on game day decision making, an area he must improve to keep his job.

The Colts are coming off a 35-9 drubbing at the hands of the Jets and are motivated.   The Colts are also 2-1 at home this year while the Browns are 0-3 on the road.  Indianapolis play in a very noisy stadium that gives them an edge.

The Jets beat the Colts by running all over them.   New York ran 44 times while throwing only 19.  Jets running back Shonn Green had 32 carries for 161 yards.   In the current season, our Browns pass the football more than all but 4 NFL teams in spite of the fact that only Kansas City has a less efficient passing attack.  Game circumstances have often dictated that we pass but it's also clear that Pat Shurmur is the "anti-Schottenheimer".   Common sense should dictate that if your team is one of the least efficient passing teams in the NFL, that a high percentage of passes increases the odds you will lose but the Browns continue to put pressure on their passing game by choosing to pass nearly 70% of the time.   Hence our 1-5 record.   I like Pat Shurmur a lot but experience counts as a head coach and one of the mistakes Shurmur continues to make is to discount the running game.   Shurmur has shown signs of growth as he progresses through the "school of hard knocks" but fully embracing the running game in not one of them and until he does our tendency to lose games will likely continue.

To win on the road against the Colts, the Browns are going to have to run the ball.  The Colts know this, I think Pat Shurmur knows this too.   Expect the Colts to be ready to defend the run.  Considering that Trent Richardson has a rib injury and may not be his usual self,  the BL Predicts the Browns will not establish the running game and this will result in another close loss:

Colts      24
Browns  17

The Brown Log are 4-2 this year in choosing the winner of Browns games.

Braxton Miller Injury

It appears from the blow taken by Braxton Miller and from initial press reports that he suffered either a head or neck injury.    Watching the video he clearly took the brunt of the blow to his head.  Miller appears to have difficulty walking after the injury and let's hope that the injury is not serious.

BL Predicts: Week 6 vs Bengals

Last week the Brown Log stuck it's 4-0 record on the line and predicted victory against the Giants.   Were it not for a bad decision late in the 2nd quarter on 3rd down and less than 1 yard to go, with the Browns leading 17-10, our prediction may well have been realized.   Instead, the Browns effectively inform the Super Bowl Giants that they will pass, by using a formation WITHOUT a running back, the Giants intercept which led to a 17 point turnaround.    Game, set and match.

This week we take on the Bengals for the second time this season.   We are at home this week and facing what is, for Pat Shurmur, a must win game.   It's a must win for Shurmur because he'll likely be dismissed this season if the Browns do not show any improvement.   A 5 win season would be improvement and we must beat the Bengals to have a reasonable chance to get to 5 wins this season.

I like Pat Shurmur.   He's honest and a good leader but the job coaching the Browns was his first head coaching assignment and his lack of experience is really showing this year.   A head coach learns by making mistakes and Shurmur continues to accumulate experience while the losses add up.   My guess is that Haslam won't accept a continuation of the Browns "education" of Shurmur and unfortunately for Pat Shurmur this may mean he will never have an opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL again.   Shurmur is a quality person, that would be a pity but it's also a pity to watch this team continue to lose.

Against the Bengals it's anybodies guess what will happen.   Lot's of information to digest with the team facing a record 12th straight loss.  There is extra pressure on Weeden by Shurmur who's grown visibly frustrated with his rookie QB's mistakes, a bit of Mickey Mantle-esque behavior by TJ Ward whose late night partying Friday caused him to be late for practice Saturday and finally we've got injuries everywhere you look.   Last but not least the weather looks to be quite tough today with high winds and likely rain.

I'm guessing the Browns just don't have the motivation or the gas to hang with the Bengals today.   It's going to be a close game but I believe the Browns are going to lose.

Bengals 21
Browns 17

The Brown Log are 4-1 year to date in predicting the winner or loser of Browns games.