DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2015 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 13 Chiefs 17 Post Game Comments

Manziel missed a lot of throws. A lot. You can't win if you're QB is 13/32. His feet got him out a several messes.

The run game was pretty good. The designed run by Manziel worked perfectly.

Smith killed us with his feet. It took awhile to adjust to him moving around.

That's all I got for now.

The complete abandonment of the passing game was very disturbing. I guess it was a combination of JFF sucking, the OL sucking and our WR being covered.

I don't ever want to see that again.

What? Our passing game keeps losing us game. Just run the damn ball.

Manziel ran for his life today, period. Give him weapons a better OL and lets see what he can do next year. WR were non-existent today.

Browns played with some heart today...

It can't be either or. It has to be a balance of both.

i knew the moment it happened that the blocked FG would cost us the game. I really am baffled that we keep taking Shelton out on 3rd and 1. Why the hell do u draft a big run stuffer if not to stuff the damn run.

Johnny made plays with his legs but missed a lot of easy throws, the receivers however did him no favors. Without Hartline we have nothing. There wasnt one receiver that played today that i actually want on the team next year Benji included.

Mack may have had his best game this year as Poe is a beast. Cam Erving had some really good blocks in the run game as did Paztor when he pulled.

I would have tried for 3 on the 4th down play but I can understand why we didnt.

Overall we battled and I didnt want to pull my eyeballs from their sockets this week.

Posted this in the game day thread...basically my post game thoughts.

Manziel was pretty awful this game.

Everything he had learned up to this game seemed to go out the window.

When the coaches allowed him to go backyard football mode, his passing game continued to get worse.

Having said that, he's a young QB who I believe will continue to get better with more playing time. He's a unique talent that brings a unique skill set to the table. Continue to work with him and develop him, and we will be rewarded.

Unless we aren't.

Oh, but we will.

My magic 8 ball said so.

I thought JM was poor throwing - Gannon made some great comments in regards to his footwork and being forced to his left.

Defense has improved as the season has wore on in eliminating the inconsistencies in my uneducated view. Orchard and Shelton have looked better with playing time.

Gordon coming back (?) next year will help whoever we have at QB. We have little outside Barnidge. Gordon (or another receiver of similar ability) will help the receivers and guy tossing the ball.

There are seeds there. I'm not sold on Manziel but who else have we got unless we get a delorean and take McCown back 3 years.....

Our commitment to the run in the wind was sensible and Erving played decent.

Team has not quit. Reflection on the coaches? I see Pettine interacting with players on the sidelines and oft read he is in a bubble etc. I don't think his demeanour is an issue. I'm not tied to any of the coaches - sick of losing - but I see merit in giving Pettine another year.

I don't often feel happy after a loss but we were there till the end. I'm a glass half full kinda guy

We lost because Manziel is too small.

We can say we have no weapons, but we had two guys who catch the ball well in Benji and Big Play Gar. There are other teams that have less than that and seem to succeed a good amount of the time through the air.

I've never seen Manziel look like a great player from the pocket, and today it severely hurt us. I have no hope for him being even average from the pocket in the NFL.

I've seen a few posters laying the blame at JM's feet which I find laughable. Johnny didn't have the best game throwing the ball - but Bowe who has been a healthy scratch for 90% of the season or more was on the field about 50% of the time ... last week's commentator (or the week before?) said it best when he said of Bowe - if you can't separate in this league you're dead. Bowe can't separate. Jennings, Gabriel and TB are all smurfs. KC was getting pressure most of the time ... so I am not at all surprised JM was struggling in the passing game. Some of the things Gannon mentioned definitely resonated. Hopefully that means JM can keep improving.

Erving looked better.
Duke continues to look very legit.
Gaines seems to be a little boom or bust - gets burnt one play, then seems to be in the right position and making plays the next. If he takes a step or two improving his game maybe he is a legit starter for the future.

Team played hard and I think that's important and makes it easier to keep Pettine if thats what they want to do. I saw a post on the game day thread saying something about the team not playing hard for Pet - which I think it utter nonsense ... if anything I have a concern the team still doesn't seem to be bonding with JM. jmo.

Also, the tackling. I think it was the first play of the game where Maclin caught a pass and Gaines completely whiffed, this allowed Maclin to run for a first down.

I think the 23 mph wind had something to do with the QB play. Throwing into the wind will cause the ball to sail. Even with that said.. it is difficult to win when your QB hits on 13 out of 32 passes, even if he does have more than 100 yards rushing.

The Defense played much better. The tackling improved. The edge was covered. There were some missed tackles, but there was vast improvement over previous games, especially in the 2nd half. I believe we saw the Browns team the coaches envisioned at the start of the year.

The running game worked well against one of the best run defenses in the league. Both 1st round rookies, Shelton and Erving, looked good, as well as Duke. There is a foundation to be built on, believe it or not...

I learned something about Johnny today. He isn't very good throwing the ball in the wind. Luckily it's never cold or windy in Cleveland.

We locked in the 2nd pick in the draft. Hopefully, we take a QB to give Johnny some competition. MAKE him work. MAKE him be first in last out or he sits.

The first half was miserable; poor tackling, defense couldn't stop KC, and offense, except for CrowDuke, was ineffective.

Then I saw something I haven't seen all year, 1/2 time adjustments that worked. KC couldn't move the ball in the 2nd half, the team was tackling and the running game carried the offense. Pettine used up his timeouts too early, but that is sorta better than taking them into the locker room (Christmas is over and he no longer needs them to give as gifts.)

Irving played better, Orchard played well, and we miss Haden. The OL opened holes and the DL didn't. I came away feeling encouraged by the play in the 2nd half.

We also stopped Smith from scrambling. I was shocked to see these adjustments.

If we don't draft some big strong fast WR I'm gonna be pissed.

U forgot ur purple.. this makes no sense to me.

Neway,

Manziel had a horrible passing game. I was expecting to see him show more progress, and he let me down. Seems like he came out in the first half lethargic. Come second half, when we still had a shot, then he started to try to put the team on his back.

Fire the OC. I see no plays that are allowing these WR's to do what they do best. RUN ROUTES!

I hope this defense plays tougher next season. Wish for once they would play with an attitude, and that they can actually be tough.

Overall though, I'm glad we fought back, but also glad we lost.

I'm just glad we didn't do that these past two drafts because there were none of those type of players available.

Oh, and silver lining, we didn't drop in the draft order

Johnny was running for his life a lot. Our OL couldn't pick up a blitz for nothing.

Whose responsibility is the blitz pickup (I legitimately don't know)? Some teams give that responsibility to the QB.

When Manziel did have time he missed a lot of throws.

This is the only game all year where johnny wasnt throwing the ball pretty damn well. He was off but he showed fire and a competitiveness that appeared to just spread throughout the team. These guys were competitive and when you see your QB making those topes of plays avoiding the rush and making the defense chase and struggle, it helps everyone.

hell it seemed like we had the ball pretty much the whole 2nd half and Manziel running the ball was a huge part of that.

Well he also escaped a boat load of pressure...he did miss some throws but I think he will be fine...and needs to clean up his mechanics..his footwork is not good sometimes.

And I think if McCown played it wouldve been sack city out there today..Hope Johnny continues to play and start next year to...I wouldnt draft a qb with our first pick...but to each there own.

Yep..

btw it was nice to see pet looking like he was having some fun instead of looking like he was trying to be cool while getting an enema.

"In other words, it's a huge $#!¥ sandwich, and we're all gonna have to take a bite." Lt. Lockhart, "Full Metal Jacket"

That should be Pettine's only post game comments. All around the table, in every corner of the room, on every square inch of the field...everyone in the organization owns a piece of this week's debacle.

If he was 6'3 he wouldn't have had to escape that pressure. He would be able to see over the pocket and deliver the pass.

You crack me up.

Manziel played his game in the second half. I liked that he ran more. As the announcers said over and over again, his footwork was horrible. But I also think he has something and I hope we keep him next year.

I think he finds passing lanes pretty well...I dont notice his passes getting batted down like McCown did who is pretty tall

Of course he's having fun...he's getting fired next Monday and getting A LOT of money on the way out. He might even be happy that his standoff with Farmer may earn Ray a trip out the door too. I'd be smiling too. LOL

I'm so proud of the Dawgs they managed to pull off
Another 12 loss season.
I can't wait next year when experts tell us how much
Talent this roster consists of...how great the draft picks
Are.
Oh gosh this team never quit we are really closing the gap
On the Bengals and Steelers

I do too. Part of the reason is because he escapes the pocket. But defenses know they can collapse the front of the pocket and force him to move out to the sides. I honestly don't see it as a negative, but I don't think our line should be blamed because Johnny finds passing lanes.

I was reasonably happy with todays result.

- The defense only gave up 17 points. They well against the run, but still poor tackling ( Mingo ) & no Bademosi. Didn't hear Hughes, Desir or Campbell's names called. It would be nice for them to get some experience in action. T Williams one good play, one bad one. Gipson, not into it.
The O's long drives were a factor in the score.
Again O'Neil has no concept on spying a running QB, you would think after last week, the thought might of crossed his mind.

- Yes JM threw the ball poorly. I hate to agree with Gannon, but his footwork stunk. I think a good part of it was he was exhausted, your skill level & concentration decrease with fatigue. The kid still showed me a lot with his guts & feet. He shows progress every time out & I'm sure if he had a few more games under his belt, we would see a more complete package develop. Duke looked good, but needs to be a bigger part of our passing game. Benjamin has hit a bit of a wall, plus with no other dependable WR talent, coverage is rolling his way of late. Less Dray, more Barnidge. Erving, improved.

- They played hard against a hot team on the road. The loss means nothing at this point. Look for a very high, blue chip defensive stud in the draft.

I echo the sentiment that Manziel finds passing lanes well too..

So many times I remember seeing Brandon Weeden getting his passes batted down at least 3 times a game..

McCown did to it seemed..

In what way did Manziel show progress today? We already knew he was a good runner and he has his worst passing day of the season.

Yep. QB height is probably the most overrated thing you could judge them on.

I am a little concerned about his height.

He can't seem to make the seam passes because he has to get extra height on the ball to get it over the line. Getting extra height on the ball means it sails. I haven't seen one good seam pass from Manziel yet. I put this in his concerns column.

However, Wilson had this same issue and figured it out by creating his own passing lanes by shifting slightly in the pocket. The Seahawks O also plays to Wilsons strength.

I still say we have to give him more time. His skill set is so unique he's an exciting player. He's made tremendous strides this year. Let him keep building on it.

--Get Gordon back.
--Sign Jeffrey.
--Draft best defensive player with first pick.