The intent of the thread is to talk about things that are about this particular game. No need to make a deep and philosophical post like "The Browns are 4 and 7," because we all know that and it is a post about the season rather than this particular game.
--I was thrilled w/the victory. This team has not quit on the coaching staff or themselves. They played hard and it was nice to see them win a close game after losing so many close games. I felt good for them as a team.
--JB's numbers were not that good, but he was solid. I saw a Baker fan pointing out his interception, but that was a Hail Mary at the end of the half. He protected the ball and made some key throws. He also made some nice scrambles to avoid sacks and keep drives alive. His delivery is slow on the deep pass and that hurts, but he can really zip the ball into tight windows in the intermediate range. The color commentator remarked about that a couple of times. JB is a good guy and it warmed my heart that he got a win in his last scheduled start.
--The D played well. Did a much better job of plugging the middle and stopping the run. I don't think TB ran it enough and that is on Leftwich, but we did a better job of stopping the run.
--I saw Winfrey w/more snaps. Wonder if he helped stabilize the middle? I couldn't really analyze his effectiveness enough to offer an evaluation.
--I did not like the Emerson pick on draft day. I was wrong. The kid plays w/moxie. He's tough. He fights hard. He "was targeted 11 times on Sunday, but he gave up just three receptions for 19 yards. He didn't allow a single first down and forced two incompletions, as well." The quoted part is from PFF.
--I actually saw Delpit w/a pass breakup. I think it was on one of their TEs.
--Myles had two big plays during crunch time.
--Clowney got a few pressures and a half of a sack.
--Ward had good coverage all game long and made some plays against the run.
--Chubb was determined and had an outstanding game.
--Cooper and Njoku w/drops, but atoned for them in a big way.
--The OL struggled for much of the game. The center is really hurting us from what I see. He got pancaked on that 4th down conversion. He often struggles on who to block on double teams. Teller had poor moments, as well. Wills did, too. The OL did have some good moments, but check this out from PFF........."The Browns gave up three sacks, two hits and nine hurries from 43 snaps." For comparison sake....."The Buccaneers allowed three sacks, one hit and two hurries from 46 pass-blocking snaps."
--The Browns had too many unsuccessful drives. They were not good playing behind the chains.
--The Browns had more first downs, more total yardage, ran more plays, and won the time of possession battle. However, they did not force a turnover while having one themselves on the Hail Mary throw.
--Browns had a huge edge in the coaching matchup. Why in the world didn't TB call a timeout after the first play in their final drive in regulation? You have Tom Brady and you let all that time run off the clock. Meanwhile, Stefanski once again was masterful in clock management. Also, why didn't TB run more? I think they let their run D off the hook.
--Here are a couple of tweets that support what I'm saying, and trust me, there are plenty more:
Good points about Emerson … one of our best players
I didnt think about Winfrey either, maybe that’s why we were better yesterday
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
One other thing about schwartz: he made a heck of a ST tackle to save yardage on a punt return. He’s been criticized by me for a long time, but that was an important play for us.
David Bell seems to be nothing more than an underneath possession guy … he’s really unremarkable in every way lol
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
Tampa was one of my examples of how having a good team can be hurt by bad coaching. This is is probably a 8-10 win team right now with Arians
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
--I saw Hubbard on the field multiple plays when we went w/our Heavy package. I think that might be his first action in a long time.
--The move Cooper put on the CB literally led to the guy falling to the ground.
--Jacoby's block was a thing of beauty and helped set the tone.
Did you notice that Teller ran right past Schwartz to congratulate Brissett on the block? I loved that they were so excited.
Also, how in the world was the play with Cooper NOT DPI? I know it wouldn't have mattered, but the DB fell down, and then did his absolute best to tackle Cooper as he ran by and still failed.
I cannot get past how well the defense did. There was still about 30 seconds left on the clock when we tied the game. With Brady and 3 timeouts, that is plenty of time to get into FG range. There was some poor clock management there. I saw later where Bowles said they had decided that if their first play did not gain much yardage then they would not call a timeout. So, they had a plan, I guess.
But we forced them to punt twice in OT, which was huge.
Our punt in OT was a key play. We started that drive deep in our own end and did not do much with it. Boroquez (however you spell it) absolutely boomed it. TB also had a blocking penalty which helped even more.
Agree on the INT. It was a hail Mary, not a careless throw. That is going to happen.
Nice, solid, team win. TB was only 5-5 coming into the game, but you would not have known that listening to the announcers.
I did see Teller give JB props after he punked their DB with that block. Shows how highly his teammates think of him.
Unfortunately, after that early TD, our offence didn’t do a lot. Until it mattered the most.
Froholdt can be a little off with his shotgun snaps. Nothing major (yet) but I hope he’s cleaning that up. I’d have thought Hubbard would be our emergency centre. NJoku and Cooper each had a bad drop but they made up for that.
When it mattered the most.
Cade York’s shank on the FG is hard to read. I won’t blame it on the holder because everything but the kick looked clean. Vilma mentioned his plant leg and it had me thinking that maybe he had his plant leg too close to the ball and was too quick with his leg swing, and hooked it hard like a golfer might do.
BTW, Vilma also mentioned that when he met with Joe Woods, the DC said he simplified the D so they wouldn’t have to think so much. I don’t know if that was for the Bucs game or if the process had started in previous weeks, but the D looked more competent and in control.
Other than that FG miss, our ST contributed. Cade hammered a 51-yarder, Ford looked good on kickoff returns and DPJ delivered with a couple of nice returns.
Chubb struggled for yards for most of the game, but came through on the game-tying drive with his big run down the sideline , then powered in for the OT winner.
When it mattered the most.
Emerson looked good, limiting Mike Evans, and Winfrey might have helped our DL interior. Hard to say for sure, but we did a better job stopping the run than we had been. And Myles Garrett with two huge sacks when we needed them.
I’ll root for JB wherever he plays next year. If he threw a better deep ball and was a little faster with his reads he wouldn’t be considered a backup. He led us to the game-tying drive and the winner. Not all QBs have done that for us lately. Ahem.
Nice team win, keeps our playoff hopes barely alive. We will probably have to run the table ( and we probably won’t) but it was a character-building win.
J/C: I really think Tampa Bay has been hurt by OL injuries, but I also think Leftwich and now Bowles have been exposed. I think Leftwich is solid with a strong offensive presence above him (aka Arians), and Bowles is that solid DC who just isn't a good HC. Arians wasn't perfect, but he clearly had control of a team and knew how to coach from the opening kickoff to the end of the game.
There may be people who have more talent than you, but there's no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do. -Derek Jeter
One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is how we played for the TD instead of kicking the FG after Cooper's catch in OT. Personally, I was really glad because I did not have a ton of confidence in York making that kick. I thought it was smart to go for the TD.
I agree with that. My son and I talked about it. When Cooper went out at the 3 my son asked if we would just kick the FG. I thought that with some time left and it being first down, I thought we might try to run it a couple of times. If nothing else, try the FG with little time left. Of course, I do not know what analytics says in that situation. But, it worked out, so it was a good choice.
I bemoaned the decision to put Emmerson on Garret Wilson when we lost to the Jets. Joe Woods saw something because he absolutely dominated Mike Williams. We may have a real baller in 23.
Just overall note, we are talented yes, but with a backup QB in the fold we are are a top 10 offense. Anyone still complaining about Stefanksi has lost the plot, he isn't going anywhere.
I saw one maybe two read options with Jacoby that absolutely baffled the Bucs defense. I think that is foreshadowing of what is to come, maybe installing it a week head of schedule to prep the offense.
Watson entering the fold on a well coached, top 10 offense even if he is a rusty is must watch TV. I am so pumped!
Just to clarify.......After TB punted on their first possession of OT, the first score wins the game whether it be a FG or TD. I might have been wrong for feeling the way I did, but I remember saying out loud: "Please don't kick the FG" once Cooper was ruled down at the 3. I was thinking kicking the FG was a last resort type of deal.