This week's Do it Pruitt
Hello Browns Fans!
We beat the Steelers! Big thing! That’s worth two wins! The Steelers were not at full strength without Roethlisberger, but I’ve always said you are only as good as the 11 guys you put on the field. We were supposed to take advantage of this and that’s just what we did! Offensively, we gave up an early TD on an interception by Weeden, and I thought, ‘here we go again,’ but the defense tightened up and played great. Offensively, we didn’t take full advantage of the opportunities presented by our defense, but we did manage to score 13 points in the first half. Offensively, we are still struggling when we get inside the red zone (inside the 20). We played very sloppy with two possessions of the football by having almost 60 yards in self-inflicted penalties, mainly holding. I reminded myself we were playing against the #1 defense in the NFL.
Let’s review:
Quarterback: Weeden has to get better at looking off the defense and not staying hooked up with one receiver so long. The defensive linemen and linebackers are timing and locating his eyes, timing his throws and batting them down or deflecting them for turnovers. I would like to see him run more with the ball. I watch all the other quarterbacks in the league run when they have to. Weeden is passing up running opportunities. Defenses are picking up on this, staying back and making him throw difficult passes. He has to run when the run is there!
Running Backs: Receivers and tight ends didn’t have dropped passes at all this game! When was the last time that happened?! Trent Richardson continues to get better and I like to see him catching passes out of the backfield. He continues to run well. Although he didn’t get 100 yards, remember that was Pittsburgh, one of the best run-stop defenses in the NFL.
Offensive Line: Played well, sometimes, and then completely fell apart with holes. Can’t get better if they continue to do that. We really backed ourselves up in our own territory, and without great play from our defense and turnovers by the Steelers, we would have been dangerously close to blowing this game.
Defensive Line and Linebackers: Played maybe one of the best games of the season. There are some people back from injuries, and if they continue to improve at this rate, we might have something good! THE DEFENSE WON THIS GAME!
Defensive Backs: With Haden back in the lineup, the confidence in the secondary is definitely different. I realize that Charlie Batch was the QB, but the interceptions and the hitting that caused fumbles were great. The defense held the Steelers to one of nine third down conversions.
Special Teams: A few holding penalties at the wrong time put us in a hole, but the returns and the punting made for two big plays, late in the game. When Pittsburgh tried to pin the Browns deep with a low punt, Cribbs made an outstanding break on the ball and didn’t let that happen. The other big play was the punt, late in the game, to pin Pittsburgh on their own three yard line.
Coaching: We finally made a team use all of their time outs like we’re supposed to! I’m still waiting for that 5-10 yard play that is unstoppable, our go-to play, like in a formation with a tight end or lineman in the backfield, leading Trent Richardson on plays when one to five yards are needed.
Overall Summary: We showed great improvements, especially the defense, beating the top defense in the NFL and a divisional opponent. Plus it was Pittsburgh! I’ve seen too many Pittsburgh jerseys, sweatshirts, terrible towels, etc. in Cleveland worn by Cleveland residents. Well, this week, the Browns ruled supreme! A very physical game with a lot of players getting hurt, mostly Steelers!
Go Browns!
