| Colts defensive back Vontae Davis defends Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon during a pass attempt in the second half. The Browns' offense struggled again in the 17-13 loss to the Colts. (US Presswire) |
New owner Jimmy Haslam has vowed to evaluate the Browns top to bottom. Coach Pat Shurmur certainly understands his job is on the line. So he can’t afford to rile up Haslam.
Well, Haslam looked downright irate Sunday. He was shown giving a dismissive, angry wave after Shurmur called for a punt on fourth and 1 on the Indianapolis 41-yard-line with six minutes remaining. It was merely one of several unhappy looks shown by the television cameras during the 17-13 loss to the Colts.
Haslam likely won points from Browns fans for his emotional outburst. He definitely captured their mood.
Offense: D
Only a strong performance from QB Brandon Weeden (25 of 41, 264 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs) and effective pass protection saved the Browns from a lower grade. RB Trent Richardson managed eight yards in as many carries while wearing a flak jacket to protect his ailing ribs. He sought to play hero by playing hurt, but instead hurt the team. Shurmur recognized that and replaced him with Montario Hardesty, who managed 28 yards on seven carries. But it didn’t matter much because the Browns rarely ran the ball in the second half. The offensive line simply wasn’t opening up holes. The consensus based on the 34-point outburst against Cincinnati and the woeful Colts' run defense was that the Browns would score at least 24 points. Instead, they were doomed by a grounded ground game. Previous game’s grade: B+
Defense: C-
The defense allowed the offense to get a nice rest throughout the first half, but that was certainly not its intent. The Colts simply ran the ball down its throat. That’s the same Colts attack that was missing featured back Donald Brown, couldn’t get anything going with rookie Vick Ballard in the loss to the Jets the previous week, and was banged up along the offensive line. The defensive line was manhandled most of the game. The Browns yielded 84 yards to Ballard and couldn’t stop the Colts on third down in the first half. Meanwhile, a secondary that showed promise upon the return of premier CB Joe Haden against Cincinnati reverted to its poor play. They allowed Colts receivers to separate time and again. The result was a 14-6 halftime deficit the Browns couldn’t overcome. Previous game’s grade: B
Special teams: F
This was the Hindenburg of special teams performances. Let’s start with three penalties on returns (two by coverage specialist Ray Ventrone), that negated strong efforts by returner Josh Cribbs. It’s no wonder the Browns started every possession inside their own 20 until a strip-sack of CB Sheldon Brown placed the ball at midfield midway through the third quarter. Then there was the dropped snap by holder Reggie Hodges on the first PAT attempt that kept the Browns down 7-6. The result was that the Browns wound up four points behind instead of three in the fourth quarter and forced them to shoot for a touchdown instead of a game-tying field goal. Hodges, whose has struggled as a punter all season, wasn’t through killing his team. When Shurmur angered Haslam by calling for a punt with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Hodges compounded the problem with a lousy coffin corner boot that traveled just 20 yards. One must believe the Browns are considering a change at that position. Previous game’s grade: A-
Coaching: D
Shurmur made two critical calls that backfired while the new owner evaluated him from above. The first was eschewing a two-point conversion attempt in the third quarter. One wonders why he chose to kick the PAT when a successful run or pass would have tied the game at 14-14. What, after all, is the difference between 14-12 and 14-13? The field goal added by the Colts would have required the Browns to score a touchdown in either case. The notion that it was too early to go for two is just silly considering the point that would have been lost with a missed conversion was virtually meaningless. His second error of judgment was the decision to punt on 4th and 1 inside Colts territory with six minutes left. He originally planned to run the ball, but Weeden was forced to waste what would become a badly needed timeout because the offense could not sort out the play on the field. Shurmur then called for a punt that Hodges booted poorly. The coordinators were also not beyond criticism. Defensive coordinator Dick Jauron did not have his unit ready in the first half and the ground game designed by offensive coordinator Brad Childress lacked imagination. Why would the Browns run Richardson and his injured ribs between the tackles rather than trying to find him open space wide? Previous game’s grade: A
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