DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2017 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 16 Vikings 33 What I saw game 8

I only got to watch 3 quarters on DVR before the wife decided I had better things to be doing.. so my post oNLY reflects what I saw up unto that point...

-Hats off to Drango. That was one of the big match ups to watch and he handled himself well. Saw a lot of good communication on that side of the line. They threw up a graphic that said Drango had gone up against that DE 16 times and gave up... ZERO pressures

-Nice run by Crow for the TD

-Saw a field that our RB's had a hard time getting traction in

-We tried to get Njoku involved more than before (or atleast Kizer was targeting him more).

-I saw Njoku make a great play to tip a ball at the goal lone that Kizer slghtly over threw and was about to be INT'd.

-We finally connected deep down the sideline to Louis!

-I would have liked more sacks, but I thought we did a fair job of getting pressure on him... he took some shots and there was a few times the DL couldn't keep his footing else, Keenan goes down at least once or twice more.

-There was NO DOUBT that when given the opportunity Hue was going to back the Vikings up on penalties lol. His face said it all.

Not sure what happened in the 4th

First game I’ve gotten to watch this season and I noticed some good and bad throughout the game.

First I agree Drango did a good job. If he holds down the position this may be the last we see of JT. Just a hunch even JT tweeted that they were better without him which I don’t believe, but it might be time to let him go to a contender. This FO loves creating more problems for them to fix.

Secondly I feel that Williams incessant need to blitz the entire game with no “surprise” factor, especially with Garrett inactive was the real problem which in the end wore them out and ruined the D. If it was working I may feel differently but it wasn’t. And it kept allowing their WR easy chances to get open. I mentioned at 23-16 game was over due to our inability to score 20 points or more.

Yes it’s a very young team without enough experience from top all the way to the bottom but I felt minus the time out before the half it was a much better gameplan for a young team to execute. Hues biggest failure each and every week is giving his backs enough carries and using PA more.

Since I’ve only watched this game I can’t say I see improvement from the squad but I feel like they took steps forward. What needs to happen from this game forward is the execution needs to get better and they need to treat it like building blocks. One step one piece at a time.

Oh one other thing. The D looked like it was moving very slow on a lot of plays. Is this because our speed and players are hurt? Is the rest of them really that slow or is it just not understanding by instinct what the hell they are supposed to be doing???

I feel that I saw overall improvement from the Browns for a second week in a row. This much is evident...

Until we find a competent QB we will have to play perfect to win a game.

2 things that I watched that stuck out the most.
1) On a first down play in what I do believe was the 2nd quarter, Kizer completes a screen pass to Crow to the left for maybe a gain of 1 yard. This play looked to be designed to go to Crow from the start, as Kizer locked in on Crow for almost 2 seconds then threw to him.

I don't understand how at this point in the season, Kizer is not being coached to look off his receiver, maybe pump fake to the right ala Big Ben freeze the LB'ers then throw the screen. Instead he stares down Crow for 2 seconds then floats a screen pass completion that gains nothing because 2 defenders recognized the play from the whistle.

2) How can we continue to keep our safeties 20 yards off the LOS??????
On one play, I saw Kindred sprint out of the picture as he retreated to Iceland. It has been discussed multiple times on this site. If we can see it, how can this staff continue not to make adjustments. Allowing opposing offenses to continue to convert 3rd & long all day long with ease can not be better than eliminating the possibility for the big play. Which if I remember correctly is how the Steelers beat us even with our safety's playing in Lake Michigan.

Again turnovers kill, up 6-0 coming off a stop, we muff a punt return and give them a short field. Kudos to the D for hol;ding them to 3 points and maintaining the lead. Crowells fumble hurt, but that stuff happens. What can not happen is a punt returner to fumble a fair catch!!!!!!

How are you feeling this week Tab?

I saw a much better first half performance than expected.

Was expecting a ton of pressure with Joe T out and Drango stepped in and did an outstanding job.

Part of that was the dumb-ed down offense for Kizer which allowed him to get rid of the ball quickly. It seems like last week and this week we finally installed an offense designed for a rookie QB ... and it helped.

Agree - Njoku was wide open down the left for a huge gain or a TD. Agree with the other poster than Njoku also made a phenomenal play to deny an interception. Kind of surprised that the commentators didn't make more of that.

Nassib stepped up and flashed what we liked about him early last season before he seemed to go a bit quite. He's a very good rotational player to have behind a healthy MG and Ogbah.

Thought the LB's all had very sold games again - Schobert not as outstanding as last week but still it really looks like he has found his role.

I was wondering throughout the game - like others - about the blitzing and the scheme. Before the season there was a ton of speculation about what % the Browns D would be in their Base formation and how important a 3rd LB was or whether Peppers would be used up in the box a lot. . . . well as others have pointed out - Williams doesn't seem to be dialing in blitzes that spring anyone open. . . it's more a case of the only way to get any sort of pressure is to send 5 or 6 ... and the Offense is ready for them. And we are in our base D way way more than I was expecting.

I saw the secondary play better without Peppers - Again.

I saw the same inconsistency of the officiating. I'd need to re-watch the Devalave in the end zone play - but at game speed there seemed to be interference. On the PI call that they got - I wasn't even sure if the ball was catch-able - again I'd have to re-watch, I thought it went high and out the back of the end-zone.

The good was I saw the team had a good game plan and play hard despite a 1-23 record going into the game ... the bad was I saw Hue fail to run time off the clock before calling a TO - which helped the Vikings score again before the half. I don't think it affected the outcome of the game but it was another bad in game situation Hue got wrong.

I saw a chance of a W at half time slip away. And looking to the rest of the season I can only see us having a chance against the Bears ... and maybe the Packers if they suck without Rogers. Very frustrating.

Watched my heart break again late in the 4th. We were in it. Kizer was better by comparison, good at best for awhile.

We need a kicker. Need fewer penalties. Njoku is driving me crazy. We ran more.

Britt on the sidelines was poetic justice.

I saw a Vikings Oline very green and weak in the first half. The Browns defense had swarming pressure and causing havoc. By the end of the half the Vikings Oline seem to come together better and we couldn't get the pressure on Keenum anymore. Plus Keenum get's rid of the ball fast anyways.

On Kizer. One great deep pass but under thrown. Got lucky on that IMO. I saw him try to lob a couple TD pass attempts. He needs a lot of practice in throwing touch passes and screens from what I saw. Also damn!..stop holding the ball so friggin long. 3 seconds and it better be out! See it...believe it...throw it! But he did take care of the ball better in London.

On the defense. Greast pressure in the first half. Not so much in the second. I question strength. Just not enough gas in the tank or could be depth with all the injuries. Take your pick.

On the Oline with out JT. Durango seemed to hold his own OK. I saw his block that broke Crow open for his TD run. Good run block there. All and all a pretty good job. But without the likes of JT we knew it wasn't going to be pretty up front with QB protection. And it wasn't. But the run game had it's moments for sure.

Sure missed JT in this one.

We are simply not a good team and most phases..

Going to be torched for posting this, but I kind of though the chemistry in the OL was better in this game...


Two pro-bowl Lt's on IR, and not much changed on the teams, we kept on losing and Eagles kept on winning...

I watched a team that continued to have mental lapses
The play calling has no.flow no rhyme or reason
It's team that has some believing there's actual talent which is true to a point
But the Browns simply don't have enough players that can win matchups vs the guy across from him

All and all, I think this was the first positive game this season...

Tab, i believe we blocked an extra point att. And if memory serves me correctly, it was ogbah.

Tab, i believe we blocked an extra point att. And if memory serves me correctly, it was ogbah.

If it's not one thing then it's something else..

I thought we played pretty well for most of the first 3 qtrs.. the Crow fumble sucked but that's the first fumble he has had all year.. sucks that it happened in a game, and at a time, when we were actually being competitive.

Dropped passes, poorly thrown balls, mental lapses on defense (like leaving a WR standing all alone in the back of the end zone while the corner covers the 10 yard line and the safety covers the endzone logo)

It's almost like I'm happy that I was frustrated.. if that makes any sense.. because for about 5 weeks in a row I had a "whatever" attitude after the game.. I was actually upset after this one.. so we must have played better. Highly scientific reasoning right there.

I saw a defense play good with the safeties in a traditional role. Then after halftime Williams went to that single DEEEEEPPP safety, and the complexion of the game changed. He just opens up the middle of the field for crossing routes, and guarantees YAC on anything under ten yards.

To me, this is what happened that caused the scoring to change. They were being held in check, then we opened the field for them.

Brantley played 47 snaps and had two tackles.

Defensive Snap Counts

i saw brantley get owned at the LOS on a run play one time ... didn't notice much else

Same feeling here. I actually thought it was the first positive game in the season.

You analytics types are all the same with technical optics and optimism.

It IS better, because we said it IS better. So man up, fan up, and relapse for a week. Just kidding, of course. But just mind-numbing stupidity again as far as penalties, mistakes, fumbles, and all the rest. I still hope for better, but I forget why.

Maybe it will come back to me.