DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Browns' Pro Bowl performances

There has been some discussion of DA's pro bowl performance in another thread. Why don't we discuss them all here?

I thought Joe Thomas did a good job on both ends of the line. (I still pinch myself that we actually drafted him and it's not a dream).

Cribbs did fairly well on the returns considering his blockers hadn't done much special teams blocking all year. He got in a few plays as a slot receiver and made at least one ST tackle.

Pointi made the long snaps easy enough....and didn't have to block anyone.

KW2 ran around out there. Had his normal offsides. And looked like he needs another knee opperation.

Bre-bre started off strong with a nice catch and run which I thought might actually have been a TD (he stuck the ball out over the pylon before going OB - maybe). Of course he dropped one thrown right to him. Heck, he didn't even have to leave his line-up position but still finds a way to drop the easy one.

DA - well....the AFC lost the game during his performance. He missed a lot of receivers. Granted, he doesn't have the timing with most of the receivers that he has with Bre-bre or KW2....oh, that's right...they were there too...well, it's been a long time since he's played. He certainly didn't make a case for someone to offer us a 1st & 3rd. I guess we'll probably tender him and he'll walk away after next season.

This is the first time I've watched a Pro Bowl in over a century.

Our boys were a little quiet.

Braylon had 2 catches and a drop. I thought for a second he had the TD but was out at the one. Kellen just had the one catch. He was open on other plays, but none of the throws were catchable. Cribbs had one nice return and was also running around out there as a WR once. I was hoping for some trickery with him behind center.

Thomas looked good when I keyed in on him. I did see Kampmann get to DA once, and he was lined up on Thomas' side. I didn't see what happened nor rewind it to see. Hopefully it wasn't Joe's fault. Otherwise his play was solid. Great pick up and the first of many Pro Bowls for that kid.

Ponti had an easy job. Not much to say there since there was no rush on the kicks.

Then there was Mr. Anderson......the AFC was scoring at will pretty much until he stepped in. I was hoping to see a couple DA to K2 or DA to Braylon connections for TDs, but he was lucky to connect at all. A couple nice throws, but a lot of inaccurate ones. He just kept missing receivers. Didn't help him in contract talks, that's for sure.

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DA - well....the AFC lost the game during his performance.

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Yeah,, he was calling in the plays to Big Ben from the sidelines which probably caused Ben to have a lousy night also... Geez

I thought Joe had a learning experience out there. He didn't do bad at all but I did see him get bullrushed (hey, you're going up against the best of the best...as a rookie and you still do pretty well for yourself...that's incredible).

I felt like Roethlisberger didn't even look Winslow's way...and DA just couldn't connect with him.

Cribbs was Cribbs...too bad he didn't line up at QB for one play...it was interesting to see him lined up at receiver since he didn't make his money at that position.

Pontbriand showed some hustle out there in coverage.

Edwards was out there a lot but didn't get the ball much, I thought he should have gotten the ball more.

Anderson...I made my thoughts known. He looked like he had no business being out there. It wasn't so much the reads as it was the throws were absolutely terrible. Roethlisberger wasn't Manning by any means, but he looked far better than Anderson.

Manning was on another planet however.

I really wouldn't put any stock whatsoever into ANY player's performance.

It was funny, I asked Shep what he thought the players and coaches were talking about during halftime....he said they were probably talking about where they were going to eat and drink after the game....and I tend to agree with that.

I agree with ya Christyk, I cant believe people are picking apart DA performance,

I was on my way home from work, listening to it on the radio and they said that it looked like D.A couldnt figure out the wind? Was it windy there?

Maybe he just had a few too many mai tai's the night before....it happens.

Sure it happens, but every week since October?

Well, we've always wanted a QB who's consistent!

i thought the same thing. It wasn't one of DA's better outings. He missed some open throws. I had to laugh when Chad Johnson 'showed him up'. For those that missed it, Chad had an out and was on the sideline, pass missed badly in DA fashion. Chad throws up his arms like what was that......

The INT at the end was no big deal, just a hail marry pass.

There were a few holding calls on special teams that they let go- i think Hester benefitted from those more then Cribbs. If you have a chance to see the replay of the Hester lateral you'll see a brown getting his jersey ripped in half (almost)

First year starter.....First time Pro Bowl Player. Anyone considering nerves??

No. He looked fine for the first half of the season...what happened to make him nervous the second half?

I watched the Pro Bowl off and on, mostly off... the most I saw was a couple DA series, and his throws were all over the place (this is coming from a guy who supported him, not a so-called 'hater').
Once I saw him throw into at least double coverage, another 'WTF was he looking at?' moment.

I don't buy it. Besides, why is he thinking about the playoffs during a game instead of concentrating on the game at hand? Poor excuse.

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I betchya that there were NFL team's 'people' watching to see what DA would do. He sure didn't show himself off as one of the league's elite players.

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If there is one NFL GM or scout who puts any weight into a Pro Bowl apperance on wheather the pursure him in FA or not, that guy is the biggest idiot in the world, these players have one week to learn a handfull of plays, and the majority of the time their making apperances and hitting the beach, may fans must see this pro bowl and a real game...common it's back yard, you go deep you curl type. Nobody takes any of these guys performance to heart much less as part of a reason to sign or not sign....Pro Bwol means Nothing...nothing

I knew we'd be criticized for criticizing DA in a game that means less than a preseason game.

Still...I don't know how more people don't have red flags waving right now concerning him.

He was way off on many occasions. I understand the timing thing but not even Winslow or Edwards had their timing down with him.

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these players have one week to learn a handfull of plays

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the funny part of that is that it was essentially OUR offense out there. DA helped Ben & Peyton with it during the week.


Learning, making appearances & sunbathing.... all of those are good reasons to not know what is going on, but none are valid reasons for not making a throw. The offense you're running, the reporters you talk to, etc... none of that changes how you throw to a receiver.

Pro Bowls are when QBs are set up to shine. Anderson had the most playing time of all the QBs. He played terrible, does it mean anything? No. But, he looked like he did the last half of the season. No suprise from me.

Grading the Pro Bowl QBs

February 11, 2008 1:05 AM

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike McAllister

HONOLULU -- Neither Jeff Garcia nor Derek Anderson were supposed to be here. They made their respective Pro Bowl rosters only because Brett Favre (NFC) and Tom Brady (AFC) opted not to play.

So, naturally, with the outcome still hanging in the balance, it came down to a duel of the backups. On this Sunday, give the edge to the veteran from Tampa Bay over the rookie from Cleveland.

Garcia took the baton from No. 2 QB Matt Hasselbeck midway in the third quarter with the NFC trailing 30-28. He directed three drives (not including the final kneel-down), throwing a six-yard TD pass to Terrell Owens on the second one, then hitting Owens and Donald Driver for three key completions to set up Adrian Peterson's six-yard touchdown run.

Meanwhile, Anderson played the entire second half for the AFC and produced three points on four drives. He hit just 10 of 26 attemps, was sacked twice and threw an interception off a desperation heave in the final seconds.

"When you're behind, it can be a difficult challenge when the defense rises up a bit," Cowboys QB Tony Romo said in defense of Anderson.

Romo, Garcia and Hasselbeck each credited NFC coach Mike McCarthy of Green Bay with producing a game plan that was simple to learn while still playing to the strengths of the three quarterbacks.

"User-friendly," was how Hasselbeck described it.

Garcia was quick to also give credit to the NFC receivers, who seemed to enjoy a rhythm with the quarterbacks that the AFC was lacking in the second half.

"Often times in a game like this, it's the receivers who sometimes aren't on the same page," Garcia said. "It seems like the they did a very good job of listening to the coaches and doing what we needed them to do."

So here are our QB grades for the Pro Bowl. Feel free to argue:

Peyton Manning, Colts (A) -- Efficient and productive while leading the AFC to two touchdowns and a field goal in the first quarter.

Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks (A) -- Led the NFC to TDs on both of his drives, hitting Chris Cooley on a 17-yarder just before halftime. His passer rating of 139.8 beat Manning's 118.5.

Jeff Garcia, Bucs (A-minus) -- Can't argue with his results, but he did throw an interception (And yes, it wasn't completely his fault).

Tony Romo, Cowboys (B) -- Threw two touchdown passes and an interception (his receiver tipped it) in his three drives.

Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers (B-minus) -- Saw limited action (just 17 snaps) but made a nice scramble for 18 yards.

Derek Anderson, Browns (D) -- The AFC (unfairly?) put the game in the rookie's hands, and he couldn't deliver. But he'll be back.

web page

I was just wondering something -- how do they determine how much playing time each QB gets anyways??

I can't help but think that David Garrard should have been there instead of Derek Anderson...

I presume they mean "rookie" as first time pro-bowler? Or did the article's author forget to do research?

Its kind of a joke if anybody cares about the Pro Bowl or gives it much stock, period. Its a fun game with nobody playing real hard and thats what its supposed to be. I bet a lot of GMs probably didn't even watch this game. Who cares what Anderson did? This game is considerably more meaningless than a preseason game!

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It's the friggin' Pro Bowl. There's no pressure there. It's exhibition. It's laid back. There's no blitzing. There's no press coverage. There's no stress so therefore there shouldn't be an issue with "nerves."

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and knowing all of that is true, why is it so important for any player to do well in this game.. what makes this the end all be all that it seems to be blown up to be all of a sudden..

it's a MEANINGLESS game..

But let me say this so it's clear.. This was NOT a good game for DA.. Not at all..

Still don't mean squat unless you just don't like DA and want another reason to beat on him.. if that's the case,, be my guest

I was dissapointed in Joe Thomas . I was hoping to see him let the D run right by him full throttle and bury the Burger 3 feet into the Hawaiian turf.

You are correct in your assessment. I was going to post before the game that whatever DA did it wouldn't mean a thing, good or bad. I still believe that. But he didn't look good. And it didn't help that he was gonna get compared to Manning and Roethlisberger. Although Ben didn't have a great game he definitely played better than Derek. And Manning was....well....Manning.

What does it mean in the grand scheme of all things football related? Not a thing, really. But you can bet his agent had a extra Mai Tai or three after the game.......

On the other hand this is the first Pro Bowl I watched any portion of in at least ten years. Got my Sunday nap off to a great start.....

It is a meaningless game.

But you still try your best. Any competitor is going to do that. I hope that wasn't his best. But you're mistaking this performance for me saying this was his one bad performance that I'm judging him on. He went downhill through the second half of the year.

Believe me, I want him to do well. I want to win. I want a Superbowl. Hell, I want 5 Superbowls. I want to finish what the Pats couldn't this season.

I was excited when we drafted Quinn. I can say that I didn't think DA was our answer at that point. When he started to play well early on in the season, I began to question whether Quinn would get a chance at all and if DA would ever look back.

And I was ok with that.

As long as we're winning and I think the kid can get it done, that's all I want. It doesn't matter if it's DA, Quinn or Dorsey.

While DA had a good season, he fell off in the second half, and didn't improve on any of the concerns that I had. If DA had a great game yesterday, I'd have praised him. I'm not one of those guys who goes out hoping for a player to play poorly in order to get what I want. If I felt comfortable enough with DA, I wouldn't be sitting here right now in this discussion. And neither would a lot of people.

Just because we had a good year, it doesn't mean DA is the right guy. We didn't make the playoffs, which separates us from having a successful season from an unsuccessful one.

I have one name for you:

Rex Grossman.