Still trying to decipher the Browns effort yesterday.

No question, Derek Anderson was bad. 4 interceptions was his high for the year and we hadn't really seen many of those "Bad Derek" interceptions in bunches. But they were there yesterday.

Some iffy play-calling. After the first Cincinnati TD, Josh Cribbs returned the ball to the 35. Once again, and this was unreported by the TV guys except for a casual mention, the Browns were penalized back to the 20. D'Qwell Jackson took a personal foul and that has somehow escaped scrutiny. Why on earth they decided to throw after that with no timeouts and momentum clearly shifting to the Bengals makes no sense. The resulting interception was a killer.

Defense gave up 155 rushing yards. And almost spit the bit on the Bengals last drive, if not for a fumble.

Even though the Browns moved the ball on their last drive, time management was an issue. Way too many gaps without running a play. At the start of a play at 1:13, Edwards catches a 12-yarder for a first down, the next play is run out of the shotgun at 52 seconds. The next pass to Wright is for 11, and the Browns take a timeout at 45 seconds. That's a lot of time. Then, after hitting Winslow for a first down, there is no spike. The next play is the one where Winslow barely gets out of bounds for no gain. Now 18 seconds remain. Another big waste of time. Then Anderson almost ended the game by RUNNING. He got out of bounds and they put a second back on the clock for a final play, which failed, But that drive was a clock disaster.

The Browns fell in love with short pass. The Bengals had two backup safeties in the game, so I'm not sure why that was the philosophy. Oh, we'll hear that it was the wind, but how could it have been worse than the Buffalo game when they were throwing the ball a ton early.

A major disappointment.

Meal of Links

Ten startups worth watching in '08. A wide range of companies.

Will Smith says Hitler not so bad. At least he didn't mention the train schedule.

The death of Kirsty MacColl is reopened. "Fairytale of New York" is a song you should play this holiday.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas
"The Christmas Song"/Mel Torme (The Velvet Fog)

I set aside the more familiar Nat King Cole version aside for the guy who wrote the song. Mel, with orchestral backup, sits on a stool and starts by almost talking the lyrics. Of course, the vocal flourishes aren't too far behind. Mel is practically warning us about Christmas with his delivery. Little "Good King Wenceslas" riff by the band at the end. Crowd loves the effort. Favorite Line: "...lots of toys, lots of goodies on his sleigh..." Not for the words, for the gestures.



Exercise Yard

Has anyone noticed the NBA is putting the "plus/minus" stat in the box scores. If Larry Hughes' stat line does not convince everyone he needs to leave, I don't know what does. He was "-23" in only 18 minutes of action, while shooting 1-8 with 1 rebound and no assists. That seems hard to do.

Check out Brian Windhorst's blog about the game. That should tell you all you need to know about the current state of the Cavs.

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