Randomness from tonight's Browns home game:



























Special Guest: Kevin. I went to a game with Kevin two years ago. It was in December. He made a sign and I think it became useless after a few minutes, because it was kinda cold. Last year, we were scheduled for the Buffalo game and I bailed on that one since it snowed quite a bit. So, the weather should be much better tonight. Plus, he gets out of school at 6:00, which probably means no signage.

Tonight's Opponent: The once-hated Denver Broncos. Sure, 20 years ago, we thought this team was the devil. We always seemed to come up short against these guys. The 1986 AFC Championship game here ("The Drive"). The 1987 AFC Championship game there ("The Fumble"). The 1989 AFC Championship game there (We never got around to naming that one). But both teams are a far cry from that era. The Broncos have no discernable defense. They are horrible on that side of the ball. Can you imagine a Denver Bronco team with no running game? Well, they are here tonight. It's basically Jay Cutler at QB and if he is successful, they move the ball. If not, they really suck. Amazingly, with all of that, they still lead their division at 4-4.

Browns Version 2.3, however, is in turmoil once again. Brady Quinn, the People's Choice (or as I like to call him, "Dink II"), is now in charge of the Browns offense. For the record, I am not yet a Quinn fan. He needs to do something more on the field, instead of being shirtless and doing commercials off it, before I hop on his bandwagon. With only one day of practice before this game and limited reps all year, what should we look for tonight? I'm telling you, if you thought the short passing game was prominent with Derek Anderson, watch tonight's game. I expect lots of slants, short outs, swing passes out of the backfield. I expect less deep passes than when Anderson was in there. And last week, he threw only one and we saw how that worked out. Doh!

On paper, this would have been an easy Browns win before the QB change. Since the change was announced, I still think the Browns will win. Though I have this nagging feeling that it'll be ugly.

Parking: East 6th by the Board of Education. Ni-i-i-ice.

Browns Player on Ticket: D'Qwell Jackson, arms folded.

Pre-Game Festivities: The Browns Spirit Flag was unfurled once more. We also had the flag that wasn't really a flag. You know, the one with red, white and starred blue strips of varying length.

At halftime, the Browns old AAFC championship teams from 1947, 1948 and 1949 were honored. Names you would recognize: Ara Parseghian, Dub Jones and Dante Lavelli were in attendance.

Worst Feature (For Me): "Hang on Sloopy" at the end of the third quarter. I'm really tired of this.

The Weather: Hollie Strano had the unfortunate experience of trying to do her weather gig, while chants of "Brady! Brady!" resonated throughout the Stadium as Brady Quinn was entering the game for his first series as a starter. No one heard her and she stiffed me on that radar again. The weather was as perfect as could be for a November night game. This was one of those days that closer to the lake it was much cooler than inland. But the temperature was steady throughout and was in the mid-50s. Outstanding.

Today's Giveaway: There wasn't any.

Section 345: Nothing happened. Probably the tamest crowd in years. Not even a threat of anyone risking ejection.

Best Browns Play: Once again, the best Browns player was Josh Cribbs. Absolutely loved his end around in the 4th quarter for 21 yards. It's a shame our best player is only on the field for maybe 15-20 plays per game, and most of those are in the return game.

































Best Broncos Play: The 93-yard touchdown pass from Jay Cutler to Eddie Royal. Cutler did a fake and Brandon McDonald, who else?, bit on it. By the time he recovered, Cutler had delivered the ball to Royal, who was well behind the defense. Royal had to wait for the ball, but still caught it and outsprinted everyone to the endzone. This brought Denver right back into the game at 23-20.

Worst Browns Play: The fumble by Kellen Winslow with 12:48 left. The Browns had started the drive on the 50 after another good return by Cribbs. On 3rd-and-6, Quinn hit Winslow with a pass for an apparent first down. But he fumbled at the Denver 38. It took Denver less than 3 minutes to score a touchdown to go up, 27-23.

Second Worst Browns Play: The bad tackling on Daniel Graham's 28-yard touchdown catch for the Broncos. Pitiful.

Worst Broncos Play: Repeatedly kicking to Josh Cribbs. Fools.

Best Line from Me (at halftime): "Omigod, Dante Lavelli looks horrible. Dead Pool?"

Best Line from Kevin (after another big Denver gain): "Swiss cheese, baby. Swiss cheese."

Best Line from a Random: Denver fan says, "I know you guys have Kellen Winslow, but we have Tony Scheffler."

Oddest Browns Jersey: 17 Gardocki, 29 Turner, 34 Droughns, 75 Fraser. There was also 80 Postal Dawg.

Food Items: Kevin got me a $4.75 bratwurst. We learned these babies are really hot (temperature-wise) last Sunday. Try one.

Best Fan Cam Feature: The "Beware of Dog" sign that you could purchase at your local five-and-dime was held up.
























The Fuckin' Run: The Browns only gave up 123 yards rushing today. Normally cause for celebration, right? Unfortunately, this was accomplished mainly by Denver's FOURTH AND FIFTH-STRING RUNNING BACKS. Cutler even chipped in with 26 yards, including a huge 18-yarder up the middle with two minutes left. Putrid.

Worst Stat: The Browns defense, the unit that has let us down for how many years now?, gave up 564 yards tonight. Cutler had a career-high 447 yards through the air. Couldn't stop them.

2nd Worst Stat: Denver punted one time. The only defensive stop the Browns had all evening. Cutler had an awful interception ending one drive and they had a missed field goal on their opening drive. Halftime stopped another drive. The Browns had no three-and-outs.

Most Interesting Stat: Conversely, the Browns only punted twice. The Winslow fumble and the Browns inability to get a final first down on their last drive were the other times they did not score.

Penalties: Another offensive pass interference penalty on Kellen Winslow was the killer. This was on the first play of the fourth quarter, nullifying a first-down catch by Braylon Edwards. The Browns punted, setting up the long Royal TD.

This loss drove the final nail into the coffin this year. The season is over. Oh, we knew it was done early this year, but the tease of the Monday Night Giant win and the tough win at Jacksonville kept the charade going. Finally, at 3-6, we can breathe easy. Now we know we suck, for sure.

































Can't pin this one on "Dink II". Those games, with tougher defenses, will eventually prove my point. Nope, this one is pinned solely on the defense, who for the second game in a row, were handed a fourth quarter lead and proceeded to perform dismally when it counted. Both times at home to compound the misery.

So, where does the season go from here? We've seen it numerous times. Some teams play to the end under these circumstances. Others do not and the team slides into a steep decline to finish out the season. Is the coach in jeopardy? Remember, his forte is defense and it just ain't working right now. Is the general manager in jeopardy? He hasn't addressed linebacking needs when that unit has been crying for an upgrade for years. And his free agent signings have been hit-or-miss.

Whatever happens it's because the team had their season on the line with back-to-back home games against teams, that if the Browns are as good as they think, should have no trouble beating. And the defense, as it does for as long as I've been watching the Browns, let everyone down. Again.

I can't believe I'm typing the Browns lost to the dismal Denver Broncos, 34-30.

Meal of Links

Seriously, Sarah Palin thought Africa was a country and did not know the countries involved in NAFTA. Yet, women (and many men) across the land claimed they identified with her and she was "one of us", etc. Good grief.

I got to see some daytime TV yesterday that I normally don't see. I stumbled across some of the Judge Shows again. Nearly fell off the chair when I saw Bruce Cutler, famously John Gotti's lawyer, hosting a show called "Jury Duty", where three "celebrity jurors" adjudicate cases. Two of the jurors were Melissa Rivers and Bruce Vilanch, just to give you some flavor. Quite the awful program, I say. Then I watched old favorite, Judge Extreme Akim, in "Eye For An Eye" rule on some obviously phony case.

Forgotten names for everyday items. Like the "aglet".

10 songs that resemble 10 different songs. Some of these are blatant lifts. Kinks vs. Kinks is one my faves, as well.

Exercise Yard

The Boston Bruins decide to fight the Dallas Stars. Jack Edwards, the formerly mild-mannered ESPN anchor now Boston Bruins homer/announcer, seems to have gone a bit over-the-top with some of his descriptions.



Visitor

47 Across: Perennial 1950s-'60s NBA all-star (6 letters) Answer: Pettit