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Here are a few whining excerpts and the links more bawling:
Of cheap shots and deep throws
By Pat McManamon, Editor
September 21, 2004
Enough about injuries for one day … let’s discuss other things …
10) If the league doesn’t fine Dallas cornerback Terence Newman after Sunday’s game in Dallas, then it’s time to do away with the fine system. Newman hit Browns tight end Kellen Winslow on the Dallas sidelines several seconds after the ball had flown over Winslow’s head. Not only was the hit late – and cheap – it was a helmet-to-helmet shot. Newman did what the league says it’s trying to eliminate: It was a dangerous shot on a defenseless player. It’s inexplicable that officials didn’t throw a flag on the play, but the league needs to make a statement on that hit and hit Newman in the wallet. Hard.
9) It’s even more inexplicable that officials missed that call given the fact that Ed Hochuli’s crew treats flags as if they’re filled with hot peppers that are burning holes in their backsides. These guys are penalty-happy, and they’ll call anything and everything. Hochuli flagged Dallas linebacker Bradie James for roughing the passer when all the guy did was hit Jeff Garcia hard and in the shoulders. Breathe on a quarterback’s head and he’ll call roughing the passer. That they missed such a blatant penalty on a defenseless receiver was inexcusable.
0) If, like me, you wondered why Butch Davis didn’t challenge the pass to Dennis Northcutt late in the game that was ruled incomplete when it was actually a catch and fumble out of bounds, here’s Davis’ answer: “We thought about it. On the road they’re never going to show you the deal. I kept asking in the press box because I couldn’t see through the players. It looked as though Dennis did catch the ball. The buzz-line is that you have to make a move indicative of running with the football. He turned his shoulders and started to head forward, but the minute they say incomplete pass, you didn’t know whether you should challenge it or not. You didn’t know how the rest of the game (was going to go). Until the last four or five minutes of the ballgame, it was a one-score game. It was 10-9 or 17-12 and all you had to do was score a touchdown to win the game. You didn’t know how the rest of the game was going to go.”
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news_room/news/arts/3137.0.html
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Cowboys hang on, win 19-12
By Zac Jackson, Staff Writer
September 19, 2004
IRVING, TX.
The Cowboys put the game away with a pass - a 37-yarder to Terry Glenn that surprised just about everyone in the stadium. McCutcheon was step-for-step with Glenn, but Glenn appeared to push off and get enough separation to make the catch and give Dallas a first down at the Browns' 37 coming out of the two-minute warning.
Said McCutcheon, "You guys saw the same game I did. It's a part of football . . . but I think I got a bad break."
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news_room/news/arts/3121.0.html
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Browns get three picks but no win
By Steve King, Associate Editor
September 20, 2004
IRVING, TX - Over his 18-year career, quarterback Vinny Testaverde, now with the Dallas Cowboys, has thrown for 41,620 yards and 253 touchdowns.
Those are Hall of Fame numbers, but he probably won't make it to Canton mainly because he has also a penchant for throwing interceptions, especially at just the wrong time.
And the Browns added to that career total - it's now at a very un-HOF-like 238 - by picking off Testaverde three more times Sunday. Getting one each were cornerbacks Anthony Henry and Daylon McCutcheon and strong safety Robert Griffith.
It nearly paved the way for the Browns to win in Texas Stadium, but this was a day in which nothing they did seemed to turn out right. So the interceptions merely served as somewhat of a silver lining in the otherwise dark cloud that was Cleveland's 19-12 loss.
"I'm very pleased with the way the defense played, especially the secondary," Browns coach Butch Davis said. "It kept us in the game, but we just didn't manage enough offense."
The Browns got just three points off those picks, those coming on Phil Dawson's 22-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter after Henry had set up the offense at the Dallas 22 following a 51-yard return. It was his second pick of the year.
"Sure, it's frustrating not to have gotten more points off those turnovers, but that's what team is all about," McCutcheon said. "The offense wasn't clicking on all cylinders today, but maybe next time, it will be the defense that's struggling. When that happens, the other parts of the team have to pick up the slack."
There's good reason for McCutcheon to have said that. It's not just some coach-speak stuff being relayed through a player. Yes, the Browns forced those three picks, but overall, did the defense do enough to win the game?
Davis says yes. Griffith says no. Griffith is probably right.
"We didn't play well enough on defense today to win," he said. "A win is a win, and we didn't get it. Years from now, they'll look back on this game and all they'll see is Dallas 19, Cleveland 12.
"We made a lot of mistakes out there on defense. There are a lot of things we have to correct."
Those things stem mostly from what happened in the first half, when Testaverde looked for all the world like great Cowboys quarterbacks of the past such as Don Meredith, Roger Staubach, Danny White and Troy Aikman. Really.
He had 107 yards through the air in the first quarter alone and 176 for the first half on 14-of-19 passing. For the day, he was 23-of-35 for 322 yards, making him only the second quarterback in Dallas history to throw for over 300 yards in consecutive games. The other was Meredith in 1963. Testaverde had 355 the previous Sunday in a loss at Minnesota.
But after that good first half against the Browns, Testaverde reverted to the things that have gotten him into trouble since he came into the league in 1987. He's a passer who will dazzle you for a while and then spend an equal amount of time baffling you.
The Cowboys, ahead 17-9, appeared to be moving in for the kill as they faced a third-and-six at the Cleveland 37 late in the third quarter. Then Testaverde was intercepted by Henry as he tried to hit wide receiver Terry Glenn.
Once again, Dallas, up 17-12 in the fourth quarter, looked to be in good shape with a third-and-three situation at the Cleveland 43. Testaverde tried to go to Glenn again, and this time, it was McCutcheon who grabbed it.
"They kept throwing those quick, three-step-drop passes," McCutcheon said. "You want to keep those things in front of you. You don't want to get beat for a touchdown on them.
"But when they continued to do it, I just read Testaverde's eyes that he was coming my way again and got a good jump on the ball."
Griffith, who was fooled badly on a 36-yard flea-flicker pass to Keyshawn Johnson in the first quarter, then made a nice interception in the middle of the field as Testaverde tried to find Dedric Ward on second-and-eight at the Cleveland 30.
"I saw it coming," Griffith said. "It was the same play they ran in the second quarter when Daylon broke it up. It was the same formation, with the tight end on the same side."
But after that interception, and also after the one by McCutcheon, the Browns turned it right back over when quarterback Jeff Garcia got intercepted himself. It made for a bizarre fourth quarter, with the ball changing hands as if it were a hot potato.
"That's why people watch football," Griffith said. "It's a drama that unfolds.
"We just knew at that point that we had to make plays to stay in the game. But we couldn't play even with them on interceptions. We had to stay ahead, and we didn't. We made three interceptions, but so did they."
As silly as it seemed for Testaverde to continue to put the ball up, especially so carelessly, with the Cowboys already running the ball well and milking the clock in the fourth quarter, it was his daring pass - and a no-call - that pretty much sealed the win for Dallas.
On second and nine from the Dallas 26, with just 2:04 left and the Browns expecting the Cowboys to play it safe and keep the ball on the ground, Testaverde beat McCutcheon down the left sideline with a 37-yard pass to Glenn to the Cleveland 37.
The play allowed the Cowboys to continue to run the clock down. By the time the Browns got the ball back, they had just nine seconds left and were on their own 1.
But the big issue is that it appeared Glenn pushed off on the play, which occurred in front of the Cleveland bench. It was allowed, however, much to the chagrin of the Browns coaches and players, who were screaming at the official to throw the flag.
McCutcheon wouldn't come right out and blame the officials, though.
"You saw the same play that I saw," he said while shaking his head.
But Griffith pulled no punches.
"If you're not going to make that call, then why be out there?" he said. "You've got to have the guts to make that call."
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Field turf trouble for Browns
By Jeff Walcoff, Staff Writer
September 20, 2004
With field turf surfaces continuing to replace Astroturf and natural grass fields all over the NFL, several Browns Monday had less than glowing reviews for the new Sportsfield Realgrass turf at Texas Stadium.
Safety Earl Little even suggested it may have been partially responsible for the broken fibula that has sidelined Kellen Winslow for eight to 10 weeks.
"Guys were slipping around--there was so much rubber stuff underneath," said Little, who was on the field when Winslow was injured. "I'd never want to play there again.
"Some guys were wearing tennis shoe-type and I was wearing cleats. It was so hot out there that some of the spikes were melting down on the cleats. That's why guys were slipping and falling. When you're going out there full speed on a rubbery surface like that, it wasn't good at all."
In recent years, 13 NFL stadiums have installed surfaces similar to the one at Dallas, which features rubber pellets underneath the synthetic grass. Only two stadiums-Indianapolis' RCA Dome and St. Louis' Edward Jones Dome-still have Astroturf, which was long blamed for many severe injuries.
But while places like Baltimore, Cincinnati and even the Browns' indoor practice facility also have field turf, the countless competing brands of the substance make it difficult for players to know what they are stepping onto unless they have played on the field before.
"There are many different manufacturers and every one is different," Phil Dawson said. "So, we can practice on ours all week and it's a completely different field than Dallas or Baltimore. We're going to New York this week, so who knows what that's going to be like.
"As good as that stuff is, players haven't figured out what type of shoes to wear on it. That's one reason I go so early. Everybody makes fun of me for showing up at 9:30 on the field, but that's one of the reasons is to figure out what am I going to do today."
CHEAP SHOT OR NOT-Butch Davis stopped short of calling Terrence Newman's hit on Kellen Winslow during the third quarter a cheap shot, but he alluded that the hit was not clean.
"It looked like a shot to the head on an overthrown ball," Davis said.
Newman appeared to lead with his helmet on the hit, which blindsided Winslow. The helmet-to-helmet blow was not flagged.
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news_room/bits/arts/3131.0.html
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Dawson's kicking a bright spot
By Steve King, Associate Editor
September 21, 2004
It would be faster to drive across the state of Texas - on a bicycle, with a flat tire - than it is to list all of the bad things that happened to the Browns in their game in Dallas on Sunday.
In fact, Browns coach Butch Davis could have imagined his worst nightmare for the afternoon and it still would have been more cheery than what took place.
The Browns lost defensive end Courtney Brown, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2000 draft, for the season with a broken foot.
They lost tight end Kellen Winslow, their top selection this year, for eight to 10 weeks with a broken leg. There is speculation that his injury might also be season-ending.
They lost right tackle Ryan Tucker (strained quadriceps), their best offensive lineman, and defensive tackle Gerard Warren (strained pectoral muscle), the No. 3 overall pick in the 2001 draft, for two to four weeks.
Cornerback Daylon McCutcheon (broken finger) and right guard Paul Zukauskas (strained knee) also were hurt in the game but might be able to play this Sunday when the Browns visit old friend Shaun O'Hara and the New York Giants.
Running back Lee Suggs, who did an outstanding job in the preseason to win the starting job, wasn't able to play against the Cowboys - and it's not known when he will - because of a lingering neck injury. He missed the opener against Baltimore as well.
Davis was accompanied at his Monday press conference by trainer Mike Colello, who suddenly became the most quotable man in the organization as he tried to explain all of the injuries.
Jeff Garcia, the quarterback the Browns went after in free agency, had a passing rating of 0.0 in the game. Yes, you read that correctly, 0.0. It's no wonder, then, that the offense struggled so much.
Near the end of the game when the Browns were trying desperately to get the ball back, Cowboys wide receiver Terry Glenn pushed McCutcheon halfway to Dallas owner Jerry Jones' private box to make a 37-yard catch that basically sealed the Browns' fate. Even though the official was right in position to see it, there was no call.
All this after the NFL went out of its way to warn teams in the offseason and during the preseason that it was going to really crack down on pass interference. The Browns were still steaming about the no-call Monday and the failure of the league to follow through on its new policy. And oh yeah, the Browns also lost the game, 19-12, to add insult to all this injury - literally and figuratively.
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news_room/news/arts/3138.0.html
Of cheap shots and deep throws
By Pat McManamon, Editor
September 21, 2004
Enough about injuries for one day … let’s discuss other things …
10) If the league doesn’t fine Dallas cornerback Terence Newman after Sunday’s game in Dallas, then it’s time to do away with the fine system. Newman hit Browns tight end Kellen Winslow on the Dallas sidelines several seconds after the ball had flown over Winslow’s head. Not only was the hit late – and cheap – it was a helmet-to-helmet shot. Newman did what the league says it’s trying to eliminate: It was a dangerous shot on a defenseless player. It’s inexplicable that officials didn’t throw a flag on the play, but the league needs to make a statement on that hit and hit Newman in the wallet. Hard.
9) It’s even more inexplicable that officials missed that call given the fact that Ed Hochuli’s crew treats flags as if they’re filled with hot peppers that are burning holes in their backsides. These guys are penalty-happy, and they’ll call anything and everything. Hochuli flagged Dallas linebacker Bradie James for roughing the passer when all the guy did was hit Jeff Garcia hard and in the shoulders. Breathe on a quarterback’s head and he’ll call roughing the passer. That they missed such a blatant penalty on a defenseless receiver was inexcusable.
0) If, like me, you wondered why Butch Davis didn’t challenge the pass to Dennis Northcutt late in the game that was ruled incomplete when it was actually a catch and fumble out of bounds, here’s Davis’ answer: “We thought about it. On the road they’re never going to show you the deal. I kept asking in the press box because I couldn’t see through the players. It looked as though Dennis did catch the ball. The buzz-line is that you have to make a move indicative of running with the football. He turned his shoulders and started to head forward, but the minute they say incomplete pass, you didn’t know whether you should challenge it or not. You didn’t know how the rest of the game (was going to go). Until the last four or five minutes of the ballgame, it was a one-score game. It was 10-9 or 17-12 and all you had to do was score a touchdown to win the game. You didn’t know how the rest of the game was going to go.”
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news_room/news/arts/3137.0.html
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Cowboys hang on, win 19-12
By Zac Jackson, Staff Writer
September 19, 2004
IRVING, TX.
The Cowboys put the game away with a pass - a 37-yarder to Terry Glenn that surprised just about everyone in the stadium. McCutcheon was step-for-step with Glenn, but Glenn appeared to push off and get enough separation to make the catch and give Dallas a first down at the Browns' 37 coming out of the two-minute warning.
Said McCutcheon, "You guys saw the same game I did. It's a part of football . . . but I think I got a bad break."
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news_room/news/arts/3121.0.html
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Browns get three picks but no win
By Steve King, Associate Editor
September 20, 2004
IRVING, TX - Over his 18-year career, quarterback Vinny Testaverde, now with the Dallas Cowboys, has thrown for 41,620 yards and 253 touchdowns.
Those are Hall of Fame numbers, but he probably won't make it to Canton mainly because he has also a penchant for throwing interceptions, especially at just the wrong time.
And the Browns added to that career total - it's now at a very un-HOF-like 238 - by picking off Testaverde three more times Sunday. Getting one each were cornerbacks Anthony Henry and Daylon McCutcheon and strong safety Robert Griffith.
It nearly paved the way for the Browns to win in Texas Stadium, but this was a day in which nothing they did seemed to turn out right. So the interceptions merely served as somewhat of a silver lining in the otherwise dark cloud that was Cleveland's 19-12 loss.
"I'm very pleased with the way the defense played, especially the secondary," Browns coach Butch Davis said. "It kept us in the game, but we just didn't manage enough offense."
The Browns got just three points off those picks, those coming on Phil Dawson's 22-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter after Henry had set up the offense at the Dallas 22 following a 51-yard return. It was his second pick of the year.
"Sure, it's frustrating not to have gotten more points off those turnovers, but that's what team is all about," McCutcheon said. "The offense wasn't clicking on all cylinders today, but maybe next time, it will be the defense that's struggling. When that happens, the other parts of the team have to pick up the slack."
There's good reason for McCutcheon to have said that. It's not just some coach-speak stuff being relayed through a player. Yes, the Browns forced those three picks, but overall, did the defense do enough to win the game?
Davis says yes. Griffith says no. Griffith is probably right.
"We didn't play well enough on defense today to win," he said. "A win is a win, and we didn't get it. Years from now, they'll look back on this game and all they'll see is Dallas 19, Cleveland 12.
"We made a lot of mistakes out there on defense. There are a lot of things we have to correct."
Those things stem mostly from what happened in the first half, when Testaverde looked for all the world like great Cowboys quarterbacks of the past such as Don Meredith, Roger Staubach, Danny White and Troy Aikman. Really.
He had 107 yards through the air in the first quarter alone and 176 for the first half on 14-of-19 passing. For the day, he was 23-of-35 for 322 yards, making him only the second quarterback in Dallas history to throw for over 300 yards in consecutive games. The other was Meredith in 1963. Testaverde had 355 the previous Sunday in a loss at Minnesota.
But after that good first half against the Browns, Testaverde reverted to the things that have gotten him into trouble since he came into the league in 1987. He's a passer who will dazzle you for a while and then spend an equal amount of time baffling you.
The Cowboys, ahead 17-9, appeared to be moving in for the kill as they faced a third-and-six at the Cleveland 37 late in the third quarter. Then Testaverde was intercepted by Henry as he tried to hit wide receiver Terry Glenn.
Once again, Dallas, up 17-12 in the fourth quarter, looked to be in good shape with a third-and-three situation at the Cleveland 43. Testaverde tried to go to Glenn again, and this time, it was McCutcheon who grabbed it.
"They kept throwing those quick, three-step-drop passes," McCutcheon said. "You want to keep those things in front of you. You don't want to get beat for a touchdown on them.
"But when they continued to do it, I just read Testaverde's eyes that he was coming my way again and got a good jump on the ball."
Griffith, who was fooled badly on a 36-yard flea-flicker pass to Keyshawn Johnson in the first quarter, then made a nice interception in the middle of the field as Testaverde tried to find Dedric Ward on second-and-eight at the Cleveland 30.
"I saw it coming," Griffith said. "It was the same play they ran in the second quarter when Daylon broke it up. It was the same formation, with the tight end on the same side."
But after that interception, and also after the one by McCutcheon, the Browns turned it right back over when quarterback Jeff Garcia got intercepted himself. It made for a bizarre fourth quarter, with the ball changing hands as if it were a hot potato.
"That's why people watch football," Griffith said. "It's a drama that unfolds.
"We just knew at that point that we had to make plays to stay in the game. But we couldn't play even with them on interceptions. We had to stay ahead, and we didn't. We made three interceptions, but so did they."
As silly as it seemed for Testaverde to continue to put the ball up, especially so carelessly, with the Cowboys already running the ball well and milking the clock in the fourth quarter, it was his daring pass - and a no-call - that pretty much sealed the win for Dallas.
On second and nine from the Dallas 26, with just 2:04 left and the Browns expecting the Cowboys to play it safe and keep the ball on the ground, Testaverde beat McCutcheon down the left sideline with a 37-yard pass to Glenn to the Cleveland 37.
The play allowed the Cowboys to continue to run the clock down. By the time the Browns got the ball back, they had just nine seconds left and were on their own 1.
But the big issue is that it appeared Glenn pushed off on the play, which occurred in front of the Cleveland bench. It was allowed, however, much to the chagrin of the Browns coaches and players, who were screaming at the official to throw the flag.
McCutcheon wouldn't come right out and blame the officials, though.
"You saw the same play that I saw," he said while shaking his head.
But Griffith pulled no punches.
"If you're not going to make that call, then why be out there?" he said. "You've got to have the guts to make that call."
_____________________________________________________
Field turf trouble for Browns
By Jeff Walcoff, Staff Writer
September 20, 2004
With field turf surfaces continuing to replace Astroturf and natural grass fields all over the NFL, several Browns Monday had less than glowing reviews for the new Sportsfield Realgrass turf at Texas Stadium.
Safety Earl Little even suggested it may have been partially responsible for the broken fibula that has sidelined Kellen Winslow for eight to 10 weeks.
"Guys were slipping around--there was so much rubber stuff underneath," said Little, who was on the field when Winslow was injured. "I'd never want to play there again.
"Some guys were wearing tennis shoe-type and I was wearing cleats. It was so hot out there that some of the spikes were melting down on the cleats. That's why guys were slipping and falling. When you're going out there full speed on a rubbery surface like that, it wasn't good at all."
In recent years, 13 NFL stadiums have installed surfaces similar to the one at Dallas, which features rubber pellets underneath the synthetic grass. Only two stadiums-Indianapolis' RCA Dome and St. Louis' Edward Jones Dome-still have Astroturf, which was long blamed for many severe injuries.
But while places like Baltimore, Cincinnati and even the Browns' indoor practice facility also have field turf, the countless competing brands of the substance make it difficult for players to know what they are stepping onto unless they have played on the field before.
"There are many different manufacturers and every one is different," Phil Dawson said. "So, we can practice on ours all week and it's a completely different field than Dallas or Baltimore. We're going to New York this week, so who knows what that's going to be like.
"As good as that stuff is, players haven't figured out what type of shoes to wear on it. That's one reason I go so early. Everybody makes fun of me for showing up at 9:30 on the field, but that's one of the reasons is to figure out what am I going to do today."
CHEAP SHOT OR NOT-Butch Davis stopped short of calling Terrence Newman's hit on Kellen Winslow during the third quarter a cheap shot, but he alluded that the hit was not clean.
"It looked like a shot to the head on an overthrown ball," Davis said.
Newman appeared to lead with his helmet on the hit, which blindsided Winslow. The helmet-to-helmet blow was not flagged.
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news_room/bits/arts/3131.0.html
______________________________________________________________
Dawson's kicking a bright spot
By Steve King, Associate Editor
September 21, 2004
It would be faster to drive across the state of Texas - on a bicycle, with a flat tire - than it is to list all of the bad things that happened to the Browns in their game in Dallas on Sunday.
In fact, Browns coach Butch Davis could have imagined his worst nightmare for the afternoon and it still would have been more cheery than what took place.
The Browns lost defensive end Courtney Brown, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2000 draft, for the season with a broken foot.
They lost tight end Kellen Winslow, their top selection this year, for eight to 10 weeks with a broken leg. There is speculation that his injury might also be season-ending.
They lost right tackle Ryan Tucker (strained quadriceps), their best offensive lineman, and defensive tackle Gerard Warren (strained pectoral muscle), the No. 3 overall pick in the 2001 draft, for two to four weeks.
Cornerback Daylon McCutcheon (broken finger) and right guard Paul Zukauskas (strained knee) also were hurt in the game but might be able to play this Sunday when the Browns visit old friend Shaun O'Hara and the New York Giants.
Running back Lee Suggs, who did an outstanding job in the preseason to win the starting job, wasn't able to play against the Cowboys - and it's not known when he will - because of a lingering neck injury. He missed the opener against Baltimore as well.
Davis was accompanied at his Monday press conference by trainer Mike Colello, who suddenly became the most quotable man in the organization as he tried to explain all of the injuries.
Jeff Garcia, the quarterback the Browns went after in free agency, had a passing rating of 0.0 in the game. Yes, you read that correctly, 0.0. It's no wonder, then, that the offense struggled so much.
Near the end of the game when the Browns were trying desperately to get the ball back, Cowboys wide receiver Terry Glenn pushed McCutcheon halfway to Dallas owner Jerry Jones' private box to make a 37-yard catch that basically sealed the Browns' fate. Even though the official was right in position to see it, there was no call.
All this after the NFL went out of its way to warn teams in the offseason and during the preseason that it was going to really crack down on pass interference. The Browns were still steaming about the no-call Monday and the failure of the league to follow through on its new policy. And oh yeah, the Browns also lost the game, 19-12, to add insult to all this injury - literally and figuratively.
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news_room/news/arts/3138.0.html
