Browns Play Is Better In 27-19 Win
The Cleveland Browns came into Indianapolis stinging from a disappointing loss in their home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. Well, the Browns played much better and earned a 27-19 win over the Colts taking some of the sting out of that opening day loss.
Colt McCoy played very well, looking very mobile and improvising when necessary as evidenced by the touchdown pass to Evan Moore which gave the Browns a 7-6 lead. McCoy was 22-32 for 211 yards, 1 TD and no interceptions. 8 different receivers caught passes from McCoy, which is a positive sign for a team implementing the West Coast offense. The Browns were more committed to the run as Peyton Hillis carried the ball 27 times for 94 yards and 2 TDs. Hillis did lose a fumble but was his usual workhorse self. And when looking at the positives it would be hard not to talk about Josh Cribbs. A 52 yard kickoff return and a 43 yard punt return set up Cleveland scoring drives, the punt return leading to a Hillis 24 yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter that put the game away.
The defense had a very good game yesterday as the defensive line pressured Kerry Collins throughout the day. The rookie linemen, Phil Taylor and Jabaal Sheard, continue to impress. Sheard had a sack and a forced fumble which he recovered. Ahytba Rubin had another solid game with a sack and teaming up with Taylor to make a formidable middle of the defensive line. Usama Young contributed with an interception as the Browns defense prevented the Colts from scoring a touchdown until the waning seconds of the game.
There is still room for improvement. The offense needs to build on yesterday's win. It needs to incorporate Josh Cribbs more in the game plan. Yesterday, there were a couple of plays where they had Cribbs out in the flat and he made Colt defenders miss for some nice gains. There needs to be more of this. I'd also like to see more of Evan Moore particularly down in the red zone. He is a big target and it appears he and McCoy have developed a feel for each other. We also need to see more of Montario Hardesty. It was extremely puzzling as to why Hardesty was brought in on a goal line situation in the 2nd half while Hillis was on the bench. The Browns spent a high draft pick on Hardesty and he could provide a nice change of pace to the bulldozing style of Hillis. But if you are going to run down near the goal line, it needs to be Hillis.
Before we make Super Bowl reservations, we have to realize that this Colt team is reeling right now, particularly on offense. That's not to say that they didn't play well. However, it was a game that they should have won and needed to win. But there is room for improvement. The Dolphins come into Cleveland this Sunday and its a game the Browns can win. But it will not be easy. The Dolphins are winless but have had to play New England and Houston. Cleveland is not a team that can take anything for granted. Hopefully, they will be ready to take it to the Dolphins in front of their long suffering fans.
What Will The Browns Do Today??
The Cleveland Browns head into Indianapolis to face the Peyton Manning-less Colts this afternoon. Last week's loss to the Bengals was extremely disappointing. The offense looked good in the 2nd quarter but that was it. And that was most disappointing which makes today difficult to predict.
The Colts were buried last week against Houston. Kerry Collins looked awful as the Colts were unable to mount any type of comeback as they fell behind early. One would imagine that they will try to establish the run and take some heat off of Collins. The Browns will need to be able to run the ball also as Dwight Freeney and Company will try to pressure Colt McCoy into mistakes.
A Browns loss today puts them at 0-2 and in an immediate hole. Moreover, depending how the offense looks, one will begin to wonder about McCoy and Coach Pat Shurmur's implementation of the West Coast offense. The Browns have to show something today on offense. They need to determine if McCoy is the guy. Hopefully, he will. If not, another long season is in store and the continual hunt for a quarterback begins again!!!!
It’s Hockey Time: Leafs Open Camp Today
The Toronto Maple Leafs begin the 2011-12 journey to get into the Stanley Cup tournament today as training camp officially opens. There has been a dramatic turnover in personnel throughout the organization since Brian Burke took over the reins 3 years ago. Burke's Leafs are considerably younger and deeper throughout the organization as the Leafs' farm system is filled with possible NHLers with plenty of potential. But for a fan base that has not seen their team in the playoffs since prior to the lockout, the focus will be squarely on whether this team makes the playoffs this season.
The key to the whole season will be whether the Leafs goaltending tandem of James Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson are able to carry this team throughout the season. Reimer's emergence as the Leafs starting goaltender after the 1st of the year propelled the Leafs into a surging club in the last half of the season. The Leafs posted wins with Reimer in net against division rivals Boston and Buffalo as the Leafs gave their long suffering fans hope. Reimer will have to continue that type of play if the Leafs are to have any chance of making the playoffs. Gustavsson came to the Leafs with all kinds of hype, the best goalie not in the NHL the experts said. But the Monster has yet to live up to that title as he has been bothered by a heart problem and inconsistent play. The Leafs are taking a big gamble going with one of the youngest goalie tandem in the league. If Reimer or Gustavsson are not able to provide quality goaltending, the Leafs chances for making the playoffs are strongly diminshed.
The Leafs defense corp has the potential to be one of the best in the league. Dion Phaneuf really stepped up his play after Tomas Kaberle was traded and the Leafs need their Captain to continue on that path. The power play, which has been dismal, will hopefully get a boost with the acquisition of John-Michael Liles. Liles is an offensive minded defenseman who should be able to quarterback the power play and is not afraid to shoot the puck from the point. Luke Schenn has signed a new contract and the 21 year old is ready to continue on the rise to being one of the best shutdown defenseman in the league. Acquired Cody Fransen, Carl Gunnarsson, Mike Komisarek and Matt Lashoff will round out the defense corp with talented Jake Gardiner waiting for his turn while with the Marlies.
The Leafs search for a number one center now rests on the shoulders of Tim Connolly. I was not happy with the Connolly signing because of his injury history. As a Leaf fan, you have to hope that the guy stays healthy because he does have the ability to be a positive force for the first line that will consist of Connolly, Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. If Connolly can stay healthy, Kessel could reach 40 goals this year.
Last year's second line remains intact and the Leafs hope that Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin and Clarke MacArthur build on their breakout season. If this line falters, the Leafs will have trouble scoring goals. The third line will be centered by Tyler Bozak, who I believe will excel in that role. We know for sure that one of his linemates will be Colby Armstrong. The Leafs play extremely well when the rambunctious Armstrong is in the lineup. Bozak and Armstrong's linemate will come down to Nazem Kadri, Joe Colborne or Matt Frattin. Kadri seemed to come on at the end of the season while on the third line. I like Joe Colborne a lot but I think he is better suited at center and could be a top 6 forward. Frattin had a great rookie camp and looked good in his only appearance with the Leafs last season. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out.
A wild card in all of this could be Matthew Lombardi. Lombardi missed all but a few games last season with a concussion. Prior to that, he was considered a speedy play-making center who had the ability to put the puck in the net. If he is able to contribute in any way, the Leafs could have a real find.
The pressure is squarely on Coach Ron Wilson to make sure that the Leafs do not get off to a bad start, which has characterized Wilson's teams the last 2 seasons. The fact that Brian Burke did not give Wilson a contract extension and required that Wilson make coaching staff changes tells you that Burke will not tolerate a sluggish start. With the changes in the coaching staff, it is hoped that the Leafs will improve on their terrible special teams. The Leafs were one of the least penalized teams last year, but their penalty killing was terrible. The power play has been abysmal and hopefully with Connolly and Liles that will improve.
In the end, there is no question that the playoffs are the goal. But in my mind I want to see continued improvement and consistency. A good season by Reimer, Connolly stepping up, Kadri taking the next step, Phaneuf raising his level of play, and the second line continuing to play the way it did last year will be what I am looking for this season because in the end it really needs to be more than just making the playoffs. It needs to be about being a legitimate contender to win the Stanley Cup.
Week 2 NFL Predictions
Well, last week did not start off well as I went 1-3 with my lone win being the Cincinnati Bengals over my Cleveland Browns. Underdogs last week went 8-6 and there were two games where the line was right on the money. So the heat is on this week to bounce back so here are my picks for week 2 in the NFL:
Tony's Tips (1-3)
* Pittsburgh -14 at home vs Seattle: I almost always hate laying this many points on a game but there is a reason why the oddsmakers have made the Steelers a 14 point favorite. Pittsburgh was humiliated and embarassed by the their division rival last week in Baltimore. There is no way that Mike Tomlin's team won't come out this week firing on all cylinders. Tavaris Jackson will be pressured big time by a Steeler defense that was torched last week. In the Steelers home opener, Pittsburgh hammers the Seahawks 31 - 7.
* Denver -3 1/2 at home over Cincinnati: The Broncos dropped a 23-20 decision to Oakland last week at home and the Bronco faithful are growing anxious with calls for Tim Tebow. The Bengals pulled out a win last week in Cleveland on a quick snap while the Browns were still coming out of their huddle. Not sure who will be the quarterback for Cincy but I don't think it will matter. The Broncos win this one 17 - 10.
* Atlanta +1 at home over Philadelphia: The Falcons were completely dominated by the Bears last week in Chicago. They come home for a Sunday night matchup against the Eagles in Michael Vick's return to Atlanta. I just can't see the Falcons going 0-2 to start the season. For that reason, I'm taking the Falcons to win this one 28 - 24.
Hopefully I'll have better luck this week. Tomorrow I will feature the opening of Maple Leaf training camp.
Mariano Rivera: Simply The Best!!!!
Last night, Mariano Rivera got 2 steps closer to being the all-time save leader by notching his 600th save as the Yankees defeated the Seattle Mariners 3-2. With out a doubt, we have been watching the greatest closer of all-time. I say that not because Rivera is a Yankee and I'm a Yankee fan, I say it because of Rivera's longevity of dominance.
The amazing thing is that despite Rivera's dominance, he has never won a Cy Young Award. Other relievers have won the Cy Young: Rollie Fingers, Willie Hernandez and Dennis Eckersley come to mind. Now I'm not suggesting that Rivera should win the award this year as Justin Verlander should win the award going away, but it is amazing that over a 17 year career Rivera has never won the award. The closest he came was in 2005 when he finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting behind Bartolo Colon, then of the Los Angeles Angels.
Of course, Rivera will tell you that what's most important to him is winning and that there is nothing better than winning the World Series. Rivera was the World Series MVP in 1999 and was the ALCS MVP in 2003. That's what makes Rivera even more special: his post season success. With 42 career post season saves and the Yankees being in the post season this year, Rivera will have an opportunity to pad that number. In fact, it will be a long time before anyone challenges Rivera for all-time saves leader in the post season as Brad Lidge is second in career post season saves with 18.
Some will argue that Rivera has benefitted from playing on some very good to great Yankee teams. However, those teams would not have achieved the success that they had without Rivera. Class, humility, professional, dominant are what describe Rivera's 17 year career. We have been really fortunate to watch this man perform. I think it's safe to say that we will never see this again.
Tuesday’s Thoughts
While wondering if there is enough room on the Buffalo Bills bandwagon, here's what is on my mind this morning:
* Unbelievably the New York Yankees find themselves in first place, 4 games over the Boston Red Sox. Last night, the Yankees beat up on a long-time Yankee-killer, Felix Hernandez. The 9-3 victory was the game in hand that the Yankees had with Boston. Phil Hughes had another solid outing and the Yankee offense showed up with home runs from Mark Teixiera and Chris Dickerson, not to mention another solid night by Robinson Cano. Cano has 109 RBI's good enough for second in the American League behind teammate Curtis Granderson.
* David Ortiz has indicated that it is panic time for the Red Sox and he may be right. The Tampa Bay Rays beat up on the Baltimore Orioles to reduce Boston's lead to 3 games for the AL Wild Card spot. Theo Epstein was whining about various injuries that his club has suffered but the Yankees have had their share of injuries also. The Red Sox problem is the same as New York's: pitching. John Lackey has been an unmitigated disaster since the Red Sox signed him in 2010 and Erik Bedard and Tim Wakefield are hardly imposing particularly in October. The Red Sox are not dead but the four game series coming up against the Rays in Fenway will determine a lot for the team that the talking heads predicted would run away with the American League East and be in the World Series.
* As pointed out in one of the New York daily's, with 16 games remaining the Red Sox will have to go 12-4 and the Yankees will have to go 8-8 in order for Boston to catch the Yanks for the AL East crown.
* I still say, be wary of the Detroit Tigers in October. We all know about Justin Verlander but deadline acquistion Doug Fister has been a great pickup for the Tigers. Fister is 5-1 since joining the Tigers with a 2.28 ERA. Kudos to Dave Dombrowski for bolstering his staff with a potential starting rotation for October that would consist of Verlander, Rick Porcello, Max Scherzer and Fister.
* After Week 1 of the NFL, I would still take college football over pro football any day.
* Tom Brady's brilliant performance last night certainly sent a message to the rest of the AFC that Brady & Company will be a force to reckon with. However, Bill Bellichek's boys will have to get better on defense if they are to ultimately land in the Super Bowl.
* NBC lucked out in week one as they had two of the most exciting games of the pro weekend with the Green Bay-New Orleans game and the NY Jets-Dallas game. They have another marquee matchup this Sunday with Philadelphia going into Atlanta.
* This week in college football there are some intriguing matchups as interconference play begins. Florida will host Tennessee, #2 LSU heads to #25 Mississippi State and the top game on Saturday is #1 Oklahoma heading to Tallahassee to take on #5 Florida State. And in the Violation Bowl, Ohio State will go down to Florida to take on the Hurricanes of Miami.
* Last night, Ron Jaworski was praising Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins. According to Jaworski, Daboll's philosophy is that of an aggressive, attacking offense. Are you kidding me??? Did Jaworski see the Browns offense for the time that Daboll was offensive coordinator??? The Browns were hardly aggressive and attacking with Daboll at the helm.
* Hard not to do this column without mentioning my favorite media whipping boy, Michael "Beavis" Kay. Last night, Beavis tried to stir up things by asking Kim Jones if there was any talk about who would catch Mariano Rivera when he tries for his 600th save. Beavis was specifically questioning about whether Jorge Posada will be brought in to catch his longtime teammate. Jones went on to say that Posada would like to be in the game and that it would be difficult for him to sit on the bench seeing Rivera hit the 600 mark. Interestingly enough, the fan poll indicated that the majority of fans thought that it would be Russell Martin or Austin Romine who would be the catcher when Rivera hits 600. What a ridiculous question and its another example of Beavis trying to stir up a controversy when in fact its all a bunch of crap and something that the fans really could careless about.
* And speaking of Yankee catchers, its just been reported that Francisco Cervelli will be out indefinitely with a concussion. The Yanks will now have to decide if both Montero and Romine will make the post season roster which would most certainly mean that Posada would not be on it.
* Finally, the talking heads were all a blaze about the new NFL rule for kickoffs, specifically that the ball be kicked off from the 35 yard line. What is the big deal?? Prior to 1974, they kicked off from the 40 and I believe that kickoffs were returned for touchdowns back then. Again, another controversy that is all BS.
A Lost Sports Weekend
But for Peter Bourjos' error yesterday in the 7th inning, every team that I follow lost this weekend. In fact, some of the losses were down right demoralizing. Let's first start with the Yankees. The Yanks escaped Anaheim with a 6-5 win yesterday as Peter Bourjos misplayed a fly ball in the seventh inning. For the second straight start, Freddy Garcia struggled but the Yanks kept battling to avoid a sweep. On Friday they received a very good performance by Bartolo Colon and Saturday CC Sabathia struggled but only allowed one run over 6 innings but it wasn't enough. Prior to Sunday's game, the Yanks had only scored 1 run in California as Jered Weaver and Dan Haren shut them down. But to be fair, the Yankee offense has been decimated by injuries as ARod, Nick Swisher, Russell Martin and Andruw Jones all were out of the lineup. Jones returned yesterday and it is hoped that Swisher can play tonight.
Despite the Yankee struggles, Boston is really reeling as they were swept by the troublesome Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays are now only 3 1/2 games behind the Red Sox for the wild card spot. The Yankees find themselves 3 1/2 games up on Boston, 4 games in the loss column. Tonight the Yankees will play the game in hand they have on Boston but the assignment won't be easy as they face Felix Hernandez.
Being a Notre Dame fan, the loss to Michigan on Saturday was gut-wrenching. After dominating the 1st half, the Fighting Irish found themselves down 28-24 with 1:30 seconds left in the game. Tommy Rees led the Irish comeback as he tossed a touchdown pass to Theo Riddick with 30 seconds remaining to give Notre Dame a 31-28 lead. But then Denard Robinson continued his mastery of the Irish by bringing the Wolverines back in 4 plays to throw a touchdown pass with 2 seconds remaining to give Michigan the victory. Notre Dame blew a 17 point lead going into the 4th quarter as Robinson worked his magic. A Notre Dame defense that had been stout for 3 quarters fell apart in the final quarter. I'm not sure how the Irish bounce back from this one as I'm sure the heat will be really turned up on Coach Brian Kelly. Things don't get easier as Michigan State rolls into South Bend this Saturday and going 0-3 will really have the ND faithful in a foul mood.
And then there are my beloved Cleveland Browns. With an easy schedule (supposedly) in the beginning of the season, many prognosticators had the Browns winning there first 4 or 5 games. Well, so much for that. After sleep walking through the 1st quarter, the Browns took a 14-13 lead at halftime over a Cincinnati Bengals team that many have predicted to finish in last place in the AFC North. The Browns had a chance to take firm control of the game in the 3rd quarter but had to settle for a field goal putting them ahead 17-13 going into the 4th quarter. But then led by Bruce Gradkowski, he of 3rd string fame when with the Browns, hit a wide open AJ Green and the Bengals went up 20-17 and the game was for all practical purposes over. Green was so wide open that I could have hit him for a touchdown. The reason why he was so wide open was because the Browns were slowly coming out of their huddle and the Bengals quick snapped the ball. None of the corners were out in coverage. And so once again the Browns lose a home opener. They haven't accomplished that feat since 1989.
Oh well, at least the Maple Leaf rookie team beat Chicago's and Pittsburgh's and thank God for Peter Bourjos.
Look Into October: Yanks 0-2 vs Angels
For the past several months I have been saying that the way things were going I could see the American League representative in the World Series being a team other than Boston or New York. Well, over the course of the last two games in Anaheim the recipe for my prediction was borne out. Jered Weaver and Dan Haren shut the Yankee offense down, Weaver outdueling Bartolo Colon and Haren slamming the door on the Yankees when CC Sabathia struggled through 6 innings and the worn out Yankee bullpen blew up.
The Yankees are in tough straits right now as ARod is out for 4 games, Nick Swisher is hurting, Francisco Cervelli has a concussion and now Russell Martin has a badly bruised right thumb. By the way, word comes out that Andruw Jones has been playing all year with a slightly torn ligament and will need to have fluid drained from his knee. The bullpen has been overused since Labor Day, with Freddy Garcia getting lit up on the holiday and two extra inning games against the Orioles. Last night their were more bullpen pitchers unavailable than available. The only thing keeping the Yankees in first place is the fact that Boston is struggling just as mightly, as they lost again last night in extra innings against Tampa. The Rays are now only 4 games back in the loss column behind the Red Sox.
Last night's Yankee lineup was brutal. Eduardo Nunez in right field. Jorge Posada back behind the plate. Yet, there is still enough there to generate some offense. The Yankees have scored 1 run in the last 25 innings. Mark Teixiera, Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano need to carry the load. The only guys who have been hitting is Derek Jeter and Jesus Montero. Today its Freddy Garcia against Ervin Santana, who has been pitching very well as of late. The Yanks are in tough again today and the type of pitching they are now facing is what they will see come October. Unless the walking wounded can come back strong, there is no way this team makes the World Series, let alone the ALCS.
Survival Of The AL East
The Yankees and Red Sox appear to be limping toward the finish line as both teams lost again last night leaving the Yankees 2 1/2 games up on Boston. The Yanks received a very good pitching performance from Bartolo Colon but could not solve Jered Weaver but for Jesus Montero's home run. Montero is really showing why Brian Cashman & Company are so high on this kid.
I have never been a big fan of Luis Ayala. The guy just doesn't seem reliable to me but Joe Girardi had little options as the Yankees were involved in 2 extra inning games against the Orioles and the starters have not given him much length lately. Colon provided him 7 strong innings last night and David Robertson did his job in the eighth. The Yankee lineup is struggling. While any lineup can struggle against Weaver, the Yanks have not been hitting the ball well over the last few games. ARod still is trying to get back into shape however one has to wonder how well he is going to hit with that sore thumb. Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson have also been slumping over the last few games and now it appears that Nick Swisher may be out for a couple of games.
While the Yanks seem to be struggling, the Red Sox are also limping along. Their vaunted lineup has really been weak and last night against the Rays both Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz looked awful. With last night's loss to Tampa, their lead over the Rays for the wild card spot was reduced to 5 1/2 games. John Lackey has been terrible and the Sox now have similar pitching issues that the Yankees have.
Tonight the Red Sox start a kid by the name of Kyle Weiland against Tampa's Jeremy Hellickson. The Yanks will send CC Sabathia to the mound to face Dan Haren. Both of these AL East powers are struggling. The remaining 19 games are going to be real interesting.
NFL Predictions
Well, last night didn't start off well with my NFL picks, but I'll be right back at it today. But before my other Week One picks, here are my season predictions:
AFC East: Patriots 13-3, Jets 12-4, Bills 4-12, Dolphins 3-13
AFC North: Steelers 13-3, Ravens 12-4, Browns 9-7, Bengals 2-14
AFC South: Texans 10-6, Colts 7-9, Titans 6-10, Jaguars 1-15
AFC West: Chargers 10-6, Chiefs 7-9, Broncos 5-11, Raiders 3-13
Wild Cards: Jets and Ravens
1st round: Jets over Texans Ravens over Chargers
2nd Round: Patriots over Ravens Jets over Steelers
AFC Championship Game: Patriots over Jets
NFC East: Eagles 13-3, Giants 11-5, Cowboys 9-7, Redskins 5-11
NFC North: Packers 11-5, Bears 11-5, Lions 8-8, Vikings 4-12
NFC South: Saints 12-4, Falcons 11-5, Buccaneers 10-6, Panthers 4-12
NFC West: Cardinals 8-8, Rams 6-10, 49ers 5-11, Seahawks 3-13
Wild Cards: Giants and Bears
1st Round: Saints over Bears Giants over Cardinals
2nd Round: Eagles over Cardinals Packers over Giants
NFC Championship Game: Eagles over Packers
Super Bowl: Patriots over Eagles
Tony's Tips (0-1):
Well its time to rebound off of last night's disappointing loss so here is what I got for the rest of Week One:
NY Giants -3 over Washington: I find it hard to believe that Tom Coughlin won't have his team ready for this one particularly with all of the negative press the Giants have received in the pre season. The game is in Washington, but the Giants have the better QB and better defense.
Cincinnati +6 1/2 over Cleveland: You all know I am a Browns fan so this is a tough one. While I see the Browns winning the game, I'm not convinced that the Browns should be 6 1/2 point favorites. Bengals will keep it close in the 1st of 2 installments of the Battle of Ohio.
Tampa Bay -1 1/2 over Detroit: The Lions have received a lot of hype this year and they will be improved. But I like the direction the Bucs are heading in led by their young quarterback Josh Freeman. I'm looking for the Bucs to win their home opener in what might be a defensive battle.
There you have it. Tomorrow, back on the Yankees trail after seeing them lose two in a row to the Orioles. Fortunately, the Red Sox lost 2 to the Blue Jays. A great sports weekend ahead. Stay tuned.
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