The Cleveland Browns had some highs and lows during last Saturday's preseason game against the Detroit Lions. ESPN.com's James Walker writes about the good of quarterback Jake Delhomme, and how he continues to impress during the preseason with his accuracy. Peyton Hillis continues to make the Cleveland Browns' front office look good as a steal in the Brady Quinn...
Browns coach Eric Mangini has a word with starting quarterback Jake Delhomme.The Cleveland Browns had some highs and lows during last Saturday's preseason game against the Detroit Lions.
ESPN.com's James Walker writes about the good of quarterback Jake Delhomme, and how he continues to impress during the preseason with his accuracy. Peyton Hillis continues to make the Cleveland Browns' front office look good as a steal in the Brady Quinn trade with the Denver Broncos.
Hillis continues to play hard during the preseason.
Hillis showed his versatility with 40 receiving yards and 26 yards rushing and a touchdown. But what stood out most was Hillis' regular-season intensity. He broke through arm tackles and bullied Detroit defenders. Hillis is Cleveland’s leading rusher through three preseason games.
Now the bad.
The Browns fumbled four times and lost three against the Lions. Running back Jerome Harrison lost a fumble that was returned 14 yards for a touchdown. The Browns have eight turnovers in their past two preseason games.
Cleveland's defense was gashed by the Lions. Detroit rookie Jahvid Best zipped through the Browns’ first-team defense for 51 yards on his first carry, which was a sweep left. Cleveland's tackling and defensive fundamentals were not sharp, particularly against the run. The Lions rushed for 154 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per carry.
No rush, no sacks
The Browns have only one sack in three preseason games, and reporter Jeff Schudel writes in The News-Herald how the safest job in the NFL this summer is being the quarterback facing the Browns. Starter or backup, it doesn't matter.
Eight opposing quarterbacks have thrown a total of 96 passes in three games.
The Browns have one sack. The answer to the trivia question "Who was sacked?" is Mike Flynn from the Packers.
Linked to that statistic is this one: Aaron Rodgers, A.J. Feeley and Matthew Stafford, the three starting quarterbacks the Browns faced, were a combined 30-for-36 passing.
So Schudel wants to know if the Browns holding back, or is their pass rush suddenly impotent after registering 40 sacks last year?
Does it all come down to the missing Kamerion Wimbley, their 2009 sack leader, who was traded to the Raiders in the offseason for a third-round draft pick?
Or something else?
"We don't really look at pass rush as a function of one guy," Coach Eric Mangini said. "We look at pass rush as a function of good defense. Last year, it was 16 different guys who had sacks. That, to me, is the way it's going to set up because based on their (pass) protection, based on the things that they're doing, there are ways to beat it."
Fixing the flaws
Ohio.com reporter Nate Ulrich writes how members of Cleveland's starting defense identified their downfalls and pinpointed solutions following last Saturday's preseason loss to Detroit.
''It's tough,'' Browns cornerback Sheldon Brown said. ''We didn't want to start slow in the first half. In the first quarter, we gave up the long drive. Then coming out of halftime, we gave up another drive as a defense, so it's kinda tough we didn't play the game we wanted to play.
''It's how guys respond — that's what you are looking for at times like this and moments like this that define a team. And these are the times where you realize who you want to be in the foxhole with.''
Against Detroit, the Browns' defense couldn't prevent rookie running back Jahvid Best from doing his thing, particularly breaking loose off the left side for a 51-yard run on the Lions' first offensive play from scrimmage.
''I showed [Best's] clips from preseason,'' Mangini said. ''I showed his college clips. I told them he was the 100-meter champion in California. If they were caught by surprise, then they've been sleeping the whole week.''
Highs and lows
If the Cleveland Browns' game against the Detroit Lions was a dress rehearsal, than the Browns need to go back to wardrobe, at least for the defense.
Ohio.com columnist Marla Ridenour writes how last Saturday had moments of brilliance and moments of breakdowns, signs of progress and signs of regression.
Joshua Cribbs showed huge progress as he strives to become a polished receiver with an eye-popping catch on the left sideline in a second-quarter touchdown drive. He deftly pointed both feet to get them inbounds as he pulled in the ball.