Evidence that it's not the same old Browns depends on a U-turn in the play of quarterback Jake Delhomme. Early returns are not promising.
Inmobile and inaccurate, Jake Delhomme left the field in Tampa on Sunday with the public support of his coach, Eric Mangini, but with deserved cracks in the confidence of Browns fans entering next Sunday's home opener against Kansas City, says Bill LivingstonCLEVELAND, Ohio -- Is there credible evidence that this loss to a bad Tampa Bay team is not a case of "here we go again?"
Browns coach Eric Mangini channeled Phil Savage, the former general manager who deplored the "woe is us" mentality around town. Mangini said this team is not made up of those kind of guys. Nobody feels that way. Those frowns can turn upside down, my friends.
"We have a lot of new guys. They don't know what 'here we go again' means," said Mangini.
It is always nice to channel some optimism after the Browns do something like pull off a come-from-ahead loss to Tampa Bay, which figured maybe to beat the minor-league Omaha Nighthawks, employers of Ohio State ex-convict Maurice Clarett, but not many teams in the NFL.
But the sunny outlook particularly jolts the system because it followed proof on Sunday that the leopard hasn't changed its spots after all.
Everybody in the Browns' organization feels bad that quarterback Jake Delhomme didn't eat the ball or throw it away on a play that began from the Buccaneers' 39 in the last minute of the first half with the Browns ahead, 14-3. Former Browns coach Sam Rutigliano advocated throwing it "to the blonde in the first row" in such circumstances, but that particular progression in Delhomme's reads might have been beyond his capability. You see, he was being tackled at the time, necessitating a sidearm delivery that went to Tampa's Ronde Barber, who was open.
Before the interception, the Browns figured to lead by at least 17-3 at halftime. If it had been 21-3, they could have started the bus for the airport and the victory flight home. Instead, many fans want to throw Delhomme under the bus now.
After Tampa scored from the 3 following Barber's 64-yard return, they led, 14-10, and Delhomme was leaving the field limping.
Mangini said the line didn't "hold up," even though the Bucs did not blitz or run stunts on the play. He also cited "poor spacing" by the receivers on the play. "Poor spacing" is invoked by coaches so often, it's as if NASA is calling the plays.
But the final decision was Delhomme's, and he simply can't throw that ball. Not if he wants to convince people in the league that, at age 35, coming off two straight bad seasons, he has undergone a full confidence transplant.
Delhomme threw one touchdown pass and two interceptions in the opener, including the second-quarter brain cramp that blew up the game. Which followed a 2009 at Carolina in which he threw eight TD passes and 18 picks. Which followed a 2008 in which he threw 15 TD passes and 12 picks. He was outdueled by Josh Freeman, one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL last year, who was playing with a broken thumb.
Mangini said more games are lost than won in the NFL. Still, Freeman actually made the play that won the game. A Browns' blitz didn't get to him in time to disrupt a deep ball to Micheal Spurlock in the fourth quarter. The pass was spot-perfect, beating cornerback and top draftee Joe Haden by a hair for the winning touchdown. Haden was on an island in coverage all day, and it took a beautiful throw to beat him. Sometimes, you just get beat.
And sometimes, you go down without using all your weapons.
Delhomme gimped around in the second half, throwing another interception in the fourth quarter when he never saw Josh Cribbs, who was open from the stem of Tampa Bay's pirate ship to its stern. The Browns' last four possessions began at their own 7, 6, 3, and 11. With the need for a quarterback with running ability to get breathing room or to simply change the haplessness vibe, Mangini stuck with Delhomme.
No Seneca Wallace. No wildcat formation with Wallace and Cribbs.
The coach said he felt Delhomme gave them the better chance to stop being backed up. Wasn't improved quarterback play supposed to be the biggest difference between this season and last season's Derek Anderson/Brady Quinn dead heat on a merry-go-round? Not if you neglect one of them.
If the Browns can't beat Kansas City at home Sunday, things will get grim fast. The schedule toughens up quickly after that, and it really could look like the Browns have gone full circle on the same carousel to oblivion as before.