Upon further review, Week 1: Browns blew opportunities in 17-14 loss to Tampa Bay, but running back Peyton Hills is not necessarily to blame for his fumble in the red zone.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A review of the CBS Sports telecast of the Browns-Buccaneers game confirmed several glaring reasons for the Browns' 17-14 loss. Quarterback Jake Delhomme did not play well, the offensive line periodically teetered in the heat and rain, and Josh Cribbs made minimal impact on special teams. Running back Peyton Hillis also hurt the Browns with a fumble, but I am not going to give him goat horns for it.
With the Browns leading, 14-10, early in the third quarter, they had a first down at the Tampa Bay 15. Hillis gained 1 yard, then fumbled. After the game, he told reporters: "I guess it was lack of concentration. It was my mistake, and I need to get that fixed. I lost the ball, and I've got to fix that. No matter if it was hit or ripped out or I was falling down, that's my fault, and I have to take care of that.''
Hillis said what a running back should say. He does need to take care of the ball, no matter what. This does not mean, however, that he should absorb all -- or even half -- the blame for what happened on the red-zone run. I submit Hillis was victimized by someone for whom he could not account.
After watching the replay the first time, at regular speed, I figured Hillis was at fault. The ball was in his hands, then it wasn't. He was hit by Tampa Bay linebacker Barrett Ruud, who must have jarred it loose. (The camera angle was from behind the Browns' backfield).
But when I routinely watched the play in slow motion, I was bothered by the fact that Ruud did not appear to hit Hillis near the ball. Ruud went low, and neither arm nor his lead shoulder was in the vicinity of the ball. So I kept rewinding. Eventually, I saw an elbow. It did not belong to Ruud or Hillis, but to Browns tight end Robert Royal. I started the play over and followed Royal scraping along the line from right to left. At the last instant, Royal attempted to squeeze into a tight space between the linebacker and Hillis. Ruud appeared to push Royal slightly and into Hillis. Royal's left elbow disappeared into Hillis. Two frames later, the ball was out.
I am 99 and 44/100 percent sure that an inadvertent elbow to the football by Royal, with a slight assist from Ruud, caused Hillis to fumble. I think that is why Hillis told reporters that he could not remember if the ball was ripped out or if he just lost it. He couldn't remember because he knew Ruud didn't do it, and he knew he didn't simply drop it, but he couldn't account for what hit him.
Therefore, I wouldn't get down on Hillis just yet. He made several superb plays against the Bucs, including a 10-yard TD run. He's agile for a big man and plays with an attitude.
Where Royal is concerned, he is not to blame, either. He was simply doing his job. It was just one of those freak plays that can happen in a football game.
Here are other observations made from watching the CBS game replay:
The Browns, even accounting for their deficiencies, had no business losing that game. They should have been leading at least 21-3 midway through the third quarter. Instead, it was 14-10.
The Buccaneers had no business winning that game. They were as bad as they were supposed to be. K2 might get his catches again this year, but his team is in for another long one.
Delhomme played at a C-minus level. He did not lose the game, but a quarterback who plays reasonably well wins it. This was the first time in years I watched Delhomme play a full game. He certainly takes passengers for a bumpy ride. He seems to me to be a Brett Favre without the big arm, a gunslinger without the gun. If I'm a Browns fan, I'm nervous about how he periodically winds up to throw in order to get enough mustard on it. His ball has float to it, and I wonder how that's going to play in windy conditions at Cleveland Stadium.
Delhomme's worst decision, of course, was to throw the pass that landed in Ronde Barber's lap near the end of the first half. Barber returned it 64 yards to the Browns 3. Delhomme's line did him no favors on the play. Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas was beaten by Stylez White, who grabbed Delhomme's leg(s) as the ball was being released. Delhomme also attempted to side-arm the pass in part because another Bucs defender had broken through and was in his sight line. The pass was in the vicinity of Ben Watson and Chansi Stuckey, who never should have been so close together.
Thomas is a great player who did his job on most snaps, but he looked bad again late in the fourth quarter. On a second-and-10 from the Browns 13, Tim Crowder knocked Thomas off-balance with a bull rush and blasted into Delhomme's back, forcing an incompletion.
On that play, the Browns were in a four-receiver set, but none was named Cribbs. Cribbs needs to be out there in those type of situations. On third-and-10, he was.
For the first time in forever, Cribbs appeared to be just a hair indecisive in the return game. Maybe Tampa Bay's special teams had something to do with it, but my sense is, Cribbs would take responsibility.
Delhomme's other pick came midway through the fourth quarter. It was a bad throw, to be sure, but he released off the back foot in part because of pressure. Trouble with a blitz pickup left Bucs lineman Brian Price free enough to put a hand up while flashing past Delhomme. Price had eluded Floyd Womack.
On fourth-and-9 from the Cleveland 14 with 1:02 left, Delhomme missed an open Stuckey high and wide at the 31. Based on Delhomme's reaction and a brief clip of Delhomme speaking with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll on the sideline, Delhomme might have expected Stuckey to continue moving left to right.
Delhomme's best two passes came on the final series. On first down, he threw long and on-target to Brian Robiskie along the left sideline. But the pass was incomplete because Robiskie, despite his best effort, only got one foot in. On second down, Delhomme connected with Evan Moore on the left side for 22 yards.
The Buccaneers' defensive front got the better of the Browns' offensive line in the critical second half.
Rookie safety T.J. Ward played well. Ward made a terrific play to force a Tampa Bay fumble near the goal line late in the fourth quarter. He's going to be fun to watch.
If the NFL is so popular -- and we know it's wildly popular -- why can't all 32 of its home openers sell out?