The Ravens say they won't take the Browns lightly when the teams meet Sunday afternoon.
Josh Cribbs carries plenty of respect in the Baltimore Ravens' locker room, with the Ravens expecting to see more of Cribbs' offensive skills on Sunday.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- There's never a shortage of topics during this time of year when Terry's Talkin ...
How Baltimore sees Sunday's game against the Browns ...
1. Talking to some members of the Ravens, this could be a very long afternoon for the Browns. Not that Baltimore is cocky. Rather, the team is desperate after losing at Cincinnati last week. The word at practice is the Ravens simply cannot, will not, and must not lose this game at home to the Browns -- and drop to 0-2 in the Central Division.
2. The Ravens played their final two regular season games of 2009 on the road. Both playoff games were on the road. They opened this season with games at the New York Jets and Cincinnati. So that's six road games. They were 6-2 at home in each of the last two seasons.
3. They believe the Browns will use a lot of wildcat formations, and have been preparing all week. Like most teams facing the Browns, they will put their two cornerbacks on the Browns' two receivers -- bringing the safeties close to the line. They'll dare the Browns to beat them downfield with a pass. They fear the Browns' wildcat more than any other used by various teams.
4. They love Joshua Cribbs and don't want him to beat them. We may see more of what happened against Kansas City, where the Chiefs simply refused to kick the ball to the Browns' prime return man.
5. They think the Browns defense is "vastly improved." They noticed it last season. In Game 3, the Browns lost, 34-3, in Baltimore, a game that felt as if it were 50-3. In Game 10, Baltimore worked hard for a 16-0 victory at Cleveland. They think Rob Ryan and Eric Mangini are making a major impact on the defense.
6. They are very impressed with Athbya Rubin, marveling at the diving interception that the 300-pound nose tackle made of a deflected pass last week. They believe Chris Gocong is playing in the correct spot as an inside linebacker in Ryan's 3-4 defense. They also think Scott Fujita brought some needed speed to the linebackers.
7. While they believe the Browns have upgraded their secondary with Sheldon Brown, Joe Haden and T.J. Ward -- they still think the defensive backs are short and can be hurt by taller receivers. All of the Browns' key defensive backs are in the 5-10 to 5-11 range.
8. Ward has caught their attention with his reckless style, the kind of fearless safety the Ravens love. Like several teams, they were surprised that Haden went as high as No. 7, but believe he is a first-round talent. Tight end Todd Heap has bounced back from a couple of years marred by injuries and they believe he's ready for a monster season. Left unsaid is they know the Browns have had trouble covering tight ends.
About the Browns ...
The defensive work of rookie safety T.J. Ward (behind Tampa Bay's Sammie Stroughter) and veteran cornerback Sheldon Brown (right) have clearly made the Browns' better -- even if the record is 0-2, says Terry Pluto.1. The Football Outsiders Almanac projects the Browns to win 5.4 games. Formerly called Pro Football Outsiders, this group comes up with some great stats and generally has been pretty accurate. In the last years, here is the Browns' record and what they predicted -- 2005: 6-10 (6.3 wins); 2006: 4-12 (4.8 wins); 2007: 10-6 (8.9 wins); 2008: 4-12 (6.1 wins) and 2009: 5-11 (5.3 wins).
2. The authors must be spanked for part of their essay where they take some cheap shots at Mangini and failed to do their homework. They brought up the $1,700 fine for Braylon Edwards' water bottle, not mentioning it was at least the 10th time he broke team rules. They dragged up the charge of James Davis being hurt in an extra practice session when he was not wearing pads and hit by someone who was in shoulder pads. The practice was on tape. The NFL reviewed it. That simply did not happen. All of these details were reported by myself and others -- more than once.
3. But when it comes to stats, they have great stuff. Last season, the Browns allowed 6.9 yards after a receiver made a catch -- most in the NFL. That's why the front office brought in Brown, Ward and Haden -- to tackle somebody. They wrote, "Brown missed only five tackles last season, compared to 14 from his ballyhooed [Philadelphia] teammate Asante Samuel." Former Browns cornerback Brandon McDonald ranked No. 5 in giving up yards after catch, Eric Wright was No. 19.
4. For the second consecutive season, Joe Thomas was flagged for seven penalties. They believe that is too high for an elite left tackle. Otherwise, they really like Thomas. Tackle John St. Clair "blew 6.0 blocks" with Chicago in 2008 and 6.5 with the Browns in 2009. St. Clair was the only Brown in the top 20 of "blown blocks" last season.
5. The defense stopped only 8.7 drives with either fumbles or interceptions -- the lowest in the NFL, the eighth lowest since 1999. The authors believe the revamped defense with the new linebackers and defensive backs will change that. So far, the Browns have picked off three passes in two games -- compared to only 10 last season.
6. The average age of the Browns key defensive players is "27-28 ... ideal for a strong [positive] projection."
7. The average wide receiver catches about 57 percent of the passes thrown to him; it's 64 percent for tight ends. Last season, Cribbs was at 54 percent, followed by Chansi Stuckey (48 percent), Mohamed Massaquoi (36 percent), Brian Robiskie (35 percent) and tight end Robert Royal (42 percent). With New England, tight end Ben Watson was at 71 percent. It will be interesting to see how Watson does here, and if the current receivers improve with the new quarterbacks.
8. Yes, Jake Delhomme was terrible last season in Carolina -- ranking 31st in starting quarterbacks. But the authors still rated him slightly above Brady Quinn. He was twice as effective as Derek Anderson in their complicated overall statistics. Seneca Wallace was rated the best of the four, but had only two starts. The authors think Delhomme and Wallace can help at quarterback, but they don't expect a huge improvement in the Browns' passing game.
About the Cavs ...
Daniel Gibson figures to get plenty of chances to show off his long-range shooting in the pick-and-roll offense of new Cavaliers coach Byron Scott.1. If Mo Williams or any other Cavaliers have some doubts about what life will be like without LeBron James, they need to talk to Daniel Gibson. The guard knows it will be harder to win games, that it's doubtful the team is a championship contender. But when new coach Byron Scott talks about opportunities for players, he means it. Gibson is one of the first who has a chance to benefit.
2. Scott is saying he's especially impressed with Gibson, who can count on some regular minutes with the departure of Delonte West. Scott has told players that he's not afraid to use two small guards, that he wants two ballhandlers on the court at the same time. The three main ballhandlers are Ramon Sessions, Williams and Gibson. He said Anthony Parker also fits into that group.
3. All the defensive attention drawn by James created open shots for guards, but Scott insists his system will do the same -- only in a different fashion. Instead of four guys standing and watching James dribble, Scott will accent movement to create open shots.
4. Gibson started 10 games last season when West and Williams were both injured, and averaged 11.7 points -- shooting 48 percent from the field and at 3-point range. Those shooting numbers mirrored his overall performance in a season of very erratic playing time. Former general manager Danny Ferry believed Gibson's shooting problems two seasons ago were due to a nagging turf toe injury that took a long time to heal. When it did last season, Gibson returned to the sweet shooting stroke that he showed early in his career.
5. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is a friend of Dan Gilbert, so it's no surprise he's backing the Cavs owner. Nonetheless, I liked his comments on the Dunham and Miller Show on SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket in Dallas: "LeBron has every right to go wherever ... he wants to. Going to the Heat was his choice ... Where I think LeBron made a mistake, was in how he did it. I don't even have a problem that he had the TV show. But it turned out to be the largest public humiliation in the history of sports. He humiliated the organization. He humiliated the state of Ohio, the city of Cleveland. All of a sudden he became a bad guy, he lost a billion dollars in brand equity, give or take a couple bucks here or there."
6. Scott also has met with Antawn Jamison, stressing to the veteran that he will thrive in Scott's offense. It's the same offense that Eddie Jordan (a former Scott assistant) used when Jordan coached Jamison in Washington -- where Jamison was a 20-point scorer.
7. For six weeks, Scott has been warning the players to show up in shape. He will have trash cans near the court in case some players feel sick in the early practices. He said it happened three times in his first season with the Nets, once in his first year with New Orleans. He hopes the players have taken his warnings about being in shape seriously, so they won't be needed. Like his mentor, Pat Riley, Scott is known for physically demanding training camps.
About the Tribe ...
Chris Perez offers one of the most significant bright spots for the Indians as they look ahead to 2011.1. What young player has made the most of his chance this season? It's Chris Perez, who entered the weekend with a 2-0 and 1.02 ERA since June 1. He has not allowed a run in 30 of his last 31 outings. He's 9-of-10 in the clutch 1-run saves. If nothing else, the Indians appear to have found a closer. According to fangraphs.com, the average Perez fastball is 94.6 mph, his typical slider is 83.7. He has intimidating stuff.
2. After Shin-Soo Choo, what Indian has the most at-bats? It's Trevor Crowe, who entered the weekend hitting .256 (.651 OPS) with 2 HR and 31 RBI in 406 at-bats. He also leads the team by hitting into 13 double plays. He's had the opportunity to establish himself as a possible regular, but he's shown to be a backup -- especially at the age of 26. A switch hitter, Crowe is batting only .206 vs. lefties. He has some speed (18-of-24 in stolen bases), but his on-base percentage is only .308.
3. Travis Hafner is hitting .331 since the All-Star break. His 29 doubles are tied with Choo for best on the team. A real disappointment is his .194 (19-of-98) average with runners in scoring position. Hafner has 11 HR and 41 RBI in 377 at-bats. The 29 doubles is the most for Hafner since 2006, but it's still hard to know how much power he will get back next season.
4. Coach Sandy Alomar has done a great job with the young catchers. Most Tribe fans know Lou Marson leads the league in throwing out base runners (35), but Carlos Santana (29 percent) and Chris Gimenez (28 percent) have done well. The league average is 24 percent.
5. In 2009, Jayson Nix hit .224 with 12 HR and 32 RBI in 290 at-bats for the White Sox. In 2010, he's at .229 with 14 HR and 32 RBI in 336 at-bats for White Sox/Tribe. He's 28, and the Indians should not be fooled into thinking he can be a regular at third or second.
6. Mitch Talbot was 8-8 with a 3.99 ERA before the All-Star break, 1-5 with a 6.14 ERA after when he had couple of minor injuries. Because Talbot had some arm problems last season (4-4, 4.47 ERA in 54 innings at Class AAA), the Indians can only write him into a rotation spot for 2011 in pencil. If Talbot struggles or can't stay healthy, the Indians seem to have a spot starter in place with Josh Tomlin. The right-hander (5-4, 4.50) has made 11 starts, always pitching at least 5.0 innings. Opposing batters are hitting only .253 off him, and he throws strikes (18 walks in 68 innings).
7. No one asked me, but only Fausto Carmona, Justin Masterson and Carlos Carrasco would be guaranteed spots in the 2011. Yes, Carrasco has earned it with six superb starts since being promoted. Carrasco's average fastball is 92.9, tops among Tribe starters. Next are Carmona (92.6) and Masterson (91.3). The average is about 90.1.