Upon further review, Week 9: Browns coach Eric Mangini gets the biggest game ball for Sunday's masterpiece against the Patriots and Bill Belichick.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns' 34-14 victory over the Patriots last Sunday was just as decisive on DVR as it was live. The Browns imposed their will in all phases in winning their second straight. The Patriots had won five in a row, but it was impossible to tell.
Here is my list of major contributors after watching the game live from the pressbox at Cleveland Browns Stadium, then from the couch at home on TV (CBS Sports telecast):
Eric Mangini
I typically reserve the highest game-review praise for players, not coaches, when warranted. It is easy to make an exception in this case. Days after Browns President Mike Holmgren said, among other things, "I love coaching,'' during a news conference, Mangini served up his finest three hours in 1 1/2 seasons on the Browns sideline. If this keeps up, The Big Show will need to quench his coaching thirst somewhere else.
Mangini not only won a second consecutive game in impressive fashion against a quality opponent (Saints in New Orleans two weeks earlier), he beat his mentor, Bill Belichick. Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan earned kudos in New Orleans, and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll made the highlights with his enthusiastic displays against the Patriots, but let's not forget that they take orders from The Manginius. Mangini's team is 7-5 since the 1-11 start to last season.
The Browns were mentally, physically and emotionally ready to play two games' worth Sunday. That is a credit to Mangini, as is going for it on fourth-and-1 from the Cleveland 36 with a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
Mangini gets additional love for the wad in his cheek. It made him look cool.
Brian Daboll
Daboll, like Mangini, has taken his share of heat since assuming his role. But he had every right to be giddy during the game because he was on fire. The first play from scrimmage spoke volumes: Rookie quarterback Colt McCoy threw a 21-yard pass to Mohamed Massaquoi, advancing the ball to the New England 42. The safe call -- the call Belichick and his staff likely anticipated -- was a run to Peyton Hillis, thereby easing into things.
Daboll, with Mangini signing off, stayed aggressive throughout and repeatedly put his players in the best positions to succeed. The gadget play that produced a Chansi Stuckey TD run in the second quarter was straight-up brilliant. How do we know? Belichick was annoyed when asked about it in his postgame presser. The fourth-down play was a riot, as well, the Browns emptying the backfield and shifting to five wide before McCoy gained the necessary yardage on a sneak.
Peyton Hillis
Hillis rushed 29 times for 184 yards and two TDs and caught three passes for 36 yards. With Hillis, though, the style is as important as the substance, because even when he doesn't gain many yards, he crushes people. The Patriots wanted no part of No. 40 from any angle, save for the one instance when they forced a fumble. Hillis is the face of the new Browns, who have gone old school, finally beginning to fit in with division rivals Baltimore and Pittsburgh by getting physical and asking questions later. (Next step: Consistently winning games and making the playoffs.)
Hillis's agility makes him especially dangerous. His first carry, an 18-yard gain, featured a hurdle over a Patriot. Never mind that Hillis was shaken up on the play; it looked good.
Colt McCoy
The kid gunslinger did not need to be spectacular in his third NFL start, but he needed to keep mistakes to a minimum and make some plays. Check and check. McCoy was 14-of-19 for 174 yards and stayed interception- and sack-free. McCoy's best play occurred on third-and-4 from the New England 17 with 4:16 left in the second quarter. He managed to slip away from a blitzing defensive back, escaped the pocket to the right, avoided another potential tackler and threw on the run into a football-sized window. Josh Cribbs, covered well, caught the pass for a 6-yard gain. Moments later, Stuckey scored.
McCoy, who again displayed the poise and savvy of a veteran, appears to have some of that "It'' you can't teach. He won't have the biggest arm in the league, but the Patriots' defense had few answers for his accuracy and smart decisions, especially while on the move. He also contributed in the rushing department, a 16-yard scramble and dive to the left pylon giving the Browns a 24-7 lead in the third quarter.
Josh Cribbs
Cribbs authored his best all-around performance of the season to date. It started with a 36-yard return of the opening kickoff that gave Daboll, McCoy and Co. breathing room. Cribbs had two receptions, both courtesy of impressive grabs, and stretched the field with several deep routes. He set up Stuckey's dash to glory with a flawless deke to the opposite side. Cribbsie's signature came on McCoy's TD scramble, when he blasted safety Brandon Meriweather into Lakewood with a textbook de-cleater.
One of these days, probably sooner than later, Cribbs will resume making the opponent pay on special teams. Until then, pieces-parts contributions such as those offered Sunday will do.
Eric Steinbach
If a left guard is having a better season anywhere, I'm all ears. Another game, another superior job for the big fella. It is difficult to imagine any guard having more impact on pulls, among other things.
Bill Belichick
New England's Zen Master was not taken to school; he is too smart to get outcoached by Mangini or anyone else. The bottom line, though, is that Belichick's Patriots were not adequately prepared to face their opponent on this particular afternoon. Belichick admitted as much in his postgame news conference. The Patriots were out-executed, out-foxed and out-muscled from start to finish. Belichick was so steamed about being embarrassed by the Manginius that, 10 minutes after speaking with reporters, he was milling about the locker room, silent, staring. I've never seen a head coach do that in 17 seasons of covering visiting locker rooms.
Tom Brady
The Patriots' terrific quarterback was no match for McCoy. Yes, it's true: McCoy outplayed the three-time Super Bowl champion. For whatever reason, Brady did not have it Sunday, going 19-of-36 for 224 yards and two TDs. Some of his throws were split-fingered fastballs into the ground; some sailed; still others were a half-step behind. The Browns did a nice job defensively, to be sure, but Brady should have made more plays than the few he did.
Rob Gronkowski
One of the reasons Brady did not deliver was that one of his young tight ends struggled. Gronkowski's biggest mistake came late in the first half, when he fumbled inside the Cleveland 5. If the Patriots had scored a touchdown, they would have made it 17-14. (Browns safety Abe Elam deserves a ton of credit for the huge momentum shift, given that he held up a larger man, grabbed the ball, ripped it out and recovered at the 2.) Gronkowksi also called for a fair catch on the Browns' first kickoff, only to bail and have Sammy Morris try to corral it. The Browns recovered at the New England 19 and punched it in two plays later.