Browns 29, Bills 27 ... My Observations

On Brady Quinn: You have to love what Brady Quinn did in just his second NFL start. The numbers weren't great, but Quinn was very impressive with his poise. It isn't easy to win on the road, especially when the game is nationally televised and played in the frigid cold.
None of that seemed to bother Quinn. He completed just 38.9% of his passes, but that statistic may be unfair as he was forced to throw the ball away a handful of times after his offensive line had trouble picking up the blitz. Quinn was also the victim of some drops by Braylon Edwards.
It's way too early to go ahead and crown Quinn, but through two games you have to like how he has handled himself.

If there is something Quinn needs to work on, it's coming away with seven points instead of three. After the Brandon McDonald interception, the Browns had the ball at the Buffalo 12-yard line. The Browns ended up losing four yards on that possession before Dawson made a 33 yard field goal. You hate to see opportunities like that wasted. Still, in his first two starts the Quinn-led offense has hung 30 and 29 points, respectively, on the scoreboard.

On Phil Dawson: Let's see a show of hands - How many people thought Phil Dawson was going to knock down his 56 yard field goal attempt to put the Browns ahead for good? Dawson calmly trotted onto the field and kicked a no-doubter right through the uprights.

Awesome Phil Dawson is vastly underrated as a kicker. This year, he's 22 of 24 (91.7%) and is yet to miss from inside of 50 yards. What he did last night was the definition of clutch.

On Jerome Harrison: How much more proof do we need that Jerome Harrison should see more time? Harrison gave the Browns breathing room - for about about 13 seconds - when he busted a 72 yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter. Bills rookie Leodis McKelvin answered Harrison's score with one of his own as he returned the kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.
Nonetheless, Harrison finished the game with 101 total yards on just four offensive touches. After back-to-back games where he touched the ball just once, Harrison has seen an increased role with the offense in the past two weeks and has not disappointed. In the last two games he has ten offensive touches for 158 yards. His 2008 rushing totals: 20 carries for 207 yards (10.4 per).

On the coaching: I liked the fact that Romeo used his second half timeouts when he did. If Lindell did connect on that field goal to put Buffalo ahead in the final minute, Quinn would have had a shot (maybe not a very good shot, but a shot nonetheless) to get into range for Dawson because Crennel left him some time on the clock. Romeo Crennel exhibiting good time management? Shocking, I know.

Speaking of Crennel, let's see some excitement, Romeo! You just won a nationally televised game against a pretty good football team. I know you're 4-6 but there's time to end this season on a positive note. Give off some positive energy! When Lindell missed, Crennel looked like he just wanted to get in line for the post game spread.

As noted above, I loved to see Jerome Harrison get some more touches. But why not get Joshua Cribbs more involved in the offense as well? Cribbs scored the first touchdown of the game on a two yard run which would proved to be his only offensive touch of the game. I understand the fact that Cribbs is involved on many special teams units, but would another handful of plays per game really hurt him that much?
Buffalo was effective in the "Wildcat" formation when they put running back Fred Jackson at quarterback and ran him out of the shotgun. Couldn't Joshua Cribbs be effective in that role? Let's find out.

When watching the Browns play defense, you just wonder what they practice all week. Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker should review the basics of wrapping up with his players as the Browns missed countless tackles throughout the game. Tucker seems to do a nice job of positioning his players to make plays, but the execution is horrific. The Browns definitely need to go back to tackling school.

On the win: Some say that it is hard to get excited about a win that improves your record to 4-6 and add that it only hurts your draft positioning.
If you read my earlier blog, you'll realize that it doesn't seem to matter much where the Browns are picking in the first round.
Wins are hard to come by in the NFL, and each 'W' should be celebrated. The playoffs remain a long shot, but each win this year could help the organization down the road. You have to learn how to win at this level. To suggest that the Browns should tank the rest of this season to improve their draft stock is idiotic.