THE GOOD:
Jordan Cameron was the most impactful player for the Browns on offense, catching 9 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown and he didn’t get hurt.
Desmond Bryant recorded 2 of the Browns 4 sacks in his Cleveland debut.
Joe Haden held big money free agent wide receiver Mike Wallace to 1 catch for Miami and no touchdowns.
Before they ran out of gas in the 4th quarter, the Browns front 7 played well for most of the game, recording those 4 sacks and holding Miami to just 20 yards rushing on 23 carries.
Everyone in the AFC North lost their opening game!
THE BAD:
Josh Gordon’s suspension – he was sorely missed on offense and will be again this week vs Baltimore.
The wide receivers as a group had a poor game dropping passes and running poor routes. They should all get the game tape and watch Miami’s Brian Hartline to learn how to run routes and catch the ball!
Buster Skrine and Chris Owens – both were targeted and beat often and that will continue to happen as team’s throw away from Joe Haden. Right cornerback is the weakest position on the team! Miami’s Hartline and Gibson combined to catch 16 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown!
THE UGLY:
Norv Turner and Rob Chudionski’s play calling was terrible. They can say all they want about how the score dictated the play calls, bottom line is they gave up on the run far too early as Trent Richardson only carried the ball 13 times for 47 yards. With Gordon out due to a suspension, you have to feature your best offensive weapon, not take him off the field and fail to give him the ball when he is on it! T-Rich should get a minimum, I repeat a minimum of 20 touches per game regardless of the score! The play calling was 80% pass and only 20% run.
Brandon Weeden finished with a QB rating of 48.4 as he threw 3 first half picks, stared down receivers again and continues to make you wonder if he is nothing more than a back up quarterback in this league. Curious to see how many games the new regime gives him before they pull the plug.
Browns right tackle Mitchel Schwartz was abused by Cameron Wake who tallied 2 1/2 sacks and who knows how many other QB hits and hurries. The O-line as a whole gave up 6 sacks.
Oniel Cousins was horrible at right guard. If he’s the best they have until someone, anyone comes back from injury, they Browns and Brandon Weeden will be hurting. He accumulated 4 penalties and was a sieve on the inside of the line, leading to sacks and plays being blown up.
Third Down! The Browns were 1-14 on third downs as an offense and allowed Miami to convert on 8 of 16 third downs on defense!
Browns have now lost 9 straight season openers and are (1-14) since their return to the NFL in 1999.
