By Aaron Ziraks
NoLogoNeeded.com Staff Writer
If anyone needed the comfort of a Browns victory on Sunday it was me. I spent Saturday morning in the back of a police car dealing with a driver's license misunderstanding. Apparently, having a Texas driver's license in Ohio doesn't count for much. So, after spending most of Saturday morning in a line at the Bureau Motor Vehicles obtaining an Ohio license, I was ready to finally put the nonsense behind me.
One problem: Saturday was my wife's birthday. We celebrated the previous weekend with a party and gifts, but she wanted to see the new "Twilight" movie. So, me, 500 13- and 14-year old girls and my wife took in a teen drama. After the movie, I tried to work an angle about going for a drink at an establishment that might be showing the UFC fight. My hope was to try and regain some manhood. No dice.
Needless to say, I had a rough Saturday. Still, the Browns played Lions on Sunday. It was a perfect opportunity to show NFL pundits the Browns reside on the upper eschelon of the lower-tier teams.
Speaking of lower-tier teams, of the one-win teams entering Sunday — Lions, Browns, Chiefs and Buccaneers — only the Browns and Bucs lost.
The Bucs lost to a 10-0 Saints team.
The Browns lost to a team that won ZERO games last year.
Onto watch we watched.
Can Quinn Get Anything Going?
Quinn actually looked good. He didn't throw any interceptions, which impressed me most. When throwing the ball down field he was relatively accurate and looked poised in the pocket. Overall, if Quinn plays like this every week the Browns may have found a guy we have to seriously take a look at for the future. Oh wait, it was against the Lions. That makes it seem a lot less impressive, but at least we know he is capable in some capacity.
Is This The Last We Will See Of Mangini?
Rumors were if Mangini didn't win this game he would be shown the door. I don't know if I totally believe it (for now). The Browns do not have a general manager and firing the coach would seem a little erratic. I do, however, believe this game sealed Mangini's fate. He made a bone-head decision at the end of the game as the Browns threw the ball on a third and 5 with two minutes remaining. Quinn's pass was incompleted and it allowed the Lions an extra 40 seconds.
On a side note, that play could only happen to the Browns. I was upset, but not surprised. It is like I have "Browns-implosion" psychic abilities.
Will The Defense Continue to Play Well?
The Browns defense is a high school student. They have never been that smart, but every once in while good things happen for them. They went to first period and aced a test in a tough American history course. They went to pre-calc and aced another hard test. During study hall they figured that they are on a roll and decided not to crack the book before the always easy Spanish test. Next thing you know the Spanish test took it to you to the tune of 473 yards, 26 first downs and 38 points.
Don't slack off.
I Want To See More of Chris Jennings
...and we did. Jennings looked good with 74 yards (36 rushing, 38 receiving) in limited duty. Let's see how he plays when the Browns aren't in a shoot out with one of the worst defenses in the league.
Did Kaluka Maiava Look Like a Legitimate Middle Linebacker, or Was That Just Me?
It was too hard to tell this week with all of the fireworks going off. Nobody looked like a legit defender. Especially...
Jason Trusnick
BAD PLAYER. He made four tackles today. Imagine how many tackles a linebacker would have made if that linebacker belonged in the lineup? Hint: It would have been more than four.
Comments
Unfortunately Trusnik will get credit for the sack which he really doesn't deserve. I'm pretty sure it was Trusnik, who, on the Lions' first play, allowed K. Smith to start heading downfield unchipped, so that Trusnik could enter the pocket thru the hole Smith just left, allowing Stafford to dink it over Trusnik's head to Smith who picked up 30 or so yards. How do you just let a RB go?