Packers 31, Browns 3: Fans check out early as Browns get blasted again « The Chronicle-Telegram

Packers 31, Browns 3: Fans check out early as Browns get blasted again

Filed by Scott Petrak October 26th, 2009 in Sports.

CLEVELAND — The sounds of silence were only interrupted by a brief chant of “Go, Pack, go” and the occasional boo.
The disturbing image of rows of empty orange seats was made worse by the sight of yellow Packer hats and foam cheeseheads.

What could’ve been a gorgeous fall day featuring teams with championship legacies devolved into one of the worst displays in Browns history. The 31-3 loss to the Packers (4-2) on Sunday wasn’t the largest margin of defeat of all time — or even this season — but the eighth straight loss on the lakefront was disturbing on so many levels.

If only Tamiflu could cure the Browns’ ills on the field like it eradicated their flu epidemic last week.

“It hurts when you lose badly like that because you are not even close to being competitive,” left tackle Joe Thomas said.
The Browns dropped to 1-6 under coach Eric Mangini. They were outgained 460-139 in yards.

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Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw for three touchdowns and a near-perfect 155.4 rating. Browns quarterback Derek Anderson opened the day 5-for-5 for 55 yards yet still managed to lower his league-worst passer rating. He went 12-for-29 (he can’t blame drops this week) for 99 yards, an interception and a 36.4 rating. His rating for the season is 40.6 compared to Rodgers’ 110.8.

The frustration level was obvious in the stands, as many fans didn’t show, left at halftime or yawned through the second half.

“It was very quiet in the third quarter to where on third down I can hear myself and everybody on the field can hear me,” said Rodgers, who was 15-for-20 for 246 yards. “There was a different feel to it.”

The story has been the same for the Browns for more than a decade. Bad team, lopsided losses, no hope for the playoffs.
Mangini had talked of progress the previous three weeks, but couldn’t find a silver lining in this debacle.

“It’s a really disappointing performance across the board,” he said. “I don’t think we played very well. I don’t think we coached very well.

“The intensity with which we play, the way that we finish plays wasn’t there today. It has to be there every week.”

Anderson fell to 1-3 since taking over for Brady Quinn, and the offensive spark has dissipated. Anderson has completed 44 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and seven interceptions, but Mangini said he didn’t think about making a switch to Quinn.

The only No. 10 to see the field was Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn in garbage time.

“Because D.A. was our starter and I felt comfortable with the things that we were doing,” said Mangini, who was then asked if he’d consider a move this week. “I’m going to look at everything. I consistently try to do that.”

Anderson was sacked twice and hit four other times Sunday. He banged his throwing hand on a follow-through and got up limping a few times. Running back Jerome Harrison led the way with four catches for 23 yards, and Anderson got only one catch from his starting rookie receivers as they couldn’t beat the man coverage of Pro Bowl cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris.

“We aren’t good right now,” Anderson said. “That’s it. Period. Flat out.

“We go all week, put in a lot of hours. We do fine in practice. We catch good, throw good, block good. For some reason we can’t take it over to Sunday.”

The passing game wasn’t the only issue. Running back Jamal Lewis averaged 3.1 yards on 15 carries and was stopped short on three runs inside the 5. On defense, big plays and missed tackles continued to plague the league’s worst unit.

The Packers had allowed 25 sacks and were missing two starting linemen, so they ran the ball. They had enough success — Ryan Grant rushed for 148 yards and a 5.5 average — that the Browns were off balance when they threw. Rodgers wasn’t sacked and was hit just once, and his touchdowns totaled 121 yards.

Backup tight end/linebacker Spencer Havner turned a short gain into a 45-yard touchdown and 7-3 lead in the second quarter when safety Abram Elam missed a tackle down the sideline. Donald Driver caught a 71-yard touchdown when Rodgers recognized Elam’s late blitz and dumped it to Driver in the spot Elam had vacated. Rodgers said the Browns ran the same blitz the week before and the Packers practiced against it.

“We were laughing about that on the sideline,” Rodgers said. “Actually, (backup linebacker Desmond) Bishop played it better (in practice) than they played it today. He got there quicker.”

Safety Brodney Pool missed the first tackle on the Driver touchdown, and cornerback Eric Wright — who played two days after totaling his car — failed to bring him down for the last 20 yards.

“The one thing I haven’t liked, that has been consistent, is the big plays,” Mangini said. “We can’t do that defensively and expect to be successful. We can’t. We have to tackle better in the secondary.”

The Browns went without a touchdown for the fourth time. They have four offensive touchdowns in 81 possessions this season — and in the last 13 games. Just for contrast, the Packers needed eight plays and 4:32 to go 99 yards for the final touchdown.

“We’re professional athletes,” said Joshua Cribbs, who took one snap in the Wildcat formation. “We cannot make excuses for losing to a good football team, for not being prepared or any other excuse that people can give us. We just played some bad football.”

Cribbs said it “hurt” to see the fans leave early, but his teammates understood.

“I don’t think we gave ’em much to cheer about, so we can’t say anything,” Pool said.

“We wish we could give ’em a win,” fullback Lawrence Vickers said. “I know it would mean a lot to ’em. We need them.”
The Browns might need more than a win to re-energize this restless fan base.

“We have to find hope,” Cribbs said.