It wasn't the prettiest of victories, but the Browns will take it as they remain in playoff contention and move past the Jets 24-18 yesterday at Giants' Stadium.

Despite a few hiccups, Cleveland's defense was able to bear down in clutch moments - including a heart (and Jet) stopping goal line stand to start the second quarter that was capped off by a Sean Jones interception in the end zone.

Jamal Lewis put the proverbial "nail in the coffin" with a 31-yard rumble, shedding several Jets defenders on his way to the end zone, and Joe Jurevicius was able to recover 2 of 3 onside kicks for the Browns to hang on.

That's all for now, but be sure to check in later, as I'll be posting my full review of the action this evening.

EDIT (12/11/07): I was unable to post my review last night. I'll get that taken care of this evening. Sorry!

Now that I've wiped a bit of egg from my face in picking the Browns to handily (based on the score) beat the Cardinals, here's the game in review:

1st Quarter:

The game began with a miscue, when Derek Anderson - unpressured - threw the ball away to the left side. He was called for intentional grounding, and the Browns had already set off on the wrong foot. After what appeared to be the beginnings of a nice drive, Anderson threw a pick-6, and then aborted a snap shortly thereafter.

I couldn't find a pic of "the boot," so I guess a picture of Leigh Bodden getting burned will do.

On the Cardinals' ensuing drive, Kurt Warner threw an incomplete pass that would have brought up fourth down and four - that is, if Leigh Bodden didn't decide to do his best "Phil Dawson" and boot the ball into the bench. Bodden was called for Deglay of Game, and the five yards assessed were enough to give the Cards a first down. Warner and Edgerrin James continued to carry the Cards downfield and capped off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Leonard Pope.

Definitely a tough first ten minutes to watch...

I just figured this would put smiles on a few faces:

With the recent death of Buckeye/Brown legend Bill Willis and murder of Sean Taylor of the Redskins, we can all use a little chuckle. While on Munch's "Brownout" segment on WKNR yesterday, Aaron Shea recalled a more light-hearted story regarding break-ins.

Apparently, one night while he was still with the Browns, Tim Couch had called Shea saying that he had heard someone pick up another phone receiver in his home, and the "Extension in Use" light turned on. For fear of looking "like an idiot" if it was a false alarm, Couch decided to ask Aaron to come over and check it out instead of the police.

Shea obliged, and left his Westlake home to come to Tim's aid armed with a baseball bat. When he arrived at the house, he called from his cell phone and told Couch to come down the stairs and flip on the lights at the count of three. He would charge into the front door, and the intruder would have the surprise of two professional football players gunning for him.

He took a deep breath, counted to three, and burst in the door...No Couch.

"That chicken was still in his room," Aaron laughed.

Couch had stayed put in his bedroom, ready to ambush any would-be intruders, and later told Shea that he basically wasn't going to come out unless he knew there was no one in the home.

Now, Tim Couch may have had his problems in Cleveland, but just about all of us can attest to the fact that he is pretty much an all-around good guy. To picture him and Shea, two grown men - not just grown men, big grown men...professional football player grown men - sneaking around Tim's home and looking for bad guys like two teenagers at a slumber party made me laugh so hard I nearly pissed myself.

"Be vewwwy vewwwy quiet. I'm hunting intwooders...huhuhuhuh"

Image By: Bucktown Skins Fan

As I'm sure we've all heard, Redskins' Safety Sean Taylor died this morning from a gunshot wound he suffered early yesterday morning during what is being called a "home invasion".

Everyone at the Dawg Pound sends their thoughts and prayers to Sean's family, friends and teammates as they endure this tragic event. Here's what's been released in the media so far:

The Cleveland Browns have completed their first division series sweep since 2002, when the Browns swept the Bengals. Coincidentally, that was the last time the Browns made the playoffs. This time, however, the sweep was handed to the Ravens after a 33-30 Cleveland victory in overtime.

For the second week in a row, the Browns' defense blew a lead of 13+ points (last week was 15), and pinned all of their hopes on the shoulders of a last-second drive authored by Derek Anderson and a long field goal from Phil Dawson. Last week, one pulled through, while the latter came up just short. It seemed to be a similar story, as Anderson fired a missile to Braylon Edwards, who made a great catch in traffic to put Cleveland in position to attempt a 51-yard, overtime-forcing FG.

After hitting the left upright, Dawson's kick ricocheted through the posts, the ball clearly hit the back extension, causing a mass-confusion in M&T Bank Stadium. The referee originally signaled "no good," fans began to file out of the stadium, and even the Ravens themselves tried to sneak into the locker room with the win.

The refs overturned the call after about 2½ agonizing minutes, and overtime ensued. There was still hope.

Well, the picks have been made, and I think it would be safe to say that the Cleveland Browns surely created a splash with their picks and aggressive movements on day one.

The general consensus was that the Browns would take one of three players: Brady Quinn (QB - Notre Dame), Adrian Peterson (RB - Oklahoma), or Joe Thomas (OT - Wisconsin) with their third overall pick.

According to Phil Savage, the Browns had their minds set on drafting Joe Thomas with their number 3 overall pick two weeks ago. The Browns' offensive line has struggled immensely for years, and he knew that if they were to have any success in years to come, it would have to be his top priority.

Taking Thomas was a no-brainer. Not only does the pick potentially lock up your left tackle position for the next 10, maybe 15 years, but this also rearranges the configuration of the Browns' current linemen, allowing them to play positions that they are more comfortable with.

Kevin Schaffer can move to his natural right side of the line with Ryan Tucker (either one would do just fine at guard or tackle), and big money free agent Eric Steinbach will keep his natural position at left guard.

With this configuration, not only will the linemen be more comfortable in their positions, they will also play at a higher level. So, in effect, securing one position on the line did a lot to secure three out of the other 4 positions.

In a recap of day one, Savage said that he had indicated to quarterback Brady Quinn's people that he would not be picked up at that spot. He said that when Thomas was selected, they had said goodbye to Brady, and only hoped that he wouldn't come back to haunt the Browns in the future. What Savage didn't know, however, was that Cleveland was going to be just one of many teams to pass up on the former Fighting Irish quarterback.

In an attempt to bring depth to an injury-riddled secondary, the Cleveland Browns announced yesterday that they have signed veteran safety Mike Adams to a two-year contract. While Adams does bring depth and some experience to the Browns, high-end talent has yet to show itself in his 3 years in the league.

He originally came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the 49ers and accumulated 18 starts and 65 tackles.

Adams will likely play a backup role behind incumbents Sean Jones and Brodney Pool and will possibly be used in the nickel package.

Forgive my not immediately informing you of the Brown's at-home ass-whooping, as I wanted to wait until I saw Monday Night Football and a losing team that plays like they have an ounce of pride in themselves.

Atop the loss, Derek Anderson - aside from finally looking like a backup and throwing 4 interceptions - left the game with a separated shoulder leaving the team's hopes in the hands of Ken Dorsey for the remainder of the game and season. He will be the one to face Vince Young and the Titans next Sunday.

There is hope though, fans, the Browns may pick high enough to get a decent tackle in the 2007 NFL Draft, as there are a couple of them that may be worth the top 5 pick Cleveland will likely be handed. Now that the relief of a season not wasted has no-doubt swept over you (please note: the preceding has been overloaded with sarcasm), let's continue.

Braylon Edwards and his "disappoint at all costs" style of late dropped yet another two passes after missing most of the first half, for reportedly missing a meeting after trying to schmooze with the Detroit Pistons days before the game.

The Cleveland Browns head into Baltimore today trying to save face in their division and keep from going 0-6 within the AFC North for the first time in history.

Derek Anderson will get the start against the team that drafted him, and will try to get his first win as a starter for the Browns. Anderson has shown the ability to play well, but he is now matched up against the top rated defense in the NFL - a defense that has seen his play and knows his strengths and weaknesses. Anderson had been unknown to defenses throughout the league in his previous two appearances and was able to play very efficiently.

The former Browns are trying to secure a playoff berth with a win against Cleveland and a Cincinnati loss, while the current Browns will attempt to recreate what they had done in the first half of their last meeting, and maintain that level of play through the end.

Offensive Keys to Victory:
#1. Get Winslow involved. Kellen Winslow has been more of a decoy throughout the last couple weeks, and will need to be more involved in the game if the Browns want to make some big plays early on.

The second round of the Battle of Ohio begins Today at Cleveland Browns Stadium, as the Browns take on the Cincinnati Bengals at home.

The Bengals have put up huge offensive numbers in the past two weeks, scoring a total of 72 points with Carson Palmer throwing for 715 yards and 6 touchdowns (450 of those yards and 5 of those TD's were received by Chad Johnson).

Despite the Bengals' prolific offense, however, their defense ranks last in the NFL for total defense, a factor which the Browns will need to exploit in order to keep up with Cincinnati.

Offensive Keys to Victory:
#1. Run the football! The Browns are ranking second from last in the league in rushing yards and yards per attempt. Reuben Droughns is listed as questionable (foot), and if he's able to play, there has been reason to believe that Cleveland will try to revive their running game with a combination of Droughns and Jason Wright.