Thanks to my brother-in-law for the pic from the stands

- Wow, is this weather nasty or what? I touched on the weather during today's show on Dawg Pound Radio, and it has only gotten worse. The wind is on a tear off the lake, and the snow continues to fall. The field is so snowy, that there was a minute-and-a-half delay while the referees tried to find the 50 yard line to spot the ball.

- Jamal Lewis is a stud in the snow. He's already broken off a couple big runs, and has 80 yards and is averaging 5.3 yards per carry at the half. During the Browns' last drive of the half, J-Lew went over the 1,000 yard mark for the 6th time in his career.

- The Browns have not been afraid to throw in the bad weather, and it's definitely paying off. Braylon Edwards has made a couple spectacular catches already, and is over 100 yards for the day. Meanwhile, the Bills haven't been able to throw the ball very much in the first half, and Trent Edwards has only thrown 9 times.

- The Browns' defense is not itself. It's actually stopping the Bills. There have already been several runs stuffed at or before the line of scrimmage, and Andra Davis has had a couple big plays in the backfield as well. The firm of Smith, Smith & Kelley has been getting a good push off the line, and have been able to produce some penetration when rushing just 3 or 4 guys.

- After this first half, I will slap the stupid out of anyone who continues to say that Phil Dawson shouldn't be in Cleveland. Not that I wouldn't have before, but Phil's cranked out two field goals, including an unbelievable 48-yarder into the wind. I know he's getting older, and his leg's not quite as strong as it used to be, but please, name 3 other kickers that would put that kick right down the middle? I'll wait...

More to come later. Enjoy the 2nd half!

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...

A few things you might have learned about the Browns as well as myself during the 27-17 whooping the Browns handed to the Houston Texans:

#1 - Apparently, I cannot spell the word "recover" on a Treo to save my life. I was previously unaware, but the club section's bar doesn't have to stop serving until after the game is over...probably not a good idea to blog there in the future. Less Drinking, More Blogging - Check.

#2 - Give Jamal Lewis 25-plus carries, and in return, you will get 100-plus yards. This man is truly punishing defenders, and quieting those who said he no longer had what it takes to be a feature back in the NFL. His 134 yards places him just outside of the top ten backs in the league, and if he keeps running as hard as he has been the past couple weeks, he could finish with his sixth 1,000 yard season.

#3 - It seems not only does Brandon McDonald dance, he plays a little bit of Defense, too. The rookie cornerback was bumped up into the Browns' Nickel package after Eric Wright's knee injury, and man did he play well. McDonald finished the game with 4 pass defenses and an interception, his first as a pro. Good to see the young guys step up in a time of need. Good game, Brandon.

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.

Might I suggest the "mute" button here?

This kid is just flat-out amazing.

Calvin Johnson has been unanimously decided as the best receiver in the draft, and for good reason. His size (6' 5", 240 lbs.), speed (4.35 sec 40-yard dash) and strength combined raise him waist, chest, head, neck, shoulders and a Kid N' Play-style flat top above the rest. If the Raiders weren't so desperate for a QB, Johnson would be a guaranteed #1 pick.

There is a good possibility (barring the whole Trent Green-to-Miami/Daunte Culpepper-to-Oakland scenario which I'll discuss another time) that Johnson might still be around when the Browns go on the clock at number 3.

Assuming CJ does make it past Oakland and Detroit, there are obviously multiple options available to the Cleveland Browns:

Yes, folks. Yet again we begin the season with our top free agent signing undergoing surgery before playing a down of football, as Eric Steinbach underwent an appendectomy on Wednesday.

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

This is just the most recent in a string of "unfortunate" happenings to the Browns' hopeful up and coming stars including free agents and first round picks: Tim Couch (the fans), Courtney Brown (injury), Braylon Edwards (ACL), Kellen Winslow (superb idiocy), LeCharles Bentley (Patella)...

The Cleveland Browns are saying that although he will be limited in strength & conditioning, Steinbach will be fully recovered in time for June's mini-camp. Good news.

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 played a pretty good game against one of the best teams in the AFC, let alone their division. However, after a 77-yard touchdown bomb from Kyle Boller - who was replacing an injured Steve McNair - to Demetrius Williams, the Browns were unable to regain momentum to pull off the win.

In the end, Baltimore emerged victorious 27-17.

The Browns offense was able to show a few bright spots throughout, and were neck and neck with the Ravens until about half-way through the third quarter. From that point, the long TD pass from Boller seemed to deflate the Cleveland Browns.

Derek Anderson again seemed to play well and, at times, moved the ball very efficiently. He spread the ball out among his receivers quite well, and showed great poise and presence in the pocket. Anderson finished the game with 223 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and a passer rating of 85.81.

Kellen Winslow, Braylon Edwards and Joe Jurevicius all finished the game with 5 catches, for 61, 68, and 46 yards, respectively. Edwards and Jurevicius each caught a touchdown pass. Jason Wright also showed some promise with 8 carries - 2 consecutive ones accounting for 30 of his 37 total yards.

As if Ravens fans didn't get enough surprise out of the Browns putting up a fight, the true story of the game was the play of Kyle Boller.

Don't feel bad, I never thought I'd type that either.

Boller finished the game with 238 yards, a touchdown, and a QB rating of 112.8 - the third highest single game rating of his career.

To top off the Kyle Boller show, the Browns allowed a third running back in a row run for 100+ yards. Jamal Lewis, who came into today's game averaging over 125 yards/game against the Browns, ran for 109 yards and a touchdown - including a 52 yard rip in the second quarter.

Unlike many previous games, there was no particular area of the game that seemed to really kill the Browns. It was a somewhat well-played game of which they just couldn't finish on top. Injuries to Alvin McKinley and defensive captain Andra Davis, however, did not help matters.

While the 4-10 Browns go winless in their division for the first time in franchise history, they now need to put that all behind them and prepare for the Bucs (3-11) at home next week.

A horrendous defensive "effort" and a slew of dropped passes cost the Cleveland Browns dearly in a miserably failed attempt to defeat the Steelers at Heinz field in Pittsburgh, as the Browns fell to 4 and 9, losing 27-7.

The Browns' defense gave Willie Parker an early Christmas gift, allowing him to run for a Steelers record 223 yards while averaging 7 yards per carry. The Pittsburgh offensive line truly stepped it up, and simply drove Cleveland defenders back play after play allowing Parker huge holes. Poor tackling was also rampant throughout the game.

On the offensive side, first-time starter Derek Anderson played well completing 21 of 37 passes for 276 yards and a passer rating of 78.18. He made very few mistakes - the most noticeable being an interception late in the game.

With some help from his receivers, however, he may have had a huge night.

The Browns are headed to Pittsburgh for an AFC North rival rematch against the Steelers hoping to finish the job they had started less than 3 weeks ago.

Cleveland led the last game well into the second half, but were unable to keep Ben Roethlisberger and Pittsburgh's no-huddle offense down.

The rivalry that exists between the Browns and Steelers is a fierce one that has seemed to be a little lopsided since Cleveland's return to the NFL in '99, with the Steelers winning 12 of their last 13 games against the boys in Brown.

Offensive Keys to Victory:
#1. Block! It's amazing how one little word can mean so much, but with their apparent awakening last week, the Browns' offense finally seemed to snap back into conciousness. Protection of Anderson in his first NFL start will be crucial.