Well, the housecleaning has officially begun in Berea with the firing of Cleveland Browns GM Phil Savage. The news isn't exactly surprising, considering Phil's short list of accomplishments and long list of short-comings.

Among the positives are drafting Joe Thomas, signing then-undrafted Josh Cribbs, and snagging QB Derek Anderson off Baltimore's waiver wire.

However, Savage has also whiffed in the later rounds of the draft, traded spots with the Ravens - allowing them to pick up NT Haloti Ngata and the Browns to take Kamerion Wimbley, who dropped off the face of the earth after his rookie season, mishandled several in-house situations (Kellen Winslow's staph infection, etc.), and replied to a fan's email with, "F--k you, go root for Buffalo."

Gee, who saw this move coming??

EDIT: It was confirmed on WKNR Monday morning that Phil Savage was actually fired on Saturday, before the game.

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...

This week, the Cleveland Browns (7-4) head to Arizona this week to take on the Cardinals (5-6). Coming off a strong win at home, the Browns look to narrow the AFC North lead, held by the Steelers. Arizona is coming off a tough overtime loss to a bad 49er team. Despite their record, last weeks loss, and the team's injury problems, home field advantage gave them 1 point the last time I checked.

That must be one hell of a field. I'm not saying that the Browns are going to beat the Cards like rented mules, but that's a lot to overcome.

That being said, let's take a look at the matchups:

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.

I didn't believe it at first, but this is none other than Cleveland's Josh Cribbs crankin' dat. Thanks to Mevs at The Nosebleeds for digging that one up. I was looking around, and apparently Cribbs isn't the only one that can get down.



D-Back Brandon McDonald was caught from at least two angles (this being the better one) doing the Soulja Boy during pregame warm-ups.

What do Derek Anderson's friendly reminder, and Browns gettin' down on the field tell me? That this team is finally starting to have fun - one thing that is truly essential for a team to be successful. It's good to see the players smiling during interviews, laughing a little on the sidelines, and having a good time for once.

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.

Down to their third string quarterback, and a training camp cast-off as his sidekick, the Cleveland Browns are heading into Sunday's game against the Texans with a hope to restore at least a little bit of dignity after what has been a "rough" season, to say the least. With Coleman now on the Browns' Injured Reserve list and fellow guard, Joe Andruzzi not likely to play, an already poor offensive line appears to have become destitute.
Cleveland Browns:

Last Name	First Name	Position	Injury	Wed.	Thurs.	Fri.
Andruzzi	Joe	G	Knee	Quest.	Quest.	Doubtful
Bodden	Leigh	CB	Ankle	Quest.	Quest.	Doubtful
Coleman	Cosey	G	Toe	Quest.	Quest.	IR
Cribbs	Josh	WR	No Injury	Not Listed	Quest.	Not Listed
Davis	Andra	LB	Concussion	Quest.	Quest.	Out
Eason	Nick	DL	Foot	Quest.	Quest.	Probable
Frye	Charlie	QB	Wrist	Quest.	Quest.	Quest.
Jurevicius	Joe	WR	Concussion	Quest.	Quest.	Doubtful
McKinley	Alvin	DE	Shoulder	Quest.	Quest.	Quest.
Northcutt	Dennis	WR	Shoulder/ Quad	Quest.	Quest.	Quest.
Thompson	Chaun	LB	Thumb	Quest.	Quest.	Probable
Unck	Mason	LB	Groin	Quest.	Quest.	Quest.
Winslow	Kellen	TE	Knee	Quest.	Quest.	Quest.

Houston Texans:

Last Name	First Name	Position	Injury	Wed.	Thurs.	Fri.
Weaver	Anthony	DE	Shoulder	Out.	IR	IR
Daniels	Owen	TE	Shoulder	Quest.	Quest.	Quest.
Dayne	Ron	RB	Ankle	Probable	Probable	Probable
Williams	Mario	DE	Foot	Probable	Probable	Probable

Key:
Probable - 75% chance of playing
Questionable - 50% chance of playing
Doubtful - 25% chance of playing
Out - Will not play

Bold Text - Updated status

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 Dawg Pound is howling at the moon after the Cleveland Browns have suffered their second blowout/shutout at home to a division rival in as many years, as the Bengals defeated them today 30-0, and kept their playoff hopes alive.

An injury-plagued Browns defense was unable to find an answer to Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson, who now has an NFL record 573 yards in his last 3 games. Combine that with consistently horrible play by the Browns' offensive line (Charlie Frye sacked 4 times and only 51 rushing yards) and an apparent total defensive lack of understanding of the no-huddle offense, and the Browns are officially a recipe for disaster.

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.