Anybody watching MNF?

[rhinobean]

Did the Ravens encroach/go offsides on the field goal attempt and not get called? Me no watchee game wonder if the refs screwed up another call?

 

[Prime Time]

Two points about this game:

1. Thought Austin Davis would be the next Brett Favre and was disappointed when he was cut by the Rams. Yeah, I know that's not gonna happen in his career but it would be cool. His turnovers did him in. Fisher is a ball-control coach and he can't stand that. Mike Martz however would have loved or at least tolerated AD because he didn't care about turnovers as long as points were scored in bunches.

2. The importance of special teams. This is one area that's been improved by the Rams.
*********************************************************

Did the Ravens encroach/go offsides on the field goal attempt and not get called? Me no watchee game wonder if the refs screwed up another call?

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-s...-blocked-field-goal-vs--ravens-150748128.html

Did Browns get jobbed by officials on blocked field goal vs. Ravens?
By Eric Edholm/Shutdown Corner

It seems a day can’t pass in the NFL without controversy over referees.

The Cleveland Browns lost a game Monday night in the most Browns way possible. The fact that there appears to be evidence that suggests the play should have been deemed illegal makes it even more Brownsy.

Cleveland had a potential game-winning field-goal attempt blocked as time expired and run back for a touchdown, but it appears that the Baltimore Ravens were lined up offsides on the block.

Have a look:

We didn't deserve this @NFL pic.twitter.com/VYMZPFUIDB
— Sports Nation Ohio (@SN_Ohio) December 1, 2015

(You might have noticed the foot of the Ravens’ Will Hill appearing to be out of bounds in this pic, too. We’ll address that in a bit.)

There was — as seems to be par for the course in this Year of the Ref — no flag. The Ravens improbably won, and Browns fans felt like burning things.

Factory of madness?

Yes, the Browns are to blame for their faults on Monday, such as some horrific clock and game mismanagement — squirreling away timeouts despite a bleeding clock — in the waning moments. There might be no sadder trifecta of final plays:

• An Austin Davis scramble capped by a slide inbounds despite the clear chance to gain more yards and stop the clock by running out of bounds, without having to use a timeout.

A first-down run from the right hashmark to … the right hashmark. Yes, that appeared to be how the play was called, blocked and executed. That was a conscious decision to accomplish nothing of value, tantamount to running a play just for the heck of it. Nothing gained, time lost. Brilliant stuff, really.

• The now-infamous blocked field-goal attempt, which was 7 yards longer than any kick Travis Coons had attempted all season. The guy who blocked it: Ravens lineman Brent Urban, who was playing his first NFL game.

Of course, a correct call of offsides on Ravens end Anthony Levine would have given the Browns another chance to win it. But based on their history, we couldn’t have put it past them to blow the game in some other spectacular way.

Hill stepping out of bounds? That’s a whole different story.

All touchdowns are reviewable, right? How is this missed? If you look on the video above at about the 1:26-1:27 mark, you see what might have been Hill’s foot out of bounds — although it’s hardly clear. Remember: The replay officials don’t have access to still shots like we do after the game.

But this makes a sad play ever sadder. We didn’t think it was possible.

 

[RamFan503]

Was that Austin Davis?

View: https://twitter.com/malberson6/status/671552028020084736

 

[Fatbot]

• An Austin Davis scramble capped by a slide inbounds despite the clear chance to gain more yards and stop the clock by running out of bounds, without having to use a timeout.

That play was sad, and the reminder that Austin Davis will always just be Austin Davis -- I like him a lot but he just doesn't make that winning play. He could have gained at least 5 more yards, probably closer to 10, by just going out of bounds instead of sliding, which in turn means the FG attempt isn't 51 yards and kicked so low that it could be blocked. Of course knowing the Browns the FG would be missed anyway and they lose in OT in some other wacky fashion, so oh well.

 

[LACHAMP46]

An Austin Davis scramble capped by a slide inbounds despite the clear chance to gain more yards and stop the clock by running out of bounds, without having to use a timeout.

There is no way to win a pool with bone-headed plays going on EVERY weekend!?!? Didn't he KNOW he needed to SAVE time?!? How can a QB NOT KNOW? Did he think he was closer to a 40 yarder?

 

[Force16X]

10 games ago. as a matter of fact, i was there. short term memory loss for mr foles?

 

[Prime Time]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/12/01/browns-confirm-josh-mccown-is-out-for-the-season/

Browns confirm Josh McCown is out for the season
Posted by Michael David Smith on December 1, 2015

AP

Browns quarterback Josh McCown’s season is over.

McCown suffered a season-ending broken collarbone on Monday night against the Ravens, coach Mike Pettine announced today.

That means the Browns are down to two quarterbacks on the roster: Austin Davis, who stepped in for McCown after the injury last night, and Johnny Manziel, who was demoted to third string after a video of him partying emerged last week.

Will the Browns stand by their decision to make Manziel ride the bench because of his off-field problems? Or will they decide that they simply have no choice but to put Manziel on the field and see what he can do, even if they’re not pleased with the way he conducts himself off the field?

That’s the question Pettine will continue to face for as long as he refuses to anoint Manziel as the starter. As much as the Browns are disappointed with the way Manziel has conducted himself, the fact remains that they spent a first-round draft pick on him. If they’re not going to play him now, maybe they should just acknowledge that he’s never going to play in Cleveland.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/12/01/report-browns-signing-terrelle-pryor/

Report: Browns signing Terrelle Pryor
Posted by Josh Alper on December 1, 2015

Getty Images

The Browns couldn’t find a spot on their roster for Terrelle Pryor in September, but it appears they’ve got one in December.

Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports that the Browns will be signing Pryor on Tuesday. Per Cabot, Pryor was set to meet with the Bears but has opted to return to the Browns instead.

Pryor was with the team through camp despite a hamstring injury that kept him off the field much of the time, but he was released days before the start of the season when they claimed Robert Turbin off of waivers. He’s worked out for several teams over the last few months without landing another job in the NFL.

Pryor was playing wide receiver for the Browns this summer and that’s presumably where he’ll be playing this time as well. They played without Taylor Gabriel and Andrew Hawkins because of concussions on Monday night and Dwayne Bowe has given the team nothing since signing with them as a free agent during the offseason.

With Josh McCown getting hurt again on Monday, there’s a chance they may also like the prospect of Pryor serving as further depth at quarterback. Austin Davis and Johnny Manziel are already on the roster at the position.

 

[-X-]

Did the Ravens encroach/go offsides on the field goal attempt and not get called? Me no watchee game wonder if the refs screwed up another call?

He did, but he jumped back before the snap.

 

[Memphis Ram]

He did, but he jumped back before the snap.

He was still in the neutral zone though.

 

[-X-]

He was still in the neutral zone though.

So you're saying refs blew an obvious call?

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

This is the 2nd game this season the Ravens have won due to the opposition hc playing for a 50+ yard fg, like it's automatic or something.

.

 

[Prime Time]

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/12/01/cleveland-browns-nfl-legendary-losing-mailbag

‘They’re Just Numb’
Browns fans are resigned to losing in legendary fashion, which is what made the kick-six loss to the Ravens almost routine. Two long-time Cleveland observers weigh in on the crushed morale.
by Peter King

God has a voodoo doll. It has a Cleveland Brown jersey on. And He stuck another pin in it Monday night.

For Clevelanders, I don’t know how a loss can be more brutal than this one.

Cleveland 27, Baltimore 27. Three seconds left, Browns lining up for the game-winning field goal. You’re on the verge of sweeping the team you hate the most, the despised Ravens, the team that you’ll always think was stolen from you and kept your city without football for three seasons.

The kicker, Travis Coons, is 18-for-18 as a Brown. In another miserable year at the Factory of Sadness, there’s about to be a highlight. A single, solitary, sort of pathetic highlight in a meaningless game, but a highlight nonetheless.

The kick is up, and WHAP… some Raven lineman got a hand on it.

Bummer. But if a Brown falls on it, overtime can be salvaged. The ball bounces to Baltimore safety Will Hill, but there’s a traffic jam in front of him. Okay, just get the guy down.

“Hang on a minute,” says Cleveland’s own Dave Zastudil, the former Browns’ punter, now an insurance man in Akron, watching in bed at home. “Somebody better tackle that guy.”

And there went Hill, weaving through a few players, then sprinting down the left sideline. The 40, the 30, a bad angle taken by one last Brown, the 25, the 20 …

The 10 …

The 5 …

Will Hill ran 64 yards and turned a Cleveland victory into a Baltimore victory.

“Fans aren’t mad anymore,” said Browns beat writer Jeff Schudel, who has covered the team since 1981. “That’s the scary part. They are resigned to this.”

How can you be resigned to losses like this? This has to be the worst. Just has to be.

Photo: David Richard/AP
Browns fans hung around after watching their team lose to Baltimore at the last second.

“It’s not,” said Zastudil, who grew up in a Browns’ season-ticket family in suburban Bay Village. “‘The Fumble’ was worse. ‘The Drive’ was worse. I mean, people had John Elway stickers on their cars, and a line through his face.”

“It’s not,” agreed Schudel. “Opening day 2002. There was still hope then. The Browns are home, playing Kansas City, and they’re ahead [39-37] on the last play of the game. Dwayne Rudd thinks he’s sacked Trent Green, the quarterback of the Chiefs. Rudd is so excited he takes his helmet off and throws it across the field in celebration. Penalty. Unsportsmanlike conduct. The clock says zero zero zero, but Kansas City gets the penalty yardage, and then one last play. I believe it was a Morten Andersen field goal, right?”

Right. Thirty yards. Chiefs 40, Browns 39.

“The fans were angry that day—I remember that,” Schudel continued. “But today? They’re just numb. They’ve seen it all.”

I know it has happened before—only once, in a 1985 Denver-San Diego game, though that kick-six happened in overtime—but just watching it, as a neutral observer, I found myself thinking how incredibly stunning it was. It’s so surprising to see a game, even a meaningless one, change in the blink of an eye so decisively and so strangely. I couldn’t imagine being a fan of the Browns and feeling that gut-punch after so many others have been delivered, week after week, season after season. Or being a player for the Browns.

“There is never a good way to lose,” Cleveland tackle Joe Thomas said after the game. “But this is the worst way.”

* * *

Photo: Jason Miller/Getty Images
Will Hill's touchdown return of a blocked field goal is just the latest in a string of legendary losing moments in Browns history.

I ran into Schudel in the Cleveland press box last month after another desultory loss, by two touchdowns to Arizona. I was leaving and said goodbye to him.

“Peter, I’ve been covering this team ,” he said. “And I’m sitting down to write the same story I’ve written every week for all those years.”

On Tuesday, when I phoned to ask him how the city was taking this one, Schudel said: “They’re numb. The city is numb. They’ve seen this so often. Listen to this stat: From 1950 to 1973, the Browns had one losing season. From 1990 to the present, they’ve had three winning seasons. The fans, they just want everyone fired. They want the coach fired. They want the GM fired. But look at the history. Does that help? The Steelers, three coaches since 1969. The Browns, three coaches since 2012.”

Obviously, coaching changes don’t get old. They happen in Cleveland all the time, just like quarterback changes. But the losing doesn’t change. Zastudil has seen years of it.

“My dad had three season-tickets to the Browns in old Municipal Stadium. Big poles there, and you had to look around them. So far away from the field because it was a baseball stadium, but it didn’t matter. The city was enthralled with this team. Brian Sipe, the Kardiac Kids, Bernie Kosar.

Football in Cleveland in the eighties was everything. Year round, you lived and died with the Browns. The Browns gave the city a boost, a sense of hope, that things would turn around. The Art Modell thing, moving to Baltimore, crushed the morale of the city. It affected people in their everyday lives.”

Zastudil went to college three hours south, in Athens, at Ohio University, and became the nation’s best punter. In 2002, on the second day of the draft, during the fourth round, his phone rang. It was Ozzie Newsome, one of his childhood heroes. Now he was GM of the hated Ravens. Zastudil recalled: “He said, ‘Dave, welcome to Baltimore. You’ve been drafted by the Ravens.’

So many of those guys on the Ravens’ staff had moved with Modell. So many were from Cleveland. I tell people I was lucky enough to play for the old Browns and the news Browns.” That new Browns chance came in free agency in 2005. “The money was about the same,” Zastudil said, “but I thought this was probably the only time I’d be able to fulfill my dream of playing for the Cleveland Browns.”

Zastudil went on to play for Arizona until he got waived in camp this year. He came home, and now is with Amer Insurance in Akron. He also works for the Browns’ pre-game show, and was at the stadium before Monday night’s game, then went home to watch on TV.

“As the game got near the end,” Zastudil said, “I’m thinking, ‘Good for them. They come off their bye week, play well, get a win in a rivalry game, and it’s the first time they’ve swept Baltimore in a long time. I was close to Mike Pettine when I played in Baltimore, and so I was really happy for him—he’s worked so hard to turn things around. Finally they were having a big moment on national TV.”

The kick is up, and WHAP.

The Browns are 2-9.

Soon, the talk shows will be focused on LeBron James and the Cavs. And the NFL draft.

Some things never change.

 

[jjab360]

It definitely seemed like he stepped out of bounds on the final play to me, but the refs didn't feel like ruining one of the best plays of the year and killing everybody's buzz imo.