Ace Davis' Weblog

It can't be the Browns' worst season if they beat Pittsburgh.

Three games remain before we can say where the 2009 Mangini weenies will rank alongside 1975, 1990, 1995, and the six teams winning five or fewer games in the latest decade. Could they still be the worst squad in the Browns' long history?

Nah.

This win changed that.

We ran and stopped the run.

We made very few mistakes, in turnovers, sacks, blown coverages. Connecting with the wideouts was challenging, but the Browns never gave away the field position with a gaffe.

Josh Cribbs amply showed why he's not only one of football's best ever returners, but also one of the sports most exciting and likable players. We've known that for five years now, and in terms of the Browns pantheon, I put him right up there in the Dub Jones, Bobby Mitchell, Eric Metcalf neighborhood. With five more healthy years as a Brown, he would deserve consideration as one of the team's top 10 players in history. He's already the MVP of the "new" era, hands-down.

It was Rob Ryan's defense and not Dick LeBeau's that was more consistent and creative.

The Browns just played harder. Harder than the Steelers, and harder than they've played all year.

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In games they have won, the 2009 Browns have more QB sacks on defense than completed passes on offense.

The Browns have not won a game in which they have allowed a touchdown since Nov. 17, 2008.

Cribbs now is #2 in Browns rushing yardage this season, leapfrogging Jerome Harrison. Gaining 305 yards at a clip of 7.3 per, he already has the highest total for any Browns #2 rusher since 2004.

Career QB rating: Quinn 69.2, Anderson 69.6. The six other Cleveland QBs to start openers since 1999 all had better ratings here.

Still scratching my head at Mangini accepting the holding penalty that gave Pittsburgh 3rd and 18 rather than 4th and 8 at the CLE 34. It worked out because the back dropped the checkdown, but really?? With the Steelers down 7, under 12 minutes to go, declining the penalty almost forces them to go for it, giving you a bigger upside if they don't convert. Pushing them back gives them an extra chance to either make something happen or pin you deep.

Gameballs to Cribbs, Alex Mack, Eric Wright, and Corey Williams.

Will this game become the signature win, marking the (delayed) launch of the Mangini Era of tough, smart, mistake-free football, capable of vanquishing even foe most foul? Or will it merely serve as the high-water mark for a mismanaged team due for new and better leadership? We'll see, but whatever it was, it was a fine and rare sight to behold.

A balanced look at Jim Brown, courtesy of America's Finest News Source.

• The Browns were apparently granted a fourth timeout, allowing the Ravens' otherwise clock-killing final possession to expire with 20 seconds to go.
• The Browns offense, previously known for folding its tent at the first wisp of a cloud, suddenly finds itself, relieved of the theoretical possibility of actually winning the game, launching into attack mode.
• Down 16 points, the obvious downfield target of Quinn on the first two downs is, of course, our beloved #16, Josh Cribbs.
• Not satisfied with two incompletions, the fateful final fling at a 16-point conversion finds our sole superhero snagging a Quinn pass and flipping it to teammate Robert Royal for a final late-night comedy bit.
• It turns tragic, as the Browns' heart-and-soul star, its never-say-die dude, somehow (again, I am sleeping through all this) uncharacteristically lets down his guard and gets jacked up by some Raven named (ugh) Edwards.
• Out comes the stretcher and the ambulance trip to Cleveland Clinic.
• Thus ends another fine chapter in Browns ignominy and pain.

Further documenting the woeful whirlwind of Browns football over the last decade, I hereby challenge you with my third Browns-related quiz. Name the 19 men who have led our offensive, defensive, and special teams units since the franchise's resurrection. Go ahead, you know you wanna feel like a winner, someway, somehow. You can do it faster than a Browns three-and-out.

Now that both of the Browns' leading tacklers, inside linebackers D'Qwell Jackson and Eric Barton, are shelved for the season, the active roster stands at 52, leaving one available job, even after this week's promotion of rookie LB Marcus Bernard from the practice squad and signing of veteran LB Josh Stamer as a street free agent.

I suspect that poobah-for-now Eric Mangini will round out the roster with another practice squad promotion or tryout player, and the news may come fast. But this is really an optimal situation for raiding another team's practice squad. All you need to do is keep him on the active roster for three weeks.

So who's out there? A consolidated, current list of NFL practice squads isn't readily available, so I had to visit each team's official site to get the names below.

Based on the positional make-up of the Browns' current active roster, I'd pay special attention to wide receivers, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, and linebackers, in roughly that order. Not that I'd expect any such newcomer to make an instant impact -- indeed, he'd probably be inactive on game day -- but it would provide the coaches a low-risk, up-close, extended look at a player who another team thought worthy of developing in house.

The one name that immediately stands out is OT Alex Boone (SF), late of Lakewood St. Ed's and Ohio State. Serious immaturity issues dropped the two-time All-Big Ten selection right off the draft boards last April. That would be a giant red flag to someone like Mangini (and me too), but maybe staying out of trouble for his first half year as a pro makes the risk seem less than the potential upside, especially given the Browns' need to secure a better long-term answer at right tackle.

Anyway, who should we snag?

Buffalo: Hall, Bruce RB, Mississippi; Harris, Cary DB, USC; Hawthorne, C.J. WR, Hawaii; Hennessey, Nick OL, Colgate; Huggins, Felton WR, Southeastern Louisiana; Mace, Corey DT, Wyoming; Ramsey, Andre OL, Ball State; Waters, Anthony LB 6-3 238 Clemson

Dolphins: Tristan Davis, RB; John Nalbone, TE; Nate Ness, S; Andrew Hartline, T; Kory Sperry, TE; Julius Pruitt, WR; Will Billingsley, CB; Ryan Baker, DE

Patriots: Titus Adams DT Nebraska; Bruce Davis LB UCLA; Rob Myers TE Utah State; Terrence Nunn WR Nebraska; Darryl Richard DT Georgia Tech; Isaiah Stanback QB Washington; Ryan Wendell G Fresno State

Jets: Kenwin Cummings LB Wingate; Jason Davis FB Illinois; Keith Fitzhugh S Mississippi State; Antonio Garay DT Boston College (former Brown); Marcus Henry WR Kansas; Matt Kroul DL Iowa; Ryan McKee T Southern Mississippi; Matthew Mulligan TE Maine

Ravens: Drew, Davon TE East Carolina; Gerard, K.J. CB Northern Arizona; Harper, Justin WR Virginia Tech; Mattison, Bryan G/T Iowa; Reitz, Joe T Western Michigan; Riley, Eron WR Duke; Rodgers, Stefan T Lambuth; VanDeSteeg, William LB/DE Minnesota

Bengals: Brown, Freddie WR Utah; Hill, Darius TE Ball State; Johnson, James RB Kansas State; McDonald, Clinton DE Memphis; Murray, Rico CB Kent State; Pope, Geoffrey CB Howard; Purify, Maurice WR Nebraska; Shirley, Jason DT Fresno State

Steelers: Bright, Eugene TE Purdue; Grisham, Tyler WR Clemson; Harris, Tuff S Montana; McLendon, Steve DT Troy; Redman, Isaac RB Bowie State; Shipley, A.Q. C Penn State; Vincent, Justin RB Louisiana State; Woods, Donovan ROLB Oklahoma State

Texans: Bing, Darnell LB USC; Crummey, Andrew OL Maryland; Foster, Arian RB Tennessee; Helms, Brett C LSU; Henry, Chris RB Arizona; Stenavich, Adam T Michigan

Colts: Giguere, Sam WR Sherbrooke; Gill, John DT Northwestern; Hall, Devon DB Utah State; Lambert, Terrail DB Notre Dame; Matthews, John WR San Diego; Smith, Taj WR Syracuse; Thomas, Jaimie OG Maryland

Jaguars: Bartel, Richard QB Tarleton State (former Brown); Bolen, Brock FB Louisville; Cox, Kennard DB Pittsburgh; Hughes, Nate WR Alcorn State; Navarre, Jeremy DE Maryland; Newton, Cecil C Tennessee State; Potter, Zach TE Nebraska; Stephenson, Cameron G Rutgers

Titans: Booty, John David QB USC; Durand, Ryan G Syracuse; Edison, Dominique WR Stephen F. Austin; Rivera, Mike LB Kansas; Schommer, Nick S North Dakota State; Velasco, Fernando C/G Georgia; Williams, Paul WR Fresno State

Broncos: Ball, Lance RB Maryland; Branson, Marquez TE Central Arkansas; Carter, Tony CB Florida State; Erickson, Mitch G South Dakota State; Johnson, D.J. CB Jackson State; Kelley, Braxton LB Kentucky; Powell, Carlton DL Virginia Tech; Willis, Matthew WR UCLA

Chiefs: Bates, Jackie CB Hampton; Favorite, Marlon DT LSU; Gales, Dion DE Troy State; Greenwood, Bobby DE Alabama; Harris, Darryl G Mississippi; Lawrence, Quinten WR McNeese State; Price, Ricky S Oklahoma State; Williams, Javarris RB Tennessee State

Raiders: Bodiford, Shaun WR Portland State; Boyd, Jerome SAF Oregon; Gunheim, Greyson DE Washington; Hubbard, Paul WR Wisconsin (former Brown); Nixon, David LB Brigham Young; Norris, Slade LB Oregon State; Reece, Marcel RB Washington; Schuening, Roy G Oregon State

Chargers: Banks, Gary WR Troy; Beckwith, Darryl ILB Louisiana State; Castille, Simeon CB Alabama; Clark, Corey T Texas A&M; Coleman, Andre DE Albany; Latsko, Billy FB Florida; Leman, J LB Illinois; Toledo, Joe OT Washington

Cowboys: Bright, Travis G Brigham Young; Carpenter, Rudy QB Arizona State; Chandler, Scott TE Iowa; Dixon, Marcus DE Hampton; Holley, Jesse WR North Carolina; Johnson, Manuel WR Oklahoma; Love, Jamar CB Arkansas; Washington, Chauncey RB USC

Giants: Anderson, Vince CB Webber International; Bender, Jacob G/T Nicholls St.; Bomar, Rhett QB Sam Houston State; Broughton, Nehemiah FB The Citadel; Coe, Michael CB Alabama State; Hendricks, Dwayne DT Miami; Pascoe, Bear TE Fresno State; Rashad, Shareff S Central Florida

Eagles: Collins, Dobson WR Gardner-Webb; Fanaika, Paul G Arizona State; Ikegwuonu, Jack CB Wisconsin; Langford, Reshard S Vanderbilt; Mailei, Marcus FB Weber State; Norwood, Jordan WR Penn State (former Brown); Reynolds, Dallas G BYU; Rucker, Martin TE Missouri (former Brown)

Redskins: Armstrong, Anthony WR West Texas A&M; Bowen, Alvin LB Iowa State; Holmes, Lendy S Oklahoma; Jackson, Rob DE Kansas State; Oldenburg, Clint OT Colorado State; Robinson, William OT San Diego State; Skolnitsky, J.D. DE James Madison; Woodson, Andre QB Kentucky

Bears: Asiata, Johan G UNLV; Basanez, Brett QB Northwestern; Bell, Kahlil RB UCLA; Marten, James T Boston College; Raiola, Donovan C Wisconsin; Smith, DeAngelo CB Cincinnati (former Brown); Ta'ufo'ou, Will FB Cal; Turenne, Woodny CB Louisville

Lions: Fowler, Eric WR Grand Valley State; Gerberry, Dan C Ball State; Gronkowski, Dan TE Maryland; Heckendorf, Kole WR North Dakota State; Henderson, Robert DE Southern Mississippi; Peerman, Cedric RB Virginia (former Brown); Word-Daniels, Jahi CB Georgia Tech

Packers: Brian Brohm QB Louisville; Patrick Williams WR Colorado; Kregg Lumpkin RB Georgia; Trevor Ford CB Troy; Cyril Obiozor LB Texas A&M; Anthony Toribio NT Carson-Newman; Ronald Talley DE Delaware

Vikings: Anderson, Colt S Montana; Brown, Patrick T Central Florida; Clark, Chris T Southern Mississippi; Johnson, Ian RB Boise State; Johnson, Tremaine DT Louisiana State; Mills, Garrett TE Tulsa; Perretta, Vinny WR Boise State; Wright, DeAndre CB New Mexico

Falcons: Bergeron, Troy WR None; Brock, Eric S Auburn; Bruggeman, Rob OL Iowa; Clark, Jeremy DT Alabama; James, Robert LB Arizona State; Lucas, Maurice DE Colorado; Smith, Antone RB Florida State; Valdez, Jose OG Arkansas

Panthers: Birmingham, Decori RB Arkansas; Cantwell, Hunter QB Louisville; Fry, Dustin C Clemson (former Brown); Ivy, Mortty LB West Virginia; Jackson, Dexter WR Appalachian State; Martin, Charly WR West Texas A&M; Pociask, Jason TE Wisconsin; Walker, Marcus CB Oklahoma

Saints: Parson, Mark CB Ohio; Herb Donaldson RB Western Illinois; Earl Heyman DT Louisville; Tim Duckworth G Auburn; Renardo Foster T Louisville; Jermey Parnell T Mississippi; Tyler Lorenzen TE Connecticut; Adrian Arrington WR Michigan

Buccaneers: Anderson, Brandon CB Akron (former Brown); Cook, Emanuel S South Carolina; Dile, Marc OL South Florida; Evans, Maurice DE Penn State; Huggins, Kareem RB Hofstra; Purvis, Ryan TE Boston College; Robinson, Lee LB Alcorn State; Urrutia, Mario WR Louisville

Cardinals: Barksdale, Rashad CB Albany State (NY); Canfield, Trevor G Cincinnati; Collins, Jed FB Washington State; Gant, Edward WR North Alabama; Harrington, Chris LB Texas A&M; Holmes, Antoine DT North Carolina State; Jones, Onrea WR Hampton; Renkart, Brandon LB Rutgers

Rams: Bradwell, Chris LDT Troy; Brown, Marcus RCB McNeese State; Butler, Eric TE Mississippi State; Moore, Jay MLB Nebraska; Ogbonnaya, Chris HB Texas; Parks, Cord LCB Northeastern; Walker, Sean WR Vanderbilt; Young, Eric RT Tennessee (former Brown)

49ers: Barton, Kirk T Ohio State; Boone, Alex T Ohio State; Burnett, Martail LB Utah; Finley, Joe Jon TE Oklahoma; Lattimore, Keon RB Maryland; Miller, Brit FB Illinois; Mitchell, Khalif DT East Carolina; Zeigler, Dominique WR Baylor

Seahawks: Goddard, Na'Shan T South Carolina; Heygood, Anthony LB Purdue; Moore, Devin RB Wyoming; Williams, Kyle T USC; Williams, Trae CB South Florida; Willingham, DeAngelo CB Tennessee

Via PFR, we find that Derek Anderson had the worst statistical performance of any NFL quarterback in the first half of any of the past 34 seasons.

Not since 1975, when the Browns' own Mike Phipps began the year tossing 10 interceptions with nary a touchdown, has the league witnessed poorer play at its premier position.

Assuming all eight Cleveland home games were filled to capacity (absurd, I know, but bear with me here!), how much would each ticket-holder have to chip in at each game to equal Anderson's 2009 earnings?

$11.10.

DA may suck, but who's the loser here?

Yesterday's NFL margins of victory/defeat:

• 0-9 points: 4 games
• 10-19 points: 3 games
• 20-29 points: 5 games
• 30+ points: 0 games.

Slim chance of seeing a game that gets decided late between two equally-matched teams, but this is actually an improvement over last week. For most teams, anyway. As for the Browns, amateur hour continues. The owner glares at his charges in the tunnel and searches for answers. I still say: get ahead of the runaway PR and promise fans a coupon!

In the face of network blackouts and fan "brownout" demonstrations, I have a specific suggestion for Randy Lerner during this most disheartening time. Read the full piece here.

So here's my far-fetched but heartfelt proposal to the Browns brass: give me victory or give me ... um, a coupon.

Ridiculous? Maybe, but we're beyond that now. Besides, Randy Lerner's an old credit card guy. Just call it a Loyalty Reward. Fans attending the games regularly shell out more than is delivered back to them. So if the team can't do it on the field, the front office ought to do it through the mail.

Here's how it could work: whenever the Browns lose at home in regulation and fail to score even a single touchdown in the process, the team should recognize that fans did not get anything passably close to what they paid for. Fourth-quarter scores that don't narrow the deficit to within 14 points don't count. Ticket stubs should be redeemable for $30 toward a future ticket purchase.

Yesterday's NFL margins of victory/defeat:

• 0-9 points: 2 games
• 10-19 points: 4 games
• 20-29 points: 2 games
• 30+ points: 4 games.

Average score of a 2009 Browns game:
Cleveland 10, Anyone Else 26

Average NFL ticket price: $75.

Nice ESPN Page 2 special here.

All joking aside, I love the Browns. They cause me near-constant frustration and heartache, but that's the price you pay when you become attached to a pro sports team to which you have only an imaginary philosophical connection. I won't bail and support another team just because mine sucks, only to come back once we experience a modicum of success. What do I look like, a Patriots fan?

You'd think that after driving 11 hours round-trip and investing a weekend and $200 or so to witness the Browns win their first game in 11 months, a blogger like me would have something to say about the experience. Well, I just might. But first, another Sporcle quiz. If you've got 10 minutes, test your knowledge of Browns roster history here.

In 2007, Joshua Cribbs gained 1,809 yards on kickoff returns, second best in NFL history. This season, he is on pace for 1,848. That's pretty darn good, especially considering that he has only one return of more than 40 yards.

The new prohibition against wedges has hurt him, but the return unit is lately figuring out how to give Cribbs the crease he needs to power through. He's proven good for at least one TD a year, and given that Browns opponents are bound to be kicking off aplenty, he could very well break MarTay Jenkins' league record of 2,186 set in 2000. And with his next trip to the house, he'll tie the NFL record for career kickoff return touchdowns (six).

Even more impressive are his punt returns. He's projected to shatter his career best of 405 yards, also set in that amazing 2007 season. Through four games, his 237 punt return yards already eclipses last year's total of 228. Cribbs' current pace would yield 948 for the season, which would top Desmond Howard's 875 (in 1996) for the most in NFL history.

Disturbed at how much of your brain force you've devoted to the Browns over the past decade? Well, at least you can click here to quantify the depth of your descent into die-hard depravity. This Sporcle quiz thing is all the rage, so here's my first contribution. (See also this quiz created by a fellow Browns blogger.)

While we wait another day for the Mangenius' QB Roulette Wheel to slow down, this factoid may steer the smart betting onto 3 rather than 10:

If over 30% of the Browns' offensive snaps this season are taken by someone other than Brady Quinn, the Browns will save $11 million over the next two years that Quinn remains under contract.

Keeping him tied up in an very team-friendly contract, ala Josh Cribbs, may just be this regime's M.O. Figure they'll dump DA after '09 (saving another $9.5 million) and thus have the budget to draft Mangini's vision of a true franchise QB.