Week 10: Positives & Negatives
Sometimes things bigger than football happen at football games. During the time between the first and second quarters of the game last night, the Bengals donated $1.3 million to Cincinnati’s Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, all because of a little girl named Leah Still. Last night was the first time that Leah Still had ever been able to watch her dad, Bengals Defensive Tackle Devon Still, play in the NFL. It was a special moment for a little girl who has won the hearts of everyone. “Leah is battling neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer that typically has a 50-50 chance for survival. Surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from her abdomen was considered successful, but rounds of radiation, chemotherapy, and stem-cell treatments await her before doctors can determine whether she’s cancer-free,” according to ESPN.
During the moment, Brian Hoyer showed his class and went over to give Devon some words on his ordeal. “Being a parent myself, I couldn’t imagine what he’s going through, especially how demanding this job is,” Hoyer told NFL Network after the game when asked what he told Still. “That gives you goose bumps. I just went over and told him I respect him and I pray for his daughter and him and hope everything gets better.”
Positives: There are literally 100 different things I could put in this list:
Brian Hoyer: He didn’t have to do much in this win, but he made every throw that was needed. Hoyer was an extremely efficient 15-for-23 throwing the ball, for 198 yards, no touchdowns, but more importantly, no interceptions. No one mentioned Johnny Manziel’s name last night.
Run Offense: After averaging a miniscule 52.7 yards rushing over their last 3 games, the Browns broke through for 170 rush yards against the Bengals. Running the ball a staggering 52 times, the Browns run game beat the Bengals defense to death. Terrance West led the way with 26 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown. He wasn’t the only one who got in on the action either, as Isiah “The Crow” Crowell had 12 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown, and Ben Tate had 10 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown.
Defense: I can’t think of a single player who had a bad game. The Browns only had 2 sacks, but were constantly in the backfield. Joe Haden once again shut down A.J. Green, to the tune of 3 receptions for 23 yards. Even Buster Skrine played well, hauling in 2 interceptions. As a whole, the defense held the Bengals to just 165 total yards, 79 passing and 86 rushing. This defense is finally starting to gel, and is finally looking like the defense we expected at the start of the season.
Miles Austin: All he does is catch first downs. Austin ranks 4th in the league in 1st down receptions on 3rd down, with 13.
1st Place: It’s November 7th and the Browns are in first place! Depending on what the Steelers do on Sunday against the Jets, the Browns could either take sole possession or drop a half game back, either way, cause for celebration.
Returning Players: The short-handed Browns will most likely get leading receiver Andrew Hawkins and Pro Bowl tight end Jordan Cameron back for their week 11 match-up with the Texans. Then in week 12, Flash, aka Josh Gordon, returns, to give the Browns a true #1 receiver.
Greg Little: 1 catch, 8 yards, 1 headbutt; he sure made us pay.
Negatives: I’m really just nit-picking here.
Kick/Punt Returns: The only time I ever worried during the game was when the Bengals punted. There has to be someone better than Jim Leonhard to return punts. How about Justin Gilbert, he was pretty good at doing that in college. The Browns finally had a good kick return, when Marlon Moore returned one for 61 yards, only to have it called back on a holding penalty.
Dropped Interceptions: Tashaun Gipson missed his chance to further his lead in the NFL interception category, when he dropped his potential 7th pick. Joe Haden also had a chance for an interception, but had it hit off his hands.
That one play where Geno Atkins blew up the line: Brian Hoyer should be able to hand the ball off without having to worry about getting tackled.
— Chris Sladoje (@CST_Doje)
Photo via Andy Lyons/Getty Images
