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THE BROWNS BOARD

The Browns Path to the Playoffs


Zombo

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1 hour ago, OldBrownsFan said:

I shouldn't look back but I will do it anyway. if only we had won some of those games early in the season we should have won we would be in a good position right now for a play off spot. Still it is great to see this team finally turn the corner and I don't think there is any doubt the Browns are a team on the way up. I saw yesterday the Browns are still listed as one of the teams with a chance at the play offs (although it seems remote) and that in itself is pretty welcome news as it has been a while since the Browns were even in this position this late in the year.

Was thinking the same thing myself, then I realized if we had won those games Hue and Todd would probably still be here lol

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48 minutes ago, alporcini said:

Was thinking the same thing myself, then I realized if we had won those games Hue and Todd would probably still be here lol

A sacrifice needed to be made...

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3 hours ago, Bob806 said:

I swear there's a law somewhere that an NFC East team must be shown nationally at 4pm. It's been that way for 45 years.

The bigger markets are in the NFC East:

List of largest TV markets:

Here are the 8 largest Designated Market Areas (DMAs) listed by the 2016-17 Nielsen ranks...(TV market size)
  • New York (#1)
  • Los Angeles (#2)
  • Chicago (#3)
  • Philadelphia (#4)
  • Dallas-Fort Worth (#5)
  • San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (#6)
  • Washington, D.C. (Hagerstown) (#7)
  • Houston (#8)

As you can see,  NFC East teams are in 4 of the 8 largest markets.  That is why they always want these teams in both the 1:00 time slot and the 4:00 time slot.

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3 hours ago, The Gipper said:

The bigger markets are in the NFC East:

List of largest TV markets:

Here are the 8 largest Designated Market Areas (DMAs) listed by the 2016-17 Nielsen ranks...(TV market size)
  • New York (#1)
  • Los Angeles (#2)
  • Chicago (#3)
  • Philadelphia (#4)
  • Dallas-Fort Worth (#5)
  • San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (#6)
  • Washington, D.C. (Hagerstown) (#7)
  • Houston (#8)

As you can see,  NFC East teams are in 4 of the 8 largest markets.  That is why they always want these teams in both the 1:00 time slot and the 4:00 time slot.

True....and the Monday night spots, Sunday night spots, Thanksgiving.  I get it but I don't have to like it.

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28 minutes ago, Bob806 said:

True....and the Monday night spots, Sunday night spots, Thanksgiving.  I get it but I don't have to like it.

Well....Detroit and Dallas always host the Thanksgiving Day games.....that is a tradition going back to the 30s for Detroit, and the late 60s for Dallas.

On the Monday night....they preschedule those games on the basis of who they think will be good.  You have Houston vs.  Tits this week....actually a decent matchup.

Sunday night games can be "flexed".    This coming week you have the Chargers vs. Steelers.   A good game...but I don't know if that game was flexed or not.   If it was....it was a good choice, obviously. 

I wonder if there is any Browns game that could end up being flexed to Sunday night?  See the following:

Sunday night game  12/2:   Chargers at Steelers

Monday night game 12/3: Redskins vs. Eagles

Sunday 12/9:  Rams vs. Bears..

Monday  12/10: Vikings at Seahawks

Sunday 12/16:  Eagles vs. Rams

Monday 12/17: Saints/Panthers

Sunday 12/23: Chiefs/Seahawks

Monday 12/24: Broncos/Raiders

In week 17, there is NO Sunday or Monday night football game; there are also NO Saturday games that week.

But...."nationally televised games do occur on previous Saturdays:

12/15   Texans vs. Jets....AND   Browns vs. Broncos

12/22  Redskins vs. Titans and Ravens vs. Chargers.

 

 

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6 hours ago, alporcini said:

Was thinking the same thing myself, then I realized if we had won those games Hue and Todd would probably still be here lol

I second this notion.

Who would’ve thought of the potential for this year a mere 2 games ago. I was hopeful but for this things to actually come into fruition.. 

Thank you Haslam/Dorsey!

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So three weeks later and my evil plan is working out beautifully:

The Browns have not lost and other teams are taking on water.

image.png

Still in the 12 hole, but breathing down the backs of four teams that are less than one Zane Gonzalez field goal ahead of us.

This week we got losses from Miami and Tennessee as we prepare for our big test test this week against Houston.

So now ... forget about Denver and Cincy because we can take care of them ourselves, and we have another meeting with the Rats as well ... so, outside of us continuing to run the the table we need:

Two Colts losses. One Ravens loss. One Dolphin loss. One Titans loss.

Outside of that we control our own destiny.

Colts are the biggest obstacle so let's look at their remaining schedule:

image.png

We need two L's in there. Not murderer's row by any stretch but some battles. Assuming they beat Cody Kessler this week and the Giants Dec, 23rd, we need two losses out of : @Texans, Cowboys at home, @ Titans.

Certainly plausible.

Just keep winning, and let the chips fall where they may...

 

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Man, what a mixed bag our situation is. Anyone who is watching this team and isn't overjoyed clueless Hue is gone has a screw loose. However, if this team didn't get absolutely robbed of a win in Oakland we're sitting in primo position for a playoff bid, but likely will Hue as our HC.

I suppose I'll take the silver lining though that we wouldn't have likely won the last two games with him as the coach.

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1 hour ago, jrb12711 said:

Man, what a mixed bag our situation is. Anyone who is watching this team and isn't overjoyed clueless Hue is gone has a screw loose. However, if this team didn't get absolutely robbed of a win in Oakland we're sitting in primo position for a playoff bid, but likely will Hue as our HC.

I suppose I'll take the silver lining though that we wouldn't have likely won the last two games with him as the coach.

1. 43 yard fg in OT against Pittsburgh blocked

2. Zane Gonzalez makes any two of four missed kicks against NO to win, or just one to send to OT

3. Oakland robbery and subsequent collapse

4. Tampa Bay, not scoring in OT, losing on 59 yard FG

Pick any ONE of those and we are in the thick of things, pick two or more and it is a dream season ... EXCEPT ... Hue got fired, and we are who we are now because of that.

MIxed bag ... Double-edged sword ... All I know is that Sundays are fun again.

Zombo

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This Week's Cheat Sheet:

Baltimore at Atlanta (GO FALCONS!) Pick'em

Denver at Cincinnati (not a consensus team to root for since both teams have same record and we play then both down the stretch.. but it would be nice to move into third place) Broncos favored by 3.5

Buffalo @ Miami (GO BILLS!) Dolphins favored by 5 

Indianapolis @ Jacksonville (GO JAGUARS!) Colts favored by 4.5

NY Jets @ Tennessee (GO JETS!) Tits favored by 10.5

Cleveland at Houston (WE GOT THIS!) Texans favored by 4.5

Zombo

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On 11/26/2018 at 12:01 PM, The Gipper said:

 

As you can see,  NFC East teams are in 4 of the 8 largest markets.  That is why they always want these teams in both the 1:00 time slot and the 4:00 time slot.

Actually 4 of the top 7 and I (we) thought it was some sort of East Coast bias......not true right?

It wouldn't be the cheerleaders would it?  :huh:

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On 11/25/2018 at 8:27 PM, Bob806 said:

IF they upset the Texans on the road, then we can do some serious speculation. Houston looks dangerous.

Here's my "negative Nancy" take, which I hate....the Browns travel to a house of horrors (Denver) where they have sadly been destroyed virtually every game. Denver is 20-5 all time vs Cleveland, and funny things happen there, like bad breaks and stupid ref calls...I absolutely hate the Broncos almost as much as Pitt and Balt.

I feel better about the trip to Mile High than I do this week at HOU and I say that thinking we will be competitive with the Texans.

 

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33 minutes ago, Tour2ma said:

I feel better about the trip to Mile High than I do this week at HOU and I say that thinking we will be competitive with the Texans.

 


I agree we will be competitive with the Texans and since they've won 8 in a row, I think we can win this one.  They're due for a bit of a down game and I think since the coaching change we are playing well and a dangerous team for anyone to play.  I'd bet its going to be a game that doesn't have a lot of scoring and it stays close till the 4th quarter and Baker leads us on the drive that puts the Browns ahead and the defense gets a late turnover to seal the victory.   I'm glad Houston won last night...if they had lost I think they would be more hyper focused and not sure we could pull off the upset.

 

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On 11/26/2018 at 10:24 AM, alporcini said:

Was thinking the same thing myself, then I realized if we had won those games Hue and Todd would probably still be here lol

You're absolutely right. I mean, looking back, just how bad do those losses against Oakland and Tampa Bay look? Yeesh. But really, we win just those 2 games and I doubt we make the coaching change. I never would have thought Gregg and Kitchens would have made so much of a difference. And as each week goes by with us playing better football, it gets more and more difficult for Dorsey to find a new staff. I think Cincy is a win, and every other game is literally a toss up, with the Texans being the slight favorite in my eyes. 

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8 hours ago, Tour2ma said:

I feel better about the trip to Mile High than I do this week at HOU and I say that thinking we will be competitive with the Texans.

 

Broncos and Texans are fairly similar defensively....just plain nasty.

The difference is Watson, he's like a waterbug when he drops back to throw. He looks much quicker than Vick in his prime. His throwing motion is odd, but he gets the job done....Texans have a bunch of weapons it's going to take a great effort to take 'em down.

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Just take it one game at a time and keep winning. A win this week will be huge. If we can keep things close going in the fourth quarter we are past due to win some of these.  There was an interesting thread here on the BB one time on the intangibles of a quarterback and rating a quarterback. I will add one of these intangibles for Baker, he is a leader. 

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12 minutes ago, Bob806 said:

Broncos and Texans are fairly similar defensively....just plain nasty.

The difference is Watson, he's like a waterbug when he drops back to throw. He looks much quicker than Vick in his prime. His throwing motion is odd, but he gets the job done....Texans have a bunch of weapons it's going to take a great effort to take 'em down.

Hopkins was held to only 74 yds and no TD's Monday night. Beware the hungry star WR!

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2 hours ago, TexasAg1969 said:

Hopkins was held to only 74 yds and no TD's Monday night. Beware the hungry star WR!

He's probably my favorite WR.  His level of sheer talent is stunning, and the way he runs after the catch is nutso.  Also, his catch radius doesn't even make sense, and it looks like he puts super glue on his gloves.  He's very dangerous, and just think...he's wasn't even the best WR on his college team because Sammy Watson was sick at Clemson.  

I feel like I'm pretty grounded right now.  I'm not expecting to "win them all" or anything, but I feel REALLY good about how our team is PROGRESSING.  You know what our team hasn't done in almost forever?  WIN December.  We haven't gotten better at the END of the year, and THAT'S what I want to see more than anything.  Would I love to see us win them all?  Pfffft...of course.  Is it going to happen?  Probably not.  However, I think winning even two more games gives us a solid foundation for next year, and I definitely think we can win 2 of our next 5...at a minimum.  That'd be 6-9-1, compared to 0-16 last year.  Yep, I'll take it.  

WIN DECEMBER...that's the new mantra our team should be reciting in their sleep.  

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3 hours ago, OldBrownsFan said:

Just take it one game at a time and keep winning. A win this week will be huge. If we can keep things close going in the fourth quarter we are past due to win some of these.  There was an interesting thread here on the BB one time on the intangibles of a quarterback and rating a quarterback. I will add one of these intangibles for Baker, he is a leader. 

The Texans seem like a potential contender to go to the Super Bowl.  Winning will be tough...but if the Browns do it, it would be a real catalyst for them for the future.  (and really....even if they don't, as long as they don't get plowed)

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For me, it is huge winning games. Most likely we come up short for the playoffs, but giving playoff teams a challenge on the way to January can be a lot of fun. 

This youn team needed a boost of confidence to look forward for the next season and work as a team and victories are the best path for that.

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1 hour ago, The Gipper said:

The Texans seem like a potential contender to go to the Super Bowl.  Winning will be tough...but if the Browns do it, it would be a real catalyst for them for the future.  (and really....even if they don't, as long as they don't get plowed)

It will be tough to beat the Texans but this team has shown this year it can play with the best teams...

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3 minutes ago, OldBrownsFan said:

It will be tough to beat the Texans but this team has shown this year it can play with the best teams...

Tied Steelers,   beat Ravens....should have beat Saints......all teams that would be in the playoffs right now.   And all those games happened under Hapless Hue.    Imagine how they may play with the new attitude.

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34 minutes ago, OldBrownsFan said:

It will be tough to beat the Texans but this team has shown this year it can play with the best teams...

It shows that they are now a bit competitive just maybe a step below contenders for  a wild card spot......from 0-16 that's an amazing improvement.

GO BROWNS!

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On 11/28/2018 at 9:02 AM, jiggins7919 said:

He's probably my favorite WR.  His level of sheer talent is stunning, and the way he runs after the catch is nutso.  Also, his catch radius doesn't even make sense, and it looks like he puts super glue on his gloves.  He's very dangerous, and just think...he's wasn't even the best WR on his college team because Sammy Watson was sick at Clemson. 

Plus there are no negatives associated with Hopkins... except maybe his hair.

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17 hours ago, Tour2ma said:

Plus there are no negatives associated with Hopkins... except maybe his hair.

Hey, when you're a balding man, you'd take ANY hair style, LOL.  

Also, I've resisted speaking about the playoffs because I can't just believe we're playing meaningful games in December, but I tell ya what, we win this weekend, somehow, SOME way....and it's playoff fever baby.

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