@kosar_for_president said:

Um because if he had made it- guess how many points the Browns would have had with 2 minutes left? Sort of would have forced the Pats to go for 2 just to tie the game.

@diehardbrownsfan said:

what you like the lyrics but can't put up the music you old fart?

Need to add anything more?

@angel said:

No the refs didn't help. The Browns or any other team that doesn't win consistently will not get the breaks that teams like New England or the asshole Steelers seem to get. So unfortunately, you're playing two teams out there... the opponent... and the refs. The Browns going into prevent defense didn't help, not to mention not being able to recover the onside kick. Don't get me wrong, the refs did influence the outcome. But it's up to teams like the Browns to learn how to finish games, and slam the door when they need to.

@tim-couch-pulls-out said:

If he had missed a mile left or right I would have been on his case- the kick was dead on, just short.

Cundiff may have not won the game for the Browns- but he sure as hell didn't lose it.

filed right in the shredder with the rest of the teams that bring no revenue to the league (in their minds).

i can see it right now like a scene in a bad tarantino movie. mailman comes to the door of the huge high-rise building with a sack of letters from browns fans, the intern gets the letters from the mailman while he's still suckin on his stoggie, throws the letters in the trash along with his lit cigarette causing a little flame-up as a woman in a fur coat walks by.

The Browns are oh, so close to being a great football team.

They played with emotion, and even Campbell played a pretty good game,

in spurts.

The one time he disappointed me, was the 3 and out, with him

being very inaccurate on all three throws.

The NFL needs to look very seriously at the no calls and calls by these referees.

@sundawg said:

Cundiff was on target, just didn't have the leg. The loss doesn't fall on him at all.

He was kicking 55 yard FGs with the wind behind him in warm-up that were clearing the bar and hitting the net (looking like they would be good from 65 yards) It might not have looked windy, but the flags were dead straight the entire game. I say in windless conditions, he's through the uprights with 3 yards to spare. Unfortunately, today, he was about 2 yards short.

@mike-h said:

I've never claimed our defense to be elite. To the contrary, I've said the exact opposite. Even in the post directly preceding the game.

At no point did I blame the loss on Cundiff. I blamed the loss on the team. In the opening sentence I even said as much. I didn't say that Billy Cundiff lost the game, I said the Cleveland Browns lost the game.

Our defense is over-rated. Our #6 ranking on NFL.com is an inflated stat, as it's based off YPG and not PPG. Truth of the matter is, we've given the opposing team great field position many times, which would naturally keep our YPG down. However, we're ranked in the bottom half of the league in points surrendered.

If the loss is blamed on anything, it can be blamed on going for two and failing. That's taking points off the board, and we so conveniently lost by one point.

But Cundiff did miss a kick. No matter what you may say to claim otherwise, he looked at Chudzinski and told him "I can make this kick", and then he missed. If there was a doubt, we wouldn't have kicked it.

Cundiff is a bad kicker, the stats point to it, his history points to it, logic points to it. To say otherwise is ridiculous. He's ranked in the bottom third of the league in overall percentage.

He wasn't the sole reason for the loss. But to say that some of the blame doesn't fall on him is laughable.

It's true Cleveland fashion to say "Oh, he's solid enough." Solid enough doesn't win championships.

Bad calls. Bad bounces. Bad defense. Better draft pick.

Z

@mike-h said:

mike, who do you blame for that? the players or the coach?

everyone who has said horton is a lock for a HC position might want to rethink that, like right now.

if i was haslam i'd be contemplating whether or not he stays on my staff or not next year, meaning like see ya!

@tim-couch-pulls-out said:

I don't necessarily disagree with anything you said there, but I have to share the same sentiments as others. There's at least 5 other things I'd point to today as the reason we lost before Cundiff missing a near 60 yard field goal. You've made it clear you don't like Cundiff, but he's not the reason they lost today and he's not the reason the Browns are in another pathetic losing season. I do hope they draft or pick up a kicker in the draft though, hopefully mold him into our next phil dawson.

@ballpeen said:

Sorry, but you're wrong.

Billy has two missed field goals that would have decided the outcome of the game this season alone.

Granted, the New England kick was a bad situation, but good kickers make kicks when the game is on the line. Nearly all of the kickers in the league have the leg to kick 60+ yarders in perfect scenarios, but the quality ones are the ones that can do it in pressure situations, off the turf, into the wind, etc.

Cundiff has proved on many occasions that he is one of the least clutch kickers in the league. He proved it in Dallas, then proved it in Baltimore, then proved it again in Washington, and has since proved it yet again in Cleveland.

A missed 57 yard kick is unfortunate and hardly enough to can a player, but when it comes a week after a missed 53 yarder, and the same player has been released from three separate franchises for critical missed kicks, it becomes hard to shift the blame.

Cundiff has been in the league for 12 years and has been on 13 teams, Cleveland twice. He's missed 50 field goals in his career and has a 75% career FG percentage. In comparison, Phil Dawson has played for 15 years, has only 11 more missed field goals, and has a career percentage of 84%.

He is not a good kicker. He just isn't.

@frenchie said:

That's the spirit! Sink for Bridgewater Died for Hyde!

@miktoxic said:

Actually, it was 64-yd. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10104268/matt-prater-denver-broncos-sets-nfl-mark-64-yard-field-goal

Nevertheless, that's still a new NFL record and the highlight of a boring blowout.

@ballpeen said:

First of all, it's been listed as a 57-yd FG: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap2000000294460/Billy-Cundiff-misses-57-yd-field-goal-attempt

Secondly, he's already missed 5 FGs this year, including 2 game-losing FGs.