@calfoxwc said:

Troy Vincent played for the Dolphins back in the day..... lol

https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/patriots/nfl-left-cleaning-troy-vincents-mess-super-bowl-replay

The other discussion to have is, how can Vincent -- who’s in charge of the officials -- not know the wording of the rule? And how can he be so dense as to get on a national radio program and say that a touchdown in a one-score Super Bowl didn’t meet the standards for a catch and not think people would catch on?

I don't think that Vincent is in charge of the officials....he is just in charge of the discipline....at least the initial stages. 

@clevelandwantsplayoffs said:

We are gonna need Vernon down the stretch.

Ya problem is the dude has played 1 maybe 2 good games and now he can’t stay on the field.

https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/patriots/nfl-left-cleaning-troy-vincents-mess-super-bowl-replay

The other discussion to have is, how can Vincent -- who’s in charge of the officials -- not know the wording of the rule? And how can he be so dense as to get on a national radio program and say that a touchdown in a one-score Super Bowl didn’t meet the standards for a catch and not think people would catch on?

@hx214 said:

I see Vernon is out again. Man that has been a completely worthless trade.

We are gonna need Vernon down the stretch.

@mjp28 said:

The January 4, 1986 game was a great game for that underdog Cleveland BROWNS team and a great national coming out party for Bernie Kosar.

Sometimes despite our beloved Brownies recent ups and downs it's nice to remember the good times of being a Cleveland BROWNS fan.

First unless you're an old geezer like me and over 60 you probably never remember actually watching the great Jim Brown carry the ball.

But then there were the kardiac kids, Sipe and most recently (sort of) the Kosar years.  A little #19 trivia who in BROWNS history wore the #19?

Oh and Bernie also wore #19 as a Dolphin and #18 as a Cowboy. 

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The Dolphins have been putting up some points lately.  And you know that their players look at us as a chance to get a win.

Our defensive numbers, though not all that good, look better than the Phins', but we're missing 3 DLinemen among others.  I do not want to have to count on the defense this week.  We are going to need our offense to win this game....and they haven't been a unit that has shown the ability to carry the team.

The numbers show the Phins struggle to stop both the pass & run.  I'd like to see us try to establish the run.  (this is a very odd strategy for me...as I feel that the NFL defenses of today are just too difficult to beat with a traditional running game attack)  I think that we need to keep our defense off the field...and the way to do that is to methodically come down the field...eating up the game clock.  The Phins' D just might be weak enough that our (not so great) OL can get enough room for Chubb & Hunt to work the field.  -  The Phins are weak against the pass too so it would be a good opportunity to try and get Baker & OBJ to connect for a big day...but I would rather not get into a shoot out. 

Let's see if we can beat them down with the run and little passes to the RB's (runs by passing).

Come on, Browns !

@jiggins7919 said:

Schobert listed as questionable now with a random groin injury? Holy shit, if he can't play I don't want to THINK about our defense. Cmon Joe, we need you! 

well...crap. Looks like the Browns could be in a bit of trouble without Schobert in there.

I hope Schobert can be mic'd up with Sione.... TakiTaki can play, but doesn't have the experience of Joe.

@mjp28 said:

The January 4, 1986 game was a great game for that underdog Cleveland BROWNS team and a great national coming out party for Bernie Kosar.

Yep. If I remember correctly,Browns safety Donnie Rogers intercepted Marino and was going all the way for a TD, and got tangled up on his own feet around midfield. Probably would have clinched the game.

Nothing could be finer than to give to Mack & Byner. 1985 was the beginning of a great run, that always came up short vs Horse Teeth.

@bob806 said:

Agree, but I wasn't talking about ranking the sadness. I was talking about nerves.

 We weren't the better team in either of those playoff meetings, but should have won both. 

The January 4, 1986 game was a great game for that underdog Cleveland BROWNS team and a great national coming out party for Bernie Kosar.

@the-gipper said:

It was the one we blew in 1985 that is even more egregious......21-3 lead at the half vs. Fins in Miami.

Agree, but I wasn't talking about ranking the sadness. I was talking about nerves.

 We weren't the better team in either of those playoff meetings, but should have won both. 

@the-gipper said:

It was the one we blew in 1985 that is even more egregious......21-3 lead at the half vs. Fins in Miami.

January 4, 1986 a very young Bernie Kosar almost beat Don Shula and the 10.5 favorite Miami Dolphins, Shula was furious at halftime. Bernie came back to Miami and almost upset the mighty fins.  Those were great BROWNS memories.

.....hey they play again this weekend and Cleveland is the 10.5 favorite, how about that !

@bob806 said:

Ever since we blew a playoff victory in Miami in 1972 vs the undefeated Dolphins, EVERY dam Browns game makes me nervous?

It was the one we blew in 1985 that is even more egregious......21-3 lead at the half vs. Fins in Miami.

@jiggins7919 said:

Since week 3, Fitzpatrick has been the 8th rated passer in the league (per PFF).  That's pretty crazy when compared to Mayfield who is ranked 23rd.  Suffice to say, this game makes me extremely nervous.  Miami had leads against some decent teams, some of the leads extended into the 4th quarter and they blew it, and some of the games they managed to hang on to win.  Miami isn't some team that is simply laying down like many thought early on in the season.  This is the NFL, and if you don't bring it, you WILL lose.  That being said, I DO believe we're going to win.  I think we'll have a single digit lead into the 4th quarter, and then Ward or Greedy will seal the deal with a big play when Miami is trying to come back.  Their run defense is bad, it's a home game for us, and I really do believe that we're starting to play a little bit better overall.  

Let's give the home crowd another win, and let's make it 3 in a row.  If we somehow manage that, we'll then play a Pittsburgh team we KNOW we can beat.  Sure, we won't have Myles Garrett who almost single-handily won the game with his crazy pressures, but I still believe we're the better team.  Not to get ahead of myself because we certainly haven't earned the right to ASSUME victories, but let's face it...we should win the next two games and we should quietly put together no less than a 4 game winning streak.  Heck, we get the Bengals AFTER the Steelers game, so maybe even FIVE games in a row.  

I'm not known as Captain Optimism, but I can legit see us making it happen.  Not only THAT, but a 5 game winning streak would probably stymie the "we need a new coach" talk, AND would get us to over .500 in December for the first time in a zillion years.  Cmon Brownies...make a push!

Ever since we blew a playoff victory in Miami in 1972 vs the undefeated Dolphins, EVERY dam Browns game makes me nervous?

@orion said:

Does anybody remember the last time this board was talking about us winning the upcoming game by a boatload?     With 3 defensive line starters out, I just hope to win the game.

Yea, I think we talked about that vs. the Broncos, and that did not turn out so well.

FitzMagic is 5-1 against Browns..we got to move the chains & own the game clock in this one

@jiggins7919 said:

 Also, if you have Kareem Hunt in fantasy, I'd start him.  I could see a scenario where he gets a BUNCH of yardage.  

I have him and it's time for Freddie to understand the threat he has inside the 5 with fresh legs. No more f'ning around in there. Give him the damn ball and he scores.

@poeticg said:

I'm gonna say 27 points at the half.

I will take EITHER 27 or 42, gladly.  LOL.

We all know that we've played some of the staunchest defenses in the league for what seems like 10 games in a row.  I heard some stat that said we basically played the top 5 defenses in the past 5 weeks, but I don't know if it's true or what metric they used to measure defense.  At any rate, I'm VERY interested to see how we play against a team that is essentially at the very BOTTOM in most categories.  They didn't have much talent on defense to begin with, and they are so completely injury depleted and ridden with inexperience that even their program guide is having difficulty keeping up with the roster.  Virtually their entire secondary wouldn't make another team's roster, so if there was ever a game where our offense busted out, THIS is the one.  

How can the Fins beat us?  Well, for starters their QB is 5-1 against us.  Fitzy will definitely take chances and challenge defenses deep, and we've let a few people get behind us in recent weeks.  The Steelers' WR had the tying TD grab in his hands before the ground popped it out, so I do think we're somewhat vulnerable to accurate down the field passing (every team is, really).  I'm encouraged to see Ward playing well, but Greedy has been somewhat struggling a bit.  Furthermore, the Fins are the least penalized team in the entire league.  That's pretty impressive.  

I just hope we don't get suckered into trying to pass the ball too much.  Fins are atrocious against the run, and we've got probably the best RB stable in the NFL.  Miami is especially vulnerable against outside running, and that's one of the places we get the most yards from Chubb.  We run that zone-stretch to the left and it's something we do VERY well.  Chubb hasn't busted one in a while, but that could certainly change Sunday.  Also, if you have Kareem Hunt in fantasy, I'd start him.  I could see a scenario where he gets a BUNCH of yardage.