The Fun Was (Almost) Back in Browns' Town

Random observations after taking in the Browns’ 23-20 overtime loss at the stadium Sunday…

Who is Mohamed Massaquoi, and why are we just now hearing about him? It’s not just the fact that he caught eight passes for 148 yards. It’s the way he caught them. While being hit. While being held. Juggling and concentrating and refusing to be denied. If it was near him, he was gonna catch it. Braylon who?

Jerome Harrison…Jamal Lewis. Jerome Harrison…Jamal Lewis. After Harrison’s 121-yard day as the featured back, what’s to decide?

Staunch defender of letting Brady Quinn make mistakes and learn on the job that I have been, I must admit that Derek Anderson looked more comfortable, more in control than Quinn has. And his teammates looked more willing to play for him. I just wish Anderson would step up and be great, or at least very good. Show some swagger and don’t ever look back, D.A. Cleveland turns its lonely eyes to you.

Josh Cribbs is a force of nature. Simply a remarkable return man. He piled up 203 return yards on the day -- 58 on one kickoff, along with punt returns of 39 and 50 yards. There is an electricity in the air when he drops back to return a kick. People expect something big to happen. Add that to what he does defending on special teams, as well as playing receiver and occasionally carrying the ball on offense, and you have your team MVP.

Kudos to the offensive line. Cincinnati can bring pressure up front, and the Browns’ blockers did a pretty decent job. A friend of mine who played on the line for the Browns 20 years ago said he watched rookie center Alex Mack most of the day and came away favorably impressed. I’ll take his word for it.

Shaun Rogers? Two blocked kicks? That was impressive. Took four Bengals’ points off the board, all by himself. And the final one, on an extra point that would have given Cincinnati a one-point lead at the end of regulation, spelled H-E-A-R-T, in capital letters.

Eric Mangini may have lucked his way into a promising situation. If so, good for him. But he found something in the trifecta of Anderson, Harrison and Massaquoi. They were very good Sunday, all three of them, playing positions where -- let’s face it -- nobody was doing anything before that. That can turn a season around. I don’t see the Browns winning a ton of games, but I think they could win a representative number now. Couldn’t say that before yesterday.

Randy Lerner should put on jeans and a jacket, tell his front office staff to do the same, and then spread out and sit among the fans some Sunday. Wear disguises if need be. They need to see and hear for themselves how loyal and hopeful and forgiving Browns fans are. My son and I sat in the southwest corner of the stadium, and the fans were as entertaining as the game. They were knowledgeable. They were funny. They were passionate. They were loud. But, most of all, they were dedicated. They shouted criticisms when it was deserved, and rose to their feet as one and cheered wildly when the guys in the brown jerseys did something right. They exchanged barbs with Bengals fans seated in the same area. One guy had the audacity to stroll through our section wearing a Steelers jersey, and was greeted by a good-natured chorus of boos as he laughed and cooperatively egged his critics on. The atmosphere was fun and upbeat. It’s something you can’t appreciate watching a game on television. These people deserve better than what they’ve been given over the past eleven seasons. Lerner and company should give it to them.

It wasn’t a win. But it wasn’t a total disappointment, either. Fans were upbeat filing out of the stadium. The Browns looked like a professional football team for the first time all season. It’s about time. Thankfully, we came away with the hope there are more such times just ahead.