The Sports Mixer - After further review

A look back at last weekend's Browns game with some additional commentary thrown in for good measure.

Yes, I'm doing things differently this week.

Well, that was an atrocious week of picks.  I started off well enough, but the afternoon slate of games absolutely bombed me and I needed Peyton Manning's miraculous comeback to finish .500 for the week.  But hey, the Browns won! So that makes looking back at this game much easier.

Without further ado, here are the things I took from the game after briefly watching it on DVR.

Brandon Weeden continues to mature in front of us.  No, you can't take away his abysmal first start, but you can see the progress being made from week to week.  This game is his best simply because of the victory and the fact that he came alive in the second half.  Take away the 71 yard bomb to Josh Gordon (more on him in a minute), and the first half was a dud.  The second half was different.  He was decisive, he was on-time with his throws, he was accurate, and as his 23 yard pass to Jordan Cameron showed, who fell on the route initially, he was patient and didn't give up on plays.  Two touchdowns and one interception while being efficient is a good way to win games.

The defense was lifted by the return of Joe Haden despite AJ Green running wild at times.  Haden had seven tackles, three knock aways, and an interception, but more importantly, his energy lifted a sagging unit that was missing several starters again.  Green got his, but no one else did much against the Browns defense with the exception of one other long touchdown pass.

Montario Hardesty finally showed what he can do when healthy and running hard.  In relief of Trent Richardson, Hardesty was quick to the hole and showed a burst I didn't know he had.  He also chipped in his first career rushing touchdown.  What was even better was seeing all four running backs coming together on the sidelines when Hardesty came off the field.

D'Qwell Jackson recovered nicely from his concussion, helping a defense that was frankly gashed after he left the previous game against the Giants.  Is he a huge difference maker in the run game?  I can't say for certain, but his return certainly shored up things for a defense missing Scott Fujita, Ahtyba Rubin, Phil Taylor, and Dmitri Patterson.

The Browns finally found some balance with their offensive attack in this game, which made all the difference in the world.  There's no better example than on the touchdown pass to Ben Watson, who was left all alone in the endzone when the entire Bengals defense bit hard on playfake by Weeden to Hardesty.  Weeden was able to float the pass over the defenders for an easy score that made it 27-17 at the time.

The defense stepped up when needed most, especially in the fourth quarter when the Bengals were attempting to come back.  First, following the Watson score, Sheldon Brown picked off Andy Dalton and took it back 19 yards for a score to make it 34-17.  Then, after Green hauled in a long touchdown pass, they strip-sacked Dalton when the Bengals were in field goal range.  Finally, after Reggie Hodges pinned them down at the five yard line, Ursama Young picked off a desperation pass in the end zone, allowing Weeden and the offense to use the nearly-forgotten victory formation, sealing the victory.

Don't forget Josh Cribbs' importance in this game.  He was a beast on special teams, returning a punt for 60 yards and consistently giving the Browns good starting position on kickoffs and punts.  It wasn't long ago that people were questioning whether he should be no longer returning kicks and since then, he's responded with several big returns.  He's overdue for a touchdown still though.

Josh Gordon is developing into a big-play receiver in a hurry.  He doesn't have a ton of receptions, but the ones he's made the last two weeks have been big ones.  First there was the 61 yarder against the Giants.  This week he decided to haul a 71 yarder through a stiff wind with one hand.  That play demonstrated two things: one was Weeden's arm strength to throw the ball through the wind that far; the second was Gordon's ability to catch a difficult throw on the run.  He's young, he's still raw, but he's shown a lot of upside.

The coaching staff needed this as much as the players did.  Pat Shurmer has been under a lot of heat this year and for once, the coaching wasn't being questioned.  Third and one wasn't an issue this week as they converted a number of them.  In fact, Weeden was exceptionally good on third down in this game.

The key will be to continue this next week against the Indianapolis Colts, who were demolished by the New York Jets.  Richardson left with an injury, but is expected to be healthy, and if Hardesty is running well still, the Browns could pick up a lot of yardage on the ground against one of the worst rushing defenses in the league.  The Colts have been better just because of the play of fellow rookie Andrew Luck though and will not be an easy team to beat.

Never bet against Peyton Manning on Monday Night Football.  Last night, he and the Broncos spotted the Chargers a 24-0 lead at halftime, then came storming back as Phillip Rivers turned the ball over multiple times in the second half.  Manning meanwhile was brilliant, leading the charge back with several pretty passes as the Broncos won 35-24.  Thank you Peyton for saving my horrible week of picks.