Ugh, so close! The Browns gave it a good effort, but allowed the game to go on for just a minute too long. I think we can agree, though, that the team looked much better in Week 3 than in either of the previous games. That first win of the year is just around the corner, I promise!

That's going to be it for an intro this week. Let's get right to your regular items...

Play of the Week

Alex says: Early in the fourth quarter, with the Ravens mounting their pathetic comeback, the Browns offense needed to sustain a drive and run time off the clock. On a 3rd-and-14, Charlie Frye rolled to the right outside the pocket, due to pressure. Before stepping across the line of scrimmage, Frye threw a lame duck back across his body to a wide-open Kellen Winslow. Winslow caught the pass and turned upfield for a few extra yards. While Kellen's catch of a jump ball that looked more like something Frye was trying to throw away was more improbable, his catch in the fourth quarter was much more exciting.

Corey says: I think the Play of the Week is pretty obviously Braylon Edwards' touchdown. It was most beautiful. And I am not above giving credit where credit is due. In the first half, Maurice Carthon didn't waste nearly as much time "establishing" the Browns' fearsome power running game before he let Charlie Frye take to the air. Yes, the offense scored fewer points against the Ravens than against the Bengals, but keep in mind how much better the Baltimore defense is than Cincinnati's. Keep in mind, too, that because the Browns had the lead in the second half, they (correctly) went back to the run a little bit to try to run out the clock. That the Browns were able to mount two successful scoring drives before halftime while facing perhaps the best defense in the league is a testament to the fact that this offense can be quite good if they simply adhere to a more point-scoring-friendly philosophy.

Player of the Week

Alex says: On the drive after Baltimore had cut the Browns lead to two, Kellen Winslow was seemingly unstoppable. Three times during that drive the Browns offense faced a third down, and each time Charlie Frye found Kellen open for the conversion. For the afternoon, he caught eight of the nine passes directed his way--and seven of them generated a fresh set of downs. By the end of the game, Winslow looked like a man possessed on the sidelines. If the coaches had put him in on defense, who knows, he might've been able to deliver a knockout blow to Steve McNair.

Corey says: I'm going with Charlie Frye, who was absolutely on fire in the first half, even if his second half performance was unspectacular. In his short career, Charlie has had to face an extremely tough slew of defenses. Last year, he faced Miami (4th in the NFL in defensive DVOA at the time of the game), Jacksonville (2nd in the NFL at the time), Cincinnati (3rd at the time), Pittsburgh (2nd at the time), and Baltimore (8th at the time), in addition to the less-impressive Raiders. Thus, I think it's fair to say that in 9 games played so far in his career, Frye has faced at least six top-10 defenses, or, if you prefer, at least 5 top-5 defenses. That's no easy task for Peyton Manning, let alone a Browns rookie.

Quote of the Week

Alex says:

"Charlie got hit in the back as he was delivering the ball. Probably, if he doesn't get hit in the back, it's a touchdown." --Romeo Crennel, on Charlie Frye's fourth quarter interception

Charlie himself touched on this issue too. Apparently, the Browns had plenty of blockers in for the play (including a tight end on the weakside), yet the Ravens still managed to get blindside pressure. Charlie admits he didn't even see where the ball went thanks to the hit. Since the only replay you're likely to see of this play is from the endzone camera following Braylon, we may not know who blew the block. Anyway, if Charlie wasn't hit, I'm not so confident it was a sure touchdown--Chris McAlister jumped the route--but it at least should've been incomplete.

Corey says:

"It just bounced their way, man. You know, half the games are three points or less, in the NFL. That's just the way the NFL goes, man." --Kellen Winslow

This is the kind of thing I can never just let go. Half the games in the NFL are not decided by three points or less. In 2006 so far, for example, 9 of 45, or 20% of games, were decided by three points or less. And in case Kellen was referring only to Browns games: since he was drafted, 9 of 35, or about 26% of Browns games, have been decided by three points or less. I imagine he was actually referring to baseball games but got his league acronyms mixed up.

Ryan Pontbriand Honorary Special Teams Moment of the Week

Alex says: Early in the fourth, on a Dave Zastudil punt, Josh "MTV" Cribbs raced downfield and managed to snare returner BJ Sams for a loss of one yard. It was a nice bit of tackling on a slow day for special teams. Sorry, this is all I got for special teams on the afternoon. Although, Cribbs is turning into quite the special teamer. He has yet to break off a truly exciting kickoff return, but I'm confident one is coming. Plus he's now a pretty strong gunner on punts and kickoffs. Sure, he's no Leigh Bodden in 2004--but not just anyone can be.

Corey says: I'm afraid I'm also going to have to go with Josh Cribbs' acrobatic tackle-for-a-loss on BJ Sams' punt return. There really weren't any spectacular special teams plays, for which we have the wind to thank. Anything kicked from east to west, whether kickoff, punt or field goal, went sailing about an extra ten yards... leaving us to muse over a ton of touchbacks and a game-winning field goal that might not have made it over the crossbar were it not for those meddlin' Lake Erie winds!

R.J. Bowers Memorial Obscure Brown of the Week

Alex says: In one afternoon, "Big Ol'" Simon Fraser quadrupled his tackle total from a season ago. Fraser filled in for much of Orpheus Roye's playing time, performing well. He even got that elusive first career sack in the third quarter. Simon did this, of course, after having charted parts of British Columbia all Sunday morning.

Corey says: I'm going with DB Justin Hamilton, #25, a 2006 seventh-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech. With such strong winds encircling the field yesterday, the Browns were forced to turn to Hamilton as their holder on all kickoffs. The result? Three kickoffs, three touchbacks. Now, we all know that Human Phil Dawson is not capable of booting three touchbacks in a row, even in the strongest of winds. So he must have sent his doppelgänger Robot Phil Dawson out there in his stead. However, even with a robot doppelgänger and extremely high winds, I believe it was Hamilton's flawless holding technique that resulted in those touchbacks. Way to go, Justin!

Fashion Item of the Week

Alex says: Kudos to the man (or woman) who dresses Ted Washington. To make his jersey fit, they probably just throw a few hundred square feet of brown material around his massive girth and sew Ted into his brand new custom-made jersey. I can't imagine what one of those would look like without a Ted Washington-shaped person stretching it to the limit. Probably like some strange muumuu.

Corey says:

Idiot of the Week

Alex says: We here at the Mistake by the Lake Sporting Times are nothing if not steeped in meaningless tradition. Normally, I'd name Ray Lewis the Idiot of the Week after a Ravens game, regardless of his contributions on the field. And today is no different. God, I hate Ray Lewis. I hate every murderous, lying, evil cell in his felonious body. While Lewis is clearly the chief Idiot, Brian Billick, Offensive Genius, is his inadequate sidekick-Idiot.

Everyone knows that Billick is an Offensive Genius, but what about Jim Fassel, the Ravens offensive coordinator? I think he's a semi-Genius, since he's also involved with Baltimore's juggernaut offense. But in my mind, the offense is more a product of Billick's freakishly large brain than Fassel's cold and calculating haircut.

Corey says: In some ways, it's almost a shame that Ray Lewis has this award locked up for life, because there are just so many truly idiotic people on--or associated with--the Baltimore Ravens. Case in point: the two Ravens fans in section 134, row 3, seats 1 and 2 at yesterday's game. My God--could they have been any more irritating? The woman in seat 1 emitted an almost uninterupted, extremely high-pitched scream for almost the entire game. Honestly, I think it was the same sound a smoke detector makes. The man in seat 2, on the other hand, was the worst kind of know-it-all, and he loved to hear himself speak. And he was a glutton for overstatement. Like when the Ravens burned a timeout in the final minute with the clock already stopped, he said (loudly), "My God! This is the worst fiasco of clock management I have ever seen!!!" Seriously, these two were unbearable to listen to. But yeah, my Idiot of the Week is, of course, Ray Lewis.

Number of the Week

Alex says: 1, or the official number of tackles credited to long-snapping sensation Ryan Pontbriand from this week's game. The number itself shouldn't surprise you, Pontbriand averages more than two tackles per season. However, delving deeper we find that he apparently made the tackle on a six-yard Todd Heap reception in the third quarter. Now, I don't know for sure whether Pontbriand lined up as a defender on that particular play--it's possible, I suppose. But, really, Official Scorer, you should know better than this.

Corey says: 22.6, or Braylon Edwards' average yards per reception through the season's first three games. Braylon has now had a 58-yard touchdown and a 75-yard reception and ranks third in the NFL in yards per catch. He trails only Antonio Bryant of the 49ers (23.4), whose secret cookie recipe is going to make him difficult to overcome, and Javon Walker of the Broncos (22.7). Braylon has had a couple of crucial drops this season, especially last week in Cincinnati, but when he has caught the ball he has been absolutely phenomenal. Don't forget that last year he was the Browns' best receiver, by far, on a per-play basis. He is scary good.

Moral Standings

The Ravens thought they were going to come in and dominate the Browns as they had the Buccaneers and Raiders, but instead they were barely able to squeak by with a win. This constitutes a moral loss for the Baltimorons, whose collective psyche is now severely damaged. Watch for the Ravens to decline precipitously in the coming weeks. The Browns, by dint of the Ravens' moral loss, pick up another close moral victory. In other news, last week, Alex gave the Steelers 2/3 of a moral loss in anticipation of their humiliating defeat at the hands of Jacksonville on Monday Night Football. I have gone ahead and given them the other 1/3 of that loss, along with the one they suffered this week at the hands of Cincinnati.

            MW  ML    pct
Cleveland    3   0  1.000
Cincinnati   2   1   .667
Pittsburgh   1   2   .333
Baltimore    0   3   .000

Next week: The Browns begin their playoff run in earnest with a thrilling win over the hapless Raiders, as Aaron Brooks completes passes to more Browns defenders than the Raiders have receiving targets. Whether you were born, raised, or both on the Cleveland Browns... keep it here for all your game recap needs!