This game could have been much, much worse. I'm not going as far as to say I'm happy, per se, with the Browns' performance against the Patriots, but I will say that they performed better than we might have expected. Even with New England's unnecessary touchdown in the final seconds, the Browns still managed to play the Patriots closer than either the Jets, Chargers, Bills, or Bengals could.

On offense, of course, it's never a good thing when a couple of glaring mistakes and missed opportunities sink your team's chances of scoring. But it's certainly better than last season, when it was clear that no amount of mistake-erasing was going to save the Browns from their own self-destructive gameplan. If things continue such that Derek Anderson looks like he's the only glaring problem, I say great—we've got the solution to that particular problem all lined up. We just need to be patient (there's no hurry, don't forget).

On defense, I think we kind of have to give the Browns a pass for one week. They allowed receivers to get ridiculously wide open yet again, but they were facing a passing game that has mowed down its opponents like LeBron mows down bowls of Fruity Pebbles. It's kind of hard to draw conclusions from that. Is 27 points surrendered to an offense that's 85% better than league average any worse than 13 points surrendered to a sub-par offense like the Ravens'? It's hard to say.

The Browns' schedule gets much easier in the next few weeks. Let's have a little bit of patience. Meantime...

Play of the Week

Alex says: When it was conceivable the Browns could still mount a comeback, the Patriots had a third-and-goal from the four yard line. Tom Brady took the snap, turned to his left, and handed the ball to Sammy Morris. But immediately after taking the hand-off, Morris was brought down by Robaire Smith for a three-yard loss. Smith went unblocked and was in perfect position to stop the play. The Patriots had to settle for a field goal and even though the Browns didn't ever make the game close, their red-zone defense remains a strength. Unfortunately, they give up their fair share of touchdowns from outside the red zone to more than compensate.

Corey says: I'll go with the Browns' first touchdown, a 21-yard pass to Tim Carter early in the fourth quarter. It was the Browns' second touchdown of the year in which the receiver's momentum after falling down carried him into the endzone. Of course, this can only happen if the receiver goes untouched, so, uh, good job Tim!

Player of the Week

Alex says: Regular readers know that Corey and I weren't too happy when the Browns signed Jamal Lewis this spring. And they also know there's nothing we love more than an Obscure Brown beating the odds. So, the winner of this category essentially was predetermined when Lewis promptly got injured in the first quarter and "Obscure Brown of the Century nominee" Jason Gomillion Wright got his carries. We've long been proponents of the "running back by committee" school of thought, because historically, the production of a backup tends to equal that of a premier starter on a per-play basis—especially when the starter's numbers are pedestrian to begin with. Which makes Jamal Lewis a prime candidate to be outshone by his backup. A one-game sample is small, but Wright bettered Lewis's season-long numbers in success rate (53% to 37%) against one of the best rush defenses in the league. Wright's performance this week is just more evidence to the fact that specifically, Jamal Lewis has not been the key to the Browns' rushing success so far and, generally, utilizing multiple, low cost running backs is almost always a better strategy than one expensive workhorse back.

Corey says: Braylon Edwards is putting together quite a season so far. He now ranks in the NFL's top 5 in receiving yardage, and, heading into Week 5, ranked 7th in the NFL in receiving DPAR. That was before his 100-yard game against the Patriots. All six of Braylon's receptions this week were for first downs. And even though Edwards was targeted on five more passes that fell incomplete, those of us who watched the game know they weren't all Braylon's fault.

Quote of the Week

Alex says:

"We are very inconsistent right now. We win one; we lose one. Like today, our defense played well for us. They gave us everything we needed playing against this high-powered offense and we just didn't help them. This loss can be attributed to the offense. We put [the defense] in bad situations time and time again. We couldn't get drives consistently." —Braylon Edwards

While I agree with Braylon that the team has been very inconsistent, but I wonder: how could anyone think that the defense played well enough for the Browns to win today? The Browns did a fine job neutralizing Randy Moss but at the cost of leaving other receivers (namely Ben Watson and Donte' Stallworth) open. Though that's to be expected playing New England. They're so talented that in lieu of a perfect game plan, a defense must pick their poison. Personally, I'm more satisfied with the performance of the offense than the defense. Without some of the more idiotic offensive mistakes, the Browns could've turned the game into a shootout. But even removing the same number of defensive mistakes would still have allowed the Patriots to run up the score. I think you could count the number of times the Browns brought pressure on Tom Brady on zero hands.

Corey says:

"You know, Greg, if Webster had a definition for 'competitiveness', it would be 'Trent Green, with a history of the severe concussion he had last year, downfield, trying to throw a block for a teammate.' Are you kidding me?!" —Dan Dierdorf

As you know, word definitions tend to be people, especially when Webster is concerned. So if Webster had a definition for "competitiveness"—which of course he doesn't, but if he did—I, too, would have guessed it would involve Trent Green in some way, shape or form. However, I actually called Webster following yesterday's game, to ask him what his definition for "competitiveness" would be, were he to have one, and much to my surprise, he told me: "Jake Delhomme, with a history of the severe concussion he had last year, downfield, trying to throw a block for a teammate." I know, crazy, right? Because I don't even think Jake Delhomme had a concussion last year.

Ryan Pontbriand Honorary Special Teams Moment of the Week

Alex says: How about Phil Dawson's 41-yard dying-bird kickoff in the third quarter? It landed in the arms of New England linebacker Pierre Woods, who had to call for a fair catch. In the end, New England started their drive at their own 29—worse field position than after two of Dawson's other, more conventional kickoffs. I doubt Human Phil planned it this way. But when you have a kicker with questionable kickoff skills and a poor coverage team, perhaps occasionally kicking it short to a non-returner is a good strategy. Although I'm not suggesting this for the Browns—their coverage has been just fine.

Corey says: The Patriots did an excellent job of neutralizing the Browns' biggest strength: special teams; specifically, the kickoff return team. In fact, the best field position the Browns had following a kickoff return was at the outset of the third quarter, when New England booted the kickoff out of bounds, allowing the Browns to set up at their own 40. Naturally, that play was all Browns. Without the intimidation factor of facing the league's best kickoff return team, Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski would never have screwed up so badly!

Mark Kafentzis Memorial Obscure Brown of the Week

Alex says: With no truly obscure Browns (that haven't been featured in this space in recent weeks) making an appearance this week, I'm forced to delve deep into the murky waters of the Browns roster. I've got an Obscure Brown for you who is so obscure that I guarantee he won't even suit up in 2007! That's right, I'm picking Efrem Hill, who is currently on the Injured Reserve list. Like other recent O.B.O.T.W. greats, what Efrem lacks in middle name coolness ("Dale"? Bo-oring…) he makes up for in being the best football-playing alumnus of his alma mater, Samford University. I can also tell from the extensive research I conducted that Efrem has dreadlocks. And maybe a panther's head.

Corey says: My last two Obscure Browns of the Week were players I thought were the least likely for you to have heard of. This week, I'm taking a stab at the question of which player currently on the active roster will be least likely to see any game action whatsoever in 2007? The obvious answer is Ken Dorsey, but that feels like a bit of a cop-out. I'll go with offensive lineman Isaac Sowells, a second-year man out of Indiana (of Indiana). Offensive linemen aren't too likely to appear on special teams, so Isaac's best hope (and our worst nightmare) is an injury to one of the Browns' starting guards. I wish Isaac the best, but if one of the Browns' starting guards has to get injured, please let it be Seth McKinney!

Fashion Item of the Week

Alex says: Brown socks, why do you torment us so? I know the home team decides whether to wear their colors or whites, but I'd like to know who on the Browns chose which variation of whites to wear for this game. The smart money's on Brad Melland, the team's Head Equipment Manager. For any away game, he likely has to choose early on in the week, so they have time to pack up enough pairs of socks for everyone on the team. We need to reach this guy and show him the evils of solid-colored socks. They stink!

Corey says: I don't mean to pile on with the hate for solid-colored socks (wait a minute—yes I do), but the situation is dire, people. Why would you wear solid-colored socks when you have perfectly good striped ones, ready to go? Not only that, am I the only one who thinks the Browns' all-brown socks have gotten darker? If I were tuning in to a Browns game for the first time, I might take a cursory glance at the TV and come away thinking the Browns' colors were orange and black! Imagine that!

Idiot of the Week

Alex says: Everyone in the world except for the Browns, their coaches and staff, and fans.

Corey says: Phoning it in, eh, Alex? Is it October already? Goodness, I suppose it is. Anyway, I have nothing against the Patriots organization, but I resent the New England fans, with their smug smugness and lobster fishing and obnoxious superiority. The worst part is, while the Browns were busy making the Patriots fans feel superior, the Red Sox won their series against the Angels, meaning we may be in store for more obnoxious New England fans, if the Indians can figure out a way to euthanize the Yankees.

Number of the Week

Alex says: 21%, or the Patriots' combined conversion rate on third and fourth downs. For a game in which they scored 34 points, this seems a little low, doesn't it? I went back and checked the play-by-play and yes, the Browns did indeed stop the Patriots 11 out of 14 times on third or fourth down. But there's a catch. New England officially had 70 plays from scrimmage and subtracting the 14 third and fourth down plays leaves 56 snaps on a first or second down. The Patriots earned 23 total first downs against the Browns—one via penalty and three on third or fourth down, leaving 19 first downs on a first or second down. That means that on approximately a third of their first- or second-down plays (33.9%, to be exact) the Patriots gained the necessary yardage for a fresh set of downs. So while the third-down defense wasn't a problem this week (for once), the defense on the first two downs certainly was. Basically, the defense got pummeled all game long. But isn't that what we expected?

Corey says: Who would you guess has been the most interception-prone quarterback in the league this season? Derek Anderson has thrown an interception on 5.03% of his attempts, which ranks him 7th among QBs with at least 50 attempts. Among QBs with at least 100 attempts, Anderson ranks 2nd behind Drew Brees. Don't fret, though: among QBs with exactly 159 attempts, Derek is the least interception-prone QB in all the land!

This Week on Josh's Cribbs

Corey says: On Episode 4 of FSN Ohio's hot new reality show, Josh helps his friend Steve "Chin Man" Sanders (currently of the Browns' practice squad) pick out a new ride. While cruising around in the new car (presumably on a test drive?) Josh and the Chin Man decide to surprise four kids playing backyard football outside an apartment complex. They toss the ball around for a while. Later, Josh and his wife join three other Browns couples (the Carters, the Dinkinses, and the Gomillion Wrights) for a trip to Swings-N-Things, where they (sort of) compete in go-kart racing, squirtgun boat thingie, batting cages, and paintball. The wives seem to wish they weren't there. Overall, I enjoyed this episode immensely. I can't wait to see where this Season 1 story arc is heading!

Pythagorean Moral Standings

The Browns maintain a perfect moral record with a convincing moral victory over the Patriots. They're outperforming their Pythagorean moral record by about 0.8 games so far. The Steelers notched a solid moral win over Seattle. The Bengals enjoyed a bye week, but I have updated the standings to show their Pythagorean moral tie from last Monday night. The Ravens, meanwhile, are sitting at .000 in both moral winning percentage and Pythagorean moral winning percentage. I even ran some numbers to determine Baltimore's overall moral DVOA: -547.88%, which puts them on pace to edge the 2006 Ravens as the worst team ever (morally speaking).

            PMW   PML   pct
Cleveland   4.2   0.8  .840
Pittsburgh  2.8   2.2  .560
Cincinnati  1.6   2.4  .400
Baltimore   0.0   5.0  .000

Next week: The Browns welcome the Miami Dolphins' minor league affiliate to the shores of Lake— what? Those are the actual Miami Dolphins? Seriously? Well, whatever. We'll wrap it all up for you in splendid detail, on another exciting "Born and Raised on the Cleveland Browns"!