A little bit of this and a little bit of that as the Browns get ready to host the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday at Huntington Bank Field:
*So, will last Sunday’s emotional 29-24 upset of the Baltimore Ravens end up being like a shooting star or a veritable blip on the radar? Or will it turn out to be the start of something good as the Browns try to crawl out of this 2-6 hole they’ve dug for themselves? We’ll soon begin to find out.
*Coming out of that win, which ended a five-game losing streak, what got lost was the outstanding performance of offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey calling plays for the first time. He and quarterback Jameis Winston seem to be a good team. They seem to be on the same page, which is so important. That doesn’t always happen between a quarterback and a coordinator. Sometimes, they just don’t gel.
*Speaking of great performances, Browns radio play-by-play announcer Andrew Siciliano turned in yet another one with his call of the win. I know this is just a one-year trial for him, but in my book, he has already proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that he should be the guy going forward into next year and beyond. The NFL Network’s loss is the Browns’ — and their fans’ — gain. Also on the broadcasts, color analyst Nathan Segura has made great strides and has really settled into the job. He meshes well with Siciliano, but he has to be careful to not talk too much. Less is more. He has to get in and out on his cuts. It’s always the play-by-play announcer’s broadcast. He’s the headliner. Everybody else is just part of the band.
*And finally, with all of these incredible one-handed catches by NFL and colleges wide receivers this season, especially the one made Thursday night by the New York Jets’ Garrett Wilson, the ex-Ohio Stater, I am reminded of the one-hand grab made of a Brian Sipe pass by the Browns’ Dave Logan almost 45 years ago to the day in a 1979 game against Pittsburgh at Cleveland Stadium. The catch, on which he beat cornerback Mel Blount for a touchdown in a nationally-televised game, was so special that the photo of it was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s 1980 NFL preview issue. And, unlike the receivers today, who wear high-tech gloves, Logan and his contemporaries back then simply used their bare hands.
Steve King
