CLEVELAND – The Browns dropped the ball Sunday.
Not trying to use the cliché idiom – just stating the literal. Take whatever else from it you may.
Cornerback Dimitri Patterson dropped Ryan Fitzpatrick’s pass that wasn’t intended for him but may as well have been. Hold on and it looked like a surefire pick six before the two minute warning.
On a third down before the half, a wide open Greg Little dropped Brandon Weeden’s throw that hit him right on the hands as he darted across the field.
Travis Benjamin joined the act in the third quarter, also on a third down.
Even C.J. Spiller dropping his shoulder too hard on the wet grass of Browns Stadium and missing the rest of the game was not enough to switch momentum the Browns way.
Simply, the Browns lost and it wasn’t pretty. Pat Shurmur didn’t leave much room for interpretation following the 24-14 loss to the Bills.
“Just didn’t get it done. There’s no magical answer sometimes other than we didn’t get it done,” Shurmur stated bluntly.
Not much else to say.
There weren’t many bright spots.
You can’t take solace in the strong defense of Week 1, hell bent on keeping the game within reach until the bitter end. Nowhere were the promising performances of rookies Brandon Weeden and Trent Richardson that shone a ray of hope on an intra-division loss in Week 2.
This time, you can’t pinpoint two or three plays that spelled the Browns’ demise.
All the little wrongs added up to one big one – not just in short, instantaneous doses but in a slow, torturous manner.
Through all the miscues and mental mistakes, Greg Little saw it fit to draw even more attention to himself. When Little caught the ball, he made sure you knew full well he did, again invoking Usain Bolt with his lightning bolt pose, notably after converting a first down on an out route reception.
But Little came away with no gold medal. He didn’t even come away with points. He simply caught the ball in a game his team was losing.
Some Browns fans are tiring of Little’s act.
@BrownsForum: Is Greg Little going to strike a pose after every single routine play? Get back to the huddle you idiot. #Browns #NFL
@TheBigTuna2: Hey Greg Little, Usain Bolt would not have dropped that pass.
@jhill7204: Greg Little is everything I hate about football
But then again, Little said last week he’s not concerned about the fans.
@Str8UpGlittle: Honestly I really don’t care what fans say I really could careless! I ride with the 53 men in the locker room and the coaches thats it.
Well, except when it’s Bills fans taking over Browns Stadium.
“That pissed me off and I take full responsibility for it happening. I think you can only blame the players on the field and I think we gotta do more to change that,” Little said.
By the fourth quarter, Browns fans could take no more of the team. The stadium became a Buffalo block party, a raucous bunch of Bills fans spurred on by their defensive line pumping them up.
The Browns had no control of the game and by its end their fans had lost control of the stadium.
At 0-3, the Browns and Saints possess the NFL’s worst records. If you watch the games though you know which one can take that sole title right now.
Two days into fall, Cleveland football is already at risk of becoming irrelevant in 2012.
