Cleveland Browns Defense Gashed in Loss to Raiders
By Joe Russo
Sep 27, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Oakland Raiders free safety Charles Woodson (24) intercepts a pass intended for Cleveland Browns wide receiver Travis Benjamin (11) during the fourth quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
About the Raiders
How good does the combination of Amari Cooper and Derek Carr look? Carr is another quarterback that Browns could have taken instead of Johnny Manziel, who must not have shown enough in the win over the Titans to jump past a 36 year old journeyman quarterback. He showcased a much more polished game in the pre-draft process and put it on display against the Browns. There were really zero bad decisions on the day and he set his team up well to score points.
As for Cooper, Ray Farmer needs to bee taking notes. With the recent success of the likes of Cooper, Mike Evans, Odell Beckham, Kelvin Benjamin, Brandin Cooks, and many others, there really is value in taking a legitimate number one receiver in the first round. Cooper may have been the highest rated of them all. His route running is superb and he is far more explosive than given credit for. That athleticism was on display against the Browns Pro Bowl corner Joe Haden. Cooper won the match up without any doubt. If this were a boxing match, Cooper would be an early round TKO winner.
Let’s not forget about Latavius Murray. He’s huge at 6’3, 230. But he ran away from defenders on multiple occasions on his way to 139 yards and a touchdown. He rattled off a 50 yarder with ease and showed the type of burst through the hole that none of the current Browns runners have. It’s not like Oakland has a line with the reputation of Cleveland’s either. Their best lineman is their center, Rodney Hudson, but there are not any Pro Bowlers in the group. Sometimes, you just got to have playmakers. Maybe Ray Farmer was paying attention.
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