Factory Of Sadness
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Donte Whitner, Mike Pettine Play Big Roles In Cleveland Browns Loss To The Oakland Raiders

By Jamyson Frierson

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Sep 27, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh McCown (13) makes a pass for seven-yard gain against the Oakland Raiders during the first quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

2.How Long Will McCown last?

Where do I start with McCown? I originally had him in the Dawg House this week, but there is somebody that has clearly earned it over him. I’m split in how I want to write my observation of his game on Sunday. Part of me understands that when we signed him in the off-season to not expect much. However, another side of me wants to see some kind of progress with the career jouneyman whether the Browns make the playoffs or not. At the end of the day, it is about winning football games. I see all of the “Fail for Cardale” hashtags and all of these other crazy sayings, but it shouldn’t be about that, and if it is, you might have issues.

Now, at the beginning of the week, many fans believed that Johnny Manziel would remain the starter at quarterback because it made the most sense. But by now we all know that the Browns do the total opposite of the proverbial right thing. It wasn’t until Thursday that everybody found out McCown would be the starting quarterback because according to Mike Pettine it gave the Browns “the best chance to win.”

After Sunday’s performance, that didn’t look the best decision.

McCown seemed to be overanxious with every play and would force the ball to receivers that weren’t even at their spot or fully open. It didn’t help that the offensive line was proving again how overrated and disappointing they have been in three games. Just as I mentioned last week, the Raiders front seven dominated. They came ranked as the worst defense in the NFL and hadn’t registered one sack. They had five sacks by the end of the game. Khalil Mack had two solo sacks by himself. One positive from McCown was that he had two touchdowns and was able to  find rarely used Gary Barnidge for six receptions and a touchdown. The negative? He threw an interception on the biggest play of the game to 94-year old Charles Woodson.

That kind of ending was expected by most Browns fans because it wouldn’t be Cleveland if that didn’t happen. Either way, McCown should not be looked upon as the starter for the rest of the season. Fans definitely showed how they felt by chants of ” Johhny, Johnny!” at periods throughout the game.

The Browns must see if Manziel is the quarterback of the future, and if not, they can draft one in next year’s QB heavy draft. Johnny bought excitement and a different dynamic to the offense last week against the Titans. There were more than a few plays where McCown got sacked or threw an incomplete pass. It would’ve been interesting to see if Manziel could of possibly extended those plays. We’ll never know if he doesn’t play. I think it will be a long season for the Browns regardless, but it will be even longer with Josh starting.

Next: Could It Be Time For A Change?

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