SB Nation Cleveland - Browns Vs. Bengals: Richardson, Weeden Not Enough As Cincinnati Prevails

Browns' Greg Little Addresses Twitter Controversy

2012-09-21T12:25:21Z

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Greg Little got himself into a bit of trouble with fans when he delivered a semi-celebratory tweet after a loss, but he didn't exactly back down after some receiving criticism. In fact, Little brushed off the Twitter thing completely and shot out a follow-up message saying he doesn't care what fans say. Here is the original tweet that caused a bit of a stir after the team's Week 2 loss:

"I'm in the same boat, as Usain Blot"instagr.am/p/Ppt6sVh0HY/
— Greg Little (@Str8UpGlittle) September 16, 2012

This is what Little told The News-Herald about the response his comment received heading into Week 3:

"If I cared about every opinion that I got on Twitter, then I wouldn't be able to function," Little said at his locker. "I just don't know what to say to that. It's mind-boggling to me. I can't let things on Twitter get to me and I don't."

The young wide receiver added that his teammates and coaches took no issues with the comment.

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Trent Richardson Nominated For NFL Rookie Of The Week

2012-09-19T12:46:50Z

Cleveland Browns running back Trent Richardson, who rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown in a Week 2 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, has been nominated for the NFL's Rookie of the Week award. It is undoubtedly a small consolation after a tough loss, but the recognition highlights what was an impressive performance by the first-round pick. Richardson is up for the award along with St. Louis Rams punter John Hekker, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.

The winner of the award will be determined by a fan vote. The polls opened at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday and close at 3 p.m ET on Friday. Votes can be cast at NFL.com/rookies. The five players will also be eligible to be voted by fans as the league's Rookie of the Year.

The Browns are certainly hoping that this is the first of many nominations for their prized rookie.

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NFL Power Rankings 2012, Week 3: Browns Hovering Near The Basement

2012-09-18T19:58:35Z

More than a few teams are generally moving up in the weekly power rankings despite Week 2 losses. The Cleveland Browns are among those teams following their close loss to the rival Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Rookies Brandon Weeden and Trent Richardson came out and put up great performances, with the former breaking a franchise rookie passing record.

It was a welcome change from their Week 1 matchup in which they kept things close against the Philadelphia Eagles, but only thanks to multiple Philly mistakes. Joel Thorman of SB Nation moves the Browns up a spot, but it's going to be baby steps, given that they're No. 30 in his rankings:

30. Cleveland Browns (LW: 31, 0-2): Brandon Weeden doesn't look all that great. But Trent Richardson does. This guy could make the Browns relevant.

ESPN isn't quite as kind, as they dropped the Browns one spot to put them in the basement at No. 32. As usual, their reasoning is non-existent, as they talk about Weeden breaking a franchise rookie record. NFL.com's rankings also have the Browns dropping one spot, citing the lacking play from the secondary. They have them at No. 31. Pete Prisco over at CBS Sports kept the Browns in the basement in his rankings.

Brian Billick over at FOX Sports was with SB Nation in moving the Browns up. He bumped them from No. 32 to No. 31, so there's that:

The rookie combination of Brandon Weeden and Trent Richardson gave some hope on Sunday, but the Browns are still 0-2 and there are no moral victories in the NFL.

Cleveland does have some tough matchups on the horizon. They've got the Ravens, Giants and the Bengals again coming up, but they have a solid chance to get in the win column for the first time this season on Sunday, when they'll take on the Buffalo Bills.

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Browns Vs. Bengals 2012: Reasons For Excitement, But Proceed With Caution

2012-09-18T01:47:14Z

The Browns are 0-2 following two completely different games. Are there things to be excited about with this Browns team, or are there too many problems?

SB Nation's Browns blog, Dawgs By Nature, thinks it's both. There are reasons for excitement, but proceed with caution.

As I just alluded to, this game was almost the polar opposite of last week's. This time around, it was the Browns' offense that did everything it could to help this team pull out a victory, but the defense just kept breaking down in the secondary and it ultimately cost them the game. That doesn't mean there aren't reasons for excitement […]

Yes, the Browns are 0 and 2 on the season, but it's only Week 2. That's still very early. After last week many were demanding improvement of the offense and rightly so. Well, they got it. It wasn't enough to produce a win, but it was enough to create some encouragement.

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Browns Vs. Bengals: Mohamed Massaquoi Big Beneficiary Of Brandon Weeden's Improved Play

2012-09-17T19:39:05Z

The Cleveland Browns have a young, inexperienced offense. Jokes about rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden's age aside, the offense really is built on two rookies and some young pieces like wide receiver Greg Little. One of the few viable veteran options for Weeden to go to is wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, who is basically an older and more consistent version of Little.

Massaquoi caught five passes for 90 yards on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, at an average of 18 yards per reception. The entire offense played pretty well, but in the end, the more complete Bengals came away with a 34-27 win. Still, the Browns made some great strides on offense against a pretty good Cincinnati defense, and Massaquoi had some quotes, via the Browns' official website:

"We were able to make some of the plays that we weren't able to make last week. We're just going to continue to try and correct those mistakes that we had, just so we can be a little bit more potent, a little bit more explosive and just take some of the pressure off the defense because they're playing phenomenal right now."

Cleveland's defense did have some issues in Week 2, but it has been one of the stronger aspects of the team over the last season. Massaquoi has never been that explosive, play-making receiver, but he's also never had strong quarterback play to rely on. Things will get very interesting if Weeden continues to develop and continues to count on Massaquoi to be his No. 1 target.

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Browns Activate Chris Ogbonnaya Against Bengals, Brandon Jackson An Unexpected Scratch

2012-09-17T19:10:45Z

The Cleveland Browns have some decisions to make at the running back position. They currently have four guys on the roster: rookie Trent Richardson, Montario Hardesty, Chris Ogbonnaya and Brandon Jackson. Many thought that Jackson would be getting some carries, but he was a healthy scratch from Cleveland's Week 2 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, in favor of Ogbonnaya.

Ogbonnaya took some third-down carries and caught a few passes for 73 yards. He made a real impact on the game, and head coach Pat Shurmur agrees, according to The Plain Dealer:

Shurmur decided to activate RB Chris Ogbonnaya this week instead of Brandon Jackson, who had two catches for 20 yards last week. Ogbonnaya lost a fumble after a catch, but the Bengals failed to convert. He caught all six passes thrown his way for 73 yards, including a long of 21, the one he lost.

"He had a real impact on the game," said Shurmur.

Hardesty, who has served as the Browns' backup and even starter in the case of injuries in the past, has yet to touch the ball in the regular season. This could mean that Ogbonnaya gets his roster spot, which would be a surprise given the feeling in the preseason that he might be on the outside looking in. There's also a chance that Jackson finds his spot up for question, given that he was the one who was scratched in favor of Ogbonnaya on Sunday.

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Joe Haden's Absence Immediately Felt In Sunday Loss To Bengals

2012-09-17T18:39:21Z

Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden served the first of his four game suspension Sunday as his team fell to the Cincinnati Bengals, 34-27.

In a game where the Browns secondary was picked apart by Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, many have singled out Haden as the reason for the loss. Head coach Pat Shurmur, however, will not accept that excuse, saying that it's too easy to point the finger at Haden.

But still, Haden's absence was felt. WIth defensive backs mixing and matching and moving into schemes they normally do not play, four Bengal receivers went over 50 yards and Andy Dalton finished with a quarterback rating of 128.2.

Pat McManamon of Fox Sports Ohio writes that the blame goes directly to Haden and no one else.

"And it started with missing Haden. Play him and he locks down a receiver. One good cover guy changes the nature of an entire defense. But he was absent, somewhere watching as his teammates struggled...I heard some folks on Twitter say that Haden shouldn't be faulted for this loss, and in one sense he shouldn't be: He was not on the field.

But the fact he was not may have been the single most important thing that affected the Browns defense."

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Browns Opt To Play Buster Skrine Over Sheldon Brown In Loss To Bengals

2012-09-17T18:24:01Z

Cleveland Browns head coach Pat Shurmur insisted that the decision to play Buster Skrine at cornerback instead of Sheldon Brown was a coach's decision and was no influenced by the injury Brown sustained last week.

#Browns coach Pat Shurmur said Sheldon Brown was not injured they just decided to go with Buster Skrine
— Will Burge (@WillBurge) September 16, 2012

Shurmur on why Skrine over Brown "Sheldon is fine, we played Buster"
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) September 16, 2012

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton went after Skrine for much of the day and exploited the entire Browns secondary, passing for over 300 yards. Shurmur claims that playing Skrine was a coach's decision, but Cleveland Browns safety T.J. Ward believes that injury has to be the reason Sheldon Brown was held out.

"I'd be shocked if his health wasn't an issue," safety T.J. Ward said. "You ask any team in the NFL what it would be like to go into a game without their two starting cornerbacks, it's going to be pretty difficult. We have other guys who are able to come and fill a job, but the two guys start for a reason because they are the best cornerbacks on your team. ... The big plays hurt us overall."

Brown played only one down Sunday, but that was good enough to extend Brown's games-played streak to 162. Fellow cornerback Joe Haden will miss three more games with suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, so a healthy Sheldon Brown -- if indeed health is the issue -- would be a huge boost for a struggling Cleveland secondary.

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