Thursday Night Football

Cleveland Browns 37, Buffalo Bills 24

If you follow my posts, then you might remember me suggesting that I did not really know what the Cleveland Browns were thinking, trading Trent Richards for a 2014 draft pick. It seemed, essentially, that they were giving up on the season.

How wrong I was!

At that point, Cleveland was 0-2, and their season was looking dismal, predictably. If everyone was surprised that their division rival Steelers were winless at that point, hardly anyone expressed surprise that the Brownies were, right? That hardly registered a blip on anyone's radar. Just par for the course.

Then, the Richards trade, and everyone was simply trashing Cleveland for a horrendous move, and it seemed that their season was done.

Now, the Browns have pulled together a very decent winning streak, and for now, at least, are in sole possession of first place in the division!

Apparently, they knew what they were doing. Sometimes, a team will cut one of their best players (and to be sure, Richards was one of their better players) to shake up the team, to send the message that nobody is above anyone else, that anybody can be cut if they don't perform. if they don't do their job, they won't still have that job.

Also, sometimes a star can be distracting to a team, and they rely too much on him. That might not have been the case with Richards and the Browns, but it seems that once he was gone, everyone else stepped up, and performed their roles better. Perhaps it opened up the offense a bit. Perhaps, it is allowing those guys that were relegated more to the background to show what they are capable of. Perhaps, the workload became more evenly distributed, and the players have responded well to that.

Whatever it is, it is working for Cleveland right now!

It started with a fairly massive upset against the winless, and angry, Minnesota Vikings. And that was at Minnesota! But the Browns pulled it off, getting their first win against a team that was in the playoffs last season! Then, Cleveland defeated their division rival Cincinnati Bengals, also a playoff team last season.

Now, the Browns won a back and forth affair against the Buffalo Bills, scoring the final twenty points of the game after falling behind 24-17 in the third quarter, to clinch a 37-24 victory.

The game itself was a game where both teams enjoyed streaks. In the first quarter, it was all Buffalo, as they solidly jumped out ahead, 10-0. Cleveland finally got on the board early in the second, but then exploded for two touchdowns late in the second, just before the half.

Buffalo gathered themselves at halftime, and came out solidly, scoring a rushing touchdown by CJ Spiller to tie it. Then, later in the half, after holding Cleveland scoreless, the Bills managed yet another rushing touchdown, this time from Fred Jackson,  for a 24-17 lead.

It did not last long. Not even one minute later, Brandon Wheedon threw a touchdown pass to Josh Gordon, and the game was tied up again.

The Browns chipped away at the Bills chances with two fourth quarter field goals to build up a lead, before clinching the game when TJ Ward got a pick six that put the game out of reach for the Bills.

And so, Cleveland is in first place, at least for now! They have a winning record, and are absolutely brimming with confidence! The entire team contributed to this win - on offense, on defense, and even on special teams! Travis Benjamin scored a touchdown off a punt return. The Browns clinched the win off of a defensive interception returned for a touchdown. And the Cleveland offense, while not spectacular, were nevertheless effective.

There was one problem to emerge from last night's game, however. Brian Hoyer may have a torn ACL, which means that, at least for now, the Browns will rely on Weeden once again.

We'll see if that is good or bad news. For now, though, I think the Browns can rejoice that this season, far from lost, is actually beginning to show real promise and potential!

One side note that I thought was interesting, if that's even the word for it: the Bills lost this game by the same exact score that they lost Super Bowl XXVI to the Washington Redskins. Not sure what that means, if anything, but just thought it something interesting to point out.


New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears

It just occurred to me that the New Orleans Saints are off to another impressive, undefeated start. I remember a few of them. A 7-0 start in 1991 season that saw them win their first ever division title. Another hot start, this time at 5-0, in 1992, a season when they finished 12-4. Much later on, in 2013, their greatest start ever at 13-0, in a season where they qualified for, and then won, their first Super Bowl ever.

And now, once again, another undefeated start at 4-0, thus far.

The thing is, they are playing a tough game, at Chicago, this coming Sunday.

In 1991, playing the Bears at home, they suffered their first defeat. Yes, I still remember that specific game. My memory can be a little bit freakish at times.

In any case, I will go ahead and again remind anyone reading that this is all the more reason to predict their first loss of the season. They are a good, even a very good, team. But the Bears are a better team so far this season as well, and the home field advantage should pan out for them in this game.

For the second time in franchise history, the Saints will see an impressive, undefeated start ended by the Chicago Bears. Yes, i know that this is not the same Bears team from back then, which still had members of the fabled '85 team, as well as Mike Ditka coaching on the sidelines. Still, Chicago should have enough to take care of New Orleans this Sunday.

If not, however, then look for the Saints to be serious contenders going forward.



49er Defender Will Legally Change His Name To "Hitner"

That's right. As if there weren't enough reasons to hate this team.

Here is a small bit of an explanation from "Hitner" himself, from the Yahoo! Sports article (49ers' Whitner changing name to 'Hitner' by Aaron Wilson):

"I actually put the paperwork in, just waiting to get the paperwork out," Whitner said during a conference call. "So from here on out until I retire, my name will be Donte Hitner, without the W."  Whitner wants it changed on his uniform in time for Sunday's game.  

"That's what I do. It's my last name and removing a letter makes it pretty cool," Whitner said.

So, now San Francisco 49ers safety Donte Whitner will now legally change his name to Hitner, which is also just one letter away from a certain infamous dictator who is commonly regarded as the single biggest villain in history.

Why anyone, let alone a black athlete with a high profile, would want to do something like this is rather beyond me. But there you go.

One side note that I heard on the news about this story: "Hitner" may find this decision costly in more ways than one. By changing his name legally midway through the season, he would have to buy every single jersey in his former name, and at his own expense.

You think that maybe, just maybe, he did not think this all the way through?

Stupid.



49ers' Whitner changing name to 'Hitner' by Aaron Wilson, October 3, 2013:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/49ers-whitner-changing-name-hitner-144034489--nfl.html