It's going to be a very long year...

So I'm tailgating down outside Paul Brown Stadium and I get a text from one of my friends who is a Browns fan: "Palmer being out helps our chances :)". No one had any idea down there and I about caused a riot in Lot B of PBS. Then I hear people say "Well Fitz might be alright...at least he's mobile". Yea he was mobile alright...he should have just ran it every time. There were times where he had great protection, wide open receivers and he'd throw as if he was tossing to Manute Bol and George Muresan. Absolutely dreadful. Then we were down to only 1 RB with Watson inactive and Dorsey leaving early in the game so we had to rely on Fitz's lack of an arm. These may sound like excuses, but they're not. Despite all that, we still had plenty of opportunities to win. We look like the most hapless, lifeless, unmotivated team I've ever seen. Hell even the 2-14 2002 Bengals showed more fire than the Bengals did yesterday. They just look like they have given up. The worst part of all this: this was the EASIER part of our schedule. We still have the displeasure of playing Pitt twice, Baltimore again, Dallas this coming week, Philly, Jags, Colts and Skins. I called for a 7-9 season before the year started. That's looking that would be a miracle at this point. The fact that they looked so good last week against the G-men gives me a glimmer of hope that the rest of 08 will be watchable, but I'm preparing myself for the worst. I'll still be there though. Torturing myself watching the road games on TV and the home games in person...

As for Chad...ZG, I wasn't defending his caliber of play. I was simply refuting Dunigan's statement that he's nothing but a "Me-guy" and that his antics are somehow playing a part in the Bengals' woes. Since you brought it up though...I still think he's one of the most talented guys in the NFL. He's a headcase though and it carries over to the field. Is he streaky? Hell yes. It's frustrating but having that all-or-nothing explosiveness that you know has a chance to deploy at anytime is a nice weapon to have. And while his big games do usually occur in just about 3 or 4 games a year...I'll take these overall stats any day: Over the last 5 Seasons Avg: 92 catches, 1,374 yds, 8.6 TDs.

The Browns are in no better shape than the Bengals (I'm getting very close to reverting back to the dreaded Bungles label). DA looked like DA from the first few weeks. Turning the ball over 5 times certainly made his day easier. As bad as Fitz was, he somehow threw for more yards than Anderson. The Brady Quinn era is upon us.

I could go on and on about how badly both teams suck, but there's no point. I know everyone knows it. I almost laughed when I heard T.J. say after the game "We're going to beat Dallas". Um...really? Sure about that? However, he did follow it up with, "Then again, I thought we were going to beat Cleveland today". Mmmhmm, yea me too Housh...me too. Oh and we might get a second helping of Fitzpatrick's noodle arm as Palmer may be out next week too. Yay...