Every year, somebody says it’s finally the year the Browns got on track and they’re going to do big things. And every year, they’re pretty much wrong.
There have definitely been positive signs these last couple years, but I adamantly refuse to believe the Browns are off their 20+ year schneid until and unless they sustain some moderate level of success (say ~near 50% or at least 8-9, 9-8 or better) for a minimum of 3 successive seasons. That’s not a tremendously high bar to clear. It doesn’t mean they’ll be world beaters but that they achieve a level of not being an embarrassment to their city.
That said, the last time this happened, it was the 90s and Bill Belichick was their coach. But to be fair, these last 3 seasons, they’ve been tantalizingly close to achieving this level, with last season at 6-10 ruining things.
A few minutes of googling don’t seem to give a particularly satisfying answer. This site has this to say:
The term appears to date back to the '30s or '40s, and I suppose that it may be a relic of game terminology that just isn’t used in the same way anymore.
OK, won’t be going back to Football Outsiders. Based on win chances for the final week (from using the moneyline entries to estimate win chances), I get a quick and dirty 2% chance for the Ravens to make it. Their expected future wins column for both them and the Steelers adds up to 1.5, which of course is absurd when they are playing each other.
Understand years ago this site had a very good reputation for in-depth analysis, which seems to have gone by the boards as well.
I thought that with play action the QB has the option and must decide at the last second to either hand it off or fake the hand off. (not sure where I got that idea)
Yeah, a play where the QB has to decide how the play will go will be an option of some sort. Run-pass is the flavor du jour. The triple option had options as to which of 3 players would run the ball.
The play-action is always intended to be a pass play but is designed to start the action looking like a draw.
Well, a play-action is a designed pass play, which is designed to initially fool the defense into thinking it’s a traditional run play. (A skilled quarterback will hide the ball behind his hip for a moment after the faked handoff, to maintain the illusion.)
A draw play, on the other hand, is essentially the reverse of a play-action: it’s a delayed running play, which is designed to initially look like a pass play, usually through a delayed handoff to a running back, who will typically act as though he’s staying in the backfield to block a pass rusher.
Bengals running back Joe Mixon tested positive for COVID-19, and he, along with four other Bengals starters, have entered the league’s protocol; Mixon is not expected to be available for Cincinnati’s final regular-season game, against the Browns on Sunday.
Quarterback Joe Burrow will also be sitting out the Browns game, as he takes a week off to rest a sore knee and sore finger, in preparation for the playoffs.
There are also times when even the QB hasn’t made up his mind at the moment of handoff whether he wants to hand it off or not. There was one time Donovan McNabb fumbled in 2008 because he apparently intended to fake a handoff but Brian Westbrook thought he was going to handoff, and the ball got knocked loose betwixt the two guys.
It’s a shortening of “run-play action”. It dates back to the time when 90% of plays were run plays and almost all passing plays began with a run-play look.
Where are you seeing this 1.5? In the playoff odds article, the Mean Wins column shows 8.9 for Pittsburgh and 8.6 for Baltimore. Pittsburgh currently has 8.5 wins and Baltimore 8, so that’s a total of 1 extra win from their upcoming game.
The Bengals have like five guys on there now (Covid), two of whom are bonafide starters: Hendrickson and Q. Spain. And not to be outdone by Burrow not playing, the Browns are FINALLY shutting down Mayfield and having Keenum play. Brandon Allen can ball a little bit too, I actually expect an interesting and competitive gae.
Antonio Brown has released a statement about his, um, unusual departure from the game last week. It was released via tweet by his attorney.
Some highlights:
Because of my commitment to the game, I relented to pressure directly from my coach to play injured. Despite the pain, I suited up, the staff injected me with a dangerous painkiller that the NFLPA has warned against using, and I gave my all for the team. I played until it was clear that I could not use my ankle to safely perform my playing responsibilities.
I took a seat on the sideline and my coach came up to me, very upset, and shouted, “What’s wrong with you? What’s wrong with you?” I told him, “It’s my ankle.” But he knew that. It was well-documented and we had discussed it. He then ordered me to get on the field. I said, “Coach, I can’t.” He didn’t call for medical attention. Instead, he shouted at me, “YOU’RE DONE!” while he ran his finger across his throat. Coach was telling me that if I didn’t play hurt, then I was done with the Bucs. I didn’t quit. I was cut. I didn’t walk away from my brothers. I was thrown out.
(Eagles fan)