Browns

Clock mismanagement is one of my huge pet peeves in NFL games and gives lie to the fact that it is the "most competitive sports league in the world." Please.

if it was the "most competitive" league, Romeo Crennel and Norv Turner would not still be head coaches in it.

Anyway, a casual observer might have fallen asleep before the conclusion of the Browns-Bills game and not understood how bad the Browns and Bills mismanaged the clock at the end of the game.

Down by 1 with 2:25 to go in the game and with 3 timeouts, Brady Quinn and the Browns offense drove to the Bills 39 with 2:00 to go. Where Quinn proceeded to throw three straight incompletes on sideline routes - WITH 3 TIMEOUTS and the entire middle of the field for the taking. To say nothing of a simple running play, draw or screen to keep the defense honest and to gain some yards. The bone headed play calling necessitated a Phil Dawson 56 yard field goal in the fridged autumn of a Buffalo evening.

Incredibly, the Cleveland gaffe turned into a bonus when dick jauron's offense got the ball back needing a field goal to win but with only 1:33 to go.

after blowing the kickoff (a kick out of bounds would have netted more than the squib kick that gave the Bills the ball at their own 43) the first play was a 22 yard Trent Edwards' completion to the Browns 34 with 1:03 to go.

Obviously overly mindful of the Browns remaining 3 timeouts, the Bills called 3 straight running plays that seemed more designed to make the Browns burn their timeouts than gain additional yardage to make a potential FG easier on their kicker. (special note: for as bad as the Browns clock management was, using the TOs in this last minute as the best thing to do. Too many teams don't use the TOs in this situation and let the clock run down to 0 with the hope that the pressure of the game winning kick alone is enought to force a victory.).

The ultimate result of the Bills' conservative play calling and the Browns timeouts was a Bills' 47 yard attempt from the Browns 39 yard line with 43 seconds to play. Enought time for 2 maybe three plays after the Browns get the kick to try another long Phil Dawson FG.

Alas, Al Michael put the wamma jamma on Lindell by noting that the 47 yarder was the same distance as Scott Norwood's super bowl miss that cost his team a championship. With HOFer Jim Kelly looking on from the sidelines with a camoflage colored hat, Lindell imitated his predecessor's miss, right down to the rightward drift.

10 yards in and it would have been good. But 10 yards in would not have forced the Browns to burn their last time out.

That is why Romeo Crennel and Dick Jauraon are Romeo Crennel and Dick Jauron. As long as these and other frauds continue to be the head men in the NFL, it will never be the "most competitive" sports league in the world.