‘A’ for Effort Against Dolphins

It wasn’t a pretty win, but it was a win nonetheless. I think I can speak for Browns fans everywhere when I say, “I’ll take it.”

The Browns didn’t play great against the Dolphins, but it’s hard to give them a bad grade when they actually won.

They may not actually deserve an A, but I’m giving them one anyway. That may not make sense, especially after you read my individual grades for the day, but I don’t care.

A win deserves an A.

Passing – McCoy was 19-of-39 for 210 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He really redeemed himself on that final drive. His QB rating for the day was 71.5 … just OK. Grade: C+

Receiving – Cribbs and Massaquoi didn’t contribute much, except for a TD catch each, which is decent enough. Watson led all receivers with 64 yards on five catches. This group really needs to step it up Robiskie was a non-factor yesterday. Grade: C-

Rushing – Hillis was out with strep throat, which gave Hardesty the perfect opportunity to step in and show what he can do. What he did was run for 67 yards on 14 carries. Not that great. Grade: C-

Blocking – The Browns gained only 70 yards rushing and McCoy struggled against the blitz. The O-line needs to be more explosive off the ball and solid in the middle. Grade: C

Tackling – The defense combined for five sacks and six tackles for a loss. Overall, though, there were quite a few missed tackles. Grade: B-

Pass Defense – Good, but not at all great. Miami passed for 255 yards, so there’s some room for improvement. Haden continued to stand out and Adams’ interception to end the game was clutch. Grade: B-

Special Teams – Not a whole lot going on here yesterday. Skrine had only one kick return for 23 yards and Norwood returned only one punt for 6 yards. Dawson was perfect on the day and became the No. 2 all-time leading scorer in Browns history. Grade: C

Coaching – If there’s one thing you have to give Shurmur credit for, it’s that he always keeps his cool. Still, the penalties have got to stop. The Browns committed 8 yesterday for 85 yards … that’s unacceptable. Grade: C

Go Browns!

Rocco the Blawg Pound Mascot says:

"It was an ugly win and a below average performance. I give them a C-."