Griffin landed on injured reserve on Monday, meaning Josh McCown will take over as Cleveland’s quarterback.
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– The team is playing with an even younger roster than usual, with 17 rookies and first-year players on active status.
It is almost impossible to confidently select the Browns to win this game, even with the points given in the spread.
– Cleveland has garnered one playoff berth since its return (2002) and has posted two winning seasons (2002, 2007).
Expect the Browns to be better in this game with McCown as the quarterback, but the video game may be right about this matchup.
Going into Week 2 of the season, the Browns are 0-1 and the Ravens are 1-0.
The Cleveland Browns are off and running, but Week 1 didn’t exactly do them any favors. It is just everybody on the same page and thinking that way that this is what we are going to do. Despite Baltimore’s dominance in series, last six games have been decided by average 5.8 points. The Ravens’ seven wins during that span have featured two by as many as 10 points.
McCown threw for a franchise record 457 yards against the Ravens in 2015. That was the game in which Gary Barnidge caught a TD toss with his feet. I remember this guy just having no conscience and just throwing the ball in there and completing passes against us. “We have a lot of respect for him”. We know we have our hands full. McCown was knocked out of the game with a broken collarbone, and the Ravens were the beneficiaries of a weird play, as safety Will Hill returned a blocked field goal 64 yards to beat the Browns on the final play of the game.
The second time didn’t go almost as well. In a league where being almost super-humanly athletic is nearly a prerequisite, nobody really comes close to the King’s unique blend of size, speed, and strength, and that’s not even factoring in any of his actual basketball skills. After losing their season opener to the Philadelphia Eagles, they also lost starting quarterback Robert Griffin III, a player who head coach Hue Jackson was reportedly too focused on. On a positive note for Baltimore, Flacco does not appear to be bothered by the season-ending knee injury he suffered in 2015.
“Hue is great. I have a lot of respect for Hue”, Flacco said. That is the first thing, for me, is that we did not finish the game. They held Buffalo to 50 plays or so.
They can’t afford to be dismissive of Cleveland, either. They are 8-9 in the second game of the season. LB CJ Mosley was not able to practice Wednesday because of a thigh injury. “It’s just a matter of getting the pain level under control, so I can help the team”.
McCown acknowledged he will be facing a much different Baltimore team, especially with All-Pro linebacker Terrell Suggs back in the lineup after missing most of last season with a torn Achilles tendon. “I definitely could see him coming back”, Harbaugh said.
“It can be the worst [grass] field ever, but synthetic, artificial grass doesn’t give”, Smith said.
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The Ravens’ offense, however, is a work in progress, as quarterback Joe Flacco gets back in sync with his offensive lines and receivers.
