Browns 21, Lions 13

Some good points and bad points for the Browns in their second preseason win this afternoon:

The good...

Trent Dilfer rebounded from a sluggish performance against the Giants to look fairly sharp today. His 50-yard touchdown bomb to Antonio Bryant caught the Lions' secondary napping and made Dilfer look like the savvy veteran the Browns hoped they had received when they traded for him.

Charlie Frye continued to impress, so much so that he led the offense at the end of the first half and all throughout the second half. He dodged Lions blitzers all day long, buying time, and making big throws when he needed to, including a corner lob to Braylon Edwards in the back of the end zone on fourth-and-goal to give the Browns a 14-13 lead with less than three minutes to play.
On the previous play, a false-start call pushed the Browns back from the two-yard line to the seven-yard line. Frye didn't panic, showing a very cool head in adverse circumstances. Aside from field vision and an accurate arm, composure has to be the most valued asset in an NFL quarterback.

Edwards had the ball ripped away for an interception in the first half. On the touchdown play, he went up like Dennis Rodman hauling in a rebound and made sure the ball was in his hands and his feet touched in bounds. This was what GM Phil Savage envisioned when he drafted Edwards in April.

Orlando Ruff, a linebacker who has come out of nowhere to make his presence felt with two hard-hitting, energetic games. Browns TV commentator Brian Brennan predicted the seven-year NFL veteran would be starting this season.

Reuben Droughns rebounded from a bad hamstring to fill in nicely for Will Green. Green spent the first quarter trying to turn the corner (which he did with reasonable success), and Droughns provided a nice change-up with his brute strength between the tackles.

The bad...

Kicker Phil Dawson missed two field goals, both short. The 56-yarder early in the contest was a gamble, but the 52-yarder to end the first half was a bit more unsettling. The kick, indoors, was both wide right and short. Dawson slumped for much of the second half last year. I hope this isn't indicative of lingering problems with Dawson's leg.

Browns receivers were plagued by dropsies early on. Dennis Northcutt, Steve Heiden and Andre Davis all had trouble hanging onto the ball. Outside of Edwards and Bryant, no Cleveland receiver really had a standout game.

Penalties, again. Last week, holding was the en vogue infraction. Today, it appeared to be false starts.

The cornerbacks continued to be the cursed unit this preseason. On the first Detroit drive, Gary Baxter helped save a touchdown by drilling Mike Williams shoulder-to-shoulder out of bounds. In the process, however, he and Williams banged helmets, and Baxter wound up with a concussion. He didn't return. Later, Ray Mickens, signed earlier this week, was burned deep on a touchdown pass from Jeff Garcia to Charles Rogers.

The Browns defense overal appears to be making a slow transition to the 3-4 scheme. Twice, the defense was backed up into goal-line stands. Both resulted in field goals, but so far, Cleveland's defense has shown kind of a soft underbelly. That might change as players get used to the new scheme.