The Cleveland Browns have claimed 27-year old OLB/DE Matt Roth off waivers from the Dolphins.  Roth played in 4 games this season for the Dolphins and he made 4 tackles.  But, he has been a solid player over his career so this was a outstanding move by the Browns.  Roth has played in 65 games in his 5 years in the NFL and he has made 158 tackles, defensed 5 passes, has 12.5 sacks and he has forced 6 fumbles.  Roth will probably get playing time right away for the Browns who need all the help they can get on defense.

This was a exciting football game but it ended in shocking fashion for the poor Cleveland Browns.  The Browns appeared to intercept a Hail Mary pass by Lions’ QB Matt Stafford on the last play of the game.  But, pass interference was called on Browns’ CB Hank Poteat giving the Lions a untimed play.  On that untimed played Matt Stafford hit fellow rookie Brandon Pettigrew for a 1-yard TD pass.  The Lions then kicked the extra point putting the Browns away once again.

That shocking end ruined a great effort on offense by the Cleveland Browns.  It all started with Brady Quinn who was awesome today completing 21 of 33 passes for 304 yards with 4 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 4 yards on QB sneaks right behind the center for first downs.  Quinn was fantastic today as he looked calm in the pocket and delivered perfect pass after perfect pass.  Jamal Lewis got his work in today with 24 carries for 75 yards (3.1 ypc).  Chris Jennings was also a busy body carrying the ball 10 times for 36 yards (3.6 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 38 yards (7.6 avg).  Joshua Cribbs pitched in with 4 carries for 16 yards and he also caught 2 passes for 39 yards (19.5 avg) with a TD grab.  Mohamed Massaquoi dropped some easy passes but he also caught 5 for 115 yards (23.0 avg) with a TD.  Chansi Stuckey finally showed up for the Browns in this game catching 5 passes for 76 yards (15.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Huge TE Michael Gaines caught 2 passes for only 5 yards but one of his grabs went for a TD that put the Browns ahead in this game in the 4th quarter.  The Browns finished up with 439 totaly yards on offense (131 rushing, 308 passing) as they had possession of the football for 34:46 in this game.

The defense tightened up against the run today but they still made rookie QB Matt Stafford look like John Elway today.  Stafford set a all-time NFL record for rookie QBs by tossing 5 TD passes today.  Abram Elam led the way for the Browns with 7 tackles today.  LB David Bowens had another decent game for the Browns with 6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit.  The Lions finished up with 473 total yards on offense (57 rushing, 416 passing) today.  The Browns are now a pathetic 1-9 on the season.

32-year old WR Mike Furrey might not be a game breaking WR for the Browns but at least he catches the ball if it hits his hands.  Furrey has played in all 9 games for the Browns this season and he has caught 21 passes (leads team) for 151 yards (7.2 avg) with 0 TDs.  He has also returned 1 kickoff for 12 yards, has 4 tackles and he has defensed 1 pass.  Furrey is not a threat to stretch the defense but he has good hands and runs solid routes so Brady Quinn should be looking for him a lot the rest of the year.  Furrey has now played in 87 games in his NFL career and he has caught 219 passes for 2,279 yards (10.4 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  He has also returned 23 punts for 213 yards (9.3 avg) and 21 kickoffs for 387 yards (18.4 avg) in his career.  Furrey can also play some safety if the Browns need him to.  He has 78 tackles, 9 passes defensed and 4 INTs (1 returned for a TD) in his career.

This is a game for diehards only as it will be blacked out in Detroit.  Something will have to give in this game as the Browns are allowing 394.1 yards per game while the Lions are not much better giving up 386.2 yards per game.  Could this be the game that the Browns actually allow Brady Quinn to throw the ball downfield?  Opposing QBs have a 107.8 QB Rating against the Lions’ D so it appears that the Browns might be throwing more than usual despite not having a lot of weapons on offense.  Ex-Lion Mike Furrey is leading the Browns in receptions this season with 21 but he is only averaging 7.2 yards per catch.  Still, look for him to be somewhat inspired playing against his old team.  This could also be the game that the Browns really turn rookie WR Mohamed Massaquoi loose and he has speed to burn.  Joshua Cribbs is going to play on Sunday and I imagine that the Browns will use the Wildcat Formation a lot against the Lions to get the ball into their best player’s hands which could be bad news for the Lions who are allowing 114.6 yards rushing and 4.7 yards per carry this year.  Jamal Lewis will also likely get his share of carries on Sunday for the Browns.

The Lions will probably try to be more balanced than usual due to the Browns’ lack of a run defense.  For the Lions to be effective running the ball they must be able to handle ex-Lion Shaun Rogers of the Browns and that won’t be easy.  Kevin Smith has probably been antsy for a matchup like this one as the Browns allow 166.4 yards rushing and 4.7 yards per carry.  He should have a solid game for the Lions on Sunday.  The Browns don’t blitz a lot so rookie QB Matt Stafford will have time to throw the ball.  He will be looking a lot for Calvin Johnson this week as they need to start getting on the same page.  Dennis Northcutt will also be plenty motivated against his old team.  Rookie TE Brandon Pettigrew could also have a big game as the Browns are having issues dealing with the TE in the passing game.

PREDICTION:  LIONS 27, BROWNS 17

26-year old outside linebacker Kamerion Wimbley is the only good pass rusher the Browns have so they should let him loose.  He can defend the run on the way to the QB in my opinion.  Wimbley has played in 8 games for the Browns this season and he has 44 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 5 sacks.  With the trouble the Browns are having at CB they should be blitzing way more often to rattle the opposing QB.  Wimbley has now played in 56 games in his 4-year career with the Browns and he has made 223 tackles, defensed 4 passes, has 1 interception, 6 forced fumbles and he has 25 sacks.  Wimbley will meet up with Lions’ QB Matt Stafford a lot this Sunday if the Browns take the shackles off of him.