Cleveland Browns

We're down to the last two games in regular season. To come out with a winning record, Teddy has to nail both picks. Fingers crossed. Paws crossed. Even tail in a little pretzel shape. Go Teddy!

It's like The Drive and The Fumble all over again, rolled into one. When news broke late Friday that the Washington Redskins had obtained the No. 2 pick in April's NFL Draft, my thoughts turned to my hometown Cleveland Browns and another opportunity lost. Let's call this The Trade. Holding the No. 4 and No. 22 picks in the first round, I thought there was no way they could let another team complete a trade with the St. Louis Rams for the No. 2 pick and presumably Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III. But these are the Browns we're talking about.

Running back James Jackson is doing an awful lot of talking. If he performs half as well as he is predicting, the Cleveland Browns may have found themselves a steal in the third round. Shortly after the Browns drafted him in April, Jackson proclaimed himself the franchise back. Since then, Jackson has compared himself to Indianapolis Colts superstar Edgerrin James, though Jackson says he has more speed. Jackson also said he would have been a first-round pick had he been healthy at the NFL combine.

Not too many offensive tackles relish the idea of trying to block Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs. But Houston Texans left tackle Duane Brown isn't shying away from the opportunity, which will present itself Sunday during the AFC divisional playoff round. “This will be my third time going against him in my career,” Brown said in comments distributed by the Texans Wednesday. “I'm up for it and I know what to expect. It's not going to be easy. Just because you know what he's going to do you still have to go out there and execute.

Could Courtney Brown become this year's Jevon Kearse? Or could the rookie defensive end develop into the game's next Bruce Smith? Brown, though, has more pressing matters to address, namely boosting the Cleveland Browns' defense. The Browns ranked 31st overall defensively in the NFL. The unit had an NFL-low 25 sacks. That's why they drafted Brown with the first pick in the draft. The former Penn State standout is the first defensive end drafted No. 1 overall since Smith in 1985. "He's everything he's advertised to be," Browns coach Chris Palmer said.

Trent Dilfer's assignment in Cleveland is to fill a six-year leadership void at quarterback and point the Browns in the general direction of .500 football. Leadership is no problem for Dilfer, who quarterbacked the Ravens in their Super Bowl season. But getting Cleveland to be competitive is a more thorny issue. That's because the Browns have lost 66 games in six seasons since returning to the NFL, bungled several first-round draft picks and failed to find a franchise quarterback from among Tim Couch, Kelly Holcomb and Jeff Garcia.

In a division where the running game is king and the passing game is a complementary chess piece, the Cleveland Browns are finally gearing up to join the rush revolution. Coach Butch Davis says the team's base offense will attempt to be 60 percent run this season, which means a major workload increase for running backs Lee Suggs and William Green. Last year, the Browns ran 412 times, fewest in the AFC North and 69 behind pace-setting Cincinnati. They threw nearly 100 more passes, not counting 40 sacks.

"The least of my worries is playing for the Cleveland Browns next season, because I know that's going to happen." LeCharles Bentley Cleveland Browns center, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last week "I'm in the same place, but it feels like I'm in a whole different organization." Jeff Backus Detroit Lions offensive tackle, on the new coaching staff "I'm sure it will dribble out at some point." Mitt Romney Governor of Massachusetts, on when he will sign a bill making basketball the official state sport [From wire and Web reports]

Matchup:Ravens (7-7) vs. Cleveland Browns (7-7) Site:Ravens Stadium When:Tomorrow, 4:15 p.m. TV/Radio:Ch. 13/WJFK (1300 AM), WQSR (102.7 FM) Line:Ravens by 3 SunSpot:For more coverage, visit sunspot.net/ravens

Ed Dickson recorded the Ravens' first touchdown in Saturday's 20-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns, but the tight end couldn't let go of two drops he made in the second half. “The only two plays that stick out in my mind are the two balls I let get away from me,” Dickson said. “If I want to be a good player in this league, I've got to make those plays. Since we're going into the playoffs, they're going to need me to make those plays. I'm going to be thinking about them all week and try to get another chance to make a play again.” Those miscues overshadowed Dickson's second touchdown grab in as many games, but the second-year player said he got a lot of encouragement from his teammates.

They lost numerous contributors to injuries, surrendered another huge play on special teams and allowed a four-win Cleveland Browns team to turn what appeared to be a Christmas Eve cakewalk into a tense fourth quarter. But as the Ravens exited the home locker room late Saturday afternoon for what they hope won't be the final time this season, they had accomplished a significant goal and put themselves in position to achieve an even bigger one. A 20-14 victory over the Browns in front of an announced 71,083 at M&T Bank Stadium secured the first undefeated regular-season home mark in franchise history and put the Ravens one win from making sure their playoff run starts in Baltimore.

We're down to the last two games in regular season. To come out with a winning record, Teddy has to nail both picks. Fingers crossed. Paws crossed. Even tail in a little pretzel shape. Go Teddy!

Colt McCoy did not play last Sunday due to post-concussion symptoms, and the Cleveland Browns are waiting for an update on their starting quarterback about his availability for Saturday's game against the Ravens. “First, we've got to get him to the point where he's going to be healthy enough to play,” Browns coach Pat Shurmur said in a conference call with Baltimore media Tuesday. “He's still going through the process of coming back from his concussion. As we sit today - I guess it's a Tuesday, but it's really a Wednesday in my world - he's not out there practicing yet.” McCoy has yet to be cleared for contact after absorbing a helmet-to-helmet hit from Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison in an 11-point loss on Dec. 8. McCoy's absence was filled by Seneca Wallace, who completed 18-of-31 passes for 226 yards, which included a 76-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Greg Little in a 20-17 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals Sunday.

The Ravens got a critical AFC North win against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, but it wasn't the best of days for Danny Gorrer. The third-year cornerback thought he recorded the first forced fumble of his career when he stripped wide receiver Jordan Norwood early in the second quarter. But Cleveland challenged the on-field ruling, and video officials agreed, saying that Norwood had not completed the pass and turning Gorrer's caused fumble into a pass breakup. “When he caught the ball and was running, I thought, 'Somehow, I've got to get the ball out for my team,' and I just punched it and it came out,” Gorrer said.

Maybe Ed Reed's sideline scare is a sign and the Ravens are getting hot at the right time. Reed's fourth-quarter interception sealed the Ravens' 20-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns and helped clinch the Ravens' third straight playoff berth, an unprecedented achievement in the team's 15-year history. While there were no celebrations on the sidelines for making the AFC's six-team postseason field, there was some jumping done by the Pro Bowl safety. Reed's body-length jacket caught on fire when he sat too close to a heater, but he leapt up and threw off the smoking coat to avoid any serious injury.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am not here today to trash Chad Henne. Chad Henne is a perfectly fine young quarterback. He might also be great to his mom, kind to animals and a tireless giver to charity. But there can be no disputing this: He's no Joe Flacco. Not at this stage of his career, anyway. OK, where's Flacco at this stage of his career? Well, he's hardly a finished product. He has a lot to learn. But all he has done since he came into the league is win. Last year, he became just the fourth starting quarterback since the AFL- NFL merger in 1970 to reach the playoffs in his first two years in the league.