Well, what a drastic change of emotions that was. Yes, it's only one game. But given the circumstance and expectations, it was a game that should have been won. The Browns were playing at home against a rookie quarterback. And the rookie quarterback's backup, delivered the finals blows in the fourth quarter.

First impressions of this game; the Browns looked unprepared and lacked discipline. And that goes from the management to the players. They looked like they had regressed from last year. I didn’t expect much from the Browns this year but when you have a young Bengals team at home, who was widely ranked last in the league in power rankings, you have to beat them.

It didn’t help that the offensive line is missing two big pieces in Eric Steinbach and Tony Pashos. It didn’t help that the punter, Richmond McGee, went into the game injured and booted three punts under 30 yards (14 year veteran, Brad Maynard, was signed to take over punting duties while McGee is on the injured reserve). It didn’t help that the team lacked awareness in the fourth quarter.

It’s hard to evaluate Colt McCoy’s McCoy’s performance. He looked to be settling in a groove in the second quarter, but then the offensive line proved to be a big flaw.

Some positives to take from the game....
-Mo Massaquoi caught 3 passes for 77 yards
-Montario Hardesty showed some explosive bursts in his runs,
-Cribbs’ provided a much needed kickoff return (of 51 yards) to swing some momentum in the Browns’ favor.

Shurmur has made it clear improvements will be made from himself to the players. Much more football is left. This Sunday the Browns take on a Colts team missing their offensive captain, Peyton Manning. And their defensive captain, Gary Brackett. This doesn’t mean it will be easy, but hopefully the Browns take advantage the Colts’ missing pieces.