Tuesday, August 31, 2010
By MARY KAY CABOT
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Berea
The Browns have plenty of things to worry about before the season opener Sept. 12 in Tampa, but quarterback Jake Delhomme isn’t one of them.
Delhomme, who’s expected to sit out most of Thursday night’s preseason finale against the Bears, has exceeded expectations this preseason. He’s completing 79.2 percent of his passes, (38-of-48 for 345 yards), has thrown two touchdowns without an interception, has been sacked only once and has earned a quarterback rating of 110.5.
In Detroit, he put points on the board on three of his five possessions, counting the one-play drive on a lost fumble.
“He’s been outstanding the whole preseason,” said coach Eric Mangini. “He’s pretty close to 80 percent completion, and the way that he runs the offense and gets us into a good play when we’re not necessarily in the best situation, that’s what I’m looking for out of our quarterback ‘’ to be efficient and also be a really good decision-maker.”
In one half of work in Detroit, Delhomme completed 20 of 25 attempts for 152 yards with one touchdown for a 105.3 rating. He spread the ball around out of the no-huddle offense to 10 receivers, hitting Mohammed Massaquoi with a 7-yard pass on a fourth and 2, Evan Moore with a 22-yarder, Brian Robiskie with a 23-yarder and Josh Cribbs with a impressive 30-yarder up the left sideline that led to a TD.
“Jake has been amazing,” said Cribbs. “He’s really grasped the scheme and is now able to take Brian Daboll’s offense to the next level. He’s very efficient in the passing game and does a great job of spreading the ball around.”
One sequence in particular will go a long way toward endearing Delhomme to Browns teammates and fans. On third and 8 at the Detroit 16, Lions rookie lineman Ndamukong Suh crashed in and grabbed Delhomme’s facemask, then twisted his head and flung him to the ground. Delhomme popped up fuming and protesting, and Suh was flagged for a personal foul, which gave the Browns a first and goal at the 8.
Delhomme fumbled the snap on the next play, and Peyton Hillis recovered for a 3-yard gain to the 5. Despite adversity on back-to-back plays, a composed Delhomme found Lawrence Vickers wide open in the right flat for a 5-yard TD pass that put the Browns up, 17-7.
“’He’s a cocky young fella,” Jerome Harrison said of Delhomme, 35. “He’s still got a lot of jazz to him. He’s a quarterback that you know has your back through thick and thin. You’ve got to love him.”
Despite the rag-doll treatment from Suh, Delhomme was happy with its outcome.
“It’s good to get hit like that,” he said. “The juices get really flowing and it’s great because I think it was third and long and we got a first down. Anytime we can move the chains, we’ll take it anyway we can get it.”
Delhomme successfully sidestepped pressure and threw the ball away instead of taking the sack. On his opening drive, he was pressured from behind on third and goal and fired the ball beyond the end zone. The Browns settled for a field goal.
“You just try to work the offense and let the offense work for you,” said Delhomme. “Take what they give you and that’s a big thing I’m trying to do. I’m trying to take the checkdowns, not trying to force it. Brian [Daboll] does a good job, the guys are in the right spot and that makes it nice.”
Delhomme has also done well with the no-huddle, which the Browns figure to run frequently this season.
“We’re trying to make it be [an asset],” he said.