Joe Thomas – a left tackle for the Cleveland Browns – will be heading to his fifth straight Pro Bowl. He will also be starting for the game. Josh Cribbs and D’Qwell Jackson have been named as alternates.

“It’s a tremendous honor any time you get named to the Pro Bowl,” said Thomas. “For me to represent the Cleveland Browns for a fifth time is kind of hard to believe. It never gets old.”

Many are surprised that Thomas, let alone any of the Browns, made it into the Pro Bowl. With their record this year. This may give the Browns some confidence though and this could help them heading into the Pittsburgh Steelers’ game.

Thomas will get a chance to play with the best in the league again in Honolulu. He will join tackles, Jake Long of the Miami Dolphins and D’Brickashaw Ferguson of the New York Jets.

Joe Thomas has been a dedicated member of the Browns’ team over the last five years. He has been a starter and while the Browns’ offense has faltered on many occasions, he continues to go back out there and give it his all. He will need to maintain this level of play for the AFC team in the Pro Bowl. Of course, he will have more help with this set of teammates, but he is also competing against the best of the best. The Pro Bowl truly is a whole other level of play.

On quarterback for the AFC, they will have Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, Philip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers and Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The AFC wide receivers will be Wes Welker of the New England Patriots, A.J. Green of the Cincinnati Bengals, Mike Wallace of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Brandon Marshall of the Miami Dolphins.

The AFC is looking pretty solid. Looking at the NFC, the matchups are pretty even and Thomas and his teammates have a definite chance to bring a win.

R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen is a lifelong Browns fan who grew up in a household of Browns’ fans. She was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and still lives there. Regardless of the trials and tribulations the Browns have been through, she remains loyal, albeit honest about her home team. Follow Rose on Twitter @Rose_Kitchen

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I am starting early to mentally prepare myself for the Sunday, December 4 game between the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens. It will perhaps be the most difficult challenge of the season as the “Old Browns” take on the current expansion version of the Cleveland Browns franchise.

It is always difficult for me when the Ravens come to town. I can still remember that dreadful day back on November 6, 1995 when Art Modell announced he was moving the franchise to Baltimore to begin play in 1996. 16 years later, I am still agitated at least twice a year.

I am fearful for quarterback Colt McCoy(notes) this week. McCoy has been sacked 26 times this season largely due to a weak offensive line and will face off against a rabid Baltimore defense led by Ray Lewis(notes), Terrell Suggs(notes), and Ed Reed(notes). In their last game against the San Francisco 49ers, Alex Smith was sacked nine times. I am just hoping McCoy can come out alive, especially facing the Pittsburgh Steelers next week.

McCoy’s best target this week is rookie WR Greg Little(notes) who leads the team with 47 receptions and 495 yards. My concern here is that he may have inherited Braylon Edwards(notes) Syndrome having dropped a total of four passes last week against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Known for ego issues during his college years at North Carolina, Little has shown maturity in his time with the Cleveland Browns making no excuses for his performance.

“Obviously, I was definitely upset at my performance,” Little said. “I took the time to cool off. I play with a high passion and high emotion. I got dressed and figured everybody would come up to me at once. Nobody showed up. I kind of left a little earlier than I usually do.”

He will need to be able to catch the quick throw this week as the Ravens’ will be coming at McCoy hard this week.

With Peyton Hillis(notes) back in action and Chris Ogbonnaya(notes) having a great season since joining the Browns, the running game will play a key role in protecting McCoy. One, if not both will need to step up and be able to move the ball.

On the defensive side of the ball LB Titus Brown(notes) will need to step up against Raven’s RB Ray Rice(notes). Scott Fujita’s(notes) injury could not have come at a worse time.

CB Joe Haden(notes) should be able to handle Anquan Boldin(notes).

As optimistic as I try to be regarding my beloved Cleveland Browns, all I am asking for this week is competitive football. Mistakes happen every game, but with the Browns already grossly overmatched in this contest, flawless execution will be the only thing able to keep the game competitive. Perhaps they will even surprise the world and pull off a win. That may be asking too much.

More Cleveland Browns Commentary from this Contributor:

Cleveland Browns release Pro Bowl veteran Pontbriand in favor of rookie Yount: A fan’s reaction

Fan’s look: Who is Peyton Hillis anyway?

Cleveland Browns’ fans deserve better: A fan’s take

Browns fall to Rams, hit an all-new low: A fan’s reaction

Browns must win against Rams or face fan exile: A fan’s take

Sources:

All data provided by NFL.com

Yahoo! Sports – Cleveland Browns Team Report

I always try to stay positive about the Cleveland Browns. Occasionally I will lash out in a fit of frustration over Peyton Hillis(notes) because I miss the player we saw in 2010 or even criticize Greg Little(notes) and Montario Hardesty(notes) over dropped passes, but deep down, like every other Cleveland fan, it is just because I want them to succeed.

I usually agree with the decisions made by the front office regarding personnel decisions such as cutting Brian Robiskie(notes), the second round pick in the 2009 draft that never quite lived up to his potential. I was even excited when they signed Chris Ogbonnaya(notes) when everyone else was wondering who he was? He sure played well for the Houston Texans during the preseason. Look at his success for the Browns when Hillis and Hardesty missed games.

A decision I am having a hard time getting behind was when the Browns cut two-time Pro-Bowler Ryan Pontbriand(notes) on Tuesday, November 29. Pontbriand had been with the Browns since 2003.

He came under heavy criticism on November 13; when his snap hit the leg of Alex Mack(notes), disrupting the timing on kicker Phil Dawson’s(notes) 22-yard field goal attempt that cost the Browns the game against the St. Louis Rams. The kick itself was partially blocked.

Again, on November 27 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Pontbriand rolled the ball to holder Brad Maynard(notes) causing Dawson to miss a go-ahead 55-yard field goal. The Browns went on to lose 23-20. In itself, I have a hard time believing that even with a perfect snap, a field goal of that length would be a sure thing.

“Today, I lost a longtime teammate, Ryan Pontbriand,” Dawson wrote on Twitter. “He has been with me more than any teammate I have had. I will miss him. He is the best”

Regarded as one of the NFL’s best long snappers, Pontbriand will be replaced by an undrafted rookie from UCLA in Christian Yount(notes). Yount played seven games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers until he was waived on October 25.

To me, this decision makes no sense. It can be argued half the roster has had bad games. Should the team cut Greg Little because he is dropping passes? How about Joe Haden(notes) for allowing opposing receivers to catch the ball and score touchdowns?

When the team lets go of a proven professional who for years has performed flawlessly in favor of a waived rookie, I have a hard time lending my support.

More Cleveland Browns Commentary from this Contributor:

Fan’s look: Who is Peyton Hillis anyway?

Cleveland Browns’ fans deserve better: A fan’s take

Browns fall to Rams, hit an all-new low: A fan’s reaction

Browns must win against Rams or face fan exile: A fan’s take

Former Browns’ WR Brian Robiskie quietly joins Jaguars: A fan’s take

Sources:

All data provided by NFL.com

Twitter – Phil Dawson (@phil_dawson_4)

Paul Rados is an avid Cleveland Browns fan and a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook. For a complete look at his freelance work please visit his Blog.

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It’s official, the Browns are “waiving” goodbye to Ryan Pontbriand(notes). After the bad snap heard ’round the world on Sunday (11/27/11) against the Bengals, he probably knew something like this was coming. He has been in a slump and has not been able to snap – no pun intended – out of it.

Speaking of the bad snap against the Bengals, Pontbriand said, “It was a bad snap – really bad. It was a very bad snap.” He also spoke of his slump, “I’m in a pretty tough slump right now and I’m just trying to work as hard as I can to get out of it. Unfortunately, in my position, I’m kind of in the spotlight when it comes to field goals. If I mess up, you know it. I’m just trying my best to get out of this slump.”

Too little, too late now. There was the bad snap against the Rams, then against the Bengals. There were others as well. Now, Christian Yount(notes) will replace Pontbriand.

Pontbriand had tenure with the Browns – nine seasons – , but his mistakes are just something the Browns cannot afford, especially as they are set to play games against the likes of the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers.

“Yount has appeared in seven games this season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after they signed him as an undrafted free agent in July. He was waived on October 25, 2011 after the Buccaneers activated their primary long snapper Andrew Economos(notes) from the physically unable to perform list. Yount appeared in 51 games at UCLA from 2007-10,” reports Ohio.com.

It will be interesting to see how Yount complements Dawson. There have been two games this season where missed field goals could have changed the game and bad snaps by Pontbriand cost the Browns those field goals. If that field goal against the St. Louis Rams had not been disrupted, the Browns could have likely won, and if the field goal would have been made against the Cincinnati Bengals, it would have at the very least led to overtime.

R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen is a lifelong Browns fan who grew up in a household of Browns’ fans. She was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and still lives there. Regardless of the trials and tribulations the Browns have been through, she remains loyal, albeit honest about her home team.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

It’s often painful to be a Cleveland Browns fan.

The Browns seemed to be just one first down away from potentially beating the Cincinnati Bengals this past Sunday afternoon. Instead, a dropped ball, botched snap on a field goal attempt and a 51-yard pass play led to yet another loss for Cleveland, the team’s fourth defeat in five contests. It was the third time this season the Browns lost a game by a touchdown or less, and arguably the team’s third “should have won but didn’t” game of the current campaign. Looking ahead at the next five weeks, it seems as if Browns fans will again have to suffer through a long, long December.

3 final thoughts on Browns loss to Bengals: To punt or not to punt?

Many Cleveland fans, myself included, have yearned to see more aggressive play-calling from head coach Pat Shurmur during the fourth quarters of contests. There’s a difference between being aggressive and being foolish. Looking back at the game roughly 48 hours later, I still see no reason why Shurmur didn’t choose to have the Browns punt on the fourth and ten at the Cincy 37-yard line with roughly two minutes remaining. Attempting a 55-yard field goal with that much time on the clock and in not-so-perfect conditions is playing with fire regardless of the reliability of the kicker. Punting, on the other hand, would have run some time off the clock, pinned the Bengals back to at least their own 20 and put the game in the hands of Cleveland’s top tier pass defense. Kick the field goal there with 20 seconds on the clock, but not with 120 seconds left to play.

3 final thoughts on Browns loss to Bengals: The difference

Despite sweeping the season series, the Bengals still don’t seem to be all that different than the Browns. Both teams are young and both are prone to silly miscues on both sides of the football. The biggest difference between the two teams in November 2011 is the existence of a big-time playmaker on offense. The Bengals have A.J. Green(notes), a wide receiver capable of making highlight reel grabs when it matters most, during the final drive of a contest.

The Browns have nobody.

WR Greg Little(notes) has the potential to be that type of player, but he’s not there yet. Little was guilty of several drops on the afternoon, including one during Cleveland’s final meaningful drive. Being without a game-changing playmaker is something that has plagued the Browns for several seasons, and it’s a problem that must be dealt with during the upcoming postseason.

3 final thoughts on Browns loss to Bengals: What could have been

Cleveland fans are feeling a different kind of frustration as December 2011 nears. It’s not the Browns being 4-7 that has fans banging their heads against walls, desks or whatever they may find. It’s the fact that Cleveland could honestly be a 7-4 team right now. In Week 1, the Browns lost due to a quick snap and touchdown pass from Bruce Gradkowski(notes) to the previously mentioned A.J. Green. A botched snap just a few weeks ago cost the Browns a certain win against the Rams. This past Sunday, Cleveland was possibly one first down away from victory.

Imagine a 7-4 Browns team, one having the confidence of a 7-4 football team, looking at a schedule that includes two games each against the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. We’d be saying that Cleveland was just two “upset wins” and a victory over lowly Arizona away from a playoff berth. That’s the difference between these Browns and a squad that will be playing meaningful January football. A truly good team wins in each of the scenarios mentioned in the previous paragraph. The 2011 Browns just aren’t at that level, and it’s why they’re destined for another losing season.

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