CLEVELAND, Ohio — Scribbles in my Browns notebook during halftime of Sunday’s game…

1. It was great to see Ahtyba Rubin sack Ben Roethlisberger in the first quarter. It was his fifth of the year, an excellent total for a defensive tackle. He was the 190th pick in 2008 by Phil Savage, his second-best pick in his four years with the Browns behind Joe Thomas. Rubin has played 86 percent of the snaps this season, ranking No. 2 among all defensive tackles. He has been flagged for only one penalty.

2. Jabaal Sheard sacked Roethlisberger in the second quarter. That gave the rookie from Pittsburgh 8.5 this season, the most by a Brown since Kamerion Wimbley had 11 in 2006. Sheard also has forced five fumbles. He was a second-round pick, and has played like a first-rounder. He has been on the field for 90 percent of the snaps this season, so he has been extremely durable.

3. You know it’s a bad year for the passing game when Seneca Wallace threw an 10-yard pass to Josh Cribbs and I said, “That’s a nice throw and catch.” But it was third-and-11, and the Browns still had to punt.

4. Then again, Wallace was sacked when he was trying to hand off to Peyton Hillis.

5. In the second quarter, the Browns finally got a first down — and it was a 15-yard pass from Wallace to Jordan Cameron. It was his sixth catch of the season as tight ends Ben Watson and Alex Smith are injured.

6. Cribbs made a tremendous tackle on a kickoff. He leads the team in special teams tackles.

7. Wallace scrambled 27 yards — the Browns’ longest gain of the half — to set up a field goal by Phil Dawson.

8. Wallace completed passes of 23 and 14 yards to Cribbs to set up another field goal by Dawson, giving the Browns a 6-0 lead.

9. Peyton Hillis had 21 tough yards on seven carries as Pittsburgh has loaded up the line of scrimmage and is daring the Browns to throw.

When the Cleveland Browns take on the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, December 24, 2011, they will be doing it with Seneca Wallace at quarterback. There is a good chance he will play the role of QB in the final game against the Pittsburgh Steelers the following week as well.

Colt McCoy is still out because of the concussion he sustained due to the head on collision courtesy of James Harrison. He is still having recurring symptoms from this injury and until he is fully recovered from this injury, it is simply not safe for him – or the other players – for him to be out on the field. McCoy will not travel with the Browns either. He will stay home and rest and focus on recovering.

Since Wallace is going to be taking over the role of quarterback for the remainder of the season, he has to start acting like a starting quarterback. According to his teammates. He is falling into the role well.

“I think he’s more vocal in the locker room and on the field,” said Joe Thomas, a left tackle for the Browns. “When you’re the starter, you’re the coach on the field, not only calling plays but getting everybody lined up correctly, making sure the formation’s are correct, the personnel is right. You’re kind of the designated rah-rah guy. When things are going south, you’re the guy that needs to stand up and get everybody in a positive direction.”

Wallace has acknowledged that he is just the backup quarterback and that he is afraid to overstep his boundaries. However, he needs to lose this mentality as it could hold him back. He is not the backup at this moment. He is the starter for the remainder of the season and he needs to think like a starter. He has played in nine NFL seasons and has earned his time on the field.

In the Arizona game, Wallace showed that he has what it takes to make plays. He definitely gave the Browns some new energy. The only thing the Browns need to work on right now is keeping that energy throughout the entire game because that energy definitely faded by the end of the third quarter. If Wallace can keep throwing good passes and keep his men energized, the Browns just might have a chance to defeat the Ravens.

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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BEREA, Ohio — Browns quarterback Colt McCoy suffered a concussion on the helmet-to-helmet hit by Steelers linebacker James Harrison on Thursday night, but Browns coach Pat Shurmur said he sent him back into the game because he showed no concussion symptoms during a sideline exam.

“If he would have shown symptoms of a concussion, then I wouldn’t have put him back in the game, absolutely not,” said Shurmur, who goes by the decision of the medical staff. “We go through the strict protocol to evaluate whether there are concussionlike symptoms.”

McCoy’s father, Brad McCoy, told The Plain Dealer on Friday that his son didn’t remember anything after the hit, including the interception in the end zone that could’ve been the game winner in the 14-3 loss.

“He never should’ve gone back in the game,” Brad McCoy said. “He was basically out [cold] after the hit. You could tell by the rigidity of his body as he was laying there. There were a lot of easy symptoms that should’ve told them he had a concussion. He was nauseated and he didn’t know who he was.”

But Shurmur said the symptoms didn’t surface until sometime after the game. He said McCoy told him on the sidelines that he was ready to go.

“When we were leaving the locker room is when I was made aware of it,” Shurmur said. “I’m usually the last one to leave.”

By then, McCoy had told reporters at his locker that he didn’t remember the helmet-to-facemask smash. One reporter asked him at his locker if he was OK, and he said, “I don’t know. I don’t know. I think I am.”

A few minutes later, McCoy was taken to the interview room, and TV cameramen were asked by a member of the public-relations staff not to use their lights. Reporters were also asked to keep the session brief.

But McCoy seemed coherent in answering questions and accurately described the interception. By the time the team arrived in Berea — about 2 a.m. — McCoy was woozy enough that teammate Evan Moore had to drive him home. By Friday morning, he drove himself to the Berea facility for further exams and was diagnosed with a concussion. By then, he couldn’t remember much about the end of the game.

Brad McCoy said Colt felt like he had let his team down, but he couldn’t recall quite how.

“I think these concussions or concussionlike symptoms — they’re different,” Shurmur said. “It could happen immediately, it could happen in hours, it could be a day later.”

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Plain Dealer in an email response that “we will discuss it with the team” to see if the Browns violated the stringent NFL concussion guidelines. Players must meet certain requirements before they can go back in the game. Aiello also said he wouldn’t speculate on possible sanctions for the Browns if they violated the rules.

Brad McCoy, a lifelong high school football coach who coached Colt in junior high and high school, was upset that the Browns didn’t spend more time trying to evaluate whether McCoy was concussed. The actual time from the hit until McCoy trotted back out onto the field was three minutes, 50 seconds, including the several minutes he spent down on the field.

“Colt takes a severe hit like that, and he’s back in the game [two plays] play later?” Brad McCoy asked. “If he took another blow to the head, we could’ve been talking about his career here.”

Brad McCoy said when he first saw the hit, he thought Colt was done for the night. McCoy suffered a serious concussion in high school that kept him out of several games.

“I certainly didn’t think he’d be out only [two plays],”‘ he said. “It would’ve taken my high school trainer longer than that to determine if he was OK after a hit like that.”

Thursday’s hit was delivered by the same player that knocked receivers Mohamed Massaquoi and Josh Cribbs out of a game last October with concussions. Harrison was fined $75,000 for the hit on Massaquoi, which was later reduced to $50,000.

In the case of McCoy, Harrison drilled him in the facemask with his helmet, and McCoy went flying backward to the ground. He remained on his back for a few minutes while the medical staff tended to him. He was then helped off the field and went to the sidelines, where he remained for the two plays, which lasted about 80 seconds. He also suffered a bruise to his left hand on the play.

When he returned to the game, he ran two plays before the costly interception. On the ensuing drive, he threw two more apparent picks, but one was reversed by replay and the other was wiped out by a penalty. Brad McCoy said he was upset that the Browns said McCoy “was fine” after the game when he apparently wasn’t.

Shurmur said he can understand Brad McCoy’s feelings.

“I’m the father of a son who plays quarterback [freshman at St. Edward],” Shurmur said. “I wouldn’t put my son in harm’s way if he was showing those symptoms. I understand that. As far as us evaluating him, we didn’t see that. I understand the thoughts. I understand it extremely well. The McCoys are terrific people who love their son and want the best for him. I get that.”

He said that, at some point, he would reach out to Brad McCoy.

“I can assure everyone that we followed the protocol,” he said. “At one point during the game, I told Colt, ‘I talk to you like I talk to my son.’ In fact, I said that. I have a lot of compassion for our players.”

Earlier in the game, the Browns followed protocol with tight end Ben Watson and fullback Owen Marecic and shut them down after concussions.

The Browns’ medical staff has been repeatedly praised by players such as linebacker Scott Fujita, Watson and Massaquoi throughout the season for how their concussions have been handled.

“They’re very professional, high-class people that do things the right way, and that’s why I trust them,” Shurmur said.

Regarding the hit by Harrison, Shurmur said, “I have some strong feelings about that that I’m not going to share.”

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: mcabot@plaind.com, 216-999-4670

On Twitter: @marykaycabot

Peyton Hillis is playing in the Thursday, December 8, 2011 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Colt McCoy and Montario Hardesty will also be in uniform and on the field. They are a bit banged up, but ready to take on the black and gold and, hopefully, bring a win back to Cleveland.

The only really notable player that will not take the field is T.J. Ward – a Browns’ safety – and he will be replaced by Usama Young as usual.

Now, can the Browns win? This is always a question with the Browns unfortunately. We had a shot against the Ravens last week, especially when the Ravens missed two field goals.

The receivers have to actually catch the ball. I know, I know, this should go without saying, but the Browns have the NFL record for most drops. To be fair, the Browns are actually tied for most drops with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. I digress, McCoy has finally started to throw some relatively decent passes, but if these are not caught [by Browns' receivers] then those passes really do not mean much. Also, if those passes are caught by the opposing team, then big problems can occur.

There is also a chance that the Steelers may simply think this will be an easy win and underestimate the Browns and therefore lose to the Browns. Okay, this is a stretch and perhaps just wishful thinking, but we have seen it happen in sports before.

“In the two meetings last season, the Steelers outscored the Browns 69-19,” reports Cleveland.com. It is also important to note that the Steelers who are taking the field are healthy, while a few of the Browns taking the field are not.

To go back to the health of the Browns. This is a big concern. One really good sack to McCoy and he could be in big trouble. McCoy is necessary and he needs to be on the field in the best shape he can be. Of course, Hillis seems like a flower and even a little sack could put him out.

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

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

“Browns offense is (pick one) putrid, abysmal, needles-to-eyeballs-bad. But trail only 10-0 at half,” Tweeted Cleveland Browns beat writer Tony Grossi after the first 30 minutes of Sunday’s game. Unfortunately for Cleveland fans, things didn’t get much better during the second half of play.

The Baltimore Ravens played ugly, ugly football, and still managed to defeat the Browns 24-10 on Sunday. A game recap and box score can be found here.

The game was over: When Baltimore RB Ray Rice(notes), who ran all over the Browns in both halves, answered a Phil Dawson(notes) field goal with a much more significant play. A plethora of Baltimore miscues coupled with a Dawson field goal had the Browns trailing the Ravens just 10-3 with under six minutes remaining in the third quarter. On the first play following the Browns kickoff, Rice sped down the field for 67 yards, a run that landed the Ravens down at the Cleveland six-yard line. That one play eliminated any momentum and confidence the Browns may have had following the field goal, and also resulted in the nail-in-the-coffin score.

The difference: There’s obviously not just one thing that separates these Ravens from these Browns. An inability to find the end zone has crippled Cleveland throughout the 2011 season, and it did so again on Sunday. A 52-yard completion to running back Peyton Hillis(notes) took the Browns inside the Baltimore six-yard line halfway through the third. Cleveland couldn’t come up with a game-changing play, however, as two Colt McCoy(notes) incomplete passes forced the Browns to settle for three.

The Ravens found themselves in a similar situation on the very next drive following Rice’s jaunt down the field. Baltimore needed only two plays to score six, a touchdown that put the Ravens up 17-3. In just a few minutes of play, we saw why the Ravens are a team that’s finishing the season with a winning record, and why the Browns are, well, the Browns.

Poor Colt: Every week, I feel as if I’m defending quarterback Colt McCoy to Cleveland fans demanding more from the young QB. The interception he threw at the end of the first half, one that resulted in three Baltimore points, was a horrendous pick, as bad a pass as he’ll throw all season long. Can you really blame him for trying to make that throw? His wide receivers and tight ends again hung him out to dry with numerous drops and by running incorrect routes. Any quarterback, especially one that has won at every level, is going to be at least a bit frustrated when dealing with such setbacks.

I’m not suggesting McCoy is definitely “the guy.” Anybody who claims that McCoy isn’t, however, is making quite the statement about those playing alongside the current Cleveland QB. Outside of top tier quarterbacks such as Tom Brady(notes), Aaron Rodgers(notes) and (maybe) Drew Brees(notes), I’m not sure there’s a QB in the league that could consistently win games with this particular offense.

Browns MVP: Rookie defensive end Jabaal Sheard(notes) continues to impress. He now has a sack and forced fumble in three straight games. The Cleveland pass defense seems to have a solid foundation. If the offense looked half as good as the team’s defense, Browns games wouldn’t be so painful to watch.

Overall: Just another completely missable game played by the 2011 Cleveland Browns. Thursday night’s game in Pittsburgh could be even uglier. All I want for Christmas is one more Browns win this season.

Even Santa can only do so much.

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