Plain Dealer’s Cleveland Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot hosts News and Notes with Colt McCoy, Peyton Hillis, D’Qwell Jackson, and Greg Little before they play the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

D’Qwell Jackson must feel as though he’s stuck in a never-ending
film loop, one in which the Cleveland Browns make the same mistakes
over and over until the final whistle signals the end of yet
another defeat.

Such was the case Saturday, when the Browns bungled their way to
a 20-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

“We’ve been in some close ones, and today told the story of the
season,” Jackson said. “We fought for three quarters, the offense
was able to move the ball, we put the ball in the end zone, and we
still had a chance at the end.”

That’s when Cleveland (4-11) made its most glaring error.

Down 20-14 with no timeouts left, the Browns lined up on defense
after the two-minute warning with the Ravens facing a fourth-and-2
at the Cleveland 37.

It appeared obvious that Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco was
merely hoping to draw the Browns offside. And right on cue,
Cleveland rookie tackle Phil Taylor jumped across the line of
scrimmage to give Baltimore a first down.

The Ravens (11-4) then ran out the clock on their eighth
straight win over the Browns, including two this month.

“We jumped offside and we didn’t give ourselves a chance,”
Jackson said. “It’s hard to do.”

As soon as the flag dropped to the ground, Jackson grabbed the
rookie to offer him some advice.

“He said, `Hold your head up.’ It’s tough,” Taylor said softly
in a sullen locker room. “It was the first hard count and we stayed
onside. The second time, I just jumped. Of course you feel bad, but
you just got to move on.”

Taylor wasn’t the only one with a mistake to lament. Jackson got
torched on a touchdown pass from Flacco to Ray Rice. The Browns had
to use their first-half timeouts early because of personnel issues.
And quarterback Seneca Wallace, after driving Cleveland to the
Baltimore 3-yard line, curiously called a running play instead of
spiking the ball as time expired in the second quarter.

“It seems that it’s the 15th time I’ve said this, (but) the guys
played extremely hard,” Cleveland coach Pat Shurmur said. “I told
the guys for us to win these close games here in the AFC North,
we’ve got to play a little smarter in some of the critical
situations and that will help make the difference. That’s where
we’re at.”

Flacco threw two touchdown passes and Rice ran for 87 yards to
help the Ravens finish 8-0 at home.

Josh Cribbs had a career-high 84-yard punt return for a TD for
Cleveland. Wallace went 19 for 33 for 147 yards in place of Colt
McCoy, who was out with a concussion. Peyton Hillis ran for 112
yards, but Cleveland’s offense mounted only one decent drive.

The Browns took the opening kickoff and moved from their own 26
to the Baltimore 30 behind the power of Hillis, who gained 30 yards
on six carries. But on a third-and-1, Cleveland inexplicably went
to the air, and Lardarius Webb intercepted Wallace’s pass for
Mohamed Massaquoi.

Flacco immediately threw deep for Torrey Smith, who drew a
60-yard penalty for pass interference on Mike Adams to set up a
5-yard touchdown pass to Ed Dickson.

Later, a 29-yard throw from Flacco to Smith led to a 48-yard
field goal by Shayne Graham.

After another Cleveland punt, Flacco directed an 82-yard drive
that gave Baltimore a 17-0 lead. Rice slipped behind Jackson on the
right sideline, caught a soft pass in stride and sprinted into the
end zone to complete a 42-yard scoring play.

That made Flacco 5 for 5 for 94 yards and two touchdowns on
third down.

Cleveland moved deep into Baltimore territory late in the first
half, thanks in part to a 30-yard pass interference call against
Chris Carr. But with the clock inside 10 seconds and the Browns
without a timeout, Wallace handed off to Hillis instead of spiking
the ball, and Hillis went nowhere.

Wallace took the blame, and so did Shurmur.

“I need to communicate it better, OK?” Shurmur said.

Time expired before Cleveland could get off another play, and
the Browns headed to the locker room after being held scoreless in
the first half for the second time this season. The other time it
happened was also against Baltimore.

Graham kicked a 43-yard field goal in the third quarter to make
it 20-0.

The Browns finally scored when Cribbs took a punt on the right
sideline, escaped an arm tackle and broke toward the center of the
field before outrunning three defenders into the left corner of the
end zone late in the third quarter.

“I was wondering where all the defenders were,” Cribbs said. “I
saw all the great blocking around me. From there, it was easy. It
was just a walk in.”

Cribbs also contributed to Cleveland’s next touchdown, catching
a 23-yard pass from Wallace as part of an 80-yard drive that ended
with a 9-yard TD throw to Evan Moore midway through the fourth
quarter.

The Browns forced a punt, but on a fourth-and-4 from the
Cleveland 45 with 4:03 left, a pass to Hillis did not produce the
necessary yardage.

Taylor’s jump across the line of scrimmage soon followed.

NOTES: Ravens KR David Reed hurt his left knee and declared
himself out for the season. Also, Baltimore OT Marshal Yanda
(chest) and CB Cary Williams (concussion) did not play in the
second half. … Shurmur said the Browns sustained no serious
injuries. Cleveland closes the season next Sunday against
Pittsburgh.

The Seattle Seahawks have still not announced whether Tarvaris Jackson(notes) or Charlie Whitehurst(notes) is the starting quarterback against the Cleveland Browns this weekend. The problem goes beyond a quarterback controversy though, and maybe head coach Pete Carroll is also hoping the Browns have to do extra work to prepare for both scenarios.

Pete Carroll told The Associated Press that he may need until game time to decide about his starting quarterback. That seems like he is taking it a bit far, and it might show just how dedicated Carroll is to keeping Jackson as the starter. If that wasn’t the case, he could simply allow him to rest another week, and place Whitehurst out there with the starting offense.

Jackson is still trying to recover from a high-grade strain to his right pectoral, and luckily for him the Seahawks had a bye week to allow a longer recovery period. He came out of the game against the New York Giants on Oct. 9, and it was Whitehurst that led the team to a 36-25 win in the fourth quarter. A lot of thanks go to the defense in that game though, because an interception taken back for a touchdown was a pretty important turning point as well.

That success by Whitehurst has led a few fans to suggest that it is time to pull Jackson out of the starting roll, but there are also the fans that want to give him a full opportunity to prove what he can do. It really seems like all the television analysts want Jackson out of there, and many of them continuously talk down what Jackson brings to the Seahawks . For better or worse, he is the starting quarterback though, and the rest of the 2011 season for the Seahawks could rest entirely on his shoulders.

Jackson has 1,012 passing yards through the first five games this year, and that means he could easily pass 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns by the end of the season. Those numbers would be pretty good, but it might have to get even better if the Seahawks running game never develops.

The game on Oct. 23 has a start time of 10 a.m.

More From YCN:

Seattle_vs_Cleveland_Preview

Trufant_Out_For_Season

Seahawks_Cruch_Giants

What_Quarterback_Controversy?

2011_Team_Not_Worst_for_Seahawks

References:

Seahawks_2011_Stats

Seattle_Seahawks_Roster

Seattle_Seahawks_Schedule/Results

*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a lifelong fan of the Seattle Seahawks that continues to hold out hope that the team is heading in the right direction with a new coach, a weak NFC West, and some great young players on defense.

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

The Raiders are national news, riding an emotional and spiritual tidal wave, writes Jerry McDonald of MercuryNews.com.

“A team that’s motivated like this, you never know what kind of damage they can do,” NFL Network analyst Steve Mariucci said.

McDonald writes how Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns is a trap game for the Raiders.

Why?

Here come the Cleveland Browns (2-2), coming off a bye, with their wins coming over teams (Indianapolis and Miami) with a combined record of 0-9, playing in the first game at O.co Coliseum since the death of Raiders owner Al Davis.

It has the makings of a mismatch.

So coach Hue Jackson is trying to prevent the kind of emotional hangover that could lead to an upset loss in a classic trap game.

More Browns

The News-Herald: Silver and black lives on.

CantonRep.com: Hue Jackson is high on Browns linebacker Chris Gocong.

The Chronicle-Telegram: Center Alex Mack’s status is still up in the air.

Cleveland.com: In Mike Holmgren we trust.

BEREA, Ohio – At one point, the Cleveland Browns weren’t sure D’Qwell Jackson would ever return.

He’s back. Better than ever.

Jackson, who missed 26 consecutive games the past two seasons after tearing chest muscles, is off to the best start of his NFL career. On Thursday, the likable linebacker was named the AFC’s defensive player of the month for September, an honour Browns co-ordinator Dick Jauron deemed “richly deserved.”

In Cleveland’s first three games, Jackson, a second-round pick in 2006, recorded 30 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks. He was also credited with defending a pass, forcing a fumble and recovering another while helping the Browns (2-1) get off to their best start since 2002.

As is his way, Jackson accepted the award with typical humility.

“It was very special,” he said. “I gotta take it in stride. A lot of guys told me congratulations. I mean I worked extremely hard, but this is the first step.”

Jackson’s comeback has been remarkable.

After leading the Browns with 188 tackles in 2008, Jackson tore his left pectoral muscle while making a tackle in a game against Pittsburgh. The injury was so severe that he ripped the muscle from the bone, leaving the Browns no choice but to place him on injured reserve for the final 10 games of the season.

Jackson dedicated himself and worked hard to get back into shape, and everything seemed in place when he arrived for training camp last summer. But Jackson’s world came crashing down when he tore the right pectoral muscle in practice and he wound up missing the entire 2010 season.

He was back at square one, his career hanging by a thread.

But while others had their doubts about his future, the 28-year-old always believed he would come back and play at a high level. He has embraced his new role as the middle or “Mike” linebacker in the Browns’ new 4-3 defence, a scheme perfectly suited to his ball-hawking talents.

Unlike in the 3-4, Jackson doesn’t have to fight off blocks from guards, allowing him to roam more freely and make tackles.

While others questioned if he could lead a defence again, Jackson’s belief never wavered.

“I never doubted it,” he said. “As long as I could get the opportunity and I was healthy, that’s all I could ask for. Right now, I’m playing well. I can always get better, but for me I’ve said more times than once, it’s more important for me to get wins. I’ve been around here, it’s been tough.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys and we want to keep the wins going to gain more confidence for my younger players. There’s going to be adversity at times, but we’re only going to be as good as the leaders on the team.”

Jackson is clearly one of them.

Browns first-year coach Pat Shurmur didn’t know much about Jackson when he got the job in January. All he knew of Jackson, the player, was that he had an injury-riddled past. He didn’t know anything about D’Qwell Jackson, the man, the community activist, who always seems to have time for anyone who asks.

Shurmur knows Jackson is special.

“Just being around him you see those things and you get a feel from a guy who gets things and he gets it,” he said. “The world makes sense to D’Qwell and he understands the process of being a pro and he’s a talented guy. When you tie all that together then I’m glad to see he’s having the success he is.”

During training camp, Browns linebacker Scott Fujita predicted big things from Jackson.

From afar, Fujita, who joined Cleveland last season, admired Jackson’s game. Now that he’s seen it up close, he’s even more impressed.

“I’ve respected him for a long time, watching him on film over the years and kind of respecting his style of play,” Fujita said. “I always saw that the systems that were here in the past just weren’t suited for his body type and his skill set. This was a good opportunity for him and it’s nice to see him shine at this point of his career.”

On top of his injuries, Jackson has had to deal with contract issues.

The Browns signed him to a one-year, $4.75 million deal loaded with incentives before the lockout. It was a business decision and the team’s way of saying, “Show us.”

Jackson’s doing just that and seems to be in line to receive one of the contract extensions the Browns are giving some of their young core players. The team has locked up Pro Bowl offensive tackle Joe Thomas, defensive end Ahtyba Rubin, tight end Evan Moore and linebacker Chris Gocong to extensions in the past month.

The club may want to see more from Jackson, but it appears he has done enough.

He’s leading on and off the field, and doesn’t want to do it anywhere but in Cleveland.

“I don’t want to move,” he said. “I don’t want to pick up and leave and go somewhere else and start all over. This is where everything has happened. It’s where I’ve been hurt, I’ve been successful. So it would mean a lot to stay in Cleveland.”