Month: October 2019

It’s been 48 hours, so lets get this over with. Usually I avoid Browns twitter world after a loss, but with the trade deadline today, I had to go there yesterday and today. Total meltdown, some justified some not. Let’s get the game discussion out of the way first. 13 penalties, three turnovers on three offensive snaps and again odd play calling. Freddie made the comment at his press conference yesterday, that he doesn’t coach penalties. Well it looks like he doesn’t punish players for penalties either. The Browns after seven games lead the league in penalties with 70. I’m an accountant and doesn’t take a genius to figure out that’s ten a game. I know officiating is incredibly bad in the NFL, but still that’s unacceptable. I don’t condone player only meetings, because that’s usually the nail in the coffin for a head coach. But it’s time for Freddie to gather his team leaders to have such a meeting. Players listen to other players more than coaches and it is time for Mayfield, Bitonio, Landry, Schobert, Garrett and Randall to have a come to Jesus meeting.

The Browns defense stops the Patriots on their first series. The Browns get the ball back and start with three straight passes? On a cold wet day, your calling three straight passes. As we all saw later in the game, running the ball worked. A shuttle pass deep on your side of the field? Really? Nothing bad can happen there, oh wait, it did. Two challenges, that Freddie wasn’t going to win, wasting two time outs. A side line warning by the referees. This team is a hot mess on the side lines. Even the commentators were laughing at Freddie and the Browns. As for the turnovers, Nick Chubb had two fumbles, but the first one was kicked out of his hands by his only player and the second one was Chubb not holding the ball with two hands. If you noticed as the game went one, Chubb corrected this and made the adjustment. Just wish the coaching staff would make adjustments. Somebody find out where Beckham is, because he’s not making any difference.

As for the positives, Nick Chubb can run the ball on any team in this league. If this team had half his heart and professionalism, the Browns would have a winning record. Mayfield played better. He had the best passer rating of any quarterback so far against a really good Patriot defense. The ball came out of his hand better, he was more accurate and showed improvement after the bye. As for the offensive line, McCray played okay, despite playing left tackle for the first time. The defense played well. Three turnovers in three snaps and the Patriots were only up 10-0. CB’s Williams and Ward played well, but you could tell the lack of practice effected them early in the game. Ward blocked a field goal and the Patriots very good special teams really didn’t have an effect on the game.

As for firing Freddie. please stop. The Browns are not going to fire the head coach. Why would anyone want the cycle of dysfunction to continue? The Browns were the laughing stock of the league because they kept firing the combination of head coaches and/or front office. He’s a rookie head coach and Freddie has a chance to change this. This front office is the best this team has had since they came back and this is the most talented team they’ve had over the same period. Now if Freddie goes 5-11, then staff changes must be made. I still don’t know what the hell Todd Monken does and some of Steve Wilkes defensive play calling and player decisions are mystifying.

Looking at the rest of the schedule, the Browns have the opportunity to string some wins together. They played the second hardest schedule of any team after seven games and have the second easiest schedule for the next nine games. As I said last week, the Browns had to play a perfect game to beat New England. They didn’t and they lost. I also said I worried about games at Denver, at home against the Bills and at Pittsburgh. Denver is starting a quarterback this week who has never taken an NFL snap. He was a sixth round pick out of Arkansas by Jacksonville. I live in Nashville, TN with two SEC schools in the state, my Alma mater Vanderbilt and the state school Tennessee, and I have never heard of Brandon Allen. The Bills just got their ass kicked at home by an Eagles team that everyone had given up for dead. And the steelers, even though they beat a tanking Miami team, can be beat at home or on the road.

The trade deadline is 4 pm eastern today and Dorsey already made a trade, Genard Avery for a 2021 4th round pick. On Avery’s first play of the game against New England he pressured Brady to throw early and then played maybe three more snaps. Mark my words, Avery will make the pro bowl in 2020 for the Eagles. Wilkes had to find a place for him to play this year and didn’t. As for Trent Williams, Washington told teams they had an offer of a 2nd round pick on the table and now I’m hearing there is a deal in place for a 3rd and a 5th pending a physical. I’m not for this trade, Williams is 31 and even if he is healthy and ready to play as his agent says, this doesn’t help the Browns. If they’re going for a left tackle, then trade for Halapoulivaati Vaitai of the Eagles. He’s younger and has played this year and the Eagles have a wealth of talent on their offensive line. The Browns still need a linebacker. Now that the deadline has passed, the Browns stand pat. Okay Freddie win with what you got.

So the Browns sit at 2-5 going to Denver for a critical must win game. Denver is starting a QB who has never taken an NFL snap. The Bengals just announced they are benching Andy Dalton and starting Ryan Finley. The steelers are starting Mason Rudolph, the Dolphins will start either Josh Rosen or Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Browns will face rookie Kyler Murray when they play Arizona. They do face Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, but they have beaten Jackson once this year and I’m not sold on Allen. The potential is there to go on a nice win steak, but it starts in Denver. Go Browns.

Hello to the second half of the season. Let’s start with the good news, Kareem Hunt has been allowed to start practicing, however he is still suspended and won’t return to the playing field until week nine. But practicing for two weeks is great news. Kitchens said in his press conference today, they’re trying different players at different positions at practice. I would assume that means the offensive line and McCray and Teller practicing with the starters. I really don’t have a problem with the Browns OL. Mayfield stepped into the pocket against Seattle instead of rolling to his right and didn’t get sacked. Damarious Randall is day to day, but the depth at safety is good with Murray, Whitehead and Burris. Looks like Ward, Williams and Higgins will play baring something mysterious. So the Browns are full go for the late season run.

Yesterday was the bye week, but with Seattle losing to the ravens, it still felt like the Browns lost and now the ravens have a 2.5 game lead in the division. So lets look at the remaining schedules and see if the Browns can make up ground. The first test comes this week against New England. Hopefully the Patriots will roll over the Jets tonight and go into the Browns game 7-0. The Browns don’t need to play them at home when they’re mad. If the Browns can play error free football, have no stupid penalties and use the offense we all saw in Baltimore, they have a chance. The defense needs to play lights out and stop the run. The ravens have the bye week and the steelers host Miami on Monday night. So this week would be a nice opportunity for the Browns to take one game off the ravens lead.

Week 9, The Browns head to Denver and face another top ten defense, however the Denver offense is not very good. So, if there’s no let down like after the ravens game, the Browns should win in Denver. The ravens get the Patriots on Sunday night and hopefully New England is pissed off because they lost to the Browns and beat the ravens. The steelers host the Colts, so there’s a potential loss. Week 10 the Browns host the Bills, who have a top ten defense. If the Bills had a quarterback, I would worry about this game, but I think the Browns win this one. The ravens host the Bengals and the steelers host the Rams. Baltimore wins and the steelers lose.

Week 11 the Browns host the steelers on Thursday night and they should win this game as well. Baltimore hosts the Texans and hopefully the Texans take care of business and win. So after week 11, The Browns should be at least at 5-5, the ravens at 6-4 and the steelers at 3-8. Week 12, the Browns host Miami, another win and the ravens play at the Rams,another loss. The steelers are at the bengals, but by this time they’re both playing for draft position. Browns 6-5, the ravens 6-5 and the steelers who cares. Week 13, The Browns travel to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving and the ravens host the 49ers. Don’t look now, the Browns are 7-5 and the ravens are 6-6. Week 14, the Browns host the bengals and the ravens go to Buffalo. After the dust settles the Browns are 8-5 and the ravens are 7-6.

Week 15, The Browns go on the road and play the Cardinals and the ravens host the Jets on Thursday night. Browns at 9-5 and the ravens at 8-6. Week 16, the Browns host the ravens with the division on the line. Browns win and are now 10-5 and the ravens are hoping for a wildcard bid at 8-7. Week 17, the Browns play at the bengals and the ravens host the steelers. Final standings, Browns 11-5 and the ravens 9-7. Now you’re looking at this and you’re saying, the Browns only lose one game the rest of the year? The team that’s turning the ball over like they’re handing out Halloween candy to little kids and being penalized for being on the field? Yep, that’s what I’m saying. There are potential landmines on the schedule, at Denver, at home verses the Bills and the steeler game in Pittsburgh. Win or lose, if the Browns play well at New England, that will answer a lot of questions. If the Browns beat the Patriots, then I want to see how they react at Denver.

For all this to play out, the Browns have to become the team we all saw after week 9 of last year. Clean, error free football, lots of motion on offense and a defense that can stop the run and create pressure. Plus no injuries. AND WIN AT HOME. Also the refs need to be average. Yes, at this point I’ll take average. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the Browns use both Chubb and Hunt in the backfield. I know Green Bay has done it this year and the ravens have Lamar Jackson and Mark Ingram in the same backfield, so it can work. As for the trade front, I hope Dorsey finds a interior defensive lineman and/or a linebacker. I still think Trent Williams isn’t going to happen. Like Dorsey said it takes two to tango and the redskins are one of the worst front offices in the league. What Dorsey can do is extend J.C. Trotter, he’s the Browns second best offensive lineman. On to New England and Go Browns.

Well, it’s been 48 hours, so here we go. Questionable play calling in the red zone at crucial times , turnovers, terrible officiating, dropped passes and penalties. Sounds like a broken record. The majority of the time the Browns moved up and down the field against a very good team. The first three drives ended in touchdowns. The no huddle offense had risen from the grave. However, prior to the half up 20-12, first and goal with about 1:40 on the clock and all three of your time outs, stop hurrying and burn some clock. Freddie said in his press conference yesterday, he wanted to be aggressive, score quickly, stop Seattle, and use his time outs and score again. What? Are you kidding me? How about take your time, make sure you score a touchdown, burn some clock, go up 27-12 and leave Seattle no time at the half. Instead the Browns are intercepted in the end zone and before you know it, it’s 20-18 at the half and Seattle now had the advantage.

Everyone is calling Mayfield a mistake as our quarterback. Not me. Yes, for some reason Mayfield is not seeing the entire field and is missing open receivers. But in the no huddle, he is the quarterback the Browns drafted number one. The interceptions are inexcusable, however 7 out of his 11 interceptions hit the receivers hands. Is he throwing the ball too hard or is he seeing a brief window to fit the ball into the receiver? A little of both. On the end zone interception, he really zipped the ball to Landry, but if the Browns weren’t in such a hurry, maybe run the ball on first and goal, things might of been different. The pass to Hilliard late in the game that bounced off his hands and was intercepted was a game killer. Here’s my question,why was Hilliard in the game to begin with? Chubb is the third best pass catching running back in the league with a 83% catch rate. So lets have him on the sidelines during a must score drive. That’s on the coaching staff.

Every NFL fan, except New England fans, can agree the officiating in this league stinks. Did it cost the Browns the game like last nights Lions game? No, but when was the last time a bad call helped the Browns? I can’t think of one game. Usually when the Browns play the officials are searching the glossary of the rule book to screw the Browns. From the touchdown/ non touchdown, the blindside block that killed a drive, the horse collar call and the non call on the face mask to Chubb, the officiating is just plain bad. The Browns aren’t completely innocent on penalties, they tried to keep up and succeeded to hurt themselves. Lane Adkins (TheRealLA_) of the Orange and Brown Report put it best, ” One issue with officiating of today, they anticipate a foul and throw the flag, rather than seeing one occur.”

It’s obvious this defense needs DL help and LB help. They just can’t stop the run and the poor tackling is maddening. All Browns fans thought the defense would be a strength of the team. Richardson and Ogunjobi are pedestrian at best. This team misses Christen Kirksey’s play and leadership. I know the defense is missing half their secondary, but that is not the problem. Myles Garrett did get two sacks and they did pressure Russell Wilson most of the day, but now you see why Wilson is the current front runner for MVP. Once Seattle got the mojo going, you could feel this game starting to slip away. Still after all the bad calls, the Browns had the lead late in the game.

The Browns did have over 400 yards of offense, but a little over 100 was in the second half. Chubb did get 20 rushes for about 120 yards and Hilliard did have two good returns, one great one to start the game. Beckham, despite two drops, played well, 6 catches for 101 yards. Some would say that even with all the problems they still almost beat the 7th best team in the NFL. Well whoopty hell, almost doesn’t count. This team blew chances to win 2 games and should be 4-2 at the bye. Freddie said yesterday, the Browns are a group not a team. I’m no expert, but I thought training camp is when you build a team. What were these guys doing in July and August? Also is preseason for the refs to work out all their problems, looks like they were just cashing checks.

Finally, The Rashard Higgins mystery can’t be explained. He comes off injury, listed as healthy and the Browns don’t want to play the guy who Mayfield has the best chemistry with is a healthy scratch. Yet, Callaway comes off injury and a four game suspension and plays right away at a position he practiced for the first time during the week. The 2019 Browns highlight video will be titled “2019 Browns, The Year They Shot Themselves In The Foot.”

The Browns go to the bye 2-4 with New England looming and a back half of the schedule with some pretty bad teams. Next week I’ll look at the remaining scheduling and see if the Browns can find finish 9-7 or 10-6. This may take awhile so wish me luck. Go Browns.

Late Breaking News. As I was finishing this, I heard Austin Corbett was traded to the Rams for a 2021 day three pick. Okay, I like a GM who can admit his mistakes. But then Steve Doerschuk (@sdoerschukREP) tweeted this, ” Trent Williams should be on Browns roster quite soon.” Wow. Remember Doerschuk was the first to report the OBJ Trade. And now Cleveland Channel 19 is also reporting. Don’t know if they are piggy backing off of Doerschuk, which wouldn’t surprise me, but if you’re a Browns fan despite Williams age, definitely an upgrade. Stay tuned.

It’s been 48 hours, so lets get this over with. That was a debacle. Lets start on offense. Because of the tackle position, or lack thereof, this offense can not do deep drops when passing the ball. Mayfield can’t hang in the pocket that long. The Browns started off pretty good with a trick play by Beckham. He hit Landry underneath but missed a wide open receiver which would of been a touchdown. Then Mayfield over threw or had dropped passes. Where the hell was the offense that worked so well against the Ravens? No motion and no creativity. That falls on Freddie. I think he’s doing too much.

Then, because of a poor defensive coaching decision, the Browns were down by a touchdown just like that. It looked like that one play threw off their timing and their game plan. One early touchdown takes you out of your game plan? Again, coaching is to blame. Just stick to the plan and work your offense. That probably would have worked if Mayfield hadn’t thrown another interception. Before you know it, boom down by two touchdowns. The Browns did come back with a field goal, but why are they using an empty backfield when they’re in the red zone? Again coaching. Lets put Mayfield in the position to be Baker Mayfield.

Not was all lost. The Browns drive down the field and on third and goal, Callaway doesn’t make the catch and it results in a turnover. Yesterday, Callaway said he was learning a new position. A guy comes off a four game suspension and you have him learn a new position? Either he needs to tell the coaching staff he’s having trouble with the position or you don’t put him in that position to begin with or you notice he’s struggling with the new position. One last thought on the coaching. you put Hilliard in to pass block and leave Chubb on the sideline? Chubb is the third best pass blocking running back in the league, while Hilliard is one of the worst.

It may sound like I’m blaming everything on the coaching, I’m not. Mayfield made some poor decisions and looked like he was rushing things. He really doesn’t trust his blocking and I don’t blame him, but he needs to just calm down. To win a game like this, everyone has to do their job. From the head coach all the way down the the backups on special teams. By the way, what ever happened to the no huddle, hurry up offense we saw in the preseason? Might not hurt to drag it out of mothballs.

Lets go to the defense. You start the game in a 4-2-5. You have Schobert and a rookie linebacker starting the game. So on the first play the rookie is out of position and the safety takes a bad angle on a 83 yard touchdown run. This defense really missed Kirksey Monday night. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the pick of Mack Wilson, but lets give the rookie some help on the first defensive play of the game. Considering the turnovers, the defense held their own at certain times. If it weren’t for the 49ers having their third long snapper this year and a rookie holder, this game would have been much worse. And like I said, give the defense credit for forcing the field goals.

Special teams. The “Scottish Hammer” can punt the ball and get the roll. The spin he puts on the ball is outstanding. However even the special teams got into the act by allowing a long punt return in the second half. Only the third punt return allowed this year. Austin Seibert was good as usual, just wish he had more opportunities for extra points. One last mystery, why was your star wide receiver returning a punt when you’re down by 28? In the words of some of my ancestors, Oy vey.

So now the Browns turn to the Seahawks who are coming off a bye week. The only things the Browns have going for them are a west coast team going east and playing the early game and the game is at home. Russell Wilson, right now is the best quarterback in the league and can make a serious case for MVP. Pete Carroll is one hell of a coach and the defense can be very good. For some reason WR D.K. Metcalf scares the crap out of me. Hopefully the Browns will be back to full strength in the secondary. This is a must win game. Seattle is up next and Go Browns.