Month: December 2019

It’s officially the off season and the Browns are in the market for a new head coach and possibly another front office restructure. You have to give Jimmy Haslam credit for one thing, like the true hillbilly he is, he likes to blow things up. The Browns aren’t wasting any time on this search, so far they have asked permission to talk to New England OC Josh McDaniels, Ravens OC Greg Roman, Vikings OC Kevin Stefanski and 49ers DC Robert Saleh. Also they’re going to interview former Packers coach Mike McCarthy. Now that things have settled down today, lets look at each candidate.

Josh McDaniels. Current OC for Bill Belichick. Has head coaching experience with Denver and turned down the Colts head coaching job after he said he would take it. Okay, he was a failure in Denver, but I think he was too young and thought he could be the next Belichick. Sorry there will never be another “Mumbles”. As for the Colts job, there were authority issues between McDaniels and the front office. The Haslams really like McDaniels and so does Paul Depodesta. McDaniels wanted the job two years ago and now feels he’s ready to be a head coach again. The next concern with McDaniels is he’s from the Belichick coaching tree and Bill runs everything. McDaniels has free range to call plays for the Patriots and his offense over the years has fit the players on the roster, what a concept. His hiring may cause a front office shake up. Rumors are if hired he wants his own GM from the Patriots front office. I’ve heard two names, Nick Caserio and Dave Ziegler. So hiring McDaniels might mean bye bye John Dorsey. More on this later.

Greg Roman. It never hurts to talk to your divisional rivals coaching staff when hiring a new coach. Best known for creating offenses for running style quarterbacks with OC stops in San Francisco, Buffalo and now Baltimore. He is very creative, but does the Browns current roster fit his scheme? Never been a head coach, and I really don’t want to go down that road again.

Kevin Stefanski. Another favorite of Paul Depodesta and interviewed last year with the Browns. Has done an incredible job as the Vikings OC with QB Kirk Cousins and RB Dalvin Cook. He runs a wide zone offense and I drool a little thinking about that offense with Mayfield, Chubb, Hunt, Landry and Beckham. His scheme definitely fits the talent on the roster. Would need to hire experienced coordinators, because he’s never been a head coach. one positive, he might keep special teams coach Mike Priefer.

Robert Saleh. A great defensive mind, but with the 49ers defense anyone can have a great defensive mind. Saleh is your Rooney Rule candidate, sorry Eric Bieniemy. Again no head coaching experience.

Mike McCarthy. He would definitely bring leadership and discipline to the Browns. As mentioned in an earlier blog, his offense isn’t geared for the modern NFL. McCarthy would probably keep offensive line coach James Campen and knows front office personnel Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith. I just worry we might get into another Butch Davis, Eric Mangini situation, a coach with too much power.

Of these candidates I’m most intrigued by McDaniels and Stefanski. I think McDaniels gets the job if he wants it, the Haslams want him so that tells you everything. Can Dorsey and McDaniels work together? It’s possible. The restructure I could see is Depodesta as team president, Dorsey as head of football operations and Caserio or Ziegler as GM. Unfortunately the Browns could lose Eliot Wolf, a very good talent elevator. I’ve heard that Alonzo Highsmith might be headed back to the University of Miami to head up their football program. As for the rest of the Browns coaching staff, they have not been fired, but have been told if offered another job, feel free to take it.

As for Dorsey. Yes, I know he pushed for the Kitchens hire and wasted draft picks on Austin Corbett and Antonio Callaway. Also he ignored the tackle position on the offensive line. But he did inherit a 0-16 team, traded for Jarvis Landry, drafted Denzel Ward, Nick Chubb, Baker Mayfield and signed Sheldon Richardson. I still think the Beckham trade was a good trade and will become a better trade in the years to come. I don’t want to see Dorsey go, he’s brought more talent to this team than any other GM in the expansion era, but football is a business.

The Browns have already set up times to interview McDaniels and Saleh. Ron Rivera is close to a deal in Washington. And Matt Rhule is the favorite for the Giants job. Last week the Browns sent out feelers to see if Rhule would be interested and he said no. As for Urban Myers, it’s the Cowboys or nothing. The Cowboys are interested in Rhule as well. John Dorsey has scheduled a news conference for tomorrow. I’ll be interested in what he says and how he answers questions from the Cleveland media. Enjoy this week Browns fans, it’s going to be one hell of a ride. Go Browns.

A late name to add to the list, Bills OC Brian Daboll. The Browns have requested and were granted an interview with Daboll. Just remember, current coordinators whose teams are still in the playoffs, can be interviewed but not hired until their teams lose. So I’m rooting for the Titans this week over the Patriots.

It’s been 48 hours so lets get this over with. The Browns lost this game with 1:18 left in the first half. For 28:32 the Browns played well and seem to confuse and frustrate the well oiled machine that are the Ravens. The Ravens blew through all their timeouts, so they couldn’t stop the clock. When Baltimore trails at the half this season they are 0-2, so a 6-0 lead with 1:18 left in the half looked pretty good. Then Freddie’s play calling threw everything flammable onto the fire. On 3rd and 1 from your own 28 yard line he decides to run a trick play, a half back pass to the tight end. What in gods name were you thinking Freddie? So what happens, the Browns are forced to punt and the Ravens score a touchdown in two plays. Two freaking plays with no time outs. Okay so now the Browns are down 7-6(because of another missed extra point by Seibert) with less than a minute to play and what does that former running backs coach turned head coach do? He tries three straight passes, stopping the clock and 46 seconds later the Ravens lead 14-6 and get the ball first in the second half. Game over. I heard a stat yesterday that blew me away. Against the Browns, opposing teams have scored 53 points with less than two minutes left in the first half. The Browns have scored 7 points in the same situation. There’s your 2019 Cleveland Browns.

The 2019 season has been a waste. Wasted opportunities in the NFL can set a team back. The Browns have to fire Freddie and move on. This coaching staff, from Kitchens, to Todd Monken to Ryan Lindley, have set Baker Mayfield back a year in his learning. I still believe Mayfield is quarterback the Browns need to win, he just needs better coaching.So who’s the next coach of our Cleveland Browns? My choice would be either Ron Rivera or Josh McDaniels. The problem is there might be quite a few openings come next Monday (Black Monday). Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, New York Giants, possibly the Chargers and hopefully the Browns. Washington and Carolina have interim coaches and word is Carolina already interviewed Mike McCarthy. I know Rivera has ties to Dallas, Atlanta and the Giants, so if the Browns want him, there will be a bidding war, which could mean more power for the coach. With all the uncertainty about the future in New England , McDaniels might be ready to move on to a head coaching position. We hear Urban Myers to the Browns and I know a good coach can coach at any level, but I really worry about his health. The NFL is a 24 hour 7 day a week job, just ask Steve Spurrier. Anyway, with Dorsey and Myers, the Browns would average three arrests a year.

The next question, can we trust the Haslams and Dorsey to get it right this time? It sure didn’t work with Kitchens. Word is Dee Haslam wanted Freddie fired after the second Pittsburgh game, but she is also the main reason the Browns kept Hugh Jackson after he went 1-15. This part of the off season scares me the most. The decision making process of this group should scare all Browns fans. You want another scary thought? With Cincinnati assured of getting the first pick in the 2020 NFL draft, the QB’s in the AFC north will be Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, Ben Roethlisberger and possibly Joe Burrow. This is why the Browns have to get this hire right. And the new coach has to hire the right coaching staff. This team is close, it just needs a strong hand and someone to bring out the best in Baker Mayfield.

The worst part about Sunday is everything the Browns needed to happen with other teams to keep them in the playoff hunt, happened. The Titans and Steelers lost and the Colts won. A wasted Sunday and a wasted season. This really isn’t a bad team. The Browns have offensive weapons and a good base for the defense. If the Browns add an good return man, their special teams would be top five in the NFL. Before you ask, no I would not trade Odell Beckham. He just needs to show up healthy in the off season and do the work. Besides the coaching decision, this off season the Browns need to improve the offensive line, whether it be in free agency or the draft or both. The Browns also need a safety, defensive tackle and linebacker help. Currently the Browns have the twelfth pick in the draft and have seven picks, one in each round. In future blogs, I’ll get more into the off season, the salary cap, free agents available, resigning current players, potential trades and the draft. But right now, the Browns have one more game to play, at Cincinnati. Lets hope they win and leave Browns fans with a positive attitude as we head towards the off season. I don’t think a win in Cincinnati can save Kitchens and it better not be an excuse to keep him. Go Browns and Merry Christmas.

Well it’s been 48 hours so lets get to it. Disorganized chaos. That’s the only way to describe the 2019 Cleveland Browns. Lets talk about the game first. The Browns won the coin toss and elected to take the ball in the second half. Against a 3-9-1 team with a rookie QB, you take the ball first and force the opposing team to go into panic mode if you score on your first possession. Nick Chubb only had three rushes in the first 18 minutes of the game. Three rushes. He ended up with 17 rushes, 127 yards and a touchdown. I know the Cardinals have the worst passing defense in the league, but by those stats Chubb should have had at least 20 to 25 touches. I thought Mayfield was decent, but he’s still sailing passes as evidenced by his first interception. The only players on offense who looked liked they cared were, Mayfield, Chubb, Hunt and Landry. Please, for the love of god, STOP USING THE SHUTTLE PASS. Third and two, you shuttle pass to a wide receiver and end up losing six yards. And Nick Chubb is standing on the side lines.

On defense, or lack thereof, the only player who played well was Mack Wilson. DC Steve Wilks allowed another rookie quarterback to beat the Browns. RB Kenyan Drake(Who?) rushed for 137 yards and FOUR touchdowns. The defense gave up 445 yards after giving up 451 to the Bengals. Total team lack of effort. No special blitzes, no pressure on the QB and no sacks. Kareem Hunt said Monday, he felt not everyone was giving 110% I am pretty sure he was talking about the defense. As for special teams, another missed field goal and another short punt.

The drama. There were reports that after the game, Browns players, including Jarvis Landry, were yelling at the Arizona sideline to “come get me.” I almost believed it, until I found out that the report was attributed to Mike Silver. I just can’t believe a Hugh Jackson spokesman. He’s so far up Jackson’s ass, that the only way he could see is if Hugh opened his eyes. However, Landry and Freddie getting into a heated discussion on the sideline, gets my attention. When the coach losses Landry, then Freddie has lost the fans. If the players truly wanted out of Cleveland, they would tell their agents. After the game, Mayfield showed up for the post game press conference in a T-shirt. If that doesn’t say I don’t care, nothing does. Also when asked Monday if the players still supported Freddie, Damarious Randall couldn’t answer. YIKES.

The coach. In previous blogs, I’ve stressed not firing a coach after one season because I wanted the cycle of dysfunction to stop. Not any more, Freddie has to go. From play calling, to unexplained player inactives to a stupid T-shirt, I want a head coach who acts like a head coach. It sounds like Freddie has lost the locker room and the team leaders. I just don’t want him to destroy Baker Mayfield and if Freddie is back next year, he will. We don’t need another Tim Couch experience. Word is Jimmy Haslam is ready for a change and Dorsey isn’t. I don’t know yet who I want as the next HC, I haven’t looked at all the candidates yet, but I know I don’t want a college coach. Sorry, no Lincoln Riley, Matt Ruhle or Urban Meyer. An experienced coordinator could work, just depends who is available, Josh McDaniels maybe? The two veteran coaches currently available, Mike McCarthy and Ron Rivera both have concerns. McCarthy runs an old offense and couldn’t get along with QB Aaron Rogers. Rivera would want too much power. Remember before Freddie was hired, front office executive Paul DePodesta wanted to hire Vikings OC Kevin Stefanski. I wish, boy do I wish.

The playoffs. Do really want to see this team in the playoffs? It would probably mean Freddie would keep his job. Right now the Browns have a .08% of making the last wildcard seed. Here’s what needs to happen. First the Colts need to win their last two games. They play host to the Panthers and go to Jacksonville. Both are winnable. The Panthers are starting their third string QB and Jacksonville is a bad team. Next, the steelers need to lose their last two games. They are at the Jets and at the Ravens. The steelers don’t know who will start at QB for the Jets game. I can’t wait to see what kind of defense Greg Williams throws at the steelers. As for the Ravens, they might be resting players, but I still think they can beat the steelers. Next the Titans need to lose their last two games. They host the Saints and are at Houston. As under maned as they are with injuries and with the Titans kicking woes, they could lose both. Finally the Browns would have to win their last two games. They host the Ravens and go to Cincinnati. The way the defense played the last two weeks, beating the Ravens looks impossible. But like I said, do you really want the Browns to make the playoffs?

Hard to believe this season has come to this. Like I’ve said before in the off season you acquire talent and in the preseason you build a team. Freddie just doesn’t have the ability to build a team. Hard to believe this team went from Greg Williams (5-3 as HC) coach “come get some” to Freddie Kitchens (6-8 as HC) coach “come get me.” Last home game against the Ravens. Win out and the Browns would be 8-8 and 5-1 in the AFC North. Such a wasted season. GO BROWNS. By the way, 100 days until opening day at Progressive Field.

Victory Monday, at least I think it’s victory Monday. Before I talk about the drama that is the Cleveland Browns lets talk about the game. Offensively, it only took Freddie a half of football to figure out the Bengals rushing defense is the worst in the NFL. Nick Chubb had three rushes and Kareem Hunt had two rushes in the first half. To add to that, you have a quarterback with a bad hand and you come out passing. And your so called best receiver is injured. It looked like to me that Mayfield’s hand was bothering him, because a lot of his passes were high and both interceptions were on high passes that were tipped. The offense just seemed to be disjointed. Njoku seemed a little rusty, but Ricky Seals-Jones made a great catch and run. Nick Chubb is a workhorse and he’s the only player in the NFL with at least 75 yards or more from the line of scrimmage in each game. Chubb and Hunt, who showed his speed on his touchdown run, should have been running from the beginning of the game. More play action please. Jarvis Landry is a stud. The offensive line held their own and didn’t lose the game for the Browns allowing one sack. The Browns only had eight possessions all game and scored on four of those, however two possessions ended in a turnover.

On defense, you could say they didn’t play well because the Bengals rolled up 451 yards of total offense, but they stopped Cincinnati when they had to. The red zone defense was great. I’ll take field goals over touchdowns any day of the week. Richardson, Thomas, Ogunjobi and Cox played very well on the defensive line. Wilson and Schobert are becoming a really good linebacker combo. Extend Schobert now. In the secondary, Ward and Redwine are playing extremely well. Greedy Wilson settled down later in the game, but he needs to just react and not overthink things. As for the special teams Seibert hit all his kicks and even though one punt was affected by the wind, Gilan punted well. Could we please stop running the kickoffs out of the end zone? What surprised we the most, adjustments were made at halftime both on offense and defense, that’s progress.

Now for the drama. Reports that Beckham wants out of Cleveland started to surface last week by a guy on twitter named “Incarcerated Bob.” Beckham was asked about it on Friday and said he wanted to be in Cleveland and loves playing with his best friend Jarvis Landry. On Sunday Jay Glazer of CBS, confirmed this story and now there are reports Beckham during an October game told opposing players to “come get him” in the off season. The opponents in October were the 49ers, the Seahawks and the Patriots. If Beckham wants out of Cleveland then this would be the off season to deal him. All his up front guarantees were paid by the Giants and although he’s signed through 2023, his cap hit this off season would only be 2.7 million. If he’s really hurt that bad, tell him you want to sit him for the Cardinals game and that you really need him for the Ravens game. I would love to see what this offense can do without Mayfield trying to force the ball to Beckham. If he really wanted out of Cleveland, Beckham would shut it down and have the surgery. As for Mayfield’s comments about the medical staff not dealing with Beckham injury properly, I love Baker Mayfield, but sometimes he needs to just shut up.

The Browns playoff hopes are still slight, but there is a way. First the Browns need to win their last three games. That would put them at 9-7, 5-1 in the AFC North and 8-4 in the AFC. The steelers need to lose two games, they still have to play the Bills and the Ravens. The Browns would win the tie breaker because of a better AFC North record. The Colts and the Raiders need to lose at least one game and after seeing them this past Sunday, that’s very possible. Here’s the shocker, the Titans need to sweep the Texans and win the AFC South. The Titans hold the tie breaker with Browns because of the egg the Browns laid week one, but would have the tie breaker with the Texans because of a better AFC conference record. First the Browns need to beat the Cardinals. Against the steelers, the Cardinals either turned the ball over or gave up touchdown killing sacks in the red zone. Time for the Browns to go out west and win a game. Are the Browns a playoff team? Well they have won 4 out of the last 5 and have a 4 game winning streak at home. If Freddie could just get over his obsession about passing the ball when you have two premier running backs on the roster, then maybe the Browns can be a play off team.

Finally as for The Ohio State football team. Based on their resume, they should be the number one team in the country. While LSU was playing Texas A & M and Arkansas, the Buckeye’s were playing Penn State and that team up north. And of their opponents in the championship games, Wisconsin would crush Georgia. This gives Ryan Day a ton of motivation before the bowl game. Bring on Clemson and GO BROWNS.

Over the many years of watching Browns football, I thought I had seen everything. But losing to a third string quarterback named Duck takes the cake. So the Browns this year have lost to two third string QB’s and the current backup for the titans. What the hell. It’s been 48 hours, so lets get this over with. Last week I lamented I wished I would see the Browns play a complete game. This past Sunday was a complete game, all three phases failed. On offense, the Browns got up 10-0 and it seemed like they thought they had already won the game. So, the steelers finally get something going and get a field goal to make it 10-3 and a little momentum shift starts to happen. The Browns get the ball back with 2:56 left in the first half with two timeouts and the two minute warning and they throw the ball instead of running. Three and out and they punt. So, the steelers go down and score making it 10-10. In the first half the Browns ran the ball 18 time for 91 yards and you come out throwing with 2:56 left in the half? Burn the clock, run the ball, take your time and even if you get no points the steelers are down at least 10-3. If you get lucky, it could have been 13-3 or 17-3 and momentum back on the Browns side.

The second half begins with the steelers getting the ball first and they go down and score a touchdown to make it 17-10. The steelers made adjustments and the Browns didn’t. The Browns record at the half this year was 7-4-1. That’s right, if the Browns had carried over the first half score, they would have a winning record right now. No half time adjustments and no killer instinct. That’s coaching. Even down 20-13 with over seven minutes left and after a Browns interception puts the ball on the steeler 30 yard line, you come out throwing the ball. The Browns ran the ball 6 times for 15 yards in the second half and Hunt had no rushes. This is play calling. The offensive line was terrible, McCray, Teller and Hubbard all had bad games. The Browns tried in the first half to help with Hunt and a tight end blocking, but you can’t do this all game. Why is Mayfield handing the ball off from the shotgun? Put him under center and hand it off or how about a draw play every once in a while.

As for the defense, if you don’t know how important Myles Garrett is to this defense then you’re not paying attention. The steelers controlled the line of scrimmage for two thirds of the game. As for the secondary, the corners have to turn and see where the ball is on the long fade routes. This team missed Damarious Randall, but apparently he didn’t practice well enough one day last week and didn’t make the trip to Pittsburgh. What, really? All in all the defense played poorly and have I mentioned they let a third string QB named Duck beat them? As for special teams, I hope the Browns invest in a return man in the off season, because I hold my breath every time the ball is kicked off or punted to the Browns.

So what can be done with this mess? I still don’t think the Browns are going to fire Freddie. You can’t change the culture by continuing to fire coaches. You tell Freddie he has to quit calling plays and either hire a OC or figure out how to use Todd Monken. I still have no idea what Monken does for this team. While the defense hasn’t lived up to expectations, they haven’t killed this team like defenses in the past. For those of you who want to fire Freddie, I suggest you read this excellent article by cleveland.com’s Doug Lesmerises (@DougLesmerises) https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2019/12/can-we-have-a-disciplined-discussion-about-fixing-the-browns-before-jumping-right-to-fire-freddie.html. Remember the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence.

I don’t want to talk about the draft yet, so lets talk Browns play off chances. Right now the Browns have a slim chance at making the play offs. Hell, I have a better chance of winning both the Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries in the same week as the Browns making the play offs right now. But as they said in the movie Dumb and Dumber, “so you’re saying there’s still a chance.” Lets start with this week. Obviously the Browns need to beat the Bengals. Thank god Cincinnati won last week, I would hate to face a win less team. The Bills need to beat the ratbirds. This would take the Browns out of the number one wildcard spot, because with a win, the Bills would clinch and still have an outside chance for the division lead in the NFL east. And the way the Patriots are playing right now, it’s possible. Next the Raiders need to beat the titans. This seem like a long shot, because the titans are playing extremely well and the Raiders have come back to earth. However the titans have always had problems playing on the west coast and especially at Oakland. The Cardinals need to beat the steelers. The Cardinals are currently on a four game losing streak, but they are playing at home. The steelers might have a let down game. Finally, Tampa has to beat the Colts. Very possible.

So right now the Browns chances at making the second wild card slot stands at 6%. If all the above happens, it increases to 63%. I know it’s a lot, but stranger things have happened. Finally as I write this, DE Chris Smith has been released by the Browns to make room for DT Justin Zimmer and the Carolina Panthers fired HC Ron Rivera. First, I don’t understand how you can thin out a position group which is thin to begin with. I wish Chris Smith all the best, after the season he’s had, I hope he catches on with another team quickly. As for Rivera, let the Rivera to the Browns rumors begin. I hope he finds a nice home is Strongville.

One last note, this is the best Buckeye team I’ve ever seen. After their annual beat down of that team up north, The Ohio State is still number one in the playoff rankings. Beat Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game and they should finish the season as the number one team. Let hope TTUN doesn’t fire Jim Harbaugh any time soon. Lets get ready for Cincinnati and GO Browns.