Month: December 2020

The Browns are currently in the eighth seed and if the playoffs started today they would be out. But the playoffs don’t start today. If the Browns beat the Steelers on Sunday, they are in. It’s that simple. Win and you’re in. Other things can happen and they will automatically clinch, but those scenarios can be a bit dicey. So how did we get to this spot. Well it seems B.J. Goodson, Jacob Phillips, Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, KhaDarel Hodge and Donovan Peoples-Jones were all in a hot tube together at the team facilities. Goodson tested positive on Saturday morning and the rest were labeled close contacts. Most of the players were already on the plane to go to New Jersey when the team found out about Goodson. If this had happened one day earlier, the Browns could have adjusted the game plan. Some are asking why didn’t the NFL postpone the game like they did for the Ravens earlier in the season. The Ravens kept testing positive for several days and the Browns had no more positive tests on Saturday or Sunday.

As for yesterday’s game, yuk. There were only three positives. DT Sheldon Richardson, DE Olivier Vernon and TE David Njoku. That’s it, that’s the list. The Browns were out coached and out played. Sure they were missing eight starters and ten players total, but the Jets had only won one game prior to Sunday. The Browns couldn’t run the ball, reliable tight ends were dropping passes and Baker Mayfield couldn’t hang on to the ball. The Browns couldn’t get out of their own way. The offensive line allowed eleven pressures and three sacks. Kendall Lamm and Nick Harris were responsible for seven pressures and two of those sacks. The highest graded players according to Pro Football Focus were Joel Bitonio on offense (78.6) and Olivier Vernon on defense (88.0). As for the not-so-special teams, the Browns have a kicker problem. Head coach Kevin Stefanski says he still has confidence in Parkey. He might be the only one. I’m not going to talk about the officiating. It sucked as usual.

Moving forward, Wyatt Teller should be practicing Wednesday. Landry, Hodge, Peoples-Jones, Higgins and Wills have all tested negative and if they continue to test negative will be back Thursday. Goodson and Phillips will miss the Steelers game. The Browns signed WR Alexander Hollins off the Vikings practice squad due to the lack of players in that position group. Baring any setbacks, safety Ronnie Harrison should be back to practice this week and playing on Sunday.

As for the playoffs, here are the scenarios for the Browns to clinch Sunday. A Browns win or the Colts lose to the Jaguars or the Texans beat the Titans plus the Ravens beat the Bengals plus the Dolphins beat the Bills. You got all that. My head hurts. Just beat the Steelers and the Browns are in. As for the Steelers, there is some speculation head coach Mike Tomlin might rest some starters. The oddsmakers in Vegas seem to think he will. They made the Browns a 6.5 to 7 point favorite. The Steelers are one of the older teams in the NFL and were forced to take their bye week in week four and it was actually a bye weekend. So resting players would make sense. Also with a win, Pittsburg really doesn’t improve their playoff seeding. They could get to the second seed, but a ton of things would have to happen. All the Browns need to do to win is start fast, execute their offense and not blow coverages on defense. And for gods sake, don’t leave it up to our kicker. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns, it’s Steeler week.

It’s Victory Monday and the Browns are 10-4. They still hold the fifth playoff seed. That was a business like, professional football team win. I can’t even remember the last time I said that about a Browns team. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has these players believing in themselves and in their head coach. QB Baker Mayfield is playing like a Pro Bowl quarterback. He has the fifth best QBR (76.6) in the NFL and had the highest QBR in week fifteen at 98.3. Mayfield was 27 for 32, 297 yards and two touchdowns. His 84.3% completion rate was the highest by any Browns quarterback. Mayfield broke the record held by Kelly Holcomb who had a completion rate of 82.9% in 2003. On to the other positives.

On offense, the Browns did whatever they wanted. Two 95 yard drives for touchdowns. The second 95 yard drive was ten plays and took 4:55 off the clock. More importantly, after the touchdown, there was 21 seconds left in the first half. Impressive and business like. Stefanski’s play calling is pure genius. On the touchdown pass to TE Austin Hooper, the Browns lined up in their goal line “jumbo” package, three tight ends and two running backs and threw the ball. Considering the Giants had a top five red zone defense, it was a work of art. On another play, the Browns lined up with three tight ends and one wide receiver. Stefanski had the tight ends bunch up on one side of the field and the wide receiver on the other side. Wow. Speaking of wide receivers, Donovan Peoples-Jones has been fantastic. When he’s targeted, Mayfield has a perfect quarterback rating. Not bad for a sixth round pick. Another rookie who did a great job was G/C Nick Harris. He stepped in for Chris Hubbard and held his own. He did allow a sack, but that was the only sack allowed by the offensive line.

On defense, everyone contributed. Safety Karl Joseph has strung together a couple of good games. He had two passes defended and a team high ten tackles. On the defensive line, Myles Garret, Olivier Vernon and Sheldon Richardson were pressuring Giants QB Colt McCoy all night. In the absence of LB Mack Wilson, who was a healthy scratch, Rookie Jacob Phillips had his best game of the season. However the biggest defensive difference maker was CB Denzel Ward. A defense can do so much more, when you have a shut down corner playing. The secondary is much better when CB Kevin Johnson is play the nickel.

As for the negatives, the not-so-special teams. First they allow a big return on the opening kickoff. Luckily for the Browns, former Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens was calling plays and the Browns escaped an opening drive Giants score. By the way, a fake field goal where the punter attempts to throw a touchdowns pass to the center? Never change Freddie, never change. Kicker Cody Parkey has now missed three kicks in two games. I’m going to wait and see what he does verses the Jets before I start to worry. Can the Browns get any good NFL referees to work their games? One reason Parkey missed the extra point was because WR Jarvis Landry had a penalty call against him after the touchdown and Parkey had to kick a 48 yarder. Bad officiating. The Giants defensive player should have had the penalty called on him.

As for injuries, RG Chris Hubbard is having season ending knee surgery this week on his knee. Harris will start at right guard moving forward with Michael Dunn as the back up. Coach Stefanski in his news conference today said DT Sheldon Richardson (neck) should be okay, but we’ll have to see if he practices this week. Safety Ronnie Harrison can come off the IR, but he’s also a wait and see for this week. Safety Andrew Sendejo is still in Concussion protocol and RG Wyatt Teller is week to week.

Finally for the Browns to clinch a playoff spot next weekend, the Browns have to beat the Jets and then one of three things have to happen. The Colts lose to the Steelers, Miami losses to or ties the Raiders or Baltimore losses to or ties the Giants. Two of those three scenarios are possible. I would love to see all three happen. As for the Browns next opponent, the Jets, I was very happy to see them get their first win. Nothing is scarier than playing a team who hasn’t won a game this late in the season. Just ask the Rams. One interesting stat concerning the Jets, they’ve scored on their first possession in seven straight games. So next week, the Browns get the ball first, score and keep the Jets from scoring on their first possession. Game over. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

I know I usually wait 48 hours to write a blog after a Browns loss, but this really doesn’t feel like your normal Browns loss. Yes, a loss is a loss, but there are many positives. For some reason, even after losing to the Ravens, I feel better about the Browns if they make the playoffs. The Browns are 9-4 and still hold the fifth seed in the playoffs. Winning the AFC North is no longer in reach, but like I said in an earlier blog, it was a long shot. This team never gave up last night and QB Baker Mayfield played like a franchise quarterback. More importantly, head coach Kevin Stefanski is showing the confidence in Mayfield to open up the play book. Stefanski is the only NFL first year head coach with a new team this season to have a winning record. The other first year coaches are Ron Rivera (6-7), Joe Judge (5-8), Mike McCarthy (4-9) and Matt Rhule (4-9). Let’s go to the positives.

On offense, the best example of Stefanski opening the up the play book was the pass play by Jarvis Landry. Mayfield fakes to Chubb and throws the ball to Landry and then points down field. Landry stands there looking towards the end zone. Then at the last minute. throws the ball across the field the Chubb to set up a screen play. Damn, that’s genius. Mayfield finished 28 for 47, 343 yards, two touchdown passes, one interception and one rushing touchdown. After the interception, Mayfield probably played his best ball. That’s called growth. Mayfield is ninth in the NFL in total QBR. The Browns had 471 yards of total offense verses the Ravens. Again the offensive line allowed no sacks. They are tied for fifth in the NFL for the fewest sacks with 17. Every team in the top nine would make the playoffs if they started today. The highest offensive line ratings per Pro Football Focus for the Browns offensive line were Bitonio (86.2), Teller (93.8) and Conklin (84.1).Without OBJ, Donovan Peoples-Jones has really stepped up. Remember he started the season on the inactive list for a couple of games. He has ten catches for 238 yards, 23.8 yards per catch. On defense, the Browns sacked Lamar Jackson four times. However they all came in the first half. DE Olivier Vernon and DT Sheldon Richardson played their butts off.

As for the negatives, the defense. The linebackers disappeared. Mack Wilson had zero tackles. Zero. If this team doesn’t get a turnover, it’s going to be a long game. The defense really missed Denzel Ward and Ronnie Harrison. DC Joe Woods should have adjusted and put a “spy” on Jackson. DE Myles Garrett seemed to disappear at times. I know he was tripled teamed for most of the game and he’s still recovering from Covid, but the Browns just needed one game changing play. The special teams are a mess. Just call them the not-so-special teams. As for the officials, how in gods name do you miss 15 guys on the field. Fifteen? Stefanski had to use his challenge flag for them to see it. The offensive pass interference on Peoples-Jones was complete crap, as was the intentional grounding. Hey NFL, it’s a prime time game in December featuring two teams with winning records, how about some quality NFL referees? With New England struggling, you would think the good ones were available.

On the injury front, Garrett, Jedrick Wills and Wyatt Teller are going to be evaluated during the week. Teller and Wills have ankle injuries and Garrett hurt his elbow. I expect all to play next Sunday. Stefanski said in his press conference today, he expects Ward, KhaDarel Hodge and Austin Hooper to be back on the practice field this week. The only other injury to report was Andrew Sendejo, who suffered a concussion. New safety Tedric Thompson is learning the defense and should be ready to play verses the Giants.

Moving forward to this weeks games with playoff implications, the Titans play the Lions, the Colts play the Texans, the Dolphins play the Patriots and the Ravens play the Jaguars. Currently the Browns have a two game lead on the Raiders, a one game lead on the Ravens and the Dolphins and are tied with the Titans and the Colts. The Browns have the tie breakers verses the Titans and the Colts. The Raiders look like they peaked early. The Dolphins have a great defense, but are struggling on offense and the Ravens have an incredibly easy schedule for the rest of the season. The Browns will face the Giants Sunday night (I still can’t believe the Browns got flexed to the Sunday night game). I watched a little of the Giants/Cardinals game on Sunday. They do have a good defense, but no offense. If a team can score 20 on them, the Giants don’t have the fire power to come back. The Browns might be facing former Browns QB Colt McCoy Sunday night, so be prepared for another prime time walk down memory lane. I have complete confidence Kevin Stefanski can get this team to forget about the Ravens game and be prepared to face the Giants. The Ravens were supposed to have one of the best defenses the Browns played all year. The Browns erased a 14 point deficits last night twice. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

Once again it’s Victory Monday and the Browns are now 9-3. The Browns are guaranteed a winning season for the first time since 2007. All week long, Browns fans heard how the Browns can’t beat a good opponent on the road. Or how the Titans were going to stop the Browns running game and make QB Baker Mayfield beat them. Check and check. Mayfield finished 25 of 33 for 334 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. The Browns are still the number one wildcard team and the fifth seed for the playoffs. The AFC North is now 11-2 verses the AFC South and the Browns swept the AFC South for the first time. On to the positives.

Kevin Stefanski should get serious consideration for coach of the year. To have this team at 9-3 without off-season OTA’s, a prolonged training camp and no pre-season games is amazing. And, he installed a new offense. Speaking of the new offense, the Browns scored 38 points in the first half, the most points in a half in franchise history. Mayfield had four touchdown passes in the first half, the last Browns QB to do that was Hall of Famer Otto Graham on December 2, 1951. As a matter of fact, Mayfield has thrown four TD’s in a half twice this year, Sunday verses the Titans and in the second half of the second Bengals game. He’s the only NFL quarterback to do that this season. The Browns offense in the first half converted seven of eight third downs and finished ten for sixteen for the game. I think two plays sum up how the Browns offense worked. The first was the touchdown pass to OL Kendall Lamm. The Browns lined up like they were going to run the ball with both Chubb and Hunt in the back field and a jumbo formation. Chubb fakes the the leap in the end zone and Hunt rolls out to the flat. Lamm releases his block and is wide open. The other play was the 75 yard touchdown pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones. Again the Browns line up like their going to run. Hooper goes into the backfield like he’s going to block, Mayfield does the play action and rolls to his right. Peoples-Jones beats the Titans DB and is wide open.

The highest rated offensive players according to Pro Football Focus were Mayfield (91.1), Bitonio (88.8), Teller (83.6), Higgins (81.8) and Conklin (79.0) You know your offense is clicking when three of the five highest rated players are offensive linemen. Because of the play action, the screen game was on fire yesterday, whether it was Chubb, Hunt or Landry. On defense the highest rated players according to PFF were Malcolm Smith (91.4), Myles Garrett (91.2), Sheldon Richardson (79.7) and Mack Wilson (78.8). The linebacker group played very well. Sione Takitaki had a run defense PFF rating of 87.5. The defense in the first quarter made the stops when they had to. I noticed early, the Browns were playing five defensive linemen. This seemed to confuse the Titans. After the stops, whether it be on downs or turnovers, the Browns offense went down and scored. The Titans came into this game having turned over the ball five times for the season, the Browns defense got three turnovers. Smith, Ogunjobi and Garrett all had sacks and LB B.J. Goodson has taken over this defense.

As for the negatives, I wish Kevin Stefanski would have the killer instinct that The Ohio State coach Ryan Day has when he coaches against Michigan. Knock them out and keep hitting them. Because of the missing pieces on defense, the offense has to keep it’s foot on the gas pedal. This defense just doesn’t have the overall talent to hold a big lead, especially at safety. Well at least the special teams are getting plenty of practice with on side kicks. Again the officials were terrible, but thirteen penalties for 92 yards is way to much. I guess the NFL isn’t going to allow the refs to call a holding penalty against Myles Garrett. Lastly, the Tennessee Titans are the dirtiest team I’ve seen all year.

Moving forward to next weeks games. As I mentioned earlier the Browns currently hold the fifth playoff seed. The Browns have two and a half game lead on the Ravens, a two game lead on the Raiders and a one game lead on the Colts and Dolphins. The Ravens play the Cowboys Tuesday night, the Raiders and the Colts play each other and the Dolphins play Kansas City. Of course the Browns will host the Ravens next Monday night. Right now the Browns are playing at a high level at the right time and the Ravens are a desperate team. Lets hope the Browns have revenge on their minds next Monday like they did against the Titans. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.