Month: December 2021

The 2021 edition of the Browns are just plain exhausting. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll never give up on the Cleveland Browns and they’ve broken my heart a million times, but they will not break my will. Going into the Green Bay game I was hoping for a Browns win, but I didn’t expect one. The loss didn’t ruin my Christmas. Right now, the local media in Cleveland and the so-called experts on Browns twitter are forgetting the first rule of being a Browns fan, you want the Browns to win. Yes, Baker Mayfield threw four interceptions, but you could argue two of those interceptions were the direct result of bad officiating and a third was indirectly the result bad officiating. Bottom line don’t put the team in the position to have to rely on the referees to help you win a game. It’s the Browns, they aren’t going to help.

Here are the positives and negatives that I saw for this game. I liked what I saw from the offense. The coaching staff saw a weakness on the left side of the Packers defense and kept attacking that side. The Browns were seven of twelve on third down and averaged 6.2 yards a play. WR Anthony Schwartz was used like I hoped the Browns would use him. C Nick Harris played very well, as did TE Harrison Bryant. A lot of Browns fans are complaining that RB Nick Chubb wasn’t in the game enough. I found out today, that Chubb takes himself out of games when he’s tired. I hope no one still wants to fire DC Joe Woods, considering what he was working with, the defense played great. As for the negatives, CB Greedy Williams has to play closer to the line of scrimmage, he can’t make up all that ground on the opposing wide receivers. The Browns in the off-season need to stock up on defensive tackles. LB Anthony Walker was great in run defense, but he’s going to wear himself out by the end of the game. LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah missed some tackles and TE David Njoku was back to dropping passes. WR Donovan Peoples-Jones has to start fighting for the ball. Finally, this team really misses RB Kareem Hunt.

The temptation is for fans to blame one person or coach for a loss. Head coach Kevin Stefanski is not getting fired, Baker Mayfield is the starting quarterback for the rest of this year and for next year. Again, Aaron Rogers is not coming to Cleveland. Russell Wilson is not coming to Cleveland. The Browns picked up his fifth-year option for a reason. I continue to trust GM Andrew Berry and so should you. The only wild card to all this, is the owner. If he sticks his nose into the football decisions, then this team is in real trouble.

Amazingly, the Browns can still win the AFC North thanks to the Bengals and the Chiefs on Sunday. The Browns need to win their last two games against the Steelers and the Bengals, the Chiefs to beat the Bengals and the Ravens to lose to the Rams. Winning in Pittsburg is not going to be easy, especially considering it will probably be Ben Roethlisberger’s last home game. The Browns need to get some players off of the Covid list (and no one goes on it) and players back from injury. For the Browns to beat the Steelers they need to have a fast start and punch the Steelers in the mouth from the get-go. The good news is the Browns have two extra days to get healthy and get ready. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

Last night is called the longest night of the year, well it sure felt that way to Browns fans. After all the team went through the last eight days, I thought they had a chance. 18 players out with Covid, five starters on offense and five starters on defense. Starting the team’s third string quarterback who had one walk through to get ready and still didn’t know if he was going to start till game day. Your starting left guard starting at left tackle for the first time, (BTW, Bitonio had a 91.5 grade according to Pro Football Focus). A secondary with special teams’ players making contributions. And still the Browns had an opportunity to win. Let’s get to it.

Positives. The entire Browns team. Yes, there were moments during the game you were scratching your head, but the effort was off the charts. QB Nick Mullens did what he was supposed to do, play smart with no mistakes. In the fourth quarter he engineered a 14 play, 80 yard, eight-minute drive for the go ahead score. On that drive, Mullens was three for three on third down and one for one on fourth down. The Browns third string QB did that. Have you ever heard of Chris Streveier or Jake Browning? They are the third string QB’s for the Ravens and the Bengals. The patched up offensive line allowed no sacks. Alex Van Pelt kept running the ball and it paid off. The defense got two turnovers. DE Myles Garrett and S John Johnson both played the last defensive series hurt. LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah should be defensive rookie of the year. S Jovante Moffitt was all over the field. Finally, the crowd was fantastic.

Negatives. I’ll start with the offense, not for this game, but for the entire season. The defense again held an opponent to less than 17 points and the offense didn’t do its part. All the offense has to do is score 17 points or more. If they had in this game, the Steelers game and the first Baltimore game the Browns would have 10 wins. Including last night, the Browns are averaging 4.2 points a game in the fourth quarter. Last year they averaged 7.9 points a game in the fourth quarter. In one score games, the Browns are 4-5 this year. Last year they were 7-2. The offense has under achieved all year. To get to at least 17 points a game, you have to have a guy who can kick field goals. Chase McLaughlin has missed six of his last eleven field goals. I expect kicker tryouts this week, but let’s face facts, this late in the season the choices are slim.

Injuries. DE Takk McKinley is done for the season with an Achillies tear. S John Johson, III is day to day with a hamstring injury and DE Myles Garrett has a groin injury, status unknown. As for Covis activations, the Browns could get back CB Troy Hill, DT Malik McDowell, DE Ifeadi Odenigbo, WR Jarvis Landry, TE Austin Hooper, LT Jedrick Wills, QB Baker Mayfield and QB Case Keenum. They would have to have no symptoms and test negative. Also, CB Greg Newsome is still in concussion protocol.

What’s left. Surprisingly the Browns are still in the playoff hunt, however winning the division is their best hope. According to ESPN, the Browns have a 16.8% chance to make the playoffs and 13.4% chance to win the division. Here are the remaining games for the AFC North:

Steelers – @ KC, CLE, @ Balt, Cincinnati – Balt, KC, @ CLE, Ravens – @ Cin, LA Rams, Pitt, Browns – @ GB, @ Pitt, Cin.

The ideal situation would be for the Browns to win their last three games but winning in Green Bay seems like a daunting task. However, get some guys back this week and it’s possible. First the team needs to put last night behind them and use it as motivation for this week. As for the division, beat Pittsburg and Cincinnati and they can win the AFC North if things fall the right way. The amazing thing about this season, it seems no one wants to win the AFC North and that helps any team in the division. A team needs to step up and take charge the last three weeks of the season, hopefully it’s the Browns Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

It’s victory Monday and every Browns fan should be happy, not booing the team in the first minute of the game. The Browns just beat the best team (by record) in the AFC North and are still in the playoff hunt. Because of the results of week 14, the Browns are now second in the division and jumped from eleventh to eighth in the AFC playoff standings. Let’s get to it.

Positives. After a slow start, the offense in the first half started to show signs of life. Three drives, 17 points. Even after the interception by QB Baker Mayfield, the defense held the Ravens to a field goal. Then DE Myles Garrett made the game changing play I’ve been waiting for, strip sack, fumble, recovery and a defensive touchdown. Even the referees helped the Browns. Weird right? Mayfield, TE Austin Hooper, WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR Jarvis Landry and the offensive line were the stars on offense. You didn’t hear RT James Hudson’s name mentioned at all. Good job by the rookie. The story of the game though was the defense. Garrett, DE Jadeveon Clowney, DE Takk McKinley, LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, CB Denzel Ward, CB Troy Hill, S John Johnson, III and S Grant Delpit were outstanding. The defense held the Ravens to four or fewer plays on eight of their thirteen offensive possessions. The Ravens were one of twelve on third down conversions. The Browns defense had four sacks and caused two fumbles. Incredible. I think the Browns have a new punter and WR JoJo Natson is such a smart player.

Negatives. The second half offense. On the two touchdown drives in the first half, the offense moved the ball so you know it can be done. When the running game wasn’t working, the Browns did short five-to-six-yard passes on first down. Very smart. In the second half, nothing was working and when it did, the Browns kicker missed a field goal. The Browns have scored one touchdown in the last eight fourth quarters and been outscored in the fourth quarter 105 to 52. How in the hell is this team still in the playoff hunt? How do they have seven wins? Head coach Kevin Stefanski needs to go for the throat like he did in the first half last year when he knew the defense was bad and had to pile on points. Please keep WR JoJo Natson as the punt returner. Thank you. When you know, the other team is going to attempt an onside kick, watch the kicker and the ball, please. Thank you.

Scoreboard Watching Week 15. The Browns play the Raiders who are a mess right now, but QB Derek Carr seems to have some his best games versus the Browns. Beat the Raiders and root for the Chiefs over the Chargers Thursday night, the Patriots over the Colts Saturday night, the Titans over the Steelers, the Panthers over the Bills, the Broncos over the Bengals and the Packers over the Ravens. If all that can happen, brace yourselves, the Browns will be in first place in the AFC North with three games to play. The Browns haven’t won two games in a row since September, December would be a nice time to start. Everybody stay safe and Go Browns.

Usually this time of year, Browns fans are well versed in every NFL mock draft available. However now it’s time to scoreboard watch. Prior to the first game against the Ravens, the Brown’s playoff chances improved due to key losses by the Colts, Chargers and Steelers. Then the Browns laid an egg and wasted an opportunity. During the bye week, the Browns playoff chances were again helped by loses by the Ravens, Bengals, Raiders, Broncos and Bills. The Browns now go into week 14 at 6-6 with five games to go and are still in the playoff hunt. Hard to believe this time last year the Browns were 9-3.

Currently the Browns are the eleventh seed in the AFC and only the top seven make the playoffs. So, what need to happen week 14? First and foremost, the Browns have to win on Sunday against the Ravens. Just like the Browns, there’s something wrong with the Ravens, who have not played well at times which means the Browns have a chance for a victory. For the Browns to climb to the seventh seed after this weekend the Steelers need to lose to the Vikings Thursday night. Then on Sunday the Browns need Kansas City to beat the Raiders, Denver to beat the Lions, the Giants to beat the Chargers, the 49ers to beat the Bengals and Tampa to beat the Bills. That’s a lot to hope for, but this NFL season has been unusual to say the least. Hell, Monday night a starting NFL quarterback won a game going 2 of 3 for 19 yards.

Because three of the Browns last five games are AFC North games, they still have a slight chance to win the division. For that to happen, the Browns need to win the remaining divisional games and for New England to win the AFC East, the Chiefs to win the AFC West and turmoil in the AFC South. Has your head exploded yet? Bottom line, the Browns need to come out of the bye week with their hair on fire and win some damn games, it’s crunch time. If they don’t, I’ll be looking at mock drafts till the end of the year. Everybody stay safe and Go Browns.