Month: January 2023

After watching Sunday’s conference championship games, I wondered how close the Browns are from playing in the AFC championship game next year. Pretty close. The Eagles are built like the Browns with one exception, quarterback. Their franchise QB is still on a rookie contract. Their front office basically values certain positions the same way the Browns value positions. Philadelphia’s defense line doesn’t have any high-priced players. Their starting defensive line and their cap figures are Brandon Graham ($9.6 million), Fletcher Cox ($4 million), Javon Hargrave ($11.9 million) and Josh Sweat ($6 million). The Eagles big offseason move was trading for WR A.J. Brown. A move that paid dividends all year.

San Fransico runs a similar offense, but they started the game with their third string QB and ended up having to play their fourth string QB. Who knew Josh Johnson was still in the league. They made the playoffs by running the ball and having a dominating defense, especially their defensive line. Kansas City has one of the best quarterbacks in the league. In the offseason they lost one of their best offensive players (Tyreek Hill) and one of their best defensive players (Tyrann Mathieu). The Chiefs put their best pass rusher (Chris Jones) in the position to change the game. As for Cincinnati, they turned into the Cleveland Browns at the end of the game. With eight minutes left and the score tied at 20, they tried two long passes. One was incomplete and the other was intercepted. Run the ball and eat the clock (sound familiar). On their last possession, Burrow is sacked, and they have to punt the ball. Did they try and punt the ball out of bounds? Nope, big return. Then they commit the stupid penalty to put Kansas City in field goal range to win the game (sound familiar).

The Browns need to fix one of the worst run defenses in the league and get QB Deshaun Watson playing like he did in 2019. The class of the AFC North are the Bengals and they’ve struggled to beat the Browns, so a divisional crown is within reach. This is a huge offseason, get it done Andrew Berry. Stay safe and Go Browns.

This time of year, Browns fans tend to get a little silly. It’s their right if you write articles, blogs or have podcasts. And some of the stuff on social media is out there. But let’s all take a breath and think about it logically.

Outrageous trades. Sure, propose a trade of a Browns player. Just remember, the Browns, because of the Deshaun Watson trade, are in a win now mode. So, trading away core players really isn’t an option. Especially proposing trade that isn’t financial logical. Here’s an example, defensive end Myles Garrett. A trade of Garrett would result in $35 million in dead cap space. Just a reminder, the Browns are currently $9 million over the cap. Another example is left tackle Jedrick Wills. Yes, he had a down year, but if the team is in a win now window, you don’t create holes at key positions without having a legitimate replacement. I expect the Browns to pick up his fifth-year option.

Paul DePodesta. Browns fans always have to have a scapegoat and I thought it was DC Joe Woods. Yes, he deserved to be fired. But wanting to fire the Chief Strategy Officer is just weird. DePodesta does not run the team, he does not design plays and he does not call plays. He helps the front office on personnel decisions. No GM is perfect, Andrew Berry wasn’t perfect this last off-season. He totally missed on the defensive tackle position. He hit on his first pick last year, cornerback Martin Emerson was a steal. Just a reminder, GM John Dorsey, no fan of analytics, picked DE Chad Thomas with DE Sam Hubbard still on the board.

Jim Schwartz. Schwartz was hired by head coach Kevin Stefanski. Again, the Browns are in a win now mode, so the defense needs to be fixed NOW and he is the perfect hire. He was not hired as a backup plan if they fire Stefanski. Think about this logically, why would Stefanski hire his replacement? Why would Schwartz take a job, move his wife to Cleveland only to be an interim head coach for part of a season and be fired in January? And yes, he’s going to hire his own assistants and have a say in the players he wants to keep and add.

Free Agents. The Browns will need to create cap space as explained in this article https://clesportstalk.com/fixing-the-browns-2023-salary-cap/ I wrote for the website. Two Browns players they have to resign in my opinion are center Ethan Pocic and linebacker Anthony Walker. Make Pocic the starter and Nick Harris as the backup. Pocic was a top five center in the league when he played. The defense started to go downhill after Walker got hurt. I would like to see them resign LB Sione Takitaki, but he got injured so late in the season, he might not be ready. Bring back LB Reggie Rageland as LB five or six. As for the glaring hole in the defense, defensive line, be realistic in the players you want to sign. The Browns already have seven players making over ten million dollars on the roster, they won’t be adding any more. Javon Hargrave and Daron Payne would be great additions, however unrealistic. Think more like Dre’Mont Jones, Sheldon Rankins, David Onyemata or Matt Ioannidis. The Browns will need to sign two.

All Browns fans, except the “Baker Bros” want the Browns to succeed. This off-season is very important, especially because of how good the Bengals are playing right now. Fix the defense, take the off-season to bring Watson back to his 2020 form and challenge for the division and the playoffs. Make it happen Browns. Stay safe and Go Browns.

The Browns have hired Jim Schwartz as their new defensive coordinator. Excellent choice. If you read my blog, you know Schwartz has been on my “hope they hire list” for a while. This team has been in a must win now frame of mind since the acquisition of quarterback Deshaun Watson. So, hire the guy who most fits your scheme. Jim Schwartz is a known quantity in the league. His defenses stop the run, sack the quarterback and create turnovers. Schwartz has already worked in Cleveland as a scout for Bill Belichick in 1993, so he knows the town and the fans.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported the Browns wanted to hire someone with previous head coaching experience. The only two candidates with HC experience they interviewed were Schwartz and Brian Flores. Apparently, they didn’t want to wait for Flores to conclude his interviews with other teams. Good. Make the hire and start targeting the players Schwartz will need to be successful. I still maintain the Browns will need to sign two defensive tackle free agents and possibly a safety. I wish I was a fly on the wall during the interview to know how Schwartz felt about the current roster, because that’s a question the Browns have to ask.

As mentioned earlier, Jim Schwartz defenses have been very good. I’ll highlight two of his 14 seasons as a DC. In his one year as the Buffalo Bills DC, they led the league in sacks, were fourth in the league in yards allowed and were third in takeaways (30). In the year he won a Super Bowl ring as the DC of the Eagles, their defense was number one against the run (79.2 yards per game), were third in the NFL in opponent third down success (32.2%) and fourth in takeaways (31). Hell, as a head coach he took the Detroit Lions to the playoffs. The Lions. He became head coach the year after they finished 0-16. That snapped an eleven-year playoff drought.

Finally, Schwartz isn’t going to put up with any crap from his players. They’re going to work and work hard. I don’t want to see any drive extending penalties by the 2023 Cleveland defense. All in all, the Browns got this hire right.

The bad news is the Browns lost to the Steelers. The good news in the season is finally over and Joe Woods is out of a job. The game yesterday summed up the 2022 season perfectly. They were beat by an average quarterback, again. So now the focus turns to hiring a new defensive coordinator, resigning players and restructuring contracts to create cap room.

There are reports the Browns have asked permission to interview New England linebackers coach Jerod Mayo and Steelers linebackers coach Brian Flores. They’re the hot names right now and I think either would be a great move.

I hope the Browns try and resign linebacker Reggie Ragland; this group needs a big run stopping presence. Other names to watch are linebacker Deion Jones, center Ethan Pocic and running back D’Ernest Johnson. Pocic will be able to get starter money somewhere else but might want to resign with a team friendly deal. The number one priority this off-season is fixing the defensive tackle position and finding a speedy wide receiver. I think the Anthony Schwartz experiment is over.

Today the 2023 opponents were announced. Home: Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, Bears, Cardinals, 49ers, Titans, Jaguars and Jets. Away: Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, Broncos, Texans, Colts, Seahawks and Rams. A last place schedule is much neede right now, it benefited the Ravens this year. Time and dates should be announced around the time of the draft.

As for the Salary cap, the Browns will have about $31 million to rollover into 2023, which added to the $2 million in contracts for 2023 will give the Browns $32 million. I do expect the Browns to restructure both Amari Cooper and Deshaun Watson’s contracts.

Important dates for 2023: Feb. 21-March 7 teams may use the franchise or transition tag on impending unrestricted free agents. Feb. 28-March 6 Scouting Combine. March 13-March 15 early free agency period. March 15 (prior to 4:00pm eastern) every team has to be under the 2023 salary cap. March 15 (after 4:00 pm eastern) the new league begins.

Finally, Assistant GM Glenn Cook is interviewing for the vacant Titans GM position. If he’s hired the Browns will receive two second round compensatory picks. One this year and one in 2024. Stay safe and as always Go Browns.

Happy victory Monday. It took 4.5 games to finally see what a franchise quarterback looks like and it was great. During those games you could see some glimmers of hope, but you could also tell the timing just wasn’t there. In the second half of yesterday’s game, it looked like it all came together. Watson showed off his arm, his legs and his decision making. His rhythm and timing where there for the first time this year. All this team needs now on offense is for the offensive linemen to hold on to their blocks and not turn around and watch the quarterback. Watson did escape some sacks, but he also ran into some sacks. An off-season of work with his offensive line will prevent a pass thrown to the starting right tackle. Watson was 9 for 18, 169 yards, three touchdowns and a QBR of 122.5. He also ran for 31 yards on 8 carries (3.9 average). Also, the Browns have a number one wide receiver. Amari Cooper had three catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

On defense having an old school, run stopping linebacker really makes a difference. The Browns need to resign both Reggie Ragland and Deion Jones. Safety Grant Delpit had his best game as a pro. Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, defensive tackle Taven Bryan, cornerback Martin Emerson, cornerback Denzel Ward and safety D’Anthony Bell all played very well. Bell on defense and special teams. The bad side of the defense was a Washington 21 play, 96-yard drive that took over eleven minutes off the clock late in the second quarter. Not only did they score and take the lead, but they were getting the ball back first in the second half. The Browns defense did their job and forced a three and out. The Browns would score the go-ahead touchdown on the next possession. Finally, on offense running back Nick Chubb and defensive end Myles Garrett had Nick Chubb and Myles Garrett types of games.

As for the coaching, head coach Kevin Stefanski again took three points off the board by going for it on fourth and goal from the three. Stop it please and no Stefanski should not be fired. While defensive coordinator Joe Woods called a great game, he still should be fired. I think special team’s coach Mike Priefer has saved his job, going into this game the Browns special teams were ranked eleventh in the league.

Moving forward, the Browns head to Pittsburg to hopefully ruin the Steelers playoff hopes. Stay safe, Happy New Year and Go Browns.