Month: September 2024

It wasn’t pretty, but there was improvement and effort. A team effort in all three phases of the game. The offense in the first half had three drives all resulting in points, one touchdown on the opening drive and two field goals. The first drive was a thing of beauty, 89 yards, 16 plays, over nine minutes. QB Deshaun Watson was 7 of 8 for 83 yards and a QBR of 109.8. For the half, he was 11 of 15 for 108 yards and rushed four times for eleven yards. He finished the game 22 of 34 for 186 yards and a QBR of 78.8. The start of the second half is when things started to go bad. Head coach Kevin Stefanski got a little cute with his play calling. In the fourth quarter the Browns kept shooting themselves in the foot with stupid penalties. The coaching staff has to clean up these mistakes.

The defense played like they were playing at home. Very aggressive. What impressed me was the red zone defense. Last year they were the worst in the league. Yesterday, they held the Jaguars out of the end zone two of three times. The Jags had to settle for field goals. They just need to hold on to interceptions. They had two right in their hands. Cleveland harassed Sunshine all game. Jacksonville did have 323 total yards, but most of those came late in the game. The defense had four sacks and seven pressures. The Alex Wright sack for a safety gave the Browns an 18-13 lead and the breathing room they needed. The Wright safety was set up by a great punt by Corey Bojorquez.

Other positives, running back D’Onta Foremen may not have had a lot of yards, but the way he ran the ball punished the Jaguars defense and kept running back Jerome Ford fresh. WR Jerry Jeudy stepped up and looked like a number one wide receiver. On defense, LB Jordan Hicks was a great signing. Made the right calls and had a massive sack. The three corners, Denzel Ward, Martin Emerson and Greg Newsome played very well. Newsome gave up a long pass play, but the Jacksonville WR pushed off on his route and of course it wasn’t called.

The penalties are ridiculous. thirteen for 100 yards, eight on the offense. Last week they had eleven for 67 yards, ten on the offense. Make it stop. This game should have been a blowout. The penalty on kicker Dustin Hopkins cost the Browns points because the Jags return man fumbled the ball. Then to add insult to injury the Jags scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive. The first drive in the second half was a head scratcher. Cleveland didn’t need to score a point, all they had to do was move the ball, get some yards and kill some time off the clock. Finally, two of thirteen on third down will not win you a lot of games. The coaches will be busy this week cleaning up a few things. Stay safe and Go Browns.

That’s how yesterday’s game landed in my mind. Other words like ugly, embarrassing and disgusting could also be used. It was a complete team loss. Every phase of the team sucked. The offense was chaotic, the defense was average, and the special teams were especially bad. And to think we had to wait till 3:30pm CST to watch the game. I wish it was a noon game, so I could’ve gotten the pain over with early. If you’re calling for the team to cut Watson, it isn’t going to happen, well at least not till after the 2026 season. A lot of fans are watching Baker Mayfield on the Buccaneers and wondering what if. Mayfield wore out his welcome by ignoring the play calls and lying to the medical staff about his injury. After watching the Patriots game, why don’t you call for Jacoby Brissett to be the quarterback? Here’s my solution, let Ken Dorsey call his own offense. And no, they won’t bench Watson and start Jameis Winston.

Blame also has to placed on GM Andrew Berry for not drafting a tackle to replace James Hudson. I don’t know if a rookie would have done better against Dallas, but their two rookies on the offensive line did very well. Unfortunately, we’re stuck with Hudson. Because of Hudson and Dawand Jones, who picked a bad time to have his worst game, the team couldn’t run the ball or pass the ball. To add to it, Watson was way to uncomfortable. He seemed antsy in the pocket with his eyes and his feet. Wide receiver Amari Cooper seem to “check out” late in the game.

As for the defense, they seem to have problems with very good quarterbacks and the wildcard game against the Texans seemed to have broken them. Kind of like Kansas City has broken the Ravens. The Dallas defense was doing things I remember from the Texans game that Houston did. At least the defense didn’t commit a ton of penalties like the offense. Eleven for the game, ten on the offense. That’s on the coaches for not having the team ready to play.

The special teams were also a mess. A 60-yard punt return for a touchdown early in the third quarter when the score was 20-3, turned into a 27-3 Dallas lead and the game was over. Cleveland seems unprepared for any kicks. The question now is can this be fixed in a week when the Browns travel to Jacksonville? Yes, it can. But it needs to happen today during team meetings. If the Browns can get a victory against the Jaguars, then the schedule is favorable the next three games. Finally, the Browns will need to sign a veteran tight end because of the injury to David Njoku. He has a high ankle sprain and those take at least five to six weeks to heal. Stay safe and Go Browns.

The waiting is over, it’s game week number one for the Cleveland Browns and it’s a big one. Dallas Cowboys, afternoon start, Fox national game of the week and Tom Brady’s debut in the booth. Just a normal week one for the Browns. No pressure. The Browns are currently a 2.5-point favorite at home. Last year the Browns were 8-1 at home and the Cowboys were 4-5 on the road. While the national media is focused on the quarterback position, I’m focused on the left tackle position. Jedrick Wills didn’t practice again today, but Jack Conklin did. Looks like he’ll be the team’s starter on Sunday. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said today that Wills was getting closer to practicing and didn’t say if Conklin would start. I originally thought he only played LT his freshman year at Michigan State. Nope, most of his college career. Conklin doesn’t seem to be concerned about playing on the left side, so I won’t either.

The other position I’m worried about is the running back room. Because the Dallas pass rush (Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence) will get a ton of attention in the media, a good run game will help take the pressure off QB Deshaun Watson. Dallas last year finished sixteenth (112.4 yards per game) against the run and fifteenth (4.2 yards) in yards per rushing attempt. If the Browns are able to have their quick passing game working, that will also help. Dallas’s secondary is good but will be missing starting corner DaRon Bland due to injury.

Finally, the anticipation for this game will build every day this week. I know a lot of Browns fans don’t like the 1:00pm EST start time, but I do. The late afternoon games are hell on my nerves. There’s pacing and wondering. The game will be played over and over in my head. The good thing, I’ll be able to test out how I’m going to watch games this year at home. I’m leaning towards Streameast. It worked during the preseason, so hopefully it will work during the regular season. One last reminder, I’ll have my preview article for the game on http://@FansFirstSN. Look for it either Friday or Saturday. Stay safe and Go Browns.