Month: December 2025

I like Victory Monday’s, and I especially like them when they’re at the expense of the Steelers. It doesn’t surprise me the Browns won, because Kevin Stefanski is on a four-game winning streak at home versus Pittsburg. The Steelers are now 1-6-1 against the Browns in Cleveland over the last eight games. It also doesn’t surprise me the Steelers lost because of the way they played. They spent the entire game running away from Myles Garrett breaking the sack record. I don’t care what Mike Tomlin says, the Steelers played like they were more concerned about the record then getting the win. If anyone even hints that Steeler OC Arthur Smith should get a head coaching job I’m laughing in their face. With the game, clinching a playoff spot and winning the division on the line, he dials up three straight passes at pro bowl cornerback Denzel Ward. Not to bright.

I going to give credit to Sheduer Sanders for improving over the last two games. Against the Bills his completion percentage was 69.0 and against the Steelers it was 73.9. He’s improved his season total to 57.4. However, he’s still throwing bad interceptions. Against the Steelers he got lucky on a pick six by the Steelers. That would have been the perfect time to throw it out of bounds. On his second interception, he retreated backwards (consistently bad habit), threw off his back foot (another bad habit), threw across his body (hopefully not a new bad habit) and lofted a pass that was easily picked off. The team was lucky the Browns defense was playing well, and the Steelers were playing not to have a record broken on them, because neither ended up in Pittsburg points. The defense was so good, the Steelers were the only team in the league to not score a touchdown in week 17.

Finally, this win confirms to me that head coach Kevin Stefanski will be back in 2026. Jimmy & Dee Haslam want consistency and Stefanski gives them that. The last two games showed the team has not given up and still want to play for the head coach. Joel Bitonio’s comments prior to the game and afterwards shows the players want Stefanski back. Besides the garbage preached by Tony Grossi of a mutual parting of the ways is crap. There are only 32 NFL head coaches in the world, Stefanski knows if he quits it will follow him the rest of his career. Cleveland beat writers should stick to sports and stop with the amateur psych analysis. I have a psychology degree from Vanderbilt University, I know a quitter when I see one. Stefanski isn’t a quitter. He said it’s a privilege to the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. That’s good enough for me. Happy New Year, stay safe and Go Browns.

As another Browns losing season comes to an end, again the focus turns to the NFL draft. This year is the same as last year for Browns fans and the local media, the team has a high pick so they have to take a quarterback. However, this year there’s a complication, Sheduer Sanders. Last year’s QB draft was not the greatest, but there were those searching for social media clicks who unfortunately convinced a portion of the fan base Sanders was easily the second-best QB in the 2025 draft. Not even close. I said prior to the draft, Sanders would either be a starter in the league in two years or out of the league in two years. After seeing him play this year I’ll amend that to he has the ability to become a good NFL quarterback if he has the right players around him. He still holds on the ball too long and takes sacks when the team can’t afford for him to take sacks. So what are the Browns options for the 2026 season?

The Browns right now have the third pick in the draft and if things happen right, could have the second pick in the draft. Currently they have a 22% chance of getting the first pick in the draft. With either of the top two picks, the Browns could draft a quarterback if Donte Moore declares after the bowl season is over. He and Mendoza are the top two quarterbacks and the gap to number three is a wide one. Here’s where it gets interesting. If the team feels Sanders can be their starter for 2026, they could turn the pick in to more draft assets for 2026 and future years. This would definitely help building a proper NFL offense around Sanders to give him and the team the best chance to succeed in 2026.

The other option is to go ahead and draft a quarterback at pick one or two. Some have speculated if this is the path, the Browns would deal Sanders to another team. Unfortunately, they would probably only recover a fifth-round pick in return. In this scenario, the Browns could still build the offense to win by using trades, free agency and the draft. They’re still going to use trades and free agency no matter what they do with their first-round pick.

An option not discussed, and my option, would be draft either Moore or Mendoza depending on the pick and keeping Sanders to compete for the starting job. Here’s how it works. Use trades and free agency to build the offensive line and wide receiver rooms. Draft a quarterback and continue to improve the offense through the draft. Acquire a veteran quarterback as insurance. When training camp begins let the draftee and Sanders compete for the starting position. Because quarterbacks are always getting hurt in the off-season, deal Gabriel for a pick, probably a conditional pick in 2027. So, the room would be veteran, draft pick/ Sanders, Watson. What they do with Watson is interesting. They could decide and have him as the third string QB and not get a veteran or sign a veteran and use Watson as the emergency QB on the practice squad, were no team will claim him because of his contract.

The Browns have two more games to decide if Sanders is an option in 2026 and I think because GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski like him as a player, he’ll be on the team for the 2026 season and will have a chance to start. The question is, can he beat out a high drafted quarterback. Stay safe and Go Browns.

That’s the phrase Browns GM Andrew Berry used to describe the plans for the 2025 season back at the beginning of the year. I only bring this up because fans and local Cleveland media are using what the owner said back in July to justify their reasoning to fire everybody associated with the team. He said, three and fourteen this year won’t cut it. You have to look at the time and situation this was said. At the time, the plan was for Kenny Pickett to be the starting QB so the rookies would fight it out to be the backup. Joe Flacco was a break glass in case of emergency QB. You have to also remember at that time the team was unsure if starting running back, Quinshon Judkins, would even play due to his legal troubles. Situations and circumstances. Hell, last August I told my wife I’d like to lose 20 pounds by the end of the year. Not even close.

What does strategic pivot mean? Based on what I’ve seen this year, it was seeing what kind of off-season the team would have with different scenarios. They chose to resign Garrett and build around him on defense. Defensive tackle Maliek Collins was the best off-season move this team made and now we’re seeing his value because the Browns can’t stop the run. I wished they had addressed the offensive line in the draft, but they did sign two linemen that I thought would work out. Cornelius Lucus and Treven Jenkins. Lucus was the guy I wanted and said so many times. I didn’t think Jenkins was obtainable due to price. I would resign Jenkins for depth and let Lucus walk. As for the wide receiver position, they didn’t draft one, but I’m more impressed with Isaiah Bond with each game he plays. On defense they drafted the defensive rookie of the year and a DT who is in the top ten at his position. The big pivot came when they decided to go with so many rookie and young players, including the quarterback position.

The local media works on emotions not logic. The head coach of an NFL team basically has three primary jobs, win games, develop players and keep the respect of the locker room. So far Kevin Stefanski has done two out of three. While Sheduer Sanders still plays like a rookie, he is getting better, and you can see the difference between now and the third preseason game. Judkins and Fannin are future stars this team will count on in the upcoming years. This team needs one more year of stability to rebuild the offense, hopefully around Sanders. Both tackle positions need a serious upgrade which can be addressed in both free agency and the draft. The same goes with the wide receiver position.

If Jimmy and Dee are going to fire the head coach, they had better already have a plan. In the past when the owner shot from the hip, we got Hue Jackson and Freddie Kitchens. But here’s the rub, I’m hearing Jimmy wants stability for once. It sounds like he’s learned his lesson from his past mistakes. Right now, some in the Cleveland media want the owner to act like he did in the past, that way they can complain about it, again. Good times. I still think, based on what I’m hearing, Berry and Stefanski come back in 2026. If there’s no improvement, Jimmy will clean house prior to 2027. Stay safe and GO Browns.

Sorry, this is a day late, it couldn’t be helped. Apparently, the Browns are a giant cabal of Sanders hate. After out playing the number one overall pick last Sunday, many in the local Cleveland media feel Sanders was held back on purpose because they hate him. Or hate the fact they picked him. Or are trying to set him to fail by starting him the last four games of the season. I can’t keep up with any of this crap anymore.

There’s a simple explanation for Sanders not starting game one, he wasn’t ready. It was easy to figure out if you watched the last preseason game. He wasn’t an NFL quarterback coming out of college and that game showed he wasn’t an NFL quarterback. Starting him week one would’ve only hurt his career. He Was Not Ready. The Browns had a plan to get him ready, and Sanders did what he could to learn. You are now seeing the fruits of that labor. Is he completely ready? No. He’s still making rookie mistakes because, wait for it. he’s a rookie. Time was not wasted starting Flacco or Gabriel, because Sanders wasn’t ready. You saw that against Baltimore when he came in when Gabriel got hurt. He’s gotten better with each start, which is sign of a good QB who’s learning.

The notion that Kevin Stefanski can’t develop a quarterback is also being destroyed by the fact that Sanders is getting better each game. Rookies aren’t on a self-teaching program. Joel Bitonio told the media this week, when he gets to the training facility every morning, Sanders is already there. And guess who else is there, Kevin Stefanski, who is with Sanders going over the Browns next opponent. Teaching and developing a rookie QB. If you’re proud of the success that Sanders is having, you also have to acknowledge it’s because of the head coach. One goes with the other.

I’ve also heard from those who wish the Browns had traded up and drafted Jaxon Dart. If the team had done that, they would’ve used draft capital that would have gone to other players. The team could have been without Carson Schwesinger, or Quinshon Judkins, or Harold Fannin because the capital to draft them could’ve been used to move back into the first round. And no, they shouldn’t have used the second pick or the fifth pick in the first round to draft Dart. Just to remind you, Schwesinger is the favorite to win Defensive Rookie of The Year, Judkins leads all rookie running backs in yards and Fannin leads all rookie tight ends in receptions and yardage. I guess when Andrew Berry has a full complement of draft picks, he does very well.

Finally if you’re going to blame anyone for the loss on Sunday, blame the special teams and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. There are times Schwartz does things that make you wonder, but Sunday to concentrate on the getting Myles Garrett his sack record and ignoring the Titans’ running game is inexcusable. Not a good look for a guy who some in the Cleveland media thinks would be a great head coach. Looks kind of stubborn to me. Stay safe and Go Browns.

I have maintained through the 2025 season that head coach Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry won’t be fired during or after the season. I still maintain it. As I’ve said. the owner helped to and took part in the failed Deshaun Watson trade. Because of that participation, he feels it’s not fair to fire the GM and head coach. I’ve also maintained it would take the wheels to come flying off one or both to be fired. Let’s take a look at what constitutes the wheels coming off.

First let me say, Berry is safe based on not only on this past draft, which was great, but the previous two drafts which were good. League GM’s usually bat around 40 to 44 percent when drafting. It takes the entire off-season to judge a GM and Berry has made significant progress in improving the talent on the team.

For Stefanski to be fired, what defines the wheels coming off is three things.

One, losing the locker room. If there was grumbling in the locker room, everyone would know it by now. After the failed fourth downplay by Harold Fannin it would have been very easy for him to throw the blame on the coaches. He didn’t, he blamed himself. If any other player felt Tommy Rees or Kevin Stefanski were to blame, social media would be on fire. The players buy into his system and the coaching staff.

Two, outside voices calling for Stefanski’s head. Sure, there’s a segment of Browns fans who want him gone now. But most wanted him gone last year or think he was the central figure in bringing Watson to Cleveland. Yes, there are local media types who have him fired already, but they’re “doom and gloom” merchants who use their extreme opinions to get attention. I pay no attention to individuals who market themselves just to deceive the fans. Nationally, you see nothing. When Adam Schefter says it, then I’ll listen. Hell, even Mary Kay Cabot is reporting he’ll be back.

Three, the attention monger click baiters are having a field day. This starts with the stupid garbage the Sanderites are spreading. Conspiracy theories aren’t facts. Fact is, Sheduer Sanders is not an NFL ready QB. I really don’t care what Dillon Gabreil’s girlfriend thinks. I’m glad Jerry Jeudy yelled at Sanders on the sideline. He was open several times and Sanders didn’t even look his way. Are we really mad because Sanders might get his feelings hurt. If he’s upset about getting yelled at, then play better or find another profession. The fact is, this was the best game the Browns offensive line has played and that’s coming off a good game against the Raiders. Sanders had an average of 3.35 seconds in the pocket to throw the ball. That’s the best time for a Browns quarterback in two years. On one play from the endzone he had 4.96 seconds and missed a totally open David Njoku streaking across the field after he beat the linebacker. And what was up with the third and twenty-six late in the game, when Sanders had plenty of time to throw, but instead ran for six yards and sat down. some will point out he had a good first half, but how much was that the running game. On the Browns only touchdown drive, they ran the ball for nine plays, at one point eight straight.

Because of the current system for hiring coaches, the Browns would have to wait till a team is done in the playoffs. Their choices now are college coaches or retreads. I still can’t believe a local Cleveland radio station was calling for the team to hire Lane Kiffin, the biggest quitter in football. A new coach may come in and get rid of the current staff. Bye-bye Jim Schwartz. He may not want to deal with the whole Sanders situation and cut him and Dillon. Then the team is back to no quarterback. If you want one of the eligible rookies in the 2026 draft, there’s no guarantee any of them will be good right away. Do you think the local media and click baiters will have the patience for that? No, they’ll run them out of town too. Then we’re back to disfunction function.

Finally, please don’t say Mike Tomlin. You want to fix the offense with Tomlin? He makes terrible hires, and the Steelers haven’t scored 14 points in the first quarter in 68 straight games. 68 straight games. The Browns will bring both Berry and Stefanski back next year and if this continues, they both will be fired at the end of 2026. If you want an example of what not to do, look at the Browns next opponent, the Titans. Fired their coach, none of the player want to play for the interim coach and they’ve basically started making their off-season plans. Add, to that, they were supposed to have drafted a generational talent at quarterback. They look lost. Stay safe and Go Browns.