Over the many years of watching Browns football, I thought I had seen everything. But losing to a third string quarterback named Duck takes the cake. So the Browns this year have lost to two third string QB’s and the current backup for the titans. What the hell. It’s been 48 hours, so lets get this over with. Last week I lamented I wished I would see the Browns play a complete game. This past Sunday was a complete game, all three phases failed. On offense, the Browns got up 10-0 and it seemed like they thought they had already won the game. So, the steelers finally get something going and get a field goal to make it 10-3 and a little momentum shift starts to happen. The Browns get the ball back with 2:56 left in the first half with two timeouts and the two minute warning and they throw the ball instead of running. Three and out and they punt. So, the steelers go down and score making it 10-10. In the first half the Browns ran the ball 18 time for 91 yards and you come out throwing with 2:56 left in the half? Burn the clock, run the ball, take your time and even if you get no points the steelers are down at least 10-3. If you get lucky, it could have been 13-3 or 17-3 and momentum back on the Browns side.
The second half begins with the steelers getting the ball first and they go down and score a touchdown to make it 17-10. The steelers made adjustments and the Browns didn’t. The Browns record at the half this year was 7-4-1. That’s right, if the Browns had carried over the first half score, they would have a winning record right now. No half time adjustments and no killer instinct. That’s coaching. Even down 20-13 with over seven minutes left and after a Browns interception puts the ball on the steeler 30 yard line, you come out throwing the ball. The Browns ran the ball 6 times for 15 yards in the second half and Hunt had no rushes. This is play calling. The offensive line was terrible, McCray, Teller and Hubbard all had bad games. The Browns tried in the first half to help with Hunt and a tight end blocking, but you can’t do this all game. Why is Mayfield handing the ball off from the shotgun? Put him under center and hand it off or how about a draw play every once in a while.
As for the defense, if you don’t know how important Myles Garrett is to this defense then you’re not paying attention. The steelers controlled the line of scrimmage for two thirds of the game. As for the secondary, the corners have to turn and see where the ball is on the long fade routes. This team missed Damarious Randall, but apparently he didn’t practice well enough one day last week and didn’t make the trip to Pittsburgh. What, really? All in all the defense played poorly and have I mentioned they let a third string QB named Duck beat them? As for special teams, I hope the Browns invest in a return man in the off season, because I hold my breath every time the ball is kicked off or punted to the Browns.
So what can be done with this mess? I still don’t think the Browns are going to fire Freddie. You can’t change the culture by continuing to fire coaches. You tell Freddie he has to quit calling plays and either hire a OC or figure out how to use Todd Monken. I still have no idea what Monken does for this team. While the defense hasn’t lived up to expectations, they haven’t killed this team like defenses in the past. For those of you who want to fire Freddie, I suggest you read this excellent article by cleveland.com’s Doug Lesmerises (@DougLesmerises) https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2019/12/can-we-have-a-disciplined-discussion-about-fixing-the-browns-before-jumping-right-to-fire-freddie.html. Remember the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence.
I don’t want to talk about the draft yet, so lets talk Browns play off chances. Right now the Browns have a slim chance at making the play offs. Hell, I have a better chance of winning both the Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries in the same week as the Browns making the play offs right now. But as they said in the movie Dumb and Dumber, “so you’re saying there’s still a chance.” Lets start with this week. Obviously the Browns need to beat the Bengals. Thank god Cincinnati won last week, I would hate to face a win less team. The Bills need to beat the ratbirds. This would take the Browns out of the number one wildcard spot, because with a win, the Bills would clinch and still have an outside chance for the division lead in the NFL east. And the way the Patriots are playing right now, it’s possible. Next the Raiders need to beat the titans. This seem like a long shot, because the titans are playing extremely well and the Raiders have come back to earth. However the titans have always had problems playing on the west coast and especially at Oakland. The Cardinals need to beat the steelers. The Cardinals are currently on a four game losing streak, but they are playing at home. The steelers might have a let down game. Finally, Tampa has to beat the Colts. Very possible.
So right now the Browns chances at making the second wild card slot stands at 6%. If all the above happens, it increases to 63%. I know it’s a lot, but stranger things have happened. Finally as I write this, DE Chris Smith has been released by the Browns to make room for DT Justin Zimmer and the Carolina Panthers fired HC Ron Rivera. First, I don’t understand how you can thin out a position group which is thin to begin with. I wish Chris Smith all the best, after the season he’s had, I hope he catches on with another team quickly. As for Rivera, let the Rivera to the Browns rumors begin. I hope he finds a nice home is Strongville.
One last note, this is the best Buckeye team I’ve ever seen. After their annual beat down of that team up north, The Ohio State is still number one in the playoff rankings. Beat Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game and they should finish the season as the number one team. Let hope TTUN doesn’t fire Jim Harbaugh any time soon. Lets get ready for Cincinnati and GO Browns.