Dawgpoundsouth

That was totally unexpected. Last year the Browns were 8-1 at home, but this is the NFL, where anything can happen. Sunday winless teams won. Besides the Giants, the Ravens, the Broncos, the Colts, the Panthers and the Rams all won. It’s a weird league. Maybe someone should turn off the Browns and turn them back on again.

On offense, the problem is the offensive line. Plain and simple. Add eight more sacks and thirty-six more pressures. The Browns have no offensive identity, none. You have to adjust your offense to the team you are playing. They did it last week against Jacksonville, but for some reason not this week against the Giants. The Browns didn’t adjust to the Giant’s blitz. In the previous two weeks, New York blitzed 25% of the time. The Giants noticed early, the Browns were chipping and doubling certain players. New York adjusted and blitzed 57% of the time. Meanwhile, the Browns offense didn’t go into “heavy” offensive sets and run the ball. You beat the blitz by running the ball. Have you noticed after Cleveland breaks the huddle, the offensive linemen don’t communicate with each other? They don’t set their blocking scheme, adjusting to the defensive front. By the way, Dawand Jones looks slow and overweight.

The Browns also need to get rid of lining up in empty sets. Please keep a back or a tight end in the backfield. Put Watson under center and do some play action pass plays. You don’t have to do it the entire game, just enough to keep the defense honest. Set a game plan that’s designed for the opponent you’re playing, the offensive players you have and to adjust to what the defense adjusts to. Next week the Browns offense has to prepare for Maxx Crosby and Christian Wilkins on the Raiders defensive line. Yikes.

On offense, the Giants only had two legitimate weapons, running back Devin Singletary and wide receiver Malik Nabers. Both were allowed to go crazy. Browns cornerback Martin Emerson had no answer for Nabers. I know Denzel Ward has a shoulder injury, but when Ward wasn’t covering Nabers, could you have least double teamed Nabers? I’ll give the defense some credit. In the second half, they didn’t allow a point or a third down conversion. They gave the offense the opportunity to come back and win the game.

Finally, yes quarterback Deshaun Watson deserves some blame for this loss, about 20%. But with an offensive line that’s probably going to get him killed, they need to get the majority of the blame for this loss. If you are hoping for the Browns to trade for Joe Flacco, not going to happen. And if hoping for Watson to get hurt, go away, you’re not a Browns fan. Stay safe and Go Browns.

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.

Well at least the practices for the games. The NFL season for the Browns starts in less than two weeks and I can’t wait. I’m tired of the over analyzing of the quarterback position and how well a bunch of backups played in meaningless games. By Tuesday at 4:00pm EST we’ll know which of these players will be on the 53-man roster. The real question will which players will make it through waivers and on to the practice squad. Add to the mix, players from other teams that Browns GM Andrew Berry might covet. Despite what the local media and some fans say, Berry is very good at roster building.

For the next two weeks, the main focus will be on the PUP list. It’s hard to believe that more attention will be placed on two starting offensive tackles then a certain talented running back. I expect one or both Jedrick Wills or Jack Conklin to be ready for week one. I base this assumption on two things. First prior to the last preseason game Berry said, “We do expect some of our guys to come back over the next week or two.” Second, if it really was concerning to the team, they would have signed someone. Remember, then it comes to player salaries, the Browns are all in.

Finally, I’m not worried about quarterback Deshaun Watson playing in preseason games. I know the local media is making a big deal out of it, but when it comes to the Browns, that’s how they roll. After watching some of the hits the Browns quarterbacks have taken, I’m glad he didn’t play. Uchenna Nwosu hit Jameis Winston in the ankles, which resulted in a roughing the passer call against the Seahawks. Did anyone really want to see Watson take that hit? If you said yes, you’re not really a Browns fan. Stay safe and Go Browns.

And that problem is the left tackle position. It started at the backup left tackle position, now it’s the starter and the backups. After the game against the Vikings, Noah Weiskopf http://@BrownsWithNoah reported: “#Browns offensive tackle injury updates: – T Hakeem Adeniji will miss some time with a knee injury. – T Jedrick Wills won’t practice this week but continues to rehab. – T Germain Ifedi is okay following hand injury – T James Hudson III is out this week with an ankle injury should be back soon.” He then updated his report later in the day, “Adeniji avoided a serious knee injury upon further testing this morning, per a league source. He’ll miss some time but will be okay.” This is a problem that needs to be addressed if quarterback Deshaun Watson is going to play in the last preseason game against the Seahawks.

Last year this position was a black hole. Guys no one had heard of were starting for a playoff team. These below average players benefited from Joe Flacco, a veteran QB with a quick release. However, Flacco had a bad habit of throwing touchdown passes to the other team. Now, the Browns are less than three weeks away from their season opener against the Cowboys with both starting tackles still on the PUP list and I’m not sure I want Watson to play in the last preseason game.

There’s something amiss with the Browns and Jedrick Wills. He originally was hurt during the 27-0 win over the Cardinals and was placed on IR on November 7, with the designation he could return. Then on December 12, it was announced he had surgery and was done for the season. It took a month to determine he had to have surgery. Really? During minicamp, backup right tackle Dawand Jones told reporters he would be ready for training camp and Wills and Conklin were right behind him in rehab. Conklin further confused the situation, by reporting on his Instagram account he would be ready for training camp. Something doesn’t seem right.

What further confuses this mess is the Browns front office is seldom caught off guard. Center Luke Wypler is injured in the first preseason game and by Monday the team had traded for former Brown Nick Harris, and he was talking to the local media at training camp. The front office thought they had this problem covered by signing Adeniji and Ifedi, two veteran swing tackles. When practices begin for preseason game number three, I’m sure the Cleveland media will ask head coach Kevin Stefanski for comments on the situation and I’m sure he’ll respond with “we’re working through the problems, but injuries are a part of the game. Any roster moves will have to be addressed by GM Andrew Berry.”

I’m not one to panic and I’m not panicking now, but something just doesn’t feel right. Kind of like all those false trade rumors about Brandon Aiyuk. It just doesn’t feel right between Wills and the Browns. Hopefully there’ll be more clarity the beginning of this week. Frankly I’d rather be talking about Nick Chubb’s rehab progress. Stay safe and Go Browns.

Like most preseason games, the Packers vs. Browns game was hard to watch. But then again, these games are not for entertainment. After thinking about it for a couple days, I realized one major mistake by the Browns, the defense had no containment. I know it’s only a preseason game with the vast majority of starters not playing, but this was a big problem last year. You might want to work on that Browns. As for the long touchdown pass by the Packers, where the hell was the free safety? He broke to the other side after the ball was snapped and let our fourth string safety out on an island. Bravo to Jordan Love for seeing the coverage. That’s what good quarterbacks do best. The best players on defense who stood out to me were DT Michael Hall, DE Isaiah Thomas, LB Devin Bush, LB Mohamoud Diabate and safety Brady Breeze. On offense QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, WR Jamari Thrash, WR David Bell, WR Cedric Tillman and WR Ahmarean Brown. QB Jameis Winston also played well for one drive. Next week the Browns will play the Vikings and because they are scrimmaging with them this week, there will be very few starters playing in the game.

In other news, QB Deshaun Watson is cleared for contact. That’s good news. Let’s hope he’ll play at the start of the last preseason game against the Seahawks. A series or two would be fine with me. Unfortunately, the Browns did have a major injury during the game, backup center Luke Wypler fractured his ankle. Then yesterday, Andrew Berry traded for former Brown Nick Harris. Great move. As for the other trade that’s got the never-ending focus of the local media, I don’t put any stock in the Instagram post by WR Amari Cooper. He’s a ten-year veteran who is playing for a new contract in 2025. He’s a professional’s professional and won’t rock the boat. Besides, prior to the game Saturday he was seen on the field joking around with both players and coaches.

Finally the stadium issue is back in the news. I hate to tell everyone but, there’s going to be a new domed stadium in Brook Park. The land has been purchased and is currently being cleared. There won’t be a renovation of the current stadium because structurally it can’t hold a dome. The city and county politicians need to stop thinking about their political careers and do what’s best for downtown, let the Haslem Group help you develop the lake front. They’ll invest money in it because it will make them money. Just remember, the local city officials were against the Gateway Project (the baseball and basketball arenas) when that was proposed. Worked out pretty well in the long run. Downtown businesses will figure out a way to make money on gameday. They could host pregame parties and include shuttle buses to the new stadium. Good business owners can be very creative when there’s a profit on the line. Stay safe and Go Browns.

Yesterday the news broke that the Brandon Aiyuk trade was very, very real. According to reports, it’s down to the Browns and the Patriots. Both teams have presented trade packages to the 49ers, and they have accepted both. It’s now up to Aiyuk to choose his team. If he just wants money, then he’ll probably pick New England. If he wants to win, he’ll probably pick Cleveland. I had heard he wanted to stay on the west coast, so he might be holding out for another team to jump in.

The rumored compensation for Aiyuk is a veteran player and a draft pick. Everyone is assuming the player will be WR Amari Cooper. This could make sense cap wise, but there a lot of moving parts. It makes more sense to trade WR Elijah Moore. The dead money hit would only be about $3 million. That’s doable. Of course, the Browns would have to give Aiyuk a contract extension and I trust the Browns front office to make it a team friendly deal.

If the player is not a wide receiver, then the only other player who makes sense is Wyatt Teller. If the Browns feel comfortable with Zack Zinter and Michael Dunn, then it could be Teller. The Browns offensive line is always the highest paid position group and that will need to change moving forward. The overall cap savings (saving minus dead money) would be around $12 million. Other than Moore and Teller, the money doesn’t fit, i.e. Newsome or Conklin.

As for the draft pick, I hope it’s no higher than a fourth. Some have made this out to be a situation where the 49ers are trying to dump a problem player. I look at it as a future money dump. San Fran is fine this year cap wise, $53 million under the cap. However, in 2025 they might be as much as $38 million over the cap and QB Brock Purdy becomes a free agent after the 2025 season. Watching all the giant contracts quarterbacks are currently receiving, the 49ers are going to have pay dearly to keep him.

Now we wait. Stay safe and Go Browns.

Monday through Friday, I listen to a Cleveland radio station while I work. During tax season, it helps to keep my computer awake so I can access my tax program quickly and it also helps me receive braking news out of Cleveland. Win, win right? The downside is sometimes the show hosts argue and yell at each other over the dumbest topics. If I want to hear yelling and arguing, I’d call my ex-wife. All in all, it’s usually entertaining. However yesterday I had to stop what I was doing to turn up the sound and listen intently. The host started to describe a training camp video of quarterback Deshaun Watson throwing his last pass of the day. Apparently, it went straight into the ground, which resulted in Watson immediately stopping and removing his shoulder pads and exiting the field. The inference of the radio host was to imply Watson was hurt again and the season was over.

This caught me by complete surprise. I’m very knowledgeable about the internet, since I’ve surfed the net since 1992. I watch as many training camp videos as possible, listen to as many interviews as possible, and read as many of my favorite beat writer’s reports as possible. I was shocked. This should be big news. My phone should’ve been going crazy with alerts. What the hell was going on? The host announced head coach Kevin Stefanski would be addressing the media around mid-morning, so I made sure I was going to listen. The first reporter would have to ask about Watson’s setback, right? Nothing. Finally Tony Grossi asked if Watson would be throwing that day, and the coach said he would. Wait just a damn minute, I was told Watson’s arm had fallen off. Shouldn’t he be in a hospital? Of course not, false alarm. Cleveland media panic, over analyzing a nonevent. What a surprise. Shocking.

Look, I understand the health of Deshaun Watson is important to the success of the Cleveland Browns in 2024, but the team just came off a season where they won eleven games with five different starting quarterbacks. None of these guys where the second coming of Bernie Kosar. Watson had a great second half against the Ravens going fourteen for fourteen in that half with a broken bone in his shoulder. They won a game at home against the Steelers with a fifth-round rookie who had one great series, luckily it was the last one. They beat the eventual NFC representative in the Super Bowl with a guy named P.J. Walker and if you knew who he was before the Browns signed him, you must be related. Miraculously won games with a quarterback as old as me (I wish) who kept throwing touchdown passes to the other team. In last game, a throw away game, I don’t even remember the guy’s name who started. Last year the Browns scored 39 touchdowns and were tenth in the league in scoring. I have faith in this coaching staff and in backup QB Jameis Winston and yes, he’s better than Flacco. The Browns can run the new offense with Winston and win.

The big story of training camp should be that Watson is throwing everyday with the number one offense. He’s throwing against air with no pressure, so his stats don’t matter, no quarterbacks’ stats should matter in training camp unless all the passes are incomplete. Then you have a problem. To instantly panic over a brief snippet of a cell phone video is classic Cleveland media. This is the main reason I started The Cleveland Browns Dawgpound South Podcast, to give Browns fans unfiltered, non-agenda, realist news and opinions on what’s going on with our favorite team. I hope you’ll listen and watch. Stay safe and Go Browns.

As I sit here waiting for the videos of players reporting to Berea, let’s do a quick salary cap update because we now know the details of Dustin Hopkins contract extension. It was first reported he was the highest paid kicker in the NFL, but that’s not true, he’s the fifth highest paid kicker in the NFL. And he deserves every penny. According to https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/cleveland-browns, the Browns are $14.6 million under the cap. Hopkins received a three-year extension with 2024 and 2025 having guaranteed money. In 2024 it’s $5,562,500 and in 2025 it’s $2,800,00. His cap number for 2024 is $2,605,500, for 2025 it’s $2,893,500, for 2026 it’s $3,565,500 and for 2027 it’s $4,433,000. There’s a signing bonus worth $3.58 million and there are three voidable years. This extension saved the Browns $937,941 on the 2024 salary cap due to the extension’s makeup.

The Browns have two more player extensions to work on, wide receiver Amari Cooper and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. As reported by http://@StainbrookNFL, JOK’s extension is at a standstill. “#Browns and LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah have been in talks regarding a contract extension for “some now time,” but the sides are struggling to “see eye to eye” on a number figure. The hope is talks move in a positive direction before the start of the season, per a league source.” I have a feeling this will get worked out after the season starts unless JOK’s representatives shut down talks. Currently JOK’s cap number for 2024 is $2,060,617.

With Amari Cooper, talks are a little more complicated. Both sides have agreed to the money and contract length, but Cooper wants more guaranteed money in the second year. The problem is Cooper is 30 years old and had injuries the last two years. I’ve maintained the Browns should use the contract wide receiver Mike Evans signed with Tampa as an example. His cap number for 2024 is $5,568,000, for 2025 it’s $22,358,000 and there are three voidable years. Here are the contract notes from https://overthecap.com/: “Mike Evans signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers worth base value of $41 million with $29 million fully guaranteed, and a total guarantee of $35 million. Evans has a full guaranteed salary in 2024 and is due two roster bonuses in 2024. First roster bonus is due on March 18 worth $10 million, and the second roster bonus is due on April 4 worth $11.79 million. Evans has a $6 million guarantee in 2025 at signing with another $6 million vesting on the 5th day of the 2025 league year. An additional $11 million is available through performance incentives and escalators. The contract voids on the last day of the 2025 league year.” Evans is 31 years old, and I think Cooper’s side would be happy with a deal similar to this one.

Finally it appears Cooper will hold out from training camp until he gets his new deal and if he does, I’m not worried about it. He’s a veteran who’s worked with quarterback Deshaun Watson the last two years. On to training camp, stay safe and Go Browns.