Dawgpoundsouth

Victory Monday, I think. On an ugly nasty day, the Browns won in an ugly nasty way. Should QB Baker Mayfield played yesterday? Yes. Should he have continued to play after the latest injury? Probably not. Apparently, an injured Mayfield is better than a healthy Case Keenum. One thing that’s obvious though, an injured Mayfield is not good for the Browns offense, which hasn’t scored more than 17 points in five of the last six games. So, let’s get to it.

Positives. When the offense was clicking, like the first touchdown drive, it really is a thing of beauty. Head coach Kevin Stefanski showed why he was coach of the year last year on that drive. I don’t know who WR Jaris Landry was supposed to throw the ball to, but I’m glad he didn’t. Highest graded players on offense according to Pro Football Focus were, LG Joel Bitonio (90.9), RB Nick Chubb (83.8), RB D’Ernest Johnson (79.1), C J.C. Tretter (78.1), TE David Njoku (75.7) and RG Wyatt Teller (72.5). On defense the highest graded players were CB Denzel Ward (85.9), S Ronnie Harrison (79.9), CB Greedy Williams (79.7) and DE Myles Garrett (75.5). The Browns defense did what it needed to do in the first half to slow down the Lions. Ward is playing his way back into a contract extension and LB Malcolm Smith makes plays when he’s on the field.

Negatives. Throwing from inside the ten-yard line instead of running the ball with that guy named Chubb was not the brightest idea. Of course, your injured QB overthrew a wide-open Jarvis Landry and it ended up being an interception. Both of Mayfield’s interceptions were bad. Ten penalties, it’s freaking week 11 and the Browns are still committing stupid penalties. Brace yourself folks, it too late in the season for this to get any better. On defense, the Browns continue to not make adjustments at half time. After three weeks of very good play by safety John Johnson, III, he regressed during this game. The lack of consistency on this team is maddening. Who kidnaped our kicker and replaced him? Finally, whoever thought former player LaVar Arrington would be a good fit in the booth must have pictures on someone. How in god’s name do mispronounce Jim Browns name?

Yes, the Browns won yesterday and yes, it’s victory Monday. If your happy about the victory, like I am, then do yourself a favor, stay off Browns twitter for the day. I’m sure Bills fans, Packer fans and Titan fans would have like to have won ugly yesterday. Now the Browns go to Baltimore and play the luckiest team in the league. Hopefully the team will clean up some things this week and Stefanski will keep it simple next week. Also, it looks like RB Kareem Hunt and RT Jack Conklin will be back this week. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

It’s been 48 hours and I’ve calmed down enough to write about a Sunday embarrassment. That’s the only word I can use. To follow a total team win with a total team loss is an embarrassment. There was only one positive to Sunday’s game, the first drive. Then the football yoda, Bill Belichick saw enough and made the adjustments that needed to be made, after one drive. Think about that, defensive adjustments after one drive. The Browns failed to counter with adjustments in the passing game after the Patriots took away the run. Did head coach Kevin Stefanski abandon the run too soon? Yes he did, but to not adjust the passing game to compensate is ridiculous. On defense the fault belongs to not only defensive coordinator Joe Woods, but also the players. Wood’s defense is too passive and too predicable. As for the players, the talent is there, it’s the effort I question. DT Malik once told the media, the NFL is not a 9-5 job, implying the commitment with of some his teammates might not be 100%. But on a positive note, those Halloween costumes looked great.

I’m still on board with QB Baker Mayfield and Kevin Stefanski. To put the blame on one person is silly. But if Mayfield is hurt, rest him against the Lions and start Case Keenum. It appeared to me, his plant foot was bothering him. Now add a knee injury to the shoulder injury and the foot injury and it’s time to take bench for a game. Rest up and get ready for the stretch run. Hopefully RB Nick Chubb will be ready to go this Sunday. By the way, has anyone seen WR Rashard Higgins? He seems to have disappeared. I’ll say it again, no one is getting fired right now. However during the off-season, that’s a different matter.

It’s very apparent that the 2021 NFL season is a season of parody. Three weeks ago, the Bengals were the flavor of the month. Two losses later, nope. It wasn’t too long ago that the Los Angels Rams were the number one team in the league. Last time I checked, nope. Two weeks ago the Bills lost to the Jags 9-6 and the Cowboys trailed the Broncos 30-0 going into the fourth quarter at home. This past week the vaunted Ravens with MVP Lamar Jackson lost to the Dolphins, Tampa got embarrassed by the Washington Football Team and the Steelers tied the winless Lions at home. Insert your own joke about kissing your sister and Pittsburg. My point is, the Browns can still make the playoffs with seven games to go, however I hope to see a better team effort this weekend or the Loins may get their first win. And please, on defense get off the damn field on third down and on offense no more wildcat plays to the fullback. Is that asking for too much? Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

Victory Monday and after a week like that, it was a well deserved win. Apparently having an all-pro wide receiver on your team running whatever routes he wants is a problem. Not only for the offense, but also for the defense. Let’s look at the positives and the negatives.

Positives. Quarterback Baker Mayfield. He was 14 of 21 (67%) for 218 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a QBR of 132.6. Under pressure, Mayfield had a QBR grade of 94.3. He is now 6-1 versus the Bengals. Other Pro Football Focus grades for the offense, RG Wyatt Teller 93.8, WR Donovan Peoples-Jones 91.8, QB Baker Mayfield 89.9, TE Harrison Bryant 80.7, TE David Njoku 78.9, RB Nick Chubb 75.5, LG Joel Bitonio 72.1, LT Jedrick Wills 71.1 and C J.C. Tretter 70.4. The Browns Sunday became the first NFL team since 2012 to have a defensive touchdown of 60 yards or more, a touchdown pass for 60 yards or more and a touchdown run for 60 yards or more. On defense the highest graded players according to PFF were, CB Denzel Ward 93.1, John Johnson, III 85.8, LB Anthony Walker 77.5,Myles Garrett 75.7, LB Elijah Lee 74.3, DT Sheldon Day 73.6 and Ronnie Harrison 70.6. The Browns defense showed what they could do when they finally have a healthy secondary. CB Greg Newsome, Ward, Johnson and CB Troy Hill balled out. Imagine this defense when they get LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah back from injury. The Browns defense have held two teams to 15 and 16 points in back-to-back weeks and in the second half, gave up only 99 yards in total offense. Outstanding job by defensive coordinator Joe Woods on the game plan.

Negatives. Ten freaking penalties. Gentlemen don’t line up offsides, please. The coaching staff needs to put an end to this crap this week, inexcusable. I’m not the conspiracy theory type a guy, but you’re letting someone at the home office call a roughing the passer play? Really? Then you don’t call a helmet-to-helmet penalty, but still tell the wide receiver who got hit to go to the sidelines to get checked for a concussion? The NFL referees have it in for the Cleveland Browns. If the only other negative is your kicker missed a field goal, that’s a pretty positive performance.

Injuries and IR. CB Greedy Williams (shoulder) and DE Takk McKinley (groin) are both day to day. RT Jack Conklin was placed on IR Saturday with an elbow injury. RB Kareem Hunt and LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah are eligible to come off the IR this week, but head coach Kevin Stefanski told the local media today he’ll have more information on both Wednesday.

It was a great team win Sunday. The defense is finally playing up to its talent and the offense played like it was 2020. Great game plans on both side of the ball. Next up, the Patriots. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

This is head coach Kevin Stefanski’s standard answer when asked by the Cleveland media about the Browns lack of execution. He says it when they lose and he says it when they win. Yes coach, everyone has to do a better job. So far the 2021 Cleveland Browns aren’t doing their jobs. From catching the football, to blocking and to tackling, the 2021 Cleveland Browns are having a season of missed opportunities. The Browns have led going into the fourth quarter in three of their four losses. Last year this team knew how to close games. Sometimes recovering an onside kick was necessary to secure the win, but they still closed out the game. So who’s to blame for this pile of average? There’s plenty of blame to go around.

Let’s start with the head coach. The Browns lead the NFL in penalties. The last time they did that, Freddie Kitchens was the head coach. If you’re a Browns head coach, the person you don’t want to be compared to is Freddie Kitchens. Penalties are placed at the foot of the head coach, it shows lack of attention to detail. A key third down and your wide receiver has a false start? What a freaking joke. Last year the whole team fed off of Stefanski’s calm, cool demeanor, this year there’s a sense of stressful nervousness. As for the play calling, yes wide receivers, tight ends and running backs were dropping routine passes, but the play calling in the second quarter was horrendous. I know Kevin Stefanski can be an offensive genius, he proved it with the first offensive possession in the second half. It was a nice mix of passing and running plays. Finally you have to keep running the ball, don’t give up on the run.

Next up, QB Baker Mayfield. Yes he had some high passes, but my problem was he’s not seeing the whole field. He’s missing wide open receivers while trying to force the ball into uncatchable situations. Where the hell was TE David Njoku for three quarters yesterday? He’s the ninth highest graded TE in the NFL. For weeks, everyone was saying the Browns missed having Jarvis Landry on the field. Now their saying the team really misses Donovan Peoples-Jones. Last time I looked, Njoku has been there every game. He can be a nightmare for a defense.

On a day where the defense held their opponent to 15 points and lost, quarterbacks like Trevor Siemian, Cooper Rush and Mike White were winning NFL games. Hell, even Geno Smith won yesterday. The Browns have scored 41 points their last three games. That’s a little over 13 points a game. This offense has become boring and inconsistent. All a defense has to do is put seven or guys in the box to take away the run and dare the Browns to throw the ball. What the hell happened to the offense that was used in the first game against Kansas City? Or the offense that was lighting up scoreboards in 2020? Opposing defenses were afraid of that offense. I think Kevin Stefanski was so worried about other teams figuring last years offense, he lost his creativity. Where are the trick plays? I could have sworn the Browns drafted a wide receiver with world class speed.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not calling for anyone to be fired and I still think Stefanski is the coach that can lead this team to the promise land. I also still have faith in QB Baker Mayfield. My advise to Kevin Stefanski, not that he cares what a self-employed accountant thinks, relax, don’t overthink things. This team was built to score a ton of points, get the lead and then run the ball to hold onto the lead. That way, the opposing team is in panic mode and making mistakes. The Browns can still make the playoffs, but they’re going to have to score more than 13 points a game. The whole team needs do a better job. I still think this is the most talented Browns roster I’ve seen. Let’s relax and refocus, because right now the team looks like they’re disoriented. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

It’s Victory Friday. VICTORY FRIDAY. The Browns were in “must win” territory last night and came through. No QB1, no RB1, no RB2, no RT 1, no WR3 and no potential defensive rookie of the year. No problem. Well not quite. I know all Browns fans were sweating a river after the last Bronco touchdown, I was. But at 4-3, I’m feeling much better this morning. So, lets get to it.

Positives. QB Case Keenum, RB D’Ernest Johnson, RT (right tackle?) Blake Hance, LT Jedrick Wills, LB Mack Wilson, CB Troy Hill, LB Anthony Walker, S John Johnson, III, offensive line coach Bill Callahan and running back coach Stump Mitchell. Good teams have backups who can step-up and coaches who know how to coach. That game felt like the score should’ve been 28-14 Browns. Keenum doesn’t have the arm he used to have, but did what was needed to win the game. The offensive line was great and opened wholes for D’Ernest Johnson all night. Speaking of Johnson, there are a lot of GM’s in the NFL looking at their third string running backs and are scratching their heads. On defense, even though the Broncos had two touchdown drives, they were long, time consuming drives. The Browns defense made them earn every yard. Good to see LB Mack Wilson have his best game both on defense and special teams. According to Pro Football Focus, he was the fifth rated defender and number one rated special teamer. Both CB Troy Hill and S John Johnson, III had good games. Glad to see the Browns line Johnson closer to the line of scrimmage on certain plays. The special teams coverage units are fantastic and the punt return unit came real close to a blocked punt. Final positive, the crowed. I had forgotten how that crowd buzz sounded on television.

Negatives. I had a few small problems with the play calling early in the game. If your QB doesn’t have the arm to throw long passes, don’t have him throw long passes. Early in the game, Keenum tried to force the ball to OBJ on a long pass that could have been intercepted. TE David Njoku was open and I mean open in the middle of the field. In the second half, the play calling really improved. Nice half-time adjustments. On defense, the Browns are going to need to be more consistent. In the first half, they did a great job of making up for the loss of LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. In the second half, you saw how important JOK is to this defense. Yes the officiating was bad, again, however the players need to stop criticizing the referees. NFL referees have long memories. If it’s October, then Denzel Ward has a hamstring injury. Incredibly kicker Chase McLaughlin missed a field goal. It wasn’t his fault the kick got blocked, but DT Andrew Billings has to do a better job of protecting the rush lanes. Missed Shelby Harris by a mile. On the positive side, McLaughlin made his next kick, an extra point attempt. In the past a Browns kicker would miss that because they were still thinking about the block.

This was an important team win. Now the players can take some time off and rest up. The coaches can do some self scouting to improve schemes on both side of the ball. It’s time to get some more players back from injury. As for QB Baker Mayfield, he can play with his injury and he wants to start against the Steelers. If it was serious, the team would ‘ve already put him on IR and scheduled his surgery. I expect him to play. Enjoy the break, everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

Because of the short game week, I’m waiving my 48 hour rule for better or worse. The Browns are currently 3-3 and are tied with the Steelers for last place in the AFC North. Personally, I had them at 4-2 at this point. First of all, the season isn’t over. No one is getting traded or fired. There’s still eleven games left and time to simplify and fix the problems. All I know is the Browns need to beat the brakes off of the Broncos on Thursday night and go into the mini bye to heal up and self scout. My main problem with yesterday was how flat the team was. No fire, no anger that they let one get away in Los Angles, flat. Note to head coach Kevin Stefanski, either kick the field goal on fourth and four or draw up a better play. Four sacks on four fourth down plays. Really? The Cardinals loaded the line of scrimmage to stop the run. Why not run a bubble screen? Or a jet sweep? Wear the defense down early by having them go east and west, then start to pound them up the middle in the third quarter. Makes sense to me.

As for the defense, safety John Johnson, III told the local media he’s playing a position he’s not used to playing. How about playing him closer to the line of scrimmage and not in coverage? That’s how the Rams used him. Arizona had a new center and during the game he had trouble snapping the ball. I saw one pressure up the middle by DT Malik McDowell and it turned into a sack. The Browns have the talent to rush the quarterback up the middle. You don’t have to blitz, just pressure up the middle. I know the players are learning a new system, but the Cardinals put the ball on the ground four times Sunday, three from bad snaps.

The only thing I’ll say about the officiating, does anyone know when QB Kyler Murray was released for the hospital after that devastating roughing the passer call? Thoughts and prayers. Note to Denzel Ward, stop using your hands so much, the referees are going to call it every time. Every damn time.

The injuries are starting to pile up. RB Kareem Hunt will probably by put on IR this week because of a calf injury. LB Jeramiah Owusu-Koramoah will more than likely join him, with a high ankle sprain. Four to six weeks recovery time on both injuries. As for any players returning for the Broncos game, possibly RT Jack Conklin, but don’t bet the house. Hopefully they’ll get WR Jarvis Landry back.

Now the Denver game becomes a must win. Denver started fast by beating up on bad teams. Since then, the good teams have been boat racing them. They have a great run defense and a terrible offense. The Browns defense will be without JOK but will have everyone else. I know the Browns defense have allowed 84 points in the last two games, but the Broncos are a team this defense can feast on.

Thanks for letting me rant, I feel much better now. Not really, but it’s time to move on to the next game. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

After that game I had to wait 48 hours to talk about it. Between the injuries, the terrible officiating and the play calling late in the game, that really sucked. According to Elias, the Browns are the first team in NFL history, including the playoffs, to lose a game when scoring 40 plus points, with over 500 yards of offense and no turnovers. So the Browns made history? Usually the Browns are involved in exploring the dark corners of the NFL rulebook. Let’s look at the positives and the negatives.

Positives. After hearing all the so called experts tell me that QB Baker Mayfield had regressed as a NFL QB, he goes 23 of 32 for 305 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. That’s 72% completion rate and a QBR of 122. The highest graded players according to Pro Football Focus were TE David Njoku (92.5), RG Wyatt Teller (88.8), LT Joel Bitonio (82.9), DE Myles Garrett (79.8) and CB Greedy Williams (78.5). The Browns are the only NFL team ranked in top five in both total offense (fifth) and total defense (fourth). The defensive ranking shows you how good the defense played against the Bears and the Vikings, at full strength. In the first five games, the Browns have rushed for 150 yards or more in every game. Last year it happened in six games and the Browns finished third in rushing in the NFL. The Browns have a kicker and the tackling on the returns was outstanding.

Negatives. For three quarters, the Chargers double teamed WR Odell Beckham, Jr. Late in the fourth quarter, they didn’t even cover him. What happened? QB Baker Mayfield stopped looking his direction and I have no idea why. The play calling on the second to last drive was terrible. With 3:08 left in the game and a one point lead, all the Browns needed to do was get two first downs and the game is over. Head coach Kevin Stefanski implied he didn’t trust the Browns back-up offensive tackles to run better plays. WTH. Over the last two years, GM Andrew Berry has shown me he knows how to sign and draft offensive linemen. If they’re on the roster, they’re good enough to play. I can’t really blame the defense when your starting corners in the fourth quarter were Troy Hill and A.J. Green. Number one cornerback Denzel Ward only played nine snaps before getting hurt. What I will complain about is the lack of adjustments at halftime. Late in the game, the Chargers knew exactly what the Browns defense was doing. Punter Jamie Gillam is having problems. I would suggest they try and find a new punter, however he’s the holder on extra points and field goals and the Browns kicker is perfect so far, so let’s not mess with that situation. As for the officiating, it’s always been bad against the Browns. This team needs to overcome bad officiating, good teams do.

Injuries. Nothing to report so far. Because the team returned late from the west coast, MRI’s were being done late Monday or today. I’ll retweet anything I hear. Cross your fingers and hold your breath Browns fans, hopefully we’ll hear good news on several key players.

Next up for the Browns, the undefeated Arizona Cardinals. The Browns are a good team, they just haven’t played a complete game yet. This is a good time to start. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

Who still wants to fire Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods? Talk about a dominating defensive performance, wow. The Browns held the Bears to 47 total yards, one passing yard and six first downs. What makes the 47 yards of total offense even more impressive is the Bears had 24 yards on their first three plays. The defensive line did it’s job yesterday, pressuring a rookie QB and getting nine sacks. They seem to have finally gotten used to playing with each other. So what are the positives and negatives from the game.

Positives. According to Pro Football Focus, the Browns are currently the number one offensive team in the NFL (84.6). As a team, they’re the second highest graded team (87.9) in the NFL behind the Rams. RB Kareem Hunt was the highest graded offensive player with a 90.6 grade. QB Baker Mayfield is currently fifth in completion rate ( 76.5%) and fourth in yards per attempt (8.9). Through three weeks Arizona and Cleveland are the only two teams ranked in the top seven in both offense and defense. The Browns are seventh offensively and third defensively. The highest graded defensive players were Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (93.9), Myles Garrett (90.0), Troy Hill (83.8), Malcolm Smith (80.0), Ronnie Harrison (79.8), Jadeveon Clowney (77.8), Mack Wilson (76.5) and Takk McKinley (70.9).As for the special teams, RB Demetric Felton has 129 yards in punt returns, the most in the NFL after three weeks. Kicker Chase McLaughlin was four for four on field goals including a 57 yarder.

Negatives. The offense had a very slow start and the play calling on the first two fourth down conversions was strange. I know the Bears have a top five run defense and they love to blitz, but a quick pass or a running play might have worked better. Seven penalties for 98 yards and the penalties on special teams didn’t help the offense. The offensive line gave up five sacks, 2 to Khalil Mack and 1.5 to Robert Quinn.

Injuries. CB Greg Newsome, II left the game with a calf injury and had a MRI today. The extent of the injury is not known. LT Jedrick Wills, Jr. left the game briefly because of his ankle injury. And WR Odell Beckham, Jr. looked great catching five passes for 77 yards.

It was a good team win. When the offense scored right before halftime, this game was over. Next week the Browns travel to Minnesota to play the Vikings at Noon CST. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

Usually I wait 48 hours after a Browns loss to write about it, but this game was different. If you still think QB Baker Mayfield is overrated or just a game manager, go away. He was 21 of 28 for 321 yards against the best team in the AFC in their home stadium. That’s a 75 % completion rate and 11.5 yards per pass attempt. From ESPN Stats & Info., Mayfield was 5 of 5 for 101 yards against the blitz, 5 of 5 for 94 yards on play action, 4 of 4 for 61 yards and three first downs on third and fourth down and 3 of 5 for 103 yards on passes 15+ yards downfield. The Browns had five drives of 75 yards or more. So far the Browns are number one in the NFL in total offense (457 yards) in offensive success rate (55.9%), in yards per play (8.2 yards) and the sixth highest graded team (80.0) in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus.

The highest PFF rated player on offense was LG Joel Bitonio at 93.5 and the highest on defense was DT Malik McDowell at 82.9. Rookie WR Anthony Schwartz had a PFF grade of 82.2. WR Jarvis Landry was targeted five times and caught all five passes. That’s his 111th straight game with multiple catches. The Browns defense pressured Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes on 44% of his drop backs, the fifth highest rate in the NFL in week one. According to BrownsDailyMockDraft @BrownsMockDraft DE Myles Garrett had 8 pressures (five hurries, 2 QB hits and 1 sack). DE Jadeveon Clowney had 4 pressures (three hurries and 1 sack). DT Malik Jackson and DT Malik McDowell had 5 pressures (four hurries and one QB hit). As a group, the starting defensive line had 11 tackles and 11 stops.

Bottom line, the Browns have an elite offense and a developing defense. If you had told me the Browns defense would hold the Kansas City Chiefs to ten first half points, I would have made you pee in a cup. Yes, against a team like the Chiefs, you can’t let up and you can’t make mistakes like turning ball over three times. No, the Browns are not going to fire defensive coordinator Joe Woods or cut punter Jamie Gillan. If you want those two things to happen, then why aren’t you calling for RB Nick Chubb to be benched because he fumbled? Relax. The defense will get better the more they play together. I have complete faith in the Browns coaching staff to fix any problems this week in practice. Head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked today whether he feels better about his team, that they were in position to win if they fixed things that went wrong. He said “No.” Next up the AFC South division leading (weird right?)Houston Texans. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.