2017 Season The Good, Bad and Ugly

Did you even read the post? I'm trying to lighten the mood and dial it down a bit, and you come back with that^^ bullcrap?

 

Why can't a fan be optimistic about a mistake prone football team loaded with youth and potential, without everybody trying to piss all over it? I can't believe some of you are already to this point. It's not even October yet. We haven't even seen the #1 pick of the draft take the field yet. Are you negative Nancy's just assuming he's another Courtney Brown? Pretty sure my father already made that assumption, so I just figured I'd ask. Is that It? Damn. It's like clones of my dad have taken over in here. lol! The familiar mantra - "It's the Browns, so it must be terrible. here we go again." I can't even watch games with him. He starts griping doom and gloom on just about every play where something negative happens, so you can imagine how much fun it's been over the years...

Sure I sugar coat too much, and often times try to spin things positive in regards to the Browns. I know this. Is that so bad? Obviously it doesn't sit well with several of you. I don't think that makes me the 'mother trying to sue the passer by for dropping the kid" or whatever the hell that was. lol! I know that much... Look, It has to be a real trainwreck for me to give up. A real "Pat Shurmur team, with no enthusiasm and no hope. BTW- Please don't bring the ridiculous three game stats of our bad start to the season and then compare to Pat Shurmur team. I get it. I know it's been awful, but this isn't a trainwreck. Not the same as a team that quit. This is a rebuild from the studs, as Depodesta called it. We are building from the ground up. This team has some talent. Some potentially nice pieces in place. They have some serious holes that need to be addressed too. One thing they never have is luck. Ooops. There I go again. Sorry.It is what it is...I'm not ready to give up yet. We aren't going to the playoffs. I just want to stay optimistic and hopefully see some major improvement this week. As bad as our offense was on Sunday, it wasn't as bad as the Raiders. Or the the Dolphins. Or the Ravens... This is the NFL...Things can change dramatically from week to week.

That's all I got...Go ahead and pick me apart. Just don't tell me I missed the point of your cute little analogy SAS. I know your calling me an excuse maker for Kizer...We'll see if I wind up on that Josh Rosen bus with ya, or if you have to eat a little for giving up after three games. You are calling Kizer garbage - you are giving up.

I think Kizer is going to go off when his skill weapons step it up and he starts to gain confidence....And I think it could happen very soon. So bring a spoon.

 

TD, keep it coming. The long and arduous path we've traveled, has plenty of pain and suffering. I for one don't need the in depth re-hashing of that pain every week. I understand it, even agree with it in many cases, but I also very much want to hang on to the hope that the influx of young talent, while trying, doesn't define this team after 3 games. I kind think we ought to just go ahead and play the rest of the schedule anyway.

I really believe we have turned a corner. Hey, I'm a Browns fan. What else am I to believe. I want to believe in Kizer, and do as far as it goes, but realize that to date, he hasn't proven anything, and doesn't seem to have progressed. Still he's very young, and frankly confidence is vital for his developement, thus having passes dropped, or maybe more accurately, not caught, when they "could" have been, does the opposite of building confidence. The coach not at least threatening to make the running game a real component goes against almost any reasonable explanation, again leaving the weight of the O on his barely legal QB.

I want to believe those things will improve. That the improved line will continue to give Kizer a chance to find a reciever, and I also believe we do have talent at the RB position, that with some reps will pay off. I believe that Garrett will be a difference maker, that will give some of the other D linemen opptys, and be instrumental in squeezing opposing QBs comfort level, helping our D backs a little rope too.

God help me, cause I cling to these hopes. I also believe that many of us, including many of the naysayers, want to believe those things too. That's a choice. I don't care that I may make a fool of myself yet again, cause if I didn't have that hope, I can't think of a reason to follow the team anymore. Habit maybe.

I'm OK with that, and I appreciate it when another deranged Browns fan expresses those same hopes. Some one call the orderlies, it's time for meds again.

 

I'm with ya Kenibals. That was a great post. This is a beat down fan base. Has any fans EVER had it worse than Browns fans since about 1995? I think not...

I really do believe in this rebuild. Sash Brown and company certainly seem to have the best plan we've seen around here in a while. There's been bumps in the road. I think they need a do-over on the WR part of the draft. This is year two on that, and it looks like poop. Only Coleman has shown potential. That's sad considering how many WR's they took in last years draft. I hope they don't go overboard and take 5 WR's in the draft again. Just get us a really good one to pair with Corey Coleman. His injury hurt the offense like Garrett's hurt the D.. Theirs no doubt Corey was just starting to develope some chemistry with Kizer late in the preseason. I think his injuries are fluky bad luck like always. Never even heard of a receiver breaking his hand. Let alone in back to back seasons. Only in Brownstown, right? Sorta like stepping on our stud DE's foot in mini-camp and then just for good measure, again 4 days before the season starts. ...You can't make that up. Only Browns fans have seen this level of crazy fortune. We could talk about things like Art Modell and Dwayne Rudd's helmet toss and Kellen Winslow's motorcycle skills and Johnny football and the Jersey in the store window with 27 names on it, and million other atrocities. No other fan base could possibly relate. It's been rough to say the least....Nothing like the Browns I grew up with. The last 18 years or so have been ridiculous....

But I'll keep the faith that we'll get it turned around....The most impressive thing IMO about this new regime has been their uncanny ability to accumulate draft picks. I've never seen anything like it. Here's to seeing some payoff on all those picks real soon...

 

My apologies for the mini meltdown last night. Hopefully nobody even read my overreactions. Sometimes my aggravation gets the best of me. A couple of those posts were a bit harsh, and I cleaned em up. IMO, it's WAY to early to draw conclusions about Kizer and the direction of this team. Talking about who we are gonna replace Kizer with in the 2018 draft already, is absurd i my book, but right or wrong, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. (no matter how wrong it may be. j.k.)

I'm not a stat guy. I understand the stats are abysmal right now. It means nothing to me at this point......Hey, Cody Kessler had fairly decent stats, right? All except for the win column. Losing ugly, but showing real NFL franchise QB qualities, or losing efficiently in the stat column, and not looking ANYTHING like franchise QB material. Which would you rather go with? For me, it's an easy call. I'll take the first one every time. I don't feel hope when I watch Cody K play. I feel like the defense is just licking their chops. He's kind of crafty, and he'll make a nice throw occassionally, but the arm talent is a huge deal with me. With Kizer, the arm talent is there. There's no playbook limitations with him. The entire field is in play. It's just not the same for Cody.

Kizer can sling the 20 yard out to the far hash with ease....Kessler can't make that pass. Not even close. And the defense knows it....

Kizer must settle down and play better, there's no doubt....I may get on that Rosen bus before the year is out, but not yet. Way too early to draw conclusions on Deshone at this point...

 

There are signs that the Browns are finally starting to improve. I understand it hasn't shown in the W column yet, but I do think we are improving this roster. This from PFF is a good sign that might make some people feel better. It's not all bad:

PFF Ranks 5 Browns in the top 10 at their positions through 3 games

Pro Football Focus says five Browns players are in the top 10 of their respective positions through three games, despite Cleveland remaining winless on the season

It may not feel as good as a winning record, but the numbers are saying the Cleveland Brownsmay be onto something when it comes to their roster. For the year to date, Pro Football Focus has ranked five Browns players in the top 10 at their respective position, based upon their data collection methods and analytical formula. The three-game grades for these five for 2017 are also impressive.

The five players are tight end Seth DeValve (sixth, with a 79.6 grade), guard Joel Bitonio(ninth, with an 83.0 grade, but eighth with an 83.8 grade for this season), left tackle Joe Thomas (first, with a 89.8 grade), cornerback Jason McCourty (previously fourth, now third, at 86.7) and safety Derrick Kindred (10th, at 85.3).


DeValve’s biggest strength is in the passing game, with a PFF grade of 81.1; he has caught eight passes on 14 targets so far this season, for 132 yards, averaging 44 yards per game and second on the roster to Duke Johnson in receiving yards. The passing game—pass-blocking in particular—is where Bitonio has earned his highest marks, with only three other guards grading out better.

McCourty has grades of 85.8 and 86.3 in pass coverage and run defense, respectively, and its reflected in the stat sheet, with 11 tackles, an interception, three pass breakups and a forced fumble so far this season. Kindred, meanwhile, has been a run defense standout, with a 92.8 grade that is tops in the league for safeties; he leads the Browns in tackles for a loss with four. Thomas has allowed only two quarterback pressures through three games.

That the Browns not only have five top-10 players is impressive enough, but that they are spread between both the offense and the defense shows signs that the roster, as a whole, is robust and improving. Though it is not reflected in the Browns’ record at present, this is a further indication that the team is trending upward. In-house talent, veteran signings and young players alike are all making homes for themselves among the NFL’s best.

 

Whoa. Sorry for the bold font. lol! That was unintentional....

Reasons for optimism exist my friends...It's coming. Soon we will see numbers that really matter. Right smack in the win column.

 

Ahh, the classic ad hominem approach. Well done.

I cite my sources. You don't have any sources.

 

Good

Derrick Kindred is continuing to have himself a season.

 

Kizer is playing like garbage right now. He's dead last in the league in every important statistic for a quarterback. His defenders can over-inflate the receiver drops until the cows come home, that doesn't stop eight turnovers in three games. All I hear is "dropped passes kill the momentum of a drive" while you seem to ignore that turnovers kill the drive entirely.

I am giving up on Kizer this season. I've seen enough in three games to know the light isn't going to click for him any time soon - and by the time it does (if it does) this team will be both horrendous in the record column and facing the toughest portion of their schedule. The wins aren't coming this season.

Beyond Kizer, I worry what the impact of excessive losing is going to have on a young team. Especially one where a majority of its roster already went through 1-15. I am genuinely concerned that the head coach will not survive another 1-2 win season.

Again, the receivers could catch 100% of the passes, he's still sub-60% and a turnover machine. An astronomical 25% improvement in him this season would get him from worst (32nd) to 24th. You don't win games in the NFL with the 24th best QB.

As a reference point, Blake Bortles was 26th in 2016 in QB rating with a 78.8 number. At Kizer's current 52.3 rating, that's a 50% improvement required to get him to that number. Bortles won 3 games.

He's 5 of 21 (23.8%) with 0 TD and 1 INT on passes 20+ yards this season.

 

Ugly

Hue Jackson. While it may seem like I'm piling on the quarterback, the other target in my cross-hairs is the head coach. Here's some stats (cue the groans):

Rushing: 19 attempts, 44 yards (7.3 YPA), 1 TD
Receiving: 18 targets, 11 catches (61.1%), 160 yards (14.5 YPC)

The Browns have run 197 offensive plays. Duke Johnson has been the go-to on just 19% of those. He's second on the team to my guy, Seth DeValve in receiving yards. There is absolutely no excuse for Jackson to not make Johnson Jr. the focal point of the offense.

In fact, DeValve is our second-best skill position player on offense and he's being targeted 4.6 times per game. Coleman was 6.5, Higgins 5.7, and Britt 5.0. Combined, they've been targeted 45 times, caught just 20 of those (44.4%) for 236 yards (11.8 YPC, 5.2 YPT). Contrasted with DeValve - 57.1% catch rate, 16.5 YPC and 9.4 YPT.

Hue needs to completely re-think his offensive approach, especially with Coleman out of the lineup. Stop asking your quarterback to throw deep routes that (A) take time to develop, (B) require receiver separation that we're not always seeing, and (C) require an accurate pass which we're also not seeing often and turn the offense over to Johnson Jr. and DeValve.

 

SAS, I'm not arguing that the kid isn't struggling right now....It's clear as a bell to me that he is pressing. On top of usual rookie growing pains of a QB, he's dealing with growing pains from almost every skill player on the squad.

This is going to take a bit more time than I anticipated....You could put Phillip Rivers behind center on this team and the struggles would continue. Teams lose every week because of dropped passes. You gotta be clutch. We gotta make plays and build chemistry. We're just getting started. Sorry this is a ridiculously young team, but it's what it is. Growth is needed everywhere in the WR corps. The one guy we were supposed to count on for the calming veteran leadership role in that group has been the worst of the bunch. That's confidence killing stuff man....

Obviously a turnover is the worst scenario SAS. Did that really need to be said? You know what I mean about how deflating the drops are. You remember those mind numbing Braylon Edwards drops. The Gregg Little era...Cmon.

 

No, but I have a pretty serious drinking problem, so that's normal.

 

I can think of two that are pretty clutch...

 

I completely agree on this point.

What I take issue with is the exaggeration. I have two statistics sources (NBC Sports, STATS.com) that track dropped passes... they have the Browns with 6 and 5, respectively, on the season.

 

That's why I termed it "growing pains" last time. It's more than just drops. It's miscommunication. It's confusion on what route to run. It's everything, and it hasn't been pretty....Besides, 11 dropped passes in 3 games is still way too many to expect a rookie QB to overcome. Or any QB really

I keep going back to the "finding an offensive rhythm" thing because I know it's true... Dropped passes, stupid penalties, untimely migraines, I mean you name it. There just hasn't been that cohesive flow in the offense yet. Our QB has had no chance. Some is on Kizer for sure, but there's plenty of blame to spread around here....

I know they will get it together....Might happen Sunday.

 

Sorry... that's 5 and 6 on the season. Not in the game. Two per game.

 

Well I disagree with that...NFL receivers need to make plays, even when it's not coming in with pinpoint precision. I guarantee there's been more than 6 drops.