2017 Season The Good, Bad and Ugly

Terrible

 

Shizer

Heading into a game against another winless opponent who was allowing an 84.9 opposing QB rating, DeCon Shizer went for 43.5 and a sack. To be fair, he had two drops on the day from his receivers on 34 horrendously inaccurate attempts.

 

I think Kizer played his last game for now....Hue is a lame duck coach(1-20) so he may get the call from upstairs on who to start

 

Each week of awful football, I keep asking, can it get any worse than this? Sadly, the Browns keep answering the bell with a resounding;

 

Just change the name of this thread to: THE BAD AND UGLY.

.....there's no good.

I really hope Jimmy and Dee were paying close attention to the mass exodus of fans that started at half and pretty much left the stadium empty by mid 3rd quarter. I dumped the NFL ticket and DirectV this week, and it was nice of this organization to reassure me that I made a GREAT decision. That was quite a show. I don't know why Browns fans keep coming back. It's unacceptable. Kenny Britt??? Really? Four wide receivers selected in last year's draft and what do we have to show for it? JACK SQUAT!!!

Does our defense not understand that the TE position is a part of football? Who destroyed us yesterday? I've never even heard of that guy....I swear, I could go to my grocery store and find a guy that could line up at TE and shred the Browns. smh.

Does Kizer actually practice throwing at the knees of his receivers? because he's amazing at that...We have the perfect storm of "stone handed" WR's combined with a QB that throws remarkably uncatchable passes. Not a fun thing to watch, unless you enjoy a nice dumpster fire.

The Ravens and Bengals both suck, and they thoroughly dominated us from start to finish like we weren't even in the same league...After last season, you wouldn't even think it would be possible to regress. When do we hit bottom? I think we actually competed better last season, which is the saddest statement ever made...This really is unbelievable. Words can't describe how miserable it is for Browns fans.

Hue's stupid face is starting to piss me off. Offensive "guru's" are suppose to have competent OFFENSES!!! Stop telling us how hard you are trying!!! All that money invested in the O-line...Supposedly talented RB's....This is a trainwreck.

What does it feel like to be a Browns fan every Sunday? These folks know the feeling:

 

For those who weren't there or didn't watch on TV, this team quit on its headcoach about half-way through the third quarter of this game.

After the game, Marvin Lewis told Hue Jackson during their embrace: "don't let this team quit on you".

It's Week 4.

Stinky. There's no excuse for not catching the pass in the redzone that became an eventual interception.

Ricardo Louis
Hogan: 4 of 4 for 56 yards (100% catch rate, 14.0 YPA)
Kessler: 9 of 16 for 126 yards (56% catch rate, 7.9 YPA)
Kizer: 6 of 15 for 77 yards (40% catch rate, 5.1 YPA)

Rashard Higgins
Hogan: 2 of 5 for 12 yards, 1 INT (40% catch rate, 2.4 YPA)
Kizer: 7 of 16 for 93 yards, 2 INTS (44% catch rate, 5.8 YPA)

Corey Coleman
Non-Kizer: 33 of 73, 413 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INT (45% catch rate, 5.7 YPA)
Kizer: 6 of 11 for 63 yards, 1 TD (55% catch rate, 5.7 YPA)

No, the receivers aren't good. But it's also amazing how the receivers (minus Coleman) are all better with an NFL-caliber QB throwing them the football.

DeShone Kizer is not and NFL-caliber quarterback.

Don't forget the Colts!

You are not wrong, sir.

 

What did you hear? Are the Browns signing a FA QB?

(sarcasm off)

 

I just want Hue Jackson to shut up. Stop telling the fans over and over that "we need to get better", as if that is something we are unable to detect.

Cody Kessler's Browns were a complete shitshow last year, but it was still better than this...I must have misunderstood Roethlisberger after the opener when he said, "the Browns are gonna surprise plenty of teams this year". I thought he meant "surprise" in a good way...Not like, "Surprise! we found a way to suck even more." smh...

Gonna be a long year indeed....

 

"I'm glad we got to play them early." - Validates us veterans skipping preseason games and walking through the motions in practice since we got a win. Basically, we got an extra week of football for free.

 

Ahh... memories.

 

Even as a non-Browns fan, I was pushing for Kizer. He played pretty well in Week 1, but the wheels are completely off and I really don't understand why it happened. I thought this was the year that Cleveland was sending Cincy to the basement for a while. Not looking that way now. #MakeClevelandGoodAgain, not great... just good.

 

Completely serious question:

Let's go back to 2016 for a moment. What was The Plan here? We had just signed Hue's personal favorite Bob Griffin to a two-year contract, had Josh McCown as a backup, and drafted Cody "Trust Me" Kessler in the third round. Griffin was the reclamation project, McCown was the grizzled veteran who could be relied on in case of injuries, and Kessler was the rookie who was supposed to sit, develop, and be groomed for the future... right?

What happened in 2017 to change that plan?

It was nearly 100%-unanimous that Kizer needed at a minumum a full season to sit.

It was believed the offense had improved around the QB position - lateral move at wide receiver, upgrade at center, upgrade at tight end, upgrade at right guard, stability at right tackle and left guard.

Inexplicably, Brock Osweiler started two of four preseason games, despite not being in either the front office or coaches' long-term plans.

Kessler completed 63.0% of his preseason passes, threw for a touchdown, had zero turnovers and notched an 88.0 QB rating (92.5 in NFL games as a rookie), primarily against second-string players.

Kizer completed 51.0% of his preseason passes, threw for 1 touchdown and 1 interception, notched 72.7 QB rating, against first, second, third, and fourth stringers. His worst performances saved for first team defenses.

In what should be classified as "unsurprisingly", Kizer is completing 51.4% of his passes and has a 50.9 QB rating.

It was reported in the week leading up to the Bengals game that friction between coaches and front office forced the owner to schedule an impromptu meeting with his people and discuss it.

What happened to change the plan?

 

Smells suspiciously like "advise from the homeless guy, part 2".

 

Looking at the biggest difference, it was the sacks.

Kizer took nine sacks (two called back for penalty) in Week 1. He's taken 2, 1, and 1 since. Replace those 5 - 7 sacks from Week 1 with hurried, rushed, bad throws and you can see what's happened.

I'm certain he knows the playbook. He genuinely seems to understand a defense pre-snap. But he's incapable of reading an NFL defense live. He cannot go through progressions. He's incapable of throwing receivers open or throwing with anticipation. He is not a timing/rhythm passer.

He locks into his primary read, waits for them to come open, and trusts his strong arm to force a pass.

Week 1: 20 of 30 (66.7%), 222 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 85.7 rating, 9 sacks

Turn 1 sack taken in Week 4 to holding the ball and taking sacks.

Week 4: 16 of 26 (61.5%), 118 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 56.3 rating, 9 sacks (was 1)

 

If Kessler starts w their #1 draft pick the Clev Browns select....QB??????????

 

Saquon Barkley.

A joke a few folks have made is that Kessler is a defensive coordinator's dream come true. Here's a look at how you defend the QB's.

Kessler: bump and run receivers to disrupt timing, blitz on first down, try to stack the box and take a chance the deep ball is there, assignment football - accuracy can be a killer.

Kizer: show up, put at least 10 men on the field, return punt, repeat

 

Hue Jackson, just now:

"I thought DeShone played his best game yet. By far."

In case someone needed to be reminded, this was a blow-out loss where he was benched and completed 16 of 34 passes (47.1%) for 118 yards (3.5 YPA), zero touchdowns, an interception, and a sack. 43.5 QB rating.

Hell, take away the two drops in that game - one of which went the other way for an interception - and his line is still: 16 of 32 (50.0%) for 118 yards (3.7 YPA), zero touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a sack. 59.1 QB rating.

His. Best. Game. Yet.

#HueMustGo #KizerIsShizer #TeamCody

 

Kessler's lowest QB rating in 2016 - 52.1, Week 11 against Pittsburgh where he was knocked out of the game. Completed his lowest percentage of passes that game, too - 50.0%.

7 of 14 for 126 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT. 9.1 YPA.

Hogan's lowest QB rating in his career - 26.4, Week 7 2016 against Cincinnati where he was primarily a running quarterback (7 attempts, 104 yards). 12 of 24 (50%) for 100 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs. 4.2 YPA.

Kessler > Hogan > Ken Dorsey > Spergon Wynn > Kizer

 

Good

Emmanuel Ogbah. Had himself a game. That's an encouraging development as he's been pretty quiet this season. Ogbah needs Garrett back as bad as anyone else on this defense to free up some looks and get more pressure on the opposing quarterbacks. A sack, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and six tackles.

Duke Johnson Jr. Another good showing for Duke, despite nothing else around him. Johnson continues to be the only bright spot on offense. Simply inexcusable to not get him more looks.

Josh Gordon. You heard that right.



Josh Rosen. The number one QB prospect for the 2018 Draft and the only one who can give Saquon Barkley a run for first overall pick.

Bad

The running game. Seriously... bad. Browns rushed 17 times for 45 yards (2.6 YPC) and 1 TD (a gimme score at the end of time in garbage minutes that took TWO PI's in the endzone). Even if you want to make the "fell behind early excuse", here's the first quarter drives - usually scripted days ahead of time:

First Series
1- Kizer scramble, 4 yards.
2- Crowell carry, 3 yards.
3- Kizer pass. Incomplete.
4- Punt.

Second Series
1- Crowell carry, 5 yards.
2- Crowell carry, -5 yards.
3- Kizer pass. Incomplete.
4- Punt.

Third Series
1- Kizer pass. Incomplete.
2- Kizer pass, 9 yards.
3- Johnson carry, 9 yards. First down. 7:57 mark.
1- Kizer fumble snap, -14 yards.
2- Johnson carry, 3 yards.
3- Kizer pass, 9 yards.
4- Punt.

The game was still 0-0 at this point with the defense playing lights out.

Ugly

Hue Jackson. When your team quits on you four games into a season, you're a lame duck head coach. He can't identify quarterback talent. He can't coach quarterback talent. And he can't design a winning game plan. His scripted first quarter featured 5 carries out of 12 plays (41.7%). 40:60 running with a garbage quarterback is not a winning formula.

Gregg Williams' defense. What should have been the strength of this team has now surrendered 62 points in the last two weeks to poor teams. Dalton entered the game with a 69.6 QB rating, 2 TDs, and 4 INTs. He completed over 80 percent of his passes against Cleveland (at one point was 17 of 18) and threw for four touchdowns. Passer rating for the game: 146.0.

The week prior, Brissett (making his second start with the team) entered with a 65.3 QB rating. He left with 120.0.

Dalton was the NFL's worst QB against the blitz. The Browns were blitzing more than any team in the NFL (almost 45% of the time). It seemed like a fairly easy game plan. The actual game-plan? 18% of blitzes.

Shizer

DeShone Kizer. This is not an NFL quarterback. What's left to say? He continues to start and this team doesn't win a game until 2018 when a young quarterback named Rosen takes over and gets us one.