2018 Season | The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

I think new Cam Heyward could be more accurate...

 

Well I gave you three. So you agree with me 1/3 of the time (that sounds about right)?

I disagree.

Well I'm not a physics major but I've seen plenty of balls go end over end after hitting the ground without a chance in spin. If it hit on the point of the ball it have easily just continued in the same direction. My point was the players reacted as if it hit him which can be heard and seen up close. If the refs were in better position it's probably a fumble. I certainly agreed it shouldn't be overturned and I never said there was an angle that showed it clearly hit him. I think the Browns caught a big break here.

I'd like to hear some clarification on that one but I agree his foot did hit out of bounds while he was TRYING unsuccessfully to regain possession.

No it clearly went to the inside of the pylon when you watch the angle from behind. It might have been the right call but they didn't spend much time reviewing it. That was my gripe.

But as I said before, there were bad calls both ways all game. They missed some obvious holding calls, called some ticky tack ones, missed false starts on the Browns tackles, took them forever to call the illegal formation on the rookie left tackle. Poorly called game both ways. Not fair to say the refs favored the Steelers which I've seen from two Browns posters.

 

Well I gave you three. So you agree with me 1/3 of the time (that sounds about right)?

I disagree.

Well I'm not a physics major but I've seen plenty of balls go end over end after hitting the ground without a chance in spin. If it hit on the point of the ball it have easily just continued in the same direction. My point was the players reacted as if it hit him which can be heard and seen up close. If the refs were in better position it's probably a fumble. I certainly agreed it shouldn't be overturned and I never said there was an angle that showed it clearly hit him. I think the Browns caught a big break here.

I'd like to hear some clarification on that one but I agree his foot did hit out of bounds while he was TRYING unsuccessfully to regain possession.

No it clearly went to the inside of the pylon when you watch the angle from behind. It might have been the right call but they didn't spend much time reviewing it. That was my gripe.

But as I said before, there were bad calls both ways all game. They missed some obvious holding calls, called some ticky tack ones, missed false starts on the Browns tackles, took them forever to call the illegal formation on the rookie left tackle. Poorly called game both ways. Not fair to say the refs favored the Steelers which I've seen from two Browns posters.

 

You're just trolling now. Harrison is a Hall of Famer if he starts playing at an earlier age.

 

Not trolling at all sir, just my humble opinion.

 

I meant trolling in a tongue in cheek kind of way. Not in a stopper kind of way. I should have added the emoji.

 

This game came down to the QBs. Ben played like crap (meaning poor decisions) and Taylor didn't play much better (meaning he missed several opportunities). I thought the Browns would have to stop the run and run the football to win. They did neither but still had a chance because they forced 6 turnovers.

 

We ran for 177 yards on the day, I don't think you did as great of a job stopping the run as you are giving yourself credit. You can't just decide not to count the fact you couldn't contain Tyrod Taylor because 6 of his 7 runs were designed pass plays. Overall, as a team, the Browns rushed for 4.6 ypc. What they didn't do is convert through the air to the tune of 15 completions in 40 tries...THAT is why the Browns tied the Steelers instead of winning by 21.

So, in short, this first part of your statement was a major understatement. Taylor did have 3 drops on the day, but that still leaves 22 passes that were either throw aways or bad passes. He had a LOT of bad passes yesterday. I hope it is because of chemistry and that will improve each week...we shall see.

 

Add this to the "Ugly" section:

 

When I'm talking about the running game I'm talking about being able to line up with the running backs and sustain a running game in an effort to make 3rd downs manageable and use play action effectively. I'm not talking about quarterback scrambles. They obviously count and without them the Browns would have really struggled on offense but I don't think you want Tyrod Taylor dropping back to pass 47 times in a football game. The Browns running backs averaged 3.3 yards per carry and had 6 runs that resulted in negative yardage. The Browns are going to struggle all year if they don't get out of 3rd and 7+. Kudos to Taylor. The guy is good at making something out of nothing.

He was definitely under duress but if his accuracy doesn't improve Mayfield will be the starter.

 

The Good
It’s not a loss.

Defense generated 6 turnovers. Not much else.

The Bad
It’s not a win.

Starting a rookie with ABSOLUTELY ZERO experience was a recipe for disaster. You can put all 4 of Watt’s sacks and the blocked FG on the rookie. Along with some untimely penalties.

Somehow Hue and Co. need to make up their minds on who is starting, and SICK TO IT. The offense will continue to be putrid until there is some cohesion along the front lines.
Creating 6 turnovers and still giving up close to 500-yds offense.

The Ugly

ONLY 7 Phuqing points off of 6 Turnovers. If this offense can’t put drives together and put points on the board we’ll be looking at another long disastrous season.

The QB ends the game as the teams leading rusher.

O-line play; the browns have to stop letting the opponent control the LOS.

Penalties: All three phases of the game need to be more disciplined.


Quote of the SEASON…

Sums it up nicely.

 

Mmmhmm!!

 

I thought Gordon looked less than scary. I expected him to run by defenders, but I didn't see it. On the other hand it appeared Taylor didn't lead him much either (witness the TD catch and the Int, both underthrown).

Still in all, we had a first timer at LG, an new QB, new OC, two High flyers at WR, and no reps together. I expect all of it to improve. By the way, what happened to running the ball? An awful lot of awful passing, in a game that screamed out for running the ball. ?????

 

Todd Haley actually had the most balanced attack we've seen from the Cleveland Browns since Eric Mangini (38 runs, 47 passes). The real problem is they just weren't very good. The running backs averaged 3.3 YPC and the lead rusher was the quarterback, who inflated the per-attempt average (9.6 YPC for Taylor).

Hyde (2.8 YPC) and Johnson (3.4 YPC) did not look good. Rookie Nick Chubb (7.0 YPC) did on limited attempts, but also got Tyrod killed at least once with poor pass protection.

The Gordon thing was more "classic Browns" and part of what I mentioned with Hue Jackson in my GBU. First, Hue was 100% behind him as he worked through some things, then he was going to punish him by not starting him, then he started, then he sat for 3-4 series while the offense floundered, then he played the next 68 snaps and was targeted a whopping three times. To be fair, if Tyrod throws a better ball, his line would have been three for three, 77 yards, and three touchdowns.

 

Does anyone think that Todd Haley made the decision Baker Mayfield was better for this team than Tyrod and is trying to show that by showcasing Tyrod's deficiencies? The play calling sure didn't play to his strong suits.

 

I think everyone in the organization believes Baker Mayfield is better for the team, at least in the long term. I have more concern that Todd Haley's gameplan did not reflect a change for the conditions than it did for trying to shine a light on Tyrod's deficiencies.

• Wind, downpour, soggy field... first 11 plays were 10 throws, one run.
  
  
• Shaky offensive line and struggling running game, no adjustments to help settle Tyrod down a bit and keep him in the pocket.
  
  
• Best play maker on the team (Josh Gordon), three targets.

 

1. Cant blame the blocked FG entirely on the rookie. The Steelers knew the snap count bc the Browns used the same cadence all game and they were hip to it.

2. Regarding the Todd Haley/Tierod Taylor conspiracy, weren't there designed qb runs? Isn't that playing directly to his strength??

 

That's already been debunked, they don't have a cadence, it's on when the holder raises his hand, the snapper can go on his own count. They don't have a cadence, because they can't hear the holder from 7 yards away.

Only 2 of Tyrod's credited 8 runs were designed runs, the rest were scrambles.

 

No. These guys want to win. Todd Haley wanted to beat Pittsburgh probably more than anyone.

We had a complete "question mark" starting on the QB's blindside. We still have a ton of new parts working together in a real battle for the first time. I don't believe there was any sabotage involved by the coaches. The thing is, Tyrod Taylor isn't that great. He doesn't play the game with an aggressive enough nature, is the kindest way I can put it. Tyrod is painfully conservative for a reason though, and it's because he's very smart and he knows that he has limitations when it comes to arm talent. He doesn't look at a match-up "one on one" situation and start to drool the way the good QB's do. Tyrod is more than happy to stay safe. Don't make a mistake. Just try to keep the team in the game....Mayfield on the other hand, is pretty much the opposite. He sees the "one on one", and he's immediately thinking touchdown, because he KNOWS he's got the arm talent to make it happen...It's a huge difference, but when you watch either QB play, it's as obvious as can be. There's no reason Mayfield couldn't have played every bit as well as Sam Darnold did last night, or better. Mayfield was as impressive as any rookie QB I've ever seen in the preseason. He showed accuracy, poise, confidence, pocket awareness, and an ability to score points. Not sure what more we were looking for? Unfortunately for football fans everywhere, the Browns are committed to forcing this shitshow (Taylor) down our throat, for the greater good of the franchise in the long run. It would make sense if Tyrod was clearly our best option, but in the case with the 2018 Browns, it just isn't that way. Baker Mayfield clearly is the best option for Cleveland, and I got news for everyone, he ain't learning jack squat watching Taylor play. The sooner the Browns come to terms with the obvious, the better for the football world...

 

Tyrod Taylor = 6th round pick.

Baker Mayfield = 1st rd, #1 overall

It really shouldn't be that hard to figure...I'm all for setting the rookie in a learning pattern, as long as the veteran is the better player. We just don't have that. Baker isn't perfect, and he will make some mistakes and take his lumps, but he's a better QB than Tyrod Taylor by a long shot, and even though it wasn't "the plan", we might as well let the kid play....Mayfield gives the Browns the best chance to score points and win games. That's the bottom line....