WEEK 8 - STEELER WEEK....Cle at Pit

We owe these guys a beating. The schedule makers sure haven't done the Browns any favors as Pittsburgh comes in fresh off the bye week....

All I can say is, the Browns have a lot of fight. They need to get it going in the first quarter for a change. I don't know why they seem to come out flat every week, but I don't think it's something that reflects well on the coaching staff. We had the Steelers beat in week one and simply didn't finish.....There shouldn't be need for big motivational speech this week. Can the Browns figure out a way to stay poised in the big moments and come out of steeltown with a big W? There is no doubt we have the talent on the field to match up.....

 

Well, this is where my conspiracy theory of them having a mentality that the one thing they will do this season is be ready for division games. So far they are 1-0-1, if they go to 2-0-1, I will once again be extremely happy.

 

I'm not gonna lie fellas, I do not feel good about this one.

• Cleveland coming off an overtime, road loss to a significantly less-talented team.
  
  
• Pittsburgh getting two weeks to prepare for Mayfield and the Browns coming to their house.
  
  
• Hue Jackson in rare end-of-season form driving that bus over anyone he can find in its path as the excuses once again pile up. Most recently, challenging Todd Haley and the offense suggesting he could "take over" (he's since back pedaled).

I really hope @IrishDawg42 is right and this team is amped for divisional games. 5-0-1 in the division suits me just fine.

 

I don't understand anything Hue does. We win a game and he starts immediately talking about, "Watch out for all the people that'll be on the Browns bandwagon now!"...as he invites his old buddy and well known Steeler fan, Snoop Dogg, into our practice....

Now Hue's acting like he's the NFL offense ninja, and he's gonna fix everything....smh Seriously? the guy is delusional. How many times did he say he's gotta get Nick Chubb more touches, before John Dorsey decided to make it happen for him? Has he forgotten how ugly it was when he was calling plays before?

With the play-calling, I'm gonna give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he's talking about key moments like the 4th and goal QB sneak fail. That was a stupid play call. Lets send our underzsized rookie QB right into Gerald McCoy's lap. Haley does come up with some head scratchers at times. Mayfield isn't big enough to move the pile...

It's over....We're on to Pittsburgh.

Our offense was a complete disaster the last time we played the Steelers. Hopefully this time around we pack a little more punch. I think we'll need 30 this week....

 

I'm not convinced that Tampa Bay was a "significantly less-talented" team. Other than defensive secondary and (maybe) running back, what positional group do the Browns field that is significantly more talented? Mayfield has more talent than Winston, but Winston's experience gives him a temporary edge.

Prior to the start of this season, the concensus was that the Browns' achile heels would be the O-line and Wide Receiver. As a group, we also thought the LB group was solid (not great, but solid) but lacked depth. Turns out we were right.

Our D-line is, IMHO, just okay. Myles Garrett's single purpose is to be a heat seeking missle to the pocket. But he has some issues setting the edge on running plays. Same with Ogbah on the opposite end.

My point here is, we DO have some very talented individuals. But they haven't yet played together enough to be effective as a unit and, because they're so young, haven't the experience to overcome their own stupid mistakes.

 

Honestly, everywhere besides wide receiver and tight end the Browns are better.

 

We can agree to disagree.

The Browns may have more talented individuals in the various groups, but the Bucs operate better as a unit. Experience will fix that.

 

This is objectively untrue. On defense...

• Buccaneers are giving up 6.6 yards-per-play (Browns 5.5)
• Buccaneers are giving up 196 points / 32.7 PPG (Browns 177 / 25.3 PPG)
• Buccaneers have six take aways (Browns have 20)
• Buccaneers are 32nd in yards, 32nd in touchdowns, and 31st in net yards in passing (Browns 26th, 31st, and 7th)

On offense, we actually have a unique opportunity to see Mayfield and Winston on equal footing, since neither started the season. For both, we'll only take starts (Baker has four, Jameis has three).

• Buccs averaging 425.7 yards per game (Browns 381.3)
• Buccs averaging 327.3 passing yards per game (Browns 245.8)
• Buccs averaging 98.4 rushing yards per game (Browns 135.5)

All of this would seem to point to the Buccs having an advantage in the passing game (wide receivers, tight ends) and Browns having the edge in the running game.

• Winston has thrown five touchdowns to Baker's six, and six interceptions to Baker's five
• Winston's passer rating is higher (85.6 to 75.5) - but per game, he had 74.0 against Chicago (allowing 89.0), 66.6 against Cleveland (allowing 75.0) and 115.4 against Atlanta (allowing 105.9)
• By contract, Baker (75.5) per game has had; 70.7 against Oakland (allowing 106.6), 81.7 against Baltimore (allowing 78.2), 52.6 against Los Angeles (allowing 88.0), and 104.4 against Tampa (allowing 125.8)

While this would seem to favor Jameis, it's tough to truly gauge given that the quality of who they are throwing to has to be a factor. Baker's receivers lead the NFL in drops and drop percentage, the same cannot be said for Winston.

 

Yet the Bucs are 3-3-0 (0.500) against teams that are a combined 16-15-0 (0.516) while the Browns are 2-4-1 (0.357) against teams that are a combined 20-18-1 (0.526). Their opponent's win percentage is virtually the same but the Bucs' record is better.

Again, I believe the Browns may have better individual players like you show in your Mayfield/Winston comparison, but the team results don't reflect that.

 

#Huefactor

 

#Can'tCoachExperience

 

No, but you can coach preparation and discipline. There are lots of young teams in this league. None make even close to the number of mistakes that the Browns do.

 

I don't why I'm even wasting my time.

You can't coach discipline. One either has it or doesn't. Those that have it have learned from making past mistakes and don't want to make the same mistake again.

You can coach preparation. That's called film review, repetitions and walk throughs. Are you suggesting that Hue doesn't make sure those things are done?

 

Not trying to create an argument, but I think it was the Steelers who had the Browns beat and simply didn't finish (starting with Conner's fumble).

 

#CreatedAnArgument

So, Conner was just being a nice guy and thought he would boost our self esteem by dropping the ball?

Or . . . did a Browns player physically knock the ball out of his hands?

 

Conner failed to protect that ball adequately with two strong arms wrapped around it and be fully aware of that specific and general game situation looking upfield and seeing a missed block and bracing for the tackle/impact and also being cognizant of the score and how much a turnover would cost them in that situation. Conner is a young player so some of that might be a coaching failure to tell him to cover up and be more conservative in that situation.

 

Who did Hue learn under? Oh that’s right, he coached under Lewis. That’s the problem right there. Don’t hire assistants from disfunctional teams.

 

The last time I looked, Conner was on the Steelers' roster, right? If he had his two strong arms wrapped around the ball then the Browns' player that knocked it out must have had stronger arms.

 

You mean like Haley? Or were you referring to Cowher?

 

You may have a point here but I'm hesitant to agree because I have no idea if a great coach ever came from a crap one . However, what you say seems logical enough for me to want to immediately agree.