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

If this game goes the way everyone expects, so they pull Baker so he doesn't get hurt. If so would Tyrod say no, leaving us with Stanton vs Mahonees and the mighty Chiels?

Tryod would have been possible trade bait, but wonder if we were reluctant given the beatings Baker has been taking?

 

Maybe it's a sign Higgins is coming back. He was looking real good before the injury. Honestly, I think he is why Dorsey felt Gordon was dispensable.

 

Tyrod's a pro, he would welcome a chance to play, no matter the situation. No way would he refuse to go in.

Honestly, this is the NFL, anything could happen. I won't start getting down until the Chiefs get up 14-0...Hopefully that doesn't happen at all.

 

We'll be down 14-0 in the 1st quarter.

 

Yep, I'm outta here for a week... I'm just not built to handle so much negativity. Enjoy your week everyone..or in this case, I guess you won't, but see you all next week.

 

Just for argument's sake... the couple of names I saw were Terrelle Pryor (intends to sign with Buffalo), Golden Tate, Chris Hogan (myself), and Odell Beckham Jr. Taking a look at them...

Terrelle Pryor had a bad attitude his first time around in Cleveland, has been consistently injured since leaving, and likely would not have improved our receiving corp that greatly. He was never a reliable pass-catcher (career 54.3% catch rate), or a deep threat - the two largest holes right now in our wide receiver room.

Golden Tate checks the reliability box from a pass catching standpoint, but isn't a deep threat and would fill a similar role to that of Jarvis Landry. I was all for getting him, despite the last year of his deal and being 30, when I thought the cost was a fifth round pick. Him going for a third is really high (IMHO) and I'm glad we didn't bid on that.

Chris Hogan is basically a less-accomplished Golden Tate.

Odell Beckham Jr. is a super star wide receiver who could (should) be available this offseason and was going to cost at least a number one pick. Currently, Cleveland is sitting at #6 overall in draft order, which is a tough sell. He'd fix our issues at wide receiver for sure, but with the dumpster fire over in New York right now, the smartest move may be to watch how it plays out over the next eight weeks.

At the end of the day, there wasn't a receiver who was going to fix our problems that also wouldn't have cost us dearly. Once Rashard "WR1" Higgins returns to the lineup, we'll have a reliable guy who's capable of running those deeper patterns and giving Baker a primary target.

What we'll also (hopefully) see and benefit from is personnel changes with Kitchens taking over the play-calling duties. The Browns were second in the NFL in 11-personnel behind only the juggernaut Los Angeles Rams, who boast an elite QB, elite running back, very good receivers, and an elite head coach/play caller. Given the struggles of our guys, the inexperience, and the injuries, Todd Haley should never have had three receivers on the field to go with a tight end and running back.

With Kitchens, my hope is we see more 12-personnel (two tight end sets) where DeValve and Njoku are used as receiving options, or involving Duke Johnson in the passing game - whether by personnel grouping or actually taking snaps at slot receiver. A few tweaks to the offense like that would mask our weakness at the position and once Higgins is back, we can start to open it back up again.

 

Tyrod has a big salary number, that even prorated, would be tough to move unless a team that was in contention lost their starter. Jacksonville didn't lose theirs, he just isn't any good. Obviously, for the price (both picks and money), they didn't feel he was worth it.

For the Browns, he's a professional who's still a very good influence to have in the locker room. Sure, he can't be happy with sitting behind Baker and not playing, but he knows he'll get a shot next season and the Browns could do much, much worse from a back-up standpoint if Baker gets injured.

I'm not sure why they'd pull Baker against the Chiefs. If anything, not making moves is a sign that Dorsey & Co. want to evaluate the current roster and players. Yanking Mayfield would be a classic Hue move that would damage the growth of the rookie.

 

Bob Wiley must go!

No disrespect intended to the Steelers, but I'm pretty sure no one is worth triple-teaming on pass protection.

 

^^^^^ Stills, if that's easier than going to Twitter.

 

Well . . . We're at the half-way point of our season with a 2-5-1 record.

What record do we end up with for the season?

 

7-8-1

 

I would take that.

 

7 8 1 Yep I'd take it too.

KC I cannot predict or even hope for a win here L 6
Atlanta - schizophrenic team, talented but vulnerable W 3
Cinci - In Cinci, Can Red keep it up? I'd say it's a steep climb L 7
Houston - Good team, but not elite, beatable W 4
Carolina - I don't believe in Cam W 5
Denver - A team in transition with a mediocre QB W 6
Cinci - Home means advantage Browns W 7
Baltimore - A spllit seems the most likely outcome so L 8

I am expecting / hoping we split with the Red Rifle's kittens
Likewise with the Purple Birds, but would love to sweep both, and think it's possible, but unlikely this season
We have only 5 games outside our division, and nobodys mailing in any of these games, but if we can become the team we are capable of being, we can take 4 of the 5. A win today would be a minor miracle, but the other teams, while good are beatable.

Baker has to do better, but that's predicated on fewer penalties, Higgins back and effective, and the D continuing to average 3 TOs per game. A tall order, but we are starting over again, but have dismissed the "excuses coach" and hopefully will show the kind of discipline a demanding coach demands.

I think a lot of our guys, are pleased to put Hue in the rear view, and are ready to take direction and marching order from Williams.

Let the games begin

Go Browns

 

Week 9:

• New Head Coach.
• New Offensive Coordinator.
• Same roster.
• Same result.

 

Last 3 weeks

Week 6 vs. Los Angelos
Averages for LA (+5.3 point differential)
Offense 27.8, they scored 38 +10.2 above their average
Defense 22.5, we scored 14 -8.5 below their average
-18.7 point differential on average

Week 7 @Tampa Bay
Averages for TB (-5.8 point differential)
Offense 28.6, they scored 26 -2.6 below their average
Defense 34.4, we scored 23 -11.4 below their average
-8.8 point differential on average

Week 8 @Pittsburgh
Averages for Pitt (+4.9 point differential)
Offense 28.4, they scored 33 +4.6 above their average
Defense 23.5, we scored 18 -5.5 below their average
-10.1 point differential on average

Week 9 vs. Kansas City
Averages for KC (+12.2 point differential)
Offense 36.3, they scored 37 +.7
Defense 25.1, we scored 21 -4.1
-4.8 point differential on average



So, yes, we have now lost 4 in a row, but the average point differential over that span was the lowest this past game, by nearly 50%, of that losing streak. In other words, both sides of the ball played harder combined than the previous 4 weeks. Whether that is something that will be sustained, and/or improved upon, we will have to wait and see. The reports coming out though of the infighting between Hue and Haley...you can't really think that is conducive to a good working environment, do you?

All I know is it isn't as dire as it seems coming up... vs.Atlanta 3rd AFC South (+.3 point differential), bye week, @Cincinnati 2nd AFC North (-2 pd), @Houston 1st in AFC South (+3.6 pd), vs.Carolina 2nd of NFC South (+5 pd), @Denver 3rd AFC West (-.9 pd), vs.Cincinnati 2nd AFC North (-2 pd), @Baltimore 3rd in AFC North (+5.9 pd)

If we continue to improve, while the veteran laden teams above stay stagnant, we have a chance to win vs. Atlanta, Cincy x2, Houston and Denver, and well, we already beat the Ravens, so there is a chance... that's 6 out of the next 7 games... If we can go 4-3, won't everyone feel better about where this team is headed?



Look, I know I am getting desperate here...but I do believe they played better yesterday, despite the outcome. The defense suffered a lot of injuries and still held KC to their average scoring on the year. I was actually happy to see Baker make it out alive considering they had to start Greg Robinson last minute at LT.

The offense fell short, but Baker Mayfield completing 69% of his passes for nearly 300 yards was a step in the right direction. I was actually more disappointed in the running game being under 4 ypc against that defense. On the other side, the run defense was porous and needs to get MUCH better moving forward. However, the Chiefs are near the top at protecting their QB and we got two sacks on them..as well as another turnover, keeping that going will be important moving forward as well.

 

Week 7 Kansas City

The Good

• Freddie Kitchens. Baker Mayfield in the shotgun. Moving the pocket. Calling more underneath throws. Changing the dynamic from full-field reads to half-field reads. The result? Our second-best offensive outing of the season (behind only the 1-7* Raiders in overtime) and Baker's best single game in his career thus far. Kitchens was an immediate upgrade to this team. Who knew the same thing John DeFillipo did to help the Eagles win a Super Bowl and develop their rookie quarterback would be a successful thing?
  
  
  
• Duke Johnson. I don't know where or from who's practice squad they found this guy, but he was an amazing, mid-season pick up. Comes in off the street and has 10 touches for 86 yards and two touchdowns. Wow! Hopefully, we can sign him to a nice extension and get more production out of him. What a deal!
  
  
• Greg Robinson. It isn't that Robinson was so impressive as a starter as much as he was a major upgrade to who he was replacing in Desmond Harrison. Harrison wasn't getting it done and Baker's development (and safety) is paramount. I don't know who made the call here, but with new sheriffs in down (Williams, Kitchens), clearly someone was tired of seeing Baker run for his life behind a porous offensive line and statistically, the league's worst left tackle.
  
  Another note here... Baker called out Robinson for his good play immediately in the post-game. Take note.

The Bad

• Defense. Here's Kansas' first six drives of the game: touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, interception (0:08 to play in the half), touchdown, touchdown. Everyone knew that the Chiefs boast an all-time great offense right now, but the ease with which they handled the Browns' defense and seemed to get no resistance was troubling. They averaged 8.6 yards per play on the game.
  
  
• David Njoku's pass protection. We can debate the merits of having your pass-catching tight end stay in-line to block on third down passes (no we can't, that's a dumb idea, and you're wrong if you think he should), but for whatever reason if Njoku's going to be asked to block... he's going to have to get better at it. The Browns drafted him (traded up, in fact) to be TE1 and he's got to play like it. Turns out, he's no O.J. Howard...
  
  
  
  
• Losing skid. Four losses in a row. A little unfair, since three of those came with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named at the head of the ship, but Gregggggg Williams needs to find a way to get some wins on the board. The schedule isn't extremely friendly, but Atlanta, Denver, and Houston aren't scary and maybe Williams can find a way to not roll over and die against Cincinnati like He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named did. Likely not going to beat Baltimore in Baltimore at the end of the season. Realistically, 3-4 wins the rest of the way with some development from the rookies would make this feel like a much, much better return.

The Ugly

• Jamie Collins' effort. Greggggg Williams called out Collins in his post game remarks... in a positive way. What? I wish I knew what he and the other coaches were seeing, because I'm at a loss. He's half-effort on every snap, which is a bit steep for $12.5 million a year. Dude is the literal definition of "build like Tarzan, plays like Jane". John Dorsey is in evaluation mode and Collins is putting up horse-sh*t tape. Doesn't bode well for the player.
  
  
  
• Those special teams. Amos Jones' continued employment amazes me. A blocked punt against the Chiefs in this one (with little to no other successes) damaged any chances this team had for a comeback. I get maybe not clearing out the entire staff in one fell swoop, but Bob Wiley and Amos Jones need to go.
  
  
• Injuries. Denzel Ward, Chris Kirksey, E.J. Gaines... the list goes on. Baker Mayfield had to come out for a couple of plays to get evaluated for a concussion. Me, watching Mayfield get pulled from the game:
  
  
  
  A tough task to try and stop this Chiefs team. A tougher task when a bunch of your starters go down - and one, maybe your best, doesn't suit up trying to play through an injury (Randall). Ready for that BYE week...

 

For the record, I'm glad you're back.

Somewhere in this roster is a team that held the Saints, who just annihilated the previously undefeated Los Angeles Rams 45-35, to 21 points and only narrowly lost. Saints total yards on offense against Cleveland: 275. Saints total yards on offense against all other opponents (average): 420.1.

Getting back all of their starters from injury should help. They should get Schobert and Randall back after the BYE week and hopefully Ward's hip injury isn't serious. I'm okay resting him this week against Atlanta (yikes) if it means he can get healthy.

The bottom line is, this defense needs to hold up their end of the bargain. They are the key to winning games with an offense that is now working with a new offensive coordinator and starting a rookie: quarterback, wide receiver, running back, and left tackle. For comparison sake, the number of rookies who were predominant starters in 2017 and 2016 were: one, and two, respectively. Those teams went 0-16 and 1-15.

Todd Haley's offense left something to be desired with respect to Mayfield's development, but not the actual scheme itself. He averaged 28 rush attempts per game (NFL average is 25.5) and that number jumps to 30 per game if you exclude the Chargers and Pittsburgh games where the team quit on Hue-Should-Not-Be-Named. THAT is the correct approach with an expensive offensive line and rookies at so many skill positions. Kitchens, for his part, held true to that with 25 in the Chiefs game, one that saw the team struggle to keep pace with an historic offense. I'd like to see that number north of 30 every game from here on out.

 

Agree 100%. It was subtle, but he called plays to the strength of our offense. Now, as they get used to this this type of good playcalling, they will become even more efficient and the TDs will come. They had some nice sustained drives in this game, more importantly, they had ZERO 3 and outs...NONE, zilch, nada...They did have one drive that was only 3 plays, but that drive was Baker's INT, in which they had already gained 53 yards on the previous two plays.

Funny how utilizing the best talent on the team actually helps the team succeed.

Enough said:



RIDICULOUS!! And he looks at Greg Robinson like... "Dude, why didn't you go around me to block that guy?" In fact, he almost looked like he was ready to put a block on Robinson to keep him from getting to Jordan.

I'm staying away from your ugly, simply because it's spot on and I have nothing to add.

 

What add's insult to injury here was that the Chiefs lined up SIX potential pass rushers, the Browns left in SEVEN pass blockers including Njoku and Johnson...then the Chiefs drop 3 of those potential pass rusher into coverage, only THREE guys rushed on this play against SEVEN blockers, yet, Njoku left his guy to help Robinson block the ghost pass rusher. This play really accentuates his inability to block. I don't care if it sets off the defense. If a TE is going to stay in to block, Njoku needs to be on the sidelines.

 

And it's not just Njoku here... there is something systemically wrong with the Browns' pass protection. There was the stills against Pittsburgh where, for whatever reason, the Browns' line calls had them triple-teaming one guy and blocking 1:1 on two others, but left a free rusher for an easy sack.

This is a failure on the part of the players, but also the scheme and coach (Wiley) who has actually turned chicken salad into chicken s**t somehow. Tretter is JAG, Harrison was a nightmare, but Bitonio and Zeitler are two of the best in the business, and Hubbard was a very good lineman in Pittsburgh who suddenly stopped being good because he changed jerseys? Or maybe because Mike Munchak knows what he's doing with an offensive line?