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

I get what you're saying, but I think every situation is different....Some coaches come from the NCAA ranks and just doesn't workout for whatever reason. Lou Holtz, Nick Saban, Bobby Petrino and Butch Davis come to mind off the top of my head. They all flamed out for different reasons (some worse than others), after coming into the league with much hoopla....But there are those that acclimated to the NFL without skipping a beat, though admitedly it is less common.. Jimmy Johnson comes to mind immediately, but I know there are plenty of others that made the transition to pro football without much problem, including our own legendary coach Paul Brown....I just think it depends on the individual.

It seems the league has been tending towards the college spread passing game for some time and I think John Dorsey is highly interested in Lincoln Riley's "Air Raid" offense. And we already know there's a strong working relationship between our "franchise" QB and Mr. Riley....

Just my take...Dorsey has attended the last two Oklahoma games in person, and I think he's scouting more than just the players.

 

Lym, I am 100% with you on this. I'd love for Greg to win out, and take permanent control, but barring that Arians is a great choice. First, I think he's brilliant as a coach, has deep and wide connections, and the fact that he's not likely looking for a "long" run, may make keeping Williams in the fold, should the last four not go as planned.

While I believe Williams can be called for not having a top 10 D in any recent post, I also believe our other conversation about what a D in today's league needs to do, isn't yet recognized in how D are ranked. Bend, don't break, or bleed yards not TDs, whatever, is a smart approach, especially when you actually have a real live QB who can put up the numbers.

Someone pointed out the need to improve in 3rd down defense, and I agree, but it's the red zone where a top notch D "has to" earn it's keep. That still needs addressing, and is maybe the one place where I'd like to have seen Greg's D, show up more.

 

One CB away, imho, from being elite in this aspect. Unfortunately, Mitchell looked like he was going to help in this aspect...Now that he's back, Ward might be down. We need another in next year's draft, along with LB help and we can be elite in the red zone.

 

Maybe Howard Wilson doesn't destroy another knee and the problem is solved already? (a guy can dream)

 

LOL, true, If we could count on Ward and Mitchell playing every game, we should be alright also...but we can't. That's why we need another one with the type of defense we are playing.

 

Agreed 100%. I've already begun looking at the field. I don't think you can ever have too many good DB's....If injuries weren't a factor, our secondary would be among the best, but we don't quite have the depth we need. Still though, we've come a looong way in just one season with Dorsey in charge of personnel.

I know it's early, and I haven't really studied any film yet, but I think I have a favorite.....I'd love to see us get greedy in that secondary...As in Greedy Williams, LSU. He has declared for the draft, and I think his potential is sky high. As they say in Berea, he's an ascending player. Pairing Greedy with Denzel would make things extremely difficult for opposing QB's....

 

When we win these remaining games, Greedy won't be available when we pick. I expect him to be gone in the top 7.

 

Dorsey can maneuver on that board. lol!

No, I agree, Greedy is probably gonna be out of reach. I'm really looking forward to the Rose Bowl so I can get another look at these Washington CB's...They have a pair of potential 1st rounders in Byron Murphy and Taylor Rapp. Impressive in PAC 12 Championship game. In fact, Murphy's pick 6 was the only TD of the game. It'll be interesting to see how they do against the high powered Buckeye offense.

 

Anyway, does anyone know how this concussion protocol thing works? When will we know if Denzel will be available to play this week? DJ Moore has been hot lately, and I was hoping we could have Ward blanket him all day....

 

For non-medical reasons of missing practice it could go down to the wire...But, I believe Williams has set a precedent that if a player doesn't practice by Friday due to a medical issue, no play for that week.

Unless something changes today, right now the only ones in danger of missing are:
Medical-Austin Corbett, would need to practice today
Medical-Denzel Ward, would need to practice today
Non-Medical-Duke Johnson Jr....Would not necessarily need to be there today to play on Sunday

 

The truth is "no team" has 4 elite DBs, so the key is coaching. Guys like Mitchel rising up to a level unpredicted, is an example, but there are teams like NE, who manage to field respectable Ds without having a bunch of top shelf DBs. They scheme and work as a unit in ways to out maneuver the opponent.

This is why questioning the coaching is reasonable. I'm not accusing Williams or any other DC of being lousy, just suggesting that a "gifted" DC, like Belechik, "always" ends up with a good D by midseason. That's not coincidence. It's superior coaching.

Injuries have an impact, naturally, but if the unit knows how to play in sync, they can absorb the loss of a couple guys and continue to play well.

I believe we have the talent level to be able to play as a unit at an elite level, but still can't do that consistently. Given another year, maybe that comes, but it's not there yet. Is that a coaching issue, or is it just the youth/lack of "live" reps, holding us back from being a truly dominant red zone D.

Your point about having more top notch DBs is true, but may also be unrealistic, leaving the coaching as the key to better D, as opposed to simply having the best NFL personnel at every position. That's my two cents, for what it's worth, and is what prompted my question about Gregg's rank among DCs.

 

The Good (Or rather The Great):

Going into week 15 of the NFL season and the Browns are still in the picture and relevant:

 

^^^^^^^That and the fact they're not in last place!!!!!!!!

 

THE GOOD: Baker Mayfield. Everything became different for this franchise from the moment Baker stepped on the field against the Jets in week 3....Clutch throws all afternoon. Mayfield's 2 TD streak should have continued, had it not been for a bad drop by Higgins. Baker fired a rope right to him in the second qtr that should have been 6....

- They weren't perfect, but is any team playing harder than the Cleveland Browns? Credit to the coaching staff and leadership structure on this team.

- Seeing all the other AFCN teams lose.

- Myles Garrett bringing the heat.

THE BAD: The Higgins drop. The Higgins fumble. The Landry fumble. The refs. The running game.

THE UGLY : Another missed extra point, and the fact that it came after a Panther penalty made it an easier than normal kick....

- Thinking about that Raider game earlier this year, and wishing the refs had been competent that day.

 

What a difference a year can make...

2017: DeShone Kizer is on pace to break Peyton Manning's record for most interceptions thrown by a rookie in their inaugural season.

2018: Baker Mayfield is on pace to break Peyton Manning's record for most touchdowns thrown by a rookie in their inaugural season.

 

I think it's safe to say we have found our Franchise Quarterback !!!

 

The Ugly:

Again with the stupid penalties on key plays. These nearly cost the Browns dearly yet again.

Add in continued bad ref calls: the hold/PI call on TJ Carrie was total BS as well as the offsides on the XP.


Forgive my bitching. There are plenty of Goods to hand out as well especially the most important.....the Browns won again.

 

Only one sack allowed yesterday......so 1 sack in the past 4 games.

Oh.......and they won in their first game in their whites since ???????? (I believe the announcers threw that one in there during the game but I don't remember).

 

Week 14 - Carolina

The Good

• Baker Mayfield. Baker Mayfield had four incompletions all game. They were all drops by the receivers. Rookie of the Year locked up... if he keeps playing at this level and they win the next three games (and I'm being completely serious here), he should get consideration for the NFL MVP award as well.
  
  
• Damarious Randall. Stud. Each week that goes by without an extension for him is a week I worry a little more each time. Randall completely changed the look of that defense and has been a major play-maker at the free safety spot. Kudos to John Dorsey and Alonzo Highsmith for making the move to get him and put him back at his natural position.
  
  
• Gregg Williams. Huge credit to Williams for the way this team is playing now. With the list of candidates shrinking (Riley likely staying at OU, Campbell getting an extension at ISU), Gregg is earning a longer look at the full-time gig coaching this team. The players are responding and his "back-to-basics" approach seems to be exactly what they needed. They're playing with a level of confidence we haven't seen in a long time.
  
  
• Jarvis Landry. Another huge game for Landry, who's very quickly earning that big contract again. He was a spark for the team when they needed one and displayed the ability to convert the big plays this time with a huge 51-yard touchdown reception in an impossibly small window. Landry's attitude is exactly what this team, and the younger receiver, need to see.
  
  
• Myles Garrett. To give some context, in 1999 when the Browns came back they had back-to-back first overall picks and selected a quarterback and a defensive end. In 2017 - 2018, the Browns had the same chance and took Garrett and Mayfield. Tim Couch and Courtney Brown fought through injuries but never realized success. Garrett and Mayfield are both so dominant that they should have them in the playoffs in 2019. Held on almost every play (not exaggeration), he's at 12.5 sacks and had another one (with a forced fumble) taken away after review.

The Bad

• Turnovers. The Browns gave the Panthers great field position on turnovers in the game. For the first time in I can't remember when, the Browns won a game despite losing the turnover margin battle (-1). They're going up against another great defense at generating turnovers next week and need to cut this stuff out. Between the turnovers and drops, this game could have been blown wide open by halftime by the Brownies.
  
  
• Tackling. Or lack thereof yesterday. The offense's ability to put up points and the defense's ability to generate some key spots and takeaways led to the win, but the Panthers were able to move the ball at ease against the defense and not because the scheme or call was wrong... it was all self-inflicted with poor tackling. It's exciting to think playoffs, but this team needs to improve in this area to be a legitimate contender.

The Ugly

• Kicking. That extra point would have burned a previous iteration of this Browns' team and even with Carolina threatening, I saw 27-26 in my head a couple times with not a lot of time on the clock for Baker. I don't know that it means we need to replace Greg Joseph today, but I think looking ahead to 2019 when they should be a 10+ win team and have playoff aspirations, they need to make sure that position is solid.
  
  
• Playoff Talk. It's exciting, don't get me wrong, but we've also seen this trap play out twice already this season - start to get up for success and then let down the next week. This week, the Browns get Denver in their place (where they've dropped something like 14 straight I saw) on a short week in primetime. To prove they're for real, and the playoff talk is legitimate, they need to march into hostile territory and smack this team in the mouth. A team that just lost to a trash San Francisco team, by the way.

 

Mayfield gets rid of the ball quickly, and that as much as anything, has helped settle the pass protection issues....

And why do the Browns wear all white at home? I don't like letting the visiting team wear their home colors in our house. The Browns are brown. Dawgs are brown. Embrace the brownness. I like the all Brown color rush uni's, or simply the Brown jersey/white pants combo that looks great...Make the visitors wear their boring old whites.