BUCKLE UP BROWNS FANS!!! This is the season we've been waiting for

Good to see you back on the boards!

Your absence was . . . . . . . conspicuous.

 

@showstopper ....It's official now.

https://www.cleveland.com/osu/2019/...to-be-defensive-back-u-according-to-espn.html

 

If someone were to tell me that on the 1st game day of the 2019 pre-season there would be crickets on the Browns boards, I would think they were crazy.

 

The morning after a Browns 30-10 pre-season victory featuring the 1st team offense picking up right where they left off, two interceptions by a 5th round rookie LB (one for a TD), a punt return for a TD by an UFA rookie - at home, and . . .

<<< crickets >>>

 

For a preseason game it was interesting to watch. Cleveland has a special 'feel' about them... its like they know football in Cleveland is much improved and down right fun again.

Nice start for the Browns.

 

16-0.

That is all.

 

Just so you stop hearing those pesky crickets...

The Good

• Offense. The most talented group of offensive players in the NFL did not disappoint. Without his top two wide receivers, Mayfield was deadly on his only drive -- connecting with Higgins on the 24 yard TD strike. Rashard Higgins is WR3 on this team and would start for 31 other teams, being WR1 on at least 16 of them. Browns have the best: quarterback, runningback, and wide receivers in the NFL -- the offensive line looked fine with that much talent at the skill positions.
  
  
• Defense. The defensive line is scary. Myles Garrett is a force and will continue to be so. The Browns probably nabbed future Pro Bowler at cornerback in the second round (Williams) and at linebacker in the fifth (Wilson). Tim Couch remarked in the broadcast, but how Mack Wilson fell to the fifth round is mind-blowing... he'll be playing high number of snaps by mid-season and hopefully continues to make major plays like those turnovers.
  
  
• Special Teams. Minus starting off with a penalty, the special teams looked to be greatly improved. We have an interesting (interesting?) battle at punter where Gillian probably isn't going to supplant Colquitt, but should definitely be on some teams' active roster. Great night for Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi and a great story for the young man. Hope he makes it to a 53-man, even if it's not ours.

The Bad

• Rookie Mistakes. That's what preseason is for, but the rookie do need to clean up some things. Greedy Williams is going to be a flex starter early on and those lapses in coverage will probably happen. The good news is, the offense is so deadly that they should be able to overcome any letdowns.
  
  
• Backup Runningback. With Duke gone, there's definitely a drop-off until Kareem Hunt comes back from suspension. Nick Chubb is the NFL's RB1, and that's fine, but neither Hilliard or D'Earnest Johnson stood out to me. With the NFL's best compliment of offensive weapons, it's probably being too picky on my part (seriously, 10% of the carries will be handled by whomever wins the job through Week 10), but you'd like to see a little less of a drop-off from your starter to the next man up. Especially at that position.
  
  
• Austin Corbett. @Lyman's favorite swing lineman since Cam Erving didn't register a snap at RG and looks to be out of the mix for starting the season. He played primarily as a back-up center. Sure... it's nice to have a swing lineman on the roster -- and especially at a rookie salary -- but he was the #33 overall pick and that's looking like a rare miss for Dorsey at this stage.

The Ugly

• Execution. This should have been a 51-3 preseason win. The Browns offense lost the ball twice inside the five yard line while driving, and we were 100% screwed on the TD challenge review. That former will get cleaned up, but good heavens is Washington a bad team.
  
  
• Referees. Speaking of refs... they are clearly in mid-season form when it comes to screwing this team in penalties. Myles Garrett was held -- no exaggeration -- on every single play and did should have drawn every flag on the field they were so blatant. The review on the Callaway TD was inexcusable not to overturn.
  
  
• Ex-Buckeyes. Dwayne Haskins - woof. Did *not* look good out there. Sure, it's early... but gosh is it nice to have our franchise QB.

Queue unemployable Bears fans from this board with an unreasonable disdain for Cleveland Browns and their fans in 3... 2...

 

Local Sports columnist predicts for Super Bowl........Browns vs the Eagles.........

Cleveland play the Titans in week # 1........ Good luck to all Brown fans..........Go Titans Go.

 

Just like 1950. (With the same result.)

 

Teams in the NFC that I think could make the Super Bowl:

• New Orleans
• Los Angeles
• Seattle
• Carolina
• Chicago

Teams in the NFC that I can't see making the Super Bowl:

• Any team in the NFC East
• San Francisco
• Arizona

 

didn't get to see the game, but it's on NFL channel Sat at 2pm here, so I'll be tuned in then.

Today brings news of Callaway pulling a Gordon. Yuch! I have always thought Higgins was the better bet, and now he'll get his chance to truly own the WR3 spot. Callaway has to realize how thin the ice is after the Browns went through the Gordon fiasco, and given the number of very talented recievers on the roster.

I was surprised and dissappointed that we let Duke go, for exactly the reason pointed out by a previous poster " the drop off is noticeable ".

Let's hope Chubb remains healthy or we're in for some pretty mediocre RB play.

O line.... Still a work in progress, but Corbett is looking like a "swing and a miss" at #33.

Overall, very pleased the first team O made it look so easy. Happy for Guiseppe. thrilled about Wilson's performance, and feeling vindicated with Hollywood's performance.

Oh yeah, our QB looked pretty good too.

 

I called that SB prediction first! lol! He stole my pick.

 

I can't imagine how many mock drafts I did for the Browns, but I had Mack Wilson penciled in a the Browns second round pick on many of them. When he slipped to the 5th round, I was shocked. Thought maybe I was losing it. It was an absolute "head scratcher"....But seeing him play in his first NFL game, makes me feel a helluva lot better. I still don't understand how Mack slid clear down to round 5, especially considering the needs for good coverage LB's in today's NFL, but good for the Browns. Dude is a baller!

 

Kirksey & Shoebert may become expendable by season's end, with Wilson and Taki coming on. Gotta love having some depth/talent at the LB position.
Add in Ward and Greedy, with a powerhouse D line, and Baker won't need the Ferrari offense every week.

Nice to dream. Even nicer to be able to say it out loud "the Browns are Legit".

 

I hate to burst you guys bubble, but Bush had ten tackles in the first half for the Steelers.

 

Easy to do when none of the other guys on the field can do their jobs effectively.

 

The Good

No injuries.

• Offense. As advertised. Calloways suspension sucks. thankfully Higgins is developing into a great option for Baker.
  
  
• Defense. I feel better about the depth of the line. Consistently getting into the backfield and being disruptive was a good thing to see.
  
  
• Special Teams. So far so good. Let's see if they can do it consistantly.

The Bad

• Rookie Mistakes. Agreed. The growing pains were evident.
  
  
• Backup Runningback. hopefully one of these guys steps in and takes advantage of the opportunity left with Duke being traded.
  
  
• O-line looks good so far. We'll see how they look when opening day.

The Ugly

• Execution. Turnovers in the red zone. These young guys need to learn how to take care of the football

• The stoolers are not going to be an easy team to beat.