Browns-Ravens Final Thoughts

It seems like eons ago (in the geologic sense) since the Browns went to Baltimore and dismantled the Ravens by a score of 40-25. Baker threw for 342 yards, Chubb scored three times, had 165 yards on 20 carries, and Landry caught eight passes for 167 yards. Everything was looking so rosy back on September 29th, but the the Browns promptly went out and lost four straight games and panic had set in across Northern Ohio. The Ravens responded in a different manner after that game, and haven't lost a game since. (10 game winning streak) Lamar Jackson has been electric all season, and leads just about every imaginable category for quarterbacks. Every cliche has been thrown at Lamar Jackson and rightfully so, the league hasn't seen anything like him...maybe ever. He is far more than just a running quarterback, he's got 33 touchdowns, only 6 picks, and leads the league in QBR. It's crazy to think that the Browns took Baker #1 overall that year, and Lamar slid to #32. I'm pretty sure the Browns would like to have a do-over on that draft (and a lot of other drafts as well)

In any case, the football landscape is much different than 10 games ago, and with a win the Ravens can clinch the number one seed for the playoffs. I think that's incentive enough for the Ravens, and I don't buy into the idea that the Baltimore wants to come to town and get some revenge for that loss back in September. This really isn't a rivalry game, at least Baltimore doesn't see it that way.  The hard truth is that the Browns have been so bad for the last 20 years, they don't really have a rivalry with anybody. There aren't really any other teams, including Pittsburgh, that really feel like Cleveland is a rival. (I think in a true rivalry, both teams need to win some games.) So I don't think Baltimore gives a second thought about the Browns, and the only thing they're looking to accomplish is to come to Cleveland and get a win, something they've done many, many times.

So on the field today, I expect the Ravens will absolutely stop the run today. They will not allow Chubb to get going, and I think they'll stack the box and force Baker Mayfield to throw the ball downfield. That means that Landry and OBJ will find themselves in single coverage at times, and I wish I was more confident in Baker being accurate enough to get big chunks of yardage through the air. But I don't see a lot of reason to expect that, he just hasn't been sharp on passes that travel over 15 yards in the air. Like I have said many times in this blog, the Browns have great pass catchers and there is always a chance we can get the passing game going, but I have zero confidence in that happening today. Also, I don't really know who has the incentive to come out today and play like their job depends on it. Freddie apparently has the confidence of Dorsey and Haslam no matter what, there aren't a lot of guys in a contract year, and who knows what you get out of Landry and OBJ week to week. What we are really going to see is what these players think about their head coach, and if they are willing to play hard despite the shit sandwich this season has been. I think the Browns scratch out a couple of touchdowns, but in the end can't keep up with the Ravens and their explosive offense. I think Cleveland will be on the wrong end of this one, by a score of something like 34-17.

Go Browns. 

A trip to the desert results in even more unanswered questions

Among the tumbleweeds and lizards of Central Arizona is where the Cleveland Browns came to make their stand. To say to the sporting universe "Your condemnation of us is premature, we will rise above your petty insults and return to Cleveland as a .500 football team!" Against the bleak backdrop of the desert our beleaguered Browns endeavored to come together as a united front against the swirling criticism, and to face down the naysayers. And after a scant few minutes into the game, the Heisman winning quarterback from Oklahoma went 5-5 on the first possession, and had his team out to a quick 7-0 lead faster than a roadrunner can dash across a highway. But wait...who is that man? His jersey is red, not orange. Wait a second, that's the wrong Heisman winning quarterback from Oklahoma! In fact, the aforementioned signal caller is in fact Kyler Murray from the Arizona Cardinals, and despite the 6 game losing streak he led his team down the field, and out to a lead they never would relinquish.

There are only two relevant statistics to point out this week. First, at one point the Browns were down 35-17 to a terrible team that hadn't won a game since early October. Second, the Browns gave up 226 rushing yards, and Arizona averaged an astounding 6.5 yards per carry. Despite the shitty season the Jets are having, Gregg Williams must laugh aloud on a daily basis at how bad the Browns are against the run. (His Jets defense is second in the league against the rush, 88.8 yards/game) Through the course of this season, I have spent some time analyzing and quoting a fair amount of stats about the Browns team, but that's pretty clearly not necessary at this point. Kareem Hunt blasted his teammates and made it very clear that there a number of players that are not giving 100% on the field. Couple that with reports about Browns players yelling at the Arizona sideline to "come get me" and all of the sudden we're engulfed a downward spiral of no return. Plenty of NFL pundits are gleefully reporting on the dysfunction in Cleveland and (correctly) pointing out the all of the preseason hype was far, far overblown. The body language is terrible as well. There are players on the bench during a game with heads hung low, seemingly detached from the game being played. You can watch youtube videos without sound and get a sense of just how this season has gone off the rails for Baker Mayfield, Freddie Kitchens, and company. In short, there is an abundance of evidence that points to those three dreaded words; Same Old Browns.

So even with two games remaining, the finger pointing has begun in earnest. I don't think you have to go much further than GM John Dorsey. He is primarily responsible for promoting Freddie Kitchens to head coach, even though it was Gregg Williams that took over in week nine and guided the Browns to a 5-3 finished to the season. (However, recall from my season preview that the wins were all against terrible teams.) I don't know if Williams would have more wins than Freddie this season, but I do think the defense would have been better, although to be fair there have been injuries and suspensions. One could argue that this is an incredibly undisciplined team, and that culture contributes to a lot of the problems we've dealt with this year. Mark Kay Cabot wrote a great piece about the joint practices with the Colts in the preseason and how Kitchens encouraged and even applauded violent behavior in a practice. Certainly there was carry over from that preseason culture into week one when the Browns were completely throttled by the Tennessee Titans. (Cleveland committed 18 penalties and were beaten by 30 points. Hue was never even beaten like that at any point in his tenure.) From that moment, a lot of Browns fans had to be worried deep inside about a coaching staff that couldn't come into week one with a better game plan, and also about the players themselves looking completely unprepared to play football. Clearly it was going to be a quite a test for Freddie to right the ship in Cleveland and head towards a winning record and the playoffs. 

However, the Browns continued to languish during September and October, and found themselves at 2-6 after what was probably the worst loss of the season to the Denver Broncos and a no-name quarterback making his first ever NFL start. I think our struggles against rookie quarterbacks is what strikes me most about the season. I have to believe that Gregg Williams could have schemed against Brandon Allen, Devlin Hodges, and Kyler Murray and made their Sundays more uncomfortable. Even winning two of the three would have put us at 8-6, and maybe he doesn't get shellacked in week one as well. Anyway, nobody can really say for sure what would be different with Gregg Williams calling the shots, but what is clear is that we've got 14 games that indicate that Freddie at this point is not an effective head coach in the NFL. That's 100% on John Dorsey as general manager. It was a strange decision at the time, and it didn't seem like there was an extensive process to consider other possibilities. Instead we've got the leading rusher in the NFL, two of the most talented receivers in the league, and yet it wouldn't be shocking if we finish 6-10. That's head scratching to me, to have this much talent on a roster, and to not even finish the middle of the pack. Freddie Kitchens may be a good head coach at some point, but the current situation in Cleveland is in a complete state of disarray. 

Despite what everybody else can see, Ian Rapoport wrote about the support for Kitchens within the organization.  It was so disappointing to read this article, because I'm quite sure it is accurate. Dorsey firing Freddie in an indictment upon himself as a GM, and I don't think he's willing to do that, unfortunately. We'll see if Jimmy Haslam can intervene, but I think he is unlikely to do so. We could be looking at a nightmare scenario where Kitchens and Wilks are both back next year trying to manage a malcontented locker room. Maybe the pathetic display and effort against the Cardinals will at least make John Dorsey think twice about bringing back Freddie.

Go Browns.

Astonishing Tales From the Shores of Lake Erie

It's six days later, and I am still not quite sure what to make of the Browns-Bengals clash. On one hand the Browns are now 6-7, have won four of the last five games, and haven't been eliminated from the playoffs yet, something that typically happens in early November every year. On the other hand, the Browns were thoroughly outplayed by the Bengals in Cleveland last week. (The 1-12 Bengals) Here a few statistics that might make that more clear:

• The Bengals have the worst rush defense in the NFL, and Nick Chubb was leading the league in rushing coming into the game. He carried the ball only three times in the first half.
• Cincinnati outgained the Browns 451-333 in total yards.
• Cincinnati ran 72 plays on offense, Cleveland ran 52.
• The Bengals had 27 first downs, the Browns had 17.
• Cincinnati lead the time of possession 35-25.
• Cincinnati also won the turnover battle as well.*

Actually a deeper dive in the rushing statistics makes it look even worse.  Nick Chubb had a huge 57 yard run early in the third quarter. Without that one play, the Browns would have finished with 89 yards rushing on 26 carries, an average of 3.4 yds per rushing attempt. And that is against the worst rush defense in the NFL. I'm no football genius, but I can tell you that part of the reason Cincinnati defended the run well is because the passing game was terrible. Baker once again was under 50% completion rate, threw two interceptions, and OBJ continues to wander in the desert. I cannot say that the Browns came into the game with a solid game plan, on a blustery day in Cleveland it seems like you would want Chubb and Hunt to carry it the majority of the time. The defense looked unprepared as well, as the Bengals rushed for 179 yards on 31 carries. To me, it looked like the Browns thought they could just show up and win by three scores. Now to be fair, I recognize that I am doing a lot of complaining about a win, but that's because the Browns can always manage to tarnish a win somehow. (For example, Baker trashing the Browns medical staff after the game.) In any case, between OBJ drama and Dr. Mayfield, the cloud of dysfunction continues to swirl around Cleveland.

I can't imagine what it's like in Baker Mayfield's apartment these days. He can't be stoked about only 11 completions last Sunday (fewest in the the entire league, and against a 1-12 team), he's running out of facial hair options, and his headband thing can't get much larger. And this is all with really good pass catching options including Landry, OBJ, Hunt, and Njoku back from injury. At times this season I have been very critical of Freddie mostly because I think at time his schemes haven't put Baker in a position to be successful. I have also been critical of John Dorsey because the offensive line has been in shambles this season, and there was no priority placed on that in the off season. However, the biggest question looming in the off season might be about Baker Mayfield. Tonight is a pretty big game for him, the Cardinals are last against the pass in yards/game (294) and have given up the most TD's through the air (32). Terry Pluto wrote that the Browns need to go into Arizona and run the ball all night, and just come back with a win. That's definitely the smart thing to do, but perhaps there's something to be said for letting Baker air it out to an extent. I wonder if his confidence is starting to wane a bit, despite his arrogance. To me, his downfield throws look terrible, and if it weren't for Landry's ability to catch everything, Baker would look a lot worse. Maybe there's some mystery injury that nobody is aware of, because there's not a lot of zip on the ball right now, and he doesn't look nearly as accurate as he did last year. If Mayfield stays true to his recent form and goes for 200 yards and 2 picks tonight, the Browns front office has got to start thinking about other options under center. It's going to be critical for John Dorsey and company to have enough information to really assess Baker's potential in this league. Baker will say (mostly) the right things in interviews, that's it's not about his individual stats, it's about wins and losses. But, I think he knows he ought to be able to light up the Cardinals tonight, and 320 yards and 3 TD's would go a long, long way for his confidence and the Browns overall mojo as well.

So that bring us to prediction time. Story lines abound in this game tonight; Baker vs. Kingsbury, Steve Wilks vs. the Cardinals, Freddie vs. himself, Baker vs. Kyler Murray, etc. I never buy into the idea that there is "extra motivation" for an individual or a team, so all of those so-called storylines are a lot of bunk in my opinion. Arizona looks like they're in free fall having lost 5 straight games. However, in case you're unclear about the 2019 Cleveland Browns, we're capable of losing to anybody, anywhere. Two rookie QB's have already posted wins against us (Hodges and Allen) and Kyle Murray looks more talented than those two dudes put together. We've shown that bad bad teams can run all over us, and keep our offense off the field. This really is the type of game that the Browns lose, on the road against a bad team, and it would completely dash all that playoff talk that is somehow circulating around Cleveland. However, I just can't brig myself to pick against the Browns this week.  I think the Browns win this in dramatic fashion somehow, 28-27. That's a lot of points between two bad teams, so I expect a couple of defensive scores in the mix. So the Browns should return to Cleveland with a record of 7-7, after a 2-6 start. I would characterize that as mildly impressive.

Go Browns.


*The interception on the Njoku catch was complete and utter horseshit. Even USA Today agrees with me. (Also, who knew that USA Today was still a thing? Are newspapers still a thing?) That call cost me a fantasy football playoff game, thanks for that Carl Cheffers. I hope the next game you referee is 8 year olds playing flag football in Suburban Omaha. 

"As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly"

Growing up in Northeastern Ohio, Cincinnati seemed like distant place, but nobody really knew how far away.  Southwestern Ohio swirled with mystery, and there were rumors in the schoolyard that Cincinnati might even be in a different time zone. The older folk even made the claim that it was actually part of Kentucky, and not in fact with the confines of the Buckeye State. (There is some truth to that as the Cincinnati airport is inexplicably located in Kentucky.) Wild tales abounded about the foreign, exotic nature of that city.  They seemed to favor some strange concoction of chili, spaghetti and cheese, the city was formally known as "Porkopolis", and it is the birthplace of Charles Manson. However, the city apparently was interesting enough to spawn the amazing TV show from the late 1970's, WKRP in Cincinnati. Johnny Fever and Venus Flytrap jammed the airways with music, and Les Wessman kept the good people of Cincinnati informed of the news. (Turkeys Away is an absolute gem, but I can't find the full episode anywhere) Oddly enough, Cincinnati is home to quite an Octoberfest, complete with the running of the wieners. (It's unclear if the dachshunds are voluntary participants in this event, but they do seem to enjoy their hot dog bun costumes.)

In any case, the Cincinnati Bengals made the three and a half hour ride to Cleveland to compete in another round of The Battle of I-71. The Bengals come into tonight's contest with a record of 1-11 after a thrilling victory over the Jets last week.  Andy Dalton (aka The Red Rifle) made his return after missing a month, and promptly got his team in the win column for the first time this season. (To be fair, it was just the Jets.) There's an old adage in football, that you can never really trust a red-headed quarterback. (At least, I think that's a thing people say, seems like it could be true.) In any case, Andy Dalton's tenure in Cincinnati started out hotter than a fox in a forest fire, and they went to the playoffs in his first five seasons. (But no playoff wins) This year will be the fourth consecutive year below .500, and the Bengals seem to be a sinking ship.  They are indeed a long way removed from the (glory?) days of Sam Wyche and the Ickey shuffle, but they do seem to have fewer criminals on their roster these days, so maybe they'll right the ship next season.

The Browns won both meetings last year, which included kind of a hilarious moment involving Damarious Randall handing Hue Jackson the ball after intercepting Dalton. However, prior to last season the Bengals dominated this matchup winning 12 out of 16 games against Cleveland going back to 2010. This year the Browns are a heavy favorite, but I am not quite sure why.  Yes the Bengals are a bad team, but the Browns continue to be mired in bad press, bad leadership, and as of late, bad offense. I almost always talk myself into believing the Browns can score around 30 points each week, but clearly that has not been the case. Considering there will be strong winds blowing in from the lake, and taking into account two mediocre teams, I anticipate the home fans won't see a whole lot of scoring today.  I think the Browns squeak out a win on the last possession of the game (Njoku touchdown) and win the game 23-20.

Go Browns.

The end is nigh...

I have a list as long as my arm of times that the Cleveland sports have deeply disappointed me.  Obviously The Drive, The Fumble, and The Shot are near the top of the list, heightened by the fact that they occurred during my formative sports fan years. But really, I'm not the kind of sports fan that is obsessed with winning titles, I'd rather that my team consistently have a chance to win a championship. That means being over .500, making the playoffs most years, and winning a first round game or series once in a while. I'm not like Patriots fans who are aghast with indignation when they don't win the superbowl, and losing in a championship game isn't as soul crushing as maybe it is for other people.* 

But in more recent times, the Browns seemingly have a never ending supply of ways to frustrate their fans. For example in the 2014 draft, they took Justin Gilbert #8 (with Aaron Donald, Odell Beckham, and Derek Carr still available) then really capped off a great night with probably the worst draft pick of all time, Johnny Manziel. These are not judgements passed retrospectively. On that day, I was on the phone spouting outrage about such nonsensical selections. And don't get me started about Barkeviovs Mingo and Trent Richardson. What a disastrous few years for drafting players, they would have done better to have Kevin Costner actually make the picks, like in that terrible movie. Another punch in the stomach was in 2007 when the Raiders blocked a 40 yard field goal attempt. (after freezing Phil Dawson with a timeout) That game was week three, but I had a nagging feeling it would come back to haunt us, and it did as the Browns finished 10-6 and missed the playoffs. With that field goal, we would have won the division and hosted a playoff game. Instead, the 2007 Cleveland Browns are on the very short list of 10-win teams that missed out on the postseason. 

However, when the Browns finally cut ties with Hue Jackson (and his 3-36-1 record) things seemed to be brightening up in Cleveland. The Browns had a strong run to finish the season, and carried some optimism into the 2019 campaign.  However, here we are at 5-7 coming off what I think is one of the most disappointing games in recent memory. So much was hanging in the balance; a chance to be at .500, a reasonable shot at a wild card spot in the playoffs, and a possible win at a place where they have been completely impotent since it opened. Instead, Devlin Hodges completely outdueled Baker Mayfield last Sunday. This is not a stat-heavy post, but the most glaring thing about this box score is that Baker was 0-6 on passes that travelled 20 yards in the air, and Hodges was 4-6 for 133 yards and a touchdown. Actually, the most glaring thing was the Browns roaring out to a 10-0 lead, then giving up 20 straight points to Pittsburgh. Even more perplexing was the fact that the Browns only ran the ball six times in the entire second half. (Bear in mind that the Browns have a dynamic backfield with Chubb and Hunt, and in the first half they combined for 91 yards on 18 carries) 

All week long, I was excited about this game and I thought the Browns offense would run roughshod over Pittsburgh. They did at first, and had the ball for 17 of the first 22 minutes of the game. But enter Freddie Kitchens, who can't get out his own way sometimes. For whatever reason, the Browns wilt in the second half of games. In the last six games they are averaging just over seven points in the second half. To me this is play calling and coaching, and clearly Freddie cannot keep up with halftime adjustments that other coaches make, and doesn't have the experience to put games away with a late lead. He too often falls into the pass happy offense late in games, and that's not effective when your QB is dead last in completion percentage and third in interceptions. I leave it to the analysts to identify the causes of this miserable season Baker is having, but maybe it pales compared to the forgettable year that OBJ is having. (A whopping two touchdowns and only seven red zone targets. No wonder he wants out of Cleveland.) That also points to Freddie. OBJ is a freakishly gifted athlete, literally catches everything, and Freddie cannot figure out how to make him into a more impactful player. I don't really want to talk about the stupid T-shirt Freddie was seen wearing, but ask yourself if Bill Belichick, Mike Tomlin, or Andy Reid would do that if they were coaching a 5-6 team going into a hostile road environment. All on the heels of Freddie preaching about forgetting about the fight, and focusing on the game.  

Which brings us to the title of this week's post. The end is nigh for Freddie, and it is only a question of when. I cannot see any scenario where they bring him back next year. The fans in Cleveland deserve better than that, and the players deserve a coach that is prepared and can put them in a position to win games. I suppose if there was a confluence of incredibly unlikely events, and the Browns went to the playoffs, and won a game, then maybe you'd have to think about bringing him back. But baring that, I think John Dorsey better really do his homework when he makes the decision to hire the 12th head coach since 1999. Look for a brief preview of the Bengals game later today, along with my perspective on perhaps the most nondescript city in Ohio.

Go Browns.




*Notable exception is 2016. With a three games to one lead in the World Series, the Indians manage to completely bottle it and lose in extra innings of game 7. The emotional roller coaster screeched to a halt, and once again the Indians were deprived of a World Series title. But when I think back that magical October, it's not the loss in game seven that comes to mind, it's sweeping the Red Sox in the divisional round, then beating the Blue Jays in 5 games to go to the World Series.  It was pretty exciting to get to play postseason baseball at Wrigley Field.  Despite the fact that Cubs fans are generally insufferable human beings, it's still a special place to play.  Especially at night, and especially in October.

Yinz Guys Ready For Round two?

The year was 1997, and so many things were happening across the world.  Scottish scientists supposedly just cloned Dolly the sheep, Hong Kong was now under the control of China after 150+ years of British rule, the first Harry Potter novel was published, and OK Computer was released. Mixed in amongst those landmark events was my immigration to the greater Pittsburgh area. I abruptly quit a job in Akron, Ohio packed up my 1988 Ford Bronco II and took my talents to Washington County, Pennsylvania. I promptly found an apartment in the thriving metropolis of Bridgeville, bought a couch from Sears, and settled into Western PA life.  I spent far too much time at Señor Frog's, learned about the magic of hot french fries mixed into a salad, and grew to hate the highway systems leading into Pittsburgh. I learned about the incline up to Mt. Washington, Tom's Diner in Dormont, and I ran my first marathon in Pittsburgh. (Sadly, I was not the winner) 

Despite all of these (mostly) marvelous experiences, they were all set against the backdrop of perhaps the longest three years in the history of Northern Ohio. Cleveland was less than two years removed from the last Browns game played at Municipal Stadium, and fans were still in a fugue state, mindlessly wandering East Ninth street in search of a football team that no longer existed. Many books, essays, musicals, and probably rock operas have been written about the move, and I don't think I can add a lot of insight to events that have been so thoroughly dissected over the past couple of decades. However it's safe to say that Sunday afternoons were a lot less vibrant, without the Browns to root for, and without the Steelers to root against twice a year. In that span, I did attend a couple of Steeler tailgates at Three Rivers Stadium with coworkers. They were lavish affairs, with a fancy motorhome, great food, the usual debauchery, but with a perceptible yinzer flair. Almost every time, one of these die-hard Steeler fans would pull me aside, peer through their I.C. Light induced fog, and sincerely express condolences about the Browns being yanked out of Cleveland. It was usually followed up by "because Cleveland was two easy wins every year" but not always. 

That good will clearly expired after three years, when on Sept 12, 1999 The Browns returned to the NFL in a prime-time nationally televised game, and promptly got destroyed by the Steelers 43-0. It was perhaps the most lopsided loss in NFL history. The Browns had the ball for only about 12 minutes, and amassed a total of 40 yards. Turns out that the combination of Ty Detmer and Chris Palmer were not destined for greatness. I was at a party in Mt. Lebanon that night (wearing a Mike Pruitt jersey) and I endured unabashed ridicule until the final whistle of the game. The heartfelt sympathies that had been extended to me intermittently in the previous three years were distant memories, and the vitriol between these two teams was immediately restored. Two months later I was at the game in Pittsburgh and watched Phil Dawson make the game winner for one of the two games Cleveland won that year, and fled Three Rivers Stadium as quickly as possible.  

Since the opening week drubbing that year, the Browns have gone 7-34-1 against the Steelers. Yikes. (That stretch includes a brutal playoff game in 2002 that saw Pittsburgh score 22 points in the fourth quarter to win. I'm not proud of my reaction thereafter.)  Every year Browns fans come into the season desperately hoping that this year they can beat Pittsburgh twice, something that hasn't happened since 1988. However, strange things are afoot in 2019. These are bizarre times we live in, and for the first time in 30 years, the Browns are a betting favorite in Heinz Field, a place they have won a game once. 

It seems like the Browns have a huge advantage on offense with Landry, OBJ, Chubb, and Mayfield.  Pittsburgh is without Conner, Juju, and the signal caller tonight is a guy better known for winning the Alabama state contest for the best duck caller. But, the Browns are not at full strength either. Greg Robinson is out, and Damarious Randall didn't make the trip to Pittsburgh for undisclosed reasons. And of course no Garrett, who terrorized the Pittsburgh backfield two weeks ago. It's hard to see Devlin Hodges lighting up the Cleveland secondary, so I expect Pittsburgh will lean heavily on the run game, and try to keep our offense off the field. However, when the Browns are clicking on offense, they can be electric and score points in a hurry, and it's hard to see Pittsburgh keeping up if the game unfolds in that manner. All the football analysis aside, clearly the story about this game is the donnybrook from a couple of weeks ago. The crowd will be frenzied and I wouldn't be surprised if that interferes with the fluidity of the Browns offense. Both defenses are going to be keyed up, and we'll see who can avoid the most personal fouls. Discipline and focus have not been hallmarks of the the Cleveland Browns this year, so I am concerned about what happens when Pittsburgh takes a cheap shot here and there. When the dust settles tonight, I think the Browns will finally be at the .500 mark this season after beating the Steelers 30-17. 

Go Browns.