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.