Way to go NFL schedule makers. It’s absurd to play the same divisional opponent in back to back games, I’m not sure I can ever remember that happening in the NFL. Turns out that it hasn’t happened since 1991 and maybe I was too busy waiting in line for tickets to Silence of the Lambs to pay close attention to the Chargers schedule that year. Granted there is a bye week sandwiched in between the games, but what a “Cleveland” thing to have happen to us.
Regardless, Cleveland heads to Baltimore for a primetime game against the Ravens tonight, kickoff at 2:20 AM CET, so I’ll be reaping the benefits over the overpriced NFL gameday package in the morning. What a wild ride it has been for the Browns this year. Like many people across Northern Ohio, I had sky high expectations coming into this season. Not the superbowl necessarily, but I felt like it was reasonable to expect the Browns to make it into the AFC championship game. I thought the defense was retooled, a proper training camp would help this season to get off to a good start, and they would build on the momentum from last year. I thought the offense could be counted on for at least 28 points a game. But here we are with a team that hasn’t scored more than 17 points in five of the last six games. We’ve got a war-torn quarterback with a cranky attitude, a head coach that hasn’t been rolling out great game plans as of late, and every other week we seem to give up 40 points. And we even had a resounding chorus of boos at home last week in a win (albeit anemic) over the Lions. Suffice to say, this season hasn’t gone like we anticipated.
With six games remaining on the schedule, the Browns have work to do to try to win 10 or 11 games to try to squeak into the playoffs. In addition to 2 games with the Ravens, the Browns have tough road games at Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Green Bay. The point is, we’re sort of behind the eight ball right now, our backs are against the wall, or whatever cliche you prefer. I think the silver lining in all of this is that the Browns are absolutely forced to play each week like a playoff game, they can be singularly focused for a week at a time. That keeps the to-do list short in a way, and maybe they can filter out a lot of the noise and focus on what is right in front of them.
The Ravens are a tough team to figure out. They have great wins against the Chiefs and the Chargers, but they’ve also lost to the Dolphins and Bengals. The defense is nothing special, and actually they are dead last against the pass. They are no longer the unit with Ed Reed and Ray Lewis, and you can see that some teams have taken advantage of that. Of course, I thought Baker Mayfield and the offense were going to feast on the Lions and run up the score, but they couldn’t sustain drives, and Baker threw a couple of interceptions. (And followed up a shitty performance with middle school behavior by skipping the post-game press conference.) On paper, the Browns ought to be able to move the ball against Baltimore, plus Kareem Hunt and Jack Conklin are back tonight and that could inject some much needed energy into the offense. On offense, Cleveland ought to be able to control the ball with its power running game, and keep Lamar off the field. I think if they can stay committed to the run, and spice it up just enough with deeper throws, the Browns have a chance at scoring on this Ravens defense. As far as slowing down Lamar Jackson, it sure seems like a ton of blitzing and pressure is the way to do that. Miami blitzed him 35 times and completely derailed the Baltimore offense a few weeks ago. However, the Browns are not a team that blitzes all that much, but I’m sure Joe Woods is aware of how crucial that could be in this pseudo-playoff game tonight.
When the dust settles, and the Browns leave that awful city, I think we will have seen an inspired Cleveland offense, and a defense that was just barely good enough to contain the Ravens . It’s probably a stretch, but I like the Browns to come out a winner by a score of 27-24 tonight, and then enjoy a much needed week off to heal up and get ready to play the Ravens again.
Go Browns.
Sunday, November 28, 2021
The Emotional Roller Coaster Continues
A Visit to Cincinnati Moves the Browns to 5-4
I really take a weird personal satisfaction when the Browns beat the Bengals, and I’m not sure why that is. Despite being in the same state and sharing an interstate, it’s not really a rivalry like you would expect, it’s not nearly the delight I take in beating the Steelers. Maybe my dislike for Cincinnati goes back to Sam Wyche’s famous address to the crowd in 1989, or maybe it’s my disrespect for their bizarre chili concoction. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Cincinnati is more Kentucky than Ohio, sort of like a red-headed step cousin that you see once a year. The Browns have now beaten them 4 straight times, averaging 35 points a game, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Not a lot of game notes to mention, the Browns absolutely trucked the Bengals. The tone was set early on after Denzel Ward ran back an interception for 99 yards, and Cincinnati never got on track. Baker had a perfect QB rating for the first half, and the offense (again) looked much better with Odell Beckham mucking it up with temper tantrums and pouty sideline behavior. Good Riddance. All in all, a fun time was had by all in a 41-16 win over the hapless Bengals.
A Trip to New England is the Stuff of Nightmares.
It all started out so promising, the Browns received the kickoff, and marched 84 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown. My man D’Ernest Johnson rushed for 61 yards on 5 carries, but Austin Hooper had the score and it looked like the Browns had a solid game plan for the patriots. However, as you are well aware, the Browns couldn’t get out of their own way for the remaining 55 minutes of the game and the Patriots rattled off 45 unanswered points. It is as one-sided a loss as maybe I have ever watched, and I am including those garbage teams immediately after 1999. Inexplicably, after all of the success running the ball on the first possession, the Browns only ran twice for the remainder of the first half. That’s squarely on the coaching, from my perspective Stefanski had a rough game calling plays. (I’m still unclear on why you have an offensive coordinator if he doesn’t call plays on game day. What really is Alex Van Pelt’s role?) But the defense also had a nightmare day as New England tortured them with screens and reverses all day. Rookie quarterback never really broke a sweat as he went 19/23 against the Browns swiss cheese pass defense.
It wasn’t just the defense and the coaching staff who had a bad day, Baker was as bad as I have ever seen him, missing guys by a few yards when they were wide open and generally running for his life. I think the thing that Browns fans might have observed most prominently was the performance of Mac Jones. We saw him do everything we wished Baker could do. Quick outs, deep throws, incredible touch, delivering the ball with different speeds. (Baker is 100 mph regardless of if the throw is 6 yards or 60) Mac Jones was drafted in the middle of the first round, and time will tell if he turns out to have a fruitful career, but so far he looks like a gem that Patriots stumbled across. However, it’s worth noting that Baker had a great rookie year, but in subsequent offseasons, it looks like NFL defensive coordinators have caught up to him. We all know that Baker has a serious injury in his (non-throwing) shoulder as well as various other bumps and bruises, and while we respect that he wants to play hurt, maybe it’s not worth it. Look for the Baltimore preview where I detail the tough decision Stefanski has if Baker stinks it up in the first half. Also, mid-week I’ll publish a piece about the problem surrounding Baker’s contract status.
Oh yeah, we also played the Lions.
Detroit made their way to Cleveland in week 11, and despite a plucky effort, they managed to maintain their winless record. You would think that the Browns could play relaxed, Nick Chubb was coming back, Detroit has a terrible run defense, and a winless team is winless for a reason. However, Lions head coach Dan Campbell has managed to get his guys to play very hard each week, and sure enough it was close down the stretch. With the Browns leading 13-7, Baker threw an interception and everybody in FirstEnergy Stadium got pretty nervous. Thankfully, Coach Campbell inexplicably kicked a field goal to make it 13-10 with nine minutes left in the game. Lions fans are right to be angry about that, when you don’t have a win and it’s mid-November, I would think you do everything possible to get a win and avoid a winless season. Detroit ended up with another possession, and ended up punting with 2:36 remaining, which also is tough to explain. Regardless, the Browns find themselves at 6-5 after a bizarre month.
Sunday, November 7, 2021
Big Ben crushes dreams (again) and the Browns head to Cincy
Yikes. Not sure I can summarize the loss to the Steelers any more concisely than that. On the long, long list of deflating games that I was excited about for a week, this is by far the top of the list. (At least since 1999) I didn’t expect the Browns to roll over the Steelers, and full disclosure, I knew my 27-13 prediction was wildly ambitious. First off, it was legitimately difficult to stay awake during the 1930’s style football that was on display in the first half. (The only other game I can recall with less scoring was when the Browns beat the Bills 6-3 in 2009 in what was widely regarded as one of the most atrocious games ever played.) All week long, I was talking myself into believing that Nick Chubb returning would be impactful (it wasn’t) and that the Browns would be able to throw against Pittsburgh (they weren’t). If my wildest dreams are realized, then that’s the last time we see Roethlisberger play in Cleveland. He has absolutely owned the Browns for the better part of two decades, and he did it again with relative ease last week. It’s unreal how many different ways he’s done it; high scoring shootouts, defensive battles, massive blowouts, and once he led the winning drive while eating a Primanti Brothers sandwich. So honestly, perhaps nobody is surprised by the result last week.
Regardless, there are some talking points from this game to address. Jarvis Landry had a terrible game, and he knows it. Two clear drops and a fumble were likely the difference between winning and losing this game. It was a very uncharacteristic game from him, and I’d bet the mortgage he has 12 receptions and a touchdown against the Bengals this week. He’s a fiery guy, hates losing, and can inspire a locker room. (Cue Hard Knocks from a few years ago.) Baker wasn’t terrible, he just wasn’t anything special, and yes that could be partly due to his surrounding cast. But when the Browns got the ball at their own 40, with 3 timeouts, down by 5 points, I told my editor that this is where good teams go on to score and put a game away. It started out promising, but fizzled after a false start put us in 3rd and 16. Baker threw a 4 yard pass for some reason, then on 4th and 12 Landry couldn’t catch a ball that hit him in both hands. At that point, it was all over but the shoutin’.
The other major talking point could be a source of optimism. The defense played well, holding the Steelers to 9 points through the first three quarters. They held Pittsburgh to 4-13 on third down, and did their part to give the offense a chance to win the game. The defensive line is playing well as a unit, and probably the best aspect of this entire football team. The secondary struggled at times, I still can’t figure out why they get picked apart each week. They’ve given up 17 passing touchdowns in 8 games, which is third worst in the league. They seem more talented and athletic than that, I wonder how much of it is the scheme that Joe Woods is trying to roll out. It might be worth noting that if you take out the 47 points the Chargers scored on us, the Browns are allowing 19 points a game. (That type of dodgy statistical analysis is very similar to when my students are quick to dismiss an “outlier” in the data from the lab.) Point being, the defense is putting the offense in a good situation most weeks, and the offense only needs to be a little above average to start stringing some wins together.
Despite a loss and the Browns slipping to 4-4, by far the biggest story of the week was the release of Odell Beckham Jr. I guess the reason it is such a big story is because at one point, OBJ was a potential superstar like maybe we’ve never seen. But his actual list of accomplishments isn’t really that remarkable. The thing everybody knows about OBJ is the crazy one-handed catch against the Cowboys, in a game the Giants actually lost. He has played in one playoff game (a loss) and caught 4 passes for 28 yards. His numbers since coming to Cleveland are not even mediocre; in 29 games he has 1500 yards and 7 touchdowns. I don’t know why it didn’t click with Odell and Baker, but there is no question about it. The front office has seen enough, and the video Odell Sr. posted pushed OBJ right out of Cleveland. I bear no ill will to Odell, he is an incredible athlete, and a threat every time he touches the ball, but it’s just not meant to be here in Cleveland. I hope he has a great career somewhere else (hopefully in the NFC).
Next up Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. Obviously I have used the phrase “the biggest game in recent memory” many times on this blog, but it’s not hyperbole to apply to this game. There are only 9 games left in the season, and it’s going to take 10 wins to make the playoffs, so the Browns have almost no room for error. They play the Ravens twice, they travel to Green Bay on Christmas day, and they play at the Patriots as well. So The Browns are going to have to really find a way to grind out 6 wins the rest of the way. Stefanski says the right things, about focusing on this week's opponent only, and all that, but surely that locker room knows that the playoffs probably hang in the balance of this game. And there are story loans galore in this game. Baker Mayfield desperately want to refute the implication that he isn’t a good enough quarterback to play with OBJ, Stefanski needs to come up with a game plan that will play to Baker’s strengths (something he hasn’t done particularly well), and I need a plan to stay awake until 10:30 CET time to see the end of the game. (Not as easy as it sounds with sick toddler all weekend) It’s hard to get a read on the players reaction to OBJ being released, I’m sure there’s a number of guys that think he gave the Browns a better chance to win when he played. (Turns out that is not statistically supported.) But winning cures all ills, so if the Browns can go out and score a bunch of points on the Bengals, they can go into preparing for the Patriots feeling a little more relaxed. It’s not often that I think it is necessary to score “style points” (I get it, a win is a win is a win.) But the Browns anemic passing game desperately needs a jump start, and I think everybody will breathe a little easier if the Browns can score 4 touchdowns. That’s definitely not a long shot, last year the Browns won both games 35-30 and 37-34. Of course, the Bengals are fired up for the game because two weeks ago they were the darlings of the NFL, and they promptly got beat by the one-win Jets. The Bengals offense is productive for sure, averaging 28 points a game, so I’m expecting fireworks today. Other things I’m expecting: David Njoku scores, Myles Garrett has a strip sack, Landry has 100+ yards and a touchdown, and the staff at 4338 makes it until the end of the game. I think the Browns are going to come out on top, by a score of 34-27.
Go Browns.
Regardless, there are some talking points from this game to address. Jarvis Landry had a terrible game, and he knows it. Two clear drops and a fumble were likely the difference between winning and losing this game. It was a very uncharacteristic game from him, and I’d bet the mortgage he has 12 receptions and a touchdown against the Bengals this week. He’s a fiery guy, hates losing, and can inspire a locker room. (Cue Hard Knocks from a few years ago.) Baker wasn’t terrible, he just wasn’t anything special, and yes that could be partly due to his surrounding cast. But when the Browns got the ball at their own 40, with 3 timeouts, down by 5 points, I told my editor that this is where good teams go on to score and put a game away. It started out promising, but fizzled after a false start put us in 3rd and 16. Baker threw a 4 yard pass for some reason, then on 4th and 12 Landry couldn’t catch a ball that hit him in both hands. At that point, it was all over but the shoutin’.
The other major talking point could be a source of optimism. The defense played well, holding the Steelers to 9 points through the first three quarters. They held Pittsburgh to 4-13 on third down, and did their part to give the offense a chance to win the game. The defensive line is playing well as a unit, and probably the best aspect of this entire football team. The secondary struggled at times, I still can’t figure out why they get picked apart each week. They’ve given up 17 passing touchdowns in 8 games, which is third worst in the league. They seem more talented and athletic than that, I wonder how much of it is the scheme that Joe Woods is trying to roll out. It might be worth noting that if you take out the 47 points the Chargers scored on us, the Browns are allowing 19 points a game. (That type of dodgy statistical analysis is very similar to when my students are quick to dismiss an “outlier” in the data from the lab.) Point being, the defense is putting the offense in a good situation most weeks, and the offense only needs to be a little above average to start stringing some wins together.
Despite a loss and the Browns slipping to 4-4, by far the biggest story of the week was the release of Odell Beckham Jr. I guess the reason it is such a big story is because at one point, OBJ was a potential superstar like maybe we’ve never seen. But his actual list of accomplishments isn’t really that remarkable. The thing everybody knows about OBJ is the crazy one-handed catch against the Cowboys, in a game the Giants actually lost. He has played in one playoff game (a loss) and caught 4 passes for 28 yards. His numbers since coming to Cleveland are not even mediocre; in 29 games he has 1500 yards and 7 touchdowns. I don’t know why it didn’t click with Odell and Baker, but there is no question about it. The front office has seen enough, and the video Odell Sr. posted pushed OBJ right out of Cleveland. I bear no ill will to Odell, he is an incredible athlete, and a threat every time he touches the ball, but it’s just not meant to be here in Cleveland. I hope he has a great career somewhere else (hopefully in the NFC).
Next up Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. Obviously I have used the phrase “the biggest game in recent memory” many times on this blog, but it’s not hyperbole to apply to this game. There are only 9 games left in the season, and it’s going to take 10 wins to make the playoffs, so the Browns have almost no room for error. They play the Ravens twice, they travel to Green Bay on Christmas day, and they play at the Patriots as well. So The Browns are going to have to really find a way to grind out 6 wins the rest of the way. Stefanski says the right things, about focusing on this week's opponent only, and all that, but surely that locker room knows that the playoffs probably hang in the balance of this game. And there are story loans galore in this game. Baker Mayfield desperately want to refute the implication that he isn’t a good enough quarterback to play with OBJ, Stefanski needs to come up with a game plan that will play to Baker’s strengths (something he hasn’t done particularly well), and I need a plan to stay awake until 10:30 CET time to see the end of the game. (Not as easy as it sounds with sick toddler all weekend) It’s hard to get a read on the players reaction to OBJ being released, I’m sure there’s a number of guys that think he gave the Browns a better chance to win when he played. (Turns out that is not statistically supported.) But winning cures all ills, so if the Browns can go out and score a bunch of points on the Bengals, they can go into preparing for the Patriots feeling a little more relaxed. It’s not often that I think it is necessary to score “style points” (I get it, a win is a win is a win.) But the Browns anemic passing game desperately needs a jump start, and I think everybody will breathe a little easier if the Browns can score 4 touchdowns. That’s definitely not a long shot, last year the Browns won both games 35-30 and 37-34. Of course, the Bengals are fired up for the game because two weeks ago they were the darlings of the NFL, and they promptly got beat by the one-win Jets. The Bengals offense is productive for sure, averaging 28 points a game, so I’m expecting fireworks today. Other things I’m expecting: David Njoku scores, Myles Garrett has a strip sack, Landry has 100+ yards and a touchdown, and the staff at 4338 makes it until the end of the game. I think the Browns are going to come out on top, by a score of 34-27.
Go Browns.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)