After last week’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Browns’ coach Pat Shurmur seems to be under more fire from the media and the fans of the team.
The Browns are now 1-6 for the year and after starting out 2-1 last season, Cleveland has won just three of their last 20 games.
However, should the head coach be under siege, or is there other reasons for a wretched stretch in the win column?
Most everyone would agree that the Browns roster has more talent than last year’s did. They appear to have a good quarterback that can make all the throws.
They have a better running game with Trent Richardson and a revitalized Montario Hardesty.
They’ve upgraded at RT with Mitchell Schwartz rather than Tony Pashos and O’Neil Cousins.
The wide receiver corps is better with rookies Josh Gordon, Travis Benjamin, and Josh Cooper.
Defensively, GM Tom Heckert picked up four solid defensive linemen, two in free agency (Frostee Rucker and Juqua Parker) and two in the draft (John Hughes and Billy Winn).
The linebackers are young, but have speed, something that has been lacking the past few years.
The secondary still needs some work, but Cleveland has some young players from the draft that continue to get better.
So, if the talent is better from last year’s 4-12 record, then why are the Browns 1-6 heading into this week’s game against San Diego.
Doesn’t the arrow point squarely at the head coach?
For whatever the reason, Shurmur comes up short in terms of winning games.
Sometimes it’s because of play calling, other times it is dumb penalties, still other times it’s turnovers.
The point is that it is always something and there isn’t anything changing to put a halt to the seemingly endless losing.
Shurmur has done a very good job of teaching and getting a roster full of young, inexperienced players ready to compete at the NFL level. Rarely are the Browns completely overmatched in games, which makes the losses even more frustrating.
However, his in-game management leaves something to be desired and he hasn’t shown a great deal of growth even after 23 games as the head man.
Mike Tyson once said that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. The Browns’ coaching staff seems to panic once that happens.
That’s how we view Shurmur’s tendency to throw the ball time after time, ignoring the run.
He also isn’t decisive enough at times when he needs to be. Such as when he decided to punt on fourth down after throwing a deep pass in the fourth quarter.
He seems to second guess himself.
He seems stubborn, unwilling to change when what he wants to do isn’t working.
These weaknesses don’t bode well for Shurmur to be the head coach of the Browns for a third year, especially if they finish 4-12 or worse this season.
If he wants a chance to stay, he needs to start acting like he’s in charge, and he needs to be aggressive in his strategy. After all, with their current record, what is there to lose.
He should take the attitude of Cavs’ coach Byron Scott, who feels he has to do things his way, because if he gets fired, he will have no regrets.
The Browns’ new owner, Jimmy Haslam seems to be aggressive guy. His coach should adopt that same attitude.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 