The football fans of Northeast Ohio are at odds with each other.
Should the Browns keep the front office intact two years after Sashi Brown, Paul DePodesta, and Andrew Berry were put in charge of procuring players, and keep coach Hue Jackson, or should they keep Jackson and find a new director of football operations.
A third option would be to keep everyone in place for a third season.
Our opinion is that the front office stripped the team down to the bare bones following the 2015 season, and has started to put together a talented group of young players to grow and develop.
They haven’t addressed the quarterback position, but they will probably take care of that in this upcoming draft where they could have two top ten picks.
However, the offensive and defensive lines are strong, the linebackers are solid, and they seem to have a good group of tight ends.
This put them light years away from a couple of years ago when they simply weren’t good enough up front.
We have confidence that Brown and his cohorts in the front office will address the positions of weakness prior to next regular season.
Six players picked last season (2016) are currently starting: WR Corey Coleman, WR Ricardo Louis, T Shon Coleman, DE Emmanuel Ogbah, LB Joe Schobert, and S Derrick Kindred.
Only Louis can be considered questionable of that group.
Four rookies are starting: QB DeShone Kizer, DT Trevon Coley, DE Myles Garrett, and S Jabrill Peppers.
Garrett looks like he is as advertised, a very good pass rusher and a guy who can make All Pro teams.
And don’t forget CB/S Briean Boddy-Calhoun, TE Randall Telfair, TE Seth DeValve, and DE Carl Nassib who have shown flashes.
Have all the front office’s personnel moves worked? No, but name a team that is right 100% of the time in this area.
Our belief is that coach Hue Jackson is the bigger issue.
He started Kizer, a rookie and a second round pick from the opening game, but didn’t put in an offense that would’ve taken pressure off the kid, having him throwing downfield instead of running the ball and using a short passing game to help him out.
He also doesn’t seem to run the ball, Cleveland ranks 23rd in the NFL in rushing attempts, but is 12th in the league in yards per attempt. Something just doesn’t add up.
Meanwhile, Jackson’s squad is next to last in yards per pass attempt but they throw the ball the 4th most times in the league.
These statistics seem to indicate a coach who is either trying to lose football games or simply doesn’t have a clue as to how to use his personnel correctly.
Football people say tight ends are a quarterback’s best friends, but Kizer doesn’t seem to have been taught to use them. Rookie TE David Njoku has scored three touchdowns this year, but has caught just 20 passes, and plays less than 50% of the snaps.
Duke Johnson, another threat on offense, has caught 46 passes, the same number of rushing attempts he has on the season. This means he doesn’t even get 10 touches from scrimmage per game.
Add that to clock management mistakes, accepting penalties when he shouldn’t, and a general lack of discipline, and the fingers should point to Jackson, first and foremost.
Can Jackson change? He could, but we are skeptical because of the past.
The question we like to ask is this: Would another coach have one, two, or even three wins at this point in the schedule.
If you answer truthfully, then you know where the issue is.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 