Another Sunday, another day of insanity from the Cleveland Browns.
First, we had the national media (another leak from the coaching staff) saying coach Hue Jackson devised all kinds of plays to get the ball to recently reinstated WR Josh Gordon today.
Too bad, Jackson couldn’t do the same thing all season for guys like Duke Johnson, David Njoku and Seth DeValve.
Second, you had the local media reporting that Jackson wanted Carson Wentz all along in last year’s draft. This despite several reports saying the Browns’ head coach didn’t think Wentz was worthy of the second overall pick.
And then we got to the game, which the Browns dropped 19-10 to the Los Angeles Chargers to drop to 0-12 this season. With the 49ers win today, the Browns are the last team in the NFL without a win.
Cleveland’s first offensive play was a 9 yard completion to Gordon, and seemingly DeShone Kizer spent the rest of the day trying to force the ball to the wide out.
The Chargers were last in the NFL in rushing defense, so of course, Jackson had his offense throwing the ball all over place, with 35 passing plays (including three sacks) compared to just 22 runs.
Jackson continuously says he wants to run the ball, but we now have virtually two years of evidence that does not support it. The man simply would rather to throw the football.
Unfortunately, he has a 21-year-old second round rookie QB, who is not terribly accurate and has little pocket awareness. So, why wouldn’t you want to put the onus on him?
Kizer was below 50% today (15 of 32) and is has completed just 53% of his throws on the season, woefully low in today’s NFL.
This was on total display today, as Kizer missed Gordon twice on deep throws which should have resulted in touchdowns, and threw several other passes low and therefore uncatchable for his receivers.
He did make some great throws, two to Njoku come to mind, including one resulting in the Browns’ only touchdown.
However, the good quarterbacks make these kind of throws way more often. And that’s why the Browns need to address the position in the off-season.
As for Kizer’s pocket presence, let’s just say it’s not showing signs of improvement.
He was sacked and fumbled with a chance to make the score 19-17 in the fourth quarter, because he held the ball after escaping the pocket.
Then, on the next possession, he took a sack in the field of play with no timeouts left and Gordon all the way downfield running a route.
What exactly is Jackson whispering to Kizer?
To us, it seems the Browns don’t seem to know what each part of the team is doing.
Jackson’s reliance on the pass leads to the defense being on the field way too much. The Chargers had the ball for 35 minutes, and although we don’t agree with everything Gregg Williams does, his unit did allow just one touchdown despite allowing 429 yards, including 335 yards in the air to Philip Rivers.
Gordon did wind up with four catches for 85 yards during the game, but he could have had more with a more accurate passer.
Njoku continues to be underused, scoring his 4th touchdown of the year among his four receptions for 74 yards, but he doesn’t seem on the field as much as he should be.
Throw in two penalties for illegal formation (coaching) and a long kickoff return after the field goal which made the score 19-10, and you have a complete list of what seems to go on each and every week.
To complete things, we are sure Jackson once again said after the game that he doesn’t have the talent to win, and it would be “Groundhog Day” once again.
The only thing more disturbing would be the owner allowing this excuse maker around the Browns again next season.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 