Browns’ Offense Needs A Total Overhaul

We think everyone would agree the Cleveland Browns have a terrible offense, and the statistics back that up. They were third from the bottom in total yards, ahead of only Tennessee and Las Vegas, 27th in rushing offense, and ahead of only the Jets in terms of passing yards.

How a team builds a great defense but has really, a pathetic offense is a question that should be directed at the front office, but of course in the times we live, they will not give you a straight answer.

Looking at the offensive side of the football, the only player who really should have a starting position locked up is TE Harold Fannin, who caught 72 passes a year ago for 731 yards and six touchdowns. If Joel Bitonio decides to come back for one more season, he can be locked in at left guard too.

That would still leave nine spots up for grabs, including quarterback. It appears GM Andrew Berry has his work cut out for him this off season.

The good news is the free agency period in the NFL starts this week and the Browns have nine picks in this year’s draft to fill all of the holes. Signing free agents is important because obviously you can’t start all rookies.

And yes, there are players who should have a leg on on starting positions. RB Quinshon Judkins was solid running behind perhaps the worst pair of tackles in the NFL. He gained 827 yards. but averaged only 3.6 yards per carry. Cleveland could use another runner to pair with Judkins, and we liked what we saw out of Raheim Sanders, a 230-pound back who was inactive (for some reason) for much of the 2025 season.

Berry did swing a trade last week, bringing in offensive lineman Tytus Howard from Houston. Howard is regarded as a very good pass blocker, but not as good in the running game playing right tackle for the Texans. Browns’ QBs were sacked the 7th most times in the league last year, so keeping the passer upright was definitely a priority.

So, if Bitonio comes back and Luke Wypler can hold down the center position, that’s three starting offensive linemen, and we would guess high picks will be used to fill the other two spots. Plus, you need depth, if there is anything we have learned from the Browns, it’s that injuries will happen.

We hear many people talk about Dawand Jones, and we think the tackle out of Ohio State has ability, but in three years, he can’t stay on the field. Todd Monken and the brass simply cannot rely on him. They have to plan that he will miss time, so perhaps being the sixth lineman would be a good spot.

So, the offensive line needs to be rebuilt, but don’t distract you from realizing the wide receiver position is also terrible. Don’t know the salary cap ramifications, but we’d move on from Jerry Jeudy. Isaiah Bond has big play potential. Cedric Tillman seems injury prone.

We’d like to see what Malachi Corley can do in the passing game, but that’s another spot to be addressed in both the draft and free agency, and maybe the trade market. There should be a lot of openings there.

Note, we haven’t even mentioned quarterback, but we’ve touched on that spot before. We’d get a veteran, like maybe Geno Smith and have him and Shedeur Sanders compete for the job. Maybe draft another QB on day three.

And we are intentional about not talking about anyone else.

It is doubtful a juggernaut can be built this spring, but the AFC North is in flux and as former Steelers’ coach Mike Tomlin said last year, the Browns’ defense is probably the best unit in the division.

With the right moves, they can compete. Don’t let them tell you about kicking the can down the road again. It’s a loser’s lament.

Getting Irritating Players Was Good Move By Altman

Since the Cleveland Cavaliers returned to prominence and returned to the playoffs, there has been a label attached to them. They were viewed as needing toughness.

Every time Jarrett Allen has a poor game against a good NBA team, his quote after a first-round playoff loss in five games to the New York Knicks is brought up again. He referred to the lights being too bright for him and his teammates.

Certainly, the James Harden deal at the deadline gets a lot of attention and rightly so. Cleveland is 8-1 in games Harden has played since the deal, averaging 19.1 points and 7.9 assists per contest. We said at the time that if the Cavs were going to have a ball dominant guard who isn’t strong defensively, it’s better to have one who is 6’5″ than one that is 6’1″.

However, the deal with Sacramento that sent De’Andre Hunter to the Kings for Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis brought something else Kenny Atkinson’s team needed more of, and that is toughness.

We say more toughness because Jaylon Tyson was already on the roster. Tyson is having a breakout second season, averaging 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, and is the player who draws the assignment of guarding the opponents’ best player on a nightly basis.

We watched last Friday’s loss to Detroit and had to smile even though the Cavs did not win. Why? Because Tyson bothered the Pistons’ star Cade Cunningham. He picked up Cunningham full court, was physical, and we saw the Detroit MVP candidate bumping and shoving Tyson to get away from him. He was an irritant.

The same is true for the players who came over from the Kings. We always thought Schroder was a pain in the butt when he played against the Cavs in the playoffs during Cleveland’s run to The Finals from 2015-18, and he hasn’t lost that edge with age. He’s not fun to play against.

As for Ellis, his hands are just amazing. We have no idea if he is fouling when he gets his hands on the ball defensively, but if the referees aren’t calling it, advantage Cavaliers. He’s averaging 1.7 steals and 1.4 blocks since his arrival and is doing it getting just 23 minutes per game.

And even Harden helps because he is a better defender if posted up than Garland simply because of size. He’s also been around a long time, so he knows all of the veteran “tricks” defensively.

We don’t remember the last time the Cavs had a player who played with an “edge” since guys like Matthew Dellavedova and Tristan Thompson on those Eastern Conference title teams. But they are needed, especially against the better teams in the league and in the playoffs as well.

The best thing about Tyson and Schroder are they contribute offensively too. Tyson is among the best three-point shooters in the league and Schroder is scoring 10.9 points per game and is very creative in getting to the basket.

They won’t get played off the floor in the post-season. That’s the difference between these players and guys like Isaac Okoro and to a lesser extent, Dean Wade, who has another chance to prove otherwise. If you can’t be a threat on offense, opponents ignore you and that makes it tough on guys like Donovan Mitchell, Harden, and the other scorers.

We love having irritating players on the Cavaliers. And although we would like more size on the Cavs, they could use some 6’7″ or 6’8″ wings to guard players like Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum with the Celtics. But getting players like these should pay dividends come this spring.

Early Spring Training Thoughts And Disappointments

The Cleveland Guardians have been playing exhibition baseball for a little over a week now, and it is hard to believe the regular season will start three weeks from Thursday in Seattle. As we always say, the results of the games aren’t important, but how younger players perform does.

Since outside of Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan, most of the Guardians don’t have a real track record, we do look through the box scores to see how the prospects are performing and also, we look at the players the front office should be ready to move on from.

Of course, the guy causing the most buzz and the most worry is Chase DeLauter. He has started off 5 for 8 with a home run and two doubles but also missed three days with leg soreness. His durability has been in question since he was drafted and having to miss a few days after playing in three games has to send up a warning flare.

George Valera is 5 for 14, but with five strikeouts and just a walk. We aren’t too concerned about the lack of walks, as we have seen he is a patient hitter, but if he keeps hitting, we would expect him to open the year on the big club.

It is also good to see Bo Naylor get off to a strong start (5 for 10, 3 doubles, two walks). After a solid September, perhaps he’s found something at the plate.

On the other hand, so far, it’s been more of the same from Gabriel Arias and Nolan Jones.

Arias is two for nine in his four games, but that’s not the problem. His issue has been making contact and he was already whiffed five times in those nine plate appearances and hasn’t walked. He’s coming off a year where he fanned at a 34.4% clip, the highest of his career. He walked only 27 times in 471 times at the dish.

His competition at shortstop, Brayan Rocchio has gone 4 for 14 early with a walk and just two punchouts. If Rocchio wins the spot, it could make room for rookie Juan Brito at 2B.

As for Jones, after hitting a homer in his first exhibition appearance, he has struck out six times without a walk in 17 plate appearances. He whiffed 113 times versus 39 walks a year ago. If he’s vying for playing time against DeLauter and Valera, it would seem he would be the odd man out.

The front office has a lot of faith in both Arias and Jones, and frankly we don’t know why. Forget the metrics, the eyes tell you both need to learn the strike zone better to be consistently successful.

Switch-hitter Angel Martinez is just 2 for 10, but with two walks, but his success vs. southpaws keeps him in the mix for Opening Day. We like the walks, but in both of the last two seasons when he came up, he was very patient and then started free swinging. We think he’d be better, especially from the left side, being more selective.

Petey Halpin is off to a good start too, going 5 for 10 with three walks and if he was a right-handed hitter, he’d probably would have a leg up on a roster spot, but the glut of lefty bats makes it likely he goes to AAA.

There are a lot of games and a lot of at bats for these guys to impress or turn it around. That’s the beauty of spring training baseball.

Browns Are Just Tough…To Follow As A Fan

Although we remain a fan of the Cleveland Browns, we have to admit it is tough to keep following them even though we are a lifelong resident of northeast Ohio. Every time someone from their front office speaks publicly, our BS meter soars.

And we absolve new coach Todd Monken from this. He just got here.

We have said many times over the past few years the Browns are like the sign in the bar “free beer tomorrow”, meaning we’ll be good next season. They seem to always be telling their fan base they have a plan to get good, and we will see that plan in a year. If we hear one more fan or media person talking about “kicking the can down the road” one more time, we will scream.

We understand an NFL team is not likely to win a Super Bowl unless they have great quarterback play, but this is also true: Just because you have a great QB doesn’t mean you are going to win the championship.

Here is a list of current quarterbacks who haven’t won the Super Bowl: Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, Jared Goff. And of that group, Jackson, Allen, Herbert, and Prescott have never played in the title game. Now, we agree the teams they play on have a better shot of getting to the big game because they are the starting QBs.

But it seems the Browns’ plan to win is get a draft pick in the top three selections in the draft, take their guy and everything will fall into place.

Except they did that before and it didn’t work. Remember 1-31? We do, and the Browns got Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick.

How can we forget the parade in downtown Cleveland when they won their first Super Bowl? It’s easy. It never happened.

First, you don’t need a top three or even five pick to get a great quarterback. You need someone who can tell a great one when they see one, and to be fair, you do need a fairly high draft choice, although you don’t need to go 3-14 every year to get one.

Patrick Mahomes is the best QB in the NFL, right? He was the 10th overall pick and Kansas City did not have an extended span of losing when they took him.

Allen was the 7th overall pick in 2018. This after the Bills were stuck in mediocrity but weren’t terrible. They won six or more games in seven straight seasons before taking Allen.

The current champion Seattle Seahawks do have a top three pick at quarterback in Sam Darnold, but they didn’t draft him. And the last time the franchise won less than six games? Try 2009. And they won 10 or more games ten times in that span.

It can be done without putting your fan base through seasons where they don’t play competitive football. It starts with putting an emphasis on winning. It’s having a culture.

We will be interested in seeing how the Steelers and Ravens do in 2026 because they have a winning culture in their organization and now, they will both have new coaches.

As for the Browns, how about making winning a priority, now! Stop talking about new dome stadium, future draft capital, salary cap manipulations and justifying terrible trades and say we are going to compete for a playoff spot next season.

It’s starts there and it’s really simple. Winning football cures a franchise malaise.