Is 0-16 Really That Upsetting To You?

With 13 losses already in the book, there are many who hope the Cleveland Browns can win one of the last three games to avoid joining the Detroit Lions as the only NFL teams to go 0-16.

And as we said the other day, the media and fans alike are already lining up the reasons why the victory could come this Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. Most of those reasons center around the coaching turmoil with the Bills, as rumors are swirling that Rex Ryan doesn’t have a great deal of security.

The other reason is the quarterback situation there as Tyrod Taylor is a free agent at the end of the season, and will they want to take a look at former Glenville and Ohio State QB Cardele Jones soon.

As for going 0-16, there are many who say they want the win for the players, so they can avoid the spectre of a winless season, but how many players from that Lions team can you name?

The quarterbacks were Dan Orlovsky (0-7), Jon Kitna (0-4), and Daunte Culpepper (0-5). Kevin Smith was the leading rusher, and a guy many believe will wind up in the Hall of Fame, Calvin Johnson, was the leading receiver.

Paris Lenon was the leading tackler and Dewayne Wayne was the leader sacker.

Maybe those names are memorable in the Motor City, but outside of Johnson, who remembers them. And Johnson doesn’t have that stigma attached to him.

The only notoriety those players have is they will probably be interviewed if the Browns head to Pittsburgh on New Year’s Day with a chance to match them.

Really, what is the difference between being 0-16 and let’s say, 2-14? Or 3-13? Those records make you a bad football team. You still aren’t very competitive.

And in this NFL season, there are several teams who can claim the right to be considered putrid. The 49ers have won just one game. Jacksonville is sitting at two wins. The Bears have three victories, one over the 49ers.

The New York Jets are 4-9, and almost all national media people consider that organization to be a mess.

What we are saying here is the Browns have competition to get the first overall pick in next spring’s NFL draft, so going 0-16 guarantees you will get the chance to choose the best player coming into the league.

According to reports, the Browns have a very high grade on Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett, who many feel is the best player in the 2017 draft. So, maybe analytics says the wise choice if you have the first pick, you should take the best player.

Besides, it isn’t like the Browns will be branded the worst team of all time if they go 0-16. Another team has done it. Heck, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost the first 26 games in franchise history in 1976-77 before they finally won.

In 1979, just two years later, they went to the NFC Championship Game.

If in two years, the Browns are in the playoffs, then a winless season would be well worth it, right?

We understand that it is different for the players and Hue Jackson. They are competitors and want to win. We heard the frustration in the voices of Terrelle Pryor and Corey Coleman this week.

We know they want to win.

But the end game, if the “plan” works, is the Browns are speeding up the process. They have five picks in the first 65 choices next spring.

The Browns knew this year wasn’t going to be pretty and the media and fans should’ve seen that too. If you are going to be bad, why not be real bad?

Browns Can’t Play Complimentary Football

It’s funny to hear fans and the media every week talking about how this is going to be the week the Cleveland Browns win their first game.

They come up with all kinds of reason for the win too. Heck, the Browns were coming off the bye week and Hue Jackson is so familiar with the Bengals, so this will surely be the week.

And Robert Griffin III will be ready to go, and maybe he can recapture some of the magic from his rookie year.

Then, the opening kickoff comes, and all those theories can be flushed down the metaphorical toilet.

Griffin was wildly inaccurate in his first start since the opening weekend, hitting just 12 of 28 passes for 102 yards in the 23-10 defeat. Only two Browns’ receivers averaged more than 10 yards per catch, Duke Johnson, who made a nice run after a short pass to gain 21 yards, and rookie TE Seth DeValve, who had one catch for 11 yards.

That’s it.

However, it didn’t help Griffin that as he came out for his second chance to move the ball in the game, his team was down 13-0.

It also didn’t help that the Browns had horrible field position throughout the first half. It is his fault that the Cleveland offense didn’t cross midfield until after halftime.

The defense struggled early, allowing the Bengals to march right down the field on their opening drive and take advantage of a short field to put it in the end zone the second time they got the football.

All that said, there were good things to see defensively today.

LB Jamie Collins was in on 15 tackles and had a sack, and rookie Emmanuel Ogbah continues to shine with 1.5 sacks and pressured Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton on several other occasions.

The next step for the defense has to be creating turnovers. Over the past few games, they haven’t done that, and that means for the most part, the Browns’ offense has to play a long field to score a touchdown.

Isaiah Crowell had a third 100 yard rushing game on the season, gaining 113 on 10 carries, with a long of 42 yards. All in all, Cleveland gained 169 yards on the ground, a very good total.

Unfortunately, they allowed Cincy to rush for 213, including 111 by Jeremy Hill, who gashed the Cleveland defense for almost 300 in the two games between the teams this season.

Going back to field position, the Browns had horrible position all day, particularly in the first half. Griffin’s only interception came on a flea-flicker from his own 1 yard line.

And no, we aren’t absolving him for throwing into triple coverage.

We would like to tell Ricardo Louis that if he can’t get the ball back to the 25, heck, even the 20 would be acceptable, then let the ball bounce into the end zone. Starting around the 15 doesn’t help the offense.

We would also like to tell Ray Horton that covering the tight end is an option. Tyler Eifert hurt the Browns again, with two touchdowns (one we was covered by Tramon Williams) and overall he had five catches on the afternoon.

So, now at 0-13, Hue Jackson’s squad travels to Buffalo to play the Bills, who may have a new head coach.

It will be interesting to see what reasons we will hear about why this week is the week for the first Browns’ victory.

No Deals Yet, But Tribe Can’t Stand Pat

The Cleveland Indians were one of the teams who were inactive in terms of moves at this past week’s winter meetings in Washington.

That doesn’t mean they weren’t busy, it just means they didn’t get anything done before the annual get together ended yesterday.

Yet.

The rumors about Edwin Encarnacion are still out there, and at least a few national pundits have the Tribe being the favorite to sign the right-handed hitting slugger.

At the very least, the Indians know they have openings in the 1B/DH role served by Mike Napoli and an outfield slot manned by Rajai Davis in 2016.

Both of those players were huge contributors for the American League champions. Napoli hit a career high 34 home runs and his best offensive season since 2013, and was a tremendous clubhouse presence.

Davis hit the game tying home run in game seven of the Fall Classic, but had his worst season since 2013.

Both players are beyond their prime years though. Napoli will play the 2017 season at age 35, while Davis is now 36 years old.

In reality, if the front office brought both back in the same roles as last season, what would be the odds both will be as productive as they were in 2016?

Spoiler alert! The answer would be slim or none.

Both players were probably overexposed due to the injury of Michael Brantley, but we can definitely see a scenario where both players return and disappoint, more due to the expectations of the fans and management.

That’s why Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff are pursuing Encarnacion, who is a year younger than Napoli and whose production is much more consistent.

Over the last five seasons, last season might be the slugger’s worst, and even then, he belted 42 home runs and knocked in 127, to lead the AL.

If he declines slightly in 2017, what are you looking at? Probably 30-35 dingers and around 100 RBI, which is what Napoli provided last season.

Yes, Encarnacion wants a three or four year deal, but his production over the last five years merits that. It is a huge gamble to give a two or three year deal with Napoli based on his recent past.

We understand the emotional part of this would say to bring back these two heroes from a World Series season, but Antonetti and Chernoff can’t think with their hearts, they have to use cold, hard logic.

While we are still skeptical of the Tribe signing a player like Encarnacion, who is probably the best hitter on the market, the fact remains they have to resign Napoli, or replace him with someone else.

The same is true with Davis.

The front office realizes that, and we are sure they are working diligently to get something done.

So, we would anticipate a couple of moves to address those areas in the next couple of weeks. And we expect a free agent signing or trade because we doubt the Indians will trust either opening to a rookie like Yandy Diaz or Bradley Zimmer, nor should they.

They aren’t in a player development mode right now. Of course, this doesn’t mean those two players won’t be contributors in 2017, it just means the Tribe can’t count on them to start a season where they are the defending AL Champions.

Antonetti and Chernoff are waiting for the market to settle before striking. Although it’s frustrating for fans, it’s also smart.

A New Era For The Tribe?

Are we looking at a new era on the corner of Ontario and Carnegie?

Rumors out of baseball’s annual winter meetings have the Cleveland Indians talking to the agents of free agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion about coming to the Tribe on a multi-year contract.

Encarnacion is one of the game’s premier sluggers. He led the American League in runs batted in last season, and his OPS hasn’t been below 886 since 2011. His lowest home run total over the last five years was 34.

In short, he is an upgrade, at least on the field, from the player who filled his position in 2016.

According to reports, the Indians are one of three teams considered favorites to sign him, along with Boston and Texas, so it should still be considered a long shot for him to join the American League champions.

It has been reported that the Tribe paid a very handsome profit from last season’s playoff run, and remember that John Sherman was brought in as vice chairman and minority owner last summer, so it is very possible that Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff have some extra cash to spend this winter.

And obviously, if you lose the World Series in game seven, and in extra innings, you are in win now mode.

If ever there was a time to throw a little caution to the wind and “go for it”, it is the 2017 season.

Especially when it appears that your competition in the AL Central are in flux. The White Sox look to be in sell mode. The Tigers are aging and have been said to be interested in lowering payroll. The Royals have several key players eligible for free agency after the ’17 season. The Twins lost 100 games a year ago, and shouldn’t be a factor next season.

That doesn’t mean the Indians’ front office will go crazy, handing out huge amounts of cash on long term deals to players decidedly on the downside of their careers.

If the team is able to strike a deal with Encarnacion, we would image a two or three year deal, as he will turn 34 years old in January. Mike Napoli is a year older, and hasn’t shown the consistency in his career as Encarnacion.

Also, the reason Cleveland can even think about this is the low amount of money committed to their starting pitching staff, which is a sink hole for most other major league teams.

Heck, the Dodgers yesterday gave Rich Hill, who was pitching in an independent league in 2015, $48 million over three years. The Tribe doesn’t have to commit that kind of cash to their rotation.

Even if the Indians don’t reach an agreement with Encarnacion, this sends a signal that the front office is ready to spend money on the right player and in the right situation. That’s all fans want, and it should keep the momentum from last October going for the local baseball team.

So, the Indians may make a big splash this off-season, something not thought possible a week ago. Getting this close to a World Series title for fueled this.

It could also mean that the Antonetti led front office is more aggressive than the Mark Shapiro led one. There could have been many reasons for Shapiro’s conservativism, but we doubt he makes the Andrew Miller trade, and it doesn’t seem signing a big time free agent is something he would have done either.

Right now, circumstances have the Cleveland Indians in a win now situation. It’s been 20 years since we could say that.

Legacy Of LeBron Vs. Jordan

It is almost universally recognized that Michael Jordan is the greatest professional basketball player ever because of the six titles he won with the Chicago Bulls in eight years.

There are some who consider Bill Russell because of the Celtics’ dominance in the 60’s, and others who will name Oscar Robertson’s all-around game, Wilt Chamberlain’s unbelievable numbers, and those who will talk about Magic Johnson and Larry Bird as well.

Jordan’s rep comes from elevating those teams to championships without other great players on his team. Yes, Scottie Pippen was a perfect compliment to him, but if let’s say Larry Nance replaced Pippen on those teams, would they still have won? We would say yes.

This brings us to LeBron James. Can James pass Jordan as the greatest player ever?

Right now, James has been in seven Finals, one more than His Airness. The difference, of course, is that the Bulls never lost when they got that far, while James’ teams have suffered four defeats, two each with the Cavaliers and Heat.

One argument used against Jordan is he never defeated another great team in The Finals. The Bulls first title was against a Laker team on its last legs. They didn’t win the Western Conference again with this group, led by Magic Johnson and James Worthy.

Probably the closest foe to Chicago were the Utah teams they won their last two titles against. The Jazz were led by two all-time greats in Karl Malone and John Stockton and repeating elevates that squad.

James’ team lost twice to the Spurs dynasty team (’07 with the Cavs, ’14 with the Heat) led by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. They also defeated that same group in 2013.

And, of course, LeBron led the Cavs over the team with the all-time best regular season record this past summer, beating the 73 win Golden State team.

So, let’s say James takes the Cavaliers back to the Finals the next three seasons. That will give him ten appearances in the championship series. The most by any player who never played for the Celtics or Lakers (Bill Russell played in 12, Magic and Jerry West played in 9), and second most all-time.

And let’s say he wins two of those seasons, giving him five titles. Could we then say he surpasses Jordan? We say yes.

The main reason is the victory over the Warriors in June, and we presume one of those other wins will also come against Golden State, the 73 win team that also added another at least top 25 player of all-time in Kevin Durant.

As for Russell, the playoffs weren’t as tough then. Basically, if the Celtics defeated Chamberlain’s team they were in the championship round. Like Russell, James is surrounded by better talent than Jordan was with the Bulls, but getting to the title round four more times would tilt the scales in James’ direction in our opinion.

So, that’s what James is chasing now. He’s universally recognized as a top ten player in NBA history, probably top five.

Can he get to #1? Getting to more Finals will insure that chance, as well as moving up the lists in scoring and assists. He may very well be the all-time leading scorer or be second by the time he hangs up his sneakers.

The fact he has help from Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love doesn’t hurt his chances one bit.

The Media & The Browns’ QB

It is fun to observe the media, both print and broadcast, cover the Cleveland Browns. After every game, a segment of them, usually the same guys, seem outraged by the loss that occurred.

We don’t know what they were expecting. Most people figured a two or three win season at best for the brown and orange, so losses shouldn’t be a surprise.

It is particularly funny to watch how the people who cover and comment on the Browns treat the quarterback situation, particularly this season.

Throughout training camp, it was clear that Hue Jackson was going to start Robert Griffin III unless he was awful. He wasn’t, although he didn’t play too much in the pre-season, so we got the nod in the opener against the Eagles.

Griffin went 12 of 26 for 190 yards and an interception in a game the Browns trailed 13-10 in the third quarter before a bad snap which turned into a safety changed the momentum.

The former Heisman Trophy winner suffered a broken shoulder late in the 4th quarter, and based on that the media turned on him, saying it is clear that he shouldn’t be the starter and it was tough to find a scenario where RGIII would be back on the Browns’ roster in 2017.

Next came many in the media’s choice, good guy, good teammate Josh McCown, who started in week two vs. the Ravens.

The Browns had a 20-0 first quarter lead, but scored no more points after and McCown threw a late interception (after a terrible unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Terrelle Pryor).

And he broke his collarbone in the game. In a nutshell, he was what we’ve come to expect about Josh McCown.

But he was now out and rookie Cody Kessler took the helm. The people covering the team were sounding a death knell on the fate of the Browns.

Their fears were unwarranted. After a shaky first series, Kessler played well (21 of 33 for 244 yards) and the Browns had a chance to win in regulation, but new kicker Cody Parkey missed a field goal.

Kessler was good again the following week (28 of 40, 223 yards, a TD and a pick) and Cleveland was in the game until some 4th quarter turnovers caused a 31-20 defeat.

Now, everyone wanted to see Kessler the rest of the season. Since the team was 0-4, he was the future. Why not put him out there?

Except he got hurt against the Patriots after leading the Browns to a touchdown.

He returned to start the following week vs. Tennessee throwing for over 300 yards and two touchdowns, and was 9 of 11 against Cincinnati before suffering a concussion.

However, Kessler was reluctant to throw deep and his lack of arm strength had the scribes starting to turn against him.

When Hue Jackson benched him in the second half of the Thursday night game vs. Baltimore, many in the media started to sour on Kessler.

Unfortunately, McCown was dreadful in that game, and Kessler got another concussion in the next game against the Steelers.

That left McCown to play last Sunday and the media started thinking the best thing for the Browns might be to trot out Robert Griffin III for the rest of the year since he’s now recovered from his injury.

Their thinking is why not find out what you have in the former Redskin QB, who by the way, took his team to the playoffs as a rookie.

That’s what they should’ve been thinking from day one. Griffin is still just 26 years old, so why not let him show if he can still play in the NFL, and can he make plays.

It shouldn’t have any effect on whether or not Cleveland should draft a quarterback next spring.

The point is maybe we shouldn’t pay any attention to what the people who follow the Browns think about the QB position. They don’t seem to know anymore than anyone else about the position.

Cavs Allow Fans Some Relaxation

Usually for a Cleveland sports fan, there is worry, concern, and angst in following your team.

Maybe the lack of that worries you, because you are a product of following sports in northeast Ohio, but this NBA basketball has an odd sense of calm to it.

Right now, the Cavaliers are off to a great start, winning 13 of their first 15 games, and already are four games ahead in the loss column in the NBA Eastern Conference standing.

Barring any sort of health related problems, probably the next time any basketball fan will have any concern is when the playoffs get underway, and even then, perhaps not until the Eastern Conference finals.

That’s how good this Cavs team is, and winning that title last spring and experiencing that run together has freed them up to play seemingly even better to this point in the season.

A full training camp with Tyronn Lue has the wine and gold ticking like a Swiss watch. Kevin Love, the reigning Eastern Conference player of the week, is playing like he did with the Timberwolves, averaging more than 20 points per night and grabbing more than 10 rebounds.

The other thing that has to strike fans is the closeness of this group and the fun they seem to have together.

They attended the Indians’ post-season games together, they have an annual Halloween party, they stopped off to watch the Ohio State-Michigan game a few days ago.

Maybe all of that is done because LeBron James says it needs to happen, but the rest of the squad is following their leader, and that has to help when it comes down to crunch time in games. They trust each other and they trust their coach.

Yes, LeBron is playing more minutes than we all expected, but Lue has told us the plan is to give James more rest when the schedule gets heavy in January and February. His minutes will go down then, and there will probably be some days off as well.

There is no doubt or handwringing from the fans and sports talk hosts around town. The Cavs won, so we believe in what they tell us.

Outside of the game they lost in Indiana when James sat out, this team rolls on even if they are missing some of it’s cogs.

Channing Frye has tragically missed time due to deaths in his family. JR Smith missed some games with a sprained ankle. Last Sunday, both Frye and Iman Shumpert were out, the Cavs still won on the road.

Lue has also made everyone a part of the early success. Rookie Kay Felder has contributed. Jordan McRae has seen more time lately and played the entire fourth quarter of a game against Washington that was still in doubt.

Sunday, without Frye and Smith in a slump, Lue turned to veteran James Jones, who came in and knocked down two three pointers.

It is true that the Cavs have been home a lot thus far (10 of their 15 games have been at Quicken Loans Arena), so the schedule will get a little tougher coming up. However, that still doesn’t provide great concern.

And by the way, let the media keep chasing Golden State and the continuously preening Warriors. The Cavaliers will keep quietly going about their business, which is winning.

While their fans just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Browns Gave Giants A Tussle, But Drop to 0-12.

The New York Giants came into today’s game with the Cleveland Browns with a 7-3 record, and a very good chance to make the playoffs.

They left with a win, and the Browns are now 0-12 on the season, but the home town brown and orange gave the G-Men a pretty good struggle.

However, it seemed whenever the Browns got close, or threatened the New York lead, the Giants had an extra gear and widened the lead once again. That’s what happens when you have great players like Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr.

The Browns trailed just 7-3 with 3:51 left in the first half. Less than a minute later, Manning hit Beckham for 32 yards and it was 14-3.

In the fourth quarter, Cleveland got within one score at 20-13 after a 21 yard touchdown pass from Josh McCown to rookie Corey Coleman.

It took just three minutes for Manning to move the Giants 73 yards in six plays, finding Beckham Jr. again to provide the final margin at 27-13.

McCown had a critical turnover, but it is difficult to blame him for it. With the score 14-6, Johnathan Hankins bull rushed G Alvin Bailey, in because John Greco was hurt, hit McCown and the ball popped into the hands of Jason Pierre-Paul, who ran 43 yards with the fumble and a touchdown.

For the Browns to get their elusive first win, it would seem they need to run the ball and win the turnover battle. They did neither today, as they were outgained on the ground, 104 to 58, and fumbled three times compared to just one for New York.

McCown wound up with 322 yards passing, but many of them came with Cleveland down by 14, and the Giants playing back and allowing underneath completions.

To be fair, he did hit a beautiful strike to Terrelle Pryor for 54 yards. Coach Hue Jackson seemed to hear our plea to get Pryor and Duke Johnson more involved, as the former Ohio State QB caught six passes for 131 yards, and Johnson had five carries and three receptions.

We would still like to see Johnson more involved though.

Other bright spots offensively would include Coleman, who had three catches for 38 yards and a TD, and rookie TE Seth DeValve, who added three grabs for 39 yards.

Hopefully, with the bye week coming up next, this will be the last we see of McCown, who had respectable numbers (25 of 43, 322 yards), but threw several balls behind receivers and had an interception nullified because the defender was out of bounds.

That might seem harmless, but the defender was right in front of the receiver. What McCown saw, we don’t know.

Robert Griffin III should be ready to start against Cincinnati, and we would rather see if he can play, rather than see McCown.

Defensively, the Browns held Manning to just 194 yards passing, and had a couple of chance to turn him over, but failed. The Giants’ QB threw a short pass that hit Emmanuel Ogbah in the chest, but he could corral it.

Jamie Collins had 8 tackles and Christian Kirksey had 10 to lead Cleveland, and Corey Lemonier did record a sack.

But the defense had no answer for Beckham’s speed on crossing routes, the secondary continues to be a problem.

So finally, the Browns get a week off. Many members of the media and fans might need the time off as well as the players.

Hopefully, the rest rejuvenates the coaching staff and the players for the last four games of the year.

Understand Browns Process, But Still Have Questions

With the Cleveland Browns, you either trust the process or you are bitter about a 0-11 season.

There doesn’t seem to be any in between.

For us, it is more the former than the latter. Nothing else has worked for this franchise since they returned to the NFL in 1999.

They’ve tried signing free agents, they’ve tried trading down in the draft to accumulate more picks, they’ve drafted quarterbacks on the first round, they’ve tried signing experienced veteran passers.

Mostly, they’ve tried to be competitive every year. That may sound like a good thing, trying to win as many games as you can each season, but it doesn’t allow the organization to build a foundation of talent.

So, Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta decided to basically build from scratch, like an expansion team. Get rid of the older, declining veteran players, and replace them with young guys with a future and draft picks.

It seems logical, but it doesn’t make losing every week less painful. And although we get what the Browns are trying to accomplish, it doesn’t mean we don’t understand why fans of this team, with over 20 years of pretty much horrible football, are frustrated.

And even though we get and support what the front office is doing (why not try something new?), there are things that drive us crazy and make us shake our head.

The first is the offensive line. Clearly, the combination the Browns are using isn’t working. The running game isn’t working anymore, and our quarterbacks are resembling Evel Knievel.

Cleveland used a third round pick on Shon Coleman, an offensive tackle. Why not put him out there? Several football people have told us the line may improve by moving Austin Pasztor to guard, next to Joe Thomas, and put Coleman at right tackle.

Perhaps they would be able to run better behind Thomas and Pasztor and relieve some of the pressure off the passer.

And no, maybe we are crazy, but we aren’t ready to move on from Cam Erving just yet. Perhaps putting him between two veterans (Pasztor and John Greco) will help him.

The offense is sputtering, scoring no more than 10 points in any of the last three games. So, why not get the ball into the hands of the Browns’ best playmakers, Terrelle Pryor and Duke Johnson, more often.

We just witnessed the Steelers getting the ball to Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown as much as possible. Why not copy them.

We’d have Pryor getting hitch passes, slants, deep throws, and even running on end arounds or jet sweeps. Johnson has the ability to take a short throw and make something out of it.

Right now, they are under utilized.

We understand part of the problem may very well be the revolving door Hue Jackson has at quarterback. The team hasn’t been able to start the same guy more than three weeks in a row.

This week, it’s more of Josh McCown, who no doubt will make a critical error at some point in the game.

It is frustrating to watch the Browns week after week, and not get the payoff of seeing a victory. The front office wants and needs high draft picks.

Hopefully, Brown’s plan pays off and the rebuilding process has been accelerated. If not, we don’t know what the team can try next.

Browns’ “Groundhog Day” Continues

For awhile, we thought today’s Browns-Steelers game might have been the most lopsided 17-3 game in the history of the National Football League.

The Steelers had the ball for pretty much the entire game, and yet managed only a touchdown and three field goals, and the TD was the result of an untimed down prior to halftime.

Cleveland even crept to within eight points after a Josh McCown to Gary Barnidge touchdown throw early in the fourth quarter, but as Browns will be Browns, Cody Parkey missed the extra point, so it remained 17-9.

The defense forced a punt on Pittsburgh’s next possession, and after a special teams penalty (which is a weekly occurrence), McCown took a strip sack and the Steelers recovered in the end zone to put the game away.

Now, the final score showed the dominance the visitors showed virtually the entire contest.

Early in the season, someone said the NFL has become a 3rd and 2 league, and if you can convert on offense, you will win, and if you can stop your opponent, you will be successful.

Pittsburgh was 6 for 13 on third and fourth downs today, while the Browns were 4 of 15 on third down. And that might just describe the game, and actually most Cleveland games this season.

Positives. The defense held Ben Roethlisberger to just one touchdown on the day, despite the black and gold having the ball virtually all of the first three quarters of the game.

Terrelle Pryor once again was a force, catching five passes for 97 yards and returned to the game after a brutal shot to the ribs trying to catch a high throw from McCown.

Christian Kirksey had nine more tackles, and safety Ed Reynolds had the best hit of the day, driving Le’Veon Bell out of bounds after a short pass play.

That’s about it.

Negatives. Hue Jackson wanted to see Cody Kessler throw downfield more often, and the result may have been the rookie QB holding on to the ball forever.

Pittsburgh had eight sacks, many of those because Cleveland quarterbacks held on to the ball way too long.

It doesn’t help that the Browns refuse to make any changes on their offensive line, despite not being able to run the ball or protect the passer.

The Browns had just 33 yards on the ground, averaging just 2.5 per carry. Their leading rusher was McCown with 11 yards.

This brings up the old lament. Cleveland can’t win until they can run the ball, and can stop the run.

Watching the Steelers get the ball to Bell and Antonio Brown (44 combined plays), you wonder why Jackson doesn’t use Pryor more often. Get him the ball on bubble screen, slants, end arounds, etc.

He’s the team’s best offensive player. He should get the ball as much as possible. We understand teams are trying to take Pryor away, but that’s Jackson’s field of expertise.

We also get that Kessler isn’t a starting QB in the NFL for a good team, but we will again say there is no reason for McCown to get more time. Hopefully, Robert Griffin III can play next week, because frankly, we’d rather see him.

McCown got the Browns in the end zone, but he also made the key mistake, fumbling in the end zone, and had several other throws which either got a receiver drilled, or hit a defender that couldn’t hold on.

So, now it’s 0-11 and 14 straight defeats.

And although we understand the plan, it’s getting tougher and tougher to find something to pin hopes on for the future.