Two In A Row And A Huge Game Vs. Bengals

When the Browns defeated Tampa Bay last week, we thought it was kind of like the “double dip”, scoring right before halftime and then getting the second half kickoff and scoring as well, because the dreadful Houston Texans (sorry, Nick Caserio) were next on the schedule.

Even though Cleveland didn’t score an offensive touchdown, the maligned units of the team, defense and special teams, contributed three of them and Kevin Stefanski’s crew went to 5-7 with the victory.

This sets up a huge matchup in southern Ohio against the 8-4 Bengals this Sunday, a contest that could be a big turning point for the brown and orange.

Winning in Cincinnati would put the Browns at 6-7 with two games at home against the Ravens and Saints, and Baltimore could be without Lamar Jackson in that one, although they will have Justin Tucker.

Stefanski’s squad is in a tough spot because of the tie breaker situation in the AFC, where they lose most of the head-to-head comparisons. Here is a list of the non-division leaders sitting at 7-5 or below:

Jets 7-5 – beat the Browns in week two
Patriots 6-6 – beat the Browns in week six
Chargers 6-6 – beat the Browns in week five
Steelers 5-7 – Browns won the first matchup
Raiders 5-7 – no game between the two teams.

Could the Browns lose one more game and still make the post-season as a wild card? Sure, but a lot of things would have to bounce their way. And a loss next Sunday in the Queen City surely means Cleveland would have to run the table to have any chance at playing beyond January 8th at Pittsburgh.

To us, a victory against the Bengals would improve the post-season chances from slim to decent, and not just because the Browns would get closer to .500, but it would be their third consecutive win, signaling perhaps they have turned the corner.

There is no doubt Deshaun Watson was very rusty Sunday, completing just 12 of 22 passes for 131 yards, spiking a number of them into the ground. We would expect a better performance next week, but the Cleveland game plan still should go through, or should we say run through Nick Chubb.

The Browns ran for 174 yards against the Texans, the seventh time in 12 games they have gone over 170. The last three times they’ve done that have resulted in wins, including the 32-13 win on Halloween against Cincy. And the Bengals are just middle of the pack in terms of stopping the run.

Stefanski also needs his defense to continue to hold up their end of the bargain. The Browns allowed their fewest yards of the season in the first game against the Bengals, but they will have Ja’Marr Chase this weekend, and he’s one of the best in the league.

We don’t buy into Cleveland’s recent success against Joe Burrow and the Bengals. They are the defending AFC Champions and are coming off a big win against the Chiefs in a rematch of the AFC Championship game last season.

It will take the Browns playing at their best, which is what every team should be striving for, to get better each week.

We say a win next Sunday puts Cleveland seriously back in the playoff chase. They can’t slip up for sure, but it feels like their positions will be much stronger.

“Fire The Coach” Isn’t The Answer After Every Loss

It’s the reaction pretty much every time a good team loses: Fire the coach!

We have heard it each week the Browns lose. Kevin Stefanski needs to go. We heard it after Ohio State lost at home to Michigan, fire Ryan Day.

Confession here. We have coached at the high school and AAU levels, and although we understand it is not the same as coaching at the collegiate or professional levels, we understand that no matter what coaches map out, sometimes the players don’t do what they are supposed to do.

We also are not saying coaches should never get fired. When the players start tuning out what their leader is saying, it’s usually time to make a change.

To us, coaching is getting the most out of the players they have. We dislike the “system” coaches, the folks that say this is the way we coach, the scheme we use and the talent has to adapt.

That’s silly, and that thought comes from coaching at the high school level. You don’t get to pick your players at that level, so you can’t have a “system”, you coach the players you have.

Bad coaches become slaves to their systems. They are one trick ponies. And if that system doesn’t work and they fail using it time and again, and don’t alter anything? Then, they should lose their job and the reason should be stubborness.

The best coaches understand that. The great Don Shula won with a crushing ground attack and then drafted Dan Marino and decided a passing attack was the way to go.

However, it really is about understanding that coaches are people, and they make mistakes just like anyone else. They have bad days and sometimes they make bad decisions. If they make the same bad choices week after week or game after game, then their boss may have to do something.

One thing a coach should understand is the players know who can play and who cannot. And coaches need the trust of the players. They lose that trust if they use someone in a situation where they cannot succeed or if they lose a less talented player because of a personal issue.

Do the Browns trust and want to play for Kevin Stefanski? Right now, we see no evidence they aren’t, but if the defensive players have lost faith in Joe Woods, and he doesn’t do anything about that, he could have a problem in the locker room.

As for Day, first of all, his record at Ohio State is 45-5. He deserves the benefit of the doubt and the benefit of tweaking his philosophy. His “crime” right now is perhaps the Buckeyes have become a bit of a finesse team. If Day sees the same thing, and his team gets better on the line of scrimmage next year, then he will have fixed the issue, but that won’t be fully tested until they play their rivals.

Coaching isn’t just x’s and o’s. It’s being a leader, being accountable, being a listener, being a counselor, and also knowing something about the sport they are coaching.

Think about that the next time your favorite team loses. It may not be the coach’s fault and he should not have to pay for having a bad day with his or her job.

Consistency Is Needed On Cavs’ Bench

It seems like we feel the need to write something like this every year. In examining the performance of professional athletes, consistency is the key. Great players perform great on most nights, good players give their teams a solid effort on most nights.

Fans love the players who have the occasional great game, and that’s understandable. However, these athletes have reached the highest level of their sport, so they are certainly capable of having a great game now and then.

We remember taking our sons to an Indians game about 20 years ago when John McDonald went 4 for 4 at the plate, and being asked why we didn’t think the Tribe shortstop couldn’t hit.

The reason we bring this up again is because the Cleveland Cavaliers remind us of it many nights.

The Cavs bench seems to be made up of a lot of players for whom consistency is very elusive, and we are afraid that will become a problem as the season goes on.

We saw a comment on social media about Cedi Osman, saying if he were more consistent, he could be a starter. No kidding! Starters are usually starters because of their ability to perform the same on most nights.

Osman started the year on fire, averaging 15.5 points per night in the first four games, hitting 9 of 19 three-point shots, a pace that wasn’t sustainable based on past performance. He followed those four games with an 11 game stretch in which he scored 58 points (5.3 per game), making one third of his 30 attempts from beyond the arc.

He’s currently on a seven-game stretch averaging 11.6 points per game.

He’s no longer a young player, he’s 27-years-old and this is his sixth year in the league. It makes it difficult for J.B. Bickerstaff and his staff because they don’t know what they are going to get out of Osman when he takes the floor.

And Cedi Osman isn’t the only one with this problem.

Dean Wade got a chance to start three games when Darius Garland was hurt and poured in a career high 22 points against the Knicks, hitting 6 of 8 three-pointers. Since that game, Wade has played 10 games (he missed a half dozed with a knee injury) and scored 45 points (4.5 PPG), making 8 of 31 from distance.

Wade is a solid defender, so he contributes in other ways, but it would be great if there were not such wild swings in his game.

We get asked every so often why we like Lamar Stevens so much, and it’s because right now, you know what you can expect out of him.

He moved into the starting lineup on November 13th and started six games before missing the recent trip with an undisclosed illness. In those games, he scored at least 8 points and no more than 15 in five of the games.

Rebound totals were between three and six in five of the games. And he is a very good defensive player.

From a coaching standpoint, the consistent player is always the better option because the staff and the teammates usually get what they expect. That seems logical.

As for the Cavs, Bickerstaff knows what he’s going to get out of Kevin Love and probably Caris LeVert. Players like Wade and Osman have to rise to that level for the wine and gold to finish the season in the top four of the Eastern Conference.

Browns Win, Still Have A Pulse

The Cleveland Browns live for another week.

A loss on Sunday to Tampa Bay would have pretty much put the final nail into the coffin representing the 2022 NFL season, but because David Njoku made a tremendous catch to send the game into overtime and the defense kept Tom Brady off the scoreboard in overtime, the Browns won it in the last minute to go to 4-7.

Now, nothing is for certain because it’s the NFL and you know, “Any Given Sunday”, but with the woeful Texans coming up on the schedule Cleveland should be able to get to 5-7, and then it’s a matter of winning division games if Kevin Stefanski’s squad have any chance at a playoff spot.

Again, the odds are heavily stacked against them, but there still is a chance.

Cleveland was able to win because the Buccaneers decided not to run the ball, probably because they have Tom Brady. In the first half, they had success (most teams do) on the ground, not ended the game with only 96 yards, albeit on just 20 attempts. So, they averaged almost five yards per carry. It was a situation similar to the first 20 minutes of the Buffalo game until the Bills remembered the Browns can’t stop the ground game.

They were able to dial up pressure on Brady in the fourth quarter. Myles Garrett, who some feel (we do not) doesn’t get “important” sacks, came up with one and a half late in the game and also drew a penalty for an offensive lineman having his hands in Garrett’s face.

He came up big in this one for sure.

Oh, and by the way, he now has 68.5 sacks in 78 career games. Since we go by the ProFootballreference.com statistics, that puts him 4th on the team’s all-time list behind Bill Glass (94 games), Clay Matthews (232 games), and Jerry Sherk (147 games).

They won because Martin Emerson played a tremendous game, holding Mike Evans to just two catches for 31 yards.

Last week, Denzel Ward took Stefon Diggs out of the game against Buffalo. Could the defense be beginning to realize their best option is to play man-to-man on outside receivers?

And they won because Nick Chubb was, well, Nick Chubb, gaining 116 yards on 26 carries, including a big run on the game tying drive.

It pushed Chubb over 1000 yards for the four straight year. The last Cleveland runner to do that? Try the GOAT: Jim Brown. He’s now 4th on the Browns’ all-time list behind Brown, Leroy Kelly, and Mike Pruitt. It’s not a stretch to think he could be #2 by the end of next season if he stays healthy.

Cleveland has six games left and likely needs to win all six, or at least five, but then the tiebreakers become an issue, and the Browns don’t have a lot, if any, advantages there.

The three non-divisional games are at Houston (1-9-1), home vs. New Orleans (4-8) and at Washington (7-5). And remember, Deshaun Watson is back for next week. The Browns have the talent to win those games, but the question remains as to whether or not they can.

And of course, there are the three divisional games, with Cleveland already at 2-1 against the AFC North. We know from the past, all of those games will be a dogfight.

It has been a disappointing season to say the least, but now they have their franchise QB back, a guy they committed a boatload of money to, and a player we believe is a top five quarterback in the NFL.

Could the Browns run the table? Probably not, but they have a chance, something they wouldn’t have without Njoku’s catch, Chubb’s running, and a defense that stepped up.

Easing Concerns About Cavs, Mobley.

The Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t taking anyone by surprise this season. Last year, coming off a 22 win campaign in the 2020-21 season, they got off to a fast start because perhaps opponents did not take them seriously.

They got into the “play in” tournament with 44 victories but lost both games to Brooklyn and Atlanta, thus not making it to a best of seven series.

This year, other teams are very aware of J.B. Bickerstaff’s squad making a 12-7 record to start the year more impressive. They’ve beaten Boston twice in hard fought overtime games, and that is half of the Celtics’ loss total.

We also have to remember the Cavs have also already been on one of their west coast trips this season, going 2-3 on the five-game trek. And they’ve also played Milwaukee twice, losing both times, and therefore have played four games, a little over 20% of their schedule against the two teams who reached the NBA Finals out of the Eastern Conference the last two seasons, and are the favorites to get there again this season.

Of course, when the wine and gold do lose a game, the “football mentality” of the city comes alive and there is panic and dismay in the air.

Friday night, the Cavs had a terrible third quarter against the Bucks and there were questions from social media about the team and the coach. Keep in mind, Cleveland was without three key players in their nine-man rotation–Kevin Love, Caris LeVert, and Lamar Stevens, and then Jarrett Allen hurt his hip in the second quarter and played just three minutes after.

Right now, the Cavaliers’ roster isn’t deep enough to sustain that many players being out, particularly one of their big men, as after Allen and Evan Mobley, there isn’t much depth.

Speaking of Mobley, we have seen some criticism of his progress in his second season. We feel that is ludicrous.

His minutes are up slightly, his shooting percentage has increased to 54.1% from 50.8%, his free throw accuracy is better (up to just under 71%) and his rebounding is also up slightly from 8.3 to 8.5. His scoring has decreased by a half a point per contest, down to 14.5, and that is a product of getting one less shot per game.

Let’s face it, the Cavs have more offensive weapons than they had last season, so there are less opportunities for Mobley offensively right now. We think as the season goes on, Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell will get better finding the second-year pro where he prefers to get the ball, and his offensive numbers will go up.

That said, Mobley is still third on the team in shot attempts per game behind the two starters at guard.

He will also get stronger as he gets older, and that will help him on both ends of the floor. No reason for concern.

When Love and LeVert get back, the Cavaliers will have a better bench and adding two players who can contribute will greatly help production on both ends of the floor.

If anyone is worried about the Cavaliers, take a deep breath. They are handling things just fine.

A Brief Guide To Guardians Off-Season

Every baseball fan loves the off-season, at least the Hot Stove portion of it. It used to be the winter meetings would signal a bevy of trades and signings, but sadly, that has lessened over recent seasons because teams wait until the big free agents are signed before making deals.

When it comes to the Cleveland Guardians, a few things need to be remembered. First, the organization seems to have a new philosophy when it comes to hitting. They like guys who make contact, and preferably they want hitters who have decent strikeout to walk ratios.

Second, there is the payroll restriction. We know president Chris Antonetti has said the payroll will likely increase from 2022, but we would be stunned if the organization went out and signed someone like Aaron Judge. They made a long-term commitment to Jose Ramirez, so if a free agent would be inked, it will likely be no more than a three-year deal.

There are also some other organizational ideals that people need to remember when they look at possible moves. The Guardians value defense and handling the pitching staff at the catching position. If the guy can hit, that’s a bonus, but they better be able to block pitches and work well with the pitchers.

Since Yan Gomes was traded and Roberto Perez had his big year in 2019, offense has been absent at the position for Cleveland, and they don’t seem to care much. So, if they do go after a catcher via free agency or trade, it will be for someone who is solid defensively.

And yes, Oakland’s Sean Murphy, the guy wanted most by Guards’ fans, does check all of the boxes.

We’ve seen people talking about newly non-tendered Cody Bellinger, formerly of the Dodgers. Yes, Bellinger was the NL MVP in 2019, which coincidentally was his last good year in the big leagues. His batting averages since then? Try .239 in ’20, .165 in ’21, and .210 last year.

OPS? 789 in ’20, 542 in ’21, and 654 in 2022. And last season, he fanned 150 times with just 38 walks. He has a tremendously long swing, and again, it has been three years since he was a productive big leaguer.

Our guess is the Guardians have no interest in him. Plus, he’s a left-handed hitter and that doesn’t seem to be an area of need for Cleveland.

We think the Guards will be trading a starting pitcher this winter, but it will be curious to see if they will obtain an established starter from another team. According to our research, the last time Cleveland traded for or signed a starting pitcher who went straight into the rotation was when they traded for Derek Lowe in 2012, a year after they made a trade for Ubaldo Jimenez.

That’s a long time. Now, they have traded for other teams’ prospects and had them spend time in the minors or the bullpen before putting them in the rotation, but it’s been 10 years since they put someone from outside of the organization and made them a starter right away.

We think the Guards need to get a right-handed bat, and ideally that guy can play first base and the outfield. Again, we said ideally. The right-handed part is the bigger need, as really, the only power threat Cleveland has from that side of the plate is Oscar Gonzalez.

Our belief is Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff will do something in December besides signing a defensive catcher like Luke Maile.

By the way, thank you to all of you who read Cleveland Sports Perspective. We are grateful to our readers, not just of the blog but our followers on social media. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving Day!

Another Frustration Rant About The Browns

The nightmarish season for the Cleveland Browns just keeps getting worse and worse.

Sunday, it appeared the Buffalo Bills wanted to throw and throw and throw some more early on, until they remembered the Browns’ defense can’t stop the run, and they proceeded to go with the ground game, rushing for 171 yards in a 31-23 defeat of Cleveland.

It’s the fifth time in the last seven games the Browns defense has allowed 160 or more yards on the ground. By the way, the average NFL team runs for a little over 120 yards, so Joe Woods’ defense is simply getting gashed in the running game.

We are saying this for the umpteenth time. If you cannot stop the run in the NFL, you are not going to win. It’s really that simple.

It feels like the entire organization has decided to exercise the Deshaun Watson trade and suspension as a built-in excuse for this season. The talk all year feels like “if we can just be competitive until Deshaun comes back”, as if their record would be erased when Watson steps on the field in Houston on December 4th.

Other teams around the league have put together decent records despite quarterback play worse than Cleveland has received from Jacoby Brissett this season.

We have seen some bloggers suggest that it is really about the 2023 season, which is pretty cavalier of the ownership and front office since they’ve never been to a Super Bowl and haven’t won an NFL Championship since 1964.

So, nothing has changed from the days where the Browns were like the sign in the bar: “Free beer tomorrow”.

It struck me after the game about Buffalo QB Josh Allen’s comment about being the Buffalo Bills, and that’s why they had to toughen up. There is no identity here, and right now, it feels like just one excuse after another.

In typical Cleveland tradition, fans and media alike want Kevin Stefanski replaced as head coach and another house cleaning to ensue. As we have stated, we think this would be the wrong move, but we understand the sentiment.

It would be great if Stefanski took some sort of action. We can’t see how letting Joe Woods and/or Mike Priefer remain at their coordinator jobs is a good idea. You can’t fire people after one bad game, and we get there are people out there who think that way.

However, it would signal to everyone that mediocrity or being unwilling to change will not be tolerated. And as someone pointed out to us, changing defensive coordinators would at least show if the problem were the scheme or the talent.

We have suggested that he give up play calling and join Woods in setting up the defense. That would show he is using leadership and taking accountability for the losing.

Right now, Stefanski appears stubborn, unwilling to admit there is a problem. Players see this as well, and that’s where the coach loses credibility with them. And once that happens, you have a problem in the locker room.

Remember, there are still seven games remaining. If things continue to go over the next seven like they have over the previous seven (1-6), no one will blame the ownership if they reviewed everything going on in Berea.

And despite what some think, another housecleaning would not be a good thing for the Cleveland Browns.

Wine And Gold Bench Not Getting It Done

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a red-hot start to the season. After losing their opener to Toronto, they reeled off eight straight wins, several of them without All-Star guard Darius Garland, who was poked in the eye in the first game of the season.

Everything was clicking for J.B. Bickerstaff’s crew, Cedi Osman got off to a great start shooting the three ball, Dean Wade scored a career high 22 points in a comeback win over New York. And they beat Boston on the road in overtime with Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert both scoring 41 points.

But on the west coast trip, the Cavs were going for win #9 and led the Clippers in the fourth quarter, but lost, starting a five-game losing streak that ended Friday night in a double overtime win over Charlotte.

Sometimes it’s difficult to get a victory after a long losing streak, and hopefully now that the wine and gold got back in the win column, they can right the ship. But some holes did spring up during the losing skein.

Jarrett Allen missed a couple of games with an ankle problem, and that exposed a size problem. Allen and Evan Mobley are a big reason Cleveland succeeds defensively (they are still 4th in defensive efficiency), but they are the only rim protectors on the roster.

With Allen in there, Mobley can get out an defend on the perimeter where his length bothers smaller players, as it did at the end of the first overtime Friday night against Terry Rozier.

The only other experienced interior big man is Robin Lopez, signed in the off-season as a free agent. Lopez is a seven footer, but is slow, and not really a shot blocker. And quite frankly, we don’t think he can be out there for 25 minutes a game if something happened to Allen or Mobley and they couldn’t play for a stretch of games.

Since the winning streak ended, the bench hasn’t provided much, meaning Bickerstaff has a very top-heavy roster.

They have four all-star caliber players in Mitchell, Garland, Allen, and Mobley, and two solid veterans in Kevin Love, who could be out for a while with a hairline fracture of his thumb, and LeVert, meaning the depth folks thought the Cavaliers had is no longer there.

As noted earlier, Osman and Wade had great starts to the season, but the former hasn’t been good lately and Wade has been hurt but followed up the 22 point game with a scoreless one. No doubt, Bickerstaff needs both to step up and provide production each and every night.

After not getting much time early in the season, Lamar Stevens has taken advantage of the injuries and has started to get minutes again, getting at least 29 in last three contests, averaging 9.3 points in those games. He’s solid and deserves to keep getting minutes, probably at the expense of Isaac Okoro who is really struggling, especially on the offensive end.

Raul Neto got playing time while Garland was out, but since the Cavs went west, he’s been AWOL.

That leaves Bickerstaff with six solid players, guys he can depend on every night. That’s not enough, particularly for a time with playoff aspirations.

The first thing that needs to happen is someone, notably Osman and Wade, need to step up, but it doesn’t have to be one of those two, they are just the most likely candidates. It could be Okoro too, but he seems to have lost confidence in his offensive game right now.

Maybe it’s a slump for the bench crew, or perhaps we were all just fooled by the eight-game winning streak. But if this team wants to avoid the play in tournament, they need depth that Bickerstaff can rely on.

Time for some players to step up

Cavs Could Use Another Big

Cleveland Cavaliers’ president of basketball operations Koby Altman has done a remarkable job of building the roster from ashes after LeBron James departed as a free agent.

After three dismal seasons, the Cavs returned to league relevance last season, and even after a four-game losing streak, the wine and gold are off to a solid start this year.

He drafted Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley and smartly got involved with the James Harden trade to Brooklyn, picking up Jarrett Allen in that transaction.

During the summer, he swung perhaps the league’s biggest trade, getting Donovan Mitchell from Utah in a package that included Sexton, giving the Cavaliers perhaps the NBA’s best starting backcourt.

One thing we would like to see an improvement on is the back end of the roster. After a fast start, the Cavs’ bench hasn’t contributed the past few games, getting only consistent minutes from veteran Kevin Love.

We understand Ricky Rubio and Love will eventually be the backbone of the reserves, and Rubio is likely out until January recovering from knee surgery. He will be a big boost to the second unit if he plays like he did last season before he was injured.

And hopefully, between Cedi Osman (continues to be wildly inconsistent), Isaac Okoro (great defender, but offensively is a mystery), and Lamar Stevens (doesn’t get enough playing time), J.B. Bickerstaff can find someone who can contribute on a nightly basis.

The depth at guard seems to be fine. Rubio will be back soon, and Caris LeVert, who is starting at small forward, can play there as well. But right now, the depth in the front court could be a problem as the season moves on.

Altman signed Robin Lopez as a free agent and he has played limited minutes, getting into just eight games, playing 75 minutes. And he’s really the only reverse behind Allen and Mobley who is a true inside player. When Allen is out of the lineup, like he has been the last two nights, the Cavs are severely limited.

Love rebounds very well, but isn’t a great interior defender any more.

Mobley struggled guarding Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert and Karl Anthony-Towns last Sunday and having to use him as a rim protector takes away his ability to guard on the perimeter.

We would also say Lopez is an upgrade over Ed Davis, but remember, last year’s squad also had Lauri Markannen, who could slide over to the power forward spot whenever Allen or Mobley were on the bench or out of action.

So, what we are really trying to say is the Cavs are operating one big man short.

Just being curious, but perhaps Cleveland could have packaged the three second round picks they had in the last draft to get another big guy, either in a deal with another team or trading back up in the first round, maybe Walker Kessler, who was taken at #22?

They did take 7’1″ Khalifa Diop from Senegal at #39, and he is averaging 5.7 and 3.8 rebounds in the EuroCup League. They also chose Isaiah Mobley (brother of Evan) at #49. He’s played in one game for the Cavs this season and will get most of his minutes in the G League this year.

And they took Australian Luke Travers at #56, and he’s scoring 7.8 points a game in the land down under.

Little to show for those three picks.

We know, we know, there is still plenty of time to revamp the roster before the trade deadline in February. Until then, there is no question the wine and gold are short on some size.

Hopefully, Allen and Mobley stay healthy.

Browns Seem To Lack Accountability, Toughness.

Let’s say this right off the top. We don’t want Kevin Stefanski fired.

We get that’s the knee-jerk reaction from fans every time the Cleveland Browns lose a football game, particularly when it is a blowout loss, like Sunday’s 39-17 beatdown by the Miami Dolphins, but many times it just the easy way out.

If the Browns are indeed run primarily by Paul DePodesta, GM Andrew Berry, and Stefanski, and we are sure they meet all the time, they should be “self-auditing” as to how they lead this organization going forward.

This isn’t to say the defense isn’t the biggest problem on this football team. You simply cannot win at any level if you can’t stop the run and the Browns can’t do it.

However, Stefanski isn’t a Dan Campbell or Mike Vrabel type of coach or leader. He’s not out of the Hollywood prototype of what a head football coach should be. However, everyone needs to remember he did play at the college level.

Stefanski’s style might be fine if he had players who were vocal leaders, but it doesn’t seem he does. His best offensive player, Nick Chubb, leads by example. The player who talks the most is a guard, Joel Bitonio. On defense, Myles Garrett is accessible, but most talks in cliches.

Now, we don’t know what happens in the locker room (and by the way, neither do many of the folks commenting on the Browns in the media).

Some people have said the Browns have no identity, and we think it could be because they seem to be very reactive.

The Browns should be a running team, particularly with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback. But if the other team put eight or nine in the box, Cleveland throws it, and throws it some more.

We would love it if Stefanski called plays with the confidence of you know what, we are going to run it anyway. For Nick Chubb to get just 11 carries (as he did Sunday) in a game where he is healthy for all four quarters is unacceptable.

At times we think if Stefanski were coaching the Kansas City Chiefs, he would think to himself, the other team knows Patrick Mahomes is going to throw, so we have to run it a lot.

Andy Reid doesn’t think that way. No head coach should.

Same on defense. Our thought during the Dolphins game was if you know the opponent has great talent and you are just going to line up and rush four and play zone coverage, you are going to get beat. You need to do something that gets the Miami offense out of rhythm.

We can’t remember many plays, if there were any, where the Browns sent more than four rushers at Tua Tagovailoa. We also can’t recall Myles Garrett being moved around as to where he lined up. It doesn’t seem give the defense the best chance to succeed.

We wrote after the Bengals game that we learned the Browns were capable of playing that way defensively, so the expectations were increased. But maybe the defensive coordinator felt increased job security, so he reverted to what had been done in the past. It didn’t work then, and it didn’t work Sunday.

It seems like the organization lives in fear at times. Can’t admit mistakes on draft picks (they’ve cut just one in the Berry regime), can’t attack defensively because they might give up a big play, can’t stick with the strength of the team’s offense.

There can be a thing as being too smart for your own good. Maybe the Browns are stuck in that, and they need to remember this is football, a tough physical sport.

In the end, it’s another loss year for the fans, still waiting for a Super Bowl berth.