Tag: austin pasztor

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.

JD

 

 

 

Browns Lose Again, But Continue to Show Improvement.

Most Browns’ fans probably resigned themselves to a blowout today, having to watch Cody Kessler in his first start as an NFL quarterback.

The news didn’t get any better later in the week with injuries to CB Joe Haden and K Patrick Murray, more on the latter later.

Instead, the Browns took the Miami Dolphins to overtime, losing 30-24 to drop to 0-3, but also showing the improvement we wanted to see week to week.

We haven’t changed our tune about judging Hue Jackson’s team based on the improvement of the team week to week, so we can’t be too upset about the defeat.

Also, two more weaknesses have shown themselves that must be addressed, so we will see if Jackson and his staff take care of them before next Sunday’s game at Washington.

Positives.  What more can you say about Terrelle Pryor?  He is showing he can be a force on offense.  He caught eight passes for 144 yards, ran for 21 more, and completed 3 of 5 passes for 35 yards.

And he wasn’t happy with the outcome of the game.  You have to wonder what was stopping the previous coaching staff was looking at with this guy.

You would have to assume the Dolphins came into the game hoping Kessler would have to beat them, but the Browns ran the ball very well again, getting 169 yards on the ground, an average of 5.3 yards per carry.  Isaiah Crowell had 79 yards and Duke Johnson pitched in with 69 more.

One of the rookie wide receivers emerged, but it was not Rashard Higgins, rather it was Ricardo Louis, who caught three throws for 40 yards.

And Kessler acquitted himself well too.  He completed 21 of 33 for 244 yards, and appeared more comfortable as the game went on.  He earned another start in our opinion.

Defensively, did anyone think Briean Boddy-Calhoun would contribute this season?  The rookie out of Minnesota had a pick six to give Cleveland a 10-7 lead in the first half.

Jamar Taylor, a former Dolphin, also picked off Ryan Tannehill.

And Corey Lemonier, picked up on waivers from San Francisco after the last preseason game, almost won the contest for the Browns with a strip sack/fumble recovery with under a minute to go.

Christian Kirksey had nine tackles and Danny Shelton played well again too.

Miami had only 115 rushing yards on the day, a major improvement from what teams did to the Browns in 2016.

Negatives.  The special teams continue not to be special, and eventually, doesn’t Chris Tabor have to answer for that.  Corey Parkey missed three field goals, including a 46 yarder that could have won the game.

You miss three in one game?  You will find your name on the waiver wire.  Expect a new kicker next week.

And Britton Colquitt’s punt in overtime was right down the middle allowing a decent return.  The ball had to be kicked away from Jarvis Landry.

Austin Pasztor should have shown the coaching staff that he is not a tackle.  If he wasn’t being flagged for a false start, he was getting caught holding.  Hard to think Spencer Drango or Shon Coleman can’t do a better job.

Kessler still needs to work on getting rid of the football.  He turned it over in on the first possession because he held on to the pigskin too long, and did it a few more times as the game went on.

The last problem was choosing to kick off at the start of overtime.  The defense did hold, but it resulted in poor field position after Miami punted.

Taking the ball would have given Cleveland the ball probably at their own 25.

Next time, take the ball coach.

Hopefully, Haden and Carl Nassib will be back in action next week against Washington.  That would help the defense.

And the Browns need to keep running the football, that will help Kessler feel more comfortable.

Again, we saw this team getting better, and that’s what Jackson should be proud of.  This team has some football players who may be able to contribute weekly.  That’s also something positive.

JD