Tag: Buffalo Bills

Are Haslams Capable Of Continuity?

Sometimes, being a fan of the Cleveland Browns is to have no hope.

That stems straight from the top, owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam.

We believe that they honestly want to win.  We also believe there are great players who want to win, but the thing they have in common is neither knows how to accomplish that goal.

Since 2016, the Haslams put Sashi Brown in charge of the team, knowing his strategy was to strip down the team in regards to talent and do a total rebuild.  Accumulate a ton of draft choices, open up a ton of salary cap space, and slowly build the Browns back, sort of like an expansion team.

Sashi Brown told everyone there would be a lot of losing, and there was.  However, the coach, Hue Jackson, and the ownership, freaked out because of the lack of wins, and they fired Brown, and brought in proven NFL executive John Dorsey.

In less than a year, Dorsey got rid of Jackson, and brought in some talented players through the draft, and some questionable players too.  Cleveland went 7-8-1, and then Dorsey tried to accelerate the process, but tried with a rookie head coach in Freddie Kitchens.

Kitchens wasn’t equipped to handle a team that people thought should be a playoff team right away.  Could he and the GM had corrected this with a second season?  Maybe, but they won’t get that chance.

So, now they will begin again with a new cast of characters.  Apparently, Chief Strategy Office Paul DePodesta will be guiding the new coaching search, and that coach will be part of the search for the new general manager.

That would seem to make DePodesta and the coach to be in charge.  So, you have to wonder if the Browns start winning, if the coach grabs the ear of the ownership and gets DePodesta erased.

Could this work?  Of course, but based on the past, one has to wonder what happens if winning isn’t an instantaneous thing for the 2020 Cleveland Browns.  That’s because the Haslams haven’t had the stomach to see any plan through.

We were never part of the hero worship Dorsey received when he came aboard during the 2017 campaign.  He spouted things like getting “real football players” when there were clearly some of them (Myles Garrett, Joe Schobert, among others) on the roster.

It was a shot at Sashi Brown’s analytic approach, which DePodesta was part of.

However, Dorsey put talent ahead of everything in terms of player acquisition, and it came back to bite the team because the effort of several players in the last three games of the season were found to be wanting, and you had discipline issues with others.

Those things undermined the rookie head coach that Dorsey selected.

So, now it’s another restart for the Browns, but how long will this front office structure be in place, especially if Cleveland spends another season without a playoff appearance in 2020.

And that’s our biggest issue.  Some turnarounds are quick, like the Rams going from 4-12 to 11-5 to 13-3 and a Super Bowl appearance.

Others have some setbacks, like the Bills 6-10 season last year after a playoff berth in 2017.  They went 10-6 and back to the post-season this year.

The Browns 6-10 record could have been the same scenario as Buffalo last season, but John Dorsey won’t find that out.

The bigger question is knowing the past of this ownership group, who takes a job knowing they could be jettisoned after a single season.

Can the Haslams change?  If they can’t, any success the Browns may have in the future might just be pure luck.

MW

Browns Loss Sure To Be Overshadowed.

The Cleveland Browns were in trouble at halftime even though they were leading 3-0 over the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Why?  Because they pretty much dominated the half and yet had only a three-point lead.  Billy Cundiff missed a 37-yard field goal, his third miss inside 40 yards in the last three games.

The Bills had only one sustained drive, and that resulted in Jim Leonhard’s interception in the end zone.

Otherwise, the Browns controlled the game.  They had two drives of 15 plays and yet put only three points on the scoreboard.

Once the second half started, once again Cleveland made big plays yet couldn’t do anything.

Bills’ QB Kyle Orton’s second half of the half was intercepted by Joe Haden, giving the brown and orange the ball on the Buffalo 30 yard line.

But the offense could do nothing and a sack of Brian Hoyer resulted in the Browns having to punt, thus getting no points out of the turnover.

And that was really the story of the game.  Buffalo got 10 points off of the three Cleveland turnovers, while the Browns didn’t or couldn’t take advantage of the Bills’ two.

Yet, all anyone will be talking about is who will start at quarterback for the Browns next week at home against Indianapolis, because after Hoyer’s second pick, his fifth in the last two games without a touchdown, coach Mike Pettine decided to give first round draft pick Johnny Manziel a shot.

And the rookie took advantage on his first drive, moving the Browns down the field and getting into the end zone himself on a 10-yard run.

He looked poised and in charge, telling players to get in the correct position.  He didn’t look like he was unsure at all.

The next time Cleveland got the ball, he looked like a rookie, almost fumbling (the officials ruled his arm going forward) and throwing a 5-yard pass on 4th down and 6, thereby turning the ball over to Buffalo.

Still, we can understand Pettine’s decision.

Hoyer’s chief attribute this season was not making the big mistake and in the last two games he has committed five turnovers, putting undo pressure on the Cleveland defense.

If he’s not going to take care of the football, why not go with the guy with the better arm and more mobility.

That’s not to say that Manziel should be the starter next Sunday.  It could be that Pettine and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan was sending a message to Hoyer that carelessness cannot and will not be tolerated.

Or perhaps the coaching staff feels Manziel is ready to play after watching 11 games from the sidelines, and his time is now.

It’s a delicate decision because only Cincinnati won in the AFC North today, meaning the Browns are still tied for second at 7-5 with the Steelers and Ravens, and don’t forget, the Bengals come here in two weeks.

There is no doubt that whatever Pettine decides it will over analyzed and over discussed.

Hoyer needs to have a strong running game to play well, and the Bills put eight and nine men in the box regularly, determined to stop the run.

Isaiah Crowell had just 29 yards in 17 carries, and even though Terrance West had 32 in seven attempts, his fumble gave the Bills a 14-3 lead when it was returned for a touchdown.  Cleveland gained just 2.8 yards in 26 attempts.

On defense, Joe Haden made life miserable for rookie WR Sammy Watkins, who caught just three passes for 11 yards.  After a slow start to the season, Haden is showing again why he is an elite cornerback.

Now, the season is into the last quarter, and the Browns, despite today’s loss are right in the thick of the playoff race.  So, while fans may want to look toward the future with Manziel, Pettine still wants to win games.  He now faces the controversial decision of just who gives him the best chance to do that.

JD