A Week One Stinker For Watson And The Browns

It’s just one game.

That’s the best thing we can say about the Browns’ 33-17 loss to Dallas in their season opener on Sunday. There are 16 more games and hopefully, Kevin Stefanski’s squad played their worst one in week one.

Under Stefanski’s tenure, the Browns have always had a strong running game, led by Nick Chubb. Last season, when Chubb missed most of the season, Cleveland ranked 12th in the league in rushing.

Early in Sunday’s contest, the Browns couldn’t run the ball, and that led to Dallas being able to ignore the possibility of a ground game and they put all kinds of pressure on Deshaun Watson, who didn’t handle it well.

Yes, we know the Browns were missing both of their starting tackles. But Dallas was starting two rookies on their offensive line, and Dak Prescott was sacked three times (Watson was sacked six) and gained four yards per carry when running the football.

Cleveland had one first down in the first half. One! Watson seemed confused and hesitant at most times during the game. As we said earlier, he was sacked six times, but a few of those times he sacked himself because he didn’t get rid of the football.

The Browns didn’t get the ball to their primary playmakers either. Amari Cooper caught two passes for 16 yards. David Njoku did catch four passes and was involved in the longest offensive play for Cleveland, 29 yards, but he left with an ankle injury.

Heralded off-season acquisition Jerry Jeudy caught three passes for 25 yards and did score the Browns’ first touchdown.

The Cleveland offense gained just 230 yards, most of that in the second half when the game was already decided.

Let’s not forget the special teams, which gave up a 60-yard punt return to KaVontae Turpin which pretty much iced the game for Dallas, making the score 27-3 early in the second half.

The defense wasn’t dominant, but actually played the best of any of the units. They held Dallas to just 265 yards of total offense, but gave up two long scoring drives, both in the first half, allowing a TD drive of 70 yards and a second one of 74.

Otherwise, as we said before, the Cowboys scored on a punt return, and field goal drives of 17, 1, 19, and 20 yards. Cleveland wound up winning the time of possession, but again, stats were misleading. When your offense gets one first down in a half, your defense is on the field a lot.

They weren’t great, but they were far from being awful.

However, fair or not, it still comes down to quarterback play for the Browns. Remember, it’s been four years since Watson has been one of the better passers in the NFL, and he didn’t look any different than the way he’s played normally since coming the Cleveland.

He was 0 for 10 in throws of more than 15 yards on Sunday, making him essentially a dink and dunk passer. Those guys are a dime a dozen in the NFL. Watson is paid to make big plays.

There has to be improvement on offense, and it needs to begin next week in Jacksonville. And not just Watson, the running game has to be better, and the offensive line needs to be do the same. Perhaps either Jack Conklin or Jedrick Wills will be back.

We would also like to see D’Onta Foreman and Pierre Strong get some more carries from scrimmage.

It’s just one game. Hopefully, we will have the same thought about Sunday after next week’s game.

Three People To Watch For Browns Not Named Deshaun Watson

With the Cleveland Browns’ season starting today, it is clear that the player with the most pressure on him coming into the season is QB Deshaun Watson. The Browns paid a hefty price for the quarterback, giving up three first round draft picks and paying him a ton of guaranteed cash, and have received little return on their investment.

However, there are others under the microscope for us as the 2024 season kicks off today.

Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. Let’s face it, the Browns’ offense hasn’t exactly been broken over the last four seasons with Kevin Stefanski and Alex Van Pelt running it. Since Stefanski became head coach, Cleveland has ranked between 14th and 18th in yards gained, right in the middle of the pack.

Dorsey’s offense in Buffalo, where he was offensive coordinator in 2022 ranked 2nd in yardage, but he was let go during the season last year.

He did have Josh Allen, one of the better QBs in the NFL guiding his attack. He comes to town with a reputation for getting the most out of “dual threat” quarterbacks, having worked with Allen and Cam Newton during his time in Carolina.

His job here is to get the most out of Watson, get him back to the player he was in Houston. However, let’s not forget the Browns’ offense hummed under Joe Flacco late last season and Stefanski has gotten the best out of pretty much every quarterback he has worked with. Except one.

Offensive line coach Andy Dickerson. He’s replacing a legend in Bill Callahan, recognized as one of the best line coaches in the business. Callahan left to coach with his son Brian in Tennessee, and the Browns made the right decision in allowing that to happen.

If the offensive line has issues this year, no doubt Dickerson will be under scrutiny because he’s not Callahan. The interior of this unit is solid with guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller, and center Ethan Pocic.

Right now, the tackle spots are up in the air, but that’s due to injury and not the coaching. As we write this, we don’t know who will start at left tackle.

Much of the Browns’ success under Stefanski has been the ability to run the football, much of that due to Nick Chubb of course, but also Bill Callahan. Can Dickerson maintain that level of excellence, especially has injuries occur?

And that brings us to…

Running back Jerome Ford. The third-year back got his first extended action last season when Chubb went down and averaged a little less than four yards per carry. Chubb, of course, is one of the best in league history, averaging 5.3 yards per carry for his career.

However, remember D’Ernest Johnson? He got 100 carries in 2021 for Cleveland and averaged 5.3 yards per carry. Last year, Pierre Strong picked up 4.6 yards per attempt.

If the Browns are going to run the ball effectively, and yes, they will need to, Ford has to do better than four yards per attempt.

For us, he seems to hesitate when he approaches the line at times instead of putting his head down and getting two yards, he looks for the big gain and loses yardage.

Perhaps that comes with experience, and we will see that in ’24. But no doubt, the Browns need the running game, especially if they have leads going into the fourth quarter.

Football Angst Starts This Week For Browns’ Fans

The calendar turned to September on Sunday and despite the post-season race going on at Progressive Field downtown, football is in the air and a week from now, folks in the office or at home will be talking about what happened Sunday afternoon on the lakefront as the Browns take on the Dallas Cowboys.

Cleveland won plenty last season. They won 11 games. Myles Garrett was voted the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. Kevin Stefanski won the NFL’s Coach of the Year for a second time. Jim Schwartz was awarded the Assistant Coach of the Year, and heck, Joe Flacco took home Comeback Player of the Year honors.

Here’s what they didn’t win: A playoff game.

It was remarkable that Stefanski guided the Browns to an 11-6 mark despite having to start four different quarterbacks, actually five if you count going with Jeff Driskel in the season finale, which meant nothing in the standings.

Heck, the coach won games starting P.J. Walker, who beat the NFC Champion 49ers, and rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who defeated Pittsburgh.

The expectations for this year though, if everyone can stay relatively healthy, is to advance deep into the playoffs. GM Andrew Berry has certainly built a roster to do just that.

Cleveland is oozing with talent. Defensively besides Garrett, they have a tremendous secondary led by cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Martin Emerson Jr., and safeties Grant Delpit and Juan Thornhill, as well as Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who was excellent in the second half of last season.

They have weapons on offense, headed by WR Amari Cooper and TE David Njoku, who came into his own down the stretch last year, and the interior of the offensive line is very good, with perhaps the best set of guards in the league in Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller and center Ethan Pocic.

However, there are questions. The defense was dominant at home last season, but on the road gave up 29 points or more five times and the least points given up away from the lakefront was 22. They also gave up 45 points (really 31, there were two interceptions returned for TDs) in a road playoff game at Houston.

This has to improve, and no doubt Schwartz has been pounding this into the players’ heads during training camp.

Offensively, there is a new system with new coordinator Ken Dorsey, supposedly suited to dual threat quarterbacks like Deshaun Watson. So, if Watson doesn’t flourish this season, or misses time with an injury, we don’t know what Berry and Stefanski will do.

Under Stefanski, the Browns have always ran the ball, but of course, up until his knee injury last year, Stefanski always had Nick Chubb, the second best running back in the history of the franchise.

Chubb will miss at least the first four games of the season, and can Jerome Ford provide enough of a threat in the ground game.

Even in today’s NFL, we still believe you have to run the ball and stop the run to be a successful team.

Frankly, because we didn’t see Watson in exhibition play and because of the injuries at tackle during camp, we have no idea what the offense will look like come Sunday.

This much we know, it is time for Watson to show why the Browns paid him a lot of money and traded three first round picks to get him. For the Browns to get where they need to go, as we said, that’s a deep playoff run, Watson needs to get close to the player he was with Houston earlier in his career.

The opener is probably the toughest game for Cleveland in the first five weeks, so a fast start should be expected.

The Cleveland roster has a lot of guys over 30 years old and more approaching that milestone. No doubt the time to win is this season.

No Real Surprises On Browns Roster. Yet.

The Cleveland Browns got down to the 53 man roster needed to open the season, but as coach Kevin Stefanski said, it’s really but first 53, not the final 53.

That’s pretty obvious when you consider the Browns have just two running backs on the current roster and four quarterbacks.

There weren’t many surprises among the players cut on Tuesday. DT Siaki Ika was a third round pick a year ago, so that may raise an eyebrow, but it was pretty clear to most Browns’ observers that he was not going to make the team.

We were a bit surprised that RB D’Onta Foreman was let go given the state of the running game without Nick Chubb. He had three consecutive seasons of 400 or more rushing yards, and frankly we aren’t impressed with the running game right now.

It is easy to be spoiled by Chubb, but we aren’t impressed by Jerome Ford last season even though he gained 813 yards. He still seems hesitant hitting a hole. We know the NFL has become a passing league, but you still have to run the football if you want to be a good team, and we think the Browns are just that.

By all reports, Foreman will be re-signed after the team makes a decision on the quarterbacks, but even still, three running backs seems a little light.

The four quarterbacks are interesting to be sure, but it’s only because GM Andrew Berry values all four of them and didn’t want to let any of them go without getting something in return.

What is curious is that according to reports, both Jameis Winston and Tyler Huntley are the name bandied about on the trade rumors. We get it, quarterbacks have value in the league and if you can pick up a draft pick because your organization had the foresight to sign a veteran, that’s a good thing.

We are surprised Winston’s name is being discussed only based on what happened to Cleveland a year ago. If Deshaun Watson has to miss time this season, wouldn’t you want Winston to be the next guy up? He’s a veteran starter with 80 NFL starts under his belt.

Compare that to Huntley’s nine and Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s three. And that’s why it was later reported Cleveland has no interest in moving Winston. But they will not open with four QBs, so either Huntley (probably) or Thompson-Robinson will be traded. NOTE: Huntley was released this morning.

Otherwise, it’s a normal looking roster. An NFL team can never have enough linemen and defensive backs, and the Browns are no exception, carrying 10 on the offensive line, nine on the defensive side, and 11 defensive backs.

One surprise is not all of the draft picks made the roster, as 7th round DT Jowon Briggs was cut, but was added to the practice squad.

And of course, second rounder Michael Hall Jr. is on the Commissioner’s exempt list.

It would be a surprise if there aren’t plenty of roster movement before the Browns take the field on September 8th to take on Dallas. As Stefanski said, it’s not the final 53.

Should Watson Play Saturday? We Say Yes.

Earlier before the Browns’ training camp opened, we expressed the opinion that now that the team is good, our interest in training camp and pre-season football just isn’t there.

But Cleveland being Cleveland, there is always something to talk about with the NFL team here. And the current subject is should Deshaun Watson play in the final exhibition game Saturday night against Seattle?

The reason for the rebate is all of the injuries the team has suffered on the offensive line, mostly at the two tackle spots.

Going into camp, the starting tackles were projected to be Jedrick Wills on the left side and Jack Conklin on the right side. Both are coming off injuries that required surgery, and because of them, Dawand Jones started nine games in his rookie year, so Cleveland had some built-in depth at the position.

We are sure the Browns thought Wills would be ready by the last pre-season game, while they are hoping Conklin is ready for the season opener. Even if he isn’t, Jones can start at right tackle, and the offense shouldn’t miss a beat.

Back to Watson. As we all know, the quarterback has played just 12 regular season games over the last three seasons, so without a doubt, he needs to play. Frankly, we would have played him in the opener as well, at least for a series or two.

But football guys being football guys, there is the constant fear of injuries, so the question many in the media and fans alike ask is what if Watson gets hurt because the starting tackles aren’t playing.

Our response would be neither Wills or Conklin have taken a snap in the pre-season, and what if they aren’t ready for week one against Dallas? We all know they aren’t holding Watson out of that game.

We will count on Kevin Stefanski and Ken Dorsey to keep Watson out of harm’s way against the Seahawks, because for the greater good, Watson needs to take some live snaps before the Cowboys visit on September 8th.

We will again reiterate the key to this Browns’ season is the play of Deshaun Watson. If he plays close to the way he played in Houston, the team is a Super Bowl contender. That’s why they traded for him, to have that franchise quarterback. And in his third season in Cleveland, it’s time to see that player.

The old saying that “availability is an ability” certainly applies to Watson. Since, he’s been with the Browns, he missed 11 games in his first season due to suspension, and last year, he suffered the shoulder injury which required surgery.

And in his last season with Houston, where he missed the entire season due to legal issues, and Watson hasn’t played much football over the last three seasons.

He needs to play.

We don’t know what Stefanski will do Saturday night, but we would have Watson out there for the first quarter, and maybe into the second before going to Jameis Winston.

Offensive line issues or not, the quarterback needs to be on the field.

Browns’ Camp And Preseason Games? No Biggie

The Cleveland Browns open their exhibition season Saturday with a clash with the Green Bay Packers. And yes, we think it is incredibly terrible of the almighty NFL to charge full prices to watch a game in which many of the participants will not be NFL players.

But we look at this training camp and preseason schedule with a big yawn. Why is that? Because the Browns made the playoff a year ago and have done it twice in the last four seasons.

While that doesn’t seem to be dynastic, the Browns are a talented good football team, so unless someone suffers a severe injury (knock on wood), any news coming out of Berea is kind of background noise for us.

Again, Cleveland has talent on both sides of the football. On offense, the key is obviously QB Deshaun Watson, but he will play sparingly we would guess in the preseason, but they have a very good interior offensive line, a quality wide receiver in Amari Cooper (unless he is dealt) and a weapon at TE in David Njoku.

The only news that would matter to us would be the progress of Nick Chubb, coming off a severe knee injury apparently quicker than anyone would have anticipated six months ago.

The defense contains the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in Myles Garrett, along with a veteran defensive line, LB Jeremiah Osuwu-Koramoah, who was tremendous in the second half of last season, and an excellent secondary led by CB Denzel Ward and Martin Emerson Jr.

There is a new offensive coordinator in Ken Dorsey, but we know NFL teams aren’t going to show anything but basic stuff before the season begins, so no one should be evaluating play calling in August.

When the team you follow is good, you aren’t looking for draft picks who “flash”, especially if you haven’t had a first-round selection in three years. Yes, there are undrafted players who can make plays and put themselves on the final roster, but it is doubtful anyone is going to thrust themselves into a starting position for the Browns.

If you are a football diehard, yes you may be able to find some players who can make their bones special team players and as injuries happen for every NFL team, they could make a contribution as the regular season progresses.

And in today’s media world, Kevin Stefanski or any of his coordinators aren’t going to say anything of consequence during his daily press conferences. When we hear a radio station breaking in to broadcast Stefanski’s pressers, we laugh. They act like he is bringing down the tablets from Mt. Sinai, but he is going to say nothing.

We understand it is contractual, but it’s also funny.

So, unless the Browns swing the deal for 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk, we will relax until the regular season starts on September 8th at home against Dallas. That’s the first time anything real will happen for Stefanski’s squad.

That’s what having a good team means.

Browns’ Biggest Question? Still Watson

The Cleveland Browns start training camp this week, meaning an end to the local sports talk stations searching for content.

Because even though the Cavaliers made it to the second round of the playoffs this year, and the Guardians have one of the best records in baseball, football is the preferred subject for the radio sports talk folks.

The Browns went 11-6 a year ago, making the playoffs before they “picked a bad day to have a bad day” to quote coach Kevin Stefanski, losing to Houston in the wild card round.

However, Cleveland earned a lot of respect within the NFL last season. Myles Garrett was voted the league’s defensive player of the year. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was voted the NFL’s best assistant coach, and Stefanski himself was named Coach of the Year for the second time.

Many of the team’s star players are in their prime: Garrett, CB Denzel Ward, LB Jeremiah Osuwu-Koramoah, and TE David Njoku. The secondary is among the league’s best led by cornerbacks Ward and Martin Emerson along with S Grant Delpit.

And with Schwartz in his second year, the defense which allowed the least yards in the league last year should be able to provide some new wrinkles, particularly on the road where they had some struggles last season.

Nick Chubb, who suffered a severe knee injury last season, has attacked rehab like he attacks would be tacklers and amazingly looks like he could be ready for the season opener.

To be honest, we felt we wouldn’t see Chubb until mid-season.

But the key to the Browns’ Super Bowl hopes is still QB Deshaun Watson. Many in the local media continue to think with new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, Watson can get close to being the quarterback he was in Houston in 2020, when he led the NFL in passing yards, yards/attempt and yards per completion.

Notice we said that happened in 2020. This is 2024.

Watson is coming off shoulder surgery which cost him the last eight games of the regular season in ’23, but that’s the only injury which cost him playing time since his last productive season.

The national media have their doubts to whether or not we will ever see that Watson again. And if they are correct, can the Browns get to where they have never been? That being a Super Bowl.

The first thing for Watson is availability. He’s been with the Browns for two seasons and due to suspensions or injury, he has played 12. In both seasons, the offense looked better with another passer, the first year it was Jacoby Brissett, and last season Joe Flacco.

That’s what the national guys are seeing.

If you look at the teams who are getting to the conference championship game, most often than not, those teams are getting very good quarterback play. Watson doesn’t have to be the 2020 version, but he has to be close for Cleveland to get where they haven’t been since 1989.

And here’s another big question. What if the Browns get off to a slow start, say 1-3 or 2-5, and a big reason is Watson still hasn’t regained his Texans’ form?

Does the organization have the stomach to make a change? They brought in Jameis Winston for a reason, he’s a capable NFL signal caller. There are 230 million reasons they won’t make a change but remember what we said earlier.

This team is built to win NOW. What about the great players currently wearing the Browns’ uniform?

The organization and the fans need to see a Pro Bowl version of Deshaun Watson. The biggest question for the franchise is does that guy still exist?

With Watson, We Have To See It To Believe It.

Since we live in northeast Ohio and football is discussed all year round, the talk about Deshaun Watson is relentless. So, we guess we will dive into the conversation about the Browns’ quarterback too.

We will start by not understanding how anyone can have confidence that Watson will be one of the best signal callers in the NFL. We do agree that at one point in his career, Watson was a top five QB in the league, but we are getting farther and farther away from that occurance.

We understand passer rating is not the true measure of quarterback play, but with Houston, Watson had a 104.5 rating and in his dozen games with the Browns, that mark has dipped to 81.7.

Every metric has decreased significantly from his time with the Texans–

Houston Cleveland
Completion % 67.8 59.8
Yards/Attempt 8.3 6.5
Interception % 2.1 2.6

In 2020, Watson completed 70% of his passes. In his 12 games with the Browns, he has had one game, last year’s win over the Titans where he initially was injured, where he completed that high of a percentage (27 of 33, 81.8%).

Can Watson get back to close to the level he played at in Houston? The Browns are trying everything to help him. They hired a new offensive coordinator, Ken Dorsey, who has experience guiding a mobile passer.

Perhaps the bigger question is what happens is the Browns get off to a poor start, and quarterback play is a large factor? Cleveland has a huge financial commitment to Watson and has it for three more seasons.

Meanwhile, the rest of the roster is set up to win now. Myles Garrett is 28 years old and in his prime, winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year last season. Joel Bitonio is 32 and in his 9th season. Amari Cooper is 29, and David Njoku is now 27. Denzel Ward is 26.

They made the playoffs last season with Watson starting only six contests, and really only played in five. It would figure that if he played like he did in Houston, the Browns would be a Super Bowl contender.

The situation reminds us of the Odell Beckham situation. When the Browns traded for him in 2019, it had been two seasons since he was truly an elite receiver. Fans and media alike kept waiting for the guy who dazzled the NFL in his first three seasons, but that Beckham didn’t exist any more.

What if the same is true with Watson? Understanding the huge trade capital involved and the guaranteed money involved, if the quarterback cannot turn back the clock to 2020, what will Kevin Stefanski be allowed to do?

We understand everyone wants him to be that guy again, but because of circumstances, suspension, and injury, it has now been three seasons since anyone has seen it.

We would guess within the confines in Berea it has been discussed, because that’s what organizations due, and that’s why Jameis Winston was signed. The Browns need an alternative starting QB in case of injury or in case Watson’s play is just slightly above average.

Until we see the 2020 version of Deshaun Watson, we will remain skeptical. We would bet there are folks who think the same way within the offices in Berea.

Oh Yeah, The Browns Drafted Some Players

Lost in the excitement of the Cavaliers’ playoff run and the Guardians’ surprising start, the NFL Draft came and went a couple of weeks ago and the Cleveland Browns selected six players.

(We say this tongue-in-cheek because we know for many people in northeast Ohio, the Browns are the only professional team that exists. It certainly seems that way listening to local sports talk).

Anyway, this was the last season the Browns were still paying off their trade for Deshaun Watson, so they did not have a first-round pick, and of course, that selection is usually the one that gets the most attention.

And the Browns were a very good team in 2023, going 11-6 and making the playoffs. Really, they had no glaring holes, so for the most part, the players selected in the draft are adding to the depth of the roster.

They took a local guy, Streetsboro’s Michael Hall Jr. out of Ohio State with their second-round selection, and actually he could be someone who could get playing time seeing how defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz likes to rotate his lineman.

Before the draft took place, we were asked whatever happened to the University of Michigan offensive lineman who broke his leg against the Buckeyes. Well, Zak Zinter was Cleveland’s second selection in the third round. With Joel Bitonio now 33, the Browns need a guard that can be his replacement down the road.

Zinter may be that guy. He probably would have been taken earlier had it not been for the injury in his final college game.

The rest of the picks are probably special team type players. GM Andrew Berry fed his need to draft a wide receiver in Jamari Thrash out of Louisville. He’s a big play guy and Cleveland seems to always be looking for a “burner”.

Nathaniel Watson is purported to be a run stuffing linebacker and the buzz around him from the local media seems to be that of a special team ace.

Berry also loves to draft cornerbacks and in today’s NFL that’s not a bad theory. He got one on the second round in Myles Harden from South Dakota, and the reports on him are he should have gone earlier.

And their last pick, DT Jowon Briggs from Cincinnati, provides another defensive lineman for Schwartz and the coaching staff to develop.

We were a little surprised the Browns didn’t draft a running back, even after they signed D’Onta Foreman as a free agent from the Bears. Foreman gained over 900 yards two years ago with Carolina, and we feel Cleveland needs a consistent ground threat, because no one knows what Nick Chubb will be when he is ready to go.

Everyone keeps talking about how Cleveland is going to be pass happy with Watson this season, but at their core, the Browns and head coach Kevin Stefanski like to have a strong ground game. Frankly, we also think this is the team’s best path to winning.

That doesn’t mean we don’t believe that the Browns’ best chance to make a serious run at a conference championship is having Watson play like he did with the Texans.

The pressure is on the QB and still, giving up three first round picks and paying him a boatload of guaranteed money, it should be.

Free Agent Week For Browns? Meh.

Every year, Browns’ fans wait for the legal tampering period and beginning of the new league year to see if their football team will make a big splash in free agency. This year, those people were probably underwhelmed.

What GM Andrew Berry did this year was mostly under the heading of keeping the band together. The biggest move was keeping DE Za’Darius Smith, who was second to Myles Garrett in sacks last year for Cleveland at 5.5.

The Browns also kept DT Maurice Hurst and Shelby Harris, two key members of last year’s top ranked defense.

In terms of bringing in outside help, it was more like a plop in the bathtub than a big splash.

Before the period started, Berry traded two low draft picks to Denver for former first round pick Jerry Jeudy, who is more name than productive to date. He had a reputation in Denver for being a guy who was more proud of his draft status than having a willingness to work.

His high in yardage in his four years with the Broncos was 972 in 2022.

Look, it’s not a bad trade because giving up a 5th and 6th round pick for decent wide receiver isn’t a high price, but expectations that Jeudy will be a big threat for Deshaun Watson at this point are likely unfounded.

Jordan Elliott went to San Francisco in free agency, so the Browns signed Quinton Jefferson, who was with the Jets last season to fill that gap. As of right now, Jefferson is the likely starter with a career high six sacks last season. However, this is his fifth team in the last five years, so he would be considered a journeyman.

That doesn’t mean he isn’t productive, or can’t help.

Cleveland lost linebackers Sione Takitaki and Anthony Walker and replaced them with Jordan Hicks, who started 13 games for Minnesota last season (he’s 32-years-old) and former Steelers’ first round pick Devin Bush.

Probably the signing that received the most scrutiny though was bringing in QB Jameis Winston to back up Watson. Winston, a former Heisman Trophy winner and first overall draft pick, will replace the popular Joe Flacco as the top reserve.

Many people who cover the Browns have noted the team seemed to want to move on from Flacco because of his popularity with the fan base and quite frankly, the lack of that for Watson.

Winston isn’t a bad choice to be the backup though. He has started 80 games in his NFL career, and in 2019, threw for over 5000 yards and 33 touchdowns. Unfortunately, he also led the league with 30 interceptions, and has been prone to that in his pro career.

But in New Orleans, where he spent the last four seasons, he started 10 games and fired 20 TD passes against just 11 interceptions. Still, his INT rate didn’t drop drastically.

It is difficult to see where the Browns are a better football team than they were at the end of the 2023 season. Even though this time of the year gets a lot of press, there is still plenty of time before training camp starts at the end of July.

And don’t forget there is a little thing at the end of April called the NFL Draft, where moves can be made and of course, you can draft players out of college.

We also doubt Berry is done manipulating the salary cap either, so some “big splash” moves could still be made.

Also, remember, the Browns are already a good football team. They did win 11 games last season.

The most interesting move is hiring former Titans coach and Walsh Jesuit grad Mike Vrabel as a consultant. To us, you can never have enough smart football guys in an organization and Vrabel has shown to be one of the best coaches in the NFL.