More Defensive Gaffes For The Browns Lead To A Loss

Being a Browns fan is filled with frustration on most Sundays it seems, and the 23-20 loss to Atlanta a couple of days ago was no exception.

We know Cleveland did not have either of their starting defensive ends, Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney, but to us, they still had the better roster going into the game and we felt they should have won regardless.

We get many people like to point fingers at Kevin Stefanski, blaming the head coach for losses is a cottage industry for northeast Ohio football fans, and we think getting only three points on two trips inside the five yard line isn’t acceptable. However, we felt going in the offense probably needed to score 30 points, and perhaps the head coach did as well.

And really, this is the first game you can point at the offense being a problem, particularly in the second half. Also, if they would have salvaged seven points out of the two goal line situations instead of three, the offense would have put up at least 23 points in each of the four games.

Going into the season without Deshaun Watson, the “formula” for winning was run the football and play defense. To date, the first thing has worked, the Browns rank second in the NFL in rushing after four games.

The defense continues to let the team down.

Against the Falcons, the problem was the rush defense, which up to this game was actually pretty good, although some issues started to creep up in the first half against the Steelers.

Atlanta gained over 200 yards on the ground, going the length of the field on one drive without completing a single pass. Usually, the Browns are doing that to opponents (they did have 177 yards on the ground themselves), but they were on the receiving end of it this time.

And it wasn’t as though the defense overreacted to Marcus Mariota lighting up the Cleveland secondary either. He was terrible, completing just 7 of 19 throws for 139 yards and an interception.

We don’t know what the record of teams giving up 200 yards rushing in the NFL is, but it is safe to assume that team rarely win when that occurs. It happened to the Browns most recently twice in 2020 against the Raiders and Ravens, and Stefanski’s crew lost both games.

We should also add in addition to having a porous defense against the rush, the defense also supplied another blown coverage in the secondary, which based on Mariota’s numbers in the second half, was likely the only way he could complete a pass.

We know GM Andrew Berry didn’t draft Denzel Ward, but he gave Ward a huge contract and he did draft Greg Newsome and Martin Emerson. We doubt we made those moves thinking they would be very effective in a zone scheme.

But that’s what they seem to be playing a good deal of the time.

By the way, we are curious as to what John Johnson III’s comment of “it wasn’t us” was all about. There still seems to be a lot of finger pointing on the defensive side of the ball.

Remember, this was the supposed “easy part” of the Browns’ schedule and they went 2-2. Things have to improve soon especially defensively if getting Watson back doesn’t become a moot point in terms of making the playoffs.

Luckily, no one has taken control in the AFC North.

Browns’ Physical Play Is The Way To Go

When Deshaun Watson was officially suspended for 11 games, the Cleveland Browns and coach Kevin Stefanski needed to find a formula to win enough football games while Watson was out.

That formula figured to be run the heck out of the ball and play defense. Cleveland has two of the best running backs in the sport and an offensive line that at least in the interior is also one of the premier units in the league. So, offensively, the plan makes sense.

While neither Carolina and the Jets will make anyone think of great defenses, last Thursday’s win over the Steelers showed the Browns have the ability to push around a physical defensive unit. We know Pittsburgh was missed T.J. Watt, but Kevin Stefanski’s group still managed 171 yards on the ground, led of course by Chubb, who ran for 113 on 23 carries.

If Cleveland can continue to get the kind of quarterback play they have the past two weeks from Jacoby Brissett, we will all feel better about how things will play out until Watson comes back.

After a subpar performance in the season opener, Brissett has been very good. On Thursday night, he completed 21 of 31 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns, following up on a solid effort against the Jets.

Cleveland has scored 26, 30, and 29 points in the first three contests this season, so the offense has been humming. And give Stefanski his props for the way he has called games, keeping the opposing defense off balance.

Helping Brissett immensely has been WR Amari Cooper. It is safe to say Cooper has been what we all wanted Odell Beckham Jr. to be? The veteran had his second consecutive 100 yard game receiving and he and TE David Njoku gave the Pittsburgh defense fits.

We remember watching Cooper last season in a game started by Cooper Rush for the Cowboys, and he took control of the game on the winning drive in the fourth quarter. We thought it would be nice if the Browns had a receiver like that. And now they do.

The defense was improved, but in the first half seemed to have a problem against the run. In fact, Cleveland did give up a season high 104 yards on the ground, but they made adjustments at halftime and Pittsburgh was not as effective in the second half.

And the secondary did not give up any of the “chunk” plays they gave up in the first two weeks of the season.

However, with Jadeveon Clowney out and Myles Garrett less than 100% due to a neck problem, the pass rush was pretty much absent. The Browns had just one sack (by LB Jacob Phillips), and that was with Garrett being doubled and triple teamed.

We still don’t understand why the Browns don’t play more man-to-man defense particularly with their corners and go after the passer more often. You have to think opposing offensive linemen are tied up with Garrett and there should be some blitzing lanes.

After blowing the game against the Jets, Stefanski and his team needed a win. They got it. If the defense can get back to playing at the level they were late last season, they may win more often than initially thought with Watson sidelined.

Why Do The Browns Get Most Of Our Sports Love?

We have said many times that our favorite sports are baseball and basketball, making us a minority in a city that presents itself as a football city.

That doesn’t mean we don’t follow and root for the Browns, we certainly do, and find it crazy that there are people in town who are die-hard followers of the brown and orange, but pay no attention to the Guardians or Cavaliers.

We are lucky to live in a city with three major league professional franchises and we don’t take that for granted.

Our question though is why do the Browns get so much love and loyalty in northeast Ohio, and do they deserve it?

For older fans like us, it could be because the Browns were the only winning team in our youth, that being the late 60’s. The Cleveland Browns were one of the premier franchises in the NFL from the time they entered in 1950 until basically 1970.

At that time, there were no Cavaliers (started in 1970-71) and the Indians were just starting a malaise that lasted from 1960 through 1993.

After pretty much a dormant period in the 70’s and early 80’s (excluding the Kardiac Kids season of 1980), the Browns reemerged as Super Bowl contenders in the late 80’s, led by Bernie Kosar, Hanford Dixon, Frank Minnifield, etc., coming up just short in some of the most excruciating ending to seasons you could imagine.

However, if you were growing up in the 90’s, the Guardians and Cavaliers have been far more successful than the Browns have since returning to the league in 1999.

And maybe that’s it. Perhaps the loss of the team for a few seasons has created a fear that if people aren’t zealous in their support of the Browns, they will move again.

Or maybe we are just grasping at straws.

Since 1995, the Indians/Guardians have made 12 post-season appearances (likely to become 13 with this season) and have played in the World Series three times, losing twice in heartbreaking circumstances.

That shouldn’t be held against them, see our earlier comments about the Browns of the late 1980’s.

The Cavaliers have played for the championship of their sport five times in this span, and cashed in 2016, the only professional title in a major sport the city has seen in the last 58 years.

The Browns? They made the playoffs twice since 1999.

That’s why we don’t understand the undying loyalty of sports fans in this area.

What about ownership? We understand baseball fans here don’t like the Dolan family because they rarely go “all in”, but it’s not like the Haslams or Gilberts are on the same par as Bill Veeck.

Haslam has had business issues and is very impulsive. How many regime changes have the Browns gone through since he bought the franchise? Gilbert inherited LeBron James, but he did everything he could to bring a championship to the city.

We understand the midwest is by and large a football haven. The NFL has it’s roots right in Canton, which is why the Hall of Fame is there. High school football is a big deal in Ohio, so the leaning toward the pro football team is understandable.

Again, we aren’t saying to not root for the Cleveland Browns. We would love nothing more than a Super Bowl berth for them. But, they certainly don’t give fans here a great deal to be proud of, instead they have given us a tremendous amount of anguish.

We guess the heart wants what the heart wants, even if it doesn’t make a great deal of sense.

Another Breakdown, This Time Results In A Loss

Cleveland Browns’ fans should be celebrating the first 2-0 start to a season since 1993 this morning, but instead, they are incensed the team blew a 13 point lead with under two minutes to go at home against one of the three AFC teams no one is projecting as a playoff contender, the New York Jets.

Last week, in discussing the Browns win over Carolina, we said the breakdowns in the secondary have to be fixed, as it just didn’t happen in week one, it occurred many times in the 2021 season as well.

Wouldn’t you know, it happened again.

The long pass to cut the lead to 30-24 was bad enough. The defense simply cannot let the opponent score that quickly. And it appeared Denzel Ward thought he was supposed to get help deep, and he didn’t, so someone was on the wrong page.

However, it also happened at the end of the first half, when no one thought to pick up Breece Hall coming out of the backfield and allowing the Jets to tie the game going into the half.

Again, if this was a one time thing, it can be excused. It’s not. It happens over and over and over again, and if we were Kevin Stefanski, Joe Woods would have to come up with a good reason that it happens along with a course of action to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

It’s not like there is no talent in the secondary, it is loaded with high draft picks, so that would seem to us that GM Andrew Berry is also not happy with Woods.

Ward and Greg Newsome are first round picks, Grant Delpit is a second rounder, and Martin Emerson is a third rounder. John Johnson III is a high priced free agent. That’s a lot of draft capital and financial commitment involved to accept play like this.

Look, the reality is the Browns have dominated each of their first two games and should have won both by 10 or more points, but they are a Cade York 58-yard field goal miss away from being 0-2 despite that.

The offense has operated just as everyone expected coming into the year without Deshaun Watson. And they’ve scored 56 points in the two games. There is nothing to complain about there.

After a rough start against Carolina, Jacoby Brissett was very good last Sunday, completing 22 of 27 passes for 229 yards. Amari Cooper caught nine balls for 101 yards and Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt combined for 187 total yards.

We know David Njoku dropped a pass, but overall, we can’t think of anyone on offense who had a poor game. Everything operated according to plan.

However, all of that was erased because the defensive secondary can’t get its act together.

Maybe Stefanski has to give up the play calling responsibilities to make sure he’s more involved with the defense. But something needs to change going forward, starting Thursday night against Pittsburgh.

The breakdowns simply have to stop. At a certain point, Stefanski needs to tell Woods he doesn’t want excuses, just results. After all, this is professional football. There are no moral victories.

Hey, It Counts, Right? Browns Are 1-0

A win is a win is a win. That’s what Browns’ fans should be saying today after Sunday’s 26-24 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

We believe Jim Donovan, the radio play-by-play man for the Browns said it best. It’s a good win, because it would have been a terrible loss had rookie Cade York not made a 58-yard field goal to win it and give Cleveland their first 1-0 start to a season since 2004.

It is difficult to win in the NFL, so no one should take anything for granted, but the despite Deshaun Watson’s suspension, the Browns have a better football team than Carolina, and should get a win against them.

However, going forward they will need much better play from QB Jacoby Brissett, who was pedestrian to be kind in the opener, completing 18 of 34 passes for just 147 yards and a touchdown. That’s 4.32 yards per attempt, the lowest of any starting quarterback in the league in week one.

We think he will be better this week, but it will be tough to beat any good team in the NFL with this kind of passing attack. Just something to watch.

Donovan’s comment comes from the Browns simply dominating most of the game. They controlled the ball for 38 minutes.

But two missed coverages (we presume) by the secondary put Carolina right back in the game. Down 14-0 in the second quarter, Panthers’ QB Baker Mayfield found Ian Thomas wide open for a 50-yard gain, and Carolina converted into a TD.

Then, after York’s third field goal made it 23-14 Cleveland, the defensive backfield had another mix up resulting in a 75-yard bomb to Robbie Anderson, and suddenly it was a ballgame.

These types of mistakes seems to happen too often for the Browns. Remember, the Chargers game from a year ago, when it occurred twice. both times with Cleveland leading. And most times, you have players looking at each other as if to say “I thought you were supposed to take him”.

That has to be cleaned up for sure.

The run defense, which was a concern of ours, was fine, but then again, the Panthers didn’t really try to run the ball, attempting just 19 times for 54 yards. Their best play besides the two long passes was a recovered fumble off a bad snap that Christian McCaffrey ran for 30 yards.

That actually breathed some life into the Panthers.

Other thoughts-–

Myles Garrett had two sacks, bringing his career total to 60.5 tying him for fifth on the team’s all time list with Paul Wiggin. Next up for Garrett is Walter Johnson at 66.

Is there a more underrated great player in the NFL currently than Nick Chubb? He gained 141 yards on 22 carries and seemed to do it without notice. He’s averaging 5.3 yards per attempt for HIS CAREER.

We know GM Andrew Berry tried to address the return game by signing free agent Jakeem Grant, but they need to find a punt returner and quick. Demetric Felton seemed to have problems with the first three punts to him and actually fumbled the third, but luckily the Browns recovered.

Good to see coach Kevin Stefanski use Chubb and Kareem Hunt at the same time. Along with Amari Cooper, they are the team’s biggest offensive weapons.

And kudos to Donovan Peoples-Jones who had an excellent game with six catches, most of which were in traffic.

For Browns, Time To Win Is Now, Even Without Watson

This Sunday, the Cleveland Browns kickoff the 2022 NFL season with a game against their old quarterback, Baker Mayfield, who is now leading the Carolina Panthers.

With suspended QB Deshaun Watson sidelined for the first 11 games of the regular season, expectations by many media people, both local and national, aren’t very high and most of the experts have Cleveland missing the playoffs.

We are not one of those people.

The Browns have talent at many positions. They have probably the best tandem or running backs in the league in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. They have two of the best guards in the NFL, and a top wide receiver in Amari Cooper.

That’s just the offense.

The defense features perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate Myles Garrett, former first overall pick Jadeveon Clowney, and Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward.

The entire defensive backfield should be very good and along with the pass rusher should deter an aerial assault from opponents.

We would like to see the defense improve against the run. Cleveland ranked 12th against the run last season, and the old adage is even in today’s pass-happy NFL, you can’t win if you don’t stop the run.

Kevin Stefanski was Coach of the Year in 2020, but his team fell to 8-9 a year ago, and frankly, we think he needs to answer some questions this season. By the way, they doesn’t mean we want him fired, but we would like to see him grow as a head coach.

We believe Stefanski lost confidence in the offensive line after injuries hampered Jedrick Wills and took Jack Conklin out for the year, and that’s why he became reactive in his play calling. What we mean is a philosophy of “the defense is taking away the run, so we have to pass”.

And we think we ask this every year, but why can’t there be a package where Chubb and Hunt are on the field together? If you ranked the offensive skill players by ability, wouldn’t those two rank in the top three?

However, we feel the time to win for the Cleveland Browns is now, and frankly we don’t care if Watson is missing the first 11 games this year. The organization put themselves in this position, so if Cleveland winds up 7-10 this season, the blame should be put at their feet.

As for the coaching staff, come up with a scheme that moves the ball, puts points up on the scoreboard and keeps the other team off of it. That’s why they are coaching in the NFL.

The challenge for the coaches is to minimize Jacoby Brissett’s weaknesses, so the Browns can remain in contention when Watson returns to the lineup. Put players like Garrett, Ward, Chubb, Hunt, Cooper and TE David Njoku in situations where they can make an impact.

We don’t want to hear that missing the playoffs is okay because of the Watson suspension, the organization can’t be alright with writing off another season.

Winning is necessary. The Browns have the better team in our opinion this Sunday and should win the game. We won’t excuse them if they do.

The Browns aren’t an average team hoping their quarterback can lift them to playoff contention, they are a very good team that needs the QB to go along for the ride.

Should Browns Get Better At QB?

So, finally we know. The Cleveland Browns know QB Deshaun Watson will miss the first 11 games of the 2022 season, returning ironically, against his former team, the Houston Texans on December 4th.

The question becomes how many of those 11 games will Jacoby Brissett be behind center for Cleveland?

Brissett was signed to be a back up quarterback, when the Browns’ front office thought Watson’s suspension would be no longer than six games. They figured the former Patriot and Colt signal caller could handle that amount of games.

Now, they will need him to play at the highest level of his career for five additional games.

We have written before that the Browns’ roster is ready to win right now. They have one of the top running backs in the NFL in Nick Chubb, one of the sports’ best pass rushers in Myles Garrett and perhaps the best pair of interior linemen in the league in guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller.

And we haven’t even mentioned stars like Denzel Ward, Jadeveon Clowney, Amari Cooper, and Kareem Hunt.

The organization cannot wait while Brissett leads the Browns to say, a 4-7 start to the season.

And maybe he won’t, but we would minimize the risk in that happening by looking for another QB to be the starter in the majority of those contests.

Last season, the front office and the fan base was upset with a passer who had a 60.5% completion percentage and had 17 touchdown passes, 13 interceptions and a 7.2 yards per attempt.

Brissett’s career completion percentage is 60.2, although he did hit on 62.7% of his throws a year ago, when he started five games for Miami. He hit a higher percentage, but only had 5.7 yards per attempt, and he threw five TD passes vs. four to the opponents.

If Browns’ supporters didn’t like how Baker Mayfield played a year ago, they will likely be getting the same type of performance from Brissett. Think about that for a moment.

That’s why we said as early as three months ago we would go after Jimmy Garoppolo. We know he is coming off a shoulder injury. We know his current team wants to dump his salary. We know he’s had a long issue with staying healthy.

We also know last season, the nine year veteran completed 68.3% of his passes, and his career mark is 67.7%. His yards per attempt was 8.6 better than both Mayfield and Brissett and he threw 20 TD passes against 12 picks.

And he took the Niners to a Super Bowl in 2019 and to the NFC Championship Game in 2021.

Could he start week one if the Browns dealt for him today? Probably not, but could he take over in week three? Probably.

Does it have to be Garoppolo? No, but we think it would behoove GM Andrew Berry to find someone better than Brissett, who is a fine back up.

However, right now, Brissett is not the reserve QB, he’s the starter, and barring injury, he will be for the first three months of the 2022 season. And we say there is too much at stake for this franchise to not try to get better at the most important position in pro sports.

Berry is always saying he is always looking for opportunities to improve the Browns. Let’s hope he is doing that at quarterback right now.

Let’s Talk Some Baseball And Hoops. Please?

We have said throughout the years we were an anomaly in northeast Ohio. This is football country, but our favorite sports are baseball and basketball.

Make no mistake, we are fans of the Browns and watch each and every game, but our passion rests more with baseball and hoops. We’ve had season tickets to both the Indians and Cavaliers over the years, but never the Browns.

The reason is mostly because we feel football is better watched on television rather than in person, and sitting out on a cold day in November and December has a lot to do with that, we aren’t going to lie.

The reason we bring this up again right now (we’ve done it before) is the play of the Guardians and the amount of discussion in the area about them. They’ve been very surprising to be sure, contending for the division title and post-season berth despite most folks predicting (including us) around a .500 finish for Terry Francona’s squad.

Listening to sports talk radio around town, the Guardians are largely ignored. In fact, everything besides the Browns is largely ignored, something the football team generated when they made both sports talk radio stations the “Home Of The Browns”.

Very smart on their part for sure.

At one time, Cleveland was one of the largest cities in America. Now it’s one of the smaller cities to have three major league sports franchises. This area ranks 34th in terms of metropolitan areas by population.

The areas in the same class (30-40th) that have professional sports are as follows (using the big four sports (baseball, football, basketball, hockey as the model. Sorry, soccer enthusiasts):

30. Cincinnati (Reds, Bengals)
31. Kansas City (Chiefs, Royals)
32. Columbus (Blue Jackets)
33. Indianapolis (Colts, Pacers)
34. Cleveland (Browns, Guardians, Cavaliers)
35. Nashville (Titans, Predators)
36. San Jose (Sharks)
37. Virginia Beach/Norfolk
38. Providence
39. Jacksonville (Jaguars)
40. Milwaukee/Green Bay (Bucks, Brewers, Packers)

We are taking liberties with the last one because Milwaukee and Green Bay are about as far apart as Cleveland and Columbus.

The point is we should be privileged to have three pro sports teams, and all three should be hold interest for sports fans in the area. However, at times we get the feeling Browns’ fans could care less if either the Guards or Cavs or both moved elsewhere.

We understand that some of the issues the baseball team has are self-inflicted. They don’t do a good job of marketing and the game day experience at Progressive Field isn’t high on the fun meter.

And while the whole “Mustard losing in the hot dog race” is meant to be fun, it would be nice if the Guardians’ staff put that much energy in hyping up their first place baseball team.

Back to sports talk radio, they should offer more balance. The Cavs and Guardians aren’t in season much at the same time, but there are things to talk about in the off-season for both, especially right after the season ends.

And it would seem to us, talking some baseball and hoops might just be more entertaining than discussing the punter situation or fourth wide receiver for the Browns.

It’s a three sports town and we should be thankful and appreciative. At times, we treat two of the teams like a necessary evil.

Would Love The Watson Situation To Be Over, But…

By now, if you are a Browns’ fan, you have to be pretty sick and tired of talking about Deshaun Watson. It’s the story that keeps gaining legs and quite frankly, we just want a decision once and for all, and it doesn’t look like that’s coming any time soon.

It a mess and there is plenty of blame to go around, starting with the player himself, who is a serial massage aficionado. It’s disturbing behavior to say the least and we certainly identify with supporters of the brown and orange who feel dirty having him on the roster.

The Browns’ front office and ownership could have searched elsewhere for a quarterback better than Baker Mayfield, and apparently did try to trade for Russell Wilson first, but the former Seattle signal caller didn’t want to play in Cleveland.

We are sure the front office felt it would be a long time before a very good QB in the prime of his career would come available again, so they made the deal to get Watson, who we feel is one of the game’s best at his position.

The NFL are no saints either. The allegations against Watson are over a year old. Why is it taking so long to dole out his penalty? Heck, he even sat out all of last year because of this situation.

We understand they wanted to get all the facts and that’s a good thing, but it should have been decided by now. And why does the league supposedly have such a problem with Watson playing in Houston this season?

It will be awkward for sure, but the Texans did get a boatload of draft picks, including three first rounders for him. It wasn’t like he used a loophole to leave the franchise for nothing.

The NFLPA has culpability as well. They agreed to let an independent person (in this case Judge Sue L. Robinson) handle the punishment, but they didn’t see the league had the ability to challenge that decision?

You don’t have to belong to Mensa to understand Roger Goodell was just going to overrule any punishment he thought was unfair and do whatever he wanted. Obviously, the NFLPA didn’t think that one through.

And if the league adds significant games to the six prescribed by the judge, no doubt the Players’ Association will take the league to court. Again.

Can anyone find a professional sports league involved with more litigation than the NFL? The NBA plays on a court, and they think the NFL is in court too often.

In the meantime, Kevin Stefanski has a job to do, and his bosses didn’t make it any easier. Nothing against Jacoby Brissett, who is a fine back up, but it is doubtful the Browns are making the playoffs if Watson is out more than the six games Robinson sentenced.

We wrote this a few weeks ago, GM Andrew Berry has to go out and get Jimmy Garoppolo as soon as possible. He’s taken the 49ers to a Super Bowl and an NFC title game, so he’s proved he can win with talent around him.

And most definitely the Browns are talented.

They can’t waste another season of Nick Chubb, Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward among others having them play with a journeyman quarterback. They need to get someone better than Brissett and let him be the backup.

With the AFC so stacked, it’s the only logical move for the front office and at this point, you have to assume Watson will miss most of the year (at least).

The old saying “you made your bed, now lie in it” has never been more applicable.

If Watson Is Out For A While, Browns Can’t Sit Idle

As the Deshaun Watson saga continues, the thing that keeps creeping into our minds is what happens if the NFL decides on a full year suspension for the recently acquired quarterback.

Or really, any suspension longer than eight games, a little more than half of the season.

If Watson would be out of action for a span of more than 50% of the league’s schedule, it would seem GM Andrew Berry would be back in the market for a QB. There is too much at stake for this franchise to have to play Jacoby Brissett for a majority of the schedule.

This isn’t a knock on Brissett, who is a very good back up signal caller, and perfectly capable of guiding the Browns to some wins in a limited time span. However, we don’t think anyone believes he’s a guy who can lead a team to the playoffs.

And why is it important for the Browns to be able to be in the playoff mix this season? Simple, look at the roster and the number of great players in the prime of their career. Nick Chubb is 27, Myles Garrett is 27, Denzel Ward is 25, Amari Cooper is 28.

Add another year to all of those guys if the 2022 season comes and goes without a long playoff run.

Three of the oldest players on the squad are offensive linemen in Joel Bitonio (31), Jack Conklin (28) and Wyatt Teller (28). We saw first hand what happened last year when Conklin went out after the Chargers game.

There is no question this is one of the strongest units on the roster. Will they still be able to play up to the 2020 standards in ’23? Maybe, but the wear and tear takes its toll at some point.

The Browns were the fourth youngest team in the NFL a year ago at 25.61 years of age by average. Let’s just say Cleveland would be at 26.61 this year. They’d be the seventh oldest relating to the ranking for the 2021 season.

Now, we know that won’t be the case because rookies will make the team and some veterans on the end of the roster will be replaced by younger players. But it does show how closely bunched the age of the men on an NFL roster is.

You can be a young team one season and a grizzled veteran team in a span of two years.

And that’s why if Watson is ruled out for most, if not all of the 2022 season, the front office has to find a better option than Brissett. And no, it won’t be Baker Mayfield, the Browns have napalmed that relationship, although we understand why to national people it would make the most sense.

We have suggested before, could Mayfield be traded for another QB? A proven one? Outside of Jimmy Garoppolo, there probably isn’t one out available, but could the Browns be interested in bringing in the veteran for one season?

You would think they most definitely would.

No doubt Berry is already doing some groundwork in the event the ruling is a one year suspension for Watson. With a talent laden roster, wasting a year isn’t an option for the Cleveland Browns.