Overthinking May Be Taken Out Of This Year’s NFL Draft

As of right now, the NFL is going forward with their annual draft, later this month, starting on April 23rd.

There has been a lot of criticism toward the league, because of the current situation going on throughout the world with COVID-19, and normally we are a critic of the NFL’s business model, which basically is, we will do anything we want because we are the NFL, but in this case, we believe people need the draft.

If you are a sports fan, you need a diversion from the daily news featuring the number of cases being diagnosed, and the cancellations going on throughout sports.

Please, don’t take this as being careless about the virus. People should be doing whatever they can to slow the spread of it, and our thoughts and prayers go out to anyone who has been affected by the virus or has family affected as well.

But sports fans need something to look forward to, and next up on the agenda is the draft.

We did find the complaints from different teams about not having personal workout days for prospects quite laughable.

Those things are basically a media event anyway.

It wasn’t that long ago that the decisions made on a player were made based on what they did on the college playing field only. We know this may be shocking to some people, but prior to 1982, there wasn’t even an NFL Draft Combine.

How could those scouts tell who were good players without having linemen do a “cone drill” or a standing broad jump? And before you say, they made mistakes prior to this, look at the last four or five years of first round picks, there are still plenty of errors, which fans of the Browns are well aware of.

The college pro days might even be worse. We loved when a quarterback had his showcase and the reporters would note he completed 60 of 64 passes. Wow! Of course there is no defensive players on the field.

We think we could go in the backyard and complete that kind of percentage to our sons with no one guarding them. The point is a good college passer should be completing those throws, it most certainly isn’t news.

One story we always like to point out is that of Chris Spielman, Massillon product and an All American middle linebacker at Ohio State. If you watched the Buckeyes play that in 1987, you saw Spielman make tackle after tackle.

He was the best defensive player on the team, and in most games, on the field.

However, one of his defensive teammates, Eric Kumerow, was picked in the first round of the NFL Draft in 1988, while Spielman went to the Lions in the second round.

Why? Because Kumerow had the “measurables”, Spielman just made plays.

There are many other stories like that too. Guys who made an impact on the field, but didn’t workout well.

In 1985, the first two wide receivers picked were Al Toon (Jets) and Eddie Brown (Bengals). The next WR chosen was a player named Jerry Rice, probably the greatest wide receiver ever.

It was said that Rice’s 40 yard dash time was the reason the other two players were taken ahead of him, and he also played at a small school, Mississippi Valley State.

Maybe Rice didn’t time well, but not many people ever caught him from behind either.

The biggest thing to come from this year’s draft might be that overthinking will be minimized. And that might also be the best thing.

The Browns Used To Be Good. Real Good.

With no sports on the docket right now, we have become quite nostalgic about the state of Cleveland sports.

Today, we turn our attention to the Cleveland Browns.

Our first remembrances of the Browns was the 1965 season, a year in which, get this, Blanton Collier’s squad were the defending NFL Champions.

At that point in time, the Browns had been in existence for 20 years and had one losing season, a 5-7 mark in 1957. To that point, they had won four NFL and four more AAFC (All American Football Conference) championships.

They were arguably the crown jewel franchise of professional football, something my father said often and with pride.

We remember the ’65 title game, played in the mud at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, with the Browns coming up short, 23-12, in what proved to be Jim Brown’s last game in the NFL.

We watched at an aunt’s house, and she had a color TV, which was rare at the time. Talk about a great memory.

At that time, you won the Conference and you went to the championship game, they did have something called the Playoff Bowl, which matched the second place team in each conference.

Why? Who knows.

Even when the Browns didn’t win the Eastern Conference, they were still very competitive, finishing second three years, usually behind their hated rivals, the New York Giants, and finished third twice.

After dropping the title game to Lombardi’s Packers in ’65, the Browns finished second in ’66 to Dallas, and the following season, the NFL went to a four division set up, and the Browns won three straight Century Division (why? who knows) titles, advancing to the post-season.

They got lambasted 52-14 by Dallas in 1967 in the Eastern Conference playoff, but gained revenge, beating the Cowboys the next two seasons to advance to the NFL title game.

Jim Brown retired, but Leroy Kelly replaced him and became one of the top runners in pro football. Frank Ryan, the QB who led the Browns to their last title, was replaced by Bill Nelsen (acquired in a trade from Pittsburgh, of all teams), and he led Cleveland to within one game of the Super Bowl in ’68 and ’69.

Unfortunately, the Browns weren’t competitive in either contest, losing to the Baltimore Colts 34-0 in the first year, and then to Minnesota 27-7 the following year.

They still had one of the best receivers in the game in Paul Warfield, but the defense was mostly bend, but don’t break.

There was a reason the Browns played in the first Monday Night Football game in 1970. They were good, damn good, and for the most part, year in and year out.

Before that season, with Nelsen aging, the Browns traded Warfield to Miami so they could be in a position to take Purdue QB Mike Phipps, who finished 2nd in the Heisman Trophy voting, and followed NFL stars Len Dawson and Bob Griese in college.

Phipps never became what the Browns envisioned.

Cleveland finished 7-7 in 1970, the first year of the merger when they voted to the AFC to be in the same division as Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Houston. For those younger readers, the Browns, Steelers, and Colts agreed to join the existing AFL teams.

Nick Skorich, the new coach, got the aging Browns into the playoffs in ’71 and ’72, the latter year with Phipps at the helm, but they lost to the Colts and the Miami Dolphins (with Warfield and on their way to an undefeated season).

Even then, they never collapsed. Yes, they finished 4-10 in 1975 and 3-11 in 1976, but by ’78, they were a .500 team at 8-8.

By the time the Kardiac Kids had their heyday in 1980, the Browns had played 30 seasons, and had just four losing seasons.

Hard to fathom that right now, isn’t it?

The New Browns’ Front Office Looks Fine. On Paper.

The Cleveland Browns made some big moves on the first day of NFL free agency, inking TE Austin Hooper, RT Jack Conklin, and QB Case Keenum to big deals.

Hooper and Conklin are typical of the way GM Andrew Berry likes to handle free agency, signing proven, solid players coming off their rookie contracts. Barring injury, those types of players should still be improving.

We think about the year the Browns signed Karlos Dansby and Donte Whitner to big deals, only to have them play well for one season, and then regress in performance.

Berry and his front office and building not only for this season, but the next few years as well, even giving Hooper and Conklin deals weighted for this season, because he knows it will be time to pay Myles Garrett, Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward, and perhaps Nick Chubb very soon.

The conservative, but aggressive approach continued the rest of the week. We’ll explain that term. The Browns are aggressive trying to fill holes, they’ve signed safeties, linebackers, defensive line depth, and even a kick returner.

However, the conservativeness comes in because they are signing these players to one year contracts. And we will repeat what we (and others) say all the time…there is no such thing as a bad one year contract.

Think about it. Even if the player signed is terrible, you can cut him and there are no ramifications beyond this season. You are done with the player and the contract. We say the same thing in baseball.

The oldest players Berry inked were 32-year-old S Andrew Sendejo, who was brought in not only for need, but for veteran leadership, and 28-year-old CB Kevin Johnson, a former first round pick in 2015 (16th overall from Wake Forest).

Cleveland also signed another former first rounder in Karl Joseph, the 14th overall pick in 2016 out of West Virginia.

Our opinion is the Browns are going to go heavy on defense in the upcoming NFL Draft, and the players they signed on that side of the football are basically on one year tryouts.

If they succeed, then the team can negotiate an extra year or two to keep them around, but if they aren’t impactful or if the rookie drafted to play the position looks like he’s a player, then they will be allowed to hit free agency in 2021.

When you think about it, that’s a win/win for the Browns. And that’s where analytics comes in. It makes you think about the percentages, and whether or not a player at a certain position is worth keeping at big money.

The big test will likely come with Chubb, when he is due to an extension. The effectiveness of running backs long term isn’t very good, so the Browns will have to ask themselves if they want to give a big extension to Chubb, as good as he has been for the Browns in his first two seasons.

All these moves have been made and the Browns still have almost $50 million under the cap. Remember, next year they have to pay Garrett, so they should be able to keep all of their key pieces and keep one of the game’s best pass rushers.

For those who were concerned about the “computer guys” running the Browns, the proof will come when they start playing games. Right now though, it seems like the Paul DePodesta/Andrew Berry combination has done a pretty solid job.

Living Without Sports Isn’t Easy

There is no question the world is in a crisis mode right now as the number of people being tested positive for the Coronavirus rises every day.

What makes it more difficult is dealing with this situation without sports.

There is no question most of us use sports as a distraction, a way to escape from the problems of everyday life. And we could use something to take our minds off the real world problems now more than ever.

We understand the reason that professional and college sports has shutdown. Everything needs to be done and should be done to slow and stop the spread of this virus.

There is no question sports is a big part of many of our lives, both men and women. And what’s weird is even though our team aggravate us to no end (most of the time), it’s relaxing.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t tough missing it.

At first, we thought the NFL was using their usual “money before everything else” mentality in going on with their legal tampering and free agent period this week, but it certainly served as a distraction from dealing with a rapidly spreading illness.

With the other professional sports, we are reduced to viewing old games on their networks. That’ll be cool for awhile. We were watching the famous “Pine Tar Game” on MLB Network yesterday. It brought back memories, seeing former Indian Bud Black on the mound for Kansas City, and Hall of Famers George Brett, Dave Winfield, and Rich Gossage playing.

NBA TV is doing the same thing, there aren’t too many Cavaliers highlights from their 50 year history, but we figure eventually they will have their Cavs’ Day, where they will show some big victories, including Game 7 of the 1975-76 Eastern Conference semi-finals vs. Washington and culminate in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, when the wine and gold won their only title.

When baseball and basketball have had work stoppages over the past 40 some years, there were other forms of the sports. For the former, minor leaguers received more focus, and fans of the Indians could keep an eye on prospects to get their fix.

As for roundball, there was always the college game, and at this time of year, the NCAA Tournament. That’s not the case right now.

There are only so many movies, shows on Netflix, and crossword puzzles a person can do to fill the free time of our lives.

Let’s hope when things are back to normal that we appreciate our sports teams more, especially the Indians and Cavaliers, who get ignored in favor of the Browns by many of the media outlets in town.

The Tribe will likely be the first team to get back in action, and we would bet whenever Opening Day occurs, it will now be sold out, because we will get to see sports again.

We know not everyone is a sports fan, but if you are, it’s going to be a rough few weeks. Let’s hope that’s all it is.

Browns Dispel Myth They Aren’t Interested In Winning Now.

The Cleveland Browns’ front office erased any doubts that winning would not be a priority in 2020 with a trio of free agent signings on the first day.

With Paul DePodesta and Andrew Berry running things, there were people who felt they would be involved in accumulating assets for a run in 2021, rather than getting to the playoffs next season.

But signing a two starters in TE Austin Hooper and RT Jack Conklin, along with an experienced backup QB who can play if there is an injury in Case Keenum, signals a “go for it” mentality.

The first thought for many is tight end is not the primary need for the Browns, but a right tackle certainly is, and at some point they needed a quarterback.

Hooper and Conklin do continue this front office’s history of signing players coming off their first contracts. Hooper won’t turn 26 years old until November, and has increased his number of receptions, yardage, and touchdowns in every season (4 total years) of his career.

He made the Pro Bowl in each of the last two years.

When Baker Mayfield was at Oklahoma, one of his favorite targets in the red zone, was TE Mark Andrews, now with Baltimore. Andrews caught 22 touchdown throws in Mayfield’s three years with the Sooners.

So, a reliable tight end is important to this quarterback.

We also do not think this means David Njoku’s days are numbered in Cleveland. Remember, Kevin Stefanski used a lot of two tight end sets as offensive coordinator in Minnesota.

Conklin figures to start at right tackle and he will be 26 by the time the regular season starts. He has to be an upgrade over Chris Hubbard, who figures to be released soon.

And his contract is front loaded, meaning he will make less with the team has to reach new deals with both former overall first round picks in Myles Garrett and Baker Mayfield.

Both players are “plug and play” guys, and both are young enough to fit in with the young core of talent the Browns have put together the past five years.

Keenum just turned 32 years old, but is the insurance policy/mentor for Mayfield. He has started 62 games in the NFL, going 27-35 in those starts, and has opened the season as the starter his past three seasons in the NFL.

This approach differs from the past couple of off-seasons where John Dorsey signed players close to 30 on shorter deals. They didn’t go for the big ticket items.

Prior to Dorsey’s arrival, the Browns went for J.C. Tretter and Kevin Zeitler. You’d have to say that was a more successful approach.

The Browns still have holes at left tackle and on the defensive side of the football, most notably at linebacker and safety as well as depth on the line.

We may still see some lesser free agents to address the depth, and of course, there still is a little thing called the NFL Draft to fill some more of the holes.

Right now, we would guess Berry and his crew would look for the left tackle in the first round of the draft, with the rest of the selection process being devoted to the defensive side of the football.

It doesn’t matter if you win the off-season. But signing solid young players who should be able to start right away? Have to say it is difficult to complain about that.

Browns Changing Their Defensive Personnel. And Why Not?

The Cleveland Browns have made several moves so far this off-season, most of them involving players on the defensive side of the football.

When you look at it, it seems to make sense. Cleveland ranked 21st in the NFL in defense a year ago, and against the run, it was even worse. The Browns were 30th (third worst) in the league in allowing rushing yards.

Why wouldn’t the new front office, led by GM Andrew Berry, want to fix the worst part of the team?

Now, you can argue about how they’ve gone about it, such as letting Joe Schobert, who made two Pro Bowls, walk away in free agency, but our view is let’s wait and see the approach of the personnel department in trying to fix the defense.

Yes, we understand the defense looked much worse last season after Myles Garrett’s suspension, but one player, even a great one like Garrett, shouldn’t impact that side of the football so much.

They need to get better without Garrett so he can get rest during games without the threat of the opposition going 80 yards in four plays with him on the sidelines.

Schobert was a solid linebacker against the pass, but he didn’t make a huge impact in the running game, really no one did. My guess is the front office didn’t want to pay a Lexus price for a Ford player. We will find out if they are right.

It could also be as simple as Schobert not fitting the mold of a middle linebacker that new defensive coordinator Joe Woods wants.

As for Christian Kirksey, his problem was availability is an ability too, and out of 32 games the past two seasons, Kirksey played in nine.

According to reports, the Browns tried to reach an agreement with Kirksey, but he wanted more money than Cleveland thought a man who played in less than 30% of the games over the last two years was worth.

The next order of business for the front office is the fate of Olivier Vernon, who came over in the Odell Beckham Jr. trade with the Giants, and is making big money while missing more games in the last three seasons.

Vernon missed four games in 2018, five games in 2019, and six contests with the Browns in 2019. If he isn’t willing to take a reduction in salary, he likely will end up on the unemployment line.

In addition to linebacker and depth on the defensive line, the Browns also need help at safety.

When Sashi Brown was GM and Berry was part of the front office, the organization looked for young players coming off their rookie contracts in free agency. You would have to assume that will be the philosophy again.

Three of the top NFL free agents (according to The Sporting News) fit that criteria: Kansas City DT Chris Jones (25 years old), pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney (26), and Denver safety Justin Simmons (26). We would all be happy if the Browns signed two of these three players.

The best inside linebacker is the Rams’ Cory Littleton (26). He would seem to be another target for the Browns.

We view the Cleveland Browns as a playoff contender in 2020 and they have plenty of room under the salary cap. It’s time to use it to upgrade the team where it needs help.

The new regime has some work to do starting March 18th.

What Fans Really Want From Owners.

What is the role a professional sports team owner? It seems in Cleveland we talk about the ownership of the Indians, Browns, and Cavaliers a lot, and our thought is what do fans want from the owners?

We believe most fans want the owners to stay out of the day to day operations of the team. Hire a good front office staff and get the heck out of the way.

That’s the strength of the Indians. The Dolan family have had two men in charge since they purchased the team–Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti.

Really, since Richard Jacobs bought the team in 1986, there has been stability at the top, starting with Hank Peters, on to John Hart, to Shapiro and Antonetti. That’s 34 years where the head of baseball operations has come from within.

Now, some will debate whether or not that is a good thing or not, but there seems to be a continuous plan on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

However, there is the matter of payroll for the players, the folks fans pay to see on a regular basis.

Really, this doesn’t come into focus unless the team is in contention mode.

No one really complains that the Browns have had plenty of salary cap space over the past ten years because they’ve been quite frankly, terrible.

We heard a local radio personality complain the Haslams are reluctant to spend money, pointing out the significant dollars under the cap, but we feel most people think it would be worse if they were up against the threshold and they continually finished 5-11 or 6-10.

The Cavaliers are trying to get out of the luxury tax in the NBA and no one is raising a stink about this. Why? The Cavs are rebuilding. It’s a non-issue.

Look at the situation the Pittsburgh Pirates are currently in. Their payroll will be around $50 million this season, but there is no uproar because the team is firmly in rebuilding mode. If this was the situation the Indians were in, the same would be true in northeast Ohio.

Fans want teams to spend when the time is right. Dan Gilbert and the Cavaliers went above and beyond when LeBron James was here in terms on exceeding the salary cap in an effort to win a title. That’s why the ticket buying public support him.

And we have no doubt Jimmy and Dee Haslam will spend if and when the Browns are a playoff team to try and get the team to its first Super Bowl. Unfortunately, it’s been 30 years since the Cleveland football team has been in that situation.

That’s the frustration fans have with the Indians. They are most definitely in contention, making three post-season appearances in the last four seasons. Yet, for whatever reason, they are reducing the amount of money to be spent on players.

And we do understand the lack of a salary cap in baseball, which you wouldn’t think plays into the Indians’ situation, but it does because big market teams can conceivably spend hugely.

Fans want owners to want to win, particularly in a market where there has been one professional sports title in the last 56 years.

All of the other things are nice, but championships are what really matters to the fans. It would be nice if all of the owners of professional sports teams understood this.

Odd Reasons To Doubt Mayfield

Cleveland sports fans are sometimes a different breed. Especially when it comes to the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns are quite frankly, one of the worst franchises in professional sports when it comes wins and losses. They haven’t made a playoff appearance since 2002, haven’t won a playoff game since 1994, and have had just two winning seasons since then as well.

We know, if you are reading this, that you know this too, but it is a huge reason for the skepticism and doubt surrounding the franchise.

Why would you trust anyone in Berea, especially after 2019, when it looked like the Browns were poised for a playoff berth after a promising second half in 2018, and a trade for Odell Beckham Jr. signaled the organization was all in.

Unfortunately, a brutal early schedule got the team in a bad direction to start, and Freddie Kitchens didn’t know how to handle the situation.

It seems the current angst among Browns’ fans and media alike is directed toward Baker Mayfield, who you may recall was the toast of the town a year ago at this time.

What is weird is the mixed message you get from the Baker detractors.

For example, if Kitchens was as over his head as everyone believes and there was a conflict between the head coach and offensive coordinator Todd Monken, wouldn’t that be reason enough for the second year QB’s struggles?

There is no question we did not see the Mayfield who set an NFL for most touchdown passes as a rookie in 2019. The only statistic he improved upon last season was yards/completion.

He had a lower completion percentage, more interceptions, lower yards passing per contest, and a lower passer rating than his first season in brown and orange.

We still insist it was a different offensive system than in 2018, and this version did not incorporate what Mayfield does well, which was being very accurate.

Too many times in long yardage situations, there did not appear to be a short route available to the quarterback, so he was forced to either take a sack, or force the ball to a receiver that wasn’t open.

Also, in spite of the Pro Football Focus rankings that had the Browns’ offensive line ranked in the middle of the pack, the eye test says they were a below average group, particularly on the outside.

You could see Mayfield being skittish in the pocket if the receiver didn’t break open right away, worried that he was going to take a hit. He needs more confidence in his linemen, particularly his left and right tackles.

This will be addressed before next training camp begins.

The other weird reaction to Mayfield’s second season as Cleveland’s signal caller are the folks who worshiped former GM John Dorsey.

If Dorsey was the man, don’t you trust the player he picked first overall in 2018? He’s the guy who looked at all the passers picked in the first round and decided the best player was Baker Mayfield.

Keep that thought in mind. Dorsey wasn’t a perfect as many made him to be, but he does have an eye for talent, and he chose Mayfield. Shouldn’t that count for something?

The guess here is the Browns have their quarterback of the future and his name is Baker Mayfield.

He had a large dose of reality in his second season and we think with better guidance provided by Kevin Stefanski and new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, he will look more like the guy who we saw in 2018.

This is a big season for Mayfield. Our guess is he will be ready.

Why Do People Keep Moving The Bar For Browns?

Based on recent history, the Cleveland Browns don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt on anything they do.

It’s been 12 seasons (2007) since the team finished over the .500 mark. Out of those dozen years, 10 of them have resulted in 10 or more losses, with only the 7-9 campaign in 2014, and 2018’s 7-8-1 mark being exceptions.

So, we can understand the feeling that no matter what the Browns do, it’s the wrong decision.

However, that shouldn’t be a reason to look at the new organization set up as bad either. While we get the cynicism, let’s all take a deep breath.

It seems most of the football fans in Cleveland got enamored with the prospect of Josh McDaniels being the head coach with one of his friends from New England becoming the general manager.

There were a ton of people who thought this was a done deal, and be the cure-all for what has been ailing the Browns for the past 20 years.

When that didn’t happen, anything Jimmy Haslam and Paul DePodesta did was going to be a failure. Again, we understand that those two are reaping what they sowed, but it isn’t fair to the people they did hire, coach Kevin Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry.

All the criticism is in the name of the feared word: ANALYTICS!!!

Forget that Berry was a scout for six years while working for the Indianapolis Colts and then was vice president of personnel for the Browns from 2016 to 2018. People act like he was some accountant crunching the cost of concessions at First Energy Stadium and the Browns put him in charge.

What the Browns really want is a group of people who can work together. DePodesta liked Stefanski during the interviews for the head coaching position a year ago, so apparently they get along.

Berry was still with the Browns when those interviews were going on last year, and it has been reported that the new GM and the new coach shared common ideas.

There shouldn’t be any butting heads among this trio, and when was the last time we heard about that in Berea.

Also, let’s also get rid of the notion that John Dorsey didn’t make any bad draft choices or questionable personnel decisions.

While he hit on Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward, and Nick Chubb in 2018, he also picked Chad Thomas in round three, and Antonio Callaway in the 4th. And picking Austin Corbett with the 33rd overall selection was a big whiff.

Meanwhile, while Berry was here, Cleveland selected Larry Ogunjobi and Joe Schobert, while Emmanuel Ogbah (5.5 sacks with KC this season) and Carl Nassib (6 sacks with Tampa in ’19) are productive football players jettisoned by Dorsey.

And don’t forget WR Rashard Higgins was in the 2016 class as well.

The fear here is what happens if or when something doesn’t go as planned. For example, a 7-9 or worse season in 2020. Then what happens?

Hopefully, the ownership can control themselves from getting rid of this group and starting over again. Right now, that has to be a concern until proven otherwise.

Or what happens if someone outside the organization tells the Haslams something and they believe this is a better way to reach the playoffs. That’s another thing that has been a problem in the past.

Let this group do their job and stop pining for something or someone fans thought was going to be the fix to the problems of the Cleveland Browns. That’s not fear to DePodesta, Stefanski, and Berry.

Cool Down On Criticism Of Stefanski

A lot of people around town, including folks who cover the team are upset with the Cleveland Browns’ choice of former Minnesota offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski as the new head coach.

Look, regardless of who you wanted to be the coach, it isn’t fair to condemn the pick until Stefanski coaches a few games that count this fall.

Successful head coaches come from all different backgrounds. John Harbaugh was a special teams coach, Andy Reid was an offensive coordinator, Bill Belichick, of course, a defensive coordinator.

Some were hot candidates at the time, others weren’t. The point is you don’t know what you have in a head coach until he’s thrown into the fire and he actually does it.

We understand that’s not what people want to hear, but it’s the truth.

There is no correlation between Super Bowl rings as an assistant to being a successful head coach, nor does success as a coordinator.

We do know than in Stefanski’s only year (2019) as the Vikings’ offensive coordinator, Minnesota ranked 4th in rushing attempts, and 30th in passing attempts. Since the Browns’ best offensive player is Nick Chubb, that seems to be a good fit.

We would also think it means the Browns will try to keep Kareem Hunt too, giving them the best tandem at the position in the NFL.

It sounds simple and trite, but if Stefanski runs an offense suited to the strengths of Baker Mayfield, and hires a defensive coordinator who can design a scheme to stop the run, it says here the Cleveland Browns will have success next season.

Yes, they could use a couple offensive linemen, a linebacker or two, and some safeties, but it isn’t like the team is devoid of talent, and that differs from past coaching hires.

The front office wants “alignment”, meaning everyone is on the same page, so hopefully, the new offensive coordinator is someone who has the same principles as Stefanski, which would be completely different from the 2019 edition of the team.

That doesn’t mean we think all is warm and fuzzy with the hiring process.

It was reported that the coach will be expected to run game plans through the analytic department, which is not troublesome.

We understand the word “analytics” scares some football people, but it is simply checking tendencies and tracking success. Perhaps if Freddie Kitchens listened this past season, he would have used more one running back, two tight end sets, which the Browns were successful with.

However, we cringe at the weekly meetings the day after the game with the owner. A smart man knows what he doesn’t know, and we would bet it won’t be long before Stefanski will tire of this process.

A better solution would be to have Paul DePodesta, whoever is the new general manager, and the coach sit down to discuss any points of importance and have DePodesta explain things to the ownership.

That keeps the alignment intact. No chance for Jimmy Haslam to get friendly with Stefanski and decide the coach is the “guy” and then get rid of the other two.

The pre-1999 owner would do the same thing. Fall in love with a coach. That’s why Ernie Accorsi left the organization.

Let’s give Kevin Stefanski a chance. Don’t let preconceived notions get in the way of evaluating him. Doing so as a fan is no difference than the impetuousness of the man who owns the team.