Hue Jackson’s Biggest Problem May Be Talking

When John Dorsey was hired as the general manager of the Cleveland Browns at the end of last season, it was thought the circus atmosphere around the franchise would end.

Guess again!

Just seven games into the 2018 season, a season in which they have already won two games and tied another, a big improvement over last year’s winless season, the Browns are in the center of controversy once again.

And this time it started because one of Hue Jackson’s issues came out once again, the love of his own voice.

After another tough loss in overtime to Tampa Bay last Sunday, Jackson was asked about the offense’s struggles in the first half. His answer was that was his area of expertise, and maybe he could help out.

Afterwards, he stated that he was the head coach of the football team several times.

Jackson doesn’t know how to deal with or handle the media. For one, he tends to speak in absolutes. For example, there was a big deal about Josh Gordon starting the opener against the Steelers, because Jackson announced he would not start.

Our point is why say Gordon would not start? Jackson could have just told the media he would decide later as to who would take the first snap.

He’s done that before too. He did it earlier in camp when talking about Joel Bitonio playing left tackle, proclaiming it plan Z. A week later, Bitonio was playing the position.

He don’t know if Jackson says these things to make himself feel important, or to be glib with the media, but he needs to learn how to speak to the reporters. Don’t say anything that can be held against you later.

As for the comments after the game about getting involved with the offense, why not say something like we have to get better at all facets of the game immediately after kickoff, there is no need to point fingers at a particular unit or coach.

That comment became the story, and after watching the offense the last two seasons, we are sure the last thing Browns fans want to see is having Jackson’s hands on it.

All of this became an issue because of the ludicrous organizational set up the Browns have, where the GM and the head coach (and who knows who else) reports directly to owner Jimmy Haslam.

We would assume that Dorsey would love to bring in his own coach, but as of this moment, Jackson doesn’t report to him, so he has no authority to replace him.

That’s not how winning organizations are set up.

We feared this very thing in the off-season when Jackson was brought back after a two year record of 1-31. We felt because of all of the losing the past couple of seasons, if the Browns struggled this season, there would be clamoring for the coach’s job.

And that’s exactly what is happening. After an encouraging win over the Ravens at home, the team laid an egg against the Chargers and played a terrible first half vs. Tampa.

The wolves started howling.

When you think about it, the situation wasn’t fair to both Dorsey and Jackson. The GM doesn’t have the coach he wants, and Jackson is questioned about his employment every time the Browns lose a game.

However, Jackson needs to learn to be quiet. As someone once said, it is better to be quiet and have people think you are stupid, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Browns Need To Play Two Halves.

Someday, perhaps even this year, the Cleveland Browns will play a total game and then, and only then, will they start to win football games.

Of course, this season Browns’ games have lasted five quarters more often than not, as Cleveland lost another overtime game, this one 26-23 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Hue Jackson’s squad has no dropped to 2-4-1 on the season, and 3-35-1 since Jackson took the helm before the 2016 season.

In the first half, the offense was non-existent and the defense was porous, and the Browns went to the locker room trailing 16-2.

We thought if major adjustments weren’t made by the coaching staff, it would be a clear sign that changes on the staff needed to be made.

But after halftime, the defense played much better, holding the Bucs to just a single score, and the offense played with much more zest, and Cleveland rallied twice from 14 point deficits to force overtime.

That said, the offense made key mistakes late, errors which could be attributed to a young football team.

In overtime, Jameis Winston was picked off by Jamie Collins on the Tampa Bay 45 yard line. Getting one first down, would have given Greg Joseph an opportunity for a game winning field goal.

On 3rd and 3 at the 38, Baker Mayfield took a sack, so the Browns had to punt. That cannot happen.

Then, after forcing a punt, Jabril Peppers, who had a great 32 yard return to set up the game tying scored pass to Jarvis Landry, fumbled after a 14 yard return, giving the Bucs the ball at the Cleveland 48, setting up Tampa for the game winning 59 yard field goal.

Other observations from this game–

The Browns’ offensive line needs to improve quickly. In our opinion, tackles Desmond Harrison and Chris Hubbard had big problems. Remember, Tampa was missing Pro Bowl DT Gerald McCoy in this game. Mayfield was sacked five more times today, although some appeared to have been caused by receivers not being able to get open.

Which brings us to the wide receiver position. Landry caught 10 passes for 97 yards, but the other wide outs struggled to get open, catching just five passes. We have asked this before, but why not use more two tight end sets with David Njoku and Seth DeValve, both of whom are solid receivers.

The defense gives up yards, but continues to force turnovers and sacks. Four turnovers and five sacks today. Myles Garrett had two sacks, and Emmanuel Ogbah was a force too.

We don’t like when regimes seem to move on from players because they didn’t draft them, which appears to be the case with Carl Nassib, who had two sacks today. He couldn’t help more than Anthony Zettel?

Denzel Ward is pretty good, eh?

Nick Chubb did a good job in his starting debut, with 80 yards on 18 carries, but we are worried Duke Johnson is nothing more than a change of pace back. Wouldn’t the Browns be better off just switching the Chubb and Hyde roles?

Another week, another overly officiated game. Twenty two penalties were called, which disrupts the flow of the game.

Among this week’s bad calls were picking up a flag after a Mayfield run because he hadn’t started his slide (he did), a roughing the passer after Emmanuel Ogbah tried to block a pass because his hand hit Winston in the helmet (weak), and another missed false start, which Winston thankfully took a 12 yard sack.

The league continues to put its head in the sands on this problem.

Next week, it’s on to Pittsburgh. Let’s hope the Browns come ready to play four quarters in this one.

Hopefully, A Learning Experience For Browns

For those fans who thought Baker Mayfield had by passed the growing pains that go along with being an NFL rookie quarterback, you were proven wrong today.

The fact is, Mayfield is a rookie, and there were going to be days like today, especially when defensive coordinators were able to review some tape on the first overall pick in the draft.

The question now is will Mayfield be able to make the adjustments needed to come out and do well next week against Tampa? We believe he will learn from today and be better going forward.

But it was ugly to watch today, as Cleveland was dismantled by the Chargers, 38-14 at First Energy Stadium.

It was more disturbing to see what veteran QB Philip Rivers did to the Cleveland defense, which has played well in four out of the five games to date.

Make that four out of six.

The Chargers made big play after big play all afternoon, both in the running game and in the passing game. It seemed the Browns were clueless about stopping them.

LA averaged almost eight yards per play! Gregg Williams’ defense allowed over 200 yards on the ground, getting almost seven yards per carry.

Without the ability to stop the run, it was difficult for the Browns to muster the pass rush we have seen all year long.

In the air, Rivers connected on two long touchdown passes to WR Tyrell Williams (45 and 29 yards), the first of which Cleveland outmanned the receivers with three defenders, and he caught the ball anyway.

It was a dominating effort. Rivers was pulled in the middle of the fourth quarter, threw only 20 passes for the game, and was sacked just once (combination of Larry Ogunjobi and Joe Schobert).

Again, how the defensive unit comes back from this performance (or lack of it) next week is what should be taken from this game.

Now back to Mayfield, who completed just 22 of 46 passes for 238 yards and two interceptions, as Cleveland lost the turnover battle for the second time this season.

The lack of quality wide receivers didn’t help either as there were a few dropped passes, but that really didn’t make a difference in the grand scheme of things.

With Rashard Higgins out of there, the Chargers basically took Jarvis Landry out of the game, as he caught just two balls for nine yards.

Veteran Rod Streater, (yes, we know he was picked up off waivers, but he’s still a veteran) got hurt early, and Cleveland dressed just four wide receivers. That left them with only three.

Rookie Damion Ratley and TE David Njoku became Mayfield’s main targets.

And while the rookie held the ball too long at times, his offensive line didn’t have a great day either. It appeared tackles Desmond Harrison and Chris Hubbard struggled all day against a Chargers’ defense missing Joey Bosa.

One bright spot was the special teams performance of Jabril Peppers, who returned three kickoffs for a 23.7 yard average and also had a 33 yard punt return.

Another was the use of Duke Johnson, which we hope Todd Haley remembers going forward. Johnson had a 23 yard run and has a 33 yard reception as well. He needs to touch to ball more often.

Also, it wouldn’t be an NFL game without a horrific call, or in this case a missed call, by the people who are supposed to be officiating the game. On the Chargers last touchdown of the first half, LT Russell Okung came out of his stance at least a second before the ball was snapped, and wasn’t penalized for a false start.

The Browns looked a little like a team who started thinking they were better than they are after the overtime win over Baltimore last week.

Hopefully, the coaching staff will use today’s game to remind them that they still are one of the bottom feeders in the NFL, and they have to play much better to win games.

The best case scenario is to use this as a learning tool. The game itself was total domination.

Happy With Baker, But Let’s Ease Up A Bit

There is no question that fans of the Cleveland Browns are looking for things to be optimistic about.

After one win in the last two seasons, having a 2-2-1 record through five games certainly provides a glimmer of hope. There is even talk about playoff contention, and heck, if the Browns can get to Thanksgiving still in the hunt, that would be outstanding.

The rookie class is exceeding everyone’s expectations, with Denzel Ward showing signs he can be a shutdown cornerback, Nick Chubb showing flashes of being a top flight running back, and Genard Avery doing very well as a pass rusher.

And then you have the first overall pick, QB Baker Mayfield, who has been pressed into service quicker than most figured after the acquisition of Tyrod Taylor, brought in so the team could ease the rookie into the job.

Mayfield has completed 58.9% of his passes and has a passer rating of just 81.4, but he is providing football fans in northeast Ohio a reason to tune in the Browns every Sunday.

He put up 42 points in a loss to the Raiders, even though he turned the ball over four times.

He ranks 10th in the NFL in yards per passing attempt, meaning he’s not a dink and dunk type of passer, he’s picking up yardage in chunks

We have heard people in the local media and also fans saying the Browns have found their “franchise” quarterback, the franchise’s first since Bernie Kosar.

We say let’s slow down a bit.

We believe you have to string a couple of very good seasons together to achieve the franchise moniker. And while he like Mayfield a lot, let’s wait until NFL defense have seen the rookie and compiled a dossier on how to combat him.

Let’s look at the two quarterbacks taken with the first two picks of the 2015 NFL Draft, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota.

Winston started all 16 games his rookie year, and after 12 games, the Buccaneers were 6-6. In those first dozen contests, he threw 17 TD passes vs. 12 interceptions as Tampa looked much improved from a 2-14 season the year before.

He threw for at least 177 yards in every game, topping out with a 363 yard effort in a 31-23 loss to the Rams in the 14th game of the year.

Three years later, does anyone consider Winston one of the top 10 QBs in the NFL?

Mariota started 12 games his rookie year, with the Titans going 3-9 in his starts. He completed 62% of his passes with 19 touchdowns, 10 picks, and a 91.5 passer rating.

His second year was even better–26 TDs, 9 interceptions and a 95.6 rating as Tennessee went 9-7 for the season.

They made the playoffs last season, but the quarterback’s performance declined. He threw 13 scoring passes with 15 interceptions, and this year they are 1-2 in his starts and he has a TD to interception ratio of 2:4.

Again, he wouldn’t make anyone’s Top 10 either.

And that’s our definition of a franchise quarterback, a guy who is among the top players at the most important position in sports.

Don’t forget Dak Prescott in Dallas, who was hailed as a future All Pro after his rookie year, when the Cowboys went 13-3. Now? He’s showing he may just be average.

So, while we are very excited about the former Heisman Trophy winner from Oklahoma, we aren’t ready to ordain him quite yet. He is playing very well right now, but let’s evaluate him in late November or early December.

By then, we will make more of a sample size to evaluate him. We do like what we’ve seen so far.

Browns Tough One Out To Get Back to .500.

It wasn’t artistic, but when you’ve won two games since the beginning of the 2016 season, beggars can’t be choosers.

When Greg Joseph’s line drive kick went through the uprights with under ten seconds remaining in overtime, it elevated the Cleveland Browns to a .500 record after five weeks of the NFL season, with a 12-9 win over Baltimore in overtime.

It was the third game (out of five) for the Browns that four quarters wasn’t enough to decide the game.

The Browns scored the game’s only touchdown in this defensive battle, a 19 yard touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield to Rashard Higgins late in the second quarter, which gave Cleveland a 6-3 lead after Joseph missed the extra point.

Baltimore took the lead after intercepting a Mayfield throw in Browns’ territory, besides that the Browns’ defense, rapidly becoming the strength of this team, allowed just two other field goals, and forced two more turnovers, to give them 15 on the season, topping last year’s squad’s total for the entire season of 13.

Denzel Ward’s interception at the goal line stopped a certain Baltimore score, and is there anyone out there who still thinks GM John Dorsey made a mistake by taking the former Buckeye standout at that spot?

Ward is quickly becoming a player that other quarterbacks avoid.

The other first round pick, the first overall pick, is also acquitting himself nicely too.

Baker Mayfield completed 25 of 43 passes for 342 yards, and directed the game winning drive that began with a reverse to WR Rod Streater, which lost 11 yards and put the team at 2nd and 21 from their own five.

From there, the rookie scrambled for 13 yards to get out of the shadow of their own goal line, and then on 3rd and 8, avoided a sack, and hit rookie Derrick Willies for 43 yards to move into Baltimore territory.

Then, a player who seems to get lost in the shuffle, Duke Johnson, took over, carrying three times for 24 yards to put the ball in position for Joseph.

Joe Flacco threw for 298 yards, but it took him 56 attempts to accumulate those yards, and he was also sacked twice, once by Jamie Collins, and the other on a combination of Myles Garrett and Trevon Coley.

But they didn’t allow the Ravens any big plays, keeping WR John Brown in control, with only 4 catches for 58 yards.

It seems last week’s secondary issues may have been due to Terrance Mitchell leaving the game with an injury, because today, with E.J. Gaines starting, the defensive backfield provided the same type of play as they have all year, save for the Oakland game.

The linebackers all had big days, with Collins getting 12 tackles, Christian Kirksey also had 12, and Joe Schobert forced a fumble.

The officiating was a factor again, as Baltimore didn’t pick up their first penalty until late in the fourth quarter. In a sport where many of the penalties can be considered arbitrary, for one team to have 10 penalties (the Browns) and the other to have none is very, very strange.

It appears the zebra missed a pass interference call against Jarvis Landry by ruling the pass uncatchable (of course it is, Landry was tackled) and they should have call intentional grounding later in OT on Flacco.

To be fair, the roughing the passer call against Mayfield in the extra session, shouldn’t have been called either.

With the Chargers coming in next week, the Browns have survived a tough early schedule (Steelers, Saints, Ravens) with a 2-2-1 record.

And they seem to keep getting better each and every week.

Browns Giving Themselves A Chance To Win, Need To Cash In.

The Cleveland Browns have played 25% of their schedule and hit the quarter pole with a 1-2-1 record.

That doesn’t seem much different from past seasons, but this year has a very different feel to it.

Last year, the Browns were 0-4 (obviously, they went 0-16), and outside of the first game of the season against the Steelers, Hue Jackson’s squad fell behind early and tried to climb back into the game (with the exception of Week 4 vs. Cincinnati).

In 2016, it was better. The Browns were in all four games to open that season, and should have defeated Miami if not for kicking woes (sound familiar?).

However, last season, the quarterback was DeShone Kizer and his traveling turnover show, and in ’16 Robert Griffin III was injured in the opener and was replaced by the local media’s favorite, Josh McCown.

Now, Jackson has turned over the keys to Baker Mayfield, and suddenly there is hope on the horizon.

We have heard the criticism of Mayfield’s four turnovers last Sunday, but there is no question the good he did outweighed the bad.

How about the throw to Darren Fells for a 49-yard touchdown, or the fade to Jarvis Landry for another score. For that matter, when was the last time the Browns used a fade pattern and it worked?

And the strike over the middle to Antonio Callaway was beautiful too. Yes, he was wide open, but Mayfield hit him in stride and he took it to the 1 yard line.

This year’s team has had a legitimate chance to win every game. Two games have went to overtime, one ended in a tie, the other in a loss. Cleveland had the lead against New Orleans with two minutes to go.

We fully support the Bill Parcells theory of your record is what it says it is, but after two seasons with very few good shots at winning, forgive us if we can’t help but be encouraged.

The defense has created turnovers, 13 of them to be exact. By the way, last year’s Browns created that many for the entire season.

Myles Garrett is becoming one of the NFL’s best pass rushers, and another first round pick, Denzel Ward is becoming a shutdown cornerback. You didn’t hear Ward’s name too often last Sunday because Derek Carr was trying to avoid him.

We get that people want to see more of rookie Nick Chubb at running back, but it isn’t as though Carlos Hyde has been bad. He ranks 5th in the NFL in rushing to date.

Still, Chubb should get more opportunities because as he showed Sunday, he can be explosive. Also, his carries will keep Hyde fresh for the end of the season.

Landry is a Pro Bowl wide receiver, Joe Schobert is a Pro Bowl linebacker.

The point is there is talent on this roster, and it’s not just people that Browns’ fans think highly of. People around the NFL respect the young players on the roster here.

Now they have to win. And winning is something you learn. Make no mistake though, it is no longer a talent issue.

If the Browns can’t start converting some of these efforts into wins, we doubt Hue Jackson will be here in 2019. That’s not a threatening thing, it’s just that the NFL is a result business.

Browns Get Robbed In Oakland.

If you read this site regularly, you know we are not nor ever have been a fan of the way the NFL is officiated.

We have claimed for years that the NFL officials are the worst in professional sports, and today’s Browns-Raiders games demonstrated exactly why we think that.

Did they Browns play great today? No. Did the defense give up a boatload of big plays in the second half and overtime? Yes.

However, late in the game the Browns did enough to salt this game away and denied a victory on the road because of the officiating.

First, a play in the fourth quarter when Myles Garrett and Genard Avery sacked Raiders’ QB Derek Carr, and it was clear that the ball popped out immediately after the Cleveland defenders hit him.

Larry Ogunjobi was picking up the ball to start running toward the end zone as the whistle blew. The call was Carr was in the grasp and the play was blown dead. Blown dead without the ball being in anyone’s control.

Later, with less than two minutes to go, the Browns stopped the Raiders on downs and took control of the ball on the Oakland nine yard line.

Three running plays to force the Raiders to use their timeouts were used, and the third one appeared to give Cleveland a first down, which would have allowed the Browns to run out the clock.

We thought it was a bad spot in the Raiders’ favor to begin with, but the measurement gave Cleveland the first down anyway.

But a review of the play moved the spot back further and forced the Browns to punt.

Our understanding of the rule, is there has to be irrefutable evidence to change the call on the field. We were not shown any evidence on the broadcast.

Even former the former NFL officiating supervisor, Dean Blandino, was on the FOX telecast, couldn’t believe the call was overturned.

Given another chance, the Raiders tied the game and forced overtime.

Just so we don’t come across as sour grapes, there was other calls in favor of the Browns which were terrible.

The crew blew a whistle early on a run by Marshawn Lynch, costing the Raiders a long gain in the first half. And a terrible roughing the passer call gave the Browns a first down, also in the first half.

The problem is the consistency and a need by many crews to affect the game. Check the box scores every week and see how many games have more than 10 penalties called on each team.

One of the things that made the Browns-Jets game so fun to watch (besides the Browns finally winning) was there were only 11 penalties in the entire game.

Were there other things? Of course. The Browns’ receivers dropped a lot of passes, particularly in the first half.

They had a 28-14 lead, and had two critical turnovers which led to 20 unanswered points by Oakland, which gave them a 34-28 advantage.

Still, the Browns fought back and overcame this and should have won the game after turning back the Raiders at the goal line.

They lost the turnover battle for the first time this season, committing four, including a pick six in the first quarter, while forcing just two interceptions. Of course, they forced a fumble late too, but it was taken away.

All in all, the Browns have made football exciting again for fans in northeast Ohio. They are a competitive team.

The next test is at home against the Ravens next Sunday. For the first time in a while, it’s something to look forward to.

Victory, Sweet Victory!

Finally!

After 19 weeks of regular season NFL play, the Cleveland Browns finally picked up a victory with a 21-17 victory over the New York Jets at First Energy Stadium.

In typical Browns’ fashion, it wasn’t easy.

A combination of another special teams’ gaffe (allowing a blocked punt), terrible offensive line play (Tyrod Taylor was sacked four times by halftime), and terrible play by Taylor (he completed 4 of 14 passes for 19 yards), gave the Jets a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

We felt if the visitors got the next score of the game, the Browns would still be winless after three games in 2018.

But, Taylor was injured and had to be checked for a concussion, so in came the first overall pick in last year’s draft, QB Baker Mayfield.

The offense immediately got a shot in the arm, both in the air and on the ground. The offensive line got better, probably because Mayfield got the ball out quicker.

Mayfield wound up completing 17 of 23 passes for 201 yards and no turnovers. It appeared the rookie attacked the defense, throwing into tight windows, and moving the ball vertically.

His worst throw came when he fired one off a defender’s shoulder pads in the end zone when he didn’t see a safety over the middle.

He even caught a pass, the tying two point conversion play from Jarvis Landry on a flea-flicker, reminiscent of the play he scored on in the Rose Bowl.

The running game also got going, getting 133 yards on the ground on a four yards per carry average, as Carlos Hyde led the way with 98 yards on 23 carries.

Landry caught 8 balls for 103 yards, including an incredible catch to set up the Browns first touchdown. The guy’s hands are just incredible.

On the winning touchdown drive, the rookie was tremendous.

He hit Duke Johnson for a first down on a third and five for 15 yards. He hit fellow rookie Antonio Callaway for 10 yards on a 3rd and 10.

Those were big time throws, put exactly where they had to be.

Defensively, after the Jets scored their second TD with 7:59 remaining in the second quarter, they scored three points the rest of the contest.

Sam Darnold was held under 50%, completing 15 of 31 passes for only 169 yards, and after some big plays allowed in the running game early, New York had just 107 yards rushing, a 3.6 average per carry.

They forced three more turnovers, a forced fumble by rookie Denzel Ward, and picks by Joe Schobert and Terrance Mitchell, the latter which clinched the victory.

That’s 11 forced turnovers in the first three games. Last year, the Cleveland defense forced 13…for the entire season.

And Myles Garrett had two more sacks.

There is no question the Browns have some emerging stars on that side of the ball. Garrett and Ward will be the obvious names, but Schobert, Mitchell, and Larry Ogunjobi can’t be overlooked either.

Unfortunately, the special teams still continue to be unimpressive.

The penalties were down too, the Browns had just five last night, but that could be a product of the officiating crew. Some throw a lot of flags, some don’t.

With the win being on the Thursday night game, the Browns get a little extra time to celebrate. They will have a victory weekend.

They go to Oakland a week from Sunday, and have a chance to start, wait for it…a winning streak!

We all thought the Browns were an improved football team, and last night, they proved it.

The Mayfield era started earlier than expected, but you can’t turn back after his performance and the result of the game.

Browns Almost Win Again, But Don’t

Former Browns’ Pro Bowl special teams player Josh Cribbs said it famously a few years ago…the Browns almost always almost win.

Those words were never more true than today, as the New Orleans Saints came back to beat the Browns, 21-18, dropping Cleveland to 0-1-1 on the young season.

Today, it was a breakdown in the kicking game, as Zane Gonzalez, who really has been reliable since the middle of last season, missed two extra points and two field goals, including a makeable 51 yarder with :08 remaining in the fourth quarter which would have tied it up.

It’s a short week before Thursday night’s game with the Jets, but our guess is there will be a kicker tryout either tomorrow or Tuesday in Berea.

Midway in the third quarter, it looked like the Browns were going to win this one. They were controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and had a 12-3 lead.

With 14:46 left in the fourth quarter, Cleveland had the ball at the Saints’ 26, and Gonzalez missed a field goal which could have made it 15-3, but he missed, and New Orleans had renewed life.

It took a little over five minutes for the Saints to find the end zone, and make it just a two point lead.

Then it got weird, Todd Haley called a reverse on first down which lost 8 yards, and put the Browns in a tough situation, and that drive ended with a three and out.

The defense held, but on the next possession, Tyrod Taylor did something he normally doesn’t do, throw an interception, and the Saints were set up for a score that took the lead at 18-12.

The rest of the game was surreal.

On a 3rd and 12 from the Saints’ 46, after Taylor basically sacked himself on second down, the quarterback hit rookie Antonio Callaway for a touchdown, when he blew past the Saints’ safety.

That tied the game. Then, Gonzalez missed an extra point which would have given Cleveland a 19-18 lead.

With a little over a minute to go, the Saints moved right down the field, as the Browns allowed a 42 yard crossing pattern to native Clevelander Ted Ginn Jr., to set the Saints up for the go ahead field goal.

However, the Saints allowed the Browns to move 41 yards in two plays totaling 16 seconds, to set up a game tying redemption kick for Gonzalez.

Again, he missed it.

Watching the other results today in the NFL, Gonzalez isn’t the only kicker who might be on the unemployment line come tomorrow.

The Browns didn’t have a lot of success on the ground, but neither did the Saints. But Todd Haley kept trying, probably in an effort to shorten the game and keep Drew Brees off the field.

After not winning the turnover battle in every game a year ago (0-14-2), the Browns won that stat for the second straight week.

Yet, they still haven’t won a game.

The defensive star was Larry Ogunjobi, who had two sacks, while T. J. Carrie had eight tackles and a sack as well.

The offensive line did a much better job pass blocking this week, but it seemed like the offensive design was to get the ball out of Taylor’s hands quicker.

The Browns look like a team that doesn’t know how to win, which is understandable because they are now 1-32-1 since the beginning of the 2016 season.

The next chance will be Thursday night. Still, this one was tough to take.

Let’s Not Judge Taylor Too Quickly

Nobody gets carried away like NFL fans after week one. After the opening game of the season, people make generalizations even though a lot depends on who you played in the league’s first week.

Take the Jets’ rookie quarterback Sam Darnold, for example. We already saw one article claiming both the Browns and New York Jets are regretting not taking Darnold after his performance against the Lions on Monday night.

We just said we didn’t want to make generalizations after one week, but the Lions don’t appear to be a very good football team. Let’s see how Darnold performs in the weeks to come before proclaiming him the next big thing.

This brings us to the Browns’ quarterback situation, which after Darnold’s game last Monday night, have some fans and media people wondering why Hue Jackson doesn’t start first overall pick Baker Mayfield.

First, we do not think, nor never have thought, that Tyrod Taylor is a great QB. If you ranked the signal callers around the NFL, he would rank in the mid 20’s.

Should the Browns have drafted Mayfield to make him the starter down the line, perhaps even in the second half of the season? Absolutely.

However, if you look at Taylor’s career, last Sunday’s performance vs. Pittsburgh was an outlier. His completion percentage was the worst of any game he started in the NFL, his yards per attempt were the fifth lowest of any of his starts.

So, it appears to us that Taylor just played a poor game.

That said, the criticisms of the former Virginia Tech product seemed to be valid. He seemed hesitant to throw guys open, and the reason he doesn’t throw a lot of interceptions is he is conservative in his passing attempts.

Both were evident against the Steelers.

After having a quarterback who needed a handle on the ball to hold it a year ago in DeShone Kizer, we understand why John Dorsey and Hue Jackson wanted someone who wouldn’t give the ball to the opponents on a regular basis.

And don’t think for a minute that 1-31 over the past two seasons doesn’t figure in to the decision to go with Taylor either.

Management wanted a quarterback who wasn’t going to assist in losing games. Is that a defeatist attitude? Probably, but when you’ve won once in the last two seasons, you want a passer who isn’t going to make big mistakes and cost the team a victory.

You would think going along with that, you would want to run the ball and play defense to keep your team in games and have a chance to win. They didn’t emphasize the run much, and that’s something to keep your eye on.

But let’s see how Taylor does in the coming weeks, especially in a game where a driving rainstorm isn’t happening. If he struggles like he did in the opener against New Orleans and the Jets, then you can start to have a conversation about putting Mayfield in the starting lineup.

If Taylor’s entire career was similar to the Steelers’ game, then it would be a different story, but the evidence shows he just played a poor game.

No decision should be made based on one week of play in the National Football League. We understand that there are only 16 games, so there is greater importance.