Slight Change In Browns’ Plan?

Looking at the current roster of the Cleveland Browns, one thing stands out, or should we say, the absence of one thing stands out.

Take a look at the experience column. Three players have been in the NFL for more than 10 seasons. TE Gary Barnidge and OL John Greco have been in the league for ten years, while stalwart T Joe Thomas has been in the league for 11 seasons.

This comes after the release of two veterans yesterday, QB Josh McCown and DB Tramon Williams were both given their walking papers, and actually, probably a year too late for both of them in our opinion.

If you look at the ages of the roster, those three, plus DL Desmond Bryant, P Britton Colquitt, and WR Andrew Hawkins represent the only players on the team that have passed the big “3-0”. Colquitt is probably safe, but it would not be surprising if the other two were let go, before the new league year starts.

The significance of the releases of McCown and Williams is it frees up another $11 million in salary cap space for the Browns. This is where the slight change in the Browns’ plan comes in.

Our guess is the front office is going to make a splash in free agency, and not like before when they signed guys like Donte Whitner and Karlos Dansby, players well past their prime, but brought in as culture changes.

Our belief is the Browns will go after some players finishing their first pro contract, players just entering the prime of their career to speed up the building process. With a tremendous amount of money below the salary cap, an estimated $113 million, perhaps Sashi Brown and Hue Jackson can bring in three starters, plus the draft class which will include five picks in the first 65 players taken.

Those are guys you want. Most of those guys are in the 25-27 years of age range, and signing them to a three or four year deal takes them through at the most age 31. And that seems right in line with what the Browns plan is.

Get good young players and let them grow together, and hopefully you can win sooner than later.

It is hard to argue with that logic. It may just allow the Browns to fill six or seven spots in the starting lineup, and a few of those will be with players who have a track record in the league.

The point men for this will be Jackson and new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. They will have to sell these players and their agents, that Cleveland isn’t the vast wasteland of the NFL and they are building something to last.

Of course, they will probably have to overpay to do this, but when you are $113 million under the cap, that’s not a big deal either.

And we believe that number will grow, because it would not be a shock if Bryant and Hawkins are cut soon as well.

It’s a subtle shift, but one that should speed up the process of winning. And that is something we can all buy into.

Super Bowl Sunday? Browns Still Don’t Know

Today is Super Bowl Sunday.

It is also a day that fans of the Cleveland Browns have never been excited about. In the 51 years of the Super Bowl era, the Browns have never taken part in the game, let alone win the Lombardi Trophy.

Cleveland hasn’t been close to getting to the ultimate NFL experience since the 1989 season, 27 long and mostly dreadful years.

However, in the first 24 Super Bowl years, the Browns got to the what would now be the conference title game five times.

We all know about the game’s most famous upset in Super Bowl III, when the Jets, led by Joe Namath, beat the heavily favored Baltimore Colts 16-7. What is forgotten is the Colts got there by hammering the Browns 30-0 in the NFL title game.

The Colts avenged their lone regular season defeat that day.

Coach Blanton Collier’s crew got to the brink of the Super Bowl the very next year, losing to the Minnesota Vikings, who then lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the last AFL/NFL championship tilt.

That was the last success for what was really the remnants of the Paul Brown era in Cleveland, although the Browns made the playoffs in 1971 and 1972, but didn’t advance in either year.

In ’72, they did put a scare into what turned out to be the undefeated Miami Dolphins, leading in the fourth quarter before a blocked punt turned the game around and Don Shula’s team escaped with a win.

Cleveland didn’t win a playoff game again until 1986, although they did have a brief period of excitement when Sam Rutigliano was the head coach and the Browns became one of the first teams to emphasize the passing game.

In 1980, the Browns won the AFC Central and lost to Oakland in the famous “Red Right 88” game where Brian Sipe threw an interception with the team in point blank range for a game winning field goal.

To be fair, the conditions were horrible that day, and kicker Don Cockroft misses two extra points early.

The closest the Browns got to the Lombardi Trophy was 1986, with the AFC Championship in Cleveland, and Marty Schottenheimer’s squad took a 20-13 lead over Denver in the 4th quarter after Bernie Kosar hit Brian Brennan for a 48 yard touchdown strike.

Watching that game, we felt the Browns were going to get to their first Super Bowl. But then John Elway orchestrated the drive and Cleveland lost in overtime, 23-20. Denver lost the Super Bowl to the Giants.

The following year the same two teams matched up again, and again a bitter disappointment greeted Browns’ fans as Earnest Byner fumbled as he tried to score the game tying TD.

What made that game particularly galling was that Cleveland came back from a 28-10 deficit to the brink of tying the contest.

Denver again went on to lose the Super Bowl to Washington.

The last time the franchise got close was two years later, when they again lost to Denver, this time with Bud Carson at the helm.

Kosar’s finger was injured and the Browns got thumped in Denver, 37-21, and once again the Broncos got obliterated in the Super Bowl, this time by the 49ers.

Since then, the Cleveland Browns have won one playoff game, with one of today’s Super Bowl coaches, Bill Belichick, patrolling the Cleveland sidelines.

That’s been it.

Now, the Browns have started its most ambitious building process in the history of the franchise. They gutted the roster, purging most of the veterans and are now starting to build with a boatload of draft picks, which they hope will turn into a franchise quarterback, and a host of good young players they hope will lead the team back to the playoffs.

And eventually, into the first Super Bowl Cleveland has ever been a part of.

There aren’t many franchises that haven’t been to the Bowl, and the only two who pre-date the game itself are the Lions and Browns.

So, Browns fans will watch the game today without the experience of ever being part of the festivities.

But it is worth reminding everyone that the team has come close a few times, and in the early years of the game, the Browns were a contender to get there.

That was a long, long time ago unfortunately.

Our Annual Plea…Take Best Player With First Overall Pick.

Many people call the period between the college all-star games and the actual NFL draft the silly season because of all the rumors and draft speculation that is posted and talked about.

In Cleveland, the silly season usually manifests itself in many media members talking about getting a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

And if you think the Browns should not take a QB with their first pick, which this year happens to be the first overall choice, then you are supposedly kidding yourself because the Browns will never win unless they get the franchise signal caller.

So, we would like to debunk a few myths.

First, we would not pick a QB with the first pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, but there is no question the Browns need a quarterback. Our premise is the same as it has always been, if you have the first pick, you should take the consensus best player, which by all accounts is Texas A&M edge rusher Myles Garrett.

By the way, Cleveland has needed a pass rusher for virtually 50 years. So, you can’t go wrong there.

Second, while it is true that outside of Houston, all the teams that made the playoffs had very good passers, having a good QB doesn’t get you into the playoffs.

New Orleans has Drew Brees, did they get in? What about the Giants, who have Eli Manning? The Chargers have Philip Rivers, surely they got in, right?

The answer in every case is no.

Again, we aren’t saying having a very good quarterback isn’t important, we are simply saying that you need to build around the guy too. So, you need to have other good players besides a QB to win in the NFL.

The most ridiculous argument we hear is that if the Browns really like a certain player, then they should just draft him first overall. They forget that the draft is like a game. You judge where a player may be available, and take him as close as you can to that pick.

We are sure that the Patriots liked something about Tom Brady, otherwise they wouldn’t have selected him at all, but they didn’t take him with their first round pick.

Besides, the Browns have a ton of draft picks to move up if they get nervous about the player they want being chosen.

For example, we happen to like Deshaun Watson from the national champion Clemson Tigers as a QB. No one has him being the first overall pick, so it would be a mistake to take him there.

All you are doing is pushing good players down to the better teams.

Maybe Sashi Brown and Hue Jackson can take him at #12, we would be alright with that. But if they see or hear a team at #9 or #10 is interested, they have the picks to move up to #7 or #8 to select him.

And they would still have the consensus best player coming into the NFL this spring.

Perhaps their intel says Watson would be taken at around #25. Then, they could take the best player on their board at #12, and then move up from the first pick in the second round to grab Watson at let’s say, #23.

You just don’t go crazy and pick the 25th best player in the draft with the first overall pick because you need a quarterback. That’s a recipe for staying mediocre.

How many teams move up to a spot early in the draft to get a top notch quarterback anyway?

We know that Brady with a sixth round choice. The Steelers got Ben Roethlisberger with the 11th overall pick, they didn’t trade up.

Matt Ryan was the third overall pick, but Atlanta didn’t trade up for him. And the fourth team in the conference championships, Green Bay, got Aaron Rodgers because he famously fell to them in the draft.

The Redskins gave up a king’s ransom to get Robert Griffin III in 2012. How did that work out for them? The Rams and Eagles moved up to get Jared Goff and Carson Wentz last year.

The jury is still out.

The Vikings (Christian Ponder), the Jaguars (Blaine Gabbert) and the Bills (E. J. Manuel) all reached for quarterbacks in recent years, trying to get “the guy”. How has that worked out?

We have every expectation that the Browns’ front office will upgrade the quarterback position by the end of the NFL draft, whether by taking a guy they really like, or trading for a young, up and coming player, like Jimmy Garoppolo.

They don’t need to use the first overall pick to do it. In fact, in this year’s draft, it would be the dumbest thing they could do.

Is Garoppolo The Guy Browns Should Want?

It would be an understatement to say many in the media who cover the Browns are obsessed with the quarterback position.

It is literally all some of them talk about.

We feel the Browns will address the position this off-season, either through the draft, using one of their four choices in the first and second rounds, or by trading for a veteran currently a back up on another team.

Most of the speculation on the latter centers around New England’s Jimmy Garoppolo or Cincinnati’s A.J. McCarron.

Should the Browns go after either of these passers, who both will be free agents at the end of the 2017 season?

We liked Garoppolo coming out of the draft in 2014, but the Browns went in another direction.

It has been reported that the Patriots want the same price as the Eagles got for veteran Sam Bradford, that being a first and fourth round pick.

The difference is that Bradford had 64 NFL starts under his belt, while Garoppolo has just two. So, the first thing would be for Bill Belichick and Nick Caserio to get back to reality and set their sights a little lower.

Of course, they may say if they can’t get that price, they will go ahead and keep Jimmy G. and continue to groom him as Tom Brady’s replacement.

Garoppolo came into the NFL as a guy with a good arm and a very quick release, which would be a sharp contrast from the quarterbacks the Browns used in 2016, who seemed to hold the ball forever.

In his two starts with the Patriots this season, he completed 42 of his 59 throws for 496 yards and four touchdowns. Keep in mind, he has Patriots machine, the best franchise in pro football over the last 15 years, behind him.

So the question is how much would you give up for a little used young quarterback who has been around the league for three years.

The difference between Garoppolo and the others in the Tom Brady back up club (Matt Cassell, Brian Hoyer, and Ryan Mallett) is that he is the highest draft choice of the quartet.

Cassell wasn’t a starter at USC, Hoyer was a free agent from Michigan State and Mallett was a third rounder, and had a bad senior season. Garoppolo was a second round choice, and probably would have gone in the first round had he played for a major college program.

So when people say to be wary of trading for a Brady backup, be advised that Garoppolo is a cut above the rest.

However, that doesn’t mean the Browns should give up the 12th overall pick for a guy who has started just two NFL games.

On the other hand, why not move the first pick in the second round?

As we wrote earlier, the Browns are likely to address quarterback with one of the picks they have in the first or second round, and if you are going to draft one, you might as well trade for someone who has two more NFL starts than anyone you will draft.

And if you aren’t going to draft a QB this year, then surely you would use a high pick on a passer in 2018.

The best option might just be Jimmy Garoppolo, especially if DeShaun Watson is gone before the 12th selection based on his performance in last night’s title game.

Why not deal for a guy with at least a slight track record of success in the NFL?

The War Between The Browns & The People Who Cover Them.

It has been evident all year long that there is a disconnect between the front office of the Cleveland Browns and the people who cover the team.

There is no question that the Browns’ front office is trying something that really hasn’t been done since the Dallas Cowboys after Tom Landry was fired, and Jerry Jones bought the team and hired Jimmy Johnson as head coach.

After last season, they decided to release older players who were making big money, and accumulate draft picks.

To do that, they needed to trade down in the 2016 draft, and in doing so, passed up on several players who made an immediate impact this season, namely Ohio State products Ezekiel Elliott and Joey Bosa.

They had 14 picks in 2016 and will have 13 more next spring, as they try to lay a foundation for the future, one that hasn’t been laid before.

Of course, this is difficult to sell to a media that has covered a team that has made one playoff appearance since 1994. They are exposed to this everyday and to be sure it gets old, covering loss after loss, with seemingly a new head coach and new promises every other year.

At yesterday’s press conference with Sashi Brown, Paul DePodesta, and Hue Jackson, you could hear the conflict with the questions that were asked.

And there was one article today addressing the “arrogance” of Brown and DePodesta after a season in which there was one win.

Look, we aren’t a genius, but here is what we feel the Browns plan is:

They wanted to rid the roster of high-priced veterans with no upside to their careers, and replace them with young players who will get better with experience. We are talking about guys like Karlos Dansby and Donte Whitner.

To do that, they wanted to accumulate extra draft choices in the 2016 draft to fill the holes on the roster and lay a foundation for the future. To do that, they made a decision to get out of the top ten picks, and therefore passing on some elite talents.

Whether they did that remains to be seen, because unlike some folks, we aren’t going to make rash judgments on first year players.

However, we do see promise in Corey Coleman, Emmanuel Ogbah, Carl Nassib, Derrick Kindred, Seth DeValve, and Shon Coleman.

With those young players in place, now the front office will try to use the four picks they have in the first 50 selections to pick some impact talent to go along with the ’16 draft class.

That’s why we are under the belief that they will not trade down from the first overall pick. They may trade down from #12 if they think they can get the player they want by moving down slightly.

They also understand they need a quarterback, but they aren’t going to draft let’s say the 50th best player at #1 or #12. They are going to be true to their draft board.

Which, of course, is something they should be doing.

The media is in love with quarterbacks. Most of them pooh-poohed Carson Wentz before last year’s draft, but after Wentz played well in his first three games (including one vs. Cleveland), they hammered the front office for trading down.

This isn’t to say what the front office is doing will work, but it should be given a chance before it is condemned. They’ve tried mixing veterans with young guys, bringing in some vets for leadership, etc.

Guess what? It hasn’t worked.

Why not tear it down and start completely over? And don’t blame these guys for mistakes made by past regimes.

It’s not difficult to understand. Would it be too much to ask for the media to open their minds?

Browns On The Clock, But Showed Some Good Things

If you were one of the fans who wanted the Cleveland Browns to have the first overall pick in next spring’s NFL Draft, you couldn’t have written a better script than today’s 27-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Include us in that group. We are a fan of the team, but since they are building from the ground up, and have suffered through a painful 1-15 season, why not be all in about having the first selection in the draft.

We understood the Steelers were rested their three most important offensive weapons in QB Ben Roethlisburger, RB Le’Veon Bell, and WR Antonio Brown, so we certainly didn’t want Hue Jackson’s crew to get buried.

But the four turnovers cost Cleveland, who really played better today, that is, outside of giving the ball away.

The Browns took a 14-0 lead in the first half, moving the ball with ease, and defensively applying pressure to Steelers’ back up QB Landry Jones.

Pittsburgh crept to within a touchdown by halftime, and it the second half, the Browns treated the ball like it was a greased pigskin.

We wanted the Browns to show they haven’t quit on Jackson, and that some of the young players have made progress, and they did just that, but still managed to lose, thereby securing the first pick in the draft.

Cleveland outgained the black and gold, 437 yards to 312, and several players had good performances, outside, of course, of turning the ball over.

Isaiah Crowell had his fourth 100 yard rushing game of the year, gaining 152 yards on 19 attempts, but his critical fourth quarter fumble, with the Browns staring a chip shot go ahead field goal in the face, allowed the game to go into overtime.

Briean Boddy-Calhoun, returned an intercepted pass 67 yards, but fumbled on the two yard line, so instead of a point blank touchdown, the Steelers regained the ball on a touchback.

The rookie was also the victim on the game winning TD throw to Cobi Hamilton.

Robert Griffin III showed flashes, completing 29 of 40 throws for 232 yards and his first two TD throws as a Brown, but he threw a critical interception at the end of the first half, and fumbled in the second half.

Griffin led the Browns to eight third down conversions in 15 tries, one of their better marks of the season.

Terrelle Pryor caught seven passes for 94 yards, getting 1,000 yards receiving in his first full season as a wide receiver.

Rookie TE Seth DeValve scored on a 12 yard pass from Griffin, and his play over the last four or five weeks, should have the organization wanting to see more.

LB Christian Kirksey had 11 tackles, including a sack, closing out a very good season.

Another rookie Carl Nassib had a sack (when Jones tripped over a lineman’s foot), and yet another first year player, Emmanuel Ogbah sniffed out a reverse and dropped the ball carrier for a 12 yard loss.

The Browns looked like an NFL team every where except on the right end of the scoreboard, and for the good of the franchise going forward, that’s probably the best thing, right?

In overtime, Cleveland had a first and goal at the Steelers’ 2, but couldn’t get in the end zone. The curious thing was they didn’t try to run, despite averaging seven yards a carry.

With the Steelers playing a lot of substitutes, there wasn’t really anything to be gained by a win today. So, although we mentioned all these good things, how do we know what would have happened had Pittsburgh been playing their regulars.

The downside is having to hear four months of who should/will the Browns take with the first overall pick. To be sure, the players will appear and disappear as the flavor of the month.

The consensus best player is Texas A& M pass rusher Myles Garrett. Hopefully, the Browns do their homework, don’t trade down, and don’t out think themselves.

Speeding up the building process depends on getting impact players, which the first overall pick should be.

Browns Get Win, Keep First Pick.

The very definition of win/win occurred Saturday afternoon at First Energy Stadium.

The Cleveland Browns avoided a winless season due to a 20-17 victory over the San Diego Chargers. It was Hue Jackson’s first win as coach of the brown and orange, and the first time the squad won all year, including pre-season games.

The victory seemed to take the Browns out of their position to get the first pick in next spring’s NFL Draft, something many fans, including us want for the organization.

But later in the day, Cleveland got their cake and was able to eat it as well, as the 49ers, who took over as frontrunner to have the first overall pick, defeated Los Angeles.

So, the Browns got a win, and if they lose to the Steelers on New Year’s Day, they will have their choice of all the eligible college players next April.

A perfect scenario for Hue Jackson, Sashi Brown, and Paul DePodesta.

As for the game, the Browns seemed to do things differently on Saturday. They seemed to stay with the running game more, as Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson carried 23 times combined for the game.

They ran some crossing routes, which have been absent lately. And Robert Griffin III was efficient, although not spectacular (17 of 25, 164 yards) before leaving with a concussion in the fourth quarter.

They even controlled the ball, winning the time of possession battle on the day.

Defensively, the Browns even forced a turnover, their first in weeks, on an interception by Jamar Taylor.

There were still some warts, as you would expect on a 1-14 team.

Cleveland quarterbacks were sacked eight times, mostly because of their awful habit on holding on to the ball forever. On the other hand, even though Chargers’ QB Philip Rivers threw 46 times, the Browns’ defense did not record a sack.

That is why many people think Cleveland should target Texas A & M defensive end Myles Garrett, the best pass rusher available in the draft.

And for those not seeing progress with the rookie class (at least two media members pan the entire draft on a weekly basis), several players stood out.

Emmanuel Ogbah had four more tackles, as did Briean Boddy-Calhoun. Corey Coleman had two catches for nine yards, including a key third down reception for another rook, Cody Kessler, who replaced Griffin, to keep possession in the fourth quarter.

TE Seth DeValve also made a key 21 yard reception on the Browns’ second touchdown drive.

Remember, many rookies don’t hit their stride until they go through a season and an off-season conditioning program, because they don’t know how to prepare and survive an NFL season. Our guess is we will see a lot more in 2017 from most of these young players.

We also like what we’ve seen from Mario Alford, the Browns’ new kick returner. Alford doesn’t seem hesitant and gets good yardage when he decides to bring the ball out of the end zone. Too often, the Browns were starting inside their own 20 yard line.

A little luck went the Browns’ way too. Jamie Meder blocked a field goal in the fourth quarter, and San Diego’s Josh Lambo missed a 45 yarder as time expired as well.

Meder’s block wasn’t lucky, but how often do you see a field goal get blocked?

It’s likely we will see Kessler in the season finale against Pittsburgh, in what is really a meaningless game for both teams. The Steelers are locked in an the #3 seed in the AFC playoff picture.

Hopefully, Jackson will play the game that way too. It is better for the franchise to have the first overall pick in the spring, which the Browns will have by losing on Sunday.

Too Soon To Rate Browns’ Rookie Class

Most football experts agree you really can’t evaluate an NFL draft class for three years after the players are picked.

That doesn’t stop fans and some of the media from deciding already that the first year Browns players are busts, although even the harshest critics are softening on Emmanuel Ogbah, who has come on strong as of late.

While in Cleveland, we are certainly aware of Carson Wentz, who was acquired with a pick originally owned by the Browns, and we also know Ohio State products Joey Bosa and Ezekiel Elliott, who have both made great impacts with thus far, not every rookie in the NFL appears to be headed to Canton.

Somehow, that seems to be the expectation when the players are picked by Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta.

Think back to before this season actually started and the opinion most people had of last year’s first round pick, Danny Shelton. He was considered a bust. However, look at how much progress the nose tackle has made in his second year.

You can also see the progress made by third year pro LB Christian Kirksey, who looks to be a building block for the future. Kirksey, along with injured G Joel Bitonio, are the lone remaining players from the ’14 draft.

You can’t be successful if you only have two players left from three years ago. However, don’t pin that mistake on Brown and DePodesta, they weren’t here. It’s not fair to blame them.

While Shelton looks like the best of the ’15 selections, Duke Johnson was also in the draft, and we still like Ibraheim Campbell. Of course, you also have the Cam Erving question. Many think he’s a bust, but others still see him as a serviceable NFL offensive lineman.

And while fans wonder why at least a few of Cleveland’s picks didn’t turn out like Elliott and QB Dak Prescott, with the Cowboys, who have the best record in the NFL, it’s a lot easier for those two to be productive surrounded by solid veterans, a luxury the Browns’ rookie class doesn’t have.

Certainly, Ogbah has stood out on defense and Carl Nassib flashed early, but seems to have plateaued. Corey Coleman got hurt, which seems to have set back his progress.

We haven’t seen much of Shon Coleman, but Joe Schobert, Ricardo Louis, Derrick Kindred, Seth DeValve, and Spencer Drango have all been on the field this season with various degrees of success.

It will be interested and necessary to see the progress of those players when they go through an NFL off-season conditioning program, and can be in that program from the end of the season until training camp.

We feel we tend to underestimate how much these players lose attending scouting combines and personal workouts instead of getting ready for an NFL season.

Any criticism of this draft class is reactionary and premature. It’s simply way too soon to form judgments, and comparing all picks to Elliott, Prescott, and Joey Bosa is not fair.

You have to see the process through. With all the picks Cleveland has in the 2017 draft, they will likely have half of the opening game roster next year be first and second year players.

Making the playoffs would be a miracle next year, but there should be reason for optimism. Just don’t let your impatience get the best of you.

Defense Lets Down Browns Most In Latest Loss.

We have written and said this for several years, and many others who know pro football have said it too–if you can’t run the ball and stop the run, you aren’t going to be successful in the NFL.

And we say that, knowing full well that the league has put a major emphasis on throwing the pigskin.

The Browns came into the game knowing the Bills were going to run LeSean McCoy, and run him a lot, but they were powerless to stop it, as Buffalo gained 280 yards rushing, more than Cleveland gained in total, in a convincing 33-13 thumping in upstate New York.

The first two times McCoy carried he picked up more than 20 yards each time, a prelude to what kind of day it was going to be.

The other problem that has plagued the defense all season, covering the tight end, was also on display today, as Charles Clay caught 7 balls for 72 yards, including a 19 yard touchdown pass from Tyrod Taylor. Only one wide receiver caught more than one pass in the game for the Bills.

Still, after Robert Griffin III’s 18 yard touchdown run in the third quarter, Cleveland trailed 17-10 with plenty of time remaining in the game.

Unfortunately, the defense couldn’t sustain the momentum, allowing Buffalo to march 75 yards in six plays, and slightly over three minutes later, the Bills were back up by 14 points, and the game was essentially over.

You might think we are picking on Ray Horton’s unit, but it is only disappointment because the defense looked to be making strides the past few weeks, but today, they were dominated.

It was also disappointing that in situations where Taylor was in a passing situation, the Browns brought little pressure. Most notably on a 3rd and 22, when Cleveland brought just four, and allowing a 23 yard completion.

The Browns had just one sack, by rookie Emmanuel Ogbah, who continues to impress.

Why not blitz more in obvious passing situations? After all, it’s not as though a playoff spot is on the line. The team is now 0-14, why not be aggressive.

It has now been four games since the Cleveland defense has caused a turnover. It’s tough to win games that way, not giving your offense a short field to work with.

Speaking of offense, it has now been six weeks since the Browns’ offense has mustered 20 points. Again, there is a good reason Hue Jackson’s team is 0-14.

Griffin put up decent numbers, nothing to show he should be the frontrunner as the starter going into next season. He completed 17 of 28 throws for 196 yards, and did not turn the ball over.

It also baffling why Jackson doesn’t get the ball to his playmakers more often. Terrelle Pryor caught four passes for 19 yards, although he did drop a pass near the goal line before Griffin’s touchdown.

Duke Johnson touched the ball just 10 times, five rushes, five catches, for a total of 93 yards.

It doesn’t seem the Browns use the same plays other teams do, like slant patterns.

This isn’t a question on the competency of the coaching staff. We know the Browns don’t have a lot of experienced talent, but it seems like the staff is hesitant on featuring players.

For example, Isaiah Crowell gained 25 yards on a sweep in the first quarter. That play wasn’t tried again, as far as we could see.

So, now there are only two opportunities for victory this season, the next game coming on Christmas Eve at home against the San Diego Chargers.

It will be interesting to see if Jackson will make changes at certain positions before that game.

Is 0-16 Really That Upsetting To You?

With 13 losses already in the book, there are many who hope the Cleveland Browns can win one of the last three games to avoid joining the Detroit Lions as the only NFL teams to go 0-16.

And as we said the other day, the media and fans alike are already lining up the reasons why the victory could come this Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. Most of those reasons center around the coaching turmoil with the Bills, as rumors are swirling that Rex Ryan doesn’t have a great deal of security.

The other reason is the quarterback situation there as Tyrod Taylor is a free agent at the end of the season, and will they want to take a look at former Glenville and Ohio State QB Cardele Jones soon.

As for going 0-16, there are many who say they want the win for the players, so they can avoid the spectre of a winless season, but how many players from that Lions team can you name?

The quarterbacks were Dan Orlovsky (0-7), Jon Kitna (0-4), and Daunte Culpepper (0-5). Kevin Smith was the leading rusher, and a guy many believe will wind up in the Hall of Fame, Calvin Johnson, was the leading receiver.

Paris Lenon was the leading tackler and Dewayne Wayne was the leader sacker.

Maybe those names are memorable in the Motor City, but outside of Johnson, who remembers them. And Johnson doesn’t have that stigma attached to him.

The only notoriety those players have is they will probably be interviewed if the Browns head to Pittsburgh on New Year’s Day with a chance to match them.

Really, what is the difference between being 0-16 and let’s say, 2-14? Or 3-13? Those records make you a bad football team. You still aren’t very competitive.

And in this NFL season, there are several teams who can claim the right to be considered putrid. The 49ers have won just one game. Jacksonville is sitting at two wins. The Bears have three victories, one over the 49ers.

The New York Jets are 4-9, and almost all national media people consider that organization to be a mess.

What we are saying here is the Browns have competition to get the first overall pick in next spring’s NFL draft, so going 0-16 guarantees you will get the chance to choose the best player coming into the league.

According to reports, the Browns have a very high grade on Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett, who many feel is the best player in the 2017 draft. So, maybe analytics says the wise choice if you have the first pick, you should take the best player.

Besides, it isn’t like the Browns will be branded the worst team of all time if they go 0-16. Another team has done it. Heck, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost the first 26 games in franchise history in 1976-77 before they finally won.

In 1979, just two years later, they went to the NFC Championship Game.

If in two years, the Browns are in the playoffs, then a winless season would be well worth it, right?

We understand that it is different for the players and Hue Jackson. They are competitors and want to win. We heard the frustration in the voices of Terrelle Pryor and Corey Coleman this week.

We know they want to win.

But the end game, if the “plan” works, is the Browns are speeding up the process. They have five picks in the first 65 choices next spring.

The Browns knew this year wasn’t going to be pretty and the media and fans should’ve seen that too. If you are going to be bad, why not be real bad?