It’s Simple. Browns Have To Score More. The Defense Is That Good

We get it. Our reason for the Cleveland Browns starting veteran Joe Flacco at quarterback was to make sure people were lined up correctly and to limit the mistakes a rookie would presumably make.

Well, four games into the season, Flacco has thrown six interceptions and lost a fumble. His three turnovers on Sunday great aided the Detroit Lions in a 34-10 loss that dropped Kevin Stefanski’s squad to 1-3 on the season.

Whether or not a change is made at QB, there is pressure on the head coach to put some points on the scoreboard. Cleveland has now gone nine consecutive games without scoring more than 17 points. In today’s NFL, that’s pathetic.

Especially because the Browns have a Super Bowl defense. Lions’ offensive coordinator John Morton said Cleveland hadn’t seen a running attack like his, and in weeks two and three, Detroit ran for 177 and 224 yards. They got 109 vs. Jim Schwartz’ group and the longest run of the day for the home team was 24 yards.

Detroit got just 277 yards of total offense on the day. They won the game because they scored 24 points off of Cleveland turnovers and a punt return for a touchdown. They only had 16 first downs for the game, the same as the Browns.

But the offense is just putrid, and that’s where Stefanski is supposed to have expertise. However, we do think about the decision to not add any offensive linemen in last year’s draft. The unit is aging, but the only move the front office made was to bring in veteran journeyman Cornelius Lucas.

How’s that working out.

We don’t know how that gets fixed. The Browns did trade for veteran Cam Robinson, who has started 102 games in his eight-year career, presumably to start at left tackle. Or they can start a revolving door on the practice squad until you find someone who is an upgrade at the position.

Our fear is that the problem isn’t the quarterback and no matter who Stefanski puts behind center is going to have a problem because the tackles simply cannot block.

There was one bright spot on the offensive side of the ball, rookie running back Quinshon Judkins continues to impress, gaining 82 yards on 21 carries, and catching four passes for 33 more.

It doesn’t help the offense that receivers are dropping the football. Jerry Jeudy continues to struggle in that regard and rookie Harold Fannin has dropped some balls as well. When the QB gets time, the receivers aren’t helping.

Now on to the special teams, misnamed for the Browns. We are only four games into the season, but already the team has had a punt blocked and another returned for a touchdown.

We have heard veteran NFL observers say it is difficult for special teams’ coaches at times because of the bottom of the roster (which is what the special teams are made up of) changes a lot weekly. But that hasn’t been the case with the Browns. To date, the roster has been pretty stable.

Again, the emphasis coming into the year was to eliminate mistakes, and that hasn’t happened. If the Browns could play a clean game, we have no doubt they would be competitive, but it’s difficult to do.

Would switching to Dillon Gabriel help that? He’s a rookie, so the temptation is to say no. On the other hand, this offense simply has to score more points. It’s a shame because the defense continues to be that good.

Gabriel Playing Is Good For The Media, But Flacco Is Still The Best Bet For Wins Right Now

There’s an old story about someone questioning an old sportswriter about what team he roots for, the response he got was “I root for the story”.

We think this applies to what the Cleveland Browns are doing with the quarterback position. There are several people in the local media asking when Kevin Stefanski will pull the trigger and replace Joe Flacco with rookie Dillon Gabriel.

We continue to say we will bet making the change is based more on Gabriel’s readiness to be a professional quarterback and less on Flacco’s performance in the three games played to date.

Flacco hasn’t been great, but to be fair, if not for a bad kicking game, the Browns would be 2-1 right now, and we doubt there would be calls for a change. Flacco does lead the league in attempts and also has the lowest passer rating in the league. He’s also thrown the second most interceptions thus far with four, behind only Jake Browning.

He hasn’t thrown the ball downfield much, as his average yards per attempt is also a league low 5.0. However, perhaps that’s by design.

Stefanski preached all off-season about taking care of the football after his team was second in the NFL in turning the ball over a year ago. Our guess is he’s had that conversation with his QB as well, and Flacco doesn’t want to put the ball in any risky spots.

The coaching staff and Flacco realize what the strength of this team is, and it’s their outstanding defense. So, we feel that’s the game plan going into every game, let Jim Schwartz’ unit keep the team close and do enough offensively to keep it close and have a chance to win it in the fourth quarter.

That’s not sexy, but if the Browns win, many fans won’t care.

Look, we get it, we would all love for the Browns to have a high-flying offense like the one they will see this Sunday in Detroit, but they don’t have the offensive line or the skill talent at wide receiver to play that way.

But there is more than one way to achieve victory.

Right now, Stefanski thinks his best chance to win is to run the ball and mix in the short passing game to shorten the game and keep his defense fresh. And we are also sure he believes the right QB to do that is Joe Flacco.

Why hasn’t Flacco taken more shots down the field? Probably because that’s not the game plan.

Is winning that way sustainable? We also believe the coaching staff and front office know it is not, but that’s what they are working with now.

When they feel Gabriel is ready to execute that game plan, we will probably see him. Also, when the schedule eases a bit and some of the skill players gain experience and get better, then they will open up the offense a bit.

Heck, if Quinshon Judkins can have the success on the ground he had last week, you might see some more play action throws from Flacco.

We know the better story is to see Gabriel and perhaps Shedeur Sanders as soon as possible, but for Kevin Stefanski and the players, the best story is winning football games.

And we think they know playing the way they have played offensively the first three weeks gives them the best chance to win, if they execute.

Somehow, The Browns Pull Out A Win

The Cleveland Browns pulled a rabbit out of a hat Sunday and upset the Green Bay Packers 13-10 when Andre Szmyt made a 55-yard field goal as time expired.

The 0-6 start that many people predicted for the Browns won’t happen. But we think we speak for everyone in saying that halfway through the fourth quarter, we figured Kevin Stefanski’s crew was not only going to lose, but they were going to be shutout.

The offense took advantage of some penalties and got the ball to the Green Bay one with five minutes to go but got pushed back and had to settle for Szmyt’s first field goal. We imagine fans all over northeast Ohio were shaking their collective heads when the first down play was a rollout pass to reverse offensive lineman Luke Wypler.

Another instance of Stefanski trying to get too cute.

But an ill-advised pass by Jordan Love resulted in the Browns’ first turnover of the year, an interception by Grant Delpit and this time Cleveland punched it in to tie the game.

Then, a contribution by the special teams. Shelby Harris blocked a field goal with :21 left on the clock and gave the Browns one last chance.

There was great execution on a short pass to David Njoku, not in the play design, but in getting the offensive line back to the line of scrimmage so Joe Flacco could kill the clock and leave time for Szmyt’s heroics.

Unbelieveable

The reality about this football team is as long as they stay relatively healthy, the defense is going keep this team in games. It’s that good. Green Bay put up 266 and 404 yards in their first two games, both wins, but picked up 230 yards against Cleveland.

Cleveland’s defense had five sacks, as the Packers went into the game refusing to let Myles Garrett ruin their offense, and that created opportunities for everyone else.

Maliek Collins had a sack and a half, Alex Wright had one, Garrett and rookie Adin Huntington shared one, and the rookies also shined.

Carson Schwesinger continues to impress. He got his first sack and was in on 10 tackles. Mason Graham teamed up with Collins on a sack. And the defense allowed just 81 yards on the ground.

Right now, you can make the case they are the best defense in the league. And they haven’t faced any opponents that didn’t have solid, if not, high powered attacks.

Another rookie, RB Quinshon Judkins was a key in the fourth quarter, ripping off a 38-yard run in route to gaining 94 yards on the day.

The offensive line still appears to be a concern. Dawand Jones left the game in the first quarter and Jack Conklin missed the game again, so most of the way, the Browns were playing with Cornelius Lucas and KT Leveston were playing outside.

Flacco heard boos during the game as the Browns couldn’t muster much of an offense, maybe due to the offensive line play, and maybe because Stefanski has preached not putting the ball in harms’ way.

Right now, he is checking down virtually every pass play. The longest pass plays were a 17-yard toss to Jerry Jeudy and another to Isaiah Bond. There was a 13-yard play to Harold Fannin Jr., where he basically carried defenders to get that much yardage.

If we were defending the Browns, we would put nine in the box to stop Judkins and dare Flacco to air it out. And if defenses do that, it makes it difficult for Stefanski to establish the ground game.

However, a win is a win. The gauntlet doesn’t get any easier with a visit to Detroit, another high-powered offense next week.

Fair Or Not, Browns Need To Show Progress

Based on the emotionality of Cleveland Browns’ fans, we shouldn’t be surprised that the frustration level is rising after a 41-17 drubbing at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday.

And when that happens, you hear fans calling for the head coach’s job, even though they have played just two games.

In reality, if ownership or the front office would be willing to move on from Kevin Stefanski following two games, then they shouldn’t have brought him back for the 2025 season. If a coach starts the season on the hot seat, the team should have fired him.

It’s simply not fair.

On the other hand, reports that GM Andrew Berry and Stefanski being safe no matter what happens are probably a load of bull as well. The Browns were 3-14 a year ago, and we doubt another final record not showing improvement won’t play well with the Haslam family. You certainly can’t have back-to-back seasons like that in the NFL.

We have been a supporter of Stefanski over the years, mostly because he has made the playoffs twice and also because at some point, you have to stop the cycle of changing coaches every two or three years. This is Stefanski’s sixth season, so the latter has been accomplished.

Stefanski’s strength is offense, he came to the Browns after serving as the Vikings’ offensive coordinator, but the last time Cleveland scored more than 17 points in a game was game #13 for the Browns a year ago, a 41-32 loss to Denver. That’s a seven-game span.

We think he wants to run the ball. With Minnesota, his offense ranked fourth in the NFL in rushing attempts and in his first four years in Cleveland, the Browns were in the top ten. Of course, he had Dalvin Cook with the Vikings and Nick Chubb here, so of course you would want to run it.

Since Chubb got hurt last year, the Browns are throwing the ball a lot. It would be great if they had a tremendous stable of wide receivers, but they don’t. Through two games, the leading receivers are rookie TE Harold Fannin and rookie RB Dylan Sampson.

The team drafted Quinshon Judkins in the second round, presumably to be the primary runner, and hopefully, he gets a heavy dose of carries going forward. So, we shall see if that’s the case.

We will say that it’s hard to run the ball without solid offensive line play, and right now, it doesn’t look like the Browns have that. They didn’t really bother to make changes in the off-season, signing a couple of reverses in Cornelius Lucas and Teven Jenkins, and bringing back the oft-injured Jack Conkin.

Perhaps a change there is in order. Dawand Jones has struggled at left tackle, but does the team have an option? It has been said they like Luke Wypler, who missed last season with an injury, so why not take a look at him?

But we digress. The point is the NFL, and all professional sports are results based, and right now Kevin Stefanski needs to show some results. It’s only two games in, but the natives are getting restless. A few more games like last Sunday, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, and the discontent will get louder.

Did You Really Expect A Win In Baltimore?

We know a lot of Browns’ fans are upset with Sunday’s 41-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, which dropped Cleveland to 0-2 on the season. Our question is why? We thought everyone figured Kevin Stefanski’s squad would struggle against a tough schedule early in the year.

Did you really think they were going to win?

Let’s start with some positives. The Browns are not the worst team in the NFL, and it’s not close. They very well could have won the opener against the Bengals, and we know this sound silly, but the loss to the Ravens was not a lopsided as the score indicates.

Also, Cleveland’s defense is very good. They lead the NFL in defense through two games and frankly, they have played two offenses who are led by two of the best quarterbacks in the league.

Oh, and by the way, Myles Garrett has 3.5 sacks after two games.

The rookie class continues to impress. Mason Graham and Carson Schwesinger are starters and contributors on that impressive defense. Harold Fannin Jr. and Dylan Sampson look good, and Quinshon Judkins made his debut and carried 10 times for 61 yards and caught three passes too.

But the Browns continue to shoot themselves in the foot. They were tied for the NFL lead in turning the ball over last season and have done so five times (we are including the blocked punt as one) in the first two games.

They need to be able to win games on the margins, and if you keep giving the ball to the other team, that’s something they simply cannot overcome.

We kept hearing about Stefanski’s ground based offense, yet Joe Flacco has put the ball in the air a league high 90 times in the first two games. Hopefully that changes now that Judkins is integrated into the offense, but the coach’s offense also likes to run play action, and you can’t do that unless you can run it.

It appears the team may have overestimated their offensive line. Run blocking is an issue and without that ability, opponents are pressuring Flacco.

They seemed to be fine with Jack Conklin at RT, but over the past few years, he’s missed more time than he’s played. Why not look for a replacement in the off-season? Dewand Jones has been penalized five times in the two games.

Cleveland signed Teven Jenkins as a free agent in the off-season, and he can play tackle, why isn’t he getting some time? Why not take a look at second year player Luke Wypler, who supposedly the brass likes?

And special teams continue to be an issue. In the opener, it was Andre Smyzt missing an extra point and a very makable (by NFL standards) field goal. Sunday, it was having a punt blocked. The Browns can’t afford for the kicking game to be a negative. Just being a “zero” would be an improvement.

As for a change at QB? Let’s hope the Browns avoid making the same mistake they’ve made in the past, that is playing a rookie quarterback before he’s ready. Dillon Gabriel looked good in garbage time, but that’s exactly what it was.

He will start sometime this season, and perhaps Shedeur Sanders will too, but now is not the time. Stefanski needs to fix the other issues the offense has before inserting one of this year’s draft picks.

Browns Did A Lot Of Things Right, But Still Lose

We all know how frustrating it can be to be a fan of the Cleveland Browns. Sunday’s game was just another example.

On a day when you much went right for the team, the Browns still lost to Cincinnati 17-16 and are now 0-1 to start the season with a date in Baltimore against the Ravens next weekend.

This game was lost because rookie Andre Szmyt, in his first NFL game, missed an extra point and a 36-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. Most of the time in the NFL, kicks of 40 yards or less are automatic, they have to be converted.

We would bet the Browns will be looking for a new kicker this week.

They lost because they lost the turnover battle again, giving up the ball twice and not getting any of their own. Joe Flacco threw two interceptions, the first wasn’t a great throw and was batted up in the air by Jerry Jeudy. The second was right in the hands of Cedric Tillman and came with the Browns having a chance to have a go ahead drive in the last two minutes.

Otherwise, a lot went right for Kevin Stefanski’s team and GM Andrew Berry’s draft class. His first two selections, Mason Graham and Carson Schwesinger both started on a defense that looked a lot like the ’23 edition which led the NFL in total defense.

Graham had three assists playing in 81% of the snaps, while Schwesinger played on every defensive snap and was in on a team high eight tackles.

TE Harold Fannin Jr. was a big factor, lining up at many spots and catching seven passes for 63 yards, with a long of 22. You can tell Stefanski and Flacco have a lot of confidence in the young receiver.

RB Dylan Sampson had a dozen carries for 29 yards and also caught 8 passes for 64 yards. And for all the talk about Jerome Ford starting the year as the featured back, it was Sampson who got the bulk of the action. The latter had just six carries for eight yards.

Frankly, the Browns did everything they needed to do to win that football game. They controlled the ball, as time of possession favored Cleveland, 35:49 to 24:11 and consider the Bengals had a seven-minute drive to start the game. The Browns had 71 offensive plays to just 49 for Cincy.

It was a blueprint on how the Browns will need to play in 2025 if they want to win, except for the two turnovers.

Myles Garrett had two sacks and Isaiah McGuire had one. And we were also impressed with KR DeAndre Carter who also showed what a veteran returner does. He didn’t run backwards; he didn’t fair catch anything inside the ten.

That’s how it is supposed to be done.

We are concerned about LT Dawand Jones, who had four penalties in the game, although one was a holding call for something that seems to happen to Garrett on most plays. He needs to play a cleaner game.

The lack of a running game is a big concern too. Second round pick Quinshon Judkins signed over the weekend and could be ready to go next Sunday. He was drafted to be the primary workhorse running the ball, and Stefanski is going to need more than 49 yards on the ground for his offense to work.

The Cleveland Browns don’t have a lot of margin for error this season. That’s why the loss on Sunday stung. They could and should have won that game.

Now we see if this style of play is sustainable. Can they do it on the weekly basis? Guess we will find out in Baltimore.

Browns Start Today And Need To Improve From ’24

The Cleveland Browns are in an odd situation as they open their 2025 season today at home against the Cincinnati Bengals. Their roster is a mixed bag.

The fans that worship draft picks above everything else would like them to “strategically lose”, which we guess is the new term for tanking, in order to have two high draft picks to solve the franchise’s age-old quarterback problem.

However, this is not a team devoid of proven talent. The Browns have perhaps the NFL’s best defensive player in Myles Garrett and a Pro Bowl corner in Denzel Ward. The defense was the best in the NFL just two years ago, and even last season allowed 20 points or less five times.

Remember, the Browns were tied with Tennessee for the most turnovers in the league a year ago with 34, so the defense was put in a lot of bad spots making their numbers look worse than they actually were.

On offense, the Browns have a veteran offensive line that weirdly (we know why) changed their blocking scheme after years of success and decided this season that, you know, maybe we shouldn’t have changed what was working.

They also have a Pro Bowl wide receiver in Jerry Jeudy and a good tight end in David Njoku.

With all of the talent on the roster, and at this point, let us remind everyone that just two seasons ago, yes just two, this team was 11-6 and made the playoffs.

Because of the veterans and the talent they possess, the Browns really cannot tank. And that’s why the starting quarterback was always going to be Joe Flacco, despite folks in the media predicting Kenny Pickett.

An aside, media people root for stories, and we always think about asking them this when they opine–if your job was on the line, is that what you would do?

Flacco gives them a professional at the position. He will make sure his teammates are lined up properly and make good football decisions. He might turn it over from time to time, but it won’t be because he’s experiencing something he’s never seen before.

It’s also Flacco because despite all of the good feelings in the front office, GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski have to know going 3-14 again this year doesn’t bode well for job security. Jimmy Haslam can say whatever he wants, but we would bet on a new regime in place for 2026 with another disastrous season.

So, the Browns need to win or at least be competitive during the early part of the schedule which appears to be daunting. We would expect Stefanski will depend on what he knows best, a solid running game with a play action passing attack with the still strong armed Flacco in charge.

And he will also depend on the defense getting back its mojo with Garrett and two what look to be solid rookies in first round pick Mason Graham and second rounder Carson Schwesinger.

That unit looks like it could be among the best in the NFL again.

Here’s our best-case scenario for the 2025 Cleveland Browns. Between 6-8 victories and a 3-14 season by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Football fans would get a competitive team, and the draft lovers would get their high pick next spring.

The Weird Ways Of The Cleveland Browns

From time to time, we have discussed the management philosophy of the Cleveland Browns and have found fault with it. The head coach and general manager, and the owner when he is available talk about the “collaborative effort” the team uses.

We don’t believe a committee is ever a good way to run anything and feel the Browns need to make someone, preferably with a football background, the ultimate hammer.

This comes up again because of the quarterback situation. There was a lot of conversation about the four QBs all during camp, and as we have pointed out before, that whole situation was created by the brass.

Coming off a 3-14 season and drafting a quarterback in the third round, someone should have said “no” when the subject of Shedeur Sanders came up in round five. That’s not a rap at Sanders, who we think has potential as an NFL QB. It’s more of why you want to create a situation where you bring four passers to training camp.

If Kenny Pickett didn’t get hurt, it is difficult to see how you could have picked up a read on either of the two rookies.

Then, the Browns traded Pickett to the Las Vegas Raiders last week, leaving a rookie that they picked in the third round, Dillon Gabriel, as the primary back up.

Did they not learn a lesson just three years ago when they traded Josh Dobbs at the end of camp, leaving rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson as the back up? And when Deshaun Watson was injured prior to a game against the Baltimore Ravens, they had to put him on the field, pretty much sacrificing that contest?

Listen, we understood taking a chance on Pickett, a former first round pick, why not see if you can salvage something there, but they decided on Joe Flacco, presumably because he gives them the best chance to win.

But what if Flacco gets hurt early in the season?

Obviously, the Browns have to see what they have in Gabriel and Sanders at some point this season, but is it wise to put either on the field prior to say, the 11th game of this season? Why not give both the time to settle into the NFL and watch and learn before playing them?

That plan is out the window. So, the mode for the Browns changes instantly from trying to win games early with a veteran QB to a rebuilding mode with two rookies at the controls?

Why not get another veteran on the roster, unless that’s the plan with Bailey Zappe.

This is an organization that doesn’t seem to value character and/or leadership. They brought in Dionte Johnson, a player who has quit on teams because he once produced. It was a waste of time and other reps for other wide receivers because Johnson was cut.

How many players have been signed to one-year deals and were made captain? Maybe Carson Schwesinger is the answer there, but haven’t we all wondered who is the team leader?

Remember, just last season, the spokesperson for the offense seemed to be the BACKUP quarterback.

It Was Always Going To Be Flacco, And Other Stuff…

The least shocking news of the week came on Monday when Browns’ coach Kevin Stefanski named Joe Flacco the starting quarterback for the season opener against Cincinnati. This was inevitable since the team signed the 40-year-old veteran in the spring.

And again, for all of those you want to see Kenny Pickett as the starter, or for the Browns to repeat their awful recent history by starting a third round or fifth round rookie behind center, remember the Browns have a lot of accomplished veterans on the roster.

Make no mistake, not starting Flacco, who we would bet has the confidence of most of the team, would erode the trust players like Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, and David Njoku among others, had in the head coach and for that matter the entire coaching staff.

Dillon Gabriel got his chance last weekend against the Eagles and did okay, completing 13 of 18 passes for 143 yards, really a similar type of performance to what Shedeur Sanders did in week one. The big difference was the two turnovers, whether or not whose fault it was, the Browns turned the ball over way too much last season, and they can’t have it this year.

The bottom line is Gabriel was out there for two series where the offense turned it over. Fair or not, that has to be taken into consideration.

While everyone wants to talk QB, if this team is going to exceed the not-so-great expectations the experts have put on them, it’s going to be because of the defense. It was encouraging to hear about the pass rush in the organized practices against a pretty solid Eagles’ offensive line.

Remember, they will start two rookies in DT Mason Graham and LB Carson Schwesinger. If the secondary can hold up their part of the bargain, the defense will keep the Browns in most games.

One guy we continue to watch is running back Ahmani Marshall, who gained 25 yards in six carries against Philadelphia. If you want to have a power running game, which Stefanski likes, we would rather have bigger backs, and Marshall, an undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State, is 6’1″ and 225 pounds.

The unsigned second round draft pick, Quinshon Judkins, weighs 221 lbs. The other rookie runner Cleveland drafted, Dylan Sampson is a smaller, “change of pace” back, listed at 5’8″, 200 pounds.

The incumbent, Jerome Ford, is kind of in between Judkins, Marshall, and Sampson at 5’10” and 210 pounds. Remember, Nick Chubb was listed at 227.

We get the whole pre-season thing, and we’ve never been a fan of Ford because although he’s a home run threat, he does get the four or five runs in between the tackles, but maybe you can get a draft pick for Ford, who is on the last year of his contract anyway.

Only one more of these games left, although this week we will likely see all four quarterbacks get some playing time because Flacco wants to play a series or two. After that, fans will likely see a lot of players fighting to make an NFL team.

Then the Bengals come in to start the season.

Thoughts On Sanders And The Four QB Carousel

If it is August, fans in northeast Ohio are generally talking about who should be the quarterback of the Cleveland Browns in the first game of the season.

In last week’s first pre-season game, rookie Shedeur Sanders got the start and completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. It was a solid performance, but again we remind you although Carolina did play their starters in the first couple of series, Sanders got most of his work against backups.

On the other hand, he played with mostly reserves. Jerry Jeudy did not play and neither did the entire starting offensive line, including TE David Njoku.

Our comment on Sanders is simply this. He looked good and we want to see more. Hopefully, we will this weekend against the Eagles. But, he remains a solid NFL prospect and in no way shape or form should the Browns consider starting the rookie anytime before the halfway point of this upcoming season.

Unfortunately, he will likely not play this week due to an oblique injury. That doesn’t help his situation.

The Browns have tried to force rookies under center before they were ready before and how has that worked out? Remember, the only reason Baker Mayfield saw the field in the second game of the year in his rookie season was an injury to Tyrod Taylor.

Presumably, the Cleveland front office brought Joe Flacco in and traded for Kenny Pickett in order to start the season with a veteran at quarterback.

And that’s the correct and the smart move. We would assume if Pickett still cannot get on the field this weekend, then you have to figure Flacco will start against the Bengals on September 7th.

We advocated for that anyway, because he has the most gravitas in the locker room. There is no question the veteran leaders on the team, Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, Joel Bitonio, Njoku, will the 40-year-old signal caller gives them the best chance to win.

Dillon Gabriel also missed the first game with a hamstring issue, but seems ready to see the field this week, and if he can go, our guess is he will start.

And the Browns need to see what the other rookie can do as well. At the very least, they spent a third round draft choice on him and have to do their due diligence. You have to think there was a reason Cleveland picked him two rounds before they took Sanders.

The whole situation is exactly what the franchise signed up for when they drafted two rookie QBs in the last draft. That no one saw it was going to be difficult to get two rookies integrated in the offense and get a veteran ready to play when the regular season starts.

Perhaps that’s why Flacco was signed, because he has seen it all before and probably can be ready with minimal reps.

We still believe the Browns will find a way to keep all four quarterbacks on the regular season roster to start the year. They almost have too much invested in each one to make any other decision.

Unfortunately they didn’t have the foresight to see this coming last April.