Manziel’s Performance All That Matters

We cannot remember the Cleveland sports media having to cover an athlete like Johnny Manziel.

Sure, LeBron James is a national figure, a worldwide personality really, but James is someone who keeps to himself during the off-season. He is really only seen at charity functions and family vacations.

It seems the more veteran members of the sports media here have more of a problem with Manziel being at nightclubs during his free time than the younger writers do.

Personally, it doesn’t matter to us what the player does during his free time.

Here are a few things we do know–

Manziel was in rehab earlier this year. However, we do not know what he was getting treatment for.

Manziel did have an incident with his girlfriend in Avon in October. The NFL investigated the situation and determined no suspension was in order.

Unfortunately, this leads to wild speculation as to what the former Heisman Trophy winner is doing with his life and his commitment to the NFL and the Browns.

Manziel said he wouldn’t do anything to embarrass the franchise during the bye week, and quite frankly, being seen in a nightclub doesn’t seem like he did that.

He wasn’t riding an inflatable swan, he wasn’t talking on a “money phone”, he was just in a nightclub, probably the same as many of his teammates.

Those guys don’t have TMZ following them though.

Manziel should not have to live his life differently because of his past, his “Johnny Football” persona. That doesn’t matter to those who think he should be studying film 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

The QB could be spending his afternoons studying tape and working at his craft, and wants to take a few hours to unwind.

He hasn’t been spotted publicly drunk, or starting fights. He’s just out on the town.

And there is nothing wrong with that.

Let’s face it, if Manziel throws for 300 yards and leads the Browns to a victory over the Ravens on Monday night, no one will care what he did on his bye week.

And if he plays well for the rest of the season, he should be the starting QB going into training camp next summer.

If he doesn’t play well, the Browns will look for another guy to play the position probably in the 2016 draft.

What the media doesn’t understand is that Johnny Manziel doesn’t care what people think about what he does.

And if the front office and coaching staff judge him by anything other than how he performs in the locker room and on the field, then that says more about them than it says about Manziel.

If he wins and plays well, no one will care. Except the old farts in the media who will continue to bring it up.

We Have Some Questions For You, Coach Pettine.

Only the Cleveland Browns could have a situation where they knock the opposing quarterback out of a game, and have him replaced by a future Hall of Famer, who throws for 379 yards and three touchdowns.

In many ways, the key play of today’s 30-9 thumping by the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Browns was the one where Desmond Bryant forced the offensive tackle to step on Landry Jones’ foot early in the first quarter, because that brought Ben Roethlisberger into the contest.

Big Ben threw three touchdown passes and drew several pass interference penalties by the Browns’ secondary, as the Cleveland defense allowed 30 or more points for the sixth time in 10 games this season.

But, we are sure we will be again talking about who should start at quarterback two weeks from tomorrow when the Ravens visit First Energy Stadium.

Mike Pettine gave the media the “I have to review the film” spiel after the game, and bristled when someone (we think it was Tom Reed) asked if it looked bad that the defensive backfield was terrible and last year’s first round pick Justin Gilbert was inactive for the game.

The coach didn’t really answer the inquiry.

Here are some other questions we would like Pettine to answer.

…Who on the coaching staff thought it would be a good idea to have special teams standout Johnson Bademosi matched up with Steelers’ all pro wide receiver Antonio Brown?

Brown caught 10 pass for 139 yards and two touchdown and drew two interference calls.

Bademosi wasn’t on Brown all the time, but too often, it was either he or raw rookie (first NFL game) Charles Gaines. That’s a ridiculously bad match up.

…Why wasn’t Gilbert active?

He leads the Browns in kickoff return average, and made some nice special teams plays in punt coverage over the last few weeks. And he didn’t seem to be excessively targeted in the Thursday night loss to the Bengals when he did play cornerback.

He is in the same spot as Johnny Manziel. The organization needs to see if Gilbert can be a decent NFL corner.

…Why can’t this team run the football?

Cleveland had 15 rushing and the leader was Manziel, who gained 17 on three scrambles. The Browns have two Pro Bowl players on the line in Joe Thomas and Alex Mack, and John Greco and Mitchell Schwartz are solid. Joel Bitonio was out today, but last year was on the all-rookie team.

The Browns had a couple of decent runs early going straight ahead with Duke Johnson and Isaiah Crowell. They spent the rest of the game trying to run wide and losing yardage.

Why not stick with what was working, at least a little?

…What is the coaching staff doing about the penalties?

Cleveland had 12 flags thrown against them for a whopping 188 yards.

Late in the third quarter, the Browns had the ball with a first down inside the one. They had consecutive penalties (holding on Cameron Erving, illegal formation) to take them out of a scoring opportunity.

That kind of sloppy play points to the coaching staff.

Manziel played well (33 of 45 for 372 yards with a TD toss and a pick). After fumbling on the first play, he showed that he can play and deserves to start the rest of the season, especially with the Browns sitting at 2-8.

He certainly isn’t looking like the bust everyone says he is. And really, there isn’t much evidence that Gilbert is either because he doesn’t play.

Maybe, just maybe, there is some talent on this football team, but it isn’t used properly.

Hopefully, however is coaching next year, and we are confident someone else will be, can put those players in a position where they can contribute.

After all, that is kind of the definition of coaching, isn’t it?

Manziel Overshadows Real Problems With Browns

The big question among fans of the Cleveland Browns this week is who will start at quarterback against Pittsburgh this Sunday at Heinz Field.

Coach Mike Pettine continues to favor veteran Josh McCown, saying he gives the Browns the rest chance to win on Sunday, even though his record as a starter since the beginning of the 2014 season is 2-16.

That appears to say volumes about how the coaching staff (or maybe just the head coach) feels about Johnny Manziel, who has started two games this season and went 1-1.

And even the harshest critic of the former Heisman Trophy winner has to admit at halftime, you had to feel pretty good about how Johnny Football performed.

Unless that harshest critic is the head coach, who felt the need to tell a national television audience that the Browns needed to “calm down” the second year player.

Still, all of this talk about the quarterback is masking the real problems with this football team, so in a way, Pettine should be thankful for Johnny Manziel.

Last Thursday night, the Cleveland defense allowed 30 points for the fifth time this season. Keep in mind, the Browns have only played nine games, so in half of the contests, opponents have put 30 points on the board.

No matter who your quarterback is, it is tough to win football games when you are giving up that many points.

Another problem that has pretty much been swept under the rug has been the blueprint for winning games that Pettine’s team was supposed to use going into the year.

The Browns were to be a running team, pounding the ball behind an offensive line which featured All Pros, and a rock solid defensive unit, led by one of the league’s best secondaries.

With Joe Thomas and Alex Mack anchoring the line, and two other Pro Bowlers, Joe Haden and Donte Whitner in the secondary, it was easy to see why the coaches and fans alike would be excited about these units.

Unfortunately, that hasn’t gone according to plan either.

The Browns simply can’t run the football, ranking 31st (second to last) in rushing, and they continue to search for answers, trying to use such stalwarts as Shawn Draughn and Robert Turbin, instead of seeing what Isaiah Crowell can do with 15-20 carries per game.

Cleveland QB’s have also been sacked 30 times, against second to last in the NFL.

The offensive line has been terrible this season, a year after they were among the best in the league prior to Mack’s broken leg.

As for the defensive backfield, sure there have been injuries, but this group in slightly below the middle of the pack in terms of allowing passing yards. This is compounded by having just 15 sacks, a figure that ranks 23rd in the league.

Keep in mind that seven of those sacks came in one game, a week two victory over Tennessee.

So, to summarize, the defense can’t stop the run, can’t put pressure on the passer, and really doesn’t defend the pass when it is thrown.

Those are the real problems with this football team, not who plays quarterback.

But the head coach doesn’t acknowledge those issues, continuing to say his team is “close” to winning. Let us remind everyone that Pettine’s team is 2-12 in their last 14 games.

That doesn’t seem close.

But let’s talk about the quarterback.

Kosar Should Be Involved With Browns In Some Way

A stir was created over the weekend when Browns’ legend Bernie Kosar said he would like to be the guy to turn around the moribund franchise’s fortunes.

We are all aware of the trials and tribulations of the brown and orange since they re-entered the NFL in 1999 as an expansion franchise.

Two winning seasons, one post-season appearance, and for the most part, the leadership, under both owners, Randy Lerner and Jimmy Haslam, can’t seem to stop tripping over their collective feet.

Can Kosar help straighten out this franchise?

Well, the knee-jerk reaction is he couldn’t possibly do any worse than the guys who have tried and failed over the years.

We used to say back in the 80’s, that the best job in baseball was the GM of the Indians, because if you succeeded, you would be hailed as a genius, and if you failed? You were just another person who couldn’t turn it around.

The Browns are in the same boat right now.

That could be why Kosar decided to throw his hat in the ring. There is nowhere to go but up, and it’s an opportunity to be a savior in Cleveland once again.

However, this much is clear. The legend knows the game of football. Anyone who has watched him provide analysis on pre-season games over the years can see that.

He was a thinking man’s quarterback. He saw the game differently than many players who had superior athletic ability.

Why not use that asset to help the Cleveland Browns?

We don’t know that Kosar could be or even want to be the general manager of the Browns, or even the president of football operations, and quite frankly, we couldn’t say he would be qualified for either of those positions.

On the other hand, what would be wrong in making Bernie a consultant to Haslam, helping him guide who the owner hires going forward on the football side?

The one thing we can say about Haslam is he has had a problem hiring the right people. The league seemed to have forced Joe Banner on him, and Banner made the unfortunate hire of Mike Lombardi as GM.

Had Kosar been involved in that process, the guess here is he would have prevented the latter hire.

He might have been able to save Rob Chudzinski after his one season as head coach. Most people thought Chud got a raw deal, and we wonder if things would have been different had the Browns held the lead against New England in 2013.

You can go back further than that. Maybe Kosar would have prevented the numerous candidates who didn’t seem to want to work for Banner and Lombardi when Chudzinski got the gig.

People who succeed usually surround themselves with people who are smarter than they are. There is no question that Bernie Kosar is one of the smartest football people around.

Why shouldn’t Jimmy Haslam avail himself of this knowledge?

Besides, what can go wrong? It’s not as though the Browns are one of the NFL’s best organizations or dominant teams on the field.

Pettine’s Grasp On Job Loosened Last Night

Pat Shurmur’s tenure as the coach of the Cleveland Browns is characterized by some of his ridiculous quotes at press conference.

Mike Pettine may be characterized by his halftime interview during Thursday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, 31-10 in the Queen City.

After Johnny Manziel directed the Browns on a 92 yard drive to get Cleveland within 14-10 at the half against the undefeated Bengals, Pettine told the sideline reporter that they needed to get the quarterback “calmed down” at halftime.

We now all know that Pettine doesn’t like Manziel, doesn’t want to play him, and will never give him a full shot at the position.

What the coach should be concentrating on is his defensive unit and coordinator Jim O’Neil, who continues to put a sieve on the field weekly.

With one game in the next 25 days, there is plenty of time to make the changes necessary, and we would start by canning O’Neil who has directed a unit that has allowed 30 or more points in five of the nine games played this year.

And what is becoming a weekly occurance, the Bengals ran for 152 yards, an average of 4.1 yards per carry. They also didn’t create a turnover.

Among the culprits defensively were a couple of the veterans Pettine seems to love, DE Randy Starks and CB Tramon Williams.

With this team sitting at 2-7 and going nowhere, it is counter productive to continue to play these guys.

Williams gave up a touchdown on a double move by the tight end!

The funny thing to us was that Justin Gilbert was on the field defensively tonight, and the Bengals didn’t score eight touchdowns by going right at him.

Seriously, this guy can’t play over special teams standout Johnson Bademosi?

On offense, the Browns called exactly one running play in the second half. It was the first play and Isaiah Crowell, who had 41 yards on 9 carries in the first half, was thrown for a three yard loss.

That was it.

Crowell, and Duke Johnson, who caught the 12-yard TD toss from Manziel at the end of the first half, did not touch the ball after that first play.

What in the heck is going on?

It was kind of fitting that the touchdown the Bengals used to salt the game away, was a 25-yard wide receiver reverse on which Mohamed Sanu was untouched by the Cleveland defense. A trick play.

This is something that offensive coordinator John Difilipo hasn’t used all year. And the total lack of even trying to run the ball in the second half leaves us shaking our heads.

Manziel played solid. He wasn’t great, but he was better than his stat line indicated.

After the Crowell loss of yardage on the first play of the second half, Manziel fired a downfield pass which should have been caught by WR Taylor Gabriel, who had a bad night, dropping three passes on the evening.

He certainly showed enough to start again, but our guess is Pettine will go back to Josh McCown for the Pittsburgh game, which is ludicrous.

Again, what is there to gain continuing with the status quo with a 2-7 record. There will be no playoffs. And perhaps Pettine can salvage his job if the young players show some promise over the last seven games.

Our guess is the coach’s quote will be played and mocked all around the city and probably the country.

That’s what happens when someone’s personal feelings get in the way of a talent evaluation.

At the very least, Manziel should finish the season at QB. He showed enough tonight that he doesn’t look like the total bust people were saying he was.

Pettine Isn’t Helping Himself By Not Fixing Problems

Former Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints coach Bum Phillips once said that Don Shula could take his team and beat your team, and then he could take your team and beat his team.

Of course, Phillips said it a little more colorfully than that, but his point was clear. Shula adapted to the talent he had. He looked at his roster and got the most out of it.

This was illustrated by Shula’s Miami teams in the 1970’s, which featured a crushing ground game using Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick, and Mercury Morris, winning two Super Bowls.

In the 80’s, the John Carroll grad had Dan Marino as his quarterback and threw the ball all over the yard.

Mike Pettine needs to be more like Shula if he wants to save his job, because right now he appears stuck in his own “scheme”, which clearly is not working.

We want to like Pettine, and we would also prefer to not start over with a new coach next year, who will want to change personnel and want to get players who fit the style of defense and offense that they play.

However, the way Pettine is handling things right now, it is getting hard to defend him.

Exhibit A is the run defense. This has been a problem since the coach’s first game as the head man with the Browns. Cleveland finished last in the league against the run a year ago, and they are in the same exact place this season.

So, we would have to assume either the issue has not been addressed or whatever measures have been taken to fix the problem haven’t worked.

That’s the coach’s job, to take care of the problems. Pettine and his staff have failed to take care of this issue.

The offensive line hasn’t done a solid job all season long, either in the running game and in protecting the passer. We understand the coach who handled this unit in the off-season and in training camp is no longer there, but it doesn’t appear to be any progress here either.

And there aren’t any injuries to this group that would explain a downgrade in this area.

After the Browns got hammered in the opener against the Jets, we wrote about the Steelers in 1989, who were smoked by both Cleveland (51-0) and Cincinnati in their first two games, but rallied to finish 9-7 to make the playoffs.

That team changed their style of play after those blowouts and put themselves in a position to start winning.

That’s coaching.

Unfortunately, we haven’t seen any evidence of that with Pettine and his staff.

That’s what makes it very difficult to defend him.

Look, we understand that coaches believe in certain things and they want to use those beliefs to create success. However, as Pettine reminds us all the time, the NFL is a pass/fail league.

Right now, he and his team are failing.

If the defensive players aren’t understanding the scheme, then it is incumbent on the coaching staff to make changes so it works. You can’t just make doing the same thing week after week and give up tons of points.

That’s the definition of both stubbornness and insanity.

If Pettine wants to keep his job past the end of this season, he simply has to change. It’s not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of intelligence.

Does Pettine Still Think There Isn’t a Problem On Defense?

If we were Browns’ owner Jimmy Haslam and team president Alec Sheiner, we would take down the billboard with Mike Pettine saying he guarantees the Browns will be the toughest team on the field.

That statement is a complete joke.

Last week, Pettine said turning the ball over a bunch of times like his team did against the St. Louis Rams is a recipe for defeat. That is, of course, unless you are the Arizona Cardinals and you can turn the ball over four times and still defeat the Browns, 34-20 at First Energy Stadium today.

Despite forcing four turnovers, the Cleveland defense allowed 491 yards in the loss, which dropped their record to 2-6 and at least according to many media reports, there could be changes before the NFL trading deadline on Tuesday.

Without the Cardinals’ mistakes, the Browns defense may have given up 50 points this afternoon.

Cleveland allowed only 119 yards on the ground, but that was because Carson Palmer threw deep early and often and with tremendous success, burning both starting cornerbacks, Joe Haden and Tramon Williams repeatedly.

We have always held the belief that the only thing worse than being a bad team is being a bad, old team. And Cleveland has four starters on defense over 30 years old (Randy Starks, Williams, Karlos Dansby, and Donte Whitner). Only Dansby seems to be making positive impact plays consistently.

The other fallacy about being a tough team is the total inability of this football team to run the ball. The Browns gained just 39 yards rushing in the game. Their leading rusher was QB Josh McCown who had 18 yards on five scrambles.

Isaiah Crowell carried 10 times, half of the team’s attempts and gained only 14 yards, eight on one run. The newest running back, Robert Turbin, carried three times, and fumbled on two of those carries.

But we digress. Fans and media alike seem to focus on who plays quarterback, and whether or not Dwayne Bowe is active, but the fact remains that the defense is a sieve, constantly shredded on the ground, and now, through the air.

Early on, the defense did a solid job against the run, but the Pettine/O’Neil defense could not get any pressure on Palmer in obvious pass situations and Palmer attacked the Cleveland secondary with great results. He completed passes of 60, 39, 38, and 34 yards during the contest.

The sad thing is, none of those ball were thrown to likely Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald, who did catch nine passes for 84 yards.

Pettine should stop hanging around the offensive unit and get with O’Neil to get the defense fixed. And if that’s playing youngsters, then so be it.

One other comment on the secondary. It is hard to believe that last year’s first round pick, Justin Gilbert, cannot get on the field defensively. Is he worse than what we saw today? That is doubtful.

How do we know Gilbert can’t play? Because the coaching staff, which has lost 11 of their last 13 games, tells us so?

Play him, and for god’s sake, get Barkevious Mingo on the field too. Mingo may do a lot of things we don’t see on camera that drives the coaches crazy, but he made an open field tackle on Chris Johnson early in the game, that could have been a huge gain if not for the second year linebacker.

With a short week coming up, we are sure Pettine will use that as a reason not to make changes, but that’s a cop-out. What is the definition of insanity?

As for trades, we would deal any veterans we could for draft picks commensurate with their value, and that includes Joe Thomas and Alex Mack. It is not like the offensive line is an elite unit.

Meanwhile, Browns’ fans are treated to another crapfest of a season.

Pettine’s Problem: Stubbornness

In our humble opinion, the best attributes a coach can have are flexibility and being able to take a chance on greatness.

You have to be able to recognize what works and what doesn’t work, and you have to be able to project what a young, untested player can give you as opposed to an older player, who isn’t getting any better.

By contrast, that would mean the worst traits coaches can have is stubbornness and a propensity to cling to veteran players.

After watching Cleveland Browns’ coach Mike Pettine in his season and a half with the franchise, the latter would seem to describe him, and that’s not a good sign.

Last week, when questioned by the local media about his defensive scheme, which came under fire after an article on Sports Illustrated’s web site, Pettine defended the unit saying that the plan works.

Except that it doesn’t, at least against the running game.

As defensive coordinator with Buffalo in 2013, the Bills ranked 27th in the NFL in stopping the run. Last year, the Browns ranked last in this category. This year through seven games? Yes, that’s right, again last.

So, to recap, over the last two and a half seasons, the defense run by Pettine and his defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil have been trampled by the opposing team’s running game.

And it’s not like they have faced Jim Brown, Emmitt Smith, and Barry Sanders either.

Dexter McCluster gained 98 yards against the Browns, more than half his total for the season. Oakland’s Latavius Murray rushed for 139 yards, 54 more than in any other game thus far this year.

So, Coach Pettine. The scheme doesn’t work.

What is more disturbing is the coach’s insistence that nothing is wrong, and it doesn’t appear changes will be made.

Yes, the first half against the Rams wasn’t bad. Unfortunately, for the Browns’ defense, the NFL requires teams to play a second 30 minutes of football, and the old problems crept up again.

In terms of playing young guys, it seems Pettine only plays them if there are no other alternatives.

First round pick Danny Shelton is a starter, but what alternative was there at the start of camp? Phil Taylor was hurt. And now that Jamie Meder has shown that he has ability, Shelton’s snaps have decreased.

Cameron Irving can’t get on the field. Joel Bitonio did start from game one in 2014, but again, it’s not like the Browns had a lot of alternatives.

And in terms of Justin Gilbert, how do we really know he can’t play? Because he got torched in a scrimmage this past summer?

Look, we aren’t saying he’s Darrelle Revis, but he never gets on the field defensively. Could you sign an affidavit saying he can’t do the job based on your eyes?

Remember, the Browns used special teams player Johnson Bademosi against San Diego instead of Gilbert.

Why would you play TE Rob Housler in limited time instead of rookie E.J. Bibbs, who played well in the pre-season?

And you also have the curious case of Barkevious Mingo, a superior athlete that the coaching staff seemingly cannot find a way to use.

The people who say we need to see what we have in Johnny Manziel should feel the same way about Gilbert, Mingo, Irving, and several others.

The only thing worse than being a bad team is to be a bad, old team.

Hopefully, Pettine will change, but he may have to be fired to do so. Here’s hoping it doesn’t come to that. But that’s what it took for another defensive minded head coach here in the early 90’s. He went on to have a pretty good career.

Time To Hold Pettine “Accountable”

Three results jumped out to us among the early results from the NFL today.

Jacksonville 34 Buffalo 31
St. Louis 24, Cleveland 6Miami 44 Houston 20

This doesn’t have anything to do with former Browns’ QB Brian Hoyer, on the wrong end of the massacre by the Dolphins, but it does have to do with the coaching staffs of the Bills, Browns, and Dolphins.

Much has been made about new Miami coach Dan Campbell trying to make his team tougher, more physical, and his team has won two in a row.

How long will that last? Who knows. But it is interesting to see a coach who has a philosophy in his mind and at least for two weeks makes sure it is carried out.

Since the end of last week’s games, when Buffalo lost to Cincinnati, we have had the mindset that Rex Ryan is the epitome of a fake tough guy. He talks a good game, but really, his teams aren’t a success.

His first two seasons with the Jets, he was 20-12 and got his team to the AFC Championship game.

Since then, his coaching record is 29-42, with no seasons over .500.

The first fruit off the Rex Ryan coaching tree is Pettine, and he is appearing to be more and more like his former boss.

Despite slogans like “play like a Brown”, “control the controlables”, and the talk of accountability, the Cleveland Browns appear to be a team in search of a style of play, and continue to make mistake after mistake without any accountability.

And after a 7-5 start to his head coaching career, the Browns have lost 9 of their last 11 games.

Today’s loss to the Rams was nothing different. Turnovers, penalties, and another weak performance by the head coach’s specialty, the defense, led to the defeat.

Pettine came to town with the talk of making this team a physical one, one that played with toughness. That may be true of individual players, but this is a football squad that cannot run the ball efficiently, and they have been the worst team in the NFL in stopping the run since Pettine arrived here.

Offensively, the offensive line, despite a collection of Pro Bowlers and high draft picks, had a dubious distinction today, as every one of them except for Alex Mack was called for either a false start or a holding call.

And they fumbled four times, twice by Josh McCown, who is having a solid season, but you can’t turn the ball over that many times, particularly on the road, and win football games.

The first two errors put the Browns in a 10-0 hole four and a half minutes into the game that they never recovered from.

Pettine defended the defensive scheme earlier this week after a former Browns’ website writer said players told him it was too complicated, but whether it is or isn’t, it isn’t working. The coach’s stubbornness in making adjustment is a weakness of a first time head coach.

He’s rather lose his way than be flexible and win.

We have said it the last three weeks and will say it again…if you can’t run the ball and stop the run in the NFL, you can’t win football games consistently.

The run defense was solid early, but again, gave up big chunk plays, particularly in the second half, and usually right after the Browns score.

Yes, yes, the offense only scored six points today, and the defense really only allowed 17 today, but you can count on them giving up a big play after a score.

What can be done? Nothing unless the coaching staff decides to stop talking in clichés and starts adjusting playing time based on merit. It seems like veterans get to mess up without consequence and young guys lose playing time.

At 2-5 and with the Cardinals coming in next Sunday, it might be time to start thinking about next spring’s draft.

Oh, and as an aside, although it didn’t cost the Browns today or really any Sunday, the officiating in the NFL continues to be atrocious. Thanks for fixing that, Commissioner Goodell.

Haslam Needs To Give Pettine Okay To Play Young Guys

Even though the Cleveland Browns last three games could have went either way, all three went to overtime, it seems the media seems hell-bent to continue with the dysfunctional scenario.

At the beginning of the season, no one would have figured the games against San Diego on the road, and Denver, with future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning would be winnable contests, but they very much were, and the brown and orange lost on the last play of the game.

Coach Mike Pettine seems to be frustrated by the losses in two of the games, and he is showing that in his dealings with the media.

He is getting testy about the performance of the defense, his supposed field of expertise, as that unit has been the reason the Browns are 2-4 to date instead of having that record reversed.

Our guess is that Pettine and probably GM Ray Farmer are both concerned with job security, based on the past during Jimmy Haslam’s ownership.

The owner has already started at the start of training camp that he has no plans to make changes to either position, but that was when optimism was high, as it always is, so Haslam’s words can be discounted a bit.

Pettine and Farmer privately have to wonder, despite the reassurance, what would happen if the Browns finished up at 2-14 or 3-13, records the pessimistic fans and media alike predicted.

That has to wear on both men.

This is where Haslam has to take the leadership reins. He needs to tell both the coach and GM that they will be back next year to allow them to make some decisions with next season in mind.

Pettine seems to favor veterans, and that isn’t a trait coaches of losing teams should have. However, does that have to do with the insecurity he may feel in his position, which converts into a need to win now?

On the other hand, his best chance to win may be to play the younger guys.

Out of the over 30 that have been brought in over the past two years, really only Karlos Dansby and Tramon Williams have performed to standards.

It is time to see what Justin Gilbert can do. Against San Diego, Pettine and defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil went with special teams standout Johnson Bademosi at corner instead of Gilbert. Why? Probably because the coach didn’t want to lose the game because of a mistake made by the rookie.

On the other hand, Barkevious Mingo should be on the field more, because he is showing that he is an athletic freak. He broke up a pass a week ago, and soared to pick off Peyton Manning on Sunday.

The coaching staff should be encouraged to find a spot on the field for him. Maybe the reason he is being classified as a “bust” is because he’s not getting an opportunity.

Danny Shelton’s playing time was cut, Nate Orchard gets more time. There doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason as to which younger players get time or not.

If the Cleveland Browns want to develop a winning system, it starts with playing younger guys together so they can develop chemistry, a unit so to speak.

To do that, the coaching staff needs to know it is in for the long haul.

That’s up to Mr. Haslam.