No Watson, But Browns Will Need To Find A Way

Well. it didn’t take long for the euphoria of a road win over Baltimore to be drowned out. Yesterday, the Browns announced that Deshaun Watson has a fracture in his shoulder and will miss the rest of the regular season.

Suddenly the Browns, sitting with the third best record in the AFC at 6-3 are unstable at the most important position on the field. Watson was coming off an excellent second half against the Ravens, completing all 14 of his passes and leading the team back from a 31-17 deficit in the fourth quarter.

It’s a tough blow for the Browns, but it will be interesting to see how the organization will go from here.

We understand that fans will be downhearted and thinking “woe is us”, but GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski will not be doing that. They will be figuring out how to win without their starting quarterback going forward.

We didn’t think Stefanski was thrilled with P.J. Walker’s play after the Seattle game because of all the turnovers, so apparently rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson will get the nod vs. Pittsburgh.

We are sure the offense will also play it close to the vest in an effort to limit turnover opportunities and that’s fine. We saw in exhibition games that the rookie’s legs can be a weapon.

However, you would think Berry will be looking over what QBs are available now that the trading deadline has passed. The best candidates seem to be Joe Flacco, Colt McCoy or Nick Foles.

If you sign a veteran, it will take him some time to ramp up and learn the offense, so it would seem it’s DTR for the next few games, unless he plays good enough to win games.

Among the veteran free agents, Flacco is 38-years-old and played in five games with the Jets last season, famously guiding New York to a comeback win over Cleveland. He completed 57.6% of his passes with five touchdowns and three interceptions. He also brings the mobility of a flagpole.

McCoy is 37 and played in four games with Arizona last year, completing 68.2% of his throws with a TD and three picks. It would seem he could handle a short passing offense right now.

Foles is the youngest at 34, and he played in just three games with the Colts last season, completing 59.5% of his throws with no touchdowns and four throws to the opposition. Since leaving Philadelphia after the 2018 season, he’s been pretty mediocre.

Before the season started, we had the opinion the success of the Browns hinged on the play of Watson. If he was back to his Houston form, the Browns would be a very good football team in 2023. And if not, Cleveland made a big mistake.

Because the defense has played this well in ’23, we have changed our opinion. This team can still get to the playoffs without Watson this season. If Stefanski can coax decent quarterback play out of whoever starts, we still believe the post-season is in play.

The players and coaching staff are not going to give up on the season. Both groups understand how talented this football team is. We said earlier in the week that the Browns were a power running team and that hasn’t changed with Watson’s injury.

The timing of this, coming off a big win, does suck though. No disputing that.

QB Switch Makes Sense for Browns

Within the last week, the Cleveland Browns have changed the dynamic at the quarterback position.

First, they signed free agent passer Jason Campbell, late of the Bears, but before that a starter in Washington and Oakland to a two-year deal, and then yesterday, they traded Colt McCoy to San Francisco with a sixth round pick for a fifth rounder and a seventh rounder.

Campbell, as former coach Pat Shurmur famously called him, is a “big, pretty thrower”. At 6’5″ and 223 pounds and blessed with a big arm, he is very similar in size and style to Brandon Weeden. This means no matter who is the Browns’ starter this season, the offense that Norv Turner advocates, one that stresses downfield throws and a strong running game, can remain the same.

Besides the similarity in style, the switch also gives Rob Chudzinski and Turner a more experienced quarterback than the one that departed. Campbell has made 71 starts, with a career 31-40 record.

On the other side, McCoy has made 21 starts with a 6-15 record.

Campbell has a lifetime touchdown to interception ratio of 76 to 52. McCoy’s is 21 to 20.

The newest Brown’s career completion percentage is 60.9% and his average yards per attempt is 6.7, roughly the same numbers McCoy had during his rookie season, a year that had many feeling McCoy could be the Cleveland quarterback of the future.

That means that Campbell over his seven years in the league on average is as good as McCoy’s best. Of course, we all know that for whatever reason, Colt McCoy never played as well as he did his first year in the league again.

Since leaving Washington, Campbell has been better than he was with the Redskins, with an 11-8 record as a starter, firing 21 touchdowns while throwing 14 picks.

In 2010, a year the Raiders finished 8-8, they may have made the playoffs had Campbell not missed three games with injuries. Oakland lost all three contests and lost the division to Kansas City by two games. The following year, Oakland was off to a 4-2 start before the Browns, ironically ended Campbell’s season with a broken collarbone.

The Raiders acquired Carson Palmer in a horrible deal to try to make the playoffs that season, and the former Auburn Tiger never got his job back. He was a backup for the Bears last season.

There is no question he will provide real competition for Weeden for the starting job.

As for McCoy, for whatever reason, his career was never the same after the Jets game his rookie year, when he led a drive to tie the game and send it into overtime, and had a game winning drive snuffed out when WR Chansi Stuckey fumbled close to field goal range.

The Browns’ season fell apart, Eric Mangini was fired, and Pat Shurmur and his Stone Age offense came in.

Instead, Brandon Weeden and Jason Campbell are the guys going forward. And based on statistics, there is no way you can say team president Joe Banner and GM Mike Lombardi didn’t improve the roster with this move. Campbell has better numbers than McCoy no matter how you slice it.

After all the hand-wringing about the change in management and the change in defensive scheme, it is tough to say the Browns’ roster isn’t better than it was at the end of last season.

That should be all that matter.

If Lewis Plays, Have Some Fun

There is no question that coaches speak their own language. Over the years in Cleveland we have been subject to a few of the great practitioners of “coach speak”.

From Pat Shurmur’s “battling Browns” to Eric Wedge’s “grinding Indians”, we have listened to some of the best people who can say a lot and tell you nothing.

Politicians have nothing on these guys.

The entire Indians’ front office does a tremendous job of trying to confuse its fan base as to what is going on with the organization. They talk much the way Fortune 500 corporations do, instead of conversing in baseball talk.

With Pat Shurmur likely preparing for his last game as Cleveland Browns head coach, he came up with a doozy when talking about his probable starting quarterback this Sunday, third stringer Thaddeus Lewis.

Shurmur said the offense would have to be pared back if Lewis has to go against the Steelers.

First, the obvious question would be “can they really pare back the offense even more?” What would happen? Every play would be a run up the middle?

Further examination though, would show that if Lewis doesn’t know the offense at this point, why does he still have a job?

Lewis has been with Shurmur longer than either of the other two QB’s, rookie Brandon Weeden, and Colt McCoy, who has worked with Shurmur for two years.

Lewis was with the Rams in Shurmur’s last year as offensive coordinator. In fact, the head coach’s high regard for him is the reason he is with the Browns.

He also went to Duke University, one of the nation’s finer institutes of higher learning. So, it’s not like Lewis is some kid just out of high school and barely got good enough grades to graduate.

The last reason to roll your eyes on the coach’s comment is that his football team is 5-10 and going nowhere. He should be calling every gadget play in the playbook this weekend because there literally is nothing to lose.

So why not let Lewis play with reckless abandon and let the chips fall where they may? If he throws five interceptions and completes less than 40% of his throws, who cares?

We will then know that he can’t play in the NFL.

On the other hand, he may do very well. There isn’t a high probability of that, but you never know.

Heck, Shurmur had a front row seat for an NFL team letting a passer with little experience just play when the Redskins did just that with rookie Kirk Cousins.

Certainly, Washington didn’t button up their attack for that game and there was far more on the line for the ‘Skins on that day than there will be for the Browns in week 17.

This is not to say that Lewis’ inexperience will cause him to make mistakes. No doubt Steelers’ defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau will dial up all kinds of disguises for his schemes to confuse someone playing their first NFL game.

But it speaks to Shurmur’s innate move toward conservative football that he wants to pare down the offense in a meaningless game. He’s been reluctant to let Weeden call audibles and really only used gadget plays against arguably the worst team in the league, Kansas City.

The coach is rare in that he’s an offensive coach, but he plays not to lose. Hopefully, the Browns next coach will try to win football games instead of avoiding defeat.

Passin’ Pat Ignores the Run, Which Was Working.

Cookie Monster loves cookies.

Wilt Chamberlain loved the ladies.

Pat Shurmur loves the forward pass.

Earlier during the high school football season, St. Ignatius coach Chuck Kyle said his best defense against Mentor QB Mitch Trubisky was the running game because if his team had the ball, it would be difficult for Trubisky to operate.

Perhaps Shurmur should have heeded Kyle’s advice today against the great Peyton Manning, because Manning put on a passing clinic, going 20 of 43 for 339 yards, starting from the opening drive of the game until he was mercifully taken out of the game with the Broncos well in command 34-12, which was the final score.

Judging by the score of the game, you would think the Browns needed to play catch up all day long, and although they did trail from the first drive of the game on, it was still a two score game at 21-6 heading into the fourth quarter.

Cleveland’s best chance would have been to control the clock with the running game, mixing in the pass, and the Browns did run the ball effectively when they put it into the hands of Trent Richardson and Montario Hardesty. They averaged five yards per carry as a team and even if you take away Colt McCoy’s 15 yard scramble at the end of the game, Richardson still picked up almost six yards a pop (9 carries for 53 yards), and Hardesty toted the pigskin three times for 14 yards (4.7 per rush).

Unfortunately, they only ran the ball 18 times for the game and only 14 of those were by design.

We get that it’s a passing league, and the most successful teams have explosive passing attacks, but think about this–the Broncos have a guy going to the Hall of Fame in Manning, and their running back, Knowshon Moreno carried the football 22 times.

Passin’ Pat and his aerial circus. That’s what the Browns should be nicknamed.

Instead, the coach decided to let Manning run 75 plays from scrimmage and have the ball seven more minutes than his team, exposing a secondary depleted by injuries to T. J. Ward, Tashaun Gipson and Sheldon Brown, and the odd release of Dimitri Patterson during the week, to his sophisticated passing attack.

After watching this game, does anyone still want to address the quarterback situation in the 2013 draft?

It is obvious that the Browns need help in the secondary because Manning pretty much stayed away from Joe Haden most of the time and instead looked where Brown was lined up before the veteran was injured in the second quarter.

The defense also needs another pass rusher because they couldn’t get near Manning hitting him only a couple of times on the afternoon.

Besides forgetting about the run, the defense couldn’t help the offense get the ball back, allowing 9 of 15 third down conversions, and two of those stops came with back up QB Brock Osweiler in the game.

And for those who predicted the Denver pass rushing duo of Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil would dominate, the Broncos only recorded two sacks while the game was in doubt, before they were able to tee off on McCoy, who replaced starter Brandon Weeden, who left with an injured shoulder after the second of those sacks with the score 21-6.

Weeden played well for the most part, particularly on the first two drives of the game, in which the Browns mixed in the run, hitting on 12 0f 19 throws for 104 yards. The Browns used a bootleg pass in which he completed a pass to TE Benjamin Watson, but that play (unlike the Redskins last week) was never seen again.

This ignorance of the run didn’t start last week. If the Browns did an internal audit, they would see their best games were the ones where they had a balanced offense. But too many times, Passin’ Pat goes back to what he loves, throwing the short pass.

It was funny that one of Weeden’s long completions to Greg Little, a 21 yard strike in the second quarter came off play action. However, if you stop running the ball, using play action has no effect.

Next week, the Browns will likely end the season without Weeden and Richardson, who injured an ankle late in the game (why was he in?), so critics of the two rookies will get what they want, a lot of McCoy and Hardesty.

After a three game winning streak, the Cleveland Browns have laid two gigantic eggs. It makes the decision that Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner will make after next Sunday’s game a little bit easier.

Weeden Deserves Chance in Real Offense

After a poor performance in Sunday’s loss to the Washington Redskins, the fickle football fans of Cleveland now want the head of quarterback Brandon Weeden. They are ready to write him off after just 14 games.

Some people even went as far to say that the rookie from Oklahoma State should have been benched in favor of Colt McCoy in the last home game of the season.

Think about that for a second. If the Browns coaching staff thought McCoy was better, he would start. They, after all, watch both of them everyday in practice.

Still, Weeden deserves the chance to be the starter next season for many reasons. One, he was a first round draft pick, and although he hasn’t lit it up like fellow rookies Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and even third round selection Russell Wilson, he hasn’t been god awful either.

He should get a chance to put what he learned during his first year into practice.

However, the biggest reason he should get another opportunity to start is to play in a better and more creative offensive scheme than the one run by his current head coach, Pat Shurmur.

While it is true that Weeden hasn’t set the world on fire with his play this season, it looks to us that he is similar to another passer who played in Cleveland recently.

No, not Derek Anderson, who most fans compare Weeden to because both have “big arms”, but his play and demeanor remind us of McCoy.

The major complaint about McCoy last season was that he checked down a lot and didn’t take shots down the field. Weeden can throw deep, but doesn’t, mostly because the coaching staff seems reticent to do so.

Both quarterbacks looked like they were afraid to make mistakes, something that obviously has been drilled into them repeatedly by Shurmur. There is a time and place to take chances in the passing game. Protecting the football is certainly important, but being ultra conservative on offense doesn’t score points, and not scoring points leads to losses.

Statistically, Shurmur’s offense has always been a dink and dunk attack.

In his two years as the Rams’ offensive coordinator, St. Louis ranked in the bottom three in the NFL in average yards per attempt. Last year, with Shurmur serving as both head coach and coordinator, the Browns ranked 30th in the league.

This year, Cleveland ranks 23rd, mostly because of the long passes Weeden has hit on with WR Josh Gordon, as well as Sunday’s bomb to Travis Benjamin.

In addition to the quarterback, the offense doesn’t help the running backs either. Most of the formations are so tight in design that the defense doesn’t have to cover the entire field. Do you think that helps Trent Richardson and Montario Hardesty?

Both high draft picks deserve the chance to play in an attack that spreads the field a little bit before making judgments as to whether or not they can be All Pro caliber players in the NFL.

It was remarkable to watch Washington on offense because they seemed to play to reserve QB Kirk Cousins’ strengths. That’s what coaching is. Looking at the talent of your team and developing a plan which gets the most out of them.

It’s tough to say Pat Shurmur’s offense gets the best out of anyone. Seriously, what player thrives in this scheme?

No matter who the Browns’ next head coach is, and we assume the current coach will not be back in 2013, he should see what Brandon Weeden can do in a real professional offense before making a change.

There is no problem with bringing in a veteran for competition, in case the 29-year-old passer can’t thrive in any offense. Weeden still deserves a chance to play in a system that successful teams run, not as offense that doesn’t spread the field, doesn’t spread the defense, and for the most part, doesn’t score points.

Is Browns Win a Sign of Things to Come?

At least for one week, the doomsayers among the Cleveland Brown fan base will be quieted.

No talk about how Colt McCoy would be doing better than Brandon Weeden if he got the chance, no talk about how Tom Heckert’s drafts are overrated, and no talk about going 0-16 for the season.

The Browns snapped their losing streak at 11 with a 34-24 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at home. It also snaps a losing streak within the AFC North and it marked consecutive weeks that the offense put up more than 21 points.

After several weeks where the Browns looked like a team getting close to a victory, they finally played solid football in all phases for four quarters and came away with a win.

And they were balanced offensively too. Shurmur’s crew ran the ball 34 times and threw 29 passes, which is close to the 50/50 ratio you want to have offensively. However, if you would have been told Montario Hardesty would lead Cleveland in rushing before the game, you probably would have thought of an 0-6 record.

Hardesty came in when Trent Richardson hurt his ribs, and displayed a burst into holes that he didn’t show in the preseason, gaining 56 yards in 15 carries. He also scored his first professional touchdown to give the Browns a lead they would never lose at 20-14.

Rookie WR Josh Gordon showed that he might just be the go to receiver Cleveland has needed for a while, hauling in three Weeden throws for 99 yards, including a 71 yard hookup in the first half. It’s the second straight week Gordon has scored on a pass play of over 60 yards.

That the kind of quick play strike capabilities today’s NFL offenses have.

Weeden completed 17 of 29 passes for 231 yards with two TDs and one interception off a pass that was deflected at the line of scrimmage. Another solid game for the rookie who seems to get more and more confident every week.

He even got to use his former college teammate WR Josh Cooper, who caught two passes in the first half for 39 yards. He displayed the good hands that he was noted for when he signed with the Browns.

Defensively, the presence of Joe Haden, who returned from a four game suspension, seemed to make a huge difference.

He had an interception, one of three by Bengals’ QB Andy Dalton, and there was a stretch from the beginning of the second half into the fourth quarter where Dick Jauron’s guys totally shutdown the Cincinnati offense.

They made big plays as well. Sheldon Brown got a touchdown on an interception which gave Cleveland a commanding lead at 34-17, and any Bengal hopes for a comeback were dashed when Emanuel Stephens strip sacked Dalton inside the Browns’ 20 late in the fourth quarter, and another rookie DT Billy Winn picked it up and ran 30 yards to seal the deal.

Perhaps the biggest play of the game, however, belonged to a guy who has been the symbol of the Browns over the past few years. Josh Cribbs’ punt return of 60 yards in the third quarter seemed to spark an offense that hadn’t had a first down since early in the second quarter.

Cribbs may have lost a step, but he’s still among the AFC leaders in both kickoff and punt returns, and also had two tackles on special teams as well. He’s still a difference maker with the ball in his hands.

So, with a win under their belt, Shurmur’s squad will look to build on today’s momentum against Indianapolis next week.

Today’s win showed that progress is being made on the field. Most people thought the Browns would be a better team at the end of the season than the beginning. They have the opportunity to start a winning streak next Sunday.

Browns Need Offense? Give it to Richardson

After most Browns’ losses, we bemoan the inability of the team to run the ball and defense the opponents’ running game.

That is usually a recipe for defeats, even in today’s pass happy NFL.

That’s why it is time for coach Pat Shurmur and offensive coordinator Brad Childress to get more touches for RB Trent Richardson.

The third overall draft pick last spring, the rookie from Alabama gives the teams playing the Browns someone to account for when Cleveland has the ball.

Finally!

After Richardson’s game against Cincinnati, in which he ran for 109 yards in 19 carries, the defensive coordinators in the Browns’ last two games (vs. Buffalo and Baltimore) have put eight men in the box, daring Brandon Weeden to throw the football.

That has led to the rookie quarterback throwing the football an average of 40 times per game, a total far too high for a player getting his first NFL experience.

It is time to give Richardson more of a load for several reasons. Right now, he’s averaging a little less than 20 touches per game. That number needs to get closer to 30.

And it doesn’t have to be 30 runs, it can be 24 carries and catching six passes out of the backfield, getting T-Rich in space.

First, he’s the best skill player the Browns have. With the receivers dropping Weeden’s throws at an alarming rate (a continuation of last season’s problems for Colt McCoy), getting the ball to your biggest weapon needs to be a priority.

Second, the life of an NFL running back is around four seasons.

True, some guys last longer than that, and can remain effective for up to seven or eight seasons, but for the most part, Richardson will have about five years of playing at a very high level, and the Browns should take advantage of using him before the rigors of the NFL take a toll on him.

Naysayers might say it is dumb to run into eight and nine man fronts, and by and large that is true.

However, it is still a matter of execution. If every team thought like that, then running backs like Arien Foster, Ray Rice, and Frank Gore, just to name a few, would be obsolete.

Shurmur and Childress shouldn’t bang their collective heads against a brick wall, but they can’t forget about getting the ball in the biggest weapon’s hands.

If an opponent stacks that line of scrimmage to stop the run, that doesn’t mean your quarterback should be throwing 45-50 passes per game.

And even if you aren’t handing off to the rookie, you can still get him the ball in space by throwing it to him out of the backfield.

This much is clear, the offense shouldn’t ignore him.

In fact, after four games, it’s time for Shurmur and Childress to know who can make plays (and who can’t) and try to get the ball in those players hands as much as possible.

That requires creativity on the coach’s part and that may just be the rub.

Let’s face it, the Cleveland offense may not be vanilla, but it certainly isn’t rocky road either. It tends to be a bit predictable.

This is an area that needs improvement, and it starts by getting the ball in the hands of Trent Richardson more often.

Browns Can’t “Catch” a Win

There are no moral victories in the NFL, and as Bill Parcells once said, you are what your record says you are.

The Cleveland Browns are 0-4 on the season, and need a win in the worst way because they have to be frustrated with having a chance to win a football game and not being able to do so.

Last night in Baltimore, the Browns made one huge mistake, an interception by Brandon Weeden that Cary Williams returned 63 yards for a touchdown, and it cost them in a 23-16 loss.

That makes 10 consecutive losses for Pat Shurmur’s crew, accumulated over two seasons.

However, the area that stood out in the contest was the play of the Ravens’ wide receivers, particularly Anquan Boldin, who hauled in 9 passes for 131 yards, many of them contorting his body in different shapes to catch the ball.

Browns’ receivers? Not so much.

The same problem that haunted Colt McCoy last season, is plaguing Weeden as well. He isn’t able to throw the football and catch it downfield as well.

Trailing 23-13 in the fourth quarter, Weeden fired a pass down the middle to Greg Little in the end zone, a play that would have cut the Baltimore advantage to just three points with more than 12 minutes to play. Little had it go through his hands.

It wasn’t a routine play, but it was one that Ravens’ passer Joe Flacco’s receivers were making all night long. But, Little couldn’t come up with it.

It wasn’t the only ball dropped by Cleveland receivers during the game, simply the biggest.

Jordan Norwood, inactive for the first three games, saw his first action last night and dropped at least two passes. Not a good way to make sure you’ll get more playing time.

Despite all the drops, Weeden wound up 25 of 52 for 320 yards (his second 300 yard passing game in four weeks, Colt McCoy has one). He stood in the pocket and made strong throws most of the night. Even though he’s becoming a lightning rod like all Cleveland quarterbacks, he’s developing nicely.

Trent Richardson was impressive too, even though he had just 14 carries for 47 yards. He caught four more balls for 57 more yards.

Richardson is definitely a player defensive coordinators are planning for. Baltimore made its first priority to account for the rookie. When was the last time the Browns had a player like that.

The difference in the game was the Ravens’ wide receivers. They caught the ball and made plays, while the Browns’ pass catchers didn’t.

Defensively, Dick Jauron’s crew played valiantly. LB Craig Robertson, an undrafted free agent, continues to impress, intercepting a Flacco throw in the end zone, and making open field tackles on Ray Rice a couple of times.

The defense also put a lot of pressure on Flacco, sacking him four times. The line play was thought to be a question mark coming into the year, but they are getting to the quarterback frequently, and most of the time with four rushers.

And what can you say about Phil Dawson, who kicked three field goals of over 50 yards. If the Browns were contending for the playoffs, Dawson would most certainly get the Pro Bowl nod he richly deserves.

It hasn’t showed up in the standings yet, but this is definitely a better football team than last year’s squad.

Still, Shurmur and offensive coordinator Brad Childress need to put more points on the board. They’ve only scored more than 20 points once this season, and that doesn’t get it done in today’s NFL.

In fact, in the 52 games Shurmur has been the offensive coordinator (with the Rams) or head coach, his teams have scored more than 20 points just six times. It’s a disturbing trend.

Perhaps they could score more with receivers that hold on to the ball.

A Day of Decision for Browns

The fourth preseason game in the NFL is the least meaningful of all the meaningless games that predate the regular season.

Unless, of course you are one of the players who is trying to make the final 53 man roster on a particular NFL team, then it is anything but meaningless.

There will be more talk today as to who will make the final roster for the Cleveland Browns than last night’s 28-20 loss to the Chicago Bears. The Browns finish exhibition play at 2-2, narrowly missing out on the preseason playoffs.

The most high level roster battle is the position of back up quarterback between Colt McCoy and Seneca Wallace, but other spots are probably far more important, because if Brandon Weeden stays healthy, neither McCoy or Wallace, or third stringer Thaddeus Lewis may never see the field.

If coach Pat Shurmur picks his reverse QB based on last night, Wallace is going to get the gig.

Last night, McCoy showed off all the weaknesses people point out when saying he’s not a starting quarterback in the NFL. His first pass hung out WR Greg Little to dry, allowing him to take a vicious hit, then on a 3rd and 7 play, he threw a check down pass to Travis Benjamin for four yards.

Perhaps that was the play call from upstairs, but it didn’t look good.

On his second series, he threw an interception which led to Chicago’s first touchdown. He wound up hitting just 2 of 5 throws for 16 yards.

By contrast, Wallace looked decisive in moving the Browns to their only first half touchdown, a toss to WR Rod Windsor.

To be fair, Wallace had the benefit of being on the field with RB Brandon Jackson, who showed why he should be the starter in week one if Trent Richardson is not ready to play. The former Packer gained 48 yards in seven carries, and hit the hole hard once he got the ball.

Which is why he should get the nod over Montario Hardesty, who could have a problem making the final roster. Hardesty was tentative early, but finally attacking on a couple of decent runs, the longest being 14 yards. He wound up with 24 yards on six attempts.

Josh Cribbs did a nice job of hooking up with Wallace on the touchdown drive, grabbing two passes for 34 yards. The talk of Cribbs possibly getting cut is flat-out ridiculous. He’s still dangerous with the ball in his hands, and even though he doesn’t run great routes as a wide receiver, if the passer gets him the ball, something good will usually happen.

The other negatives, in addition to McCoy’s poor game, was an injury to LB James Michael Johnson, who is counted on to be a contributor right away this season. Hopefully, a reported injury to his oblique isn’t serious and he can play on September 9th against the Eagles.

There was concern about the special teams having two punts blocked in the last two games, but the guess here is the players out on the field for those blocks will not be here when the games start to count.

The big news will come tonight at 9 PM when the rosters have to get down to 53 players. Will there be surprise cuts? It wouldn’t be shocking to see players like Hardesty, Mohammed Massaquoi, and even Ben Watson being let go.

It’s no secret the Cleveland Browns are getting young, and if the plan is to get this team in a position to make some noise in 2013 and beyond, you may just see some veterans looking for a new team come tomorrow.

What Are Browns Fans Worrying About Now?

For the most part, the Cleveland Browns have had a pretty successful training camp. They’ve won both of their preseason games, and it seems a lot of their young players look to be players.

That doesn’t mean Browns’ fans have nothing to worry about. In fact, if the team ever won the Super Bowl, many supporters would be concerned about repeating the following year.

That’s just the way it is.

Anyway, here are some comments on what is weighing on the minds of fans of the orange helmet.

Colt McCoy. While it is clear that Brandon Weeden will be the starter when the Eagles visit on September 9th, who will be the back up quarterback?

Most think the Browns will deal McCoy for a low round draft pick, but should they?

The only reason for doing so would be so that if Weeden struggles, the crowds at Cleveland Browns’ Stadium can’t start chanting his name.

And that seems silly, but it’s tough on a rookie to have a divided fan base.

McCoy is probably better than veteran Seneca Wallace, and probably gives the team a better chance to win if something happens to Weeden.

Plus, McCoy seems to be more engaged in the games than Wallace, who hasn’t been seen wearing a headset during exhibition play.

GM Tom Heckert and president Mike Holmgren will likely deal McCoy after the last preseason game next week, but it’s for the wrong reasons.

It’s an emotional decision rather than a football one.

Playing the Eagles twice in three weeks. The answer here is that the Browns need to do what is good for the Browns, and they can’t worry about injuries and showing the opponents too much.

This is not to say Pat Shurmur should use the same game plan he is going to use on September 9th this Friday against the Eagles, but it shouldn’t affect anyone’s playing time.

The rookies and young veterans on this squad need playing time and need to be prepared to play four quarters when the opening bell rings.

Use a basic offense and defense and keep the starters in for three quarters. That’s what is beneficial for the Browns.

New Owner Jimmy Haslam. After Randy Lerner’s ownership, a guy like Larry Dolan might look like Redskins’ meddling owner Dan Snyder, which Browns fans are fearing Haslam may turn into.

Why? Because he’s gone to a few practices? He’s had the audacity to be seen at games?

Those are things most owners in the NFL do.

Now, if Haslam starts standing on the sidelines during games, like the Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, then it’s time to be a little concerned.

If he starts sitting in the war room on draft day and tells Heckert who to pick, then Browns’ fans should be worried.

If he goes over the GM’s head and starts spending huge amounts of cash on marginal free agents, then he’s turning into Snyder.

So far, he hasn’t done any of that, he’s just watching the team he paid one billion dollars for practice. And in that regard, he’s the same as the thousands who attend training camp in Berea everyday.

If Haslam learned anything from his partnership with the Steelers, it should be to let his football people do their job.

If he wants to truly be a part of the city and become one with the fans, he’ll start to worry about insignificant things.