What Have We Learned About Browns Thus Far?

The Cleveland Browns have played two exhibition games, this means the “dress rehearsal”, which is what the third practice game has been called will take place Thursday night, against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Unfortunately, that’s really no longer the case, the starters usually only play maybe a half of the penultimate exhibition game any more.

What have we learned, if anything, about this year’s edition of the brown and orange.

The Browns have professional play at quarterback. Compared to last year’s forcing of rookie DeShone Kizer, who made a ridiculous amount of mistakes, with a pair of second year passers in Kevin Hogan and Cody Kessler as his backups, having Tyrod Taylor, Drew Stanton, and rookie Baker Mayfield as QB’s is a monster upgrade.

We understand and support the decision to start Taylor. After all, when you are 1-31 over the last two seasons, there is no reason watch a rookie go through growing pains in regular season games.

That said, it would be nice to see Mayfield get some time with the starters, against the Eagles’ first team defense. That’s the next step in seeing how the first overall pick has developed thus far.

We have also learned that Todd Haley won’t abandon the running game. Last season, Hue Jackson would tell everyone every week that he wanted to run the ball, and when they feel behind in the first half!, he would start throwing the ball on virtually every play.

Haley came out Friday night running and Carlos Hyde gashed the Buffalo defense. However, what we more telling was staying with the run in the opener even though it wasn’t really successful. That was a good thing to see.

Remember, the Browns are still missing starting guard Kevin Zeitler, who hopes to be ready for the Steelers in week one.

Defensively, the Browns’ first unit looks to be the real deal, and if that’s true, it is amazing how having solid play at cornerback makes a defense look a heck of a lot better.

We have always believed you should learn from history, and the Browns’ best stretch in the last 35 years was fueled by having Hanford Dixon and Frank Minniefield at the corners.

This isn’t to say Denzel Ward and Terrance Mitchell are the caliber of the leaders of the “Dawg Pound”, but it makes stopping the run easier and it will make Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah better pass rushers.

GM John Dorsey must believe cornerbacks are similar to pitchers in baseball, when you think you have enough, you go out and get some more. We agree. In today’s NFL, slowing down the passing game is paramount. That’s why pass rushers and corners are at a premium.

The one problem we still see is depth, which is understandable for a young football team. We see a tremendous upgrade in talent on the first unit, both because of Dorsey’s acquisitions and the development of the draft picks from the previous two drafts.

However, there seems to be a big drop off when the subs play. Again, that’s natural, the Browns are still building, but it does mean we will probably see a lot of roster changes when the teams around the NFL cut down to the 53 man limit.

Presence Of Jackson Dampens Enthusiasm About Browns

Cleveland Browns training camp begins a week from today, and of course, sports fans around town are on the edge of their seats in anticipation.

Fans can’t wait to see first overall pick QB Baker Mayfield, along with fellow first rounders CB Denzel Ward, who should make an impact immediately, or at least quicker than Mayfield.

Running back Nick Chubb and WR Antonio Callaway could be other rookies who will figure prominently this season.

And you can’t forget last year’s draft class either. Will Myles Garrett make the quantum leap expected of him and become one of the sport’s disruptive forces on the defensive line. Don’t forget Jabril Peppers, who will now be playing his more natural position of strong safety.

You also have the new free agents, especially WR Jarvis Landry, who figures to be a focal point of the offense. Carlos Hyde will be in the mix at running back, and Mychal Kendricks and T. J. Carrie figure to make an impact on defense.

However, there is one thing that puts a damper on any optimism for the franchise, and that is the head coach. Hue Jackson is still there.

Jackson has somehow returned for a third season as head coach of the Browns despite winning just one of the 32 games he has been at the helm. And it’s not like the team’s record improved in his second year.

Cleveland went 1-15 in Jackson’s maiden voyage with the brown and orange and returned to go 0-16 the following season.

It appears the only reason he is back is for continuity sake, not because anyone can put a finger on something significant the team has accomplished in his two seasons in Cleveland.

Many football people we respect, both nationally and locally believe the Browns were not an 0-16 team a year ago, and those same people also believe the squad was poorly coached.

Yes, it helps him that he now no longer has play calling responsibilities, so he can focus on the overall picture. Will that help him from making curious in game decisions in terms of time management or replay decisions, time will tell.

Going into the season, there will be stories on how many early losses it will take before Jackson is replaced, and offensive coordinator Todd Haley will be speculated as the likely successor.

After all, GM John Dorsey didn’t get a chance to hire the coach, and we would bet he already has an idea of who he would like to bring in to run the team on the field. Heck, that guy might just be Haley.

That’s not fair to a very young football team, and make no mistake, that’s exactly what the Browns will be this season. They deserve to gain experience and confidence, not feel pressure from a head coach who needs to get off to a good start.

Our opinion of Jackson is he is a coach with more style than substance. He has a good reputation, but what is it based on? In his tenure in Cleveland, he seems to deflect a lot of responsibility in regards to his record.

With the talent Dorsey and Sashi Brown brought in over the last two years, it’s time for Jackson to start producing results. We just aren’t sure he is up to the task.

Browns Adding Players At Important Positions

Browns’ GM John Dorsey has been full of surprises during this NFL Draft. Well, surprises to the fans and draftniks out there, at least.

Our guess (and reports have indicated this) is that Dorsey has known for a long time who he wanted and who he would take with both the first and fourth picks, and because they were different players than the national media reported, some people are disappointed.

We have always believed we will trust the professional talent evaluators until they give us a reason not to. That’s why we won’t second guess the front office’s choices this week.

Besides, we like Baker Mayfield as a quarterback. Yes, we would have preferred UCLA’s Josh Rosen, but said we wouldn’t have a problem with him, Sam Darnold, or Mayfield.

As for the pick being a reach, most mock drafts we saw had Mayfield going no later than at pick #3 to the Jets, so taking him two picks earlier isn’t a big deal.

The Heisman Trophy winner is accurate and has a strong arm. The biggest rap on him is his height, so he most definitely can become an elite quarterback. That said, we would still have him sit most, if not all of his rookie season, so he can learn the pro game before taking the field.

He’s 23 years old, not 28 or 33, so if he doesn’t play this season, it is quite possible he could be the Browns’ QB for 10-15 years if his performance merits.

In our opinion, the next most important position on defense after pass rusher is cornerback, so we understand the selection of Denzel Ward at #4.

Many thought the Browns really liked NC State pass rusher Bradley Chubb, but we think the Browns’ brass were impressed with Emmanuel Ogbah, and decided to go with someone who can guard wide receivers.

This goes along with what Dorsey did in free agency, when he added TJ Carrie, Terrance Mitchell, and E.J. Gaines, pretty much turning over the position.

Besides, we remember the last time the Browns were a perennial contender, their defense was built around two shutdown corners, Hanford Dixon and Frank Minniefield.

Friday night, Dorsey added to one of the team’s strengths selecting Austin Corbett, interior lineman from Nevada. This was the Browns taking the best player left on their board.

After correctly passing on Saquon Barkley in round one, by taking Nick Chubb from Georgia. Chubb will join Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson to form a running attack Hue Jackson can have confidence in.

WR Antonio Callaway (4th round) has had all sorts of issues in his collegiate career, but if (and that’s a big if) he can stay out of trouble, he has first round talent.

LB Genard Avery is great get in round five. He should play in the middle and could be a leader on special teams. He should be a contributor in 2018.

As we said previously, until given reasons otherwise, we trust the Dorsey and his staff of talent evaluators who have a proven track record. We also reject the notion that Mayfield and Ward were reaches.

Both of them were considered among the best, if not the best player available at their respective positions.

So relax Browns’ fans. They are better today than on Wednesday before the draft started. The bigger question is will the head coach get the most out of this group?

Free Agency Frenzy Improves Browns

Since last Friday afternoon, GM John Dorsey is remaking the Cleveland Browns with a series of trades and free agent signings.

He attacked the biggest weak points on the team, and in doing so, he didn’t touch the organization’s biggest draft assets, their picks in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft.

There are critics on the deal for QB Tyrod Taylor, which cost the team the highest pick they gave up, the first pick in the third round, but if you think of that pick as the Browns’ sixth draft choice, it makes a lot of sense.

Taylor is the antithesis of what Cleveland has had at quarterback for much of the recent past, he takes care of the football.

In the midst of all this talent acquisition though, came the loss of the Browns’ best player, Joe Thomas.

An perennial all pro, Thomas will head to Canton and the Hall of Fame in five years. It is a shame that he never got to play in a playoff game during his time in brown and orange.

Dorsey addressed the offensive line and the secondary in the first days of free agency.

In the defensive backfield, he signed CB T.J. Currie (from Oakland), who should claim a starting role and CB Terrance Mitchell (from Kansas City), who will provide depth at the position.

We also feel strongly that one of Cleveland’s first five picks will be used on another cornerback, perhaps Ohio State’s Denzel Ward.

Dorsey needed to replace Thomas on the offensive line, and perhaps T Chris Hubbard from the Steelers, who wasn’t a starter, but played well when pressed into duties with Pittsburgh last season.

Hubbard, 26, could get a crack at replacing Thomas at left tackle, or perhaps Shon Coleman could move there, or one will be drafted.

The only other free agent that will likely be a front line players will be RB Carlos Hyde, who replaces Isaiah Crowell, who went to the Jets.

Hyde is a bigger back, the kind we believe the coaching staff prefers. He can pound in between the tackles, which really Crowell was better at too, but Hue Jackson seemed intent on running him outside.

He’s also a better receiver. All in all, it’s probably a wash, and look for the Browns to add a running back in the first two rounds of next month’s draft.

The rest of the signees were about building depth, most notably DE Chris Smith from the Bengals, and after the last two seasons, Dorsey needed to have options when the injuries which inevitably hit an NFL team come around.

All in all, this free agent class doesn’t really affect how the front office will view the draft.

The Browns will still be looking for a quarterback, a running back, another pass rusher to pair with Myles Garrett, a left tackle, and cornerbacks.

Outside of running back, those are perhaps the most important positions on the football field. And the Browns are looking for great players at those spots, guys who impact the game.

You generally can’t get those people in free agency, meaning right now, we like the new GM’s approach at this time of the year.