Browns Flounder Through “Easy” Part Of The Schedule

When the NFL schedule was released, it appeared the first four games of the slate were the soft part of the season for the Cleveland Browns. Well, they now sit at 1-3 on the year after a 20-16 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, and it is getting late pretty quickly.

Now you never know for sure what is going to happen. We doubt many thought that out of the balance of the games before the bye week (Washington, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Baltimore, LA Chargers), that the Commanders would have the best record (3-1) at this point.

The Browns look like a team that hasn’t had a first-round pick for the last three years. They lack depth, particularly on the offensive line and at running back. As for the latter, don’t you think after Nick Chubb went down last season, the organization would have searched for a similar type of back?

We say that knowing Chubb is incredible, but we are talking about someone who can run effectively inside the tackles.

We continue to repeat the old football adage that remains true even though today’s NFL is a passing league: If you can’t run the ball and can’t stop the run, you are a bad football team.

Cleveland has run for 100 yards in a game this season just once, and true to form, it was the game they won, running for 125 against the Jaguars. Defensively, they have allowed 100 yards in every game, and it has deteriorated week by week, allowing a season low 102 in week one, and 152 last Sunday.

The pass rush still seems to be based solely on Myles Garrett, who is battling multiple injuries and still was the Browns’ best defender. He had the team’s only two sacks and half of the tackles for loss against the Raiders.

All that being said, the defense hasn’t allowed a lot of points after the season opener, and ranks 11th in yards allowed, a respectable ranking.

Which leads us back to the offense, which hasn’t scored 20 points in a game through four weeks, scoring a high of a paltry 17 points against the Jags. They have yet to gain 300 yards in a game, something they did 13 times last year, including five times with Watson at the helm before his shoulder injury.

Yes, the offensive line is banged up, but that doesn’t explain the total lack of production on this side of the ball. They still have Joel Bitonio and Ethan Pocic (although he was injured on Sunday) and Nick Harris has played before without issues.

And besides, they play well on the first drive of the game, so what happens after that?

The problem still comes back to the Deshaun Watson trade. The Browns could have drafted an offensive lineman, another pass rusher, and perhaps another running back with the pick moved to Houston to get Watson.

And it would have been worth it if they were getting a top five quarterback, but Watson has yet to show that, and at this point, he probably never will.

But how many other moves were made to protect the investment in that deal? They replaced a viable offensive coordinator. They let go a solid veteran backup quarterback.

The front office also keeps chasing stars in terms of playmaking hoping the coaching staff can keep producing quality offensive linemen.

Is the season over and should fans start looking to the 2025 NFL Draft? Not yet, but there has to be serious soul searching in Berea this week. And that should reach all the way to the top of the organization.

A Browns’ Functional Offense Can Win Games

When the Cleveland Browns were in negotiations to trade for Deshaun Watson, it was reported that the quarterback’s interactions with head coach Kevin Stefanski went amazingly well.

The two talked football, x’s and o’s, and Stefanski showed him ideas and the concepts of what he would like to do, and Watson appeared to be in agreement that it would be a beneficial relationship for both of them.

There is no doubt in our mind that Stefanski was excited. That’s how coaches are. Without any negative baggage people are aware of, coaches think they can get the best out of any player, that’s how they are wired.

Stefanski has had success running offenses as a coach in Minnesota and Cleveland, and we are sure he felt what he liked to do would mesh well with a passer who had several big seasons and a couple of playoff appearances in Houston.

And we are sure Watson was equally excited to have a coach whose offenses have had plenty of success in the NFL.

But offenses have changed in the NFL since 2018-2020, Watson’s heyday in Houston. The Kansas City Chiefs, who have won three Super Bowls since that period, do not run the same attack as they did in Patrick Mahomes’ first year as a starter.

So, hoping the Watson who played for the Texans is magically going to return wearing a Browns’ uniform is probably a wish that isn’t going to come true.

Meanwhile, while Watson was out due to suspension and injury over the last two years, the Browns’ offense has performed pretty well, ranking in the middle of the pack in ’22 (18th) and landing in the top ten (10th) last season.

Stefanski likes to run the football and throw off of play action. That usually means the QB has to play under center. Watson prefers to be in the shotgun. Stefanski likes to be ahead of the chains, usually going with a short pass on first down to gain five yards or so, and then be able to run the ball on 2nd and possible 3rd down.

Watson likes to take shots down the field, usually after he buys time in the backfield by using his legs. He also takes a lot of sacks, leading the league in 2018 and was sacked over 40 times in both ’19 and ’20.

That puts his team in obvious pass situations. Stefanski doesn’t like those situations.

The point is in spite of both people’s intentions, what they both like to do is in direct contrast with each other.

After last season, the organization decided to bring in a new offensive coordinator, Ken Dorsey, who has experience with mobile QBs, but physically, Cam Newton and Josh Allen, the players Dorsey worked with, are much bigger and would seem to be able to take more hits because of that size.

With the injuries on the offensive line, it would seem the best offense for the Browns to win with would be to run the Stefanski attack, keep the QB out of bad down and distance situations and running the football and take downfield shots with play action.

Can Watson run that offense effectively and better yet, can he be fulfilled running the attack in that fashion?

We think the Browns can have success if the offense plays at a league average level. The defense is that strong. Winning is the object of the sport, no one should forget that.

Bad Loss For Browns, Who Need To Get Back To Basics

There are bad losses in the NFL, and there are really bad losses, and the latter is what happened to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, losing to the New York Giants 21-15.

The Giants came into the games having allowed 215 yards on the ground to Washington the previous week, and 111 in their opener. But the Browns decided to run the ball just 18 times, and four of those were by Deshaun Watson, so let’s say Cleveland ran about 16 running plays.

Why? It’s a mystery.

The game started well enough. New York fumbled the opening kickoff, the Browns recovered and scored on the next play, a 24-yard pass to Amari Cooper, and it looked like it was supposed to be, an easy Browns’ win at home.

On New York’s second drive, Ronnie Hickman picked off a Daniel Jones throw, but Greg Newsome was called for roughing the passer (Jones wasn’t even knocked down), and the Giants boat raced Cleveland the rest of the first half.

They put together two long drives and then with the first half running down, Watson fumbled with 27 seconds left, New York recovered on the Cleveland 30 and scored again to make it 21-3 at the half.

The decision to eschew the running game after a solid effort against Jacksonville was curious. In the first half, Cleveland ran the ball on their second first down (a 4-yard run by Jerome Ford), and on the next first down (3-yard run by D’Onta Foreman). They ran it just two other plays, not counting a QB sneak by Jameis Winston.

With the Giants’ blitzing on pretty much every play, not doing anything to slow down the rush is the fault of the game plan.

The defense hasn’t played great, although again, in the second half they shutout the Giants, but the offense seems broken, as the Browns haven’t scored more than 18 points in any of their three games this season.

Compare that to the end of last season when the Browns averaged 23.3 points a game to rank 10th in the NFL. And in the last five game, they scored 27.6 points per contest.

And that was without Nick Chubb.

And it was also after Jedrick Wills Jr. was injured and Geron Christian was played left tackle.

We have said this before, but the Browns’ offense wasn’t a problem, but they changed coordinators and some other coaches to put together an offense more suited to Watson, who played maybe two good games in the dozen he started?

What can they do going forward? Simply, they need to run the football and stick with the ground game. They have only run the ball for over 100 yards once this year, and not surprisingly, it was the game they won, rushing for 125.

Running the ball slows down the pass rush, and allows you to run play action, a staple of Stefanski’s offense. It may not be the high-flying attack they thought they could have with Watson, but it helps you win football games.

And that’s the name of the game. Everyone has to put their egos aside and do what is best for this football team. You have a two-time coach of the year on the sideline, whether people in Cleveland agree with that or not.

Maybe it’s time to do what he wants to do with the offense?

Regarding The Browns’ Offense…

In the off-season, the Cleveland Browns replaced offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt with Ken Dorsey, and the reason given for the move was Dorsey was more familiar working with dual threat quarterback, having worked with Josh Allen in Buffalo and Cam Newton in Carolina.

It was part of the Browns’ quest to “unlock” Deshaun Watson and have him return to the guy who had passer ratings over 100 in Houston from 2017 to 2020.

Since he joined the Browns, Watson’s highest rating was the 84.3 he achieved last season, in which he played just six games. This year, after two contests, his rating is just 63.0.

Kevin Stefanski and Van Pelt ran a good offense as well. In terms of yardage, the Vikings’ offense in Stefanski’s year as offensive coordinator ranked 16th in yards gained, and with the Browns, the attack was solid, with ranks ranging from 14th to 16th.

Dorsey’s offenses in Buffalo were 2nd and 4th in his two years as OC, but remember, he was let go last season during the year.

Both like to run the football. Stefanski had Dalvin Cook in Minnesota and then Nick Chubb in Cleveland, and until 2023, those teams were in the top ten in the league in running the ball.

So were Dorsey’s attacks in his two years in Buffalo.

The biggest difference we think is who does the running in each offense. Dorsey had quarterbacks who ran for over 700 yards three times in the ten seasons he has been quarterback coach or offensive coordinator. The QBs ran for more than 500 yards in two more years.

Watson ran for more than 400 yards in three of his four seasons in Houston. But he is really the first dual threat passer that Stefanski has handled.

The quarterbacks Stefanski had in Minnesota and Cleveland have all done well. Here are their passer ratings (although that stat just measures passing efficiency):

2017 Minnesota QB coach: Case Keenum 98.3
2018 Minnesota QB coach: Kirk Cousins 99.7
2019 Minnesota offensive coordinator: Cousins 107.4
2020 Browns Head Coach: Baker Mayfield 95.9
2021 Browns Head Coach: Mayfield (83.1), Keenum (91.3)
2022 Browns Head Coach: Jacoby Brissett (88.9), Watson (79.1)
2023 Browns Head Coach: Joe Flacco (90.2), Watson (84.3)

For Cousins, the ’19 season was his best as a pro, as was the case for Mayfield’s 2020 campaign, Brissett’s ’22 year, and for Keenum as well in ’17. For Flacco, it was his best season since 2014 with the Ravens.

Only Watson hasn’t thrived under Kevin Stefanski. Stefanski likes to work in a lot of play action, and Watson’s best (and longest) completion on Sunday was off a fake and resulted in a 30-yard pass to Jerry Jeudy.

Perhaps that’s what the basis of the offense should be right now. By all measures, the vertical passing game is disappearing in the NFL as defenses have adjusted.

We also think the coaching staff and front office would like Watson to cut down on running the ball himself unless absolutely necessary. Heck, in QB sneak situations, Cleveland put Jameis Winston in to take the snaps.

The point is this–Charles Barkley once said, “if it’s not broke, don’t break it”. Maybe that’s what the Cleveland Browns did with their offense. It’s something to keep an eye on week to week.

Browns Use Old Offense To Beat Jags.

Last week, we said it was just one game in referring to the Cleveland Browns’ loss to Dallas in the season opener.

This week, we will reach into the cliche bag and tell everyone a win is a win. The Browns played a very good first half of football and held on to beat Jacksonville 18-13 to raise their record to 1-1.

After hiring a new offensive coordinator in Ken Dorsey, who was bringing in an attack more friendly to a dual threat quarterback, the Cleveland offense looked much like the same as it had the previous years under Alex Van Pelt.

The brown and orange came out trying to work the running game. After having just 19 running plays vs. Dallas, and some of those were Deshaun Watson scrambles after escaping the pass rush, they ran the ball 29 times for 125 yards.

D’Onta Foreman started and had the most carries, toting the ball 14 times for 42 yards, and had a huge run in the fourth quarter that unfortunately was called back when he grabbed a defender’s face mask. Jerome Ford looked much better than he did in week one to us and seemed to run harder hitting the holes.

He had 64 yards on seven carries, including a big 36-yard on a fourth down play.

The offense looked a lot like the same kind of system used when Jacoby Brissett was behind center. It appeared the coaching staff told Watson to take care of the football, and indeed Cleveland did not turn it over all day.

There weren’t a lot of high-risk throws. Perhaps the one play that stands out was Watson at the end of a scramble throwing the football into a crowd and somehow Jerry Jeudy came down with it on the sidelines.

Watson would up 22 of 34 for 186 yards and ran the ball five times for 20 yards. It was interesting to see Stefanski use Jameis Winston, a bigger QB, in some short yardage situations for quarterback sneaks.

The defense allowed two big plays, the 66-yard pass from Trevor Lawrence to Brian Thomas and Lawrence’s 33-yard run, otherwise, the Jaguars were bottled up all game. The Browns sacked Lawrence four times, including a safety on Alex Wright’s sack, which should have salted away the game.

Ultimately, that sack followed the play of the game, the punt by Corey Bojorquez which went out of bounds on the one-yard line late in the fourth quarter. Stefanski decided to punt rather than have Dustin Hopkins try a 58-yard field goal, and that was the correct decision.

Speaking of Stefanski’s decisions, we also believe the last offensive play was not supposed to end in a pass, he wanted Watson to roll out, gain as many yards as he could, and then go down and keep the clock running.

We are sure some will focus on the penalties, which Cleveland accumulated 13 flags during the game. It needs to be cleaned up, but there seems to be another “point of emphasis” with officials to call motion penalties. And according to people who know football better than us, a few flags against the Browns were not merited.

But again, a win is a win, and the Browns should be expected to win next Sunday at home against the 0-2 Giants. It will be interesting to see what the offense looks like. Will it be run oriented at the start or throwing a lot.

Either way, Cleveland got a win they needed after a terrible first game showing. And that’s a good thing.

A Week One Stinker For Watson And The Browns

It’s just one game.

That’s the best thing we can say about the Browns’ 33-17 loss to Dallas in their season opener on Sunday. There are 16 more games and hopefully, Kevin Stefanski’s squad played their worst one in week one.

Under Stefanski’s tenure, the Browns have always had a strong running game, led by Nick Chubb. Last season, when Chubb missed most of the season, Cleveland ranked 12th in the league in rushing.

Early in Sunday’s contest, the Browns couldn’t run the ball, and that led to Dallas being able to ignore the possibility of a ground game and they put all kinds of pressure on Deshaun Watson, who didn’t handle it well.

Yes, we know the Browns were missing both of their starting tackles. But Dallas was starting two rookies on their offensive line, and Dak Prescott was sacked three times (Watson was sacked six) and gained four yards per carry when running the football.

Cleveland had one first down in the first half. One! Watson seemed confused and hesitant at most times during the game. As we said earlier, he was sacked six times, but a few of those times he sacked himself because he didn’t get rid of the football.

The Browns didn’t get the ball to their primary playmakers either. Amari Cooper caught two passes for 16 yards. David Njoku did catch four passes and was involved in the longest offensive play for Cleveland, 29 yards, but he left with an ankle injury.

Heralded off-season acquisition Jerry Jeudy caught three passes for 25 yards and did score the Browns’ first touchdown.

The Cleveland offense gained just 230 yards, most of that in the second half when the game was already decided.

Let’s not forget the special teams, which gave up a 60-yard punt return to KaVontae Turpin which pretty much iced the game for Dallas, making the score 27-3 early in the second half.

The defense wasn’t dominant, but actually played the best of any of the units. They held Dallas to just 265 yards of total offense, but gave up two long scoring drives, both in the first half, allowing a TD drive of 70 yards and a second one of 74.

Otherwise, as we said before, the Cowboys scored on a punt return, and field goal drives of 17, 1, 19, and 20 yards. Cleveland wound up winning the time of possession, but again, stats were misleading. When your offense gets one first down in a half, your defense is on the field a lot.

They weren’t great, but they were far from being awful.

However, fair or not, it still comes down to quarterback play for the Browns. Remember, it’s been four years since Watson has been one of the better passers in the NFL, and he didn’t look any different than the way he’s played normally since coming the Cleveland.

He was 0 for 10 in throws of more than 15 yards on Sunday, making him essentially a dink and dunk passer. Those guys are a dime a dozen in the NFL. Watson is paid to make big plays.

There has to be improvement on offense, and it needs to begin next week in Jacksonville. And not just Watson, the running game has to be better, and the offensive line needs to be do the same. Perhaps either Jack Conklin or Jedrick Wills will be back.

We would also like to see D’Onta Foreman and Pierre Strong get some more carries from scrimmage.

It’s just one game. Hopefully, we will have the same thought about Sunday after next week’s game.

Three People To Watch For Browns Not Named Deshaun Watson

With the Cleveland Browns’ season starting today, it is clear that the player with the most pressure on him coming into the season is QB Deshaun Watson. The Browns paid a hefty price for the quarterback, giving up three first round draft picks and paying him a ton of guaranteed cash, and have received little return on their investment.

However, there are others under the microscope for us as the 2024 season kicks off today.

Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. Let’s face it, the Browns’ offense hasn’t exactly been broken over the last four seasons with Kevin Stefanski and Alex Van Pelt running it. Since Stefanski became head coach, Cleveland has ranked between 14th and 18th in yards gained, right in the middle of the pack.

Dorsey’s offense in Buffalo, where he was offensive coordinator in 2022 ranked 2nd in yardage, but he was let go during the season last year.

He did have Josh Allen, one of the better QBs in the NFL guiding his attack. He comes to town with a reputation for getting the most out of “dual threat” quarterbacks, having worked with Allen and Cam Newton during his time in Carolina.

His job here is to get the most out of Watson, get him back to the player he was in Houston. However, let’s not forget the Browns’ offense hummed under Joe Flacco late last season and Stefanski has gotten the best out of pretty much every quarterback he has worked with. Except one.

Offensive line coach Andy Dickerson. He’s replacing a legend in Bill Callahan, recognized as one of the best line coaches in the business. Callahan left to coach with his son Brian in Tennessee, and the Browns made the right decision in allowing that to happen.

If the offensive line has issues this year, no doubt Dickerson will be under scrutiny because he’s not Callahan. The interior of this unit is solid with guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller, and center Ethan Pocic.

Right now, the tackle spots are up in the air, but that’s due to injury and not the coaching. As we write this, we don’t know who will start at left tackle.

Much of the Browns’ success under Stefanski has been the ability to run the football, much of that due to Nick Chubb of course, but also Bill Callahan. Can Dickerson maintain that level of excellence, especially has injuries occur?

And that brings us to…

Running back Jerome Ford. The third-year back got his first extended action last season when Chubb went down and averaged a little less than four yards per carry. Chubb, of course, is one of the best in league history, averaging 5.3 yards per carry for his career.

However, remember D’Ernest Johnson? He got 100 carries in 2021 for Cleveland and averaged 5.3 yards per carry. Last year, Pierre Strong picked up 4.6 yards per attempt.

If the Browns are going to run the ball effectively, and yes, they will need to, Ford has to do better than four yards per attempt.

For us, he seems to hesitate when he approaches the line at times instead of putting his head down and getting two yards, he looks for the big gain and loses yardage.

Perhaps that comes with experience, and we will see that in ’24. But no doubt, the Browns need the running game, especially if they have leads going into the fourth quarter.

Should Watson Play Saturday? We Say Yes.

Earlier before the Browns’ training camp opened, we expressed the opinion that now that the team is good, our interest in training camp and pre-season football just isn’t there.

But Cleveland being Cleveland, there is always something to talk about with the NFL team here. And the current subject is should Deshaun Watson play in the final exhibition game Saturday night against Seattle?

The reason for the rebate is all of the injuries the team has suffered on the offensive line, mostly at the two tackle spots.

Going into camp, the starting tackles were projected to be Jedrick Wills on the left side and Jack Conklin on the right side. Both are coming off injuries that required surgery, and because of them, Dawand Jones started nine games in his rookie year, so Cleveland had some built-in depth at the position.

We are sure the Browns thought Wills would be ready by the last pre-season game, while they are hoping Conklin is ready for the season opener. Even if he isn’t, Jones can start at right tackle, and the offense shouldn’t miss a beat.

Back to Watson. As we all know, the quarterback has played just 12 regular season games over the last three seasons, so without a doubt, he needs to play. Frankly, we would have played him in the opener as well, at least for a series or two.

But football guys being football guys, there is the constant fear of injuries, so the question many in the media and fans alike ask is what if Watson gets hurt because the starting tackles aren’t playing.

Our response would be neither Wills or Conklin have taken a snap in the pre-season, and what if they aren’t ready for week one against Dallas? We all know they aren’t holding Watson out of that game.

We will count on Kevin Stefanski and Ken Dorsey to keep Watson out of harm’s way against the Seahawks, because for the greater good, Watson needs to take some live snaps before the Cowboys visit on September 8th.

We will again reiterate the key to this Browns’ season is the play of Deshaun Watson. If he plays close to the way he played in Houston, the team is a Super Bowl contender. That’s why they traded for him, to have that franchise quarterback. And in his third season in Cleveland, it’s time to see that player.

The old saying that “availability is an ability” certainly applies to Watson. Since, he’s been with the Browns, he missed 11 games in his first season due to suspension, and last year, he suffered the shoulder injury which required surgery.

And in his last season with Houston, where he missed the entire season due to legal issues, and Watson hasn’t played much football over the last three seasons.

He needs to play.

We don’t know what Stefanski will do Saturday night, but we would have Watson out there for the first quarter, and maybe into the second before going to Jameis Winston.

Offensive line issues or not, the quarterback needs to be on the field.

Browns’ Camp And Preseason Games? No Biggie

The Cleveland Browns open their exhibition season Saturday with a clash with the Green Bay Packers. And yes, we think it is incredibly terrible of the almighty NFL to charge full prices to watch a game in which many of the participants will not be NFL players.

But we look at this training camp and preseason schedule with a big yawn. Why is that? Because the Browns made the playoff a year ago and have done it twice in the last four seasons.

While that doesn’t seem to be dynastic, the Browns are a talented good football team, so unless someone suffers a severe injury (knock on wood), any news coming out of Berea is kind of background noise for us.

Again, Cleveland has talent on both sides of the football. On offense, the key is obviously QB Deshaun Watson, but he will play sparingly we would guess in the preseason, but they have a very good interior offensive line, a quality wide receiver in Amari Cooper (unless he is dealt) and a weapon at TE in David Njoku.

The only news that would matter to us would be the progress of Nick Chubb, coming off a severe knee injury apparently quicker than anyone would have anticipated six months ago.

The defense contains the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in Myles Garrett, along with a veteran defensive line, LB Jeremiah Osuwu-Koramoah, who was tremendous in the second half of last season, and an excellent secondary led by CB Denzel Ward and Martin Emerson Jr.

There is a new offensive coordinator in Ken Dorsey, but we know NFL teams aren’t going to show anything but basic stuff before the season begins, so no one should be evaluating play calling in August.

When the team you follow is good, you aren’t looking for draft picks who “flash”, especially if you haven’t had a first-round selection in three years. Yes, there are undrafted players who can make plays and put themselves on the final roster, but it is doubtful anyone is going to thrust themselves into a starting position for the Browns.

If you are a football diehard, yes you may be able to find some players who can make their bones special team players and as injuries happen for every NFL team, they could make a contribution as the regular season progresses.

And in today’s media world, Kevin Stefanski or any of his coordinators aren’t going to say anything of consequence during his daily press conferences. When we hear a radio station breaking in to broadcast Stefanski’s pressers, we laugh. They act like he is bringing down the tablets from Mt. Sinai, but he is going to say nothing.

We understand it is contractual, but it’s also funny.

So, unless the Browns swing the deal for 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk, we will relax until the regular season starts on September 8th at home against Dallas. That’s the first time anything real will happen for Stefanski’s squad.

That’s what having a good team means.

Browns’ Biggest Question? Still Watson

The Cleveland Browns start training camp this week, meaning an end to the local sports talk stations searching for content.

Because even though the Cavaliers made it to the second round of the playoffs this year, and the Guardians have one of the best records in baseball, football is the preferred subject for the radio sports talk folks.

The Browns went 11-6 a year ago, making the playoffs before they “picked a bad day to have a bad day” to quote coach Kevin Stefanski, losing to Houston in the wild card round.

However, Cleveland earned a lot of respect within the NFL last season. Myles Garrett was voted the league’s defensive player of the year. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was voted the NFL’s best assistant coach, and Stefanski himself was named Coach of the Year for the second time.

Many of the team’s star players are in their prime: Garrett, CB Denzel Ward, LB Jeremiah Osuwu-Koramoah, and TE David Njoku. The secondary is among the league’s best led by cornerbacks Ward and Martin Emerson along with S Grant Delpit.

And with Schwartz in his second year, the defense which allowed the least yards in the league last year should be able to provide some new wrinkles, particularly on the road where they had some struggles last season.

Nick Chubb, who suffered a severe knee injury last season, has attacked rehab like he attacks would be tacklers and amazingly looks like he could be ready for the season opener.

To be honest, we felt we wouldn’t see Chubb until mid-season.

But the key to the Browns’ Super Bowl hopes is still QB Deshaun Watson. Many in the local media continue to think with new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, Watson can get close to being the quarterback he was in Houston in 2020, when he led the NFL in passing yards, yards/attempt and yards per completion.

Notice we said that happened in 2020. This is 2024.

Watson is coming off shoulder surgery which cost him the last eight games of the regular season in ’23, but that’s the only injury which cost him playing time since his last productive season.

The national media have their doubts to whether or not we will ever see that Watson again. And if they are correct, can the Browns get to where they have never been? That being a Super Bowl.

The first thing for Watson is availability. He’s been with the Browns for two seasons and due to suspensions or injury, he has played 12. In both seasons, the offense looked better with another passer, the first year it was Jacoby Brissett, and last season Joe Flacco.

That’s what the national guys are seeing.

If you look at the teams who are getting to the conference championship game, most often than not, those teams are getting very good quarterback play. Watson doesn’t have to be the 2020 version, but he has to be close for Cleveland to get where they haven’t been since 1989.

And here’s another big question. What if the Browns get off to a slow start, say 1-3 or 2-5, and a big reason is Watson still hasn’t regained his Texans’ form?

Does the organization have the stomach to make a change? They brought in Jameis Winston for a reason, he’s a capable NFL signal caller. There are 230 million reasons they won’t make a change but remember what we said earlier.

This team is built to win NOW. What about the great players currently wearing the Browns’ uniform?

The organization and the fans need to see a Pro Bowl version of Deshaun Watson. The biggest question for the franchise is does that guy still exist?