Tag: detroit lions

Browns Fans Watching The Game Today With Hope.

Today is Super Bowl LIII, and there is no need to remind you that the Cleveland Browns are one of the few teams in the NFL who have never played in the game.

Only four franchises have never won their conference championships in the Super Bowl era, and two of them, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, are expansion teams, both coming into the league after 28 championship games had been played.

Yes, the Browns are technically an expansion team as well, rejoining the NFL in 1999, but played in five conference title games in the Super Bowl era before they were ripped from the city and moved to Baltimore.

So, it leaves just the Detroit Lions and the Browns as teams around when the Super Bowl started and have never been there.

Actually, the Lions have only been to one NFC Conference title game, in 1991, losing to the Redskins.

The Browns lost to the Colts in ’68, the Vikings in ’69, and the famous three losses to Denver in the late 80’s.

This year’s Browns give you hope that it won’t be too long before Cleveland can get to the Super Bowl for the first time.  They appear to have their quarterback in place at long last in Baker Mayfield, and in going from zero wins to seven this season, the future certainly looks bright.

However, let’s slow down on talk that the Browns can be in Super Bowl LIV next season.  Yes, the second half of the season was impressive, and we aren’t even going to bring up the argument that the team didn’t beat anyone good.

They lost to a Ravens squad that everyone was deathly afraid of in week 17 (we weren’t, because of their “gimmick” offense), but had a chance to win on the game’s last possession.

They also lost to another media darling team, the Texans, when Mayfield threw three first half interceptions, and then had a dazzling second half.

The reason we say this is because the Browns haven’t even made the playoffs since 2002.

We understand that it can happen.  Heck, the Eagles went from not making the playoffs for three straight seasons to winning the Super Bowl last year.

When the Rams won in 1999, it was their first playoff appearance in ten seasons.  So, it can happen.  When the Patriots won their first title, they were coming off a 5-11 season.

Still, the Browns have a lot of improvement to make in this off-season.  The defense ranked as one of the worst in the league, and even though they have an elite pass rusher and a shutdown corner, there are still improvements that need to be made.

And they have to build depth.  Playoff teams withstand injuries, so there must be a “next man up” mentality.  It helps if that guy can play professional football at an acceptable level.

Fortunately, John Dorsey has demonstrated he can find these players.  And with 11 draft picks and a ton of salary cap space, he will have to opportunity to fill the holes on the roster.

We are also quite satisfied that he knows where these holes are, and that is half the battle.

The biggest thing is having Mayfield though.  After a brief period (2001 and 2003) where quarterbacks like Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson won the big game, for the most part, the winning signal callers are at the top of the heap among QB’s.

Only Joe Flacco and Nick Foles would not be considered Hall of Famer type players among winners in the last 15 years.

We’ll bet Dorsey has learned that once you have the franchise quarterback, you build around him, and not rely on him to erase all of the other roster problems.

For the first time in a long time, Cleveland fans can watch the Super Bowl with hope.

MW

Browns Are Young, They Will Make Mistakes.

The Browns first pre-season game was a success, at least from the standpoint that they won, defeating the Detroit Lions 19-17.

However, it’s tough to judge what occurred during the game because of the people Pat Shurmur had sitting out due to injuries and/or rest.

For example, the run defense was not good.  This is something that has plagued the franchise since returning to the NFL in 1999.  But without Ahtyba Rubin and D’Qwell Jackson playing, you really can’t point to this as being a weakness right now.

Neither player is expected to miss any regular season time, so both will be back in there next week.

Of course, everyone wanted to watch the rookies on the offensive side of the ball, particularly QB Brandon Weeden.

The first year passer from Oklahoma State played like, well, a rookie.  He hit on 3 of 9 passes for 62 yards, making some good throws (the sideline shot to fellow rook Travis Benjamin on the first series), and some poor ones.  He was picked off once, and should have had another, although Bernie Kosar blamed that one on Josh Gordon, yet another rookie, not running a crisp enough route.

He also was charged with a fumble, but that was the result of poor pass protection.  That’s not to exonerate the rookie, but he’ll learn when to it’s better to take a sack than risk a turnover.

Look, even though he’ll be 29 years old during the season, he’s an inexperienced NFL quarterback.  He will get better the more time he spends on the football field.  This was one game.  If improvement isn’t made next week, and the week after next, then people can question the Browns’ decision.  It’s silly to do so now.

It was encouraging though to see some downfield throws, something not seen often last year.  In fact, it was telling on Colt McCoy’s first possession at the helm that he threw a completed six yard pass on 3rd and nine.

McCoy played well statistically, hitting 6 of 8 for 88 yards, the bulk of those a 42-yard strike to TE Jordan Cameron that he had to wait on.  Still, Cleveland only mustered a field goal in his quarter of play, against the Lions second team defense.

As for the rookies, 2nd round pick Mitchell Schwartz struggled with the speed of the NFL game, but again, it was his first game and he will likely get better.

Benjamin looked good at WR, catching two passes for 46 yards, and flashed the great speed the Browns talked about when they drafted him.  Josh Gordon looked raw, like he hasn’t played in a while, which he hasn’t.

The other rookie that stood out was CB Trevin Wade, drafted in the 7th round this spring.  Granted, he wasn’t out there covering Calvin Johnson, but he’s a guy that merits watching throughout the rest of the pre-season.

There could also be a problem going forward with WR Mohamed Massaquoi, who may have suffered another concussion on the first play of the game, a 12-yard reception.

It the diagnosis is correct, it would be his third injury of this type in three seasons, and could put his career in jeopardy.  The front office spoke highly of his potential all off-season long, so it was be a tough blow to lose the veteran.

Reserve DT Scott Paxson also went out with a knee injury, as did CB Dimitri Patterson.  The Browns are already thin at both positions, so these could be key injuries.

It’s still pre-season, so it’s just step one in the evaluation process.  Remember, the Cleveland Browns are a very young football team.  They will make mistakes, but if they eliminate them going forward, that’s how they should be judged.

JD