Garrett Situation Just Gets Stranger

The longer the NFL off-season goes, the weirder and weirder the situation with the Cleveland Browns gets. On Friday it was reported that owner Jimmy Haslam refused to meet with All-Pro DE Myles Garrett.

Now, we understand organizational hierarchy and if say, Greg Newsome asked to meet with the owner, the request should be turned down and have the player talk to GM Andrew Berry.

But it is also true that superstars get different treatment, so to us, when the best defensive player the franchise has had in 65 years asks to meet with the owner, we think he has earned that right.

Now, let’s also remember right now, we would do exactly what the Browns are doing with Garrett, which is nothing. And to repeat what we’ve written before; we would let the situation play out throughout the summer and see what transpires.

We have also maintained the Browns need to fix this situation, and really, there’s only one person who can do that, Jimmy Haslam.

We know what has been published about Garrett’s issues with the Browns, but it is all in general terms. He doesn’t like the direction of the franchise; he doesn’t want to go through a rebuilding process. Those are generalities.

What exactly does he want? To repeat, if he wants Berry gone, we’d do it. Heck, he might want the Browns to change how they select players, feeling they need more guys who eat, drink, and breathe football.

He may also have some ridiculous demands, things the organization simply cannot agree to, and they will have to agree there is an impasse.

Remember that Garrett has no leverage. He is under contract for two more years and then the Browns can use the franchise tag for two more seasons. His only option is to retire, something older supporters of the team can relate to (see Jim Brown 1966).

We still think there is a solution that can be reached, but the way to do it is through communication. Garrett obviously feels more comfortable with speaking directly to the man who signs his checks, and perhaps, as some have pointed out, one of his issues is the GM, the guy Haslam wants him to talk to.

It would be kind of an odd dynamic if Garrett spoke to Berry and said, “yeah, I think you are pretty terrible at your job”.

Our gut feeling is Garrett has an issue with the leadership of the franchise, as in, he doesn’t know who is leading it.

Players know more than people give them credit for. We are sure the players looked at replacing Alex Van Pelt and Stump Mitchell and figure Kevin Stefanski didn’t really want to do that. So that creates a problem for the head coach.

Our other comment is about Garrett seeming to be putting more and more heat on the Browns. They literally could not have done anything yet. The league year doesn’t begin until this week. This leads us to believe the defensive end’s issue is with the front office.

He doesn’t trust them and frankly, most of the fans don’t either.

The Browns can talk about a collaborative process and a chain of command, but the man who can repair things with Myles Garrett is the man who doesn’t want to meet with him.

We will repeat what we said a couple of weeks ago. Fix it!

Should Andrew Berry Be Trusted With This Draft?

When it comes to continuity, we don’t see a lot of success for professional teams that change people in their front office or coaching staff on a yearly basis. The biggest reason is if the philosophy changes every season, then likely you don’t have the right personnel, and significant turnover has to happen.

The Cleveland Browns are trying to do that after a decade of reshuffling the deck every season.

When owner Jimmy Haslam talks about his front office, he usually mentions the term “collaborative”, which we aren’t sure works in professional sports. We believe it is far better to have someone who can judge talent in concert with the coaching staff, and let that person make the call.

That makes it very difficult for evaluate GM Andrew Berry.

First, let’s go back to the trade for Deshaun Watson. Whoever had the idea to vigorously pursue Watson via trade should be no longer with the organization. It was that bad of a decision.

However, we don’t know who advocated for the deal, and that of course leads to speculation that it was the owner who pushed for the move.

And dealing the three first round picks makes it hard to evaluate Berry’s performance in the draft. In looking at his record, we find the following:

2020: First round pick Jedrick Wills didn’t pan out as expected and has probably played his last down in Cleveland. Second rounder Grant Delpit is a solid safety. Nick Harris (5th) has been injury prone. Harrison Bryant was also selected in this draft.

2021: First rounder Greg Newsome is a starter at nickel corner and 2nd rounder Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah has made a Pro Bowl, although he had a severe neck injury last season. James Hudson, selected on the 4th round is hanging on the roster by a thread.

Taking WR Anthony Schwartz in the third round wasn’t a good pick.

2022: No first this year, but the top selection, Martin Emerson is a starter, and another pick in that round, Alex Wright shows some promise. Jerome Ford (5th) is a contributor, and Michael Woods (5th) has had injury issues.

2023: Again, no first-round pick, but 2nd rounder WR Cedric Tillman shows promise. 3rd rounder Siaki Ika has been cut, but 4th rounder Dawand Jones should start somewhere if he can stay healthy and DE Isaiah McGuire flashed late last season.

Fifth round QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson looks like a wasted pick and CB Cam Mitchell seems like a solid cornerback. Offensive lineman Luke Wypler missed all of last season.

In last year’s draft, 2nd rounder Michael Hall seems to be the real deal, but has had off the field issues. It’s too early to judge anyone else.

The problem for Berry has been the lack of first round picks for sure, but neither of the two he made is an impact player. In fact, outside of Owusu-Koramoah and Delpit and maybe Emerson, none of his picks can be considered franchise cornerstones.

That might be the most damning thing to say about those drafts. He made solid trades for Jerry Jeudy, Amari Cooper, and other veterans, but free agent signings Juan Thornhill and John Johnson III haven’t worked out.

It’s why fans and media people have issues trusting Berry with this draft, which includes a first-round pick, and is oh so important for the franchise.

And we totally understand.

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?

Stefanski Said It Best: Bad Day To Have A Bad Day

All of the problems the Cleveland Browns had this year showed up again in yesterday’s playoff loss to the Houston Texans.

Yes, the Browns had the NFL’s best defense statistically, but there was a big difference in the way they played at home and away from Cleveland Browns Stadium.

At home, they were simply dominant, but the five worst games the defense had in terms of points allowed came on the road. Indianapolis scored 38, Los Angeles put up 36, Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Denver were next.

The defense didn’t give up all 45 points Saturday, two pick sixes added 14 points, but they allowed 31, and there were big plays aplenty. The Texans ran just 44 plays, as Houston scored on offensive plays of 76 and 37 yards, and got some big chunk plays as well as they rolled up 356 total yards, which is 8.1 per play. That’s a huge number.

And the Browns’ defense didn’t get any turnovers nor any sacks. Bet no one thought that would happen. Houston stayed away from Denzel Ward and controlled Myles Garrett, picking on Greg Newsome, who struggled trying to keep up with Nico Collins.

Another issue that reared its head was not taking care of the football. The Browns amazingly made the playoffs despite leading the NFL in turning the ball over, and two interceptions for touchdowns basically ended the game.

Cleveland was trailing 24-14 at the half, but was driving in the third quarter, when QB Joe Flacco apparently trying to throw the ball away, was picked off by Steven Nelson, who returned it 82 yards for a TD.

Then on the next possession, on a 4th down play, Flacco was intercepted again by Christian Harris, who went 36 yards the other way, and suddenly a game within reach was over for all intends and purposes.

The Browns couldn’t run the ball, something that has been a problem since Nick Chubb got hurt in week two. They gained just 56 yards on 20 attempts and their longest two runs were a 14-yard run by Kareem Hunt in garbage time and an 8-yard scramble by Flacco.

That’s not to say all of the Browns had bad games. On defense, we have to point out Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who was all over the field, with 8 tackles, several behind the line of scrimmage. He has been getting better and better each week.

David Njoku was a standout as usual, catching seven balls for 93 yards and he and Harrison Bryant were big factors in the first half. And David Bell had a strong game too, catching 8 passes, several in traffic.

As coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game, the Browns simply picked a bad day to have a bad day. After an early field goal, the Browns scored to take leads of 7-3 and 14-10, but defensively they just couldn’t stop Houston.

And as usual, the officiating didn’t help the Browns, a very questionable pass interference call on Ronnie Hickman (especially after a no call against Njoku earlier) gave Houston a first down on a third down play and would have forced a punt.

The Texans scored two plays later to make it 24-14. The NFL has an officiating problem that they care to ignore.

No question this will be a different team when training camp starts in July because of salary cap issues, but the core will remain, players like Garrett, Ward, Owusu-Koramoah, and of course, QB Deshaun Watson will be healthy.

Let’s hope the organization continues to build on this season and the attitude they adopted during this year, winning no matter what is thrown at them, continues in 2024.

It was a bitter loss because we thought this team had a chance to go deeper into the post-season. Still, it was a fun ride.