Browns Need To Decide What Kind Of Team They Are During Break

The Cleveland Browns played a solid game for three quarters, but ultimately ran out of gas in London, dropping to 0-8 on the season, with a 33-16 loss to Minnesota.

Today, the Browns led after the first quarter, and actually led at the half, 13-12, and were getting the ball to start the second half.

It looked like today might be the day the Browns could get their first win of the season! And the Minnesota Vikings are a solid football team, coming into the game at 5-2 on the season.

But Isaiah Crowell fumbled on the first play of the second half, the Vikings recovered, kicked a field goal three plays later to take the lead.

Hue Jackson’s team regained the lead after a Zane Gonzalez field goal a few minutes later, but after that it was all Minnesota.

Despite leading late, the Browns’ defense was getting tired. The offense only controlled the ball only 22 minutes, and with Myles Garrett, Jason McCourty, Larry Ogunjobi, and Jabrill Peppers all inactive today, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams didn’t have enough bodies to keep his troops fresh.

And although DeShone Kizer played his first NFL game without a turnover, there were plenty of other mistakes to go around in this game.

On special teams, Gonzalez missed an extra point following the first Browns’ TD, and then missed a 35 yarder in the second half. That’s four misses in the last three games for the rookie, two of them inside the 40. You can’t miss those kicks in the pros.

It wouldn’t be a shock if there was a kicking audition during the time off.

Also, Bryce Treggs muffed a punt in the first quarter, leading to a Vikings field goal.

On offense, the use of the running game, or lack of use, we should say, continues to baffle.

The Browns averaged 5.2 yards per carry today, but Crowell and Duke Johnson had just 17 attempts. That accounts for the 22 minutes of possession, and a very tired defense in the second half.

The defense was plagued by horrible officiating. The last Vikings’ touchdown was a result of a series of penalties, and really, only one was obvious. The others could have went either way, and the first Minnesota TD after the half was also created by an interference call on a pass that Vikings’ QB Case Keenum was obviously throwing away.

Joe Schobert has an outstanding game with 11 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble. Emmanuel Ogbah and Carl Nassib deflected several passes as well.

The defense held Minnesota to 2.6 yards per carry, and that is becoming a regular occurrence.

Another questionable decision was having WR Kenny Britt active and then not playing him. If that was the plan, then why have him active? The rules say you can have 53 active players, but the Browns chose to play with 52.

This situation needs to be resolved, and the proper move is to release the veteran wideout.

And where was Kasen Williams again today?

With the bye week to follow, hopefully the front office and coaching staff can get together and determine what kind of team this should be (hint: run the ball and play defense), and who should be getting the bulk of the playing time.

Regardless of what media people think in Cleveland, the Browns have more talent than they did a year ago. However, the record is the same, and that is cause for concern going forward.

Just What Is Hue Whispering?

For the second time in three weeks, the Cleveland Browns outgained their opponent and lost a football game.

In a strange way, this could be progress.

However, once again, turnovers raised their ugly head, and along with some odd coaching moves (again!), the Browns dropped to 0-7 on the season with a 12-9 loss to the Tennessee Titans in overtime.

Hue Jackson’s team lost the turnover battle 3-1, with two of the picks coming as the team was driving.

And once again, Jackson changed quarterbacks, going to Cody Kessler in the third quarter after DeShone Kizer threw a pick at the end of the first half, and then threw another early after halftime.

There were several odd coaching decisions in this one, the first coming on the game’s first drive, when Jackson declined a personal foul penalty on 3rd and 1 in Cleveland territory.

The Titans went for it on fourth and one, and picked up the first down. Thankfully, the defense stiffened and held Tennessee to a field goal.

Didn’t Jackson consider the possibility that the Titans would go for it? Also, the penalty yardage would have backed the Titans out of field goal range.

Another odd play was Kessler’s interception in the fourth quarter.

On 3rd and 13 from the Titans’ 47 yard line, Kessler fired the ball downfield and it was picked off on the Tennessee 8 with Cleveland trailing 9-6.

One, why not try to get seven or eight yards and then go for it on fourth down. Two, the replay showed there were no route underneath to do just that.

Jackson forced his QB to throw a long pass downfield, and we believe everyone would believe that throwing downfield is not Kessler’s strong suit.

The Browns had another penalty filled day, another thing that can be attributed to the coaching staff.

The special teams had a block in the back call (to be fair, a little questionable) on the Browns last drive forcing them to start 10 yards further back after forcing a punt, and they received another flag on Cleveland’s last punt for a player being out of bounds, giving Tennessee an extra five yards on the game winning drive.

Then, in overtime, both possessions started offensively for Cleveland with runs, putting Kessler in unfavorable down and distance situations.

We understand we want the Browns to run the football, and they did make a concerted effort to do that today, but they still wound up running 26 times vs. 39 passes.

Our point in overtime is with Kessler in there, why not throw a short pass to gain 4 or 5 yards on first down and give your passer options?

To top off the entire mess, Joe Thomas got hurt in the game and had his consecutive snap streak ended. His availability for next week is in doubt. And if he can’t play, the offensive line is a mess.

Want positives? Rookie TE David Njoku continues to show he is a player, with two catches for 58 yards. The question would be why just two catches?

The other positive is the defense, which did not allow the opposition into the end zone. Granted, Tennessee likes to run the ball, and the Browns are very good at stopping the run, but they accomplished this with Jason McCourty and Jabrill Peppers inactive with injuries.

So, now it’s off to London for a game against the Vikings, followed by the bye week.

Another game with weird coaching decisions and the front office may have to do something. Perhaps change play calling responsibilities, maybe a change at special teams’ coach.

It’s tough to be 1-22, when this was supposed to be a season where progress was to be seen.

We don’t think Hue Jackson is giving us any confidence that it will be.

Note To Hue Jackson: Run The Football, Protect Your Young QB

The Cleveland Browns are searching for a quarterback. We believe everyone would agree with that statement.

As we are so often reminded, in the past two NFL Drafts, the Browns passed on picking what a lot of experts felt were blue chip prospects.

In 2016, Cleveland could’ve picked Carson Wentz, but traded out of the pick, obtaining a lot more draft choices.

This past April, the Browns were in position to take Deshaun Watson from the national champion Clemson Tigers, but again traded out of the slot, and in the second round took DeShone Kizer.

However, in watching last Sunday’s game against the team that drafted Watson, the Houston Texans, a few things stood out.

The first and most glaring was how Texans’ coach Bill O’Brien has taken care of his rookie, in sharp contrast to how Hue Jackson has handled Kizer.

Watson made very few throws outside the numbers. O’Brien gives him a lot of easy throws, short passes over the middle, with an occasional deep ball, like the 39 yard touchdown pass to Will Fuller.

He has completed 61.5% of his passes, and he does have a security blanket in WR DeAndre Hopkins, who has caught 37 passes on the season, for an average of 10.3 yards per reception.

Kizer doesn’t have a wideout like Hopkins, the Browns’ leading receiver is RB Duke Johnson with 26 catches. The wide receiver position is like a revolving door, with Ricardo Louis having the most catches with 18.

The biggest benefit for Watson is the Texans’ running game, which ranks second in the NFL in both number of attempts and yards gained.

Cleveland ranks 18th in attempts and 17th in yards. But do you know what the difference in yards per carry is between the two teams? Houston averages 4.4 per rush, and the Browns are at 4.2.

That’s right, 0.2 yards per carry.

Yet, the Texans have run the ball 49 more times on the season than Cleveland.

It’s not much different for Wentz’ Eagles, who sit atop the NFC East at 5-1. Philly ranks 5th in the league in rushing yards, and 4th in attempts. Average yards per carry? The same 4.4 figure the Texans own.

The top ten in rushing is pretty much a list of surprise teams or teams with young quarterbacks.

Jacksonville (3-3) with a mediocre to this point in his career, Blake Bortles, is first. Houston (3-3) with a rookie in Watson is second.

Another rookie guided squad, the Bears (2-4), led by Mentor’s Mitch Trubisky, is third.

Others in the top ten are the Eagles (5th), the Vikings (4-2) despite an injury to Sam Bradford is 7th, the surprising Rams (4-2) with second year QB Jared Goff are 8th, and the Jets (3-3) with aging veteran Josh McCown, yes, that Josh McCown, round out the top ten.

Unfortunately, the Browns seem to go into each game intending to run the ball, but as soon as they fall behind by ten or more points, even if it is still in the first half, they go away from it.

Cleveland should be able to run. They have two backs, who at least can be considered solid in Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson.

They invested money in two free agent offensive linemen this off season and still have the incomparable Joe Thomas and Joel Bitonio.

And as previously stated, it’s not like they average 3.5 yards per carry.

Do the people who bring up Wentz and Watson think those passers would have the same success running the offense the Browns are currently running?

It’s time for Jackson to adjust his offense to the talent he currently has, including DeShone Kizer. That would be the best thing for his development.

Browns Keep Firing Long Passes, Lose Once Again

So, the biggest news of the week for pro football fans in Cleveland was that Kevin Hogan was named the starting quarterback, giving rookie DeShone Kizer time to watch and learn.

Surely, the way Hogan played in the second half last week, getting the ball to David Njoku, Seth DeValve, and Duke Johnson, would carry over to this week and we would see a more efficient offensive game.

And early on, it seemed to work. Heck, the Browns even picked up two first downs on their first drive, an improvement from the usual three and out.

The Browns even tied up the game at 3 in the first quarter after pinning Houston deep in their own territory after a punt and getting a good return from Jabrill Peppers.

After the Texans scored on a deep pass, the Browns were moving again, mostly using the ground game to get the football in the red zone.

After Hogan overthrew the ball on first down, his next pass was another overthrow picked off by Johnathon Joseph and run back 82 yards for a touchdown.

That seemed to be the end of the running and short passing game.

And Hue Jackson’s squad dropped to 0-6 on the season with a 33-17 loss, and are now 1-21 during his tenure as head coach.

After that interception, Cleveland ran the ball just twice the rest of the first half, and that turnover occurred with 11:08 left in the second quarter!

Cleveland trailed 24-3 at halftime, and was lucky it wasn’t worse. They got the ball back with slightly over three minutes to go in the half, and threw three passes, two of them deep throws, giving Houston the ball back with 2:33 left.

Luckily, the defense held.

Our point is if you are going to run that type of offense, there is really no reason not to play Kizer, he is more suited and has the bigger arm to throw the ball downfield.

As a result of this type of offense, the Browns were just three of 14 in third down conversions, a woeful 21.4%. That doesn’t help the defense of course.

Duke Johnson, a player one of the Browns’ own coaches said is a threat every time he touches the ball, had five carries and caught three passes.

The two tight ends, Njoku and DeValve? Both caught two passes.

Meanwhile, Jackson has his quarterbacks heaving 20-25 yard patterns on a week to week basis.

Thank goodness for Myles Garrett, who had another sack today, his third in two games, and had five tackles total.

We liked Deshaun Watson coming out of Clemson, but he didn’t do anything today that knocked our socks off. He is just in a better system and has some playmakers surrounding him.

Texans’ coach Bill O’Brien didn’t ask his rookie to make a lot of throws outside the numbers, the way Jackson does with his passers. Watson makes a lot of short tosses in the middle of the field.

Which is what we would like to see the Browns do with Kizer.

The one positive we can think of is Zane Gonzalez made a field goal today, a 41-yarder. He needed that.

Another telling sign on the Browns coaching was 11 penalties. Granted Cleveland has the youngest roster in the NFL, but the yellow flags are a constant issue. Doesn’t that reflect on the staff?

We all know the definition of insanity. Yet, Jackson doesn’t seem to want to do anything differently on offense. He continues to chuck long throws to a mediocre wide receiver crew.

Name another team in watching other games that throws deep ball this often.

Bringing up the insanity thing again…maybe the fans fall in the same category.

Why Is Hue Held Blameless?

We understand how it goes when covering a team. Reporters talk to the coaches everyday, and unless the coach is a total jerk, we are sure they develop a good relationship.

And when you cover the Cleveland Browns, and the front office representative, Sashi Brown is kind of condescending to the media, it is probably natural to support the coach when at all possible.

However, in watching the games, it is hard to see if objectivity is used, why the front office should be under attack.

One veteran media member said yesterday that the Kenny Britt signing is proof that Brown is over his head as Executive Vice President of the team. What?

Wouldn’t the signing of CB Jason McCourty alone counteract the Britt acquisition?

And that’s not even bringing up getting Jamie Collins, Briean Boddy-Calhoun, and Jamar Taylor in trades or guys brought in off the waiver wire.

While the “you have to have a football man in charge” people don’t want to admit it, the two drafts the Brown regime has overseen has more promising players chosen than most drafts in recent memory.

Another reporter wrote after Sunday’s loss to the Jets that Jackson couldn’t be blamed because Zane Gonzalez missed two field goals and DeShone Kizer turned it over twice in the red zone. Huh?

He’s in charge, right? He gets credit when players play well.

He’s developed the game plan that put in an audible for an option pitch near the goal line that resulted in a fumble. The second turnover was simply an awful throw by Kizer.

Jackson is also the coach who didn’t put in a system to protect a 21-year-old rookie quarterback. Look at the two quarterbacks most media members bring up as guys the front office blew it by passing on.

Carson Wentz is having a fine season for the 4-1 Eagles. But his offense is also 4th in the NFL in rushing. Deshaun Watson, passed over this season, is playing well too, but the Texans are 3rd in running the football.

The Browns rank 23rd in rushing and this past week gave their quarterback more carries than Duke Johnson had touches.

The failure to commit to the running game is on the coach, it’s not Sashi Brown’s fault.

In fact, Brown spent a ton of money on two offensive linemen, both of whom start for the 2017 Browns.

We also read someone bemoaning the players the front office let go, bringing up Alex Mack and Mitchell Schwartz. Mack started in the Super Bowl, and Schwartz starts for the NFL’s best team in Kansas City.

Those are fair criticisms.

Then, Terrelle Pryor was brought up. The same Pryor who has 13 catches for 186 yards on the season to date. Heck. Ricardo Louis has 15 receptions for 204 yards.

Also mentioned? Gary Barnidge, who isn’t on an NFL roster.

And of course, Joe Haden is always brought up. Haden is still a decent cornerback in the NFL, but he no longer can match up with top receivers. Stop comparing him to the memories of him four years ago before the injuries took their toll.

Yesterday, a member of the Browns’ broadcast crew admitted Cleveland has more talent than the Jets, the team that defeated them last Sunday. They are now 3-2 on the season.

So, why can’t the Browns win some games? We aren’t advocating firing the head coach because the organization can’t keep doing that.

However, it is time to start holding the coaching staff accountable. Don’t protect him because he’s a good guy, and point the finger at someone who you don’t know.

Decisions In Red Zone Cost Browns.

We are sure most of the focus of today’s 17-14 loss by the Cleveland Browns to the New York Jets will be on Hue Jackson’s decision to remove DeShone Kizer at halftime.

However, that shouldn’t mask the terrible coaching decisions made during the game. Although the smile on fans’ faces after watching Myles Garrett, who recorded two sacks in his debut, shouldn’t be discounted.

Quite frankly, the Browns dominated this football game, particularly in the first half, which ended with Cleveland trailing 3-0.

In total, the Browns gained 419 yards offensively, compared to 212 by the Jets. And they still lost.

With this one-sided statistical edge, Jackson should have to answer for a case of trying to be too cute offensively when his team got into the red zone.

The first time the brown and orange got inside the Jets’ 20, Cleveland ran an option pitch on third down, the first time the play has been used all year.

The pitch went off of Isaiah Crowell’s hands and was recovered by New York, so instead of at least three points (more on that later), the Browns were kept off the scoreboard.

Later, on the Browns’ next possession, rookie kicker Zane Gonzalez missed a 52-yard field goal. More to come on that front.

The next time Cleveland got the ball close, on a 3rd down and three from the Jets’ four, Kizer threw an interception when it looked as if had he floated the ball over the safety, it would have been a TD pass to TE Seth DeValve.

Before the half ended, Gonzalez missed another field goal, this one much more makeable, from 39 yards. It’s tough to keep missing opportunities to score points.

So, instead of 20 points possible in the first half. Jackson’s team emerged with zero, a combination of crazy play calling, execution by the rookie QB, and poor special teams play, mostly by the kicker.

In the second half, Kevin Hogan, who completed 16 of his 19 throws for 194 yards and two touchdowns, seemed to have more rhythm with the attack, and also looked more amenable to getting the ball to the teams’ best offensive players: Crowell, Duke Johnson, and tight ends David Njoku and DeValve.

But another curious decision came in to play. Down 10-7 in the fourth quarter, the Browns had a 4th and 2 from the Jets’ three. A field goal ties the score, and even with Gonzalez’ issues, he has to be counted on to make a 20 yard attempt, right?

Instead, the coach wasted a timeout, and ran Crowell up the middle, and he wasn’t even close.

That the defense, who was dominant for most of the day allowed a 97 yard drive didn’t help matters, but why not keep the momentum and tie the contest?

Cleveland ran 33 times today, but a closer look at the numbers shows than 10 of those attempts were by the quarterbacks.

Johnson had just nine touches, and produced 83 yards, including a 41 yard run after catching a screen pass.

Njoku scored his third touchdown in five games. Why aren’t the Browns using him more?

Removing Kizer was the right decision in our opinion. He was hurting the team’s chances at a victory. He holds the ball to long and the inaccuracy he was plagued with in college is rearing its’ ugly head.

It’s time for the rookie to watch for awhile, and we would definitely start Hogan next week against the Texans.

He’s earned the gig.

Besides stubbornness, trying to show people how smart you are is our least favorite attribute in coaches. Sometimes the obvious move is the right one.

Jackson has showed each of those things in the last two weeks.

Failure To Run Not Doing Kizer Any Favors.

With the Cleveland Browns struggling once again this season, and rookie QB DeShone Kizer playing like, well, a rookie, another tradition has surfaced among fans and media alike.

That would be bringing up all of the quarterbacks the franchise has passed on in recent history.

However, no one is taking into account the circumstances that Kizer is dealing with to date.

When Kizer was named the starter in the pre-season, we (and just about everyone else) assumed Hue Jackson would protect the youngster, emphasizing the running game and the defense.

Only four teams right now have averaged less rushing attempts per game this season, and outside of Green Bay (3-1), the other three teams have combined for one win (by Miami) on the season.

Now, there are those who say because those teams are losing, they have to throw the football, but the teams who have accumulated the most rushing yards on the season right now are Jacksonville (a surprising 2-2), Denver (3-1), Philadelphia (3-1), Houston (2-2), and Tennessee (2-2).

What do all of those teams have in common? They all are playing relatively young quarterbacks, including two that the Browns passed up on, Carson Wentz and Deshaun Watson.

It’s almost as if a good recipe to win with a young quarterback is to run the football.

Would you be surprised if we told you Cleveland averages more yards per carry as a team than the Steelers, Bengals, or Packers? Well, they do, which makes it more curious as to why Jackson seems to give up on the run so easily.

Even Mike Pettine knew not to give up on the run.

Remember Pettine’s first game as head coach? The Browns trailed the Pittsburgh 27-3 at halftime, but instead of throwing the football all over Heinz Field, he stuck with the run, using 13 running plays in a third quarter where his team cut the lead to 27-17.

It can be done.

The lack of commitment to the running game is also hurting the defense. The Browns had the ball for 31 minutes in the opening day three point loss to Pittsburgh.

That number dropped to 26 minutes in the week two and three losses to Baltimore and Indianapolis, and reached a season low 24 minutes in Sunday’s defeat by the Bengals.

It’s not like the passing game is working either. Cleveland’s average yards per pass attempt of 5.0 ranks 29th in the NFL. And, of course, the nine interceptions thrown by Browns’ passers is three more than any other team in the league.

Jackson’s team has thrown the third most passes in the NFL, behind just Arizona and the New York Giants and tied with Green Bay. Those three teams all have veteran signal callers, two of them winning Super Bowls.

If Jackson wants to keep playing Kizer, and he should because once he was named the starter there was no turning back, he needs to protect him.

Commit to running the football even if you fall behind by two touchdowns early. Why not line up in two or three tight end sets, utilizing TEs Seth DeValve and David Njoku in the passing game?

And running the ball would control the clock, keep your defense fresh, and shorten football games. That’s what teams that lack talent should do.

It’s time for the Browns to take care of their rookie quarterback. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the coaching staff is interested to doing just that.

Stubbornness? See Jackson, Hue

When we watch the Cleveland Browns play this year to date, we think of the scene from the movie Tin Cup, when the producer of the telecast of the US Open says someone needs to tell this guy he doesn’t have to hit it from there.

Perhaps someone needs to tell Hue Jackson that he doesn’t have to keep having his rookie QB, DeShone Kizer throw the ball downfield to wide receivers who have trouble holding on to the football.

The Browns dropped to 0-4 on the season, getting boat raced by the previously winless Cincinnati Bengals 31-7 at First Energy Stadium.

This game turned early, when Emmanuel Ogbah strip sacked Andy Dalton on the Bengals’ second play of the game, and the Browns took over on the Cincy 30-yard-line.

Three plays netted no yardage, and Zane Gonzalez missed a 47 yard field goal, and the Bengals never looked back.

We watched the game thinking why don’t the Browns do what Cincinnati does on offense, which is run the ball, call some easy pass plays for Dalton, and occasionally take shots down the field?

Instead, Jackson has Kizer firing the ball down the field all the time.

Look, we understand Cleveland allowed 31 points for the second week in a row, but we will make one excuse for Gregg Williams’ unit. They are on the field all the time.

After winning the time of possession in the opener against Pittsburgh (31 minutes to 29), the following three weeks have seen Cleveland having the football 26, 26 and 24 minutes in the last three games.

That’s a tough way to play especially for a young team.

In the first half, the Browns had one drive where they made more than one first down, the drive that resulted in an interception off of the hands of Kenny Britt.

That’s a tough job for the defense, especially because they are missing three of their best players in Myles Garrett, Jamie Collins, and Danny Shelton.

Meanwhile, the offense can’t claim they are missing any key players.

We talked last week about getting the ball to the four best players on offense. This week, here are the results:

Isaiah Crowell: 7 carries, 20 yards, 1 catch 8 yards (8 touches)
Duke Johnson: 4 carries, 13 yards, 9 catches 47 yards (13 touches)
Seth DeValve: 1 catch, 2 yards–4 targets (1 touch)
David Njoku: 2 catches, 11 yards–3 targets (2 touches)

So, that quartet touched the ball 24 times in Cleveland’s 61 offensive plays.

That doesn’t seem like enough, does it?

Jackson has to understand what he is doing, right?

He’s killing his defense because they are on the field constantly. It doesn’t excuse a 61 yard pass and run on a screen pass where no one touches the ball carrier, but you can understand why the defense runs out of gas in games.

Put Kizer in some safer down and distance positions.

Our chief pet peeve with coaches in professional sports is stubbornness. Jackson is displaying all of the classic symptoms.

We understand he favors an offense that throws downfield, but he doesn’t have the personnel to do that. So, you have to adjust. Until he does, you are going to have games like this.

And you aren’t really helping a rookie quarterback.

Can Jackson change? That’s the million dollar question. But he needs to, or he is going to give the front office something they probably don’t want to consider.

We understood what the Browns did a year ago. However, they need to make progress this season in the standings. They way they are going about their business isn’t allowing that to happen, if indeed it can.

Browns’ Offense Needs To Use Playmakers

Nobody with any common sense figured the Cleveland Browns would be a playoff team, but they did expect some kind of improvement.

We would feel satisfied with four or five wins this year.

However, after a promising beginning at home against the Steelers, confidence for that improvement is beginning to wane for even the staunchest supporters of the organization.

The Browns fell behind one of the teams they should be able to compete with, the Indianapolis Colts without Andrew Luck, 28-7 before rallying but falling short 31-28, and dropping their record to 0-3 on the season.

Offensively, Hue Jackson seems to have a couple of problems.

First, he seems to have a hard time committing to the run. Isaiah Crowell ran the ball four times for 16 yards in the first five offense plays for Cleveland.

That was followed up by seven consecutive passing plays, of which one was completed.

On the Browns’ first touchdown drive, in which they tied the game at seven, Cleveland ran the ball four times for 37 yards, the other 38 came on a pass completion to Kenny Britt

At that point in the game, Crowell had seven carries for 34 yards. He carried the ball just five times the rest of the game, which still had 43 minutes to go.

When the Browns got the ball back down by a touchdown on their next possession, they ran six plays, four of them passes.

Enough of that train of thought, the other problem the offense has right now is they don’t get the ball to the guys who can make plays.

Crowell ran 12 times and caught two passes. Duke Johnson ran the ball twice, yes twice, and caught six passes, accounting for 104 yards, many of them coming in the fourth quarter, although he did score the first TD on a 19 yard run.

We may be in the minority, but Seth DeValve can make big plays. Yet, he caught only two balls for 29 yards. For the season, he has 8 catches, averaging over 16 yards per catch.

Rookie David Njoku, who will frustrate you with drops, has found the end zone twice in three games.

Instead the Browns targeted these three players 22 times in the passing game: Britt, Rashard Higgins, and Ricardo Louis. The trio caught six passes.

Our criticism is that instead of forcing the ball to a mediocre wide receiver group, Jackson needs to get his playmakers involved.

Defensively, the inability to stop WR T.Y. Hilton plagued the Browns. Hilton caught seven passes for 153 yards and a 61 yard touchdown hookup.

Gregg Williams crew held the Colts under 100 yards rushing and a 2.6 average per rush.

But Indianapolis converted 8 of 17 third downs and that allowed them to win the time of possession statistic.

To be fair, the failure to use the running game doesn’t help keep the defense off the field.

Neither does losing the turnover battle, 3 to 1, although one of DeShone Kizer’s interceptions came on the last play of the game.

Joe Schobert continues to impress with eight tackles and a half a sack, and Nate Orchard had a sack as did Emmanuel Ogbah.

There were adjustments made at halftime, and the Colts got just a field goal in the second half, and that score was the result of an offside penalty on 4th and 2 from the Browns’ 40.

That’s something we would like to see from the offense. Adjustments. Use the players who can make plays, and stop getting away from the ground game so early.

Take some pressure off of your 21-year-old rookie quarterback. We thought that was the plan when Kizer was given the job. Unfortunately, as of right now, that’s not the case.

Panic Regarding Browns Is Unfounded…For Now.

The Cleveland Browns have started 0-2 once again this year, and we think it is a reflex for the fans and media alike to start thinking another disastrous season is ahead for the team.

While it is a possibility that Hue Jackson ends the season with a 2-14 season, we still think that the 5-11 mark we expect is still very much in play.

We know the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Browns’ opponent in the home opener are the favorites to win the AFC North, and for all we know, the Baltimore Ravens could be a 10 win team as well.

That’s why you can’t overreact to things after just two weeks.

The next four games come against opponents which should give people an idea if the Browns have indeed improved from the 1-15 mark a year ago, and being widely regarded as the worst team in the NFL.

Next week, Cleveland visits Indianapolis to visit a Colts team that is without Andrew Luck and has the same record as Jackson’s squad at 0-2.

They will be starting Jacoby Brisset, making his fourth career start, a far cry from Super Bowl winners Ben Roethlisberger and Joe Flacco.

The Colts lost to playoff contender Arizona in overtime on Sunday, but were hammered by the Rams in week one. Let’s just say the Browns’ foes are in a higher class than those teams.

Then come home games against Cincinnati and the New York Jets, both sitting at 0-2, the same as Cleveland.

The Bengals have already replaced their offensive coordinator, and have looked dreadful against the Ravens and Texans.

Meanwhile, the Jets are copying what Sashi Brown did a year ago, jettisoning many older players and collecting draft picks, probably in an effort to take a shot at the possible franchise quarterbacks coming out in the 2018 NFL Draft.

They are starting Josh McCown at QB, and their losses have been against another rebuilding team in Buffalo, and a pummeling by the Raiders.

Then comes another road game at Houston (1-1), a team whose win is against Cincinnati and they lost to another team that usually drafts in the top ten, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

These four opponents are more in the Browns’ “weight class” than the mighty Steelers and the perennial playoff contender Ravens.

This isn’t to say the Browns will win all four games, or even two of them, but they have a better shot at victories against this quartet than they did in the first two games.

And remember that Cleveland is starting a rookie quarterback, and it would be more the norm than not to expect up and down performances from a player just entering the league.

However, we would still like to see a more simplistic approach from the coaching staff. We would like to see more of an emphasis on the ground game using an offensive line that the front office spent a boatload of money on.

For all we know right now, the Steelers and the Ravens could be two of the three or four best teams in the AFC. If you can’t get some victories against the next four teams, then there will be reason for panic and concern.

Right now, Browns fans just need to relax just a little bit.