The War Between The Browns & The People Who Cover Them.

It has been evident all year long that there is a disconnect between the front office of the Cleveland Browns and the people who cover the team.

There is no question that the Browns’ front office is trying something that really hasn’t been done since the Dallas Cowboys after Tom Landry was fired, and Jerry Jones bought the team and hired Jimmy Johnson as head coach.

After last season, they decided to release older players who were making big money, and accumulate draft picks.

To do that, they needed to trade down in the 2016 draft, and in doing so, passed up on several players who made an immediate impact this season, namely Ohio State products Ezekiel Elliott and Joey Bosa.

They had 14 picks in 2016 and will have 13 more next spring, as they try to lay a foundation for the future, one that hasn’t been laid before.

Of course, this is difficult to sell to a media that has covered a team that has made one playoff appearance since 1994. They are exposed to this everyday and to be sure it gets old, covering loss after loss, with seemingly a new head coach and new promises every other year.

At yesterday’s press conference with Sashi Brown, Paul DePodesta, and Hue Jackson, you could hear the conflict with the questions that were asked.

And there was one article today addressing the “arrogance” of Brown and DePodesta after a season in which there was one win.

Look, we aren’t a genius, but here is what we feel the Browns plan is:

They wanted to rid the roster of high-priced veterans with no upside to their careers, and replace them with young players who will get better with experience. We are talking about guys like Karlos Dansby and Donte Whitner.

To do that, they wanted to accumulate extra draft choices in the 2016 draft to fill the holes on the roster and lay a foundation for the future. To do that, they made a decision to get out of the top ten picks, and therefore passing on some elite talents.

Whether they did that remains to be seen, because unlike some folks, we aren’t going to make rash judgments on first year players.

However, we do see promise in Corey Coleman, Emmanuel Ogbah, Carl Nassib, Derrick Kindred, Seth DeValve, and Shon Coleman.

With those young players in place, now the front office will try to use the four picks they have in the first 50 selections to pick some impact talent to go along with the ’16 draft class.

That’s why we are under the belief that they will not trade down from the first overall pick. They may trade down from #12 if they think they can get the player they want by moving down slightly.

They also understand they need a quarterback, but they aren’t going to draft let’s say the 50th best player at #1 or #12. They are going to be true to their draft board.

Which, of course, is something they should be doing.

The media is in love with quarterbacks. Most of them pooh-poohed Carson Wentz before last year’s draft, but after Wentz played well in his first three games (including one vs. Cleveland), they hammered the front office for trading down.

This isn’t to say what the front office is doing will work, but it should be given a chance before it is condemned. They’ve tried mixing veterans with young guys, bringing in some vets for leadership, etc.

Guess what? It hasn’t worked.

Why not tear it down and start completely over? And don’t blame these guys for mistakes made by past regimes.

It’s not difficult to understand. Would it be too much to ask for the media to open their minds?

Browns Get Win, Keep First Pick.

The very definition of win/win occurred Saturday afternoon at First Energy Stadium.

The Cleveland Browns avoided a winless season due to a 20-17 victory over the San Diego Chargers. It was Hue Jackson’s first win as coach of the brown and orange, and the first time the squad won all year, including pre-season games.

The victory seemed to take the Browns out of their position to get the first pick in next spring’s NFL Draft, something many fans, including us want for the organization.

But later in the day, Cleveland got their cake and was able to eat it as well, as the 49ers, who took over as frontrunner to have the first overall pick, defeated Los Angeles.

So, the Browns got a win, and if they lose to the Steelers on New Year’s Day, they will have their choice of all the eligible college players next April.

A perfect scenario for Hue Jackson, Sashi Brown, and Paul DePodesta.

As for the game, the Browns seemed to do things differently on Saturday. They seemed to stay with the running game more, as Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson carried 23 times combined for the game.

They ran some crossing routes, which have been absent lately. And Robert Griffin III was efficient, although not spectacular (17 of 25, 164 yards) before leaving with a concussion in the fourth quarter.

They even controlled the ball, winning the time of possession battle on the day.

Defensively, the Browns even forced a turnover, their first in weeks, on an interception by Jamar Taylor.

There were still some warts, as you would expect on a 1-14 team.

Cleveland quarterbacks were sacked eight times, mostly because of their awful habit on holding on to the ball forever. On the other hand, even though Chargers’ QB Philip Rivers threw 46 times, the Browns’ defense did not record a sack.

That is why many people think Cleveland should target Texas A & M defensive end Myles Garrett, the best pass rusher available in the draft.

And for those not seeing progress with the rookie class (at least two media members pan the entire draft on a weekly basis), several players stood out.

Emmanuel Ogbah had four more tackles, as did Briean Boddy-Calhoun. Corey Coleman had two catches for nine yards, including a key third down reception for another rook, Cody Kessler, who replaced Griffin, to keep possession in the fourth quarter.

TE Seth DeValve also made a key 21 yard reception on the Browns’ second touchdown drive.

Remember, many rookies don’t hit their stride until they go through a season and an off-season conditioning program, because they don’t know how to prepare and survive an NFL season. Our guess is we will see a lot more in 2017 from most of these young players.

We also like what we’ve seen from Mario Alford, the Browns’ new kick returner. Alford doesn’t seem hesitant and gets good yardage when he decides to bring the ball out of the end zone. Too often, the Browns were starting inside their own 20 yard line.

A little luck went the Browns’ way too. Jamie Meder blocked a field goal in the fourth quarter, and San Diego’s Josh Lambo missed a 45 yarder as time expired as well.

Meder’s block wasn’t lucky, but how often do you see a field goal get blocked?

It’s likely we will see Kessler in the season finale against Pittsburgh, in what is really a meaningless game for both teams. The Steelers are locked in an the #3 seed in the AFC playoff picture.

Hopefully, Jackson will play the game that way too. It is better for the franchise to have the first overall pick in the spring, which the Browns will have by losing on Sunday.

Defense Lets Down Browns Most In Latest Loss.

We have written and said this for several years, and many others who know pro football have said it too–if you can’t run the ball and stop the run, you aren’t going to be successful in the NFL.

And we say that, knowing full well that the league has put a major emphasis on throwing the pigskin.

The Browns came into the game knowing the Bills were going to run LeSean McCoy, and run him a lot, but they were powerless to stop it, as Buffalo gained 280 yards rushing, more than Cleveland gained in total, in a convincing 33-13 thumping in upstate New York.

The first two times McCoy carried he picked up more than 20 yards each time, a prelude to what kind of day it was going to be.

The other problem that has plagued the defense all season, covering the tight end, was also on display today, as Charles Clay caught 7 balls for 72 yards, including a 19 yard touchdown pass from Tyrod Taylor. Only one wide receiver caught more than one pass in the game for the Bills.

Still, after Robert Griffin III’s 18 yard touchdown run in the third quarter, Cleveland trailed 17-10 with plenty of time remaining in the game.

Unfortunately, the defense couldn’t sustain the momentum, allowing Buffalo to march 75 yards in six plays, and slightly over three minutes later, the Bills were back up by 14 points, and the game was essentially over.

You might think we are picking on Ray Horton’s unit, but it is only disappointment because the defense looked to be making strides the past few weeks, but today, they were dominated.

It was also disappointing that in situations where Taylor was in a passing situation, the Browns brought little pressure. Most notably on a 3rd and 22, when Cleveland brought just four, and allowing a 23 yard completion.

The Browns had just one sack, by rookie Emmanuel Ogbah, who continues to impress.

Why not blitz more in obvious passing situations? After all, it’s not as though a playoff spot is on the line. The team is now 0-14, why not be aggressive.

It has now been four games since the Cleveland defense has caused a turnover. It’s tough to win games that way, not giving your offense a short field to work with.

Speaking of offense, it has now been six weeks since the Browns’ offense has mustered 20 points. Again, there is a good reason Hue Jackson’s team is 0-14.

Griffin put up decent numbers, nothing to show he should be the frontrunner as the starter going into next season. He completed 17 of 28 throws for 196 yards, and did not turn the ball over.

It also baffling why Jackson doesn’t get the ball to his playmakers more often. Terrelle Pryor caught four passes for 19 yards, although he did drop a pass near the goal line before Griffin’s touchdown.

Duke Johnson touched the ball just 10 times, five rushes, five catches, for a total of 93 yards.

It doesn’t seem the Browns use the same plays other teams do, like slant patterns.

This isn’t a question on the competency of the coaching staff. We know the Browns don’t have a lot of experienced talent, but it seems like the staff is hesitant on featuring players.

For example, Isaiah Crowell gained 25 yards on a sweep in the first quarter. That play wasn’t tried again, as far as we could see.

So, now there are only two opportunities for victory this season, the next game coming on Christmas Eve at home against the San Diego Chargers.

It will be interesting to see if Jackson will make changes at certain positions before that game.

Browns Can’t Play Complimentary Football

It’s funny to hear fans and the media every week talking about how this is going to be the week the Cleveland Browns win their first game.

They come up with all kinds of reason for the win too. Heck, the Browns were coming off the bye week and Hue Jackson is so familiar with the Bengals, so this will surely be the week.

And Robert Griffin III will be ready to go, and maybe he can recapture some of the magic from his rookie year.

Then, the opening kickoff comes, and all those theories can be flushed down the metaphorical toilet.

Griffin was wildly inaccurate in his first start since the opening weekend, hitting just 12 of 28 passes for 102 yards in the 23-10 defeat. Only two Browns’ receivers averaged more than 10 yards per catch, Duke Johnson, who made a nice run after a short pass to gain 21 yards, and rookie TE Seth DeValve, who had one catch for 11 yards.

That’s it.

However, it didn’t help Griffin that as he came out for his second chance to move the ball in the game, his team was down 13-0.

It also didn’t help that the Browns had horrible field position throughout the first half. It is his fault that the Cleveland offense didn’t cross midfield until after halftime.

The defense struggled early, allowing the Bengals to march right down the field on their opening drive and take advantage of a short field to put it in the end zone the second time they got the football.

All that said, there were good things to see defensively today.

LB Jamie Collins was in on 15 tackles and had a sack, and rookie Emmanuel Ogbah continues to shine with 1.5 sacks and pressured Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton on several other occasions.

The next step for the defense has to be creating turnovers. Over the past few games, they haven’t done that, and that means for the most part, the Browns’ offense has to play a long field to score a touchdown.

Isaiah Crowell had a third 100 yard rushing game on the season, gaining 113 on 10 carries, with a long of 42 yards. All in all, Cleveland gained 169 yards on the ground, a very good total.

Unfortunately, they allowed Cincy to rush for 213, including 111 by Jeremy Hill, who gashed the Cleveland defense for almost 300 in the two games between the teams this season.

Going back to field position, the Browns had horrible position all day, particularly in the first half. Griffin’s only interception came on a flea-flicker from his own 1 yard line.

And no, we aren’t absolving him for throwing into triple coverage.

We would like to tell Ricardo Louis that if he can’t get the ball back to the 25, heck, even the 20 would be acceptable, then let the ball bounce into the end zone. Starting around the 15 doesn’t help the offense.

We would also like to tell Ray Horton that covering the tight end is an option. Tyler Eifert hurt the Browns again, with two touchdowns (one we was covered by Tramon Williams) and overall he had five catches on the afternoon.

So, now at 0-13, Hue Jackson’s squad travels to Buffalo to play the Bills, who may have a new head coach.

It will be interesting to see what reasons we will hear about why this week is the week for the first Browns’ victory.

The Media & The Browns’ QB

It is fun to observe the media, both print and broadcast, cover the Cleveland Browns. After every game, a segment of them, usually the same guys, seem outraged by the loss that occurred.

We don’t know what they were expecting. Most people figured a two or three win season at best for the brown and orange, so losses shouldn’t be a surprise.

It is particularly funny to watch how the people who cover and comment on the Browns treat the quarterback situation, particularly this season.

Throughout training camp, it was clear that Hue Jackson was going to start Robert Griffin III unless he was awful. He wasn’t, although he didn’t play too much in the pre-season, so we got the nod in the opener against the Eagles.

Griffin went 12 of 26 for 190 yards and an interception in a game the Browns trailed 13-10 in the third quarter before a bad snap which turned into a safety changed the momentum.

The former Heisman Trophy winner suffered a broken shoulder late in the 4th quarter, and based on that the media turned on him, saying it is clear that he shouldn’t be the starter and it was tough to find a scenario where RGIII would be back on the Browns’ roster in 2017.

Next came many in the media’s choice, good guy, good teammate Josh McCown, who started in week two vs. the Ravens.

The Browns had a 20-0 first quarter lead, but scored no more points after and McCown threw a late interception (after a terrible unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Terrelle Pryor).

And he broke his collarbone in the game. In a nutshell, he was what we’ve come to expect about Josh McCown.

But he was now out and rookie Cody Kessler took the helm. The people covering the team were sounding a death knell on the fate of the Browns.

Their fears were unwarranted. After a shaky first series, Kessler played well (21 of 33 for 244 yards) and the Browns had a chance to win in regulation, but new kicker Cody Parkey missed a field goal.

Kessler was good again the following week (28 of 40, 223 yards, a TD and a pick) and Cleveland was in the game until some 4th quarter turnovers caused a 31-20 defeat.

Now, everyone wanted to see Kessler the rest of the season. Since the team was 0-4, he was the future. Why not put him out there?

Except he got hurt against the Patriots after leading the Browns to a touchdown.

He returned to start the following week vs. Tennessee throwing for over 300 yards and two touchdowns, and was 9 of 11 against Cincinnati before suffering a concussion.

However, Kessler was reluctant to throw deep and his lack of arm strength had the scribes starting to turn against him.

When Hue Jackson benched him in the second half of the Thursday night game vs. Baltimore, many in the media started to sour on Kessler.

Unfortunately, McCown was dreadful in that game, and Kessler got another concussion in the next game against the Steelers.

That left McCown to play last Sunday and the media started thinking the best thing for the Browns might be to trot out Robert Griffin III for the rest of the year since he’s now recovered from his injury.

Their thinking is why not find out what you have in the former Redskin QB, who by the way, took his team to the playoffs as a rookie.

That’s what they should’ve been thinking from day one. Griffin is still just 26 years old, so why not let him show if he can still play in the NFL, and can he make plays.

It shouldn’t have any effect on whether or not Cleveland should draft a quarterback next spring.

The point is maybe we shouldn’t pay any attention to what the people who follow the Browns think about the QB position. They don’t seem to know anymore than anyone else about the position.

Browns Gave Giants A Tussle, But Drop to 0-12.

The New York Giants came into today’s game with the Cleveland Browns with a 7-3 record, and a very good chance to make the playoffs.

They left with a win, and the Browns are now 0-12 on the season, but the home town brown and orange gave the G-Men a pretty good struggle.

However, it seemed whenever the Browns got close, or threatened the New York lead, the Giants had an extra gear and widened the lead once again. That’s what happens when you have great players like Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr.

The Browns trailed just 7-3 with 3:51 left in the first half. Less than a minute later, Manning hit Beckham for 32 yards and it was 14-3.

In the fourth quarter, Cleveland got within one score at 20-13 after a 21 yard touchdown pass from Josh McCown to rookie Corey Coleman.

It took just three minutes for Manning to move the Giants 73 yards in six plays, finding Beckham Jr. again to provide the final margin at 27-13.

McCown had a critical turnover, but it is difficult to blame him for it. With the score 14-6, Johnathan Hankins bull rushed G Alvin Bailey, in because John Greco was hurt, hit McCown and the ball popped into the hands of Jason Pierre-Paul, who ran 43 yards with the fumble and a touchdown.

For the Browns to get their elusive first win, it would seem they need to run the ball and win the turnover battle. They did neither today, as they were outgained on the ground, 104 to 58, and fumbled three times compared to just one for New York.

McCown wound up with 322 yards passing, but many of them came with Cleveland down by 14, and the Giants playing back and allowing underneath completions.

To be fair, he did hit a beautiful strike to Terrelle Pryor for 54 yards. Coach Hue Jackson seemed to hear our plea to get Pryor and Duke Johnson more involved, as the former Ohio State QB caught six passes for 131 yards, and Johnson had five carries and three receptions.

We would still like to see Johnson more involved though.

Other bright spots offensively would include Coleman, who had three catches for 38 yards and a TD, and rookie TE Seth DeValve, who added three grabs for 39 yards.

Hopefully, with the bye week coming up next, this will be the last we see of McCown, who had respectable numbers (25 of 43, 322 yards), but threw several balls behind receivers and had an interception nullified because the defender was out of bounds.

That might seem harmless, but the defender was right in front of the receiver. What McCown saw, we don’t know.

Robert Griffin III should be ready to start against Cincinnati, and we would rather see if he can play, rather than see McCown.

Defensively, the Browns held Manning to just 194 yards passing, and had a couple of chance to turn him over, but failed. The Giants’ QB threw a short pass that hit Emmanuel Ogbah in the chest, but he could corral it.

Jamie Collins had 8 tackles and Christian Kirksey had 10 to lead Cleveland, and Corey Lemonier did record a sack.

But the defense had no answer for Beckham’s speed on crossing routes, the secondary continues to be a problem.

So finally, the Browns get a week off. Many members of the media and fans might need the time off as well as the players.

Hopefully, the rest rejuvenates the coaching staff and the players for the last four games of the year.

Browns’ “Groundhog Day” Continues

For awhile, we thought today’s Browns-Steelers game might have been the most lopsided 17-3 game in the history of the National Football League.

The Steelers had the ball for pretty much the entire game, and yet managed only a touchdown and three field goals, and the TD was the result of an untimed down prior to halftime.

Cleveland even crept to within eight points after a Josh McCown to Gary Barnidge touchdown throw early in the fourth quarter, but as Browns will be Browns, Cody Parkey missed the extra point, so it remained 17-9.

The defense forced a punt on Pittsburgh’s next possession, and after a special teams penalty (which is a weekly occurrence), McCown took a strip sack and the Steelers recovered in the end zone to put the game away.

Now, the final score showed the dominance the visitors showed virtually the entire contest.

Early in the season, someone said the NFL has become a 3rd and 2 league, and if you can convert on offense, you will win, and if you can stop your opponent, you will be successful.

Pittsburgh was 6 for 13 on third and fourth downs today, while the Browns were 4 of 15 on third down. And that might just describe the game, and actually most Cleveland games this season.

Positives. The defense held Ben Roethlisberger to just one touchdown on the day, despite the black and gold having the ball virtually all of the first three quarters of the game.

Terrelle Pryor once again was a force, catching five passes for 97 yards and returned to the game after a brutal shot to the ribs trying to catch a high throw from McCown.

Christian Kirksey had nine more tackles, and safety Ed Reynolds had the best hit of the day, driving Le’Veon Bell out of bounds after a short pass play.

That’s about it.

Negatives. Hue Jackson wanted to see Cody Kessler throw downfield more often, and the result may have been the rookie QB holding on to the ball forever.

Pittsburgh had eight sacks, many of those because Cleveland quarterbacks held on to the ball way too long.

It doesn’t help that the Browns refuse to make any changes on their offensive line, despite not being able to run the ball or protect the passer.

The Browns had just 33 yards on the ground, averaging just 2.5 per carry. Their leading rusher was McCown with 11 yards.

This brings up the old lament. Cleveland can’t win until they can run the ball, and can stop the run.

Watching the Steelers get the ball to Bell and Antonio Brown (44 combined plays), you wonder why Jackson doesn’t use Pryor more often. Get him the ball on bubble screen, slants, end arounds, etc.

He’s the team’s best offensive player. He should get the ball as much as possible. We understand teams are trying to take Pryor away, but that’s Jackson’s field of expertise.

We also get that Kessler isn’t a starting QB in the NFL for a good team, but we will again say there is no reason for McCown to get more time. Hopefully, Robert Griffin III can play next week, because frankly, we’d rather see him.

McCown got the Browns in the end zone, but he also made the key mistake, fumbling in the end zone, and had several other throws which either got a receiver drilled, or hit a defender that couldn’t hold on.

So, now it’s 0-11 and 14 straight defeats.

And although we understand the plan, it’s getting tougher and tougher to find something to pin hopes on for the future.

Browns’ Tumult? Should Be A Little…They Are 0-10.

If Cleveland Browns’ owner Jimmy Haslam and his wife decide to blow up the current front office and coaching staff after this season, then Browns’ fans have no hope whatsoever.

We would say if that happens, the only way this team would ever have success is by pure luck, everything falling into place for one season.

So, is there tension within the walls in the offices in Berea? There should be at least a little. The Browns are 0-10. They shouldn’t be throwing daily parties.

The front office and coaching staff should be self-auditing every day to see what they can be doing better. However, that doesn’t mean a bunch of people will be losing their jobs when the season ends.

This football team isn’t making the playoffs, and that’s why the organization should be even more committed to finding out who can play and who can’t for the final six games of the season.

Many people talk about the process in Dallas when Tom Landry was fired, and Jerry Jones bought the team and brought in Jimmy Johnson as head coach.

The Cowboys went 1-15 that year, losing games by the following scores: 28-0, 30-7, 30-13, 31-13, 31-14, 27-0, 15-0. That’s seven losses by 15 points or more.

To date, the Browns have lost four games by that margin, although the way the team has played as of late, it wouldn’t be surprising if they weren’t more big losses in Cleveland’s future.

This isn’t to suggest that Hue Jackson is Johnson, and the Browns are on their way to three Super Bowl wins in four years soon, but it does give perspective that starting from kind of ground zero does mean fans are in for a long season.

It also does provide a glimmer of hope.

We understand that Jackson, his coaching staff, and even the players are feeling the pressure to win at least one game this season. No one wants the specter of going 0-16. But they can’t give in to that. They have to do what is best for the future of the Cleveland Browns.

And this may not be a popular opinion, but it means they should take another look at Robert Griffin III. He only played one game this season, and although the Browns lost that game 29-10, it wasn’t as though Griffin was horrific.

The former Heisman Trophy winner is still only 26 years old, so why not take a look at him before the season ends?

Rookie Cody Kessler has done a solid job. He’s protected the football and been accurate. Could he be the starter at the beginning of next season? Why not. But we doubt he’s going to turn into a gunslinger.

So, why not see what Griffin has left, if anything? It’s certainly a better alternative to seeing mediocre Josh McCown take another snap.

It also means looking at more young players. We’d cut back on Andrew Hawkins playing time. No more Alvin Bailey. Instead, let’s look at the rookie wide outs and third round pick Shon Coleman.

We understand there is nothing in the Browns’ past that would make anyone confident that Haslam will not fire everybody this off-season. And as we said before, if he does, there truly is no hope.

When the Browns changed their approach at the beginning of the year, we believe they realized you have to stay the course for a few years.

However, that doesn’t mean they should be satisfied with how the season has progressed to this point.

The Curious Decision Of Hue Jackson.

The Cleveland Browns can do one thing…they can make you scratch your head because they will consistently do something that makes absolutely no sense.

For example, they drafted a ton of wide receivers last April, yet continue to keep veteran Andrew Hawkins on the roster and play him more than the rookies.

However, tonight might just be the ultimate.

Cleveland was actually leading at halftime tonight, 7-6. They scored on a 25-yard pass from Cody Kessler to another rookie, TE Seth DeValve.

Kessler was dinking and dunking, as he normally does, but was efficient, hitting 11 of 18 passes for 91 yards, a passer rating of 92, and did not turn the ball over.

After the Browns got the second half kickoff and went three and out, and the Ravens scored a touchdown to take a 13-7 lead, Hue Jackson made perhaps the most puzzling decision of the year, replacing Kessler with mediocre veteran Josh McCown.

The choice of some fans and many in the media, because he’s a hard worker and good guy (read: good interview), McCown may have played the most dreadful half of football by any Browns’ quarterback in recent memory.

That’s saying a lot.

McCown’s first four series went interception, fumble (he recovered) and punt, interception, and a lost fumble.

He went 6 for 13 for 59 yards and the two picks.

Quite frankly, he should be released after the performance, because there is absolutely no need for him to take another snap for the Cleveland Browns.

The decision is more puzzling because Kessler was Jackson’s pick. Remember, “trust me on this one”.

We have said this before, but we don’t know if Kessler will ever lead this team or any team to the playoffs, and he probably will never be considered one of the better passers in the NFL.

So, we are certainly not one of those who think Kessler is some sort of franchise savior for the Cleveland Browns.

But it makes no sense at all, period, to play a 38 year old mediocre, mistake prone quarterback on a football team that is now 0-10 for the season.

As for the final score, yes, the defense gave up over 25 points again, for the tenth straight game. They got gassed after being on the field again for almost 40 minutes, particularly in the second half, when McCown produced more turnovers than any pastry chef you can name.

Watching the game, it appeared all of the life was sucked out of the Browns after McCown’s first interception.

And while Jackson yearns for his passer to throw deep, the veteran’s first deep throw was also picked off.

Kessler has turned the ball over once this season. McCown turned it over four times in a half.

Defensively, Jamie Collins was all over the field in the first half, with nine tackles and a sack. Demario Davis also had a sack.

Christian Kirksey played another strong game with 13 tackles, and Joe Haden and Breian Boddy-Calhoun both recorded interceptions.

The defense also held the Ravens to under four yards per carry (3.5).

However, the talk tomorrow will be about the curious quarterback decision. What does Jackson do going forward? Logic and the squad’s record say it should be Kessler, because he is a rookie.

On the other hand, Robert Griffin III was warming up on the field prior to the game. Does Jackson go back to him? Quite frankly, we wouldn’t mind that. Why not see if Griffin can play?

After all, he only had one game to show what he can do.

No matter what explanation Jackson makes, he cannot convince us that putting McCown in the game improved the Browns chances of winning.

We aren’t saying we’ve soured on the head coach, but it does make us wonder what the ultimate goal is. It should be developing the young players. Tonight, it wasn’t.

Browns Show Nothing To Grow On Today

At the beginning of this season, we said we would not measure this year’s edition of the Cleveland Browns by their win-loss record. We knew that wasn’t going to be good.

Rather, we said the season wouldn’t be a abject failure is the Browns showed progress from week to week, particularly the young players, of which there are a bunch.

We understand the Dallas Cowboys are one of the best teams in the NFL this year, and they have perhaps the best offensive line in the league, and a dominant running game, led by former Ohio State standout Ezekiel Elliott.

Expecting a win today would have been ludicrous. However, the Browns were overwhelmed in every phase of football today.

And we aren’t seeing progress.

Here is a short positive, lengthy negative review of today’s 35-10 loss, which dropped the Browns’ record to 0-9. And today’s referee was Jeff Tripplette, which pretty much speaks for itself.

Positives. Look, Cody Kessler may never make a Pro Bowl, heck, he might only be a starter for this season, but that doesn’t mean he can be considered a questionable draft pick anymore.

Kessler connected on 19 of his 27 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown, and generally moved the football very well, at least in the first half when it was kind of a game.

He connected with Isaiah Crowell for a 44 yard gain on the opening drive, which set the Browns up for a field goal.

Kessler should be the starter the rest of the way unless there is an injury, or the coaching staff wants to see what Robert Griffin III can do when he is healthy.

Terrelle Pryor caught the TD pass, and four other passes. He has become the guy that opposing defenses want to stop on the Browns.

Corey Coleman returned to the field and snagged three passes for 41 yards. He should give Kessler another weapon when the Browns have the football.

Negatives. The Cleveland defense continues to resemble a sieve. Dallas controlled the ball for 40 minutes, Ray Horton’s crew had no answer for the visitor’s attack.

However, there are things defensively that seem to be repeating from week to week, and that should concern Hue Jackson and the front office.

Tight ends continue to plague this team and have all season. We were critical last year that then defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil didn’t change anything, especially against the run. We have the same thought about Horton.

Three plays where the defense lined up in the neutral zone? Xavier Cooper should lose playing time for doing this twice in the same game. That’s a mental error.

The secondary is general continues to be horrendous. Opposing receivers are wide open way too often.

We understand you can’t play all rookies, but some of the veterans who do play simply aren’t getting it done.

We’ve talked ad nauseum about Tramon Williams, but it wouldn’t bother us if OL Alvin Bailey didn’t play anymore, as we fear for Kessler’s safety.

We have two problems with Jackson’s play calling today. First, he abandoned the run too early again. The Browns have to continue to try to run, if only to shorten games.

In the first half, with a 3rd and 2 deep in Dallas territory, Jackson went for the end zone and the pass to Pryor was incomplete. He then tried a field goal and Cody Parkey’s attempt hit the upright.

The pass to the end zone should have only been called if you were going to go for it on fourth down. Otherwise, the correct play is move the chains and keep the drive alive.

Now, the Browns have a short week, playing Baltimore on Thursday night.

For the first time this season, this young football team looked dejected, defeated. Jackson has to get that attitude adjusted in a couple of days.

Otherwise a nationwide audience will witness another butt kicking.