Late Mistakes Cost Young Browns

Young football teams tend to make mistakes. This was never more evident than the Cleveland Browns’ 31-20 loss to Washington this afternoon.

Hue Jackson’s crew got off to a poor start, trailing 14-0 early, before rallying and actually carried a 20-17 lead into the fourth quarter.

However, the young Browns turned the ball over three times at the end of the game, two on fumbles and an interception by Cody Kessler, and Cleveland fell to 0-4 on the season.

One reminder. They’ve played three of those four games on the road.

One of the dangers of having so many young players is there are no veterans to teach the younger guys how to close out games. The Browns have had a chance to win the last three contests, but are still winless.

It will be up to the coaching staff to get these guys to eliminate the errors costing them in the win column.

Here are this week’s positives and negatives, with a new category–bad officiating.

Positives. The Browns came into the game in the top five in rushing and showed why today. They had 163 yards on the ground, with another 100 yard game by Isaiah Crowell (15 rushes, 112 yards). They probably should have had more than 28 attempts.

Cody Parkey rebounded from his debut and made two field goals including a 51-yarder.

Another Cody, Kessler, played well too. He completed 28 of 40 throws for 223 yards, and helped the offense convert 8 of 12 third downs. As long as he plays like this, there is no reason to play either Josh McCown or even Robert Griffin III for that matter.

And the offensive line did a good job with John Greco going back to guard and using Austin Reiter at center.

Defensively, Jamar Taylor continued to show well, getting an interception for the second straight week. And the newest Brown, Cam Johnson had two sacks.

Negatives. For the first time this season, the defense couldn’t stop the run, allowing 145 yards, at an average of 5.6 per rush.

The defensive line had a poor game and Danny Shelton took a step back with just three assists.

And even though Cleveland had three sacks, for most of the game they couldn’t put pressure on Washington QB Kirk Cousins. Of course, they didn’t have a lot of good pass rushing situations.

Ray Horton’s unit also had no answer for TE Jordan Reed, which isn’t good news considering New England’s Rob Gronkowski is up next week.

Today’s horrible officiating. The NFL needs to change the pass interference call.

First, they should be no call on any under thrown ball, because the bad throw is causing the contact. That was the case on the 50 YARD PENALTY against Jordan Poyer in the first quarter.

Another bad PI call came against Joe Haden in the fourth quarter. Both Haden and the receiver were bumping each other, but Haden drew the flag. A no call would have been correct there.

And lastly, Duke Johnson’s fumble in the fourth quarter appeared to be recovered by…Duke Johnson. The official ruled Washington football.

Of course, Jeff Triplette’s crew is one of the leagues worst, so what can you expect.

Our point is the Browns are inexperienced as it is, and can’t afford to have bad calls go against them as well.

So, the Browns come home next week to take on the mighty New England Patriots. It should be another good measuring stick for the young Browns.

Yes, they are 0-4. However, many teams at 1-3 and stagnant would love to trade places with Hue Jackson’s group.

Did Browns Improve From Week One? Yes

After last week, we told everyone you cannot evaluate the Cleveland Browns are wins and losses, but rather on how the team progresses throughout the season.

Based on that, we would give Hue Jackson and his team a passing grade for week 2, despite a 25-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at First Energy Stadium.

The Browns jumped out to a 20-0 first quarter lead, and the Josh McCown mafia was probably busy telling everyone who would listen, “I told you so”. But after that quarter, the brown and orange looked a lot like last week’s squad.

They couldn’t put up any more points, and continually shot themselves in the foot on both sides of the ball.

Positives. The running game improved, getting 145 yards, but 85 of those were on one play, Isaiah Crowell’s touchdown scamper in the first quarter.

The Ravens ran the ball more often (26-23) despite trailing for most of the game.

Corey Coleman played like a first round pick, scoring two touchdowns and making five catches for 104 yards.

Duke Johnson continues to show he needs the football more often, with four receptions for 44 yards. However, he carried just three times from scrimmage.

Defensively, Derrick Kindred continues to impress, and ILB Chris Kirksey played well too. He’s one of the guys we felt was minimized by the previous coaching staff.

Danny Shelton continued to show he is not a bust with two tackles and six assists. He’s a big reason why the defense once again held the opponents to under four yards per carry. Baltimore averaged just 3.1 per attempt.

And Joe Haden improved from a week ago with two interceptions. Haden still had plays where improvement is needed, but perhaps he is shaking some rust off.

Also, kudos to the front office. They traded Andy Lee for a fourth round pick, and then picked up a solid punter on the waiver wire. Britton Colquitt averaged 40.8 yards per punt, and put two inside the 20.

Negatives. McCown’s interception at the end of the first half is a reminder as to why he is a below average NFL quarterback despite the Cleveland media’s love for him.

It gave the Ravens three points they shouldn’t have scored. You cannot, repeat CANNOT turn the ball over in that spot.

We keep hearing about special teams’ coach Chris Tabor being one of the best in the league. Why?

A blocked extra point and a long return on first kickoff say maybe the Browns can do better.

Cleveland has had a lot of kicks blocked in the second half of last season and another one today. And it cost the team three points, meaning a field goal could’ve won it at the end.

Lastly (and it won’t be the last time this year we say this), the NFL officiating is horrific. The taunting penalty against Terrelle Pryor in the last minute, negating a play that would have put the Browns in a first and goal situation, ranks as one of the worst calls we’ve ever seen.

Pryor was simply flipping the ball to the official. He didn’t jam it into the defender’s face, he was giving it to the official, and Ladarius Webb just got in the way.

The NFL officials are THE WORST in professional sports. They make ridiculously bad calls every week.

Next week, it’s on to Miami to take on the Dolphins. Will McCown, who was banged up, be able to play?

Will the run defense continue to do its job? Will more special teams’ gaffes occur?

Stay tuned for how the Browns’ progress turned out next week.