Browns Handling QB Correctly. Finally.

Over the past few seasons, the Cleveland Browns have played a form of Russian Roulette with the quarterback position, and although that’s not the only reason for being 15-65 over the last five years, it’s a good place to start.

In 2013, Rob Chudzinski started the season with second year pro Brandon Weeden as the starter, and when he went down, Brian Hoyer, who at that point had made one NFL start was thrust into action.

When Hoyer was lost for the season, it left Jason Campbell, who had some experience, but also never started an NFL game again after that season.

The next season, then new coach Mike Pettine went with Hoyer to start the season, with rookie Johnny Manziel in reserve. With Hoyer’s season started to go south, and the Browns were in playoff contention, Pettine’s only choice was to start Manziel, who was known more for his improvisational skills at Texas A & M.

In 2015, the Browns signed Josh McCown to be the starting QB, but even though they knew the veteran’s history, that is frequently injured and an extreme losing record, the backups for him were Manziel and Austin Davis, a third year player with eight career starts in St. Louis when Sam Bradford was injured.

The following year had two frequently hurt guys, McCown and Robert Griffin III on the roster with two rookies, Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan backing them up. After the two vets were injured, predictably, Kessler wound up playing way too much for a third round draft pick.

And last season, Cleveland started DeShone Kizer, another rookie, this time picked in the second round, with Hogan and Kessler in reserve.

This is another change with GM John Dorsey being involved, and it is welcome to say the least.

Dorsey traded for Tyrod Taylor, a seven year veteran, although only 29 years old, and a player who was his team’s starter for the previous three seasons.

As you read above, that has not been the case in any of the last five seasons. In that span, the Browns had oft-injured veterans who hadn’t started in at least a year, save for McCown in ’15, and he was coming off a 1-10 season in Tampa Bay.

Taylor was 8-6 as a starter last season, and is 22-20 over the last three campaigns.

We are very confident Cleveland will be drafting a QB with the first overall pick next month, and so they are not in the situation of having to start a rookie if Taylor has to miss a game, they signed Drew Stanton on Sunday as a free agent.

Stanton is 34, and has never been a full fledged starter in the NFL, but he did start 13 games for the Cardinals in the last four seasons, and registered a 9-4 record in those starts.

He’s not a long term solution for sure, and his numbers over that span aren’t anything to write home about (51.1% completions, 15 TDs/15 interceptions), but he has experience, and once again, means Hue Jackson will not be forced to play the guy who will be the future of the franchise before he is ready.

All that is left is for the organization to resist any temptation to play the rookie if the 2018 starts poorly.

That’s a habit that needs to be broken.

There is now experience at the most important position on a football team, and credible people for the rookie to learn from.

That’s a welcome change from the past five seasons.

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.

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.

Well, At Least The Browns Had a Good First Half.

Today may have been the most overlooked game in the history of the Cleveland Browns. Even though they were honoring the 30th anniversary of the AFC Central Division champions, with the Indians playing for a championship tonight, it seems like the football game today was an afterthought.

Flying under the radar, Hue Jackson’s team started very well, leading 20-7 at the half, but the second half was all Jets, and Cleveland fell to 0-8 with a 31-28 loss.

It was a case of lack of complementary football in the second half, as the defense couldn’t stop New York while the offense couldn’t put together a significant drive to keep the defense off the field.

This should end any more talk to Josh McCown being the Browns best chance to win football games.

First, in his two starts, the Browns did virtually nothing offensively after halftime, and once again, he made a critical mistake to eliminate a possible comeback attempt.

Here are the positives, negatives, and officiating critique from another Browns loss.

Positives. Terrelle Pryor abused Jets’ CB Darrelle Revis in the first half. We understand Revis isn’t the same player he was two to three years ago, but Pryor had 101 yards on six catches before the intermission.

In the second half, New York gave Revis help and McCown couldn’t get the ball to the big wideout.

Duke Johnson had several big plays, catching six balls for 87 yards and rushing for 29 more on four carries.

ILB Christian Kirksey was in on 12 tackles, and continues to impress every week.

Rookie Carl Nassib got his hand on at least three Ryan Fitzpatrick throws.

The run defense did a good job on the Jets’ Matt Forte, holding him to 82 yards on 25 carries, an average of a little over three yards.

Demario Davis and Emmanuel Ogbah showed very well too.

Negatives. McCown is by all accounts a great guy, excellent teammate, exudes toughness, etc. However, he is not an average NFL quarterback by a long shot.

Yes, he will make some plays, and can play well in spurts, but he will make a critical mistake at a crucial time.

Today, there were two. After New York scored to close the gap to 20-14, the Browns did start to move the ball. But a backwards pass lost four yards on first down, and Cleveland couldn’t recover on that drive.

Later, in the fourth quarter, on a second and six from deep in Browns’ territory, McCown decided to force a deep throw into double coverage and was picked off.

We would rather see Cody Kessler, Kevin Hogan, or even Robert Griffin III behind center the rest of this season. There is no reason to put McCown out there again.

While the defense played well against Forte, they couldn’t stop Bilal Powell, who ran for 76 yards on six carries including a 35 yard TD run.

Hue Jackson only tried 18 running plays. Yes, the Jets have one of the NFL’s best run defenses, but that’s woefully low, especially when they gained almost four yards a crack.

Safety play continues to be a huge problem for Cleveland as Quincy Enunwa caught a 57 yard throw from Fitzpatick. Jamal Taylor had pretty good coverage, but there was no safety within 15 yards of the play.

Taylor was lucky to make a touchdown saving tackle.

Officiating. No glaring poor calls, but referee Pete Morelli had problems calling out the correct number for infractions.

Next week, the Dallas Cowboys come to Cleveland, so Browns fans’ will get a look at a player they could’ve taken with the second overall pick, former Ohio State running back Ezequiel Elliott.

Hopefully, Kessler will be cleared to play next week, so it will be a battle of rookie signal callers.

Why Don’t People Understand Browns’ Plan?

It happens every fall. The national media and some of the local media reach for the lowest of the low hanging fruit in regards to the National Football League.

They take turns hitting the speed bag that is the Cleveland Browns.

Look, the Browns deserve it. Since they returned to the NFL in 1999, they have been a joke of a franchise. Two winning seasons, one playoff appearance. The teams slogan should be “At least 10 losses every year”.

They’ve changed coaches like people change underwear. They’ve gone through multiple front office executives, general managers, and directors of football operations.

In essence, they deserve exactly what they get.

So, now the Cleveland Browns are trying something else. They blew up their roster, getting rid of most of the veterans on last year’s team and we trying to build a winning team by getting a whole bunch of young players and letting them develop together.

That actually sound logical.

Will it work? Well, that remains to be seen, but nothing else they’ve tried has worked in the last 17 years, so really, why not try it?

Of course, many people in the media don’t know what to make of it, so they fall back on what has worked for them in the past, and that is, hammering what goes on in Berea.

In a way, it’s lazy reporting.

For example, based on Carson Wentz’ two very good starts (against the mediocre Browns and Chicago Bears), people are questioning the organization’s decision to go with Robert Griffin III at quarterback.

It’s not that complicated. They weren’t convinced that Wentz was a top tier starter and Griffin was an experienced alternative to playing the 37-year-old Josh McCown.

A national writer wondered why the Browns would bother to start the former Heisman Trophy winner when McCown is clearly better?

Really? You can’t figure that out? Griffin is 26-years-old. Maybe you can salvage something out of his career, maybe not. The Browns know McCown doesn’t have much left. If you know you aren’t contending for a playoff spot, why not see what a guy who is younger can do?

A local station is running through the statistics and reporting on what the players who the Browns have unloaded in recent years are doing. Did we miss something and the Browns were actually a playoff team the last four or five years?

You will never be able to convince us that getting rid of aging players from a 3-13 team is a bad idea. Players over 30 generally aren’t going to get better as they age. So, why Karlos Dansby can still play, he’s not a good fit for what the Browns are doing.

The point is many people still have the mistaken notion that the Browns want to go 6-10 this year and they should have kept and played veterans to achieve that record.

However, that’s kind of like being the 8th seed in the NBA playoffs. You aren’t going to get a high lottery pick, and you don’t have a chance at a title.

Again, whether it works or not, the Cleveland Browns are trying to build around a lot of young, drafted players who will grow together. They will draft their franchise QB at some point, perhaps next year, a player who they love.

In the meantime, the media shouldn’t look at this football team the same as they normally do. They can’t acknowledge trying something new.

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.

Hue’s Decision At QB Was A Logical, Simple One

Imagine you are an NFL head coach and you are taking over a team that went 3-13 a year ago, and hasn’t had a winning season since 2007.

Your bosses have tried several way to build a successful franchise, and in the off-season, they traded away or cut several veterans, and let a few more leave via free agency.

So, there isn’t a lot of pressure on you to win immediately, but the owner, the front office, and the fan base would like to see some progress as the season goes on.

You have several candidates for the starting quarterback position–

One is the former second overall pick in the draft after winning the Heisman Trophy, and in his rookie year took his team to the NFL playoffs. He blew out his knee in that game, and hasn’t been the same since.

The second candidate is a 37-year-old journeyman with a career record as a starter of 18-39, and over the last two years, seasons in which he started 19 of 32 games, his record is 2-17.

He has started just 57 games in a 13 year career.

You also have on the roster a third year QB who started five games in his second year in the league and was pressed into service to start two more games with your team a season ago, both of which were losses.

And you have a rookie third round draft pick from one of the elite college programs in the country. He’s a guy you really like and you went out on a limb to take him where you did. Still, he’s a rookie and you don’t want to expose him to the NFL before he’s ready to play.

The team in question of course are the Cleveland Browns and the quarterbacks at Hue Jackson’s disposal are Robert Griffin III, Josh McCown, Austin Davis, and Cody Kessler.

Jackson picked Griffin, and really, didn’t have much of a decision. That’s the logical move.

The Browns’ players and coaching staff will no doubt try to win every game, but there is little expectation going into the regular season of the playoffs.

Let’s face it, the only QBs currently on the roster who have a chance to be a quality NFL signal caller are Griffin and Kessler, and once again, the latter is a rookie.

The organization knows what McCown is. He’s a terrific teammate, a hard worker, and a guy you can put into a game without your franchise being embarrassed.

They also know what he isn’t, and that’s a quality NFL starter, and a guy with a history of winning football games. McCown is good enough to give you a decent performance and he will keep you in a game, but likely you won’t win.

Heck, the guy who started two of the three victories by the Browns a year ago, isn’t even in the NFL right now.

We have no idea if Griffin can become a successful passer from the pocket, because his success in Washington was with a hybrid offense. But in a rebuilding season? Why not find out.

If Griffin can make the transformation, the Browns have caught lightning in a bottle. If he doesn’t, you still have Kessler and a likely a high draft pick in next year’s draft.

But this is a year to experiment. That’s why Jackson’s decision was just the logical move.

Browns Have More House Cleaning To Do

A few weeks ago, we wrote about the Cleveland Browns’ need to get younger because it’s bad enough to stink, but to have many old players and stink is worse.

Since then, the Browns have cut ties with Karlos Dansby, and Alex Mack departed via free agency. Both were over 30 years old.

However, Sashi Brown and coach Hue Jackson still have a bunch of grizzled veterans who wouldn’t seem to have a place on a building football operation.

Notice he didn’t use the term “rebuilding” because something needs to be in place at one time, and having two winning seasons in 16 years doesn’t really qualify.

Cleveland still has 10 players over 30 years old on the roster, nine if you disqualify punter Andy Lee, because he should be able to kick a football effectively for a few more years.

That leaves this group with their ages listed:

Josh McCown (36)
Tramonn Williams (33)
John Greco (31)
Joe Thomas (31)
Gary Barnidge (30)
Desmond Bryant (30)
Andrew Hawkins (30)
Paul Kruger (30)
Donte Whitner (30)

We would get rid of all of them, and we feel most will no longer be with the team after the NFL Draft occurs in late April.

Rumors already have the brown and orange shopping McCown now that Robert Griffin III signed here as a free agent.

Brown, Paul DePodesta, and Jackson are probably holding on to most of these guys trying to move each of them for additional draft picks during the draft, and if trades can’t be made, many of them could be released shortly after the selection meeting.

The most controversial name here is Thomas, a nine time Pro Bowl player.

We wouldn’t move the future Hall of Famer unless Cleveland can secure a first round draft choice for him. This is likely the last time Thomas would be able to garner such a haul, and our guess is the “analytical” approach of the front office tells them the same thing.

If Thomas is dealt, the Browns may keep Greco to keep at least one veteran on the offensive line. Barnidge will likely stay as well, since the team signed him to a friendly three year deal last season.

For the rest of the players, well, let’s say we wouldn’t get involved in long term lease arrangements.

In our opinion, the new regime wants to get rid of the losing attitude that has hovered over the locker room over the past ten years. It’s no disrespect to these players, who play hard for the most part, but when you lose 10 or more games year in and year out, it is human nature to insulate yourself against all the losing and you begin to accept it.

You lose your will to be angry about it.

The Browns need to build around this draft class and the young players from the past couple of drafts who can play.

We also have a feeling that we will see what a terrible coaching staff this team had the past two years, and perhaps Danny Shelton, Cam Irving, Nate Orchard, and some others aren’t as bad as originally thought.

Basically, the Browns need to do a thorough cleaning of their locker room, getting rid of the losing stench.

So, we anticipate more roster adjustments will be made. In one month, this roster will look completely different from the one who ended the season.