Why Not Take A Look At RGIII?

First, it was Colin Kaepernick, but it appears that has fallen through, and now the big rumor is the Cleveland Browns are close to signing former Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III as a free agent.

We have no idea if Griffin can regain the magic of his rookie season, when he completed 65.6% of his passes and had 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions as Washington went 10-6 and made the playoffs.

The former second overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft hurt his knee at the end of that campaign and never really has regained the magic.

Since he is only 26 years old, perhaps Hue Jackson wants to find out if he can rebuild Griffin’s career. It wouldn’t be unheard of.

Even with all of the injuries, the former Baylor standout has completed 63.9% of his throws.

For all of the people who think Josh McCown had a solid season for the Browns last season, he completed 63.7% of his passes last year.

What is pretty apparent to us is that Jackson simply doesn’t want to have McCown as his starting quarterback. That’s why he pursued both Kaepernick, whose price was way too high.

The combination of the San Francisco QB’s bloated salary and that the Niners wanted the Browns third round pick was too rich for Sashi Brown and the rest of the front office.

Look, McCown is a lot of things. He’s a great teammate, he has a huge heart, and did a good job being a steadying influence for Johnny Manziel. He took a great deal of punishment last season, even to the point of taking a couple of snaps with a broken collarbone.

However, there is one thing McCown isn’t, and that is a competent NFL starting quarterback. His lifetime record as a starter is 18-39 and is 8-27 since 2007.

He’s also going to be 37 years old, and that is a huge consideration for the Browns, who want to get younger.

We get that the local media likes McCown. He’s a stand up guy, a hard worker, and talks to reporters no matter the situation.

We are sure Jackson’s thought is if we are going to go with a question mark behind center, it would be better if that guy is 26 years old, not 37.

Quite simply, who has the better chance to improve?

We also aren’t saying that RGIII solves the Browns’ quarterbacking issues. We would still take a QB with the 2nd or 32nd overall picks (or if they trade for a late first round pick), and having Griffin would allow Jackson to have the rookie play when he’s ready and not a minute before.

If Griffin plays well, and the rookie develops, the Browns can move either one of the players, and since they are quarterbacks, they can get a king’s ransom.

And if Griffin’s career doesn’t bounce back to his rookie year level, all Cleveland lost was money, and they certainly have plenty of salary cap space.

RGIII has to have been humbled by what has happened to a promising career, and because of that, he should be a willing student for what Jackson is teaching.

That’s why it’s a no risk move for the Browns.

But don’t read the possible signing as Cleveland finding an answer at QB, but rather it’s they feel McCown has no upside and Jackson has no interest in the veteran being his signal caller this season.

Shouldn’t Be Manziel Vs. McCown

In Cleveland, we don’t have quarterback controversies, we have quarterback fights.

It’s not enough to say you prefer one signal caller over another, you have to point out that the other guy is god awful as well.

That’s what has happened for many when discussing this year’s passing duo–Johnny Manziel and Josh McCown.

If you are a Manzealot, you have to show your contempt for McCown, while if you prefer the veteran, that means you have to point out that Johnny Football is a punk who can’t stop partying.

The reality is (and we have said this all along) quarterback play hasn’t been to the problem for the Cleveland Browns this season. Both Manziel and McCown have played well.

Quite frankly, that both have played well is a miracle. The offense hasn’t been able to run the football at all this season, and the offensive line hasn’t performed up to expectations.

The wide receiving corps is filled with slot receivers, and some of those guys have had problems catching the ball when it has been thrown to them.

The only reliable weapon for either passer has been TE Gary Barnidge. Brian Hartline was starting to come on before he broke his collarbone in the win against the 49ers.

Looking at passer rating, smack dab in the middle of this statistic in Brian Hoyer (ironic, huh?) at 93.0. McCown rates just ahead of Hoyer at 93.3, while Manziel is a very respectable 85.9.

The difference between the two is Manziel’s touchdown rate is lower than the veteran and his interception rate is a bit higher.

Both guys have done a solid job, and we would even point out that McCown has done better at putting points on the board.

So why play Manziel if McCown has performed admirably? Because there is only one man on the roster who has a chance to be a better than average starting QB in the NFL, and that is the second year man out of Texas A & M.

He’s a first round draft pick and he just turned 23 years old. His future is ahead of him. McCown will be 37 next season, and let’s face it, he is what he is, he’s not getting any better.

Since the Browns will have one of the top five picks in next spring’s draft, the subject of drafting another quarterback, the almighty “franchise QB” will be discussed ad nauseum.

However, we don’t think any of the guys currently mentioned (Paxton Lynch, Jerod Goff, Connor Cook) are rated among the top ten players in the draft, so we would pass if we were the Browns.

Besides, it should be obvious to everyone that Cleveland’s biggest problem is their defense, which has allowed 30 or more points in nine of the 14 games they have played.

If you want to improve the team quickly, don’t you have to go with the best defensive player available?

Remember that if the Browns’ defense gave up 20 points in every game this season, they would be a .500 football team. That’s where this team needs to improve.

We would have no problem if the Browns go into the 2016 season with both Johnny Manziel and Josh McCown on the roster with another rookie drafted in the second or third round as well.

The reason to play Manziel is to see what he can do, it’s not because McCown played terribly.

Time To Hold Pettine “Accountable”

Three results jumped out to us among the early results from the NFL today.

Jacksonville 34 Buffalo 31
St. Louis 24, Cleveland 6Miami 44 Houston 20

This doesn’t have anything to do with former Browns’ QB Brian Hoyer, on the wrong end of the massacre by the Dolphins, but it does have to do with the coaching staffs of the Bills, Browns, and Dolphins.

Much has been made about new Miami coach Dan Campbell trying to make his team tougher, more physical, and his team has won two in a row.

How long will that last? Who knows. But it is interesting to see a coach who has a philosophy in his mind and at least for two weeks makes sure it is carried out.

Since the end of last week’s games, when Buffalo lost to Cincinnati, we have had the mindset that Rex Ryan is the epitome of a fake tough guy. He talks a good game, but really, his teams aren’t a success.

His first two seasons with the Jets, he was 20-12 and got his team to the AFC Championship game.

Since then, his coaching record is 29-42, with no seasons over .500.

The first fruit off the Rex Ryan coaching tree is Pettine, and he is appearing to be more and more like his former boss.

Despite slogans like “play like a Brown”, “control the controlables”, and the talk of accountability, the Cleveland Browns appear to be a team in search of a style of play, and continue to make mistake after mistake without any accountability.

And after a 7-5 start to his head coaching career, the Browns have lost 9 of their last 11 games.

Today’s loss to the Rams was nothing different. Turnovers, penalties, and another weak performance by the head coach’s specialty, the defense, led to the defeat.

Pettine came to town with the talk of making this team a physical one, one that played with toughness. That may be true of individual players, but this is a football squad that cannot run the ball efficiently, and they have been the worst team in the NFL in stopping the run since Pettine arrived here.

Offensively, the offensive line, despite a collection of Pro Bowlers and high draft picks, had a dubious distinction today, as every one of them except for Alex Mack was called for either a false start or a holding call.

And they fumbled four times, twice by Josh McCown, who is having a solid season, but you can’t turn the ball over that many times, particularly on the road, and win football games.

The first two errors put the Browns in a 10-0 hole four and a half minutes into the game that they never recovered from.

Pettine defended the defensive scheme earlier this week after a former Browns’ website writer said players told him it was too complicated, but whether it is or isn’t, it isn’t working. The coach’s stubbornness in making adjustment is a weakness of a first time head coach.

He’s rather lose his way than be flexible and win.

We have said it the last three weeks and will say it again…if you can’t run the ball and stop the run in the NFL, you can’t win football games consistently.

The run defense was solid early, but again, gave up big chunk plays, particularly in the second half, and usually right after the Browns score.

Yes, yes, the offense only scored six points today, and the defense really only allowed 17 today, but you can count on them giving up a big play after a score.

What can be done? Nothing unless the coaching staff decides to stop talking in clichés and starts adjusting playing time based on merit. It seems like veterans get to mess up without consequence and young guys lose playing time.

At 2-5 and with the Cardinals coming in next Sunday, it might be time to start thinking about next spring’s draft.

Oh, and as an aside, although it didn’t cost the Browns today or really any Sunday, the officiating in the NFL continues to be atrocious. Thanks for fixing that, Commissioner Goodell.

Browns Offense Overcomes More Defensive Struggles

In a battle of teams basically playing for relevance to their seasons, the Cleveland Browns prevailed, beating the Baltimore Ravens in overtime, 33-30 to raise their record to 2-3 on the year.

Although the subject of sports talkers regarding the Browns this year (and really, the last umpteen years) has revolved around the lack of a franchise quarterback and a big time wide receiver, the Cleveland offense continues to click, scoring 108 points over the last four games, an average of 27 per contest.

That will win you a lot of games in the NFL, but unfortunately, and not to be a “Debbie Downer” after a victory, the Cleveland defense needs to get better, because it almost cost the team a win once again.

Josh McCown may be a journeyman QB, and he may have piloted some bad football teams during his career, but he guided Cleveland to 505 total yards today, and the aforementioned 33 points.

He completed 36 passes in 51 attempts for 457 yards, two touchdowns, and a two point conversion with gave Mike Pettine’s team a three point lead with a little over three minutes to go.

The running game struggled, but gained tough yardage down the stretch, with Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson getting enough yards to put the offense in very makeable third down situations.

And TE Gary Barnidge continues to be a huge factor, grabbing eight passes for 139 yards and another spectacular catch for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Johnson and Crowell were big factors in the passing game too, with the latter putting Cleveland ahead 30-27 with a 22-yard catch and run with three minutes left.

However, the defense struggled once again, and almost cost the team a victory.

Pettine can stand at the podium and tell everyone that unit is not a problem, but all he is doing is looking like a man who’s head is firmly entrenched in the sand.

The Ravens ran for 181 more yards against a unit that already ranked 2nd last in the NFL. And the Cleveland defense allowed four more plays of more than 20 yards, including a 32-yard gain on a short pass to Justin Forsett with around a minute and a half to go, which set the Ravens up for a possible go ahead touchdown.

Fortunately, the defense stiffened, and Baltimore could only tie the game and force overtime.

Let’s repeat this again, with the caps intentional…YOU CANNOT WIN IN THE NFL WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO RUN THE BALL AND HAVE THE ABILITY TO STOP THE RUN!!!

Until Pettine and his staff put a priority on stopping the opposition’s ground game, the Browns will not be a good football team. Period.

Other thoughts from today…

The officiating is ruining the NFL product. There were 21 penalties accepted today, with the worst one almost costing the Browns in the 4th quarter. The unnecessary roughness call on K’Waun Williams was simply horrible. He made a football play.

Another weakness of the Browns’ defense is they aren’t forcing turnovers. None today, none last week, and one recovered fumble vs. Oakland.

Travis Coons looks like the next Phil Dawson. The rookie made four field goals today including the game winner. He hasn’t missed at all this season (knock on wood).

The safeties led the Browns in tackles today (Jordan Poyer and Donte Whitner). Where are the linebackers in the run game? Nate Orchard and Tank Carder had four stops each. Maybe more playing time for both of them?

Next on the slate is Denver at First Energy Stadium next week. Peyton Manning is one of the most prolific passers in NFL history, but the Broncos would be crazy to not run the ball next Sunday.

Maybe as crazy as Pettine if he doesn’t realize the defense needs some changes.

Browns Show Blueprint Of How They Need to Play

If you wanted to know how the Cleveland Browns envision themselves as a team, last night’s 31-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is the blueprint.

The Browns’ defense stopped the run early, then confused rookie QB Jameis Winston, sacking him twice in the first quarter and then forcing a turnover (an interception by rookie CB Charles Gaines).

It is amazing how much better the defense looked with Pro Bowl CB Joe Haden on the field. He improves the pass defense immensely, and tonight was the only game in August he will play.

After the first series was a three and out by Tampa, the special teams came up with a big play as Travis Benjamin returned a punt 57 yards for a touchdown, and Mike Pettine’s crew was off and running.

QB Josh McCown didn’t throw the ball downfield much, but he was efficient, completing 17 of 23 throws for 117 yards and two touchdowns. After last week’s game where he made two bad throws that resulted in interceptions, he did not turn it over last night.

The running game worked well too, and it appears that Isaiah Crowell took the lead in the running game derby with 27 yards in eight carries, while Terrance West did more dancing than we are sure the coaches will like.

Crowell also caught two passes for 12 yards.

Duke Johnson ran the ball well once, in between the tackles, gaining four yards before leaving with a concussion later in the first half. We would have liked to seen more of the rookie.

But this is how the Browns want to play, and it is encouraging that in the one pre-season game that both teams game plan for, Pettine and his staff had his team prepared and they executed.

However, let’s remember that the Bucs had the first overall pick in the last spring’s draft and they didn’t trade for it. They are a bad football team. Still, Cleveland took care of business.

Had they lost to Tampa, the negative members of the fan base and media would be citing this game as proof that the Browns will be horrific during the regular season.

Rookie Danny Shelton continues to look like the beast in the middle he was projected to be, and DE Desmond Bryant had two sacks, but we are also impressed with another first year player, S Ibraheim Campbell, who is always making plays, and has done so in all three games.

Gaines is another rookie to be excited about, as he made several nice plays. Besides the interception, he broke up two other Winston passes.

With no one of consequence playing Thursday night at Chicago, this is the last we will see of the best Browns’ players until the opener against the Jets on September 13th.

Thursday will determine who makes up the end of the roster, probably spots 45-53.

And hopefully we will see Terrelle Pryor, who we believe will make the team whether he plays or not. We believe Pettine and GM Ray Farmer have seen enough of his athletic ability to understand someone will pick him up if the Browns cut him loose.

Quite frankly, Cleveland isn’t in the position to cut someone who can be a difference maker on offense. They simply have to keep him.

Until then, Pettine has to be very satisfied with the result last night. It is just as they wanted the script to be written when the regular season starts in two weeks.

Nothing Really Learned From Browns Last Night

When watching NFL pre-season games, this is the rule of thumb we use–

For the first game, only the first quarter matters. For the second game, the first half matters. In the third game, the “dress rehearsal” if you will, the first three quarters matter. And the last game is just to decide who makes the back-end of the roster.

So, what did we learn from last night’s game against the Redskins? Not much.

First, it is tough to judge anything considering the Browns’ two best players, Joe Thomas and Joe Haden, didn’t even play. Nor did Dwayne Bowe, Terrell Pryor, Duke Johnson, and several others who could be key members of Mike Pettine’s squad when the regular season starts on September 14th.

The morning newspaper was filled with praise for new starting QB Josh McCown, which we thought was jumping the gun a little bit.

McCown played just one series, made the throws he needed to make, benefited from a pass interference penalty, and otherwise dinked and dunked the Browns into the end zone.

This is not to say, we don’t think McCown will be better than Brian Hoyer, because we think he will, but we didn’t see anything special about the performance last night. We want to see more.

As for the backup quarterback, Johnny Manziel, he showed improvement from last year, mostly in that he looked like an NFL quarterback.

Gone was the “Johnny Package”, the read option non-sense that is being phased out by most NFL teams because defenses have caught up to it.

And although Manziel scored a touchdown on a run, it was the type of run he should have made. He dropped back, the defense parted like the Red Sea, and he took the opportunity to get his team in the end zone. But, there was a marked difference in the way he approached the offense this year.

Overall, the offense was pretty vanilla with mostly short, safe throws, and perhaps the reason for that was the absence of Bowe, Pryor, and Johnson, who we think will be a big part of the passing game.

It was a little disturbing to see last year’s first round pick, Justin Gilbert, get torched on the opening series of the game, losing Pierre Garcon wide open on a deep pass, which he dropped.

He also whiffed on his next chance, a sideline route. He did recover to defend two passes in the end zone, but he needs to be better in the next couple of contests if he is going to contribute.

The run defense, which was arguably more of a weakness than the quarterback play a year ago, didn’t shine, so that is a bit concerning as well. They still have a hard time keeping backs from getting outside. To be sure, that will be a point of emphasis this week in practice.

Next week, we will get to see the people who are going to play in the regular season a whole lot more, probably through the first half. At that point, we should see more things to start forming opinions.

It was good to see football again, but that’s about all we saw. Nothing to get excited about, nothing to be depressed about.

That’s probably the ideal circumstance if you are Mike Pettine.