Blame Baker? What Is The Alternative?

The Cleveland Browns were no match for the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday, as they fell to 4-2 on the season after the 38-7 beat down.

After six games, we can make this conclusion about the Browns. They aren’t in the same class as the Steelers and Ravens, both of whom put a wallop on the brown and orange, over 30 point defeats.

That isn’t meant to be catastrophic news. Both of these things can be true. Cleveland is a much improved football team. They won four straight after an opening loss to Baltimore, and it would not be a surprise to see both Dallas (weak division) and Indianapolis in the post-season.

However, the three best teams in the AFC might just be the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, the Ravens, and the Steelers, although Tennessee might have something to say about that.

As usual when the Browns lose, the questions surrounding quarterback Baker Mayfield start. Our guess is if you didn’t want then GM John Dorsey to take the former Heisman Trophy winner from Oklahoma, you feel he isn’t the guy long term at QB, so your ire is focused on Mayfield.

If you watched that game on Sunday and determined the reason Cleveland lost by 31 points is Baker Mayfield, then we question your football acumen.

Look, we aren’t saying Mayfield played a good game. His first quarter pick six on the first drive of the game was a terrible throw, and good QBs can’t and don’t make that pass. But the Browns were dominated on both lines of scrimmage.

The offensive line, which has been so good in the four game win streak, was simply out muscled by Pittsburgh’s front seven. And you can blame Wyatt Teller being out, but rookie Jedrick Wills, Joel Bitonio and J.C. Tretter struggled too.

What is the alternative to Mayfield? It certainly isn’t veteran Case Keenum, who replaced the starter in the third quarter and completed 5 of 9 throws for 46 yards, 24 of them coming on his first pass, a busted coverage throw to Jarvis Landry.

We know what Keenum is, he’s a serviceable starter, but mostly a backup QB. He’s not going to become a top 10 signal caller at this stage of his career.

And the Browns have improved enough so they will not be picking in the top five of the draft, barring injuries. Add to this we have seen the quarterbacks coming out of college in the past few years, and most of them don’t look as good in the professional game.

We don’t want to make excuses for any professional athlete, but Mayfield has played 36 games in the NFL and has had four head coaches, and four offensive coordinators. Before we make any judgment on him, we want to see how he grows with Kevin Stefanski and Alex Van Pelt, who most certainly will be back in Berea in 2021.

That’s only fair.

By the way, Mayfield has a 16-19 record in his 35 starts. Before he came to the team, they won just four of their previous 48 games. Now, Mayfield isn’t the sole reason for this, but it does tell you the kind of ditch the Browns are digging their way out of.

We will also learn a lot about Stefanski and his staff in the coming weeks. The Browns have games against the Ravens and Steelers at home and it will be interesting to see what kind of adjustments his staff will make in the second go round.

Based on what we’ve seen, Cleveland will be much better prepared in the second meeting with each of these teams. A good test will come this week in Cincinnati, when the Browns and Bengals match up for a second time.

What have we learned thus far? The Browns are much better, but they aren’t at the Super Bowl contender level. Sometimes teams have to take steps. There is nothing wrong with that as long as the steps are upward.

Who’d Think Solid Coaching And Talent Leads To Winning Football?

It has been so long since we’ve had a winning football team in northeast Ohio, perhaps fans don’t know how to act.

After averaging 200 yards per game on the ground in the first four weeks, including a whopping 307 against Dallas last week, we are sure Browns’ coach Kevin Stefanski was preparing for the time when an opposing defense would decide they weren’t going to let Cleveland just dominate them with the run.

That happened Sunday when the Colts, who allowed the least yards per game in the NFL entering week five, said they weren’t having it.

However, unlike past seasons, this Browns’ team had an answer. Baker Mayfield threw for over 200 yards in the first half and the home team had a 20-10 lead going into the intermission, including TD passes to Kareem Hunt and Rashard Higgins.

Stefanski said after the game that he wanted to keep his team out of third down and long situations where the Indianapolis pass rush could pin their ears back and get after Mayfield. He controlled the game by having his passer throw some short, ball control passes to stay in favorable down and distance situations.

We understand that it’s been a long time since we seen this in our fair city, but this is good coaching, getting your team in good situations and keeping them out of bad ones.

In the second half, the Colts adjusted to this attack, and the Browns struggled a bit, with Mayfield throwing two interceptions, but he also could have sustained a couple of drives had the usually sure handed (if there was something better than that adjective, we would have used it) Jarvis Landry dropped a couple of balls.

One of those picks is on Mayfield as he threw high over the middle. The second was a result of him being crushed as he threw. We give Myles Garrett credit for forcing turnovers, so why isn’t the same true for the Cleveland quarterback?

Look, it was nice that Mayfield had two straight games without an interception, but they happen to even great passers. He has thrown as many as Tom Brady and Dak Prescott, and Deshaun Watson and Kyler Murray have thrown five each, one more than Mayfield. Russell Wilson, who might be the leader in the clubhouse for league MVP, has three.

If you want to pick on the Browns’ QB, point to his low completion percentage, which at 61.2% is 26th in the league, just ahead of Dwayne Haskins and Daniel Jones. Accuracy was the strong point of his game in college, and he needs to do better to be a top flight NFL quarterback.

Speaking of top flight players, Garrett continues to state his case for Defensive Player of the Year, with another sack on Sunday.

We have followed the Browns since 1965, and we will state the franchise has never had a player who can get to the quarterback like Garrett, who now is one sack shy of Carl Hairston’s (92 games) total of 37.5.

Garrett has played in 42 games.

With four more sacks, he will tie for third in Browns’ history with Rob Burnett (93 games), behind just Clay Matthews (232 games) and Michael Dean Perry (109 games). To be fair, the stat was not official in Matthews’ first four seasons.

He has become the player we expected when he was drafted first overall in 2017, and he’s a guy you know opposing offensive coaches are scheming for and accounting for on a weekly basis.

With players like Garrett, Nick Chubb, Denzel Ward, and the wide receiver duo of Landry and Odell Beckham Jr., the Browns have players who rank among the best at their position in the NFL. We didn’t even mention the offensive line until now.

And that’s how you win games.

Having Running Back Depth Is Huge For Browns

Many times, the thing that separates the good teams from the great ones in the NFL is depth. While bad teams have some good players, if those players go down, there isn’t anyone close to replace them, and the team can’t overcome the loss, and start losing.

We saw that to a degree last season with the Browns, when Myles Garrett was suspended, and the Cleveland defense couldn’t put any pressure on opposing passers. That was a major factor in a 2-4 record in those games, and the opponents scoring 30 points in half of those contests.

In Sunday’s 49-38 win over Dallas, the Browns lost perhaps their best player, running back Nick Chubb, to a knee injury, and it was announced yesterday, he would be put on injured reserve, with reports being he will be out about six weeks.

While it is a blow having Chubb on the sidelines, it is one area where Cleveland has some depth because of the presence of Kareem Hunt, who led the NFL in rushing in his rookie season (2017).

Hunt now figures to get the bulk of the carries, although after the Dallas game, they aren’t too far apart in attempts, as Chubb has carried the rock 57 times, Hunt has 50 carries.

While both Chubb and Hunt are elite backs, Sunday’s tremendous total of 307 rushing yards shows they are just a part of the machine that Kevin Stefanski, offensive line coach Bill Callahan, and running backs coach Stump Mitchell have put together.

We say machine because when Chubb left the game in Dallas, D’Ernest Johnson, who had 26 in five NFL carries prior, came in and ran for 95 yards in 13 carries, and Dontrell Hilliard, who was on the practice squad the previous week, picked up 19 more on five attempts.

The Browns lead the NFL with a whopping 5.9 yards per carry, and are averaging over 200 yards per game on the ground. The Baltimore Ravens did this a year ago, but no other team has done it for a full year in a 16 game season.

You have to go back to the 1970’s to find teams that averaged 200 yards per game on the ground outside of the Ravens. It was done six times in that decade before the league went to 16 games in 1978.

This shows the zone blocking scheme, popularized by the Shanahan family (Mike and Kyle), installed by Stefanski and Callahan is more than doing its job. It also shows the improvements made by the front office in the off-season, drafting Jedrick Wills, and signing Jack Conklin as a free agent has paid tremendous dividends.

However, it helps that with Chubb not being able to see the field for awhile, that Cleveland has a back the caliber of Hunt to pick up the slack. And you might see more end around runs for Odell Beckham Jr., who had 73 yards rushing on Sunday.

The offense will get a big test coming up this weekend when the Indianapolis Colts come to town. The Colts lead the NFL in total defense, and are allowing just 76 rushing yards per game, and since an opening week loss to Jacksonville, haven’t allowed more than 11 points in the last three weeks.

Here is the problem for other teams, though. If they crowd the line of scrimmage to stop the run, Baker Mayfield and his cadre of receivers, led by Beckham and Jarvis Landry can stretch the field and spread out the defense.

Through four weeks, there is a lot to feel good about in regards to the Cleveland Browns being able to put points on the scoreboard.

Hard To Ask A Browns’ Fan For Patience, But…

If you are a fan of the Cleveland Browns, it is hard to be patient. One playoff berth since 1999 isn’t anything to brag about, but patience is exactly what is needed with the new coaching staff.

The NFL schedule makers didn’t do new coach Kevin Stefanski any favors pitting the Browns against the Baltimore Ravens in the lidlifter for both teams. Yes, the Kansas City Chiefs are the defending Super Bowl champs, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to say the Ravens are the next best team in the league.

So, the first argument for patience is the first week opponent. This goes for any team because we don’t know how good the other team is. For example, the Steelers looked good on Monday night, but maybe, the Giants are the worst team in the NFL.

To put it simply, no one knows yet who is good and who is terrible, although based on last year’s 14-2 record, we assume Baltimore is pretty good.

Now, for other things that were obvious to us in watch the blowout loss to the Ravens.

Odell Beckham Jr. continues to be a polarizing figure in Cleveland. His dropped pass late in the second quarter was glaring because not only cost the Browns’ offense a touchdown (the now departed Austin Siebert missed a field goal), it allowed the Ravens to tack on another TD before the end of the half.

We hear the national media telling us what an athletic freak Beckham is, but is he still that? We’ve really seen no evidence since he arrived in town a year and a half ago.

And we have written this before, we don’t think the former Giant is a bad teammate and he isn’t causing problems in the locker room, but for whatever reason, he doesn’t fit here. When he is on the field, both head coaches (to date) and the quarterback seem to make a conscious effort to get him the ball, at the expense of the game plan.

If everyone can’t come to a happy medium, Andrew Berry may have to say this is a situation of addition by subtraction, and get what he can for the wide receiver. And it won’t be anything close to what his predecessor paid to get him.

The other thing that stood out was the defense. Again, Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson was the league MVP in 2019, but the Cleveland defense was disappointing. Yes, we know there are a lot of injuries on that side of the ball, but you can’t let a team go 99 yards on one drive, and then convert a touchdown after getting the ball past midfield with less than a minute to go before the half.

Cleveland was 20th in takeaways a year ago, and had just one last Sunday, which occurred in the red zone, otherwise they would have given up 45 points.

The good news is the run defense improved, but again, bringing up the fallacy of the one game sample, it could be because the Ravens found it so easy to pass the ball, they really didn’t spend a lot of time trying the ground game.

We would anticipate seeing plenty of improvement tonight, but part of that could be feeling it couldn’t be any worse. Anyhow, the Cincinnati Bengals also lost their opener, and the odds are they aren’t as good as Baltimore.

However, an 0-2 start and more than a week to talk about doesn’t bode well for the Cleveland Browns. The angry mob could start forming earlier than anyone thought.

Baker Deserves The Benefit Of The Doubt, But Still A Big Year For Him

There is no question that the Cleveland Browns were a disjointed mess in 2019. If you think of them as a jigsaw puzzle, there were just too many pieces that were either missing or didn’t fit together.

It didn’t seem like the offensive coordinator fit with the head coach, and the general manager traded for an elite wide receiver for a group which had success running the football during the second half of the 2018 schedule.

Because of inexperience or perhaps star worship, head coach Freddie Kitchens and offensive coordinator seemed to feel obligated to force the ball to Odell Beckham Jr., and as a result the Browns got away from the things that led to a solid finish the year before.

All of this contributed to second year quarterback Baker Mayfield taking a step backwards.

The former first overall pick in ’19 saw his completion percentage drop (63.8% to 59.4%), his yards per passing attempt diminish (7.7 to 7.2), and his interception rate increase from 2.9% to 3.9%.

Not exactly what you want to see in terms of growth from your supposed franchise quarterback.

Did Mayfield prepare his body for the rigors of an NFL season during his first off-season? We believe he would admit (and has) he should have worked harder.

Did he let his success as a rookie go to his head a bit? Look, part of the reason John Dorsey chose him first overall was his self-confidence, so without question, he likely felt pretty good about himself after leading the Browns to their best record since 2007 as a rook.

This season, the chaos surrounding the team seems to be gone. Expectations has been tempered by last year’s disappointing 6-10 record, and new coach Kevin Stefanski seems more like a CEO than a football coach.

Stefanski came from Minnesota, where they loved to run the football (4th most attempts in the NFL in 2019) and so we would anticipate the emphasis in Cleveland will be establishing the run, much like it was in Mayfield’s first season.

That reliance on the ground game doesn’t mean Mayfield isn’t a “franchise” quarterback either. The Seahawks ran the ball the third most times in the league a year ago and no one thinks Russell Wilson is just along for the ride.

So, while some fans and media members have written off Mayfield as the future for the Browns, we chalk up his performance as a by product of the mess surrounding him last season.

The offense was different and you can’t tell us everyone in the organization felt pressure to force the ball to the shiny new toy that was Beckham. We think you could feel it from the moment the season kicked off in Cleveland against the Titans.

However, there is no question this is a huge year for the third year passer. A season that looked more like 2019 than 2018 will no doubt put question marks in the heads of the folks who run football operation in Berea. Andrew Berry didn’t draft him and Stefanski wasn’t given input on the choice either.

So, there is pressure on Mayfield to perform well this season, and without a normal training camp and even a half of pre-season play (probably the only action he would have seen), he is at a slight disadvantage.

But it seems the things the new coaching staff want to do offensively should emphasize the quarterback’s skill set. And certainly, the talent the Browns have accumulated helps immensely.

We are willing to write off last season as a result of the dysfunction within the building for Baker Mayfield. He won’t have that benefit this season. He has to produce.

Njoku Wants Out, Browns Unlikely to Comply.

The news hit the other day that Browns’ TE and former first round draft pick David Njoku had hired a new agent and asked the team to trade him.

We expressed the opinion that just because the player made the request, the GM Andrew Berry is under no obligation to move Njoku, and we heard some comments very typical of most fan bases.

If he doesn’t want to be here, then move him as soon as possible. One former NFL player currently in the media expressed the opinion that the Browns can’t have that kind of distraction in the locker room.

We say the best thing to do is to step back and not make an emotional decision, which we feel is what Berry will do.

Cleveland just exercised the fifth year option on the tight end’s contract, meaning he is under his rookie deal for two more seasons. That’s probably the reason for hiring a new agent, and also requesting the deal.

More likely than not, Njoku and his new representative, super agent Drew Rosenhaus, want the same thing the Browns are doing with Myles Garrett, who also had his fifth year option picked up.

The Browns are working on an extension for Garrett, likely one that will make him one of the highest paid, if not the highest paid defensive player in the NFL.

The former Miami (FL) standout isn’t on the same par as Garrett, but it would seem as if Njoku would like to be paid sooner than later.

However, here is the problem. Njoku hardly played a year ago. He broke his wrist in the second game of the year against the Jets, and then, for whatever reason, feel into Freddie Kitchens’ doghouse.

The result was a season where he played in only four games, started just one of those, and caught only five passes for 41 yards, and one touchdown.

That pales in comparison to his first two years in the league, grabbing 32 passes as a rookie, getting into the end zone four times, and in his second year, he caught 56 throw and again scored four TD’s.

People have speculated that perhaps Njoku is upset by the free agent signing of Austin Hooper, a Pro Bowl TE for Atlanta. But Kevin Stefanski’s offense is based on a lot of two tight end sets, so there will still be plenty of playing time for Njoku.

Quite frankly, he will probably thrive in the offense if indeed he plays in Cleveland this season.

From the Browns’ standpoint, they used a first round pick on the player, and he is contractually here for two more seasons.

What do you think they would receive in return with Njoku coming off an injury plagued season, a year in which when he was healthy, his coaches basically ignored him?

They would get nothing near what the spent on him. We have seen speculation of a fourth or fifth round pick.

As for being a distraction in the locker room, our guess is Rosenhaus told him not to be one, because it doesn’t help his value either. We think Njoku will show up to camp, work hard, and make himself desirable to other teams.

However, if he does that, he will also be an asset to the Browns.

And we also think he will have a very good year if he improves his hands, and works within the Stefanski system. And if he does, the Browns will be willing to pay him.

Berry is going to do what is best for the Cleveland Browns, and we believe that means keeping Njoku. That is, unless he finds someone better.

Browns’ Front Office/Coaches Keeping It Low Key. That’s Good.

The Cleveland Browns are taking a different approach this off-season. They are flying under the radar.

No bold off-season moves, no bringing in big name players, no talk of post-season play.

Just very business like, and at the same time very logical.

It helps that the national media isn’t jumping on the bandwagon, like last year when the Browns traded for Odell Beckham Jr. and every talking head in the county was proclaiming a playoff appearance for Cleveland.

That’s not to say, the playoffs isn’t a goal for the 2020 Browns, we are sure that behind the scenes, GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski know that if things fall into place, they can win 10 or more games and get to the post-season. However, they aren’t putting that goal out there in public the way former GM John Dorsey did.

It happens every year in the NFL. The San Francisco 49ers were 4-12 in 2018, and last year went to the Super Bowl with a 13-3 record.

The previous year, it was the Chicago Bears making the leap from 5-11 to 12-4 and an NFC North championship.

And in 2017, Jacksonville went from 3-13 to 10-6 and a playoff spot as a result of winning the AFC South.

So, we know it can be done, but there’s no reason to proclaim it to everyone who will listen.

And we know the Browns’ players didn’t publicly talk about it, is was driven by the national talking heads because of the rookie play of Baker Mayfield and the acquisition of Beckham, but we still feel the talk got to the coaching staff and front office, and the Browns got away from doing the things that made them successful in the second half of 2018.

Look, the Browns have talent, especially on the offensive side of the football. You could make a claim they have the best set of skill position players in the NFL, not counting quarterback.

They have the man who finished second in the league in rushing a year ago in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, who led the NFL in rushing in 2017 and had 824 yards in 11 games the following year.

At wide receiver, they have Beckham Jr. of course, and Jarvis Landry, a five time Pro Bowler (in six seasons), coming off a career high 1174 receiving yards.

They signed Austin Hooper, a tight end who has made two Pro Bowls and is coming off a career high 75 receptions with Atlanta last season, and former first round pick David Njoku, who missed most of last year with injuries, but caught 56 passes in ’18.

So, offensive talent is there, assuming the offensive line gels.

The defensive side of the football is still where the questions are, but when you start with Myles Garrett at defensive end, that’s a good thing. And you have Denzel Ward at cornerback, who still had excellent grades from Pro Football Focus on his cover skills, although many people thought he had kind of a down year.

With this talent, why should the brass be conservative? Because this group of players doesn’t know how to win just yet. They haven’t done it, and without a doubt it’s a learned skill.

That’s the biggest challenge the coaching staff has this upcoming season, teaching the way to win. And the biggest thing that will help is getting some wins early in the season.

There is no doubt in our minds that had the Browns had an easier schedule early in the year, it would have made a difference. Look at Buffalo’s season in 2019–they opened with the Jets, Giants, and Bengals, going 3-0, before losing a close one to New England, 16-10.

They started to believe in themselves, went 10-6 and made the playoffs.

That’s why despite the talent, the front office and head coach aren’t making any bold proclamations about this season. Learning to win is the first lesson the Browns need to grasp.

Passing League? Browns Should Emphasize The Run.

It has been well documented over the past decade or so that the NFL is a passing league.

The game has been dominated by Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and more recently Patrick Mahomes, and their expertise in finding open receivers down the gridiron.

However, is the pendulum starting to swing back to the running game? And if so, is that another reason the Browns made the correct hire in Kevin Stefanski, and will he be able to maximize the talents of Nick Chubb (second in the NFL in rushing last season) and Kareem Hunt (former NFL rushing champion)?

Let’s look at the best running teams in the league last year–

Baltimore (14-2)
San Francisco (13-3, and Super Bowl participant)
Tennessee (9-7, played in AFC Championship Game)
Seattle (11-5)
Dallas (8-8)
Minnesota (10-6)
Indianapolis (7-9)
Buffalo (10-6)
Houston (10-6)
Arizona (5-10-1)

That’s seven of the 12 teams that advanced to the playoffs a year ago, and eight of the top ten had non-losing records.

Now, let’s look at the five worst running teams in the NFL:

1. Miami (5-11)
2. New York Jets (7-9)
3. Atlanta (7-9)
4. Pittsburgh (8-8)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (5-11)

No winning teams. Now, we understand some people will say those teams were behind a lot and so they were forced to throw the football, and that is true to some extent.

However, so is a statement made many, many years ago–If you can’t run the ball, and you can’t stop the run, it is difficult to win in the National Football League.

One of the things that didn’t make sense with the Browns’ offense a year ago, is they ranked fifth in the league in yards per rushing attempt, which makes sense since Chubb is on their roster.

Unfortunately, Cleveland ranked 22nd in the league in trying to run the ball. Remember, Hunt was active for the second half of the year, meaning coach Freddie Kitchens and offensive coordinator Todd Monken had two elite runners at their disposal.

So, the many fans who railed week in and week out about the ignorance of the running game were smarter than the people who were actually making decisions on a weekly basis.

Enter Stefanski. Notice the team he was the offensive coordinator for in 2019, the Vikings, ranked 6th in the NFL in rushing yardage, and also ranked fourth in rushing attempts.

Any questions on what will be the focus of the Browns’ offense this upcoming season?

The Browns ranked 19th in passing attempts last season, despite their 29th ranking in passing efficiency. Minnesota had the 6th best efficiency rating, but only two teams, Tennessee and Baltimore, threw the ball less often.

The only possible problem is Stefanski’s inexperience as a head coach, so you have to question will he give in to the constant carping from his wide receivers and outside the building to air it out and get the ball in the hands of Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry.

Our guess is Stefanski is already selling his receivers on the additional big plays they can make after establishing a run game. Would they rather catch seven passes for 85 yards or catch five for 120 yards, or something to that effect?

Baker Mayfield looked very good in the play-action game in his rookie year, and we bet Stefanski will put that skill to good use this fall.

As for stopping the run? That’s something new defensive coordinator Joe Woods has to work on. The Browns were third worst in the NFL a year ago, and if you can’t put opponents in unfavorable down and distance situations, your best players (Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward) can’t do what they do best.

Should Be Optimism Only For The Browns.

We understand what defense mechanisms are and how they work. Even if we hadn’t learned them in our school days, we would know by how football fans in Cleveland behave.

Listening to sports talk radio in town (and yes, we also know that’s a dicey proposition), we are surprised by the number of Browns’ fans who have talked themselves out of expecting the playoffs, or at least a playoff contender in 2020.

Cleveland won five of its last seven games in 2018 to finish 7-8-1 and had a small chance to make the playoffs had it won their last game against Baltimore. Baker Mayfield set an NFL record for most touchdown passes by a rookie.

At this time a year ago, fans were jacked up about the upcoming season, especially after the trade that brought All Pro wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to Cleveland.

Nothing could stop the Browns.

Except they had tons of dysfunction behind the scenes. Their general manager hired an offensive coordinator that brought in a system that clashed with what worked the year prior.

The addition of Beckham seems to have made everyone in the organization, including Mayfield, think the ball should be thrown to him every play, including those where he was tightly covered.

Basically, John Dorsey seemed to do everything to make sure everyone was NOT on the same page as the team was when they had a very good second half of the season in 2018.

He also ignored the offensive line, in fact, he traded one of the best on the team, if not the league, when he moved Kevin Zeitler to New York for Beckham.

And in typical Browns fashion, everyone paid for it by losing their jobs after the ’19 season.

So, the Browns have a new head coach, a new GM, a new offensive coordinator, and yet people still think they will operate the same as they did a year ago?

To us, here is where Paul DePodesta comes in. He was here for the teardown of the franchise by Sashi Brown, and saw the conflict between Brown and Hue Jackson. Then Dorsey came in and he clashed with Jackson too, and then tried to accelerate the plan by bringing in “stars” instead of people who fit.

DePodesta saw the conflict between Dorsey, the head coach he picked in Freddie Kitchens, and the offensive coordinator who wasn’t a good fit with Kitchens, and the chaos that ensued.

That’s why he emphasized a singular direction for the Cleveland Browns. He liked Kevin Stefanski when he interviewed him the year prior, and saw Andrew Berry and Stefanski got along at that time.

He saw the Browns have success as a running team in the second half of ’18, and the new head coach likes to run the football too. He will emphasize the team’s best offensive player, Nick Chubb, and a former NFL rushing champ in Kareem Hunt.

Could it all go to hell? It’s the NFL and anything can happen. But it appears that none of the upheaval surrounding last year’s circus should occur in 2020.

The Browns had talent, particularly on the offensive side of the football a year ago, and they still have it. It looks like this year, the coaching staff will use it properly and efficiently.

We understand the recent history of the Browns and get why people are pessimistic. But if they feel Kitchens was the problem last season, then that obstacle has been removed.

A winning team should be expected, and with some luck, so should the playoffs. Fans need to stop inventing reasons why the Browns can’t win.

Why Do People Keep Moving The Bar For Browns?

Based on recent history, the Cleveland Browns don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt on anything they do.

It’s been 12 seasons (2007) since the team finished over the .500 mark. Out of those dozen years, 10 of them have resulted in 10 or more losses, with only the 7-9 campaign in 2014, and 2018’s 7-8-1 mark being exceptions.

So, we can understand the feeling that no matter what the Browns do, it’s the wrong decision.

However, that shouldn’t be a reason to look at the new organization set up as bad either. While we get the cynicism, let’s all take a deep breath.

It seems most of the football fans in Cleveland got enamored with the prospect of Josh McDaniels being the head coach with one of his friends from New England becoming the general manager.

There were a ton of people who thought this was a done deal, and be the cure-all for what has been ailing the Browns for the past 20 years.

When that didn’t happen, anything Jimmy Haslam and Paul DePodesta did was going to be a failure. Again, we understand that those two are reaping what they sowed, but it isn’t fair to the people they did hire, coach Kevin Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry.

All the criticism is in the name of the feared word: ANALYTICS!!!

Forget that Berry was a scout for six years while working for the Indianapolis Colts and then was vice president of personnel for the Browns from 2016 to 2018. People act like he was some accountant crunching the cost of concessions at First Energy Stadium and the Browns put him in charge.

What the Browns really want is a group of people who can work together. DePodesta liked Stefanski during the interviews for the head coaching position a year ago, so apparently they get along.

Berry was still with the Browns when those interviews were going on last year, and it has been reported that the new GM and the new coach shared common ideas.

There shouldn’t be any butting heads among this trio, and when was the last time we heard about that in Berea.

Also, let’s also get rid of the notion that John Dorsey didn’t make any bad draft choices or questionable personnel decisions.

While he hit on Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward, and Nick Chubb in 2018, he also picked Chad Thomas in round three, and Antonio Callaway in the 4th. And picking Austin Corbett with the 33rd overall selection was a big whiff.

Meanwhile, while Berry was here, Cleveland selected Larry Ogunjobi and Joe Schobert, while Emmanuel Ogbah (5.5 sacks with KC this season) and Carl Nassib (6 sacks with Tampa in ’19) are productive football players jettisoned by Dorsey.

And don’t forget WR Rashard Higgins was in the 2016 class as well.

The fear here is what happens if or when something doesn’t go as planned. For example, a 7-9 or worse season in 2020. Then what happens?

Hopefully, the ownership can control themselves from getting rid of this group and starting over again. Right now, that has to be a concern until proven otherwise.

Or what happens if someone outside the organization tells the Haslams something and they believe this is a better way to reach the playoffs. That’s another thing that has been a problem in the past.

Let this group do their job and stop pining for something or someone fans thought was going to be the fix to the problems of the Cleveland Browns. That’s not fear to DePodesta, Stefanski, and Berry.