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.

The Beckham Dilemma

Odell Beckham Jr. might be the most talented wide receiver in the NFL. He has speed, tremendous hands, and was the 12th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.

He has played six years in the league, and in five of them, had over 1000 yards receiving. The only year he didn’t accomplish this milestone was 2017, when he played only four games due to injuries.

He came to the Browns this season in a deal which sent guard Kevin Zeitler, safety Julius Peppers, and a first round draft pick to the New York Giants. Cleveland also received DE Olivier Vernon in the transaction.

Yet, there are plenty of people in Cleveland who wouldn’t mind saying goodbye to the one time All Pro wide out after his first year with the Browns.

Looking at the numbers, there is no question Beckham’s career in on a downward path. He blaming Eli Manning for his declining stats while in New York, but his numbers dropped again playing with Baker Mayfield and the Browns.

His lowest receiving yardage was in 2019 in Cleveland.

After averaging 96 catches and 1374 yards in his first three years in the NFL, the last two complete seasons in the league have yielded an average of 76 receptions and 1044 yards.

That’s quite a drop-off, and you have to wonder did the broken ankle suffered in 2017 with the Giants take that much away from his game?

If so, that’s unfortunate. Since being drafted, only one wide receiver picked that year has caught more passes (Jarvis Landry) and only one has more receiving yards (Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans). That’ the kind of talent we are talking about.

Or is it his dedication to the sport where he gained his fame.

From wearing a watch during the season opener vs. Tennessee, to wearing the wrong visor in a game, to wearing a pair of shoes not permitted by the NFL’s dress code, you have to wonder what Beckham’s primary goal is right now?

And if we were Paul DePodesta, whoever the new GM will be, and Kevin Stefanski, that’s what we need to know.

Does Beckham want to be the best at his position in football, win a Super Bowl, and eventually get a gold jacket, or does he want to be just another famous athlete?

The incident at the National Championship game was just another attempt to make himself the center of attention, which should have gone to the players on LSU’s title team.

If the ankle injury did take its toll on his body, and he can no longer be someone who dominates at the wide receiver spot, then there isn’t much that can be done. The Browns traded a precious first round pick for someone who isn’t even the best wide receiver on the team.

Because right now, that’s Landry, who 83 balls for a career high 1174 yards in 2019.

A dedicated and healthy (and we might say a top fit) Beckham that can catch close to 100 passes in a season can be a huge part of Stefanski’s offense. The player we saw in ’19, who never seemed to be on the same page as the QB, and had to be told where to line up, even in the later stages of the season, well, we don’t know.

That latter guy is more of a distraction than an asset, and if there is one thing the Cleveland Browns don’t need is a player who takes away from the focus of winning football games.

That’s the decision Odell Beckham Jr. needs to make this season, and so does the Browns’ front office.

Browns Make A Trade And Use Patience

The legal tampering period in the NFL started yesterday, so the NFL rumors will start flying around over the next couple of days.

The Browns did make a move ahead of the league’s new year, trading guard Kevin Zeitler to the New York Giants for pass rusher Olivier Vernon.

We will spare you the whole “trust in Dorsey” stuff, but we will say we do believe the Browns have a pretty good idea of what they have in last year’s second round pick Austin Corbett, and wouldn’t have made the deal without a staunch belief he will be more than a adequate replacement for Zeitler.

Remember, Corbett was a few picks away from being a first rounder last season.

As for Vernon, our opinion defensively is the same as former Browns executive Ernie Accorsi, who said the most important positions on the field are quarterback, and guys who can get to the quarterback.

That means you can never have enough pass rushers, and the Browns needed someone opposite Myles Garrett, who could pressure opposing passers.

Vernon had 22 sacks in his 39 games with the Giants. Contrast that to Emmanuel Ogbah, who has had 12.5 sacks in his three year career, spanning 40 games, with the Browns.

Ogbah’s high total in sacks for a season was 5.5 in his rookie year, the season he played without Garrett as his bookend. We are sure Dorsey and the coaching staff didn’t love that Ogbah didn’t make opponents pay for double teaming the former first overall pick.

It’s a risky deal because Zeitler is a quality player, but the Browns had a replacement for him on the roster, and used a strength to fill a weakness. We wish other teams who play in Cleveland would do the same thing.

Outside of pass rushers, the other thing good defenses can’t have enough of is cornerbacks, and that’s an area we believe Dorsey will continue to build on in the off-season.

We wouldn’t be surprised if a corner was drafted in either the first or second round in the upcoming draft, nor would it be a shock to see one signed in free agency, perhaps Steven Nelson, who played with Kansas City (Dorsey factor) last season.

With the release of TE Darren Fells, no doubt a tight end will be sought too. Fells is 33, and we know Dorsey prefers younger players who still have an upside.

It’s hard to believe with all of the two tight end sets the Browns use, they will go into the season with just David Njoku, Seth DeValve, and Orson Charles, who really played H-back, on the roster.

We also believe the team knows they need to upgrade the defensive tackle position. Larry Ogunjobi needs someone next to him who will make offenses pay for double teaming him too. Today’s signing of Sheldon Richardson will help there too.

Remember, when Dorsey strikes, there aren’t a lot of rumors attached signaling a move. That’s how he operates.

We do believe the general manager at his word that the Browns won’t go crazy in free agency, but we do feel he will make two or three solid roster additions in this market.

The organization isn’t going to go “all in”, but they know the time to take the playoffs has arrived. That will drive the GM’s aggressiveness.

What Have We Learned About Browns Thus Far?

The Cleveland Browns have played two exhibition games, this means the “dress rehearsal”, which is what the third practice game has been called will take place Thursday night, against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Unfortunately, that’s really no longer the case, the starters usually only play maybe a half of the penultimate exhibition game any more.

What have we learned, if anything, about this year’s edition of the brown and orange.

The Browns have professional play at quarterback. Compared to last year’s forcing of rookie DeShone Kizer, who made a ridiculous amount of mistakes, with a pair of second year passers in Kevin Hogan and Cody Kessler as his backups, having Tyrod Taylor, Drew Stanton, and rookie Baker Mayfield as QB’s is a monster upgrade.

We understand and support the decision to start Taylor. After all, when you are 1-31 over the last two seasons, there is no reason watch a rookie go through growing pains in regular season games.

That said, it would be nice to see Mayfield get some time with the starters, against the Eagles’ first team defense. That’s the next step in seeing how the first overall pick has developed thus far.

We have also learned that Todd Haley won’t abandon the running game. Last season, Hue Jackson would tell everyone every week that he wanted to run the ball, and when they feel behind in the first half!, he would start throwing the ball on virtually every play.

Haley came out Friday night running and Carlos Hyde gashed the Buffalo defense. However, what we more telling was staying with the run in the opener even though it wasn’t really successful. That was a good thing to see.

Remember, the Browns are still missing starting guard Kevin Zeitler, who hopes to be ready for the Steelers in week one.

Defensively, the Browns’ first unit looks to be the real deal, and if that’s true, it is amazing how having solid play at cornerback makes a defense look a heck of a lot better.

We have always believed you should learn from history, and the Browns’ best stretch in the last 35 years was fueled by having Hanford Dixon and Frank Minniefield at the corners.

This isn’t to say Denzel Ward and Terrance Mitchell are the caliber of the leaders of the “Dawg Pound”, but it makes stopping the run easier and it will make Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah better pass rushers.

GM John Dorsey must believe cornerbacks are similar to pitchers in baseball, when you think you have enough, you go out and get some more. We agree. In today’s NFL, slowing down the passing game is paramount. That’s why pass rushers and corners are at a premium.

The one problem we still see is depth, which is understandable for a young football team. We see a tremendous upgrade in talent on the first unit, both because of Dorsey’s acquisitions and the development of the draft picks from the previous two drafts.

However, there seems to be a big drop off when the subs play. Again, that’s natural, the Browns are still building, but it does mean we will probably see a lot of roster changes when the teams around the NFL cut down to the 53 man limit.