Tag: malachi corley

Special Teams Just One Problem For The Browns

A few weeks ago, after another loss, there was a discussion about accountability and as an organization, do the Cleveland Browns have it? We are sure that talk will be raised again after a 26-8 loss to the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday.

The Browns are now 3-9 this season and since they made the playoffs in 2023, they have lost 23 of their last 29 contests.

The special teams have been a problem all season and have cost the Browns football games. There was a missed field goal in the opener. A blocked punt in week two against Baltimore. Two kick returns for touchdowns in a loss to the Jets. And then more problems against the Niners.

A 66-yard punt return set up the first San Francisco touchdown. There were two fumbled punts by Gage Larvadain, the latter, which was recovered by the 49ers, setting up a short field for the last TD for the winners.

And perhaps the worst gaffe was Malachi Corley fielding a kickoff that was clearly headed out of bounds on the 6-yard-line right on the sideline. Instead of getting the ball on the 40, it was a self-imposed 34-yard penalty in reality.

So, it’s not just one bad game by the special teams, it’s been an issue all season, and even last year as well. Bubba Ventrone might be a solid football coach, and clearly what he is teaching his players isn’t getting through or he is unwilling to change personnel on his units. Either way, he shouldn’t be coaching for the Browns this weekend.

It’s easy to talk about firing coaches, but it’s difficult, after all, these are people. That’s why we don’t generally make knee-jerk reactions to take that action. But a change needs to be made.

Shedeur Sanders played okay, completing 16 of 25 passes for 149 yards and did not have a turnover on a challenging day to throw. The 49ers QB, Brock Purdy threw for only 168 yards, so guessing the wind was a factor.

On the other hand, the Browns only scored eight points. The fact is simply this. The Browns have only scored more than 17 points, a very reasonable number for any NFL team to put on the scoreboard, just three times this season. They only accomplished this four times last year, meaning in the last 29 contests, they’ve put up more than 17 just seven times.

Just this past week of games, 20 teams accomplished this. It’s just not that difficult.

The New York Jets aren’t a good team, right? They put up more than 17 points in seven games this year! Tennessee is 1-11 and they’ve scored more than 17 five times. The 2-11 Giants? Nine times.

We get the offense has weaknesses. The tackle situation is just a mess. They have one solid running back. The best pass catchers are tight ends. But you should be able to put together something to score 20 points.

We think Stefanski has overcorrected. Last year, the Browns turned the ball over way too much, so this year, he’s coaching to not turn it over. And that in turn means not taking any risks. And as Bruce Arians used to say, “no risk it, no biscuit”.

The reason the Browns don’t score more than 17 points is they are coached not to score more than 17 points. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

And Andrew Berry shares the blame because while he has stacked the defense, he’s ignored the offense. You can’t be strong on just one side of the football and expect to win consistently.

Will there be a coaching change after the season? With this organization, who can be sure. But running it back with this staff and front office next season seems to be a poor choice.

And wasting two years of an elite defense just adds salt to the wound.

Browns’ Offense Is Simply Impotent

Another week, another horrific offensive performance from the Cleveland Browns.

A week after scoring 31 points (with the help of a defensive touchdown and a turnover which gave the offense the ball on the 3-yard line), the mediocre threshold of 17 points wasn’t met again Sunday in a 32-13 loss to the New England Patriots.

Keep in mind, the Browns drove down the field on their first possession, so after that first drive, they scored all of six points.

The terrible offense overshadowed a tremendous game from the best defensive player in the history of the franchise, Myles Garrett, who had five sacks on the day.

And for younger fans/readers, from 1946-1972, the Cleveland Browns were one of the NFL’s crown jewels. Go to Canton and visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There are plenty of Cleveland Browns enshrined there.

Actually, we would rather talk about that than the mess that is the Cleveland offense.

There is plenty of blame to go around. The popular thing is to blame rookie QB Dillon Gabriel, but the average NFL team gain 328 yards per game. The Browns haven’t reached that total in any contest in 2025, and both Joe Flacco and Gabriel have both played four contests

New England gained 422 yards on Sunday against a very good Cleveland defense. The last time a Browns’ offense did that was the Monday night game in Denver last season when they gained 552. Jameis Winston was the QB in that game.

We get all the reasons. The offensive line, particularly the tackles are simply terrible. The pocket gets collapsed all the time, and as a result, coach Kevin Stefanski calls a lot of very short throws, so his quarterback doesn’t get killed.

Running the ball would help, but since the Browns cannot throw the ball over 10 yards with any success, opposing defense simply stack the box, putting nine or ten defenders near the line of scrimmage.

So, perhaps the best weapon the team has, rookie RB Quinshon Judkins, is basically running with his feet tied together.

The wide receivers, at least the ones who are playing, can’t seem to get open. The Browns’ best wide out, Jerry Jeudy, was targeted just twice, catching neither. Isaiah Bond was targeted four times, also with no connections.

Bond seems to get a lot of playing time because the front office feels it stole him after the draft as an undrafted free agent. He has just 11 catches on the year, one more than Jamari Thrash. Bond has 30 targets this year. Thrash has 14.

Malachi Corley has had a couple of big plays this year, notably a 31-yard run on a reverse on Sunday, but he was on the field for just four plays on Sunday.

We also have to talk about Gabriel whose main ability to date has been taking care of the football, and Sunday, he didn’t do that, throwing two interceptions.

He doesn’t seem to have the arm strength to throw downfield, although again to be fair, there aren’t a lot of play calls for him to do that, probably because of protection issues.

We understand the game has changed, but we still like a quarterback who is taller, mostly plays from the pocket and has enough zip on his throws. It is tough for guys like Gabriel, Kyler Murray, and Bryce Young to play week to week in the NFL.

Have the latter two have some success? Yes, but they aren’t consistent and have issues staying on the field.

But the Browns have painted themselves into a corner where they don’t have a veteran option right now. Another mark against the front office.

It’s two weeks before a game with the Jets, who happen to have a worse record than the Browns. Something has to change, but we aren’t sure what the Browns can do.

We have advocated finding offensive linemen off other team’s practice squad, but there have been no moves like that the last two weeks. You have to question what Andrew Berry is looking at?