Tag: maliek collins

Sanders Wins His Debut, Garrett Was The Star Again

We never criticize any team for beating a bad team. Our usual response when someone pooh-poohs a win like the Browns had over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday is asking that person if they would rather have their team lose?

Of course not. The Raiders are a mess right now and the Browns’ defense put on an incredible show and the offense, led by rookie Shedeur Sanders contributed enough big plays to end a road losing streak for Cleveland with a 24-10 victory.

Yes, the Raiders did have 268 yards of total offense, just two less than the Browns, but make no mistake, the Cleveland defense dominated this game, recording 10 sacks, three by the incredible Myles Garrett and 2.5 from Maliek Collins.

Garrett appears to be on his way to the NFL record for most sacks in a season, which is 22.5. He now has 18 with six games remaining. Incredibly, he has 13 in his last four games. There is no question he is the best defensive player in the history of the franchise and should also win his second Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Offensively, the Browns did enough. They had the splash plays that were missing all season long. Sanders’ three longest completions, the 66-yard touchdown on a screen pass to Dylan Sampson, the rollout toss of 52 yards to Isaiah Bond, and the 39 yarder to Jerry Jeudy, which he fumbled, were the three longest pass plays of the season for Cleveland.

There is something to be said for that.

All in all, Sanders was fine, completing 11 of 20 for 209 yards with an interception. In his appearance against Baltimore and in the preseason, he had issues retreating in the pocket when he was pressured, but as we recall, he did that only once in his first start. That has to be considered progress.

Moreso, he looked like an NFL quarterback. He has more size and a better arm than Dillon Gabriel, and although we feel the most important thing for a QB is the ability to read defenses, those things matter too.

We know Kevin Stefanski didn’t name a starter yet for next week against the 49ers, but logically, it should be Sanders getting another shot, and this time it will be against a good team.

The Browns have a playoff defense, and we think it doesn’t reflect well on the front office that all of the best players are on the defensive side of the ball. Look at Cincinnati, who seemingly put all their resources on the offense. Guess what? Their record is the same as the Browns at 3-8.

Why Andrew Berry decided to do this should also be brought into question. You can’t be successful just being good at one thing in any sport. Going back to Garrett, think about the narrative if Cleveland was 7-4 right now? He would be a league MVP candidate for sure.

And let’s not forget Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit. Ward is a perennial Pro Bowl player and has been in just three playoff games and he will be 29 next season. Will he still be a productive player when the Browns are playoff contenders again?

We know in the NFL things can change quickly, but we have also said with all of the holes on offense, can the Browns be a team that gets back to winning as early as next season.

And that’s the biggest question surrounding this franchise.

Somehow, The Browns Pull Out A Win

The Cleveland Browns pulled a rabbit out of a hat Sunday and upset the Green Bay Packers 13-10 when Andre Szmyt made a 55-yard field goal as time expired.

The 0-6 start that many people predicted for the Browns won’t happen. But we think we speak for everyone in saying that halfway through the fourth quarter, we figured Kevin Stefanski’s crew was not only going to lose, but they were going to be shutout.

The offense took advantage of some penalties and got the ball to the Green Bay one with five minutes to go but got pushed back and had to settle for Szmyt’s first field goal. We imagine fans all over northeast Ohio were shaking their collective heads when the first down play was a rollout pass to reverse offensive lineman Luke Wypler.

Another instance of Stefanski trying to get too cute.

But an ill-advised pass by Jordan Love resulted in the Browns’ first turnover of the year, an interception by Grant Delpit and this time Cleveland punched it in to tie the game.

Then, a contribution by the special teams. Shelby Harris blocked a field goal with :21 left on the clock and gave the Browns one last chance.

There was great execution on a short pass to David Njoku, not in the play design, but in getting the offensive line back to the line of scrimmage so Joe Flacco could kill the clock and leave time for Szmyt’s heroics.

Unbelieveable

The reality about this football team is as long as they stay relatively healthy, the defense is going keep this team in games. It’s that good. Green Bay put up 266 and 404 yards in their first two games, both wins, but picked up 230 yards against Cleveland.

Cleveland’s defense had five sacks, as the Packers went into the game refusing to let Myles Garrett ruin their offense, and that created opportunities for everyone else.

Maliek Collins had a sack and a half, Alex Wright had one, Garrett and rookie Adin Huntington shared one, and the rookies also shined.

Carson Schwesinger continues to impress. He got his first sack and was in on 10 tackles. Mason Graham teamed up with Collins on a sack. And the defense allowed just 81 yards on the ground.

Right now, you can make the case they are the best defense in the league. And they haven’t faced any opponents that didn’t have solid, if not, high powered attacks.

Another rookie, RB Quinshon Judkins was a key in the fourth quarter, ripping off a 38-yard run in route to gaining 94 yards on the day.

The offensive line still appears to be a concern. Dawand Jones left the game in the first quarter and Jack Conklin missed the game again, so most of the way, the Browns were playing with Cornelius Lucas and KT Leveston were playing outside.

Flacco heard boos during the game as the Browns couldn’t muster much of an offense, maybe due to the offensive line play, and maybe because Stefanski has preached not putting the ball in harms’ way.

Right now, he is checking down virtually every pass play. The longest pass plays were a 17-yard toss to Jerry Jeudy and another to Isaiah Bond. There was a 13-yard play to Harold Fannin Jr., where he basically carried defenders to get that much yardage.

If we were defending the Browns, we would put nine in the box to stop Judkins and dare Flacco to air it out. And if defenses do that, it makes it difficult for Stefanski to establish the ground game.

However, a win is a win. The gauntlet doesn’t get any easier with a visit to Detroit, another high-powered offense next week.