Browns In A Meaningful December

It is December, and the Cleveland Browns are still in a playoff race.

That seemed impossible after a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers dropped the Browns record to 2-5-1, and raised the Steelers mark to 4-2-1. When Pittsburgh won the next three to jump to 7-2-1, it made the prospect even more remote.

But Jimmy Haslam and GM John Dorsey let Hue Jackson go after that game, and since, the Browns are 3-2, while the Steelers have dropped three straight, and have games the next two weeks with New England and New Orleans.

It’s still a tremendous long shot, but for the first time since 2014, the Browns are playing meaningful football in December.

Whether or not it will continue beyond this weekend will depend on what the Browns do this weekend against Denver, a very difficult place to play.

The Broncos are just 3-3 at home this season, but their losses are to the Chiefs (11-2), the Rams (11-2), and the Texans (9-4). A win there by Cleveland would be very impressive indeed.

It would also set the team up very nicely for a week 17 game with meaning. There is no doubt the Browns will be favored at home the weekend before Christmas against Cincinnati.

And wins in the next two contests would put Gregg Williams’ team at 7-7-1 heading into the season finale, on the road against Baltimore.

For a team that came into the season with one win in the last two years, that’s very exciting.

Again, it’s a long shot. The Browns could very well lose in Colorado this weekend, and drop the season finale and end up at 6-9-1, which again would be a tremendous accomplishment given the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

The reason for the hope is not just Baker Mayfield, although he is the chief one. But Cleveland has exciting players all over the field.

It’s fun to watch Nick Chubb run the ball, to see Myles Garrett go after the quarterback, and to see the toughness of Jarvis Landry and Demarious Randall.

Sundays are fun again. And that’s a breath of fresh air.

But back to Mayfield. After the Panthers marched right down the field on the game’s opening drive, there were no worries at all. That’s what having a quarterback does for you.

When the Browns have poor down and distance situation now, we don’t dread it, instead we wonder if Mayfield can make a play to keep the drive going.

We have a QB who can throw the long pass, can beat the blitz by hitting the hot receivers, and can put the touch on the ball to get it over a linebacker and into the hands of his teammates.

When was the last time we had a signal caller that gave fans that kind of confidence?

This isn’t to say we are elevating Mayfield to top ten quarterback in the league status, he’s started just ten games in the NFL. We’ve seen other young quarterbacks (Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston for example) come into the league and have people proclaiming them as the league’s next best things.

However, we have to say, that there aren’t many young QBs we would take over Mayfield. Perhaps just Patrick Mahomes and Carson Wentz.

Again, we may think differently next year. But, the future of Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns look very bright. Maybe even pre-expansion team bright.

Browns Youth Shows Up Vs. Texans

Any chance, however how remote, the Cleveland Browns had of making the playoffs went away after Sunday’s 29-13 loss to the Houston Texans.

The Browns dropped to 4-7-1 on the season as the Texans won their ninth straight contest. Cleveland took a step up in class after beating Atlanta and Cincinnati, and failed the test. Houston looked like a team that could have some success in the playoffs against Gregg Williams’ squad.

The Browns have played a number of the top teams in the NFL this season: New Orleans, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles Chargers, and Houston. The Texans rank right up there with Kansas City and the Chargers as the toughest foes for the Browns.

We are sure there will be those complaining about Baker Mayfield’s performance in the game, but to us, it was just a reminder that last year’s Heisman Trophy winner is a rookie. He hasn’t played like it for, really, most of the season, but he still has played only 10 NFL games.

It was a learning experience, and our guess is Mayfield will learn from it, and be better this Sunday at home against the Panthers.

Think about how few games many of the best players on the roster have played in the league. Besides Mayfield, Myles Garrett, Nick Chubb, Denzel Ward, David Njoku, and Larry Ogunjobi have all played less than two complete seasons in the league.

And we would bet at least two of those players will be Pro Bowl selections this season.

As for Garrett, we can’t believe some fans are disappointed in last year’s first overall selection in the draft.

He’s second in the NFL in sacks this season, for cryin’ out loud!

We think there are some fans who think Garrett should sack the opposing quarterback on every certain passing down. It just doesn’t work that way.

Garrett commands double teams and opposing offensive coordinators make sure they know where is at on every down. Believe us, they are aware of him.

Since sacks started being tracked as a statistic in the NFL in 1982, the Browns all time leader is Clay Matthews with 62, followed by Michael Dean Perry with 51-1/2.

If Garrett gets four more before the end of this season, he would join the top ten all time for the Browns, tying Kennard Lang and Jamir Miller.

In two years!

Barring injury, he is going to be one of the cornerstones for this franchise as they move into playoff contention.

With four games left in the season, and none of them against the class of this year’s NFL, the Browns have a very good chance to finish the season 6-9-1 or even 7-8-1.

This week’s opponent, Carolina, is reeling with four straight losses and is 1-4 on the road.

Traveling to Denver is always tough, even if the Broncos are 6-6. They have won three in a row.

Then come divisional games against Cincinnati at home, and the non-passing Ravens in the season finale. Andy Dalton is done for the year, getting hurt last week against the Browns, and although Baltimore is a playoff team right now, it will be interesting to see how the league adjusts to the Lamar Jackson experiment.

Six or seven wins coming off a winless season would be phenomenal improvement, and so would not finishing last, which is also very possible.

On the other hand, it’s tough to gauge how this young football team will handle, what for many, is their first 16 game schedule.

For the first time in a while, the last four games should be interesting to watch, at least from a developmental standpoint.

Browns Giving Themselves A Chance To Win, Need To Cash In.

The Cleveland Browns have played 25% of their schedule and hit the quarter pole with a 1-2-1 record.

That doesn’t seem much different from past seasons, but this year has a very different feel to it.

Last year, the Browns were 0-4 (obviously, they went 0-16), and outside of the first game of the season against the Steelers, Hue Jackson’s squad fell behind early and tried to climb back into the game (with the exception of Week 4 vs. Cincinnati).

In 2016, it was better. The Browns were in all four games to open that season, and should have defeated Miami if not for kicking woes (sound familiar?).

However, last season, the quarterback was DeShone Kizer and his traveling turnover show, and in ’16 Robert Griffin III was injured in the opener and was replaced by the local media’s favorite, Josh McCown.

Now, Jackson has turned over the keys to Baker Mayfield, and suddenly there is hope on the horizon.

We have heard the criticism of Mayfield’s four turnovers last Sunday, but there is no question the good he did outweighed the bad.

How about the throw to Darren Fells for a 49-yard touchdown, or the fade to Jarvis Landry for another score. For that matter, when was the last time the Browns used a fade pattern and it worked?

And the strike over the middle to Antonio Callaway was beautiful too. Yes, he was wide open, but Mayfield hit him in stride and he took it to the 1 yard line.

This year’s team has had a legitimate chance to win every game. Two games have went to overtime, one ended in a tie, the other in a loss. Cleveland had the lead against New Orleans with two minutes to go.

We fully support the Bill Parcells theory of your record is what it says it is, but after two seasons with very few good shots at winning, forgive us if we can’t help but be encouraged.

The defense has created turnovers, 13 of them to be exact. By the way, last year’s Browns created that many for the entire season.

Myles Garrett is becoming one of the NFL’s best pass rushers, and another first round pick, Denzel Ward is becoming a shutdown cornerback. You didn’t hear Ward’s name too often last Sunday because Derek Carr was trying to avoid him.

We get that people want to see more of rookie Nick Chubb at running back, but it isn’t as though Carlos Hyde has been bad. He ranks 5th in the NFL in rushing to date.

Still, Chubb should get more opportunities because as he showed Sunday, he can be explosive. Also, his carries will keep Hyde fresh for the end of the season.

Landry is a Pro Bowl wide receiver, Joe Schobert is a Pro Bowl linebacker.

The point is there is talent on this roster, and it’s not just people that Browns’ fans think highly of. People around the NFL respect the young players on the roster here.

Now they have to win. And winning is something you learn. Make no mistake though, it is no longer a talent issue.

If the Browns can’t start converting some of these efforts into wins, we doubt Hue Jackson will be here in 2019. That’s not a threatening thing, it’s just that the NFL is a result business.

Browns Get Robbed In Oakland.

If you read this site regularly, you know we are not nor ever have been a fan of the way the NFL is officiated.

We have claimed for years that the NFL officials are the worst in professional sports, and today’s Browns-Raiders games demonstrated exactly why we think that.

Did they Browns play great today? No. Did the defense give up a boatload of big plays in the second half and overtime? Yes.

However, late in the game the Browns did enough to salt this game away and denied a victory on the road because of the officiating.

First, a play in the fourth quarter when Myles Garrett and Genard Avery sacked Raiders’ QB Derek Carr, and it was clear that the ball popped out immediately after the Cleveland defenders hit him.

Larry Ogunjobi was picking up the ball to start running toward the end zone as the whistle blew. The call was Carr was in the grasp and the play was blown dead. Blown dead without the ball being in anyone’s control.

Later, with less than two minutes to go, the Browns stopped the Raiders on downs and took control of the ball on the Oakland nine yard line.

Three running plays to force the Raiders to use their timeouts were used, and the third one appeared to give Cleveland a first down, which would have allowed the Browns to run out the clock.

We thought it was a bad spot in the Raiders’ favor to begin with, but the measurement gave Cleveland the first down anyway.

But a review of the play moved the spot back further and forced the Browns to punt.

Our understanding of the rule, is there has to be irrefutable evidence to change the call on the field. We were not shown any evidence on the broadcast.

Even former the former NFL officiating supervisor, Dean Blandino, was on the FOX telecast, couldn’t believe the call was overturned.

Given another chance, the Raiders tied the game and forced overtime.

Just so we don’t come across as sour grapes, there was other calls in favor of the Browns which were terrible.

The crew blew a whistle early on a run by Marshawn Lynch, costing the Raiders a long gain in the first half. And a terrible roughing the passer call gave the Browns a first down, also in the first half.

The problem is the consistency and a need by many crews to affect the game. Check the box scores every week and see how many games have more than 10 penalties called on each team.

One of the things that made the Browns-Jets game so fun to watch (besides the Browns finally winning) was there were only 11 penalties in the entire game.

Were there other things? Of course. The Browns’ receivers dropped a lot of passes, particularly in the first half.

They had a 28-14 lead, and had two critical turnovers which led to 20 unanswered points by Oakland, which gave them a 34-28 advantage.

Still, the Browns fought back and overcame this and should have won the game after turning back the Raiders at the goal line.

They lost the turnover battle for the first time this season, committing four, including a pick six in the first quarter, while forcing just two interceptions. Of course, they forced a fumble late too, but it was taken away.

All in all, the Browns have made football exciting again for fans in northeast Ohio. They are a competitive team.

The next test is at home against the Ravens next Sunday. For the first time in a while, it’s something to look forward to.

Victory, Sweet Victory!

Finally!

After 19 weeks of regular season NFL play, the Cleveland Browns finally picked up a victory with a 21-17 victory over the New York Jets at First Energy Stadium.

In typical Browns’ fashion, it wasn’t easy.

A combination of another special teams’ gaffe (allowing a blocked punt), terrible offensive line play (Tyrod Taylor was sacked four times by halftime), and terrible play by Taylor (he completed 4 of 14 passes for 19 yards), gave the Jets a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

We felt if the visitors got the next score of the game, the Browns would still be winless after three games in 2018.

But, Taylor was injured and had to be checked for a concussion, so in came the first overall pick in last year’s draft, QB Baker Mayfield.

The offense immediately got a shot in the arm, both in the air and on the ground. The offensive line got better, probably because Mayfield got the ball out quicker.

Mayfield wound up completing 17 of 23 passes for 201 yards and no turnovers. It appeared the rookie attacked the defense, throwing into tight windows, and moving the ball vertically.

His worst throw came when he fired one off a defender’s shoulder pads in the end zone when he didn’t see a safety over the middle.

He even caught a pass, the tying two point conversion play from Jarvis Landry on a flea-flicker, reminiscent of the play he scored on in the Rose Bowl.

The running game also got going, getting 133 yards on the ground on a four yards per carry average, as Carlos Hyde led the way with 98 yards on 23 carries.

Landry caught 8 balls for 103 yards, including an incredible catch to set up the Browns first touchdown. The guy’s hands are just incredible.

On the winning touchdown drive, the rookie was tremendous.

He hit Duke Johnson for a first down on a third and five for 15 yards. He hit fellow rookie Antonio Callaway for 10 yards on a 3rd and 10.

Those were big time throws, put exactly where they had to be.

Defensively, after the Jets scored their second TD with 7:59 remaining in the second quarter, they scored three points the rest of the contest.

Sam Darnold was held under 50%, completing 15 of 31 passes for only 169 yards, and after some big plays allowed in the running game early, New York had just 107 yards rushing, a 3.6 average per carry.

They forced three more turnovers, a forced fumble by rookie Denzel Ward, and picks by Joe Schobert and Terrance Mitchell, the latter which clinched the victory.

That’s 11 forced turnovers in the first three games. Last year, the Cleveland defense forced 13…for the entire season.

And Myles Garrett had two more sacks.

There is no question the Browns have some emerging stars on that side of the ball. Garrett and Ward will be the obvious names, but Schobert, Mitchell, and Larry Ogunjobi can’t be overlooked either.

Unfortunately, the special teams still continue to be unimpressive.

The penalties were down too, the Browns had just five last night, but that could be a product of the officiating crew. Some throw a lot of flags, some don’t.

With the win being on the Thursday night game, the Browns get a little extra time to celebrate. They will have a victory weekend.

They go to Oakland a week from Sunday, and have a chance to start, wait for it…a winning streak!

We all thought the Browns were an improved football team, and last night, they proved it.

The Mayfield era started earlier than expected, but you can’t turn back after his performance and the result of the game.

Some New Stuff, But Some Old Habits Return In Opening Browns’ Tie

Well, it wasn’t a loss.

And when you go through an 0-16 season a year ago, you should be happy with even a ray of sunshine, and that’s the best thing that can be said about the Browns’ opener today, a 21-21 tie against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That the Browns’ defense forced six turnovers and had four sacks of Ben Roethlisberger, and still only managed a tie is disappointing the say the least.

A year after being the worst team in the NFL in turnover differential, turning the ball over a whopping 41 times compared to just 13 takeaways, the Cleveland defense was a machine in terms of taking the ball away today.

Gregg Williams’ unit has three interceptions and three fumble recoveries, and the Cleveland offense turned it over just once, which after averaging over 2.5 per game a year ago, was a welcome sight. But more on that later.

This game was all but over with 7:49 left in the fourth quarter when the Browns were stopped on downs, trailing 21-7.

But Myles Garrett forced a fumble by James Conner, which was returned to the Steelers’ one by Jabril Peppers. One play later, the Browns were back in the contest at 21-14.

Garrett wasn’t finished. On the second play of the next drive, he forced another fumble during a sack of Roethlisberger, and this time Joe Schobert fell on it.

The offense didn’t convert that one, but after an exchange of punts, Tyrod Taylor hit Josh Gordon with a 17 yard touchdown pass and the game was tied.

Garrett had two sacks and two forced fumbles, rookie CB Denzel Ward had two interceptions.

Rookie Genard Avery should have won the game for the Browns by forcing another fumble late in overtime which Schobert returned inside the Pittsburgh five, and a block in the back penalty moved the ball back.

Two things which have been a Browns’ tradition did raise its ugly head. First, after tying the game at 7 in the third quarter with a great drive running the football, the defense allowed the Steelers to score in five plays.

That cannot continue to happen. You have to get stops after your team scores to keep momentum.

The special teams have been an issue over the years, and they were again today. A poor punt in overtime was forced when the Steelers penetrated pushing the blocker into Britton Colquitt, and the potential game winning field goal was blocked when the Pittsburgh line dominated Zane Gonzalez’ line.

They didn’t get much out of the return game either.

As for the offense, the rap on Taylor was he was cautious about turning the football over, something the Browns needed after last season. It seemed today like Taylor was holding the ball an inordinate amount of time, although we will excuse him today because of the weather conditions.

Let’s see how he does next week in a dome in New Orleans.

The QB did run the ball 8 times for 77 yards, making him the Browns’ leading rusher. That’s not something we want to see going forward.

Jarvis Landry caught 7 passes for 106 yards, but it seemed like long stretches where the offense ignored him. To be fair, they ignored Josh Gordon too, so again this might have been due to the rain.

The decision to start Desmond Harrison at left tackle should be criticized, whether it was Hue Jackson, Todd Haley, or line coach Bob Wylie. He didn’t play with the starters in the pre-season, and looked like he wasn’t ready today.

He may have a ton of potential, but offensive line play is cohesive, and let having him with the starters in a game until today showed. The line needs to get better, and get better as soon as next week.

So, it’s on to New Orleans, and the Saints will be fired up after losing to a perceived to be poor Tampa Bay team today.

Let’s hope there is improvement in the offense in week two.

Don’t Forget, Dorsey Is Human

Tonight, the newest edition of the Cleveland Browns take the field in an exhibition game (we refuse to call them pre-season) against the New York Giants.

We really aren’t going to pay attention to the final score (it doesn’t matter) or get overly enthusiastic about the performance of players because we don’t know how the two head coaches are playing the game.

That is to say, are they playing a vanilla defense (probably), how much will the starters play (not much), and are they forcing things for different players, mostly guys on the bubble, to see how they handle it?

Remember, the Cleveland Browns, 0-16 in the regular season in 2017, went 4-0 in exhibition games.

If that’s not Exhibit A in making the argument that these games don’t matter, then nothing is.

However, the Browns were in the news this past week, because of the debut of Hard Knocks on HBO, and because their wide receiving position came under scrutiny.

GM John Dorsey traded former first round pick WR Corey Coleman to Buffalo for a 7th round pick in 2019. We don’t understand this move at all, but our reaction to the media’s coverage was interesting.

Why not keep Coleman around during the exhibition season to see what he can do? Coleman battled injury issues in both of his seasons with the Browns, playing in just 19 of 32 games, catching 56 passes with five touchdowns.

Did he deserve his draft status? No, but to be fair, he’s been injured. We agree that availability is an ability, but it’s also not as though the Browns’ wide receiver room has a plethora of talented wide outs.

We don’t know what Coleman is like in the locker room, and for all we know, he’s a giant pain, which may be the reason he was moved early in training camp. But the fact that not many reporters really took task with the GM about the trade shows the sheep mentality of the people who cover the Browns.

We get the feeling that Dorsey could deal Myles Garrett for a fourth round pick and he would get support.

This isn’t an indictment on Dorsey, even though we didn’t like the move. However, Dorsey will make mistakes, and it is alright for the media to disagree with him.

Remember, many of them clamored for a “football guy”, and they got him. We guess that means they have to follow in lock step.

The GM’s gamble to draft WR Antonio Callaway may also be coming back to haunt. Callaway had a boatload of issues in his career at Florida, and had a diluted urine test at the NFL Combine.

No doubt he has a load of talent, but is he worth the potential headaches he might provide. The first headache is already here and we haven’t even played the first practice game.

Perhaps this will be the last time Callaway ever has a problem. However, it’s not a good look for a new GM trying to change the culture in Berea. The Browns have had a bunch of craziness at the wide receiver spot over the last several years. Jarvis Landry can change all that, Callaway continues the problem.

No matter, Baker Mayfield will probably play well tonight, and we can start the fans and media alike clamoring for him to play right away.

Don’t get hooked. The best thing for the first overall pick is to watch and learn. Somehow, we think logic won’t get in the way for the people who watch.

Presence Of Jackson Dampens Enthusiasm About Browns

Cleveland Browns training camp begins a week from today, and of course, sports fans around town are on the edge of their seats in anticipation.

Fans can’t wait to see first overall pick QB Baker Mayfield, along with fellow first rounders CB Denzel Ward, who should make an impact immediately, or at least quicker than Mayfield.

Running back Nick Chubb and WR Antonio Callaway could be other rookies who will figure prominently this season.

And you can’t forget last year’s draft class either. Will Myles Garrett make the quantum leap expected of him and become one of the sport’s disruptive forces on the defensive line. Don’t forget Jabril Peppers, who will now be playing his more natural position of strong safety.

You also have the new free agents, especially WR Jarvis Landry, who figures to be a focal point of the offense. Carlos Hyde will be in the mix at running back, and Mychal Kendricks and T. J. Carrie figure to make an impact on defense.

However, there is one thing that puts a damper on any optimism for the franchise, and that is the head coach. Hue Jackson is still there.

Jackson has somehow returned for a third season as head coach of the Browns despite winning just one of the 32 games he has been at the helm. And it’s not like the team’s record improved in his second year.

Cleveland went 1-15 in Jackson’s maiden voyage with the brown and orange and returned to go 0-16 the following season.

It appears the only reason he is back is for continuity sake, not because anyone can put a finger on something significant the team has accomplished in his two seasons in Cleveland.

Many football people we respect, both nationally and locally believe the Browns were not an 0-16 team a year ago, and those same people also believe the squad was poorly coached.

Yes, it helps him that he now no longer has play calling responsibilities, so he can focus on the overall picture. Will that help him from making curious in game decisions in terms of time management or replay decisions, time will tell.

Going into the season, there will be stories on how many early losses it will take before Jackson is replaced, and offensive coordinator Todd Haley will be speculated as the likely successor.

After all, GM John Dorsey didn’t get a chance to hire the coach, and we would bet he already has an idea of who he would like to bring in to run the team on the field. Heck, that guy might just be Haley.

That’s not fair to a very young football team, and make no mistake, that’s exactly what the Browns will be this season. They deserve to gain experience and confidence, not feel pressure from a head coach who needs to get off to a good start.

Our opinion of Jackson is he is a coach with more style than substance. He has a good reputation, but what is it based on? In his tenure in Cleveland, he seems to deflect a lot of responsibility in regards to his record.

With the talent Dorsey and Sashi Brown brought in over the last two years, it’s time for Jackson to start producing results. We just aren’t sure he is up to the task.

Browns’ Draft Thoughts

In two months, the endless draft talk regarding what the Cleveland Browns should do after a pair of horrific seasons which netted one win in 32 games.

Looking at the draft, we agree with the notion that former Browns GM Ernie Accorsi has said, the two most important positions in pro football are quarterback and a guy who can get to the quarterback.

Certainly, the brown and orange need a passer. They haven’t had one since Bernie Kosar was unceremoniously released in 1993.

They got a guy who can get to the QB last season in Myles Garrett, but like pitching in baseball, you can never have too many pass rushers.

We think Emmanuel Ogbah can develop into a great bookend with Garrett, but we think GM John Dorsey will look for another player who can get to the opposing team’s passer.

Still, we feel the offensive and defensive lines are the team’s strengths, although the Browns have to be on the lookout for Joe Thomas’ replacement whether or not he retires prior to next season or not.

Besides quarterback, in our opinion, the biggest needs for the organization are the secondary, including linebacker, and running back.

We would also say that anyone who feels the Browns can pass on a passer with the first overall pick are crazy. Again, it’s been 25 years since Cleveland has had a top 10 quarterback in the NFL.

Which one of the college QBs would we take? The guy who has the highest floor, the one who has the lowest bust factor. We think that is Josh Rosen.

Rosen was the premier prep quarterback coming into college as a freshman, meaning he was at the top of the class then, and he has maintained that position.

That said, we like Baker Mayfield a lot too. And if Dorsey and his cadre of talent evaluators think he is the answer, then we would have no problem with the Browns selecting him.

After all, if they are right, then the Browns are a step closer to competing for a Super Bowl.

There are a lot of draft “experts” who rate Penn State running back Saquon Barkley as the best player in this year’s draft.

While we certainly have seen running backs help teams transform into winners the past two seasons with Zeke Elliott in Dallas and Leonard Fournette in Jacksonville, we don’t put Barkley in the same category.

Barkley is a home run hitter, but we have questions as to whether he can take the pounding of getting 20-25 carries every week in the NFL.

Besides, this year is purported to be a deep running back draft, so you can get a solid back with one of your second round selections.

We would be more intrigued with CB/S Minkah Fitzpatrick from Alabama, DE Bradley Chubb from NC State, or CB Josh Jackson from Iowa, all of whom would fill a big need for the Browns.

We would probably look for Thomas’ replacement with one of the four selections the Browns have from pick #33 through #65, as well as one of the spots they didn’t fill with the fourth overall choice.

Trading down? We would stay away from that, in fact, we would probably look to trade back up for another first rounder.

If they would consider moving down, it should only be to drop two or three slots, so you can still get the guy you like.

There will be plenty of speculation between now and April 26th, particularly this week with NFL Draft Combine going on. Although, none of the candidates have played a game since January.

There. We got that out of our system. No more draft talk until at least April.

Dorsey-Jackson Combo Raises Draft Questions.

This Sunday is the first without angst since the end of summer without angst for fans of the Cleveland Browns.

No worries about can the team win their first game, no concerns if the coach will ever use the running game, no wondering if DeShone Kizer can keep himself from throwing passes to the other team.

Now, the parades are over, and it is time to start focusing on the “Super Bowl” for Browns’ supporters seemingly every year…the NFL Draft.

Between now and April 26th, when Cleveland will kickoff the selection process with pick #1 (we assume), there will be plenty of speculation what GM John Dorsey will do with all of the selections his organization has.

The big question is how does Dorsey look at the process. Does he select the players with the best potential to be NFL stars, or does he take players who fit the style of play coach Hue Jackson prefers.

One thing we have learned about Jackson in his two years at the helm is he will try to fit a square peg into a round hole. We have extreme doubts that the head coach wants to change what he wants to do offensively.

Jackson has said he wants to hire an offensively coordinator, but since he is apparently doing the hiring, he is going to bring in someone who runs the same offensive style he favors, which is going downfield.

The Browns led the NFL is the average distance of their passing attempts at 9.7. The only playoff team averaging over nine yards per throw was the Panthers. Three other playoff teams (Falcons, Titans, Bills) were 8th-10th.

Two things come to mind here. First, throwing downfield was clearly not working for Kizer, but Jackson didn’t care about that.

Second, it appears most successful teams mix in shorter throws as well. The four teams in the top ten in this stat also rank in the top half of the league in rushing attempts, Cleveland ranked 28th.

We would take this to mean Carolina, Atlanta, Tennessee, and Buffalo throw downfield off of play action. The Browns rarely do because teams don’t respect Jackson will run the football.

Getting defensive help is clearer because we believe defensive coordinator wants to pressure the quarterback, but didn’t have the secondary to do it in the style he prefers.

Getting Minkah Fitzpatrick would seem to be an ideal fit. He can play both cornerback and safety and is considered the best defensive player in the draft. To get that guy two years in a row (Myles Garrett) would help.

It has been reported that Dorsey wants to make a splash in free agency, and that’s fine as long as he isn’t bringing in aging players with a year or two left.

No matter what you feel about the past regime, there are plenty of good, young players here to build around and we would hate to see some of them let go to bring players on their last legs to the roster.

This is the asinine system set up by owner Jimmy Haslam when he decided Jackson would continue to be head coach of the team in 2018.

Our guess is Dorsey will bring in his guys, but then we can expect another season, at least at the beginning, of not utilizing people to the best of their abilities.

That’s why it is still frustrating to ponder.