To Continue Surviving, Browns Need To Run Better

The late basketball coach Jim Valvano said it while his North Carolina State basketball team was in route to winning the 1983 NCAA Basketball title.

The term is “survive and advance”, and although the Cleveland Browns haven’t advanced anywhere yet, they did survive and have another meaningful game this Saturday afternoon against the Raiders.

And in the crazy AFC, the 24-22 win over the Baltimore Ravens, moved Kevin Stefanski’s crew into second place in the division, moving past both the Steelers and Bengals, who both lost this week.

A win is a win, so we aren’t going to complain about it. Look at some of the other early season favorites in the conference. Buffalo has the same record as Cleveland at 7-6, and next week’s opponent was sitting at 5-3 a few weeks ago, but losing four out of five has them at 6-7.

Even though the Raiders are struggling, if the NFL has taught us nothing this season, it is that things can change in the snap of your fingers. So, the Browns need to improve on Sunday’s performance is they want a victory against the visitors from Las Vegas.

The offense continues to struggle, scoring only 17 points (the other points were the result of Myles Garrett, literally), and although most of the blame is heaped upon Stefanski’s play calling and on Mayfield, it might be another area that is failing.

Last season, Cleveland had one of the league’s best running games, ranking 3rd behind just the Ravens and Titans. And while they still rank 4th in 2021, lately the yards in the ground game have been tough to come by.

In the first five games of the season, the Browns averaged 188 yards per game on the ground. Coincidentally, they also scored 28.4 points in those five contests.

The following eight games shows Cleveland gaining just 116 yards per game rushing, and the points per game has also dropped to 14, half of the total in the first five games.

We understand Nick Chubb missed three of those games, but he has also played in five of the games, and in three of the ones he played in, he rushed for less than 61 yards.

Now, we agree Chubb is one of the best running backs in the game, and we don’t think he has suddenly lost a step, so clearly something is wrong with the run blocking right now, and that needs to be addressed in the last four games of the season.

In the first Baltimore game, Chubb carried just 8 times for 16 yards, as the coaching staff gave up on the running game.

But against the Steelers, Chubb carried 16 times for 61 yards, and then on Sunday, he toted the ball 17 times for 59 yards. In those three games, he totaled 41 carries for 136 yards, just a 3.3 average per carry.

Keep in mind, Chubb averages 5.5 yards per carry for his career.

We have said many times that Baker Mayfield is not the most important offensive player on the Browns, and that it was Chubb.

However, right now, the coaching staff cannot get him untracked, and the entire offense is suffering.

The offensive line, praised by many pundits at the beginning of the season, hasn’t performed up to expectations. This could be because of injuries. Jedrick Wills hurt his ankle in the season opener and hasn’t been right since, and Jack Conklin has had problems with his elbow and then his knee.

And maybe opponents adjusted to what the Browns did a year ago.

Whatever the reason, the Cleveland Browns need to run the football to succeed, and the coaching staff has to figure out a way to unlock that part of the game.

Browns Need To Unite, Not Finger Point

For many years, the Cleveland Browns were a train wreck. They were perpetually at the bottom of the standings, and went through quarterback after quarterback and coach after coach trying to reverse this trend.

After the debacle on Sunday, a 45-7 beatdown at the hands of the New England Patriots, it feels a little like those days in Berea, and it is up to GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski to nip it in the bud.

Myles Garrett questioned defensive coordinator Joe Woods immediately after the game about the philosophy and John Johnson III basically agreed with him.

Stefanski said he addressed the situation with Garrett, and clearly the message needs to be sent to the locker room that things like this need to stay in the locker room.

After all, the head coach is very careful in his post game press conferences not to blame anyone. We know Stefanski gets some rolling eyes when he says he has to “coach better”, but we feel he has told his players HE will take the blame when they lose and give them the credit when they win.

That’s called being a leader.

We are sure that is not the message within the locker room and in meetings following a loss. The staff points out what went wrong and makes it incumbent on the players to improve and do what they are supposed to do.

Make no mistake about that.

This doesn’t mean the coaching staff is blameless. If Woods is indeed calling for schemes that have not worked in practice, he is losing, if not lost the trust of the defensive players. Coaches simply cannot call something where the players think to themselves or actually say in the huddle, this isn’t going to work.

Once you start doing this, the coach has to rebuild the trust with his guys. Otherwise, the bond is broken.

What Stefanski and Berry must do is remind the players they are in this together win or lose, and he has their back, which he demonstrates every week. The Browns simply cannot have the sniping and grousing in the media. It serves no good purpose.

The Browns need to do everything better right now, including the coaching staff. They have talent. They need to eliminate the pre-snap penalties, the dropped passes, the blown coverages that seem to plague them weekly.

For example, there is no question Baker Mayfield’s interception was a terrible decision. However, if Donovan Peoples-Jones catches the second down pass (the previous play), a clearly catchable ball, the result is third and short, and that play call is completely different.

It has to start this Sunday though. Much has been made about the remaining schedule for the Browns, but the reality is they will probably only be a decided underdog (seven points or more) in one game, the Christmas Day tilt against Green Bay.

So, could they win five out of the final seven and finish at 10-7, which based on the AFC right now, probably gets them in? Of course they can.

But they have to start playing better, coaching better (especially defensively), and stop making mistakes.

This is why Kevin Stefanski was brought in. He is just like everyone else and needs to unite the troops.

Browns Could Use A Road Win

We had to laugh at Kevin Stefanski’s locker room comments following the Browns domination of the Chicago Bears last Sunday. The coach told his team “whoever we play” next is the biggest game of their lives, except he used more colorful language.

What was funny is that we are sure Stefanski knows exactly who they play this week, because it is a place he spent his entire coaching life before coming to Cleveland. The Minnesota Vikings.

We are sure the head coach will remind his squad they have not won on the road yet this season, and the Vikings are undefeated at home, although they’ve played in the Land of 10,000 Lakes just once this season.

And we know Stefanski doesn’t like to look ahead, but the following game against the Los Angeles Chargers, also on the road, appears to be a big game as well. The Chargers are now 2-1, coming off a victory over the Chiefs last Sunday.

We wondered in the off-season if Cleveland could have one of those offenses that could be unstoppable if they were healthy, and currently the Browns rank 7th in total yardage in the NFL, and 7th in yards per play at 6.4.

And that’s without both starting wide receivers, Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. in the lineup at the same time.

However, here’s a reminder that the Browns are still a running team, second in the league to Baltimore in gaining yards on the ground, with both Nick Chubb (3rd) and Kareem Hunt (20th) in the rushing leaders.

The Vikings have allowed the fifth most yards in the league to date, ranking better against the run (21st) than the pass (27th). So, it would figure to be another good day for the Browns’ offense, although the coach would probably remind us there is a reason why you actually play the game.

One thing is for sure, Kirk Cousins will be more difficult to defend that Justin Fields, making his first NFL start, so the Cleveland defense better be up for the challenge.

It is funny, but despite the production of the Browns’ offensive attack, the leader in receiving yards is Hunt with 104, followed by David Njoku (94), who wasn’t even targeted on Sunday.

The offense has really spread it around in the passing game, with six players having five or more receptions, led by Hunt and TE Austin Hooper with 10 each.

Hard for defenses to take away all of the weapons at Baker Mayfield’s disposal, right?

It was another week, another rookie to stand out for the brown and orange, this time LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who was all over the field against Chicago, getting four tackles and a half sack. That’s three weeks in a row, a newly drafted players has made a big impact on the game.

And how can we not mention Myles Garrett, who set a club record with 4.5 sacks, impressive no matter who is the opponent.

The former first overall pick is now 7th (revised total occurred over the summer) in sacks all time for the franchise with 48.5 in just 54 games. Next up on the list is Michael Dean Perry, who has 51.5…in 109 games.

It’s not a stretch to think Garrett will get into the Browns’ top five (Paul Wiggin has 60.5 in 146 games) this season.

Barring injury, it’s really a matter of time before Garrett surpasses Bill Glass, the franchise leader with 77.5 in 94 games.

Stefanski will tell you every week is a challenge in the NFL, and certainly, the Vikings are a step up in class from the Browns’ two previous opponents. We are sure he would also tell you his team is capable of playing much better. They will need to in order to get a win this week.

Not All Wins Are Works Of Art, Browns’ Fans

When it comes to winning in sports, we think sometimes fans don’t understand how difficult it really is, especially at the professional level.

It is even more difficult to do coming off a loss, something Ohio State fans saw on Saturday, and Browns viewed Sunday afternoon at First Energy Stadium. There is a certain lethargy that goes with losing the previous game, and sometimes it takes a quarter or a half to shake the staleness that goes with losing away.

There is no question the Cleveland Browns are a better football team than the Houston Texans, but it took Kevin Stefanski’s team a little while to show it.

Still, a win is a win, and the Browns, along with the rest of the AFC North are sitting at 1-1 after two games, so it now becomes a 15 game season, we guess.

Here are some impressions following the win in the home opener–

**We said before the season started the defense would be a work in progress, and shouldn’t be truly evaluated until week five or six, and we haven’t changed that opinion. There are so many new pieces involved and it takes time to trust your fellow defenders.

That said, it was a little troubling to see the lack of pressure on Houston quarterbacks. The only sack came from blitzing S Grant Delpit, who looked good in his NFL debut. Myles Garrett still gets held quite a bit though, and drew a penalty towards the end of the first half.

You would think Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome would be a solid corner combo, but the Browns seemed reluctant to put either in press coverage last Sunday.

However, it’s still early. The unit should get better with experience.

**Nick Chubb is the best running back in the NFL. We know around here that is stating the obvious, but Chubb is fifth in the league in rushing yards, despite being 19th in carries.

The Browns are not going to give Chubb the 25 carries per game so he could pile up the huge yardage needed to get notice nationally. First, they have an excellent back in Kareem Hunt to team with Chubb, and also they want Chubb to play with the Browns for a long time. They are prolonging his career.

Now, when they get to the playoffs, and need the fourth year pro out of Auburn to tote the rock 25 times, he will be fresh. And that time may come at the end of this year.

Oh, and by the way, the only running back in Browns’ history better than #24 wore #32.

**We all knew the Browns had plenty of offensive weapons coming into the year, and we still haven’t seen Odell Beckham Jr. But GM Andrew Berry looks like he added two more in this year’s draft in WR Anthony Schwartz and RB/WR Demetric Felton, each of whom has been a factor already this season.

Felton scored his first NFL touchdown on a great run after catching a short pass on Sunday, and made a great move after another reception.

Also, you have to give Stefanski credit for trusting these rookies, because some veteran coaches would not. Trusting players regardless of experience is the mark of a great coach in our book.

**We still don’t understand why folks don’t think Baker Mayfield is the answer at QB. Again, because of the way the Browns run things, he’s never going to be someone who throws for 300 yards on a weekly basis.

But he’s a leader and he shows toughness. And for those who questioned his accuracy in the past, he’s completed 81.6% of his passes in the first two weeks. He only has one touchdown pass, but again, that’s because of the running game.

If you don’t think the Browns’ offensive is running well, consider that Jamie Gillan has punted three times in two games. That used to be his total for for a half. And Chase McLaughlin has attempted one field goal.

That’s efficiency.

Browns Put Emphasis On Defense In Draft.

It would seem that the way to beat the spread offenses which have become the rage in the National Football League is to do it with speed. And it would appear that Cleveland Browns’ GM Andrew Berry would agree.

The overwhelming take away from this year’s selections is all of the defensive players taken by the Browns, and they took five of them, can run and cover the field.

Obviously, the two players everyone is excited about are the team’s first two choices, CB Greg Newsome II and LB/S Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Both were expected to be picked in the first round, so Berry had to love it when the latter was still available with the 52nd pick, and the Browns moved up to take them.

We look to history, and the last time the Browns had an excellent defense was in the late 1980’s. spearheaded by cornerbacks Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield.

Now, we certainly aren’t comparing Denzel Ward and Newsome to that duo, but having two solid corners makes it tougher on today’s pass-happy offenses, not to mention it allows Myles Garrett and his friends more time to get to the quarterback.

Owusu-Koramoah (JOK) was the Butkus Award winner last season as College Football’s top linebacker, and should be a perfect fit in the defense coordinator Robert Woods likes to play, which is a 4-2-5.

If Grant Delpit can return from his achilles’ injury, and with Ronnie Harrison and free agent signee John Johnson III as well, Woods has players at that position that can defend the pass and also can come up and stop the run.

The emphasis on speed didn’t just stop on the defense, either. Cleveland’s third round pick was WR Anthony Schwartz from Auburn, who may be the fastest player in the draft. If the Browns can develop him, he could wind up being the deep threat the offense needs. Make no mistake, the offense needs speed at the wide receiver spot.

And we still contend either Jarvis Landry or Odell Beckham Jr. are playing their last season in a Browns’ uniform, so this could be a case of Berry thinking about the not-to-distant future of the football team.

We also love the pick of DT Tommy Togiai in the fourth round. We saw some draft sites with him getting picked earlier. Togiai seemed to get better this season as it went along, and if he keeps developing, he could be in the rotation this season.

The best things we can say about this draft is none of the picks seemed to defy logic. The Browns didn’t pick anyone a lot higher than projections, and they actually chose players who were projected to go a lot higher, like Owusu-Koramoah.

They also looked at players who may not be impactful this season, but there will be able to get on the field in 2022.

Berry has earned the trust of the fans, because of players they picked a year ago in the later rounds, like Harrison Bryant, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Nick Harris. All three were taken after the 100th pick in 2020, and all were contributors in the playoff season.

If Newsome and Owusu-Koramoah can produce as the front office thinks, the Browns’ defense will be much improved. And if that happens, there could be big things coming at First Energy Stadium in the fall.

On The Clowney Addition & Other Stuff On The Browns

With two weeks to go before the NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns made probably their last splash in the free agent market, signing perhaps the best remaining player available in DE Jadeveon Clowney, who was with Tennessee last season.

Clowney is a former first overall pick in the draft and a three time Pro Bowl selection, but really, at this point in his career, he’s best suited to being a second banana in the pass rushing game, which he will be in Cleveland because of the presence of Myles Garrett.

And he’s coming off an injury, playing only eight games a year ago.

The real interest will come in how GM Andrew Berry creates cap space for this signing, because according to reports, the team now has just a little under $4 million remaining, which won’t cover the amount needed to sign the players they will draft in two weeks.

There have been rumors that DT Sheldon Richardson could be released or at least have his contract restructured to make room for Clowney. Richardson is a solid player, but he is 30 years old, and that seems to be a magic number to the front office.

Berry has targeted Clowney since he became the Browns’ GM before last season, so it is no surprise he finally got his man. If you trust his talent evaluations, and there is no reason to doubt it so far, then you have to feel good about the signing.

Kevin Stefanski described him as a “disruptive force” on the defensive line, and if he is, then the Browns should be improved up front.

They also added Takk McKinley and Malik Jackson since the end of last season. Being able to restructure Richardson and keep him would be icing on the cake. And don’t forget Andrew Billings, signed last year, but opted out of the season due to COVID-19.

Other stuff on the Browns–

***One thing about picking 26th in the first round, no one has any idea who will be available when your choice will be made. However, if one of the top cornerbacks start to drop in the first round, it wouldn’t be a shock to us if Berry traded up to get one.

Remember, the Browns have nine picks, and to us, it would be tough for all nine to make the final roster. So why not package some extra choices to get someone who can make an impact on the 2021 Browns?

In today’s NFL, you can never have enough corners, especially with the injury histories of Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams.

We also wouldn’t be surprised if Berry targeted a wide receiver early in the draft, either first or second round. There is a lot of cap space tied up in that position.

***There are still some fans with reservations about Baker Mayfield, but we recently heard one of the football talking heads (sorry, don’t remember which one) who said when you think about it, the 2019 season with Freddie Kitchens as head coach is the outlier in Mayfield’s career.

He was outstanding in his last two years at Oklahoma, did very well as a rookie and led the Browns to the playoffs in 2020. That’s four out of five years of high achievement, albeit just two of those in the NFL.

We are a big believer in disposing of the odd occurrence, which that season very well might be.

***We stated earlier it would not be a shock to us if the Browns took a wide receiver early later this month. Part of that is our reservation that Odell Beckham Jr. is still a game changer, even before he had major knee surgery last season.

When the 2021 season begins, we will be five years removed since Beckham was a top flite receiver in the NFL, grabbing 101 passes for 1367 yards and ten touchdowns.

He’s missed time in three of the last four years, and barely exceeded 1000 yards in receiving in two of those four seasons.

While Mayfield probably needs an explosive target to stretch the defense, can Beckham be that guy once again? And does the front office think the same thing?

What Will Browns Do In Free Agency?

In less than two weeks, the NFL league season starts anew and with it becomes the beginning for free agency. Cleveland Browns’ fans were all excited when J.J. Watt was released, and visions of him lining next to Myles Garrett danced in their heads.

Well, Watt signed with the Arizona Cardinals, so the Browns will have to look elsewhere to bolster a roster that advanced to the playoffs and won a game in the post-season tournament. Based on history, if GM Andrew Berry is going to ink a long term deal with a free agent, it will be one coming off their rookie contract.

Make no mistake, the Browns need help on the defensive side of the football. Cleveland could have an many as eight new starters on that side of the ball, and depending on if Sheldon Richardson is retained, it could be nine, with Garrett and Denzel Ward as the only holdovers.

Some of the new starters could come as players returning from injury and/or guys who opted out of last season due to COVID 19. For example, if Greedy Williams and Grant Delpit have recovered from injuries that sidelined them the entire 2020 season, they could be starters.

So, based on the model from the past, even though Tampa Bay LB Lavonte David was incredible in the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl win, at 31 years old, he’s not the type of guy Berry has gone after in the past.

Could the Browns look at a wide receiver in free agency? There’s always a possibility, but with both Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. both on the roster, it is doubtful. Besides, the offense looks like a completed work right now, so any additions there, both in free agency and the draft, are likely going to be more like depth pieces.

However, there are some safeties on the market, notably Justin Simmons from Denver (age 27), Anthony Harris from Minnesota (29), and Marcus Williams of the Saints (24). Either of this trio would be an upgrade to the Cleveland back seven. Remember, coordinator Joe Woods likes to play a 4-2-5 alignment, so secondary players are very important.

If the Browns let Richardson go, they will likely be looking for three new starters, because it is doubtful DT Larry Ogunjobi. One of those spots will likely be filled by Andrew Billings, who was signed last off-season, but opted out of the 2020 campaign. He figures to be at tackle.

Maybe Leonard Williams of the Giants (26) fits in at the other tackle spot. Still, Woods’ defense needs another pass rusher to go with Garrett. The problem is other teams value players at this position too, so if you have one, you don’t want to let him go.

Cincinnati’s Carl Lawson and Tampa’s Shaq Barrett are both free agents, but figure to be signed or franchised by their current teams. Do the Browns go after Yannick Ngakoue (26), who has been with three teams in the past calendar year? Another name linked to the Browns is New Orleans’ edge rusher Trey Hendrickson (26), who had the best season of his career last year.

Of course, Berry could also swing a big trade using from draft capital, the Browns have two third round picks, giving them four in the first three rounds. Could they use, say two of those picks to bring in a veteran from a team looking to get younger through the draft? That would not be a surprise either.

We have no doubt the Browns will be aggressive this off-season, starting with free agency in two weeks. They may not make a bunch of signings, but we would bet on one big move, especially to improve the defense.

Making the playoffs is one thing, staying there is a another challenge for the Browns front office and coaching staff.

Even With Sunday’s Loss, It’s A New Normal For Browns

The Cleveland Browns said all the right things about Sunday’s divisional playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. That is to say, no one talked about what a great season they had.

To our knowledge, from coach Kevin Stefanski on down, everyone talked about being angry and/or disappointed in the loss. And that’s exactly what you want to hear from a team. They won’t be happy until they are hoisting the Lombardi Trophy above their collective heads.

We aren’t saying the organization shouldn’t feel good about the strides made in the 2020 season. They won 11 games in the regular season, the most since 1994. They made the playoffs for the first time since 2002, and won a post-season game for the first time since that ’94 season.

All of those things are great, and they should be a step in the right direction. However, this organization and the players should feel like this is just foot forward in a process that will result in the franchise’s first Super Bowl berth.

Still, the game came down to the Browns having their weaker unit on the field at the end of the game and the defense couldn’t come through. Kansas City had a 3rd and 14 in their own territory with their All Pro quarterback in the locker room, and they were still able to convert a first down to run out the clock.

That is not meant as a disparaging comment against defensive coordinator Joe Woods. The Cleveland defense has two great players in Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward, a solid player in Sheldon Richardson, and perhaps a potential difference maker in Ronnie Harrison.

Injuries happen to every NFL team, but you can’t forget half of the projected secondary for the brown and orange, CB Greedy Williams and S Grant Delpit, missed the entire season.

The defense forced turnovers, yes, but if they weren’t doing that, they didn’t really have an answer for the real good offenses in the league.

As for criticism of Stefanski for punting in the fourth quarter, he had to be thinking with Chad Henne in at QB for Kansas City instead of Patrick Mahomes, his defense could get a stop and the Browns would have a chance for a game winning drive.

He got a sack from Myles Garrett on second down, but the unit has to get off the field on the 3rd and 14. They couldn’t.

The good news for Cleveland football fans is this is young football team. On offense, the oldest starters are WR Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr., both 28 years old.

Even on defense, the oldest starters are Richardson (30), DE Olivier Vernon (30), and S Andrew Sendejo (33), and he only started because Delpit was out this season.

And even better news is GM Andrew Berry has nine draft picks and a lot of cap space available to make improvements. Expect a defensive heavy draft, but you could see a wide receiver picked in the early rounds as well.

Also, here’s what we won’t be talking about until the draft comes to Cleveland this spring. No search for a head coach, no looking for a quarterback, no need for a new left tackle.

That’s the new normal for this football team and their fans.

We realize every season is different and injuries always raise their ugly head in the NFL. But it seems like the Browns have the right leadership and a foundation of some very good players.

And as he probably likes it, we didn’t even mention perhaps the best running back in the league in Nick Chubb.

Browns’ Playoffs Starts Today!

For fans of the Cleveland Browns who wanted the team to get in the playoffs, they kind of got their wish. Because the playoffs start this afternoon for Kevin Stefanski’s crew at First Energy Stadium against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Win, and the Browns advance to the post-season. Lose, and it would take a lot of circumstances for Cleveland to play next weekend in a post-season game.

And make no mistake, it would be a disappointment if the team doesn’t make the playoffs. If you look in a prism before the season started, no question fans and the organization would have been pleased with a 10-6 season, their first winning season since 2007.

That would have been a huge step forward, and after treading water for many years, people would be happy with the improvement.

However, after starting the season at 10-4 following a workmanlike performance against the Giants, the Browns were the top wild card and had a shot at the AFC North title. To not qualify after that should be a disappointment to everyone.

And to go through a season not being able to claim a win against the top dogs in the division, the Steelers and Ravens, would be equally demoralizing.

Stefanski didn’t make excuses for last week’s loss to the Jets even though his offensive line was riddled with injuries and his wide receiver room was basically eliminated by the coronavirus, and we love that about him.

Notice that none of the Browns players used that as a reason for the loss either. That is another example of how they have bought in to the coach’s guidance.

He isn’t using the latest cases to have cropped up in the organization to alter his focus for today’s game. He will expect the players who will participate to do their job and bring home the win and a spot in the playoffs.

Stefanski has been battling with missing key players all season long, and really hasn’t missed a beat. Nick Chubb, one of the NFL’s best running backs missed almost five games with a knee injury, the team went 3-2 in those games.

Myles Garrett, a candidate for defensive player of the year missed two games with COVID-19. Cleveland won both games.

Denzel Ward, who will miss today’s contest with COVID-19, and missed three games with a calf injury and the Browns went 2-1 in those games.

Wyatt Teller, who many feel has been the best guard in the NFL this season (despite not making the Pro Bowl), may have been the most important piece to the offense this season. Cleveland is just 1-3 in the four games he has not played.

Fortunately, he is supposed to be back in the lineup this afternoon.

Yes, the Browns have players out for this game, but their opponents will be sitting out some key players because they have clinched a playoff spot and because of the schedule changes the league had to make because of the virus, really haven’t had a week off all season.

But reserves want to make a mark in the league, so the Browns cannot take anything for granted. They have to go out and play, and they have to go out and win. There cannot be another result.

For most of the teams who have won ten or more games, the NFL playoffs start next week. That’s not the case for the Cleveland Browns.

Tracking The Browns Rebuild

Now that the Cleveland Browns have returned to being a good football team, the discussions about who should get the credit for the success rages on for some folks.

This rebuilding process started following the 2015 season when Mike Pettine and GM Ray Farmer were let go and replaced by Sashi Brown, a lawyer who came out of nowhere to be the de facto GM of the Browns.

Brown’s plan was essentially to stop putting bandages on the roster every season and to start from scratch. He traded or released just about every veteran, and armed the organization with a bunch of draft picks.

Hue Jackson was hired as the head coach, and we would think he was informed what was about to happen to the roster.

The plan was at the time unheard of, no team had done this in the NFL, although to Sashi’s credit, it seems like subsequently, the Dolphins, Jets, and now the Jaguars are doing the same thing.

Cleveland had the second overall pick in ’16, and Brown traded that pick to Philadelphia (which became Carson Wentz) and the Browns wound up with WR Corey Coleman. The team did draft Emmanuel Ogbah, Carl Nassib, Joe Schobert, and WR Rashard Higgins, who is still contributing.

The result of the total rebuild in the first year was a 1-15 record, which netted the organization the first overall pick in 2017, and they selected Myles Garrett. Critics will point out they passed on Patrick Mahomes (10th overall) and could have selected Deshaun Watson at #12, but they traded down to get more picks.

Cleveland also got Jabrill Peppers and David Njoku in the first round and DT Larry Ogunjobi in the third round.

The rebuild got sidetracked with Jackson, unhappy with the losing, although again, we have to assume he knew the plan, complained to owner Jimmy Haslam (probably a lot). Brown was fired and replaced with “football guy” John Dorsey, formerly a GM with Kansas City.

Dorsey brought a “win now” mentality with him and after an 0-16 season, selected QB Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick in ’18, CB Denzel Ward with the 4th overall pick, and used a 2nd rounder to get Nick Chubb, three main cogs of the 2020 Browns.

Beyond that trio, the rest of the draft was a flop. No players remain on the roster. Still, the three who stayed are pretty good.

However, after a 7-8-1 season that featured wins in five of the last seven games, Dorsey got greedy (figuratively) and traded his first round pick, Peppers, and his starting right guard in Kevin Zeitler for WR Odell Beckham and DE Olivier Vernon.

However, his biggest mistake was thinking the chemistry of the offensive coordinator, who took over when Jackson and his OC, Todd Haley was fired mid-season, and Mayfield was enough to make Freddie Kitchens the head coach.

Meanwhile, chief strategy office Paul DePodesta, who came to the organization with Sashi Brown, wanted to hire Minnesota assistant Kevin Stefanski.

While bringing in Beckham, the rest of Dorsey’s draft that year hasn’t been impressive. Second rounder CB Greedy Williams, while showing promise, has been injured, and the next best player is LB Sione Takitaki, who is serviceable.

After Kitchens was given the gate following a 6-10 season, it seems like Dorsey left the organization because his voice wasn’t the most prominent during the coaching search, which wound up in the hands of Stefanski, DePodesta’s choice all along.

Andrew Berry, also part of the Sashi Brown front office was brought back, this time as GM.

His first draft appears to be a good one, with OT Jedrick Wills being a starter from day one, and several contributors with upside, notably LB Jacob Phillips, TE Harrison Bryant, and WR Donovan Peoples-Jones.

And don’t forget S Grant Delpit, who figured to start before his achilles injury in camp.

Sashi laid out the plan and he, DePodesta, and Berry started to lay it out before the ownership got impatient. Dorsey made the bad hire as head coach, but did bring in Mayfield, Ward, and Chubb, and the Browns aren’t 10-4 without them.

He didn’t fill out the roster though, but Berry came back to take care of that, adding solid free agents in T Jack Conklin and TE Austin Hooper.

The question is, could this success have arrived a year or so ago had DePodesta got his way and hired Stefanski after 2018? Thankfully, it was just a one year delay.