Don’t Yell At Us, But Browns Should Have Taken The Tie

First, let’s discuss the decision. Browns’ coach Todd Monken received many virtual pats on the back tor going for the win in Sunday’s 23-22 loss to the New Orleans Saints. We believe that’s because by and large, football people are aggressive and they like players and coaches to be aggressive. They want them to “go for it!”

And frankly, if the Browns came into the contest 2-6 or 3-5 instead of 5-3, going for the win would have been the correct call. But the reality is they did have a winning record for the season. Look, a tie is better than a loss in a playoff race.

As of this moment, the Browns are tied with New England for the seventh and final spot in the AFC playoffs. It’s unexpected for sure. But, if they’d have tied on Sunday, guess what? They’d be in the 7th spot all by themselves. There’s a time and place to push the envelope and with a minute to go in overtime with the Saints having no timeouts, that wasn’t it.

Remember, the Browns were also stopped inside the five earlier in the game so we had no confidence they could get two yards when needed.

And yes, we said that live. This is not a second guess.

Now, as for the actual action, the old problem plagued the Browns again, that is, they can’t run the ball and they can’t stop the run. Mike Rutenberg’s unit allowed 160 yards rushing, the third straight week over 140 yards and over the last five contests, the Cleveland defense has allowed an average of 144.4 yards on the ground.

They are 6th worst in the league against the run, ahead of only the Raiders, Cowboys, Colts, Saints and Panthers. And none of those teams have winning records. As good as the Browns’ secondary is, they are rendered useless if the other team doesn’t have to throw the ball to succeed.

And for the people saying Saints’ QB Tyler Shough had 51 of those yards, yes, that is a product of playing man-to-man defense, but since they play that way (a better way to play, by the way) the pass rushers have to contain him in the pocket.

Conversely, Cleveland’s rushing attack continues to be uninspiring. The Browns have rushed for over 100 yards just three times (all wins) and is in the bottom 10 in the NFL in that category.

The Browns have offensive line issues, but we felt before the season that maybe the team needs to do better than Quinshon Judkins, who is averaging just 3.3 yards per carry and doesn’t seem to have good vision in finding lanes to run.

The lack of the running game keeps putting the quarterback, either Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders in bad situations and with a shaky line, that means the defensive line can pin their ears back and go after the passer.

The Browns next four games are at home starting Sunday against Houston (their GM is former University School and John Carroll grad Nick Caserio). The Texans are 3-5, but were a playoff team a year ago. Do we have confidence in this team? Not really.

Monken’s team hasn’t been great, but they are in the hunt at 5-4. If there is a decent blocking tight end out there, the Browns should be trying to get him, because they need Harold Fannin, who is averaging 12.2 yards per reception with a team high four TDs to be a receiver, not a blocker.

And on that note, please get the ball to Denzel Boston more.

Two In A Row And A Huge Game Vs. Bengals

When the Browns defeated Tampa Bay last week, we thought it was kind of like the “double dip”, scoring right before halftime and then getting the second half kickoff and scoring as well, because the dreadful Houston Texans (sorry, Nick Caserio) were next on the schedule.

Even though Cleveland didn’t score an offensive touchdown, the maligned units of the team, defense and special teams, contributed three of them and Kevin Stefanski’s crew went to 5-7 with the victory.

This sets up a huge matchup in southern Ohio against the 8-4 Bengals this Sunday, a contest that could be a big turning point for the brown and orange.

Winning in Cincinnati would put the Browns at 6-7 with two games at home against the Ravens and Saints, and Baltimore could be without Lamar Jackson in that one, although they will have Justin Tucker.

Stefanski’s squad is in a tough spot because of the tie breaker situation in the AFC, where they lose most of the head-to-head comparisons. Here is a list of the non-division leaders sitting at 7-5 or below:

Jets 7-5 – beat the Browns in week two
Patriots 6-6 – beat the Browns in week six
Chargers 6-6 – beat the Browns in week five
Steelers 5-7 – Browns won the first matchup
Raiders 5-7 – no game between the two teams.

Could the Browns lose one more game and still make the post-season as a wild card? Sure, but a lot of things would have to bounce their way. And a loss next Sunday in the Queen City surely means Cleveland would have to run the table to have any chance at playing beyond January 8th at Pittsburgh.

To us, a victory against the Bengals would improve the post-season chances from slim to decent, and not just because the Browns would get closer to .500, but it would be their third consecutive win, signaling perhaps they have turned the corner.

There is no doubt Deshaun Watson was very rusty Sunday, completing just 12 of 22 passes for 131 yards, spiking a number of them into the ground. We would expect a better performance next week, but the Cleveland game plan still should go through, or should we say run through Nick Chubb.

The Browns ran for 174 yards against the Texans, the seventh time in 12 games they have gone over 170. The last three times they’ve done that have resulted in wins, including the 32-13 win on Halloween against Cincy. And the Bengals are just middle of the pack in terms of stopping the run.

Stefanski also needs his defense to continue to hold up their end of the bargain. The Browns allowed their fewest yards of the season in the first game against the Bengals, but they will have Ja’Marr Chase this weekend, and he’s one of the best in the league.

We don’t buy into Cleveland’s recent success against Joe Burrow and the Bengals. They are the defending AFC Champions and are coming off a big win against the Chiefs in a rematch of the AFC Championship game last season.

It will take the Browns playing at their best, which is what every team should be striving for, to get better each week.

We say a win next Sunday puts Cleveland seriously back in the playoff chase. They can’t slip up for sure, but it feels like their positions will be much stronger.

Is Garoppolo The Guy Browns Should Want?

It would be an understatement to say many in the media who cover the Browns are obsessed with the quarterback position.

It is literally all some of them talk about.

We feel the Browns will address the position this off-season, either through the draft, using one of their four choices in the first and second rounds, or by trading for a veteran currently a back up on another team.

Most of the speculation on the latter centers around New England’s Jimmy Garoppolo or Cincinnati’s A.J. McCarron.

Should the Browns go after either of these passers, who both will be free agents at the end of the 2017 season?

We liked Garoppolo coming out of the draft in 2014, but the Browns went in another direction.

It has been reported that the Patriots want the same price as the Eagles got for veteran Sam Bradford, that being a first and fourth round pick.

The difference is that Bradford had 64 NFL starts under his belt, while Garoppolo has just two. So, the first thing would be for Bill Belichick and Nick Caserio to get back to reality and set their sights a little lower.

Of course, they may say if they can’t get that price, they will go ahead and keep Jimmy G. and continue to groom him as Tom Brady’s replacement.

Garoppolo came into the NFL as a guy with a good arm and a very quick release, which would be a sharp contrast from the quarterbacks the Browns used in 2016, who seemed to hold the ball forever.

In his two starts with the Patriots this season, he completed 42 of his 59 throws for 496 yards and four touchdowns. Keep in mind, he has Patriots machine, the best franchise in pro football over the last 15 years, behind him.

So the question is how much would you give up for a little used young quarterback who has been around the league for three years.

The difference between Garoppolo and the others in the Tom Brady back up club (Matt Cassell, Brian Hoyer, and Ryan Mallett) is that he is the highest draft choice of the quartet.

Cassell wasn’t a starter at USC, Hoyer was a free agent from Michigan State and Mallett was a third rounder, and had a bad senior season. Garoppolo was a second round choice, and probably would have gone in the first round had he played for a major college program.

So when people say to be wary of trading for a Brady backup, be advised that Garoppolo is a cut above the rest.

However, that doesn’t mean the Browns should give up the 12th overall pick for a guy who has started just two NFL games.

On the other hand, why not move the first pick in the second round?

As we wrote earlier, the Browns are likely to address quarterback with one of the picks they have in the first or second round, and if you are going to draft one, you might as well trade for someone who has two more NFL starts than anyone you will draft.

And if you aren’t going to draft a QB this year, then surely you would use a high pick on a passer in 2018.

The best option might just be Jimmy Garoppolo, especially if DeShaun Watson is gone before the 12th selection based on his performance in last night’s title game.

Why not deal for a guy with at least a slight track record of success in the NFL?