Tag: pierre strong

One Big Turnover Spoils Browns LA Trip

The Joe Flacco experience looked good for the Browns for about three and a half quarters. He directed a touchdown drive on the first possession, and overall played well, completing 23 of 44 throws for 254 yards and two touchdowns.

Unfortunately, in the fourth quarter, he threw a critical interception on the first play of a drive where Cleveland could have taken the lead.

The Browns lost to the Los Angeles Rams 36-19 in a game that was very much in doubt midway through the fourth quarter and dropped to 7-5 on the season.

It might have been the most disappointing defensive effort of the season by Cleveland, allowing the second most total yards of the season as the Rams put up 399 yards (Indianapolis had 456), but unlike the Colts games, the defense had no sacks and no turnovers.

The defense simply had no answer for Puka Nacua and his speed. He accounted for 105 of the Rams’ 279 passing yards, 70 coming on a first quarter strike to put LA on top 10-7, and he also ran two jet sweeps to make up 34 of the Rams’ 120 yards on the ground.

He was the problem the defense had no answer for. Having the Browns’ fastest defensive back, Denzel Ward, on the field would have made a difference we think.

If Myles Garrett is the defensive unit’s best player, then Ward is a close second and having him out, and Garrett obviously limited due to his shoulder issue, it shouldn’t have been a surprise the defensive had perhaps its worst game of the year.

Cleveland also had trouble running the ball for the second straight week, although it wasn’t as notable as last week because Flacco was moving the football through the air. Kareem Hunt and Pierre Strong started to get it going in the second half, but overall, they had just 87 yards rushing.

Now, we need to point out they only tried 23 running plays. We feel Kevin Stefanski has done a great job navigating yardage with four different quarterbacks, but perhaps the Browns need to lean on their ground attack more often.

Because Sunday’s contest will be one of the last games Cleveland will play in nice weather (Houston is on the road), perhaps the offensive staff will go back to establishing the running attack.

Back to Flacco. We have advocated playing Dorian Thompson-Robinson over P.J. Walker in recent weeks, but we would stay with the veteran going forward. Why? Because he gives you professional play at the position. We understand he’s not mobile, but he can still deliver the ball on time and with accuracy.

If Stefanski and the coaching staff want to have a functional offense for the rest of the year, and you can’t continue to depend on the defense, then he needs to play Joe Flacco.

And hopefully, Garrett will be healthier next week, and Ward can return to the field. That would help the defense greatly. We were bothered that no one else stepped up to make a big play though. We thought there was more depth added.

We still aren’t concerned about the season. Cleveland simply needs to win the game they should win (Bears, Jets, Bengals) and they should return to the playoffs.

However, they need the defense to get healthy. And it would help if it were cold and windy for Jacksonville this coming Sunday.

Just A Bad Day In Denver For Browns

Even though the NFL has become a passing league over the last 20 years, one thing remains constant, it is still difficult to win when you can’t run the ball and you can’t stop the run.

Last Sunday, the Browns couldn’t stop the run, allowing 169 yards on the ground, and they decided not to run that much, gaining just 107 on only 24 tries. The result was a 29-12 loss to Denver, dropping Cleveland’s record to 7-4.

It wasn’t coach Kevin Stefanski’s best play calling performance, as Denver came into the game with the league’s worst defense against the run, but Cleveland threw the football 42 times, although to be fair, after P.J. Walker replaced an injured Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the third quarter, he threw 13 times as the Browns were behind.

To be fair, at the time DTR left the game, the Browns were very much in it, trailing 17-12 late in the third quarter, and coming off a 13 play, 79 yard drive that ate up 6:24 off the clock. Right after he left came the play everyone is talking about.

Cleveland tried a reverse with the ball handed to Elijah Moore who was to pitch it to Pierre Strong running around the right side. It looked like Strong had a lot of room, but the pitch was mishandled, and Denver recovered on the Browns’ 20-yard line.

We point this out because fans love trick plays, except when they don’t work. How many times have you heard a team’s offense is vanilla, with no imagination. Our point is it looked like a good play call; the execution was just terrible.

As we said previously, it was not a banner day for the Cleveland defense. Denver gashed the run defense, as the Browns allowed the second most yards rushing in a game this season. It was the second straight week they allowed around 170 yards on the ground, and this time, there was no 74-yard run to skew the stats.

There were numerous runs of 10 yards or more, something for defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to fix this week.

They did hold the Broncos to just 134 yards in the air, but mostly because they didn’t force Denver into many obvious passing situations. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah recorded the only sack on the day.

Let’s go back to the quarterback spot though. If Thompson-Robinson can’t go against the Rams this week, it very much looks like Joe Flacco will get the start. We would also go a step further and say Andrew Berry should be on the lookout for another QB to replace Walker, who is unplayable.

He fumbled twice in limited time against Denver, raising his total to four on the season. He simply isn’t consistent enough. He did make a beautiful throw to Moore for 28 yards but plays like that are few and far between.

The way Cleveland has gone through quarterbacks this year, we think you have to find someone else. Walker can’t play another down for a playoff contending team.

Besides the QB situation, the Myles Garrett medical report is key. If Garrett has to miss some time, it will force Schwartz to make some adjustments. We have full confidence he can, but missing a player like Garrett is never a good thing.