Browns Add Experienced Free Agents

After sitting out the first week of free agency in the NFL, and irritating their fans and local media alike, the Cleveland Browns opened their check book and signed a pair of free agents yesterday.

They inked former Green Bay cornerback Tramon Williams to replace Buster Skrine, and also signed two-time Pro Bowler Randy Starks from Miami, apparently replacing Ahtyba Rubin.

It seems that Ray Farmer’s plan is to not give big dollars on a long-term deal to average to above average players, and instead pay veterans nearing the end of their usefulness as players to short deals. Our guess is in the meantime, he will use the draft to find more permanent solutions.

It would also not be surprising to see Cleveland sign another such player, former Kansas City Chief WR Dwayne Bowe to another two or three-year deal to provide another experienced wide out to go along with Brian Hartline.

The Browns had weaknesses going into the off-season on the defensive line and at outside linebacker, as well as wide receiver.

There is no question that the receiver position has been upgraded since the end of the year, and they have replaced a couple of the free agents they lost with equal or better players in Starks and Williams.

They do need an outside linebacker to replace Jabaal Sheard, who wasn’t a good fit in Mike Pettine and Jim O’Neil’s scheme.

So, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Farmer sign an outside linebacker, probably one in his late 20’s or early 30’s, and look for more help in the draft in late April.

That seems to be Farmer’s strategy. Get some short-term help at reasonable dollars and then get a long-term solution in the draft.

If the GM would bring in another experienced quarterback, like Matt Moore, you could make a well-reasoned argument that the Browns’ roster is stronger now than it was ending the season with a five game losing streak to wind up at 7-9.

Let’s say Moore would come here, and there are reports that he is quite happy in Miami backing up Ryan Tannehill. A quarterback room of Moore, Josh McCown, and Johnny Manziel (no, we aren’t forgetting Thaddeus Lewis) is certainly better than one with Brian Hoyer, Manziel, and Connor Shaw.

These signings don’t fit the narrative that the Browns’ organization is a complete mess, so we don’t expect the signings to receive much fanfare. And Williams and Starks aren’t sexy names.

Heck, former NFL passer and CBS Sports radio commentator Boomer Esiason rated the free agent QBs and listed McCown ahead of Hoyer. So, at least one person that has knowledge of the sport thinks the Browns actually got better at the position.

Again, you have to remember that most players who reach free agent status in the NFL are usually past their prime. That’s why you don’t want to commit a huge amount of money to them.

Starks and Williams are in the same boat, and although it looks as though the Browns gave them big cash, the contracts are short because of their age.

It’s a different way of looking at the free agent market. It doesn’t mean Ray Farmer is wrong, it’s just different.

Time will tell if he is right, and if he doesn’t address the roster problems in the draft, then criticism is fair.

Let’s just let it play out first.

Browns Right in Not Going Crazy in Free Agent Market

It is hilarious to us that people, both fans and media alike, are criticizing the management of the Cleveland Browns because they don’t expect them to do anything during the NFL’s free agency period, which starts today.

The bulk of that criticism comes from a comment made by owner Jimmy Haslam earlier this year that he doesn’t expect the team to be involved heavily in free agency.

Apparently, that was translated that the Browns won’t do anything.

Last night, the Browns did make a move, signing former Ohio State WR Brian Hartline. The Canton native is just a year removed from back-to-back 1000 yard receiving seasons, catching over 70 passes in each of those seasons.

He also fulfills the native northeast Ohio/Ohio State player requirement that some Browns’ fans have.

Last season, Hartline dropped to 39 catches. Did he lose the ability to get open or did Ryan Tannehill simply find a new favorite target?

He was targeted 26 times in the Dolphins first four games, grabbing 16 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown in that time span.

He was only thrown to more than five times in a game twice the rest of the season, one of those games being the season finale, when he caught five throws for 94 yards. In most of the other games, he seemed to be an afterthought in the game plan.

At the very least, Hartline is a bigger target for whoever is throwing passes for Cleveland next season, at 6’2″ and 180 pounds. The only receivers bigger on last year’s Browns’ roster were the currently suspended Josh Gordon and current free agent Miles Austin.

So, Hartline is worth taking a gamble on.

As for NFL free agency, you have to understand that most of the players who are eligible are past their prime, or perhaps are at the peak of their ability, so teams will be paying them for dimishing returns.

That doesn’t mean they can’t make an impact, though. Certainly, Donte Whitner and Karlos Dansby made a positive impact on last year’s team lending experience and knowledge of professional football that was invaluable.

And both played very well too. The Browns missed Dansby when he was injured at the end of the year, and Whitner wound up making the Pro Bowl.

That said, we wouldn’t be opposed to seeing GM Ray Farmer pick up an experienced lineman, both defensive and offensive to help the depth in those areas. They can probably get both types of players at a reasonable price.

And as we keep saying, we would also like to see the team get another quarterback, one who can challenge Josh McCown and Johnny Manziel for a starting position. If you don’t have “the guy”, then why not have some options and depth.

It wouldn’t or shouldn’t be a problem to bring in a Jake Locker or Mat Moore to compete for a starting spot.

And it can be done and still keep the organization very flexible with the salary cap. Remember, the Browns came into free agency around $50 million under the cap.

However, knowing the Browns’ fan base, unless they sign Tom Brady to play quarterback, the front office is going to take a hit for not doing enough. Let’s wait until the off-season is over before panicking on what Ray Farmer didn’t do this spring.

Hoyer Era is Over, Now Browns Need to Get Better at QB

Yesterday, Brian Hoyer formally announced he can now be referred to as “former Browns quarterback” Brian Hoyer.

Thus ends the “should the Browns resign Hoyer for the 2015 season” debate.

His supporters will point to his record as the Cleveland starter, which is 10-6, better than any Browns’ passer since the team returned to the NFL in 1999.

His detractors, which we would fall into that category, would point out his career passing rating, a mediocre 76.8, and his four start span after Cleveland reached 6-3. His best rating in those four starts was 61.2, and that came in a critical home loss against Houston, in which he completed just 20 of 50 throws.

We have long advocated that GM Ray Farmer needed to get better at the quarterback position, whether they brought Hoyer back for this season or not, and also whether or not, Johnny Manziel is the heir apparent at the spot.

Hoyer’s record is the result of the Browns finally starting to turn the corner in terms of talent.

Although the team’s record of first round draft picks is deplorable, Tom Heckert and Farmer have brought in many good to very good football players over the last three or four years, and those guys have made the team better.

After the 2013 season, the Browns had five players selected to the Pro Bowl and this year had three. And even though Joe Thomas and Joe Haden made the squad each of those years, Alex Mack, Donte Whitner, Jordan Cameron, Tashaun Gipson, and Josh Gordon have made appearances as well.

Prior to the last couple of seasons? It was pretty much Thomas traveling to the game alone.

So, signing Josh McCown essentially swapped him out for Hoyer in 2015, but Farmer still needs to upgrade the signal caller for the upcoming season, if the brown and orange want to improve on their 7-9 record and get to the playoffs.

We would look for another QB when free agency starts next week, and the Browns should have their eyes on Jake Locker and Matt Moore to bring in to compete with Manziel and McCown.

Locker has a career rating of 79.0, but in two of his four seasons, he has had ratings of over 85.0. His problem is staying healthy, having played just 30 games in his four seasons. Perhaps with the Browns’ offensive line, which is solid despite what the critics say, and his coaches telling him to stay in the pocket, he can stay healthy and be productive.

He will be just 27 years old this season.

Moore is a veteran who has been around, he will play this season at 31 years old, but hasn’t started since the 2011 campaign.

He had an 87.1 QBR in that last season, before Miami drafted Ryan Tannehill and installed him as the starter.

In that season, he started 12 games for a Dolphin team that finished 6-10. He completed 60.5% of his throws with 16 touchdowns vs. nine interceptions.

Since then, he has tossed just 29 passes in the regular season.

He isn’t a household name, but he could be a guy like Hoyer was in the beginning of last season, meaning he avoided mistakes and put his team in positions to win.

In our opinion, that would upgrade the spot behind center coming into the season.

Now, if Farmer stands pat with McCown, Manziel, and Connor Shaw, then fans and media alike have a right to be outraged. Then, they are going with the same situation they had going into last season.

That’s not good enough to make another step forward.

Another Week of Overreaction for Browns’ Fans

The one thing the Cleveland Browns are very good at is staying relevant, at least around the city of Cleveland.

The Cavaliers can be red-hot and the Indians are starting spring training, but all sports fans can talk about is the Browns.

(By the way, we guess we are guilty of the same thing).

This past week, the Browns had two minor tidbits of news in the grand scheme of things, and as usual, kicked off a tremendous media reaction.

The first was created by themselves, the introduction of a new team logo.

The organization took down the old logo at the team’s headquarters, and hyped last Tuesday’s announcement of the new logo throughout the normal media and social media.

This got fans excited as to what the Browns would come up with.

Would the brownie elf be part of it? Would it incorporate the bulldog which has become a symbol of the “Dawg Pound”. Would it provide a glimpse as to what the new uniform would look like?

Instead, it was a change in font, a different shade of orange, and a brown facemask on the helmets.

It created a negative reaction among fans and nationally as well. Quite a bit of comedy was written talking about the new logo.

The Browns front office should take the hit on this debacle. They overhyped themselves.

If they were going to make minor changes, why bring a lot of attention to it. That’s what got fans upset. They thought it would be an exciting new look for the team, and instead, they simply tweaked the representation of the team.

As a graphic designer told us, it was a big deal to him that they changed the font and the color slightly, but he understood that to someone not in his business, it was a minor occurrence.

Then yesterday, the Browns signed QB Josh McCown to a three-year contract, which made social media explode once again.

McCown has been a below average quarterback through his career in the NFL, with a lifetime passer rating of 76.1. The critics of this move point out that the Browns should have just kept Brian Hoyer, the local hero.

His career passer rating? Try 76.8.

Basically, the Browns simply traded out back up quarterback types.

The reason? McCown will be fine if he’s a reserve to either Johnny Manziel or another QB the Browns get in the off-season. Hoyer wanted to be the starter, and Mike Pettine and Ray Farmer didn’t want to make that guarantee.

Our guess is that Farmer will still try to get a player like Jake Locker or Mark Sanchez or Matt Moore in free agency as well, so people critical of the move are being a little premature.

Also, the fans who have been critical of Kyle Shanahan and Hoyer being gone never consider that the onus may have been on them to leave? Neither wanted to commit to Pettine and they are now gone.

It’s just easier to say the organization is “dysfunctional”.

Look, we have no idea what will happen with the Browns in 2015. We do know they are bringing in talent, although they haven’t been able to get the quarterback.

They have a solid offensive line, some good, young running backs, and a very good secondary.

They also have a lot of draft picks and room under the salary cap.

Let’s wait until the off-season plays out before panic sets in.

Until then, we are sure of one thing…the Browns will stay in the news somehow.

Bradford For Browns’ QB? It’s Worth a Shot.

Now that the over-hyped, little changed Browns’ logo has been introduced, we can return to the area’s obsession with who should and will play quarterback for the team this fall.

Besides the local zealots who still insist Brian Hoyer should get the gig based on his “record” as a starting signal caller, there are many fans who feel Hoyer could be a good fallback option, but GM Ray Farmer should try to get someone better.

The question is…does a better option exist?

Over the past few days, it has been reported that the St. Louis Rams would be willing to trade the former first overall pick, QB Sam Bradford. Is Bradford a better option? Why do the Rams want to move him? And, what would you be willing to give up to get him?

As for the first question, Bradford’s biggest problem in his NFL career has been staying on the field, missing six games in his second season, 2011, and has played just seven games over the last two years.

When he’s been on the field, his rating has gotten better with experience, starting at 76.5 his rookie year and improving to 82.6 in his last full season (2012) and to 90.9 in the seven games he played in ’13.

He completed 60.7 of his throws that year with 14 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions.

That kind of performance would make him a god among QB’s since the Browns returned to the league in 1999.

With quarterback play on the decline in the NFL, why would the Rams be willing to move a player who is still just 27 years old?

The obvious answer is reliability. Having your “starting” quarterback available for less than 25% of your games over the last two seasons isn’t something to write home about. To be sure, Jeff Fisher would like someone who he can be sure will be out on the field most Sundays.

The other reason is Bradford’s contract, which is a $16.5 million cap hit in 2015. The Rams’ management would like to spend that kind of money on someone who will actually be playing when the games start.

For the Browns, who have tons of cap space, this isn’t a huge issue because this is the last year of the deal, so they would be out of it after one year if another injury crops up for the former Heisman Trophy winner.

It’s worth the gamble if you don’t have to pay an exorbitant price.

And what should that price be? Bradford is certainly not worth a high draft choice, because of his injury history, so there’s no way we would give up a first rounder.

Considering the Rams will get a great deal of cap space by trading Bradford, and that is most definitely worth something to them, we would figure a third or fourth round pick would be an appropriate price.

If Bradford can stay healthy and play well, behind a solid pass protecting offensive line, he could be the future QB for the Browns. If he doesn’t, he at least buys another year of development for Johnny Manziel, assuming he gets his act together.

It’s worth the gamble because it’s only a one year commitment.

Considering the other options that are out there, Farmer should look very seriously at making a deal to get Sam Bradford. He might be the best player available at this critical position.

Here’s Hoping Browns Aren’t Reaching for QB

It is becoming an annual rite of passage for football fans in Cleveland, Ohio.

The season ends, and the Cleveland Browns are looking at the quarterbacks who are entering the NFL from the college ranks, and the national pundits are talking about the Browns moving up in the draft to take yet another signal caller.

Last season, GM Ray Farmer resisted the temptation to use the fourth overall pick to take a passer, but succumbed to pressure from around the city to find one and moved up to pick Johnny Manziel with the 22nd choice.

Now, NFL insiders are saying that Farmer is enamored with another Heisman Trophy winner, Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, and the Browns are looking to move up to get him.

Adding fuel to the flames is the man who appears to be Cleveland’s next quarterback coach, Kevin O’Connell, is currently working with Mariota, preparing him for his personal workouts with pro teams.

While the Browns certainly have to upgrade the quarterback position, we aren’t sure that picking another guy out of college is the answer, particularly this year.

Most scouts say the most talented passer coming out this year is Jameis Winston from Florida State. However, Winston has a lot of baggage and after coming off the Manziel circus, do the Browns want to deal with that again?

Mariota has the size, but is he ready to step in and play at the NFL level? His offensive system at Oregon was gimmicky, trying to catch the defense off guard by running plays quickly. That’s not going to happen at the professional level.

And this isn’t to say we wouldn’t take either guy. If one or both fell to the Browns’ first pick at #12 overall, or even further to #19, you would have to think about drafting either player, but we would also bring in a veteran, not necessarily Brian Hoyer, to compete for the job.

We just wouldn’t sacrifice a draft pick, or perhaps multiple choices to move up in the selection process to get either.

Why? Because even though quarterback is a most important position, it’s not the only hole the Cleveland Browns have to fill.

They could use a wide receiver. They could use another offensive lineman. They could use defensive line depth and another linebacker as well.

If a quality player is available at one of those positions, Farmer should use the picks he has to fill one of those spots. Don’t reach for a quarterback yet again.

We say that because in our opinion there aren’t any signal callers available who are worth the price of trading an extra high draft choice. So, basically you would be expending the pick you traded for plus another pick, probably in the first three rounds of the draft.

If we thought either Winston or Mariota was an Andrew Luck type player, then the Browns should do what they have to, but that’s not the case.

So, Farmer and the front office should simply sit tight, and draft the best player available, and continue to build a strong team around whoever plays QB when the regular season starts in September.

It’s about time the Browns learn from their mistakes.

Overreaction to Browns’ So-Called Mess.

A couple of years ago, the Cleveland media regarded pro football writer Jason La Canfora as a mouthpiece for Browns’ executive Michael Lombardi. These people never liked Lombardi from his days here in the Belichick regime, and so most of what La Canfora wasn’t taken seriously.

However, his column yesterday was treated like it was gospel judging by the conversation on sports talk radio yesterday.

This isn’t to say there isn’t some grain of truth in what he wrote yesterday, but it seems to have exploded throughout the city and fan base, and we think everyone should take a step back and ease up a bit.

First of all, there are no names mentioned, just unnamed sources or people within the organization. This probably means former team president Joe Banner or Lombardi or people who they know that still work there who may be disgruntled.

It is also likely that some stuff came from former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who was referred to as the “lone bright spot on offense” and a “talented assistant” within the article.

The decision to draft Johnny Manziel was also panned, with Brian Hoyer being praised. Remember that Hoyer’s biggest advocate within the organization was Lombardi. We have said this before, Brian Hoyer is a decent NFL passer, no better, no worse, and the Browns should still be working to upgrade at that position.

This isn’t to say that the Browns’ organization is a well oiled machine, nor are we saying that Haslam isn’t making decisions that he shouldn’t be making, which would mostly be on personnel.

However, we are saying people need to consider the source of this blistering review of the entire organization.

On the other hand, it has been reported that Mike Pettine wanted to hire John DiFilippo as offensive coordinator last season, but was overruled because Shanahan had more experienced. If the head coach wanted him in the first place, then what is wrong with getting him now?

His hand-picked defensive coordinator, Jim O’Neil, looks like a keeper. So, let’s give Pettine the benefit of the doubt on DiFilippo.

As for the coach’s film review with Haslam and team president Alec Sheiner, perhaps those two simply want to learn what the coaching staff looks at, and asked Pettine if they could watch with him.

We understand that might be a stretch, but it is a plausible scenario.

La Canfora also referred to the Browns having a huge amount of high draft choices and significantly large salary cap space had they traded Josh Gordon and not signed the free agents brought in, and had a front office who loved Teddy Bridgewater and Odell Beckham Jr. Doesn’t anyone see that is a blatant endorsement of the Banner/Lombardi regime?

He pans Haslam for vetoing a possible Gordon deal. That’s probably because Gordon was one of the team’s best players and you can’t keep going down that road. Most of the fans and media alike were against making that deal at the time.

And Bridgewater’s stock took a huge hit after his terrible pro day, and he wound up being taken with the last pick in the first round.

It’s much easier to judge players after the fact.

Look, we aren’t saying the Browns’ front office is stable and doesn’t make puzzling moves. However, would you believe a story about a restaurant from someone who just got fired? You would have to view the tale with a jaundiced eye.

That’s all we are saying here.

Maybe Browns Need to Stop Chasing QBs

In Cleveland, football season consists of two parts: The regular season, when games are actually played, and the draft season, which sometimes starts in the middle of the fall, because the Browns are usually struggling.

Part of the draft season is the constant search for the “franchise quarterback”, something the brown and orange have lacked since the days of Bernie Kosar.

This winter, with Brian Hoyer a free agent and Johnny Manziel teetering on the edge of his professional career, the search for the quarterback is in full bloom.

As GM Ray Farmer said after the season ended, most teams don’t have elite QBs, so most team have to figure out a way to win without one. That’s the boat the Browns are in today.

It is ridiculous to listen to some of the theories espoused by fans in this regard.

Some are willing to suffer through a 1-15 season in order to get “the guy”.

First, it doesn’t appear that an Andrew Luck type (and that’s the type of guy you are looking at) will be available in the 2016 draft.

Others are willing to overpay for a veteran, even an injured one like Sam Bradford of the Rams. Yesterday, we heard 92.3’s Dustin Fox talk about giving up the 19th overall pick for Bradford, who has played seven games in the last two seasons combined.

That’s crazy in our books. Would we give up a third or fourth round pick for the former first overall pick? Yes, but dealing a first rounder (not to say Farmer would consider this) is typical of what the Browns have down over the years.

They are talking themselves into bad decisions. Remember that two of our elite passers, Ben Roethlisburger and Aaron Rodgers, fell to their respective teams. They didn’t trade up to get them.

On the other hand, the Browns seemed to talk themselves into Brady Quinn, Brandon Weeden, and Manziel. They were intrigued, but not “in love” with any of them, meaning there wasn’t a consensus within the organization that these were the guys to make Cleveland a winning team.

So, what should the Browns do this off-season? Well, we would look to upgrade the spot by bringing in a veteran, trying to find someone better than Hoyer.

Maybe Jake Locker or Matt Moore, or perhaps work a deal for Philadelphia’s Nick Foles or Bradford. However, we wouldn’t give up a first rounder in either deal, nor would we think their current teams would expect one.

As for Hoyer, remember that despite all of Manziel’s unpreparedness to play in the NFL, at least some in the organization thought they were better off with the rookie than Hoyer going into the Cincinnati game. That’s how bad Hoyer played in the weeks leading up to that contest.

It is up to the coaching staff and personnel department to figure out a way to win with average quarterback play. Want a role model? Look within your own state, where the Bengals do it on a year in, year out basis.

A strong running game and a solid defense can win you many football games, just look at Seattle, who has a chance to defend its Super Bowl title next week.

Yes, Russell Wilson is a very good QB, but he is at least third on the list of reasons as to why the Seahawks win.

Do the Browns need to upgrade at quarterback? Of course, but it’s time they stopped passing on better players to pick people just to take them. It’s like they are a desperate high school senior right before prom.

Farmer and Mike Pettine has accumulated a lot of solid players at other positions. Maybe they should be dominant at other spots to cover for the weakness behind center.

It Doesn’t Have to Be Hoyer vs. Manziel

With everyone quick to judge how a first round draft pick’s career will go after six quarters of action, the debate has resumed about who the Browns’ quarterback should be going into the off-season.

Many fans are back on the Brian Hoyer bandwagon, and of course, they cite his 9-6 record as a starting quarterback, which gives no indication of how he played in those games. Heck, Tim Tebow and Christian Ponder have led teams to the playoffs, and no one is thinking about either being an NFL starting signal caller anytime soon.

We believe that if Hoyer was from Lenexa, Kansas, there wouldn’t be a big clamor for him to be the starting quarterback. Why? Because he was one of the least efficient passers in the NFL this season, ranking 31st in the league, just ahead of Josh McCown and Blake Bortles.

Hoyer also had the second lowest completion percentage among qualifiers in 2014 ahead of only Drew Stanton, completing only 55.3% of his throws.

The point here is that Hoyer only looks good in comparison to the job Manziel did in his two starts, and quite frankly, you have to assume, the former Heisman Trophy winner will get better with his first NFL experience under his belt.

It is doubtful that at Hoyer’s age, he is currently 29 years old, he is going to get much better.

So, why settle for mediocrity at the most important position on the field.

There isn’t a glut of passers who can be free agents this off-season, so if Hoyer leaves via free agency, where do the Browns turn for competition for Manziel, who thus far hasn’t shown anything to suggest he can be a solid NFL quarterback?

However, there are four who caught our eye as guys who could come here and compete for the starting job with the Browns.

Jake Locker is a former first round draft pick who has battled injuries throughout his three years in the league. He is 27 years old with a lifetime 57.5% completion rate and 27 touchdown throws against 22 interceptions. He is mobile, which accounts for some of his injuries, and gave Cleveland fits earlier this season when they faced the Titans.

He would be our first choice.

Mark Sanchez will be mentioned as well, but he is very similar to Hoyer in that he has accuracy issues (56.3%) and is prone to critical turnovers, having thrown 80 interceptions lifetime vs. 82 TD throws.

Here are a couple of longshots.

Matt Moore has started a game since 2011 with the Dolphins, but he could be worth a look. He’s 30 years old, has a lifetime 58.9% completion percentage and has thrown 33 TD passes against 28 picks in his career. You would think he’d be interested in coming to Cleveland for a chance to start.

Case Keenum was signed by Houston off the Rams’ practice squad at the end of the season, and might be worth a look. His accuracy isn’t great (55.2%), but he did win two games down the stretch for the Texans and could develop into a serviceable type of player.

The point is the Browns’ front office shouldn’t be married to the notion that Hoyer is the only alternative to Manziel, and we don’t think they are. Perhaps Cleveland can catch lightning in a bottle with a guy like Locker, and if healthy can be an upgrade over Hoyer.

No matter where one guy is from or the other guy is immature, the Browns need to get better at quarterback. The veteran they have now doesn’t allow for much improvement.

Browns Play Hard for Coach in Finale

With all the pre-game talk about parties, suspensions, and inactives, the Cleveland Browns still had to play one more football game before the season ended.

And for those who think Mike Pettine lost his football team, you were proven wrong today, as the Browns played hard, but still came up short in a 20-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Using an ultra conservative offense because they were forced to play rookie Connor Shaw, and a tough hard-nosed defense, the Browns were tied at halftime at three, and actually took a 10-3 lead with 3:29 left in the third quarter on Terrance West’s short run.

But the defense couldn’t hold the lead once again, and once the Ravens took the lead, there was very curious play calling and Baltimore won going away and received a playoff spot when Kansas City beat San Diego.

All in all, the defense only allowed 20 points, but the problem was they allowed 17 in the final quarter.

Yes, they are depleted by injuries, but remember in three of the last four games, Cleveland had a late advantage only to see the defense give up the game winning points.

They should take accountability for that.

It seemed that once the Browns took the lead, the defensive strategy became conservative, meaning they didn’t go after Joe Flacco they way they did earlier.

Without the pressure, Flacco got hot hitting 8 of 9 throws down the stretch, including a 53-yard shot to Torrey Smith, which set the Ravens up to take the lead.

After Baltimore took a 13-10 lead, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s play calling got strange. With the running game being effective all day (West had 94 yards on 18 attempts), Shaw became the mad bomber, throwing consecutive deep balls to WR Travis Benjamin, both which fell incomplete.

Baltimore got the ball back, scored again, and the game was basically over.

Several people have mentioned Shanahan as a head coaching candidate this off-season, but as with Washington coach Jay Gruden, if his last name was different, no one would be interested in him, at least at this point in his career.

Shaw performed okay considering he was undrafted, hitting 14 of 28 throws for 177 yards, but also showed his lack of arm strength, and why he is not a serious contender for a starting job next summer.

With Brian Hoyer a free agent, and Manziel showing little in his six quarters of play, the Browns will again have questions at this most critical position. We will say it again, when the Browns get competent play at QB, they are a good football team. Not superstar play, just a solid performance.

One of the trademarks of the Cleveland defense all season was getting turnovers, but they couldn’t get one today, and had they got one, it could have turned the game (no pun intended) for the Browns. They forced Flacco into some poor throws early and even forced a fumble (Paul Kruger), but didn’t get the big play.

After the game, owner Jimmy Haslam made the announcement that Pettine and GM Ray Farmer will be back next season, which is the correct course of action.

Yes, some people will point to the five straight losses to end the year, but Cleveland had chances to win four of those late in the games, overall, there was progress. The seven wins is the most since 2007.

The Browns identity got a way from them a little bit and the injuries didn’t help. That’s not an excuse, but the facts.

The offense needs a strong running game and Alex Mack’s broken leg killed the success the Browns were having, and the run defense took a hit when Phil Taylor got hurt.

Next year, with another draft building more depth, these issues can be addressed.

Jumping from 4-12 to 7-9 in nice. Next year, the playoffs will be expected.