DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2023 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 12 Broncos 29 Postgame Thoughts

a small tear forms whenever I see the CBS graphic about the playoff standings, and see the Browns in the Top Wild Card slot, only to come to the realization that in a few weeks we'll be over on the other side where it says "In the Running", and will be having to win out and rely on some bizarre scenario to even make the last seed. And our luck will be that we'll be forced to play the steelers (again!) in the 1st round at their field.

Injuries are a part of every team, every year. It's a challenge. We agree that right now the Browns look like the ED on New Year's Eve. I'd be a lot more comfortable if the record was 7-4 if at least two of those 4 losses weren't due to mind boggling play calling when it's ok to play conventional football.

To your point - PJ is a documented Serial Drive Killer. Why put the ball in his hands when you need ball control - Seahawks game (INT + 2 Plays = Browns loss)? Denver, 32nd ranked run defense and Offensive plays were 24 Run vs 42 Pass with a Rookie QB and PJ.

This is why I think KS coaching stinks. It's why I think he's a JAG of coaches. He's a horrible game manager and does not appear to practice situational game management. He doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes and fans get to witness the futility of it. The Browns are 7-4 in spite of his play calling, not because of it.

Thanks for good discussion; it's ok to have opposite perspective.

Browns Postgame Scribbles: Hey Kevin Stefanski, PLEASE ... run the ball more & play smarter – Terry Pluto
Updated: Nov. 27, 2023, 9:14 p.m.|Published: Nov. 27, 2023, 5:02 p.m.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson vs. Denver Broncos, November 26, 2023


By Terry Pluto, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Scribbles in my notebook after the Browns lost 29-12 in Denver.

1. I’m trying not going to dwell on Kevin Stefanski’s ridiculous play-call in the fourth quarter. That was the reverse – or whatever – where No. 3 QB P.J. Walker handed the ball to Elijah Moore … who flipped the ball to Pierre Strong Jr. … who fumbled. Denver recovered and went on to score a TD. The game went from 17-12 Denver to 24-12 in favor of Denver. Game over. My column from that game titled “OH NO!” dealt with that fiasco.

2. What I didn’t realize until checking the stats after the game was that Stefanski called 29 passes for Dorian Thompson-Robinson (DTR). The rookie QB was knocked out of the game with 22 seconds left in the third quarter. He suffered a concussion. The score was 17-12 in favor of Denver. There was no need to throw the ball that much.

3. Hey, Kevin, you have a QB making his third pro start ... on the road ... in Denver, a tough place to play. You need to run the ball more, period. While DTR was in the game, Browns running backs Kareem Hunt and Jerome Ford carried the ball 15 times. That’s 29 passes to 15 runs when the score was 17-12.

4. Ford had nine carries for 65 yards. That’s productive. Hunt ran six times for 20 yards. Not good, but not awful. They were a combined 85 yards in 15 carries, a 5.7-yard average vs. a defense that ranks dead last in the NFL vs. the run. Let’s be fair on the run/pass ratio: DTR also carried the ball five times (21 yards). That still makes 20 running plays compared to 29 passing plays with DTR on the field in a close game. It’s still poor planning.

5. DTR was hurt by drops. Pro Football Focus said the Browns had only three: One each for David Njoku, Elijah Moore and Ford. I saw at least one other drop by Njoku, who is really struggling with catching the ball lately. Amari Cooper dropped a pass in the end zone that would have been a 2-point conversion. DTR was 14 of 29 passing for 134 yards, a TD and zero interceptions. As he did in the 13-10 victory over Pittsburgh, DTR looked poised – especially for a rookie thrown into the frenzy of midseason football.

6. I had to check when the Browns ran that trick play with Walker/Moore/Strong. It was the second play after DTR left the game. The score was 17-12 … I know., I keep dwelling on that … but why be tricky? My guess is Stefanski had little faith in Walker moving the ball running or throwing. So he tried a gadget play.

8. The argument against Walker and the trick play is that he had just come into the game – and a lot can go wrong. Which it did.

9. Three times, the Browns lined up in the “neutral zone.” That means they lined up wrong. It happened twice with Alex Wright, once with Myles Garrett. Center Ethan Pocic also had a pre-snap penalty for moving the ball too early. There also were false starts by offensive tackles James Hudson III and Geron Christian.

10. Add up all those penalties and you have SIX pre-snap penalties. That’s embarrassing. The Browns had only one penalty in their previous game, the13-10 victory over Pittsburgh.

11. Then there’s the defense. The Browns are being hurt by trap plays and other runs through the interior of the line. Stefanski did mention the need for the Browns to stop the run. Denver raced for 169 yards and a pair of TDs.

12. There are a lot of reasons to be disappointed by how the Browns performed, but the big three in order are: 1) Not running the ball enough. 2) Poor run defense. 3) Pre-snap penalties. Regardless of who is the QB this week vs. the Rams, that has to change or it will be another frustrating day for Browns fans.



https://www.cleveland.com/browns/20...-ball-more-play-smarter-terry-pluto.html

I remember the time Pluto coached the Browns to the playoffs back in 2020..... Oh no, wait, that was Stefanski.

j/c…

JOK was on fire on Sunday

Pluto made some valid points. If you don't agree discuss the points raised... They are only opinions and are there to be challenged

I just enjoy hearing people with no idea how to coach an NFL team bloviate on how it should be done. I won't be joining in any reindeer games even though it tis the season as they say.

Maybe JOK was one of our few players that could deal with the thin air!!!

Not many sports writers out there with a pedigree of coaching at a high level in the sport they write about. Basically it'd be possible to pour the same scorn on anyone posting any opinion good or bad on these forums.... Doing it only selectively when you don't like the message isn't very fair imo.

No doubt. Nothing says Nick will come back strong. He will be 28 next year which is nearing a RBs decline years under the best of circumstance. As for Ford, I think he is a very solid lead back. Even if he doesn't improve much, you can win with the guy.

We do need another back, be it in the draft, trade, whatever. Actually, maybe two. I think a team needs 3 pretty solid options at the position and I am not confident that Nick will be ready to start the season, and even when ready he won't be the same back we remember.

We've already been told that about one shoulder this season.

People on this board don't claim to be experts, well with few exceptions, and they certainly don't make a living from it. Pluto seems to think he's an expert on everything including all sports and even things outside of sports. And he gets paid well for it. I would hope you understand that different standards apply. And I don't actually think he does any better job of stating his opinion than some people on this board have done. The only real difference is that he's a writer so it's better formatted.

j/c,

Clevelands defense is currently ranked #1 at home and #30 on the road.

What happens often times is what people think of reporters is based on what their opinions and takes happen to be. At one time most liked MKC. Then she started publishing things that were unpopular and people trashed her. Now that they like what she's saying again they deem her credible. I'm not referring to you here just the overall vibe of the board. Grossi was hugely popular at one point. Then when they no longer liked what he was reporting his take he was trashed. Sadly for Browns fans he was far more right than wrong. But people just didn't like hearing it. It's simply the way things work. People are willing to hear what they want to hear and reject what they don't.

Very good defenses should be playing well everywhere wouldn't you think?

Yes! We are also 24th in sacks on the road.

The dilemma we have as a team is we really don't know how good we can be because of all the injuries. We've seen glimpes of what we could be on O when DW plays well and we have a healthy O-Line. We've seen more examples on D where we've been dominant and then we get hit with a multitude of injuries. Very frustrating and demoralizing not only for us fans but I'm sure for the players too.

this is a wild stat ... and IMO it seems like the damage is mostly done in the first quarters of away games

But it was you who conflated posters and journalists when you talked about you - as a poster - not joining in. It read to me that posters were also tainted with your criticism. And people always gravitate to reading articles and journalists who they tend to broadly agree with. We have Qunicy (Carter?) widely liked and posted in the forums - I've never heard you trash his opinion because he wasn't a coach. So again - I'm not sure you are being balanced with who and how you attack other opinions. jmo. If it wasn't meant that way I won't take it that way.

Where did this stat come from?

So you mean I'm just like everyone else who sticks up for what they agree with and go up against things they disagree with? If so, guilty as charged. I'm still not sure what you think the big deal is about that.

Too bad someone didn't say "buttfumble" everytime he repeated that.

NFL.com compiled by Kay Adams.

You dimissed an opinion because the person making the opinion isn't an NFL coach. You then said you weren't going to jump on that same wagon. I pointed out that with that pemise you can dismiss any and all opinions by writers and posters.... at which point you said you were only dismissing professional journalist's opinions...It's not hard to follow and it's not a big deal.

And I do that as well. Pluto writes about every sport and even things outside of sports. I don't take him seriously. There are certain posters I feel the same way about and there are posters who feel that way about me. Professional journalists have one goal. To get hits an their web sites and sell their publications. That's what their profession is. It's much easier to see how some of them say even more outlandish things that Pluto in order to achieve that goal. Once one understand what their actual goal is it's much easier to understand a lot of what they write.