Most, if not all Browns players, were in their own "bubbles" as Kevin Stefanski addressed them virtually Tuesday during the team's first meeting of 2020 training camp.
Though the Browns have gone above and beyond to ensure the bubble they've created at the team's facility in Berea provides the safest possible environment for preventing the spread of COVID-19, the players won't be spending all 24 hours of their day inside of it. That's what makes the bubbles they create at their respective residences all the more important as the Browns and NFL hope to be at their healthiest selves when the season kicks off in September.
Stefanski said the team "talked a lot" Tuesday about the importance of responsible behavior outside of the facility.
"To me, it's a shared responsibility," Stefanski said. "It's something that it's not just one person's responsibility to stay on top of. We're really going to be counting on our veterans to show some good leadership here. It's a unique time and I know there's a work-life balance for our players and I completely understand that, but this is such a unique time and they have to take care of their teammates.
"We talk so much about being a good teammate and one of the ways we can a good teammate is when you leave this bubble and go into your own bubble, just making sure that you're making really sound decisions and ultimately you're taking care of your teammates when you do that, your teammates and your coaches."
Stefanski said he's encouraged players to continue those conversations with those who will be closest to them throughout the season. Their actions, too, are just as important.
"It's something all of us are living with and something all of us have to make good choices, make good decisions," Stefanski said. "You just have to do everything in your power to keep yourself and your teammates and their families safe. That's hard. That's not easy for a lot of families, mine included, but you just have to do it. It's the sacrifice that we're making to make sure that we're keeping everyone else safe."
No change
Stefanski said he has not yet talked with David Njoku but stressed the team's stance has not changed on the fourth-year tight end, who recently requested a trade.
"We believe in David, excited to work with him," Stefanski said. "I'll get to finally be in the same room as him this weekend – he's coming in for physicals – and then get out on the field with him Monday. Excited to work with him."
Njoku, a former first-round pick, was sidelined for most of 2019 because of a wrist injury but excelled the previous season, catching 56 passes for 639 yards and four touchdowns. The Browns picked up Njoku's fifth-year option in April to extend his contract through the 2021 season.
Landry on schedule
Stefanski said he would know more in the coming days but continues to be encouraged by the progress of WR Jarvis Landry.
Landry, a five-time Pro Bowler who is coming off a 2019 season in which he set career-highs in receiving yards and yards per catch, underwent hip surgery in February.
"He remains on schedule based on everything he has done post-surgery," Stefanski said.
'Next man up'
Stefanski said he respected the decision of G Drew Forbes, who was placed on the reserve/opt-out list Wednesday. Forbes, a sixth-round pick in 2019, was among those competing for the starting job at right guard.
"There should be competition at a lot of positions, that's the fun part of training camp and I think our guys are eager to compete," Stefanski said. "Drew made a decision. I respect his decision. It's the 'next man up' mentality and we'll see how it all shakes out."
Head coach Kevin Stefanski met with the media via Zoom on July 30, 2020.
Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters Thursday that the team won't huddle during training camp walk-throughs, a football version of social distancing. That tweak brought to mind a larger adjustment the XFL introduced during its 2020 season, and planned to enhance in future years, until the league filed for bankruptcy in April.
To speed the pace of the game, the XFL initiated a major expansion of wireless communication from a coach's headset to a small speaker in players' helmets. The NFL currently allows it for quarterbacks and defensive signal-callers. But the XFL also used it for some skill-position players and planned to implement it for linemen in 2021.
There is no need for a huddle, of course, if every player hears the playcall at the same time as the quarterback. Conservatively, a team could eliminate at least 100 instances of players gathering close together during each game.
There is no evidence that the NFL gave serious thought to expanding coach-to-player communication as part of its pandemic protocols. Historically, it has been slow to adopt technology on the field. Remember, it still prohibits teams from using their Microsoft Surface Pro tablets to view video on the sideline.
But there is a world of advantages to consider in such an expansion, even if it has to wait until a less chaotic time. According to Sam Schwartzstein, the XFL's former director of football operations, the league was planning multichannel communications in 2021 that would have allowed position coaches to speak only to their players prior to the snap. The XFL also eliminated the cutoff point for communication to help improve the quality of play. (The NFL's cutoff point is with 15 seconds remaining on the play clock.)
"You don't need to make the game harder than it already is," Schwartzstein said. "Coach-to-player communication is definitely the next step. We had just scratched the surface with it."
I will be honest. I have reached the point where I am not consuming any of this media on new coaches. Every year I go to the opener and I say to myself....I will know in the first half and certainly by the end of the game if this coach is worth a damn.Every single time and I mean every single time, they come out in the opener and I watch them accumulate 8 pre snap penalties in the first half and I know they are going to suck.
Last year was a special type of abomination with the sloppy play but certainly not an outlier. So while I clicked on this link, I saw what it was and did not read it. I will watch and judge for myself if this guy has any idea on what he is doing.
I haven't seen disciplined football since Eric Mangini.....that was literally a decade ago.
A few things have come out over the past two days that were worth mentioning, but didn't really demand their own individual stories.
1. Odell Beckham Fallout Odell Beckham's conversation with the Wall Street Journal was two weeks old when it was published. And since he's currently in Berea working with the team on conditioning, what he said has been treated as something he no longer believes because he isn't opting out this season.
The concerns Beckham raises in that article are no less valid than they were two weeks ago. They might be more valid given the increase in the death count over the past two weeks. Nothing Beckham said seemed like it was about his individual safety, but was speaking about the league and ultimately society as a whole.
Just because Beckham has a huge salary doesn't mean he can't have the concerns of 'regular people'. Plenty go to work because that's their job, but that doesn't mean ethical concerns regarding whether sports and football specifically should be played are invalid. There's nothing about that thought process that's untenable and it really reflects the concerns of many people in this country.
If Beckham has some peace of mind because he believes the team is doing everything they can to keep the players safe, that's great, but it doesn't address the concerns he raises about society as a whole.
2. Organizational Attitude Remains Positive Whether it's Kevin Stefanski, the team's head coach or general manager Andrew Berry, they really seem to be maintaining a positive attitude, trying to roll with the punches, not allowing any setbacks to get them down, at least publicly.
They've only had three players opt out to this point and two of those are players were in line to potentially start in Drew Forbes and Andrew Billings. Forbes would've at least had a chance to start at right guard, competing with the incumbent Wyatt Teller. Billings was going to have a major role in the defense, was a big addition to their run defense and reducing the overall workload Larry Ogunjobi was going to have this season.
Two positions with excellent depth now may need help from outside the organization. The team has been supportive of the decisions of those players, which is really all they can be in this environment. They may lose more before Thursday's deadline. And they have work to do to improve their roster, but they aren't sweating.
The 80-man roster limit does ensure they options to bring in to try to address the situation. It's just not going to be easy to replace what those players brought to the table.
Damon Harrison is the gold standard at nose. The Browns could look into that spot, but many of the players that are opting out this season are offensive and defensive linemen. Being obese has increased risk with COVID-19 given the potential stress it can put on the heart and lungs in particular. The NFL's athletes that are over 300 pounds are incredibly impressive, but the human body really isn't designed to casually carry that much weight, so that is a concern.
3. Team's Handling of David Njoku The Browns continue to take the high road with tight end David Njoku in light of his trade demand which he has now rescinded. They want him on the team, so it's not a surprise. He's a big part of their plan, wanting to utilize double tight end sets in their offense at a high rate. They have no interest on rubbing salt in the wound to Njoku, even if it's just to his ego.
Njoku has been immature at times in his career and they need him engaged and positive to maximize his impact on the team. Even while acknowledging he was surprised by the trade demand, Berry noted that Njoku was communicative throughout the process, trying to make it minimize the salacious nature of the story.
Njoku, should he feel attacked and opt to sulk, he could have another nothing year. It's in the best interest for both Njoku as well as the Browns to keep him as positive as possible. The team has really handled this situation well and it might provide some tangible benefits this season.
4. Baker Mayfield Things When asked about Baker Mayfield, Berry was positive about him. From his efforts to bring the team together in a unique offseason, his own work to transform and improve his body and put in the work necessary to be a great quarterback, Berry was excited about what he can be.
Berry wasn't asked about Mayfield's Instagram post that featured Dr. Stella Immanuel, a doctor that has provided a massive endorsement for hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19. Even if there are people who believe in that drug as an effective treatment, Immanuel's other beliefs have drawn scorn from critics.
From her insistence that vaccines being developed are made from alien DNA and will make people immune to being religious to saying that gynecological conditions are caused by sex with demons that occurs while women sleep, she's not exactly the ideal champion for that particular cause. It will be interesting to see if this comes up with Stefanski or Mayfield himself when he next has a media availability.
Berry wasn't asked about Mayfield's Instagram post that featured Dr. Stella Immanuel, a doctor that has provided a massive endorsement for hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19. Even if there are people who believe in that drug as an effective treatment, Immanuel's other beliefs have drawn scorn from critics.
From her insistence that vaccines being developed are made from alien DNA and will make people immune to being religious to saying that gynecological conditions are caused by sex with demons that occurs while women sleep, she's not exactly the ideal champion for that particular cause. It will be interesting to see if this comes up with Stefanski or Mayfield himself when he next has a media availability.
Berry wasn't asked about Mayfield's Instagram post that featured Dr. Stella Immanuel, a doctor that has provided a massive endorsement for hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19. Even if there are people who believe in that drug as an effective treatment, Immanuel's other beliefs have drawn scorn from critics.
From her insistence that vaccines being developed are made from alien DNA and will make people immune to being religious to saying that gynecological conditions are caused by sex with demons that occurs while women sleep, she's not exactly the ideal champion for that particular cause. It will be interesting to see if this comes up with Stefanski or Mayfield himself when he next has a media availability.
Two questions and a comment.
Q1: Did that lady really make those claims?
Q2: What did Baker say about her on Instagram?
C: I would like to see Tony Grossi question Baker about this.
In the PP forum there are links that show she has supported those very beliefs. My guess, although that's all it is, is that the same link Trump posted of this woman was retweeted by him. I am not going to elaborate any further on it because I don't feel this is the proper forum for me to do that.
Berry wasn't asked about Mayfield's Instagram post that featured Dr. Stella Immanuel, a doctor that has provided a massive endorsement for hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19. Even if there are people who believe in that drug as an effective treatment, Immanuel's other beliefs have drawn scorn from critics.
From her insistence that vaccines being developed are made from alien DNA and will make people immune to being religious to saying that gynecological conditions are caused by sex with demons that occurs while women sleep, she's not exactly the ideal champion for that particular cause. It will be interesting to see if this comes up with Stefanski or Mayfield himself when he next has a media availability.
Two questions and a comment.
Q1: Did that lady really make those claims? YES
Q2: What did Baker say about her on Instagram? I'm not on instagram,, so I got no idea
C: I would like to see Tony Grossi question Baker about this. Me also
Berry wasn't asked about Mayfield's Instagram post that featured Dr. Stella Immanuel, a doctor that has provided a massive endorsement for hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19. Even if there are people who believe in that drug as an effective treatment, Immanuel's other beliefs have drawn scorn from critics.
From her insistence that vaccines being developed are made from alien DNA and will make people immune to being religious to saying that gynecological conditions are caused by sex with demons that occurs while women sleep, she's not exactly the ideal champion for that particular cause. It will be interesting to see if this comes up with Stefanski or Mayfield himself when he next has a media availability.
Two questions and a comment.
Q1: Did that lady really make those claims? YES
Q2: What did Baker say about her on Instagram? I'm not on instagram,, so I got no idea
C: I would like to see Tony Grossi question Baker about this. Me also
LOL as well, I agree with humor of Grossi, but part of me would like to see how he would handle that. Maybe it is something Ancient Aliens missed out on.
By Scott Patsko, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio – If you look at the roster on the Browns’ website, you’ll see only Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller listed as guards among the active players.
That’s because the rest of the position group opted out of the 2020 season this week. Drew Forbes, Colby Gossett and Malcolm Pridgeon are among the five Browns sitting out the season due to coronavirus concerns, creating some depth questions at guard.
While Bitonio is the obvious starter at left guard, Teller was expected to compete for the right guard job.
Andrew Berry has said Teller, Forbes, draft pick Nick Harris and Even Brown are candidates at right guard. Offensive line coach Bill Callahan mentioned Teller, Forbes, Gossett and Willie Wright as possibilities.
As the Browns get training camp up and running, let’s take a closer look at what the Browns lost at guard, what remains, and what else might be available.
WHAT WAS LOST?
Forbes, a sixth-round pick last year, was considered by most to be Teller’s main challenger. Being mentioned as a top contender by both Berry and Callahan certainly didn’t hurt that belief.
It would’ve been his second run at the position. Forbes was a tackle in college but entered the 2019 right guard competition late in training camp before beginning his rookie season on IR. He returned late in the season to play nine special teams snaps and has yet to take the field on offense. His NFL guard experience is 116 preseason snaps.
Gossett was a sixth-round pick of the Vikings in 2018, and began his career on the practice squad. The Cardinals signed him late in the season and he started the final four games at left guard, earning replaceable level grades from Pro Football Focus. He spent last season on the Patriots and Browns practice squads.
Pridgeon, originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Texans in 2019, has yet to play in an NFL game.
WHAT REMAINS?
Bitonio is a two-time Pro Bowler and not really part of this conversation because his spot is secure.
Teller was a fifth-round pick of the Bills in 2018 and started the final seven games of his rookie season. He was traded to the Browns last year shortly before Week 1, then took over for Eric Kush midway through the season. Only Kush and Chris Hubbard had worse run-blocking grades from PFF than Teller (48.2)..
After Teller and Bitonio, the Browns need to look to their centers for guard experience. Berry pointed out after the draft that all the Browns’ guards and centers would be cross-trained.
Harris played guard his first two seasons at Washington before switching to center. Similarly, Brown was a guard at SMU before switching to center his final two seasons. In the NFL, Brown has 37 snaps at guard, all in Week 14 for the Dolphins last season.
Wright, signed as an undrafted free agent last season, has yet to play in a regular season game. He was used primarily at center in the preseason.
There is also Hubbard, the Browns’ right tackle the last two seasons, who is battling for a reserve role after restructuring his contract. During his first three seasons – as a Steelers backup - he was used almost exclusively as a guard during preseason games.
WHAT ELSE IS OUT THERE?
This kind of depends on what the Browns want to accomplish.
Do they want guards who can compete with Teller for the starting spot? It seems they would’ve signed more experienced guards by now if that were the case.
Former Saints Pro Bowl guard Larry Worford – whose style of play seemed to clash with the quick, athletic guard play Kevin Stefanski’s offense requires – is still a free agent, but announced he is sitting out the 2020 season.
Free agent Josh Kline started 12 games at right guard last season for the Vikings. But despite signing him to a three-year $15.5-million deal prior to last season, the Vikings released him in March. Kline has been out there this entire time, leading one to wonder if Stefanski determined he wasn’t the best fit for his offense (PFF has given Kline a starter-level grade as a run blocker just once in his seven seasons).
Former Broncos guard Ronald Leary (31) is still a free agent. The Broncos declined to pick up his option, saving them more than $8 million in 2020 (he signed a four-year, $36-million deal in 2017). But Leary has played just 19 games over the last two seasons and hasn’t lasted a full season since 2013.
Do the Browns simply want to add more guards to avoid logistical issues during camp drills? If that’s the case, it’s not hard to find camp bodies.
A POSSIBLE SCENARIO
Where the Browns could really feel the pinch of losing three guards is the practice squad, which is expanded to 16 players this season. Teams have a chance to stockpile more offensive linemen that way (the league even allows two extra players to be active on game day, and one must be a lineman).
If the Browns just move forward with what’s on the roster, they’d surely need to search the waiver wire for options following cut-down day. Then they’d have to get those players up to speed as the season begins as opposed to having their own roster cuts - who would already be familiar with the scheme - clear waivers and move to the practice squad.
But that’s way down the roster.
It seems more likely that Berry will sign some extra camp bodies to play guard, and the Browns will move forward with a right guard competition that includes Teller, Harris, Brown, Wright and maybe even Hubbard.
Most NFL teams take nine or 10 offensive linemen into Week 1. The Browns currently have 11 on the roster. If Teller does claim the starting job, the Browns could have a backup group that includes Hubbard and Kendall Lamm at tackle and Harris and Brown available for guard or center.
That’s a scenario that could’ve happened even with Forbes, Gossett and Pridgeon still in the picture
Kevin Stefanski says he’s 100% committed to Jedrick Wills Jr. as Browns’ left tackle vs. Ravens despite rookies being behind the curve this season
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2020/08...er-on-that.html By Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com BEREA, Ohio -- Kevin Stefanski says the Browns are still 100% committed to starting rookie Jedrick Wills Jr. at left tackle vs. the Ravens in the opener Sept. 13 regardless of offensive line coach Bill Callahan observing that Wills is behind the curve like all NFL rookies.
Stefanski also said not putting Myles Garrett over Wills most of the time in team drills is more about what the defense is trying to accomplish.
“If that’s something that we want to do, less so than what it means to Jedrick,’' he said.
Callahan acknowledged that it’s been tough for young players such as Wills, the No. 10 overall pick, to learn their craft with their no offseason or preseason — let alone trying to make the quantum leap from right tackle to left.
“Rookies across the league are behind the curve,’' Callahan said. “Our goal is to bring him up to speed as fast as we can. We’ve really inundated him with techniques and walkthroughs. We’ve gone through several measures in the classroom showing him different players doing the techniques that we’re asking of him. The progress has been positive, but you just don’t know until you go up against live competition.’'
Wills will get a small taste of game speed on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium when the Browns wrap up the first of two practices there with a “move-the-ball’ competitive period. It’s not the same as having to make sure your quarterback doesn’t end up on his back in a live game, but Wills is working against Pro Bowl competition each day.
“Having the looks that we’re getting in practice from No. 54 (Olivier Vernon) and No. 95 (Myles Garrett) certainly helps that,’' Callahan said. “He’s obviously lost his share and he’s won a share of his reps, but that experience of getting out against quality and premier pass rushers is invaluable. Every day, it’s a learning experience for him.’'
During most team drills, Garrett, who missed the first five days of camp with a tweaked hamstring, is lined up at left end across from right tackle Jack Conklin. But Callahan, like Stefanski, says it’s more a statement about the defense than trying not to shatter Wills’ psyche. Other players, such Sheldon Richardson, have worked against Wills at times.
“We’ve had Myles over Jedrick’s position several times, not only in the one-on-ones but also in team,’' Callahan said. “I can’t speak for the defense, but what I feel and what I sense is that they’re just trying to get Myles up and going. He’s on a little bit of a pitch count, so I’m sure they’re monitoring his reps and making sure that he’s not overdoing it as he’s just making his way back in.’'
Callahan said Garrett is quickly rounding back into form, which will help all of the o-linemen get their game faces on.
“Watching Myles yesterday, he was really impressive finishing plays, and we highlighted that today as a team to watch him finish,’' he said. “He had great championship effort on the plays that were shown to the team. I was really impressed, as I’ve always been impressed by Myles.
“In terms of his one-on-ones getting matched up on Jedrick, we’re trying to give Jedrick as many different looks as possible, whether it’s a speed rusher, a power rusher or a combination-type player. We’re just trying to get as many different people on him to give him that exposure of the speed, quickness and power that he’s going to face.”
Callahan dismissed the notion that Wills is struggling more than anticipated in the switch from right tackle to left.
“I wouldn’t say that,’' he said. “I’ve gauged his rate of improvement. You’d love to have it much higher, like a veteran level, but let’s be realistic, that’s just not going to happen in this day and age because of the tardiness of techniques of not having the offseason and things of that nature. I do think that the players learn more once they get into the games. They are really more in tune to what’s going to occur and what they can expect. That rate of improvement is key.’'
He said the key for Wills in this coronavirus-marred season is to keep trending upward.
“Week in and week out as we move through the schedule and during the season, I just want to see constant improvement,’' Callahan said. “I want to see his technique get better and I want to see him graduate to a level where he can handle just about anything. Now, he is not going to be proficient at everything, but I want him to have good exposure and a good understanding of the things that are going to be facing him.”
Callahan was realistic about the possibility of starting two rookies on the line against the Ravens in Wills and fifth-round pick Nick Harris, who might have to start in place of JC Tretter. Tretter underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Aug. 13th, and the opening will be cutting it close for him.
“We just have to deal with it,’' Callahan said. “We weren’t expecting JC to have surgery, and of course, he’s working hard to make his way back. Of course, I’ve had so many different combinations over the last few years, it’s been fun. It’s challenging. It’s not what you really want optimally because you don’t want two rookies in there, but we’ve had great veteran leadership with Joel Bitonio just helping those guys out, communicating and putting a calm to them. Overall, I think they’re going to get better as time goes on. It will not be perfect, but again, the experience is totally invaluable.”
Callahan said the Browns are letting Wills work out of a two-point stance on his side.
“We’ve staggered Jedrick in a two-point and a three-point so he has worked in both,’' he said. “He’s punching out of both stances to the close side where the tight end is there positioned next to him. Most of our tackles are down in three-points. We have given a little bit more flexibility to the left tackle to the open side of the formation where there is not a tight end adjacent to him to play from a two-point because that’s where their best defensive player is located.
“To be in that position from the two-point, probably more comfortable for the tackle because he can see a lot more, he can anticipate a little bit better and it does help them when they do pass set.”
Callahan agrees with Garrett that Wills, who’s expected to address the media Sunday, mustn’t get down in this accelerated camp when he gets beat, especially by the savvy, Pro Bowl veterans he’s facing. Wills just turned 21 in May, and spent his career at Alabama at right tackle, protecting lefty Tua Tagovailoa’s blindside.
“For all the rookies in our league and especially on our team, they need to learn the cycle of the snap, and they need to get the mindset prior to the play in the pre-snap,’' Callahan said. “Then of course when the snap is over, good bad or indifferent, they need to process that quickly and find out or learn what they did good, what they did bad and what they could do better and then move on to the next play.
“That ability to change the mindset of the next play and going to the next play is critically important for a young player. Sometimes, they have the tendency to dwell because they want to do so well that it kind of feeds into that cycle of overthinking, paralysis and things of that nature. We have worked really hard at trying to get a mindset for Jedrick and all of our players of getting on and getting forward with the next play.”
Garrett promised last week to help Wills both mentally and physically.
“That was one of the things I was seeing when he was out there going against OV,’' Garrett said. “He’d get beat once or twice. Just try to pick his head up. ‘Hey, focus on the next play.’ [Vernon] has been in the league for a long time for a reason. He knows how to play the game. He knows how to rush the passer. You can’t get discouraged from one drive.
“This could just be the one where he got you and you could go on to protect the quarterback perfectly for the rest of the game, so don’t allow these couple plays to keep you from getting where you want to go. This is just training camp, and you have a long season. You can improve from today all the way to there, and end up like one of the guys who only gives up one or no sacks throughout the year.’'
Garrett also vowed not to go easy on Wills.
“Oh, no,’' he said. “Nobody ever learns when you dial it back. Now walking through, that’s different. Once we’re out there with pads on, shells or whatever it is, I’m going to give him whatever I have so he can get that feel of a good defensive end coming off on him and what he’s supposed to be on him.”
Over the next two weeks, Wills will probably experience more of that.
Roster exemptions: Raekwon McMillan (Raiders after trade from Dolphins), James Lockhart (claimed off waivers) Roster exemptions lifted: Damion Willis (Browns), Salvon Ahmed (Dolphins)
Waived: D.J. Montgomery (Browns), Jalen Dalton, Darrin Paulo (Saints), Christian Angulo, Javon Leake (Giants), Kofi Amichia (49ers), Eli Mercer (Seahawks)
Quote of the Day: Browns competition for 3rd WR is open and ongoing
Quote of the Day is a recurring series that will single out something said by a Browns player, coach or executive in a given day and provide context behind its importance.
The quote: "I think our evaluation of that spot on our roster is still ongoing. Certainly, (WR Rashard) Higgins has done a nice job and been very competitive to try to earn that position. I think there is a very competitive situation on our roster for that spot and we have a lot of guys vying for it. I do not think anything is set in stone. I think the evaluation is still ongoing." — Pass game coordinator/WRs coach Chad O'Shea
Everyone knows who the Browns' top two wide receivers are.
Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry share a combined eight Pro Bowls, 1,028 receptions, 12,000+ yards and 80 touchdowns between them. They give the Browns' one of the best one-two punches at the position in the entire NFL.
Behind them, though, remains an ongoing competition, and O'Shea made that clear as he went down the line of potential options. Observations from practice haven't provided many tells, either. Each player in the mix has seemingly received an opportunity or two with the first offense.
The options are plentiful, though, and each player has seemed to make a positive impression on O'Shea, who has coached some of the best at the position across a career that includes five conference titles and three Super Bowl rings.
"When you look at that area and those guys that are vying for that position, whether it is Higgins or whether it is (Taywan) Taylor and Damion Ratley is coming off being injured and he is coming back to the field some … Really, there are a lot of guys that are doing a good job," O'Shea said.
"I would say the competition is still open."
Higgins has made a number of plays over the past week of practice, including a handful of touchdown catches during Thursday's shortened session. The veteran is coming off a disappointing 2019, but his chemistry with Baker Mayfield remains apparent. He received high praise from offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt earlier in the week, too.
"Higgins has stepped up," Van Pelt said. "He really has been impressive with his ability to finish plays. He battles right to the end in the run game, and in the pass game, he is getting better each day."
Ratley has only participated in a few practices because of a groin injury. He's one of the team's fastest wide receivers and ended 2019 on a high note when he caught a long touchdown against the Bengals.
Taylor didn't see the field much last season after joining the team in a trade right before the season opener. The former third-round pick was productive in 2018, though, and has made a number of plays throughout camp.
KhaDarel Hodge, one of the Browns' top special teams players, recently rejoined the team after missing time for personal reasons. During the early part of camp, Hodge was on the receiving end of a number of big plays.
"KhaDarel Hodge is somebody that I have been extremely impressed with," O'Shea said. "I have a great deal of respect for the way he plays the game. The one thing that he has done is he has given himself an opportunity to play multiple positions because he studies hard and he knows what to do."
And then there's sixth-round rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones, who drew praise from Kevin Stefanski on Friday for his "versatility" and ability to help the Browns at a number of spots, including special teams. O'Shea's assessment of the rookie was matter of fact but he certainly did not eliminate Peoples-Jones from this wide-open competition to work alongside Landry and Beckham as the Browns' No. 3 receiver.
"There are some things that he is a making a lot of progress on and he is doing exactly the way we want him, and then there are going to be some times where there is not as much consistency as we want," O'Shea said. "I think that is true of all young players that try to transition into the National Football League, especially in a very unique year in which we have had the limited amount of opportunities to go out there together. I have been pleased with his work ethic and his overall attitude."
NOTESNotes: As Browns look to build winning culture, Malcolm Smith brings Super Bowl experience, willingness to share knowledge
https://www.brownszone.com/2020/08/29/no...hare-knowledge/ BEREA — New linebacker Malcolm Smith has been where the Browns are desperate to get. He’s appeared in the playoffs four times, playing nine games, including the 2013 Super Bowl. He returned an interception 69 yards for a touchdown, recovered a fumble and totaled 10 tackles as he was named MVP of the league’s biggest game. As the Browns attempt to build a winning culture after two decades of losing, Smith brings valuable experience from his four years with the Seahawks. He knows what it takes. “One is definitely the passion every day to come to work and understand that you are competing on multiple fronts,” he said Saturday. “You are competing to stay healthy. You are competing to stay strong throughout the year. You are competing to pay attention to the small details. “Everything counts. That was something that we always harped on. All the good teams that I have been on and all the good organizations, it has always been about everything you put in counting toward something. There are no steps that get ignored, and as soon as you do, you give an opportunity for someone else to beat you.” Smith was signed last Sunday after Mack Wilson went down with a hyperextended knee. Smith, 31, adds experience at a position lacking proven depth. “I am just trying to add my sauce and bring what I can to the mix,” he said. “That is how you get things better. You blend energies and you try to get everyone moving in the same direction. “It is not fair for me to keep some of the knowledge that I have. You have to share what you know for us to be good, for us to compete and for us to operate at our best as a unit. You don’t want to miss any opportunities to share what you know.” Smith remains motivated by not being invited to the scouting combine before he was a seventh-round pick in 2011. The Super Bowl MVP trophy that sits in his home office is the perfect proof that he belonged in the NFL. “It is cool. It is definitely cool for my family to have something like that attached to my name, and it is special,” he said. “But overall, it is just a testament to the group we had and the work we put in and even myself individually.” Sheldrick Redwine has passion for fighting social injustice, foundation to help kids and is ready to take next step in career
I’M NO. 3
The most intriguing position battle may be at the No. 3 receiver spot. Rashard Higgins, KhaDarel Hodge, Taywan Taylor, Damion Ratley and rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones are in the mix to join Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry in three-receiver sets. “Certainly, Higgins has done a nice job and been very competitive to try to earn that position,” pass game coordinator/receivers coach Chad O’Shea said. “There is a very competitive situation on our roster for that spot, and we have a lot of guys vying for it. I do not think anything is set in stone.”
Hodge made an impact last season on special teams but could expand his role on offense. He spent a lot of time with the first team Saturday. “KhaDarel Hodge is somebody that I have been extremely impressed with,” O’Shea said. “I have a great deal of respect for the way he plays the game. He is very good mentally. “He is dependable and detailed. I am very fortunate to have him in the receiver room, and he is a good example for our other players of the overall dependability and putting the team first in everything he does.”
THRUST INTO ACTION
Rookie fifth-round pick Nick Harris didn’t have time to settle into his first NFL training camp. Tretter had knee surgery the day before practice started, bumping Harris into the starting lineup. Tretter’s status for the opener Sept. 13 in Baltimore remains in question, which means the Browns could start two rookies — left tackle Jedrick Wills and Harris. “We just have to deal with it,” line coach Bill Callahan said. “We were not expecting JC to have surgery and, of course, he is working hard to make his way back.” Callahan likes how Harris has handled himself. “He can get us in and out of the protection calls that we need to make. That aspect for a young center has been really impressive,” Callahan said. “Then, of course, trying to bring him up to speed with all the physical fundamental techniques at his position, it has been really challenging, but he is a guy that continues to make strides and improvement. “He has just come in there with a really good confidence about himself and nice poise, and that is refreshing for a young player.”
INJURY REPORT
Linebacker B.J. Goodson didn’t practice for a personal reason. ** Backup tackle Chris Hubbard (ankle) didn’t practice. ** Cornerbacks Greedy Williams (shoulder), Kevin Johnson (lacerated liver) and M.J. Stewart Jr. (hamstring), center JC Tretter (knee) and Wilson (knee) remained out. ** Defensive end Adrian Clayborn (groin) returned to practice. EXTRA POINTS
Stefanski still won’t announce whether he or coordinator Alex Van Pelt will call the offensive plays during the season. “We are going to mix it this week, but I am sticking to the plan,” Stefanski said. “I promise I will update you guys when appropriate.” ** The roster exemption for receiver Damion Willis expired, so receiver D.J. Montgomery was waived to make room on the 80-man roster. Willis was claimed off waivers from the Bengals on Wednesday. He didn’t practice Saturday.
Eli Ankou’s NFL journey has been a winding one. Three years, three teams and only 20 games played. The Ottawa native has spent it all battling on the fringes of rosters and this year was to be no different but while the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the rest of the world to its knees, Ankou was given a chance to shine.
Ankou was poached off the Jacksonville Jaguars practice roster by Cleveland in 2019 and his seven tackles in nine games with limited reps as a run defender were enough to earn him a training camp berth. In a regular year, Ankou would have almost certainly been on the chopping block but the coronavirus caused a rash of changes in the NFL and veteran free agent signing Andrew Billings opted out of the 2020 season. That left a 328-pound hole for a run-stuffing nose tackle in the defensive line rotation.
Listed at six-foot-three and 325-pounds, Ankou is at least 20 pounds heavier than any other player on the Browns roster, which meant he immediately got first crack at Billings’ role. Most outside the club thought a free agent would be brought in to replace him but with a week left in camp, Ankou has remained and he’s made the most of his opportunity.
On Friday, the UCLA-product was named one of the eight most impressive performers in Browns’ training camp by Jeff Risdon of the USA Today sponsored BrownsWire, listed alongside established NFL stars like Odell Beckham Jr, Kareem Hunt and Autin Hooper. One thing has set Ankou apart in the eyes of those who frequently view Browns’ practice, a natural ability to get his hands into passing lanes.
After Ankou deflected a Baker Mayfield pass up in the air for an interception on Thursday, the Browns’ in-house host Nathan Zegura marveled aloud over the live-stream broadcast.
““How many times have we said, ‘pass batted down by No. 91’?,” he asked.
Apparently, it’s been an awful lot and Zegura elaborated on Ankou’s camp performance in his practice recap.
“He has done an excellent job taking on double teams and has shown a knack for batting balls down at the line of scrimmage,” he wrote. “Kiffin even raved about his athleticism and movement skills for a man that size.”
A player who once seemed a roster long-shot appears to have carved himself a niche in Cleveland. While Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi will start for the Browns along the interior, with top rookie Jordan Elliott used heavily in rotation, Ankou appears to be the one tasked with doing the dirty work and two-gapping on the inside. It may be the fourth man on the depth chart but it means another year of NFL employment for the 26-year old.
Should Ankou keep his momentum going another week and make the roster, it will be a proud moment for Ottawa football fans but one that might be bittersweet in the long term. A year of NFL success will keep Ankou another year further from returning home and suiting up for the Ottawa Redblacks, who drafted him in the third round of the 2017 CFL Draft.
Still, Ottawa has established itself as a growing producer of top football talent and those in the city might well have October 4th circled on their calendars. That’s the day that Cleveland travels to Dallas and, if all goes according to plan, both defensive lines will feature Ottawa born anchors in the form of Ankou and Cowboys’ rookie Neville Gallimore.
Cleveland Browns Training Camp Recap: Day 13 - What Happened to Njoku? The Browns’ tight end mysteriously disappeared from practice, and was not listed on the injury report afterward.
Let’s get right into the Day 13 practice report for your Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report - Day 13 (8/29/20) 1. No Pads: With the Browns set to practice at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday, Cleveland practiced in shorts without pads on Saturday.
2. Drill of the Day: This is a cool camera angle for the quarterback accuracy drill, seeing QB Baker Mayfield put it on target and right through the net:
3. Third WR Role: As I have mentioned in the past, whoever wins the No. 3 receiving job will likely not see a lot of reps on gameday, based on Kevin Stefanski’s history. But, you still want a reliable person for that role, and also, you want someone else reliable in general in the event they need to fill in for WR Odell Beckham or WR Jarvis Landry. Prior to practice, receivers coach Chad O’Shea was asked about the third receiving job, and said that WR Rashard Higgins, among others, have done a nice job. When asked specifically about WR KhaDarel Hodge, he gave him some nice praise:
Hodge and Higgins each saw some work with the first-team offense in practice.
4. Jedrick Wills to Start Week 1: OT Chris Hubbard was not at practice today. After practice, he was listed on the injury report with an ankle injury. Also missing from practice was LB B.J. Goodson (personal). As for starting rookie left tackle Jedrick Wills, offensive line coach Bill Callahan spoke before practice and conveyed what others have said: it’ll take some time for Wills or any rookie to get ready in this shortened season, but he’ll get there:
Head coach Kevin Stefanski left no doubts, though: Wills will 100% be the starting left tackle in Week 1.
5. Njoku’s Mysterious Disappearance: After coming out to begin practice, TE David Njoku walked back inside a little bit after, and “didn’t appear to be injured.” After practice, no mention of Njoku was made on the injury report. A lot of fans on Twitter have jumped to the speculation that Colts TE Trey Burton suffered a calf injury today, and want Cleveland to trade Njoku for S Malik Hooker (since S Grant Delpit is out for the year). That is not a rumor, though — it’s merely fans trying to connect some dots.
6. Still Kicking Reliably: Second-year K Austin Seibert connected on all eight of his field goals to end practice again, continuing his strong camp. One of his kicks ricocheted in off the upright, so maybe he’s learning the Phil Dawson trick. His next big test comes tomorrow at the stadium.
7. Sunday’s Stadium Practice: Head coach Kevin Stefanski said that tomorrow’s practice at FirstEnergy Stadium will serve as a normal practice, and also for the team to get familiar with the stadium itself. They will have at least one “move-the-ball” period that is competitive. The next time they practice at FirstEnergy Stadium, they will treat that one as more of a scrimmage/dress-rehearsal.
In addition, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt will call plays during the Sunday practice:
8. Brownies: The Browns have waived WR D.J. Montgomery. ... DE Adrian Clayborn (groin) returned to practice. ... Other players absent from practice included CB Kevin Johnson (liver), CB M.J. Stewart (hamstring), C JC Tretter (knee), CB Greedy Williams (shoulder), and LB Mack Wilson (knee). ... A total of 75 puppies have been adopted via the Browns Puppy Pound this year.
9. Next Up: On Sunday, the Browns will practice at FirstEnergy Stadium, beginning at 1:25 PM. The players have Monday off.
He's the kind of guy that doesn't make it here and goes somewhere else to be a Pro Bowl TE. And the guy we keep will be out of the league in two years...
It will take a good half of the season for Wills to get comfortable with the position. The change to LT from RT is a success but the lack of physical work has ALL NFL rookies behind...maybe CB and WR can be a little ahead as they can get most done without contact involved. But OL you need contact to learn. So we will have to use about 8 games real games to get him comfortable at LT. So I hope the fans don't judge him on those first 8 games and call him a bust. He will get better with each game.
I think Njoku sticks unless we can trade him. What could we get for him? Maybe like a 5th round pick ... he simply isn’t good considering what he could be
He's the kind of guy that doesn't make it here and goes somewhere else to be a Pro Bowl TE. And the guy we keep will be out of the league in two years...
Ya, cause we’ve had so many players leave here to go on to be pro bowl players ...
Did anyone actually think that Wills would be a finished product at this point.. Even with a normal off season of Prep... I doubt he could have been totally ready.
Give it time... I figure by Mid Season, we'll begin to see how good he can be.
Did anyone actually think that Wills would be a finished product at this point.. Even with a normal off season of Prep... I doubt he could have been totally ready.
Give it time... I figure by Mid Season, we'll begin to see how good he can be.
It's really hard to get good impressions based on this off season.
Did anyone actually think that Wills would be a finished product at this point.. Even with a normal off season of Prep... I doubt he could have been totally ready.
Give it time... I figure by Mid Season, we'll begin to see how good he can be.
Agreed - I wonder if the pick would be the same knowing how poor the pre-season prep would be? I'm expecting early season struggles and improvement throughout the season and a big leap forward next year where he plays at a top level.
Did anyone else watch the Browns vs Giants game that was broadcast here locally last night (8/29/2020)? I think it was from 2008? What a game! We still had Braylon Edwards, Jamal Lewis, Jerome Harrison, etc., etc. Anderson was our QB.
Jamal Lewis really poured it on that game. Edwards had a really good game too.
The broadcast itself was pretty blurry, like it was a copy of a copy of someone's VHS tape. It was actually hard to watch, but I soldiered through. I'm glad I did.
Did anyone actually think that Wills would be a finished product at this point.
Has anyone even come close to suggesting that he would be a finished product at this point?
Clearly the question is out there....
I think the only expectation of Wills at this point is to not get the QB killed while learning the ropes. So far though that doesn't appear to be attainable, he's struggling. I can see alot of TE/RB help for the first half of the year to let him get settled
Did anyone actually think that Wills would be a finished product at this point.
Has anyone even come close to suggesting that he would be a finished product at this point?
Clearly the question is out there....
It's one of those things where you "know" it, but there's still a painful realization when the guy goes out there, as a rookie, with no offseason, switching positions, and is going against seasoned PB-level competition.
If we do trade Njoku I would think it would be before the trade deadline where he will put up some good numbers for us to obtain a decent return.
Why trade him then if he is studding out?
Well if we decided we will not retain his services once his contract runs out cause we will not want to pay what he will be asking. So rather lose him then we will get something while we can. I truly think this FO got Harrison Bryant to replace Njoku.
Anyone who would suggest such a thing is clueless to NFL adjustment. I expect hard work, some failures, and about four learning curves. He has several mountains to climb.
I hope he can stay focused enough to succeed. His "competition" daily for work should only make him better faster.
Anyone who would suggest such a thing is clueless to NFL adjustment. I expect hard work, some failures, and about four learning curves. He has several mountains to climb.
I hope he can stay focused enough to succeed. His "competition" daily for work should only make him better faster.
Let's hope so. "Baker-rolling-right" didn't seem to exploit many defenses last year.
All I'm saying is that it's one of those things where a fan can understand it 100%, and it still be a painful thing to watch. With TC usually being a time of awful hot-takes, this one barely makes the list, IMO.
It will take a good half of the season for Wills to get comfortable with the position. The change to LT from RT is a success but the lack of physical work has ALL NFL rookies behind...maybe CB and WR can be a little ahead as they can get most done without contact involved. But OL you need contact to learn. So we will have to use about 8 games real games to get him comfortable at LT. So I hope the fans don't judge him on those first 8 games and call him a bust. He will get better with each game.
jmho
I agree with you, Tab. It will take some time for him to learn the position. I don't know if he will be great. I am concerned about how he has performed so far, but it's definitely not conclusive. The biggest thing, I think, is like what Callahan said: he needs to show a continuous improvement.
What I am very worried about, though, is that the early errors don't come at Baker's - or the offense's as a whole - expense.
Jacob Phillips hasn’t had an aha moment while trying to cover 6-foot-4 tight end Austin Hooper or seeing running back Nick Chubb primed to bulldoze him.
While those would be frightening experiences for some, the rookie linebacker said competing against the Browns’ star-studded offense has boosted his confidence and made him believe he belongs in the NFL.
The third-round pick from Louisiana State was thrust to the forefront after linebacker Mack Wilson hyperextended his left knee on Aug. 18, and Phillips has tried to take advantage of the extra work.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed on Tuesday that Wilson will not need surgery. With a timetable of four to six more weeks before Wilson can return, Phillips is battling three-year veteran Tae Davis and former Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith for the starting job at weak-side linebacker.
B.J. Goodson and Sione Takitaki appear to have locked down the middle and strong-side spots, respectively, for the Sept. 13 opener at Baltimore. If Phillips is called upon, he said he’s ready.
“The players that we have on offense, being able to compete against them every day, make plays against them, has definitely given me a whole lot of confidence I can do it against every other team in the league because I know how special our team is here,” Phillips said on a Zoom call. “I’m definitely ready. Actually, I can’t wait for it.”
Phillips may have made an impression with his energy and enthusiasm, but limiting league MVP Lamar Jackson of the Ravens is another matter.
“Jacob runs around and he wants to ‘See ball, get ball’ and he’s built athletically to go do that,” Stefanski said of Phillips, 6-foot-3 and 228 pounds. “Like every other rookie at every other position probably with every other team, it’s not perfect. There’s a growing period to this and I think he’s made strides each and every day he’s been out there on the grass.”
Phillips said most of his snaps have come on the weak side. But with Goodson sitting out Sunday’s scrimmage at FirstEnergy Stadium for a personal reason, Phillips also saw action in the middle.
“There’s no added pressure,” Phillips said of filling in for Wilson. “I put pressure on myself, I’m a big competitor. Nothing really affects my mental drive as far as wanting to be a better player myself.”
Phillips called the scheme designed by defensive coordinator Joe Woods “real complex,” but Phillips believes he has improved.
“I feel like being in this defense has let me showcase and have more opportunities to be a well-rounded player,” Phillips said. “We do a lot in this defense — we get to cover, we get to blitz, we get to run, a whole lot of things. I’m enjoying it. It’s a fun and fast defense and I can’t wait to play.”
Phillips said Wilson has mentored him and he felt for Wilson when he was hurt.
“Always cheer for my brothers, always want my brothers to play,” Phillips said, calling the fact Wilson is avoiding surgery “a blessing.”
The defense was dealt another blow when rookie safety Grant Delpit, the 44th overall pick, ruptured his Achilles on Aug. 24 and was lost for the season. Delpit and Phillips were teammates at Louisiana State.
“Grant is a brother to me, so I definitely reached out and I definitely was real, real torn up about the situation,” Phillips said. “It’s football, you’ve got to realize that God has paths for everybody. I tell him to ‘Keep your happiness, stay up, don’t let this get you down because there’s still so many things in front of you, so many more goals that can be reached. This is really just a speed bump.’”
With more opportunities against a talent-laden offense, Phillips said there has been no particular play when he felt he’d arrived.
“You kind of just realize you’re really built for this,” Phillips said. “You take every day day by day and keep laying bricks.
“After everything I’ve experienced, I’ve been put in so many different situations and I don’t feel nervous for anything. I feel very confident. I feel happy to be in this position and blessed to be progressing like this. Hope to do well during the season.”
In the coaches’ eyes, Phillips may require more improvement when it comes to pass coverage to play a big role early. But Phillips is ready to prove himself in that regard.
“When you have more opportunities ... you can showcase you’ve got that skill,” he said. “If you’re never put in that position, people don’t know you can do it. You’ve seen me breaking up passes and covering, doing all those things... You’ll see Game 1.”
BEREA — The season-ending injury of rookie Grant Delpit left a large hole at safety. General manager Andrew Berry attempted to fill it Thursday by trading for Ronnie Harrison. Berry sent a fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft to the Jaguars for Harrison, who’s started 22 games at strong safety in two years. He was a third-round pick out of the University of Alabama in 2018 and will join former Crimson Tide teammates linebacker Mack Wilson and left tackle Jedrick Wills. Harrison (6-foot-3, 214 pounds) started eight of 14 games played as a rookie and 14 of 14 last year. He has three interceptions, 12 passes defensed, three sacks, a fumble recovery and 103 tackles in his career. He finished second on the Jaguars last year with 70 tackles and nine passes defensed, adding two sacks, two interceptions and the fumble recovery. Delpit was the No. 44 pick out of LSU and expected to start Week 1, but his right Achilles tendon ruptured Aug. 24 during a non-contact drill in practice. When he’s up to speed with the system, Harrison will likely start alongside Karl Joseph and bump 10-year veteran Andrew Sendejo to the role of No. 3 safety. The Browns also have Sheldrick Redwine, a fourth-round pick in 2019, and undrafted rookie Elijah Benton. Harrison, 23, is under contract for two more years and could pair with Delpit as the starters in the future. Joseph and Sendejo signed one-year deals as free agents. The Jaguars are in full rebuild mode and have parted with several veterans as they stockpile draft picks. Harrison had been running with the first-team defense, but the Jaguars have rookie Daniel Thomas, a fifth-round pick from Auburn. Harrison won two national championships at Alabama, and the trade excited his former teammates. “Let’s get it rocking brother..#BamaBoys #DawgPound,” Wilson tweeted. “Let’s Get Active!!” Wills tweeted.
PIVOTAL YEAR
Denzel Ward went to the Pro Bowl as a rookie after being the No. 4 pick out of Ohio State in 2018. He’s determined to make it back this year and earn status among the upper echelon of NFL cornerbacks. “I believe every time I get the opportunity to go out there and show what I can do is a big opportunity to show that I am an elite corner in this league and do what I can do to help my team win,” he said. Ward feels he’s improved his technique under the new coaching staff and has “definitely made a lot of strides.” Returning to the Pro Bowl is only one of his goals. “I got a lot more than just the Pro Bowl,” he said. “Just go in and try to win every game that I can.”
GETTING READY
The first home game is Thursday Sept. 17 in prime time, so coach Kevin Stefanski will use Friday’s practice to prepare his players for the experience. The session will start at 7 p.m. at FirstEnergy Stadium and feature the routine of a gameday. “It is a dress rehearsal in the stadium,” Stefanski said. “I mean that literally in terms of they are going to be in their uniforms, the coaches are going to be dressed in their game attire, we are going to put headsets on and the coaches will be up in the booth.” He said it will be a “crisp, quick practice” and won’t include the scrimmage period of Sunday’s session at the stadium. It will be the final work before Saturday’s roster cuts, but the Browns aren’t treating it like a normal preseason finale. “It is not going to be something where we are going to play the young guys for an hour to see what we have because the truth is, this whole camp has been an evaluation of those young guys,” Stefanski said.
STANDING OUT
With starting cornerback Greedy Williams still sidelined with a shoulder injury, others have gotten more repetitions. Ward said undrafted rookie A.J. Green has caught his eye. “I feel like he has been having a great camp and making plays when he has been in there,” Ward said. Green played at Oklahoma State and reportedly received $145,000 in guaranteed money to sign with the Browns. “He has done a nice job,” Stefanski said. “He has good size. He has been very eager to learn. I have been pleased with what he has been doing.”
MAKING IT COUNT
Rookie receiver/returner Donovan Peoples-Jones didn’t need preseason games to impress the coaching staff and likely lock up a roster spot. “It is tough, but like with everything, you have to adjust,” he said of the preseason being canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. “It has been a crazy year so far and a lot of adjustments have been made, and that is what we are going to continue to keep doing. “I am using practice as preseason reps. When we do team (drills) in practices, it is kind of like a mock preseason game where all that stuff matters.” The sixth-round pick out of Michigan has looked good as a receiver and returner. “He has gotten better every day,” Stefanski said. “He came out here, and his effort has grown immensely from Day 1 to Day 13. We are putting a lot on his plate … and he has not backed down one bit.”
EXTRA POINTS
The Browns waived safety J.T. Hassell, cornerback Donnie Lewis Jr., receiver J’Mon Moore and defensive tackle Ricky Walker. After the trade for Harrison, the roster stands at 76. It must be cut to 53 by Saturday at 4 p.m.
** Linebacker B.J. Goodson missed practice for a personal reason. He was out earlier in camp with a personal reason but practiced Tuesday and Wednesday.
** Cornerbacks Williams, Kevin Johnson (lacerated liver) and M.J. Stewart Jr. (hamstring), offensive linemen JC Tretter (knee), Chris Hubbard (ankle) and Alex Taylor (undisclosed injury) and linebacker Mack Wilson (knee) remained out.
Great article, Willie! Enjoyed reading the execution details. Pretty involved, but we should get better at this. The idea of heavy carries by Chubb and slashes by Hunt could be a staple. This line with Willis should get even more effective. I also like running wider some, more than we have bothered with for last several seasons; still controls clock and wears D-linemen down side to side. And adding play action to a workable run game has to be a precious thing for Mayfield.
I grew up with some of the electricity that was Leroy Kelly owning games with our sweep. Tickled to see us dedicating ourselves to this. Chubb & Hunt, Land Merchants.
The Cleveland Browns are 1-1 coming off a big win against the Cincinnati Bengals, and while the offense is showing signs of significant improvement, the Browns defense is a huge question mark. The scheme is one part of the equation, but a rash of injuries has left the secondary and linebacker rooms in tatters. If Cleveland hopes to continue winning, they’ll need to get some key defenders back quickly.
The Cleveland Browns defense must get healthy in a hurry Olivier Vernon is unsurprisingly injured once again Olivier Vernon has developed a reputation for being injury-prone over the past few seasons, and an abdomen injury sidelined him for Cleveland’s Thursday Night victory. When healthy, he’s a significantly above-average player against both the run and the pass and is an excellent complement to superstar Myles Garrett.
His injury doesn’t appear to be too serious, so he should be able to return against the Washington Football Team on September 27. The Browns defense will be going up against second-year rookie Dwayne Haskins, and the defensive line could wreak havoc on the young signal-caller, as Washington’s offensive line is one of the weaker groups in the league.
Adrian Clayborn will try to play through the pain Vernon’s absence on Thursday thrust Adrian Clayborn into the starting lineup before he exited with a hip flexor strain that he will reportedly attempt to play through. He’s logged a sack in each of his two games thus far and has been one of the NFL’s most underrated pass-rushers for a while now.
He allows defensive coordinator Joe Woods to rotate out Garrett and Vernon, keeping all three players fresh. It would be a significant loss if Clayborn can’t go, although Porter Gustin filled in quite well on Thursday night.
Two starting linebackers potentially returning soon Mack Wilson’s return could provide a massive boost to the entire Browns defense Wilson was drafted in the fifth round in 2019 and was labeled a steal by many because of his Alabama pedigree. In reality, Wilson played like a fifth-rounder. He struggled mightily early on, as he was thrust into a starting rule due to Christian Kirksey suffering a season-ending injury.
Wilson showed improvement as the year went on, and by the end of the campaign, was a replacement-level player. For a prospect who likely needed another season in college, that’s not bad at all. His excellent coverage ability didn’t quite translate to the NFL as a rookie, but hopefully, that will come with time.
Entering camp as the presumed starter at WILL, Wilson suffered a hyperextended knee that he was able to avoid having surgery on. Initially, it was feared that Wilson suffered complete ligament tears and would be out for the season. He could potentially return to practice this week, and while it’s unlikely he suits up for Washington, getting a starter back will be a big help for the Browns defense as a whole. This is even more important if Wilson can contribute in pass coverage, which is something that both Malcolm Smith and B.J. Goodson are having severe issues with.
Jacob Phillips presents a higher ceiling at MIKE Third-round rookie Jacob Phillips started for Wilson at WILL and played 12 snaps before suffering a knee injury in Week 1. He didn’t practice last week, and his status going forward remains in doubt. Although his playing time came at WILL, Phillips’ skillset is better suited for MIKE, where he can stay between the tackles and use his elite explosiveness to blow up run plays.
Coverage was not his strong suit at LSU, so that is an area he will need to improve in. However, his athletic traits give him more potential in the middle than veteran starter B.J. Goodson, whose first two games as a Brown have not gone well. Goodson tackles well, but he lacks the athleticism or instincts to make impact plays and has been routinely picked on in coverage. Smith is a better athlete, but he has many of the same issues as Goodson. Both players are what they are at this point in their respective careers; veterans best suited as backups and special teamers.
Phillips was a third-round pick (and selected over other prospects such as Ohio State’s Malik Harrison) for a reason; this regime likes what he can bring to the table, and there’s really no downside to playing him over Goodson. Phillips called the defense at LSU, and he is capable of doing the same as a rookie. Whether or not Woods will actually move Goodson to the bench is another story.
Two starting cornerbacks have yet to play Greedy Williams has the ability, but availability has been an issue Following the 2017 college football season, Williams was a projected top-five pick. He had the height, speed, and man cover skills to be an elite player. By the time the 2018 NFL Draft rolled around, he had fallen to the second round, where Cleveland moved up to get him. His rookie season was not great, but that elite talent hasn’t gone anywhere.
He has the potential to be an excellent number two to Denzel Ward’s number one, but he has to be on the field for that to happen. He missed four games early last season because of a hamstring issue, and now he’s missed the past few weeks of practice to a shoulder injury. Terrance Mitchell has done a stable job in Williams’ absence, but the Browns defense needs its starter back on the field.
Kevin Johnson is fortunate to be alive Johnson was signed to play the slot for the Browns after a fine season for the Buffalo Bills. He had an impressive training camp before a teammate fell on him during a drill, and Johnson’s kidney was lacerated. He has not practiced since, but the more important thing is that he’s even in a position to keep playing football.
That injury can be fatal depending on the severity, and thankfully Johnson’s was relatively minor. Special teams ace Tavierre Thomas has gotten a chance to play slot over the past two games, and the results aren’t great. Waiver claim and 2018 Tampa Bay Buccaneers second-round pick M.J. Stewart dealt with a hamstring injury early in camp but is now healthy.
He didn’t see the field defensively in Week 1 and got just seven defensive snaps in Week 2. Oddly, Thomas is playing over Stewart, but neither should be heavily counted upon. Johnson’s return could make the biggest impact of any player mentioned above, whenever it ends up happening.
These may not be the flashiest players on the roster, but they're two of the most critical aspects of the Browns offense, and it's difficult to imagine Cleveland coming away with the monster win with Janovich and Hooper.
To those of us who have blocked for RBs who have been successful, we know when we are doing a good job and so do our teammates and our coaches.
It shows on the scoreboard and it shows in the film room...good blocking is the difference between winning and losing. Those who know for football, know it!
If the Browns have done nothing else through two weeks, they have at least established an identity: run the ball.
Cleveland showcased its dare-you-to-stop-it rushing philosophy on its final drive against the Bengals last week. Leading 28-23 with 5:55 remaining, the Browns ran the ball six straight times on the 75-yard touchdown drive.
Thanks in Large part to Nick Chubb (22 carries, 124 yards, two touchdowns) and Kareem Hunt (10 carries, 86 yards, one touchdown), the Browns ran for 215 yards agains Cincinnati. Fullback Andy Janovich said they could’ve run for a few hundred more. Joel Bitonio wouldn’t go that far, but he did enjoy his role in the Browns’ game-clinching, muscle-flexing drive.
“Those are the chances you get where you want to try to wear down the defense,” Bitonio said. With those two, it is really fun blocking for those guys. You do not really tell the difference. One guy comes in fresh, and it is just like, ‘OK, here we go. Let’s go.’”
While Bitonio cleared the way for Chubb and Hunt in Week 2, the Browns’ other playmakers made sacrifices.
Jarvis Landry, who holds the record for most receptions through the first six seasons of a career, caught three passes. Austin Hooper, who briefly became the league’s highest paid tight end when the Browns signed him this offseason, caught two passes for 22 yards. He has zero touchdowns through two games.
Odell Beckham Jr. accumulated more than half of his 74 receiving yards on his 43-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. If the Browns stay this committed to their running backs, that probably won’t be the only game where Beckham relies on big plays for production. He’s learning to accept that he might not see his usual volume of targets.
PROMOTED
“For me, one of my biggest growths has come in acceptance in a sense and for me knowing it is probably not going to be that kind of season,” Beckham said. “Then I think you learn where you fit in and where you are able to make your plays and how you can help the team.”
Essentially, Beckham is re-defining what success will mean to him this season. One week, it might still be catching 10 passes for 100 yards. But others, he said it could mean making the block that springs Hunt or Chubb for a touchdown.
Browns offensive Coordinator Alex Van Pelt singled Hooper out as someone who has already adjusted well to the Browns run-focused attack. Hooper’s lack of targets has not at all affected the intensity with which he run blocks.
“Gees, Hoop is just a team guy,” Van Pelt said. “His run-game blocking is something that probably does not flash on TV, but you see it often on the field. He is a big part of the success, as are all the tight ends, in our run game right now.”
Van Pelt also mentioned that the Browns have already seen teams pivoting to five-defensive-lineman formations to combat the Browns’ run game. He expects they’ll see more if Chubb and Hunt continue their success.
That’s where players like Hooper, Beckham and Landry can flash their play-making abilities.
“Teams are going to have to put an extra defender down there, and then that is the old give-and-takes,” Van Pelt said. “Now, all of sudden, you are outside and you are one-on-one, you are not doubling people with the high safeties over the top and then it opens up the passing game for you. We are excited to take advantage of the matchups outside, which we will have this week.”
That give and take works both ways. After seeing plays like Beckham’s long touchdown last week, teams might think twice about stacking the box against Cleveland.
Those hard decisions are the basis upon which the Browns hope to build its offense. Their identity may be run-based, but their ceiling is based in balance.
“You saw it last week on the long touchdown,” Bitonio said. “Someone is going to have to respect that. (Beckham) still opens it up for for Jarvis underneath, Hoop underneath and for the running game.”
I wish more guys would do that as religiously as they hit the weights. Flexible joints are less likely to sustain major injury, plus it helps recovery and muscle growth and strength gains.
Tight muscles and tendons pop & snap easily and they also limit range of motion and explosiveness.
I wish more guys would do that as religiously as they hit the weights. Flexible joints are less likely to sustain major injury, plus it helps recovery and muscle growth and strength gains.
Tight muscles and tendons pop & snap easily and they also limit range of motion and explosiveness.
IMO, based on my own personal experience, playing football for 4 season's in HS and one in college and never suffering a knee injury, my ability to absorb the many hits was due to my flexibility and making sure I stretched before practicing and playing...worked for me.
It did not come naturally for me. While I had skinny calves and ankles, my hamstrings and especially my quads were huge. I used to leg press the entire stack w/a 260 lb OT sitting on the old Universal weight machine that we had in our high school weight room.
My hamstrings were always tight. I spent countless hours working on stretching/flexibility. It was often painful. LOL...no joke...I am not exaggerating. The tight hamstrings would lead to lower back issues. I loved lifting weights and hated stretching w/a passion. Of course, my limitations meant I had to spend more time stretching than lifting.
The Browns were without starting defensive tackles Larry Ogunjobi (abdomen) and Sheldon Richardson (thigh) at Wednesday's practice. It's too early to tell what it means for Sunday's game against the Colts, but coach Kevin Stefanski indicated one of their backup's roles was already growing.
The player? Third-round rookie Jordan Elliott, who has seen a steady dose of action in each of the first four games to kick off his NFL career.
"He has done a nice job and we need him to continue to progress," Stefanski said. "His role will expand. But he is very, very diligent about this. He wants to be great. He works really hard out at practice. So, he just needs to keep progressing."
With Ogunjobi sidelined for most of Sunday's second half, Elliott saw an uptick in his playing time and finished the game with 31 snaps. Though he has just three tackles on the year, Elliott has been among Pro Football Focus' highest-graded rookie defensive tackles.
Elliott's teammates have been impressed with how he's acclimated himself to the NFL game. In August, Ogunjobi raved about Elliott's attitude and desire to be great. Earlier in the season, Richardson said Elliott "knew his stuff."
"The only thing is he just needs more experience, and he is getting that slowly but surely. He is going to be just fine. He is going to be just fine in this league," Richardson said. "He is always ready. He is always alert. Usually one of the first ones in the meeting rooms and last one to leave – usually, because he has to because he is a rookie. He is going to be all right. He is going to be fine."
As for Ogunjobi and Richardson, Stefanski said their playing status will be monitored as the week progresses.
"See how those guys are starting really tomorrow," Stefanski said. "We will not have them out there today, and we will just kind of take it day by day."
Other Injury News The Browns welcomed back TE David Njoku (knee) and DE Adrian Clayborn (hip) to practice. Clayborn was listed as limited after missing Sunday's game against the Cowboys.
Njoku on Wednesday was designated to return from injured reserve. The team has three weeks to activate him, but Njoku isn't expecting to wait that long.
"It feels really good. My body is really healed now," Njoku said. "So, I am ready to go."
Along with Richardson and Ogunjobi, LB Tae Davis (elbow) did not practice.
RB Kareem Hunt (groin) was a limited participant after missing Wednesday's and Thursday's practices last week. Despite the lack of reps throughout the week, Hunt was thrust into a bigger role Sunday after Nick Chubb was lost to a knee injury.
"I am willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win," Hunt said. "If that means getting more carries, then I am fine with that, too."
Nothing Personal Though he finished the 2019 season as the Browns' starter at right guard, Wyatt Teller wasn't offended in the slightest when new offensive line coach Bill Callahan opened up the job to competition.
Teller, of course, won the job and has thrived in his first four games of the 2020 season. It didn't require any additional motivation to get him to this point because he pretty much maxed it out on his own.
"I knew that I could play, but I did not expect to be handed a job and I did not expect to be handed anything," Teller said. "I knew that I was going to work. I have been working the past three years that I have been in the league. I knew that it would be beneficial for the whole team to have a competition and not a 'He is our guy. An unproven guy, he is our guy.'
"I kind of understood that I knew that I had to take lots of steps, but in my mind, it was mine, it was my job, I wanted it and I was going to do whatever it took to get it."
"I knew that I could play, but I did not expect to be handed a job and I did not expect to be handed anything," Teller said. "I knew that I was going to work. I have been working the past three years that I have been in the league. I knew that it would be beneficial for the whole team to have a competition and not a 'He is our guy. An unproven guy, he is our guy.'
"I kind of understood that I knew that I had to take lots of steps, but in my mind, it was mine, it was my job, I wanted it and I was going to do whatever it took to get it."
Great, great attitude. I loved coaching guys who possessed such an attitude.
I'm glad this guy is having so much success. He's doing it the right way.
Teller is easily one of my favorite players, and that’s only after a few weeks lol. He’s fun
Who are your other favorite players, I think there are a lot, and some are more popular than I feel about them.
Everybody loves Bitonio, I feel like just ehh. I've always felt he's been just enough to not be great, never get replaced, <so I guess that's something, that's solid, but, ehh.
The Cleveland Browns tried just about everything from 2016 to 2019 in an effort to escape decades of failure: embracing analytics, rejecting analytics, emphasizing character, ignoring character, austere scrimping, lavish spending — and sometimes attempting all of those tactics simultaneously.
Not surprisingly, the rapid succession of 180-degree lurches in organizational philosophy did not make the Browns better. Until this season, that is. The Browns have a 4-1 record, and their balanced offense and fearsome pass rush have them poised to produce their first winning season since 2007 and reach the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
The secret to the team’s turnaround is that it is no longer seeking some secret method for turning things around.
The most recent epoch of Browns futility began when their controlling owner, Jimmy Haslam, hired Paul DePodesta as chief strategy officer after a 3-13 finish in 2015. His front-office exploits for baseball’s Oakland Athletics in the early 2000s were recounted in Michael Lewis’s best seller “Moneyball” and fictionalized in the feature film of the same name. DePodesta is revered as one of the founding fathers of sports analytics: Alexander Hamilton as portrayed by Jonah Hill, a data-driven maestro of the draft and trade markets renowned for turning short-term sacrifices into long-term dividends.
DePodesta was hailed as the Browns’ latest potential savior (there have been many), someone who could easily rebuild the roster by outwitting the fusty, anti-intellectual N.F.L. establishment. Unfortunately, baseball and football are very different sports, and the Browns installed what looked like a shoddy version of “Moneyball” based less upon statistical research than book jacket blurbs and existential riddles: Saving is spending. Losing is winning. Failure is the ultimate success.
For two years, DePodesta’s regime engineered trades to acquire draft picks and traded draft picks for even more draft picks in what seemed like an effort to restock the Browns’ nonexistent farm system. Meanwhile, the coach, Hue Jackson, like the middle manager of some forgotten regional sales branch, appeared to grow a little too comfortable in an environment where winning was almost discouraged. The Browns were 1-31 over two seasons, an anti-accomplishment even by their standards, but the team’s topsy-turvy messaging made it hard to tell whether the losses were part of a counterintuitive plan.
Haslam, who had burned through three sets of coaches and general managers since purchasing the team in 2012, replaced a top DePodesta lieutenant, Sashi Brown, with a traditionalist general manager, John Dorsey, late in the 2017 season. Dorsey selected Baker Mayfield with the top pick in the 2018 draft, acquired Odell Beckham Jr. in a trade with the Giants, and made other moves that signaled a shift in the team’s priorities from “win in some far-flung future” to “win soon.”
Describing what happened next in a few sentences would be like trying to summarize the French Revolution on a cocktail napkin. After a rolling series of boardroom clashes, Jackson was fired, Dorsey gained greater control of football operations, DePodesta donned a phantom mask and disappeared into the rafters, and the inexperienced Freddie Kitchen rose from obscurity to become the Browns’ offensive play caller midway through the 2018 season.
Kitchens’s brief tenure unfolded like the sequence in a campus comedy where the lads of Alpha Kappa Chugga lock the dean in his closet and declare every week to be Greek Week. Having finished the 2018 season with a 5-2 hot streak and after earning a little too much preseason hype, the Browns played as though they expected to reach the playoffs through sheer talent and rebellious swagger.
They went 6-10 instead, as Kitchens committed basic strategic blunders, Beckham and Myles Garrett got into on-field altercations with opponents and Mayfield regressed at quarterback while publicly feuding with the local and national media. Few teams have ever allowed so little success to go so completely to their heads.
Kitchens and Dorsey were fired at the end of the 2019 season, with DePodesta reappearing from a trap door beneath the stage to introduce yet another cast of characters, led by General Manager Andrew Berry and Coach Kevin Stefanski.
Superficially, the latest leadership change looks like the result of another boardroom coup, with DePodesta ousting Dorsey’s royalists and inserting inexperienced, analytics-friendly functionaries with scanty résumés in their place. But the newcomers appear more committed to winning games than engaging in thought experiments: They acquired veteran talent in their first off-season instead of using last year’s “Animal House” shenanigans as justification for another “Moneyball”-themed roster purge. Analytics now operate under the hood for the Browns instead of flapping like a flag mounted from the car’s antenna.
It’s tempting to interpret the Browns’ current success as a triumph for DePodesta’s initial vision, though it would also be rather sad to interpret four early-season wins after four years of upheaval as any sort of “triumph.” More accurately, the Browns have finally built a quality roster despite themselves, with some key pieces arriving during the first “Moneyball” dynasty (Garrett, wide receiver Jarvis Landry), many during the Dorsey rebellion (Mayfield, Beckham, running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt) and a few during the current Grand Reformation (offensive lineman Jack Conklin, tight end Austin Hooper).
The 2020 Browns are enjoying success because they are a talented team that executes fundamentally sound game plans each week instead of prematurely boasting of their pending greatness or adhering to a franchise-building paradigm that sounds suspiciously like a multilevel marketing scheme. It’s a simple formula that won’t inspire any intellectual movements or feature films. But it’s working, at least for now.
The secret to the team’s turnaround is that it is no longer seeking some secret method for turning things around.
It’s tempting to interpret the Browns’ current success as a triumph for DePodesta’s initial vision, though it would also be rather sad to interpret four early-season wins after four years of upheaval as any sort of “triumph.” More accurately, the Browns have finally built a quality roster despite themselves, with some key pieces arriving during the first “Moneyball” dynasty (Garrett, wide receiver Jarvis Landry), many during the Dorsey rebellion (Mayfield, Beckham, running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt) and a few during the current Grand Reformation (offensive lineman Jack Conklin, tight end Austin Hooper).
The 2020 Browns are enjoying success because they are a talented team that executes fundamentally sound game plans each week instead of prematurely boasting of their pending greatness or adhering to a franchise-building paradigm that sounds suspiciously like a multilevel marketing scheme. It’s a simple formula that won’t inspire any intellectual movements or feature films. But it’s working, at least for now.
JMHO, it's nice to see a HC who has a clue how tp prepare, who's able to delegate and hold people accountable. I'm looking forward to the HARD decisions. THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE- will we give Mayfield big money. I'm betting NOT. He has an arm, he has swag, but I don't know if he's tall enough or processes info fast enough. The front office KNOWS he holds on to the ball for too long. QB in the NFL is almost impossible, yet seems Cinc QB is good one.....I'd be real surprised if we gave BM big money from his performance this year so far......GO Browns!!!
JMHO, it's nice to see a HC who has a clue how tp prepare, who's able to delegate and hold people accountable. I'm looking forward to the HARD decisions. THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE- will we give Mayfield big money. I'm betting NOT. He has an arm, he has swag, but I don't know if he's tall enough or processes info fast enough. The front office KNOWS he holds on to the ball for too long. QB in the NFL is almost impossible, yet seems Cinc QB is good one.....I'd be real surprised if we gave BM big money from his performance this year so far......GO Browns!!!
That is such a way of thinking I disagree with. I don't know much about the money, but in my opinion, if the Browns, AFTER 25 YEARS, of looking for a Qb, (Without exag, at least since Couch)
Don't want to commit to Baker for long term, then it is just ANOTHER EXAMPLE, of continuance to commit to circumstances that ensure losing.
I don't know about "Big Money". The money went off the charts in my opinion when Couch got 7 million in 99, I've never seen a player, worth 7 million a year
Not even blank, not even blank in 1978? No, nope, not even blank in 1978,. or 79.
JMHO, it's nice to see a HC who has a clue how tp prepare, who's able to delegate and hold people accountable. I'm looking forward to the HARD decisions. THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE- will we give Mayfield big money. I'm betting NOT. He has an arm, he has swag, but I don't know if he's tall enough or processes info fast enough. The front office KNOWS he holds on to the ball for too long. QB in the NFL is almost impossible, yet seems Cinc QB is good one.....I'd be real surprised if we gave BM big money from his performance this year so far......GO Browns!!!
That is such a way of thinking I disagree with. I don't know much about the money, but in my opinion, if the Browns, AFTER 25 YEARS, of looking for a Qb, (Without exag, at least since Couch)
Don't want to commit to Baker for long term, then it is just ANOTHER EXAMPLE, of continuance to commit to circumstances that ensure losing.
I don't know about "Big Money". The money went off the charts in my opinion when Couch got 7 million in 99, I've never seen a player, worth 7 million a year
Not even blank, not even blank in 1978? No, nope, not even blank in 1978,. or 79.
I'm confused, you mean there's never been a player worth $7 million for one year of work?
Winning the Super Bowl is worth waaaaay more than $7 to a team, it's probably closer to $200-300MM once you consider jersey sales, advertising, naming rights, etc, and the QB is worth at least 30% of a team's winning chances.
I might be misunderstanding what you're saying though.
Myka, Hitt included the line, " Will we give Mayfield big money, I'm betting NOT." then listed, imperfections. I say. I may not understand "Big Money" but, you have to keep your quarterback.
JMHO, you don't keep your QB if he's not playing well, smart. Baker Mayfield hasn't beaten many good teams. IE Baltimore, Pittsburgh in our division- everyone has a book on Mayfield- pressure in his face. I loved the rollouts early in year, but teams are taking that away. Again, according to folks to track stuff way more than I- he takes to much time decision making, he holds the ball to long. I hope we win more games, but with OBJ out we'd better be ready for harder wins. Teams will take run away and will Baker produce....maybe. Who's the worst QB in our division, I say Baker is......GO Browns!!!
Thanks for that. We’ve all known that Higgy and Baker have good chemistry ... it’s been that way for 2.5 years now. It’s worth it to have him on our team
I wonder what this means for the current contracts of Beckham and Landry for 2021. Combined, they will be a cap hit of over $30M. (1) That's ridiculous, and (2) If we do extend Higgins, my guess would be that they want him on the field more.
It doesn't seem to me to make that much sense to be paying three WRs that much as a unit when there are other extensions that should be dished out (Mayfield & Ward 5th year options), maybe Teller, Ogunjobi, etc. And who knows how they feel about paying Chubb who doesn't have a 5th year option and will be a FA and the end of next year.
I'm not saying cut those guys but man something needs to be done about what they are making. Plus I think the league is expecting a decrease in the overall cap as a result of COVID.
I don't think they are talking about breaking the bank type money for his extension. 3 years $10 mill - 5 guaranteed.
Agreed. I don't think they are looking to break the bank either for Higgins. I do think if they extend him, it would be more than $5M guaranteed however. Why would Higgins sign that? My point is if you are extending him, you are doing so with the intent of putting him on the field more. With OBJ and Landry, you are limiting the amount of snaps, particularly when we've seen how many snaps the TE unit gets.
OBJ has been dealing with injuries for the past 4 years. Landry 2 years.
I have trouble bringing myself to care about Orlovsky's opinion on predicting the future success of the Browns.
Simply because I remember his name as a qb prospect in the draft from some year about the time Russell Wilson came out. (45 minute pause)
internet he played 13 years in the nfl?
Are you serious Clark?" I'm more likely to believe a man in a little red suit brings toys around to little kids in a reindeer sleigh and plays with Elves.
Yep ... it's a odd sensation to appreciate the recognition but be fearful of the bottom falling out as soon as we are looked at favorably in the media. Uniquely Browns.
Agree also - if we beat the Ravens and get to the playoffs - we'll be one of those wild card teams that they are going to talk about no-one wanting to play.
Someone refresh my memory...If we beat the Steelers last game of the year and we are both 13-3, who holds the tie breaker?
They do... unless they lose to Cincy, that would leave us tied for division record. Then we would win division based on record against common opponents.
You can not be from Cleveland and not think that. Our history will not allow us to be comfortable.
So I am loving hearing from Rich Eisen talking about how great we are.
At the same time we all have the hair on the back of our collective necks at full attention and alert.
We beat the Ravens and it is "on".
We all will be over the top. Lose and doubt will creep in and thoughts of "how can we blow this" enter.
What I fear is that we will beat the Ravens while the Steelers lose to the Bills. Followed by the Browns looking past the Jets and Giants and losing 2 straight.
I don't know where else to place this, but I can't ignore the timing. With all the talk of playoff chances, trap doors and such, I wanted to drop in these thoughts to frame our ongoing conversations with a little perspective.
First, a couple of points, based upon recent history.
1. Think about the tone and tenor of the board conversation exactly 12 months ago. Think about where we were. 2. Think about what your personal level of expectation was for this team/coaching squad: meeting each other for the first time over computers, installing an entire new offense, defense and coaching infrastructure virtually... with no face-to-face contact, no sharing of facility space (where a guy can just walk down the hall to another office, ask a question, and walk back).
________________________
Now that I got all that out of the way, I'll get to my point.
The Cleveland Browns are 9-3. Against the NFL. Not 9-3 against the MAC. The Cleveland Browns have defeated nine legitimate NFL teams. In one season. Not 9 games in a decade- nine games in 12 played.
This is the start of something very special, no matter how the rest of this season plays out. There seems to be a symbiosis developing between Berry's player acquisitions and Stefanski's ability to place them on the chessboard to CLE's advantage. That not only speaks to the competency of both, but also to the level of coordination/cooperation something like this requires. It is the level of professionalism and competence that this team has lacked since The Return
In a typical CLE year, December Browns headlines would be hinting at dissention in the ranks, friction at 76 Groza, power plays between coaching/GM/admin, player discipline issues, and a ton of soap opera-level bs that had nothing to do with the execution of football on Sundays.
None of that this year. None. Instead, the Browns are very, very relevant as they begin the 4th qtr of 2020... and the next football game is at the heart of all Browns talk. The Next Game -and nothing else- is Browns News.
Please take a moment to sit back, contemplate how fundamentally important that is... and allow yourself to exhale a little. You can let the rest out soon, no matter how this current season's record shakes out, so long as this new FO dynamic remains intact going forward.
If the Browns run the reg season table and lose in Round One, I will still take this entire season as a net positive. If the Browns lose a couple, squeak into the playoffs and lose, I'll still take this entire season as a net positive. If the Browns advance in the tournament and fall just short, I'll still take this entire season as a net positive. If the Browns capture lightning, and snatch their very first Lombardi (which should arguably be called The Brown, but that's an argument for another time), I'll lose my mind... and then still take this entire season as a net positive.
________________
My Real Point: This isn't just some COVID-aided, 2020-centric, star-blessed Cinderella-type story unfolding here. What we are seeing is an impressive first glimpse of what this current FO is... and only a percentage of what we might expect in the future.
It is the second week of December, 2020- and the Browns control their own playoff destiny. It's also December, and Clemdawg is finally talking about seeing the Culture Shift he's been screaming for, ever since his first op-ed back on the old board.
I'm one of the graybeards here. Very, very Olde Schoole. My little 7 year old self was in the south stands at Muni to watch Jim Brown play against the Steelers. Yeah, I'm that level of 'Legacy OG.'
And I have never seen anything like this.
To present a product that looks like this under the colossal challenges and hardships of this particular year- from scratch- without benefit of the standard industry resources is simply mind-blowing. Reasonable Dawgs looking at this year's circumstance, might have predixt a 3-13, 4-12 year, and been perfectly justified to do so, based on CLE/'99-present.
I've held off from sharing this, partly from prudence (I wanted to do it a month ago), and partly from 'Dawgwhipped superstition'... but I really do think I finally see the genesis of a long-term cultural realignment. The kind we have so desperately needed, and the kind that leads to sustained success (read; dynasty).
Last year at this time, we still had Freddie Kitchens.
Dare we say it? Give the Haslam family credit for hiring the right guys? – Terry Pluto
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Rush to Judgment?
That’s what I was wondering as I began to write this story praising Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam for appearing to finally have it right.
I’m talking about the combination of Browns General Manager Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski. Let’s add in Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta, who pushed hard for the Berry/Stefanski pairing.
As the Browns enter Monday’s game against Baltimore with a 9-3 record, it’s hard to say “Same Old Browns.” Not only is the team close to its first playoff appearance since 2002, it’s also drama free. These guys just talk football. They play football. It’s all football.
Winning helps with a sense that things are in “alignment,” as Jimmy Haslam called his quest to put together the right head coach/GM combination. The blending of Berry and Stefanski under the umbrella of DePodesta has given the franchise a sorely-needed sense of stability.
Looming in the back of my mind is the fact there are four games left. Fans know how quickly things can go wrong and soon the finger pointing begins. Next come the media leaks with what Haslam once called “internal discord.”
It’s hard to believe that can happen this season. Nonetheless, since buying the team in 2012, the Haslams have been through six head coaches and five general managers. At this time most seasons, we’re talking about who will be fired (usually everyone) – and who will be the next management/coaching combination.
I called it firing fatigue when former GM John Dorsey was dumped at the end of last season. I wasn’t enamored with Dorsey, but who wanted to go through another GM/coach search? Dorsey had the job for 25 months, the longest tenure of any GM in the Haslam ownership.
LOOKING BACK/STARTING OVER
The one survivor under Haslam is DePodesta, the former baseball executive. He was hired by former GM Sashi Brown in 2016 as the Chief Strategy Officer. That title was a new one on me.
I liked the idea of the hiring DePodesta. He was trained in the Cleveland Indians’ school of integrating analytics with old style baseball common sense. While supposedly being the Godfather of Moneyball with Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s, DePodesta is more than Mr. Analytics. He is a gifted sports executive.
He has shown it this season when given more power by the Halsams. Think about the hiring of Berry and Stefanski.
1. Berry was the assistant GM under Sashi Brown in 2016-17. After Brown was replaced by Dorsey in February of 2017, Berry remained in the front office in a lower role.
2. In 2019, Berry was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles as assistant to GM Howie Roseman.
3. In 2019, DePodesta brought Stefanski to town for a pair of interviews with Dorsey and others during a search for a new head coach. Dorsey gave the job to Freddie Kitchens.
4. Move to 2020, the idea was to pair a guy who was part of Sashi Brown’s 1-31 front office (Berry) with a guy who was turned down for the coaching job (Stefanski).
Not many owners would be willing to turn back the clock and admit they made mistakes. DePodesta was able to sell the Haslams on Berry and Stefanski. Those two men had become friends over the last few years. Once in a while, they talked about working together – never really thinking it could happen.
But it did in 2020.
At first, I didn’t like the idea of hiring Stefanski first and then the GM. What I didn’t realize was the connection in place between DePodesta/Berry/Stefanski.
That has been a key to their success.
NEW SCHOOL/OLD SCHOOL
When Berry took over as GM, he already knew how things worked in Berea. He was able to make some roster and front office changes to eliminate the old “internal discord.” For example, he dismissed the criticism of Rashard Higgins by the previous regime because Berry was part of the front office which drafted the receiver in 2016. So he signed Higgins to a contract in 2020 believing he was “the right fit” for Stefanski’s offense.
By 2020, DePodesta wasn’t just “a baseball guy.” He’d watched executives who were new school (Brown) and old school (Dorsey). He had been through four drafts, four free agency periods and four coaches. After Dorsey was fired, the Haslams allowed DePodesta to set up the organization as he envisioned.
Here’s what has helped the Browns to become winners this season:
1. The Sashi Brown front office left Dorsey lots of draft picks and salary cap room along with star defensive end Myles Garrett.
2. Dorsey added key players such as Nick Chubb, Baker Mayfield, Kareem Hunt, Wyatt Teller, Sheldon Richardson and Denzel Ward.
3. Berry went to work bolstering the offensive line with Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills, along with other moves. Berry and Stefanski took over a roster with talent. They also developed a team with the run-first, zone-blocking identity while preaching patience with Mayfield.
4. Finally, they do have a group of players who are “tough, smart and accountable,” attributes stressed by Berry and Stefanski when they took over. The team has emotional stability, something often lacking in the past.
Things can go wrong and probably will at some point. But there is a sense that this leadership group won’t panic.
_____________________________________
The title of this article should be...."Haslem finally listens to DePodesta. And it's working."
I was wondering the other day about Cleveland the city and what it's like there? It's been sense 1980 that I last lived in Cleveland and I vividly remember some things from that time.
When I 1st came to live in Cleveland (1978) I was NOT a Browns fan nor a fan really of football. My neighbor was a diehard as were all of the people who I worked with. When I started watching the Browns I did it more so I had something to talk to all the people I knew at that time about. They were nuts for the Browns.
But one day in the middle of a game I ran out of smokes I remember it to this day. I lived about a block from the store so I decided I would walk to the store and as I did this I could hear the game coming from every home I passed. People were yelling at their TV's. Hell I didn't have to watch the game I could hear it in the streets as I neared the store there wasn't a car anywhere on any streets as far as I could see. The store clerk asked me why I wasn't at home watching the game, it was weird. Something about that moment and the passion I could feel in the streets that day made me a Browns fan. It helped that we had a damned good football team too.
Anyway I was wondering what Cleveland was like. I vividly remember what a buzz Cleveland was back in those days. I call it an electric feeling. Is it like that there NOW? Is the city embracing this team like they did back then? banners everywhere, people buzzing with the energy I have only ever seen come from one place The Browns. Is it like that?
The Haslam family's record as owners, speaks for it's self.
Not until the 2018 did Cleveland begin to crawl out of the basement of the AFC North. Under Haslam ownership, they produced six seasons of losing football capped off by "the two worst seasons" in the franchise's 70+ yr history..with 1 win in 2016 only to see that record broken in 2017, with the Browns go WINLESS under the Haslam's family leadership.
While the successes of the 2020 season are appreciated, the entire record must be addressed.
Good article. It’s such a good sign that I’ve basically not thought about Haslam for months. Haven’t heard from him or thought of him. Best sign possible.
You can not be from Cleveland and not think that. Our history will not allow us to be comfortable.
So I am loving hearing from Rich Eisen talking about how great we are.
At the same time we all have the hair on the back of our collective necks at full attention and alert.
We beat the Ravens and it is "on".
We all will be over the top. Lose and doubt will creep in and thoughts of "how can we blow this" enter.
What I fear is that we will beat the Ravens while the Steelers lose to the Bills. Followed by the Browns looking past the Jets and Giants and losing 2 straight.
Stefanski won't let that happen. He won't do it, and he'll keep the guys focused on just going 1-0 that week.
There's nothing to address at all. You just keep on with the new winning tradition going forward and the past seasons simply become the period where they were "figuring it out".
As for what is Cleveland like now? In my neighborhood, at least, it isn't quite to the point you describe, but it is getting there. I'm seeing a lot more jerseys being worn on week days. I think there is still a sense of not fully trusting that this team is for real, but if we beat Baltimore on Monday night, this town is going to be just like it was in the 80's.... and should Pittsburgh drop two more, or one to Cinci, and we end up playing Week 17 for the division - at Home - then you will be able to listen to the game live without the TV no matter where you are, because this entire town is going to be LOUD.
And that's fine, because that's all that has to happen. That said, I don't think that applies to Haslam, at all. I think he was definitely the meddling type early on, but I think he's had his ego checked and has taken the step back from things that was needed to get this thing on track. He's a really good checkbook, but he's a terrible talent evaluator and GM, and I think he has learned this.
Dorsey added key players such as Nick Chubb, Baker Mayfield, Kareem Hunt, Wyatt Teller, Sheldon Richardson and Denzel Ward.
and OBJ.
And Dorsey added Jarvis Landry...
On March 9, 2018, the Dolphins agreed to trade Landry to the Cleveland Browns for Cleveland's 2018 fourth-round draft pick and the Browns 2019 seventh-round draft pick.
Dorsey added key players such as Nick Chubb, Baker Mayfield, Kareem Hunt, Wyatt Teller, Sheldon Richardson and Denzel Ward.
and OBJ.
And Dorsey added Jarvis Landry...
On March 9, 2018, the Dolphins agreed to trade Landry to the Cleveland Browns for Cleveland's 2018 fourth-round draft pick and the Browns 2019 seventh-round draft pick.
holy crap. Here are some more notables:
he also drafted Chad Thomas Greedy Williams Sione Takitaki Mack Wilson
‒ Signed CB Terrance Mitchell ‒ Traded RG Kevin Zeitler to New York Giants for DE Olivier Vernon ‒ Signed DT Sheldon Richardson ‒ Cut P Britton Colquitt (replaced with undrafted rookie Jamie Gillan) ‒ Signed C JC Tretter to three-year contract extension
yeah, it's safe to say he had his fingerprints all over this team.
Whichever article said Browns hired the right guys, Sure.
There are just collectively too many div 3 school players on the Browns top 84, (something like 40%), for me not to think somebody, the Browns hired, has far too level a crush on div. 3.
Div 1 college football is div 1 for a reason. (Harvard, is Harvard it's not Jim's law college, same goes for football)
Even if you found every div 3 superstar, its not going to be 40% of everybody. And I realize Kelce, and Kareem Hunt are exceptions to this rule, but, 10-13, even 20% of your guys, you want to find from lower level college football programs, ok,
but somebody somewhere is giving these guys a preference, for playing at the Stephen f austins' and such football programs, otherwise, there is no way you'd get to nearly 40%.
Based on the Browns roster, including active, IR, and PS.. the Browns have 79 players listed.
48 are Div 1 FBS Power 5 - 60.8% 19 are Div 1 FBS non-Power 5 - 24.1% 9 are Div 1 FCS - 11.4% 3 are not. Ferris State (Tavierre Thomas), Toledo (Kareem Hunt), Akron (JoJo Natson)
So that ridiculous 40% Division 3 number is just wrong. It's almost 40% non Power 5.. but that's vastly different than 40% Division 3....
Good article. It’s such a good sign that I’ve basically not thought about Haslam for months. Haven’t heard from him or thought of him. Best sign possible.
Good article. It’s such a good sign that I’ve basically not thought about Haslam for months. Haven’t heard from him or thought of him. Best sign possible.
It's non power 5 so, there is no such thing as Kentucky state! but they might as well be, there is no such thing as div 3, when I said div. 3 the point is they are not power football schools,
(Oh my Lord, there actually is a "Kentucky state college football program, ever heard of it?, I haven't)
If a player is the best football player in the world, he will be a best football player in the world at age 11.
11 year old kids don't play intruamural football and dream of going to the nfl by way of chosing the college football program of Kentucky State! or West Virginia A and M?
The best 11 year olds, will go to the top football programs in CF, 7 years later, so there is a point.
and the 40% number was from going over the Browns roster page at Cleveland browns .com, and the roster as, active, ir, practice squad, and reserve covid, and all the way down about the week of thanksgiving day. here. Bitonio >Nevada Harrison Bryant td> Florida ATl Carlon Te Princeton Chubb Rb, Georgia Clayborne De, Iowa Conklin Ot, Mich. st Tae Davis Lb, Chattanooga
Michael Dunn OG, Maryland Elliott Dt Missouri Gillan P Ark pine bluff Goodson lb Clemson Gustin De USC Nick Harris C, Washington Ronnie Harrison jr. S Alabama
R Higgins, wr Colorado St. Dontrell Hilliard, Tulane Khaderal Hodge, Prairie View A and M Austin Hooper TE Stanford
Hughlett Ls, Cent. Flor.
Kareem Hunt, Toledo Joe Jackson DE Miami fl D Ernest Jackson rb USF Kevin Johnson cb Wake Forest
Karl Joseph FS West Virginia Case Keenum Qb houston(pro career) Kendall Lamm Ot, Applachian st. Jarvis Landry wr LSU
Elijah Lee Lb Kansas St. Malveaux DE Houston
Baker Mayfield qb, Oklahoma Terrence Mitchell Cb Oregon Mofatt S Mid ten st. Njoku , TE Miami fl
Ogunjobi Dt Charlotte Parkey K, auburn pro career Peoples Jones wr mich Phillips Lb, LSU
Redwine S Miami fl Sheldon Richardon DT, missouri pro career Andrew Sendejo S Rice
Malcolm Smith, lb, USC Johnny Stanton Fb Unlv
MJ Stewart, cb, north Carolina or wash. football team Taki Taki, lb BYU
Taiwan Taylor Wr Western Ky Vincet Taylor Dt Oklahoma st
Wyatt Teller, Dt, Virginia tech Tavviere Thomas, Cb Ferris st.
JC Trettor C Cornell NFL career Olivier Vernon, DE Miami Fl Denzel Ward CB Ohio ST. Jedrick Wills, OT Alab Mack Wilson Lb, Alab
Odell Beckham WR. Lsu Delpit, SS LSU Jojo Natson, WR Akron Obina DE Sacremento st. Curtis Weaver, DE Boise st.
Greedy Williams Cb LSU Trevon Young De Louisville
Elijah Benton S Liberty JamMarcus Bradley WR Louis. Lafayette
Den? Cb Valdosta st. A J Green, Cb, Oklahoma st. Joey Ivey, Dt Florida
John Kelly Rb Tenn Kyle Lauletta Qb, Richmond Markway TE, South Carolina McCrane K Kansas st. Montrel Meander, Lb Grambling st.
John Patterson C, Mississippi Alex Taylor OT South Carolina st. Derrick Willies Wr, Texas tech.
Jordan Franks te ucf Ryan Switzer, Wr north car.
covid opt outs,: Billings, DT Baylor Dorbeck, OT southern Mississippi
Drew Forbes, OG Southeast Misouri st. Colby Gorsett Og Applachian st. Malcolm Pridgeon OG Ohio St.
Covid list. Myles Garrett De Tex A and M Chris Hubbard, OT Alabama Birmingham Nfl career Andy Janovich Fb Nebraska.
And that's fine, because that's all that has to happen. That said, I don't think that applies to Haslam, at all. I think he was definitely the meddling type early on, but I think he's had his ego checked and has taken the step back from things that was needed to get this thing on track. He's a really good checkbook, but he's a terrible talent evaluator and GM, and I think he has learned this.
I also don't believe blind squirrel - nut. There's some truth here, however. I don't think it's as easy as everyone suggests to build a successful front office.
I don't think he's the tinkering type or considered this some "toy" he can play with. I think he knew what he wanted in a front office. Money was no object (obviously).
Obviously he's 100% responsible for the mishaps earlier but he's also 100% responsible for having who we have now.
I believe this is the first time during Haslam's tenure we have synergy within the front office.
Good article. It’s such a good sign that I’ve basically not thought about Haslam for months. Haven’t heard from him or thought of him. Best sign possible.
Stay out of it Jimmah
I believe that's been Jimmy's plan all along. He's not the meddling type, he just wants to know what's going on.
DePodesta... He was hired by former GM Sashi Brown DePodesta ... is a gifted sports executive.
Berry was the assistant GM under Sashi Brown ...
I see a thread running through that article. Maybe it is high time for Pit to change his sig...
Sashi with the right coach could have worked. I believe those who say Sashi sucked simply look at the record and not the inner workings of what was actually going on.
If I were to make an analogy, and I hate to use the movie Moneyball for obvious reasons.... although it hits the nail on the head. And I don't think the real Art Howe was this way, but I believe 100% Hue was. He was defiant to play the team as it was designed by the front office. He kept putting Pena at 1B when the front office said that's not how this team is designed to be played. We never got around to playing Hatteberg.
I believe Haslam wanted to keep Hue because everyone in the NFL kept telling him how good Hue is and how respected he is around the league and if he found a GM who could get "players" Hue would be great. A lot of people said that here even. I'd imagine Sashi wasn't well known or as respected and a lot of people around the league didn't understand how we were building a team.
Hue actually did the same things under Dorsey. And not to start a war, but Hue was a problem.
Obviously he's 100% responsible for the mishaps earlier but he's also 100% responsible for having who we have now.
This is it for me. Owners like Jones and Snyder keep meddling no matter what ... seems like Jimmy inserted himself early when everything was new - then when things were clearly dysfunctional - and I don't know if he did it because of his ego or because he thought it was easy or because he was simply concerned. Folks want to castigate the man (rightly) when he got it wrong - if he gets it right and leaves the football operations alone after getting it right - he deserves props.
Some of Haslam's meddling can be attributed to the general practice of when things aren't going well, the boss is gonna starting getting all up in your business. A reasonable boss will mostly leave you alone if things are going fine.
John Dorsey built this team and derserves much credit.
No.
We are spending a lot of money/assets on a lot of players we don't/didn't need. We don't need OBJ. We don't need Jarvis. We don't need Vernon. We didn't need Tyrod. We should have kept Zeitler. We shouldn't have drafted Seibert.
The only picks I'd give credit to Dorsey is thank God he drafted Mayfield, and the Chubb pick was great. Other than that...
I give credit to Stefanski and the coaching staff. And kudos to the front office drafting Wills and signing Conklin.
I'm not sure what you're watching if you say we don't need Jarvis. He's super critical for the offense to move the chains when throwing, Baker has very good chemistry with him, and his hands have bailed out Baker A LOT.
... and we should've kept Zeitler ($$$) and you're not going to give him credit for Teller?
Obviously he's 100% responsible for the mishaps earlier but he's also 100% responsible for having who we have now.
This is it for me. Owners like Jones and Snyder keep meddling no matter what ... seems like Jimmy inserted himself early when everything was new - then when things were clearly dysfunctional - and I don't know if he did it because of his ego or because he thought it was easy or because he was simply concerned. Folks want to castigate the man (rightly) when he got it wrong - if he gets it right and leaves the football operations alone after getting it right - he deserves props.
I believe 100% we couldn't decide which QB to draft when we took Johnny. So Haslam made that decision. I don't think he went above people necessarily, more of a tie breaker.
Haslam got a raw deal from most fans. I'm glad he kept searching until he got it right. It like me when I shop. e.g. First married and getting furniture set for living room.
Place was like an airport Me, my wife and my Mother (her wedding gift to us) I'm literally running down the hall/runway and bang I saw it. Sat in the Chair next to the couch. They finally caught up and said Oooo that's nice well lets go see more...I said go right ahead I'm not moving.
One hour later they came back and said - you're right this was the best out there.
Well that is how I feel about Stefanski and Andrew Berry.
I don't need to shop any more.. I hope that is the same with the Haslams. I think Mrs. Haslam brought a little stability in the decisions being made. I think she is a lot smart and involved then people wish to give credit to.
I'm glad we didn't stay on with a product that we knew just wasn't so.
Now if he goes and fires Stefanski after year two...I wish to change my mind on the subject...lol
But this feels so right. The OL, the Running game, The QB who was here before them. But Stefanski knew what to do with him and use him.
Now we need to get the Defense down more with the correct talent. Pass rush and DBs is necessary to keep building with. Garrett and Ward are nice pieces. Richardson at DT also. Vernon is playing well but he looks to be aging. Safety talent like Ronnie Harrison with Alabama pedigree and is a good sign. I like the investment in the SEC I would like to see more than Ward for the Big 10. Not these obscure diamonds in the rough from Oshkosh!
jmho we finally got a keeper. You all can be as cautious as you wish. But I will be me buying that furniture and you fence sitters (like my mom and wife) can go shopping all you want. What the kid in that video piece forgot. This is the TEAM that PAUL DePodesta built!
Whether you like him or not John Dorsey deserves much credit for where we are now. I'd give Berry and Stefanski credit too. Gee, what do you know, we finally got some people who know how to run things and we are winning. INCREDIBLE!!!
Whether you like him or not John Dorsey deserves much credit for where we are now. I'd give Berry and Stefanski credit too. Gee, what do you know, we finally got some people who know how to run things and we are winning. INCREDIBLE!!!
Yeah, I think Dorsey was good. I don't think he was "great" but good is way better than we've had in a while. His downfall was picking Kitchens.
I'll give him credit for Teller. I'll give credit to Callahan for making him one of the best guards in the game.
No. We don't need Jarvis. I say that but I can now see him here longer than his current contract assuming he'd take a pay cut. Jarvis isn't a #1 receiver. If we lose Jarvis today, yes it's certainly a blow. There are cheaper options who are just as good is my point. And yes, I'm sure you can say that about anyone.
Yes, Dorsey has a decent eye for talent, I've always said he is a glorified scout... but I don't want him running my football team.
If a player is the best football player in the world, he will be a best football player in the world at age 11.
Which is why you rarely see somebody from Prairie View A&M go in the first round.. where the "best football players in the world" get drafted... that doesn't mean that somebody from Prairie View isn't capable of playing in the NFL.
this is also why Alabama has 50+ players in the NFL and Prairie View has 1 or 2...
Quote:
The best 11 year olds, will go to the top football programs in CF, 7 years later, so there is a point.
We can just disagree. Because your logic is that it's better to have the 5th best player at his position from Clemson, Alabama, or Ohio State than the best player in the MAC conference.. and that's just stupid.
If you look at the top 2 players, by position and the schools they came from.. do you know who has the best WR pair in the NFL right now?
Maryland. DJ Moore (Carolina) and Stephon Diggs (Bills) have more yards than the top 2 WRs from any other college.
If you do the same thing for DBs, know who has more interceptions than any other school?
Maryland. Darnell Savage (Packers) and JC Jackson (Patriots) have more interceptions than the top 2 DBs from any other school.
Maryland might be a "Power 5" school, but they aren't a very good one.. yet they regularly put some very good players in the NFL.. and do you know how many non-power 5 schools could beat Maryland? A lot.
Who are the top 10 WRs right now? I was talking about this earlier today ... my list:
- Davante Adams - DK Metcalf - Stephon Diggs - DeAndre Hopkins - Tyreek Hill - Michael Thomas - Mike Evans - AJ Brown - Julio Jones - Terry McLauren
My next 10:
- Chris Godwin - Adam Thielen - Allen Robinson - Keenan Allen - Kenny Golladay - Amari Cooper - Tyler Lockett - DJ Moore - Juju Smith Schuster - Jarvis Landry
I will take AJ Brown and DK Metcalf (Ole Miss) over Moore and Diggs, but your point is made.
I probably would too.
My point was, back when Diggs was drafted, that as a Maryland alum (that's why I know that fact :p)... I told people that Diggs was a first round talent who would probably still be there in the 3rd or 4th round because he played with some of the worst QBs to ever grace the college football field. And as a WR, it's hard to get noticed playing with horrible QBs.
And there are guys like that all over the bottom of the power 5 conferences, the FCS, etc.. guys who are wildly talented but get little love because the cast around them just isn't good enough to win games or let that person get noticed.
Likewise, there are a lot of players at Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, etc who are decent players but who LOOK MUCH BETTER because of all the talent around them.. guys like Trent Richardson come to mind.. and they get overdrafted.
- Davante Adams - DK Metcalf - Stephon Diggs - DeAndre Hopkins - Tyreek Hill - Michael Thomas - AJ Brown - Julio Jones - Calvin Ridley - Keenan Allen
Next 10 (not in any order):
- Chris Godwin - Adam Thielen - Allen Robinson - Mike Evans - Kenny Golladay - Justin Jefferson - Tyler Lockett - DJ Moore - Cooper Kupp - Terry McLauren
Marla Ridenour: Paul DePodesta deserves credit for hiring Browns coach Kevin Stefanski
It’s time to give Paul DePodesta his due.
It’s time to remember that Browns co-owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam put chief strategy officer DePodesta in charge of leading the search that brought coach Kevin Stefanski to Cleveland.
Years from now, that might be the aha moment that turned the franchise around.
This isn’t a case of the fifth time is a charm for the Haslams, who fired Stefanski's four predecessors they chose since taking over in 2012.
Belatedly or not, the Haslams finally recognized their failings in finding a leader and turned to someone who wouldn’t succumb to emotion, who wouldn’t be schmoozed, who would see through the best-foot-forward part of the interview and dig for the person underneath.
That was DePodesta.
DePodesta chose Stefanski in 2019, but the Haslams allowed then-General Manager John Dorsey to pick Freddie Kitchens, a captivating character but an incapable head coach. By New Year's Day, both Dorsey and Kitchens were gone.
DePodesta chose Sean McDermott in 2016, but the Haslams went with Hue Jackson, whose 3-36-1 record marks the darkest days in franchise history.
McDermott, meanwhile, took the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs in two of his first three seasons, has them atop the AFC East at 10-3 and in August received a six-year contract extension that runs through 2025.
Even after Monday night’s 47-42 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium, Stefanski had led the Browns (9-4) to the threshold of their first playoff appearance since 2002. That makes DePodesta two-for-two — or three-for-three depending on how you see it — on his most recent recommendations.
Considering that the Bills and Browns could meet in the postseason, the road to the Super Bowl might include winning the DePo Bowl.
Before McDermott’s Bills reached an AFC wild-card game in 2017, they hadn’t been to the playoffs since 1999, a drought of 17 years. That’s the same length of futility the Browns face.
There seems no doubt now that In his last three coaching searches, DePodesta has found the right man to lead a franchise out of the wilderness. Over that span, perhaps DePodesta became a little better at selling his choice, or at selling himself.
A former baseball executive with the New York Mets, San Diego Padres and Oakland A’s who began his MLB career as a player development intern with the Indians in 1996, DePodesta admitted in January that he had much to learn about the NFL when the Browns hired him nearly five years ago.
Frustrated fans would credit the Browns Rally Possum if it meant the Haslams weren’t firing someone every year or two. No matter how or why they came to realize they’d made a mistake in bypassing Stefanski and righted that wrong, Stefanski has been a smashing success. He deserves NFL coach of the year just for the dysfunction he and General Manager Andrew Berry have buried.
Stefanski has been an unflappable, strong leader in the most trying of circumstances. The 14 years he spent with the Minnesota Vikings, climbing the ladder from gofer as assistant to coach Brad Childress, could not have prepared him for the challenges of a global pandemic and racial unrest following the Memorial Day death of George Floyd.
Stefanski has handled it all with empathy. He has developed a family atmosphere despite the increase in virtual meetings as COVID-19 surges. He has proven not only his football knowledge but his commitment to putting his players in their best positions to succeed. He has taught them discipline, toughness and the sacrifice required to win. He has shown them he cares about them.
As last year’s promising season fell apart, there was no sense that the players were still committed to Kitchens. Not surprisingly, as the Browns try to reach new heights for the expansion era, praise for Stefanski continues to build.
“From his first press conference and still his mantra today is, ‘We have to put the work in.’ He’s a man of his words,” receiver Jarvis Landry said Friday.
“It’s hard to explain, but he’s just the same guy,” left guard Joel Bitonio said Friday. “The expectations never change, and that is to always work, to always improve and to always put the team first. The standard never changes.”
Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi said Stefanski excels at challenging his players with goals of winning the meeting, winning the practice, winning the day and winning the week. It sounds so simple, but they’re buying in, showing the same focus and dedication on Friday that’s required on Sunday.
“He just gets it. He does a great job of keeping the main thing the main thing,” Ogunjobi said Saturday. “Nobody is going to lay down for you. Nobody is going to give you what you want. You have to go out each and every week and you have to take it. You have to earn it. I feel like that’s a special characteristic he has.”
DePodesta said in January that in the search that ended up with Kitchens, the Browns researched over 50 candidates. DePodesta looked at the cost of constant change, of so many coaches, coordinators, philosophies, offensive and defensive schemes and how it stunts the players’ and the franchise’s progress.
“There is a real cost to that,” he said on Jan. 14. “We have to get this right. When we embarked on this ... we talked about what we are looking for — we are looking for someone for the next 10-plus years.”
But it wasn’t the impressive list of quarterbacks Stefanski had worked with or his knowledge of Gary Kubiak’s offense that convinced DePodesta that Stefanski was the right hire.
“It really is about leadership, more than anything else,” DePodesta said at Stefanski’s introduction. “What kind of communicator is somebody? How collaborative is he? How natural or authentic is he? All of those things are important, but they all really point toward leadership.”
DePodesta said all that before COVID-19 rocked the world, before Floyd’s death brought an awakening that prompted Stefanski to form a players’ social justice committee.
No one knew then how right DePodesta was — not only about Stefanski, but about the quality that should be valued most.
It's too soon to say that the Browns have found their 10-year man, with few successful coaches surviving that long with the same franchise any more. But Stefanski looks to have staying power and DePodesta deserves the credit, both for his choice and his persistence.
I know I risk coming off as an elitist but when I’m hiring for complex, super dynamic, pressure cooker jobs it’s very important that the candidate be very intellectually and emotionally intelligent with a track record to back it up. I hated the Kitchens pick. Hated hated hated it, and it went sideways for all the reasons I thought it would. I had a sinking feeling about Jackson after watching his first interview. I’ve initially disliked or been “jury’s out” for almost all our coaching hires over the last 20 years. I feel like I can tell within a minute or two of watching an interview if the guy isn’t it. I’m sometimes wrong about if he IS it, but I’m pretty spot on when I’m sure he isn’t. Watching a Depodesta interview early last year I was curious why he wasn’t being listened to. Seemed like the smartest dude in the room. Smart people, when given a choice will hire other smart people.
The brainiacs can certainly screw up as well as anyone and relying on raw smarts can backfire badly if it’s not coupled with experience and maturity. But if everyone in the room is very bright, mature, have their egos in check and are committed to pulling in the same direction, things are just much more likely to go right.
Well said. I like Stefanski because he’s intelligent and doesn’t let emotions get in the way of his plan. I think he’s the coach Baker needs ... Baker, by trait, is a very emotional player. Having Kitchens as his coach just exacerbates his flaws IMO
As I said a long, long time ago. Depo was in charge of the hiring process. He was not in charge of making football decisions. I caught hell from a few folks around here. I know except their apologies.
Players respect success. Team leaders are guys who have done it. They are blueprints for how things are done to succeed. Young players respect that because they can see how they can make it.
Head coaches hired as a new coach must first earn respect. That can be accomplished by who you are and how you communicate. But, your intellect must be apparent.
Freddie did not come across that way. On the one tape of Baker sitting on the bench when Freddie comes over says something. Baker says "what an idiot." He wasn't kidding. Freddie was a bad hire. He could not overcome the perception of how he came across.
KS is a different guy. Clearly he is intelligent. It comes across in what he says. How he speaks. And what he will not say. He is selective in word choice. He communicates directly. Expects accountability. Is collaborative in his approach to coaching. And is a man who will quickly change if he sees change will improve. He also supports team attitude and supports the ethic of hard work at all times.
KS when speaking to Baker has his full attention. Clearly Baker respects him. He is gaining confidence working inside the system.
I think we are seeing the beginnings of a mutually beneficial relationship.
Depo was in charge of the hiring process. He was not in charge of making football decisions
Depo was in charge of the process this year, but not last year. That was all Dorsey. And I believe he was involved with Sashi Brown in 2016 when they wanted McDermott.
I agree he is not in charge of football decisions and never was. I do think he leads the department that helps provide data, trends, etc. (along with his opinion as a result of that data) to those that do make football decisions. Dorsey pushed it aside, which was idiotic. The people before Dorsey and now AB and KS, welcome it. This is a good thing.
As I said a long, long time ago. Depo was in charge of the hiring process. He was not in charge of making football decisions. I caught hell from a few folks around here. I know except their apologies.
Funny, we don't hear about Depo anymore.
It was a darn good thing we put him in charge of the coaching search.
Like you, I tried to talk sense to many who viewed Depo as some sort of cancer.
Even though Depo was speaking for the organization and not just himself, as many took it that he was making the calls , how is Carson Wentz working out?
Even though Depo was speaking for the organization and not just himself, as many took it that he was making the calls , how is Carson Wentz working out?
Below, some of Wentz accomplishments in career so far.
NFL records Most pass completions through the first 24 games of his career (540)[103] Most consecutive games with 1+ TD pass with 1 INT or less (Current streak is 22 games surpassing Matt Ryan's 21 from December 2015– Sept. 2017) First QB in history to have a 4,000 yard season without having a single receiver with at least 500 receiving yards[91] First QB in history to throw for 20 or more TDs and 7 or less INT in 3 consecutive seasons [104] link
With the help of Depo's judgement in his first season in charge, the Browns picked Cory Coleman with their first round pick...
...HOW DID THAT WORK OUT FOR THE BROWNS, PEEN?
Also, with the help of Depo's football knowledge of NFL QBs, Depo's draft team did select a QB...Cody Keesler..
...HOW DID THAT WORK OUT FOR THE BROWNS, PEEN?
IMO, Depo's expertise is better suited for management selections but not for judging player talent. I give credit where credit is due..so far the GM, HC 'appear' to be good choices.
Please no... please no GM wars and opinions based on emotions and faulty memories and people/fans including myself not knowing who was responsible for what during those years. Mac - you attribute 100% of the responsibility for picking Coleman at #8 to Depo despite many many sources within the media, Browns organization and posters all saying Depo was not a contributor to making talent decisions on the field.
And to be honest I don't freaking care.
Seriously - only Browns fans could:
Pee and moan through a 9-4 record in a season with a new HC, Covid, No preseason and a QB who played like poo last year.
Bicker and fight about play off scenarios instead of enjoying a 9-4 record.
Pee and moan about whether Schwartz and Mack and others left because the FO let them walk or didn't up their offer when given a chance or because they weren't interested in staying ... from five years ago.
Man it's exhausting sometimes. These GM battles are as toxic as the Game Day thread on game day.
All I care about is this Sunday. This FO working together and making good choices during the upcoming offseason. I could give a rats patootie about what happened 3 or 4 or 5 organizations ago. I don't even care about Dorsey and how much credit or otherwise he gets.
Well it's a public forum I saw a few posts about past GMs and just went on my little rant. Didn't really need or mean to sound so pissy - but seriously I just want to enjoy 9-4 without stirring up some of the old scars and peeing battles. Offseason would seem a more appropriate time to do that if we want to revisit. just how I see/feel it.
Even though Depo was speaking for the organization and not just himself, as many took it that he was making the calls , how is Carson Wentz working out?
Below, some of Wentz accomplishments in career so far.
NFL records Most pass completions through the first 24 games of his career (540)[103] Most consecutive games with 1+ TD pass with 1 INT or less (Current streak is 22 games surpassing Matt Ryan's 21 from December 2015– Sept. 2017) First QB in history to have a 4,000 yard season without having a single receiver with at least 500 receiving yards[91] First QB in history to throw for 20 or more TDs and 7 or less INT in 3 consecutive seasons [104] link
With the help of Depo's judgement in his first season in charge, the Browns picked Cory Coleman with their first round pick...
...HOW DID THAT WORK OUT FOR THE BROWNS, PEEN?
Also, with the help of Depo's football knowledge of NFL QBs, Depo's draft team did select a QB...Cody Keesler..
...HOW DID THAT WORK OUT FOR THE BROWNS, PEEN?
IMO, Depo's expertise is better suited for management selections but not for judging player talent. I give credit where credit is due..so far the GM, HC 'appear' to be good choices.
We have no idea how much of Depo's advice was actually followed with the FO circus he was dealing with. We do know he wanted GS over Junior Samples as coach last year. I wonder where we'd be if we were in Stefanski's 2nd year with this group.
We'll find out next year. Without trying to start a fight here, I think it's a combination of the talent brought in by Dorsey combined with the coaching of Stefanski. I mean if we're going to ask hypothetical questions, where would Stefanski and the team be now without Mayfield, Chubb and all of the talent Dorsey brought to the roster?
I'm at the point that I feel it's a culmination of the roster Dorsey helped build along with the coaching ability that Stefanski brings that brought us to where we are now.
We'll find out next year. Without trying to start a fight here, I think it's a combination of the talent brought in by Dorsey combined with the coaching of Stefanski. I mean if we're going to ask hypothetical questions, where would Stefanski and the team be now without Mayfield, Chubb and all of the talent Dorsey brought to the roster?
I'm at the point that I feel it's a culmination of the roster Dorsey helped build along with the coaching ability that Stefanski brings that brought us to where we are now.
Along with the historic (as in, greatest amassed of all time) draft picks and cap space.
We'll find out next year. Without trying to start a fight here, I think it's a combination of the talent brought in by Dorsey combined with the coaching of Stefanski. I mean if we're going to ask hypothetical questions, where would Stefanski and the team be now without Mayfield, Chubb and all of the talent Dorsey brought to the roster?
I'm at the point that I feel it's a culmination of the roster Dorsey helped build along with the coaching ability that Stefanski brings that brought us to where we are now.
But it seems people are giving the GM credit for the good picks and blame Depo for the bad ones. I think the GM should get credit for both. Depo just provides data and recommendations.
We'll find out next year. Without trying to start a fight here, I think it's a combination of the talent brought in by Dorsey combined with the coaching of Stefanski. I mean if we're going to ask hypothetical questions, where would Stefanski and the team be now without Mayfield, Chubb and all of the talent Dorsey brought to the roster?
I'm at the point that I feel it's a culmination of the roster Dorsey helped build along with the coaching ability that Stefanski brings that brought us to where we are now.
But it seems people are giving the GM credit for the good picks and blame Depo for the bad ones. I think the GM should get credit for both. Depo just provides data and recommendations.
With many, Depo is scapegoat simply because he is a "nerd" and not a "football guy". We'll have to win a 'chip before the masses truly tip their cap to him.
I think it has more to do with the lack of transparency behind his role in the org. What, exactly, is it that he does? I think the team's struggles during after shortly after he was brought on coupled with not really knowing what it is he does contributed to a sort of Emperor Palpatine Wannabe characterization some gave him. Working behind the scenes to enact his master plan of keeping the Browns in the basement of the AFC North.
That's what I see in my mind when I read some bag on him in here.
I don't think Depo was in charge of evaluating players in terms of who was picked. He may have a great deal of input in regards to gathering SPARQ scores and analytical data for those who were in charge. Of course I can't speak for everyone else. It's just that IMO, if someone chose to listen to Depo's information and based any draft picks on that information, that was their choice to make.
I do believe that Depo had Halam's ear. There's no way you make it through that many regimes without the boss believing you weren't a part of the problem. And likewise, if Haslam overrode any draft picks on what Depo may have told him, that decision rests with Haslam.
I certainly think Depo was far more of a project than a finished product when he got here. There are far more variables with NFL players than there are with baseball players. Baseball players fill individual roles while football players must play as a unit and fill multiple roles.
ie... TE's don't just catch the ball. RB's don't just rush with the ball. OL players don't just pass block without working as a unit.
Sashi and co. were promised an extended amount of time to complete and teardown and rebuild and were given the boot. Then Haslam brought in someone that never listened to anything Depo said (even mocked it at times, allegedly). Now there's harmony, but we're on attempt #3 since he got here. Without the benefit of hindsight, it makes exactly 0 sense why he would hang on.
I'm with MGH888 on his point about the way this thread went. For crying out loud, we are 9-4, only a couple seasons removed 1-31. Our QB has 23TD to just 8 ints though 11 games. He is completing 63% of his passes. Yes, I get he has talent around him. I love that our RBs are awesome and OL is playing lights out. Our D is weak but playing with an injury decimated def backfield.
Every year I just "hope" to be a contender and some years just respectable so as not to be a laughingstock.
I realize we are probably not a SB contender but I am absolutely loving this year. I could care less which GM hired which coach, which QB was not picked in previous drafts and busts we have selected.
I am having a blast worrying about the possibility of qualifying for the playoffs. I can't wait for Sunday night. Winning this year makes the entire week more fun to listen to podcasts of CBD and other Browns coverage.
Maybe its because I am old enough to remember when the Browns were respected and won a lot of games.
Sashi's job was to fix the QB situation. That is his statement. When Wentz and Watson were demonstrated to be far superior to anything that the Browns had been wasting time on, (Weeden, Manziel,Kizer etc.) he was determined to be a failure and was out. If you recall, the Browns passed on both of them.
Sashi's job was to dismantle and rebuild the team - QB was one position. He acquired significant draft picks and rebuilt the o-line. Next up was QB. Given 1 more year, no doubt Sashi would have been drafting a QB - Baker, Darnold, or Allen most likely.
I'm not one that's trying to run OBJ out of town... but the way to feel good about trading veteran talent is by developing younger guys to take their place. That could be what is happening with DPJ, and I'm all for it (big difference between trading a vet to make way for a young'in that can step in, and just running a guy out of town with nobody to take his place).
DPJ is doing some nice things, so far, but he is FAR from replacing OBJ. Besides that, even if he does make OBJ moot, then OBJ is now the best #2 WR in the league.
Oh, I completely agree. What DPJ is doing now is step 1 of a long list of things he needs to do in order to be considered a #1. I wouldn't expect us to move on from OBJ, if at all, until after he's back on the field and up to speed next season.
The one marked difference I see when we don’t have OBJ (that’s a negative for us) is that we don’t have a true WR who can just make a HUGE play (like the Dallas game)
I think the first half against Baltimore we saw a bit of a lull because they were just manning us up and daring our WRs to beat it. We only loosened them up some when the run game got going and they had a few injuries
It’s time to remember that Browns co-owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam put chief strategy officer DePodesta in charge of leading the search that brought coach Kevin Stefanski to Cleveland.
Years from now, that might be the aha moment that turned the franchise around.
This isn’t a case of the fifth time is a charm for the Haslams, who fired Stefanski's four predecessors they chose since taking over in 2012.
Belatedly or not, the Haslams finally recognized their failings in finding a leader and turned to someone who wouldn’t succumb to emotion, who wouldn’t be schmoozed, who would see through the best-foot-forward part of the interview and dig for the person underneath.
That was DePodesta.
DePodesta chose Stefanski in 2019, but the Haslams allowed then-General Manager John Dorsey to pick Freddie Kitchens, a captivating character but an incapable head coach. By New Year's Day, both Dorsey and Kitchens were gone.
DePodesta chose Sean McDermott in 2016, but the Haslams went with Hue Jackson, whose 3-36-1 record marks the darkest days in franchise history.
McDermott, meanwhile, took the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs in two of his first three seasons, has them atop the AFC East at 10-3 and in August received a six-year contract extension that runs through 2025.
Even after Monday night’s 47-42 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium, Stefanski had led the Browns (9-4) to the threshold of their first playoff appearance since 2002. That makes DePodesta two-for-two — or three-for-three depending on how you see it — on his most recent recommendations.
Considering that the Bills and Browns could meet in the postseason, the road to the Super Bowl might include winning the DePo Bowl.
Before McDermott’s Bills reached an AFC wild-card game in 2017, they hadn’t been to the playoffs since 1999, a drought of 17 years. That’s the same length of futility the Browns face.
There seems no doubt now that In his last three coaching searches, DePodesta has found the right man to lead a franchise out of the wilderness. Over that span, perhaps DePodesta became a little better at selling his choice, or at selling himself.
A former baseball executive with the New York Mets, San Diego Padres and Oakland A’s who began his MLB career as a player development intern with the Indians in 1996, DePodesta admitted in January that he had much to learn about the NFL when the Browns hired him nearly five years ago.
Frustrated fans would credit the Browns Rally Possum if it meant the Haslams weren’t firing someone every year or two. No matter how or why they came to realize they’d made a mistake in bypassing Stefanski and righted that wrong, Stefanski has been a smashing success. He deserves NFL coach of the year just for the dysfunction he and General Manager Andrew Berry have buried.
Stefanski has been an unflappable, strong leader in the most trying of circumstances. The 14 years he spent with the Minnesota Vikings, climbing the ladder from gofer as assistant to coach Brad Childress, could not have prepared him for the challenges of a global pandemic and racial unrest following the Memorial Day death of George Floyd.
Stefanski has handled it all with empathy. He has developed a family atmosphere despite the increase in virtual meetings as COVID-19 surges. He has proven not only his football knowledge but his commitment to putting his players in their best positions to succeed. He has taught them discipline, toughness and the sacrifice required to win. He has shown them he cares about them.
As last year’s promising season fell apart, there was no sense that the players were still committed to Kitchens. Not surprisingly, as the Browns try to reach new heights for the expansion era, praise for Stefanski continues to build.
“From his first press conference and still his mantra today is, ‘We have to put the work in.’ He’s a man of his words,” receiver Jarvis Landry said Friday.
“It’s hard to explain, but he’s just the same guy,” left guard Joel Bitonio said Friday. “The expectations never change, and that is to always work, to always improve and to always put the team first. The standard never changes.”
Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi said Stefanski excels at challenging his players with goals of winning the meeting, winning the practice, winning the day and winning the week. It sounds so simple, but they’re buying in, showing the same focus and dedication on Friday that’s required on Sunday.
“He just gets it. He does a great job of keeping the main thing the main thing,” Ogunjobi said Saturday. “Nobody is going to lay down for you. Nobody is going to give you what you want. You have to go out each and every week and you have to take it. You have to earn it. I feel like that’s a special characteristic he has.”
DePodesta said in January that in the search that ended up with Kitchens, the Browns researched over 50 candidates. DePodesta looked at the cost of constant change, of so many coaches, coordinators, philosophies, offensive and defensive schemes and how it stunts the players’ and the franchise’s progress.
“There is a real cost to that,” he said on Jan. 14. “We have to get this right. When we embarked on this ... we talked about what we are looking for — we are looking for someone for the next 10-plus years.”
But it wasn’t the impressive list of quarterbacks Stefanski had worked with or his knowledge of Gary Kubiak’s offense that convinced DePodesta that Stefanski was the right hire.
“It really is about leadership, more than anything else,” DePodesta said at Stefanski’s introduction. “What kind of communicator is somebody? How collaborative is he? How natural or authentic is he? All of those things are important, but they all really point toward leadership.”
DePodesta said all that before COVID-19 rocked the world, before Floyd’s death brought an awakening that prompted Stefanski to form a players’ social justice committee.
No one knew then how right DePodesta was — not only about Stefanski, but about the quality that should be valued most.
It's too soon to say that the Browns have found their 10-year man, with few successful coaches surviving that long with the same franchise any more. But Stefanski looks to have staying power and DePodesta deserves the credit, both for his choice and his persistence.
I don't have a subscription, but I'll take a stab at it.
He was right about: Coach, GM, the need for everyone in the organization to have synergy, the overall plan to tear down and acquire assets to rebuild while clearing cap and setting us up financially going forward.... basically, the bones & structure of everything - including the teardown that resulted in us going 1-31.
I mean, we haven't even made the playoffs yet. Little early to crown Depodesta. We're 2-3 in our division games too. Granted I know the refs jobbed us on MNF but we had chances to put it away and blew it.
Hopefully next year and a month from now we're in the playoffs 2 consecutive times with some wins over the Ravens/Steelers, but that article seems way premature.
You know, I changed my frame of thought from what it was previously. I used to buy the hype that gets peddled every year about hiring the next great coordinator or offensive/defensive mind to bring your team along, but that so often misses the mark.
One thing that Anthony Lynn (ironically) said about being a head coach in the league is that there is a stark difference between knowing how to scheme and call plays, and knowing how to lead a 53-man squad to victory. Makes a lot of sense.
You see guys like Tomlin, McDermott, Stefanski, etc. who were good in their coordinating jobs, but not seen as exceptional innovators. They (so far) have shown to be good head coaches though.
On the flipside, you have guys like Gase, Hue, LeBeau, etc. who are considered coordinating geniuses that by-and-large flopped as head coaches.
There's definitely a leadership factor in there. I just wonder how you can discover it with analytics
Good point. And it’s an intangible thing, too ... leadership is tough to quantify. I give Paul Depo credit for knowing the right guy to hire schematically, analytically, and from a leadership standpoint
I mean, we haven't even made the playoffs yet. Little early to crown Depodesta. We're 2-3 in our division games too. Granted I know the refs jobbed us on MNF but we had chances to put it away and blew it.
Hopefully next year and a month from now we're in the playoffs 2 consecutive times with some wins over the Ravens/Steelers, but that article seems way premature.
I think you were premature.
Haters going to hate.
It just chaps some peoples ass that Depo has done a fantastic job.
I'll ask the same thing I asked before... what is his job, actually? What is it, exactly that he works on each day?
At this point, I don't mind him giving himself a couple pats on the back. The hottest of his hot-takes have actually turned out to be true (Wentz, McDermidt vs Hue, Stefanski vs Freddie). Hearing those couple little snippets about what he was looking for in the interview room was interesting.
What his job is tends to be something nobody can factually pinpoint. People guess and claim they know but really do not. The trend seems to be that if something turns out bad it's the fault of everyone but Depo. If it turns out be good, Depo did it.
What his job is tends to be something nobody can factually pinpoint. People guess and claim they know but really do not. The trend seems to be that if something turns out bad it's the fault of everyone but Depo. If it turns out be good, Depo did it.
When GM states something as fact, I believe him. You know as well as I do his connections are real.
Connections to what? So are you saying when Sashi and Dorsey said something you believed them or have you simply decided that you will pick and choose who you believe?
The trend seems to be that if something turns out bad it's the fault of everyone but Depo. If it turns out be good, Depo did it.
Kind of like when 1-31 was everybody's fault but Hue's. I still can't believe people wanted to give Hue more time after achieving his unprecedented level of suckitude.
The trend seems to be that if something turns out bad it's the fault of everyone but Depo. If it turns out be good, Depo did it.
Kind of like when 1-31 was everybody's fault but Hue's. I still can't believe people wanted to give Hue more time after achieving his unprecedented level of suckitude.
Huh. That Alanis Moressette song coincidentally popped into my head.
The trend seems to be that if something turns out bad it's the fault of everyone but Depo. If it turns out be good, Depo did it.
Kind of like when 1-31 was everybody's fault but Hue's. I still can't believe people wanted to give Hue more time after achieving his unprecedented level of suckitude.
I can admit it; I wanted us to keep him. I was THAT sick of the constant change that I was absolutely SURE if he just had more time the ship would get righted. I couldn't believe that one man could be THAT FREAKING BAD at his job.
We'll find out next year. Without trying to start a fight here, I think it's a combination of the talent brought in by Dorsey combined with the coaching of Stefanski. I mean if we're going to ask hypothetical questions, where would Stefanski and the team be now without Mayfield, Chubb and all of the talent Dorsey brought to the roster?
I'm at the point that I feel it's a culmination of the roster Dorsey helped build along with the coaching ability that Stefanski brings that brought us to where we are now.
But it seems people are giving the GM credit for the good picks and blame Depo for the bad ones. I think the GM should get credit for both. Depo just provides data and recommendations.
With many, Depo is scapegoat simply because he is a "nerd" and not a "football guy". We'll have to win a 'chip before the masses truly tip their cap to him.
After all, they blame Depo for not selecting Carson Wentz.
Oh it is great. The owner didn't trust him enough to listen to him therefore he didn't have the power to make those calls. Still people want to give him credit. And they act like they know everything that went on behind the scenes. The entire thing is a farce.
What his job is tends to be something nobody can factually pinpoint. People guess and claim they know but really do not. The trend seems to be that if something turns out bad it's the fault of everyone but Depo. If it turns out be good, Depo did it.
The only people who have claimed to know are those like mac and those who believed in those wild conspiracy theories where DePo was staging coup after coup to consolidate his power base. Or the people who knew the approach DePo and Sashi were bringing couldn't possibly work because they weren't 'football' guys.
It also probably doesn't hurt that last year DePo recommended Stefanski. Jimmy and Dorsey passed on that recommendation and netted us a 6-10 year under Kitchens.
He recommends Stefanski a second time and where again are we? 10 wins... in the driver's seat to make the playoffs... maybe even a shot at Division Champs... a distinct and sustainable culture shift... and Ski in the running for Coach of the Year??
I get the sour grapes and not wanting to give DePo more credit than you think he deserves. That's fine. But are you at least willing to cede that maybe what DePo has tried to bring to this franchise over the last few years has some legitimacy?
Oh it is great. The owner didn't trust him enough to listen to him therefore he didn't have the power to make those calls. Still people want to give him credit. And they act like they know everything that went on behind the scenes. The entire thing is a farce.
I don't follow along closely enough to know if you have a beef with Depo or a beef with another poster who is a Depo supporter.
my 2 cents -
It's been stated by multiple sources within the Browns Organization that Depo isn't and wasn't a decision maker. He supplied analysis and opinion to others who made calls. Trying to slam Depo for draft selections seems misguided at best. Saying we don't know what he does is disingenuous - he's our strategy officer. He and the organization have told us - but somehow posters twist it into being a role and having influence above and beyond what he and the organization have stated.
It has also been relayed by multiple sources - including a recent article in the The Athletic which is a source damn good Sport Journalism that Depo had McDermott top of his HC list when Haslam's wanted to hire Hue.... McDermott was clearly the better choice.
Depo also wanted to hire Stefanski the year Dorsey put Kitchens in charge. That's on record at multiple sources also.
I'm glad we have Depo - he seems smart and balanced. I am glad we have Stefanski. He seems smart and balanced. I am glad we have Berry, he seems smart and balanced and it appears to me looking in from the outside without an iota of proof - that they 3 of them could sit in a room and discuss players, draft prospects and any aspect of the team and they could all disagree strongly but come together and make a decision they all support. Something we have clearly lacked in the last 20 years.
Some characterize Dorsey's selection of Kitchens as a power play. Maybe that's true, I don't know. I'm going to be charitable and chalk it up to Dorsey gambling on a guy who some thought would be part of a crop of new, young, up and coming coordinators.
It appears to me that this FO doesn't rely on gambling.
My understanding, based on what was said at the time of his hiring and since, is that Depo's roll has always been about making sport's franchises better businesses; identifying ways to improve efficiency of the business. Depo has demonstrated a remarkable talent over 2 decades for doing that. That its taken so long here has more to say about Haslam than Depo.
Here is the bottom line. Depo was learning on the fly. When he first got here he had zero experience in the football world. Trying to make it sound like he was some whiz kid from day one sounds ridiculous to me.
Has he learned over time? Yes. Is he currently doing a good job? Yes, f we actually knew what that job was. I mean he isn't even the GM.
I have nothing against Depo. I think he has grown into being a valuable asset to us. But rewriting history is a fools errand. He came here with zero NFL experience. That's why he was very limited in his power. Even to this day he hasn't been entrusted with the GM job.
To claim that simply passing the buck down the road by Sashi was some great work of strategy seems silly to me. Anyone can trade down and accumulate picks. Only those with actual NFL experience know how to invest those assets. We all know about the kid who inherited daddy's money and blew it because he had no clue how to handle it. The credit should go to the people who knew how to invest those assets.
Now we're in a position where several of our top players will be reaching the point that new contracts will have to be met at the same time or very close together. I'm not so sure how "smart" that strategy is going to work out.
I've been intrigued by the speedster we acquired from Detroit, but Hodge and DPJ have kept him on the bench so far:
"The Browns claimed Hall off waivers after Detroit decided to cut the 27-year-old Dec. 5, but he's now been a healthy scratch in back-to-back games with his new team. Hall produced 14 receptions for 234 yards and a touchdown over his final five appearances as a Lion between Weeks 8 and 12, however, Cleveland has decided to proceed with KhaDarel Hodge and Donovan Peoples-Jones as its third and fourth WR options for Sunday night."
I wouldn't expect to see him on the field with the offense until he shows he has earned the spot in Stefanski's eyes.
He has speed and some talent; that got him to CLE... but at this point in the season, he isn't even going to dress for the games until he has proven himself to be more valuable than whatever special teamer he'd be displacing from the regular game day roster.
This isn't the old days where random players could get a shot.... he's a player trying to get time with one of our deepest and most talented position groups.
2016...Jan.3-Sashi Brown named VP of football ops/GM...replaces Ray Farmer...Pettine fired 2016...Jan.5-Depodesta named chief strategy officer 2016...1/13-Hue Jackson hired as HC
...2016 and 2017 Browns draft history...
2016...14 picks...5 w 5 yrs nfl exp. link 2017...10 picks...5 w 4 yrs nfl exp link
2016...Jan.3-Sashi Brown named VP of football ops/GM...replaces Ray Farmer...Pettine fired 2016...Jan.5-Depodesta named chief strategy officer 2016...1/13-Hue Jackson hired as HC
...2016 and 2017 Browns draft history...
2016...14 picks...5 w 5 yrs nfl exp. link 2017...10 picks...5 w 4 yrs nfl exp link
So, you folks believe Sashi was damn good GM..RIGHT?
Sashi, Depo and their cutting edge charts and graphs did bring the Browns a new method of judging draft talent in 2016 and 2017.
I'm 100 percent in favor of Stefanski being considered for the coach of the year award, but if those in charge of making the selection consider a coaches body of work, Stef has only the 2020 season to judge him on.
If the selections are not made until the season is over and the Browns win out, it would be much harder to vote against Stefanski, IMO.
Look at the many challenges Stefanski faced, dealing with Covid 19 in his rookie year and with a new coaching staff. He has done a helluva job.
Stefanski has done something that other coaches failed to do as a Browns HC...Stefanski focuses on building a TEAM FIRST concept. It quite obvious that Stefanski doesn't believe in following strict guidelines such as not keeping players 30 and over.
The Browns currently have a healthy blend of experienced vets and young players. Stefanski appears to a reasonable man who relies on his own judgement and guidelines..I like that.
When Stefanski was selected I had only one wish...just win!
Stefanski inherited a team that already half way built with exceptional talent, especially on the offensive side. All the coaching staff and GM had to do was fill out the remaining holes..and they did just that!
and as I said back in 2016 this was a five year plan. Guess what this is the 5th year. 10-4 so far.
Yes you did. And to most of us it was pretty apparent what the plan was. I think most people who weren't viewing the situation in simplistic terms could see that.
I had no idea where we had a plan to keep hiring innept coaches all these years. Yeah, we were just waiting until year five to hire someone who could actually do the job. Then of course 1-15 and 0-16 seasons were part of the plan. Dear Lord.
I for one think that Sashi was between good and damn good. Yes there were a coupe misteps, but if you look at what his purpose was, I think he did it well. I shudder to think where we'd be if he allowed hue to get A.J.
Here's one that might throw you guys: I think a Dorsey/DePo/Ski relationship could have worked out if Dorsey's priorities were a little more in line. In this back and forth Dorsey is credited with some awesome talent he brought here. What gets overlooked is the back half of the equation in that many are still here. Instead of playing the familiar cut 'em because they "aren't our guys" when Dorsey left, they were retained. This suggests that some of the players Dorsey picked ALSO checked boxes on the analytic side. IIRC prior to that Draft it was said Baker also killed it analytically. Having Dorsey with DePo had the potential to bridge the gap between the old school and new school, between the eye test and the written test.
This thing DePo has been trying to establish here has never been an all or nothing deal. I haven't even had to listen to many of his speeches or read interviews and see that his whole process actually values input from those old schoolers. He's talked about trying to figure out how to bring them on board, not throw them over board and replace them.
Too much effort has gone in to trying to make out like DePo's been implementing a purely numbers based system. If that were the case, how'd we end up with Stefanski? How did Stefanski come up twice as a recommendation? He doesn't have prior HC experience. What kind of "data" is he going to have that the Bat Computer is going to say he is the one?
Personally I think DePo actually does have an appreciation and also recognizes not the value but the necessity of things like professionalism, organization, and leadership.
I had no idea where we had a plan to keep hiring innept coaches all these years. Yeah, we were just waiting until year five to hire someone who could actually do the job. Then of course 1-15 and 0-16 seasons were part of the plan. Dear Lord.
No doubt that poor coaches wasn't a part of the plan.
By all accounts Haslam made the push for Hue. No doubt that Sashi and Depo didn't since they were hired only days before.
After that it is pretty clear that Haslam was out of selecting coaches and let Dorsey select his hand picked guy.
Both Hue and Freddie sucked as head coaches.
No doubt the tear down didn't help us win games in the moment, but I don't think the coaching helped anything. Look back to the early years after we got our team back. Many of those rosters weren't any better than the rosters we had after the rebuild began, yet we managed to win some games.
At any rate, we look to have a solid front office, coaching staff, and a group of players we can build around.
I had no idea where we had a plan to keep hiring innept coaches all these years. Yeah, we were just waiting until year five to hire someone who could actually do the job. Then of course 1-15 and 0-16 seasons were part of the plan. Dear Lord.
Where do you come up with this crap? Name a single person who has suggested this was the case?
Tell you what.. you keep doing you boo. Keep framing these discussions in the context of arguments that no one is making. Maybe someone else will waste their time on it.
I actually think Hue was on board initially with what we were trying to do. He had the hardest job of anyone just do due to the fact he was the face of everything and had to deal with the brunt of the criticism. Ultimately I think it wore on him enough that he could no longer endure such a longview and felt he had to salvage something. To be honest I'm not sure any coach would have made it through the same time period. Perhaps the greatest flaw in The Plan was thinking such a thing was possible.
I actually think Hue was on board initially with what we were trying to do. He had the hardest job of anyone just do due to the fact he was the face of everything and had to deal with the brunt of the criticism. Ultimately I think it wore on him enough that he could no longer endure such a longview and felt he had to salvage something. To be honest I'm not sure any coach would have made it through the same time period. Perhaps the greatest flaw in The Plan was thinking such a thing was possible.
Just a couple of points.
1. I am not sure how sold Hue was with the plan.
Hue was about Hue. I don't think he was very excited about it after he got hired. I am sure he was all in when explaining to Jimmy why he was the perfect fit as head coach of the Browns. JMO
2. I don't know who or how many coaches might have survived. I do know that Sashi never got a shot to be in Hues corner to stick up for him, so there is that.
I am not going to say if Sashi should have stayed or not. What I will say is I am damn glad Depo did. My personal feeling is that Dorsey wanted to get rid of Depo as soon as possible.
Three years ago, I wanted Mayfield or Josh Allen, and no part of Darnold or Rosen. I was brilliant! But then I have to admit, last year (earlier this year?), I really, really wanted Mike McCarthy. Wanted no part of Stefanski. Man, was I an idiot! To all my fellow Dawgtalkers, we fight and argue and call each other out. The fights are petty and ridiculous, but still, we have shared a bond of misery for decades. And now, we are good! What a gift. Merry Christmas!
I'm certainly not fussing about where we are. I just find those trying to rewrite history hilarious.
I have no idea what you are talking about.
1! the whole subject is bs. 2. I'll explain because I feel the same as him and understand the point he's making.
3. People can't just type comments, (not sure who, because again the whole argument is bs to even have at this point), comments that, " it was a 5 year plan from the beginning"
NO 5 year plan has 0-16 nearly twice as part of it! No 5 year plan has blowing things up 3 times in it as part of it! No 5 year plan says, hey, (let me describe it)
It's a Journey from New Orleans- to New York! 1. Headlong for San Francisco full speed!!! Halfway there, "Wrong turn in Alburque, let's take a 4 month walk toward Key West, .. Everybody on board?
3, When ya get to Oklahoma City, because you can't walk straight, someone has pity and offers a ride to Memphis.
4 After (Oh, did I originally say trip was to New York, ... who was listening, we meant trip is to Cleveland! yay! Cleveland Rocks! by the way) 4. After getting the hitchhike ride to Memphis from a pity from a stranger,
5 You are halfway up Kentucky in a limping motor vehicle, full steam headed in the right direction, "Here we come Cleveland! Glory land! Super Bowl! Parade, "C'mon Motor Vehicle, don't give out now!"
FIVE, YEAR, PLAN. (Can we get a 5 star Yelp/ lift/ uber/ whatever review?? for the Journey???)
Then his comment makes a little more sense. to quote his comment " I just find those trying to rewrite history hilarious"
FGoodness Sakes! I stood Right there in the Break room at work!!! And the Browns didn't even have a head coach at 8 am, and at 9 am they had a coach , there were reports the Browns had a coach, one they never hired! and then a different one 8 hours later. 3 coaches in and None Haley who I had steeler fans trying to convince me they had hired Haley to be the next coach, Chief Strategy officer! Chief Strategy officer! For the 2 years prior and 2 years past, and today!
Oh Pat on the 'Blessed" back for the chief strategy officer who never appeared to Either, Step in and do something or Explain this, or at least step down while this,
I mean is this a Strategy in any world where the traffic lights are red yellow and green?
Pat on the Back, right direction, this time,
Just don't rewrite history to give yourself an award, be happy to be a part of the ride. Where is Gregg Williams?
2016...Jan.3-Sashi Brown named VP of football ops/GM...replaces Ray Farmer...Pettine fired 2016...Jan.5-Depodesta named chief strategy officer 2016...1/13-Hue Jackson hired as HC
...2016 and 2017 Browns draft history...
2016...14 picks...5 w 5 yrs nfl exp. link 2017...10 picks...5 w 4 yrs nfl exp link
""If the NFL keeps the Browns out of the Playoffs, then 2020 is no better than last year's 6-10 record.""
Just saw this posted in a locked thread ... and I have 2 questions for everyone:
[1] How many of you spend your time and invest energy and emotion into a team that you ultimately believe plays a sport where outcomes are predetermined and is not competitive based on ability of the team?
[2] How many of you feel that a 6-10 record is the same as an 11-5 record if we don't make the playoffs?
I don't understand a living soul who would watch or care about a sport if they thought the games were fixed.
After 20 years of the Browns since the return - if you feel the same about this team as last year's team - and GM, and HC etc - unless we get into the playoffs ... then I really truly pity you.
""If the NFL keeps the Browns out of the Playoffs, then 2020 is no better than last year's 6-10 record.""
Just saw this posted in a locked thread ... and I have 2 questions for everyone:
[1] How many of you spend your time and invest energy and emotion into a team that you ultimately believe plays a sport where outcomes are predetermined and is not competitive based on ability of the team?
[2] How many of you feel that a 6-10 record is the same as an 11-5 record if we don't make the playoffs?
I don't understand a living soul who would watch or care about a sport if they thought the games were fixed.
After 20 years of the Browns since the return - if you feel the same about this team as last year's team - and GM, and HC etc - unless we get into the playoffs ... then I really truly pity you.
So your saying there has never in the history of the nfl been a game that was fixed?
I do hate wrestling, and anything that is fake. And as a Browns fan I have had plenty of calls and momements when I get frustrated with the officiating, and I absolutely think certain players - Brady and others - get calls that other teams and players don't get. But I think that's a result of human flaws and failings, not a scheme orchestrated by the "Deep State" of the NFL to control which teams/markets get to play in the play offs.
Officiating sucks in most games - it is not unique to Cleveland.
I look at your post with almost the same level of disbelief as the ones you're calling out.
Almost.
This is an org that has defined and redefined "finding ways to fail". I do believe things are changing, but I acknowledge that our losing ways aren't that far behind us (in fact, I think we're still working out from them).
I look at your post with almost the same level of disbelief as the ones you're calling out.
Almost.
This is an org that has defined and redefined "finding ways to fail". I do believe things are changing, but I acknowledge that our losing ways aren't that far behind us (in fact, I think we're still working out from them).
You are going to have to expand or explain a little.
You think the NFL is fixed? Or you think this season is the same as last season unless we make the playoffs? And you think my post is naïve or ignorant? . . . . I'm not 100% sure what you are saying.
If you think the league purposely disqualified players for your favorite team because they don’t like the team for some reason you should probably not watch that league anymore.
If you think the league purposely disqualified players for your favorite team because they don’t like the team for some reason you should probably not watch that league anymore.
Right...and if you think both drew brees and bret farve retired 30 years ago you probably shouldn't watch that league...or any sports league for that matter at all. Just saying....
I think the truth of the matter lies somewhere in the middle. I don't believe the NFL is out to get the Browns. However, I do see how fans may get that impression.
Let's not pretend that officiating crews don't play favorites. Those "superstar QB's" may as well be wearing skirts. The more popular teams and higher rated teams I feel so get calls made in their favor on marginal penalties at times. Pass interference is often called much closer for better teams who will get that called in their favor in circumstances lesser teams will not.
Now people can debate whether that is subconscious or deliberate on the part of the officials, but we certainly see it spread across the NFL.
It's not Browns specific. It's more elite team specific which causes lesser teams to pay the cost. Do the Browns want to be one of those teams getting some of these breaks? Start winning consistently and earn it.
when you rush 8 times with the #6 running back in the NFL and continue to pass to a bunch of scrubs and expect to win
When your running game is getting stuffed because the line can't block a hole and the only thing you're having ANY success with is passing to your TE's because your WRs suck, you roll with whatever it is you can get to work.
when you rush 8 times with the #6 running back in the NFL and continue to pass to a bunch of scrubs and expect to win
When your running game is getting stuffed because the line can't block a hole and the only thing you're having ANY success with is passing to your TE's because your WRs suck, you roll with whatever it is you can get to work.
This.
Exactly. They were daring us to pass with our depleted WR group. They were not going to make it easy for us to run the ball.
I was poking fun at the conspiracy theorists but also at you for not being able to acknowledge the past decade of Browns futility. The past 48 hours were textbook "same ol' Browns".
yeah, our offense is not nearly as good without the full strength OL. It’s so noticeable
And why I would target a O-lineman or two in free agency and hope to draft at least 1 in next years draft.
Lamm is just a guy. He can be replaced by nearly anybody. Harris shows some promise, but he is a ways off. He looked really good last week, but that was with both Bitonio and Wills playing on the left side. That allowed Tretter to "babysit" Harris a bit. This week with Wills out, Treeter couldn't do that and Harris got trucked.
Having officiating that is inconsistent or that favors certain "stars" does not even remotely come close to having a league that is fixed.
Officiating that is not consistent for all parties and that favors anything is exactly what "fixed" means.
Maybe technically, but in a true fix, you have to have a degree of "intent" and premeditation. Maybe some degree of collusion between two or more officials or players.
I notice no mention of wills. Even the media mentioned that the browns wont give any updates on him. Preparing myself for the "positive " test later in the week eliminating him from Steelers game and playoff game if we make it
Wills is a must if we are to have a chance in hell of winning this game.
Hollins was available and he knows the system. That's the only reason he's here incase disaster continues to strike.
I was expecting more out of Willies. He was a tough cut iirc.
Honestly, though. The real disappointment was the TEs. Hooper looked like garbage. And Bryant is about as reliable as Sendejo to make s play. Those two were the real let-downs.
And if course the defense. They're the real reason why I have absolutely no faith in a Sunday victory. If Woods gets another shot, I'll be very confused. Hard to overstate his bad this unit is.
It's a little bit harder for the TEs to do what they normally do when the opponent doesn't have to respect your WRs at all and can shut them down with 2nd and 3rd string DB's.
Still, the hands of our TEs were REALLY garbage yesterday.
I was really angry with the drops and lack of playmaking from the TEs. Bryant is so unreliable and seems so lost at times. Deer in headlights look
I know rookie TEs have a hard time translating, but man does Bryant remind me of Devalve...plays with short arms, appears lost and stiff, and ball security issues...Hopefully he can put in a lot of work next year, and come out a better TE.
Tha is buddy. Still wont be surprised if he ends up positive. This seems just like the Garrett situation. Was testing negative and then all of a sudden positive. Hope I'm wrong cause then we would lose him for Steelers game and playoff game if we make it
I was really angry with the drops and lack of playmaking from the TEs. Bryant is so unreliable and seems so lost at times. Deer in headlights look
I know rookie TEs have a hard time translating, but man does Bryant remind me of Devalve...plays with short arms, appears lost and stiff, and ball security issues...Hopefully he can put in a lot of work next year, and come out a better TE.
I think Bryant is over compensating for his earlier fumbling issues. AS soon as he turns upfield he puts both arms over the ball which significantly hampers your ability to open it up and run. He doesn't seem to be playing very confidently to me.
I think Bryant is over compensating for his earlier fumbling issues. AS soon as he turns upfield he puts both arms over the ball which significantly hampers your ability to open it up and run.
That may very well be. Would you rather he fumbled?
Quick story: H.S. scrimmage. 32 pop pass. QB gets the snap, fakes to the fullback in the 2 hole, then fires to the tight end that released. I was the tight end.
Caught the ball and started running, making cuts, etc. Ball in 1 arm. Tackled from the side after a 22-23 yard gain. Before I could stand up my coach was standing over me screaming!!! "You're not a running back, you're a tight end. Catch the ball and use both arms/hands. You just cost us a possession."
It was rather loud.
I scored many td's as a jr. and sr. I had many catches. Never once, after that, did I fumble.
I think Bryant is over compensating for his earlier fumbling issues. AS soon as he turns upfield he puts both arms over the ball which significantly hampers your ability to open it up and run.
That may very well be. Would you rather he fumbled?
And I think that is the question. Drafting him was an opportunity to add talent, not a need. I get that if he's on the field there are expectations, but if we're worried about who we can rely on, Hooper and Njoku are ahead of him on that list.
Personally if he's more worried about not coughing up the ball than he is trying to make a big play, I'm fine with it. I do expect to see a more confidence out of him next season though.
I was really angry with the drops and lack of playmaking from the TEs. Bryant is so unreliable and seems so lost at times. Deer in headlights look
I know rookie TEs have a hard time translating, but man does Bryant remind me of Devalve...plays with short arms, appears lost and stiff, and ball security issues...Hopefully he can put in a lot of work next year, and come out a better TE.
I think Bryant is over compensating for his earlier fumbling issues. AS soon as he turns upfield he puts both arms over the ball which significantly hampers your ability to open it up and run. He doesn't seem to be playing very confidently to me.
I was really angry with the drops and lack of playmaking from the TEs. Bryant is so unreliable and seems so lost at times. Deer in headlights look
I know rookie TEs have a hard time translating, but man does Bryant remind me of Devalve...plays with short arms, appears lost and stiff, and ball security issues...Hopefully he can put in a lot of work next year, and come out a better TE.
I think Bryant is over compensating for his earlier fumbling issues. AS soon as he turns upfield he puts both arms over the ball which significantly hampers your ability to open it up and run. He doesn't seem to be playing very confidently to me.
Good observation, could very well be true.
It's 100% true and obvious in his play. I don't care about him wrapping up and getting less yards playing less "free". Drops, however, are killers. More likely than not, we wouldn't have even had to QB sneak on 4th down yesterday had he caught the pass on first down.
I was really angry with the drops and lack of playmaking from the TEs. Bryant is so unreliable and seems so lost at times. Deer in headlights look
I know rookie TEs have a hard time translating, but man does Bryant remind me of Devalve...plays with short arms, appears lost and stiff, and ball security issues...Hopefully he can put in a lot of work next year, and come out a better TE.
I think Bryant is over compensating for his earlier fumbling issues. AS soon as he turns upfield he puts both arms over the ball which significantly hampers your ability to open it up and run. He doesn't seem to be playing very confidently to me.
Good observation, could very well be true.
It's 100% true and obvious in his play. I don't care about him wrapping up and getting less yards playing less "free". Drops, however, are killers. More likely than not, we wouldn't have even had to QB sneak on 4th down yesterday had he caught the pass on first down.
exactly .. his drop on 1st down was enormous. Just inexcusable
The Browns are off to the playoffs for the first time in 18 years and their path back to them next season is now set.
Here are the teams that will appear on Cleveland’s schedule in 2021.
Home: Ravens, Steelers, Bengals, Broncos, Raiders, Patriots, Lions and Bears
Away: Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City, Houston, Green Bay and Minnesota
As for the 2021 NFL Draft, which Cleveland is scheduled to host in late April, the Browns’ position will be determined following their exit from the playoffs.
Those away games look tough (never know about other teams until at least the season kicks off, though). Patriots will also be much better (they get basically their whole defense back).
The Cleveland Browns have signed CB Brian Allen to the active roster from the Bengals' practice squad.
Allen is 6-3, 200 pounds and in his third NFL season out of Utah. Originally a fifth-round pick by the Steelers in 2017, he has appeared in 17 career games between Pittsburgh (2017-18) and San Francisco (2020). Allen appeared in one game this season with San Francisco and also spent time on the 49ers and Bengals practice squads. Allen is a native of La Marque, Texas.
It's a year to be back... he's going to miss most of next season, unless he comes back too soon. His time in CLE is over, unfortunately... maybe his career, period.
The Browns allowed 317 yards passing to the Steelers on Sunday, including three receptions of more than 40 yards. And quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had the day off. The Browns would benefit from the return of No. 1 cornerback Denzel Ward, nickelback Kevin Johnson and free safety Andrew Sendejo — three of the top five defensive backs — for the playoff rematch in Pittsburgh on Sunday night, but there’s no guarantee they’ll be activated in time off the COVID-19 reserve list. “With all of those guys on that COVID list, I can’t really get into specifics,” coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday. “I will just tell you that we will work through all of that, we will follow the protocols and see where they lead.” Linebackers B.J. Goodson and Malcolm Smith and rookie tight end Harrison Bryant are also on the list after testing positive. NFL protocols state a player who tests positive but never exhibits symptoms must isolate for 10 days beginning with the day the sample was collected. The requirements are stricter for a player who experiences symptoms, including isolating for 10 days after first reporting them, not having a fever for at least 24 hours and an improvement in other symptoms. Any return must be approved by the team’s physician with consultation from the NFL’s chief medical officer and the Infection Control for Sports. Sendejo tested positive Tuesday and Ward on Thursday, so they would be eligible to return in time for the game if they were asymptomatic. Johnson went on the list Saturday night. If he tested positive, he’s out for Sunday. If he was a close contact, he could return if he continued to test negative. With Ward and Johnson out, Robert Jackson made his first NFL start in place of Ward on the outside and M.J. Stewart Jr. played in the slot. Stewart had an interception of Mason Rudolph but gave up the final touchdown after Jackson had allowed a deep completion. “Put Robert out there and he had a couple of tough matchups, but by and large he was in position,” Stefanski said. “A couple of things that we can clean up, but all of those guys, I am proud of them for stepping up to the challenge.”
The Steelers make it tough on secondaries by going with three-receiver packages that feature JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson. The Browns added an option Monday by signing cornerback Brian Allen (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) to the active roster off the Bengals practice squad. He was a fifth-round pick of the Steelers in 2017 out of the University of Utah. He’s played in 17 games. Sheldrick Redwine started at free safety in place of Sendejo but was quickly replaced by Karl Joseph. COACHES CORNER
The Browns were also without three assistant coaches due to COVID-19 protocols. Stefanski told NBC Sports’ Peter King that offensive line coach Bill Callahan and pass game coordinator/receivers coach Chad O’Shea were sick after testing positive last week. Assistant line coach Scott Peters was a close contact of Callahan. The hope is they feel good enough to participate in virtual meetings until they’re cleared to return to practice or games. “Feel confident that we can continue to work remotely, if you will, with the coaches,” Stefanski told reporters. Callahan is a former head coach and has received a lot of credit for the run game and the improved performance of the line. Right tackle Jack Conklin said the veteran line can get by without Callahan at practice. “I don’t think any of us are too worried about not having him there just because we are virtual everything now besides practice, so we are still going to get a whole lot of their technique and talking to us about the game plan and everything,” he said. SAVE SOME FOR LATER
Stefanski was devoted to winning Sunday to ensure a playoff spot. But he acknowledged thinking about the prospect of playing the Steelers again in the first round of the playoffs. “I knew that was a distinct possibility,” he said. Running back Nick Chubb rushed 14 times for 108 yards and a touchdown and played only 27 of 62 offensive snaps. Kareem Hunt played 35 snaps, rushing 10 times for 37 yards. “We are mindful of workload and mindful of getting that win and also understanding that we have another hopefully a few games coming up here,” Stefanski said. “Try to make sure it is the right balance of keeping both those guys fresh and getting the guy in there to get some work done. “We feel like we want to make sure we have some fresh guys starting this week.” The coaching staff has stressed all year the advantage of keeping both backs rested. It allows them to run hard whenever they’re in the game and wear down defenses with the 1-2 punch. “My body is feeling good,” Hunt said. “Nick has been doing a great job of taking the load off me and I have been trying to take the load off him just as much. It is great.” NICE GESTURE
Defensive end Myles Garrett approached Rudolph after the game and complimented him on his performance. It was the first time they’d talked since their infamous on-field altercation in 2019. “It is big,” defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi said. “It speaks to his maturity and his character as a person. Never one time throughout the whole situation did I doubt the person Myles was. For him to kind of extend that arm out and kind of just squash it was big for everybody.”
CLEARING THE WAY
Hunt was the lead blocker on Baker Mayfield’s 3-yard keeper that sealed the victory, drilling the defender and driving him back. “Kareem brought a ton of force,” Stefanski said. “That is the thing about me: Whatever I can do to help the team win, I am going to do it,” Hunt said. “I knew Bake was going to be behind me so I was going to make sure my man was taken good care of so he can get the first down. It is just who wants it more. I really wanted to win that game.” EXTRA POINTS
Rookie receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones sustained a concussion Sunday and is in the league’s protocol. ** The AFC North is the first division with three teams with at least 11 wins since realignment in 2002. The Browns finished third behind the Steelers (12-4) and Ravens (11-5), who swept the Browns. ** Stefanski said without Callahan center JC Tretter helped on the sideline like he always does but wasn’t a “Bill Russell player-coach.”
Figures. 9 sacks in 8 games to hold the d-line together and probably have the best stretch of his career only to get injured before he can see the playoffs.
C'est la vie. DE is the position I really wanted to make sure we had secured before the draft. Other fish, I suppose.
Nahhh. Any reference to Cowherd, sound bites, answers, airplay ... any of it plays into his hands as a shock jock hack. Just ignore him, ignore what he says and what he posts on social media. I do and have and prefer it that way.
Well we have been working out cornerbacks. Everytime I try to screen shot it and put it on here it never work. It's on mary kay twitter. I'm assuming this means there is a good chance ward and Johnson will not play
