If Browns blow tough 3-game stretch, could heads roll after season? 'This is a big juncture' says Mike Pettine
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The 2-5 Browns have reached a pivotal point in their season, and if they stumble through this grueling stretch, will Browns owner Jimmy Haslam renege on his training camp promise not to blow things up?
It's hard to believe he won't consider at least some big changes if the Browns lose their next three games to land at 2-8 heading into the bye week.
"We've battled in our games,'' said coach Mike Pettine. "You don't see our guys quitting, and that's a positive sign, but still we're looking for the result to win. That's what this business – as I've said all along – it's a bottom line business.
"You're either passing or you're failing. This is a big juncture for us. We're focused on Arizona but also know what immediately sits on the other side, essentially two games in five days."
After Sunday's game against the 5-2 Cardinals, the Browns travel to Cincinnati Thursday night to face the 6-0 Bengals on NFL Network. That's two games in five days against clubs with a combined 11-2 record. After that, they head to Pittsburgh to face the 3-3 Steelers, who are getting Ben Roethlisberger back this week.
That's a 15-5 mark for their next three opponents. Considering that the Browns have gone 2-5 against foes with a combined record of 20-24, the outlook looks bleak unless the Browns find a way to right the ship.
"Internally, you can see positives, but nobody on the outside wants to see 'Hey, we lost but these are the positives that we're taking from it,''' said Pettine. "We all know what we're getting paid for and that's to win football games."
In addition to the upcoming trio of stellar foes, the Browns play four of their next five in the division: at Cincinnati and Pittsburgh and then home against the Ravens and Bengals. The 1-6 Ravens were banged up when they lost to the Browns in week five and will be a better football team when they come to town Nov. 30th.
"We're coming up on a lot of division games,'' said safety Tashaun Gipson, who returns Sunday after missing three games with a sprained ankle. "Specifically right now, every game is counting for two now in our eyes, so we know how important it is.''
Like everyone else on the team, Gipson is surprised that the Browns are 2-5 after the "easy'' part of their schedule. The final eight games feature five in the AFC North.
"In these next two weeks, we can turn this thing around, head with some momentum into Pittsburgh game and who knows what can happen from there?'' said Gipson. "We definitely have time. I don't think guys in this locker room are holding their head down low.''
Cornerback Joe Haden, who's missed three of the last four games with injuries -- a concussion, broken finger and rib contusion -- believes the Browns can salvage the season.
"It's so easy,'' said Haden. "It's just a play or two going in our favor instead of bouncing the ball the other way, and I think we still have the people in here, people on the team (to do it).
"We still have a lot of division games ahead of us. We still have everything we want in front of us, so I think our attitude with the team is still: 'We've got to go out there. We have to win the next game.'''
Haslam based his "status quo'' promise on the fact the Browns improved from 4-12 in his first full year to 7-9 last season. But if the team regresses?
"I can assure you nobody in this building is happy winning seven games, but at the same time, we are realistic that it takes time to build a good football team,'' he said in August.
He also made his declaration when the Browns were still optimistic that 2014 first round picks Johnny Manziel and Justin Gilbert would live up to their draft status. Instead, neither is starting midway through the season, and both have been involved in embarassing off-the-field incidents.
Gilbert isn't playing on defense at all and if he can't get significant playing time by the end of the year, he's well on his way to being a bust. The Browns still believe Manziel can play, but he's currently under NFL review for a possible domestic incident.
Even if Manziel escapes discipline, he admitted to drinking, which can't be good for a player who spent 10 weeks in an addiction treatment center in the offseason. ESPN analyst Cris Carter also said on Mike and Mike recently that Manziel's been drinking for awhile.
It's unlikely, then, that the Browns will be willing to turn the team over anytime soon to a player who's still obviously battling some of his demons -- meaning they'll likely have to be on the lookout for another quarterback in the draft.
When Haslam was flush with optimism, he was expecting his No. 12 overall pick Danny Shelton to make a huge impact on the run defense. Instead, the Browns are 32nd in the NFL against the run -- same as last season. Overall, the defense is 28th, and 23rd in sacks.
What's more, their No. 19 overall pick, Cam Erving, has yet to beat out John Greco or anyone else on the offensive line. Perhaps Erving will be good, but a first-rounder sitting as a rookie is usually not a good sign.
"The first year we were here, the draft was not what we wanted,'' Haslam said in August. "The second year was better, and a lot depends on how the two first rounders do, right? If they turn out to be really good players, then we had a tremendous draft two years ago. If one of them makes it, we had a good draft; if neither of them make it; it's ok or just so-so.
"This past year we had a really good draft. We added 12 players, two of them might be redshirts, and we have 11 picks this coming year. If you have that many picks and you pick good talent and can coach them, over a period of time we're going to be successful."
Problem is, the one receiver the Browns drafted this year -- fourth-rounder Vince Mayle -- failed to make the roster and was recently waived by the Cowboys. The other big acquisition at receiver, Dwayne Bowe, has been inactive the past three games and has played only 12 snaps this season despite his two-year free agent contract with $9 million guaranteed. He'll likely be active against the Cardinals, but the season is getting away from him.
Thanks to quarterback Josh McCown, the Browns have been in every game this season despite marginal talent at some positions.
If Haslam determines that the coaches have too little to work with, perhaps he'll beef up or shake up the personnel department and keep the coaching staff intact. At the very least, he'll take a long hard look at general manager Ray Farmer and his track record over the past two years, especially with the first-round picks.
In the meantime, Pettine has asked his players and coaches to dig deep and do more to turn the season around.
"In the team meeting (Monday), we talked about where we are and what adversity does for you,'' he said. "It's easy to exist in this profession when things are going well. When things aren't, you truly find out who you are – who is mentally tough, who cares about this team, who is willing to step up.
"Everybody was challenged to take a personal inventory – where they are, what are they doing well and what are they not doing well and how do we change it?''
If they don't, someone else might.
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