DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum They 've got to establish the running game

Okay. We are 2 and 1. I'll inform the NFL immediately.

No one said that.

But continue doing what you do best.

What?

Red Right 88, The Drive and The Fumble are the only reasons we haven't been to the Super Bowl.

I get what both of you are saying. With a couple of breaks, we could be 2-1.
But we are 0-3.

I'm just glad we've looked competitive the past two games, it allows us some hope.

I don't want to say that I "don't care" that we are 0-3, because I do, I envision making the playoffs every year until we are mathematically eliminated.. It's just how I am..

What I will say though is there is a history of "worst to firsts", and if you look back at the worst part, they are usually teams that were super competitive in most of not all of their games, and just couldn't close it, or had a bad innury..

So say we end up 4-12, people can say "you are a 4-12 team" but if you are a competitive 4-12 team? Especially one with youth?

That's how you build onto the following year, and flip that record quickly..

"You've got to lose, to know how to win "
quoting Aerosmith

"We can dance if we want to, we can leave your friends behind
Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance
Well they're are no friends of mine"

~Men Without Hats

Sounds like the lyrics to the FO gutting the roster

We are losing because our o line needs a starting center and a starting RT. Greco and Joel are fine at the guard spots and Joe T. is awesome at LT of course. If this team has any brains they will draft a RT high in the draft if there is a stud there. I know some of you want to draft a QB but to me what's the point if you can't keep him in one piece?

4 missed field goals over the course of the last 2 games also is why we lost out. I would draft one in the 2nd or 3rd round to get the best kicker available for the next decade or two. It's a shame this front office is flat out stupid when it comes to how they value special teams. Field goals is one of the most important ways to score in a game. They are vital when you're playing a team with a top defense.

Tampa Bay did that, traded up even.

They also held him out of practice so fans couldn't boo him because he kept missing FGs..

There is no logical reason to draft a kicker that high.

Occasionally you can convince me if we are talking about Ray Guy level of talent. Even Seabass (Sup Oakland)

But generally no.. just, no..

lol and aguayo has not been lights out. I'm sure they kinda regret doing it

A good kicker scores more points than any other player on the team unless they are a stud at QB. Getting a great kicker means adding a LOT of points to the scoreboard. It should be a very high priority to any team. I would rather burn a 2nd or third round pick on a great kicker than the normal back up crap we get in those rounds. Getting a starter that scores lots of points in the second round is a steal any day.

I don't disagree with the fact that Special Teams are important.

But I also think the team had bigger needs in more important areas this year.

It's simply not possible to fix nearly an entire roster and every element of the this team (or rather last year's team) in one year ... you have to prioritize. So I think it's unkind or short sighted to say the FO is stupid regarding it's evaluation on special teams. I can't even begin to imagine the uproar and ridicule "the Harvard boys" would have gotten if they had done what Tampa did and trade up and take a kicker in the (bottom of) 2nd round.

If you are also referring to trading Lee for a 4th round pick - again, I'd argue that a 4th round pick is way more important to a team in complete rebuild mode than an elite punter who is 34 years old. Early in the season but - http://www.espn.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/punting/sort/netAvgPuntYards - that difference is not going to kill us this year or even next.

I love our RB'S Crow and Duke both are young and run hard ...

The last punt by Colquitt was a huge dagger in one of our losses.

I think the NFL gets set in their ways at times and they do devalue the kicking game when it comes to drafting guys and paying them.

The kicking game is huge and is a factor in almost every game played.

No, I specifically was referring to our field goal unit. I don't disagree with the move on the punter. Still we drafted so many WR and several of them will hardly ever be on the field. Had we gotten a stud kicker he would be scoring points for us instead of collecting dust and most likely we have two more wins. We can't tolerate this many missed field goals under 50 yards. It's unacceptable.

...What stud kicker?

Aguayo didn't look great out of the gate.

Murray was 5/5 from 50+ as a rookie. He got hurt.

Parkey was a Pro Bowler. Confidence plays into the kicker position a lot. It's hard to have great confidence when you've only had a day to work with your unit.

Quote above by THROW LONG:

“They 've got to establish the running game”

So far, Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson have combined for 542 rushing yards.

Crowell is averaging 98.5 yards per game. Both runners are averaging over 6 yards per carry.

The Browns currently have one of the best running games in the NFL.

The Browns are 0-4.

Heavy on the THROW LONG rant, weak on the big picture. (or thought process if you prefer)

Rushing Yards
1. Ezekiel Elliott DAL 412
2. Isaiah Crowell CLE 394
3. LeGarrette Blount NE 352
4. Lamar Miller HOU 351
5. DeMarco Murray TEN 340

http://www.nfl.com/stats/player?seasonId=2016&seasonType=REG&Submit=Go

when was the last time we had the number two RB...I know it is only four games deep but still...nice to know

Imagine if our line could stay healthy and jell. It would be quite a unit. Of course it would be nice if we had a qb that could stay healthy for more than 1 game.

Kessler is healthy after 2 games

The interesting part is that the inside running is much better than outside running.

We are averaging over 8 yards a carry on inside runs after we lost a Pro Bowl center. How freaking weird is that?

Maybe Mack was good; but not that good.

We also got our very good LG back from injury. I think that has helped a great deal.

Have you checked out Atlanta's offense this year and Mack's grades?

I haven't. I haven't even seen one of their games, and we get them every week.

I am sure he is doing fine. I do know the Browns have a top if not the top rushing O in the league, we have to be getting good grades as well. If not, maybe grades don't mean much.

Rushing (YPG) Complete List
1. Cleveland Browns 149.2

2. Dallas Cowboys 149.0
3. New England Patriots 135.5
4. Tennessee Titans 127.0
5. Oakland Raiders 126.8

http://www.nfl.com/stats/team?seasonId=2016&seasonType=REG&Submit=Go

we have the best rushing attack in the NFL...

Can we just end this thread with that?

Pretty much what I read before. So, if stats don't mean anything, grades don't either. I have head many pimp Dallas as having the best offensive line in football. Maybe they do, you have to take pass blocking in to account as well.


That said, the fact we lead the league in rushing yards per game probably means we haven't had to give uo the run because we are behind by a large margin.


Look folks, I am gaining in age.....any way I cut it I am in the 4th qtr of my game. I want to win as much as anybody. At best I have 25 years to go. I am also at the age where 5 comes in to the mix as a normal course of events. Heck, even tomorrow wouldn't be considered a grossly young age to pass. Just to young, and we all know what that means. It just means on the young age of average. If 80 is the average, some go at 70, some go at 90 . Luck of the draw for the most part.


I see improvements in this team. We might lack some wins this year, but next year and the year after I expect we will see leaps. I really do. I see it like when Marty took over. We made leaps and bounds over his first 2-3 years. The vibe was there. I am feeling it again.

Wait and see.

To lead the the league in rushing yards and to be 0-4 ... just means your passing game sucks so bad you have no choice but to run it ...

Our o-line is not very good at pass blocking YET. It takes time for an 0-line to gel against pass rushing. It's not as hard to run block because your causing the reaction instead of being forced to react. Hue is very smart in understanding that and running< as much as< he can at this point.

Now if we could score 28 points we might win instead of lose. Perhaps if our defense could stop them from scoring? Either way at least our run game can give us some hope for the future.

Here is what I am not getting from what you guys are saying. How does it make Mack "not so good" because we have the top rushing attack after 4 freaking games in the NFL?

People make absurd comments. I address those comments, and then the argument turns around and talks about something that I never even said.

Show me where I said that we were not rushing the ball well this year. I only questioned a poster who said Mack might not be all that good.

Penalties, and turnovers are also a part of it.

As peen said, the fact that we are still running the ball late in the game means we are not far behind in the score. We need to finish.

I do have to say that I'm surprised we're leading the league in rushing, considering most defenses probably focus on stopping our running game primarily.

I'm not so sure about that 05.

I mean I'm sure they plan to stop it now, but at the beginning of this season, who thought we could run the ball? Why would opposing D's be trying to stop a Browns running game that really hadn't existed since the 1990's?

I believe we will see this week a team that is focused on stopping our run game and that has an ability to do so. If we run the ball well against the Pats, I'll believe it's real. I'm very happy with what I've seen so far with the run, but as time goes on, teams will have a lot more film on what we're doing. If the run game holds up after that, we're really on to something here.

I was confident they would be top 10 run team. Hue's focus throughout his playcalling history clearly showed his run focus and the run games personnel worts and all compared favorably to his Cinci unit.

I can see your point, but quite honestly, I think other teams saw that we were trotting out RG3 and no proven WRs. With a downtrending QB combined with no receiving corp, you would plan on stopping the run and stacking the box until it didn't work.

When Kessler came in, it was probably similar thoughts from opposing DCs. Take away the run and make the mid round unproven rookie come in and beat us. If he can start burning one on one coverage and survive under stacked boxes and pressure, maybe we'll back off selling out against the run. I'm surprised that we appeared to have success despite those two situations.

I can certainly see your points and believe there's points to consider from both sides. I guess as the season continues there will be some clarity.