DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2017 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 24 Lions 38 Post Game Thoughts

Man, those first two defensive series were a thing of beauty.

It's obvious and we know it. We wanted Jefferson. Hue wanted Hooker. We'll fix that during the off season.

We need some Corner help. We wanted Bouye. We need Houston and we need to get a CB in FA or in the Top 33 picks.

We need a LB.

Those will improve this Defense even more.

KIZER. This is what I've been looking for all year. Right from the first play down the sidelines to Coates. He was fluid, decisive, had great pocket awareness. Chose perfect times to run.

WE NEED WEAPONS and we know it.

I'm STOKED to see what this Offense looks like with Gordon and Coleman together.

This game was GREAT to watch. Kizer had us moving up and down the field all game long.

PEEN. YOU'RE NUTS.

410 yards of Offense could easily have been over 500. And that's WITH all the drops and the penalty that killed the long gainer.

We're in OUTSTANDING shape moving forward with Picks and Cap Space.

We're ALOT closer than one might think.

For me personally, I need to see a string of consecutive performances like this to pass on a QB. I would like to see a 4 game stretch of play like this, I think.

The morning after the initial frustration is gone.

Kizer played his best game. At least I saw something that looked like a NFL QB. He has to work on that fade pass and maybe he doesn't need to change plays at the line this early

The O line blocked well, and the backs ran well.

No doubt our receivers suck. Did Coates play at all after his scripted first play?

I guess I missed Louis' lack of hustle I have seen some post about. At some point in these crappy games I sort of watch and sort of talk to other people.

I'll be up for the Jags next week. Maybe we can pull one out.

agreed, let's hope Kizer plays like this for a consistent period

We'll see. Kizer better show a lot going forward. We have 7 more games. I am not going to pin wins on how he does, but he needs to look the part.

It is to the point with this QB situation that we will have 2 high 1st round picks in the next draft and I would be tempted to use both 1st rounders to select a QB.

No doubt we need to get better at other positions, but QB is front and center. One way or another we need to find a QB

I guess the ideal would be to go all in for Cousins. If we could get him, we could find 2 weapns in the first round.

I hope he's ok from that rib shot. I had a cracked rib, and it didn't hurt really bad until the next day. Bruised or cracked ribs take forever to heal, and they hurt enough to make you wince and try to avoid certain movements. I can't see it not affecting his play. Hopefully his vest prevented this from happening and he just got the wind knocked out of him.

j/c:

I saw a comment about the defense playing well and I really haven't read many complaints about them. But, the D gave up 31 points [won't count the Devalve fumble], were gashed in the running game, and most importantly--got destroyed when we desperately needed stops, such as right after we tied the game at 24.

I wonder if it is time to move Peppers to another spot on the field? I wonder if there is a guy we can pick up to play FS on the waiver wire? Those moves won't fix all that ails this defense, but he is awful back there.

the defense was not good IMO ... gashed in the run and the pass when it counted.

It's the morning after and I'm still angry. I still think that was the play called and Kizer didn't change it. Even if he did, the fact is Jackson has to go. You don't let your rookie QB change the play in that situation.

I know It's not all Jackson's fault. The Browns are a complete mess. They have the worst front office, and possibly owner, in the NFL and the record reflects that. But you just can't keep a coach who is now 1-24 over two years. I have seen enough of Jackson.

The Browns really should have won yesterday but are now the only winless team in the league. The only teams they might beat to avoid going 0-16 are Green Bay and Chicago.

I agree with most of what has been written on here.

I feel that we played a good game against a good team. The Lions D was playing hard. I cringed quite a bit as they flew to the ball and hit our players with vigor.

I feel that the Browns showed the progress that was expected coming out of the bye week. It is a testament to the coaching staff and the players that they continue to show up and play with heart.

I just hope we can have one game where there are not 2-3 inexcusable mistakes.

Lets hope Britt can sustain the same level of play for the remainder of the season. Let us also hope that the running game can be near as productive as it was during this game.

Overall, I think we are seeing progress and improved play across the board. I am extremely pleased with how Spencer Drango has stepped up and has shown that we have aqcuired some depth over the last couple of years.

I think Hue Jackson needs to hold himself accountable as well. I think he is doing an admirable job with a very young team. But not only do the players need to play near perfect, Hue also needs to call a near perfect game for the team to win. Please do not take this as bashing our HC, but I agree that he has 2-3 head scratching moments a game that contribute to the losses.

I said it a couple weeks ago and I stand by my prediction of us finishing the season with 2-3 wins. Hopefully the winning starts this week against Jacksonville.

The decision to run a QB sneak from the 4 yard line with no timeouts.....wtf are we even doing, wow

Hue did not call that play. Goodness.

And what picture would that be? To let your rookie QB audible into plays that won't work? That wasn't a preseason game yesterday. That was a game the Browns needed to and should have won. With a better coach maybe they would have!

j/c:



TOP 5 GRADES:
QB DeShone Kizer, 87.9 overall grade

RG Kevin Zeitler, 87.0 overall grade

DI Trevon Coley, 86.6 overall grade

RT Shon Coleman, 82.9 overall grade

Edge Nate Orchard, 80.4 overall grade

PERFORMANCES OF NOTE:
QB DESHONE KIZER, 87.9 OVERALL GRADE
This was the kind of performance that Browns fans have been hoping to see from Kizer since the beginning of this season, even if the individual and team results still weren’t quite there. Knocked out of the game for two series by Quandre Diggs, Kizer came back with a strong fourth quarter drive which included three fourth down conversions. Kizer wasn’t helped by his receivers at times with four dropped passes but he put the ball on the money especially down the left sideline to give his receivers a chance to make plays down the field. Especially when adding in his work on the ground to exploit space in the Lions’ coverage this was comfortably Kizer’s best pro performance to date.

RB ISAIAH CROWELL, 77.4 OVERALL GRADE
The Browns worked their way into this game on the ground with the three headed monster of Crowell, Duke Johnson and DeShone Kizer racking up a 200-yard game on the ground. Crowell led the way with 90 yards, 59 of them after first contact, three missed tackles forced and a touchdown run outrunning the Lions’ contain inside the 10-yard line. This marked the the second-straight week for Crowell topping 5.0 yards per carry, 3.0 yards per carry after contact, multiple missed tackles forced and a touchdown. Browns fans will hope Crowell and the running game are rounding back to 2016 form.

DI TREVON COLEY, 86.6 OVERALL GRADE
Coley was disruptive in the middle of the defense and took advantage of tackle turned gaurd Corey Robinson. He forced the Lions running backs off their marks a number of times and totaled two solo stops and two tackles against the run. Coley’s best work was against the pass, where he pressured the passer on two occasions, and had two batted passes at the line of scrimmage.

EDGE MYLES GARRETT, 66.7 OVERALL GRADE
Garrett had a number of positive plays throughout the game, impacting the Lions quick-strike passing attack with three QB hurries and forcing Stafford off the spot. His play against the run was not as effective, as the Lions found success on outside zone running plays around the edge. Garrett had a big mistake that took the game for a turn, jumping offsides on a 3rd-and-11 in the fourth quarter with the Browns down by seven, with the ensuing play going for the game-sealing touchdown to Golden Tate.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-refocused-detroit-lions-38-cleveland-browns-24

j/c

Hue needs to eliminate stupid audible options at the goal line. We've now had TWO stupid audible plays inside the 5 that cost us points.

I still think he did and the players are covering for him. Even if I'm wrong and he didn't. The point is you don't let your rookie QB change the play in that situation.

You can defend Hue all you want, the fact is he is a bad coach and needs to go.

Yes, but at times he looks really really good. This tells me he has the talent and is just a young player. I think hes what, 20-21 years old. Give him time.

You can stomp your feet all you want, but I don't believe the players are "covering" for Hue. LMAO....

Also, you absolutely do want to give your qb the ability to audible. We are not making the playoffs. We have a young team that needs to learn on the fly. You don't shelter them or limit them.

Those of you complaining about audibles would be the first people calling for Hue's head if a team left a WR uncovered, but Kizer was not allowed to audible out of run play.

Thanks, Vers! Thanks, Clem!

I think you're missing the point. I agree Hue should give Kizer the ability to call audibles. However, for that one play he should have told him no matter what don't audible to a run.

Now maybe Hue just didn't expect him to be that stupid and he thought it went without saying. Even so, that would be on Hue. But let's say he did say it and Kizer blew him off. Well now you've got an entirely different problem. I believe the latter did not occur and Hue just didn't believe that Kizer would do something that stupid. But that's on Hue to make sure his rookie QB is aware of the situation.

Yep, I'm the one missing the point. LOL

Not saying the QB should never audible. That was not the situation to do it in. We should all be concerned about Kizer's judgment and decision making. What could he have possibly seen to think he could bully his way into the end zone from the two yard line?

He wasn't going against a soft college defense. It was a bad decision which is why you don't let your rookie QB audible in that situation.

I agree.

I only had the radio (raked leaves the entire game) and they said Hue laid in to Louis big time after the int.

The one thing I didn't get from the radio was Garrett failing to set the edge and sucking against the run, which I keep reading about on various sites. Anybody have comments on that?

After the pass, I was like "wth was kizer throwing". Then they should the replay, and you can see as soon as the CB touches RL, he just slows up and gives up on the play. IDK what happened. Maybe he saw the ball go up and thought he was throwing it away????? But it def was on RL

j/c

I thought they played their best game on offense all season. Kizer played his best game. It's amazing how well an offense can be with decent quarterbacking. I'm still not sold on him. He isn't very accurate. I saw our receivers make plays on the ball, but he still doesn't put the ball in the best location, case in point on that final INT. His decision making speed seemed much faster the past two weeks.

Our defense over the middle was poor and the Lions exploited that. Stafford is a great quarterback. They gutted us for some long runs, I'm guessing the first time this year we've given up 2 runs of 20+ yards? And the Lions don't even run. Perhaps our defensive game plan was flawed?

I saw #22 running all over the field but not making many plays. Taylor also whiffed a few times. It's like when the one side of the ball plays well, the other side doesn't. Still want to see a complete game on both sides of the ball. Haven't seen that yet. And like all year we don't give up yards, but we give up points.

I thought we'd do well with Garrett and Ogbah rushing the QB, but I didn't see much of Garrett except running after a player. Run D liability?

The Lions defense isn't that great, but they Slay me... (See what I did there?)

We ran more yesterday than in the past games it seems, but I think we needed to run more. I still like Crow. I wouldn't have Kizer throwing more than 30 times ever in a game and even then... The talent on this team isn't as bad as some make it out to be, but our QB play has been awful. Yesterday was better. We play like yesterday every game and we wouldn't be 0-9.

End of the half foul up. That was bad and obviously cost us points. We are the only team who would do that. They did a good job going up 24-17 and making me forget about that play... How long does a player have to lay on the ground before the officials declare injury? I think it's well known what the Lions were doing, the officials knew and kudos to the lions for knowing the situation... Our guys? I see Britt chirping to a DB without any sense of urgency. Our whole team seemed to be unaware of the situation. A QB sneak and a resnap shouldn't take 15 seconds. That's on Kizer.

But like I said, I'm happy they showed the resiliency to come out and score a TD in the 3rd quarter like nothing ever happened. Is that our 1st TD coming out after half?

I've been a big proponent of Kessler playing all year. His play today isn't indicative of what I thought he could have been, but if that's his game now, then we need Hogan to return as the back-up. Maybe he's worked so hard to improve strength, his accuracy has suffered?

I still don't buy that our WR are as bad as some say. They are getting open, but the QB isn't throwing to them. With our WR and a Tom Brady-type QB we wouldn't be talking about our WR. I think some here severely underrate the QB position.

Our next opponent? Jacksonville. They had Gus Bradley at HC for the past 3 years and didn't win more than 4 games. This year, new HC and they're 6-3. What else is different? Is Fournette making that big of a difference? Because Bortles still looks like crap.

I think we have a chance to beat any of the next 7 opponents. We won't beat them all, but they are all beatable. If we continue to play like yesterday sans poor defensive play, we will win some games.

Hue used the middle of the field ( a coupe of times ) I almost fainted ..lol He has so little faith in his QB that he is afraid to let him throw over the middle or a seam route ( like the one to Chuck ) ..

I have no idea what anyone see's in Kiser ?? Nice running game ( when committed to ) .. For what purpose did we draft Peppers ( in the first round ) for ?? Nujoku was one heck of a reach ( first round ) or not being used properly !

Desperate need of a couple of Cb's ..

Saved me from making a similar comment.

There are times where the D looks really good, and this is happening more often than it did last year.

But it seems that the more we need a stop, we don't get it. We still get gashed for big plays. We still are poor at tackling. Very poor.

We score 14 unanswered at the start of of the 3rd to go from 7 down to 7 up. And then they go 75 yards in 4 plays. Boom.

And DeValve ... you were pulling/twisting away from the DB. You beat him. He reaches back and swats at the ball with one hand as you are pulling away from him, and the ball came out. You obviously were not gripping it tight.

Yet, they did overcome those plays. Despite those two plays the Browns held a 24-17 lead.

the Devalve fumble and the circus end to the first half were back breakers ... we left at least 17 pts on teh board

Those plays happened in the first half.

The Browns were leading 24-17 in the 3rd quarter.

buck, you do not even know what the coaches called on the last play of the first half. neither you nor I know. but I can almost guarantee that hue did not call a qb sneak. I can almost guarantee that he called a pass play and he told deshone that if the receiver was not wide open and in the end zone to throw it into the stands. we could have easily run two pass plays and the kicked a fg if both fell incomplete. our rookie qb screwed up as rookie qb’s are known to do.

It's clear he needs a season or two to unlock the large quantity of talent and just overall freakness he has. I mean, damn he's huge and etc.

well, gee whiz citizen, how many players who were on the field need to tell you deshone audibled did you to believe it. when deshone tells you will you believe it then. the problem was not the coach.
the problem was not that he lets our qb audible it is the audible our rookie qb called. my guess is deshone learned from that huge mistake.

This is the NFL in 2017 - you are going to gashed on plays, especially when you have Matt Stafford at the QB position. The Lions have a very good offense.

I don't know what folks are talking about. Every time I looked at Garrett on a run play, he was forcing a runner to bounce back inside or he was chasing the runner down from behind on the opposite side (as in he blew in from his side and caught the RB going the other way at the LOS).

Did anyone notice Shon Coleman during the game? It might have just been my eye, but it looked like he was using Joe Thomas's stance and first step during the game. Did anyone else see this or was I imagining things?