DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2019 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 13 Rams 20 Post game thoughts

That's right there were three TOs left. Two ended up going unused.

From that picture it looked like Baker could have walked into the end zone.

We have WRs streaking down the field when we have poor OTs, it’s 3rd and long, and there’s no drag routes or anything ... I dont get it

I was positively shocked they were in it until the end. No way did I see that one coming.

Mayfield didn't look sharp but I don't believe he lost the game all on his own. Penalties were a big part of it, again. Take those out of the equation and I'd be willing to bet the game would look vastly different. A lack of discipline and communication comes back to bit them.

When the game was winding down I believe Mayfield started to panic a bit. He wasn't as patient as he was in the first half. And with that LA pass rush bad things can happen when you step out of the pocket. So that's on Mayfield.

Defense? Oh my. They're going to ravage someone before the year is over. A couple of stupid breakdowns let LA score.

It's going to be a long season and I'll be watching entire games for a change. That's weird. And that means they're still trending in the right direction.

Cleveland Browns Postgame Scribbles: The coach, the QB, the frustration — changes are needed
https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2019/09...rustration.html

By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Scribbles in my notebook after the Browns lost, 20-13, to the Los Angeles Rams in FirstEnergy Stadium:

1. The Cleveland Browns have a rookie head coach in Freddie Kitchens. They have a second-year QB who suddenly is looking more like a rookie in Baker Mayfield. They have significant problems on the offensive line.

2. No QB finds it easy to deal with pressure when he drops back to pass. But it appears Mayfield is leaving the pocket faster than he did a year ago – running for his football life. Part of Mayfield’s success has been his ability to move and throw out of the pocket, but not when he’s 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage, as has sometimes been the case this season.

3. The Browns certainly have some X’s and O’s issues on offense. But they also have a head coach and QB who never imagined it would be this hard early in the 2019 season. It’s the first time they have received any serious criticism in their NFL careers. You can feel their frustration.

4. In my Sunday post-game column, I dealt with Kitchens’ problems with play-calling and pre-game preparation. I can’t recall the last time the Browns were flagged three times for illegal formations in a game. Two of the guilty parties were Odell Beckham Jr. and Pharaoh Brown. The third was not named by the officials.

5. They also had three false starts: Greg Robinson, Eric Kush and Joel Bitonio. That’s six pre-snap penalties on the offense. SIX! That is a preparation issue. Remember, the Browns were playing at home so the noise should not have been a big factor for the offensive line when it came to hearing play calls.

6. Kitchens said: “Do not blame any of our players. Do not blame any of our other coaches. Just blame me because I can take it. Blame me."

7. Kitchens is going to have to learn to deal with the heat. I am blaming him, but not for everything. Mayfield has to play better. He missed a wide-open Jarvis Landry in the middle of the fourth quarter to keep a drive alive. The pass was late and behind the receiver. He struggled most of the night, completing 18-of-36 passes for 195 yards.

8. The Browns were on the Rams 4-yard line with 43 seconds left in the game and three time outs. They were behind, 20-13. They threw four passes. Three were incomplete. The third went to Demetrius Harris in the end zone. It was a high throw, a jump ball between Harris and the defender.

9. Mayfield said: “I think I’ll have reoccurring nightmares about going to Demetrius over the top. I think I had Jarvis underneath.” Yes, Landry was more open than Harris. And Landry certainly is the superior receiver to tight end Harris. The fourth pass of the series was intercepted.

10. After the game, Kitchens admitted he was “kicking myself in the ass” for not running the ball at least once when they were near the goal line at the end of the game. I don’t know what was supposed to happen on every play in the final few minutes. I do know Mayfield looked uncertain and frazzled on a few of those plays.

11. Mayfield’s stats after three games: 5 interceptions, 3 TDs, 11 sacks and 57 percent of his passes completed.

12. This is the same Baker Mayfield who was sacked only five times in the final eight games in 2018 under Kitchens as offensive coordinator. In that span, he had 19 TDs, 8 interceptions, and 67 percent completed. The Browns had an 5-3 record.

13. Kitchens said: "We kind of hit the ground running last year. We had been through eight games already so we know what we were doing. . . I have to do a better job during the course of the week of putting these guys in better situations and on game day . . Go write your article and say that I messed the game up. Go write your article and say that it is my fault that things are not looking like it did last year, because it is.”

14. Truth is, some of the blame is with Kitchens. Perhaps it’s because he is trying to blend his offense together with new offensive coordinator Todd Monken. Add in losing Kevin Zeitler (trade) and Chris Hubbard (injury) on the offensive line. Finally, there is Mayfield having his first real slump as a pro.

15. The season is three games old. Lots of things can change. But the Browns having scored only five TDs in those three games? That has to change fast.

Pretty nice and fair synopsis by Pluto ... the completion percentage and sack percentage are pretty bad when compared to other teams (and when compared to our team last season).

I couldn’t help but think all night: imagine if we switched coaching staffs and had the Rams’ scheme, crispness, discipline, etc

If we had a fullback, we probably win that game by punching it into the endzone when inside the 5 yard line instead of running out of a 5 wide set.

In general, I think there is plenty of blame to go around, but the most blame is on this Air Raid system. This scheme does not work in the NFL, and when a good D line can apply pressure with just 4 guys against 5 or 6 in protection, then they can bracket every receiver and this system doesn't do many creative things like picks to help them get open. The Rams gave us the underneath stuff all day long, and when we dinked-and-dunked, we were able to move the ball well, which I have no problem with. The problem with this comes when you get into the red zone and those 5 WRs cannot stretch out the defense and you do not scheme a way for them to get open.

We were in the red zone 4 times and only came away with 13 points. If Browns are 50% in the red zone, then they tie. If 75%, then they win.

Good point ... in the red zone the empty set makes you have way less margin for error.

I just felt like having a RB THREAT at least had to be there.

Heck, why not just put Baker under center and keep the D honest. Shotgun with 5 wide is a tall order IMO

Blame me because I can take it?

For some reason, that irked me. Maybe something like, Blame me because I have to take accountability? Blame me because I am the head coach? Blame me because there are things I need to improve?

I almost think they need to bring in a passing game coordinator that's familiar with a different system. Like Zampese. Either that or if you're going to live/die with the air raid, give it to Monken to call..He's been successful and has put out prolific offenses with it, even last year with TB, they were much better.. What's funny is Air Raid is supposed to be Qb friendly, mixing in deep balls with quick hitting plays..Monken actually uses a mix of Air Raid and Air Coryell Heres a good article about it:

https://www.bucsnation.com/2018/9/27/179...-jameis-winston

Could Kitchens be on the hot seat already?

No, but I bet Dorsey is regretting his decision right now. At the very least, it’s apparent that this team needed an established head coach to navigate us

I don't understand how you have a former coach of the year, a superbowl coach and one of the best qb whisperers of all time, openly campaigning for the job, and you don't even interview him (Bruce Arians) The whole "search" seemed pretty ceremonial

Without hearing the presser and just reading it, that irked me as well. Not sure if I'll listen to the presser or not, but it sounds like a dumb thing to say.

Lot of tough talk from Baker and Freddie and they are being humbled. Unfortunately I don't see anything changing. They just can't beat a good team. They are the opposite of clutch, whether it's playcalling or execution.

I've never seen Baker be clutch against a good team going all the way back to the playoff game against UGA. This is probably my number one red flag right now. Your QB has to win you some games to be successful. Four chances from the four yard line. Playcalling is irrelevant. Just make a play.

Or make a commercial.

The real issue is I don't think Baker will be humbled by this. He's going to be defiant and I'm concerned about what that means for his improvement.

Baker pretty much confirmed with his interview with Tirico that it was his call on the coach.

if true..wow, I lose alot of respect for Dorsey then...This was an awesome gig in the offseason..now it won't be near as appealing

Especially when Arians said he'd keep Freddie as OC and groom him...it would have been win/win

Really shows how awful this system is and how quickly we need to change it. Unfortunately, it is what they have spent all offseason working on.

For anyone not seeing this as the most fundamental issue with the offense, I would ask. How hard are those DBs working to do there job against those routes?

Here is a video clip of the safety we took against Tennessee. The camera doesn't show the full routes, but you can clearly see that there is nothing done to get a receiver open quickly. They all just takeoff downfield.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCBEtgYurIA

I am defending Baker in these offensive struggles, even when technically by the book he did leave the pocket a hair early or miss a throw. Why? Because the horrific play calling and substandard oline is creating a conditioned response from him. If 4 out of 5 plays he is under pressure and no one is open for 6 seconds, on the 5th play he'll take off. Want evidence its the play calling and not Baker? Look at the 1st vs. 2nd halfs of last season. Same player, in good and bad settings. Look at Goff under Jeff Fisher, the league was about to throw him in the trash bin, then under McVay, he instantly becomes a probowler.

The Browns are well of their way to completely destroying their QB running a offense the don't have the oline for. If you want to give your QB PTSD and then blame him for not playing good have fun, Tom Brady would be roasted in this offense. Want the real solution? Go max protect, run the ball, play action pass, RPO. Force the defense to commit to stoping the run and everything will open from there.

Sorry - I don't believe that for a second. Baker might feel like it was his call - Baker might want to support Freddie 110% .... the direction of the franchise and the new HC was not in the hands of a rookie QB. Period. End of.

As for "They can't beat a good team - they are hopeless" and "They wioll never improve coz they are so arrogant" stuff ... that sort of rhetoric and over reaction makes me want to start highlighting all the "moral victory" stuff which honestly I don't want to do.... but damn, Freddie's been a HC for all of 3 games. Baker hasn't yet played a full season. They played a crappy offensive game plan .... and they were still in the game... against the freaking Rams who went to the SB last year and who are probably going to the championship game if not the SB this year. Man, there is a lot not to like - or better yet, there is a ton that can be improved. Let's not decide now on Monday after a tough loss that Kitchens should never have been coach and that Baker is now trash... smh.

If anyone follows Jake Burns of twitter...he's pretty flabbergasted about wth baker and kitchens are doing He has a breakdown of the final series as well

Wasn't there something about Dorsey saying he "flexed his muscle" in order to get Kitchens over the current Vikings OC though?

lucky us..lol

I’m also hoping for more Ricky Seals Jones next week ... he at least appears to give us a chance to throw to TEs

We have a rookie QB with LESS than ONE year of experience. We have a rookie HC with THREE games of experience. We have a patch work OL. We have 7-8 injured starters. Everyone needs to R-E-L-A-X. It is YEAR ONE with this group. We will see progress thru the year. Baker will continue to learn, the game will slow down for him and he will become more patient. It's all good. Please stop talking about the playoffs and Super Bowl for now. Incremental progress is a good thing. We have A LOT of talent on this team. They need to come TOGETHER. This takes TIME. This is exactly what this year is for. The next few years are going to be fun. Mark it down. Have a good week everyone. On to Baltimore.

You're like the resident over exaggerator. Calm down.

I was the only positive one before this game. I was the only one even giving us a chance.

And big picture, I agree with you. These guys need more time and need time to grow, both coach and QB.

But when you control your own fate in a game and don't deliver it's frustrating. If we were being blown out that's a different kind of frustration. But when your next step as a team is to beat good teams and you control whether or not that happens and crap the bed, you start to wonder if it's ever going to happen.

I've questioned Baker's clutchness last year, in the off season, and now. He's done nothing to show that I am wrong. I will continue to question it until he proves me wrong. I thought he was going to prove me wrong this game. I am frustrated that he didn't.

You post is all nice and supportinve, but your forgetting we are not seeing progress. We are seeing a shell of a team from last year. And we are seeing a year 2 QB play much much worse than he did last year.

My thoughts:

--Very impressed w/what Wilks did last night. I really questioned him before the season, but he borrowed a lot of what the Patriots did against the Rams last year and it worked.

--Great job by Dorsey of accumulating so many good secondary players. We are really deep there.

--I thought Murray and Carrie shined last night. Very impressed w/how they both stepped-up. I liked Burris in preseason and I am happy he is back.

--I thought Vernon and Ogunjobi had solid games.

--Schobert was pretty solid and Wilson wasn't too bad.

--I think Chubb is my favorite player on the team. He doesn't talk much or seek attention. He just balls.

--I thought the OL played well considering who they were playing against. The RT wasn't too bad.

--The penalty situation is still a concern. There were at least three that were declined and some of our penalties were due to lack of focus. I know that OBJ got called for the one motion penalty, but that was on Baker because Baker actually motioned for OBJ to go in motion.

--Some of the decisions by Freddie are mind-boggling. Running a draw on 4th and long? Going empty inside the five on the first play. Our personnel packages don't fit well w/our qb. No challenge of a PI. Tough talk.

--Baker was bad. He walks into pressure instead of staying in the pocket. He is so freaking slow at reading coverages and is often confused. His mechanics are inconsistent. He either can't see the open receivers or refuses to throw to them.

--This team has a ton of talent and they have a chance to be good, but our HC and QB need to live up to all their hype. Both are holding the team back.

Just for comparison sake, I watched some highlights from last year’s offense ... So, we add a top 3 WR in the NFL, have had a full offseason to improve and get our QB even more comfortable ... and this is the product? what in the heck has happened?!

Freddie took the blame. He owned it. That is encouraging he will learn from his mistakes. Baker has to stay in the pocket when there is one.

j/c:



Victory!

lA is 12th?! Dang, not an NFL city

One of the things that was concerning to see was Baker's immediacy to leave the pocket. Last year he did such a good job hanging in there or moving up but he has totally abandoned that it seems. A major reason could be the complete lack of faith in his line.

Not only did he feel the need to roll out but he kept putting himself further and further behind the LOS on those plays as he immediately invited good edge rushers to pursue. It was extremely frustrating to see.

Baker needs to get better but this line is frustrating to watch. I get it was against a good LAR line but things seemed to collapse quite a bit last night, whether or not Baker was holding the ball too long.

Also, Freddie Kitchens is getting an F grade from me so far this year. Lack of preparation and situational awareness has been absolutely astounding. He doesn't come across as an overall intelligent person and allows emotion to take over instantly.

j/c

In terms of our offense, what exactly is our identity? (Or what is our HOPE that our identity is?) ... Freddie PREACHED physical, smash mouth football ... and then we’re INSIDE THE 5 with FOUR downs to go for a chance to beat the NFC Champs ... and we go EMPTY like a finesse arena team?

Funny - I thought he stepped into a Jets game in the first NFL game he ever played in, without ever practicing with the 1's and was pretty "clutch" - but that's just me.

As for why we lost the game? Ultimately I blame the offensive play calling in two key situations ... and to be fair if Hue had done either of these he would have been blasted:

1. 4th and 9 - and we call a draw play. Not only should we have thrown the flag for the review on PI - and it would have been 3rd and 9 ... but then a draw play in mid field for 4th and 9? Awful.
2. 1st and goal - from the 5 yard line and we run 4 plays with an empty backfield. Possible the single dumbest most moronic thing I have seen in the last 20 years.

My post-game thoughts. After three games we are in my view just now verifying the results of miscues committed during the coaching search, the off season and pre-season:

1. Kitchens and/or Zampese last year successfully adapted Haley's offense to meet the needs and skills of personnel.

2. Dorsey hired Kitchens to be HC knowing that the plan was to completely scrap the O used last year and install a completely new offensive scheme. How could it be otherwise?

3. Kitchens did not possess a ready-to-go offensive scheme

4. Kitchens brought in Monkken and chose to adopt his entire offensive scheme

5. Kitchens chose to call his own plays using Monken's scheme rather than have Monkken call plays while using Monken's scheme.

6. Kitchens chose to not play starters in pre-season and assumed the scheme could be completely ready to go based on OTAs and practice sessions, or at least at a point more along than what we are now seeing.

7. Both the HC and the QB are still learning Monken's scheme three games into the season.

My only substantive question at this point is whether Kitchens is willing and/or able to respond to the miscues and either revamp the offense to fit the players or quicken the pace of successful implementation of the air raid offense.

Baker has not played well. But, it seems pretty clear that the roots of the O problems stemmed from decisions made during the coaching search, the off season, and the pre season. What was the point of hiring Kitchens if the plan was to entirely scrap last year's offense? To me, the maintenance of some sort of continuity in offensive scheme was Kitchen's number one selling point. If not, what did Dorsey view as Kitchen's big strength other than his relationship with Mayfield?

Freddie didn't get out coached by McVay.

Freddie out coached himself.