DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Predict The Schedule

I hope our players don’t remember the last time we played at Baltimore ... seems to me that type of confident attitude was a big crux of our problems last offseason

What? We put up 40 points, stomped them into the mud in their own yard, and you hope our guys forget that happened? Confidence is a good thing for an athlete, IMO.

Then why didnt we do it again when we played Baltimore the 2nd time?

Even Chubb said we were too overconfident last year and thought it’d just come easy based off the previous year.

I’d rather have us act like underdogs ... that seems to suit Baker better anyways

For starters, we didn't have Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon the second time we played, and we got gashed for about 250 yards on the ground and another 238 through the air. I just think its really dumb to think we were "overconfident" going into the 2nd last game of the season with a 6-8 record against a team that was 12-2 just because we had beaten them the first time.

Yeah for sure ... to each their own. I just know that if I were the HC I’d be banging home the “no respect, underdog, everyone doubts us” message instead of the “we beat them last year we can do the same thing” message.

Of course, I dont know the guys personally or the chemistry/etc

That game was soooo much fun to watch!!

If I were HC, I'd show the video from that 40-25 beat down last year to the team and say, "this is what happens when everyone does their J-O-B.".

[shrug] Different strokes ... [/shrug]

Having Cooper and Njoku + the rookie will be a big help to Baker.

No offense, Dave..............but, that would not be a good idea. Likewise, showing the game we lost would also be a bad idea.

I think you want to have take-aways that both good and bad and make them talking points. I think if you show game videos of the Rats, you want to show what they do well and how they were exploited by other teams. Calculated preparation. The emotion comes right before kickoff. Not good to get too emotional early in the week. Prepare w/intelligence. Use emotion on game day after the intelligence is second nature.

I just watched the highlight video.
Here's an unpopular take: we won 40-24, but we got owned, and it showed in the rematch later in the year. Chubb & Landry had career days and defense got a bajillion turnovers. Without those, we're just a team getting run all over - which is what happened both games.

This defense has a LOT of work to do in order to be ready for the Ravens run offense. Our offense needs to bring its A+ game in order to hang with them and take some pressure off the D.

Last year's squad was way too casual; I think that starts from top down, and we didn't correct attitude on the sidelines or on the field to win much.

Not enough stops and turnovers and not enough TD's to win consistently. I really loved The Hammer. And the part-time MG. That was about all.

Well said. It did seem loosey goosey in so far as urgency.

Love the schedule.. new staff, shortened off-season, go to Baltimore week 1 (arguably the toughest road game in the NFL these days), then a short week with limited prep time for a week 2 Thursday night game...

Thanks guys.

yeah, I dont think I can recall a team opening with 2 division games in 5 days lol

Schedule is super easy. Easiest in years.

No schedule is easy or did you forget that the Browns have had 2 winning seasons since 1999.

We'll see what you think about the schedule by week 9 when we are out of playoff contention.

I agree in that no schedule is easy. You can lose to anybody in the NFL.

You do seem to take a pessimistic view most of the time.

j/c

We cannot treat any schedule as "easy" until the rest of the league no longer sees a game against as "easy."

Every year we talk about the schedule and this is a win and that is a win. Let's actually just go out and win some games before we announce our arrival.

Give me a reason not to be.

thats a good point ... We could look at a game against Washington (for example) as being easy ... but they look at a game against us as one of their easier games too lol

Optimism? Last year or the last 20 years don't have anything to do with this year.

Chin up, man.

Jaguars confirm their home game against the Browns was to be in London

https://brownswire.usatoday.com/2020/06/...o-be-in-london/

The Jacksonville Jaguars confirmed this week what was a long-running rumor about the 2020 NFL schedule. In a communique with season-ticket holders, the Jaguars management revealed the two home foes that were originally scheduled to play in London instead of Jacksonville.

One of those is the Cleveland Browns. As many speculated, the Browns were indeed poised to play across the pond in 2020 as one of the Jaguars opponents. The Detroit Lions were the other.

Cleveland now plays at Jacksonville in Week 12 on Nov. 29th. That is a different date than the two teams would have faced off in England, because teams are required to have a bye week following travel to Europe and the bye weeks end in Week 11. All international games were cancelled and forced back to the United States due to the coronavirus pandemic earlier this spring.

Dodged a bullet

Covid 19 saved us! No, wait, that can't be right can it?

haha in ONE instance

I was looking forward to London. having been there once.. I know what to do and where to go.

I'm sick and tired of the Browns not being a better football team and
I don't think they are at this point!

NFL will cancel half the preseason schedule
https://brownswire.usatoday.com/2020/07/01/report-nfl-cancels-half-of-2020-preseason-schedule/

Numerous reports, including those from ESPN’s Kevin Seifert and Pro Football Talk, indicate the NFL is canceling half of the traditional 4-game preseason schedule. The exhibition games are the latest casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.

The reports indicate the league is trimming off the first and last weeks of the preseason schedule. For the Browns, that means a road trip to Chicago and a home date with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will no longer happen. The August 22nd game in Green Bay and the home contest with the Minnesota Vikings on August 30th are still set to run as scheduled.

In addition, the teams will travel the day before the games instead of heading in earlier. Joint practice sessions, a growing feature in recent years, were one of the first things the NFL cancelled earlier this offseason.


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Shortened preseason is a big loss for Kevin Stefanski and the Browns

https://brownswire.usatoday.com/2020/07/02/shortened-preseason-browns-stefanski-loss/


The NFL has decided to lop off the first and last preseason games in 2020, the latest victim of the coronavirus pandemic and the precautions to try and prevent the spread to players and fans. While it was a predictable and probably necessary move, it’s not good for the Cleveland Browns and rookie head coach Kevin Stefanski.

Preseason games are generally unpopular with fans, but the games are not designed for fans. The exhibition season is all about building the team, sorting out roles, gaining some continuity and getting longer looks at players fighting for roster spots. It’s the only time many young players get any real game experience, something critical for development.

Stefanski is a rookie head coach. He’s never managed a game script before, never handled the responsibility of lording over the offense, defense and special teams. He’s never created a full game plan. Every bit of experience matters for those new skills, and now Stefanski gets denied the opportunity for half of those experiences.

Browns fans saw the perils of game management and preparation inexperience last year with Freddie Kitchens. That’s not saying Stefanski will have the same pratfalls, but the more chances Stefanski gets to prove otherwise, the better.

Stefanski and QB Baker Mayfield still have yet to work together in person. Mayfield and his receivers, which includes new tight end Austin Hooper, haven’t had a single practice together in Stefanski’s offense. They’re not going to click quickly without reps, and there’s no better way to get reps than in preseason games.

In addition to the coaching, the Browns are breaking in two new offensive tackles. Prized free agent right tackle Jack Conklin and first-round left tackle Jedrick Wills are being counted upon to be ready to roll right away. Both are very talented, but they’ve not worked in Stefanski’s offense before. They have no experience playing next to the guards and tight ends that are their new teammates.

Ah yes, the guards. Joel Bitonio is a bedrock presence on the left side. Right guard? It’s the only real position battle on the entire offense. And now the audition period is half of what was expected.

The bigger concern is the defense. Both starting LBs are new, and both are second-year players who proved they need as much seasoning as possible during their rookie campaigns. Both starting safeties, or all three if the base defense under new coordinator Joe Woods is the heavy nickel, are new to the team too.

That’s a lot of moving parts that have never moved together before. Expecting it to function like a well-oiled machine with even less practice and game time together is a real stretch. The experience playing together that the preseason games offer is invaluable. And now it’s cut in half.

So bemoan the oft-tedious viewing experience that is the preseason with the understanding that those games are critical for the players and coaches. Losing two of them sets back the Cleveland Browns more than it hits many other teams.

So we’ll play one home and one away ... and i bet it even gets trimmed down to 1 game

I predicted how this would end up. We have a new HC and both coordinators are new. Every team in that situation needed all the time they could get to install these systems and prepare. It puts all teams in that situation at a huge disadvantage.