DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2020 NFL Season Looking Back: Browns 42 Ravens 47 Post Game

I love the feeling of having a bright future and think that we do ... but I also hate the feeling of having a playoff opportunity (A GOOD ONE) slip through our fingers.

“Gather thee rosebuds while ye may”

Watch us lose to the Jets

POST GAME THOUGHTS?

- We are who I thought we are. A well coached team with our Offense in shape and able to score a lot of points ... coupled with a bad D that is hamstrung by slow and below average LBers... with out top two DB's out in Ward and Harrison we were ALWAYS going to strugle.

- Team loss - A couple drops, some penalties, an INT, a D that gave up huge plays to their TE, to their QB and to Brown on the TD.

- I think EVERYONE knew - 1:04 on the clock was always going to be dicey whether we could stop them. Does not take away from a pretty magnificent offensive performance, it's a reflection of not being able to fix ALL the problems / holes on the team in one offseason.

- Officiating missed some bad calls - the PI on the sideline streak (Higgins got held?) - that stopped a drive. The phantom holding call on People Jones. Even the intentional grounding where Baker was hit throwing the ball I thought was harsh.

- So glad Willis came back - when he went out I was very concerned. Same with MG. Though MG's impact on the game was disappointing.

- I think this was a game (early) where we really missed an elite WR like OBJ - his ability to get open off the line and NOT get jammed on every single snap would have added an extra element for the Ravens D. . . early on they jammed both our WR's at the line and it totally blew up virtually every pass play.

GAME DAY THREAD:

- People had given up and were stating the game was lost BEFORE the half. Before they went up by 2 scores.
- The negativity in that thread is cancerous. Y'all need to step away from the keyboard - or stop watching games.

POST SEASON THOUGHTS:

- 1 game at a time. We still have a very good chance of making the playoffs.
- We certainly have an infinitely higher chance of making the playoffs than any sane fan would have given us before the season started ... SO PLZ STOP POSTING LIKE THE WORLD IS ENDING.
- Baker has played superbly against Cinci and Titans. He played really well against a TOP defense which is the Ravens and put up 42 points. If we DO get to the playoffs and play a team like the Colts, Titans or Miami ... I believe we have a really good chance of winning a game even with our suspect D. I think if we met the Ravens with a healthy Ward, Hodge and Hooper - we would have a fighters chance.

Sorry. Im still going to contend that 1 more win pretty much assures us the playoffs. I've done the math.

I'm not worried about the Titans or Colts because we've beat them both. We'd win the tiebreaker. They need to win 11 if we win 10. I would even assume the Ravens get in over the Dolphins. The key here is that the Dolphins and Raiders face each other. They both can't win. If we win 1, raiders need to win out to tie us to get in.

So the playoffs should be...

Chiefs, Steelers, Bills, Titans, Colts, Ravens, Browns.

Not necessarily in the order. Dolphins and Raiders pretty much need to win out. There's a chance, yes, but unless we lose the final 3 games, we're headed to the playoffs.

And just to add, it looks like we would win the tiebreaker vs the Dolphins assuming we finish with the same conference record or better.

Beating the Jets might be the most important game.

A great game for the neutrals.

Offense was great. I believe Baker has turned a corner. Yes the INT was horrible but he then came right back, against a tough D. They did have a few DBs out but that is progress.

Defense - it is what a lot of folk that it was, a work in progress.

I take back my previous comment about losing meaning the season means nothing. We proved as a team we have improved immensely since the first beatdown. Onto the next game.

To be blunt, None.

They scored 34 pts against the Cowboys, That means we gave up 13 more points than the next closest team.

Last year he put up more points against the Bengals and Dolphins.

This right here. You can do this exercise for a number of different roles on the defense and get the same result. We have glaring holes at major positions/roles on the D. Can't fix it all in 1 offseason.

- I was really ticked when this game ended.

- I went to bed after the field goal. I see we somehow gave up a safety in the last 2 seconds.

- Baker really looked shaky at first. But he got it together and got us into the game. Props to him for that.

- I will say that the pick was a horrendous throw. That and the missed FG made a difference.

- I am not blaming the L on either Baker of Parkey. The loss is on the D. All the way. I said before the game that I thought this was a game the D had to win for us. They had the opportunities to make a stop when it counted, and they did not.

- First, how many times can the D be fooled with that option play where Lamar keeps it and cuts up the middle?

- Second, when Lamar comes out of the locker room (looking fine, BTW. What did they shoot him with) and the D lets him throw like he is Joe Montana, then you have a D that does not deserve to be in the playoffs. Inexcusable. A 44 yard TD on 4th and 5? A stop there wins the game. After tying the game, they have it at their own 25 with just over a minute to play. Nothing but 10 and 12 yard completions. This D is hot garbage. Gift wrapped the victory to BAL after the O drags the team back into the game.

- Why does Sandejo not tackle? We're 13 games into the season. At some point he needs to realize that he cannot bring people down with his shoulder. He has been trying it and it just doesn't work. On that 2-pt conversion he met the ball carrier at the 1.5 yard line and doesn't wrap up. He lowers the shoulder and was basically a speed bump.

- Yes, I know we played it close. We came back. We had a better showing than in week 1. I don't care. We lost. At some point we need to stop being pleased with "moral victories." We should expect to win. We had this game and gave it away.

And we face Daniel Jones next week who can run as well.

Starting to not feel so good about making the playoffs now.

I’m trying to think of one defender who played “well” last night ... None really come to mind as being difference makers for the better

From your keyboard to Berry's ears.

Rookie mistake by an extremely young GM.

You strike when the iron is hot. You NEVER play for next year.

Every team looks beatable this year if you had a decent defense.

Myles was extremely disappointing. Not sure if the injury was bothering him, but the injury is disappointing in and of itself. 4 seasons and has never played 16 games.

j/c:

And for crying out loud can this team develop a competent linebacker.

Taki has flashed a little but we need other mid round guys to step up. You can't field an entire team of first round draft picks.

This team had a ton of holes in that unit and Dorsey didn't extend Schobert last season. I assume we will address this position early in the draft and/or FA.

I'll add that I think Mack Wilson has regressed too. Not that he was all that great to begin with, but I think the team was hoping he would take the next step.

Wilson was bad last night from what I saw. He seems like a hard worker, good teammate, cares about winning, etc. But he’s not an answer .. regardless of what he tweets or says, we need to upgrade his spot (and others obviuosly)

I don't think we are playing for next year. I wouldn't consider it a rookie GM mistake. Our defense isn't the greatest but it's tough to foresee all the injuries to Delpit, Greedy, Ward, Harrison, etc.

Injury to OBJ has hurt as well.

I would imagine our top priority was to put Baker in the best possible situation to succeed. At least that's what I would have done. Sign Hooper, Conklin, draft Wills, extend Hunt, etc.

Also, I am sure that our goal at the start of the season was to win it all.

If the offense scores 42 points and the team loses, then it's on the defense. Pretty simple there.

Everything on defense was bad from scheme, to talent, to execution.

I agree. I'm very disappointed in Wilson. I love the guy but he's not progressing as I had hoped.

Yep - I was uninspired when we signed Goodson ... but I think he may have been the best LB for us this year by some margin.

Parkey and Zendejo can be let go about now. Definitely need to address LB and DB in the draft. Also, attention to tackling TECHNIQUE instead of trying to knock everyone over would help.

Browns played hard but the holes in the defense definitely hurt them. Didn't really understand the scheme at times as the Ravens exploited them badly. Parkey didn't help.

Improving the defense will turn this team into a legitimate playoff contender. Sure hope that is next year.

I think any reasonable person would have predicted this to be a challenging year for the Browns with a new coach/ GM/ coordinators coming off of last year and a greatly abbreviated and crimped off-season due to covid. No one was realistically thinking Browns as playoff maybe in week 13 and I think it was still a stretch to think about it realistically at the trade deadline (soft schedule and division blowouts). I think that goes especially for Barry. I don’t fault him for not taking risks on trades and hefty contracts on D this off-season and at the trade deadline. I love what’s happening but no one would have predicted this to be a deep playoff team this year. Preserve your options, be disciplined with the cap and fire your bullets only when you reasonably believe you can hit the target (Lombardi trophy).

Next year is another story. For the first year in many I feel like we know exactly what we need to do to get this team to the next level. And this off season may very well be the one we spend out and stock up. This is officially not a 2-4yr deal now. Next year is not a maybe any longer.

I don't understand why anyone is being critical of anyone else who despite the loss is having positive feelings about this team and where we've found ourselves at this point of the season. Stop referring to it as a 'moral victory'. Its no such thing. This isn't a 1-15 season where you find one bright spot to hang your hat on and say "at least its something!"

At 9-3 entering this game this team had already exceeded expectations. Most people had us at 4 or 5 wins. The crazies put us at .500 at best. Within that context, this last quarter of the season is icing on the cake.

Now expectations have changed, as they should. Not only are we in the playoff talks but the Cleveland Browns are firmly in control of their destiny.

Let me say this again: The Cleveland Browns are firmly in control of their destiny. Stop and think about that for a moment. I'm 42. You have to be right about my age to remember the last time this was the case. If you are much younger than I am, you likely don't even remember when the Browns were playoff favorites, or really know just how close we came to going to the Super Bowl... more than once!

and if our stars for some reason fall out of alignment and we miss out on the post season, its ok. We'll already know why: we have a defense that can't carry us there (yet) and we have a rookie coach who hasn't figured out the best way to close these games out (yet).

Regardless of whether or not we are playing Wild Card weekend, being happy with this season isn't embracing a 'moral victory'. No my friends, we passed on the 2020 Moral Victory on 12/1/20 when posters weren't begging the Referees to open up the 2021 Draft Day thread.

Wills was not nearly as “good” last night from my perspective. He gave up quite a few pressures, starting with play #1.

That said, he wasn’t terrible. That’s a good sign. We’ve had LT’s in the past who were just manhandled by Baltimore

Given all that was working against him for this year, I can't see the Wills pick as anything other than homerun.

There are a lot of plays to point to as important... but in my mind, in a game without much defense by either team, somebody had to make a play. They made the INT for the quick TD and that was the difference. Our defense never answered with a play of its own.

I disagree with the announcers, the INT by Baker wasn't him thinking he could rifle it by the LB and it was a bad decision. The pass needed to be to the sideline side of the WR and he threw it back to the inside. That's the only reason the LB was able to get a hand on it. It just wasn't a good accurate throw. Baker made a bad play but he still played a helluva game.

Lamar Jackson is the most frustrating guy to play.. every time you think you have him you don't and he makes things look so effortless in making people miss... and I know he's the MVP and all but the Ravens have scored over 35 points just twice all year, both of them against us. He's good but we need to be better.

That last point was my take away too. I was watching with my dad and we both said ... “Lamar just KILLS us ... but mostly us”. I’ve seen him play other teams and they’re much better at keeping him corralled than we are. We seem so slow and undisciplined

I have to admit I was wrong about Lamar. He still has a suspect at best arm, but man he is a game changer with his legs. He may well go on to the HOF with those legs too. He sure doesn't seem like a Vick 2-3 year thing right now.

As much as I wanted to win this game, I'm overall happy with how the team fought and very happy with the way Baker and the offense had an answer for all of the Baltimore scores. We could have folded and we didn't. We are just short on personnel on the defensive side and we can't fix that mid-season, we have to ride with what we have.

Now, the next step in maturity is to not let this one loss snowball into something bigger like coming out flat against the Giants. Bring the same intensity and win that game by 3 touchdowns.

Where is Lamar the most dangerous? Outside of the pocket, particularly to the right side.

Go back and watch film. How many times does Joe Woods overload a blitz off the left side of the oline allowing Lamar Jackson free reign to the right side of the field?

On that last touchdown, he tries to pull some exotic blitz BS, and pulls Joseph out of coverage and has him blitz inside and Vernon has to sprint out to cover the back going on a wheel route. All this unnecessary crossing creates a collision and Vernon ends up creating a pick on our own DBs, leaving Brown wide open. Sadly, if the coverage had not gotten blown, Jackson still could have run for 20 yards because the entire defense was on the other side of the field.

I am disgusted with Joe Woods. Lamar is a good player with a special skills, but the book on how to contain him has been written and he had the defense doing things last night that everybody knows you should not do.

.. and then on the LAST drive that set up the FG ... there’s NO WAY I’d let Mark Andrews beat us. Don’t let him throw it down the middle of the field or run for a big chunk of yards and that game was over

j/c

As has been stated multiple times, the D just played with a huge level of sucktitude. And as people have started, there is no such things as a moral victory.

Yet somehow I can't overlook the strides this team has made in just one season. Baker has settled into a new system and seems comfortable in it. I think the best is yet to come from him. The offense as a whole has grown so much since last year.

And as some have stated, I don't think Woods is the problem. Many of us knew going into this season we were lacking at the LB position and I think the season has shown that to be true. Our secondary has been decimated. No Ward, no Greedy and no Delpit. That's not going to bode well for any team.

Do we need to make improvements in order to go where we all want to see our Browns go? Yes we do. Have we grown and become a much better team in a short period of time? Yes we have. I never would have thought it possible to see this team be doing as well as they have as quick as they have and that's given me a lot of hope for the future.

I'm a disappointed over the loss? Yes I am. I'm disappointed any time we lose. As for the season I'm surprised Stefanski and crew has come so far, so soon and can see brighter days ahead. For that I'm happy and thankful.

Good perspective. It WAS the Ravens year basically ... and Baker and the O really diced them up, multiple drives. That’s a good sign.

My take. Lamar is the worst throwing QB to ever be this much of a winner.
He’s garbage with wheels.

Told my son last night that KC is the only team in the AFC that really scares me. That's not to imply that I think we SHOULD beat the Steelers, Bills, Ravens, etc but I'm pretty confidant that, just like last night, we can play with them and would have a reasonable shot to win.

KC and the elusiveness of Mahomes.. it's like playing against Lamar Jackson only if he could throw the ball like a top tier QB, which Lamar can't... If we ended up playing the Chiefs in the playoffs, I would legitimately feel like we had to score a TD on every possession to keep it close.

Granted, it was against a poor-performing D, but he had no problem picking us apart with a bum wheel (when he came back in).

He did the same thing week 1 (ran very little but still enjoyed success). He's a hot-cold QB that sometimes struggles to look like a mediocre passer.


Add: his passcatchers were also STRUGGLING early in the game.