DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Playoff Scenarios

The lions beat the jets, if the jags and dolphins also beat the jets, probable
and
if the jags lose once, and if the Browns win 3
then the Browns would finish ahead of both the jets and jaguars and the steelers by winning.

so >
The Lions beat the Jets keeping the Browns playoff hopes on life support.

Effectively but not mathematically...

If either the Bengals or ravens lose out and the Browns win out, then the Browns finish ahead of whichever one of them did, and get 2nd place in the division.

life support.

That’s why you keep hammering at the stone.

Just clicking, btw.

It’s almost Christmas, we survived the weekend and remain in the chase, we have three winnable games left. Not dead yet.

What are the Browns' playoff odds after Chargers win, Jets and Patriots lose?

The Cleveland Browns face a steep uphill battle to make the playoffs after defeating the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday but are technically not eliminated from contention. Even after the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Tennessee Titans, the Browns still have a one percent chance to get into the playoffs with three weeks remaining according to FiveThirtyEight. Both the New York Jets and New England Patriots lost, giving the Browns at least a sliver of hope.

The Browns have to take care of their own business, with the New Orleans Saints coming to town on Christmas Eve, but all hope is not lost.

https://brownswire.usatoday.com/2022/12/18/browns-playoffs-odds-15-chargers-patriot-jets/

Haha why am i still clicking on this thread … but I am

We have no chance, but that doesn't mean the games aren't meaningful.

That 2-minute debacle vs Jets will end up costing the Browns the playoffs this year. But these 3 games are still huge for our future with Deshaun gaining much needed reps for himself and with his teammates.

if you look at the 3 game stretch of Jets-Falcons-Chargers … talk about disaster

Well for starters we have to win out and hope either the Chargers or the Dolphins lose out, plus both the Jets and Pats have to go 1-2, at best.

Yup. We've been done since the Chargers game. No, not mathematically, or even effectively, but the writing was on the wall. It was a clear inevitability.

j/c:

I see no evidence that anyone on the Browns did not prioritise winning this year. These conspiracy theories are entertaining, though.

I'm still struggling to understand what the heck "prioritize winning" means.

Me too.

In watson's first three starts the O under watson has put up 6, 10 and 13 points respectively. In those first three starts the O has found the end zone twice. So one would either have to believe this coaching staff had no clue watson would be so rusty and it would take time for this O to come together with him as the new starter or the organization as a whole felt with a 4-7 record it was the better investment to get this O firing on all cylinders going into next season.

As for myself I think it was wise to invest the rest of this season to help build the chemistry and cohesion among the offense. But I also think they were fully aware that if your focus was on winning now that isn't what would be accomplished by inserting watson into the line up at that point in time.

And as I stated, it may be a simple misunderstanding in communication. If you're speaking in terms of the entire remaining six games on the schedule that would be something that makes more since to me. It could have been the coaching staff believed that watson would shake off the rust quickly and in the grand scheme of things over that six game stretch the odds would be better that watson would turn out to be the bet option to win more out of those six games. And at the rate things are going that could turn out to be true.

But if you're talking about winning at that moment in time we certainly disagree.

Did Management and the Coaching staff have the players give up the long touchdown pass, not recover the onside kick, and give up another quick score vs the Jets? Did Management and the Coaching staff cause tell the players to let the Falcons run for over 200 yards against them vs the Falcons? Did Management and the Coaching staff tell the kicker to miss a game wining 51-yard field goal vs the Chargers? Are some of their decisions parts of the problem? Yes, but they set out to win each of those games just as they did the other losses on the year. Had they hung on vs the Jets they would be in decent shape right now. Had they won all 3 or 2 out of 3 they would be in great shape for the playoffs. While they did not win. The Watson thing did not factor in the result of any of those games this year.

Well, you wouldn’t be struggling if you would’ve prioritized winning each post in every thread at the beginning of the season.

I seriously doubt that anybody in any office in Berea wanted anything other than wins. It crazy to think otherwise.

The only real question that I think is the focus of the disagreement is whether they were looking big picture and were looking for wins in the grand scheme of things or wins at the moment. Surely people can't believe that starting a QB who hadn't played for 700 days means they thought it gave the Browns the best chance to win at the time they started him. I think it was certainly the right decision to get everything up to speed in preparation for next season and see that unfold by seasons end. But it's hard for me to conceive that anyone thought those results would come right away and give the Browns the best chance to win in his first few games back.

I think what mac was saying was the obvious holes at certain positions, specifically defensive line in my mind. There were legitimate options available even up past the trade deadline. I'm thinking that's what he meant by management not "prioritizing winning".

You could be right but thus far it has centered around the decision to start watson as soon as he became available.

Peen, i know it's not always clear in text, but what I said was just a joke directed at Fate. I think the “prioritize winning”is absurd too.

I agree with his take, as well as Vers, yours and a few others.

(This isn't directed at you) They weren't sabotaging the damn season. Sabotaging a season without a first round pick next year? ...ooook. They made evaluations and in some areas they were correct (WR) and others they were not correct (DT). They had injuries (just like every team has). The issue is/was they made mistakes in key areas in the games they should have won. A high percentage of the games are going to be close. You have to play sound/discipline football (i.e. lessen stupid penalties, do your assignment, play calling/time management). This goes for coaches, but also players.

Vers said it at the beginning of the year. I am paraphrasing; we will win games if we play sound football. Coaches can lose games, but obviously so can players. Even with us getting gashed up the middle over and over on defense, we were still in those games and still should've won. But one dumb play here and one stupid penalty there and that's how you lose. I also alluded to that at the beginning of the season and a few weeks ago about winning the close games.

As for what mac said: Stefanski hasn't been perfect, the coaching staff hasn't been perfect, but also the players haven't been either. Not adding the players to the issue is a disservice to the scenario. Yesterdays Pats game is a prime example of that. I'm not blaming the loss on Belichick for some crazy ass lateral that Jakobi Meyers decided to do.

As for the first sentence in Pitts response, I think they are looking at the grand scheme while trying to win at the same time. As Berry said a few years ago, they are trying to build long term success, not just a one year wonder.

Certainly possible that that is what he was referring to, but was Watson starting when available really ever in question. Even if the Browns had a winning record with Brissett and a playoff spot already well in hand, Watson starting as soon as available was the only logical conclusion.

I was as pleasantly surprised as anyone with Brissett's play, but let's face it, he's not someone that's going to take a team on a deep playoff or Superbowl run. That's Watson and only Watson on this team. How anyone would think otherwise is beyond me.

A voice of reason.

They made some mistakes in evaluating the roster, but they were not trying to throw away the season.

I think you are pretty spot on w/all of what you are saying. I will also add that the circus atmosphere that was created by all the attention the Watson situation created for Stefanski, his coaching staff, and the players was probably a negative factor. Hell, trying to get two QBs ready for the season w/very different styles had to be challenging. Things should run much smoother next year.

I thought starting watson as soon as he was available to play was the right move and the only viable solution. He was certainly signed to be the face of and the future of the franchise. Delaying moving forward towards the future would have seemed stupid to me. I don't think anyone in their right mind would have wanted to start the beginning of next season without these six starts under his belt.

mac said this:



The Watson verdict came down before the season. Thus, I think your take was right the first time.

I think the confusion is that there are different debates going on at the same time. Personally, I think mac's assertion that ownership, the FO, and coaching staff didn't try to win once Watson was suspended is flawed.

I absolutely agree with that. There are many layers to what transpired this season. And I know you will agree with this: This isn't to bring excuses to what our record is currently, it's just talking about the offseason/season as a whole and how it's unfolded.

Another thing to add to that is leadership. Camp/pre-season starts, there's Watson being a part of it. He's trying to fit in with his new teammates...maybe trying to be a leader (I wasn't there can't comment if he was or not) or trying to step back since he won't be there during most of the season. He steps away from the team b/c of the suspension. Brissett leads the team/locker room through 11 games with his leadership mindset/voice.

Now Watson comes back inserting into that role with his style of leading the team.

Sure it's probably not a big deal as professionals they should just keep driving forward. It won’t win or lose games, but it is something to add to your take.

I've been thinking about the leadership issue on this team for the last week or so.

I think we really miss Jarvis. He was a real leader who kept the team focused and on the tracks. He was quick to take action when guys stepped out of line. Jacoby looks to be a pretty good leader. He has all the attributes you want in a leader, but it's hard to lead when everyone knows your time is short.

On the defensive side, Sheldon Richardson was that guy. I believe Walker might be a good leader, but we lost him early on.

Myles should be a leader. JJ tries to be a leader. I think both guys fail in that role. They point fingers rather than thumbs.

Hopefully, Deshaun is a positive leader next year. I think it might be wise to bring in a guy on defense that sets a tough--but positive--tone on the defensive side of the ball.

I agree with the idea it's flawed. What a lot of us are not keeping in perspective right now is that we are dealing with something now that we have never had to in the past, a $45 million dollar a year QB. Yes we have plenty of cap space and could have signed DT's and WR's and spent significant money on those positions, but think about what that does to roll over money. Who would they have had to cut release or trade to meet cap requirements next year. We would have traded potential success this year for potential success in possibly many years to come.

Funny enough...while i was typing my last post, I was thinking about our conversation the beginning of the year about Jarvis. I thought he was a good leader, but thought they wanted a new "voice" in the locker room and had that with a few players you mentioned. Looking back at where we are now, I'm going to act like I didn't say that. I'm kidding...I think you are right about his leadership and fighting attitude would have been a big help this year in keeping focus.

Myles, ugh. What an amazing player. He's very intelligent, but man, his leadership at least in public is so tough to listen to. I swear he reads a chapter from the book "leadership for dummies" before each interview. I don't know if he's trying to be too genuine or honest in his interviews, but he really needs to re-evaluate his approach with the media.

LOL............true enough about Myles.

I don't think most were complaining about W

We can second guess, but Watson was starting. I don't think Watson starting shows a FO not dedicated to winning. I think it a bit disingenuous to say starting Watson shows a lack of desire to win, or not committed to winning.

I am not getting on you, but had he not started I am sure the tune would have been: Why did we trade for the guy if he can't beat out Brissett?

I am not going to look it up, you or others can, but I said after the suspension came down not to expect the guy to go 6-0 and would need time to get back in to the flow.

The bottom line is we lost too many games early in the season to have any real chance at the playoffs. Starting Watson isn't the reason why this team probably won't make the playoffs. Rather, not being able to start Watson is probably what cost us the playoffs.

I think the analytics were always priortised even over the winning when I saw the coach look up and take an untimely timeout with the lead,
on the opponents end of the field, and mid to late 2nd half. To remove the 2 starting Rb's to put Ford in
when they weren't even up 3 scores, up I3 iirc: annnd: well they didn't put the nail in the coffin so to speak, on that drive.
I wish they would priortise winning, and also beating the other team by a lot.
Was that against Tampa Bay, or Houston I'm not sure, but that decision to take that timeout with the apparent only reason being to end your Rb's days is stuck in my head
and I think it says not prioritize winning that is prioritizing non injury to your Rbs.

Whatever, just call it what it is.

I love Myles as a player, but he would be better served by pointing thumbs instead of fingers. The above are types of comments that I was talking about earlier when I said we lacked positive leaders amongst the players.

I was listening to some of the comments Nick Bosa was making about SF's locker room in general and their defense in particular. During practices they fine guys and get on their case for not hustling on each and every play. They watch the game video and fine guys for not doing their jobs. The players hold the players accountable. They hold themselves accountable. In Cleveland, our defensive "leaders" sic point fingers at the coaches.

Changing coaches isn't going to fix the lack of accountability problem.

I don't think that's what it meant either. That rust had to be knocked off at some point. So you either did it at a point when the Browns were 4-7 and pretty much had no chance to make the playoffs or you put it off until next year when your team is 0-0. Paying the 230 million to watson to bring in a top tier QB shows their dedication to winning.


I'm sure there would have been. No matter what a team does they're going to be second guessed by some people.


And I said the exact same thing. Actually most people did. Which was actually the only point I was trying to make. Most people knew it would take time for him to get back into the flow. They knew it would be a temporary slow down in the flow of the offense. So in that sense "playing the best QB at the moment" wasn't the top priority. It was playing the long game moving forward. Which I think was the right move.


I agree with you 100%. That's why I agree that it was the right call to start watson as soon as his suspension was up rather than to put it off until next season.

I think we far more agree than disagree here.

This makes me want to punch Stefanski in the face repeatedly for the incredibly poor job he's done this year...well, really two years in a row now.

I hope he keeps that waffle house menu high and tight so I don't have to look at his face today.

No coach since the return has done less with more. It's coaching malpractice. And we have people pining for a guy that can't finish better than third in his own division and can't make the playoffs with a roster loaded with talent. The standards around here are whack.

We all had a feeling at the time, but those Jets/Chargers/Falcons losses were just awful

2022 is not over yet, 2nd place in the Div. is still possible until the Ravens win or the Browns lose.

... Those Pesky Chargers. Blasted.

Why were they unprepared in October? One and four. One win in that four game losing streak sure would have helped.
I blame analytics.