DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Looking Back: Browns 16 Bengals 17 Postgame Thoughts

If you're not a fan of conservative football then I would seriously recommend you up any self-medication in which your partake before each game. Not trying to be a jerk, but this team is what it is this year. To have a chance, we gotta slow games way down to low-scoring, grinding games. Especially against teams like the Bengals.

And then people wonder why some of us hate AI.

yeah, I totally understand the idea of ball control and being close to the vest (especially when playing the Bengals, Ravens, Bills, etc) ... but once we got down there, I thought we had to at LEAST give ourselves a shot to score a TD

Oh I think TOP vs the Bengals and any other potent offense is a stellar concept and game plan. I think this team will probably struggle at times and overall I was pleasantly surprised that we coulda/shoulda won the game vs a very good Bengals team. Where I disagree - and this is something born out time and time again - playing any game and any sport "not to lose" really only ever does one thing. Geez - I forget the game and ccoach, maybe it was Hue or maybe it was KS. CLE were up by 21 or maybe 27 at the half. We could do just about what we wanted but then we changed everything. Nothing was thrown over 5-6 yards and we ran a lot.... we lost the game. It's a trend you see all over the NFL and other sports it is not a CLE thing.

Posters like to claim that whatever the call - people will complain. No, that's not it. I feel like this year when we're likely to struggle going for a higher number of 4th downs is a reasonable call. So no problems going for it vs the Bengals. On the goal line, I would have had no problems running it 4 times and not getting in (we scored) but it would have been the right call if we hadn't.... now - getting cute and calling a double reverse or some other gadget... not so much. At the point in the game when we were 1st and 10 inside thier 15 - if you don't have a play where you can let Joe decide to toss a ball to Njoku or Jeudy or Tillman on a post or the back corner ... I don't know, just strikes me as playing scared. jmo

I understand the apporach to the game. I was speaking specifically to the playcalling once they got down to the 13 yard line after the kicker had already missed an XP and Flacco had thrown a TD to Tillman in a similar situation.

Otherwise, I have no clue what you’re even talking about.

Get Eddie Pineiro in the building to see what he can do.

thats such a sad stat

If we had only kept Baker and Chubb and all the first round draft picks that we gave up for Waston, I think we would be in a much, much better position today.

So the competition is a dead heat. Get a kicker. Or just always go for two.

Well, it's taken me this long to get past the anger; that anger stems from the sheer absurdity of some of the ways we manage to lose games and not any one thing in particular. Well, besides 'kicker-dude", he has me pretty angry. They do only have one job.

Bright spots:

To my eyes, this D was playing very fast and organized for a week one outing against a good offense. Closed down running lanes and stayed close in pass coverage without any real breakdowns. Would have liked a little more pressure on the QB in the first half.

Sampson is a keeper and will compliment Judkins well.

Young pups all played well. This is going to be Berry's best draft overall.

Got a few drops and tipped INTs out of the way, those are usually cyclical, so hopefully that area will be cleaner for a while.

Flacco is still a smart, capable NFL QB.

There was a lot to like about the defense, but I want to add how they tightened up. That first Bengal drive could have been a harbinger of another season of not being able to stop the run, but between us tightening up and Taylor predictably going away from what was working and playing to the defense's strengths, we got their offense stuck.

I'm watching these games not expecting a whole lot of wins this year. So for me, seeing good play and positives out of players we need to see that from (ex. Tillman, Fannin, Sampson, Schwesinger) was a real positive.

I hope our run D tightens up because we're going to have our hands full next week against the Ravens.

Do we dump Jeudy and Tillman because they each flubbed catchable balls and turned them into INTS?

Yeah, the kicker had a bad game. It happens. Phil Dawson went 8-12 in FG and 23-24 in XP. We let him work things out, and they did. I am not saying that this kid will because Dawson in his prime overnight .... just that we shouldn't dump him overnight.

One thing that may happen is we bring in a vet, and put the rook on the practice squad. Who knows?

This game is a example where you have to be sound in all 3 phases .
2 out of 3 won't get it done in the NFL . The margins are too small.
Sampson looks legit . Good leg drive. Fanin reminded me of a young Jeremy Shockey.
Not talked about is how bad Dwand Jones played .He got lit up by Shemar Stewart LT is a serious need
Nice gameplan by Stefanski playing ball control.
The Browns can take the Ravens next week if they succeed in all 3 phases

On the bright side the Ravens took a heartbreak L

I'd feel better about containing the Ravens with JOK in the middle of the field, but it is what it is ... we have a difficult first few weeks. Gave one away yesterday

PFF Grades Browns Defense from Week 1:

DEFENSIVE END

Isaiah McGuire: 88.2 (29)
Alex Wright: 72.8 (21)
Myles Garrett: 72.1 (45)
Joe Tryon-Shoyinka: 56.5 (2)
Cameron Thomas: 42.4 (7)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Maliek Collins: 67.8 (37)
Mason Graham: 66.7 (42)
Adin Huntington: 58.9 (7)
Shelby Harris: 31.6 (23)

LINEBACKER

Carson Schwesinger: 90.0 (52)
Devin Bush: 87.5 (39)
Jerome Baker: 65.5 (14)
Mohamoud Diabate: 40.9 (49)

CORNERBACK
Greg Newsome II: 76.6 (48)
Denzel Ward: 62.7 (50)
Cameron Mitchell: 40.8 (9)

SAFETY

Grant Delpit: 70.4 (52)
Ronnie Hickman Jr.: 64.7 (52)
Myles Harden: 53.0 (19)
Rayshawn Jenkins: 47.9 (15)

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/20...rowns-defense-graded-vs-the-bengals.html

PFF Grades Browns Offense Week 1:

QUARTERBACK

Joe Flacco: 73.1 (76)

RUNNING BACKS

Dylan Sampson: 70.8 (33)
Raheim Sanders: 65.0 (3)
Adin Huntington: 59.9 (3)
Jerome Ford: 49.4 (41)

WIDE RECEIVER

Cedric Tillman: 60.8 (67)
Jerry Jeudy: 54.8 (67)
Jamari Thrash: 53.3 (21)
Isaiah Bond: 52.9 (21)

TIGHT END

Blake Whiteheart: 59.1 (3)
Harold Fannin Jr.: 55.9 (55)
David Njoku: 44.4 (64)

OFFENSIVE LINE

Joel Bitonio: 81.1 (76)
Wyatt Teller: 75.2 (76)
Ethan Pocic: 62.9 (76)
Luke Wypler: 60.0 (1)
Teven Jenkins: 60.0 (1)
Cornelius Lucas: 55.6 (56)
Jack Conklin: 50.4 (20)
Dawand Jones: 29.9 (76)

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/20...rowns-offense-graded-vs-the-bengals.html

It will be interesting to watch Schwesinger's first meeting with Derrick Henry on Sunday. Something about an immovable object and an irresistible force.

He’s definitely willing to stick his nose in, but Henry is pretty dang hard to bring down. I’m looking to see if Schwesinger can shadow LJ and keep him contained.

I’m also hoping to see Graham bring his value to this game on that front.

Diabate was really bad

Why do you say that? Honest question, what did you see about his play?

I ask because I didn’t really notice him.

When cincy was running the ball we couldn't stop them in the first half. It was embarrassing.

Why have Flacco play if you won't let him throw the ball deep?! He was clearly handcuffed and it made the offense look predictable and pathetic. Bad coaching on offense lost this game more than anything. Dink and dunk for yet another loss. When your rookie HB is the leading receiver, number of catches, against a putrid defense ... that is not something to be proud of. We had no run game at all. When Flacco has the highest yard per attempt on rushing ... Flacco wasn't the problem that is for sure.

Tillman needs to be cut. He can't catch and then yet again he bounces the ball to the other team. He did it during the preseason too so this isn't a one off. Now we know why teams dump him like he is garbage.

I'm so sick of all the idiots that say you can pick up a kicker anywhere. Good kickers score more points than 90 percent of the best WRs and HBs. For heaven's sake use a third round pick and get a good kicker for a freaking change. I blame Berry for this one. Can't draft one? Then trade for one. Spend some money and LURE one! I don't care how you get a good one but field goals in the 30 to 40 yard range should be automatic. Extra points should be easy to get. Even when the Patriots had Tom Brady they had arguably the best kicker in the league who scored several thousand points during that time.

This is a game that the Browns should have easily won. They defense gave them every chance in the world to win this game. Bad play calling and bad performance by the offense and special teams ruined the effort by the defense.

He was over pursuing like crazy in coverage. The TD alone was really bad with his eyes and it was all on him. But, I noticed it a lot in the 1st half especially

I noticed him on the TD too. He let that receiver slip right past him.

I was just kinda joking around a bit. I think we're going to lean VERY conservative on offense this year... at least until we establish some sort of identity. On that last part, I didn't see our Oline push around their Dline as much as I was expecting/hoping.

it feels like to me that our OL has aged out. bitonio, Teller, Pocic, Conklin - that's an OLD line. Lots of wear and tear

j/c... to all the kicker comments.

Matt Prater just kicked three FGs hours off a red-eye. He didn't know anyone's name; only knew he was going to Buffalo. The game winner was after a fire-drill exchange on an expiring clock.

He has an NFL career record with 81 field goals of 50 yards. He broke the longstanding longest FG record of 63 yards with his 64 yarder in 2013. He is literally and mathematically one of the most clutch kickers in NFL history.

He was sitting on a couch Thursday morning.

I'm tired of the constant half-assed grooming of our next great kicker. I don't even want to draft one, it's stupid with a team that never has a cushion (and hands it back as fast as possible when it does). When we draft them, we throw in the towel well before we know if he will be a good kicker. That experiment is three years minimum in this league -- we're ready to toss him over the 480 bridge after two or three misses.


We can't.


Amen.

I'd argue the offensive playcalling was good. The plays were there to be made. Unfortunately, Stefanski can't catch the ball for them. He can't kick, either. OL didn't look great, so getting the ball out quickly was probably the best option. We were moving the ball when we weren't giving it away on "safe" throws. Joe was putting it where it was supposed to be our guys catching it or nobody while protecting them from big hits, and somehow the other team got the ball twice. You expect NFL receivers to catch those.

For as good as the D was at the end, They were pretty bad at the beginning. Lots to clean up. Talent looks there, but blown assignments are killer.

Unfortunately, drafting a kicker early doesn't guarantee they won't get the yips. Neither does trading for or paying one. Good kickers gone bad, a Cleveland tradition. ...I blame Shedeur fans with voodoo dolls this time, they took over from the anti-Watson voodoo doll-ers..

For sure. And that's going to be a major project going into next season. Aren't they all free agents to start the season?

So, it's all voodoo?

I can't even say I'm surprised.

Darn superstitious kickers leaving themselves vulnerable. Team needs to hire a curse countering shaman.

Just need a case of Rum and a box of Cubans. 😵‍💫

Rebuilding 80% of the OL in the offseason and pairing that with the new QB they are highly likely to draft in the first round of 2026……what could go wrong!

We literally just drafted one in the 4th round (Cade York, first kicker drafted) in 2022, failed and cut after 2 seasons, is now sitting on the couch...

We literally just traded for one in 2023 (Dustin Hopkins from the Chargers), failed after 2 seasons and has been replaced by the UDFA kicker that literally lost the game on Sunday.

Finding a kicker for Huntington Field isn't an exact science. The best kicker in the history of the league, Justin Tucker, has his worst FG% kicking in Cleveland. The expectations need to be lowered. Phil Dawson made it his life duty to learn the flag system that HE had them install to learn how to kick in this stadium. Phil is now in his 50's so, he isn't going to be an option. I wish they would give him $2M to come in and coach the kicking staff. With all the money the Haslem's throw around, I can't believe this hasn't been done yet.