DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Gameday vs Chicago Post game thoughts…?

Again, didn’t see the game. Would love to hear the take on how sanders played. Box score is dreadful but that can be misleading. Anything else ya got?

Hard to play football without an offensive line

Sanders looked good on the last drive with under 5 minutes in a blowout. He also threw two beautiful passes to Bond. Big, beautiful passes of 47 and 42 yards. That's where he shines, such a knack for accuracy and putting air under some passes that almost look slo-motion in the air.

Beyond that he was all but putrid to my eyes. Bad passes, head-scratchers and short dumps. Outside of Bond and the last drive, 8/23 for a whopping 42 yards and 3 INTs. Five sacks, three because he's running around like Chicken Little, one because the Bad News Browns don't know that someone standing a foot off the LOS shouldn't come in untouched.

He made some really nice throws. He definitely showed he can make some deep plays. He made some throws where he was forcing the ball into tight coverage and paid the price. He tried to run away from sacks and found out the hard way that he is too slow to. He started to see pressure where there wasn't any and went into panic mode a few times and this caused him to get sacked when he could have thrown away the ball. It wasn't as bad a collapse as we saw in that third preseason game but was definitely a step in the wrong direction.

One of the nice things I saw was even though he lost himself a few times he regained his composure. This game is going to leave a VERY bad taste in his mouth. I think it was a good learning experience for him though on the real size of NFL throwing windows. The Bears are the best team in the NFL when it comes to creating turnovers and it showed.

It was a very bad game for him and it was a game even worse for the rest of the team.

I think we had 4 penalties in the first 6 plays.

It was bad from opening kickoff, literally. A 52-yard return our ST allowed. One of the picks was not his fault, the other two most definitely were.

Other than a nine-yarder from SS, I don’t think we had a run play that went five yards. We haven’t been able to run the ball all year.
D didn’t look like a top 5, either. It was excruciating to watch, be glad you didn’t.

- Sloppy, unprepared and undisciplined football.

- The future QB is not on the roster.

- Run defense was subpar for a second week in row.

- Myles inches closer to the sack record.

- Bond beating the defense over the top and Shedeur connecting with him were the two offensive highlights. Otherwise, dreadful on offense.

- Fannin Jr. is Shedeur's security blanket.

I cannot believe there are still 3 more opportunities to go. An 18 game season seems like cruel and unusual punishment.

As Tom Hamilton would say, "they're just playing out the string."

It's wild how atrocious the run game has been. Back-to-back weeks Judkins has averaged less than 2 yards per carry. Had a long run today of 4 yards.

My biggest take away. Still no accountabilty and still poorly prepared. The coaches can't manufacture more talent on the roster - they can prepare them for a game and make it the product look less like a dark comedy. Incompetence was as big a factor as talent.

- The defense (outside of Myles because of his personal goal) has essentially given up on the season
- The OL is a disaster because of all the injuries.
- Shedeur was effected by the OL but seemed liked he reverted to his old ways. Holding the ball yesterday against a OL that allegedly had a 70% pass rush win rate yesterday was a problem.
- We saw an offense that was horrible prepared to play yesterday and was riddled with penalties early.
- I wish we had a healthy OL that we could judge Sanders from, but alas, that is not in the cards.

Just about as ugly as it gets... Chicagos offense was as good as advertised.

Our D wasn't as good as Advertised. Our offense missed the plane, we just picked up some guys on the streets to pay..... Kinda kidding.

Wasn't any fun to watch....

The Browns had only one first down in the entire first half.

Anyone going into yesterdays game thinking Sanders looked like the future starting QB for the Browns should be thinking again.

Passing: 18/35 (54.1%)
Passing yards: 177
Passing touchdowns: 0
Interceptions: 3
Passer rating: 30.3
Carries: 2
Rushing yards: 24
Rushing TDs: 0
Sacks: 5 (35 yards)

He looked pretty much the same in his fourth start as he did in his first start. With only three games left on the schedule it's hard for me to believe the window is large enough to go into the upcoming draft making the decision he will be the Browns starter going into next season.

In fairness, he did have a backup OL that played really badly, no run game, a receiver who fumbled a TD catch into an INT for the Bears, and he played in miserably cold conditions.

This is not to say that he didn't make a lot of mistakes ..... but I am starting to think that we should sign a veteran in the offseason, let him battle it out with Sanders, and build the team as we should have been doing instead of trading for Watson.

Both QB's played in the same weather conditions.

Caleb Williams had 242 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions on 17-of-28 passing, with a 112.5 passer rating.

So I'm not considering excuses due to the weather.

I certainly understand the circumstances under which he is playing. I would never expect perfection by any means. But you said it yourself. He made a lot of mistakes that were on himself and nobody else. In four starts he has had one good outing. The other three starts were net negatives by any stretch of the imagination. I have no idea how anyone could take that body of evidence to suggest we should neglect drafting a QB next year. No idea.

When we got the delay of game on the first play of the drive, I started planning out what I was going to do for the rest of the day.

I was excited-ish to see Wypler, Zinter (who ended up being ruled out with injury) Sanders and the rest of the rookies, but with the way the team came out I didn't feel like what I was seeing was going to give actual insight on how the guys (especially Sanders) project past this year. The whole team was so discombobulated.

I've posted this before and I will say it again. With our first #1 pick if there's a QB there that we like I would draft him. I wouldn't take one with that 1st pick if we had reservations about him. We don't know what our draft spot will be or what QB's will be available at this point. Time will tell. I like Shedeur and hope he can be our #1 but I don't think we will know for sure at seasons end. A lot to contemplate for our FO.

We're on the same page there with possibly one caveat'. I think if they have a target in mind and need to trade up a spot or two in order to draft him they should.

They probably would but I would hate to see us use that second #1 to move up. We need that pick for the O-Line and WR position.

A comical sequence of events:

Lose challenge.
Flagged for a false start.
Flagged for 12 men in the huddle.

All within the first offensive snap of the game.

I would hate to see that too. It certainly wouldn't be a preference of mine. But one thing I have noticed about the NFL is this. A high draft pick you can keep for five years by exercising your fifth year option. Teams build an offense around a QB. Not an offense and then add a QB. So while it wouldn't be my preference I understand that's the way things are done.

If "The Guy" is there, then it's worth it. My understanding is "The Guy" isn't in the this draft.

Williams had an offensive line

When they traded #2 last year to Jax to get the 2026 1st the trade was made to better ensure their chances to get a QB. The thought after the draft was Drew Allar, Cade Klubnik, Garrett Nussmeier, and LaNorris Sellars was all going in the 1st round. All had underwhelming seasons. I think they should stick to their initial plans, but Mendoza is the only QB I see that would be better than Sanders at this point. Moore is a prospect that has potential, but he is far from a finished product and may even return to Oregon next season. Simpson has faded down the stretch of the college season. If the Browns got the #1 pick, they have to use that pick on Mendoza and then build around him. If they don't have the #1 pick, they will have to offer the Jax pick but I can't see the Raiders trading down if Mendoza is there. The Browns will have a chance if the Giants or Titans get the #1 overall pick but teams like the Jets have ammo and could make that pick worth at least 3 number 1's and after what just happened to the Browns with the trade for Watson that trade is far too expensive and will deplete the team of needed talent to compete in the coming years.

The Browns have already announced that Watson will be on the roster in 2026. With that said if they cannot get Mendoza with their 1st round pick or by trading up using both 1st round picks then they should use their 2 1st on another Wide Receiver and a Left Tackle. The line is pitiful and even selecting Mendoza if the line does not improve, he should sit all year next year and not play behind that line. Also, Jerry Jeudy cannot be a number 1 wide receiver next season. The back shoulder throw that Sanders hit him with yesterday was a great pass and hot him right in the #3 on his chest and should have been a touchdown. It went right thru his hands and right to the corner for a pick. He cannot be the #1 target next year at receiver.

Giving Sanders and Watson 2026 and improving the roster will be the better play in 2026 if they cannot get Mendoza by their initial plan. In 2027 Manning, Sayin, and Riola should all be coming out. Go all in then to get 1 of them if Sanders is not a franchise QB.

Which is why I want to move on from KS and AB - there is no excuse for this. None. Having backups or a talent lacking talent does not prevent the team from being prepared and well disciplined. If talent had an impact the CFL would be unwatchable as there would be a penalty on every other play .... that's not the case. This is 1000% down to coaching.

j/c:


At first, when seeing the interception from Sanders to Jeudy, I initially put blame on Sanders for the throw. After looking at it in slo-mo, it was 100% Jeudy's fault. That ball was dropped like a dime into his hands and he allowed it to slip through and gave the defender a shot to make a play.

there are three areas of our team that are unacceptable IMO (at least glaringly so):

1. OL. That unit needs a complete overhaul. It's the worst OL i can ever remember.

2. ST's .. it's a horrible unit and continues to cost us.

3. WRs .. like the OL, this group needs all new members IMO