DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Camp Questions

JMHO, our line last year was OLD and INJURED lots- lots of change.

This years line isn't established yet and best five undetermined- my hope is Brailsford wins Center spot and Jenkins goes to guard, others set sort of.

QBs can't perform if they are under CONSTANT pressure- ie, poor line, thus WRs are hurt- steady line play is PARAMONT.

PS- Defensive men in the box- stopped our runs and blitzed to punish Qbs due to POOR LINE PLAY.

Our line MUST be better this year- period. New coaches/players/ and hopefully LUCK- Go Browns!!!

Prudent points on the last 2 posts. I don't know how things will shake out but I have opinions. I don't see how our O-Line can't be better than last year. We signed and drafted better talent than what we had. KC and Boston along with the further development of Isaiah Bond should be much better. The question is how long it will take for these 2 units to come together and play at a high level. It could happen sooner than we think or it may take a while. And of course there's our yearly numerous issues at QB. I feel we could win anywhere from 5-7 games with the possibility of 2 or 3 more depending on how quickly this team will gel and the QB play. As for the D no Myles new coaches again, who knows. If the O can move the ball and score it will help the D. We can speculate all we want and that makes for good discussion, but we really won't know until actual games are played.

Question one…I think by adding two highly ranked receivers we have a good chance at having one of them being a number one receiver. If both hit great, I think we will be ok with Bond as our 3rd option at receiver, Hopefully both rookies hit and push Bond to fourth.

Question two…Not only did we bring in three draft picks we brought in a couple of seasoned vets who have starting experience. It’s my hope we can find five guys who can gel quickly. I think we have talent, im just not sure they can work as one in the short time before the season.

As to the QB’s… I hope our line gels enough so we can have a decent competition. My hope is Sanders wins outright. I don’t particularly care for Watson and his tenure here has been pretty abysmal.

Defense…Sure there are questions. We have at least a pro bowl caliber player at each level. I’m not as worried about the depth with the exception of cornerback. I don’t see a quality slot on the roster. Hopefully I’m wrong. If I’m not I would watch the waiver wire carefully as the season begins.

One thing I believe some may be overlooking is that this is a contract year for Watson. No matter how you slice it that seems to be motivating factor for most players. In the case of Watson, he had a no trade clause in his contract with Houston. As such after the Browns first visit he marked Cleveland off his list of teams he was willing to be traded to. Until of course they went back an brought the Brinks truck with them. Evidence dictates if there's one thing that motivates Watson, whether he wants to be somewhere or not is the money. That's what he is playing for this year that he hasn't needed to play for since he's been here.

I tend to agree with you. But from all indications he didn't want to be here to start with. It was all about the money. Once again this year it's all about the money moving forward.

While as I stated I tend to agree with you in terms of, "I don't think he will ever play at a high level again."

It just appears I'm not just not as convinced as you are that what I think in this case can't be wrong. I don't believe the chances of that happening are very high but I won't close the door on that possibility.

And I certainly hope I'm wrong about the possibility of him having a good season. I would rather see Sanders win the starting role outright. I just hate to imagine the confusion and arguments that would ensue about re-signing watson if he had a good season. What a mess that would turn into.

I don't think we have to worry about him re-signing. What I do look forward to {sarcasm} is all of talk as soon as the season is over and he cleans out his locker about how it is Cleveland's fault that he sucked for 5 years. Injuries aside, when he was healthy, he was not good. That is on him.

I agree. I don't think it really matters how he plays as to whether the Browns re-sign him or not. It's the chaos surrounding it by fans that I would be dreading if he played well this season.

But then again I'm not so sure watson would be the only one to say that. Not so much with words but by actions. After all it was this FO and owner who signed watson to begin with and offered up no other reasonable starting QB over the last five years. And then they fired Stefanski because he couldn't win with nobody at QB. It kind of looked like they laid the blame on him too.

There is no proof that Stefanski was fired because they laid the Watson blame on him. His offense was absolutely dreadful during his tenure here with the exception of the 2020 season and the tail end of the 2023 season. With Watson and without Watson his offenses did not produce consistently.

In the 2023 NFL season, the average score was 21.8 points per team per game in the NFL. The Cleveland Browns averaged 23.3 points per game during the 2023 regular season with an 11-6 record.

Who did this FO provide Stefanski with at QB? So it's his fault this FO didn't provide him with a competent QB?

The Cleveland Browns used four different starting quarterbacks during the 2024 NFL season: Jameis Winston, Deshaun Watson, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, alongside Bailey Zappe.

In 2025 the starters were Shedeur Sanders, 5th round rookie finished the season as the starter, while fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, 3rd round rookie and veteran Deshaun Watson also saw time under center during the year.

So Stefanski wasn't fired for losing games? And this FO gave him a competent starting QB to compete with? Face it, the best QB Stefanski had after Baker left was Joe Flacco and he was nothing more than a journeyman at that point this FO pulled off of his couch. That was in 2023 when the Browns made the playoffs. He got more out of Flacco than any team since.

After last season even this FO knew the WR's and OL were the biggest part of the problem. Not only did Stefanksi not have a legit QB, his OL and WR's sucked too. That isn't going to help you score many points. You are right that his offense sucked. You need only look at the offensive roster to see why.

Sometimes perception doesn't line up with facts.

So, you blame the Jimmy and Joe's and say the X's and O's were fine. Problem is Stefanski told Andrew Berry could not work with Baker Mayfield. So, Berry went out and got him Deshaun Watson. He had multiple years and could not work with him either. Both Mayfield and Watson are past Pro Bowlers, and he could not work with either. He fired his OC after 2013 and hired a new OC and that did not work. It became obvious he was not the QB guru they thought they had.