DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Gameday vs Carolina Post Game Discussion....

Well earned! I got real happy then nervous towards the very end.

It sure feels good to win!

It was awesome for the Browns fans that were at the game to have a victory walk

It was great for all of us other fans to enjoy a win

Graham is on a roll

Green hair had a great game

Watson showed he truly wants to win behind a new OL

Jeudy had no targets, yet again Watson had defenders in his face a lot

Good team effort

I hope this win keeps more coming

Monkens offensive system sucks. Baker struggled in it in 2019. Im starting to think our lack of running game has more to do with the system than it does the o line .

Defense played much better than i expected especially without Campbell.

Mason graham looks so undersized to me but he still plays much bigger. 2 more sacks for him .

Bengals losing to the Steelers put us in FIRST PLACE. Graham big game. Glad to see some "best" RB carries for more than 4 yards. Watson was innacurate at times throwing, but mad some big plays with his legs.

I don't care how we win. I am getting too old. Just win Thursday night.

In such a good mood I may head to he casino.

We won I’m very happy but there’s no excuse for not picking up the first down to end the game right there. That’s what good teams do. Carolina should never have gotten another chance.

Our offense still has no identity other than penalties. It is boring as hell. Not kicking a field goal and not getting 1 yard to end the game was dumb. I am all about being aggressive but our Offense stunk all game. Kick the field goal, ho up by 6, force them to get a TD to win and let your Defense win the game. If we would have lost, that decision would have haunted Moken for the rest of the year.

Pretty amazing turn around from week 1.

And Mason Graham has arrived.... 7 tackles today and 2 sacks, 4 sacks on the season.

So a 2-1 start with a new OL and a QB who hasn't played since Moses and has how many new rookies starting is on a rookie HC Monken ?

Good thing Baker isn't struggling now.

Good to thing since Verse has been a no-show thus far

Yeah no doubt, still not mad at the trade though. And the defense has played well, and Quincy Williams looking like a great pick up as well.

What a win. Team proved it has the resolve to come back. Besides the third quarter, he did what was needed to win. I thought he was going to fold, but he did what he needed to win, I like it. Mason Graham is a beast, for his size, he is powerful. On Carolina's TD drive, I watched Verse Stand straight up and watch the RB go right past him, no effort at all. He does get good push though. The ref staring at a blatant facemask, should be fined. How can you stare right at it happening, and not call it?

Special teams is encouraging, good job. Seems like Watson and KC don't have good chemistry, but he and Fannin sure do.

2-1, We don't see this much early in the season, hope the momentum builds. Team looks a lot better than the critics thought. Beat pittsburgh on Thursday, and that will be a statement.

- Defense played great. Tons of pressure all game long and had two major stops at the end.

- Watson wasn't great but delivered when it mattered most. I like that he is keeping his head up when pressured and leaving the pocket. Don't think that was the case a couple of years ago. Still needs to be more accurate. Had a few bad throws out there.

- Raheem Sanders has been great since Sampson went down.

- Monken's 4th & 1 calls are disturbing, to put it mildly. Get Watson under center and sneak it. End of story.

- Penalties by the OL need to be cleaned up.

- We stopped (and won) against a top offense through the first two weeks. That's a big deal.

Onward to beat the Stoolers on Thursday night!

- Another nice win.

- Mason Graham playing like peak Aaron Donald through three weeks.

- Szmyt 20 straight FGs!

- J-Dubs itching to give Watson a contract extension!

I forgot to add.....there is some streak about the Browns not giving up 300 passing yards from a QB in quite a while......they mentioned on the post game show. It was double-digit games if I recall correctly.

I heard that also, but don't remember the exact number. I know it was impressive though.

Fun game. Not pretty by any means but a win is all that matters.

Back in form.....

The Shedufus fan was mad his guy was on the bench. I notice a lot of them cheering when he came in to then hand off the ball then moaning when quickly summoned back to the bench.

It was a funny moment.

Two weeks in a row the guys found a way to win against shorter odds IMO

This offense has to continue to run through Boston and Fannin - they are reliable playmakers

Run game is really poor ... the penalties on the OL are the biggest area to improve IMO

Defense was good especially the front 4 down the stretch .. Graham keeps getting better

I would have kicked the FG to make it a 6 point game and force them to get a TD, but that was an odd situation

We ran for 132 yards today and a 4.4 average. That’s not bad.

Ward clearly played well against a good young WR

He is our best player

All I have to say...


Mason Graham!

Again - I don't see or hear Freddy 2.0

In this clip he's smart and passionate.
Firstly he is telling the fans he cares a lot, which seems obvious but after the KS blandness after every game this is refreshing.
Then he's telling the fans that they matter and have an impact when they get loud - is he implying the fans should get behind Watson too?
3rd - he was honest about the lull in performance during the 3rd Q. We all saw it and I bet most of us thought the game had slipped away at that point.
Oh and 4th - he's reminding everyone "We're in first place and Thursday will be playing for first place".

I don't know how long he can keep the rah-rah stuff impactful. Hopefully the team keeps improving and he doesn't need to do it so much, but he seems like a players coach and is always going to have a little of that in him. As long as the team is competent I have no problem with it.

Defense played great against one of the hotter teams in the NFL going into week 3. DL got push all game - Mason was immense. I see people casting shade at Verse - but I see him getting push and driving his edge back, sealing it most plays. I think the unit is playing well and no problems with Verse at the moment. He's not Myles Garrett ... yeah big shock (not). Oh and damn, we have two very good LBs ... I wanted to write 'great' but I'll wait a few more games before I apply that label - but I loved the game #5 had. I missed the signing of Williams, and while Devin Bush was real good last year, Williams looks faster (and younger).

Huge shout out to Special Teams. Again. Been one of my bugbears for ages - and *pfff* suddenly we're playing not just ok - but really great coverage and discipline.

Another huge bugbear has continued this week, which honestly surprised me - penalties were woeful. So bad that we'll lose games because of them if we don't get it sorted. C'mon !!! Do better. I know the OL is new - but I'll continue to put the penalties on the coaching.

Watson did enough to win. It was a middling game - an 88 QBR which is only decent because of the 2TD and no turnovers ... and I guess that's the point. Before the season we (many) said we be ok with average QB play and that's what we got. We also got a guy who didn't turn the ball over. He also did an awful lot with his feet/legs. I could easily see/predict Sanders making better throws here and there - but I could also see some hero ball and interceptions.

Overall on offense I think we committed to being physical in the run game just enough and saw some improvement.

And another win. And doesn't this feel great going into a short week and facing the Steelers 'for first place'. To me it doesn't feel like we've had as meaningful a game vs Pittsburgh since the playoff win. Sure it's only week 4 ... but this is about seeing improvement and watching a team that doesn't have a star QB to carry them, play well or improve in most other areas of the game. And ... I suspect Mike Tomlin's quote from last week before the Tampa game is STILL going to provide Monken plenty fuel for this game. I can't wait.

we need to cut down the penalties (at least in half). Not to mention the dumb fumble by Corley on the kickoff. We really should not have won the game if you look at the stats, which is a good thing

The oline is new together. I think we have good coaching all the way around. The oline will gel and provide a better run game. Special teams has been hit or miss in the past. Looks pretty good so far.

It's a small sample size ... But ...

KO returns - we are 4th at Avg 29 yards.
KO we are mid table at 26.4
Net Punt - 5th at 45.7
Punt return is poor - 5th worst at 5.5 yards per attempt.

https://www.nfl.com/stats/team-stats/special-teams/punt-returns/2026/reg/all

2025:
KO Returns - 27.8
KO - 23.7 (2nd worst)
Net Punt - 37.6 (3rd worst)
Punt return 7.2

Early days - but the eye test says we are covering better and it's a big improvement.

And how to line up, apparently. Several illegal procedure penalties to go with the false starts

Just how long does it take for this OL not to be new ? 6 games . 8 , 12 ? Just want two be prepared , lol... I am the only one who see a double headed monster backfield in Junkin and Sanders ? They both are tough , quick down hill runners , both have good hands , and I believe they would block for each other. Some of the old Lindsey O ..

Wondered why they moved Graham from the left to the right this season ? Happy for the young's start to the season.. Think we be looking for a pass rush DE in the 27 draft also..

It's still early; but so far Watson is the best 4th quarter QB in the NFL. Seems like we need to work on the middle two quarters. 😫

Mason Graham is just a bull. Love this kid.

That defense had Young rattled. I know there were a lot of games in the past that Garrett had multiple sacks and single-handedly wreaked havoc; but it has been a very long time since a Browns D just put a QB in a pressure cooker for 4 quarters. Wow.

Mekhi Blackmon deserves some love; he handled his workload well with 8 tackles and a pd. It helped that Coker missed half the game, but still.

I feel like Fannin Jr is evolving into one of the best in the game. He makes having rapport with your QB look easy. That's an underrated quality.

Our kicker, the one we wanted to kick out of town after two games, looks like Mr. Automatic. Straaaaight down the middle, no drama.

Yo, umpire Mark Pellis (U-131), I'm not sure what "excuse" you'll use, but that looked sleazy. You can't miss someone hanging on to a facemask from just feet away and call yourself a professional. That's some seven-and-nine bull$hit (do we call it 7-10 now or should it be 8-9?)

Best of all from yesterday? We got the Dub for Chubb!

I posted last season that our ST were terrible and the stats were there to back it up. I felt it was on the coach Bubba Ventrone. A comment was made that if Ventrone was so bad why did the Rams hire him right away? That I didn't know but look at the difference so far this year. Muck better. I would think Byron Storer is doing a much better job coaching his players than Ventrone.

First off I don't care what a HC says to the press. Saying all the right things doesn't win games. Coaching wins games. Monken walked into a tough situation here. A first time HC. New systems on both sides of the ball. The best player on D which has been this teams strength for some time now traded. No clear starting QB in the building. That's certainly not an enviable situation to be in. And even with all the warts we see, he and this team are still finding a way to win.

Things I didn't care for. Going for it on 4th and 1 when that FG would have iced the game. I usually don't mind going for it on 4th and one but this situation called for the FG. The needless penalties on the OL. Hopefully that gets cleaned up but most of these penalties are very basic football and clearly self inflicted.

Things I was happy to see. The running game making a much bigger contribution. Having a running game your opponents must respect helps your passing game and vice versa. A two headed monster is much tougher to tame. As has been mentioned many times it's nice to see a much improved ST's and the D playing to a high level.

And watson. It's no surprise to anyone that I despise him as a human being but I can differentiate that from his QB play.

His first start of the season was terrible. Last week he had a great game. This week it was average. But here's the thing about this week. When he needed to scramble to move the chains he did it well. When the game was on the line he delivered. That's what a QB has to do for his team to win and watson delivered.

They won't win a lot of shoot outs. But if the D keeps playing at this level and watson doesn't implode they should be in a lot of games and have a chance of winning them.

I didn't like the 4th down call either. But this is from the other thread to explain the rationale and I get it and I think I agree:

I doubt Watson will be our QB next year, but he’s here now, we have some weapons, a great defense and our OL may improve. If he keeps playing like this, we can have a really nice season. We will draft wherever we draft and figure it out then. I am rooting for the guy.