we have the best backfield in the NFL. period.

defense, as much as Sandejo was ticking me off all game, held up well.

our secondary actually did a decent job overall. AJ green wasn't allowed to eat AT ALL. thats credit to Ward and Mitchell.

Defensive line got good pressure on Burrow for the night.

i have to give Burrow credit. the guy looked poised and never got rattled in any situation. he played a decent game.

but lets be clear; if a rookie QB has to throw the ball over 60 times like Burrow had to do, thats a credit to the defense for taking away the run and forcing Burrow to throw it. defense kept Mixon in checked all night.

overall, i liked the play calling by stefanski tonight. i know the 4th down call by the goal line was questionable. but overall, i liked the aggressiveness. hey, the defense gets paid too. overall it worked out, because garrett got a strip sack on Burrow right at the goal line that Chubb punched in anyway.

now to Baker.

Baker being at 23 passing attempts is EXACTLY where he needs to be week in and week out. he played great ball for 3 quarters. then came the 4th quarter with that horrible pick. overall, he had a solid night.

however, the same questions that exist last week still exist after tonight's win. this was the worst team in football we just beat afterall. that being said, he had a good game so he at least silence us doubters for a bit.

glad OBJ got involved. he had some amazing moves in the open field. but the O line and our FB opened up monster holes, and chubb and hunt had a monster day as a duo. they COMBINED for 210 yards and 3 TD's on the ground! i expect a lot of talk about our RB's tomorrow.

glad we got a win on a short night. go browns!!

Playing not the Ravens was way more fun.

This defense will struggle to keep teams under 35 points. Be are going to have to be a ball control offense

That feels much better.

Still things to clean up, but also some stuff to build on.

Hopefully the long week let's us get some people (DBs, please) back healthy.

Just like to say how much I enjoyed the " Joe Burrow Show " featuring Joe Buck and Troy Aikman ! !

I called 300yds and 3TDs against us by a rookie QB. Our secondary will consistently lose us games. A good team would have blown us out again.

Baker looked good minus the INT. Cubb and Hunt need to carry us on their backs. O-line played great. Defense needs A LOT of work.

I think you have to give props to the Bengals and Burrow. They are not an automatic win by any measure. Some teams are going to be very surprised by them this year I think.

The Browns did what they were supposed to do this week and it was a team effort. Props to coach for doing whatever he did to have them ready after that disaster Sunday. I don't know that we will set the world on fire but at least there is hope for a winning season.

We desperately need 2 LB's DL depth and a safety

Injuries are killing us.

We are going to have to score like the saints tk be competitive

We now have ten days for Jack Conklin, Greedy Williams, Kevin Johnson, Olivier Vernon, Adrian Clayborn, and Mack Wilson to get back.

We have the best RB's in the NFL bar none

OL looked good

Garrett had a good game Ward had a good game

Baker played well despite the one pick

Please Baker almost gave this game away. The D needs some folks to get healthy because our backups aint much. But if we establish the run, then the play action is there.

I was impressed with Porter Gustin in his increased playing time. He can definitely be a rotational linemen.

That's kind of the modern NFL.

Baker played great. Pick was bad, but I actually like the play call. Just gotta be smarter, but everyone knows he’s a risk taker. Also, he was making some very good throws inside and outside the pocket.

Goodson was all over the field making plays. Ward is a stud too.

Takitaki has a terrible game.

I want to bring back Randall or bring in Earl Thomas.

Love our FB.

Obviously we aren’t going to throw up 35 every game, but this is the offense we need to constantly be running. Run heavy, live off the play action, and utilize your two stud WRs and solid TEs. I really wouldn’t be surprised to have two 1000 yard rushers and two 1000 yard receivers.

Burrow looks real good, but they were idiotic to throw the ball that much. And I agree with Swish—if a rookie QB is throwing 61 times for just over 300 yards, that’s a pretty solid job by the pass D and rush.

Very happy with this performance. Excited to play Washington and get to 2-1.

Good Point

You don't have to establish the run for play action to be effective.

https://www.google.com/search?q=establis...me&ie=UTF-8

Noticed a lot of fast balls and tight spirals from Baker. In doing so, his accuracy was really good. Play calling g was a lot better. Not sure going for it on 4th an goal and taking points off the board especially when you can go up by 2 scores

^

This. Wills has done well and I was very worried about him. Nice surprise.

Perfectly called game by Stefanski, IMO. I am ok with the 4th down call, you got Chubb and Hunt, and we were running the ball at over 5 yards a clip.

Great win, Coach.

30 runs a game and 25 passes is perfect Cleveland weatherfootball and what Baker needs

300 yards on 61 passes. That’s trash, and he got like 60 of them on that last garbage time drive. I agree secondary needs help and for people to get healthy.

Our next game against Haskins and the Washington Football Team will be much like this one IMHO. We should win but they are not automatic by a long shot.

...Did we have any drops today? I'm not remembering any on our side. I like it.

I was also impressed with our tight ends blocking. That was supposed to be a weak spot for us but I noticed Austin Hooper and Harrison Bryant both doing a great job at different points.

I see your links.. but after this game you question it??

Wonder why Njoku didnt get much time after he had a decent week 1? Did he even get any snaps?

No drops. One bad pass to Hooper and a bad read that led to an interception.

Just so everyone is aware.

Burrow had 60% completion on 61 attempts for a whopping 5.2 yards a pass. One if his 3 TDs came on garbage time.

Burrow has a above average game for a rookie. Baker had a good game but wasn’t asked to do nearly what burrow was.

Baker made some good throws. But tonight was about the run game and big guys up front.

I agree with the call to go for it on fourth down on the one but I disagree with the playcalling. Data shows that the best way to score near the goaline is to spread the defense out and run the ball. We Freddie Kitchens'd it and tried to run it down their throat even though they knew what was coming.

Heading to bed... but want to say:

Yes we have the best running back tandem in the NFL. It's not even close

Damn it's nice to have a fullback.

I cannot believe that they were people in game day thread calling Ward a bust... thought he had his best game since rookie campaign

The Good:
WE WON!
Chubb and Hunt
Garrett stripping the ball away from Burrow
Play action in the first half.
DL getting just enough pressure on Burrow and holding Mixon in check.
Baker and OBJ played much better tonight.

The Bad:
Still too many penalties, something like 8/77.
Baker's INT.
Ciny's 5/5 4th down conversions.
Kick return coverage in the 1st half. Better in the second half.

IR Knee

He is on IR. Expect him back week 4.

Thanks, didnt see that.

Very nice to see the Offense running on all cylinders.
Our Defense has given up 68 points in 2 games. They need work.

Nice to go to bed victorious tonight.

The OL looked really sharp tonight, both in pass pro and run blocking. They’ve been playing tough, and I loved that block by Hooper when he got inside and cleared a path for Chubb.

We gotta run the rock to set up everything else. Chubb and Hunt are a difficult duo to handle. Baker was accurate all night, they need to design plays to get it out of his hand quick.

It’s nice to have a kicker that can kick. Welcome back, Cody!!

We get carved up with short passing routes.

Nice win boys, it saved our season for now, and let’s get ready to hammer the Washington Football Team.

Congratulations to Kevin Stefanski on his first win as a head coach.

From the little II saw of the game, I am pleased at the development of the zone blocking, and the major increase in the play-action.

That was Stefanski, learning and realizing what the offense can do well. Which, fortunately, is what he and Berry envisioned with the FA and draft this year.

I see them getting comfortable in this offense (players), and buying into the system. This game was a good start to the rest of the season.

- These bastards have sucked me back in.

- Sheldon Richardson was over the field.

- Denzel Ward had himself a game.

- Baker got his confeidence back. He was decisive and accurate.

- OBJ had great body language, was engaged, made plays and looked genuinely happy.

- Cody Parkey made me not pay attention to XPs again.

- Myles Garrett made a big play.

- Porter Gustin made a difference.

- Vernon was not missed.

- OL played great.

- Chubb and Hunt are an amazing tandem.

- Stefanski called an outstanding game. Got the best out the talent. H/T to the HC on his first win.

- Reiterating how accurate and confident Baker looked.

Go pound the Washington Football Team

Go Browns

Chris Hubbard deserves a kudos as well. And Andy Janovich.

It'd be really weird if he was under it.

His motor was definitely running hot.

#SixFeetUnder

j/c

I like - no, I love watching Chub and Hunt run. Either one of them can, and do, break a big run. But the coolest part is they almost always seem to get an extra 2 or 3 yards.

Impressed with the Offense, and with the playcalling. Feeling confident in our coaches. Especially happy that Baker played extremely well and got out of the funk. Keep it up!

We just need to get our D sorted. We have injuried, next man up.

Of the 61 passes I want to now how many times Thomas was targeted. I’m willing to bet it was nearly 20 times. I can’t wait for KJ, or even Stewart to get healthy.

At least once, on the TD against Ward.

...Oh, that Thomas. Yeah, it'll be nice if he can go back to focusing on special teams. Wonder if he might be better at safety, doesn't seem to have the feet/change of direction to stick with WRs.

I really started to enjoy the "pain faces" burrow was making in the 2nd half. I never thought he was hit very hard, but his faces made it look that way.

Someone at the bar told me that Joe Burrow was talking smack about Baker before the game. Is this true?

Only thing I can think of was that he was asked how he was similar to Baker. His response was that Baker was an accurate college QB. The emphasis there was mine, I didn't notice it from Burrow, but I wasn't paying close attention. That's the only thing that comes to mind as possibly being a shot at Mayfield.

gc.
haven't read any of this tonight.

I think Mitchell had a couple plays he could do better on.

If you frisk a guy from head to toe and miss the tackle, reminds me of a comment I once heard, some Vets know how to not tackle but make it look like they are trying to.

There was a 2nd obvious one, that escapes my mind.

Sendejo, and Taviere, need help, they really don't ...
I don't think there is any chance to win a playoff game with them on the field unless they vastly improve..

Mayfield, That interception was a real momentum killer.

The Offense moved the ball on about 9 drives tonight, and the first 3 last week,
Anybody else noticing the ole "run two pass, kick " 3 and out then Punt drives are missing.

The first half,
If the bengal makes a catch, stops, turn, and The Browns player is in position to bring the hips, wrap up, and tackle him backwards,

Then it's less than ideal if you slide around and tackle while giving up another 6 yards. And 2 times Really stood out.

Baker and the, Well the Refs were awful, even on one call against the bengals, The refs were blind!

And the intentional Grounding.

That was a bad call but it was an avoidable call
2-10, with a spot foul, becomes 2nd and 24, he wasn't 14 yards deep,

That drive, ending That way, was a momentum killer.

Final Result: The Browns gave up 30 points and 38 last week, that's dangerous.

I know im glass half empty guy, and i do apologize for that, but i am who i am. To me this was a win that felt like a loss. Even if the linebackers and safties were all healthy, these are two of the worst cores in the nfl. Moat of the time they look lost. We have a defensive coordinator who moved Garrett to the other side of the line. Yes he is going against the slower right tackle, but he is also facing more double teams and chip blocks from the tight end. Really makes little sense to me. A rookie qb on one of the worst teams in the nfl torched us tonight as we gave up 30 points. Tight ends will do major damage to us all year. Just to stay in games we will have to put up close to 30 points a game. Which we all know is not gonna happen week in and week out. Im sorry for being negative, but i just dont feel that much better about this team

I agree with most of what you said. Or defense, especially it coverage, is atrocious. Our run defense wasn't bad at all, even last week.

I am confused, are you saying Baker played awful? The INT was the only major mistake I saw. Even the intentional grounding was bad, but he threw it to were Chubb would have been if he wasn't held. He wasn't spectacular, but with the run have he didn't need to be.

I didn’t read through the entire thread, but a few things that stood out to me:

- I liked that our offense LOOKED better ... formations, shifting, ZBS/PS combos, bootlegs, misdirections, etc. That was good.

- I liked Baker’s demeanor and that he seemed very focused/confident. That’s the QB we all want.

- By my count, Baker threw maybe 2 poor throws all night. The INT was very bad obviously.

- Richardson seemed to be everywhere. He was a big part of the win.

- Gustin can definitely stick around and be a depth guy.

- I’d be okay with not seeing Thomas, Sendejo, or Taki again ... however, we’re so thin that they have to play

- Chubb/Hunt were basically incredible. They are like Payton and Sayers.

- Love the FB to be honest ... he’s made a positive impact to our offense

- I liked getting Hooper/Bryant involved a bit more

- We didn’t miss any XPs which is a plus

- You always love a Thurs night win ... extra rest which we need

Best part came in the 4th quarter.

6 plays 75 yards with back to back runs of 24 Chubb and 33 Hunt.

Takes the wind right out of them.

1-2 punch in the face!!!

Offense looked sharp. This is what they needed to build confidence in this new system.

Chubb and Hunt are an amazing tandem. And yelling CHUBB!! at the TV is fun.

Defense played well, but damn, 20+ years of giving up the 5-8 yard routes consistently. Seems every team can make those plays at will, and we can do nothing to stop it.

4 downs from the 1, brought up a real bad memory of last year. I know the D knows we are running it, and you have to be able to punch it in at will, but probably should throw in a screen or something on 3rd if you lost a yard on the first 2 tries, it was obvious the D was keying in on the run.

Had a bad feeling when the very first play has to be challenged because the ref is blind, I saw he was out live on TV. Then the same ref misses the Beckham jersey pull.

That final drive is something we haven’t been able to do much in 25 years ... run it down someone’s throat to seal it. It had to have been like 8 plays, 80 yards, all runs

Burrow's gonna get Klinglered. I feel bad for him, and there's no way he can survive a run of games like these first two weeks.

I agree, that is a pretty good mix.

Obviously game situation can change that some where the numbers might be reversed.

I wondered why Garrett was on the right side. My thought was that, maybe with Vernon out, Claiborne worked better from the left? Or they had the idea that Garrett could handle the double teams and still be effective while Claiborne would not?

Isn’t Garrett on the one side because Claiborne can only rush from the other (I think he’s blind in one eye)

yeah, I just think if we get too much out of wack, we won't be playing Stafanski brand of football and something went wrong.

The secondary worries me. Hopefully when Greedy, Johnson and Stewart get back it will help. Ward looked good and Mitchell was good one play and then had me scratching my head on another.

Seemed like a lot of missed tackles out there. Taki Taki needs work. Hopefully Mack Wilson will help this issue.

Frustrating thing about the Mayfield int. It looked like the pass itself was perfect. I know he should have seen the DB coming from his left, but a step slower and I think that pass hits Hooper(?) right in the hands.

Loved watching Chubb and Hunt

Congratulations to Kevin Stefanski and his staff for their first win.

This was the offense I was expecting. Heavy run based and play action.

The OL was outstanding. Some of the best run blocking I have seen from the Browns in a long time. Teller and Bitonio were really good. Wills had a very good game as well.

For me this is the kind of offensive football I love. Power running football. When you have the lead late and you want to grind it. You let the line work and you run it downhill. Eat the clock. Then put them away. Chubb and Hunt were money.

Baker was solid. When you can run it; it sets up downfield shots. He was accurate and looked comfortable. It was a good thing to see him not bail early to the right. Use the all the receivers and backs. He needed this game for his own confidence and for the team to have confidence in him.
Good to get Odell going. Hope he and Baker can build on this game.

Defense. Mixed results. Sheldon Richardson had a terrific game. He hustled his butt off. Very impressive game from him. Ward was big in coverage. Myles got doubled a lot. But came up with big pressures. Safety position needs help. Coverage was not good. Linebackers had few good plays. Taki is improving. He shows he can shed and find the ball. The unit needs to play better.

Special teams. At least the extra points were made. For the second week kick coverage was terrible. I guess they don't want to return kick offs. They passed on returns even when there was chances. They gave up field position. Need to improve.

Mixon was neutralized. That was important. I like Burrow. He plays for another team but I like him anyways. Think he is going to be good. Like his attitude and poise. He was under pressure and did not wilt. Showed good accuracy and touch. The Bengals are not there yet. But they are a improving team that just needs some more pieces.
====================================================

No matter how you look at this game it was important to win. It acted like a vent on a steam kettle. The pressure to win was intense on many levels.

So now there is no gloating. Ten days to get ready. Work hard to get better. Lots to work on. Improve every day.

It is good to feel good.

Fun game to watch!

Takeaways on offense:

Was really fun to watch the running game. OL did great even missing Conklin, and the TEs and FB did great blocking. We have something to build on.

Baker looked sharp most of the game, but the INT was really bad at that time in the game. But it was progress.

That all said, the Bengals Defense is awful.

On defense:

Garrett is a monster; was mostly quiet, but he was getting chipped with a TE or RB most plays he was lined up on the outside. Still found a way to make an impact play.

Ward and Richardson had nice games.

Our LBs and Safetys suck and need to be upgraded if we want to take the next step. We got killed trying to cover TEs and RBs in the middle of the field. When you can't take away the middle of the field, it's hard to get off the field on 3rd and 4th downs.

If we are going to be a running, ball control offense, we are going to need a better defense to be considered a "good" team.

Running the ball, not turning it over, and playing good defense is a winning combination in this league and in the playoffs (see the 49ers and Titans last year).

Hopefully we can get healthier on defense, but we still have a lot of work to do.

New Here,

Glad we won. Offense looked much better than last week. Our Defense though needs some work. Our LB are awful, and outside of Ward our secondary is bad. Perhaps a few guys coming back from injury will help here.

Offensive line played well, running game was great.

Mayfield still concerns me. Quite a few plays last night, Mayfield took off running out of a clean pocket. He refuses to step up into the pocket and throw a ball. Instead he takes off. This tells me he is either afraid(unlikely) or he won't step up into the pocket because he can't see over the line(very likely)

Mayfield would have to have a phenomenal year like 35+ TD and less than 13 INTS to even consider exercising the option on him. He just screams average and mediocre.

He will have a much harder time next week. Washington has a much better secondary and pass rush, and Ron Riveria is a great D mastermind. They will force Mayfield to stay in the pocket, he has to stop running from a clean pocket and learn how to step up in the pocket and throw a ball or he will never be anything more than a below average QB that will only have success against the dregs of the NFL.

What I found to be most interesting is that the player have bought in on Stafanski. I notived the words that he used are being used by most of the players in the interviews or they are using similar words. IF this trend continues, we can build a culture around that.

My thoughts -

- Joe Buck needs a blow-up doll of Burrow for those lonely nights on the road. Something to spoon with.

- Good game plan. Nice to see how well we ran.

- Imagine being able to give a guy like Chubb a rest, only to bring Hunt in.

- OL played well. Obviously in the run game, but in pass pro as well. To be honest, I was worried when Hubbard started. Didn't really notice him, which is a good thing.

- Did anyone else see Teller rub his hands together before the blindside block? I saw it on the replay, he looked like a Bond villain.

- Didn't force OBJ into the game plan, it was organic.

- Nice to go 5/5 on XP. But I hate the out of bounds KO.

- Nice pressure on Burrow.

- Held the run game in check. Unlike last year vs Cincy.

- At some point we need to realize that TEs are eligible receivers and cover them.

- Ward played well. Green a non-factor.

- Sweet to use a challenge flag on the first play of the game. How did that ref miss that, when he was standing right there? And why did that review take so long? It seemed pretty obvious. The Cincy players knew it right away.

- Our LBs suck, and Taki sucks on another level. Can't tackle or cover.

- Our safeties suck, and #23 sucks on another level. Can't tackle or cover. Cincy had a 2nd and 10, he wraps the ball carrier after 6 yards and took a ride for another 4. It's not just the one play, he's bad all game.

- Baker was accurate, threw it well. That one pick was a terrible throw. Terrible. But I think that was a product of him as a gun-slinger because his swagger was back. For a game at least.

- If the back of our D does not get it together, we are in trouble. We only play Cincy one more time.

Forgot to add: The OL played a fabulous game. 0 sacks, lots of time, and not many penalties ... oh yeah, plus we ran for over 220 yards or whatever lol

This is to add to Joe Buck's collection that currently consists of a blow-up doll of Schwarber (2015 version).

haha honestly it was a bit over the top last night. At halftime they were even like ... “oh yeah, Cleveland is a team we haven’t talked about yet”

conti...new here..really?

Your writing style sounds like some of our board members...jk

Welcome to the board...

A fun game - which probably restored a lot of faith to many posters even if it was by no-means perfect. Let's face it this is a game we should have won ... importantly we did. How many games under previous HC's have we said "this is a game we should have won" after we LOST ??

Stefanski on the sidelines never looked ruffled - personally I did not like the decision to go for the 4th down. A FG put us 2 scores up - a no-score and 8 pts to Cinci would have tied the game. Take the points. But even though I didn't like the call - Stefanski was measured and calm, calculated .... I think THAT's the approach and HC we need. I see it already influencing the players. I like, I like, I like.

I think because of the quality of the Ravens edge rushers and D - we didn't see a lot of the offense last week that we saw tonight. Probably by design and because of ability. I'm okay with that, I actually think it's smart.

Okay - so crfs has said multiple times you don't need to establish the run to set up play action .... and based on tonight's game he is right. We had our mst effective play action passing before we ever established the run. . . . And surprisingly I don't think the Play action passing was as much as it felt like. The stats at one time we 5-5 of PA? I wonder where we finished at?

Baker was obviously MUCH better. Just as I expected against an inferior defense to the Ravens. It's like we've now seen him play one of the best and one of the worst D's in the NFL. . . . what can he do with everything else in the middle? What can we do with 10 days to prep for Washington? ... I thought Baker looked very sharp and he made some really excellent throws - the TD to Baker was a beauty, and but for a held jersey that didn't get called, maybe we would have had two? .... BUT - I don't think we answered any questions about reading the D, pre or post snap, or about him going through progressions. We still need to see that. Here's hoping!

OL was very good. All night. Can only get better as Wills gets more game time and Conklin comes back.

Chubb and Hunt - nuff said!

Bryant and Hooper look like a very good couple of TE's to run with this offense.

I don't want to talk about the D. Too many holes and too concerning when we play good teams.

He's on IR

Looking ahead to Washington. That game’s gonna be all about handling their front 4 ... that’s a nasty group. I’m actually glad to have the Thursday night game out of the way early (before we’re worn down) and so that we can really prepare for attacking their front

And Cleveland was winning.

Thank you Mac! Appreciate the warm welcome!

"Joe Buck needs a blow-up doll of Burrow for those lonely nights on the road. Something to spoon with."

He would do more than spoon with it

j/c:

- The Browns did very well in the trenches, both offensive and defensively.

- Vernon didn't play? Shocking/

- Ward had a fantastic game.

- Mayfield looked more at ease and a bit more confident.

- Chubb and Hunt set the pace throughout the game

- Hopefully some of those injured guys on defense come back and make an impact.

Ward, Gustin, Richardson, Hubbard, Garrett all had really really good games. Claybourn in there for another sack. Awesome for him.

Offense looked really good. Baker also looked really good. OL looked like they could do no wrong. No holding calls, right?

I can't speak to the between-the-ears portion of the QB play last night, but Baker's throws looked excellent, overall. Even ball placement was 180 from Sunday. Good to see.

'nuff said on our RBs. Those 2 are the best players on our offense, and I think it's obvious we will establish our identity through them.

Glad OBJ got some stats in the columns, but I'm starting to wonder about his role in this offense. We have a lot of mouths to feed, and I just don't see him fitting. Our offense looks to feature our RB duo and is then complemented by throws to TEs and chunk plays to WRs. When I see OBJ out there, I get a 'which-one-is-not-like-the-other' type of vibe. Baker seemed to prefer targeting Hodge more than OBJ.

Our defense and special teams continued to suck. Dline did a LOT of good things, but we still gave up 30 points to the Bengals. I think you all know, that just aint gonna do it in the NFL. Sendejo is brutal. When he's at his best, he's a non-factor. I struggle to remember a Browns players that sticks out in such a negative way on teh defense. I always seem to see him doing something wrong.

Our defense is weak. Granted, Mixon is real good and has eaten our lunch several times, but when he got the ball and cleared the Dline, he was punishing our defenders. Several tacklers and he was still pushing them back. I hope having Mack will help with toughness and grit on those types of plays.

In case anyone missed it... Sendejo getting pushed out of a starting role can't happen soon enough. (Sendejo is #23).

Special teams continues to be... special. Glad we finally have a kicker that can make XPs, but we are still unable to kick it out of the endzone on KO's, which is a huge issue when you cover kicks as poorly as we do. Prieffer has some serious work to do with his group.

I love our FB. I'm also really impressed with how Wills has played so far. Dude faces an uphill battle this whole season... so far so good, given the situation. Heavy running that's effective makes life soooo much easier for a number of people on this team.


We're not as good as we looked vs Cinci... but we're not as bad as we looked vs Balt (except maybe the secondary).

We let a rookie in his 2nd game on a short week with no preseason throw for over 300 yards and 3 td's

curious to see the snap counts for the DL ..

j/c...

A rookie was the first overall pick and had the best college QB season of all time.

j/c:

Excellent win. Before the game, I said it was a must-win. I know it's only the second game of the year, but the negativity surrounding the team w/10 days off would have been devastating. I'm so glad we won this game. Some observations:

--Baker looked really good. I think it is the best he's looked since his rookie year. He was very accurate, hitting guys in stride all night long. He didn't run into pressure. I think rolling him out helped. It helped w/his vision. However, you still have to make an accurate throw while on the the run, and he did that. I would like to see him step-up in the pocket, but we can win if he plays like he did last night.

--The OL might be the best in football right. I read where we gave Baker more time than any other qb in week one. Last night, Baker had amazingly clean pockets all night long and both of our RBs had good holes to run through.

--I want to give some praise to Hubbard and Tiller because they aren't regarded as highly as the others. Tiller has a mean streak. That's a compliment. Hubbard didn't get beat all night long. I was worried before the game, but he did a great job.

--Like the rest of you, I agree about Hunt and Chubb. Best combo in the league.

--Glad to see OBJ play well. I do want to ask how in the heck did the officials miss the dbs pulling on his jersey. I saw it happen at least twice.

--Glad to see my boy Hodge getting reps and making a play.

--Ward had a very good game. He is in great position even when guys do catch the ball on him. Great technique.

--The DL was very good. I saw the number of pressures Myles had. Richardson was dominant. I like that Gustin guy. He plays w/fire. Did we pick him up during the season last year?

--Not impressed w/the LBers or safeties. Especially Sendejo [spelling?] He's so sloooooowww.

--Kick return unit was an issue. One out of bounds and two long returns. We got rid of a few of our best special teams players. It's probably going to cost us.

--I was very impressed w/Joe Burrow. He's wise beyond his experience. Over 60 passes and not one interception. Unlike Baker, Joe B did not have clean pockets. The Bengal OL is dreadful. I hope they don't get him killed.

--I think we should have went for the FG to put us up by 2 scores. I also think Taylor was dumb for putting Burrow in the shotgun on 4th and 1 when they went for it.

--Overall, I liked the play calling and design by Stefanski. Rolling Baker out was smart. Nice mix of run and pass. I prefer balance.

100% Agree on this. If we can somehow make it through the first half of the season at 500, we will have a shot at a wild card run, but it is a small shot IMHO. I think we are a year away but like what I saw out of the core and coaches last night. We will get better.

I would love for the team to prove me wrong and run the table, but I just don't see that being even remotely possible at this point. We just look like a 8-8 or so team.

One more thing, Burrow is going to be good and a pain in our ass for years to come.

j/c:

Watched the game up until the Baker interception, went to bed. Watched the rest of the game a few minutes ago. That interception really rattled me, but that's football. I'm just happy we won this, what a running game we have!

j/c...

They were behind. He threw 61
passes.

No excuse for some of the poor coverage.

Burrow was like 4 for 4 on 4th down.

Mixon was held to 46 yds.


When Burrow gets some help around him and the Bengals get better on defense. They will be a good team. They have a quarterback.

One game at a time. We executed this time. Ravens defense is one of the best in the NFL and it was our first game in the pandemic environment.

FB really made a difference in our Run game and our OL played great yesterday. Conklin out Hubbard back in...man the guy plays better from the bench than a named starter...lol

Baker started off hot, shame he threw that INT.

Late in the game we went prevent with a 2 score game. So much of what Burrow did was in garbage time. They would score we would come back and score making it a 2 score game again. I think our last score was one early pass then all runs.

speaking of which, Chubb and Hunt are two studs! plain and simple Studs! They have two different styles which is great so defenses have to adjust to whoever is the RB at the time.

Did we Boot leg playaction once in the 2nd half???

Is Higgins hurt? or is he back in the Dawg House??? Didn't see him out there.

Hodges played well! Got to love Landry. Such an excellent route runner. OBJ seemed to be on point with his routes also.

Baker still has vision poblems from the pocket especially when not in playaction.

Taki Taki made some mistakes out there. DL was good, not great but good.

I'm thinking the Ravens have the best DBs right now. What a difference watching the Bengals DBs. We need to give Garret a rest. So he can have high octane reps as we finish games.

Larry was not a force last night, Sheldon was very consistent. Porter Gustin was a pleasant surprise as Clayborn was MIA hopefully he will heal fast.

Didn't hear our rookie left tackles name once which in OL speak is a Good thing

Next game up...remember I said we will be around game 8 before our team is competitive enough to defeat the good teams!

Hopefully our health will survive this stretch.

Got to love our Browns

I honestly think they are keeping Higgins fresh as insurance for OBJs spot. I could be wrong, but that's all that makes sense to me for Hodge getting so much PT.

thats fabulous

Give that some perspective.... it took 61 pass attempts. He had only 8.5 yards per completion.

That said, yes, our pass defense really kinda sucked. They just could not get themselves off the field for anything. TE's and whomever ended up covering Tyler Boyd were killing us.

j/c...

Baker had confidence back. He absolutely needs that to be successful. His arm looked great. Passes really zipped and he was accurate.

That INT was terrible. Just horrible coverage reading. The rest of Baker's night was great, though.

The Bengals' RT had multiple false starts that weren't called.

Gustin had a great night, but that face mask penalty CANNOT happen. What a huge play that sack would have been...

The Bengals need to make sure they don't turn Joe Burrow into Andrew Luck.

Hate to see Uzomah get injured. Never like seeing that.

Line was dominant. Callahan is the best in the business.

Chubb and Hunt is by far the best RB combo in the league. On the goal line plays, I actually would have preferred we run Hunt over Chubb. That's not a knock on Chubb either. I just think Hunt hits the hole faster, more decisively with better velocity.

Did they get rid of the challenge for coaches to get PI called? That no call on Beckham was deplorable.

Sendejo might be the worst safety we've started since our return. Every clutch play the Bengals made, you see Sendejo arriving late to his assignment.

Denzel Ward is top notch.

Joe Buck is a Burrow fan, I've realized.

How do we have only 10% fan capacity with everyone socially distanced, and still have a breakout fight in the stands???

I just put together that Landry and Beckham's hair are supposed to represent LSU.

Both AJ Green and Gio Bernard have lost a step.

This is amazing. Hunt being able to come in in the 4th with fresh legs? After a defense has been punched in the mouth by Chubb all day? Good lord.

When Sendejo and Goodson are snapping at 100% you are going to have problems against the pass. We killed it in the run game at least.

Post game thoughts -

--Baker played well minus the pick. The TD throw to Odell was magnificent. He was rolling left. He's right handed. He flicked it Mahomes-esque. Beautiful.

--I'm bummed he didn't get the second TD to Odell on the not called PI. I'm also bummed he threw the pick. I wanted a perfect game for him to get some positive press and his confidence back.

--I somewhat disagree that the interception was a bad read. A better throw gets it done. Lead Harrison to the back of the endzone.

--Baker played with a confident chip on his shoulder, not false bravado. Good sign for the future. False bravado is a turnoff.

--Having said that in the postgame Irvin tried to bait him into saying something dumb by asking him if he had a message for his critics. He said he's done chirping back then said "in the Mayfield household we don't forget." Please stop saying dumb stuff. It makes you a target.

--Ward is back to being the guy we all thought he was after his rookie year. I really believe he's a shutdown corner. And he plays press which I love. I love the competitive fire especially when he threw his hand to the ground after the late TD. He's on the verge of many picks.

--Parkey was down the middle every time. After the first couple of TDs I stopped worrying about extra points.

--I wanted to strangle Parkey after the kickoff out of bounds.

--Myles, two games and no sacks. I think he's feeling his way through post a post punishment playing style. He knows every little hit he makes is going to be scrutinized.

--Porter Gustin is good.

--Nick Chubb and Kareem hunt was a thing of beauty. They're not just good. They play hard and mean. Love it.

--This Browns defense minus the DL and Ward is ugh. Swiss cheese. Please come together better.

--The Cleveland Browns have made rookie QBs look like HOFers since '99. Burrow played well, was poised in the pocket and didn't panic. I think his arm is average and he'll need to start completing some longer passes to succeed. 5.5 yds per completion is pedestrian.

--Win feels great. Let's keep building on this.

--I forgot to mention Wills and the OL. Fantastic.

--Aikman's and Buck's constant drivel about Burrow was nauseating. I get he's the new shiny toy. But geez.

I think Myles problem is playing LE instead of RE, Even when it was vernon they swapped and they are both out of position to where they normally put their hand down...its dumb to me and I think its holding them both back, I will say I like how Woods is using the DE's on delays and stunts alot more than at any time since we've had MG, really makes use of his speed and power, but Garrett loves the speed rush and he will get more one on ones over LT. RT almost always get a TE or RB chip on the way out. Theres some FA help out there to fix the LB and S spots..question is do we do it. I don't think Mack is going to help much, we need alot. Kevin Johnson I think will be huge, by all accounts he was our best CB in camp, so if that puts Thomas back on the bench then we just got alot better.. Sendejo should just be cut outright and sign just about anyone.. I'd take randall back. It's not just Sendejo play thats bad but he's hurting with his dumb penalties. Callahan turned this line into road graders, its crazy how big the holes were and seeing all 5 lineman blocking downfield was crazy, wouldn't want to be a defender. Kudos to Wills for playing tough and playing through injury, Conklin you pansy, better find some intestinal fortitude like Wills and Tretter, Hubbard actually looks decent under Callahan and this zone style. Nice to get a win but this defense will cost us games, offense isn't going to be able to take a single game, drive or play off, luckily its built to be ball control, so use it. Defense should be nice and rested every series.

No sacks but lots and lots of hurries and hits. Also caused the fumble by absolutely abusing his Olineman.

This is the stat that DCs are most concerned about. A fresh Hunt in the fourth quarter, not only running but catching passes.

I also have to add that Hubbard was very good. He seemed to be a dang turnstile last year, so props to him for stepping up

Aikman should be muted. Lots of wandering babble about JoeyB. Obviously he wanted to carry on more about him. Mentions of Mayfield were last year and last Sunday. BM had a decent night, but not evident by Aikman's blather. Was Buck there?

Hate this duet, because of Aikman's noise. Lame broadcast.

He has Erb's Palsy, which leads to nerve weakness in his right arm.

Don't know how much it affects him, but it probably makes it easier to rush from one side compared to the other...

The non pi call on obj let us eat clock time and still score. That worked for us. It was a ridiculous non call. Burrows stats and the score got padded on their last drive. We seemed in control all game. Baker has an arm, Hunt and Chubb have legs wow fun to watch. Garret shows up for game changing plays. Good team win

He was doubled a bunch.


It would be a good thing if we can get more from the other DE's.

We're fresh out of "other DE's".

Myles got the strip sack. Also had 9 QB pressures.

I agree with everything else you said, but I think Mitchell was verrrry solid last night.

I forgot to mention Mitchell.

I'm a big money Mitch fan.

same here ... I think our problem is NOT on the CBS ... it’s the safeties and LBs. The middle of the field is a sieve in the pass game

Yeah, actually Burrow's first TD should have been picked by Sendejo. He threw a lollipop but Sendejo is so slow, I could have completed that pass for a TD.

Hodge is the 3rd wide receiver because of his ability to stretch the field. He has speed to burn which Higgins just doesn’t have.

j/c...

I thought the same thing. I feel like it's a mindset that's missing against better competition - almost like we put our tail between our legs. Let's hope it continues.

Yes, please.

Really hope Clayborne is okay

And folks in the Game Day thread were calling him trash and a bust ...

Agreed with most of the post - but most especially the FB / Wills comments along with the comparison of Ravens/Cinci performances.

Interesting comment about Teller.

He was the first guy I singled out in post game comments. He was plowing on the run game. Sealed edges made running to his side easy for the backs to read.

Mayfield got some of his moxy back. It was great to see.

The scoreboard allowed for the game plan to remain steady. It's great when the flow of the game permits you to stay on point.

The "Mayfield to OBJ" connection began to show. Watching Baker, OBJ and Landry all hanging out together on the bench was a good sign.

The running game came through with flying colors. It's a one two punch that doesn't miss a beat. For anyone in doubt, that Hunt contract looks like quite a bargain about now.

Sheldon Richardson was all over the field and Garrett was applying pressure. The Garrett strip of Burrows was text book. I really can't say enough about how well the defensive front played and how well they kept the run in check. Even the LB'ers overall helped stop the run game.

But coverage? Let's face it, it stunk. Ward was the only real stand out and Mitchell did make some plays. Mitchell appeared to me to be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. And no, not Carlos Hyde.

Not every team is going to be the Bengals. And we won't look like this every week. But it's nice to see the potential is there. That there's a flame burning with which to start a fire.

Maybe all the negative press in regards to Baker and OBJ motivated them. Maybe it was the way they got blown out against Baltimore that motivated them. Maybe it was Stefanski stepping up and putting a boot in their asses that motivated them. I have no idea. But something did.

And on a Friday morning, with ten days to savor this win, it feels pretty good right now.

I mentioned Teller in my post game comments, as well. Said he played w/a mean streak and I mean that as a compliment.

Btw: Regarding the play that Schwartz is showing on the G-gap. We have another version of that play where Teller came from RG to blcok in that hole instead of the FB. We also ran it in the opposite direction w/Bitonio leading the way. Both were very successful.

Yes. When watching that play above I was thinking of the one to the other side as well. While I'm not real well versed on the nuts and bolts, blocking assignments, etc, I remember thinking both were really well executed... and then wondering when the last time I saw us run any type of counter play with success.

As others have mentioned, it's the Bengals, but as Baker said in his post game and it can't be understated. Other teams don't prevent you from executing, you prevent that.

It was great to see the big boys up front play an entire game without ever really missing a beat. Kudos to their effort and the coaching staff. Game balls all around to the OL.

We ran a ZBS when I was coaching and I absolutely love counter plays. There are plays where your guards can absolutely annihilate DTs or DEs.

He had a bad game! (my opinion, sure but)

Two very noticeable bad plays, and I forget the 2nd one, so i'll assume it was some coverage thing,

but the one, He did, or appeared so to me, what once I heard textbood described by the radio announcer,
who said,
(The problem is some of these veteran players get real good at making it look like they are tackling when they are not!)
and that comment was right after saying some people don't want to tackle because it hurts to make a tackle.

What Mitchell did was envelop a guy, up top, then slide to a bear hug of his shoulder pads,
then slide down to a bear hug of his waist or hips,
to a hug of his ankle area, and miss on the tackle. (all in one continuous motion) (the whole first half, at least, there was a big lack on the whole defense of ... bring the hips, wrap up, come with intensity on tackling.

It was in the first half.
Dangit, I just read an article on focus... and already lost focus.

j/c...

I'm looking back on yesterdays game, and I want to pick Versatile Dogs brain,
I want to LASER FOCUS on TWO PLAYS, and them only.

Baker Mayfield, and his two worst plays, I think, on the day.
The intentional grounding, which set up 2nd and 24,

and the interception, which gave an opportunity for Cincy to really get back in position to win, with their offense, a game they were behind in momentum.

The intentional groundind play,
I see a screen pass, which goes arwry, there is really nowhere to go with the ball, whoever was supposed to catch the screen appeared to not be around, like they misheard a playcall,
And the thing is, I can no longer think he should have just thrown it away because, just last Thursday in the league opener, we saw an intentional grounding, via throwaway, called when he thew it out of the endzone, iirc.

2nd, The interception, This was a real drive killer, a real momentum killer, both plays were,
In this case, the Browns were already up 8-11 at the time, and midfield or crossing beyond midfield
Qb, had a lot of time, and a lot of room in his scramble,
"you never throw the ball late over the middle" is shouted by buckeye announcers here locally sometimes,
this play was a case of throwing the ball late over the middle.

What Should this QB do, on these two plays

Because Both of those plays, stopped the Browns from going an opportunity to really make yesterdays game a blowout.

While our running tandem may remind us the glory days of Mack and Byner, our corners don't exactly inspire visions of Dixon and Minnifield.

There is nothing in football that I like more than when you have a lead in the fourth quarter and can run it down their throat.

The last drive was a thing of beauty.

In the near future we may have the best run blocking team in football.

That can go a long ways in helping the offense.

Defenses have to honor the run first. A defense can be demoralized by a run game. It can then set up downfield strikes like the one to Odell.

I know the int. was not good. But I can take that one way better than late throws forced into coverage. Baker had the loan rusher. He moved up and ripped it. The guy made a good late move in zone. He made the play. Baker didn't see him. I can live with that.

Sure is nice to win. The team has ten days to work on execution and mistake corrections. They need that concentrated focus work.

The INT wasn't good but it was a hell of a play by the DB. That ball was on a rope and on target. DB just made a better play.

Also, Wyatt Teller has a 90.1 PFF rating so far this year.

teller has been very good. Stefanski singled him out last night too

And Cincinnati's run defense was 32nd in the league last year, part of the reason they brought in Reader at DT,
So yesterdays run success might not be the most reliable measurer over time.

Luckily there's been a large sample size of both backs being successful on nearly every given Sunday.

the Screen pass... a rb/fb/te/wr was not where they were supposed to be. so Baker threw it away. or.. so he thought. he just didn't throw it past the LOS. He will learn from that one.

the interception was because the safety came back across to help and Baker never saw him. It happens.

I thought / assumed that he simply figured his RB would be somewhere in the vicinity of where he was supposed to be which would have been by his two pulling/blocking linemen. . . . I'm planning to rewatch the game - no idea if he had enough time to look at what was what, or if he just threw it in the dirt where the RB was supposed to be.

I think he thought Chubb was right there but he was farther downfield. He should have just thrown it out of bounds.

j/c:

I'll try to answer Throw's questions.

I think you guys have the screen pass down. Not sure if Chubb got caught in traffic or was further down field? There were 3 o-linemen there. Baker probably thought one of them was eligible. I am not sure. I agree w/cfrs that he just needed t get it past the LOS.

The interception was on Baker. He should have recognized this one on a pre-snap read. The Bengals were in zone coverage. I think they were in Cover 4, or maybe a combination of one coverage on one side of the field and another on the opposite side. I didn't get a good look at the defensive alignment on their left side or Browns right side. The guy who made the pick was lined up over a receiver we had in the slot on the offensive left side. He went in motion. The safety stayed in his zone coverage and dropped straight back. Looked like Cover 4 to me. Baker should have recognized that they were in zone and that the DB didn't have anyone in his area. I am guessing that he never saw him in his post-snap read. It was a mistake on Baker's part.

With that said, all qbs make mistakes. Baker had a very good game. Extremely accurate. Quicker decisions. Didn't run into sacks. Played w/more confidence. I thought it was his best game in a long, long time. We can win a lot of games if he continues to play like he did last night.

jc

Fell asleep at halftime last night.
Watching a replay of the game on espn and seeing the 2nd half for the 1st time.
A guy that sticks out - Porter Gustin #97

Not flashy but a good blue collar player.
Solid and makes the occasional impact play.

No sooner do I post that, and he gets a sack but draws a penalty for a facemask on the Qb

Just re-watched the first half. First half was nearly flawless offensive execution.... we were really good.

Something that stuck out - on the short pass to OBJ where he juked and span his way to a first down, same play Hooper got held by their LB and lots of penalty flags got thrown, but we took the OBJ catch, OBJ was the third read. Starts off as a look to Landry on the left, he checks the right side where Hooper would have been but for being held, he actually goes back to Landry very briefly ... it looks like Baker is thinking about taking off but he does one last look to the middle and see OBJ and throws it.

Also on the flair out to Hunt for a TD, when I watched last night I thought he was the intended target... but re-watching I think Hooper/Middle is the first read and Baker then see Hunt and flicks it to him.

So maybe more progress for Baker than I thought. Clean pockets and no sacks can probably help a QB to do that... wonder if he can repeat under more duress.

@PFF_Steve
on #Browns RG Wyatt Teller: "In the back of my mind saying 'let's keep an eye on him for a year-3 breakout.' He's actually our highest graded guard right now through 2 games, for what it's worth. Absolutely dominant in the run game. Only allowed 1 pressure last night"

https://twitter.com/KeithBritton86/status/1307068802803404800

After 2 games where does our defense need the most improvement?

Let's say we traded some unnamed offensive star and got a Pro Bowl defensive player in return. What position would you want that new player to play?

safety.

Agreed. But in all honesty, I’d rather just sign Randall. Loved that dude when he was here. I don’t care that he went crazy.

I was at a game where PAYTON Friggin MANNING threw FIVE INTERCEPTIONS in one GAME.

Get a life, every QB has a bad play, the point is to have a lot more good plays than bad plays...

j/c:

I really wish people would stop this stupid trade a certain player crap.

Yeah, but aren’t you glad we brought in a kicker who can boot it through the uprights?

J/C. Very pleased with the win last night. Gotta say that is the way I thought we would win. We have to be patient and pound the ball. Our defense is a liability right now due to the rash of injuries, hopefully when we play Washington will will be closer to full strength. Reading a lot about Bakers isn’t in the 4th, yup, it sucked, however the pass was right on and it was there. The Cincy DB really made a good read and nice play on the ball. Watched the re- play a couple of times and thought it was probably a TD 8 of ten times, dude made a good play. Jacob Phillips and Mack can’t get back soon enough, Taki Taki and Goodson are not seeing it very well through 2 games. Losing Delpit really sucks, getting Harrison up to speed is a huge need. Overall very pleased considering a quick turnaround from week 1. I believe we will see a rested hungry team next Sunday for Washington. Go Browns

I specifically did not name any particular player because I didn't want my question to devolve into a trade debate. I created a hypothetical question to get a specific question answered.

Swish understood.

I think there is the most room to improve at nickel. I don't want to trade for one, though. We should be getting some of our own guys back soon.

I would sign Randall in a heartbeat.

Actually, I look at it as we had a QB throw it 61 times and he ONLY got 300 yards. . . . For how banged up we were, I think they played what they were trying to do. Not allow a big play, and shut down AJ. We did that. Our LB and Safeties are poor, no doubt. Money Mitch and Ward played well, though.

During most of the game, I was frustrated with how they moved the ball...on every drive.

Didn't like them not getting off the field and the Bengals had to be 3/3 on 4th down conversions which is terrible.

HOWEVER, it dawned on me late 4th how few big plays they had. So, yes, maybe dink and dunk, bend but don't break works.

I will say this...we may have just beaten this team for the last time over the next 6-7 years. 60+ passes as a rookie without a pic is amazing and Burrow is the real deal. He's going to get so much better. Saddened to see him become a Bengal!!!!!

I forgot that Randall was available. He’s someone I’d sign too, despite his history. He’s better than anything we have

j/c:

On the screen/intentional grounding, Teller was blocking 21 and Chubb got hung up on them. You're right, Baker should have thrown it past the line. He also could possibly have stepped up to avoid the pressure and not been as rushed. He could afford to hone that pocket presence instinct a bit.

On the coaches tape for the INT, it's not so clear on the pre-snap read. Hodge didn't do the fly sweep motion until right at the snap when it appeared they were still showing, potentially, a man with single high safety look. It was a playaction pass, so Baker had his back to what William Jackson did after the snap. He still probably should have seen him after getting his eyes back around, but with the playaction his eyes weren't scanning the field during the fake. Stefanski might want to change the timing of the start of that sweep motion to a bit before the snap to better reveal any disguised coverage.

Is it just me or did the refs miss a TON of calls in that game?

The crackback block was BS. The LT for CIN was false starting every single snap.

I've watched enough football to believe there is a built in bias against the Browns.

Not only were there a lot of missed calls that would have favored the Browns, they were blatantly obvious. The side judge watching the corner hold OBJs jersey was staring right at it. I believe this was the same judge that missed AJ Green being out of bounds on the first play. A call so obvious the Bengals weren't even waiting for a review to know the answer.

Baker is very disliked by a lot of people. I'm sure refs are not immune to this.

Burrow is the shiny new toy. Refs would have loved if he won. They were doing their best to make it happen.

They missed some on us, too. Wills had a pretty blatant hold that didn't get called. There was no preseason for the refs either.

I thought it was the right tackle. It seemed that way, but then again, I remember thinking Joe Thomas was doing that also.

It was the RT.

I thought so. Doesn't much matter.

The sooner Sendejo and Thomas are off the field the better. I hope Greedy can actually play a few games this year. With Mitchell in the slot, and Greedy outside, and with Harrison at safety, I think there will be an improvement.

In the end I would rather have some missed calls than calls every other play.

j/c:

Went shopping yesterday (Friday the 18th) and also today. Good to see so many fellow Clevelanders with Browns swag on. Made me feel good!

(After the Ravens game? Not so much.)

Thank you ever so much! I thought I was imagining it, but I thought a bunch of false starts on them, and amazing amounts of holding. Don't want to approach officials about it if you are holding as well as they are.

I was impressed with Wills and the O-line Thursday. Also, the revers roll out was money. Is he fast enough to just bootleg that thing? Looked wide open. I am a believer of making their D need to prepare for as many things as you can manage to hurt opponents with, just to complicate their keys, prep, and thinking. Just more to consider and complicate responses. But first you need to hurt them with that something. Thursday did some of that.

Should we look at Eric Reid?

I wouldn't. He's an idiot, but more than that, he just isn't very good. He gets a lot of positive press because of the social justice thing, but his play has declined a ton over the past several years.

Just like Kaep. There were rumors of him being on the trading block before he kneeled. I said I didn't want him because the league figured him out. Blane Gabbert beat the dude out. Folks try and pretend that Kaep is better than he really is for political/social reasons.

GC. I think those 2 plays were not only drive killers, but momentum shifters, and, not sure about the int. grounding, but the INT, the Browns had the lead at midfield and it's not 3rd down I think, I'm thinking there could have been a way to either slide, or throw the ball away and take the next snap. Both iirc, would have allowed the Browns to go up more than one score at the time, I think it could have been a blowout win, if you finish out both of those drives.
And demoralizing for Cincy.

J/C

I hate the feeling of having a bad defense ... outside of the front 4 and Ward, I feel it’s one of the worst groups in the NFL. I really hope the addition of Greedy and Mack will help things.

The RT false started on Cincys last TD throw.

Throwing away which you mentioned...agree there should have been an eligible Receiver somewhere to throw at the feet. But throwing it away deeper and out of bounds is what he should have done...no penalty as he was OUTSIDE THE TACKLE LINE all he had to do was get that ball over the LOS and it was a legit throw away. The penalty you refer to in that pass out of the endzone as a throw away the QB in that case was not outside of the Tackle ergo it was a called penalty. Baker was well out of the OT line.

From memory, their RT false started on back to back plays, the second was the TD.

I'm all for less interference from the refs on ticky tacky penalties that are 50-50 at best .... but jersey pulls and 300lb linemen jumping early doesn't fall into "ticky tacky" in my book. That's just incompetent refereeing.

Great video of Janovich. He’s one of my favorite in just two games. Good to root for guys who do the dirty work

We got Andy Janovich for a seventh round pick in the 2021 draft.

Yes.

Play action is more successful when you run passing plays out of heavy sets. Has nothing to do with running success. Doing things like having your offensive line fake a passing set then running the ball, or having 2 TE + a FB in then throwing off play action.

This last game showed that Stefanski clearly understands how to run PA, unlike Freddie, who assumed PA would work just because of a function of the running game.

Also, Bill Callahan has been a god send. He has developed a lot of players and is doing a lot of little things with play design from the offensive line that is allowing them to set up a defense.

(Hopefully Joe Woods gets some pieces back so the Browns can get a stop. Tav Thomas and Sendajo cannot start for the Browns.)

Especially when both plays was a TD for the offense negated since the pull didnt let OBJ get to the ball, and and TD for the offense that SHOULD have been negated by the FS.

We always play against the opponents and the refs, it seems.

I loved it back in the day when we had Lawrence Vickers. Love seeing someone come out of the backfield and blow up LB's.

he and Smith were great FBs for us

Vickers and Mike Sellers (spl?) was another until he got booted for partaking of the weed (if memory serves).

yes! I got Sellers autograph on a football at TC one year haha

Wouldn't that be at THC?

Got my memory going for a sec,
Google, Yes I was Right, L J Fort, was he ever a fullback for the Browns,
He was activated for one game in 2014, signed as a fullback.

LJ Fort, if you don't know, plays for a division rival, at Linebacker, never really caught on (i.e. got starting time) in Cleveland at Linebacker,
AND, every year he makes a play against the Browns to remind me
A stick it to the man, kind of play.

But Yeah, L J Fort was a Browns Fullback. Hmm.

LOL..........the funniest part is when Hooper says: "You are?" He's thinking, "oh s...!"

that is hysterical!

That's awesome! It's funny how they mic up Hunt now. When they mic'd up Chubb during his career game against the Ravens last year, I think he said all of 4 words.

It’s quite amazing how much communication happens pre-snap and is necessary for successful offense. Hand signals, quick buzz words, all of it. This is one of just a few benefits of minimal crowds and I hope this gave a glimpse of what the #Browns are trying to do snap to snap.

Also JC Tretter is just a tough SOB out there with a great ability to lead his OL with the mental side of the schemes and protections. Lucky to have him.

Stefanski makes initial comment to Baker combined with AVP’s comment on him letting the coaching staff worry about getting the ball to playmakers makes me really think a lot more had been going on with Baker mentally than I had even thought previously.

Not sure what you mean there. Could you elaborate?

That was impressive. Tretter is a man with a lot on his mind. Thanks for sharing this.

And we didn’t even lose