What the hell is going on here? I'm practically a lurker on DT anymore and I'm posting this thread?

* Most dominant defensive performance by the Browns defense that I can remember, and I'm an old timer. Is that because we're so good, or because Justin Fields is so not ready for prime time? Who cares, it was fun to watch.

* If you saw the first quarter, you might have thought "Oh no, we're not going to be able to run the ball today.". But that's not how the run game works. Its an attrition thing - it wears down the defense as the game goes on, and as they get more and more worn down, you start seein "chunk plays" on running plays. Good job sticking with it, Browns!

* Does anyone else have problems with FOX telecasts? I don't know if its the network's problem or Spectrum cable, but I kept having these pixelating screens at key points of the game that were quite annoying.

Had the same issue with the pixels and constant freezing at random times as well, what an annoyance....But the win made up for it!

Post Game Thought!
Stefanski was angry with the refs!
For the pass intereference call that took away the interception from New Safety JJ3.

Which was set up by him declining the penalty which I believe would have set up 4th down, and instead set up 3rd and 19.

He should have accepted the penalty 1.
He should have taken the 3 points in the first quarter on drive #2 2.

And JJ3, ... sigh. 3.

I will just say that it was a good win.

A lot has to do with your opponent.

The Bears defense kept them in the game. Baker was 62 percent today so the eye popping numbers from the first 2 games won’t hold.

The Bears offense was not very good today. Nagy had better figure that one out or he won’t be the coach much longer..The Browns defense had a great day and looked a lot better than they did in the other games. Mills played better than fields.

I love the Fact that the Browns have had Mayfield at QB for the past 3 years. The QB Jersey can be retired.

Wow,just Wow.

Dominant win whistle to whistle. This is how more games should feel. We were so in control I didn't even mind those 4th down turnovers.

I had that bad and I have OTA antenna... so, it's whatever is getting fed to Spectrum. I'm glad to hear that people with cable were having the issue, too, as I was getting so annoyed I was researching upgrades to my antenna.



It's both. We're damn good, but they're also exceptionally terrible... though, that offense still hung 20+ on Cinci. Their OLine is trash and they were just completely overmatched.

Our CBs covered like they were all All-World, too, which absolutely helped.
Everything will come back to Earth next week, though. It's just how it is. The question is how much of a difference will we see?
Today, JOK was MUCH, MUCH more active and involved. Clowney, Myles, and Takk were just abusive monsters. We held them to 34 Yds rushing and 68 Yds passing..... that's just filthy, but they're also just that bad, and we have the tools to take advantage of them being that bad.

--What a turnaround for the defense. Woods and the defense were awesome. Myles was awesome. JOK was awesome. Newsome continues to impress. Defense was PHENOMENAL. Totally bummed Myles just missed 5.5.

--Baker was very poor today. Missed TD to Felton. Missed TD to Bryant in the corner of the end zone (on that weird play where Felton ran a circle around Mayfield in the shotgun; Mayfield was determined to give him the ball back, didn't even look at Bryant). Missed TD to OBJ (the one where he made the nice catch out of bounds; a better throw gets it done there). Missed Bryant wide open late for an easy first down. Missed a bunch of other easy throws.

--Baker continues to be one of the worst deep ball throwers in the game. Never hits a guy in stride.

--Baker has such slow eyes. Takes him a long time to get to his 2nd and 3rd reads if they are on the other side of the field. OL didn't do him much favors either, but the combo of the slow eyes and poor protection was on display today.

--Jed Wills shouldn't have been playing today.

--This feels like 2020 first half of the season Baker instead of the one that was supposed to take a giant leap after a really good second half 2020.

--I sometimes wonder if Stefanski's offense is too emasculating for QBs like Baker. It's perfect for guys like Cousins. But Baker is a natural gunslinger. A push the ball down the field guy. Chunk plays. I get wanting to coach the turnovers out of him, but you have to let him be who he is too.

--Beckham looked good.

--Hunt. Goodness. Ran like he was mad at the grass.

--Huge catches by Peoples-Jones.

--FG kicker was awesome. Would love to have that position locked down.

--This team won by 10 and 20 with average QB play the last two weeks. We'll be there at the end. The formula and talent will get it done by itself. The question is how far will we go.

--Will add that Greg Olsen was awesome in the booth.

Thanks for combining those or deleting it.

Some of the throws to tight ends today were noticeably not targeting Njoku.

The first quarter was so bad, the first 3 drives on offense. Not Ready for prime time coaching decisions.

Hunt and Myles bailed out Stefanski today.

How bad is Greg Newsome injured. He left the game late with a calf injury.

This being Fields first start. I do not hold him accountable.

Woods revenge. Myles speaks.

The Browns defense overwhelmed them.

The Browns offense is a load to handle. Damn, we run so many looks. hard to know what is coming.

Bears plan was stop Chubb.

The drive before the half was a masterpiece.

Stefanski was so smart to change to Hunt. Bears were not ready to handle the plays Hunt ran.

Odell had a nice game coming back.

What can you say about Myles? He jumped off the screen.

JOK had a terrific game. He handled all plays. Broke up passes. Made tackles. Got sacks. Smart quick guy. When blockers have to move and then block him. They can not block him. He was all over the field.

When you apply that much pressure. Not much can be done.

=====================================================

Baker has matured so much. Playing smart football. He is making the plays that are there.

The throw to Felton would have been a huge gain or TD. He was held just enough to make the pass look overthrown. It was actually on target. Felton lost one step.

Baker missed Bryant. He knew it. No big deal.

Game balls:
Myles
JOK
Hunt
Baker
Woods

If we can apply that kind of pressure. We won't lose another game.

We made some mental errors early.

I think the Bears defense had guys make some good individual plays.

This game was never in doubt. I was as calm during the game as I have been in a long time.

So, that's what happens when you blitz a rookie QB. Who would have thunk it.

JOK needs to start every week.

Our D played angry and hungry today. Plays made literally all over the field. It was a beautiful sight to see. We finally made a rookie qb look like a rookie qb. They took the criticism personally and I appreciate that.

Baker was getting pressed all game it felt like, but made plays when it mattered most. Still a little upset at the missed opportunity to Bryant but I can live with it. Odell and DPJ had some fantastic catches that kept the offense on the field too.

Hunt was a straight monster today. He was due for a TD and deserved it for that effort.

The Bears D came to play today but we just completely gassed in the end. I saw one of their dlineman sucking up the earths atmosphere towards the end. It was a beautiful thing to see.

Great game. Coach had a few hiccups though but I wouldn't grill him for it. Just take the 3, it's okay.

The Browns allowed 47 total yet yards on 42 plays. 1 net yard passing.

I don't care if you played a college team ....... that's impressive.

Defense overall played very well... Myles had him self a game

Nice to have OBJ back... made some great catches...

Hunt had himself a game!

Chubb was solid... wish his TD streak would have continued

JOK had some really great plays

Bintinio was off... got beat several times and couple calls on him

Wills should have been done when he was taken out for injury... no way I'd put him back in there...

Baker was ok... had some really nice plays... missed a few... limited the mistakes and did a good job checking down when needed or running... had some crazy houdini plays to get out of a sack a few times...

Chase was solid today! That 57yard kick was money...

Went to the game this afternoon for a first time in awhile. I'm more of a fan of a large screen TV w/ essentially a 50-yard line view each play, but it was a ton of fun.

1. You could not have asked for better weather. It was perfect. Lots of Bears fans ...probably because the White Sox were in town and it made sense to come to Cleveland and make a weekend out of it.

2. Chicago's defensive line was really giving it to us quite a bit. That unit played well. Chubb was largely ineffective early on and they were putting a lot of pressure on Baker.

3. That said, our defensive line was amazing. Granted, it was against a piss-poor offensive line but I think this position group needed a "pick me up" performance.

4. It was a nice game for OBJ. Not overly targeted and forced the ball, but a meaningful part of the offense to slowly work him in. He looked good.

5. Not shocking or anything but Kareem Hunt had the best performance, offensively, IMO. Myles Garrett, defensively.

6. The Browns made Fields look like Manziel against Buffalo. He was completely lost and the Browns were in his head all game long.

Even being 0-2 on 4th downs in the first quarter, it always felt like the talent of the Browns would eventually win the day. There never was any urgency that the Browns were in trouble, IMO. And they slowly pulled away. Solid win.

Justin Fields:
6-20 for 68 yards
3 carries for 12 yards
He was sacked…NINE times.

How much was it Bitonio having a bad game because he played poorly vs because he was trying to help out Wills?

Best of luck, D'Ernest Johnson.

He is a good player and has a spot in the NFL surely, but if Felton keeps this up, there is no point having him on the roster. Practice squad? Sure.

Great defense today. We made the Bears look like the old Browns on offense. I’m hoping we can carry this momentum to Minnesota and LA .. two hard away games

I don't get people saying Baker was bad. Yes he missed some throws, that happens to the best of them. He also made some key runs to prevent losing yards.

Hunt runs with reckless abandon. He is so fun to watch. Bears defense definitely planned to stop Chubb, although he still had 84 yards.

When you face a defense with Mack and Quinn, it's going to be a tough game.

The first time going for it on 4th down I could see, the second was a head scratcher to me. 4th and 5 is a tough proposition.

Glad to see Woods send the blitz. Myles was a beast, but the whole Dline was collapsing their line. Great to watch. JOK, is going to be a star. The backend of the defense didn't get enough credit today, they played great.

The PI called on JJ3 was a tough one. I said as it happened that he pushed the guy, but in the replay, it didn't look like he pushed him as hard as the live look. If this was a Steeler or Raven player, I doubt it gets called, and would be heralded as a great play.

This was a great game for the defense, but Chicago's line is horrible. I just hope Woods keeps this mindset, and continues to blitz more often.

Our Oline is a monster late in the game, and will be a problem for most teams. No turnovers is big, but we need to start getting some takeaways.

Two in a row, let's keep it going.

Oh yeah, the Bengals beat up on the Steelers in Pittsburgh, although the refs were hosing them many times. Baltimore got some help too, the long field goal should have never happened, time clearly ran out, should have been called for delay of game.

Fear us for we have!

Never a doubt we would Win!

This very well could be the reason...I know every game thus far, Wills has been hobbled and missed time (probably would make sense to let him have a full game off, to not further injure that ankle) And Joel has struggled this year, I think I read somewhere his PFF grade was like a 56 last week....When Joel is normally always highly rated, not sure if it is him...or him lending help to Wills/Hence...Hoping we get it all ironed out soon!

I am more than critical of our special teams. KS showed faith in CM to let him kick that, I was screaming no.

KS built trust with Chase today, and that is important.

We have a kicker.

Hate to say it, but I think OBJ was part of why Baker looked so bad today. Noticed a stretch that every pass was going to OBJ with several incomplete. Not saying this can't be fixed but I think Baker forced it in there a couple times.

Can anyone explain to me why on that last FG drive by Chicago we accepted the holding penalty by Chicago's Oline? It was 3rd & 9 at the 50, Chicago threw a pass to the TE that got them 6 yds making it 4th & 3 at our 44 yard line and instead of having them punt (or try a 60+ yd FG) we took the penalty making it 3rd & 19 then we had the pass interference penalty on the next play setting up Chicago's last FG. It was only 13 to 3 at the time with about 4:30 left in the 3rd Quarter.

He missed a couple open throws, but 19/31 for 250, a TD strike, no picks and a W isn’t my idea of ‘bad’ QB play.

My thoughts, otherwise: the Bears OL is atrocious, but nine sacks is nine sacks - exceptional. I was hoping MG would continue to pad the stats; I can be greedy that way.

It’s nice that, when we have a day where Chubb has trouble getting going, we can just send Hunt out there and let him do his work. Terrific game from Kareem, running and catching the ball. He plays every game like he’s on a mission.

Chase McLaughlin had a great day: two kicks over 50 yards, four-for-four on the afternoon. Conklin got called for his fourth holding penalty today. He and Bitonio have to get that stuff straightened out.

Our run D is very solid and isn’t giving up a lot, third straight game they showed up.

I’m falling in love hard for JOK, he’s already making impact plays. He’s going to be a stud. He might already be that.
The penalty on John Johnson was a brutal call.

Bottom one is we hit the win and it’s on to whip some more butt in Minnesota next week.

Not our game, but the Lions got screwed by the refs on that FG kick at the end.

j/c:



This is problematic. Leg issues and his shoulder popped? I hope I'm wrong but I'm not sure we will ever have a healthy OBJ.

(Photo is a little over the top)

I watched the first few drives by the Browns and saw the 2 4th down turnovers. At that point, I turned off the TV, and took the dog for a walk, and ran some errands. I got in the car and decided to turn it on to the game, and they were just kicking the extra point to make it 20-6.

If this isn’t enough empirical data that I am an albatross on their neck, I don’t know what is.

You don’t have to thank me for the win, since I didn’t watch any of the rest of the game, but just give me a little thumbs up for the effort.

Not having your legs under you after not playing for a year is not a problem. Playing in a game is not like practice, game reps take a lot more out of you. I think he meant his stamina was not up to par.

More chicken little talk

Not having actually Seen much of him, I can’t comment with any authority on it, but for the reports this Felton kid has people flashing back to Eric Metcalf.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention him. Felton is shifty as heck, got us some yards on PR - I think he had more than 100 - and is another weapon the D has to worry about.

Probably thought they might go for it on 4 th and 3. Doubted they would be able to get that close if we backed them up. Turns out it was the wrong call. I wasn't upset with the call.

Akeem Hicks is probably the reason. He is an All Pro player that does not get much press.

Thanks Ham! Stay away

I was wondering the same thing. Thought I missed something.

The Failure to produce even one defensive turnover on a day where your same defense gets 9 sacks, is alarming! Alarm-ing! Eep. Eep. Eep.
The Bengals beating the Steelers is slightly alarming because they could get on a roll with the terribleness of their scheduled opponents.
I think they play every rookie quarterback, and every bad team. Jax, Det. Jets,
Last thing we need is to give those dummies confidence.

(Nothing worse than a bengals fan, if there team has one win on the season. Hate listening to them.)

JJ3, Has made very few plays to help the Browns, and today gave up a 50 yard penalty.
His predecessor, last years safety, was not known for causing negative plays, specifically Sendejo.

... At the Beginning of the game!
Whoever was in charge of the offense! WAs in SUCH A HURRY, for the Browns to come out and throw 3 inconmplete passes and waste the whole team possession withoug even using up 30 second of clock time,
That the lust for bad play outcomes should be an alarming problem!

here we go again, ... Greg Newsome to get an MRI tomorrow on a calf injury, if he's out for the year, that's another first round pick that ...

Yes...yes it is.


His first start being punted until Week 3 is not a coincidence. And having injury issues for the past four years (or are we on year five?) is also not a coincidence.

Very pleased with the performance of the team.

We got ourselves headed in the right direction and it's not always going to be easy in fact it's more fun when it's harder, but I love this team and everything about them. The coaches the players everything this I believe is our time.

We need to enjoy this season cause this is headed towards real special I hate to see anyone miss it spending their time worrying....

Enjoy this season, we got us one hell of a football team.

That is a bit harsh… Every QB misses plays in a game. Baker makes some plays as well.. You would think that he was 0-31 with all the sacks today.

Justin Fields does not want you to review his performance today either.

I think that is about 50 starts for Baker, with the playoff games.

I don’t think that anyone else can make that claim since the return, maybe Couch, but I think you can say that the Baker has the most wins.

I just don’t get the Baker hate. Here and in the game day thread. You would think that Baker was trash.

Shockingly our reporters didn't ask that question post game. I have to feel 3rd and 19 felt better than 4th and 3 with the threat of Justin running for it.

This is the correct answer. It’s hard to keep an athletic QB from getting 3 yards after the play has gone in to street ball mode.

I’m here for you, dawg!

I don't hate Baker. I don't know why it's frowned upon to be critical. And I don't know why being critical equates to hating.

I just feel like we should call it like it is. To be fair, I probably should have listed a few positives as well, like the drive before the half and that touchdown pass. Both great.

But overall I thought he was below average. Missed a ton of throws. At home. I thought we'd see more improvement since he's finally had some consistency with coaches and system, but he looks the same to me as he did in the first part of last season.

Why do you assume they would have went for it? They were only down 7 at the time with about 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter yet.

He doesn't believe any of the stuff he says he like TL says it for attention ignore him and watch how outlandish he becomes...

Hate is when you spend all of your efforts telling us what he did not do, and nothing about what he did well. The throws to DPJ, the dime to Hooper, a couple of the escapes seem to sit in my memory. OBJ was involved, so we don’t have to belabor the point.

I will also suggest that this was one of the better defenses that is in the NFL. Statistics won’t tell the story. The putrid Bears offense kept them on the field, and given enough opportunities, the Browns eventually figured out that they were vulnerable on the edges.

I want to make another point….

Look at Bakers statistics through 3 games, very pedestrian. 2 TD’s and 2 Ints. But most other teams don’t have the quality back that Chubb has proven to be, let alone Hunt. No doubt they are going to get their runs for TD’s. So Baker does not have to put up eye popping numbers. And he won’t have the Rodgers type numbers as long as Chubb and Hunt are heathy and putting up 200 yards a game.

Rough day for the chain gang.

Offense wasn't so hot in the first quarter. After the 2nd failed 4th down attempt I was wondering if KS wanted points. They got it together. Baker had a few nice escapes from pressure to avoid a sack.

Defense - so this is what it's supposed to look like. Did the D finally gel or is this a fluke because Chicago O isn't that great? It was fun to watch.

They were just outside fg range I believe. Spot where a lot of teams go for it.

I don't assume anything, I don't know either way...

All the stuff he did well is done every week by 20-25 QBs in the league. They're really not a big deal. It pains me to say this but I can't tell the difference between Baker and Garapolo, Cousins, Burrow, and the current version of Sam Darnold. I watch nearly every game each week. These guys all make the same throws that people want to praise Baker for.

Honestly I just think we are looking at this through different lenses with different expectations and under different contexts.

Finally there is a competent NFL QB in Cleveland.

It is good not to have to win with the 32nd best. Been there, done that, and we know it is a challenge.

I enjoyed this game. The defense looked like we all hoped it would, yes against a suspect OL, but the backfield was impressive too. A lot of passes got batted away.

It wasn't Baker's best game, nor Chubb's, or Joel's. Maybe Joel was distracted by his failure as a rapper.

But Hunt was awesome, his best game as a Brown. DPJ looked good, as did OBJ and Hoop. There is still no connection between 6 and 10.

OBJ loves the theater!

This post reminds me of a thread from many years ago. It might have been on the OG Browns msg board. It was called:


"It's MY Fault The Browns Lost Today." *


This post is like the opposite of that thread.


_______________


Maybe we need at least one fan per game to "step up by 'stepping out.'"

I work on some Sundays, so I'll be doing my share by default. We need true DieHard Dawgs to make their contributions. Perhaps a season ticket holder would give up his AFC Championship game ticket (at FirstEnergy Stadium, no less) to a homeless person, to ensure a CLE appearance for the Lombardi?

Hey- players are stepping up. Shouldn't we fans, as well?


.02





* Does anyone else remember this thread I'm describing? It was during the depth of The Dark Years, and was one of the most hysterical threads I ever read....

Yes. Might be the biggest takeaway from the game.

Watching George Kittle of the 9ers make a play I'm left asking.
Where the heck was David Njoku today!

Targets??? Offensive coaching staff?

David Njoku is a top tight end in the entire NFL, get him the ball.

Before this game he had the highest completion rating in the league, but you make this comment after this game. But you are being "real"? GMAB

I think the issue is that you focus too much on the negative. Did Baker have his best game? No. Did we win? Yes.

I know it's a different "era" but Tom Brady and Drew Brees looked very pedestrian their first 6 or 7 seasons in the league. They're also 1 and 2 in career passing yards now.

Mahomes threw an awful pass today in the final two minutes that was intercepted. Should KC be worried? I'm not sure why Baker is always under the microscope and every error is magnified. I mean they happen.

We went to the playoffs for the first time since 2002 last year. Baker is not a problem. Let's be happy.

gc. I said... If Anthony Schwartz gets 170 yards in a 3 game window, this year,(reg season), of catches that go for 10 yards through the air, I'd leave the board for a week and change my signature until next Aprils draft.
He had 59 eligible yards in week 1, which are now gone as it is a 3 game window not a 4 game window.
0 yards game 2. and 0 yards earlier in Yesterdays game, game 3.

Baker's still probably reeling from the dislocation. No one will say it but you can see it in his mechanics.

Normally when he throws he plants, and then just unfurls... and can be accurate in the process.

A lot of his balls just didn't have the velocity that I know he has.

There was a couple of times where if you watched his progressions it looked like he was swimming. Or going in slow motion. He's lucky that he has an arm to back it up. There's days where the stuff comes naturally. See him climbing the pocket and just making accurate reads. Other days it's like there's this cloud. Dude's smart and tough though. He and Stefanski have amazing resilience.


I can never get too pissed off watching them play because I know that they're forever "in it" with those two doing what they do.

Grizzly Bears are awful! (<^ He's in Eastern Canada, nothing to do with Chicago's football team.)
GC.
Why, are the Browns' passes, over the shoulder, fade away passes, dropping passes, failing?

Why are the Browns fade away, over the shoulder, dropping passes like the one Felton appeared to lose in the sunlight, and at least 0-2, 0 for 2 on those passes Sunday.
Well I'll tell ya maybe why! Because they're a HORRIBLE Freakin IDEA.
Stupid Low percentage dumb plays in the first place!
..
Pay Njoku. Feed the Lamb!

Yes, I was getting that pixelation too. No good!

Sometimes I wonder if people understand what good quarterback play looks like.

It is not only 300 yards passing and four TD's.

Sometimes it is escaping the rush and sliding for a first down. Sometimes it is not throwing the ball and taking the sack while protecting the ball.

Other times it is throwing the ball away.

The Bear's have some very good defensive players. Ask Bitonio.

Wills when he played got beat often.

They were geared to stop Chubb. They knew his plays. They did not know Hunt's.

Baker protected the ball. He made the plays that were there.

On the early throw to Felton that looked overthrown. That was because Felton got held just a bit to slow him. The ball was on the money.

He did overthrow Bryant. He knew it. No problem.

Baker is showing how a mature qb plays.

Honestly, IMO you miss the nuances of playing quarterback.

The Felton pass was right on the money. Just as the ball was in the air Felton got held just enough to lose a step. The ball would have been in perfect stride.

He missed the Bryant throw.

Mature play at quarterback often does not result in eye popping stats.

It can be shown in pocket awareness. Escaping the rush and sliding for a first down. Throwing the ball away when needing to. That means game awareness.

We were dominating them on defense. The last thing you want is to try and make hero throws where the risk for a int. is higher.

Taking a sack while protecting the ball can be a good play.

The Bears have some very good players on defense.

Ask Bitonio and Wells.

When you are behind and need chunk plays then you take them.

When a team keys on a player like Chubb. Then the coach makes an adjustment to Hunt plays. You roll with that.

You view Bakers play all coming from a negative point of view. Like you look for errors wanting to criticise.

Baker is showing mature quarterback play. His numbers reflect that even though stats do not always demonstrate good qb play.

Leadership and winning counts.

j/c

A very dominant win. Was enjoyable to watch and even though were were 3-3 deep into the 2nd Q - I doubt if any of us were anxious, I think the writing was on the wall after the Bears first possesion.

Baker was off early - I think at he started 1-7 or something like that. He missed Bryant who was wide open for a TD.... but he finished the game strong and subsequently went 18 0f 24 at nearly 10 yards per attempt in those last 24 throws. So no - Baker didn't play badly and as others highlighted: we played a really outstanding D, he moved in the pocket under pressure, didn't panic when sacked, didn't throw balls for picks ... that opinion that Baker was terrible seems more like agenda or contrived controversy than a real take. I mean we've had posters rail against fast starts and slow finishes - now it's railing against cold starts and strong finishes, proving you just can't win with some folks. And yes - on the throw to Felton - he got checked in his stride slightly but enough to prevent the catch.

Brilliant catches by DPJ - great to see him turn up after the camp he had. OBJ looked good - if not quite as explosive as he will when he is 100%. And Higgins with a couple of nice snags - both for first downs if memory serves. Signs of positive things on the WR core. . . .but hope Landry returns ASAP. He makes a difference IMO.

Chubb struggled as the Bears D really played him well. But they couldn't contain Hunt who bust it open and had a great game.

OL struggled against a really good Bears front ... Bears D came to play and got a lot of penetration and normal Browns stalwarts got beat repeatedly.

Not a lot to say about the D other than WOW. I think the Bears offense might have contributed to how well they looked - but take nothing away from our D, because they dominated for 4 quarters. I think you can tell that Woods and Stefanski were aware of the focus on the D after two poor outings, there was some fist pumping sort of reactions during and at the end of the half. Let's see how we do vs the Vikings - would love to see continuation and improvement....

MG had himself a game. A warning to the NFL what happens if you don't double him every play.... leading tackler on the team to go along with his 4.5 sacks ... and the front 4 all played great and with high energy.

JOK flashed, and flashed again and jumped off the page.... Newsome and Ward and JJ all made plays.... very encouraging !

The refs were awful - dreadful calls that had big impacts... phantom holding calls and then the BS pass interference on JJ III. Hopefully what goes around comes around and we benefit at some point. But we've lost games in the past because of that schtick and it still bugs the crap out of me to see such blatantly bad calls.

I want to add.

Under Stefanski when the Browns don't turn the ball over. They are undefeated.

The drive just before the half was a masterpiece.

There is not team in the NFL like the Browns today. No team has the running attack we do.

Our formula to win is don't turn it over.

Get a lead in the second half.

And wear them down with the running attack.

Playing team football is also a part of quarterback play.

Ha - just came back from Pure Football and Stefanski's presser to comment on this. Yes - a masterful last drive of the half. My thought is (and maybe someone with better resources than me can look it up) I have to believe Stefanski's scoring success % on last possession before the half is in the upper echelon of NFL head coaches. I know he did well last year with this and we've done well this season too. It's a really impressive characteristic.

J/c

Felton is more quick than fast. Not sure we have someone with his skill set, which is great. We have a Swiss Army knife type offense. What works one game may not the next and we become very difficult to prepare to play

Nice win and one the Browns needed. Couldn't afford to lose to the Bears at home if you are a true division champ contender. Browns proved that they are!

Defense finally woke up and was awesome . Myles had a career game. Fields was running for his life and had no time to throw at all.

Baker and OBJ were playing catch all game. Welcome back OBJ, we missed you!
Hunt and Chubb were both monsters as usual.

Jake Burns
@jake_burns18
If Grant Delpit is going to cover Allen Robinson types in the slot like he did yesterday.....that dude is going to be deadly.

Sam Penix
@Sam_Penix
#Browns Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah earned a 93.9 overall grade yesterday, the highest single-game grade for any LB (minimum 20 snaps) since Week 17 of 2019.

He also leads all 2021 NFL LBs in overall grade (90.1), pending Week 3 review.

We need JOK, Delpit, Garrett, Clowney, Ward, Newsome, Harrison, and Johnson on the field together every 3rd down

How many times have we seen those before half time drives against us. Repeatedly for years. Nice to be on the other side

exactly. Told my dad: gosh it feels nice to have us be the scorers

Found it interesting that Woods had Clowney and Garrett on the same side for several 3rd down plays ..

The good I saw:

- DL, obviously. Took advantage of a below avg OL and a terrible gameplan by the Bears offense.

- When the Bears (read: Roquan Smith) take away RB 1a, we're like, hmmm, try RB 1b. Explosion. This is a true luxury right now.

- Baker's back-shoulder throws were on point today. And though screen passes are generally considered a knock on QBs, I'm beginning to think that part of the reason those are so good for us now is similar to the reason PA game is so good...Baker is really good at the post-snap selling of misdirection.

- That end of half drive. The whole thing. Managed the clock pretty darn well. Made plays. Absolutely grabbed momentum in a game that would've felt a lot different going to half at 3-3.

- Newsome has some really good closing speed. Something needed with the "Woods Cushion." L

- We won, comfortably! Being in complete control in Q4 is almost NEVER easy in the NFL.

The bad I saw:

- Bitonio is showing himself to be in decline, I think. Maybe a premature call 3 games in, but I'm thinking that a round 1 G is in order. And there is no dead cap hit in cutting him next season.

- Conklin also played more poorly than you want from a high-priced FA again. Dude's 27, so I don't think it's age yet. Injury we don't know about?

- Felton needs to learn when to go upfield and just take the yards. On that 1 3rd down swing pass, if he angles to the boundary, he likely has the first down. Tries to make the mig jump cut and is instead cut down. Same thing is seen on his KRs. Just 1 move too many, I think, which can lead to turnovers/injuries.

- Baker's eyes were slow this week. On one of his sacks, if he gets off that 1st read, Hooper is crossing right to left uncovered with 20 yards of open field in front of him. Saw him staring at his first read several other throws, although tbf, some were ultimately completed passes. Still don't like to see it.

The D played awesome yesterday. I'm not going to dock them any points for competition level, as I felt they should've done this to Houston. The 2 differences that stood out to my untrained eyes when our D was on the field was our secondary, and their offensive line. Our secondary PLAYED A GAME. Troy Hill got his game grade back up there, Newsome is turning in a ridiculous rookie-CB year, and Delpit is slowly working his way back into becoming a weapon. Harrison is playing really well too. Maybe Houston just has a really underrated Oline, but our big boys just took whatever they wanted yesterday. Clowney and Garrett's play speaks for themselves, but McDowell was also doing his thang, and I was really happy for Takk that he got on the stat sheet. I made a comment that I wouldn't be surprised to see him off the roster (wasn't anything against him, just observing that his time here hasn't resulted in much good press), so I'm happy that he got in on the action yesterday.

Special teams was not-so-special yesterday. Too many penalties.

Offense just had its head up its butt at the beginning of the game. Lots of mental mistakes. On the 2nd 4th down, the announcer said OBJ got knocked down, but I saw Mayfield stick the ball out while the RB ran the other way, and then run around like he had no idea what to do until he got sacked. I didn't see his WR get knocked down, so I thought it was a running play where everyone was all looking in different directions. Just kind of a cluster that had to get sorted (it did).

Wu is coming along really fast. The fact we're getting such contributions from our rookies right out of the gate is incredible (Newsome, Felton, Wu, Schwartz... maybe even throw Delpit in there).

I was really happy for Hunt yesterday. I know Chubb is the man and everything... it is what it is... but Hunt is criminally underutilized (the guy has a rushing title and is in his prime).

You saying Njoku is a top TE doesn’t make it true. He’s not. He may be one of the better athletes at the position but he’s not nearly as instinctual of a player as Kittle, or Gronk, or Kelce… and it ain’t even close.

This is just the beginning Brown's fans.

Jeremiah Owusu Koramoah.

As each game passes this young man will get better. He has unique abilities.

Watch the attempts of the blockers. His ability to slide past blockers jumps off the screen. Any attempt to block him when the blocker has to move into space is a lost cause.

He took a 300 pounder and made him look silly. His hand placement into the guys pads and then slide past him to make the stop.

Watch him pass coverage. Unreal. He does things you see from corners and safety's.

I love this guy. I knew it was coming. Just zoom in on him as the ball is snapped. Wow.

Once he is used to all the others on defense knowing where they will be. When he can play full throttle inside the defense. Look out.

When we got him in the draft. I was thinking Defensive ROY.

So glad he is on the Browns.

I think the reality of our offense is that defenses will have to choose who they're going to key on, and then others will step up (ex. they were pretty effective in limiting Chubb, so Hunt had a day).

I think the bottom line will be Play calling and execution as we have way to many weapons to be stopped for a whole game ..

That sack by Takk was freaking BEAUTIFUL. I thought it was Clowney at first based on how fast and fluid he was (and the hair flowing out from the helmet). It took me a second to realize it was Takk, but the thing that stood out most to me was the use of his arms and how he hooked Fields' arm to not only try to strip the ball, but also to prevent him from getting that arm up to throw it away. It was technical beauty and I hope we see a LOT more of it!



I did not see Schwartz in for even a single play, though he was dressed: I'm thinking this game was his DogHouse game; his punishment for giving up on his route and getting his QB hurt last week.


It's the next day and I am still completely geeked over that defensive performance. I don't think I've ever seen such a performance. ONE YARD passing. Total. For an ENTIRE GAME. Before adjusting for Sack Yardage, we still almost had them under 100 yards of Total Offense. After adjusting, we had them under 50 yards of total offense. We never even saw anything so brutal when we were going 1-31 and on the receiving end of games like this.

Agreed. JOK was a freaking stud. So explosive and instinctive

Thoughts...

Game balls to Myles Garrett for his 4.5 sacks (probably should have been more, he contributed to others), JOK for making impact plays all over the field, Kareem Hunt for his 160 yards of total offense, and Chase McLaughlin for going 2/2 on XPs and 4/4 on FGs including 57 and 52 yarders.

Mayfield didn't have his best game (nor did our OL), missed a few open targets but avoided the big mistake. Bears DL is legit, got good pressure all day.

Worried in the beginning that everything seemed to be going toward OBJ..... again. We moved the ball but it wasn't the fluid offense we have seen in weeks 1 and 2. It was Chubb running and OBJ targets... It's like we forgot the TEs existed. After a couple drives we went back to getting Higgins, JPJ, and the TEs involved, using Hunt in the passing game, and things started to look better.

Bears OL is as bad as advertised, if not worse. You could tell Fields was frustrated, the moves he used in college that worked to get out of trouble didn't work against Myles and company...

Defense played aggressive and brought it to the Bears all game long, loved to see it. Glad Woods at least has that defense in the playbook.

There were three throws that stood out.

I don't know how to post them.

One back shoulder to Odell near the sideline. Chemistry right there.

The great throw and catch to DPJ that made the drive.


And the Hooper TD which had great touch.

Baker as a mature player and team leader is growing right in front of our eyes.

If you can see through to what is important.

The entire last drive to end the half was outstanding. It kinda won the game for us IMO. I felt like we wouldn’t lose after we broke through

Exactly.
Up to that point, we were struggling on offense, but they were shut down on offense. I felt that if we could just put together a TD drive right that, that was going to ice cinch the game. Of course, I wouldn't relax until we scored like 10 more, but that was when it felt like "ok, we've got this".

I agree with the penalties, but our special teams were special yesterday.

Felton had 7 punt returns for over 100 yards, and a 14.7 yard average. He had more punt return yards yesterday than we had all of last year. Combined.

The Bears returned 4 KO yesterday, for a 23.8 yard average. Holding a return short of the 25 is a win, and we did that at least twice yesterday.

We punted twice, for a 41 yard average, long of 48, and 1 inside the 20. One of those was flubbed by the Bears inside the 20, and the other was a 48 yard punt to the Bears 27, that had only a 4 yard return.

I agree on the "too many penalties", because frankly, any are too many. However, overall we had a great day on special teams yesterday.

I believe he had one target over his head on the first drive.

That's all I remember from him.

I wished we had the Bears Punter that dude kept us deep in our own end of the field most of the day.

Good post, agree with many points you brought up.

Conklin has seemed a little off thus far, but then again PFF just gave him a near 90.0 rating..so who knows. I usually watch our OTs as its easier to view as they operate on their own islands mainly. Conklin has had a few jumps or penalties this year (though I know Teller was responsible for Conklin getting flagged yesterday) He was very very sound last year.

With Bitonio, I've noted the same...He's usually always the most sound Olineman since like what 2014? His play has slipped this year, to last week against the Texans he graded out at a mere 56.0...But someone had mentioned it could be because of Wills and Hence and possibly overcompensating on that side. Hoping he rebounds, as he should still have several really good years left...least I hope.

And along with the Dline, I wouldn't object to drafting Oline as well...I always have a weird feeling Tretter will retire next year (though obviously I'm jumping the gun) And we mentioned Bitonio, then Teller will be a FA.

j/c...

It’s so nice to be able to save Chubb/Hunt so efficiently. Chubb seemed like he barely played

I'm shocked that Schwartz got that many snaps. I didn't see him on the field all day, and I was looking for him after a while.

Absolutely. It will extend both of their careers.

From the article:


Final Thoughts

There was a clear uptick in 5-man pressures brought by Woods this week. Preliminarily I have the Browns at nine for this game and that is an uptick from the three blitzes last week. I will confirm the data throughout the week, but one thing is clear: the Browns stepped up the aggression at all levels of the defense on Sunday. They felt the right kind of aggressive in both man and zone coverages and played with physicality in the back half. Their total pressures and pass rush win rates remained high, but with a confused young quarterback lacking quick throwing options, those pressures converted into sacks.
1COMMENTS

It was a historic day in Cleveland for the defense as a whole and Garrett individually, but Joe Woods didn't overhaul the scheme. They did uptick those blitzes to an extent, but as you could see here, they were a small percentage of the sack production. The difference was a secondary playing what felt like a different brand of coverage and a well-scouted and prepared attack for the Bears' favorite route concepts.

This is the marriage between pass coverage and rush skills we all envisioned for the 2021 Browns defense. It all converged for the perfect storm and a historic day. They won't all be like this moving forward, clearly, but if they can give these kinds of efforts where they not only stop the run all day but get pressure in both blitz concepts and regular rush situations, they have a chance to be special and on this day they were historic.

They have a nice test coming with the Vikings next Sunday to prove this was no fluke.

***************************

I readily admit to not knowing the concepts of football as well as others...and I usually don't post until I re-watch the game...BUT...

Many things were different Sunday. To my eye, we weren't losing "integrity(?)" when rushing the QB. We looked much more under control and the front of the pocket was regularly compromised or clogged-up. There were obviously fewer lanes for the QB to escape. Discipline? Scheme? Opponent? Probably all three.

I bolded what I really liked above...but the italicized part of the quote just might be my favorite.

While I agree that a count of (9) 5-man pressures /blitz? isn't a lot...it IS 3x what we ran the previous week.

That game had to be big fun for the D.

His one and only target came on the 5th play of the game. On the field, but obviously had a quiet rest of the day.

I saw him lined up a few times, and I remember us being in the redzone or endzone and him being tossed aside on a block lol Weird that Njoku got 50 snaps, and not targeted once...then again, we tend to flip the script weekly.

Ok, I'm going to pick some nits with the playcalling.

Our first drive we had 3rd and 5, pass, incomplete. Go for it, pass, sack.

Our second drive we had 3rd and 1, pass, incomplete. Go for it, pass sack.

One drive in the 4th quarter we had 3rd and 2, pass, incomplete. Kick FG.

I like the aggressiveness of Ski going for it a lot. But if you have 3rd and anything less than 5, and you know in the back of your mind that you are going to go for it... run the ball, run it twice. If we can't get 2 yards on 2 carries, then we deserve to get stopped.

We had 2 other 3rd and shorts in + territory that I remember, a 3rd and 1 where we gave it to Hunt and he went 26 yards for a TD and another that set up the Hooper TD pass, where we had 3rd and 1 and Hunt went for 4 or 5...

I cut the cable a couple months ago and have youtube TV - Fox has been terrible since the switch over. I was wondering if it was a Fox issue because I have had literally no issues with any other channel. Thanks for the validation

This all said, you summarized my thoughts well. I don't think the terrible performance from Chicago was on Fields - I think it was the game plan and OL. He wasn't set up for success and their OL was awful. I'm not a Woods fan, but my goodness, what a gameplan for this game. I hope we see this type of aggressive D moving forward.

I'm happy how we played on O against a pretty stout defense. 418 yards isn't bad, and 200+ rushing on a good rush D.

So what you're saying is you want KS fired?

/joking

It was brought up in today's presser. Agree, that with Chubb and Hunt just run the ball. Don't overthink it.

I had to listen to the first couple drives of the game, but I thought I heard our announcers mention the Ends rushing upfield too fast a couple times (might've even been consecutive snaps). That quickly got ironed out, obviously.

Yeah, I was frustrated on the Bears first drive how all of our DL went around to each side, up the field, and left the middle wide open for Fields. It was a really bad look. I was worried after seeing that happen.

That being said, it was also the last time something like that happened.

Same. I was complaining to everyone in the room that Myles pushed too far upfield - again - and there was a lane vacated for the QB to run.
Suddenly, that wasn't an issue any longer.


Hopefully, this was all practice for Lamar and Whathisface in Arizona, and all the other running QBs we face this season.

Yes...yes...and yes. Again...not sure if that was scheme, discipline or opponent...or all three...don't really care. In the end, we need more of that.

I am glad the Orange and Brown Report did a film breakdown of JOK.

Really excellent study. As the game was on I would replay downs and just say WOW.

https://247sports.com/nfl/cleveland-brow...1241/#1724080_2

There are very few players that can do what he can do.

Pass Rush

TEAM 9 Sacks GARRETT 4.5 Sacks Clowney 2 Sacks JOK 1 Sack Harrison 1 Sack

JOK played great The Defense finally showed up

Bears Total Yards 46 Rush 1 Pass 47 Total Yards WOW

BAKER 19/31 246 Yards 1TD 0 INT's

HUNT Rush 10/81 1TD Rec. 6/74 Total Yards 155 Yards

CHUBB 22/84

OBJ 5/77

I gotta say, I can't blame everything on Fields.. No, he wasn't very good but that Oline,, Geez.. And Nagy, How the hell do you not keep someone back to help.. He keeps that up, he's gonna get Fields killed.

All and all, a dominant performance by the D..

Question, is this D for real or was it just something for yesterday?

Among all the cries to fire Woods, I've not wanted that. I felt that more time was needed. I was hoping the light would go on.. Did it go on yesterday... Is this what we can expect going forward every week... Hope so. Because if it is, our opponents are in real trouble..

I enjoyed the hell out of that game.. Lots of fun to watch.

Baker was typical Baker.. Had a bit of a rough start but settled down.

Chubb didn't look like himself yesterday.. seemed to tentitive. 22 runs for 84 yards isn't horrible at all,, but still..

Hunt was a beast.. We are lucky to have them both..

The Oline looked different yesterday,, Weaker even, but honestly, I think it was missing Wills a little for I think 11 snaps. And when he was there he wasn't 100%. And the Bears Dline is pretty damn good so maybe a little of all that. Still, 200 yards rushing,, that doesn't happen by accident.

Overall, a satisfying win.. Loved it..

Sunday will be a good test.. can't wait..

I agree.

That was maybe a case of trying to think too much.

I think some opponents just fit Chubb and/or Hunt better, for whatever reason. Yesterday wasn’t a day for the brute force; we needed the quicker burst to get to the 2nd level earlier.

I agree. Roquan Smith matches up well against Chubb, and it seemed pretty apparent yesterday that they were scheming to take Chubb away. I guess they forgot about Hunt, though. His presence as a dual threat I think had their D a little more off balance.

Interesting factoid about Sunday's game:

Who rushed for more yards against Chicago, Chubb or Hunt?

For as amazing a game as Hunt had and how underwhelming Chubb was, Chubb actually ran for more yards. 84 to 81
Of course Hunt also had 74 receiving yards

If you watched, the Bears were more focused on stopping plays in the middle, where Chubb is more effective. Hunt made a lot of the plays to the outside..

You have to look at the whole picture though. Look at the number of attempts, YPC, and like you said, the receiving yards.

JOk is going to make this team different.

Delpit is going to make this team different

Newsome is going to make this team different

Johnson is going to make this team different

I wonder how likely we are to keep Ward with Williams sitting on the bench

I wonder if Troy will see more playing time.


I can't wait for Walker to come back we are out of MLB's we only have smith left. everyone else is on IR

Some feel that Newsome is our best corner.

Grades wise I think he is, but he still lacks experience and at some point it will show.

No doubt. Experience isn't something you can buy or practice.

When you watch other games.

What stands out is:

No team can run it like the Browns. It is the combination of Chubb/Hunt and the OL.

That gives us a unique ability.

The Ravens can run it but Lamar is what makes it.

The Browns run game sets up all of what we do offensively.

Love to see that

Most likely, yes. The odds are in favor of him having a stumble or a bad game at some point, but it is far from written in stone. I mean, so far, it looks like he has picked up right where his college career left off. Last year, he was better than any other CB in the Big 10 with 10 pass break-ups and allowed less than 1/3rd of the targets his way to become completions.

We are coming up on being a quarter of the way through the season and QBs have shied away from going after the rookie and instead tend to go at Ward more often; at some point, you just have think "well, damn, this is who he is".


"Experience is that thing you get right after you needed it."
-Steven Wright

Depending on the opponent. As it should be.

I think the question is how long will we keep Williams. He has not shown enough to make anyone think he can replace Ward. He has missed more games than Ward, in one less season. And other than this preseason he has not really flashed when he was out there. And it was preseason.

If Newsome has to spend time off the field for his calf, we finally get to see Greedy get significant snaps. It's still too early to really say anything, but Newsome has shown up far better than any rookie CB should be expected to, and if Greedy can play well, that's 2 very young corners that could carry the load if we suddenly find ourselves without Ward.

Agreed. If Williams can show that he can play, it gives us 4 guys who are capable at CB (including Hill). That would be great.

To h8s credit, Greedy has been getting snaps, and his name hasn't been showing up, so he may be ok; just not good enough to supplant Ward or Newsome.

Well Greedy will be showing up this week since Newsome is OUT.

IOW Newsome was just supplanted.

no, he was not supplanted. Greedy is still the backup.

Newsome was supplanted by INJURY. You have to be able to stay on the field.

Let's see if Greedy can do something NEW and stay on the field.

Geez you people....

I was at the game Sunday, and had an absolute blast.

I thought there were so many really nice contributions from guys on the team (aside from myles garrett, who has a major contribution, lol). Odell had a couple of really important catches. Again, nobody other than Garrett is going to have flashy numbers, but for a game that was a defensive struggle most of the day, guys came up big when needed. Beckham looked good. Hunt looked really good. The corners were draped on their receivers. JOK had a bit of a coming out game. Special teams took care of business.

The PI call that got Chicago their second field goal attempt was atrocious. I hope the booing was heard loud and clear on tv, because the stadium was really unhappy with that call, even moreso after the screen showed the replay. You can't throw that flag.

Justin Fields did not play well. The focus has been on Nagy, and rightfully so, but Fields looked pedestrian any time he tried to get out the pocket. Garrett ran him down with ease, which is probably more on Garrett than Fields, but still.

It's hilarious that the focus was all about the Bears, Nagy, etc after this game, and very little about what a defensive performance that was by the Browns.

After halftime it became more fun to watch the Browns when they didn't have the ball. It felt like the Bears had a middle of the road college OL out there. You just knew the pocket had zero chance. Really fun to watch. Maybe the first time I have ever said that about a Browns team.

I had a blast. The Muni lot was wild. Lots of Bears fans but everyone seemed to be getting along. Saw no fights or other buffoonery. I missed tailgating

My biggest complaint about that call was that you see the WR get away with that little separation bump all the time and it's almost never called. He didn't shove him, he didn't push him, he barely even touched him, he just stood with his hands on him until he took the step back for the ball. The WR wasn't fighting for better position and being held back.

There should never be a call period as long as the defender is playing the ball and not the player and he was that is clear. Not just that but what I said is the rule, the offensive player doesn't get 1st dibs on a ball because he was the intended target. Really bad call and something I have grown to expect.

The thing we always must avoid at nearly all costs is having the game come down to a call by a ref it's asking for trouble as is it truly meant next to nothing but it sure as hell could of.

Kind of off topic, but while I can't say enough about Wills gutting it out with the ankle we need to get that poor guy off the field to heal up. Yikes.

I don't agree that a call should never be made even if going for the ball. Going for the ball shouldn't impede the other players equal chance at the ball, both O and D.

That said, the refs under league direction don't seem to call it that way very often.

I'd like to see the rules change. Blatant fouls should be spot fouls. Incidental calls, ticky tack I call then, them should be a 5 yard penalty, automatic 1st down.

I just don't like a penalty to award a team with a big chunk of yardage.